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CAT | data
The Left Thinks Muslims in the U.S. Have it Bad. Really, Really Bad.
Comments off · Posted by mupetblast in Church & State, data, Religion
A new Rasmussen poll highlights the divergence between left and right on perceptions of who's persecuted. And just, wow. From the data, one gets the impression that it's the allegedly cold-hearted right more alarmed about the plight of religious minorities in the infamously illiberal Muslim world. The left meanwhile is looking inward, at the condition of Muslims in America, and deciding it's even worse than the condition of Christians in Egypt. Or Algeria. Or Iran. Or Pakistan.
Fifty-six percent (56%) of Democrats, however, believe most Muslims in this country are mistreated, a view shared by only 22% of Republicans and 39% of voters not affiliated with either major party. Fewer Democrats (47%) think most Christians are mistreated in the Islamic world, compared to 76% of GOP voters and 64% of unaffiliateds.
Of course, Pew Research Center among other outlets has long been documenting the general dearth of religious freedom in Muslim-majority countries, with nations like Indonesia, Iran, Egypt, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia routinely popping up on its lists of various illiberalisms around the globe. Add to that the observation via the Witherspoon Institute that "78 percent of Muslim-majority countries have high levels of government restrictions on religious practices, compared with 43 percent of all other countries and 10 percent of Christian countries."
Muslims in the U.S. aren't barred or restricted in their proselytization efforts by an explicitly Christian government, nor does the U.S. make conversion to Islam illegal. Muslims in the U.S. aren't made to get special permission to repair or expand their mosques, and won't face the crime of "contempt for Christianity" for disseminating material critical of or mocking the religion. In countless ways it's not even remotely comparable, the situation of Muslims in the U.S. and Christians (and other assorted religious minorities including Jews, barely) in the Muslim world.
So why the perception otherwise on the left? Apart from the same ideological makeup of progressives that give us celebrations of the hijab and even (a somewhat amended, supposedly) sharia law by the left's rising stars, there's simple saliency. Christian persecution is going on over there, Muslim persecution in the U.S., to the degree it exists, is happening over here, and the American media is unsurprisingly focused on domestic matters. While true, the left has historically prided itself on looking outward too, not just inward, and resisted the urge to give in to American parochialism. "We are not the center of the universe," "first world problems," and so forth.
I reckon that with the identity politics of the left going into overdrive upon repugnant old white man Donald Trump, er, grabbing the Oval Office, the left's global orientation is being jettisoned for a crude anything-that-makes-traditional-America-squirm stance. If they're into it – documenting the unending travesty of justice occurring in the Muslim world – then we're out of it. Concomitant with this approach is an unfortunate head-in-the-sand attitude regarding a certain religion that leaves liberals, classical and otherwise, very frustrated.
Christianity · Islam · pew · Rasmussen
Atheists: Not So Angry After All
According to a new study, it's a myth that atheists are an especially angry bunch. (Grumpy? Maybe.)
Atheists are often portrayed in the media and elsewhere as angry individuals. Although atheists disagree with the pillar of many religions, namely the existence of a God, it may not necessarily be the case that they are angry individuals. The prevalence and accuracy of angry-atheist perceptions were examined in 7 studies with 1,677 participants from multiple institutions and locations in the United States. None of these studies supported the idea that atheists are particularly angry individuals. Rather, these results support the idea that people believe atheists are angry individuals, but they do not appear to be angrier than other individuals in reality.
So I guess atheists are a bit more Stephen Fry than Christopher Hitchens.
HT hbd chick.
Conservatives respect atheists less
9 Comments · Posted by David Hume in data
This clip by S. E. Cupp is making the rounds. I often find Cupp to be glib, so it's no surprise that I disagree with many of the details of what she is saying. In particular it struck me as strange to listen to her talk about how conservatives respect atheists. Atheists are held in low esteem by the American public as a whole, let alone by conservatives. The general social survey has a question, SPKATH, which states:
There are always some people whose ideas are considered bad or dangerous by other people. For instance, somebody who is against churches and religion… a. If such a person wanted to make a speech in your (city/town/community) against churches and religion, should he be allowed to speak, or not?
Here are fractions who would allow this person to speak or not not in 1972-1990:
Here are fractions who would allow this person to speak or not not in 2000-2012:
Liberals tend to be more accepting of atheists making a speech than conservatives. Interestingly even in the 2000s ~20 percent of self-identified extreme liberals would still not allow an atheist speak. As opposed to ~40 percent of self-identified extreme conservatives.
Addendum: To be clear about the intent behind this post, I'm all about keeping it real. I think it is acceptable to be an atheist on the Right. A substantial proportion of libertarians are atheists. Even among non-libertarian conservatives it's an acceptable position. But this is really mostly relevant at the elite levels pundits and policy professionals. Atheists just aren't popular at the grass roots. There aren't that many conservative atheists or atheist conservatives.
Are the Republicans the socially conservative party?
4 Comments · Posted by David Hume in data
Charles Murray ruminates on why Asian Americans are not Republicans. Many of his observations are broadly consonant with my supposition that Asian American disidentification with the Republican party has to do with cultural markers (i.e., Asian Americans have become less Christian, the Republican party has become more self-consciously Christian). But Charles finishes with a curious turn:
Republicans are seen by Asians—as they are by Latinos, blacks, and some large proportion of whites—as the party of Bible-thumping, anti-gay, anti-abortion creationists. Factually, that's ludicrously inaccurate. In the public mind, except among Republicans, that image is taken for reality.
There are four factual assertions we can test. The one about Creationism is the easiest, because it's clear and distinct. First, I went to the GSS and constrained the data set to Democrats, Republicans, and Independents from the year 2008-2010. Now let's look at the EVOLVED variable, which asks people if "Human beings developed from animals." The results by party:
The reality is that the Republican party is the party of Creationists. That shouldn't be surprising, about half of Americans are CXreationists, and there are segments of the Democratic coalition, such as blacks, and lower income folk generally, who tend toward Creationism.
Japan has always been secular
In an otherwise fascinating column on Japan's peculiar demographics, Ross Douthat presents one misleading fact:
Japan is facing such swift demographic collapse, Eberstadt's essay suggests, because its culture combines liberalism and traditionalism in particularly disastrous ways. On the one hand, the old sexual culture, oriented around arranged marriage and family obligation, has largely collapsed. Japan is one of the world's least religious nations, the marriage rate has plunged and the divorce rate is higher than in Northern Europe.
These problems are still with us, and some of them are worse than ever. But they haven't left us in anything like the plight the Japanese are facing. Our family structures are weakening, but high out-of-wedlock birthrates may be preferable to no births at all. We assimilate immigrants more slowly than we should, but at least we're capable of assimilation. American religion can be shallow, narcissistic and divisive, but our religious institutions still supply solidarity and uplift as well. Our economy is weak and our deficits are large, but at least we aren't asking the next generation to bear the kinds of burdens that today's under-30 Japanese will someday have to shoulder.
From this piece you might infer that Japan has gone through a more radical secularization than the USA. But the World Values Survey has data from 1980 down to the mid-2000s. Below are the results for Japan, the USA, and Sweden (the last as a "control").
|Religious person
|Not religious person
|Convinced atheist
People tend to view other societies through their own experience. So, for example, one presumes a circumstance of modernization where societies become progressive more secular, and less coupled to institutional religion. That's how it happened in the West. But this is not the case with East Asia. On the contrary, it is a defensible proposition that in East Asia modernization has been coupled with the rise of robust institutional religions! (e.g., South Korea) East Asia has long had weak traditions of organized religion, and the political orders have always managed to maintain the subordinate status of religious institutions.
No tags
On the Economics of the Pill
7 Comments · Posted by Andrew Stuttaford in data
Interesting report here in the New York Times:
The recent controversy over contraception and health insurance has focused on who should pay for the pill. But there is a wealth of economic evidence about the value of the pill – to taxpayers, as my colleague Motoko Rich writes, as well as to women in general.
Indeed, as the economist Betsey Stevenson has noted, a number of studies have shown that by allowing women to delay marriage and childbearing, the pill has also helped them invest in their skills and education, join the work force in greater numbers, move into higher-status and better-paying professions and make more money over all.
One of the most influential and frequently cited studies of the impact the pill has had on women's lives comes from Claudia Goldin and Lawrence F. Katz. The two Harvard economists argue that the pill gave women "far greater certainty regarding the pregnancy consequences of sex." That "lowered the costs of engaging in long-term career investments," freeing women to finish high school or go to college, for instance, rather than settling down.
The pill also helped make the marriage market "thicker," they write. By decoupling sex from marriage, young people were able to put off getting married and spend more time shopping around for a prospective partner.
Those changes have had enormous impacts on the economy, studies show: increasing the number of women in the labor force, raising the number of hours that women work and giving women access to traditionally male and highly lucrative professions in fields like law and medicine.
A study by Martha J. Bailey, Brad Hershbein and Amalia R. Miller helps assign a dollar value to those tectonic shifts. For instance, they show that young women who won access to the pill in the 1960s ended up earning an 8 percent premium on their hourly wages by age 50.
Such trends have helped narrow the earnings gap between men and women. Indeed, the paper suggests that the pill accounted for 30 percent – 30 percent! – of the convergence of men's and women's earnings from 1990 to 2000.
Interestingly, the study also found that the pill had the greatest economic benefits for women with average IQ scores. "Almost all of the wage gains accrued to women in the middle of the IQ distribution," the paper said. For this group, it said, women with early access to the pill "enjoyed greater hourly wages throughout their twenties and the premium grew to a statistically significant 20 percent at ages 30 to 49." Why? The pill helped "middle ability" women in "planning for and opting into paid work," the researchers theorized.
The above article focuses on the economic value of the pill to women generally (and, I suppose, through increased earning power, to the taxpayer), but here's the specific Brookings Institution paper ("Policy Solutions for Preventing Unplanned Pregnancy" by Adam Thomas, Georgetown University) on the direct value to the taxpayer of certain forms of government-subsidized pregnancy prevention programs.
Here are some extracts:
The research also shows that each dollar spent on these policies would produce taxpayer savings of between two and six dollars…Nearly half of all pregnancies in the United States are unintended, and the parents and children involved in these pregnancies tend to be disadvantaged in a number of ways. For example, Figure 1 shows that unintended pregnancies are disproportionately concentrated among women who are unmarried, teenaged, and poor. Some studies have used sophisticated statistical techniques in an attempt to determine the extent to which pregnancy intentions have a causal effect on maternal and child outcomes. These studies generally suggest that unintended pregnancy and childbearing depress levels of educational attainment and labor force participation among mothers and lead to higher crime rates and poorer academic, economic, and health outcomes among children.
In addition, unintended pregnancy has important implications for public sector balance sheets. For instance, Emily Monea and I estimate that taxpayer spending on Medicaid-subsidized medical care related to unintended pregnancy totals more than $12 billion annually. This figure is substantially more than the federal government spends on the Head Start and Early Head Start programs each year. Unintended pregnancies are also much more likely than intended pregnancies to be terminated. Unintended pregnancies account for more than 90 percent of all abortions—and a substantial majority of Americans of all political stripes support the goal of reducing abortions.
Just one paper, of course, and the Brookings Institution comes with its own institutional bias, but intuitively it makes quite a bit of sense, and, as a taxpayer, leaves me less than thrilled by the direction of some of the rhetoric coming from some sections of the GOP. Read it for yourself and see what you think.
The double standard
30 Comments · Posted by David Hume in data, Religion
A few years ago Markos Moulitas wrote a book, American Taliban: How War, Sex, Sin, and Power Bind Jihadists and the Radical Right. This is in a long tradition of demonization of American Christian conservatives by the Left. All's fair in love and war, but I think this tendency to make an analogy between American religious conservatives and Islamic religious conservatives is one reason that the hypocrisy of white "enlightened" liberals is rather galling to many. The reality is that Muslim Americans have moderately conservative views, which if they were white Protestant Christians would get them labelled as slack-jawed inbred cretins. But, since they are generally "people of color" their beliefs get a pass, and on the contrary, many on the Left fear being termed "Islamophobic," all the while defending the robust validity of critiques of Christian conservatives. This isn't about principle, this is about power. Below are some data from the Religious Landscape Survey:
Birth Control and the Prevention of Abortion
3 Comments · Posted by Andrew Stuttaford in data, debate
Wherever you stand on the abortion debate, the idea that access to contraception does not reduce the number of abortions ought to seem, to say the least, counter-intuitive, yet that's what Kirsten Powers ends up arguing in this Daily Beast piece. Here's an extract:
A January 2011 fact sheet by the pro-abortion rights Guttmacher Institute listed all the reasons that women who have had an abortion give for their unexpected pregnancy, and not one of them is lack of access to contraception. In fact, 54 percent of women who had abortions had used a contraceptive method, if incorrectly, in the month they got pregnant. For the 46 percent who had not used contraception, 33 percent had perceived themselves to be at low risk for pregnancy; 32 percent had had concerns about contraceptive methods; 26 percent had had unexpected sex, and 1 percent had been forced to have sex. Not one fraction of 1 percent said they got pregnant because they lacked access to contraception. Some described having unexpected sex, but all that can be said about them is that they are irresponsible, not that they felt they lacked access to contraception.
Writing over at Big Think, Lindsay Beyerstein queries the "not one fraction of one percent" number (the original 2001 study gives a figure of 12 percent) and then stresses a bigger problem on using this data in the way that Ms. Powers is doing:
If you only look at women seeking abortions, you're only going to see cases in which contraception failed, or wasn't used. If you want to measure the power of prevention, you have to look at the millions of sexually active people who use birth control and don't get pregnant.
Indeed you do.
If you want a rough analogy to this, take a look at the anti-Second Amendment crowd. In attacking the menace that guns supposedly pose to their owners, they tend to stress what happens after the gun is fired, a point when matters have by definition already turned very dangerous. The numerous occasions when the weapon has worked as a successful deterrent without ever being fired tend not to be mentioned…inconvenient truths and all that.
Europe, the big five
3 Comments · Posted by David Hume in data
The New York Times Magazine has a Europe-themed edition. I thought it would be interesting to look at the five big Western European nations in Google Data Explorer.
Don't be shocked by polls
5 Comments · Posted by David Hume in data
You all know about the issues of weighting samples to achieve representativeness. In polling this is an art. But even if you get to representativeness, depending on the average sample sizes the polls themselves will exhibit a distribution of outcomes about a mean. Therefore with a large enough sample space of polls you can find one at a tail of the distribution of outcomes. Today with the proliferation of polling this is getting to be more and more of a problem. Look at this musing by Joshua Micah Marshall: A Feingold Comeback? He notes: "A new independent poll has Feingold down by only 2 points." A thickly polled state will come back with a range of results. Even non-internal polls (which are often curated for maximum effect on the press, and so shouldn't be trusted) will exhibit a normal distribution of results, so if you want to hinge an argument on one poll, it is fast becoming a trivial task to find that poll to satisfy your needs. In 2008 the less intelligent set of conservative bloggers expressed ideologically motivated skepticism of polls (grounded in the fact that they were too stupid to know any better). What excuse does the self-proclaimed "reality based" party of pointy-headed intellectuals have in 2010?
Whatever happens, 2012 will be even worse. The number of polls is going to up, and verbally oriented bloggers and reporters will cherry-pick outliers to produce whatever narrative they wish to roll out.


