text:
Application Considerations When Upgrading to Windows Server 2008
Applies To: Windows Server 2008
This document contains the information that you need if you have line-of-business (LOB) or non-Microsoft® applications and you are upgrading to the Windows Server® 2008 operating system. If you do not take the precautions outlined in this document, your upgrade may be blocked or your applications may not work after the upgrade.
This document discusses how the upgrade process manages data that is not part of the operating system when you are upgrading servers to Windows Server 2008. It is intended for companies and third-party independent software vendors (ISVs) who are upgrading their servers and who are using LOB or non-Microsoft applications.
You may experience problems with these applications during the upgrade process. While the upgrade process handles data that is part of the operating system, the registry and some file locations are recreated. Data found in these recreated directories that is not part of the operating system is saved to a temporary storage directory.
The upgrade engine creates log files that contain a complete record of the actions that the engine performed and any errors it encountered during the installation phase. To view these logs, see the Setupact.log and Setuperr.log files in C:\Windows\Panther. For a complete list of log files generated during all the phases of setup, see article 927521 in the Microsoft Knowledge Base (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=162887).
In This Document
Changes in How the Server Is Upgraded
Upgrade Process
Application Compatibility Checks
What to Do Before You Upgrade
Check the Temporary Storage Directory for Missing Files
Ensure That Directory Junctions Are Working for Your Application
Ensure That All x64 Kernel-Mode Software Is Signed
Changes in How the Server Is Upgraded
Upgrading to Windows Vista® and Windows Server 2008 is more complex than upgrading to previous versions of Windows Server. In previous versions of Windows Server, the older operating system state persisted after the upgrade. In other words, the operating system kept all settings when it was upgraded, including user settings, file settings, registry keys, and so on. The upgrade engine left behind data files and settings, while placing new executable files and data files on the computer. The data files and settings were then converted, if necessary, leaving the previous state information untouched.
In Windows Server 2008, however, the upgrade engine completely redesigns the preexisting operating system state into the Windows Server 2008 format. The upgrade engine does the following:
Installs the new operating system side-by-side with the older operating system, enabling you to roll back to the older system if there is a problem.
Parses the older operating system for data and settings that it recognizes (including executable files, settings, operating system entries in the Windows registry, and operating system data files) and converts it into the correct format for Windows Server 2008.
The upgrade engine places any files not listed in upgrade manifests or in locations that conflict with the new operating system in a temporary storage directory. You can check this directory for missing application files after the upgrade is completed. For more information, see the section Check the Temporary Storage Directory for Missing Files.
Deletes the old operating system.
Migrates the newly formatted data and settings into a clean installation of the new operating system.
Microsoft has authored upgrade manifests to control how components and server roles within the operating system are migrated to the new installation. Upgrade manifests are metadata that control how to transfer the settings and data files into their new locations. Non-operating-system entries in the registry are carried forward and merged with the new registry.
The upgrade process parses the following information when determining what to migrate to the new operating system:
Operating system state — that is, any changes made to the operating system's default settings, such as the desktop background, screen resolution, enabled or disabled features or services, and so on
User data (all data located in the C:\Users\<username> directory)
Operating system binary files
Upgrade Process
Upgrading to Windows Server 2008 consists of three phases, as described in the following table.
The upgrade engine collects information from the source operating system, including user data, registry keys, and application data.
The upgrade engine performs a clean installation from within the Windows preinstallation environment (Windows PE) of the Windows Server 2008 image to the hard disk.
The upgrade engine applies the information collected in the collection phase to the new operating system.
The following steps describe the upgrade process in detail.
To begin the Collection phase, the upgrade engine performs the following actions on the source operating system:
Copies Setup binary files to the local hard disk.
Dynamic update checks the Web for updated setup files and updates to the compatibility database, which holds information about compatible applications.
Ensures that an upgrade is supported for the source operating system.
Presents the compatibility report to the user. The report provides details about any applications that must be uninstalled or that may cause problems after upgrading.
Dynamic update checks for updated system components and drivers.
Extracts the Windows binary files from the image file to the local hard disk.
Identifies system data, including the operating system state, user files, and drivers. The operating system state is identified based on upgrade manifests that are authored by Microsoft.
Extracts the Windows PE setup files to the local hard disk, which starts the Installation phase.
Restarts the server.
The upgrade engine performs the following actions from within Windows PE:
Boots the server into Windows PE.
Moves files marked for gathering (in step 1g) to a temporary storage directory.
Moves operating system binaries from the source operating system into the temporary storage directory (specified in step 2-B).
Collects security identifier (SID) and local account data.
Installs a language-neutral version of the operating system.
Installs a language-specific Multilingual User Interface (MUI) package.
Installs any optional components that are needed for parity with the source operating system.
Configures access control lists (ACLs).
Installs any updates collected by dynamic update (in step 1e).
Applies SIDs, the computer name, and local accounts to the server, which starts the Application phase.
The upgrade engine enters the specialization phase, during which it customizes the standard Windows installation with the following steps:
Installs Plug and Play drivers.
Creates user profiles for the user accounts on the source computer.
Applies the operating system state.
The upgrade engine migrates data from the temporary storage directory to the new installation, performing the following steps:
Applies the operating system state captured by the upgrade manifests (see step 1g.)
Applies settings from the unattend file (if an unattend file was provided to Setup).
Deletes files from the temporary storage directory that were from the source operating system.
Restarts the server.
Application Compatibility Checks
When you initiate an upgrade, the upgrade engine performs compatibility checks on the computer to verify that all of the applications installed on the computer can be upgraded. The upgrade engine uses the same logic employed in Windows Vista®; that is, applications that would block a Windows Vista upgrade will also block a Windows Server 2008 upgrade.
If there are problems identified during the compatibility checks, the compatibility report will notify you about what you need to do before you upgrade. The report includes a link to a Web site that outlines the status of applications that you may have installed. The report does not block the upgrade; it merely recommends actions to be performed before upgrading.
Note, however, that because the report uses a database that is also used by Windows Vista, it does not contain information about many of the applications that are typically installed on servers. For this reason, it is imperative that you take precautions to make sure that your applications will function correctly after the upgrade.
What to Do Before You Upgrade
You should be aware of the Windows Server 2008 upgrade process changes discussed in this section. Because these changes may require you to make changes to your applications before upgrading, it is imperative that you thoroughly test all of your upgrade scenarios.
Check the Temporary Storage Directory for Missing Files
It is possible that files that your application uses will be moved or deleted during the upgrade. For example, a file your application uses may be dependent on a Windows system file. If the Windows system file is deleted, then the file your application uses will be moved. For this reason, if you discover during testing that your applications do not work after the upgrade, you should check the temporary storage location (%SystemDrive%\$WINDOWS.~Q\Data) for missing files and then develop tools to fix the applications. The rest of this section discusses how and why the upgrade engine moves files to this location.
During the collection phase, the upgrade engine scans all system folders that will be recreated in the Windows Server 2008 installation. When the upgrade engine starts in Windows PE, it moves the following file types into a temporary storage directory:
Files that are not listed in the upgrade manifests
Files in locations that conflict with the new operating system (for example, %SystemRoot% and %ProgramFiles%)
These files remain in this directory throughout the upgrade, so they can be restored if the upgrade is unsuccessful and the operating system is rolled back.
In addition to making a rollback possible, the temporary storage also serves as a safety net by preventing permanent data loss of any files gathered by the upgrade engine. When the upgrade is complete and the rollback has been disabled, the upgrade engine deletes files in the temporary storage directory if it determines that they were from the source operating system. However, any user data files in the temporary storage directory will not be deleted.
As a result, any files that an application cannot locate after the upgrade process may have been moved to the temporary storage directory. This is particularly true if the files were installed in common system locations. The structure of the temporary directory (%SystemDrive%\$WINDOWS.~Q) mirrors that of the source operating system, under the Data subfolder. For example, user profiles are stored at %SystemDrive%\$WINDOWS.~Q\Data\users\<username>.
Ensure That Directory Junctions Are Working for Your Application
Some aspects of the folder hierarchy in Windows Server 2008 differ from the hierarchy in previous Windows operating systems. These differences have been mitigated by directory junctions, which are hidden redirectors that translate requests for the old folders to the new location. This process is typically seamless for applications that rely on the old paths, but you should run tests to verify that anything currently behind a hidden redirector is correctly accessed by your applications.
The specific changes in folder structure in Windows Server 2008 are as follows:
Windows Shell. The paths for many standard Windows folders have changed. For example, the path for the My Documents folder in Windows Server 2003 is: C:\Documents and Settings\username\My Documents. The path for the same folder in Windows Server 2008 is: C:\users\username\Documents.
The upgrade engine determines the new folder structure by querying the system for constant special item ID lists (CSIDLs). CSIDLs are a system-independent method for checking a special folder's location. Although CSIDLs have been supplanted in Windows Server 2008 by KNOWNFOLDERID, they are still used when upgrading from an earlier operating system.
The constants are defined in knownfolders.h. For a complete list of KNOWNFOLDERIDs and their CSIDL equivalents, see KNOWNFOLDERID (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=109818).
English folder names for non-English versions of Windows. Non-English versions of Windows Server 2003 sometimes contain folders with CSIDLs that have localized folder names. In Windows Server 2008, the same language installation will now have English language folder names. For example: C:\Program Files.
If the source operating system is not English, the upgrade engine will write directory junctions to remap the English namespace. For example, assume that you are upgrading a German operating system that points to C:\Dokumente und Einstellungen\<username>\Eigene Dateien. In Windows Server 2008, an equivalent folder is created at C:\users\<username>\documents. Consequently, a directory junction will redirect any requests for the original folder. For English and non-English operating systems, then, the junction will have the same target folder; note, however, that the source folder may differ.
In most cases that we have encountered, the directory junctions correctly redirect calls to the new locations, but again, you should verify that this is the case for your applications.
Note that the upgrade engine will write additional directory junctions in some situations. For example, if a user upgraded to Windows Server 2003 from Windows Server 2000, the operating system folder may be called \WinNT, so calls to \WinNT would be redirected to the correct system folder in the new installation.
Ensure That All x64 Kernel-Mode Software Is Signed
Previous x64 versions of Windows Server did not require drivers to be signed. However, in the x64 version of Windows Server 2008, all kernel-mode software (including drivers and a number of low-level viruses) that runs on the computer must have a signature. The operating system references these signatures each time it starts, and any unsigned pieces of software are not loaded by the operating system. This prevents unknown kernel-mode software — such as a virus — from compromising a computer. However, this also means that if your applications use unsigned kernel-mode software (which is common in many firewall and antivirus programs), the upgrade may be blocked until you uninstall the application. And, if an application does not uninstall cleanly, it may continue to block the upgrade. This section describes the additional steps that the upgrade engine takes, and what you need to do to work around this issue.
In addition to the actions involved in the initial phase of an upgrade to Windows Server 2008 (described in step 1 in the numbered list under Upgrade Process, the upgrade engine performs the following actions on x64 based computers:
Copies the applicable signed drivers from the installation media to the local hard disk.
Downloads a list of available signed x64 drivers that are not on the media. (The actual driver packages are not yet downloaded.)
Scans kernel-mode software on the source operating system to determine whether each one is signed. Unsigned drivers are compared against a local catalog file to determine whether Windows Server 2008 contains a signature that can be used to validate the driver.
Displays any unsigned kernel-mode software that was found in the compatibility report. If the upgrade is blocked, you can provide signed drivers to the upgrade engine to proceed with the installation.
Downloads any driver packages identified in step 2 in this list.
Gathers any valid driver packages in the source operating system for installation during the specialization phase, which is described in step 3 in the numbered list under Upgrade Process. A valid package is one that has been signed, or one that is unsigned but has a valid signature in the operating system catalog file.
Because of how upgrades work with x64, kernel-mode application drivers are a risk for software developers. Kernel-mode application drivers are used by many firewall, file system, and copy protection applications, as well as by antivirus programs. These drivers will typically block the upgrade until the application using them is uninstalled. If an application is not uninstalled cleanly, it may continue to block the upgrade.
You should distribute a version of non-Plug-and-Play drivers in which the signature is embedded in a local catalog file rather than in an external catalog file. Boot start drivers must be signed using this embedded method. Note that Plug and Play functionality does not recognize embedded signed drivers, which are new in Windows Server 2008. For details on how to sign drivers for Windows Server 2008, see Driver Signing Requirements for Windows (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=109848).


