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|By Admin1 (admin) (220.127.116.11) on Sunday, February 22, 2009 - 2:01 pm: Edit Post
NPCA gets new web site with "Peace Corps Connect"
The website also will be home to Connected Peace Corps, a unique modern social networking site on which members of the Peace Corps Community (returned, current, and prospective volunteers, friends and family of volunteers, plus academics, international development practitioners, and others who share Peace Corps values), can link up and share data and experiences, work together in groups, and support projects and initiatives around the world.
NPCA gets new web site with "Peace Corps Connect"
On January 20, 2009, the United States celebrates the inauguration of President Barack Obama. In anticipation of President Obama's commitment to support the Peace Corps, we are excited to announce the launch of Peace Corps Connect (powered by NPCA).
This new website will feature a wealth of information on countries, people, events, congressional initiatives, and many additional areas affecting the Peace Corps Community.
The website also will be home to Connected Peace Corps, a unique modern social networking site on which members of the Peace Corps Community (returned, current, and prospective volunteers, friends and family of volunteers, plus academics, international development practitioners, and others who share Peace Corps values), can link up and share data and experiences, work together in groups, and support projects and initiatives around the world.
* Stay current on events and activities happening in your region or area of interest
* Find and develop data, and obtain insight and resources, for specific Peace Corps and community development projects
* Read and share your opinions on blogs about culture, development, education, health, and others written by community members and a variety of experts
* Establish and join country- and issue-specific groups
* View and share photos and videos from the field or US-based Peace Corps events and projects
>li>Get answers to your questions about Peace Corps service and your post-Peace Corps volunteer life and career goals
NOW is the time to join this dynamic community! It's easy to sign up today at www.peacecorpsconnect.org and click "Sign Up."
***** Be Mobile! The Connected Peace Corps site is also accessible from, and formatted especially for, your mobile device. Just go to http://community.peacecorpsconnect.org/m from your iPhone/Blackberry's browser.
Brought to you by the NPCA and the Peace Corps Connect Task Force:
Ron Boring, NPCA Advisory Council
Erica Burman, NPCA
Ami Dar, Idealist.org
Will Dickinson, Peace Corps Wiki
Meg Garlinghouse, Yahoo!
Sherwood Guernsey, Attorney, NPCA Director's Circle
Kevin Quigley, NPCA
Stephanie Linden Seale, RPCV Bulgaria
Lynda Sirk, Antioch University
Jenn Thompson, Changing our World
Links to Related Topics (Tags):
Headlines: January, 2009; NPCA; Internet
When this story was posted in February 2009, this was on the front page of PCOL:
Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers
PCOL's Candidate for Peace Corps Director
Honduras RPCV Jon Carson, 33, presided over thousands of workers as national field director for the Obama campaign and said the biggest challenge -- and surprise -- was the volume of volunteer help, including more than 15,000 "super volunteers," who were a big part of what made Obama's campaign so successful. PCOL endorses Jon Carson as the man who can revitalize the Peace Corps, bring it into the internet age, and meet Obama's goal of doubling the size of the Peace Corps by 2011.
Director Ron Tschetter: The PCOL Interview
Peace Corps Director Ron Tschetter sat down for an in-depth interview to discuss the evacuation from Bolivia, political appointees at Peace Corps headquarters, the five year rule, the Peace Corps Foundation, the internet and the Peace Corps, how the transition is going, and what the prospects are for doubling the size of the Peace Corps by 2011. Read the interview and you are sure to learn something new about the Peace Corps. PCOL previously did an interview with Director Gaddi Vasquez.
Jan 24, 2009: RPCVs March in Inauguration
Peace Corps Community marches in Inaugural Parade 20 Jan
Jane Albritton writes: Memories of Maury Albertson 18 Jan
Sarah Chayes writes: Failing Afghanistan 15 Dec
Volunteers in Guinea are Safe 23 Dec
Jim Walsh reflects on 20 years of service 28 Dec
Public service in Driehaus' blood 3 Jan
An Interview with Kathleen Stephens 3 Jan
Robert P. Cristo returns to Nigeria 4 Jan
Sarah Holt makes 2,663-mile hike along the Pacific Crest Trail 5 Jan
Zophia Kneiss is metal sculptor 11 Jan
Harris Wofford is Godfather of National Service 12 Jan
Melanie Edwards founds Mobile Metrix 14 Jan
Jody Olsen Named PC Acting Director 16 Jan
Lawrence Leamer writes: Obama betrays the Peace Corps? 18 Jan
George Packer writes: Obama's Inaugural Address 20 Jan
Obama going to do something great for Peace Corps 21 Jan
John Bridgeland writes: Volunteer to Save the Economy 22 Jan
Foy Spicer writes: Electricity as a scarcity 23 Jan
Carl Pope to Step Down as Sierra Club Chief 23 Jan
James Rupert writes: US Missile Attacks Kill 15 24 Jan
Jeffrey Tayler writes "Murderers in Mausoleums" 25 Jan
Read more stories from January 2009 and December 2008.
Some PCVs return to Bolivia on their own
Peace Corps has withdrawn all volunteers from Bolivia because of "growing instability" and the expulsion of US Ambassador Philip Goldberg after Bolivian President Evo Morales accused the American government of inciting violence in the country. This is not the first controversy surrounding Goldberg's tenure as US ambassador to Bolivia. Latest: Some volunteers have returned to Bolivia on their own to complete their projects.
PCVs Evacuated from Georgia
The Peace Corps has announced that all Volunteers and trainees serving in the Republic of Georgia are safe and they have been temporarily relocated to neighboring Armenia. Read the analysis by one RPCV on how Georgia's President Mikheil Saakashvili believed that he could launch a lightning assault on South Ossetia and reclaim the republic without substantial grief from Moscow and that Saakashvili's statements once the war began demonstrated that he expected real Western help in confronting Russia.
Read the stories and leave your comments.


