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What Will Come After The Death Of The PetroDollar?
In the following interview, Turd Ferguson of TF Metals Report interviews the one and only Dr. Jim Willie, in what is undoubtedly one of the best Dr. Willie interviews I've ever heard. The article that follows the interview is also from TF Metals Report, and it's written by Grant Williams, who is a Singapore-based hedge fund manager.
First, the interview covers three main areas of discussion. First, Ferguson and Dr. Willie review the generally accepted narrative that has been coming from the mainstream media more or less since Donald Trump won the election. We keep hearing how bonds are selling off, which is sending interest rates higher, and making the stronger Dollar. There's nothing to worry about, and the Dow will be at 25,000 in no time, right?
Wrong. The first topic covered in the interview deals with the changes currently taking place in the bond market right now, and what the overall effect of those changes will be on the global financial system. In short, the generally accepted narrative coming from Washington and the mainstream media couldn't be more wrong. This isn't a time for wishful thinking. It's a time for preparation.
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Unlike other interviews you may have heard with Dr. Willie, in this one Dr. Willie goes off on very few tangents. One thing is certain, he definitely brought his "A game" to this interview, and the predictions he makes about the future of the U.S. Dollar, aka the PetroDollar are both bold, and they're specific. At one point,Dr. Willie goes as far as to predict the U.S. will likely attempt to assassinate members of the Saudi royal family, and he explains why. When you consider that Dr. Willie predicted the coup that took place in Turkey 8 months prior to when it happened, I suggest you pay attention to what he says.
Next, the nationalizing of Europe's oldest bank in Italy is discussed, but the problem in Europe goes beyond just any one bank. The two men discuss how the problems Dr. Willie predicted Italian banks were going to have well over 1.5 years ago, are having a ripple effect, and causing other banking failures across the Eurozone. Finally, in the last portion of the interview, Dr. Willie and Turd Ferguson discuss the obstacles facing Donald Trump, Washington D.C., and what to expect from Trump's efforts to "drain the swamp."
After the interview, be sure not to miss the report written by Grant Williams, a Singapore-based hedge fund manager, which goes into excruciating detail about the death of the PetroDollar.
For those of you who are finally starting to realize there is major trouble on the horizon, largely as a result of the corruption within our own government and the 2016 election, the failure of the U.S. Dollar and Western banks, deteriorating conditions here domestically, or perhaps even because of nuclear tensions reaching all new heights, then I suggest you get your FREE GUIDE for how to survive Martial Law here, because if/when things begin to go south, by then it will be too late to do anything about it.
For anyone with no idea where to begin making preparations, a very good, and very inexpensive tool to teach you how and what you should be preparing, is a book called "Conquering the Collapse." Since I've practically worn out my own iPad reading my copy, in the following link I provide you with a review of the book: Be Ready For Any Emergency – The Crucial Guide For Any Family's Safety (Videos).
If you do nothing else, you can learn more about the coming crisis in the links at the bottom under the heading titled, "If nothing else, these links are essential." The writing is on the wall everywhere… I strongly suggest checking out the post titled, Start "Doubling Up On Your Prepping;" Countdown to Economic Collapse.
"The Death Of The Petrodollar and What Comes After"
The story begins in the 1970s when Henry Kissinger and Richard Nixon struck a deal with the House of Saud — a deal which gave birth to the petrodollar system.
The terms were simple The Saudis agreed to ONLY accept U.S. Dollars in return for their oil and that they would reinvest their surplus dollars into U.S. treasuries.
In return, the U.S. would provide arms and a security guarantee to the Saudis who, it has to be said, were living in a pretty rough neighbourhood. As you can see, things went swimmingly (chart below)
Saudi purchases of treasuries grew along with the oil price and everyone was happy. (We'll come back to that blue box on the right shortly)
The inverse correlation between the dollar and crude is just about as perfect as one could expect (until recently that is… but again, we'll be back to that).
And, as you can see here, beginning when Nixon slammed the gold window shut on French fingers and picking up speed once the petrodollar system was ensconced, foreign buyers of U.S. debt grew exponentially.
Having the world's most vital commodity exclusively priced in U.S. dollars meant everybody needed to hold large dollar reserves to pay for it and that meant a yuuuge bid for treasuries. It's good to be the king.
By 2015, as the chart on the next page shows quite clearly, there were treasuries to the value of around 6 years of total global oil supply in the hands of foreigners (if we assume a constant 97 million bpd supply which I think is a pretty reasonable estimate).
Now… with that brief background on the petrodollar system, here's where I need you to stick with me. I promise you it'll be worth the mental effort.
Ready? Here we go.
Now, back in 2010, then-World Bank President Robert Zoellick caused something of a commotion when he suggested that an entirely new global monetary system maybe wasn't such a bad idea.
The system he had in mind involved a freely-convertible Yuan and, controversially was constructed around gold as its central reference point:
(Robert Zoellick, November 8, 2010): …the G20 should complement this growth recovery programme with a plan to build a co-operative monetary system that reflects emerging economic conditions. This new system is likely to need to involve the dollar, the euro, the yen, the pound and a renminbi that moves towards internationalisation and then an open capital account.
The system should also consider employing gold as an international reference point of market expectations about inflation, deflation and future currency values. Although textbooks may view gold as the old money, markets are using gold as an alternative monetary asset today.
In seemingly unrelated news, two years later, Iran began accepting Yuan in payment for its oil amid US sanctions. The transactions were conducted through Russian banks:
(Financial Times, May 2012): Iran is accepting renminbi for some of the crude oil it supplies to China…
…Tehran is spending the currency, which is not freely convertible, on goods and services imported from China…
The trade is worth as much as $20bn-$30bn annually according to industry estimates…
The renminbi purchases began some months ago…much of the money is transferred to Tehran through Russian banks, which take large commissions on the transactions…
Beijing has been trying to get its trading partners to use the renminbi, in effect transferring the exchange rate risk to its counterparties, since the price of crude is set in US dollars. It also frees Beijing of the need to hold as many dollars in its reserves.
The crucial part of this deal was that, by diversifying their purchases in this way, the Chinese had found a path towards not only needing to hold fewer U.S. dollar reserves, but to circumventing the petrodollar system altogether.
By 2013, the penny had clearly dropped at the PBoC who declared an end to the era of their accumulation of U.S. treasuries:
(Bloomberg, November 2013): The People's Bank of China said the country does not benefit any more from increases in its foreign-currency holdings, adding to signs policy makers will rein in dollar purchases that limit the yuan's appreciation.
"It's no longer in China's favor to accumulate foreign-exchange reserves," Yi Gang, a deputy governor at the central bank, said in a speech organized by China Economists 50 Forum at Tsinghua University yesterday. The monetary authority will "basically" end normal intervention in the currency market and broaden the yuan's daily trading range
Yes, it was, apparently "no longer in China's interest" to accumulate foreign exchange reserves.
Sure enough, in 2014, global FX reserves began to decline at the fastest rate in 80 years as you can see from this chart:
That same year, another piece of the puzzle was laid in place when Xu Luode, the Chairman of the newly-founded Shanghai Gold Exchange, explained that gold would be priced and sold in Yuan as a step towards what he called the "internationalization of the renminbi" (for those of you confused by Yuan and Renminbi, just think of them as the Chinese equivalent of 'Pound' and 'Sterling'):
(Xu Luode, Speech to LBMA, May 2014): Foreign investors can directly use offshore yuan to trade gold on the SGE international board, which is promoting the internationalization of the renminbi…
Shanghai Gold will change the current gold market "consumption in the East priced in the West" situation.
When China will have a right to speak in the international gold market, pricing will get revealed…
Interestingly, Luode acknowledged what he accurately described as the "consumption in the East, priced in the West" situation and assured the world that the 'real' price of gold would become apparent once China took its rightful place at the centre of the gold market.
We can but hope he is correct. When that day comes, the change on the world's gold markets will be unprecedented.
In 2015, another announcement slipped by the world when it was revealed that Russia's Gazprom would also begin selling oil to the Chinese in exchange for yuan and that they were negotiating further agreements to use rubles and yuan to settle natural gas trading directly, without the need for dollars:
(Moscow Times, June 2015): "Two state energy companies, gas producer Gazprom and its oil arm Gazprom Neft, said they would use more Chinese currency in trade, while Russia's largest bank, Sberbank, has also promoted the use of the yuan…
Gazprom Neft announced that it began settling shipments of oil to China in yuan. And previously, the head of Gazprom, Alexey Miller, said in a TV interview that the company was negotiating with China to use yuan and rubles for gas deliveries via a planned pipeline in Western Siberia.
OK… hands up if you're still with me… great!
Oh… you're reading this so I can't see you but hopefully you're following the dots…
For those of you who aren't, here's a little recap of where we are so far to help you get things into the right order before we push on to the end:
Get it? Got it? Good.
So… here we are, in 2016 and, as it turned out, April was a hell of a month if you were paying attention.
Firstly, the Saudis threatened to sell almost a trillion dollars of U.S. assets—including over $300 billion of treasury bonds—should a bill be passed by the congress allowing the Saudis to be held responsible for the 9/11 attacks:
NY Times, April 16, 2016): Saudi Arabia has told the Obama administration and members of Congress that it will sell off hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of American assets held by the kingdom if Congress passes a bill that would allow the Saudi government to be held responsible in American courts for any role in the 9/11 attacks.
Adel al-Jubeir, the Saudi foreign minister, delivered the kingdom's message personally last month during a trip to Washington, telling lawmakers that Saudi would be forced to sell up to $750B in treasury securities & other assets in the US before they could be in danger of being frozen by American courts.