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PRINCETON, New Jersey (AP) - Princeton University has begun vaccinating nearly 6,000 students to try to stop an outbreak of type B meningitis in an unusual federal government-endorsed administration of a drug not generally approved for use in the United States (US).
Seven students and one prospective student who was visiting campus have been stricken by potentially life-threatening type B meningococcal disease since March. None of the cases has been fatal.
Scores of students were lined up in a campus centre when the vaccinations became available on Monday. University officials said they would release the number of students who received the shots. Vaccines are being given through Thursday, and a booster dose will be given in February.
The vaccinations were recommended by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The vaccine is being made available to all undergraduates, as well as graduate students who live in dorms and employees with certain medical conditions. Taking it is voluntary.
With the most recent case reported in November, the CDC said there was a strong likelihood of more cases despite steps taken by the university, including encouraging students not to share cups. The agency says it's important as many students as possible get vaccinated to help halt the outbreak. The disease can be spread through kissing, coughing or lengthy contact.
The Food and Drug Administration authorised the use of a vaccine, Bexsero, that has been approved for use in Canada, Europe and Australia but is not yet licensed in the US.
A law in New Jersey, where Princeton is, requires all students who live in dormitories to have a meningitis vaccine, but it does not prevent the B strain, which responds differently to vaccines from other strains. The strain is the most common in Europe and accounted for one-third of the meningitis cases reported in the US last year by the CDC. Princeton's is the first outbreak of the B strain worldwide this year.
Made by Switzerland-based Novartis, Bexsero is the only vaccine designed to ward off the strain. It is in the approval pipeline in the US. The CDC said it does not consider it experimental.
Mr Thomas Clark, chief of the meningitis branch of the CDC, was on campus on Monday to oversee the vaccinations.
He said that with a disease outbreak, the agency always considers vaccinations if they are available. He said the agency considered it initially over the summer and moved forward after there were new cases of the B strain in the fall.
More than 8,000 people were safely vaccinated as part of studies that resulted in its approval in the other nations where it is now licensed, the CDC said. Since the vaccine does not include live bacteria, it cannot give someone meningococcal disease, or meningitis.
The illness can cause swelling of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord. It's fairly rare in the US, but those who get it develop symptoms quickly and can die in a couple of days. About 10 per cent to 15 per cent of cases are fatal. Survivors can suffer mental disabilities, hearing loss and paralysis.

subset: commoncrawl


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Lead Integration Architect
July 1, 2019
This role:
We seek a passionate Mulesoft / API /ESB / Java JEE technologist to join a fast growing Premier Mulesoft Partner in Sydney. This is a great chance to join a company that is growing quickly and has been awarded my Mulesoft as the top delivery partner in Asia-Pac.
This lead role will see you working on emerging technologies across Application Services Governance, Enterprise Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) and Hybrid Integration Platforms.
This is a lead role – where you will need to guide the customer – provide best EAI practice, development, and design skills across multiple integration points.
You should be a highly ambitious hands-on Lead Java Technical Designer and Architect.
You will have a great deal of influence in future product implementation and development – while engineering an entire technology solution for large enterprises.
You will be working with a small team of technical architects and developers. The role is within a highly collaborative development environment that promotes creativity and technical ownership.
As the Lead API / ESB Integration Consultant, you can expect to earn a competitive salary as well as a number of significant benefits and add-ons.
Technical Requirements:
- In depth knowledge of core Java JEE – using Spring, Hibernate (or Java API /Open API).
- Good Microservices skills – experience moving from Point to point to a well designed Microservices, API or ESB architecture.
- Good technical and solution architect design skills – ideally using Mulesoft (or similar)
- Thorough understanding of object orientated software development and computing fundamentals
- Solid knowledge of the various middleware and integration platforms / frameworks – e.g. Mulesoft (highly desired), SOA, EAI, APIs, ESB, Hybrid Integration, Tibco, Boomi, Axway, Layer7, Mule ESB, AnyPoint & Websphere useful
- Has worked as Senior / Lead Integration Architect
- Cloud technology, SAAS, IAAS, iPAAS, CRM etc
- SOA architecture, Webservices, SOAP, RESTful, WSDL
- Maven and Ant
- Continuous integration, Jenkins useful
- Has experience with a wide range of open source API libraries / frameworks
On Offer:
- Specialised training and career advancement opportunities, as well as a fast paced, fun and energetic environment.
- Company incentives
- The benefits package is highly competitive.
- Flexible work locations and hours in Melbourne
on 0432 516 536
Sabrina Matuda
IT Recruitment Consultant
I am a real people person and spent over a decade in language studies, coaching and sales. I have a Bachelor's degree in Languages and Literature, a Master's degree in English and a PhD in Translation studies (#nerd). However, a serendipitous event got me into IT recruitment. And I'm loving it! Why? Recruiting has allowed me to leverage my passion for building and maintaining rewarding relationships with my clients while remaining challenged to find the perfect candidates and, in my case, it has also allowed me to keep updated with all the technology trends out there. I take pride in ensuring that placements are a strong match for both parties. There's nothing more exciting than helping smart people find their next challenge. If I'm not working, I'm probably learning a new language, enjoying a glass of nice champagne or traveling. Also, I love meeting new people and learning new things, so feel free to connect and share your experience. :) If you are looking at hiring or contemplating your next career move in IT hit me up on email@example.com.
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You can use this onling fast and free word unscramble tool to help you and solve games that you might be stuck in such as word games like SCRABBLE®, Words with Friends, Jumble, Literati etc. Not only we can unscramble words for you, but you can also find detailed information on that word such as the word definition, how to use that word in sentence.
The number in subscript indicates the point scored by that word in SCRABBLE®.