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Some of the guests at the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market are unknowns from rural areas who will board planes for the very first time to reach New Mexico. Others are world-renowned rockstars in their field. All get to spend an invigorating week communing with each other, sharing craft ideas and artistic visions. If it weren't for the market, most of them would probably never meet or even know of each other's existence. Karin Le Roux, a craft developer from Namibia, savors the energy and solidarity she has felt at the market. "There's just this lovely camaraderie between people from all around the world," she says. "It's very special. I've never experienced anything like this, ever."The majority of these artisans come from developing countries, and their crafts are the only source of income for themselves and their families. Last year, the nonprofit market says it generated more than 2 million dollars in sales, 90 percent of which was taken home by the artisans. Many of them are organizers who have created poverty-alleviating programs in their home countries. They teach others to make handicrafts, giving them a means to earn an income. Some use their market revenue to help support their families for the rest of the yearShoppers won't find grandma's doilies or puffy paint sweatshirts, but exotic, high-quality goods. Sequined Vodou flags from Haiti, woven baskets from Rwanda, beaded jewelry from Kenya―these are just a few items attainable at the eighth annual market. Even fashion house representatives make the trip to the market, from every corner of the world, to collect handicrafts and ideas. Last year, dignitaries from South Africa, Cuba and Oman made an appearance. The Santa Fe International Folk Art Market is one of the largest events of its kind. It's also a global humanitarian happening.The Alibi spoke with three featured artists by phone about their histories, the handicrafts they're bringing and the effect of their work on their communities.
Janet Nkubana
Lisa Law
When long-standing tensions between the Hutu and Tutsi peoples in Rwanda began simmering to a violent turmoil, Janet Nkubana's parents fled to a refugee camp in Uganda. It was here that Nkubana spent her childhood, learning to weave baskets alongside her mother. After the 1994 Rwandan genocide that killed at least 800,000 people, she returned to her native country. She began selling her baskets and teaching other women to weave. It was a source of income and a way to bring women together—from both sides of the conflict—and empower them. She helped the women organize into a cooperative, Gahaya Links, which is bolstering social and economic development in Rwanda.Gahaya Links now includes 52 cooperatives, comprised of more than 4,000 women. This is Nkubana's fourth year attending the Santa Fe market, and she says each time she gives a different cooperative the opportunity to come."When we started, when I went back to Rwanda, we were five women," she says by phone. "And then we kept growing, growing … it was like a burning bush." Even now, she says, there's a steady stream of women who join her network. "We have women living with HIV who were raped during the war, women who got HIV in the normal way. We have women who are widows. We have women with husbands in prison," she says. "So our cooperative has a motif of saying we are one, under one sky, and our common value is in our hands."Throughout her childhood in the refugee camp, Nkubana's parents and other Rwandan natives kept their culture and language alive. Her father, she says, used to talk proudly of being Rwandan. She also remembers how difficult school was for her and other refugee children, who were often ostracized. "They would call you all sorts of names that would really hurt your feelings," she says. "So those moments would really push you to think that, When would I have a home?" When Nkubana left Uganda there was never a question of where she would go. "When the war ended, we were looking forward to going to our roots, to where we belonged," she says, "where we could practice our culture, where you could speak your language freely."She was by then a single mother trying to make a new life in a difficult country. For a while she worked in a small hotel, weaving baskets on the side for extra income. When the hotel closed and she lost her job, Nkubana had nowhere to turn but her art form. "You know it was pretty challenging when I started weaving as a full-time job," she says. "It was hard, of course. Sometimes you don't have even money."The United States Embassy in Rwanda helped turn her luck. Employees saw Nkubana's baskets and let her set up a small display in the embassy, exposing tourists to her work. Humanitarian business people with an arts interest began helping Nkubana get United States buyers for her baskets, and one—Willa Shalit—secured an order from Macy's. The large demand led Nkubana to recruit women from across Rwanda to join her collective."We'd go to community grassroots leaders and say, We want to meet with the women here. You know, we moved around the country," she says, "because I knew all the women in Rwanda know how to make baskets." Women flocked to the work. The income was, and still is, the only source of income for them and their families. Nkubana says it has economically empowered women, which has never been the case before. "Women were left in the backyard. They were hesitant to interact with men. But this time we are coming up front because we are the bread earners of our families."Nkubana credits the baskets with helping to facilitate peace between people in her country. One lady in her group had 65 members of her family killed during the genocide. She was the only one left. In the same weaving group was the wife of one of the murderers. At first the women worked in silence. Many survivors were angry and couldn't bear to meet the wives or children of those who killed their families, Nkubana says. Other women, whose husbands committed atrocities, were ashamed to be included in the community. "We went beyond that," she says, "and we said, We are women, we have children. Our common problem is poverty. Our common issue we have is, how do we keep our families? Let us sit here and make baskets."She would tell the weavers that they didn't need to talk to one another, that they just needed to work—but it would be easier if they sat together and shared ideas. "Who understands better quality?" she would ask. "You look at her basket and improve on your quality." As time went on, the barriers began to break. "One would say, Oh can I borrow your scissors to cut my thread? And that would start a conversation," she remembers. "Another one would say, Oh, my weaving material is finished, let me rush home. And then another one says, No, don't worry, you can bring it tomorrow, use mine." The women were learning how to let go of the past and forgive each other.The reconciliatory symbolism of the basket spread. Traditionally called an agaseke , it is now widely known as a "peace basket." It appears on Rwandan currency, and even on the country's flag. Nkubana was just notified that the government of Rwanda is presenting Gahaya Links with an award for advancing the country's cultural arts.Even with all the extraordinary accomplishments, Nkubana doesn't think of herself as a hero. "You know, I am an ordinary woman," she says. "I don't feel anything because it's not my own achievement alone. It is a collective effort of all of us." She believes her humble beginnings are a big part of who she is now. The other women easily relate to her, as she does to them. "I don't feel superior to anybody … I don't feel big about myself."There is one thing she is proud of, though. "I became the voice of the voiceless," she says. "I can celebrate it: that women of Rwanda, the weavers of Rwanda, the artisans of Rwanda, can not go on the street to beg. They earn their bread through their hands. And really, that one I could say I feel great about it."
Karin Le Roux
courtesy of the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market and the artist
Kelly Waller
Karin Le Roux finds artisans by visiting communities and doing what she calls an "audit." "I would look at what skills are there, what resources are there," she says. "Resources in terms of, Are there post offices, is there money, is there transport?" Le Roux is the director of the Omba Arts Trust in her native Namibia. The trust is a nonprofit organization working to alleviate poverty and create jobs through crafts. It's based in the country's capital, Windhoek, but Le Roux works primarily with producers and artists in rural regions. And unlike other artisan collectives, Le Roux says she's careful to look for items that already exist within the people's cultural base. "I just think it's more honest and the work just stands out more."An example are the PVC pipe bracelets Le Roux is bringing to this year's market. Simulating bone or ivory, the bracelets are etched with intricate patterns and partially colored dark brown or black―they don't look like plastic. Although the bracelets are traditionally made by men, Le Roux has noticed that women wear the bracelets throughout northern and eastern Namibia. "They're fun and they're funky," she says. "But people wear them. Local language groups, they actually wear them. It's not just for an open market." Le Roux and Omba Arts help the artists develop their designs and sell their work, and she says they have done incredibly well.Le Roux had the flash of insight that would lead to her founding the nonprofit nearly 20 years ago. At the time, she was working for a development organization in an adult education center. "That was just around the time of independence" for Namibia, she says. "I realized that actually there're lots of skills in the country. It's just a case of harnessing those skills, helping people develop products." One of her first successes happened along the Okavango River. The organization Le Roux worked for was developing agricultural projects, and the local chief asked that some kind of program be implemented for the region's women. Le Roux made a trip north."I went up and I went from homestead to homestead, just having a look at material culture, what people used," she says. "And there were all these baskets that they used in an agricultural context, and the palm was available in the area." She began to help the women hone their basket weaving artistry by organizing workshops and competitions. She ordered new dyes and made subtle suggestions while allowing their design process to develop organically. Women of the region have always woven dark palm onto a white background. When Le Roux mentioned they could try light colors on a dark background, creativity blossomed. She says the weavers began to experiment with different colors and stitches, eventually producing one-of-a-kind, finely woven baskets.Ever since her first trip to the market in 2010, Le Roux has been excited to return. "I loved New Mexico," she says, adding that the market staff and volunteers also impressed her. "Both my colleague and I just couldn't believe this generosity and spirit, all these people who just spent their time helping us, it's just amazing." This year a weaver from the Okavango region, Christina Ndindi, will join her in Santa Fe. "She never traveled out of Namibia," Le Roux says. "She's never been on an airplane." Ndindi makes baskets, teaches basket weaving and is an art buyer. Coming to the market will be incredible exposure for her, Le Roux says, as well as a fantastic opportunity to see handicrafts from around the world. "We live in isolated communities," Le Roux says. "And I think it's really good to see what people are making around the world."
Firdose Ahmad Jan
courtesy of the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market and the artist
courtesy of the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market and the artist
With heavily accented but excellent English, Firdose Ahmad Jan describes how the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market affects his tiny, hillside village in Kashmir, India. "It changed my life so much," he says softly. "Not only my life personally but my community is also involved … the families there have been very uplifted."Firdose has been to the market twice, accompanying his father, Bashir Ahmad Jan. Both are master weavers and embroiderers, creating intricate designs on shawls with a fine needlepoint technique known as sozni. His family has been passing down the skill for generations. "Kashmir was ruled by so many kings," Firdose says. "In every regime they have a different design. So in the Dogra regime, one of my forefathers was the best weaver. And he weaved shawls worn only by the kings of that time." Firdose's father continues the tradition of excellence. In 2001, Bashir was awarded the UNESCO Crafts Prize. India's Ministry of Textiles presented him its national award. They don't just display their own work at the market. The father and son collect embroidered shawls from all the artisans of their community, then bring them to the United States to sell. They represent their whole village, but Firdose says people may not realize it. "One boy and one old man is there, but if you'd come and see the whole picture, you're supporting 150 families." It might also come as a surprise that almost all the embroidery, delicate and floral, is done by men. It's not unheard of for Kashmiri women to do some of the embroidery, but it's rare. There is the general belief in Kashmir that women's hands are rough from working in the kitchen, he says, and an embroiderer needs soft hands. "Woman is also working with men," he says. "But mostly women are best in the stiffening." He refers to the process of turning the raw wool, from Pashmina goats, into luxuriously soft yarn.Getting to Santa Fe is a huge journey for the Jans. "It's really difficult," Firdose says. "Last year there was terrible turmoil in Kashmir, curfews and shutdowns." He says it took him 12 hours to travel the 10 kilometers from home to the airport. Once there, he had to go to Delhi—there are no international flights out of Kashmir—and then on from there. "Also to get a visa for this country is difficult for us," he says. "I think because being a Kashmiri you're living in a troubled state, so it will always be a trouble to get a visa." The first year he was invited to the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market, he wasn't able to attend. His first visa application was pending for two years before it was granted. "It was like torture for me," he says.The struggles are worth it for him, though. He credits the staff and volunteers of the market with keeping art and traditions alive. "The people of New Mexico are very warm, they're very nice, and the behavior and the language are so nice." His father agrees. The year Firdose couldn't come, Bashir—who speaks Kashmiri and knows no English—came alone. The people in Santa Fe understood him anyway, says Firdose. He says they helped him through everything and cared for him exquisitely. When Bashir returned to Kashmir, he gushed to his son. "In the Quran we say when a man dies, if he is good he will ascend to heaven, if he is bad he will descend to hell," Firdose says. "And in heaven you find angels. Dad said, 'I don't need to go to heaven now, I have seen the heaven and angels.' "
Santa Fe International Folk Art Market
Friday, July 8 Market Opening Party , 6:30 to 9 p.m. A global gathering under the stars. Shopping, dancing, international music, food and drink. $125 ($75 tax deductible). Saturday, July 9 Early Bird Market , 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. Ticket includes all-day Saturday Market. $50 ($25 tax deductible). Saturday Market , 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. $15 in advance, $20 at the gate. Children 16 and under free. Sunday, July 10 Family Day Market , 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. $5 in advance, $10 at the gate. Children 16 and under free.
Arts Feature
Getting There Free Parking and Shuttles There's no public parking at the market. Instead, the market provides two free park-and-ride services. Buses are ADA-compliant and have wheelchair lifts (call 866-551-7433 for more information). The locations are:• The P.E.R.A. / Lamy Building area, just north of the corner of Paseo de Peralta and Old Santa Fe Trail (immediately east of the Roundhouse). Buses load in front of the Lamy Building.• The South Capitol Rail Runner Station (between St. Francis Drive, Cordova Road, Cerrillos Road and Alta Vista). Buses load from the west side of the bus platform at the South Capitol Station.The buses run on the following schedule: Friday Market Opening Party buses depart at 6 p.m. and run continuously throughout the event. Last bus departs Museum Hill at 9:15 p.m. Saturday early-bird buses begin departing at 7 a.m. General admission buses begin departing at 8 a.m. and run continuously throughout the event. The last market-bound buses leave at 4 p.m., and the last buses return to the parking lots at 5:15 p.m. Sunday buses begin departing at 8 a.m. and run continuously throughout the event. The last market-bound buses leave at 4 p.m., and the last buses return to the parking lots at 5:15 p.m. Ride Your Bike Bike Santa Fe will provide a bike valet service starting at approximately 8 a.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. on Sunday. Ride up on Camino Lejo from Camino Corrales for safety reasons. Bike Santa Fe will be on the right side of Camino Lejo, about 20 yards before the market entrance.