In a rare show of bipartisanship, the bill was subsequently passed before being vetoed by President Obama who then had to watch in ignominy as he suffered the first veto override of his presidency.
Just days later, the Saudis were the cause of a seemingly surprise failure by OPEC to agree a production cut as the oil price languished in the low-$30s:
(Wall Street Journal, April 17, 2016): DOHA, Qatar—Oil producers that supply almost half the world's crude failed Sunday to negotiate a production freeze intended to strengthen prices.
The talks collapsed after Saudi Arabia surprised the group by reasserting a demand that Iran also agree to cap its oil production.
Oil prices had rallied in recent weeks on speculation that Saudi Arabia might successfully lead an initiative between members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and Russia, which joined the talks.
A deal would have marked a new level of cooperation between non-OPEC countries and OPEC members that producers hoped would keep prices above January lows of $26 a barrel.
Just 48 hours after that surprise, the Chinese finally launched their twice daily gold fixing, setting the price at 256.92 yuan per gram:
(Bloomberg, April 19, 2016): China, the world's biggest producer and consumer of gold, started a twice-daily price fixing on Tuesday in an attempt to establish a regional benchmark and bolster its influence in the global market.
The Shanghai Gold Exchange set the price at 256.92 yuan a gram ($1,233.85 an ounce) at the 10:30 a.m. session after members of the exchange submitted buy and sell orders for metal of 99.99 percent purity.
"This is a very important development and will obviously be very
closely watched," said Robin Bhar, an analyst at Societe Generale SA in London. "But as long as it exists inside a closed monetary system it will have limited global repercussions. It could be a very important development if the new benchmark is a precursor to greater use of gold in the Chinese monetary system, Kenneth Hoffman…said by e-mail on Monday. It may also boost interest in the Shanghai free-trade zone, he said.
As Soc Gen's Robin Bhar correctly identified, if the ability to trade gold for yuan exists within a closed monetary system, its importance will be limited BUT, as Bloomberg's Ken Hoffman also correctly pointed out, if this was the thin end of the wedge, things could get very interesting indeed. Now, this chart shows the oil price going back to before the U.S. Civil War:
DO NOT MISS: Dr. Jim Willie: U.S. Dollar's Status as the Global Reserve Continues To Lose Credibility
Between 1865 and 1973, the price of oil was incredibly stable against a backdrop of perhaps the greatest simultaneous economic, demographic and technological expansion in human history.
How was that possible?
Well simply put, because oil was effectively priced in gold.
Once the gold window closed and the petrodollar system was implemented, the price of oil soared 50-fold in just 35 years.
The move on the right? With the question mark against it? We're getting there, I promise.
Now, you remember this next chart and the yuuuuuge supply of treasuries which exists compared to oil now? Well, when we add in the roughly $100 trillion in boomer entitlements that will need to be paid for by issuing—you guessed it, more treasuries—the chart changes somewhat:
That red circle down at the bottom of the second chart is the spike you see on the first chart.
It's safe to say that, relative to even oil, and without any infrastructure spending by DonaldTrump, treasuries are going to be…. abundant in the coming years.
Conversely, if we look at the value of gold relative to foreign-held treasuries, we see an altogether different story unfold.
During Reagan's presidency, US treasuries were backed 132% by the market value of the country's gold reserves.
Today, that number has fallen to just 4.7%
If we do the same thing and account for the $100 trillion in entitlement promises, as you can see from the chart on the next page, the number falls to 0.3% in 2025.
So the second chart (below, right) should come as no surprise to anybody.
Yes, the Chinese have started to do what they promised to start doing, when they promised to start doing it.
Now, this next part of the presentation was a rattle through a whole bunch of charts showing the recent activity in the U.S. treasury, corporate bond, agency bond and securities markets so you'll have to brace yourself.
The charts will appear on the next page.
Chinese sales of US treasuries (1) have been consistent for the last three years…
…as have their sales of US securities (2) since 2015 after plateauing in 2013 when treasury divestiture began Concurrently, Chinese sales of corporate bonds (3) have accelerated over the same period…
…though agency sales (4)—despite a few periods of consistent selling—have yet to follow suit.
But now, as tensions rise and the cross-currents get harder to discern, guess who else has showed up as a seller?
That's right, the Saudis are now steady sellers of US treasuries (5)…
…and even more aggressive sellers of U.S. securities (6)…
Meanwhile, taking a broader view, net foreign purchases of treasuries, according to the TIC data, have been in a clear downtrend since 2009 (7) and have been largely outflows for the last three years.
If we look at the 12-month sum of sales (8), we see an even sharper decline…
…and if we take the trailing net official demand chart for treasuries back to 1979, the scale and extent of the change is evident—as are the catalysts for the acceleration (and we're back on this page once again):
Take a long, hard look at that last chart folks—particularly within the context of the bond bull market and the 'bid' for treasuries we've seen throughout 2015 and 2016…
Meanwhile, the Russians—who, as we've seen are now selling oil for yuan to the Chinese, remember?— have been picking up the pace of their accumulation of gold reserves yet again, with the most recent monthly data setting yet another record…
…and the pick up in pace is evident when we look at average monthly purchases prior to 2013 and post the agreements put in place around that time between the various parties. Now, the next chart (top of the following page) is crucial to understand because a look at the market value of Russia's gold reserves shows just how crucial their ongoing accumulation of bullion has been for the country's finances over the last two years…
…and that increase in value has cushioned the effects of, amongst other things, the bailing out of the ruble.
As you can see from the green line, Russia's gold reserves in Ruble terms have soared as the country's currency has weakened—something which confounded all the doommongers who called Game Over for Russia amidst sharply declining oil revenues:
(Bloomberg, April3, 2015): Here's why Governor Elvira Nabiullina is in no haste to resume foreign-currency purchases after an eight-month pause: gold's biggest quarterly surge since 1986 has all but erased losses the Bank of Russia suffered by mounting a rescue of the ruble more than a year ago.
While the ruble's 9 percent rally this year has raised the prospects that the central bank will start buying currency again, policy makers have instead used 13 months of gold purchases to take reserves over $380 billion for the first time since January 2015.
Now, crucially, being given the ability to sell oil to the Chinese for yuan and buy gold with that same yuan directly through the Shanghai Exchange has completely changed the game for the Russians and those changes are being reflected where they matter most—in the energy markets, the supply/ demand dynamics of which are quietly morphing in plain sight.
By August of this year, Russia had overtaken Saudi Arabia as the largest exporter of oil into China…:
(Al Awsat, August 3, 2016): During the first seven months of this year, China imported about 30.5 million metric tons of Saudi oil, a 0.4% decrease than that of last year. Whereas, China imported about 29.5 million metric tons of Russian oil with 27% increase than last year.
…and that wasn't something the Saudis could take lying down:
Amid this fierce competition, it is important for Saudi Arabia to fortify its oil position in China with more political and strategic support
On the contrary, they rededicated their efforts to increase what they call "political and strategic support" for China.
Now, I hope you're all still with me because here's where we get to the final piece of this glorious puzzle—the piece that ties all these seemingly unrelated threads together: China's own crude oil futures contract, to be priced in Yuan and traded at the Shanghai International Energy Exchange—a yuan contract which will be made fully-convertible:
(Bloomberg, November 5, 2015): By the end of 2015, China, the world's No. 1 oil importer as of April, may start its own crude futures contract.
The idea is to establish a Chinese rival to the world's two most traded oil contracts: West Texas Intermediate, housed on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and Brent Crude Futures, owned by ICE Futures Europe in London.
The yuan-based contract will trade on the Shanghai International Energy Exchange and will be among the first Chinese commodity contracts available to foreign investors as China promotes global use of its currency…
Participation will be open to all foreign investors and the yuan will be fully convertible under the contract, according to Song Anping, the chairman of the Shanghai Futures Exchange.
As you can see from the date of the article, this contract has been postponed several times— ostensibly for reasons such as stock market volatility in China, but perhaps there is more going on behind the scenes that is causing the delay because, once this contract is in place, things change.
In the interim, China has supplanted the U.S to become the world's biggest importer of oil, which serves to increase both its importance in the oil markets and the likelihood of it launching its own yuan-denominated contract at some point in time:
(Bloomberg, October 13, 2016): China is now the world's biggest oil importer, unseating the U.S. The country's crude imports climbed to a record 8.08 million barrels a day in September, a year-on-year increase of 18 percent, customs data released Thursday showed.
So, the world's largest exporter of oil is now dealing with the largest importer directly in yuan and it has the ability to convert those yuan proceeds into physical gold through the Shanghai exchange— which the data suggest it is doing as fast as possible.
Currently, the bilateral oil for gold trade is only available to what the U.S. would no doubt consider a 'basket of deplorables' in Iran and Russia…but just think what happens once that fully convertible oil contract is up and running…?
Suddenly, the availability to price oil in gold is available to everybody and, given rising Saudi/U.S. tensions and the Middle East nation's recent rededication to providing "political and strategic support" to China it's easy to see why this would be attractive to the Saudis, for example.
Whatever happens, opening that contract creates a market-wide arbitrage opportunity which affords anybody with oil to sell the ability to exchange said oil for gold and anybody wanting oil to acquire it cheaply by buying cheap gold in the West and shipping it to Shanghai or HK where it can be sold for yuan.
Already, places like Tokyo, Seoul and Dubai are opening physical gold markets and discussing linking their nascent markets for bullion to the Shanghai exchange which has rapidly become the largest physical delivery market in the world.