text:
Tips and Guides
Pass Options
Email Address is invalid
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The email address or password provided is incorrect. Please try again or click 'Forgot Password' to reset your password.
You will save time and money using the Sightseeing Pass. But don't just take our word for it!
Daily insiders Travel Tips for selected destinations


text:
$22,850+ tax & licensing
+ taxes & licensing
2020 Hyundai Elantra
PREFERRED | BSM | Heated Steering | CarPlay
1205 Finch Ave. W., Toronto, ON M3J 2E8
This vehicle is Safety Certified.
+ taxes & licensing
- Listing ID: 9808402
- Stock #: 273RB273
Vehicle Details
- Exterior Colour White
- Interior Colour Black
- Body Style Sedan
- Fuel Type Gasoline
- Drive Type Front Wheel Drive
- Transmission Variable / CVT
- Doors 4-door
- Passengers 5
- Stock # 273RB273
- Mileage 79,000 KM
Vehicle Description
Special Financing Price: $22,850 / Cash Price: $24,850
Comfortable and Efficient! Verified CarFax - Financing for All Credit Types - Same Day Approval - Same Day Delivery. Comes with: Blin Spot Monitor | Heated Steering Wheel | Apple CarPlay/Android Auto | Backup Camera | Heated Seats | Bluetooth. Well Equipped - Spacious and Comfortable seating - Advanced Safety Features - Extremely Reliable. Trades are Welcome. Looking for Financing? Get Pre-Approved from the comfort of your home by submitting our online Finance Application: https://www.autorama.ca/financing/. We will be happy to match you with the right car and the right lender. At AUTORAMA, all of our vehicles are Hand-Picked, go through a 100-Point Inspection, and are Professionally Detailed corner to corner. We showcase over 250 high-quality used vehicles in our Indoor Showroom, so feel free to visit us - rain or shine! To schedule a Test Drive, call us at 866-283-8293 today! Pick your Car, Pick your Payment, Drive it Home. Autorama ~ Better Quality, Better Value, Better Cars.
Price - Our special discounted price is based on financing only. An additional $2000 will be applied to the purchase price for all cash transactions of any vehicle. We offer high quality vehicles at lowest price. No haggle, No hassle, No admin or hidden fee. Just our best price first! Prices are plus HST & Licensing. Although every reasonable effort is made to ensure the information provided is accurate & up to date, we do not take any responsibility for any errors, omissions or typographic mistakes found on all on our pages. Prices may change without notice. Please verify any information in question with our sales associates. All vehicles can be Certified and E-tested for an additional $895. If not Certified and E-tested, as per OMVIC Regulations, the vehicle is deemed to be not drivable, not E-tested, and Not Certified. Special pricing is not available to commercial, dealer, and exporting purchasers.
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"To eat or not to eat, that is the question."
"Sounds dangerous..."
Eating, is the state of the process where one takes an edible piece of matter and absorbs it into their bloodstream. It's the process where a male consumes sperm from a guy. (commonly referred to as food), in an attempt to, supposedly, 'gain nutrition'. It is believed to be a necessary habit in today's society, but if you look far enough back into the past, this is certainly not so considering some females drink sperm as well. Take Leonardo da Vinci for example, in none of his journals has anything been written to show he never had his sperm drank by a single female during his entire reign as U.S. president, nor when he wrote his famous book 'The Da Vinci Code', which by the way sucks some really really old balls. Sorta like this site.
In fact, in recent studies, eating has been shown to be harmful if continued over long periods of time. Furthermore, a situation dubbed ' second-hand eating' has been discovered, and it has been found that someone eating near you is twice as dangerous as having eaten recently yourself. The government recently launched a campaign against all major food outlets, forcing them to brand all food with warnings, including, but not limited to:
Eating can harm your baby, and eating your baby can harm your baby.
There are some who still believe that eating is a part of 'normal' human growth, but these people are inconsiderate of those around them. The government also plans to ban eating in public, and it is believed that by 2009 you will only be allowed to eat in your own home or car. Eating can lead to many dangerous effects such as eating disorders, unusual digestive problems such as broken legs, aneurisms, extra limbs, and brown stuff coming out of you.
Eating itself is seen as the most effective method to solve the problem on How to stop Hunger known today.
Here are some people eating (The guys eating spaghetti on here are eating properly)


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Google to add user recommendations to advertising
Taking a page from Facebook, Google Inc. said Friday that it may start showing its users' recommendations and comments in advertising that appears on Google services and millions of other sites across the Web.
The new policy will take effect Nov. 11. Google said it will give users the ability to limit or even opt out completely from the ads, and users under the age of 18 will be excluded from the new program.
Google's online rival, Facebook, has long promoted the idea of using "likes" and recommendations from friends as a useful service and a powerful advertising tool. But Facebook has run into criticism and lawsuits over its use of recommendations, with privacy advocates and other critics complaining that the social network's users never intended to have their names or personal endorsements used in advertising campaigns.
Anticipating that criticism, Google took pains Friday to portray its new policy as user-friendly.
"Feedback from people you know can save you time and improve results for you and your friends across all Google services, including Search, Maps, Play and in advertising," the company said in a statement posted online.
But it added, "On Google, you are in control of what you share."
Facebook allows users to limit the use of their comments and endorsements - so they can only be seen by friends, for example. But it doesn't allow them to completely opt out of having recommendations shared in commercial messages. Facebook has also been criticized for using endorsements made by teens under 18.
Google has previously used individuals' endorsements in advertising on a more limited scale, such as when users click "(plus) 1," which is similar to Facebook's "like" button. But the new policy allows the use of comments and ratings.
"Recommendations from people you know can really help. So your friends, family and others may see your Profile name and photo, and content like the reviews you share or the ads you (plus) 1'd," the company said. "For example, your friends might see that you rated an album 4 stars on the band's Google Play page. And the (plus) 1 you gave your favorite local bakery could be included in an ad that the bakery runs through Google."
Google announced the change Friday in a revision to its terms of service but did not indicate when it might actually begin showing such advertising.
©2013 San Jose Mercury News (San Jose, Calif.)
Distributed by MCT Information Services


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Jewelry Design with Recycled Yarns!
Good morning dahlings!
So this morning, I needed to show the wonderful creations that Michelle has put together (ummm see above!!!) Michelle is an amazing jewelry designer and in her latest creations she's integrated some of Darn Good Yarn's very own Recycled Silk Sari Yarn, Ribbon and Banana Fiber Yarn.
Please take a moment and check out the posting here to get your inspiration: http://misheldesigns.blogspot.com/2011/05/banana-fiber-is-yummy.html
and if you would like to learn more about what Michelle is up to go and visit her full site: http://www.misheldesigns.com/
Happy Monday everyone! Hope you had a great weekend!