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As the dark clouds dissipate from over the British banking sector, after the Northern Rock debacle, the Scottish Labour party is looking for silver linings. After the first run on a British bank in over a century, the Scottish opposition parties are hoping that the next run will be on the SNP's fiscal credibility. That queues will be forming of Scottish voters determined to withdraw their credit from the Bank of Independence and lodging it back with good old Northern Labour.
It was always going to be a very tough comprehensive spending round, with the new chancellor, Alistair Darling, reining in spending to inflation plus 2% over the next three years. The SNP are already complaining that they are being held to 1% above inflation, a long way short of the 3% that the previous Liberal-Labour executive enjoyed and considerably less than the UK average. This means that it could fall to the SNP finance minister, John Swinney, to have to announce the biggest public spending cuts since devolution when he makes his first budget statement in November.
Questions were already being raised about the ability of the nationalist government to meet its election promises, which include abolishing student debt, freezing council tax, cutting class sizes, giving grants to first time buyers and hiring a thousand more police officers. Their pre-election statement on finance envisaged paying for all this through a heroic assumption of £2.7bn in efficiency savings over the lifetime of the comprehensive spending review and another £500m through cutting the size of government.
Labour always claimed that this was pure fantasy and are now hoping that the SNP's experiment in "progressive nationalism" will come crashing down to earth. Under their new leader, Wendy Alexander, Labour are holding tripartite talks with the Scottish Conservatives and the Scottish Liberal Democrats to plan how best to make the fall as damaging as possible for the minority nationalist government. They intend to inflict a series of damaging parliamentary defeats in the run up to Alex Salmond's black November.
The Scottish economy is peculiarly vulnerable to banking crises because financial services have been the big growth industry here over the last decade. A third of all new jobs have been created in this sector, and most of the rest were generated by the state. Edinburgh has boomed on the back of the Royal Bank's emergence as one of the top five banks in the world. House prices have also rocketed in Scotland for the first time in modern history.
Scotland largely escaped the negative equity crisis that afflicted England in 1990, but Scots have got the borrowing bug and are extremely vulnerable now to any downturn in house prices. Values have been boosted by speculative money flooding over the border looking for capital gains. At the first sign of a downturn, this hot money may depart, leaving Scottish property prices teetering on a precipice.
What better end to Scotland's experiment in nationalism than a full-blown credit crisis, say Labour. Repossessions and bankruptcies in Scotland are already increasing fast, and if there are cutbacks in the financial services sector, that means unemployment too. The opposition parties can hardly believe their luck. Here is a chance, they believe, to kill nationalism stone dead.
But the SNP have seen it coming, and intend to mount a pre-emptive strike on the Treasury, challenging their spending numbers which, they say, discriminate against Scotland. They will also be demanding access to oil revenues and a more favourable distribution of tax revenues. The reaction from London will be abrupt and to the point: "no way". It is likely to get nasty.