Now, were this arbitrage to begin happening in any meaningful size, with the market for oil far bigger than that for gold, it would immediately be evident in the ratio between the two commodities…
…which, interestingly, is precisely what has happened since the peak of global reserves in 2014 and the Sino-Russian agreement to essentially transact oil for gold. With those conditions in place, the gold/oil ratio has broken out to its highest level in 80 years (chart, next page):
…which brings us right back to the question mark on the second chart which we left hanging like a matzah ball earlier in this presentation
The recent move in the oil price looks to me suspiciously like a sign that a move has started to return to pricing oil in gold.
That move, if indeed it is happening beneath the surface, allied with the endless possibilities enabled by the potential full convertibility of the yuan under the Shanghai-based oil contract leaves oil producing nations with a rather obvious choice for the first time in almost half a century—a choice made perfectly clear by the two charts on the next page:
If you are an oil producing country, do you…:
MINIMIZE your production in order to MAXIMIZE your holdings of one of the most abundant and easily-produced commodities in the world—U.S. treasuries—as has been the case for the last 40 years… knowing full well that, with the level of entitlements due in the next decade, more will need to be printed like crazy?
Do you MAXIMIZE production in order to gain the largest possible market share in the biggest oil market in the world and, through the ability to buy gold for yuan, thereby maximize your reserves of a scarce, physical commodity which is impossible to produce from thin air and which happens to be not only the most undervalued asset on the planet, but is trading at its most undervalued relative to U.S. treasuries in living memory?
With an annual production of $170bn, gold is by far the largest metal market by value.
However, that figure is dwarfed by the oil market which is 10x the size of the gold market on an annual production basis.
If we throw in the average annual foreign holdings of U.S. treasuries over the last 2 years, we see that the 'other' commodity is at a different magnitude altogether.
So, which one of these commodities has any scarcity value? Given the choice, which one would you seek to maximize your holdings of?
U.S. treasuries which can be conjured out of thin air by the U.S. government and which, are described thus by The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association:
Because these debt obligations are backed by the "full faith and credit" of the government, and thus by its ability to raise tax revenues and print currency, U.S. Treasury securities – or "Treasuries" – are generally considered the safest of all investments. They are viewed in the market as having virtually no "credit risk," meaning that it is highly probable your interest and principal will be paid fully and on time.
Or how about oil? Which the Saudis, for example, can simply print pull out of the ground at will at a cost of a little under $10/barrel?
Or gold? A commodity which is limited in availability, trading at its all-time low relative to U.S. treasury supply and is not only getting harder and more expensive to produce, but which is also catching the eye not only of the central banks of the world's two largest producers, but of the largest importer and largest exporter of oil?
Excerpted from "Get It. Got It. Good" by Grant Williams, author of "Things That Make You Go Hmm…"
Article posted with permission from The Last Great Stand. Article by Michael DePinto.


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My post contains an affiliate link to my Etsy shop:)
10. Dampen a light weight, preferably white, piece of fabric and cover your anchor with, then iron per box directions.
Those pillows came out very cute! New follower cant wait to see whats next!ReplyDelete
Awe, thanks so much! And, thanks for popping over:)Delete
Cute pillows! I love anchors. I'm pinning these to my Anchors Aweigh board.
Navy Wifey Peters @ Submarine Sunday Link Party
Love your page theme. I'll stop by Sunday:)Delete
Hi Michele! These pillows are the cutest thing! I love the anchor trend but wasn't sure how I could implement it in my decor. I think these pillowcases are just the answer!
I wanted to let you know that I featured your pillowcases on my blog yesterday {itsalwaysruetten.blogspot.com} and would love it if you would swing by and take a look! While you're there, be sure to grab my featured button!
It's Always Ruetten
Wow, thanks so much! I love what you found. Added your link to my party, your feature to my page and Pinned your post! Have a great weekend:)Delete
Thanks to Navy Wife Peters, I leaned something new today about the phrase Anchors aweigh! http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/anchors-aweigh.htmlReplyDelete
Your nautical pillow cases are adorable and so fashionable! I've done the same to an ironing board cover. We could start a club :) Thanks for sharing at Inspire Us Thursday at Organized 31.ReplyDelete
Thanks so much! Love to see your ironing board cover!Delete
these are so cute! love your anchor cover up too. perfect for the beach!ReplyDelete
Thanks so much Emmeline!!!Delete
Really cute pillows - you make it seem so simple! I am going to have to try this technique!ReplyDelete
Thankyou. It really is simple, placing the anchor in the right spot is the hardest thing I think:)Delete
These are adorable and so is Bailey! That's my pup's name too :)
So fun for a nautical theme or even just summer! Just thought I would mention that the link button at SYC could not bring me to this post. It said, link didn't exist. That's probably why you are not getting as many comments as usual. I found it on your side bar.
Thanks Jann! I tried the link and see what you mean! Must have copy pasted with something missing?Delete
How sporty looking! I made similar anchors like this for my son's window valance when he was a baby and had a nautical themed room. These pillows would have been a perfect match! Glad you stopped by to see me and let me know you were also at Southern Lovely.ReplyDelete
They sound sweet! Thanks so much for stopping by:) Loved your Southern Belle post too! Flannel with the wedding skirt was absolutely stunning! I'm gonna pin that to my country girl board:)Delete
Hello, thank you for stopping by via Lavender Garden Cottage. Your cushions are lovely, I'm going to have a nosey around the rest fo your blog now :) Tracy xReplyDelete
Thank you and so glad you stopped by:)Delete
Stopping by to let you know I am featuring you tomorrow on Made in a Day! Thanks for linking up!
Hi Kim! Thank You Very Much:) HugsDelete
I love nautical themes and the pillows came out so awesome. This is such a wonderful and inspiring post. I would love it if you would share this post at our WIW linky party. Hope you can join us today!
Awe, thank you, yes I will:)Delete
I love these pillows, they turned out so cute!! Thanks for linking up at my Weekend Beautiful Blog Party :-)
Hope you are having a great weekend.
We must be on the same track... I have been thinking lately about embroidering a anchor design on a few pillows for my couch. Yours a perfect!ReplyDelete
Your pillowcases are great! Stop by House on the Way tomorrow to see them featured!
House on the Way
Thanks so much Leslie! Of course I'll be by. How exciting:)Delete
these are absolutely adorable not to mention perfect for my house by the water :) xo, jess
Thank you so much! Give them a try, or stop by my shop where I sell them:) https://www.etsy.com/shop/SewSweetVintagecoDelete
Thanks for linking up at Merry Monday! These are "sew" cute! Stopping by from http://www.everafterinthewoods.comReplyDelete
Thanks Jenn! Happy 4th:)Delete
These turned out so darling! Awesome job!
So so cute! So glad you shared at Do Tell Tuesday--I picked it to feature! Come grab a button :)ReplyDelete
Wow, thanks Stephanie!!! Stopping over:)Delete
What a fun project. I live in Florida and decorate with a lot of nautical things! And I love pillows! Hugs, DianeReplyDelete
Thank you! And thanks for visiting all the way from Florida:)Delete
Too cute!! Love the anchors. I've never used Wonder Under but it looks pretty easy!ReplyDelete
Thanks:) With all the silhouette stuff out there, fabric fuse is not in the spot light, but it's a great product and I'm not a sponsor! Happy SummerDelete
Adorable! My nautical Grandfather would've loved those. Thanks for sharing with the Merry Monday Linky Party!ReplyDelete
I love them Michele!!ReplyDelete
Thank you so much for stopping by with a sweet comment!Delete
I love anything nautical! These pillows would be perfect for my place at the beach! I just wish I knew how to sew! Thanks for sharing. Stop by and visit me sometime!ReplyDelete
Hi Lisa, thank you! I will for sure:)Delete
Hi Michele, I love your pilowcases! So perfect for summer! Thanks for sharing!
Hope you have a wonderful day!
Hugs from Portugal,
Ana Love Craft
Hi Ana. Thanks for popping by. I'm reading about Portugal in a travel book by Frances Mayes:)Delete
I love anchors! These pillowcases are so cute. Thanks for sharing with Hump Day Happenings.ReplyDelete
I love these anchor pillowcases! I featured them at this week's Submarine Sunday link party.
Navy Wifey Peters @ The Submarine Sunday Link Party!
Hi T'onna! Thanks so much. I'll link it to my features page:) HugsDelete
These are so cute!! TFS!! Stopping by from Moonlight and Mason Jars Link Party.
Have you seen the shirt I made for my husband?? http://craftybrooklynarmywife.blogspot.de/2014/07/another-button-down-shirt-for-e.html
Thanks Alisha! Popped over and I <3 your hubby's shirt too:)Delete
This is awesome and simple, which I love. :-) I wanted to let you know that I am featuring this post on my blog at Tuesdays with a Twist, come by and check it out. Thanks again and have a great week.ReplyDelete
Thank you and hugs!Delete
Did something happen to your heart pillow tutorial?? I saw it on another blog and it directed me here and it said it wasn't available!
I would love to be able to make one and they are so lovely!!
Could you possibly put the tutorial back up??
Hi B,
Thanks so much! I redrafted the post. Here it is http://www.sewsweetvintage.com/2013/01/diy-heart-pillow.html
Thank you!! They are so adorable, can't wait to make one!ReplyDelete
Awesome! Thank you:)Delete
So darn cute! Thanks for sharing at Project Pin it! I pinned the to the Project Pin it board on Pinterest.
I love anchors and the nautical look! The anchors stand out nicely with the red pillowcases, nice job, pinning this!ReplyDelete

subset: commoncrawl


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About SHEMROCK Shride Primary
SHEMROCK Shride is a preschool in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Started in the year 2020, SHEMROCK Shrideis a branch of SHEMROCK Chain of Preschools, which is one of the oldest Playschool Chains in India. The kindergarten school provides a very cheerful and colourful environment for the children, which paves the way for their joyful learning and development. The nursery school converts every day into wonderful learning experiences for the children, by infusing love and care into all the aspects of learning. SHEMROCK Shride makes sure that the children are given immense happiness, complete freedom and the required encouragement & guidance, so that their young minds grow and blossom in the fun environment of the pre school.