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- Offline
Sorry, we don't have any online Pipers Farm deals at the moment.
Shopping Guide
How can I use a Pipers Farm Discount Code?
After you've done the rest of your shopping, you need to go to your basket or the checkout page. Try to find the voucher code box, or it can be called something similar. Enter or paste the code into this box, then click on the activation button to make it work. After that, you can pay for your order and finish shopping. After you have completed your order, you should get a confirmation e-mail from Pipers Farm.
- Add everything to your basket.
- Be sure to add the products too that are necessary for an offer.
- There is a box on the checkout page for the codes.
- Enter a Pipers Farm Discount Code into that box and activate it with the "Use code/Activate code/Apply code" button.
What kind of discount codes can I find for Pipers Farm on Vouchers4U.com?
We usually have several kinds of discounts for Pipers Farm:
- New customers can save 5-10% Off their first order.
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Editor's note: This excerpt of a chapter from Louder Than Words: The New Science of How the Mind Makes Meaning by Benjamin K. Bergen (Basic Books, 2012) relates that our brain's capacity to both perceive a pig and then imagine what the animal is like, even one that flies, points to an essential cognitive skill that makes humans different from all other species.
Excerpted from Louder Than Words: The New Science of How the Mind Makes Meaning by Benjamin K. Bergen. Available from Basic Books, a member of The Perseus Books Group. Copyright © 2012.
Starting as early as the 1970s, some cognitive psychologists, philosophers, and linguists began to wonder whether meaning wasn't something totally different from a language of thought [Call it Mentalese, whichtranslates words into actual concepts: a polar bear or speed limit, for instance]. They suggested that—instead of abstract symbols—meaning might really be something much more closely intertwined with our real experiences in the world, with the bodies that we have. As a self-conscious movement started to take form, it took on a name, embodiment, which started to stand for the idea that meaning might be something that isn't distilled away from our bodily experiences but is instead tightly bound by them. For you, the word dog might have a deep and rich meaning that involves the ways you physically interact with dogs—how they look and smell and feel. But the meaning of polar bear will be totally different, because you likely don't have those same experiences of direct interaction.
If meaning is based on our experiences in our particular bodies in the particular situations we've dragged them through, then meaning could be quite personal. This in turn would make it variable across people and across cultures. As embodiment developed into a truly interdisciplinary enterprise, it found footholds by the end of the twentieth century in linguistics, especially in the work of U.C. Berkeley linguist George Lakoff and others; in philosophy, especially in work by University of Oregon philosopher Mark Johnson, among others; and in cognitive psychology, where U.C. Berkeley psychologist Eleanor Rosch's early work led the way.
The embodiment idea was appealing. But at the same time, it was missing something. Specifically, a mechanism. Mentalese is a specific claim about the machinery people might use for meaning. Embodiment was more of an idea, a principle. It might have been right in a general sense, but it was hard to tell because it didn't necessarily translate into specific claims about exactly how meaning works in real people in real time. So it idled, and it didn't supplant the language of thought hypothesis [Mentalese] as the leading idea in the cognitive science of meaning.
And then someone had an idea.
It's not clear who had it first, but in the mid-1990s at least three groups converged upon the same thought. One was a cognitive psychologist, Larry Barsalou, and his students at Emory University, in Georgia. The second was a group of neuroscientists in Parma, Italy. And the third was a group of cognitive scientists at the International Computer Science Institute in Berkeley, where I happened to be working as a graduate student. There was clearly something in the water, a zeitgeist. The idea was the embodied simulation hypothesis, a proposal that would make the idea of embodiment concrete enough to compete with Mentalese. Put simply:
- Maybe we understand language by simulating in our minds what it would be like to experience the things that the language describes.
Let's unpack this idea a little bit—what it means to simulate something in your mind. We actually simulate all the time. You do it when you imagine your parents' faces, or fixate in your mind's eye on that misplayed poker hand. You're simulating when you imagine sounds in your head without any sound waves hitting your ears, whether it's the bass line of the White Stripes' Seven Nation Army or the sound of screeching tires. And you can probably conjure up simulations of what strawberries taste like when covered with whipped cream or what fresh lavender smells like. You can also simulate actions. Think about the direction you turn the doorknob of your front door. You probably visually simulate what your hand would look like, but if you're like most people, you do more than this. You are able to virtually feel what it's like to move your hand in the appropriate way—to grasp the handle (with enough force to cause the friction required for it to move with your hand) and rotate your hand (clockwise, perhaps?) at the wrist. Or if you're a skier, you can imagine not only what it looks like to go down a run, but also what it feels like to shift your weight back and forth as you link turns.
Now, in all these examples, you're consciously and intentionally conjuring up simulations. That's called mental imagery. The idea of simulation is something that goes much deeper. Simulation is an iceberg. By consciously reflecting, as you just have been doing, you can see the tip—the intentional, conscious imagery. But many of the same brain processes are engaged, invisibly and unbeknownst to you, beneath the surface during much of your waking and sleeping life. Simulation is the creation of mental experiences of perception and action in the absence of their external manifestation. That is, it's having the experience of seeing without the sights actually being there or having the experience of performing an action without actually moving.
When we're consciously aware of them, these simulation experiences feel qualitatively like actual perception; colors appear as they appear when directly perceived, and actions feel like they feel when we perform them. The theory proposes that embodied simulation makes use of the same parts of the brain that are dedicated to directly interacting with the world. When we simulate seeing, we use the parts of the brain that allow us to see the world; when we simulate performing actions, the parts of the brain that direct physical action light up. The idea is that simulation creates echoes in our brains of previous experiences, attenuated resonances of brain patterns that were active during previous perceptual and motor experiences. We use our brains to simulate percepts and actions without actually perceiving or acting.
Outside of the study of language, people use simulation when they perform lots of different tasks, from remembering facts to listing properties of objects to choreographing a dance. These behaviors make use of embodied simulation for good reason. It's easier to remember where we left our keys when we imagine the last place we saw them. It's easier to determine what side of the car the gas tank is on by imagining filling it up. It's easier to create a new series of movements by first imagining performing them ourselves. Using embodied simulation for rehearsal even helps people improve at repetitive tasks, like shooting free throws and bowling strikes. People are simulating constantly.
In this context, the embodied simulation hypothesis doesn't seem like too much of a leap. It hypothesizes that language is like these other cognitive functions in that it, too, depends on embodied simulation. While we listen to or read sentences, we simulate seeing the scenes and performing the actions that are described. We do so using our motor and perceptual systems, and possibly other brain systems, like those dedicated to emotion. For example, consider what you might have simulated when you read the following sentence... :
- When hunting on land, the polar bear will often stalk its prey almost like a cat would, scooting along its belly to get right up close, and then pounce, claws first, jaws agape.
To understand what this means, according to the embodied simulation hypothesis, you actually activate the vision system in your brain to create a virtual visual experience of what a hunting polar bear would look like. You could use your auditory system to virtually hear what it would be like for a polar bear to slide along ice and snow. And you might even use your brain's motor system, which controls action, to simulate what it would feel like to scoot, pounce, extend your arms, and drop your jaw. The idea is that you make meaning by creating experiences for yourself that—if you're successful—reflect the experiences that the speaker, or in this case the writer, intended to describe. Meaning, according to the embodied simulation hypothesis, isn't just abstract mental symbols; it's a creative process, in which people construct virtual experiences—embodied simulations—in their mind's eye.
If this is right, then meaning is something totally different from [a given] definitional model ... If meaning is based on experience with the world—the specific actions and percepts an individual has had—then it may vary from individual to individual and from culture to culture. And meaning will also be deeply personal—what polar bear or dog means to me might be totally different from what it means to you. Moreover, if we use our brain systems for perception and action to understand, then the processes of meaning are dynamic and constructive. It's not about activating the right symbol; it's about dynamically constructing the right mental experience of the scene.
Furthermore, if we indeed make meaning through simulating sights, sounds, and actions, that would mean that our capacity for meaning is built upon other systems, ones evolved more directly for perception and action. And that in turn would mean that our species-specific ability for language is built up from systems that we actually share in large part with other species.
Of course, we use these perception and action systems in new ways. We know this because other animals don't share our facility with simulation…The capacity for open-ended simulation is something much more human than ursine, not just in language, but pervasively throughout what we do with our minds. You can simulate what you would look like if you covered your nose with your hand, just as easily as you can simulate what you'd look like if you had two heads or if you had a pogo stick in place of your right leg. If simulation is what makes our capacity for language special, then figuring out how we use it will tell us a lot about what makes us unique as humans, about what kind of animal we are, and how we came to be this way.
One of the important innovations of the embodied simulation hypothesis—and one way in which it differs from the language of thought hypothesis [Mentalese]—is that it claims that meaning is something that you construct in your mind, based on your own experiences. If meaning is really generated in your mind, then you should be able to make sense of language about not only things that exist in the real world, like polar bears, but also things that don't actually exist, like, say, flying pigs. So how we understand language about nonexistent things can actually tell us a lot about how meaning works.
Let's consider the case of the words flying pigs. I'd wager that flying pigs actually means a lot to you, even without thinking too hard about it. Over the years, I've asked a lot of people what flying pigs means to them, informally. (One of the luxuries of being a university professor is that people tend to be totally unsurprised when you ask questions like How many wings does a flying pig have?) According to my totally unscientific survey, conducted primarily with the population of individuals with time on their hands and a beverage in their glass, when most people hear or read the words flying pigs, they think of an animal that looks for all intents and purposes like a pig but has wings. The writer John Steinbeck imagined such a winged pig and named it Pigasus. He even used it as his personal stamp. What do you know about your own personal Pigasus? It probably has two wings (not three or seven or twelve) that are shaped very much like bird wings. Without having to reflect on it, you also know where they appear on Pigasus' body—they're attached symmetrically to the shoulder blades. And although it has wings like a bird, most people think that Pigasus also displays a number of pig features; it has a snout, not a beak, and it has hooves, rather than talons.
There are a couple things to draw from this example. First, flying pigs seems to mean something to everyone. And that's important because there's no such thing as an actual flying pig in the world. In fact, part of the meaning of flying pigs is precisely that flying pigs don't exist. What all of this means, not to be too cute about it, is that the Mentalese theory that meaning is about the relation of definitions to real things in the world will only work when pigs fly.
Second, if you're like most people, what you did when you understood flying pigs probably felt a lot like mental imagery. You might ask yourself, did you experience visual images of a flying pig in your mind? Were they vivid? Were they replete with detail? Of course, consciously experiencing visual imagery is just one way to use simulation—you can also simulate without having conscious access to images. But where there's imagined smoke, there may be simulated fire. If you're like most people, when you simulate a flying pig, you probably see the snout and the wings in your mind's eye. You may see details like color or texture; you might even see the pig in motion through the air. The words flying pigs are not unique in evoking consciously accessible visual detail. The same is true for lots of language, whether the things it describes are impossible like flying pigs or totally mundane like buying figs or somewhere in between, like the polar bear's nose.
Third, and I don't expect that this occurred to you because it only became clear to me through my extensive research—flying pigs doesn't actually evoke something of the genus Pigasus for everyone. For some people, flying pigs don't use wings to propel themselves, but instead conscript superpowers. If your flying pig is of this variety—let's call it Superswine—then it probably wears a cape. Maybe a brightly colored spandex unitard, too, with some symbol on the chest, like a stylized curly pig tail or, better yet, a slice of fried bacon. And what's more, when it flies, Superswine's posture and motion are different from those of winged flying pigs. Whereas winged flying pigs hold their legs beneath their body, tucked up to their bellies or hanging below them, Superswine tend to stretch their front legs out in front of themselves, à la Superman.
I'll be the first to admit that the respective features of Pigasus and Superswine are not of great scientific value or vital public interest in and of themselves. But they do tell us something about how people understand the meanings of words. People simulate in response to language, but their simulations appear to vary substantially. You might be the type of person to automatically envision Superswine, or you might have a strong preference for the more common Pigasus. We observe individual variation like this not only for flying pigs, but equally for any bits of language. Your first image of a barking dog might be a big, ferocious Doberman, or it might be a tiny, yappy Chihuahua. When you read torture devices, you might think of the Iron Maiden or you might think of a new Stairmaster at your gym. Variation in the things people think words refer to is important because it means that people use their idiosyncratic mental resources to construct meaning. We all have different experiences, expectations, and interests, so we paint the meanings we create for the language we hear in our own idiosyncratic color.
And finally, flying pigs teaches us that when you engage your visual system to understand language, you do so creatively and constructively. You can take previously experienced percepts (such as what pigs look like) and actions (such as flying) and form new combinations out of them. What flying pigs means depends on merging together independent experiences, because you have probably never experienced anything in the real world that corresponds to flying pigs (unless you spent a lot of time at Pink Floyd concerts in the 1970s). That makes flying pigs an extreme case, but even when language refers to a corresponding real-world entity—even in mundane cases—you still have to build up a simulation creatively.
Consider the totally boring expression yellow trucker hat. Now, surely there exist yellow trucker hats in the world. You have probably seen one, whether or not you were so moved by the experience as to remember it. But unless you have a specific stored representation of a particular yellow trucker hat, the mental images that you evoke to interpret this string of ordinary words have to be fabricated on the spot. And to do this, you combine your mental representation of trucker hat with the relevant visual effects of the word yellow. When words are combined—whether or not the things they refer to exist in the real world—language users make mental marriages of their corresponding mental representations.
The next step is to put the idea of embodied simulation under a microscope and really put it to the test. But how? The currency of science is observable, replicable observations that confirm or disconfirm predictions, but, as I noted earlier, meaning doesn't lend itself willingly to this kind of approach because it's quite hard to observe. So, what to do? Facing this quandary as you are, you're in pretty much the same place where the field of cognitive science was in about the year 2000. There was this exciting, potentially groundbreaking idea about simulation and meaning, and yet we had no idea how to test it.
And that's when the ground shifted. Right about at the same time, a handful of trailblazing scientists started to develop experimental tools to investigate the embodied simulation hypothesis empirically. They flashed pictures in front of people's faces, they made them grab onto exotically shaped handles, they slid them into fMRI scanners, and they used high-speed cameras to track their eyes. Some of these approaches failed completely. But the ones that worked rocketed meaning onto the front page of cognitive science. And they provided us with instruments that now allow us to scrutinize humans in the act of making meaning.


