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Story highlights
Judy Kibinge describes the African film scene as "buzzing"
She credits Docubox, the film fund she founded, as the reason she came to the Academy's attention
Filmmaker Judy Kibinge has been hand-picked by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences to join the ranks of voting members.
She follows in the footsteps of fellow Kenyan Lupita Nyong'o, who joined Hollywood's most prestigious club after winning an Oscar three years ago.
Kibinge hasn't won an Oscar (yet). She was one of 774 new members invited to join the Academy's "Class of 2017" as the organization takes steps to recover from the #OscarsSoWhite controversy and diversify its predominantly white, male membership.
"I was really surprised, really taken aback" Kibinge said upon learning the news, describing it as "something really special."
"I think it shows the world is really beginning to question the content they watch. They're beginning to want films and documentaries and features that reflect the diversity in the world," she said.
Kibinge's invitation to the Academy is a validation of African talent on the world stage, something she said is "buzzing" right now.
"There are people enabled to do things by just the beauty of having mobile phones and to create content that travels.
"Younger Africans and Kenyans are this eclectic mix of a new confidence about being African mixed with not feeling like you have to completely reject things of the West. Really realizing, hey we're on the continent, we're here to stay and we can create things we can relate to."
Kibinge didn't start in film. Straight out of college she began a career in advertising and then one day she decided to pack it all in so she could see her own stories come to life on the big screen. Since then, she's racked up director, writer and producer credits on some 10 films, including "Something Necessary," "Project daddy" and "Dangerous Affair."
She also founded Docubox, a Nairobi-based film fund that provides grants and support for African filmmakers. She credits the work coming out of Docubox as the reason she came to the Academy's attention.
"A few years ago after making a few different feature films of my own, I really began to notice, to really notice how difficult it was to raise funding, how difficult it was to find a sense of community amongst filmmakers back home in Kenya. By founding and starting Docubox I was able, with my colleagues, to raise funding first of all, make a call and in quite a curated process, select a number of independent documentary filmmakers who over the past four years have been doing a lot of grueling work making these incredible films that are going to be seen come the beginning of the end of this year."
While Docubox primarily supports independent documentary filmmakers from Kenya, it has also supported filmmakers from across the continent, including Tanzania and Uganda. Docubox also collaborated with "docsociety" to host a film competition called "Good Pitch," helping filmmakers from farther afield, including South Africa and one from Sierra Leone.
Although Africa is a huge continent, boasting many diverse countries and languages, Kibinge cites some common themes among the pitches she receives.
"Often many filmmakers will want to tackle something that has to do with corruption. Many want to touch upon things that are happening to them, issues of drug taking and so on. Others want to express themselves as musicians and to accept themselves as individuals."
Her advice to up and coming filmmakers?
"Take notice of the new wave of filmmaking coming out of the continent" she says, referring to the more accessible ways of creating content, and "start writing stories."
"It's one of the most remarkable times to be African" she added.
Kibinge will be one of the Academy judges for the categories of documentary, international features and animation, the results of which we'll all find out on the much anticipated Oscars night early next year.


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Best Overall: Samsung 65-inch Q9FN QLED TV
Best Value: VIZIO M-SERIES QUANTUM
As we are generally very picky with our TVs, there are various companies testing and reviewing displays, apps and smart features of pretty much every tv that is being sold. From every article we have read it seems that the favorite 4K model is the Samsung 65-inch Q9FN QLED TV, which has an outstanding picture quality and impressive audio for less money than comparable OLED systems.
If you are planning to spend less, the VIZIO M-SERIES QUANTUM is a great option. It is the best priced 4K TV and delivers a superb smart TV experience and quantum-dot enhanced picture quality for less than $1000.
Take a look at our list of Top 5 TVs in 2019.
(Overall the best 4K TV)
- Sleek design which reduces cable clutter
- Near OLED levels of picture quality
- Strong HDR support
- Excellent 4.2 channel sound
- Great smart features
- No Dolby Vision Support
- Bixby is slightly less polished than other voice assistants
(Best Value smart TV)
- Quantum-dot display delivers vibrant color
- Local dimming for great HDR performance
- Good audio quality
- Flexible smart TV features
- Free content included
- Limited app selection
- Mediocre remote design
(Premium OLED)
- Superb OLED display
- Impressive HDR performance
- An amazing sounds system
- Android Oreo improves smart TV experience
- Pricey
- The lean-back design is weird
- Disappointing remote control
(Best for cord cutters)
- Excellent picture quality
- Local dimming with 100 zone backlighting
- Antenna connection and tuner
- Limited local app support
- No voice assistant
(Best 4K under $500)
- Unbeatable Price
- Slick design
- Great color reproduction and accuracy
- Dolby Vision support
- Good Roku experience
- Inconsistent backlight
- Limited port selection

subset: commoncrawl


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Local Vendor Spotlight: Happiness Within Baklava
Local Vendor Spotlight: Happiness Within Baklava
A baklava so fantastic, its dubbed as 'better than baklava'
Photos and story by Heba Badran with input from Christine Thompson
Imagine biting into a delicate, sweet and delectable pastry made of 50 layers of paper-thin pastry sheets and a from-scratch syrup that is also layered with your choice of nuts (pistachios, walnuts or pecans).
This heavenly, baked-to-perfection dessert is called baklava, a Mediterranean dessert we're excited to share with you as a result of our relationship with Heba Badran, one of our local vendors.
Heba, the creator of Happiness Within Baklava, was first taught how to make the dessert by her mother at age 10. She has since succeeded in improving the centuries-old Baklava dessert…not only wowing Baklava fans, but astounding everyone! Our bonus offer for you this week — an entire box (8 pieces total!) of freshly-prepared baklava — is guaranteed to generate some "Happiness Within."
"I didn't know baklava was supposed to taste this good," said John Nava, specialty foods buyer for Sigona's, after tasting a piece of Heba's desserts. "I can see why she choose 'better than baklava' as her tagline. Heba's is absolutely fantastic and you can taste the quality that is a result of the time and effort she puts into each batch."
Among baklava lovers, her 'Better than Baklava' tagline often provokes the question, "what can be better than Baklava?" Heba says the difference is in the experience. When someone takes a bite, she sees "a look of happiness spread across their face that's often followed by them saying, 'this is the best Baklava I've ever had!'"
So exactly how can a baklava be better than baklava? The clues to this may lie in the path Heba took to ultimately open her Palo Alto-based company and where she makes Happiness Within Baklava.
Heba previously spent 10 years in a marketing position with Procter & Gamble, and had also obtained an MBA and did management consultancy with Price Waterhouse Coopers before she turned her energies to her lifelong passion: desserts!
Having learned at such a young age how to turn out a perfect batch, Heba said it disappointed her to see some baklava elsewhere that was too sweet, too dry, or just too heavy. "I'm blessed with a number of incredible cooks in my family, none of whom ever formally studied cooking, but I spent ages experimenting and learning from them. I wanted to create the very best baklava – something truly different – simply because eating a fantastic dessert makes me feel happy inside" she added with a smile.
Once she decided to make and sell her baklava, Heba knew she'd made the right decision. She tested the results of all this on dinner guests and says, "it's safe to say that it caused much happiness inside [of them]."
With her biggest fans – her husband and young son – behind her, Heba tried her luck with the local Menlo Park Farmers' Market. When the market management sampled her baklava "a look of happiness swept across their faces," she recalls. It was there and then they approved her submission.
The buzz she created in the market encouraged her to approach Sigona's, where John Nava immediately accepted her dessert, commenting, "I can really taste the goodness!" Heba also remembers – quite fondly – the way Nava described the Happiness Within gift-packaging as "more than impressive" as Heba had put much effort into its development. "It's not enough for taste to cause happiness inside; I designed the packaging to also put a smile on your face."
Finding success at the retail level didn't stop Heba from continuing to challenge the norms of the baklava market. Taking inspiration from her mother-in-law, Heba now offers the only No Nuts variety in the baklava market (in addition to her three nut varieties). Heba believes the No Nuts variety to be the true test of quality and boldly uses it to demo Happiness Within with much success.
Heba says, "My dream is to spread happiness everywhere my baklava goes," and now you can share in this dream this week by picking up your FREE large-size box (8 pieces) of Happiness Within Baklava (retail value is $8.00), when you bring in your e-news coupon Mar. 24-30, 2010. As we know you'll love this baklava, and to help you spread the happiness farther, we're offering $ 3 off the regular price of any large Happiness Within box of baklava during the same period.


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Alan and I watched the Cavaliers beat the Rockets 117-108 tonight at the Q! Alan was excited to see Collin Sexton in person for the first time. And Sexton did not disappoint, as he scored a team-high 29 points in the win.
Upon our arrival at the Q, Alan measured up against the player he represented in the starting lineup during last June's NBA Finals – Tristan Thompson!
Next Alan found our names on the floor of the Wine & Gold Headquarters. This year our entry reads "Scott & Alan Miller."
Our next stop was the team shop. Alan bought a Cavaliers stuffed elephant and named him "Wajibu," since Blue House (Team Wajibu) has an elephant as its mascot. Wajibu will fit well at home with "Lucky" (dog) and "Cav-ee" (duck).
On the way to our seats, Alan made another great sign! He came up with the idea of drawing a sword slashing the opponent (a rocket in this case) in half, just like the graphics he saw on the Humongotron during the Finals. He also used a stencil to draw the "C" logo.
After getting some popcorn at Alan's request, we sat and watched the rest of the game from our seats. We had a blast watching Sexton lead the Cavaliers to victory. We shared a lot of giggles too, as Alan got a kick out of taking my phone and taking close up pictures of his face and my shirt. 🙂
All-in-all, we had a perfect day together. Earlier in the day, we watched Ohio State beat Michigan 62-39. We watched every second of the game and celebrated every Ohio State score together. Considering 62 points were scored (an all-time record for an opponent of Michigan), we tired ourselves out!
11/25/18 Update: The Browns capped a remarkable sports weekend by beating the Bengals in Cincinnati. The Cavaliers, Buckeyes, and Browns combined to go 4-0 over Thanksgiving weekend, and Alan and I watched almost all of the action together. If only this weekend could last forever…