Facilities offered at SHEMROCK Shride play school:
• Activity Arcade
• Ball Pool
• Celebration Corner
• Child's Creative Corner
• Colourful, Chirpy & Air-Conditioned Classrooms
• Concept Centre
• Dining Area
• Discovery Centre
• Doll House
• English Language Lab
• Farm House
• Gym
• IT Resource Centre
• Magic Mirror /Magic Caves (optional)
• Mini Zoo
• Music & Dance Room
• Shopping Arcade
• Stage Area
• Story Telling Corner
• Welcome Room
• Outdoor Play-Pen (facilities of Outdoor Play-Pen are optional)
- Bouncy
- Cycling Track
- Jungle gym
- Merry-go-round
- Mini train
- Sand pit
- Skating Rink
- Slides
- Splash Pool
- Swings
- Tunnel
- Water pool
SHEMROCK Shride Nursery School Admission Criteria
Age Criteria to Get Admission at SHEMROCK Shride Preschool
Shem Foundation (Play Group): 2 +
Shem Foundation (Pre-Nursery): 2 & half +
Shem Prep Junior/Nursery: 3+
Shem Prep Senior/ Preparatory: 4+
Documents Required for SHEMROCK Shride Play School Admission
• A Birth certificate as a proof of age from a civic body is required at the time of registration.
• Two passport sized photographs are to be submitted at the time of registration.
SHEMROCK Shride Play School Admission Process:
• Children who meet admission criteria are shortlisted and parents are informed in person or on phone.
• The admission at SHEMROCK Shride play school starts with counseling of the parents.
• The admission process completes on the receipt of admission fees and making the entry of the child into the Record Register.


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A few years into sub-Saharan Africa's renaissance, there were the natural doubts. Economists had competed for so long to explain the region's growth tragedy that good news was a shock. But now, more than a decade into the revival, the good news has grown better. The lesson is that sound policies can make a difference even in the least promising of settings. Defeatists everywhere, cheer up.
A few years into sub-Saharan Africa's renaissance, there were the natural doubts. Economists had competed for so long to explain the region's growth tragedy that good news was a shock. But now, more than a decade into the revival, the good news has grown better. The lesson is that sound policies can make a difference even in the least promising of settings. Defeatists everywhere, cheer up.
TEven before the recent flurry of encouragement, Africa's turnround was breathtaking. Between 1980 and 2000, the continent had experienced negative economic development: output per person had fallen by a 10th in purchasing power terms. Then, just as the Aids pandemic was thought to represent the final straw for Africa, its fortunes changed dramatically. According to the World Bank's development indicators, gross domestic product per person has risen every year since 2000, delivering a cumulative gain of more than a third.
At first, people doubted that the growth would be sustainable. But, after a dozen years of progress, uninterrupted even by enormous shocks to the world economy, that worry has faded. Likewise, people wondered whether the revival was merely the result of oil discoveries. But the International Monetary Fund reports that real non-oil growth in sub-Saharan Africa has averaged 5.4 per cent annually over the past five years*. Or perhaps the progress has been a statistical illusion? Well, it turns out that the standard numbers probably understate Africa's advance.
Two years ago, Ghana corrected an error in its gross domestic product statistics – and the estimated size of its economy shot up by more than 60 per cent. Its mistake had been to count activity only in well-established sectors, omitting new ones such as mobile telephony. It seems likely that this error exists elsewhere. A forthcoming revision in Nigeria could be as dramatic as Ghana's, boosting the GDP estimate for the whole of sub-Saharan Africa by as much as 15 per cent.
Alwyn Young of the London School of Economics has pointed to another reason to suspect that standard GDP data underestimate Africa's progress. Household surveys, which record rates of ownership of consumer durables as well as housing quality, health and education, suggest that consumption in sub-Saharan Africa has been growing by about 3.5 per cent per year over the past two decades – more than three times faster than suggested by the national accounts. Even Professor Young's critics concede that, in Kenya, for example, real GDP per person rose by just a 10th between 1993 and 2009, while the percentage of people with electricity more than doubled, the percentage with flush toilets more than tripled, and the percentage with a telephone shot up from just about nothing to 60 per cent.
Child mortality statistics tell the most positive story of all. In 1997, in a notably despondent analysis of Africa, William Easterly and Ross Levine reported that the typical African mother had only a 30 per cent chance of seeing all her children survive until age five. But Africa has recently witnessed falls in child mortality faster than any recorded anywhere. In the five years to 2010, Senegal cut its under-five mortality rate from 12.1 per cent to 7.2 per cent. Rwanda and Kenya did almost as well. It took India fully a quarter of a century to achieve a comparable decline.
What accounts for all this progress? Strong commodity prices and the rise of China as a consumer and investor have helped. So have the improving ratio of working age adults to dependants and technological breakthroughs such as mobile phones. But better policy has also made a difference. You can see this in studies of particular advances: the policy of distributing insecticide-treated bed nets to ward off malarial mosquitoes explains a large part of the gains in child survival. You can also see this in the productivity performance of the best-managed nations.
The continent's advance has not been uniform. A group of dysfunctional laggards, which generate more than their fair share of news headlines, remain as poor as they have ever been. But the flip side is that the success stories have done much better than suggested by Africa-wide averages. Some of the star performers – Angola, Nigeria and Chad – owe their progress to oil. Others are rebounding from civil war. But Mozambique is an example of a country that has been at peace since the early 1990s, does not produce oil, and yet has boosted GDP per person in the labour force by 4.8 per cent annually between 1995 and 2010. Peaceful Ghana has managed a respectable 2.6 per cent per year.
The surest basis for sustained productivity improvement is to move workers from subsistence farming to jobs that involve skills and tools. Between 1995 and 2010, agriculture's share of Mozambican GDP fell from 42 per cent to 26 per cent as manufacturing, construction and services grew to fill the gap. Between 2000 and 2010, Uganda cut farming's share from 25 per cent to 16 per cent, while Ethiopia reduced it from 49 per cent to 41 per cent. Again, this shift of economic structure is not a continent-wide story. But the best managed African countries are pulling it off.
Less than 20 years ago, the conventional wisdom was that landlocked, ethnically divided countries battling the burdens of tropical disease might never advance. Today, there is no guarantee of future progress. But the fatalistic talk of an African growth tragedy has been proved wrong.
The writer is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and an FT contributing editor.
Author: Sebastian Mallaby, Director of the Maurice R. Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies and Paul A. Volcker Senior Fellow for International Economics
Source: CFR


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Homeowners who jump into interior design projects without guidance may be risking hideous mistakes, designers say, whether by starting without a plan or choosing wild, crazy colors.
Executing a design without a master plan is a common problem among homeowners, according to Heather DeMoras, principal and owner of Heather DeMoras Design Consultants.
"Homeowners frequently do not have a master plan; as a result, they don't know how to achieve a cohesive look throughout their home," DeMoras says. "Without a plan for guidance, it is easy to get in over one's head."
The 1990 Syracuse University interior design graduate runs the firm with her husband, Mathieu DeMoras, from their studio in Rochester's Neighborhood of the Arts. Roughly half of the firm's business is residential; the remainder is in the hospitality and retail sectors.
DeMoras' solution for clients without a plan is straightforward: Work with a professional to create such a long-term plan, which can be executed over time.
"You don't have to do it all at once, and in the end, a well-conceived plan will save you money," she says.
A client's spontaneous selection of a dramatic color is another common error that DeMoras has encountered.
"I've seen some really hideous colors that weren't coordinated," she says.
For example, one client had painted the family room a loud color without considering what furniture would be in the room and exactly how the space would be used. The client then turned for help to De-Moras, who suggested a fresh start with a more conservative hue for the walls.
In an effort to display treasured purchases or gifts, clients sometimes create a crowded feeling within a room, DeMoras says. The solution might be a simple one, editing the volume of content.
"When you have everything on display that is near and dear to your heart, it can yield a confusing look," she says, citing the specific example of a room crowded with family photographs. "In this situation, I suggest to the client that we take everything down and tastefully redo the room. That may require temporarily placing some accessories in storage."
Using an interior designer at the outset can be helpful, especially to create a vision.
"Professionals can see the big picture and pull it all together," DeMoras suggests.
Fellow interior designer Robin Muto agrees with that perspective. Muto, owner of Robin Muto Interiors near the Memorial Art Gallery, also is a certified lighting designer. Most of her residential clients own mid-level to high-end properties.
"A lot of people try to do things themselves without first establishing a plan, so they buy a lot of merchandise piecemeal, then have a difficult time creating a cohesive look," Muto says. "In addition, people sometimes get carried away with the concept of achieving a minimalist look, without considering that they also need effective lighting."
Muto is delighted to help when clients seek her advice.
"Sometimes clients feel overwhelmed," she explains. "They look at their decor and see that it is too warm, too cold, too large-or that the color is awful. The solution may or may not be to buy more furniture."
Like DeMoras, Muto at that stage encourages the homeowner to pause and consider the long-term plan, which can be implemented over time.
"Layout is the place where we start," Muto says. "If you do it well, layout never lies. It helps you with scale of furniture and traffic patterns."
She also is a proponent of the minimal-ist concept.
"Empty or negative space in a room is important," Muto says. "If you receive a gift and you don't particularly like it, don't feel compelled to display it. Also, rotate your items from time to time; doing so will give a room a fresh, new look."
