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Ned James Wentz: History of His Sword A Sea Story: Admiral Thomas Moorer '33, USN
By Frances Wentz Taber (Daughter), 2 April 2013, Tallahassee, FL
BACKGROUND: My father, Ned James Wentz, was born 12 January 1910, Haigler, Dundy Co., NE. His youthful years were spent at his family's homestead, The Wildcat Ranch, Fort Morgan, Morgan Co., CO.On 1 June 1933, he was graduated from United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Anne Arundel Co., MD.On 11 November 1934, he wed my mother, Elizabeth Frances Simms, of Charleston, Kanawha Co., WV, at Goody, Pike Co., KY.Throughout their marriage, his tours of duty included: USS Colorado (BB-45), battleship, San Diego, Los Angeles Co., CA; Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Philadelphia, PA; on staff of RADM William Frederick "Bull" Halsey, Jr., USS Yorktown (CV-5), aircraft carrier, Carrier Division Two, Norfolk (City), VA; US Submarine Base, Coco Solo, PCZ; USS Erie (PG-50), patrol gunboat, flagship of The US Caribbean Fleet, Balboa, Panama.I was born, 27 May 1940, at US Submarine Base, Coco Solo, PCZ.Shortly following 07 December 1941 and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, US Navy dependents were ordered to leave The Panama Canal Zone. My father accompanied my mother and me for our return to reside with my maternal grandparents, at Charleston, Kanawha Co., WV, on 18 March 1942.On 30 March 1942, my father was assigned to USS Erie (PG-50), Balboa, Panama.My mother, having left me in the care of my grandparents, spent several months as a civilian, commencing 27 July 1942, at Cristobal, Panama, the new home base for USS Erie (PG-50). She was there – to be with my father, when his ship returned to her home port.In October 1942, my father had been given orders to report to Naval Air Station, Corpus Christi, Nueces Co., TX. He returned to The United States for leave – which was spent with my mother and me at Charleston, Kanawha Co., WV, with my mother's family, and at Fort Morgan, Morgan Co., CO, with his family. He had sought and was granted permission to return to USS Erie (PG-50) – in order to train his replacement. My mother and I were to have joined him at Texas.On 12 November 1942, USS Erie (PG-50), while leading Convoy TAG-20, between Trinidad and Guantanamo, was torpedoed by German submarine (U-163). This occurred off the shore of Curacao. My father and his replacement were two of six officers and a Philippine officer's mess boy killed – a total of seven lost. We did not go to Texas.SEVENTY YEARS LATERTwo weeks ago, a kind gentleman, Kent Eldemire, of George Town, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, contacted me. He told me that he had, in his possession, my father's US Naval Academy sword!This news was astounding. It is the most overwhelming lost-and-found story I have ever heard – and, it connects to me!For years, Kent has searched The Internet – first, for my father. Then, he discovered that my father had a daughter and found her married name. His early clues were through genealogy websites, where I had postings. And, the final clue was contact information for me, through my beloved late husband's obituary. Just two weeks ago, he found me! Kent has reiterated to me, a number of times, his appreciating that I have forever used my maiden name as a part of my full name on all documents! Without that, he would never have found me!Kent's late father, Enos Wellesley Eldemire (1910-1977), was first mate and senior salvage diver on the salvage tug, Killerig, which accompanied The US Caribbean Fleet, during World War II. This was a former Royal Naval vessel, owned by Merritt-Chapman & Scott, headquartered at New London, CT. Killerig was stationed at Kingston, Jamaica, and she was chartered to The US Navy. Kent's father and other crew members attempted the salvage of USS Erie (PG-50), at Willemstad, Curacao, Netherlands Antilles, 12 November 1942 and shortly following. This was impossible – because of massive torpedo damage to the hull and further extensive destruction from fire emanating from the fuel tanks carried for the small airplane on board. My late father's sword was discovered. This sword has been in the possession of The Eldemire Family, since that time – for over seventy years! Both his father and Kent have long wanted to return this sword to the rightful owners, the family of Ned James Wentz. This gentleman has had a long mission!When port activity began increasing at Willemstad harbor, following World War II, the Netherlands Antilles government requested The US Navy to remove USS Erie (PG-50). She was obstructing the harbor. The US Navy contacted my mother, in 1950 at Winter Park, FL, where we were residing, and asked if she wanted to be notified of any findings. Since I was age of ten years, I remember this – and, I have this letter, today! USS Erie (PG-50) was brought up and towed just out from the harbor – to create an artificial reef. This continues to be a popular diving site – especially for tourists and for Venezuelan residents. I have a fifteen-year friend, Venezuelan native and now US citizen, who has utilized that dive site!My late husband, Robert "Bo" Weiss Taber, my daughter, Elizabeth Winslow McAuliffe, and I spent a day at Willemstad, while on board a cruise ship, holidays 2000. We visited a small museum, there, devoted to the memory of USS Erie (PG-50).Since 1969, the sword has been located at Kent's second home at Cairns, Queensland, Australia – the locale where three of Kent's four children reside. His son, Shane, there, has located the sword, has sent me photographs and has prepared it for caring shipment to Tallahassee, Leon Co., FL. Today, the sword is en route! I am able to track every step – and, it should be safely within my possession, in three days!Believe me, overwhelming emotion and excitement prevail…The sword, within a proper case, is designated for my son, Francis Boll Gibbs, and his son, Couper Marshall Gibbs.