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This week's cover story tells the tale of Ticked-Off Trannies With Knives – a stylish B-movie revenge saga shot in Fort Worth, Arlington, and Dallas – and the passionate national protests that rose up against it. Here's the most recent trailer for its upcoming fall national release as a midnight movie; here's an earlier trailer with more footage. Last but not least, here's a video news story courtesy the Dallas Voice about the small but fervent protest at June's Q Cinema premiere of Ticked-Off.
Home Blotch Around Fort Worth "Ticked-Off Trannies" At Midnight


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Steve Silver, a Research Assistant at Sirius Decisions, recently blogged about a client where the overwhelming reason for losing deals was price. But the client had a differentiated service where price should not have been the primary factor.
Silver discovered the reasons for this anomaly: The field was not used by any departments at the firm. Without an owner, the path of least resistance was selected — the first choice in the picklist. And in the case of the client, 90% of the losses were flagged as price-based.
Did we establish value?
Silver omitted a third reason, and one which is common amongst sales reps. Price is an easy scapegoat for lost opportunities. But if your service is well differentiated and you focus on your value proposition, price should not be the primary loss driver. Yes, some deals will be lost because a competitor low balls the deal (a true price loss), or the prospect simply does not have the financial means to purchase your service (a poorly qualified prospect), but in most cases, losing on price is a failure on the part of sales reps. If they thought about it more, they would realize that price is not an exogenous variable outside of their control. That's because price is tied to value. Price is the critical variable if your value has not been established.
This isn't to say that pricing could be wrong. If your competitors are quickly moving up the value curve, your historical price may no longer be sustainable as you become less well differentiated. With good data and analytics, you would capture this shift in the competitive marketplace and act accordingly (e.g. R&D to better differentiate your service, better product bundling, or reduced prices), but price should only dominate the loss reasons in a commodity business.
So what else could be gleaned from this situation? First, somebody needs to own data quality within the CRM. If a field is viewed as busywork, your sales reps will populate it with junk data.
Garbage in, Garbage out.
Managers should also be pushing back on reps to better understand why deals were lost so that mistakes can be avoided in the future. Does the sales rep need additional training or coaching? Are additional sales tools needed for competitor handling or establishing value? Are we poorly qualifying opportunities or failing to identify the key decision makers?
Yes, it is easier to move onto the next deal without taking the time to analyze deal losses; but a learning organization needs to understand its failure points.
Sales Operations
Sales Operations should be cross-checking fields. If the loss reason is price or features, then a competitor had a better offering. Was the primary competitor recorded in the CRM? If the competitor is blank, then additional explanation should be required. Did you really lose on price or features if you don't know who the competitor was?
Or did you lose to no decision or the incumbent because there was insufficient value established to warrant funding the purchase or sustaining the switching costs?
If you don't collect the data or you allow a field to be treated as busywork, it won't be available for analysis. I have had several instances where my clients did not record the loss reason or the competitors. I have also had others where the fields were usually blank. In short, the firms were operating in a competitive fog and not using their CRM for market monitoring.
In the end, it is important to not only gather win/loss information, but to use the data for sales training and coaching, marketing communications, sales enablement, and product development. When information is valued by the organization, then sales reps are less likely to blithely skip fields or enter the first field in the required picklist.


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While checking into the Hilton in New Orleans, I turned around only to discover Jeffrey Zeldman in line behind me. He's sounding horribly sick, so I hope he doesn't miss too much of the conference.
From the scarcity of people walking around the hotel this evening, I can tell that attendance is way down. I'm guessing that is a direct effect of so many dot-coms cutting back and going out of business recently.
HarvardNET just got out of the DSL business and cut 58% of their workforce. That's OK, because their service sucked anyway.
My old college buddy Aaron Draplin has finally embraced the web with a lot of me pushing him into it and doing the HTML for his site. You can read his musings about graphic design and music at Draplindustries.
I want to make it clear that I'm not involved in this little
flare-up on the rss-dev list, though I am staying at the Hilton in New Orleans. With a little bit of guesswork, I'm
pretty sure I know who this childish poster is. I've spent most of the day trying not to run into him in the halls at
this conference.
Had a great lunch today with Jeffrey Zeldman, Dori Smith and Glenn Davis.
Christopher Marsh has written an excellent
resource for evaluating content management systems.
Posted by Cameron Barrett at December 7, 2000 04:02 PM


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While I have been generally happy with the plugin, I was not impressed with the lack of options that come with the events list widget.
Also, the widget only shows the title of the event and the date directly below.
But, You Can Extend the Events List Widget!
After digging through code for The Events Calendar plugin, I found that the view (controls the display) for the widget is located in /views/widgets/list-widget.php.
Here is the source code for that file � taken from the WordPress.org repo on 5-16-2014 :
* Events List Widget Template
* This is the template for the output of the events list widget.
* All the items are turned on and off through the widget admin.
* There is currently no default styling, which is needed.
* This view contains the filters required to create an effective events list widget view.
* You can recreate an ENTIRELY new events list widget view by doing a template override,
* and placing a list-widget.php file in a tribe-events/widgets/ directory
* within your theme directory, which will override the /views/widgets/list-widget.php.
* You can use any or all filters included in this file or create your own filters in
* your functions.php. In order to modify or extend a single filter, please see our
* readme on templates hooks and filters (TO-DO)
* @return string
* @package TribeEventsCalendar
* @since 2.1
* @author Modern Tribe Inc.
<li class="tribe-events-list-widget-events <?php tribe_events_event_classes() ?>">
<?php do_action( 'tribe_events_list_widget_before_the_event_title' ); ?>

<a href="<?php echo tribe_get_event_link(); ?>" rel="bookmark"><?php the_title(); ?>
<?php do_action( 'tribe_events_list_widget_after_the_event_title' ); ?>

<?php do_action( 'tribe_events_list_widget_before_the_meta' ) ?>

<?php echo tribe_events_event_schedule_details(); ?>
<?php do_action( 'tribe_events_list_widget_before_the_meta' ) ?>

First things first, always read the comments! After reading the comments in this file, I became aware that there are two ways to update the events list widget:
- Create a completely new template
- Use actions in the functions.php of a theme or in a separate plugin
For my purposes, I only wanted to add a description to each listing, so I decided to just use the actions.
But, if you need a completely new look, you could create a new template file in your theme directory at THEME_DIR/tribe-events/widgets/list-widget.php .
Adding a Description with Actions
Because all I wanted to do was add a description below the date�for each event in the events list widget, my solution was pretty simple.
add_action( 'tribe_events_list_widget_after_the_meta', 'edit_tribe_widget_after_title' );
function edit_tribe_widget_after_title() {
global $post;
$event = $post;
echo wpautop( wp_trim_words( $post->post_content, 12, '… Read More →' ) );
This snippet will tie into the action that fires right after the meta in each event item, and it will insert up to 12 words of the description for each event as well as a read more link.
While I hooked into the after_meta action to add a description, you could easily use one of these other actions to modify the events list widget to your needs:
- tribe_events_list_widget_before_the_event_title
- tribe_events_list_widget_after_the_event_title
- tribe_events_list_widget_before_the_meta
- tribe_events_list_widget_before_the_meta
Because the widget calls tribe_events_event_schedule_details(), you can also use the the tribe_events_event_schedule_details filter to filter what shows up in the meta section.
Questions, Comments, Bugs?
First, there is a bug on line 44 of this plugin (bonus if you can figure out what it is). I checked the GitHub repository and they had already fixed it, it just hasn't been pushed to the WordPress repository.
If there are any other questions or comments, please leave a comment below. If you see any other bugs than the one mentioned above, please leave a comment below so I can fix it 🙂


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Fabric foil is for cotton, silk, linen and other natural fabrics, synthetic fiber and blended fabric surface decoration, it makes the product colorful, elegant, luxurious. it is a high-grade decorative material.It is suitable for hot stamping foil leather, synthetic leather, PU surface decoration, it makes the color vivid and bright. It is a high-grade decorative material.
Size of product:
(Length):(According to the user's needs)
Packaging and storage:
Packing: external packaging with plastic film, and carton packaging.
Storage: Keep away from pressure, moisture, heat, sunshine, keep in cool and well-ventilated place
The storage period is up to one year
Yarn & Fabric
Apparel Trims & Accessory
Fabric Foil
Hot Stamping Foil
Size: 75cm width * 120m/roll
Thickness: 12micron, 16micron, 25micron
Applying: Textile, T-shirt, clothing, leather
Yarn & Fabric
Artificial Leather
Apparel Trims & Accessory
Transfer Press
GoSourcing LLC, New York, United States
© Copyright 2023 GoSourcing365 | Privacy Policy


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I'm happy to say after a week's absence (and more) that I'm back. I actually never meant to not blog last week, but after spending a long weekend in Atlanta visiting some family, I never got fully back on schedule with things and I've been scrambling to stay on task.
One major benefit to flying places is the wait. Sounds crazy, right?! Anyhow the wait gives me ample time to get some knitting done and during the trip I was able to finish up my Greta Turban pattern from Susan Crawford (the same magical lady that published A Stitch in Time). I bought a kit the same time last year that I bought her Stitch in Time, Vol 2 book.
My Greta Turban is not so much a turban but a snood.
It's my very first one and I love it; it's the first one I've ever worn (plus hand-knit of course).
After frogging my first Greta Turban since it was waaaay toooo wide, I cast on fewer stitches for my current one to get a width of 36 cm's (instead of my original 50). During the frogging period I was able to contact Ms. Susan herself and got the skinny on how to do the actual pattern stitch the correct way. If you're on Ravelry, be sure to check out Susan's response on this forum post.
I didn't do anything fancy with my clothes on Sunday, just a basic white Tee and pants. But I did take advantage of my mom's garden and Garage/house as a backdrop.
This is a decent image of the stitch detail.
After looking at these images, I think I may let out some of the gathers. It seems like it should be a bit longer in the back and less bunched on the sides (or I could tie it looser at the top to get some more length). What do you guys think? Fine as is or should it be longer?
Here's a shot of the snood, laying flat.
I just ran a piece of yarn around the bottom of the snood to 3/4 of the way up the sides and gathered it to fit. This is what I'm debating letting out a bit so the snood is a bit more rounded instead of gathered/puffy.
This last photo was for fun. Felix was holding his camera way above his head taking crazy shots, so I'm terribly surprised that this even was (somewhat) in focus.
Please share your comments about the snood shape/length. Till tomorrow! :)
In: Knitting