Jason Longo, owner of JDL Interiors, encourages clients to acquire pieces from several sources. Longo, whose studio is in the Hungerford Building near the Rochester Public Market, says he can easily spot a room that has been outfitted with a fast purchase at a furniture store.
"Take your time," advises Longo, who formerly co-hosted "Guess Who's Coming to Decorate," a cable television show on the Style Network. "Good design comes from multiple places-maybe local stores, maybe online-but not everything needs to be purchased from the same retailer."
The biggest mistakes Longo has noticed when entering a prospective client's home are insufficient lighting or do-it-yourself flooring and tiling projects that went horribly wrong.
"I'll never forget one client's home," he says. "The homeowners didn't know how to remove a wallpaper border, so they used joint compound-and ended up destroying their walls. So I arranged for a professional drywall installer to come in and do it correctly."
Another client, whom Longo refers to as a "reformed do-it-yourselfer," tried to install his own flooring. The results were not pretty-"completely uneven, with grout cracking," says Longo, who was hired to fix the problem.
Like his peers, Longo believes it is important to seek outside help.
"Invest in a good interior designer. Our expertise will help you understand the value of this profession," Longo says. "Design is a creative process. I love combining ideas in my head with ideas in my client's head."
Adds Muto: "It is important to invest time with a qualified interior designer. Design isn't fashion. It's not like buying a dress one day, then giving it away in a year. If a home is done right, it should last you a long time. Do it once, and do it right."
Debbie Waltzer is a Rochester-area freelance writer.
9/16/11 (c) 2011 Rochester Business Journal. To obtain permission to reprint this article, call 585-546-8303 or e-mail [email protected].


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This month's Malaysian Food Fest will feature two states, Kedah and Perlis together.
Last month was another great success! Hop over to Lena's blog to see the round up for Terengganu state.
Frankly, this is a huge task for me as there isn't much information on the internet for me to gather. Although I have been to both states, but it was only Langkawi and a 18 hour stopover at Kangar to wait for the train. That is not enough for me to understand the food well enough.
Anyway, I'll try my best. If anyone can help with adding in more information, it's greatly welcomed.
Let's talk about Perlis first.
|The flag of Perlis
Perlis is the smallest state of Malaysia and is most northern state on the peninsula. The economy of the state is mostly based on agriculture produce like sugar, rice and fruits, especially the Harum Manis variety of Mango, of which is very very fragrant.
Due to it being once under Siamese rule, the cuisine displays a heavy Thai influence.
The locals love eating glutinous rice cooked in coconut milk. The usual practice from Thailand is to have it with mango, but the locals will eat it with bananas or even ciku. Not very touristy, but it's common for the farmers in the state. They also eat sticky rice in place of regular rice with salted fish or other dishes.
Perlis people are also very fond of laksa, not the laksa found in other states. If you are making a trip there, make sure you don't miss their very very special laksa. It's made with a very very special ingredient. An ingredient that is long and slithery….. It's eel. Eel Laksa! Now, if you gladly eat unagi at Japanese restaurants, what's so scary about eating eel laksa? It's nothing, right?
Besides making laksa gravy with eel, they have the regular fish laksa too. Laksa Perlis is the same as the laksa Kedah, but the toppings are slightly different. Raw shredded local herbs like daun selom are added in as well.
I've heard from my friend who has been staying in Perlis for many years that they have a local practice of eating fried rice vermicelli with laksa gravy, yeah bihun goreng laksa : ). Such is their love for laksa.
You can read more about Perlis food from
Pengemara Tanpa Kompas
Perlis State Portal
|The flag of Kedah
Kedah is known as the rice bowl of Malaysia. Rice fields are as wide as the eye can see.
Due to this fact, Kedahans eat fish caught from the rice fields. In those days, Snakeheads(haruan) and catfish(semilang/sembilang) are a common part of their diet, but nowadays these fishes are not as easily found as before.
They not only eat freshwater fish, but marine fishes as well. Ikan Temenung (known as kembung in other parts of Malaysia, or in English, Indian mackerel) is the one of the popular fishes here. Made ever so popular when cooked in curry, called Gulai Ikan Temenung or made into Assam Pedas.
Generally the food of Kedah has influences from Thailand and Sumatra. That is the reason the dishes mostly comes with hot and sour tones and they love gulai. Kedahans also like to eat laksa and their version has similar gravy as Perlis, but authentic Kedah laksa is topped with cashew shoots, and many other astringent shoots too, besides the common cucumber and onions.
Like most northern states, they have immense love for glutinous rice. The ketupat in Kedah is different than other states. It is made with the leaf of the palas palm and is shaped like a triangle and filled with glutinous rice. Either boiled or steamed, it is served with rendang or curry.
Langkawi, a beautiful mythical island in Kedah, have their own specialties and they are from the sea. One of the specialty is also slithery, soft and squidgy. It's called Beronok, a type of sea slug. It can be made into kerabu, a salad. Another specialty from Langkawi is Laktut. Nothing fearsome, it's just seaweed. Usually eaten raw, dipped in sambal.
If you need any recipe links, try these
Sweet Recipes
Apam Perlis - It's similar with thai pancakes, except that it seems to be more generous with the filling. I've made this with a combination from a few recipes.
Pulut Pelam/Pisang/Ciku – Mango sticky rice, also can be made with banana and ciku, or even cempedak.
Kuih Qasidah, I heard from my Facebook friend Norehan, that this is a really old fashioned kuih that is popular among the Arab descendants in Kedah, hence the use of ghee and the name. But it seems that modern versions do not use ghee but just fry the shallots in oil.
Kuih Lepat Liat - Also introduced to me by Norehan. Easy to make and delicious. I've made this, you will see the English recipe soon.
Kuih Gedung Chak , not easily found nowadays as it's made with Nipah leaves and grilled on open fire. I will be doing a modified version using banana leaves.
Bunga Pudak - A lesser known traditional cookie, made with glutinous rice flour and coconut. The recipe sounds good, except for the amount of salt, it's probably a typo. Try this out with some adaptations.
Telur Labah labah , translated as spider eggs, coconut sago cookies made really small and infused with flowers
Cucur manis, bananas fried with banana batter. Double dose of naners!!!
Lengat Pisang, steamed banana kuih with just 4 ingredients plus 1 pinch of salt.
Savoury Recipe Links
Daging Masak Asam(no spice), tamarind beef stew, here's another version with spices. Translated version done by Annie
Laksa Kedah, Kedah style laksa, served with a sprinkling of local herbs. English version, visit Hody's.
Laksam Kedah -rice rolls in a fish curry gravy
Nasi Ulam Kedah - "Salad" Rice, northern style that uses salted fish, English version from Lena, usually served with Sayur Keladi (see below)
Asam Pedas Sayur Keladi, a spicy and sour stew made with the stalks of the taro fronds. I have eaten taro stalks before and it tastes like soft aubergines :)
Ketupat Daun Palas - sticky rice wrapped in palm leaves, English version from Sonia
Nasi daging utara- Northern beef rice, rice cooked in a spiced beef broth, served with tomato relish. I'll be posting this. It's not the same as Penang style nasi daging of which is more "curry-fied", hehehe.
Gulai ayam utara – Northern curry chicken, with mint, smells refreshing!
Ayam masak Asam- Chicken cooked with Tamarind, it's spicy too!
Asam pedas utara –Hot and Sour fish, northern style. It's quick and easy to do.
Gulai Ketam dengan Nanas- Crab Curry with Pineapples, crab and pineapple fans do take a look!
Mango Kerabu, northern style Mango Salad.
Lempiang Ikan – Fish pancake, aromatic with with kaffir lime leaves
Remember, the aim of this event is that you try cooking food from the state. Just any. You need not cook something that no one else has done.
1. Who can join? Anyone can join. Come let's replicate some Kedah or Perlis Food at home!
2. Prepare a dish ( sweet or savoury ) that is from Kedah or Perlis, be it old time favourite, modern goodies or dishes that has been localized. Take a picture of the food or many pictures. If possible, tell us the story about the dish, share with everybody so that others will learn. Please read FAQ on what make the dish a localized dish.
3. Provide a recipe that is credited ( from books, internet, friends or family or maybe it's your own, be specific). Submissions without stating recipe sources will not be accepted for all forms of submission.
4.Submit your entry latest by 31 November 2012 except for Facebook submissions.
a. Prepare a dish ( sweet or savoury ) that is from Kedah/Perlis
b. Blog about it from 1st November - 30st November 2012
c. Include this caption below your blogpost
" I am submitting this post to Malaysian Food Fest (link to MFF page), Kedah and Perlis Month hosted by WendyinKK of Table for 2..... or More (Link to this post) "
Send the following information to this email address ( email@example.com ) with the email subject as
" MFF Kedah Perlis"
Name/Nickname :
Blog name :
Name of dish :
Url of post :
Picture : ( URL or attachment that is lesser than 500k)
2. Facebook user
a. Like this Facebook Page
b. Prepare a dish ( sweet or savoury ) from the state of Kedah and Perlis
c. Take a picture and upload it into Facebook ( this month's FB page link )
d. Provide recipe with picture
Bloggers can submit old recipes to Facebook. Anyone that has once cooked a Kedah/Perlis dish and have a picture and recipe can submit to Facebook. Not necessarily a recently done dish.
For a pictorial guide on how to submit via facebook, pls click here
3. Non Facebook users and Non Bloggers
Email a picture of the dish together with the recipe to (email@example.com) latest by 30th November, 2012 by 11.59pm ( Malaysian time )
A Round Up will be done for all blog entries and emailed in entries on December 01, 2012. Facebook entries are not included in the round up.