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distrib.pats - Default values for the Distribution: header
The file pathetc/distrib.pats is used by nnrpd to determine the default value of the Distribution: header. Blank lines and lines beginning with a number sign ("#") are ignored. All other lines consist of three fields separated by a colon:
The first field is the weight to assign to this match. If a newsgroup matches multiple lines, the line with the highest weight is used. This should be an arbitrary integer greater than zero. The order of lines in the file is only important if groups have equal weight (in which case, the first matching line will be used).
The second field is either the name of a newsgroup or a uwildmat-style pattern to specify a set of newsgroups.
The third field is the value that should be used for the Distribution: header of a posted article, if this line was picked as the best match and no Distribution: header was supplied by the user. It can be an empty string, specifying that no Distribution: header should be added. If it is not empty, it is better to only use US-ASCII characters for that field; otherwise, make sure it is encoded in UTF-8.
When a post is received by nnrpd that does not already contain a Distribution: header, each newsgroup to which an article is posted will be checked against this file in turn, and the matching line with the highest weight will be used as the value of the Distribution: header. If no lines match, or if the matching line has an empty string for its third field, no header will be added. In case a distribution is added by nnrpd, make sure it is not rejected by the newsfeeds "ME" entry.
A list of recommended distributions can be specified and described in distributions(5).
Written by Rich $alz <email@example.com> for InterNetNews. Converted to POD by Russ Allbery <firstname.lastname@example.com>.
distributions(5), inn.conf(5), libinn_uwildmat(3), newsfeeds(5), nnrpd(8).


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I'm a fan of live music. I am a musician and count on venues to remain viable as an outlet for my artistic expression. The Annandale is a long-running venue in Sydney's inner-west. I've played there, and seen countless great gigs there. It would be a great shame to see it close, especially so to make way for residential apartments.
The Annandale recently launched a "buy a brick" campaign, where fans of the venue can contribute $20–250 to get their name on a plaque at the venue. This is to help reduce debt and upgrade facilities.
At face value, this seems like a great thing to contribute to — a way of supporting live music into the future. Especially important with venues like the Hopetoun having shutdown some months ago and there being very few venues around in the inner-city continuing to support live music.
But… I have a doubt. As the FasterLouder article (linked above) notes, the venue has been under the same management for 10 years. There is no indication anywhere in the article, nor the Annandale's campaign page, is how the Rule brothers intend on actually turning around the fortunes of the hotel (e.g. get it out of debt and into a sustainable, viable ongoing concern).
I assume (though it's not clear) that the "membership" system is one of renewing annual membership. It's not clear how much money the scheme is intended to raise. There's no indication as to the level of debt that needs to be cleared, or how much the upgrades are going to cost and thus how much the scheme will likely assist in achieving this goal. While I'm sure it was a last ditch effort to avoid foreclosure, selling the poker machines has devalued the venue and removed an important revenue stream — this seems like a very short-sighted and ultimately detrimental decision.
I want to support this initiative. But I want to know my money is going to actually create the desired outcome — a vibrant, ongoing, sustainable Annandale hotel. Unfortunately, based on the information provided to date it's hard to say whether this would be a worthwhile thing to put my money into. Not because I don't care, but because I don't know if it would actually work/help.
This is the second crowdsourcing project that I've seen that has suffered from this problem. NewMatilda.com also put the call out to supporters to bankroll it for a year, with promises of "bold plans" for becoming an ongoing, sustainable journalistic enterprise. These bold plans never materialised (unless the odd sponsorship/prize draw are the extent). Promises of a new site design and mobile tools never seemed to come about. A year rolled by and NewMatilda were again asking for support. Without any sense that the organisation is self-sustaining on the basis of anything but an annual membership drive makes it a harder to support.
If you're going to enlist the support of the "crowd", you really need to communicate your plans and increase your transparency so that we can make an informed judgement. Be honest about what your plans are, and honest when you aren't able to deliver on them.
I will be keeping an eye on the Annandale project — I do hope that more details come to light so that I can count myself among their supporter/membership base. But until then, my contribution will be limited to being an interested bystander…