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Thursday, 12 January 2017
Calm Before the Storm
This morning a team of four went to Toddington to carry on with the wire brushing and priming of the steelwork being produced in the loco department. Luckily although very windy it stayed dry, hopefully this work will soon be able to be done under the cover of a marquee. Brian M and Graham on the wire brushes, with Mike T doing the priming with Mike S (picture taker).
This picture shows the riveting on the trusses, it is going to look so good when assembled on the station. Don't be confused by the name board this is definitely the car park at Toddington.
Brian and Graham with the correct PPE for the job. No hard hats required for this job as they are obviously not on the Broadway construction site.
On the station building, back at Broadway, Tony and Bob are getting ready to start the days block laying. No further joists can be fitted until the blocks are all up to the required level.
Here they are sorting out the insulation prior to laying the blocks between and to the sides of the windows on the platform side.
Dave H and Peter Q are finishing off the joists in the kitchen area, under the blue hat Dave is filling in the gaps between the joists with cut blocks.
John S meanwhile carried on with the face bricks on the forecourt side of the building.
As the afternoon drew on all the new mortar was covered up for the expected storm and freezing weather.
Chris here doing some running repairs to one of the sets of steps which we use to give us safe access to and from the track bed. They get a lot of use and have to be moved about when vehicles have to pass by. The centre drain system means vehicles have to keep to one side or the other of the trackbed.
As always other work was taking place. More work was done in the driveway on the setting of lines and levels for the wooden fencing, although no more will be erected until the ground level is made up after the closure of platform 1 gap. Also work was started on the concreting in of the rear edging slabs for the drive pathway.
Some work was done on the area being used for the production of the spear fencing to give the fabricator more elbow room.
Gordon and Dave B fitted a horizontal panel between the the new palisade fencing on the main road and the head wall of a ditch which takes the water from the centre drains under the road into a large drainage ditch. This was necessary to prevent anyone unwittingly stepping into the gap if they strayed off the pavement.
The last job was to make sure that all things loose and material covers were secure against the forthcoming weather.
Posted by Rod W, additional photos Mike S
6 comments:
Don't leave us in suspense.............why the "Malvern Wells" station board?ReplyDeleteReplies
It's The Narrow Gauge Railway StationDelete
The spear top fencing looks good. Soon you will have the roof on the station building and will be able to work in the dry. Just at the minute we are getting poor weather down here in Cornwall. Who said it was the Riviera?? Regards, Paul.ReplyDelete
- Anonymous12 January 2017 at 11:55
Thanks for the update to the great work ongoing at Broadway. You seem to have been very lucky with the weather so far this year, which is just as well. I recall seeing a photo on the Blog dated 23 January 2013 showing a view of Broadway station with a good covering of snow. Still, it is January after all! I hope that the forecast bad weather doesn't hang around for long, if it does reach you that is. Toddington Ted.ReplyDelete
Great to see work resumes on site! And yes, don't leave us in suspense, Malvern Wells?ReplyDelete
regards Paul & Marion
This comment has been removed by the author.ReplyDelete


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Previously Victorious had create a 7 Days to Die mod that adds a high powered pick called "Super Pick". It is only available through a trader for a relatively high price with a huge benefit of not degrading or breaking.
This tool makes it possible to dig and harvest very large amounts of land/wood very quickly and also works very well as a melee weapon.
He has recreated and attached this using the new mod approach.
Download for A17
Download for A18
The forum topic of the mod is here.
Credits: Victorious


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Model 5682
18″ Wide Standard Fixture
This Lavatory is designed for public areas requiring a durable and vandal resistant fixture. The fixture is fabricated using heavy gauge type 304 stainless steel seamlessly welded to form a one piece, vandal resistant unit. The unit is designed with an integral ribbed soap tray and a 4" (102mm) high back splash. Exposed surfaces are polished to a bright satin finish. Valves and other trim must be specified separately.


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My mother in law would probably pucker her lips till they turned white and wrinkled much like her backside exit if I ever told her what I did to the base of her crêpe recipe. I asianized it.
For the old school Belgian or Frenchie, crêpes are a kind of sacred dish. My mother in law has never deviated from the simple recipe of just flour, eggs, milk, sugar. She normally serves it with some cassonade (brown sugar), nutella or some jam on the table. I remember once serving crêpes for lunch with sour cream, bacon and chives…and yup the puckered backside lips appeared. "Quelle horreur" she exclaimed. Awww…. Always love her candour! She skipped the bacon and cheese and went straight to the cupboards to grab the brown sugar. She refused to even try! Old school and I forgot to mention, stubborn.


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|Hatfield's Rainmaking Tower
|Los Angeles Rainmaking Generator
|Hatfield's Rainmaking Tower
|Los Angeles Rainmaking Generator
I live in a drought area...Redding, CA. We've actually had to conserve water. I live in an apartment, so I don't have a lawn to worry about. There are actual fines for people who water their lawns on the wrong day. The recent storms have been a blessing. This is a great and interesting post. Thanks for sharing.ReplyDelete
I know where Redding is. Yes, the recent storms have been a blessing and we're having a glorious spring. My roses haven't looked this great for years. Thank you for stopping by.ReplyDelete
We had a terrible drought here in Texas and in Houston. We lost our front lawn and two old, old trees.(My arms wouldn't go around them) Then last spring we had floods and rain and more rain. Mother Nature is very fickle. We've had a wet few months so far, and I hope it stays that way. Everything is so green and our azaleas were spectacular.ReplyDelete
Martha, I saw your floods on TV. That was a lot of rain! Too bad we can't spread the wealth.Delete
Wow, Margaret! I think that's one of the most interesting posts I've ever read. I read it to my 17 yr old who's always been interested in the weather and he thought it was fascinating too. Thank you.ReplyDelete


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As spring evolves into summer, the farmers' markets begin to stock their tables with the ripe, sweet cherries in all their varieties. Among our favorites is the Rainier cherry, which is the miniature candied apple of cherries in color and taste—tart and sweet and mottled with yellow and reddish-orange tones. Nestled in the layers of the key lime cake and cream of this summery dessert, the mouth delights in discovering each bite of this seasonal fruit.
For the Key Lime Cake:
14 tablespoons butter
3 cups granulated sugar
3 farm-fresh eggs
3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups buttermilk
1 teaspoon lime zest
3 tablespoons key lime juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Tres Leches:
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup evaporated milk
1 cup heavy whipping cream
For the Whipped Topping:
2 cups heavy whipping cream
¾ cup powdered sugar
½ tsp vanilla
For Assembling the Dessert:
2 pounds Rainier cherries
To Make the Key Lime Cake:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Greased and line with parchment paper a full baking sheet pan or two half baking sheet pans. In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar. Incorporate the eggs one at a time. Add the flavorings of lime zest, key lime juice, and vanilla; whisk until combined. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the mixer alternating with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour. Spread the batter on a greased and lined full sheet pan. Bake the cake for 20 minutes. Remove pan from the oven and let cool completely. Cut the cake into at least thirty-six 2-inch round circles. Set aside.
To Prepare the Tres Leches:
In a bowl, whisk together the sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and 1 cup heavy whipping cream. Set aside.
To Make the Whipped Topping:
In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with a whisk attachment, whip 2 cups heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla to stiff peaks. Chill until ready to use.
To Assemble the Dessert:
Pit the cherries and slice them into quarters. Set aside.
To assemble the first dessert, place one cake round in the bottom of a 2-inch round, clear glass. Soak the cake layer with about 1 tablespoon milk mixture and top with quartered cherries. Repeat the steps two more times for the dessert to make 3 layers. Continue to prepare all the desserts until no cake rounds remain. Chill the desserts to permit the milks to soak into the cake. When ready to serve, garnish each top with a dollop of whipped cream, a cherry, and a thin slice or wedge of fresh lime.
Recipe Created and Stylized by R. Shannon Mock and Brontë E. Mock
© Be the Beautiful Life All Rights Reserved


text:
Friday, March 26, 2010
Note: Indonesian translation of response to threat by Indonesian military is below. Please scroll down for English language postings.
Posted by email@example.com (Allan Nairn) at 3/26/2010 10:33:00 AM
By Allan Nairn On July 9 the world's fourth most populous country, Indonesia, will hold an election that could result in General Prabo...


text:
Where is Belarus?
Looking at the map below, we can easily see that Belarus lies in Eastern Europe, between Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, and Latvia. The location has made Belarus an important trade and transport route between Europe and the CIS.
Why to learn Russian in Belarus?
"Why should I go to Belarus to study Russian?" It is a wise question, if you are unfamiliar with the country. Studying in Belarus is an excellent opportunity to become fluent in Russian, to communicate with native speakers and to get immersed in the everyday life and culture of the country. Why?
- Russian-speaking country. Russian has the status of the state language in Belarus. More than 75% of the population in the cities use Russian in their everyday life as the main language of communication. You will always hear Russian in the streets, shops, parks, cinemas, etc.
- Russian Language Teaching Tradition. Belarus has a strong tradition of teaching Russian as a foreign language to overseas students since the 1950s. There are many qualified and experienced Russian language teachers in Belarus.
- Low prices. The prices for some services and products remain cheap in Belarus. To have a business lunch in Grodno will cost you €3-€4 in the café and €2 in the university canteen. A one-way ticket for a public transport will cost no more than €0,25. The price of the Summer School course is reasonable.
- Belarus is considered to be a safe and secure country. There are no kidnapping and fringe groups. It is a safe place for travelers. You can go out in the evening without fear. Locals are usually friendly and helpful.
- Favourable geographical location. The location of Belarus is also an advantage. Belarus is situated in the heart of Europe and surrounded by Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia and Russia.It is famous for its endless forests, thousands of rivers and lakes and medieval castles.
What to see in Belarus?
Belarus is famous for its endless forests, thousands of rivers and lakes, medieval castles, clean cities and friendly people. During the stay, our participants are offered a great opportunity to discover and enjoy the most beautiful places of the country, many of which are claimed to be UNESCO world cultural and natural heritage. Learn more about our Weekend programme
This beautiful video was created by Artyom Pryadko, as a project of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Belarus.