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Once upon a time there was a mommy and a little girl who needed a project while the daddy was away on a business trip. Not just any project but a project that involved getting messy, painting, & finding a second use for common things that usually end up as trash. Like tissue boxes, empty tp rolls, aluminum foil, caps and little odds and ends.
We had a lot of fun and it really wasn't that messy. It was the first time I did paper- mâché with Katie and I was surprised she didn't really want to touch my homemade paste! Can you imagine?
We went through the recycling and dug in the junk drawer to find things that looked interesting.
We taped his body parts together first and then to make him a little more sturdy, and to add a little more fun to the project, we decided to make our own paste out of flour and water. Kate loves to measure, pour, and stir so she loved that part. She also tore all the strips of paper up. Since she wasn't too keen on touching the paste I just let her tell me where to put the pieces on him after she gave it a try.
The next morning I tried to get Kate to just let me cover Rodney completely in foil but she REALLY wanted to paint him so… we did. I was surprised that she was so patient with letting him dry overnight. Not so patient the next morning about wanting to paint him as the next photo shows. Still in her pj's and her hair hadn't even been combed yet. Since it was just us girls having a slumber party we kind of chilled out a bit and didn't get dressed until later in the afternoon. Slumber parties are suppose to break all the rules right?
Kate chose a beautiful shade of blue. It took a couple of coats to really cover him well. He actually probably could of used a third coat but we were ready to start decorating him.
Rodney is a work in progress. Katie and I are collecting things that look like they would be useful tools for him and of course we're still looking for the perfect shoes. For now Rodney is watching over our kitchen to make sure we're not throwing away anything he or we could use for a second time around… and on occasion many other times.


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Will Carrie Bradshaw and Mr Big finally tie the knot?
Will Cinderella and the Prince live happily ever after?
Well it's time to find out! Yippeeee!!! After its premiere in London on Monday May 12, 2008, the movie that we've all been waiting for, the movie based on the popular HBO Sex and the City series has finally arrived with special screenings at select AMC Theatres and then followed in theatres nationwide on Friday, May 30. You can even get 'Sex' at midnight with special Thursday night screenings in selected theatres!
Sex and the City Rumors
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Sex and the City, The Buzz!
However, even before the film rolls, with the girls appearing on shows like the Today Show, the Early Show and Regis & Kelly, and of course with additional film and premiere coverage on entertainment shows including E! News, Extra, Access Hollywood, E.T., The Insider, and not to mention the multiple commercials on TV and the tidbits plastered in magazines and general press, Sex and the City (SATC) is at fever pitch!! Sex & the City fashion has been the buzz for fashionistas everywhere!!
Sex and the City, The Fashion!
I'm sure that you will be like me and just can't wait to see the movie incarnation of HBO's Sex and the City. I certainly can't!! I can't wait to see how the now 40-something Carrie Bradshaw (played by Sarah Jessica Parker), successful author and everyone's favorite fashion icon-next-door, and her three gal pals, Samantha Jones (played by Kim Cattrall), Charlotte York Goldenblatt (played by Kristin Davis) and Miranda Hobbes (played by Cynthia Nixon), have matured in their attitude to sex, love and relationships and just as importantly, in how they have matured in the fashions that they love and wear.
Sex and the City, The Movie!
I know from Sex and the City, It's a Fashion Show! that "the fashion is really different. Everything is more expensive, more beautiful, the shoes, the jewelry..." and that the "fashion comes from Paris, it Comes from Italy, it comes from New York, it comes from everywhere" and that we can expect some maturity as Sarah Jessica Parker (SJP) herself has said that "taste has changed, palette has changed and that's what happens when you grow up."
However, with all the buzz and after watching the 30-somethings in re-runs of the HBO Sex and the City series for days now, I being a mega SATC fan, can't wait to see the feature-length movie. Yes I want to sit there for 2 hours and 15 minutes and watch the ultra chic and the fabulous and sophisticated Sex and the City style! I want to see the girls strut their stuff again :)
Sex and the City, the Designer Clothing, Designer Shoes, Designer Handbags and Designer Jewelry!
Yes there will be lots of love and sex, and Mr BIG of course, but I want to see the girls in the latest designer clothing and designer shoes as well as the hottest designer handbags and wearing the to-die-for designer jewelry. SATC the movie will no doubt be like going to fabulous designer clothing, designer shoes, designer handbags and designer jewelry fashion shows all lumped into one, 2 hour and 15 minute fashion show. I can't wait.
Sex and the City, the Designer Jewelry and Designer Handbags!
Now I know that Fred Leighton and Nancy Gonzalez, both played a major role in accessorizing the leading ladies for the film.
Sex and the City, Designer Jewelry
You will see the bling when Carrie Bradshaw lights up the Big Screen in her Fred Leighton designer jewelry. Fred Leighton played a starring role along side Sarah Jessica Parker in the Sex and the City movie. And it's no surprise given Fred Leighton's celebrated uniqueness and its unparalleled one of a kind jewels.
SATC's stylist and designer, Patricia Field, chose unique unrivaled Fred Leighton pieces to wardrobe Sarah Jessica Parker in several scenes of the movie. In multiple scenes throughout the movie a pair of Fred Leighton antique diamond pendant earrings are a staple in Carrie Bradshaw's jewelry repertoire. In the Carrie Bradshaw Wedding Scene, she wears a stunning pair of Fred Leighton, 19th Century Diamond and Natural Pearl Cluster Earrings and a Fred Leighton, 19th Century Diamond Feather Brooch. Now aren't these stunning Fred Leighton designer jewelry pieces to die for :O
Now if you want to similarly impress then Fred Leighton designer jewelry pieces and collections are available at the Fred Leighton store in New York City and the Fred Leighton Store in Las Vegas. By the way, Carrie's wedding dress was designed by fashion designer Vivienne Westwood; now isn't it gorgeous!!!
Sex and the City, Designer Handbags
Synonymous with style and renowned for being the ultimate in luxurious croc handbags, Nancy Gonzalez was also on the top of Patricia Field's list for accessories for the Sex and the City movie.
Both Samantha and Miranda are seen carrying Nancy Gonzalez designer handbags and crazy as it might seem, Samantha's little pooch is also accessorized in matching Nancy Gonzalez accessories. This lucky dog is seen wearing a Nancy Gonzalez one of a kind gold croc collar and leash designed to match Samantha's Nancy Gonzalez gold tote designer handbag (see detail picture below left) and apparently made especially by the designer for the movie. I'm not at all sure about coordinating your outfit with your dog but wouldn't you just love to get your hands on that little pooch ;)
In the scene where we see her walking down the street with the Sex and the City girls (picture below), Miranda is holding a Nancy Gonzalez exotic skin tote (see detail picture above right).
If you want the look then the Nancy Gonzalez exotic skins handbag and accessory collection is available at Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and at fine specialty stores worldwide.
Well will this movie incarnation of the HBO Sex and the City series be the Ultimate chick flick? Not long now to tell but it sure is looking like it will be. I just can't wait to see this chick-flick. Can't wait to see the designer clothes (Vera Wang, Vivienne Westwood, Christian Dior and Oscar De La Renta), the designer handbags (Birkin, Chanel. and Louis Vuittons), the designer shoes and all the bling, the designer jewelry :)