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Echemend History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
In Scottish history, few names go farther back than Echemend, whose ancestors lived among the clans of the Pictish tribe. They lived in Lanarkshire. But the origins of the Echemend surname are still unclear. Some suggest that the name came from the Old English Aecemann, meaning "oak-man." Family lore has it that an officer commanding troops besieging Macbeth in Dunsinan Castle ordered his men to march in attack with branches of oak; the officer then became known as the "oak-man." [1]
Early Origins of the Echemend family
The surname Echemend was first found in the counties of Fifeshire and Forfarshire, in Scotland. It is said that Akeman commanded MacBeth's troops in the siege of Dunsinane Castle and ordered the attack in 1057. One of the earliest records for the name was Alisaundre Akeman who swore an oath of allegiance to King Edward I in 1296. "The tombs of ten John Aikmans are said to be in Arbroath Abbey." [1]
Early History of the Echemend family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Echemend research. Another 60 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1575, 1682, 1731 and 1707 are included under the topic Early Echemend History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Echemend Spelling Variations
The arts of spelling and translation were yet in their infancies when surnames began, so there are an enormous number of spelling variations of the names in early Scottish records. This is a particular problem with Scottish names because of the numerous times a name might have been loosely translated to English from Gaelic and back. Echemend has been spelled Aikman, Akeman, Aichman, Aykman, Akman, Hekman and others.
Early Notables of the Echemend family (pre 1700)
Notable amongst the Clan at this time was William Aikman (1682-1731), Scottish portrait painter, born at Caerney, Forfarshire. "He was the only son of William Aikman, advocate, sheriff of Forfarshire, and a man of eminence at the Scottish...
Migration of the Echemend family
This oppression forced many Scots to leave their homelands. Most of these chose North America as their destination. Although the journey left many sick and poor, these immigrants were welcomed the hardy with great opportunity. Many of these settlers stood up for their newfound freedom in the American War of Independence. More recently, Scots abroad have recovered much of their collective heritage through highland games and other patriotic functions and groups. An examination of passenger and immigration lists has located various settlers bearing the name Echemend: Francis Aikman, who came to Virginia in 1669; Patrick Aikman, who came to Boston in 1715; William Aikman, who arrived in Boston in 1718; Ernest Akman who settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1750.
The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.
Motto: Sub robore virtus
Motto Translation: Virtue under strength.


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He did it! That crazy awesome Felix Baumgartner jumped off the edge of the space, from 127,000 feet of altitude all the way back down to Earth, breaking some world records and getting vital information for NASA in the process. Watch as he jumps out of the capsule. It's a frightening, adrenaline-fueled, historic moment.
It's official, Felix is now the first man on the planet to break the speed of sound with no mechanical propulsion—just him and Earth's gravity. Talking at the post-jump press conference, he told everyone about the moment in which he exceeded Mach 1. It got really scary, as he thought he was going to lose consciousness during the sudden violent spin that happened after the first seconds of the descent:
Update: Watch the first head cam footage from the jump here, including the crazy spin.
One of the most exciting moments was standing out on top of the world, 30 seconds before stepping off... On the step I felt that the whole world is watching. I said I wish they would see what I see. It was amazing.
There was a time I really thought I was in trouble. I had to decide to fight all the way down and I finally got stable. [this is when he started to spin, apparently out of control]
That spin became so violent it was hard to know how to get out of it. I was able to get it under control and break the speed of sound.
For the whole live coverage, click here.
Today at 11:30am EDT, the Stratus capsule launched in a two-hour journey to the highest point ever achieved by any human using a balloon. Felix reached more than 127,000 feet up in the sky. The door of his capsule opened as the pressure equalized with the atmosphere outside. He pushed his seat forward, got out of the hatch breathing heavily and, as if it was the most normal thing in the world, he jumped away.
Just an hour before that, ground control thought about scrapping the mission in mid-flight because of a heating problem on his helmet visor. But at the end it all worked out. With the adrenaline rushing through this body, looking down to Mother Earth 24 miles away, he just went ahead and did it.
His last words before taking that step
I wish you could see what I can see. Sometimes you have to be up really high to see how small you are.
I'm going home now.
And then he jumped
The visor got foggy, but it didn't matter. He kept his cool, broke a few records and landed safely back in New Mexico, where his mother was waiting, her face full of tears, overwhelmed by such an amazing stunt and having her son back, safely on Earth.
Just after the landing
Felix's mom, happy
World records shattered
Felix's daredevil stunt broke some records today.
First, the highest altitude ever achieved by any human in a balloon. The previous record was set by Lieutenant Commander Victor A. Prather Jr. and US Navy Reserve Captain Malcolm D. Ross, who climbed up to 113,740 feet in May 4, 1961. Prather died after returning from that flight, drowning in the Gulf of Mexico: his spacesuit flooded, and he drowned before the Navy could rescue him. Ross survived.
The second record is the highest free fall jump, previously in possession of Felix's mentor, Joe Kittinger. Pratter and Ross didn't jump from their Strato-Lab V capsule. They just came back to Earth. But United States Air Force Captain Joe Kittinger jumped on August 16, 1960 from his Excelsior III capsule at 102,800 feet. Felix has surpassed his master, jumping from more than 127,000 feet from this Stratos capsule.
The third record is for the fastest man on Earth without any kind of mechanical propulsion. The previous speed record belonged to Kittinger too: he reached a maximum speed of 614 miles per hour (988 km/h). We know that Felix has surpassed that speed.
He also
probably went faster than the speed of sound at that altitude. Update: Confirmed! Supersonic speed record is now official. The first human to reach that speed using a plane was the legendary Chuck Yeager: he broke the speed of sound on October 14, 1947, piloting the Bell X-1.
He didn't break Kittinger's record for the longest free fall, however: 4 minutes and 36 seconds. This was because, most probably, Kittinger offered more air resistance than Baumgartner. Felix probably had a lower descent profile and is not as big as Joe.
And on top of all this awesomeness, as he was going down his suit was sending telemetry data that will serve to improve the safety of astronauts in the future.
But beyond the records or the scientific findings, what we have seen today was simply stunning. Kudos to you, Felix. The world is a bit of a better place because of brave people like you. Thank you!