text:
VIDEO: Cartoonist A.F. Branco teaches How to Draw Obama and Hillary
You can tell who they are before much ink has been spilled.
You too can draw cartoons like Tony Branco!
Okay, maybe not, but Tony kindly has posted videos showing "how to" draw Obama and Hillary.
First, The One.
What I love about this is you can tell it's Obama from the start, even before there is much ink spilled.
Here are examples of some "real life" Obama cartoons by Tony:
Here's the video, in case you want to try this at home:
Second, Crooked Hillary.
I learned from the video that the eyebrows are the key.
But I think all you need is the shape of the hair:
Here are some "real life" cartoons of Hillary:
Here's the video. Definitely don't try this at home.
Thank you Tony for this glimpse behind the scenes.
Readers, you can buy Tony's book, "Make America Laugh Again," here.
Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.


text:
Registration Info
Participation in the Congress is chargeable. The cost depends on the provided benefits.
"Standard" Admission
1.990 zł (for one company employee)
1.790 zł /person (for two company employees)
1.590 zł /person (for three or more company employees)
- Participation in the essential part of the Congress
- Coffee, Lunch
- Duration: 9.00 – 18.00
"Prestige" Admission
2.490 zł (for one company employee)
2.290 zł /person (for two company employees)
2.090 zł /person (for three or more company employees)
- Participation in the essential part of the Congress
- Coffe, Lunch
- Food from Poland Awards Ceremony participation
- Duration: 9.00 – 23.00
Net prices. 23% VAT should be added.
Purchase of admission before 30th April 2018 – 20% discount.
Purchase of admission before 30th June 2018 – 10% discount.
Terms and Conditions
- In order to participate in Food Export Congress the applicant should fill in and send the application form, and transfer admission payment to the Organizer's bank account:
Fischer Trading Group Spółka z o.o.
ul. Bagno 2/218, 00-112 Warszawa
Bank Pekao S.A. No 46 1240 1037 1111 0010 3040 5926
Transfer name: "Food Export Congress 2018"
- The Applicant authorizes Fischer Trading Group LLC to issue a VAT invoice without the payee signing. A sent application form is equivalent with a pledge of payment for admission. The lack of payment after the application form had been sent will not be considered as a resignation from attending the Congress.
- The applicant declares that he is obliged to send the application form and that the required payment will be transferred to the bank account provided by the Organizer within seven days from the day the application had been sent or the VAT/pro forma invoice had been received. Concurrently, the applicant declares that he/she had read the terms and conditions of participation and commits to transfer the required payment resulting from this agreement.
- Resignation from participating in the Congress after the 1st of August 2018 does not result in exemption from payment. The resignation should be sent via e-mail to firstname.lastname@example.com or via registered letter to the Organizer's address.
- Participant's absence at the Congress (after successful payment) does not result in return of the costs.
- The organizer reserves the right to reject an application, without providing a reason, as well as the right to make changes to the programme, to change the location of the event or to cancel the Congress. In the case of cancellation of the Event, all prior payments will be returned to the Applicants within seven days from the date of the cancellation.
- Sending the participation form is equivalent with voluntary agreement to free use of the Participant's image by Fischer Trading Group LLC in all promotional materials, as well as in materials documenting the course of the Event.


text:
The Best Lawyers Money Can't Buy
The well-schooled student attorneys of Suffolk's family advocacy clinic provide clients who lack resources an alternative to self-serve representation.
By Renée Graham // Photographs by Dana Smith
A judge rules that a woman's ex-husband can cut his child support payment by nearly $50 a week, and the woman's lawyer, Jasmine Elatab '14, can barely contain her disappointment. After months of delays, it's a surprising end to a trying case at the Edward W. Brooke Courthouse in Boston. This is Probate and Family Court, where the frayed remains of relationships and familial ties are legally sorted and settled. At least that's the intention, but, as Elatab has come to realize, nothing in these wide, gleaming corridors is that simple.
When the hearing began, Elatab was confident that her client, a single mother, would not be forced to make do with less for her 5-year-old son. Her former spouse claims a medical problem prevents him from getting a better paying job, and though he has no paperwork to support this, a reduction in child support is granted. That the amount could have been cut even more is not lost on Elatab; this is the kind of law lesson better learned in a courtroom, not a classroom.
A third-year law student, Elatab is participating in Suffolk Law's Family Advocacy Clinic (FAC), which gives real-world legal experience to students. These are not mock trials. Students are assigned clients and must prepare and present their cases before a judge. And since these are family court cases, the serious issues can vary from child custody and support to divorce and domestic violence. This is why Elatab, whose devotion to helping children once made her consider a career in childhood nutrition, wanted to be part of the Law School's clinical program.
"As clichéd as it sounds, I've always had this inherent interest in helping people," says Elatab, who has a psychology degree from American University in Washington, D.C. "It was just a matter of me finding the right outlet to do it. I wanted to affect people long-term and make an actual difference."
A third-year law student, Jasmine Elatab '14 is participating in Suffolk Law's Family Advocacy Clinic.
FAC is one of 10 in-house clinics offered at Suffolk Law to second- and third-year students. "Legal education began to recognize the need for experiential learning for law students in the '60s and '70s, so there was a burst of clinical programs for law students," explains Suffolk's FAC Director Maritza Karmely, who also teaches a trial advocacy course in family law. Along with practitioner-in-residence Christine Butler JD '78, Karmely is one of the supervising attorneys who attend court hearings with students. "Little by little, most law schools began to develop their own programs," Karmely says. "It's fair to say that family law cases are the kinds that have always needed help, and there's even more of a need for our kind of legal services. It's a win-win: the students get real-life lawyering experience, and clients get needed representation."
Established in the early 1970s, FAC was one of Suffolk's first clinical programs. In addition to the courtroom component, students must attend a seminar each week on lawyering skills and ethics, a supervision meeting focused on professional development and case strategy, and log a minimum of 13 hours a week on their cases. Recently, the Law School's clinical programs were cited among the nation's best by U.S. News & World Report.
Butler, who has been involved with domestic violence issues for more than 30 years, notes an expansion at Suffolk Law in both the number of clinics and the areas and fields of law they cover. "The multiple clinics now available to students provide more students the extraordinary opportunity to practice law under the guidance and close supervision of an experienced attorney," Butler says. "It is hard to imagine a more appropriate way to help law students transition into practicing attorneys."
To find its clients, FAC has a contract with HarborCOV, a Chelsea, Massachusetts, organization that provides emergency and long-term support services for victims of domestic violence, especially in Chelsea and the surrounding areas of East Boston, Winthrop, and Revere. FAC-eligible clients must fall within federal poverty guidelines. Usually, they would have no choice but to represent themselves in court because they can't afford an attorney, but FAC helps level the field, says Michaela Moshier, a HarborCOV legal advocacy specialist.
"They're an incredible resource for us. In addition to having experienced domestic violence, most of our clients are almost always low-income, and we serve a lot of immigrants and non-English speakers— people who are facing additional barriers in accessing the justice system and getting legal representation," she says. "To be able to refer clients in need of legal services to [FAC] directly and get people in touch with representation they probably wouldn't have had otherwise is an amazing opportunity."
Suffolk's Family Advocacy Clinic Director Maritza Karmely
A Hand to Lead You
On the airy floor where family court is held, the halls teem with men and women awaiting their moment before a judge. Amid the cacophony of various languages and fussy babies, some gather with family members, while others hunch over smartphone calculators running figures on child support payments. Still more sit alone, a worn manila folder stuffed with various court documents, certificates, and receipts held on their laps. When their name is called, they will enter the court pro se, meaning they will represent themselves. The process "isn't a friendly one, especially to people who may not speak English and may not know how the system here works," Moshier says. Yet for Elatab's client, the court experience is vastly different. Long before her hearing begins, the woman sits with Elatab and Karmely, as well as an interpreter since the client is not fluent in English. They discuss strategies and weigh options with the client as an active participant.
"I feel like I can show clients that I relate to them," says Elatab, 25, who hails from North Haledon, New Jersey. "It shows them that you want to solve their problems, and I'm sincerely doing this from a position that we're in this together. I'm your voice. I hope people are in tune with that, and we can build a case together."
Clients are informed up front that law students supervised by attorneys will represent them, Moshier says. "People know that if at any time they're not happy with the services, they don't have to continue, but I haven't heard from anyone that they've been unhappy," she says. "People are usually pretty grateful for the opportunity to have legal assistance."
Either Butler or Karmely attends a student's initial interview with a new client, but they remain as unobtrusive as possible. "We'll sit [in]—not to direct the interview but to be in the background—and then sit down later with the student attorney[s] to talk to them about how they think it went, what they think worked, what they could do differently," Butler says. "During a session with a client, we're not going to stop [a student attorney] mid-sentence and say, 'You forgot to ask about this,' because that's not going to engender confidence for the client."
While clients know a seasoned lawyer will advise their attorney, "Students are really good at engaging with the clients and establishing a working relationship with them," Butler says. "If their first reaction might be, 'Oh gosh, is this a student who's going to represent me,' they become more and more comfortable as they spend time with the student attorney—and the fact that they know we're in the background."
Several years ago, Sindy Munoz, who lives in the working-class city of Chelsea across the Mystic River from Boston, was referred to FAC for a child custody issue. Without FAC, she would not have had legal representation, she says. "The student I worked with seemed like she was a lawyer already. She explained a lot and she knew what I wanted. She was driven, but she never doubted what I wanted. She was always checking up on me and my son in emails, text messages, and calls. At the end of the day, I'm the one making the decisions, but it's good to have a hand to lead you."
For the law students, the guiding hand comes from Karmely and Butler. In court, they sit at the lawyer's table with the students who present the case before the judge. Says Elatab, "I feel like we won the lottery with Chris and Maritza as advisers. They never get impatient, they really teach you A through Z. They make it the best learning environment possible." Lauren Standiford '14, a clinic fellow last summer, called Karmely and Butler "a safety net," but added that the two seasoned attorneys "didn't step on my toes or force my hand in making any decisions."
"I remember one negotiation, my second, and I was sitting across the table from two attorneys, both speaking at me at the same time, and [I] looked at Chris, like, 'Which one of them do I address?' So, Chris took the lead on that issue because she had worked on this case for a year and I was just getting my teeth sunk in," says Standiford, 26. "It's great when you have that 'deer-in-the-headlights look' to have her be able to help me. But it's not like Chris takes over and I'm just playing on my iPhone. I'm not just passively involved. I'm still actively taking notes and thinking about what they're saying, because I have to report everything to the client. But that was an instance when I felt, 'Thank goodness I have someone here with 30 years of experience.'"
Practitioner-in-residence Christine Butler JD'78
Cross the Bar
For Elatab, there's now "a change of energy" she experiences walking into a courtroom, but it wasn't always that way. She recalls a case where, in order to pass a note to a state Department of Revenue attorney, she needed to cross the bar, the long wooden railing that separates the judge, jury, court officers, and attorneys from others in the courtroom. "At first I felt like a law student, like I was out of place. The attorney was all the way in the front, and she asked us to let her know what we decided to do. You can't talk in court so Maritza said, 'Just go, walk through, and hand her a note.' And I said, 'Cross the bar? You mean I'm just allowed to walk in it? Do I have to ask someone's permission?' And she said, 'You're an attorney, you're allowed there.'
"I was convinced the judge would stop me and say, 'No, you are out of place, you don't belong here. What are you doing, child?' But as soon as I crossed that bar, sat next to her, and passed her that note, I felt like this was my place and I felt more comfortable," Elatab says. "It's a little thing, but I felt like I was playing the part until then when I turned into the part. It's like being in the cool kids club."
Standiford's entry into "the cool kids club" came quickly—her first court date was also her third day of work at the Family Advocacy Clinic. "I hit the ground running and never quite stopped. The day and night before [my first court date], I worked for hours with my calculator adding and re-adding all of the child support payments a father had made to one of my clients. I remember looking at the clock on the wall in the office and saying, 'Is it really 7:15 p.m.? I really have to be in front of a judge in just over 14 hours?' But I was ready, as everyone always seems to be ready for the big day they've been thinking about for months." Standiford made her argument—the father was representing himself—and the situation was mediated in her client's favor without a judge. "I left feeling like I'd just won the lottery for my client," she says. "These are people who have real problems on their hands and we're their only resource."
That realization—that the strategies pursued and decisions made in these courtrooms can have long-lasting ramifications for their clients and families—is not lost on either Elatab or Standiford. It is also what moved them to pursue this clinic and fuels their desire to continue this work postgraduation and beyond.
"It's honestly disturbing to me to think our clients aren't the only people with these problems and there are other people who don't have anyone to help them," Elatab says. "Advocacy is everything to me, and being part of this clinic is one of the best decisions I've made in law school.'"