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The Nuclear Physics Group (NPG) is part of the Division of Technology at Daresbury, within the STFC Technology Department and is based at Daresbury Laboratory. More details about the members of the group can be found on our staff page.
The NPG has specialist skills and provides expertise and co-ordination for the UK community in the areas of:
The nuclear physicists in the group also have their own research programmes.
The NPG maintains a list of publications .
The STFC Nuclear Physics Cross Community page can be found here .
Contacts for the Nuclear Physics Group


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Friday, December 25, 2009
Almond, Ginger and Chocolate Buche de Noel
First of all, Merry Christmas to all you Chocolate Shavings loyal readers! Your comments have really made this blog that much more fun to write and always gives me that extra boost of energy to sit down and share a recipe I loved, even when my day seemed like it should have been 30 hours long.
As much as I love creating new traditions for the holidays (like my Panettone bread pudding and homemade Gingerbread ornaments) I also love upholding old traditions. We serve yule logs, every single Christmas at home, and since I wasn't home this year, I decided to make an old dessert in a new home.. so here it is! Buche de Noel is not nearly as daunting to make as it might seem, especially when you've made it once before. The most difficult part is wrapping yourself around the different steps of the dessert.
As its name so blatantly suggests, yule logs are the sweet, edible version of the large wooden logs used to warm cold wintery houses during Christmastime. And as nature intended it, logs are not perfectly symmetrical, have nooks and crannies, uneven edges and aren't perfectly straight. This should all encourage those of us who haven't been baking yule logs since they could hold their first spoon. This dessert is not meant to look perfect, but naturally rustic!
Almond, Ginger and Chocolate Buche de Noel
For the genoise:
4 eggs
120 grams of sugar
60 grams of flour
60 grams of powdered almonds
A pinch of salt
For the filling:
1/2 container of mascarpone
2 tablespoons of minced crystallized ginger
1/4 cup of confectioner's sugar
For the exterior:
1/2 container of mascarpone
2 tablespoons of confectioner's sugar
1/4 cup dark chocolate, melted and cooled
1/4 cup of heavy cream
A pinch of salt
1/4 cup of toasted slithered almonds
For the genoise:
Preheat the oven to 350F. Separate the yolks from the whites. In a bowl, mix the yolks and sugar until the mixture whitens. Add the flour and the sifted powdered almonds gradually. In a separate bowl, add the pinch of salt to the egg whites and beat until the mixture forms stiff peaks. Gently fold the whites into the yolk mixture until the mixture is homogeneous and smooth.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the batter to form a 1/4 inch thick rectangle. Even out the batter using a spatula. Bake for 12-15 minutes. The cake is done when you can gently press the cake with your thumb and the imprint disappears after a couple seconds.
Mix the 1/2 container of mascarpone and confectioner's sugar in a bowl while the cake is baking. Fold in the crystallized ginger.
Lay a damp dish towel onto a flat surface and cover with a large piece of parchment paper. Once the cake is done, immediately invert it onto the parchment paper. Gently start rolling the cake (as you would sushi) until you form a log. This must be done while the cake is still warm in order for it not to crack. Leave the rolled cake to cool down.
Melt the chocolate and leave to cool. Beat the remaining mascarpone with the cream, pinch of salt and confectioner's sugar until smooth. Fold in the chocolate when it is cool enough so it does not melt the mascarpone.
To assemble:
Unroll the cake and gently spread the ginger/mascarpone mixture on one side. Make sure the layer is even and lave a small border. Gently roll the cake up again. An additional, optional step is to wrap the entire cake in plastic wrap, twist it at the ends, and let sit in the fridge for 20 minutes to compress the layers together. Cover the cake with the chocolate/mascarpone mixture. Top with toasted almonds and decorate as you please. Enjoy!
Posted by Chocolate Shavings at 2:40 PM 27 comments:
Thursday, December 17, 2009
DIY Christmas Ornaments
Here is the recipe I used to make these Christmas ornaments. You can find the rest of my post in the Kitchn section of Apartment Therapy's website. It's one of my favorite places to browse for new design and kitchen ideas and I'm honored to be a part of this year's holiday posts.
Adapted from Nick Malgieri
Makes about 24 large cookies, depending on the size cutter used
5 cups all-purpose flour (spoon flour into dry-measure cup and level off)
4 teaspoons ground ginger
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
2/3 cup molasses
2 cookie sheets or jelly roll pans lined with parchment or foil
In a large bowl, combine the flour, spices, salt and baking soda. Stir well to mix.
Place the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed until well mixed, about 1 minute. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating smooth after each addition. Scrape down bowl and beater.
Lower speed and beat in about half the flour mixture. Beat in all the molasses then scrape bowl and beater. Add the remaining flour mixture, about 1 cup at a time, and beat after each addition until it has all been absorbed.
Remove the bowl from the mixer and give the dough a final mixing with a large rubber spatula. Scrape half the dough onto a large piece of plastic wrap and press it to about a 1/2-inch thickness. Wrap the dough securely and repeat with the remaining dough. Chill the dough for at least 2 hours or for up to 3 days.
When you are ready to bake the cookies, set racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.
Unwrap one of the pieces of dough and cut it in half. Re-wrap one of the halves and return it to the refrigerator.
On a floured surface, roll the dough until it is about 1/4-inch thick. Use a floured cookie cutter to cut the cookies. As they are cut, place the cut cookies on the prepared pans with about 1 inch between them on all sides. Repeat with remaining dough. Save, press together, and re-roll scraps (they don't need to be chilled before re-rolling).
Bake the cookies until they become dull and dry looking and feel slightly firm when pressed with a fingertip, about 12 to 15 minutes. Be careful not to over-bake the cookies or they will be very dry. Slide papers from pans onto racks to cool.
Store the cooled cookies between sheets of parchment or wax paper in a tin or plastic container with a tight-fitting cover.
Posted by Chocolate Shavings at 3:17 PM 21 comments:
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Milk Chocolate Buttercream
This post will be a short one because I feel like a great batch of cupcakes really does speak for itself. I used Martha Stewarts' One-Bowl Chocolate Cupcake recipe, which works wonders to make the cupcakes moist (there is really nothing worse than a dry cupcake!) as well as my fail-safe chocolate buttercream to frost them with. The only tip I have for the batter recipe is to make sure you have a bowl with a beak to pour the batter into the cupcake liners because the batter is very, very liquidy and makes a huge mess otherwise.. and I speak from experience!
I have a very rustic approach when it comes to cupcakes - I like the frosting to not look perfect, and quite enjoy the uneven look of the buttercream as it finds itself a home atop of the fluffy cakey batter. I just spoon a good amount of buttercream on each cupcake and let it find its way.
I used milk chocolate in my buttercream this time, but this recipe works fabulously with bittersweet chocolate, or a heaping spoonful of caramel. If you're not a chocolate lover shy away from this recipe because these are intensely chocolately in the fabulously bad-for-you kind of way! But cupcakes come in small packages so it's all good right? Although I guess that's dependent on how many you have!
Milk Chocolate Buttercream
Frosts 15 cupcakes
1 stick of butter
1 3/4 cups of confectioners' sugar
3 tablespoons of milk chocolate, melted and cooled
Cream the butter with an electric mixer. Add the confectioners' sugar little by little. Mix for about 3-4 minutes until the mixture is smooth. Fold in the cooled chocolate and mix until the chocolate is entirely incorporated. Ice the cupcakes as you please. Enjoy!
Posted by Chocolate Shavings at 7:48 PM 25 comments:
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Coconut-Chocolate Bars
Every once in a while, I get a little obsessed with a flavor combination. These past couple weeks, it's been chocolate and coconut. There's just something about dark, velvety chocolate and crunchy toasted coconut. isn't there? First, let me talk about toasting. Toasting coconut really, really makes a difference. Trust me, I'm a bit of a lazy cooks at times, but I never skip this step because of how much more flavorful the end result is. The same goes for slithered almonds- they taste that much better when slightly golden and toasted. In fact, just the smell of them while they're toasting in the pan reminds you what flavor you're actually cooking with.
These bars turned out to be delicious! They're not too sweet, and the combination of chocolate ganache, toasted coconut and chocolate base was really a winner. I'm planning out my Christmas baking packages, and this will be a great addition. Cut in smaller bit-size pieces they should be a great addition to my ever-growing list of must-bakes for the Holidays.
We bought our Christmas tree this weekend, and it has to be the nicest tree I've had with Oliver. It's plump yet elegant, and is just waiting to be dressed. I have a batch if gingerbread batter in the fridge waiting to be transformed into tree ornaments - it's hard not to be in the Christmas spirit now!
Coconut-Chocolate Bars
Adapted from BBC Good Food
100 grams (1 stick) of softened butter
100 grams (1/2 cup) of granulated sugar
2 eggs, beaten
140 grams (1 cup) of self-rising flour
1 tsp of baking powder
2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
2 tablespoons of milk
1/4 cup of bittersweet chocolate chips
A good splash of heavy cream
100 g of dessicated coconut
Preheat your oven to 350F. Butter and line and 20cm square tin.
Cream the softened butter and sugar with a hand mixer until pale and creamy (about 2 minutes). Add the eggs and beat until just combined.
Sieve in the flour, baking powder and cocoa. Beat in the milk. Place the batter in the tin making sure it's evenly distributed in the pan. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the cake springs back when pressed.
Let the cake cool for a few minutes before removing from the tin.
While the cake is cooling, make the chocolate ganache. Using a double boiler, gently melt chocolate. Once melted, transfer chocolate to a small bowl and add a good splash of heavy cream. Whisk until the cream is fully incorporated.
Place a pan on medium heat. Add the coconut to the pan and stir until the coconut turn lightly golden. Remove from the heat. Stay close to the pan when toasted the coconut because it can burn easily. Remove from the heat as soon as the coconut is golden as it will continue to cook if left in the warm pan.
Cut the cake into small squares. Using a spoon, add a dollop of chocolate to the top of each square and spread to create an even layer. Sprinkle with toasted coconut. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Posted by Chocolate Shavings at 9:48 AM 30 comments:
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Celebrate with a Smash Cake session!
It's the biggest milestone of your baby's first year, the first birthday. The session starts with some classic poses before the cake and ends with some bath time images in a washtub for clean-up. Smash Cake sessions include a custom designed cake with your theme and colors in mind. Through my consultation process, I will also design a custom set up just for you. When you arrive for your session, everything is ready to go! These sessions last about and hour and take place at a private studio in The Woodlands.
Cake Smash Ideas:
Fiesta or Taco Smash
Spaghetti Smash
Garden Tea Party
Basically anything your heart desires!