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Grooming Helps Insects Keep Their Senses Sharpened
Like a self-absorbed teenager, insects spend a lot of time grooming.
In a study that delves into the mechanisms behind this common function, North Carolina State University researchers show that insect grooming – specifically, antennal cleaning – removes both environmental pollutants and chemicals produced by the insects themselves.
The findings, published online this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, show that grooming helps insects maintain acute olfactory senses that are responsible for a host of functions, including finding food, sensing danger and even locating a suitable mate.
The findings could also explain why certain types of insecticides work more effectively than others.
Insects groom themselves incessantly, so NC State entomologist Coby Schal and post-doctoral researchers Katalin Boroczky and Ayako Wada-Katsumata wanted to explore the functions of this behavior.
They devised a simple set of experiments to figure out what sort of material insects were cleaning off their antennae, where this material was coming from, and the differences between how groomed and ungroomed antennae functioned. Schal likened the straightforwardness of some of the experiments to something you'd see in a well-equipped high-school science lab.
The researchers compared cleaned antennae of American cockroaches with antennae that were experimentally prevented from being cleaned. They found that grooming cleaned microscopic pores on the antennae that serve as conduits through which chemicals travel to reach sensory receptors for olfaction. Cockroaches clean their antennae by using forelegs to place the antennae in their mouths; they then methodically clean every segment of the antenna from base to tip.
The researchers found that both volatile and non-volatile chemicals accumulated on the ungroomed antennae of cockroaches, but most surprising was the accumulation of a great deal of cuticular hydrocarbons – fatty, candlewax-like substances secreted by the roaches to protect them against water loss.
"It is intuitive that insects remove foreign substances from their antennae, but it's not necessarily intuitive that they groom to remove their 'own' substances," Schal says.
The researchers also tested groomed and ungroomed cockroach antennae to gauge how well roaches picked up the scent of a known sex pheromone compound, as well as other odorants. Clean antennae responded to these signals much more readily than ungroomed antennae.
The researchers then put carpenter ants, houseflies and German cockroaches to many of the same tests. Although they groom a bit differently than cockroaches – flies and ants seem to rub their legs over their antennae to remove particulates, with ants then ingesting the material off their legs – the tests showed that these insects also accumulated more cuticular hydrocarbons when antennae went ungroomed.
"The evidence is strong: Grooming is necessary to keep these foreign and native substances at a particular level," Schal says. "Leaving antennae dirty essentially blinds insects to their environment."
Schal adds that there could be pest-control implications to the findings. An insecticide mist or dust that settles on a cockroach's antennae, for instance, should be ingested by the roach rather quickly due to constant grooming. That method of insecticide delivery could be more effective than relying on residual insecticides to penetrate the thick cuticle, for instance.
Finally, Schal says the study can also be used as a caution to other researchers who use insects in experiments. Gluing shut an insect's mouth to prevent it from feeding, for example, also prevents the insect from grooming its antennae. Experimental results could be skewed as a result of this sensory deprivation, Schal suggests.
Dale Batchelor, a researcher in NC State's Analytical Instrumentation Facility, co-authored the paper, as did Marianna Zhukovskaya at the Russian Academy of Sciences. The research was supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the National Science Foundation and the Blanton J. Whitmire Endowment at NC State.
– kulikowski –
Note to editors: An abstract of the paper follows.
"Insects groom their antennae to enhance olfactory acuity"
Authors: Katalin Boroczky, Ayako Wada-Katsumata, Dale Batchelor and Coby Schal, North Carolina State University; Marianna Zhukovskaya, Russian Academy of Sciences
Published: Online the week of Feb. 4, 2013, in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Abstract: Grooming, a common behavior in animals, serves the important function of removing foreign materials from body surfaces. When antennal grooming was prevented in the American cockroach, Periplaneta americana, field emission gun scanning electron microscopy images revealed that an unstructured substance accumulated on nongroomed antennae, covering sensillar pores, but not on groomed antennae of the same individuals. Gas chromatography analysis of antennal extracts showed that over a 24-h period nongroomed antennae accumulated three to four times more cuticular hydrocarbons than groomed antennae. Moreover, nongroomed antennae accumulated significantly more environmental contaminants from surfaces (stearic acid) and from air (geranyl acetate) than groomed antennae. We hypothesized that the accumulation of excess native cuticular hydrocarbons on the antennae would impair olfactory reception. Electroantennogram experiments and single-sensillum recordings supported this hypothesis: antennae that were prevented from being groomed were significantly less responsive than groomed antennae to the sex pheromone component periplanone-B, as well as to the general odorants geranyl acetate and hexanol. We therefore conclude that antennal grooming removes excess native cuticular lipids and foreign chemicals that physically and/or chemically interfere with olfaction, and thus maintains the olfactory acuity of the antennae. Similar experimental manipulations of the German cockroach (Blattella germanica), carpenter ant (Camponotus pennsylvanicus), and the housefly (Musca domestica), which use different modes of antennal grooming, support the hypothesis that antennal grooming serves a similar function in a wide range of insect taxa.
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Omar Barghouti, an outspoken anti-Israel activist who has accused the Jewish state of "genocide," is currently a doctoral student at Tel Aviv University. Barghouti, who is studying philosophy with a specialization in ethics, is at the same time calling on the international community to boycott Israeli academics and universities.
While Barghouti has learned at TAU for some time while calling for it and other Israeli schools to be boycotted, it was his statements following Operation Cast Lead in Gaza that apparently spurred his fellow students to action. Following Barghouti's latest speeches abroad accusing Israel of murder and genocide, and of planning a Holocaust against Arabs, more than 11,500 people have signed a petition calling for him to be dealt with. The petition offers three options: convincing Barghouti that his position is intellectually dishonest, suing him for libel, or expelling him from the school.
The petition, created by Israel Academic Monitor, calls Omar Barghouti "an especially strident and persuasive voice" in the campaign to "demonize and delegitimize" Israel. "What makes his work especially repugnant is his wide use of half-truth, selective omission and outright lie. He is clearly an enemy of Israel... As Israel citizens we are dismayed that an academic institution, which gets part of our hard-earned taxes to keep it going, is enabling such a person to use its facilities," it continues.
Barghouti is a founding member of the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI), which calls to boycott every Israeli, from researchers to authors to dancers, until they agree to demand that the Israeli government give in to Arab demands, including the demand to grant citizenship to millions of foreign Arabs who claim descent from Arabs who fled Israel during the War of Independence.
Among those millions would be Barghouti himself, who was born in Qatar and grew up in Egypt, but identifies as "Palestinian" because his parents were born in an area now controlled by the PA. His parents have chosen not to return to their place of birth, preferring to remain in Jordan.
Barghouti has chosen not to respond to the controversy, stating only that his studies at TAU are "a personal matter."


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While he starred in several roles beforehand, this one put him on the map. What movie is it?
When we look at the world a little more simply, the complication of everyday life fades. That is the message that Forrest Gump gives us. People think he's stupid or different, but the truth is, he's different, and Tom Hanks delivered that message perfectly.


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How to burp a baby
You wouldn't think that something as simple as a burp would be a big deal. You feed baby, pat-pat-burp, and you're done, right? Well, not always. Burping a baby can be a lot tougher than you might think, and the aftermath of an un-burped baby can be brutal—if his tummy hurts, you're going to know about it. If you haven't yet mastered the level of Burping Pro, follow this sound advice for achieving the perfect belch.
Step one: Assume the position
There are a few different positions that work well for burping your baby.
- The over-the-shoulder hold. This is probably the most natural position for the majority of moms. I think we all instinctively put our baby up against our shoulder and pat his back for our first burp attempt.
- The sitting position. For my kids, this was one of the most successful burp procedures. Sitting with your legs together in front of you, turn your baby so he is sitting on your lap facing one side. Obviously he can't sit by himself, so he'll need a good deal of support. Place one hand under his chin to hold his head and body in place and use the other hand to pat or rub his back.
- The across-the-legs technique. Some babies burp well if you lay them on their stomach across your legs. Essentially, whatever position works for you and your baby is your best bet, although you might find you like to mix it up every now and then—and some stubborn belches might need a mixture of all three techniques.
Step two: Find your confidence
Your new infant is so tiny and fragile that the thought of pounding on his back might put you right over the edge. But believe me when I say that your little guy is tougher than he looks. I am by no means suggesting that you get overly rough with your newest family member, but it does take a firm hand to get a good burp out. Timid pats will get you nowhere with most babies, so be prepared to work up a strong, steady tap to get those potential tummy-hurting gas bubbles out of your baby's system. The art of burping is a good lesson for parenting: It's likely one of your first experiences in the challenging knack of constantly being gentle yet firm.
If you're having trouble burping your baby or aren't quite sure how hard you should be patting, ask the advice of an experienced mom. You'll probably be slightly horrified when you first witness her in action, but once you hear that reassuring loud burp rip from your baby's belly, you'll realize how effective a strong touch can be.
Step three: Work the burp
Patting isn't the only way to get a burp out—rubbing your baby's back also has a good effect on ridding the tummy of discomfort (and in some cases, works much better than the pat). Start rubbing on his lower back (again, not roughly, but not so gently he can't feel it), and work your way to the top, where the burp will likely work its way loose.
[tip] The first few months, you'll want to stop mid-feeding and burp your baby to prevent painful gas buildup (every 2 ounces is a good stopping point for bottle-fed babies). After four or five months, it shouldn't be necessary to break mid-meal any longer—just one burp at the end should do it.