text:
Start With the Style
The first thing you must do is understand style and color are two different things. Style refers to the type of roofing material you want and how it should look. Things to consider include:
Choosing the Perfect Color
Finding the right color is a little more complicated. Start with a practical climate assessment because roof color will affect the temperature of your home. Dark, earthy tones absorb heat and warm the home while lighter colors reflect light to keep the house cool. A classic neutral color might be the best choice for climates that experience both hot and cold weather.
Next, consider how the roof color affects the appearance of your home:


text:
47 million of Egypt's population are females: CAPMAS
Egypt's Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS) says that the number of females in Egypt reached 47.5 million in January 2019.
Egypt's Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS) says that the number of females in Egypt reached 47.5 million in January 2019.
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on Saturday that a slew of peaceful elections and truces in Africa were signs of a "wind of hope" on the continent.
The Republic of Rwanda and African Union Commission's Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture will on Sunday February 10, 2019 host a high level side event on the Africa Agriculture Transformation Scorecard (AATS) at the margins of the February 32nd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union.
Rwanda has confirmed that President Paul Kagame will attend the East African Community Heads of State Summit on Friday, erasing doubts that he would skip and opt to mark Heroes Day celebrations in his country.
An Ethiopian ex-minister was arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of "mismanagement of public funds" while he was head of a regional public investment fund, the state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting said.
A group of soldiers sought to take power in Gabon on Monday while the country's ailing president was abroad, but the government declared the bid had failed and the rebels had been arrested.
Niger's army says it has killed nearly 290 militants from the Boko Haram Takfiri terrorist group during an offensive near the country's southeast border with neighboring Nigeria.
The US State Department has barred former Gambian President Yahya Jammeh and members of his immediate family from entry into the United States.
An Egyptian actress who wore a sexy dress faces five years in jail if convicted of public obscenity when she goes on trial in January.
Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta has said that Kenya will increase its national budget allocation to education to reach 30 percent, making it among the highest in Africa.
African Ministers and delegates at the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) have concluded that in order to accelerate solutions to Africa's infrastructure gaps, they must be taken seriously if Africa is to realise the aspirations of its people as enshrined in the continent's blueprint for development, Agenda 2063 and the global agenda for sustainable development.
A British teenager is being held in an Egyptian prison accused of "spying," his family claim.


text:
|// Copyright 2009 The Go Authors. All rights reserved.
|// Use of this source code is governed by a BSD-style
|// license that can be found in the LICENSE file.
|// Package sync provides basic synchronization primitives such as mutual
|// exclusion locks. Other than the Once and WaitGroup types, most are intended
|// for use by low-level library routines. Higher-level synchronization is
|// better done via channels and communication.
|// Values containing the types defined in this package should not be copied.
|package sync
|import (
|func throw(string) // provided by runtime
|// A Mutex is a mutual exclusion lock.
|// The zero value for a Mutex is an unlocked mutex.
|// A Mutex must not be copied after first use.
|type Mutex struct {
|state int32
|sema uint32
|// A Locker represents an object that can be locked and unlocked.
|type Locker interface {
|const (
|mutexLocked = 1 << iota // mutex is locked
|mutexWaiterShift = iota
|// Mutex fairness.
|// Mutex can be in 2 modes of operations: normal and starvation.
|// In normal mode waiters are queued in FIFO order, but a woken up waiter
|// does not own the mutex and competes with new arriving goroutines over
|// the ownership. New arriving goroutines have an advantage -- they are
|// already running on CPU and there can be lots of them, so a woken up
|// waiter has good chances of losing. In such case it is queued at front
|// of the wait queue. If a waiter fails to acquire the mutex for more than 1ms,
|// it switches mutex to the starvation mode.
|// In starvation mode ownership of the mutex is directly handed off from
|// the unlocking goroutine to the waiter at the front of the queue.
|// New arriving goroutines don't try to acquire the mutex even if it appears
|// to be unlocked, and don't try to spin. Instead they queue themselves at
|// the tail of the wait queue.
|// If a waiter receives ownership of the mutex and sees that either
|// (1) it is the last waiter in the queue, or (2) it waited for less than 1 ms,
|// it switches mutex back to normal operation mode.
|// Normal mode has considerably better performance as a goroutine can acquire
|// a mutex several times in a row even if there are blocked waiters.
|// Starvation mode is important to prevent pathological cases of tail latency.
|starvationThresholdNs = 1e6
|// Lock locks m.
|// If the lock is already in use, the calling goroutine
|// blocks until the mutex is available.
|func (m *Mutex) Lock() {
|// Fast path: grab unlocked mutex.
|if atomic.CompareAndSwapInt32(&m.state, 0, mutexLocked) {
|if race.Enabled {
|// Slow path (outlined so that the fast path can be inlined)
|// TryLock tries to lock m and reports whether it succeeded.
|// Note that while correct uses of TryLock do exist, they are rare,
|// and use of TryLock is often a sign of a deeper problem
|// in a particular use of mutexes.
|func (m *Mutex) TryLock() bool {
|old := m.state
|if old&(mutexLocked|mutexStarving) != 0 {
|return false
|// There may be a goroutine waiting for the mutex, but we are
|// running now and can try to grab the mutex before that
|// goroutine wakes up.
|if !atomic.CompareAndSwapInt32(&m.state, old, old|mutexLocked) {
|return false
|if race.Enabled {
|return true
|func (m *Mutex) lockSlow() {
|var waitStartTime int64
|starving := false
|awoke := false
|iter := 0
|old := m.state
|for {
|// Don't spin in starvation mode, ownership is handed off to waiters
|// so we won't be able to acquire the mutex anyway.
|if old&(mutexLocked|mutexStarving) == mutexLocked && runtime_canSpin(iter) {
|// Active spinning makes sense.
|// Try to set mutexWoken flag to inform Unlock
|// to not wake other blocked goroutines.
|if !awoke && old&mutexWoken == 0 && old>>mutexWaiterShift != 0 &&
|atomic.CompareAndSwapInt32(&m.state, old, old|mutexWoken) {
|awoke = true
|old = m.state
|new := old
|// Don't try to acquire starving mutex, new arriving goroutines must queue.
|if old&mutexStarving == 0 {
|new |= mutexLocked
|if old&(mutexLocked|mutexStarving) != 0 {
|new += 1 << mutexWaiterShift
|// The current goroutine switches mutex to starvation mode.
|// But if the mutex is currently unlocked, don't do the switch.
|// Unlock expects that starving mutex has waiters, which will not
|// be true in this case.
|if starving && old&mutexLocked != 0 {
|new |= mutexStarving
|if awoke {
|// The goroutine has been woken from sleep,
|// so we need to reset the flag in either case.
|if new&mutexWoken == 0 {
|throw("sync: inconsistent mutex state")
|new &^= mutexWoken
|if atomic.CompareAndSwapInt32(&m.state, old, new) {
|if old&(mutexLocked|mutexStarving) == 0 {
|break // locked the mutex with CAS
|// If we were already waiting before, queue at the front of the queue.
|queueLifo := waitStartTime != 0
|if waitStartTime == 0 {
|waitStartTime = runtime_nanotime()
|runtime_SemacquireMutex(&m.sema, queueLifo, 1)
|starving = starving || runtime_nanotime()-waitStartTime > starvationThresholdNs
|old = m.state
|if old&mutexStarving != 0 {
|// If this goroutine was woken and mutex is in starvation mode,
|// ownership was handed off to us but mutex is in somewhat
|// inconsistent state: mutexLocked is not set and we are still
|// accounted as waiter. Fix that.
|if old&(mutexLocked|mutexWoken) != 0 || old>>mutexWaiterShift == 0 {
|throw("sync: inconsistent mutex state")
|delta := int32(mutexLocked - 1<<mutexWaiterShift)
|if !starving || old>>mutexWaiterShift == 1 {
|// Exit starvation mode.
|// Critical to do it here and consider wait time.
|// Starvation mode is so inefficient, that two goroutines
|// can go lock-step infinitely once they switch mutex
|// to starvation mode.
|delta -= mutexStarving
|atomic.AddInt32(&m.state, delta)
|awoke = true
|iter = 0
|} else {
|old = m.state
|if race.Enabled {
|// Unlock unlocks m.
|// It is a run-time error if m is not locked on entry to Unlock.
|// A locked Mutex is not associated with a particular goroutine.
|// It is allowed for one goroutine to lock a Mutex and then
|// arrange for another goroutine to unlock it.
|func (m *Mutex) Unlock() {
|if race.Enabled {
|_ = m.state
|// Fast path: drop lock bit.
|new := atomic.AddInt32(&m.state, -mutexLocked)
|if new != 0 {
|// Outlined slow path to allow inlining the fast path.
|// To hide unlockSlow during tracing we skip one extra frame when tracing GoUnblock.
|func (m *Mutex) unlockSlow(new int32) {
|if (new+mutexLocked)&mutexLocked == 0 {
|throw("sync: unlock of unlocked mutex")
|if new&mutexStarving == 0 {
|old := new
|for {
|// If there are no waiters or a goroutine has already
|// been woken or grabbed the lock, no need to wake anyone.
|// In starvation mode ownership is directly handed off from unlocking
|// goroutine to the next waiter. We are not part of this chain,
|// since we did not observe mutexStarving when we unlocked the mutex above.
|// So get off the way.
|if old>>mutexWaiterShift == 0 || old&(mutexLocked|mutexWoken|mutexStarving) != 0 {
|// Grab the right to wake someone.
|new = (old - 1<<mutexWaiterShift) | mutexWoken
|if atomic.CompareAndSwapInt32(&m.state, old, new) {
|runtime_Semrelease(&m.sema, false, 1)
|old = m.state
|} else {
|// Starving mode: handoff mutex ownership to the next waiter, and yield
|// our time slice so that the next waiter can start to run immediately.
|// Note: mutexLocked is not set, the waiter will set it after wakeup.
|// But mutex is still considered locked if mutexStarving is set,
|// so new coming goroutines won't acquire it.
|runtime_Semrelease(&m.sema, true, 1)