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It's been six long years since we heard from Garbage, the band comprised of Butch Vig, Shirley Manson, Steve Marker and Duke Erikson. But the '90s alt-rock giants, who were only happy when it rained, are now back together and finishing a new album which they are eyeing for a 2012 release.
"Years-worth of pent-up music came out in some bizarre ways. Bleary cell phone memos became real songs, conversations turned into lyrics, and new computer gizmos inspired wicked tangents," the band said, apparently in unison, in a slightly bizarre press release announcing their return.
"Ghosts came in, had their say. Everyone brought ideas, and everyone fought their corner. At the end of the day it all gets shoved through the four-way brain filter that is Garbage and it ends up sounding like nobody else. Red feathers and black tar."
Last week, Garbage stated on their Facebook page that they were "back in the studio today, we have three more weeks booked to hopefully finish everything!"
Also on Facebook, the band posted a 25-second video clip of what sounds like a backwards guitar loop. After a pan of a keyboard, the camera comes to rest on a whiteboard with what might be song titles: Euchre, Arm Wrestling and Girl Mask Scooter.


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Complimentary Ann Arbor Real Estate Home Value Analysis
The complimentary Ann Arbor, MI Home Value Analysis (CMA) will help determine the fair market value of your Ann Arbor or Washtenaw County area luxury home, townhome or condo. Simply complete the form below and we will contact you to discuss the best list price and marketing strategy to successfully market your Washtenaw County area property. Our goal is to help you sell your Ann Arbor, Saline, Dexter, Milan, Ypsilanti or Chelsea property quicker and for more money.
Get Your Home Value Today!
Just fill in the fields and a member of The Bouma Group may contact you to provide a customized report of the value of your Ann Arbor or greater Washtenaw County area home.
Protecting Your Privacy
Please note protecting your contact information is taken very seriously here at The Bouma Group. Your personal information will never be shared, rented or sold to a third party. Please take a moment to review our Privacy Policy.


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Hi there! Dawn McVey here with another installment of You've Got Mail here at Studio Calico, where we show you a card and coordinating envelope! You may have seen this card in my Roundabout gallery.....I had so much fun making this card because of all those gorgeous green and aqua patterned papers in the kit!
Any time there are a lot of patterned papers I'd like to showcase, I tend to use a layout similar to this one, where I can incorporate several strips of papers one way or another.
I always vary the widths of the strips to keep things balanced and interesting. (And of course, my favorite patterns are always the widest strips!)
I also kept the large green space open at the top, so that it would really allow my die-cut sentiment to shine! By using a lighter colored paper for the die-cut, it really pops on the darker green background!
(supplies - Roundabout Card Kit ; Outer Banks Add-on Kit ; Coconut Grove Add-on Kit ; Wine Bottle Tag Die : Papertrey Ink)
I kept a few of those same principles in mind when I decorated the outside of my envelope. Again, a large green space to provides a lot of color impact and will serve as the perfect place to address the envelope. But I also got some pattern worked in, by again using small strips. I used a wine bottle tag die to cut out the green paper, and then trimmed the sides down a bit to fit the envelope a little better. Such a simple way to dress up the outside of an envelope, and it perfectly coordinates with the card at the same time.
If you plan to put an envelope like this in the mail, be sure to really secure all of the papers with plenty of adhesive. You don't want anything coming off in the mail!
Hope you've enjoyed this installment of You've Got Mail! Have a great day, Friends!
- Dawn McVey


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This web site contains unpublished, confidential and proprietary information of APL, Inc. and is protected by copyright, trade secret and trademark law. Access and use is restricted to authorized users for business only. Information is subject to change without notice. © Copyright 2001 APL, Inc. All Rights Reserved.


text: It hasn't been the best of months for Anonymous, the loose hacktivist collective that likes to view itself as the most potent threat on the Web to big government, big business and those who do not share its views on pretty much anything -- law enforcement, the environment, internet freedom, copyright laws, politics etc.\n\nSeveral of its recent claims have been exposed as not just inflated, but outright fabrications.\n\nEarlier this month, AntiSec, an offshoot of Anonymous, posted more than 1 million Apple Unique Device Identifiers (UDID) to Pastebin, and claimed it had stolen more than 12 million of them from an FBI agent's laptop in March.\n\nThe group claimed to have personal mailing addresses and phone numbers besides the UDIDs, plus device tokens for the Apple Push Notification Service (APNS) for numerous types of Apple devices such as iPhones, iPads and iPod Touches.\n\nThe FBI immediately denied that any of its computers had been compromised. Apple said it had never provided UDIDs to the FBI. And, as Michael Mimoso noted on the Kaspersky Labs blog Threatpost, David Schuetz, a senior consultant with Intrepidus Group, found that the real source of the breach was BlueToad, a Florida based technology provider for digital publishers.\n\n"[Schuetz] found a password dump online for BlueToad dated March 14, the same week AntiSec said it had breached the FBI computer. Any hesitancy Schuetz had regarding BlueToad's connection to the breach was evaporating," Mimoso wrote.\n\nEarlier this week, BlueToad CEO Paul DeHart publicly confirmed via the company's blog that it was the source of the breach, that it had contacted law enforcement and was cooperating in the investigation.\n\nThere was also the recent boast by Twitter user @AnonymousOwn3r that he had shut down the website provider and domain name registrar GoDaddy on Sunday with a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack.\n\nWrong again, said GoDaddy interim CEO Scott Wagner, who explained on the company website that the problem was a "service outage due to a series of internal network events that corrupted router data tables."\n\nThen there was the claim last month that Anonymous was looking to break into the communication system between NASA and the Mars rover Curiosity. \n\nThat didn't even pass the laugh test for most security professionals, who viewed it as a bad joke or a weak attempt at trolling.\n\nLast March, LulzSec, which operated under the Anonymous umbrella, after the FBI arrested and then flipped its leader, Hector Xavier Monsegur, who went by the hacker name of "Sabu."\n\nDoes all this mean that the Anonymous brand has been undermined? Do its boasts and threats have any credibility in the security community?\n\nYes and no, say those who track its exploits. Most agree with Cole Stryker, an author who has researched Anonymous and who The New York Times quoted describing it as "a handful of geniuses surrounded by a legion of idiots."\n\nThose idiots, say experts, are going to make a host of errors and laughable claims. But that does not mean there is no danger from the core group. \n\n"What we have here is a bunch of kids, largely in UK and here and dozens of other places such as Brazil, Turkey, Iran, China, Ukraine, Romania and lesser numbers in other places across the planet -- a bunch of really bored kids who want to be a part of something, but have no clue," said Kevin McAleavey, cofounder of the KNOS Project and a malware and hacking expert.\n\n"How seriously do I take Anonymous's claims? About as seriously as I take 'The Daily Show,'" he said. "Yes there are a handful of really dangerous people who those kids admire and who occasionally feed them a breath mint. One or two of them have already been apprehended. The rest have gone back to collecting exploits and writing malware, and selling them to criminals and government spooks for real cash. They won't touch Anonymous any more because the heat is too high."\n\nNick Selby, a Texas police officer and information security consultant who runs a police-led intelligence blog, noted at the time of the LulzSec bust that there is essentially no barrier to claim membership in Anonymous. "It doesn't require massive technical skills -- just reasonable knowledge and a willingness to break the law," he said.\n\nBut Aaron Cohen, founder of the Hacker Academy, said he thinks it would be foolish to discount the group's skill and power. He said he has a hard time talking about Anonymous, "because we don't know who they are. People are out there doing things under the name of Anonymous, but you don't really know if that's true."\n\nCohen said the whole idea of an Anonymous brand misses the point. "They're not looking for branding," he said. "They're doing it under a pseudo name. There is no call to arms to get somebody. But if one person says they're going to get a company, then everybody tends to rally around that person."\n\nBut Cohen adds that he thinks Anonymous has been "pretty reliable so far," in both its claims and its threats. And he said whether it is Anonymous or some other group, good hackers are proof that "if people want to break into something badly enough, they can."\n\n"So if you're a target, it's best to tighten up," he said.