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Marketers need to measure a lot of things in order to get better. Not everyone does and those that do sometimes measure the wrong things.
The obvious things like leads and sales revenue are important, but they're quite often just a measure of what is and not an accurate measure of what could be or, perhaps more importantly, what's causing what is.
Until you can grasp the things that impact your organization's true health you'll be stuck treating symptoms instead of treating the disease.
There are many ways to grow a business, including injecting lots of money into the generation of awareness and interest, but the most profitable way to grow a business is to take what it does well and grow organically through the base of your success.
I've used the following seven metrics to gain a crystal clear picture about the health, growth potential and challenges facing a business interested in growing organically.
I present these as seven metrics worth obsessing over.
1) Total Community Membership – To me this is a measure of all the social number stuff. Email subscribers, Twitter followers, Facebook Likes, Blog readers. I know a lot people tout quality over quantity, and there's certainly some truth to this, but what about quantity and quality. The size of your community does matter in terms of social proof, referrals, word of mouth, sharing, trust and awareness.
A recent survey of small business marketers conducted by Vocus showed that marketers attributed more success to social media the larger their fan base was. Measuring the size of your following and working on ways to build the numbers is an important place to start.
2) Average total $ per customer – This is a measure of total revenue divided by number of customers. When you stop to calculate this number you can put your focus on doing more business with existing customers or at least increasing the average dollar per sale. This focus has to start with improvement of your customer touch points and service and pricing and these are great places to look for opportunities to grow your business.
3) Percentage of leads converted – This is perhaps the most under-appreciated metric there is. Everyone wants to know how to get more leads, but the gold is in converting more leads to customers. Get very, very serious about establishing a baseline on this number so you can take every element of your marketing, sales and service apart in an attempt to impact it in positive ways. For some businesses a five or ten percent bump in this number means doubling revenue.
4) Percentage of business by referral – This may be one of the best ways to get a sense of how healthy a business is. You can always do more to get more referrals, but if you're not even getting accidental referrals there are some other things that might need fixing first. Keep an eye on this number and you'll have the viewfinder for how your marketing campaigns and your point of differentiation are being received and executed.
5) Percentage of repeat business – This is another measure of satisfaction, but also a bellwether of opportunity. If you are getting referrals, but not a lot of repeat business, it may be simply a matter of extending your offerings and growing organically.
6) Cost to acquire a new customer – To me this is the ultimate measure to use for creating a budget. If you know this number you can start to bring it down while understanding how to buy new business. This of course assumes that the lifetime value of a customer is significantly higher than the cost to acquire them.
7) Percentage of customers likely to refer – This is a shout out to the use of Net Promoter concept put forth in The Ultimate Question books by Fred Reiccheld. This is something that is easy to measure and should be done on a rolling basis with every customer. A lot of people want to measure this just so they can promote how high their score is. I see it as a way to get referrals, testimonials and a second chance. When you ask every customer on a scale of 1 to 10 how likely it is they would refer your business you will get simple feedback that will allow you to take action in a number of positive ways – all good things.
So, get to work digging into at least a couple of these and create processes to extract and understand this data in a weekly or monthly dashboard manner so that you keep you obsession focused squarely on the right numbers.


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Last weekend I finally got to make all of my Disney ADRs (Advanced Dining Reservations) and I got every single one that I wanted at the time that I wanted. Whoo hoo! You have to make sure to place them 180 days out from your trip start date or you could possibly not get into the restaurants that you want. I believe that they will offer free dining again this year which will make the restaurants dang near impossible to get into without an ADR. I am really hoping that they don't offer it this year but the buzz is that it will offered from mid-August until September 22nd. Even if you check in on the 22nd, you can get the free dining the whole vacation that you have booked. We aren't using free dining because we got 40% off the room and you can only do one discount per your hotel reservation.
I also added a day onto the beginning of our trip. We will now be there on the 21st and we will be staying at POP Century that first night. I didn't want to pay another $329 at the Polynesian (plus another day of dining plan and park hopper tickets) just to sleep in the room. We should be getting there kinda late on the 21st so that would be a complete waste. Our options were to stay outside the gates for around $70 or stay on-grounds for $103.50 ($82 POP room + tax). Since we are staying on grounds, they will move our luggage over for us the next morning to the Poly. Cool huh? That made staying on-grounds totally worth it. What a bargain!
Here's the restaurants that I have ressies for:
-Kona Cafe (Poly)
This place is conveniently at our hotel and has super yummy food.
-'Ohana (Poly)
This place is also at our hotel. They cook all the meats on a huge fire pit and the servers bring it all on skewers to your table. The have limbo contests and hula hoop challenges for the kiddos. There is entertainment provided. 'Ohana means family so it caters to kids.
-Le Cellier (Canada-Epcot)
This place is known for steak. I will definitely be having one there!
-Coral Reef (Epcot)
The walls in the center of the restaurant are big aquarium 'windows' with lots of fish and an occasional diver in the tank. They have excellent steak and seafood.
-Whispering Canyon Cafe (Wilderness Lodge)
The Wilderness Lodge is one of my favorite hotels so I want to eat there to show it to my Mom. She will love it too. This restaurant is known for having silly waitstaff with nicknames like Lazy Susan. The food is really yummy and there are lots of things for the kids to do. They have pony races on stick horses during dinner. If you ask for drink refills, they bring you a cup the size of a bucket. If you ask for catsup, they bring MANY bottles (think 20+, lol) to your table. It's all in fun.
-Chef Mickey's (Contemporary)
We will be doing a character breakfast on our "free" morning. I have no plans for doing a park on that particular day so there will be no rushing. The food looks good (who wouldn't like waffles that are shaped like Mickey heads?) and the kids will love the character interaction.
-50's Prime Time Cafe (MGM)
Oh yum! This place is all about home-cooked meals. Your waitress will be playing the part of "Mom" and she will treat you like family. The tables are in what looks like a individual 1950's sitcom kitchens. It's all very retro. "Mom" may tell the kids to eat all their peas or no dessert. It will be alot of fun.
-Rainforest Cafe (Animal Kingdom)
I really like this restaurant. It is super fun and the food is pretty good. The kids will love seeing the fake animals and the occcasional thunderstorms are pretty cool.
-Sci-Fi Dine In (MGM)
This is my all-time favorite fun place to eat at WDW. You sit in a car and watch clips of old movies while eating. Kid plates are served on frisbees and drinks have glow cubes in them. LOVE this place!
-Garden Grill (Epcot)
I have wanted to eat here since my first trip back in the early 80's. You sit in a booth the revolves around the restaurant. It looks really neat. From what I have read, the food went from good--bad--back to good. I will just have to take my chances. This a character meal so the kids are really going to have a fun time.
We are still debating on doing the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. It will be offered on both the 21st and 28th of our trip. We shall see.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Disney Trip is Shaping Up!
Last weekend I finally got to make all of my Disney ADRs (Advanced Dining Reservations) and I got every single one that I wanted at the time that I wanted. Whoo hoo! You have to make sure to place them 180 days out from your trip start date or you could possibly not get into the restaurants that you want. I believe that they will offer free dining again this year which will make the restaurants dang near impossible to get into without an ADR. I am really hoping that they don't offer it this year but the buzz is that it will offered from mid-August until September 22nd. Even if you check in on the 22nd, you can get the free dining the whole vacation that you have booked. We aren't using free dining because we got 40% off the room and you can only do one discount per your hotel reservation.
Posted by Brandy at 3/28/2007 09:13:00 AM 0 comments
Friday, March 23, 2007
April TSR Sneak Peek Layout
Anywhooooooo, April's kit is so exciting!!! The line that I used above is SEI Citrus Kick. I love the funky colors. The letters and flower stickers are puffy which the scan does them no justice. They look so much better in real life. The layout is missing some ribbon and I am waiting to get that in the mail. Notice the Top Ten journaling? That is an awesome stamp that is exclusive to TSR. It is actually 3 stamps in one-the border, the list and "Top Ten".
Posted by Brandy at 3/23/2007 10:54:00 PM 1 comments
Labels: scrapbooking
Thursday, March 22, 2007
A quick layout that I did today...
Double pagers are a rarity for me but I just couldn't leave out any of these cute pics for a 1-pager. I can't believe how much Hayden has grown since these photos were taken. They are from 6/2005 and he was almost 2 1/2 years old. If you click on the layout, it will show up larger.
Posted by Brandy at 3/22/2007 04:51:00 PM 0 comments
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Hee hee, a funny for the day...
Posted by Brandy at 3/20/2007 02:22:00 PM 0 comments
Monday, March 19, 2007
Some artwork from the boys...
The boys made these last week in preschool. Aren't they cute?
I am so sorry that I haven't uploaded any pics recently. My card reader is giving me heck and I can't get some images to transfer off of my card. Ugh. Hopefully, we will get this fixed soon.
Posted by Brandy at 3/19/2007 11:46:00 AM 0 comments
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Been scrapping like a fool and a soccer update
I have been working hard to finish my 2005 album. It is almost complete at this point. Yay! Once it is done, I will have 2000-2005 scrapped and put into pretty binders. Hayden's 1st year album is done and I am about 75% done with Emerson's. I have got to get these things done or I am going to go batty. I completed another layout for 3SB today. It is shown at the bottom of yesterday's post. I also re-uploaded the layouts on that post because the colors didn't scan correctly. Now that I have figured out my new scanner they look 100% better!
Hayden had soccer today for the first time. He had to go show off his skills (or lack thereof, lol) so that they could figure out what teams to put all the kids on. He didn't get to do much, but he did enjoy it. We went and bought him a new ball and some cones so that he can practice at home. He is so cute! I can't believe that one of my babies is playing sports. Wow, time sure does fly.
I have some pics to post from Valentine's that I forgot about. I will try to get those up tonight or tomorrow. Hope you all are having a great weekend. :)
Posted by Brandy at 3/10/2007 02:44:00 PM 0 comments
Friday, March 09, 2007
March kit from 3 Scrappy Boys (ADDED 2 NEW LAYOUTS BELOW)
I did this layout today in record timing. The mail man dropped it off around 2pm and I immediately took it up to the scrapbook room to create something with. About an hour later, I finished up my first design team assignment for March. I gotta say that I absolutely love this kit!! The colors and papers are so cool. The chipboard letters are a favorite of mine. If you are interested in getting one of these kits (there is also a pastel pink/green one), head on over the 3 Scrappy Boys while they are still available. The link is in my side bar. ;)
ETA: Here's another one that I completed tonight:
**Completed the layout above today (Saturday 2/10).
Posted by Brandy at 3/09/2007 04:07:00 PM 1 comments
Labels: scrapbooking
Monday, March 05, 2007
Hey all, I will be keeping the blog private for another week or so. I know it is annoying. A magazine wants one of my layouts and I do not know which one. I want to make sure that it is not posted publicly and that is why my blog is not able to be viewed by everyone for the time being. They did not specify that the layout could not be posted on the net or viewed by others until after the submission period was over. Ugh! It will likely be that the layout that they want isn't available anyway, but I would rather just keep everything hidden for a little bit longer.
Our Disney trip is now officially 201 days away! We can't wait. I will be making our ADR's (Advanced Dining Reservations) on the 26th. Trust me, that is a necessity due to how many people use the dining plan now. I want to make sure that we can eat at all the cool restaurants.
My friend Tracy just found out that she is having a little girl and we are all so excited for her! I am helping her friend Lisa throw her a shower on April 1st. I bought her some of my favorite goodies: a Baby Bjourn, Huggies Supremes diapers, Johnson's Baby Lotion, a rattle like Emerson had that he loved, Huggies wipes, etc. I could go crazy buying her stuff. I still want to buy an outfit or two. It is so fun! She will also be getting my high chair. I am in charge of making food for the party. If anyone has any suggestions, I would love to hear them. ;)
Clayton and I are going to be getting another 4-Runner sometime this year. We have been looking around alot lately. We were going to buy another used one but we may wait and buy a brand new one late this summer. It depends on a number of factors. We will be keeping our old 4-Runner and trading in the van. Yes, it is a little weird having 2 of the same vehicle, but that vehicle has been the best thing that we have ever bought. She is a 1996 and has 130K miles on her. She has never given us any trouble and she is now 11 years old. You can't beat that! Just in case you are wondering, her name is Suzy (contrary to what Clayton thinks, lol). I really hope that we can hold out and get a new one. We shall see. I have my fingers crossed. It would be awesome to get it before the Disney trip!
Posted by Brandy at 3/05/2007 10:27:00 AM 0 comments