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Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Wordless Wednesday - I miss snow
Moscow, Russia
Wordless Wednesday
20 comments:
I miss snow too. Maybe not Moscow amounts, but some.ReplyDelete
Nice pics :-)ReplyDelete
We ain't had much here in London yet either :-)
nice shotsReplyDelete
happy ww
I really don't miss the snow, but it is pretty.ReplyDelete
I don't miss them as we never had snow! Good pictures!ReplyDelete
I miss it, too.ReplyDelete
Pretty pictures!
Bonza photos. Don't get any snow in my neck of the woods only on the mountains :-).ReplyDelete
I hadn't seen snow in so long that I had forgotten how wet snow is, especially when your sister pushes you into a large snow drift. Of course, that's what makes snow fun.ReplyDelete
It seems that this year it's less snow even in the European countries.ReplyDelete
I haven't seen snow since I was four years old in Scotland, I definitely think it's time I made snowballs again!! Lovely images.ReplyDelete
Once in a while playing with snow is perfectly OK but if you were to face them for months guess things may get ugly. Nice pixz.ReplyDelete
Ooo, wonderful snow-photos!!!ReplyDelete
Many greetings and kisses
It strikes me that even in the the photo of hill there are vast level expanses. So interesting to see other localities from around the world!ReplyDelete
I could do with some snow myself...I was looking forward to getting the sledge out this Winter, but alas we haven't had drop in London yet!ReplyDelete
Oh snow, haven't tried to walk on the real now. Haha.ReplyDelete
Lovely photos! I must admit, I don't miss snow! This winter has been so lovely and mild that I don't long for the chaos and freezing cold that comes with snow!ReplyDelete
Uwah!!! I miss snow too!ReplyDelete
Nothing beats the feel of snow falling down and blowing in your face, love it! :)ReplyDelete
Hope we can both go to some place snowy soon he he... :)ReplyDelete
Have a great week ahead sweetie, love and hugs! :)ReplyDelete


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Servicing your boiler is probably the most important thing you can do for your home or your business. Preventative maintenance is the key to staying ahead of the cold weather. If you are not servicing your boiler annually then you may be setting yourself up for emergency repairs and they would most likely be occurring during the coldest times. You won't be aware of any issues until you start using your boiler more frequently and that is usually once the colder months arrive. Temperatures are known to hit below zero in Nassau and Suffolk County so it is certainly in your best interest to keep ahead of the cold. Additionally, depending on the size of the home or office you are heating, servicing your unit regularly is important to ensure you have the right size unit in addition to it being in the right condition. If you have a large space and the wrong size unit it is probably working overtime and would be prone to breaking down more often. KS Mechanical Services is here to help with this.
When a Boiler Stops Working
There are a number of reasons a boiler may stop working. The boiler pressure may be too low or too high. This fluctuation in pressure could be caused by water escaping somewhere in the system due to a possible leak, or a failure of the expansion valve. Other reasons why your gas boiler may need repair could include (but not be limited to) a power cut or electrical issue, a gas supply issue, a faulty pilot light, a frozen condensate pipe, a faulty internal component or a combination of issues.
What to Look Out For
While you should be servicing your boiler once a year, there are some important signs to look out for that would indicate an absolutely necessary service call. If the flame is flickering in an irregular pattern or if the flame is yellow that is an indication to call for a servicing. This usually means that your burner is not receiving enough air for complete combustion and must be looked at. If the pilot light is going out often then that may be an issue with the thermocouple. This is concerning because while the flame may be out, the fuel is still being supplied. If there are new stains or smoke marks on the unit or on anything nearby the unit this is an indication that the unit could be misfiring when it starts back up and cause not only damage to items near the unit from the puffback but be an issue with the proper functioning overall. If the boiler overheats or refills regularly this could be a sign of the malfunctioning of the safety features, or if the water pressure drops there is potentially a leak somewhere. If this occurs be ready to contact KS Mechanical Services today so the leaks won't cause any further damages to your home.
When a Boiler Makes Noise
If you hear a loud banging coming from your utility closet don't call Ghostbusters! It is probably the result of one of a few things. You may have a faulty thermostator a build-up of debris on the boiler's heat exchanger. If there is in fact a build-up of debris, you will need KS Mechanical Services in VarLocationName NY to carry out a power flush. Other causes may be but not limited to limescale build up, overheating, air blockage or insufficient water flow or pressure.
When a Boiler Leaks
A boiler is constantly circulating water, so when there is a leak it could be a result of a number of different issues and also cause a new set of issues as well. Corrosion is a common cause of water leakage as any time water and metal meet this is certainly an outcome. When there are pressure issues, the valve to relieve that pressure will leak water in an attempt to relieve the pressure that could be a result of calcite or limestone buildup. A few other factors may include damaged seals, advanced age, defects or poor initial installation.
When to Call for Service
As soon as you suspect anything may be wrong with your boiler it is always best to call KS Mechanical Services to have your unit looked at so you can notice any damages that might have taken place. If you notice any of the things discussed above or would like a preventative check up then it is never too early to do that. It is recommended to operate on the side of caution and give us a call to inspect any issue you may think is arising because it is always better to be safe than sorry.
Get on a Schedule
The best way to avoid any issues is to get on an annual servicing schedule. Preventative maintenance is key to having a smooth ride through the cold Long Island seasons. In particular, if you have an older boiler it may take a little longer to find parts for your model, so giving yourself that time when the weather is more tolerable is invaluable.
Repair or Replace
KS Mechanical Services takes pride in always doing what is in the best interest of our customers and never recommending anything that isn't necessary. We have had a long and successful decade plus of service to homeowners and business owners all over Nassau and Suffolk County and the greater Woodcliff Park NY area because of our honesty and commitment to exceptional service.
If you are looking for quality boiler service by a company with over ten years of experience, then look no further than boiler repair Woodcliff Park Suffolk County NY and the surrounding areas by KS Mechanical Services. We pride ourselves in supplying you with our expert technicians and our exceptional service department. Give us a call at 631-889-3617 today!
Here are some boiler-related links:


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Home > Cash Drawer > Economy Cash Drawer > MMF CashierPLUS > 225-5865-04
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The picture displayed for this item is a picture of the CashierPLUS and may not be of this part number.
When you buy this product you receive:
MMF CashierPLUS Replacement Cash Tray, 6 Coin Slots and 6 Bill Slots
Please call for pricing and information
Conditions Apply* Return Policy How can we improve your shopping experience? Leave us feedback.
About This Product
For a complete product description, including technical specifications, warranty information, and additional models please visit the main CashierPLUS page.
Product Technical Specifications
Listed specifications may not apply to every part number including the one listed above. Contact us and we will happily verify whether this part number is compatible with your current hardware and software.
- Features
- Larger Media Slot accomodates up to letter-size documents
- Telescoping, full suspension ball bearing glide system
- Heavy duty 14-18-gauge steel shell construction
- Rugged Till made from ABS plastic
Weight:44 lbs
Dimensions (WxDxH):20.5 x 22 x 4.37
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Till:4-6 bill/4-6 coin adjustable slots with spring loaded bill weights
Media Slots:One media slot
Interface:Interface cables support all popular manufacturers´ printers, as well as Serial interfaces
Solenoid:Rated at 3 million cycles
2 Year Warranty


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The Ohio State University
US Department of Veterans Affairs
The vision of the VA is to provide veterans the world-class benefits and services they have earned - and to do so by adhering to the highest standards of compassion, commitment, excellence, professionalism, integrity, accountability, and stewardship.
If you are new to the VA, a comprehensive overview can be found here.
Veterans Affairs - Columbus Area
The Chalmers P. Wylie VA Ambulatory Care Center serves veterans in and around Columbus, while additional community-based outpatient clinics are located in surrounding cities.
The Columbus Vet Center is located just south of OSU's campus and serves not only veterans, but their families and loved ones. The Columbus Vet Center accepts walk-ins, offers flexible scheduling upon request, and also has services specifically for female veterans.
The Ohio Department of Job & Family Services - Veterans Services
Veterans Affairs - Surrounding Areas
Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC)
Grove City
© 2013 | 185 Student Academic Services Building| 281 W. Lane Ave. | Columbus, Ohio 43210 |
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Sentosa Island
What to do in Sentosa Island
Sentosa Island is a manmade island that was built for fun and recreation in Singapore. The many things to see and do in Sentosa include the expansive Resorts World, Universal Studios Singapore, Tiger Sky Tower, Singapore Butterfly & Insect Kingdom, and one of the largest collections of aquatic animals in the world, SEA Aquarium.
Located just south of Singapore CBD, the 12-minute cable car ride from Vivo City to Sentosa Island has the added bonus of providing astounding panoramic views. Don't worry if all of this sounds exhausting, because Sentosa Island has several soft, sandy beaches along the southern coast which are especially popular on weekends. This part of Singapore allows you to have a beach resort experience just a few minutes from one of Asia's most enigmatic cities.


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Today's broad Messianic community has some significant struggles with the Apostolic Scriptures or New Testament. This has been one of the major causes for Messianic Apologetics starting the for the Practical Messianic commentary series, and why we continue to add new volumes to it.
An important part of our complete book commentary series has been to provide an Author's Rendering appendix, based on the public domain 1901 American Standard Version, incorporating various renderings and translations proposed. The Apostolic Scriptures Practical Messianic Edition takes this a step further, and incorporates various other renderings and translations proposed, from an entire selection of Outreach Israel Ministries and Messianic Apologetics materials, from both completed Practical Messianic commentaries and the remainder of the New Testament for which we have planned future volumes.