The late Admiral Tom Moorer, USNA '33 has to be numbered as one of the great naval officers of all time. I was privileged to be a close associate for many years and learned much from the experience.
One of Tom Moorer's most interesting relationships was with members of the Japanese military - those with whom so many of us had been in mortal combat during Word War II. At the conclusion of the War, Moorer was assigned to the Strategic
Bombing Survey, headed by statesman Paul Nitze. Under specific direction from President Harry Truman, the Survey visited Hiroshima and Nagasaki soon after the conclusion of the War, to view the devastation rendered by atomic bombs. Later, as the commander of the US Seventh Fleet headquartered in Japan, Moorer expanded his association with the Japanese people, earning respect with his professional and old southern school charm. This association grew as Moorer ascended the promotion ladder and headed the US Pacific Fleet. In his later roles as the Chief of Naval Operations and then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Moorer's Japanese associations were most valuable for US interests in the Far East.
One of the many stories emanating from Moorer's Japanese connection concerns why the Japanese lost the War. That story has now been published. The author, Captain Bryon Klng USNR first heard the story from Admiral Moorer when the latter, in a retired status, addressed a group of junior officers in the early 1980s. King always remembered the lesson of the story - how it emphasizes the age old warfare premise that "amateurs are concerned with weapons systems; professionals are concerned with logistics."
Byron King writes about history and energy issues for an online publication called Whiskey & Gunpowder (http://www.whiskeyandgunpowder.com/) that has a circulation of about 60,000, mostly in North America. He has enthusiastically given his permission for posting the story on usna.com Sea Stories. It is most fitting that it be the opening story from the Class of 1933, a Class that provided so many great leaders and lessons for our Navy. Please enjoy the words and the significant lesson they impart. Jerry Miller USNA '42.
The Old Man And The Oil
He was a frail old fellow, dressed in loose-fitting clothes, working in his garden and chopping potatoes. Less than a year before, in 1945, he was in command of one of the largest fleets that had ever been assembled by any nation. His name was Takeo Kurita, vice admiral of the former Imperial Japanese Navy.
A young U.S. naval officer named Thomas Moorer and his translator approached Kurita. They explained to the admiral that they were working for a historical study group, gathering information about the war that had recently ended for Japan on such unfavorable terms. They asked Kurita if he would agree to discuss his experiences. And so began a series of interviews of the former Japanese military commander by representatives of the U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey, Naval Analysis Division.
"We Ran Out of Oil"
Kurita held nothing back. There were no state secrets any more. "What happened?" asked the American officer. "We ran out of oil," replied Kurita, matter-of-factly.
Again and again during the interviews with Moorer and others, Kurita referred to a lack of fuel as the key reason that the Japanese forces were ground down to memories and ghosts. Kurita reflected on why his fleet was all but annihilated at the Battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944. Kurita explained that he brought his ships into that action without knowing whether there was sufficient fuel to bring them out of the zone of combat. Thus, Kurita's ships sailed slowly to their fate, conceding the element of surprise to the vigilant Americans, because the Japanese commanders were attempting to conserve enough fuel to return home. And so, lacking surprise, many of Kurita's ships never had the opportunity even to turn around before being sent to the bottom by U.S. submarines and air power, along a track of sorrow that covered several seas.
Kurita explained that during the Leyte Gulf battle, he deployed his ships on a dangerous night passage through the San Bernardino Strait. "I was low on fuel," he said. Kurita's fleet tankers had been sunk or dispersed. The only fuel available to the Japanese ships was whatever was in their own tanks. "Fuel was an important consideration, the basic one," said Kurita. There was not enough fuel for his ships to sail around the adjacent land masses, so they were forced by necessity to transit the relatively narrow straits.
Several months after the Japanese disaster at Leyte Gulf, in February 1945, forces of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps met with no naval resistance whatsoever during the invasion of Iwo Jima. The Japanese had simply conceded the sea and airspace around the island to the American attackers. The reason was that the Imperial Navy had elected to conserve fuel for the final defense of Japan.
By early 1945, almost all ships of the Japanese fleet had been deactivated. Powerful battleships, and even aircraft carriers, that had cost immense sums to construct before the war with the U.S. and during the early years of the conflict, were mere cold iron tied up to the pier for lack of fuel. Japan's basic military decision-making process was not how to defend against American attacks on many fronts. Japan's main effort was simply to struggle to preserve its dwindling levels of oil reserves.
Flying on Pine Needles
By mid-1944, Japan's economy and its military were being starved of energy supplies, the consequence of an ever-tightening noose applied by U.S. and Allied air and naval forces. U.S. submarines sank hundreds of Japanese ships in this time frame, including critically needed tankers full of oil. The American submarine campaign against Japanese sea power all but cut off the sea lines of communication between Japan and its so-called "southern resource area."