subset: commoncrawl


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6 Jul 2012
Le Kiosk
My first stockist in Sweden is now selling my goods and this is what they write: "We fell head over heels for brittish artist Sandra Dieckmann's wonderful prints. Sandra has created a subtle, modern fairytale world with animals, wildlife and humans. For us she's like a modern John Bauer. For all of you that aren't familiar with Swedish art history we can inform you that he was a Swedish artist at the early 2000-century, famous for his fairytale art.
Well composed with exquisite colour sense and surpassing richness in details. Take a look at the close-ups you'll see what we mean! "
Go and check out Le Kiosk ... it's a beaut!
2 comments:
- Fedulab said...
You deserve all the good compliments of this world! ;) Fedulab blog
- 08 July, 2012
- iknow said...
Well great design and fabulous work. I would love to appreciate your blog and surely you deserve it. You have created the art just like interesting interactive kiosks which are just like speaking to you and responding like humans. Love the work and thanks for sharing such nice post with us. I am going to follow your blog.
- 16 July, 2012
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Jun 15, 2015
M20 Vampire Project, June 2015 update: Q&A with William Sunnucks
Images: Tim Bees - || I was told past week that I've been unusually harsh on two recent new foiling projects. If you've been reading CSN for a while, you'll know I only target ISAF boats, like biddings for the H16!? for Olympics or the N15 for Youths.
If I don´t like a new beachcat commercial design I just publish as received and keep my thoughts private, as I know first hand the hard workload involved on building cats.
But on new foiling devels I get rather 'upset' when I see things that were not taken into account from proven (past or current) solutions, the acknowledge of tested errors, or unpractical details. (in my view of course)
For example, I privately commented to an A Class builder on the render stage that a specific foil solution was not going to work, not on me being an expert but on the simple fact that it was the same as already tested before, and it would be hard to work again without any major change. Setup was discarded after building and testing.
Also here in Arg, when they went for the local Capricorn F18 built project, I told them it was not worth the effort as the design was great and revolutionary in the past but not indicated for our choppy river conditions. 4 boats built only.
Thus my worries on these new projects where I detect lot of hours and investment that might also overlook critical aspects.
At the same time if you don´t think literally out of the Box like William Sunnucks and the M20 Vampire project Team is doing, we will hardly see any innovation. I published a M20 technical paper before , and posted a photo from Texel showing the special and seemingly complicated foil setup the M20 Vampire has.
That same day and to know the status of such design I contacted Will for him to report updates on the project after participating at Carnac & Terxel 2015.
Below a Q&A with William Sunnucks plus an updated tech doc available here. He also address himself the good and points the ones to be aware off, making the M20 Vampire project a special boat with lots f experienced people involved targeting innovation & development as a main goal right now.
William Sunnuck & M20 Vampire Project. June 2015 -
CSN. How do you tack & gybe in waves with the M20 foil setup?
William Sunnucks: So far waves haven't been a problem. We fly above small ones, and the bow mounted wand gives the main foil plenty of time to respond to bigger ones. I was delighted by the way the boat rose up the back of the waves at Texel when a non-foiling boat would have nose dived.
However tacking and gybing has been a problem, and its still slow. As with the Nacras and Phantoms we have to pull down one foil and raise the other. We drop the windward foil, turn sharply then haul up the new windward one as fast as we can. The foils are held down by a clip mechanism controlled by a release rope at deck level.
Q. Which is the final speed achieved so far?
A. We regularly see 30 knots downwind with two sails and we know that it has more to give. In light winds we use a spinnaker which (despite being super flat) is lower but slower - no more than 22 knots. Upwind we target 18 knots, bearing off when its less and heading up when its more. We have learnt that its not the top speed that matters - its consistency.
Q. What happened at Carnac?
A. At Carnac we raced among lobster pots. We caught one at speed which overloaded the rig, breaking our mast. Infuriating.
Q. Account for this year Texel?
A. We were delighted with our performance during the first half of the Texel Race. We started cautiously, but quickly learnt to trust the wand in the large rolling waves. We led at the lighthouse feeling comfortably faster than the boats around. The leading boats arrived at the VC mark early, at least an hour before high water and we knew it would be shallow. So we stopped (still in the lead) to insert conventional straight daggerboards and to raise our rudders. Unfortunately one of the rudders slipped down and tore off when we grounded a few yards from the VC mark. Game over.
Q. Who has been involved in the R&D?
A. The concept was mine, but the foil design comes from Kevin Ellway and the implementation from Graham Eeles. Without those two it would be just a pipe dream. Many others have given valuable advice and support - I won't list them but I'm grateful. We run it as an "open source" project with no secrets or commercial axes to grind, and I feel that this brings out the best in the sailing community.
Please understand that this is a major project for a small team with no commercial backup. There are a lot of new features which still need optimising - I don't think the learning curve will flatten until next year at the earliest. I'm now confident that that there is a viable alternative to L foils and I will measure success by the number of people who copy it.
Q:Do you think the Pivotal systems has a future?
Yes I think the gull wing system, or pivot system as you call it, has a future. Good points:
- It pivots from the gunwale, utilising every bit of beam for righting moment.
- You don't have to detach the wand control mechanism when you pull it up. This would be a problem for conventional daggerboards with wings on the bottom
- It enables you to raise the whole foil out of the water in pre-foiling winds, reducing wetted surface area.
- Its easy to rig and launch from a beach because you don't have to insert the foils from under the hull
Unfortunately there are bad points too: getting it up and down is slow. In particular you have to gybe perfectly otherwise it won't click down on its own. There is definitely scope for improving the control lines and sailing techniques.
Another problem is that it doesn't fit easily with maximum beam rules. The C Class people made it clear that they will measure beam with both foils horizontal even though the boat is never sailed with them in that position. This effectively outlaws gull wings from the C Class. In time rule makers will probably define beam in terms of parts that contribute to righting moment.
Despite all this I think the idea has legs and I hope to see others taking it further."
Technical Doc embedded below:
ENDS . Copyright Catsailingnews.com
Labels: design, Foiling, Interviews, M20
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Source: (www.stabroeknews.com)
The continued decline in the price of gold on the world market sends a clear signal to countries like Guyana that a point has long been reached where assurances of economic growth can only be realized by embarking on programmes aimed at significantly encouraging the growth of value-added industries. "We had arrived at a point where high prices in the gold industry were propping up the economy. The chickens are now coming home to roost," Georgetown Chamber of Com-merce and Industry (GCCI) executive member Clinton Urling said.
Urling, who, along with Chamber President Lance Hinds and Senior Vice President Vishnu Doerga spoke with Stabroek Business earlier this week, said evidence of the heavy dependence of the economy on a high gold price was reflected in the fact that the decline in that price at the end of 2014 coincided with "one of slowest Christmases that we have had in 15 years. Last year the economy retracted in in all areas of economic activity save and except forestry," Urling told Stabroek Business.
Hinds said he expected that the Chamber would be better-positioned to make a more definitive pronouncement on the issue of the 2014 year-end performance "after we have consulted with our members. That having been said I think it is clear that we cannot continue to depend on gold. We simply must begin to take diversification seriously."
And according to the senior private sector officials local consumers are yet to benefit from the fall in the price of oil. "Guyanese are still to feel the positive effects of falling oil prices in their pockets. Electricity, transport and manufacturing costs, particularly, ought to come down on account of oil prices. Ideally, falling oil prices ought to have helped offset the negative effects of the lower gold prices," Hinds said.
Part of the discourse addressed relations between government and the private sector and while Hinds said there had been opportunities for discourse between the Chamber and the government, Urling told Stabroek Business that there was good reason for some measure of skepticism over the results of those negotiations. "What we have found is that the government appears to have a good deal of difficulty in meeting the understandings arrived at during public/private sector fora. Up until now we have heard nothing about the understandings that were reached at the forum held in 2013," Hinds said.
Meanwhile, all three Chamber officials alluded to what they conceded were "divisions" in the private sector. "The truth is that private businesses often have different interests and there are times when that can make for differences in terms of the way we see things," Hinds told Stabroek Business.
Asked to comment on the economic positives that emerged in 2014, Urling said it was difficult to think of any; though Hinds said the proven resilience of the banking sector coupled with "the fact that the business community was able to withstand the shocks of 2014 were positives."
And according to Hinds, with business becoming an increasingly complex phenomenon and given the critical need to attract investment to Guyana there was a sense of sloth on the part of the government in moving to implement invest-friendly legislation. "What do we say to investors who come to Guyana and ask to be shown the legislation that protects their investments and allows them to take legal action in the event that their vital interests are transgressed? Despite all that we have said there has still been no discussion. When you look around the region Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other territories all have modern, investor-friendly legislation. Where is our own legislation to protect investors and how long can we be expected to wait for that type of legislation?" Hinds asked.