There have been a number of useful and beneficial Messianic editions of the Apostolic Scriptures produced, notably including the Jewish New Testament and Tree of Life—Messianic Family Bible, both intended for congregational reading and private study. The Apostolic Scriptures Practical Messianic Edition is a little different in that it is rooted within the research and conclusions defended in the Messianic Apologetics Practical Messianic commentary series, and other titles, such as The New Testament Validates Torah and various volumes of the Messianic Helper series. Unlike Messianic editions of the Apostolic Scriptures which might not explain the specifics of various controversial renderings, translation notes have been provided. There are renderings present in the PME which you are not likely to see in any other Messianic version, although they are taken from various proposals made in contemporary Biblical Studies.
The Apostolic Scriptures Practical Messianic Edition or PME should prove to be a welcome volume within the Messianic Apologetics library of for the Practical Messianic commentaries. The PME will give readers a specialty edition of the New Testament that they should appreciate in their Bible reading and personal reflections.
370 pages


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Wednesday, January 29, 2014
How about some good news from the garden?
I've got three Callistemon 'Woodlander's Hardy Red' - this is the best looking of the bunch, no damage!
Both of my Callistemon viridiflorus look good, this one especially (as do the arctostaphylos, one here in the background).
But both Callistemon viridiflorus 'Xera Compact' look a little iffy. The upper foliage is happy, the lower foliage is a bit crispy.
All the dasylirion (7 of them) look good, as to the cylindropuntia (also 7)...
I was worried about both Feijoa sellowiana, but this one especially. Being in a container it's bound to be a little less hardy than the one in the ground. They're both okay.
However there is a little leaf burn on the one in the ground, especially odd since both were wrapped when things were really bad.
This qualifies as a surprise. Based on previous winters, and the many Yucca aloifolia 'Purpurea' I've lost, I am very happy with how good this pair looks.
Silly little things but I do love them.
Okay I know this is supposed to be a good-news post but I've got to record it all! Eryngium proteiflorum, two of them, planted last fall, and they both look like this. So sad.
The new-growth tips on the Nolina nelsonii got nipped, but the rest looks okay.
A serious case of Yucca acne on the Yucca gloriosa 'variegata'...
Another surprise! Grevillea rivularis looks good, a little dead foliage towards the bottom.
And this! Whadda ya know? An Echium wildpretii...alive! Three are goners but this little guy hangs on.
The containerized tree fern (Dicksonia Antarctica) looks good, but then it should since it spent the cold days in the warm basement.
So did the Bocconia frutescens, but an unexpected night at 26F fried the leaves. I cut it back and hope it will respond kindly in the spring.
Look! I'm ready to declare this phormium as survivor. Especially since every other one in the garden has flopped. It was wrapped during the cold...
Because the foliage is just so gorgeous!
The Schefflera delavayi (also wrapped) looks good. Not really a surprise but I am thankful.
Ditto for the S. taiwaniana...
And this little one two.
Pyrrosia hastata (right) is looking a little wilted but P. sheareri (left) powers on.
This is a huge surprise, the Embothrium coccineum I planted last spring at about 12" tall and which is now over 8' tall is still alive. I did not expect this.
Rhododendron sinogrande looks a little goofy, but is still alive.
Yucca aloifolia 'Blue Boy' also looks good. Although it's a little green...
The final surprise is this Aloe striatula. I've lost a couple in less cold conditions, and the one next door (which I blogged about here) died a quick death. But as crazy as it is this one is still alive. I'll take it! Of course I didn't talk about the agaves and their survival rate. I'm saving that for next week, an official agave post coming up! (oh and next week is now predicted to get cold...hopefully not too cold...)
All material © 2009-2014 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.
26 comments:
Congratulations! May the temperatures only get warmer.ReplyDeleteReplies
That would be lovely, and I was certainly thinking that was the direction we were headed. Now sadly their are a couple of nights in the low 20's in the forecast for next week. Ugh.Delete
Isn't it strange what survives and what doesn't, especially the same kind of plant in different areas. This post was much more enjoyable than that other Survivors thing! So, should this not be considered a PKW? there a lots around town here that look great. I lost a couple but still have some.ReplyDeleteReplies
Strange indeed! As for the PKW I'd say it definitely was, at least here in Portland. I lost 5 and I've only seen 2 others in town that are still standing.Delete
Love your tree fern! My good news is that it's snowing a lot today and hopefully it will stick around to insulate my plants when temps drop almost down to zero next week. Crossed fingers.ReplyDeleteReplies
Yikes. Thanks for the reminder of what I left behind! And I hope the snow does it's job for you. Are your hellebores starting to bloom?Delete
Glad your Rhododendron sinogrande made it. I'm always looking for success stories with the big leaf rhodies. And the Grevillea rivularis! I already wanted one, now it's definitely on the wishlist! Wow, 7 feet in one summer! I had heard embothrium grew fast but I had no idea!ReplyDeleteReplies
I wish I knew what that embothrium was drinking! I swear that growth was just insane. I've got one in the front garden (it was a gift) and it's grown about, well, not at all in 3 years!Delete
This is great news. I'm glad so many of your favorites made it.ReplyDelete
Aloe striatula looks better than mine, which makes me think that I have isn't really striatula.
My Dicksonia antartica lost all leaves but one even though I'd covered it. Hopefully it'll recover. Trying to grow tree ferns in our dry climate is folly anyway but I can't help myself.Replies
"Can't help myself"...ya, growing agaves in Portland isn't exactly a sane activity either is it? I also have a tree fern in the ground. I wrapped the heck out of it, but there was no heat source. I finally unwrapped it the other day to have a look, it was still solid but who knows, only time will tell and really as cold as we were I doubt there's a chance.Delete
I've been considering getting a tree fern, now that I have the greenhouse to winter it in. It will be heated, do you think it will be ok there for the winter? I bought a Callistemon Woodlander's Hardy a couple of years ago and almost lost it through lack of care, but it bounced back. I worried that since it's still in its nursery pot that it wouldn't survive the deep freeze here, but it seems to have done fine. I didn't wrap my S. delvavayi, and it did fine. But I put S. brevipunculata inside the hoophouse, which is really only a couple of degrees warmer. It seems to be doing fine too. It's so good to see what has survived in your garden!ReplyDeleteReplies
As long as you keep it plenty moist (the tree fern) I would think it'd be okay. Ours stays by the back door all winter, ready to be wished inside if the temps are predicted to drop.Delete
Great list of plants!ReplyDelete
Hmm, I bet the dry soils played a part in bumping up the survival rate, particularly for your agaves and other succulents. My sinogrande did well too. A couple years ago I had one that didn't make it. Cold temperatures where similar but Portland had more typical rain in the prior months.Replies
Yes the drier weather certainly has been nice for the agaves and their survival, I would have thought the opposite though for the R. sinogrande.Delete
Lots of good news there Loree! And those that you wrapped and is still looking well now just shows how much dividends a little effort can sometimes pay :)ReplyDeleteReplies
Indeed, unfortunately (like the gunnera I mentioned) I did forget about some plants...Delete
I see your Trachy is also looking just fine. Not so down here. And all of the phormiums look worse than death. My Feijoa has some tip dieback but seems to be okay. Your plants look great. Hopefully that December plummet will not happen again for another 30 years.ReplyDeleteReplies
Yes, one of three trachys bit the dust but the other two are just fine. Not for another 30 years! I like it.Delete
I don't know how you do it with so many "marginal" plants -- I'd be a wreck! Are you growing Eryngium yuccafolium? If not, it seems like a good choice for you -- herbaceous so no worries about winter.ReplyDelete
Also, I'm looking forward to the Agave post, as I have no idea if my little collection contains survivors or victims.Replies
I've had two Eryngium yuccafolium. One died and I finally gave away the second because it looked so bad. They just don't like my garden!Delete
I hadn't even thought about your agaves and opuntias...having been worrying along with you about the bamboo. Yikes. Have you looked at them?
Good batting average. I've been too afraid to look very closely around here.ReplyDeleteReplies
I don't know how you do it! Morbid curiosity whens out for me every time.Delete
Woohoo! Good to see your happy survivors. That tree fern is so lush! It looks like it thoroughly enjoyed its hotel stay.ReplyDeleteReplies
As long as I remember to give it lots of shots from the spray bottle it doesn't mind being inside too much. We originally bought it to act as our Christmas Tree (Fern) one year, it was gorgeous but by the time it went outside it had lost quite a few leaves.Delete
- AnonymousJanuary 29, 2014
Wow! Amazing to see these survivors! Especially the Echium. That's a small miracle.ReplyDelete
Just this morning I was thinking maybe I should go more with the typical northwest safe choices and forget about agaves,echiums, tree ferns, and dasylirions. Keep hope alive!
Also, I wrote a while back that my agave parryi truncatas survived the cold. Wrong. They're beginning to turn to mush. My good news is that Osamanthus "Silver Sussex" survived with no damage.
Can't wait for the agave update to pick replacements for my dry slope! Thanks Loree!
Jim, NE PortlandReplies
Thank you Jim, good to know you got something from this post. I am totally surprised about that echium, bizarre. BTW I saw some very happy ones at Cistus recently, if you're looking to try again. And I'm sorry about your A. parryi, that sucks! A. parryi 'JC Raulston' continues to be a rock-star in my garden.Delete
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Re-Imagined Classics On 180g Double LP!
Recorded at The Racket Club and Real World Studios, and with a running time of almost 80 minutes, "With Friends From The Orchestra" features nine classic Marillion tracks re-imagined and accompanied by the In Praise Of Folly String Quartet with Sam Morris (French Horn) and Emma Halnan (Flute).
You may not have heard of Marillion but either directly or indirectly, however, you have almost certainly felt the influence of one of the UK music scene's best-kept secrets.