text: Top rankings in Fastest-growing ecosystem in digital innovation read more N°1 favourite retail destination in Belgium read more N°2 port in Europe and n°1 for conventional cargo read more N°1 diamond trade capital in the world read more 1 on 10 business establishments in creative businesses. Read more 1 on 3 companies active in cleantech in Flanders is located in Antwerp Read more N°1 integrated chemical cluster in Europe Read more N°7 fashion school in Europe Read more 1st unique academic testing facility in Europe Vaccinopolis Read more The right location for you 165 EUR average rental price for office space per m² read more 4th place in the ranking of most open economies in the world read more 9 large shopping areas in the center of Antwerp read more 4 innovative zones read more 5th best European large city for connectivity read more The right talent is available 41% citizens of Antwerp have a tertiary education read more 92% of the citizens claim to be happy living here read more 27 300 Self-Employed persons in Antwerp read more 1700 creative entrepreneurs in Antwerp read more Supported by an efficient government 60% of the companies survive the first 5 years read more 4th place in the ranking of most open economies in the world read more 5th place in Europe concerning efficiency of administrative services read more Grants Many possibilities for grants in every phase of your journey read more Key assets Why invest in Antwerp? Higher education & research 41% of citizens has a degree in higher education. Locations Affordable rental prices for industry, offices and living space. Taxation and legal protection Business-friendly investment climate. Labor market The labor cost in Antwerp is lower than that of many neighbouring hubs. Rental prices Affordable rents at a fraction of the cost of Paris, London, Brussels and Berlin. Subsidies & Financing opportunities Many incentives to finance your business. Market size 60% of EU purchasing power within a radius of 500 km. Innovation Leader Antwerp is a leader in innovation and R&D. Quality of Life 92% of people indicate to be happy with life in Antwerp. Mobility Excellent multimodal connections and a world class port. Entrepreneurship Both the start and the survival rate of companies is high in Antwerp. Living costs Low cost of living compared to neighbours. Connectivity The central hub of Europe. Productivity Highest in the region. Digital connectivity Frontrunner in IoT and AI


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6 Baby Proofing Tips to Prepare Your Home for Your Baby
Baby proofing your home may seem odd when your baby can't even play around yet, but you might be surprised as to how soon he might go around and get into things. So, take time to baby proof your home before your little one starts to crawl, or better yet, even before he arrives.
- Tie Down Your Furniture. One of the important things you should secure when you already have a child is your furniture. Tie down your TV, dressers, bookshelves, and other heavy furniture in the rooms where your child will mostly be left alone. Also, place some corner bumpers on furniture that have sharp edges to avoid accidental injuries in case your child falls off.
- Secure Your Toilet. While you might not see your toilet as one of the hazards, the toilet lid and the water in the bowl can actually pose some danger to a curious child. Prevent potential problems by always keeping the toilet lids down and securing it with a lid lock.
- Fasten Cords Against the Wall. Another important thing to keep away from your curious child are the cords. Purchase cord holders to hold the longer cords of your appliances against your walls. This way, your child won't be able to tug on any electrical wiring, keeping him safe from equipment falls caused by a few cord tugs.
- Keep the Medicines Off Sight. Since you already have a little kid wandering around the house, keep your medicines managed by storing them in a high and locked cabinet. Also, avoid taking any medicine in front of your kid as he might imitate you later on. If possible, get rid of the medicines that you'll no longer use through a drug take-back program.
- Cover Up Electric Sockets. Protect your baby from electric shocks by covering any exposed sockets. Purchase childproof covers to avoid any choking hazard in case your child managed to pull them out. For an added protection, you can also place large furniture to cover the outlets.
- Practice Toy Safety. Your child's toys should be safe for him to play around. Its size should be larger than his mouth to prevent any choking incidents. Also, ensure that the different parts attached to each toy are securely fastened and won't be easily torn off.
In your baby's eyes, your house is a big playground and the best way to let your baby enjoy that playground is to keep it safe from any possible harm. So, keep your baby protected and start baby proofing your home as early as possible.


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Seven Reasons why oil super bulls could be wrong
Crude oil prices are expected to decline from their highest levels since November 2014, despite worries about US sanctions on Iran and a potential conflict with Israel.
They are only likely to surge to extreme heights if there's a full-scale Middle East war involving Saudi Arabia
There are several reasons why oil prices are likely to peak
First, the US Treasury has stated that sanctions on oil and other products from Iran will take place in 90 to 180 days. This means that Iran, which produced 3.8 million barrels of oil a day in March, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), will continue to supply buyers until at least August. Some contracts will last until November, according to analysts.
Second, hedge funds and other speculators have built up large bull positions in oil, partly because they expected US President Donald Trump's sanctions announcement. Net fund and smaller speculator bull positions in the West Texas futures and options contracts amounted to the equivalent of 736 million barrels on May 1. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission statistic excludes internationally traded Brent derivatives contracts. So speculation is likely to be much broader. Brent prices reached $77.89 a barrel on Thursday, a wide premium over the WTI price of $71.60. In February this year, Brent was $61.40 a barrel, a premium of only $3 over WTI. Several fund managers have been forecasting even higher prices, but if their expectations are thwarted, traders expect them to take profits.
Third, Saudi Arabia – which supports Mr Trump on the sanctions decision – could raise production to counter any anticipated loss of Iranian exports after November this year.
Fourth, the IEA stated in its April report that demand from China and India was already falling. World trade and economies have been slowing, so higher oil prices could dampen global demand and encourage greater use of alternative energy.
Fifth, higher oil prices are encouraging US fracking producers to raise output and the IEA estimates that production will rise from 14.16 million barrels a day in the first quarter to 15.28 million barrels in the fourth quarter of this year. The surge in production, which places the US almost level pegging with Russia and former USSR states, has caused the WTI discount to Brent prices. Moreover, the surge in fracking has also boosted natural gas supplies, an increasingly popular energy source.
Sixth, the Iranian regime will have to sell as much oil as possible to boost the sinking economy and currency. The struggling Iranian people are struggling and there are protests all over the country.
Finally, the IEA estimates that the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) oil industry stocks were 2.84 billion barrels in February. This is equivalent to 60 days demand for OECD nations. Government strategic stocks of oil, which can be sold in an emergency, amounted to 1.57 billion.
Finely Balanced
Despite the above reasons, the oil market remains finely balanced. If the missile sorties between Israel and Iran become a full-scale conflict or Iran once again renews its nuclear warhead ambitions, oil prices could surge. Such a rise, however, would be brief, unless the Saudis entered the war. That has been the pattern historically.
Prices began to rise in recent months and are well above the lows of US$30 a barrel in January 2016, mainly because the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) has cut output. The IEA's report shows that Opec's crude oil production declined by around one million barrels a day since 2016 to 31.83 million barrels a day. This reduction plus worries about Venezuelan output (down 750,000 barrels in 2016 to 1.49 million a day), helped lift oil prices. In the first quarter of this year, global demand thus exceeded supplies of 97.1 million barrels a day by 200,000 barrels a day.
Soaring prices in the chart above, however, illustrates that the deficit could well be discounted.
The other view
Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch and some other investment banks remain bullish. They contend that renewed sanctions, Middle Eastern conflicts and risks to Venezuela supplies could boost oil prices well above current levels.
© copyright Neil Behrmann.
Neil Behrmann is London correspondent of The Business Times Singapore. Jack of Diamonds his thriller on global diamond mining and smuggling, has just been published. It is the sequel to the thriller, Trader Jack, The Story of Jack Miner