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Crepe Batter (makes 30— freeze extra)
2 c. instant flour
1 ½ c. cold water
½ c. all- purpose flour
¾ tsp. salt
6 large eggs
6 Tbsp. melted butter
1 ½ c. cold milk
2 c. medium cream
½ tsp. salt
1 c. heavy cream
Freshly ground black pepper
4 Tbsp. cornstarch blended with 4 Tbsp. milk or dry vermouth
1 c. grated Swiss cheese
2 c. sautéed chopped spinach
1/2-1 c. grated Swiss or Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp. butter
Preheat oven to 375. Whirl all batter ingredients (except butter) in an electric blender or food processor at high speed for 1 minute (if you don't have a blender or food processor, you can also beat by hand). Mix in cooled, melted butter. Oil six-inch frying pan and heat over medium heat until it is just beginning to smoke. Wipe pan. Remove from heat. Pour a scant ¼ c. batter into the center and quickly tilt pan back and forth so a thin film of batter covers the pan. Place back on heat and cook crepe about 1 minute. Turn over and continue cooking another 30 seconds. Remove. Cook the rest of the batter, layering crepes between pieces of waxed paper or clean cloth towels to prevent sticking.
For the sauce, cook the two creams and cornstarch on medium heat, stirring constantly. Add 1 c. grated Swiss cheese and stir until melted. Mix 1/3 of the sauce into the spinach. Place a spoonful of filling inside each crepe and roll up. Place in a buttered dish and cover with sauce and grated cheese. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.
from The Victory Garden Cookbook by Marian Morash


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Behavioral, Legal, Political Issues of Internet of ThingsWednesday, April 16th, 2014
Gabe Moretti, Contributing Editor
Engineers almost always focus their attention solely to the technical aspects of a problem. The Internet of Things (IoT) is certainly a complicated and fascinating topic to address. Advances so far indicate that we will be able to successfully implement all of the functions predicted for the next dozen years or so. Looking at the possible results we see a fascinating environment. If it were possible to adapt humans to the wonders of technology in a positive manner, the world would certainly be better.
But reality says that instead humans adapt technology to their own interest, not the other way around.
Intelligent Traffic
One of the cars I drive frequently is a 2014 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid. A state of the art car that offers advanced capabilities. The car not only parallel parks itself, but when in cruise mode, it knows about the surrounding vehicles and the lane in which it is. It keeps in the lane automatically, it keeps proper distance to the car in front, it forces the driver to signal before changing lanes, it adjusts speed according to the traffic ahead, regardless of the value set by the driver. In other words it reduces speed if the traffic moves at a speed that is lower than the one set. Of course it knows where it is and can communicate with Lincoln offices at any time, as long as a cell phone is present and active in the car.
The step between this functionality and total communication with other vehicles nearby and in fact with the intelligent road itself is not that long. It can be done, we have the technology. But we do not have the human side of things, at all. First of all, people, at least in the 3 States I have lived in (California, Colorado, and Florida), take speed limits as advisory, and take significant pleasure in overtaking. The frustration of being in a vehicle that drives itself will be high, the inability to tailgate may result in irrational behavior. In addition, the legal implications of having one's vehicle controlled by "big brother" are significant. People already resist electronically monitored speed and traffic lights. Red light cameras are quite controversial here in Florida right now, for example.
The result is that I believe cars will be smarter sooner than their drivers.
The Integrated House
Same arguments can be made for and against the Integrated House. Once the house is fully independent in setting temperatures, lights usage, security concerns, and other parameters, the behavior of its inhabitants will be far less private than now. From data collected from the local IoT it will be easy to determine behavior, both social and financial of its inhabitants. Utilities will know precisely how much one spends to cool or heat the house and which rooms consume the most energy. In other words it will be possible to know with great accuracy how a family lives.
Knowing Everything
By combining credit card use information with the travel information from the car one can determine when one travels, where one goes, how much it spends at destination or on the road, and what type of purchases are made at the locations. The behavior of a society, and of course of an individual, will be analyzed for marketing as well as social reasons. Is this society ready for the tradeoff? Can we accept the benefits of IoT capabilities in exchange for what some people would define as less freedom? Privacy and freedom are often thought of as the same in western culture. Personally I do not care if Lincoln knows where the car goes. The information is mundane and in my opinion boring. But other people might feel different.
So before we engineers become completely enamored with the quick implementation of IoT capabilities, we should consider the social and security implications. How secure is the information transmitted through the IoT? Who and how can eavesdrop? What rules exist regarding the elaboration of data obtained through legal means? And what are these "means"?


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Irish Pub Chalkboard with the word Slainte
Our Irish Pub chalkboard is a perfect accent for your favorite Pub! Create from an original wood carving by artist Al Pisano, each frame is hand painted and stained to a lustrous finish. We use a high quality chalbkoard surface and you can use chalk or chalk markers. Al carved the word Slainte into the header and an Irish shamrock. Slainte is an Irish word for Health and is a popular drinking toast. The chalkboard measures 16 inches wide and 20 inches high (We can adjust the height-email us directly about that.) There is a hanger on the back. Made in the USA.
These are beautiful handcrafted reproductions of Al Pisano's original carvings and sculptures.Created in the artist's studio, each piece is meticulously hand cast and then hand painted and stained to capture all the incredible detail. We also personalize many of our wall plaques free of charge and these make great gifts. All of our products are Made in the USA by skilled artisans under the supervision of Al Pisano. We offer a money back guarantee. We believe you will enjoy Al's artwork for many years. Call us if you have any questions!