Marillion's music is, by its nature, tough to sum-up but perhaps can be approximately described as musically-experimental-yet-emotional Rock, married to thought provoking, soulful lyrics - a powerful and moving cocktail which, for those who "get it", elicits extraordinary devotion. Its global fan base is impressive and hyper-engaged, with fans often traveling thousands of miles to attend live shows. Little wonder then, that the band was well-placed to harness this faith and trust to provide an alternative way of operating.
After over thirty years, the band shows no signs of slowing down and new generations of young fans are discovering the music for themselves. And there's plenty of it. With a catalogue of 18 albums behind them, having written music that draws on every genre Marillion can be considered Progressive not just musically, but in just about every sense.
The band has evolved into a vibrant and international musical force. To those who already love Marillion, the band is something special. To the uninitiated, it's a potential love affair waiting to happen.
In September 2017 Marillion won 'Band Of The Year' at the UK Prog Awards.
Today, any musician, artist, writer, or budding entrepreneur can quickly set up a crowdfunding campaign using established specialist companies like PledgeMusic and Kickstarter. Of course, this wasn't always the case and previously, artists in need of finance and exposure had little choice but to sign their rights away in often exploitative and one-sided business deals. It can be argued that every artist today owes Marillion a debt of gratitude because now there is another way forward.
As far back as the late 1990s, Marillion's fans sponsored an entire US tour responding to an appeal posted on the fledgling Internet, donating $60,000. In 1997 the band responded creating its own website (the first rock 'n' roll website in the UK) and began what was to change the landscape of music. With the support of its passionate fans, Marillion bypassed the conventional music industry, took control of its future, and forged its own path, naming their album marillion.com, banishing the spectre of record company pressure and influence once and for all. Marillion launched its own record label, the aptly named Intact imprint. In so doing, the band freed itself up to produce some of the finest music of its career.
In 2001, Anoraknophobia saw Marillion take the groundbreaking step of asking fans to pre-order an album a full 12 months before release. Anyone doing so would receive a specially packaged CD, which would include their name in the "Thanks" list. An amazing 12,000 people signed up, helping not only to finance the recording, but also to create a budget to launch the album. In doing so, the band invented "Crowdfunding". This was anything but a one-time event and the band has since funded a number of albums this way. The crowd-funded business model has since been embraced globally to finance music, film and art which otherwise might never have existed.
- 180g Vinyl
- Double LP
- 9 classic Marillion tracks re-imagined with friends from the orchestra
- Made in Germany
Side A:
- Estonia
- A Collection
- Fantastic Place
- Beyond You
Side B:
- This Strange Engine
- The Hollow Man
Side C:
- The Sky Above The Rain
- Seasons End
Side D:
- Ocean Cloud


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Ralph Williams looked pensively at a point in space behind where I was sitting. The venerable English professor was struggling with the question in a way I hadn't anticipated.
The question, I erroneously thought, was a simple one: "Do you consider yourself religious?"
"The question itself — I'm not reading your intent, I'm reading the status of the language — it comes to me (as) 'Tell me this about yourself,'" he said. "You can say 'yes,' but then, by saying yes, I'm dividing myself from other people who are not that …"
He pauses briefly. The pensive look begins to fade, and a wily grin creeps onto his weathered, kind face.
"If I can accept the question, accept the term, and (that) it's about love and consciousness about one another in which we realize that and our relations with one another, if you mean that and are willing to mean that, then the answer is 'yes.'"
An interview with Ralph Williams is a daunting task — one I wasn't wholly prepared for. In the Daily's online archives, which go back just over a decade, there are more than 90 articles that either mention or are directly about him. This is impressive amount for a time period that barely scratches the surface of the half-century Williams has spent at the University, first as a student, then an English professor.
In those articles, there are overviews of his involvement with the Royal Shakespeare Company, highlights from his more famous lectures, an analysis of his handwriting and profiles more or less like this one.
The collection, however, doesn't seem to capture much beyond the surface of his achievements. He remains, for the most part, a splendid enigma. No mention of his early life, few mentions of a personal philosophy, nothing about his struggles — but plenty of triumphs — and little about the soul of the man himself.
Williams's return to the lecture hall was a surprise to many — though, perhaps, not to those who know him well. He retired in 2009 with a grand send-off and a final lecture entitled "How with this rage shall beauty hold a plea?" given to a packed house at Rackham Auditorium. In 2012, he made a much-heralded return to teaching, though he had continued to be deeply involved with the University during his absence from the classroom.
Nearly four years after that "final" lecture, Ralph Williams is still enraged.
"There is in me a deep — shall I call it anger? — at social injustice more widely," he said. "Life has in many ways been gracious to me, but the level of profligate waste of the world's resources, the profligate destruction of the world's peoples, is justifiably a cause for anger. There is a question about where to put that anger, how to deal with it in ways that aren't sentimental, saying, 'Oh, I forgive so it's alright.'"
Of the many characters he's studied throughout his storied career, he sees himself now as Prospero, the betrayed and exiled duke from Shakespeare's "The Tempest."
Among all of Shakespeare's characters, Prospero is perhaps the most wronged by the world, but he remains conciliatory and forgiving. Against great odds, and with a bit of magic, Prospero regains his holdings and leaves something better for the next generation.
"That play shows a Prospero who doesn't give over his ground, if you will," Williams said. "He has been deeply wronged — there is wrong in the world, and one appropriately responds to that with something that can be called anger. The issue of how one redirects that with all that one can do into not only an action and appropriate action, but beneficent action, while retaining or re-achieving, as in Prospero's case, a goodwill."
"I suppose from where I am, that must be so … in such a way as to open the way for the next generation, even as realizing one's own limitations in time."
Any student who has learned from Williams will know that he is unabashedly Canadian. Growing up in St. Marys, Ontario, his family later moved further to the countryside. His mother raised him and his four siblings while their father worked as a machinist in Niagara Falls and was frequently away.
"Milton, Shakespeare, were part of the daily vocabulary of the house," he said. "Their phrases were part of the language of self-expression. There was nothing pretentious about it … it was just how you talked!"
His primary education occurred in two one-room schoolhouses. Each day's task was written on the blackboard as the lone teacher roamed the room helping students with their work. Instead of simply completing what was assigned to him, Williams completed all the other grades' assignments too.
"Knowledge didn't come in neat little packets," Williams grinned.
He also faced tragedy in his childhood — one of the darkest moments of his life. As he recalls those bleak days, his voice weakens and his eyes look, as they often do, into the distance as though he is narrating his own memory. In 1948, Bill, his brother suddenly died from what was thought at the time to be encephalitis.
"His last words were, 'Give me a kiss goodbye, mother,'" Williams recalled, his expression pained.
The aftermath of his brother's death was "real terror" for his mother. The family wasn't sure of how communicable the disease was and whether or not any of the other children were afflicted. In the wake of the loss, she turned to the Bible for comfort, making each child memorize the Psalm 91:5-6.
"Thou shalt not be afraid of the terrors by night, or the arrow that flyeth by day, and of the pestilence that walketh in darkness …" he repeated from memory.
"(My early experiences) both made me acquainted with the resonance (of) those rolling phrases (and) of the comfort presented there, and started a lifelong dialogue in many ways with those texts because (they) made a promise that didn't get fulfilled," he said. "It said if you were a good guy, then God would keep a pestilence from you, and God didn't keep pestilence from Bill. And so it started a long dialogue about the status of those promises and the relationship between their eloquent majesty and the root facts of life."
His undergraduate years weren't easy, either. He attended Andrews University in Berrien Springs, a 7th Day Adventist institution, where he found himself stifled by a conservative Christian worldview.
"It was an interesting experience. By the time I finished there, I decided I wasn't 'that,'" he said. "I actually may be one of the last to get myself called up in front of a university president on charges of atheism. It wasn't true at the time, anyway, but there it is …"
He arrived at the University of Michigan as a doctoral student in the mid-1960's, and apart from a brief teaching stint at Cornell — been here ever since.
Still, his many years of learning and growing at the University have not brought him unrequited happiness. Aside from his brother's death, Williams said grappling with the implications of the Shoah — more commonly known as the Holocaust — challenged his most basic human assumptions.
"In a life that has known a number of challenges, it is the case that the answer needs to be related to what's indicated in what I call an old 'Williams-ism:' that happiness is not a state into which you fall. It's a choice of the will, and it's always against odds."
He looks down at his large hands and pauses as he ruminates over the implications of what he said.
"This means that I don't know whether we're going, as a species, to make it," he said. "I can't rely, you see, on notions that we are basically good … The Shoah took care of that. I have no moral alternative but to try — do you know? That trying itself, as an individual and in relation to others, can be a source of enduring happiness."
That famous grin reappeared, more hesitantly this time. For Williams, his drive to "try" comes from both the campus and his students.
"There are three trees (outside of Natural Science auditorium) that, as you go toward them, they have the most marvelous mottled bark," he said. "The mottled-ness of the bark reminded me of the mottled-ness of our human nature. We are creatures of the motley. Shakespeare was intimately aware of this… And (the trees) became, if you will, my friends over the years. Sometimes I feel I want to do more for my students, I want to be worthy of my students, and some days I'd worry, 'Am I worthy of them today? Can I be with and for them, as I want to be? Do I know enough?' And I'd walk by (the trees), and I'd look at them, and I'd smile, and I'd go into the lecture hall strengthened by their very beauty and the reminder of the mottled-ness of us all.'"
His learning process isn't over. I didn't ask him if he ever intended to retire again. I didn't feel I needed to.
"When I was a man of 20, I thought to be a man of unchanging principle was the best thing I could possibly be. I no longer think that. Over the years I've changed principles, I've jettisoned some, I hope in favor of larger, more capacious ones. What gives me the most joy right now is the experience in the astonishing variety of ways the human good can work itself out. That's the texture of my life — it's ongoing."