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Gold, silver, bronze and shiny aqua is where it's at this week.
Grecian style flats get a colourful upgrade
Some xmas pieces to get you in the spirit
Mia's pick of spooky themed pieces
Go gigantic!
Some pink beach inspiration! From ADIDAS to the London Magazine Vinyl Riot!
We're not fruit shaped but like the odd pineapple on our swimwear
After last week's boy tees, we're still in an androgynous mood...
Who can get enough of socks with cute animals or cool patterns?!
Can't spring just be here now?
Spring dreaming
We're mixing nude with neons
Blue makeup is everywhere
Back to school with Maria Pizzeria
Alex Sebley shoots Western inspired snow wear on an East London rooftop
To be worn with warm tights!
What to wear after the end of the world
Ready for a super stylish Christmas?
Hibernate in style!
A lesson in zoology...
We're not too cool for school for a change
Biology lesson from the fashion team
It's almost time...
Get some before it gets too cold...
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Your lesson for y'all out there
All the thug niggas on the block regulatin'
This goes out for y'all
(West Side)
Gangstas will rule the world in the Y2K
Check it out
Can y'all see where I'm comin from
Hoods and blocks and G's with glocks
Young thug niggas with rocks
Everyday and night cause ain't - nuthin' changed
Destiny is meant for niggas to hoo-bang
Lord have mercy - to the ones that's gone
Cause only you upstairs know was wrong
Night time hits, here comes the fire flies
One more block to catch the drive-by
Code of the streets you pack heat and skeet
Any fuckin' hoodrat bitch you can meet
Poor muthafuckas still wating - on the county
Young black niggas dodgin' the county mountie
Who got the fat stacks, the pack stacks
Slugs to your back if my clientele you jack
Knick knack - patty wack, packs straps
Patty-wack your own homie trying to cheat on craps
From yo hood 2 my hood's all the same
Like yo hood and mine learn the same games
Thug niggas, strapped girls down on planes
If you get caught then don't say no names
I gotta flick from a homie doing ten in the pen
Gotta a little bigger since my lil' nigga went in
Lotta tales 'bout fools gettin' em up and shanked
Whose mouth tight shut? Whose shit that stink?
Gotta lil' message - 'bout the bitch you fucked
A nigga cross town got the hoodrat stuck
Me and Loc jacked that nigga last week fo' ends
I shoot a lil' paper till you up in the pen
Fools still riding - got the spot on lock
We gon' chill right here till you back on the block
Nigga still bailin round here khakis and stars
High as fuck as we throw the hood out the car
We miss the days when you used to get drunk at night
Never bailed on a homie when it's time to fight
One times jacked us the last night, face in the dirt
Tryin' to get info on who shot the store clerk
From yo hood 2 my hood's all the same
Like yo hood and mine learn the same games
Thug niggas, strapped girls down on planes
If you get caught then don't say no names
Somebody help me out the ghetto
Ya know - same story just like before
I don't wanna be here just like you
I slangs just 'bout everything to start new
Do you have the answer?
Niggas gettin' popped - dying off just like cancer
You got your enemies, you got your old G's
In the penitentiaries just want to be free
If I had another chance would I do it again?
Rewind the time and head right back to the pen
Seems like I can't escaped this world of sin
Judgement for this young thug in the end
Time's up - this thug caught a slug
In another town trying to slang drugs
My moms pray for my soul
As I lay below
I wonder if heaven got a ghetto
You how we do it


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One of the first challenges new SSD users face is whether to migrate the system in place or to consider a fresh OS installation where one might 'start from scratch'. In many cases, users have several years invested in their system whereas, with others, the security of a fresh installation is a major step towards SSD happiness. The choice of SSD migration may seem the simplest answer but users should be aware that things may not go as planned, thus mandating a fresh install in any case. This article is intended to provide a brief overview of system migration and some of the difficulties that may be encountered, as well as providing an alternative and comparison in completing a fresh OS installation with your new SSD.
LINK: http://thessdreview.com/ssd-