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As if the business atmosphere here in Millinocket hasn't been tough enough for our local business owners, it has now accelerated.
I am asking each and every area merchant to embrace a neutral stand in this political fiasco that has caused so much dissention in our town.
With MAGIC's application to the FCC in order to set up its own radio station, the owner of our local station has had no other choice but to enter into the fray in an effort to retain his business. This has reportedly resulted in a few businesses pulling their advertisments.
Anyway you look at it, this represents a "boycott" of a local business and is occurring at a time when all of our local business owners should be sticking together and working toward a common goal. That goal is SURVIVAL!
First let's clear the air about what MAGIC was supposed to accomplish. Unless my understanding is incorrect, MAGIC was created to assist businesses to either set up or expand their operations. At least that is what we were told.
Take a closer look. MAGIC has had little success in either area and instead they are now entering into a competition with an already established business that has served us for many, many years.
Next, let's examine just how you business owners would react if MAGIC decided to go into the supermarket, small variety store or hardware business. And then suppose MAGIC's competition caused you to close your doors.
Don't think it could happen? Well maybe not, but if it could happen to WSYY, why not to your business?
I find it difficult to believe that one person (Polstein) or one organization (MAGIC) can instill that much fear and so intimidate you that you allow them to hold you hostage especially since they have done little to help the area.
It is all well and good to show loyalty to your customers, including Polstein, McLean and MAGIC, but shouldn't that same loyalty apply to ALL of your customers.
Two town referendums have proven the majority of our voters do not support MAGIC or its funding.
What happens if those local people decide to withhold their support of your business? Can your business still survive? Do you really believe Polstein, McLean or MAGIC have your best interest in mind or that they are concerned with your survival?
Having been involved in this political tug-of-war for over seven years, I truly don't think they care about YOU just as long as they can continue to line their own pockets.
Having expressed my opinion, I have also tried to devise a compromise that would accomodate both sides of this issue. This is what I have come up with. Rather than "boycotting" WSYY (a tactic that Polstein railed against when he incorrectly perceived himself to be a target), why not request that your ads be placed at a time other than when Mr. Talbott is on the air. There are still twenty-one other available hours to advertise your business without antagonizing your local clientele. Why then would you continue to "cut off your nose to spite your face"?
Please give some consideraation to my suggestion.
After all it is "YOUR" business that is at stake - not that of Polstein, McLean or MAGIC.
© Copyright 2002-2013 by Magic City Morning Star
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Sunday Old School: Armored Saint
Often in the Sunday Old School articles, we tend to focus on the sub-genres of heavy metal such as thrash, death and black metal, amongst others. This week we take a look at a great example of traditional heavy metal in the form of California's Armored Saint. Armored Saint was formed in 1982 by brothers Phil and Gonzo Sandoval, who played guitar and drums respectively,along with friend Dave Prichard who also played guitar, whilst students at South Pasadena High School. Soon after their formation the band recruited bass player Joey Vera and lead singer John Bush. The name of the band was suggested by Gonzo while the band were watching the movie Excalibur and a five song demo was recorded not long afterwards, that included the song, "Lesson Well Learned," which was featured on the Metal Massacre II compilation. After releasing a self-titled EP through Metal Blade Records in 1983, the band signed to Chrysalis Records the next year. Their debut album, "March Of The Saint" was released that year and earned the band a minor hit with the song, "Can U Deliver?," as well as critical praise. A second album entitled, "Delirious Nomad" was released in 1985 and, like the first album, earned the band critical acclaim.
Soon after the release of "Delirious Nomad," Phil Sandoval decided to quit the band, leaving Armored Saint has a four-piece. The quartet began work on their next studio album, which resulted in 1987's "Raising Fear." The album did not sit as well with critics as the past two albums had and many believed that Phil Sandoval's exit had shaken the band's confidence. The album did however garner the band another minor hit with the song, "Isolation." After "Raising Fear" was released, a live album named, "Saints Will Conquer" hit the shelves the next year but sadly these would be the final albums to feature guitarist Dave Prichard. Although Prichard participated in the writing and demoing of their next album, he unfortunately passed away from leukemia during the sessions. The resulting album, "Symbol Of Salvation" was released in 1991 and used the guitar solo Prichard recorded for the song, "Tainted Past." The album also featured the return of Phil Sandoval, as well as new guitarist Jeff Duncan. The record was seen as a return to form and perhaps their best yet by critics and fans alike but ultimately the band were unsure of a future without Prichard. During this period of uncertainty, John Bush was asked by Anthrax if he would be interested in becoming their new vocalist, replacing the recently departed Joey Belladonna. Bush's decision to accept the job proved to be the final straw for Armored Saint and they decided to call it a day. During the band's inactivity, other members kept themselves busy with various musical proects. Bassist Joey Vera found success as a producer, whilst also performing in bands such as Fates Warning and Lizzy Borden and the Sandoval brothers formed a new band together entitled Life After Death, which was more inspired by the likes of Thin Lizzy than the heavy metal influences of Armored Saint.
In 1999, during a peroid of inactivity for Anthrax, John Bush and Joey Vera decided to reform Armored Saint and reunited the "Symbol Of Salvation" lineup for a new album, which would come to frution in 2000 when the band released, "Revelation." Critics were unsure of the album but many fans welcomed it with open arms. The band supported the album by touring with the likes of Dio and Lynch Mob on a small club tour and celebrated their history the next year by releasing a compilation album entitled, "Nod To The Old School." The reunion proved to be short lived however, as Anthrax returned to the studio to record a new album, bringing John Bush with them. In 2004, Joey Vera joined John Bush in Anthrax for a brief period when it was announced that he had replaced bassist Frankie Bello. Vera made his only recording with Anthrax on the compilation album, "The Greater Of Two Evils," which was a collection of re-recordings the band had made of their classic songs while Neil Turbin and Joey Belladonna were in the band. This would also prove to be the final Anthrax album with John Bush, as guitarist Scott Ian announced that Anthrax would be reuniting their "Among The Living" lineup in 2005. With no Anthrax restricting them, Bush and Vera put the "Revelation" lineup back together for a one off show in 2005 and a European tour in 2006. The band since continued to perform sporadic shows, and eventually decided to record a brand new album, which was finally released in 2010 under the name, "La Raza." The band are currently appearing infrequently at festivals as well as embarking on short tours to support the reunion and new album, with the cutback in touring owing to John Bush wanting to spend time with his family. It seems this will be the pattern the band follows in the future, meaning a new album in a few years time will certainly not be out of the question and fans have not yet lost the chance to see them live.
Armored Saint - Can U Deliver
Armored Saint - Reign Of Fire
Armored Saint - Isolation
Armored Saint - Left Hook From Right Field
Ollie Hynes has been a writer for Metal Underground.com for four years and has been a metal fan for ten years, going so far as to travel abroad for metal shows.
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Every year, the IT Pro team are very lucky that we get to partner with a wider virtual IT Pro Team that regularly contribute to our activities. These individuals can be found not working for Microsoft but in our partner community, our MVPs and even our customers. These ladies and gentlemen take time out of their busy schedules to contribute through blog articles, providing insight and joining us on the road. As a team we wanted to recognise their contributions in the form of the IT Pro New Year's Honours List.
Early in December we met to discuss nominations, and established a long-list of individuals who have been valuable partners this year. After much deliberation, this list was trimmed to the top 25 individuals you see below. Read on to find out a little more about the Top 10 Honourees, and the 15 superstars who recieve a well-deserved honourable mention. Of course, there are many others that didn't make the list this year, but we remain truely thankful for their contributions.
This year's IT Pro New Year's Honours List:
Jonathan has been an avid supporter of the team for a large number of years, be that working with us at Tech Ed, running local events (in partnership with peers) and providing us with PowerShell insights. As part of his work as an MVP he's supported the community, sharing his knowledge on the subject. This November he presented at Future Decoded. @jonoble
Rik is the type of chap that will support (if he can), no matter what the task. He is equally happy being front of stage as well as supporting those at front. We've worked with him on a number of activities, including Tech Days Online and Future Decoded. He has also provided excellent support as we've travelled up and down the country delivering IT Camps. @rikhepworth
Has supported the team presenting at both Tech Days Online and more recently Future Decoded. He regularly provides the team with open and honest feedback on our approaches to market. He has also blogged for us, in particular sharing his experiences of the Surface Pro 3. @1MikeyT
Patrick is our man from HP. He's another superstar MVP who has been on the road with us at IT Camps. He is an accomplished writer and has jointly written a most excellent book on Windows Server. Patrick is very active on social media and we regularly see him answering questions or amplifying our messaging. @PatrickLownds
Boss to his friends, leads the team at Black Marble. He is always willing to support the team, presenting at events and sharing customer stories. Most recently he stepped in at the 11th hour at Future Decoded. We had a customer pull out on the morning of the event and Boss very kindly agreed to deliver a session to cover. @RobertHogg
6. Ed Jones
Ed works for Firebrand who are one of our Gold Learning Partners. He is our star blogger for the TechNet UK Blog this last year, providing us with the most articles in 2014. His articles have ranged from SQL Server certifications to marketing. Ed has been consistent throughout the year and is great to work with. @EdgeMcghee
7. Mark Everest
Mark is Mr Dev Ops at the Lotus F1 Team. He's been kind enough to share the team's experiences as they adopt this approach to their development. He's presented and contributed to thought leadership to this area through our blogs. @MarkJEverest
8. Linda Smith
We've partnered with Linda for a number of years now through her work at Global Knowledge. Andrew has regularly presented with her at events such as the VM User Group. A few months back, Linda gave up a number of evenings to join us in delivering some pilot career events in London where we were helping IT Pros develop their careers. @VirtualGirlGK
9. Peter Bryant
Peter (or PJ, as you may know him) has been a standout contributor to a variety of TechNet activities in 2014, including numerous blog articles and provision of his encyclopaedic TechEd Europe knowledge. He continues to be a pillar of the IT community and is also an active member of the Microsoft Technical Community Council (MTCC), through which we look forward to working with him further over the next year. @pjbryant
10. Mark Wilson
In previous years, Mark has made great contributions to the wider IT industry through his authoring of whitepapers and coverage in the technology press. In 2014 we were thrilled that he took up our invitation to join the Microsoft Technical Community Council (MTCC), where he has constantly provided valuable feedback on upcoming products, events and more. He continues to author a popular blog, as well as being active on social media. @markwilsonit
11. Richard Conway (MVP) - @azurecoder
12. Jamie Bryant - @MrCloudOS
13. Mike Halsey (MVP) - @PCSupportTV
14. Peter Egerton - @PeterEgerton
15. Jen Stirrup (MVP) - @jenstirrup
16. Chris Webb (MVP) - @Technitrain
17. Mathew Reynolds – @b00mer
18. Marcus Robinson - @MR_ICT
19. James Roland-Jones (MVP) - @jrowlandjones
20. Andy Radcliffe
21. Chris Rhodes (MVP) - @ChrisReBoot
22. Ben Lee - @Bibbleq
23. Dave Ackroyd - @learnpowershell
24. Colin Chaplin - @ColinChaplin
25. Andrew Hancock - @einsteinagogo