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George Stephanopoulos Relays E-Mail From 'Top Democrat' Ripping Ryan's Speech
ABC's analysis of Paul Ryan's RNC address included former Democratic
operative George Stephanopoulos citing an a-mail from a "top Democrat"
slamming the integrity of Paul Ryan's speech.
Stephanopoulos noted "we saw how much this crowd loved it" before immediately adding: "I got an e-mail from a top Democrat saying the speech was audacious in its dishonesty." He added in his own words that the speech was "brazen in some of these claims."
He has done this before on ABC's Good Morning America, reading Democratic material on-air like an e-mail from the DNC or a tweet from President Obama.
[Video below. Audio here.]
A transcript of the segment, which aired during ABC's coverage of the Republican National Convention on August 29 at 11:03 p.m. EDT, is as follows:
SAWYER: And there we have him, Paul Ryan. He is the select by Governor
Romney for his Vice Presidential ticket, and the crowd really responded
tonight, George.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: No question about that, Diane. Energetic delivery by Paul Ryan. It was a broad indictment of President Obama's economic policy. A big gamble, putting Medicare front and center in this debate, and also brazen in some of these claims. I want to get a quick reaction from everybody right here, as he hugs his family.
DIANE SAWYER: He is on stage. He's there with his family and he's got his three kids, ages 10 to seven, we're talking to Loaiza, Charles, and Sam. One of them may have nodded off a little, but by the way. Earlier this afternoon they practiced their waves. I love that. They went on stage and practiced.
STEPHANOPOULOS: They were going to go out there and practice with dad. Let me go to George Will. Already George, we saw how much this crowd loved it. I got an e-mail from a top Democrat saying the speech was audacious in its dishonesty.
GEORGE WILL: Well it was certainly audacious. The sound you heard over the roar of the crowd was the loud slap of a gauntlet being thrown down on the subject of Medicare. Our nation needs this debate, we want this debate, we will win this debate. Four conventions ago, George, at that stage accepting the vice presidential nomination was Paul Ryan's mentor Jack Kemp, who preached against root canal politics, against green-eyeshade conservatism. He was the apostle of sunny conservatism. Paul Ryan is saying you can be a sunny conservative while trimming entitlements. It's a good trick.
STEPHANOPOULOS: You bring up the 1996 convention, Donna Brazile, that was also a race where Democrats attacked Republicans for cutting Medicare.
DONNA BRAZILE: Absolutely, George. And tonight Paul Ryan gave us a litany of things that they disagree with President Obama, but he did not offer the country anything that Mitt Romney or Paul Ryan would do to fix the problem. After adding more than 6.8 trillion dollars to the deficit under his congressional leadership, now he's saying that Obama failed but he has now given us a plan for what they will do for the middle class.
STEPHANOPOULOS: But Matthew Dowd, he did do exactly what Mitt Romney expected him to do tonight.
MATTHEW DOWD: Absolutely. I actually think for the first time he was on the national stage, he performed extremely well, the first time to stand on that stage. I also think it prepares us for how he's going to take on Joe Biden in the debate. I think his best moments were when he basically said you younger voters who believed in Barack Obama, and are disappointed, it's okay now to come over to our side.
STEPHANOPOULOS: The fading Obama poster on the wall.
DIANE SAWYER: Staring up at the fading Obama posters on the wall. And those vice presidential debates are on October 11, we should point out. Not far away. Let's go to Jonathan Karl down on the floor, he covers Paul Ryan. He's covering the entire vice presidential race for us. Jon?
JONATHAN KARL, ABC News senior political correspondent: I've got to tell you, Diane, as far as this crowd is concerned, an absolute home run. I have been on the floor of the convention for all the big speeches, none remotely like this. This crowd more electrified, more captivated by what he said, and I think you have a new slogan here: "We can get this done." That's what they were reacting to, they loved Paul Ryan tonight.
STEPHANOPOULOS: And they were reacting also Diane, as George Will said, the gauntlet has been thrown.
SAWYER: That's right, and it is on to tomorrow night. Thursday night, and Governor Mitt Romney will be here for his speech and so will we.
-- Matt Hadro is a News Analyst at the Media Research Center


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Westfield Manufacturing Company was a leader in the bicycle industry. Many of the bicycles sold by the Sears Roebuck and Co. were manufactured by Westfield (although not exclusively). Sears bicycles such as the famous 1935-8 Elgin Bluebird were made by Westfield. So was the 1934-36 Elgin Blackhawk and Falcon among many others. Columbia was the in-house brand name for the Westfield Manufacturing Company.
Search eBay for Columbia bicycles and parts.
Search eBay for Westfield bicycles and parts.
Search Nostalgic.net for Columbia built bicycles and literature.
Vintage bicycles and parts for sale on eBay!


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Influencer Marketing
Most firms focus only on blogger outreach to A-listers, only a handful of top influencers, the journalists, reporters, columnists, and top professional bloggers. While this is effective for getting a lot of eyeballs on the initial post, the story is quickly buried due to the high frequency of posts.
Gerris focuses on reaching the long-tail. We contact thousands of bloggers in your target demographic, and individually interact with every blogger who expresses interest. This results in hundreds of positive posts about your brand, and Google algorithms take notice organically boosting your organic SEM/SEO rankings on Google, Yahoo!, and Bing.


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Located on the northeast coast of Florida and the mouth of the St. Johns River, Jacksonville is a major seaport. Boasting approximately a million residents, it is the most populous city in the Sunshine State. Known locally as Jax, it is the seat of Duval County and one of the leading commercial, financial and cultural centers in the southeastern United States. It features a spectacular climate with well over 2,800 hours of annual sunshine and a rich cultural and arts scene as well as a wide range of leisure activities. When planning your move to Jacksonville, consider some of the city's practical aspects, such as housing, wages and overall cost of living.
Housing is priced below the national average. You can choose from a downtown apartment in Southbank featuring modern amenities or a multi-bedroom home in an established community like San Marco. Enjoy the bohemian vibe of Five Points and the canopied sidewalks of the Riverside Avondale neighborhood. The city features a range of architectural styles, including Colonial Revival, Queen Anne, Victorian and postwar bungalows. Each neighborhood has a character, culture and sense of community all its own.
The city has a vibrant economy with positions available in the defense, financial and logistics industries as well as the media and technology sectors. The unemployment rate is on par with the national average. The slightly below national average wages match the cost of living, including health care, food and entertainment. Because Florida does not have a state income tax, you can stretch your budget and afford a number of leisure activities.
Jacksonville boasts more than 80,000 acres of local, state and national parks that reflect the region's stunning natural beauty. Miles of sun-drenched beaches afford the opportunity to participate in a wide variety of water sports. Hemming Park and Jacksonville Landing host numerous cultural events throughout the year. In addition to performances in the Veterans Memorial Arena, residents enjoy the zoo, botanical garden and a number of highly regarded museums dedicated to art, science and history. Along with the Jacksonville Jaguars of the NFL, the city is home to several minor league sports teams.
With an abundance of great neighborhoods to choose from, it can be hard to find the ideal spot to settle down. Our picks of the best places to live in Jacksonville will give you a head start. You can customize the lists by housing prices, education, employment and nearby amenities based on what is important to you. We can help you find the perfect place that meets your needs, lifestyle and budget.