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A lifestyle expat travel blog about culture, history, Brexit, the Royal Family, travels around the world, Europe, and being British in Berlin!
I'm back again!
Last week, I wrote about my experience of how to spend 48 hours in Berlin – #bestofBerlin, as of part of the tourism initiative to discover new and old parts of Berlin.
If you're just joining, here's the lowdown:
The Berlin campaign was based on 48 hours i.e two (2) days, so let's so let's not waste anymore time and go into the second day:
First of all, read the first part of DAY ONE here.
Leave your hotel, hostel or apartment and take a bus, tram or train. Use the Berlin WelcomeCard transport ticket.
Start at Brandenburger Tor or Brandenburg Gate which is Berlin's most iconic monument. Take a couple of pictures at Pariser Platz so-named 'cos of the anti-Napoleon occupation of Paris in 1814! There's bound to be carriages, horses, cycle rickshaws, beerbikes and sometimes even a Berlin Bear hanging around. However, it's Germany so don't except jugglers, bubbles or Luke Skywalker to be walking down the street!
Turn right and cross the street, you will find yourself staring at the Reichstag or Berlin's most beautiful Bundestag or Parliament Building. You can visit the roof terrace and glass dome built by the most talented British architect Norman Foster now known as Baron Foster of Thames Bank of Reddish! It's free of charge but if you haven't booked in advance, you can register at the Visitors' Service office nearby but be prepared to queue! Oh, and bring your passport or international I.D!
After that, walk straight down and stroll along the Straße des 17. Juni surrounded by Tiergarten – Berlin's largest park and urban garden built in 1527! It used to be the hunting grounds of the nobility and the location of the world's most popular electronic dance music festival. Yes, the Love Parade.
Gosh! Those were the days!
Tiergarten is now a most lovely park which you can cycle through, hire a boat on the lake (Berlin has many wonderful rivers and lakes), see the birds and animals (as the zoo and city aquarium are next door), jog through, or have tea at the English Garden!
If you stay on the left hand side, you will go into the park and garden and see many historical statues and 19th century gas lanterns. If you stay on the right hand side, you will see many Soviet war memorials, and straight in front of you is the Siegessäule or the Victory Column. For a small fee you can climb all 270 steps. Take a few photographs.
Walk back to Brandenburger Tor or use the Berlin WelcomeCard and take the train or bus.
From Brandenburger Tor, cross the road and turn left. You will see the Holocaust Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. It is a memorial field of 2,711 concrete pillars of various heights. There is also an information centre of historical films, photographic documents and video interviews with survivors of the Holocaust.
Further on you will find yourself walking into a most important part of Berlin – Potsdamer Platz built in 1838. It's interesting to note that whenever you see black & white 20th century photographs of Berlin, you can always see that clock.
It's still there!
Stroll around. Go shopping at the Mall of Berlin or LP12 – the largest shopping mall in Germany and for kids, the Cinestar IMAX and Cinestar Original (English), Legoland, the Museum of Film and Television, and the best of all, the new German Spy Museum Berlin!
Take a break at any of the many restaurants, cafe, and bars then take a bus or train back to Brandenburger Tor.
In front of Brandenburger Tor on your right, is one of Europe's most famous hotels. Think Michael Jackson almost dropping his child – Blanket – over the hotel balcony in 2002, think Queen Elizabeth, think actors, celebrities and multi-millionaires. In fact, I once literally bumped into Hugh Grant right outside the hotel front door myself. I tried to follow him and get an on-the-stop interview but I was wearing a football shirt at the time and security saw the glint in my eye! Yes, the 5-star Hotel Adlon Kempinski. Under normal circumstances, they're brilliant.
I once strolled in with no shoes on (it's a long story) and they didn't even bat an eye lol!
With Brandenburger Tor behind you, walk down a very long boulevard road called Unter den Linden. I absolutely love walking down this very old iconic historical road as it takes you from West Germany – Tiergarten, into East Germany – Alexanderplatz. I wrote about that area last week. Continue walking passing Madame Tussaud's on the left hand side and the embassy's of four (4) world powers (certainly as far as Berlin is concerned), America, France, Russia and Great Britain, on the right hand side. Continue your stroll and take your time. It's a bit of a long walk but it'll be worth it as you'll pass the Komische Oper, art galleries and smart shops. You will then see a very long street that cuts across. This is Friedrichstrasse. I wrote about this last week. Turn left and you will get to the High Street which will lead you to Checkpoint Charlie. Turn right, and it will lead you to Friedrichstrasse Main Train Station. Walk straight down on Unter den Linden and this will lead you to the area known as the Upper Eastside. It used to look really awful and drab in the 90's but how, times have changed!
Walk further on and you will pass some of the most beautiful regent buildings in Berlin such as the Kronprinzenpalais or Crown Prince's Palace, the Prinzessinnenpalais or Princesses' Palace also known as the Opernpalais or the Opera Palace which hosts free open-air opera in the summer. (It's brilliant!) and the Prince Heinrich Palace, which is now known as the elite Humboldt University! You'll see the Armoury (the oldest surviving) and most important baroque 1706 building and now known as (one of my faves) the Deutsches Historisches Museum or the national German Historical Museum.
You'll pass a bridge with lots of statues called the Schloßbrücke or Palace Bridge. It was built around 1800 and is certainly attractive but in my mind, not as outstanding as Charles Bridge in Prague, but acceptable, nevertheless! From the bridge you can see the magnificent Museumsinsel or Museum Island with it's five (5) wonderful collections of UNESCO heritage museums.
To go to these museums, turn left.
Turn left again and follow the river around, you will find another bridge called the Monbijoubrücke or Monbijou Bridge. This is a pedestrian bridge that crosses over the River Spree and connects Monbijoupark with the Museum Island. It's right next to the Bode Museum and if you cross it you'll come to a place called the StrandBar or Beach Bar. It's open throughout the year but better in the summer of course. It's more a river-side "beach" but there are deck chairs (free of charge) facing the river, an open air theatre (in German), but it's all pretty bohemian and out there, and with a few glasses of wine or bottles of beer down you, you'll get what they're talking about and if not, well, the novelty is all the fun! This beach bar also has free open air tango dancing, swing and salsa. And anyone can participate. I can actually do a few steps of the tango but I wouldn't dare. Those people are good!
For night-time activity, from the StrandBar, turn right. The road in front of you will lead you to Oranienburgerstrasse. Turn right again, for small cocktail bars, nicely-priced restaurants, discrete speakeasy bars and ladies of the night. Turn left towards Berlin's New Synagogue, various small Jewish outlets and Hackescher Markt. This will lead you to Hackesche Höfe and the backyards of tiny little bars selling beer for €2.00 or less. You're going to have to look closer though as this Quarter is now gentrified!
Having said that smoky little back bars are everywhere as well as vintage boutiques, bohemian shops, independent cinemas and burlesque cabarets. Berlin of the 1920's and 30's is right in front of your eyes! Use the Berlin WelcomeCard.
If you're go back to outside the Deutsches Historisches Museum or the national German Historical Museum, on the right-hand side of Unter den Linden, you will see the re-building of the Palace of the Republic. On the left-hand side, you should walk straight down and hop onto the Lustgarten park and sprawl onto the grass which is right in front of the Berliner Dom or the Berlin Cathedral. And as I told you last week, if you can see the Cathedral in front of you, you're right next to the DDR Museum and you've come full circle!
After a bit of a rest there are a few museums and galleries that I would like to recommend. There are so many great places that I would do them injustice if I didn't write about them properly so I'm going to write an extra post about them next week but if you can't wait, here's a spoiler….
Take the train and go to an underground station called Märkisches Museum. Follow the signs outside for a little while and they will lead you to an actual museum called the Märkisches Museum. I know! I used to think that the museum was named after the station. But it isn't, it's the other way around and in fact, it used to be the museum of Berlin. It's a little bit hidden but well worth it.
I'm a freak. I spent a couple of hours there and I still left it unfinished!
Oh, and up until a few weeks ago, there was a bear living there. A real live bear!
Until it passed away!
The Berlin Welcome Card package will include transport tickets for 48 hours including the city of Potsdam, 200 discounts, inside tips, information on top attractions, a city map, a mini guide-book written in English, German, Italian and Spanish, a €5.00 discount for the TV Tower restaurant or bar and a free voucher for a glass of glühwein (mulled wine) at the Christmas Market on Alexanderplatz valid until January 3rd, 2016!
Perfect for the New Year celebration in Berlin!
To take part, you need to subscribe to The British Berliner and either tell me why you would like to win the tickets on my blog here, on my Twitter feed attached to this post, or on my FaceBook page, also attached to this post. The person that I think gives me the wittiest or funniest reason, wins!
Only comments attached to this post will be considered.
You have until 12:00 or 12p.m. on December 27th and the announcement will be made on the blog on December 28th. The winners will meet me personally and receive the tickets on the evening of December 27th, anywhere in Berlin!
Good Luck!
You can see all the places that I went to previously by following me via #bestofBerlin on Twitter & Facebook.
See ya next week!
Oh, and have a wonderful festive season with you and yours.
This post is not sponsored so I can't wait to hear from you!
If you have any questions about Berlin, don't be shy, I'm an expert! Go ahead and ask me!
See you in Berlin.
Beautiful, super-cool Berlin! I would have liked to participate in the give-away, but I've been there so many times.Probably better if someone, who hasn't been there yet wins the giveaway:)
I used to read about Love Parade in Bravo, thinking that when I get older, I really want to go. But as I grew older, I lost my interest in techno music and Love Parade, so I never went:)
Thanks very much Mitzie Mee! I absolutely agree that Berlin is beautiful & super-cool. And in my eyes, will always be so lol! Yeah, let's leave the giveaway to new visitors!
Indeed, the Love Parade was just the best. The absolute best! Honestly, I'm so glad that I was here at the height of it's awesomeness and because I first visited when I was much younger, it fitted me to a tee! I still like techno and dance music of course, but now I only go clubbing if I'm on the guestlist, it's a speciality-selected crowd, and I have a car waiting to take me home lol!
p.s. If I don't "speak" to you soonest, I wish you and your family a lovely Xmas and an excellent New Year! 🙂 🙂
My husband and I have been talking about fitting in a trip to Berlin at some point, since we've both never been there, but it certainly can't be before December 31! So I'm not entering your contest, just saying thank you for the run-down on what to see in a short visit to Berlin. Thank you!
Thank you very much Rachel. And not a problem! It's been my pleasure. Berlin is definitely a "must-see" and being that we're "just around the corner" from Holland. I very much look forward to seeing you again next year. Until then, I wish you and your family a lovely Xmas and an excellent New Year! 🙂 🙂
Thanks so much Phil! 'Can't wait to have you visit us in Europe and it would be my absolute pleasure to show you and your lady around!
Have a wonderful Festive Season. I'm sure you will lol! 'Must be marvellous to experience Christmas and the New Year in New York! Have lots of fun & joy with you and yours, and I'll "see" you in 2016! XXX
Merry Xmas Agnes & thanks so much! Your roommate is going to have a wonderful time right here in Berlin. Lucky girl! Someone once asked me which place was my dream place. And you know what? I'm already living in it. In Berlin!
But yes, next time you're here, let me know as there's more to discover… 🙂 🙂
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Thanks so much Kristin! Ooooo! Are you sure about that? That cocktail is called "Feuerzangenbowle" and is an absolute killer! The first time I tried it, it was so strong that I literally fell to the floor! I'm not joking, I thought it was glühwein and took a huge swig…..! But I'm guessing 'cos you're a Southern Nashville girl, you're made of sterner stuff lol!
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Thursday, June 5, 2014
We Like COE Campgrounds
Fisherman's Corner. It's located right on the Mississippi River just across from Davenport, IA.
The Great River Trail. This is a paved rail-trail which stretches for 60 miles from Savanna to Moline along the Mississippi River. This should afford us a great opportunity to use the road bikes which we haven't ridden for a bit.
For any fans of the American Pickers television show on the History Channel, Mike's shop named Antique Archaeology is only 2.5 miles north of us on the Iowa side of the river in St. Claire, IA. We'll probably drop over there and play tourist.
Thanks for stopping by to take a look!
11 comments:
Sounds like a much better option than the KOA we stayed at, we couldn't get into the COE park due to gov't shutdown at the time.ReplyDeleteReplies
Maybe not as amenities (which we don't need), but certainly cheaper than KOA.Delete
We not only like staying at COE CGs, we enjoy volunteering there too.ReplyDelete
Can't beat the price for the wonderful settings COE parks are in. :c)Replies
...and our price will be really cheap once we reach YOUR ripe old age! :}Delete
We've only stayed in one COE campground and we liked it and will look for them in the future.ReplyDelete
- FanchonJune 6, 2014 at 4:16 PM
This is a pretty campground.ReplyDelete
We also love COEs. Nice spot there. My husband wants to see the Pickers store too!ReplyDeleteReplies
We'll hopefully wander over there in the coming days. I hope I'm not in for a real letdown after seeing it on the show.Delete
Haven't found a COE campground that we don't like yet.ReplyDelete
That's a great looking spot. Say hello to my home state of Iowa where I grew up.ReplyDeleteReplies
Iowa is next on our travel agenda.Delete


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➊ Solitaire
I mentioned to the class that my solitaire board can't be played down to just one ball if the empty space is in the centre. Perhaps I might have shared the proof of this as it's a really simple satisfying one. I don't know. I'll share it with you anyway.
If assign three colours to the holes like this, each colour is present twelve times (and so with an even number of each colour):
Whenever there's a jump the number of each colour either increases or decreases by one. For instance:
And so there are now odd numbers of each colour. As this continues, there will always be all even, or all odd numbers of all the colours. So, there can never be just one ball left - one odd, and two even colours.
Isn't that neat? And very similar to the kinds of proofs I was thinking abaout with Cuisenaire rod filling.
➋ Three Cats Three Dogs
There were three things about this activity (source), which involved swapping pairs of cats and dogs to sort them into all-cat and all-dog groups.
- It was explicitly about groups of threes (randomly chosen "thinking threes" as we call them) working well as a group, and making sure each member contributed. This was successful, even though my boys aren't always great at working with the girls.
- I asked the groups to invent a notation to record what they'd done. This I was really pleased with: it was simple to do, they needed to do it completely on their own, and there was more than one way to do it.
- We started to look closely at the minimum number of swaps necessary with varying numbers of animals. This turns out to be a pattern of triangular numbers, which the class could understand, even though we didn't make the link with triangular numbers (which we'd looked at before explicitly).
❸ Towers of Hanoi
This time in pairs, again inventing notation. We used Cuisenaire rods to represent the disks.
This powers of two really grabbed the class, and we took them up, and down to fractions together.
A few people wanted to carry on doubling while the rest of the class were doing some coordinates work, and I let them go for it:
❹ Jumping Frogs
Here frogs may either slide one place, or hop over one frog into an empty space; the aim being to have the pinks on the right and the blues on the left. There's a great nrich app that helps with this, but I also printed out some lilly pads for work with counters.
This puzzle was perhaps the hardest for the class to solve, but they kept at it!
Again we looked at the number pattern for different numbers of frogs, this time based on square numbers. Wanting to link in to our coordinates work I used desmos to tabulate and graph our results for the minimum number of moves for one frog at each end, two frogs at each end, and three frogs at each end. Then we looked at the three points on the graph, saw that they weren't in a straight line, and estimated where the curved line would cross the line going up from four on the x axis. I then added in the line. Samyak saw that you could get the progression by adding successive odd numbers:
I've now, following a really thought-provoking discussion with Paula Beardell Krieg, decided that I want to drop in this kind of graphing more often, to really get the feel of how we do this and the relationships look. Estimating was a good idea, and that it went well makes me feel like we could do this with more curves.
All-in-all, I was surprised how much maths we got from these four puzzles. I knew they would be playful and need lots of hard thinking, but the different number patterns that we uncovered added enough to make it really worthwhile. You could do this with older year groups and take it further.
I'll be on the lookout for puzzles like this which embody different number sequences, and probably use these activities next year.