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(click photos to enlarge)
Nick Obrigewitch, a student at the U. of Maryland, has played tuba with the band since 2016. He is a recipient of the John Philip Sousa Band Award, and was named to the All-Eastern Band and the All-State Orchestra. He also plays in the Tempered Brass Quintet, and teaches low brass. Nick is majoring in performance, and plans to be a band teacher and orchestral tubist.
Meya Collings, a student at Churchill HS, has played piano with the band since 2017. She also plays in the Blues Alley Youth Orchestra. Meya was a Potomac Organ Institute scholarship winner, and was runner-up in the Levine Classical Guitar Competition. She also plays flute.
Keegan Couse, a student at the U. of Maryland, is new to the band this year on clarinet and tenor sax. Keegan is majoring in music education and jazz studies, and plans to be a high school band and jazz ensemble director.
Darrell Reddix, a graduate student at the U. of Maryland, has played drums with the band since 2016. Darrell was named to three All-County ensembles: Jazz, Orchestra (principal chair), and Concert Band. He is a recipient of the Peggy Friedmann-Gordon Scholarship for performance. Darrell has done performance tours from New Jersey to Georgia, and teaches at Bethel Christian Academy.
Tim Fary, a student at George Mason U., is new to the band this year on trumpet. Tim is majoring in music education, and has performed at Blues Alley, Eagle Bank Arena, and various nightclubs.
Geoff Gallante, a student at West Potomac HS, has played cornet/trumpet with the band since 2009 when he was 8 years old. Geoff has performed on NBC's "Tonight Show" and "Today Show", CBS' "Early Show", and on BBC Radio, and was named to the Grammy High School All-Stars Big Band three times and the Monterey Next Generation Jazz Orchestra twice, with whom he toured Japan. He has performed at the White House, the Capitol, the Kennedy Center, Blues Alley, and Iridium Jazz Club in New York. He has been a featured soloist with the Duke Ellington Orchestra, the Army Blues, and various wind ensembles, and has performed on nationally-televised ball games as well as at a variety of jazz festivals across the country. Geoff has shared a stage with Wynton Marsalis, Chris Botti, Arturo Sandoval, Hugh Masekela, and Maynard Ferguson. Locally he played in the Blues Alley Youth Orchestra, has performed with the Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra and the Brooks Tegler Big Band, and has sat in with Dixieland Direct, Hal's Bayou Jazz Band, and Dave Robinson's Conservatory Classic Jazz Band. Geoff is a recipient of the Essentially Ellington Outstanding Player Award, and a Merit winner in the National YoungArts competition. He also plays piano.
Rob Coleman, a recent graduate of the U. of Maryland, has played banjo and guitar with the band since 2016. He has also played in the trad jazz quartet Laissez Foure and the Don Junker Big Band, and teaches guitar.
Ben Jackson, a graduate student at the U. of Maryland, has played trombone with the band since 2013. Ben is a recipient of the Louis Armstrong Jazz Award, and was named an Outstanding Senior at George Mason U. He has played with the Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra, the American Festival Pops Orchestra, and Dave Robinson's Conservatory Classic Jazz Band. Ben also performed in a nationally-broadcast jazz concert in Shanghai Concert Hall in China. Currently serving as a teaching assistant, he is working towards a PhD in ethnomusicology, and has been a presenter at the national conference of the Society for Ethnomusicology. Ben also works as a music archivist.
David Rea, a student at the U. of Maryland, has played tuba with the band since 2017. David was named to All State Band twice, and has placed in solo competitions. He currently plays in brass quintets and the Prince George Philharmonic, and aspires to play professionally and teach music.
Eli Thayer, a student at Georgetown Day School, is new to the band this year on banjo and guitar. Eli was twice named Outstanding Jazz Player at the UNC Jazz Festival, and received the Judge's Choice award at the Berklee Jazz Festival. He also plays in the Blues Alley Youth Orchestra and in jazz quartets.


text: "But whenever someone turns to The Lord, the veil is taken away. For The Lord is Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of The Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had the veil removed can see and reflect the glory of The Lord. And The Lord–who is the Spirit–makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image." 2 Corinthians 3:16-18, NLT


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Published by American Catholic Press (ACP), the American Catholic Hymnbook has been available since 1967 to aid in prayer sung by the congregation. The American Catholic Hymnbook includes music from every ethnic tradition, including African, Austrian, Croatian, Filipino, German, Hispanic, Irish, Italian, Korean, Polish, Slovak and more. The hymnbook features hymns in the spirit of liturgical renewal, such as prayer through Christ and the Church as the unity of Spirit. It has a great selection of hymns for congregations to celebrate the entire liturgical year.
The American Catholic Hymnbook offers songs for regular Sunday worship, children's masses, posadas, reconciliation, funerals, and other services. The hymnbook uses the largest type of any comparable hymnal to provide clear and easy reading.
The American Catholic Hymnbook is available in a variety of editions, including melody edition, guitar edition, and accompaniment edition. It is also available in hardcover and paperback. To order your American Catholic Hymnbook, click here.


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Hi, thanks for stopping by. I know you must be new here, because I am new. Please check out
My Story to get to know me better or subscribe here. Welcome!
Over the last few months God has really been showing me the importance of relationships. He has revealed to me the people in my life, that are really encouraging to my spiritual life. As believers it is so important to have people in your life that you can go to for spiritual advice and prayer, maybe even as a mentor. We must always support one another in our walk with the Lord.
There are so many people that I can say have influenced my spiritual life, but the one person that God has really been revealing to me is my mother. If you know my story my mother was the person that originally shared the Love of God with me, when I was living a life without the Lord. She continuously prayed for my salvation. I always say she prayed me into the arms of the Lord. Ever since then she has always prayed for my family, supported me spiritually, and lived a life of example to me.
Now after many years God has allowed me to fully appreciate the importance that my mother has in my life. He has allowed us to have a closer relationship through our personal journeys with Him. The one thing that I love is that we can pray with each other and no matter what I know that we both have a common goal which is to serve the Lord with our lives. My mother's example has taught me how to be a Spirit-filled wife and mother. That is an example that I pray I will pass on to my daughter. I will always be thankful that God allowed her to share His Love with me, and not only did she share it but she lived it out for me to see.
Think about that person God has raised up in your life. What do they mean to you?
How can we allow ourselves to be that person in someone else's life?
|My mother and I.


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All, First of all some things that we really need to agree on before I can generate the spec html: * What is the date that needs to be put on the document * How many days do we accept comments? Currently I used 42 days I spent today fixing the import errors in the base document (which we also did in the XForms 2.0 wiki document) to get a better result in the diff version of the spec. If we are doing it for real it has to start from the generated spec html, but for now I'm running it directly from the wiki http://www.w3.org/2007/10/htmldiff?doc1=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2FMarkUp%2FForms%2Fwiki%2FXForms_2.0_base&doc2=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2FMarkUp%2FForms%2Fwiki%2FXForms_2.0#Remove_Nodeset<http://www.w3.org/2007/10/htmldiff?doc1=http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/Forms/wiki/XForms_2.0_base&doc2=http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/Forms/wiki/XForms_2.0#Remove_Nodeset> Could you all review the changes that were made in the XForms 2.0 document? Also having a look at the new text in the XPath Expression module would be really appreciated https://www.w3.org/MarkUp/Forms/Group/Drafts/WD-xforms-xpath-20120504/ I would have been a bit more comfortable that we had a 3 day FtF meeting to go over the changes, and maybe add some small features that are almost ready to port from the wiki to the XForms spec. But as Leigh pointed out our charter is almost expired... Steven, What are the next step that I have to do to get the document published? Kind regards, Nick Van den Bleeken R&D Manager Phone: +32 3 425 41 02 Office fax: +32 3 821 01 71 email@example.com<mailto:firstname.lastname@example.com> www.inventivedesigners.com [cid:firstname.lastname@example.com][cid:firstname.lastname@example.com][cid:email@example.com] On 27 Mar 2012, at 20:06, Leigh L Klotz Jr wrote: Our charter nominally expires March 30. While we can get an extension, we should surely go to FPWD before them. Can we resolve to go to FPWD this week? If you cannot attend by phone, could you please attend by IRC so we can be sure of having a quorum, so we can meet our charter dates. http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/Forms/2009/charter2010.html Leigh. -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner<http://www.mailscanner.info/>, and is believed to be clean. ________________________________ Inventive Designers' Email Disclaimer: http://www.inventivedesigners.com/email-disclaimer
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2.3.1 : Tuesday, 6 January 2015 21:14:06 UTC