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You might think that the people who annoy me the most are those who hold views I strongly disagree with. Actually, though, it's the people who don't really care one way or the other, and–this is the important part–who insist on inserting themselves into every single political debate to yell at us for having opinions.
I call these people evangelical apathists, because they feel the need to spread their apathy like evangelicals.
Typical mating calls of evangelical apathists include:
- "I mean, I get that [politician/policy/status quo] really sucks, but why do you have to make such a big deal about it?"
- "Complaining about it won't change anything."
- "Things will just get better on their own, anyway."
- "Well, I'm a [insert group/identity here], and I'm not offended."
- "Honestly, both sides are equally bad."
- "Don't you have more important things to worry about?"
- "It's just a joke, stop being so sensitive."
I've found that in my personal life, I tend to have a much harder time getting along with these people than I do with conservatives. With the latter, while we disagree, we can have a good time debating each other or at least bond over our mutual concern for what's going on in the world. But with evangelical apathists, the very fact that I care about stuff seems like a thorn in their side.
These are the people who whine about "too many" political posts on Facebook. These are the people who loudly proclaim that politics is "boring." These are the people who don't vote–and not out of protest against the two-party system, but because they just can't be bothered.
For example, during the Markwell controversy at my school last spring, the loudest voices–aside, of course, from the moronic anti-religious trolls who made the rest of us atheists look bad–were the people shouting "But why do you guys care if they proselytize?" without bothering to listen to our answer. (The reason we care, by the way, is because proselytism is condescending, insensitive, and annoying, and because Campus Crusade for Christ is an offensive reference to an act of Christian barbarity.)
The same thing happens with controversies like Chick-Fil-A and Daniel Tosh. There are those who defend them, there are those who criticize them, and then there are those making apathetic noises in our general direction and proclaiming how above these petty arguments they apparently are.
Except, of course, it's ironic–if you really don't care, why bother commenting?
I'd blame evangelical apathy on several causes. First of all, the internet does lower substantially the barriers to expressing your opinions, however inane they might be. It takes all of five seconds to leave a comment saying "hurrr I don't see what the big deal is why do you guys even care lol." This is much easier to do online than in person, because thankfully, it's still considered rude to interrupt two people having a conversation to tell them that you find their conversational topic to be uninteresting. Online, on the other hand, this is par for the course. (For what it's worth, though, I still think the internet is absolutely awesome and a wonderful medium for expressing opinions.)
Second, apathy is our cultural default. Apathy is cool, mature, "appropriate." Passion is uncool, immature, and "inappropriate." This is why apathy is something that so many people are so desperate to show off. In proudly displaying yourself as someone "above" such petty issues as racial slurs, rape jokes, and LGBT rights, you are tapping into our cultural ideal.
Third–and this is the one I can somewhat sympathize with–our political climate is toxic. People attack each other rather than ideas, and facts (what are "facts" nowadays?) are basically unobtainable. It's all too easy to get burned out, throw up your hands, and declare neutrality.
And that's the part I don't begrudge anyone. If you've had enough, you've had enough. Get out and keep your sanity.
But respect the choices of those of us who are staying in the ring. If our political debates annoy you, don't read our blogs and Facebook statuses. Don't make us defend our decision to give a fuck. Don't evangelize your apathy.
Get out of our way.