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Yesterday's advice was to blog more.
This advice was based on statistics from HubSpot, which shows that businesses that blog more, receive more qualified leads.
The advice is sound. Blog more. Get more inquiries. Sell more. Increase profits.
I stand by the advice to blog more.
So why am I tell you to now blog less?
Let me explain…
Why You Should Blog Less
There is a niche for some businesses to blog less. This doesn't mean that blogging won't be as much work. What I'm suggesting some businesses (possibly yours) should do is to create blog posts that are really more like stories. I'm talking about blog posts that reach into the thousands of words range where the story captures the attention of your readers and keeps them engaged for 20 minutes or more.
These posts take effort to create. They require extensive research and patience. With a long story post it's essential to work on compelling storytelling in order to keep the reader attentive for a long period of time. The post also has to be good enough to have a long lifetime. Because you won't be publishing as often, it will be necessary for your posts to be read by a large audience. You want each reader to share the post with friends, family members, and colleagues.
Recently, I've been subscribing to updates from the service – Longreads.
This site aggregates interesting stories that are well into the thousands of words in length. They are stories about businesses. Stories about individuals in business. There are a variety of topics covered on the site.
What each story has in common, though, is the fact that they are long and interesting. People love long form content when the content is entertaining, educational, and enlightening.
It's a tough task for a blogger to take on the task of writing their own long read. It is just as much work to write a blog post that is 5,000 words long as it is to write 10 posts that are 500-words. Each strategy can be rewarding and it's my belief that there is room for any blogging strategy to use both regular blog posts along with a few long reads.
With this strategy, you'll attract a variety of readers while making sure your content can have a lifespan longer than just a few days. Long reads typically last longer. Like good books, long reads will be bookmarked, shared, and re-read for years (hopefully). Writing these kinds of posts is an investment in your website and your business.
So the point of this post is to consider blogging less.
Actually, a better way to say it is to publish less while still publishing just as much content. Consider publishing content that tells a story. You can interview folks in your industry. You can write a long case study about one of your clients. You can write a feature story on a business or an individual that your audience will find interesting.
There are many ways to write long reads. Find a format that works for your and consider writing less for your business blog.


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Safe Computing
To use the computer safely, it is essential to know about computer security.
Please be sure to check the following seven contents.
■ Update operating system & application
Sometimes bugs are found in operating systems or other software after they are released. When there are security-related bugs which are called "security holes", there is a possibility of viruses or malicious users gaining entrance to a computer's system. In general, when a security hole is found, the software's manufacturer will release a program to fix it. Therefore, it is recommended that you use software's latest versions through regular updates.
■ Install Anti-virus software
Viruses are illegal programs that infect and cause damage to computers. There are various ways viruses can infect and damage computers, but in general, computers become infected when users open attachments to suspicious emails or browse questionable websites when the computer has a security hole.
When a computer becomes infected with a virus, its operations can become unstable, files can become damaged,strange messages can appear on screen, and other various symptoms can occur. Other viruses can infect computers and present no noticeable symptoms, but find files and users' personal information and transmit them over the Internet.
Therefore, it is vital to install anti-virus software and periodically scan your computer to check whether it has been infected with a virus or not.
Anti-virus software releases(almost daily) "pattern files" for identifying viruses so that the software is able to protect computers from the latest types of viruses. If pattern files are old, then the software is unable to identify new types of viruses. Do not forget to update these files.
There are also types of anti-virus software that can be used free of charge. These types of software, basically, are to be used at the user'sown discretion. Therefore, users should be fully aware that their manufacturers offer no guarantees that their software will not cause a computer to malfunction.
Scanning computers for viruses should be done at least once a month, or, if possible, once a week.
■ Enable your computer's firewall
If you use Windows, your OS comes with the firewall function switched on. If you use a Mac, firewall settings can be somewhat complicated. Simply switching on the firewall on a Mac can sometimes affect how other applications operate.Please refer to the following website when adjusting your firewall settings.
■ Take a backup
Backing up your computer regularly can protect you from the unexpected such as hardware failures and computer virus infections.
*Computers can often become broken without doing or touching anything. Since it is not unusual for a computer to become broken without warning, in particular with older computers, it is important to back up your computer and not simply assume your computer will not have any problems.
■ Choose strong passwords
When using the Internet, there are many times when you use passwords. They serve an important role in verifying that users are who they say they are. When passwords become known to others, it is possible for them read your email, use your social networking accounts, etc. Never tell others what your passwords are and closely manage your passwords with the following in mind.
■ Use email and the Internet safely
Email is an important way to exchange information on the Internet. It is something many people use every day. However, viruses can sometimes be sent as email attachments and emails can also take users to phishing sites that seek to trick users into revealing their personal information.
■ Don't access to suspicious websites
There are many online services where users can easily enter information such as product reviews and comments on bulletin boards and blogs. Some of these have URLs entered that may take users to sites for phishing scams or where viruses can infect users' computers. This can be especially prevalent on sites where postings can be made anonymously and without registration. Therefore, be careful about clicking through to sites with links on such pages.
About Computer & network
for newstudents >


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Two more names have been added to the directors roster of MASTERS OF HORRORs sophomore outing, which has begun shooting in Vancouver.
Yesterday, various sources announced that Ernest (DEMON KNIGHT) Dickerson will helm one of the 13 episodes on season twos slate, and Fango has learned that Tom Holland (writer of PSYCHO II and director of CHILDS PLAY and FRIGHT NIGHT) is joining the pack too. Theyre among two of the three new directors hopping on board the series; previously announced SESSION 9 helmer Brad Anderson rounds out the trio.
Meanwhile, returning Dario (JENIFER) Argento is gearing up to helm PELTS, based on the F. Paul Wilson short story of the same name, whose scripter is Matt (WHITE NOISE 2) Venne. The scribe tells Fango, Production starts April 18 in Vancouver, and having phone conferences with Argento about my script has been one of the creative thrills of my life! And finally, it appears that John Carpenters contributionreuniting him with CIGARETTE BURNS scribes Drew McWeeny and Scott Swannow has a title, and its, get this


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Apple is no google
September 19, 2008
Steve Rubel has written an interesting post comparing the transparency of Google with the cold, firm and closed approach of Apple.
He uses some great examples that show how the brands communicate online with their users and it clearly shows that Apple is from a very different era and hasn't quite grasped this whole 2.0 thing.
However, I don't really think this matters for Apple and don't believe it really impacts the brand.
Apple has always been about selling something shiny, new and enticing. Something you pay top dollar for and show off proudly to all around you. It sells the ultimate gadget and things that are truly magical.
On the other Google, doesn't sell anything, it's a free service, but it needs its users to keep coming back to it to view the pages that contain its valuable ads. It has to do everything it can to keep these people happy and content. Charmed in the knowledge that Google is the best "free" thing in their lives.
Apple could benefit from opening up, but let's face it, this is not the company's style. It's a one man autocracy and until he decides to open the floodgates and let everyone inside out and visa versa this isn't going to happen. I believe the lack of openness works in the brand's favor. It keeps things mysterious and interesting, you never quite know what they are up to next and it would a shame if they did anything to give that away.
As long as Apple keeps making products that amaze us, it can get away without opening up.
It doesn't have to do a Dell, until it becomes like Dell.
Apple sells us a dream and the more it becomes like real life, the less interesting it becomes.
Transparency is not for them…
Posted by Ed CottonNext post Previous post
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Caroline Kennedy
Well as long as I'm taking shots here today. Caroline Kennedy is, "ya know", not exactly qualified for the Senate – by any stretch of the imagination. Simply being a Kennedy is insufficient qualification. She's been, for all practical purposes, in hiding for decades and now pops up (with someone) wanting to make certain that there is a Kennedy in the Senate. There must be several other truly qualified and established public servants in NY that should be higher on any one's list of potential appointees. Is this simply an ongoing media love affair with the Kennedy name or something more behind the scenes?
Oh (now for a cheap shot), and what is with that nose/spoiler/winglet thing she has going on? Has she been trying out for a part as an alien in Star Trek (Worf's long lost half sister or something)? It certainly, "ya know", looked better on her mother. If she makes it to the Senate at least the cartoonists will have a bizarre facial feature to grotesquely caricaturize.


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HI octane performance coating will be closed on Saturday th 18th of August
Hi Octane Performance Coating will be closed from the 9th - 11th April, and be back on 12th April. Any orders placed after the 9th April may not be processed and posted until 12th April.
Shop closure for Easter long weekend
Hi Octane Performance Coating will be closed from the 9th - 11th April, and be back on 12th April. Any orders placed after the 9th April may not be processed and posted until 12th Apri
There are many reasons for coating your exhaust, the main one being heat management. Ceramic coating provides a thermal barrier protection the exhaust from the damaging effects of extreme heat, prolonging the working life of the exhaust system.
The thermal barrier will also isolate the heat, keeping it within the manifold. This will increase the exhaust gas velocity and reduce back pressure and fuel contamination. The result of this is MORE HORSEPOWER! It is not uncommon to see as much as 5% increase in power, particularly on turbocharged engines.
The overall reduction in the surface temperature has many additional benefits, not the least of which is safety. Cooler exhaust means smaller chance of getting burnt upon contact. This benefit extends to all the underhood components that can be heat-sensitive like alternators and starters.
There are a variety of coatings on offer for exhaust maniforlds or headers. The most popular is our Cermakrome. It gives a newr-chrome finish, excellent corrosion protection and provides a great thermal barrior
For stock exhausts, our Colour-Guard Caast Iron is very popular, especially with restorers because it imparts an original, dark cast-iron appearance rather than the lighter appearance that is more typical of a bead-blasted finsih.
On cast iron, due to its high porosity, we recommend a base coat of Cermakrome before light sand blasting followed by a colour coating of your choice. On tube steel headeers we recommend Cermakrome or Colour-Guard over a base coat. In most cases single coating will be adequate.
For high performance applicatons we recommend MCS - our own insulating base coat which can be applied to the outside of the exhaust manifold or header, cured, lightly sand blasted, then covered with a layerCermakrome, cured and polished. This process will produce a high temperature handling capability allowing the exhaust to be used on 9 to 1 engines, which typically have an extremely hot exhaust gas.


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As another month slowly (who am I kidding, this month has gone past at the speed of the Bullet Train) draws to a close it's time to pick out my favourite products of the month from the worlds of beauty, fashion, fitness and lifestyle and as always this month has had no shortage of contenders…
First up is this little beauty that I only acquired last week but that has already rocketed to the top of my favourites list for this month. You may remember from my recent Threads, Treads & Treats post that I have added a gorgeous Scentsy Warmer to my living room so that when we have viewings on the house, people are always greeted with a really nice, fresh scent. This is one of the melts that Scentsy sell to compliment their burners and it is absolutely divine, combining the delicious scents of Jasmine, Amber and my favourite Dark Chocolate. Heaven!
Next is another house purchase, my Deliciously Ella cookbook. This has taught me so much about food it is unreal and whilst I don't follow the recipes to letter (because I could never be Vegan, I am a definite meat eater) I have taken a lot of inspiration for my new clean eating diet from the book. I have finally learned how to use ingredients I would never have dared before and started to be a lot more adventurous when it comes to eating in. Overnight oats is by far my favourite breakfast and the Sweet Potato salad (which I think is on the Deliciously Ella iPhone app) make a brilliant lunch.
Now although food might seem like a strange favourite to put in, I'm going to go with it. I have been a fan of Metcalfe's Skinny Topcorn for a few years now and this month I discovered a new flavour; Honey Bee. Seriously where has honey popcorn been all my life? Admittedly I am not a big popcorn fan and I would never buy it in the cinema knowing it is covered in salt or drowned in syrup. But this is different, it's tasty, it's wholesome and I think it is 117 calories per serving which is pretty awesome when you have those post meal out and didn't order dessert style munchies!
Ah my Primark sunnies – I have had lots of comments on these and not one person will believe me that these little darlings are from Primark. They remind me of the Clubmaster shades by Rayban but at £2 I won't be as devastated if I break these!
Finally Barry M's Matte Me Up Lip Crayon in shade two has not been far from my side all month, I love this popping pastel pink shade and it looks grey with that just coming out of winter glow that my skin has!
So there you have it – another month of favourites. Let me know your favourites from June below and I'll see you again soon, until then though x
Thanks for stopping by, don't forget to join me on Facebook, Twitter or Bloglovin' to stay up-to date.
Some of these items may have been sent to me for review. Please see my disclaimer for more information.


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|Twangers is a Scrabble word. Scrabble point value for twangers: 12 points.
|Twangers is a Words with Friends word. Words with Friends point value for twangers: 12 points.
Above are the results of unscrambling twangers. Using the word generator and word unscrambler for the letters T W A N G E R S, we unscrambled the letters to create a list of all the words found in Scrabble, Words with Friends, and Text Twist. We found a total of 325 words by unscrambling the letters in twangers. Click these words to find out how many points they are worth, their definitions, and all the other words that can be made by unscrambling the letters from these words. If one or more words can be unscrambled with all the letters entered plus one new letter, then they will also be displayed.
|Definition of "twangers" found in the Merriam Webster dictionary
|Definition of "twangers" from The Free Dictionary
|Definition of "twangers" from Dictionary.com
|Words that start with twangers
|Words that end with twangers
|Words that contain twangers


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As I've said a million times, my house is VERY small with VERY limited storage. This poses a problem since I have so much stuff, and I always seems to find BIG stuff. Eventurally there is no place to store it behind doors, so I had to start trying to figure out how to store it in a decorative manner in plain sight.
My laundry room has cabinets above the washer and dryer and I utilize every inch of it for household cleaning supplies and all my spray paints and stains and stuff. The white cabinet if full of candleholders, candles, and tons of other decorating and crafting supplies. So that leaves the tops of things.
The top of the secondary refrigerator and the cabinets are great candidates for storage.


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- Take a deep breath. Hold it for 29 seconds.
- In those 29 seconds, someone in the United States had a coronary event. In the next 30 seconds, someone will die from one.
- Eighty-five percent of those who die from coronary heart disease are 65 years old or older.
These statistics, from the American Heart Association, sound like bad news, particularly to the 76 million American baby boomers.
The good news is that deaths from heart disease and stroke have fallen 60 percent since 1950. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report, "Preventing Cardiovascular Disease: Addressing the Nation's Leading Killer," also says that eliminating cardiovascular disease would extend life expectancy in this country by ten years.
But is that possible? Can you really eliminate the threat of heart disease? And, if so, should you follow the advice of your conventional health care provider? Or listen to the alternative medicine enthusiasts? Perhaps both.
Differing Views of the Heart
According to Western medicine, it's basically a pump that circulates blood through the pipes, or blood vessels, of the body. Genes, smoking, bad diet, lack of exercise and stress can block those pipes, forcing the pump to work too hard and causing diseases of the heart and blood vessels. The American Heart Association wants you to avoid tobacco smoke; monitor high blood pressure; eat foods low in cholesterol and saturated fats; be physically active; maintain a healthy weight and have regular medical exams.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the heart is more than a physical pump — philosophically, it's also the residence of the mind, spirit and personality. Dr. Roger Jahnke is doctor of acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine, chairperson of both the Qigong Department at the Santa Barbara (Calif.) College of Oriental Medicine and the National Qigong Association, and author of The Healer Within.
"In Chinese medicine or Chinese philosophy, you think of a person in terms of the heart because heaven and earth merge to make a human being, and the place that they merge is in the heart," he says.
In TCM, the force that keeps life going is qi (pronounced chee), loosely defined as vital energy. The balance of yin and yang determines qi; bad diet, stress and/or insufficient exercise can cause yin and yang to become out of balance, disrupting the flow of qi. One symptom is "thick" blood, which makes the heart ill.
Ayurveda is India's 5,000-year-old "science of life." There too the heart is the most vital organ, says Dr. Vasant Lad, director of the Ayurveda Institute in Albuquerque, N.M. "The heart is the state of mind and consciousness, and it circulates life energy." He adds, "All factors affect the heart. We must take care of the whole person — lifestyle, diet and quality of life, according to his or her individual constitution." Each person's constitution is a combination of three "doshas" — or energy types — and "perfect health is a state of balance between the three doshas," Lad notes.