text:
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text:
With The Wire final season premiere approaching rapidly (the episode is already on HBO OnDemand and the first two are on BitTorrent), news outlets everywhere are covering and reviewing the show. My favorite article — because it's something different and critical for a change — is a profile of David Simon by Mark Bowden in the Atlantic Monthly. He starts out slow with a comparison of fiction and nonfiction in telling stories:
Fiction can explain things that journalism cannot. It allows you to enter the lives and motivations of characters with far more intimacy than is typically possible in nonfiction. In the case of The Wire, fiction allows you to wander around inside a violent, criminal subculture, and inside an entrenched official bureaucracy, in a way that most reporters can only dream about. And it frees you from concerns about libel and cruelty. It frees you to be unfair.
But then you get to the part describing Simon's vindictiveness and how it has shaped him, which adds some depth to the earlier fiction/nonfiction comparison. Worth a read.
Also of note is that the full text of The Believer conversation between Simon and Nick Hornby has been put online.


text:
By Kaitlin Hill
Serves 4-6
1 lb boneless pork roast
Canola oil
3 strips of bacon, chopped
1 shallot, chopped
2 cups of baby kale
1/2 cup of Panko breadcrumbs
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons of chicken stock, divided
1 tablespoon of butter
1 tablespoon of flour
Chopped parsley, for garnish
Pomegranate seeds, for garnish
9-10 toothpicks, soaked in water for 30 minutes
1. Make the stuffing first. Add a tablespoon of canola oil to a large skillet that is preheating over medium heat. Add the chopped bacon. Begin to render the fat and cook until the bacon just begins to brown, about 4 minutes.
2. Add the shallots and cook for 3 minutes, stirring often. Add the kale and toss to combine. Cook until the kale just begins to wilt. About 2 minutes.
3. Add breadcrmbs and 3 tablespoons of chicken stock. Stir to combine. Cook for another 3-5 minutes, remove from heat. Take stuffing out of pan and set aside.
4.While the stuffing cools, start preparing the pork. To butterfly the pork, run your knife across the roast lengthwise, slicing until you have almost reached the bottom but don't cut through. Open the pork like a book.
5. Place the pork between two pieces of plastic wrap and flatten the meat with a rolling pin to until it is an inch thick.
6. Remove the top layer of plastic and cover the pork with the stuffing.Working from left to right, roll the pork like a scroll. If the stuffing starts to ooze out just stuff it back in.
7. Secure the seams with the toothpicks.
8. Preheat your oven to 375° F.
9. Coat the bottom of the large skillet with canola oil. Heat over high heat. When the oil starts to glisten add the pork roast seam side up.
10. Brown the roast on all sides, about 4 minutes per side. Remove from burner and transfer the roast to the oven. Cook for 30-40 minutes until the pork reaches an internal temperature of 140° F.
11. Remove the pork from the skillet and set aside on a wooden cutting board to rest.
12 To make the gravy, return the skillet to a burner over medium high heat. Add the butter and the flour. Cook, while whisking, until the butter and flour are combined and the mixture starts to bubble.
13. While whisking, add 1 cup of chicken stock to the butter and flour. Whisk until the stock is smooth Turn the heat up to high and bring the gravy to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook while whisking until the gravy thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and strain into a bowl.
14. To plate, cut the pork into slices that are about an inch in thickness. Arrange the slices on a plate or platter and spoon some gravy over the top. Sprinkle with parsley and pomegranate seeds.
This recipe first appeared on Farmerowned.com/blog


text: Tyco Security Products is a unified group of world-leading access control, video and intrusion brands. Our security integration platforms, built by our developers from across all product disciplines, allow our customers to see more, do more and save more. With the trusted brands in security in one portfolio, we offer the most comprehensive range of premium security solutions in the industry; an unbeatable combination from a single source.


text:
Motorola's Xoom tablet is seen by many as the iPad's first big competitor, but its steep $800 price and lack of Adobe Flash support suggest otherwise.
Has the upcoming Motorola Xoom fallen at the first hurdle in the fight against Apple's iPad dominance? After Motorola announced its iPad competitor will cost more than the iPad, a Verizon promo uncovered the fact that the Xoom won't come with support for Adobe's Flash technology until sometime this spring.
Support for Adobe's Flash technology has been an argument for the Android operating system since Apple CEO Steve Jobs notoriously said that Flash is a dying technology and that it won't make it onto iOS devices for several reasons. Flash support appeared in Android with version 2.2 and Google even flaunted it as a killer feature for tablets running Honeycomb (3.0), like the Motorola Xoom.
But it looks like Adobe and/or Google have yet to put the finishing touches on Flash's implementation in Android 3.0. An advertisement for the Xoom on Verizon's site says (in 6 point text at the bottom) that Adobe Flash support on the Xoom is expected in Spring 2011, meaning this functionality won't be available at the launch of the first Honeycomb tablet on February 24. Considering how slow carriers and manufacturers are when it comes to software updates, this Spring 2011 update could mean more like late Spring 2011 ETA.
Meanwhile, Adobe said last week at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona that it is still working on Flash 10.2 for smartphones and tablets running Android. The company promised users of dual-core tablets and phones will benefit of HD Flash video and up to 30 frames per second performance. Flash 10.2 for Windows and Mac has been released earlier this month, but Adobe gave no clear indication when the mobile version of the plug-in will actually be available for users.
So far, despite positive initial reactions from reviewers, the Motorola Xoom has failed two tests against the iPad. Despite the Xoom's better specifications, the tablet is still more expensive than the closest iPad match. The 32GB 3G iPad costs $729, while the Xoom equivalent is $800, besides any contracts you might have to sign with Verizon. Add that to the fact that Flash support will be missing initially, a defining feature in the war against the iPad, and Xoom's chances to be a major hit suddenly don't stack up that well.
Follow Daniel Ionescu and Today @ PCWorld on Twitter


text:
Entertainment, Friday Fish Fry, Late Night Dining, Open For Lunch, Outdoor Dining, Reservations Taken, Sunday Brunch,
This Third Ward taco and tequila joint, which sits on the Milwaukee River, features "global street food" and claims to be Milwaukee's very first tequilaria. The eclectic menu boasts tacos (chicken fried chicken, curried cauliflower) you can turn into a bowl, plus 160 kinds of tequila.
Its Marshall building location doesn??t offer street visibility, but it ensures a cozy, in-the-know sort of space. Count on finding the staples of Chinese-American cuisine (like General Tso??s chicken and sweet and sour pork). If you??re looking for more authentic Chinese dishes, just ask. They??ll help you order from the ??other menu.?? Also serves a popular lunch buffet.
Open For Lunch, Outdoor Dining, Reservations Taken,
With a slightly dim, yet cozy and romantic atmosphere, the menu at Italian restaurant Onesto "pays homage to traditional Italian, but with our modern touches," says restaurateur Joe Sorge (of Holey Moley, Smoke Shack, Swig and Water Buffalo.) The menu stay true to this concept, playing up housemade pastas and protein-based entrées.
Related Stories:
Earlier this year, Char'd Bar & Grill opened in the Third Ward's former Hinterland, and it's less focused on tradition than a broader, fusion type of dining. The owners of Char'd run a sister restaurant in Providence, Rhode Island. Read more…
Mentioned in:
Entertainment, Friday Fish Fry, Open For Lunch, Outdoor Dining, Reservations Taken, Sunday Brunch,
Tre Rivali features a contemporary American menu with Mediterranean influences. The European theme is carried over to the interior with a Spanish porcelain tile floor and Carrara marble. The main dining room includes a wood-fired oven (for the pizzas, among other things) and a large communal dining table… (Read More).
Related Story: Palate-Pleasing Plates at Tre Rivali
Juices, salads, sandwiches
Friday Fish Fry, Open For Lunch, Outdoor Dining,
The setting for this counter-service joint (an old 1971 VW bus) draws extra attention to the plant-based activity going on here. Besides making their own seitan for sandwiches, they craft vegan ice creams. Sandwiches range from Jamaican jerk seitan on ciabatta to grilled sun-dried tomato pesto. Try a date shake like the mango zinger or an almond cocoa bowl.
Owner Emily Ware – a partner in the market's Green Kitchen salad, sandwich, juice bar – restored a 1971 Volkswagen Bus that forms the visual centerpiece of her business (located in the former FORM Fine Goods & Floral, next to Thief Wine Shop & Bar). Read more…