In desperation, Japanese war planners utilized every possible means to convert available resources into fuel substitutes. The Japanese manufactured alcohol from confiscated food supplies such as potatoes, sugar, and rice, thus forcing a direct competition between human stomachs and mechanical gas tanks. But alcohol has an energy content of about 65,000 Btu per gallon, whereas aviation gasoline delivers about 130,000 Btu per gallon. So on the best of days, Japanese aircraft took off with half the energy equivalent of their American counterparts in their fuel tanks. And aerial combat proved the disparity, with American aircraft utterly dominating the skies.
People in Japan were forced to tighten their belts even more when large amounts of garden vegetables began to be used for manufacturing lubricating oils. And even old rubber products such as tires and rain slickers were "distilled" to recover whatever oil could be had. But it was not enough.
By late 1944, the Japanese navy commenced a project to manufacture aviation fuel from pine tree roots. "Two hundred pine roots will keep an airplane in the sky for one hour," said a Navy spokesman. The Japanese navy distributed over 36,000 kettles and stills, in which countless pine tree roots met their fate. Many a hillside of Japan was utterly denuded of trees. But each kettle or still could produce only about 4 gallons of raw product, and even that required significant treatment to upgrade to anything approaching usable fuel. Compounding the problem, each still required its own fuel supply, and this exacerbated an already severe fuel shortage in Japan. By one estimate, 400,000 Japanese worked full-time in order to support a dispersed, inefficient industrial base that could produce all of about 2,500 barrels of pine oil per day. In the end, a mere 3,000 barrels of "pine root" aviation fuel were ultimately delivered to the Japanese navy. And the pine derivative gummed up aviation engines after just a few hours of use. The entire project was a massive waste.
The Way to Lose a War
Many years later, the American naval officer Thomas Moorer had retired as a four-star admiral and chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff. In an interview, the retired American Adm. Moorer reflected on the retired Japanese Adm. Kurita that he had met long before. "He had been in command of the entire fleet," recalled Moorer, "and now here he was digging potatoes."
"The lesson I learned," said Moorer, "was never lose a war." And the American admiral added, "The way to lose a war is to run out of oil"
Until we meet again...
24 July 2006 by Byron W. King. Pittsburgh, PA


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The Original McKenzie® Early Compliance™ Lumbar Roll™
A lumbar support in a smaller size for common low back pain, The Original McKenzie® Early Compliance™ Lumbar Roll™, now features a new, non-wrinkle, 100% polyester wick-away fabric cover and a durable 1½" built-in elastic strap.
This smaller diameter lumbar cushion is the ideal companion in the car, at the office or for use with any seat that does not provide adequate lumbar support. The durable 1½" built-in elastic strap is made from a thick, high quality material and can be adjusted to fit most chair backs; it can even be adjusted to fit around the waist.
The durable, high-quality construction of these lumbar rolls is unparalleled. Do not accept imitation. The Original McKenzie Early Compliance Lumbar Roll is the only lumbar support approved for use with the McKenzie Method®.
The Original McKenzie Early Compliance Lumbar Roll is perfect for youth, petite persons, or patients with acute discomfort that cannot tolerate a larger lumbar roll. In acute cases, The Original McKenzie Early Compliance Lumbar Roll can be used temporarily until function and mobility are restored. The patient can then switch to the fuller support of other Original McKenzie lumbar rolls.
Roll measures approximately 11" L x 3¾" dia. Strap contains latex. Made in the USA.
Add your company name/logo: orders of 50+ are eligible for custom screen printing.

subset: commoncrawl


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Eden Silk Kaftan - Ivory
The hooded EDEN dramatic volume refers to Venetian Domino with a hint of Oriental Kaftan
- Hand embroideries around hood, neckline, sides slits and pockets
- Hand made strings and tassels
- Flat pleats at the front and the back
- Luxurious Italian silk
- Pockets in the seam
- Back is slightly longer for a dramatic full-length effect
- one size
Model is 1,75m.
In this exclusive collection, Thierry Colson's iconic creations meet Moroccan traditional craftmanship. Sophisticated shapes and high quality fabrics join forces with entirely handmade embroideries to achieve exception.
Our collection supports the work done by Art Tissage Tam. Located in Tamesloht, the cooperative aims to preserve traditional craftsmanship, while also working to educate the local population and develop the village.


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Reverse The Verse Episode 47
It was another great week on Reverse The Verse! The CommuniTeam was happy to sit down and spend an hour with you, and here are some of the highlights from our hangout!
Top 5 Things from Reverse The Verse #47
1. Jump Point is out!
Our subscribers were treated to a brand new edition of Jump Point on Friday. Check out more of Ben's great in-fiction work, as well as an inaugural article by James Pugh!
2. James and Lando are sleep-deprived BFFs for charity!
For 24 hours, James and Lando will be live streaming as a part of the 8-Bit Salute, supporting Operation Supply Drop. Stop by the CIGCommunity Twitch channel to say hi! THEY'RE LIVE RIGHT NOW! (Saturday 10AM-Sunday 10AM)
3. The Reliant is coming…and it's AWESOME.
Confirmed as a future starter ship in the Star Citizen universe, Ben was able to confirm our next concept sale will be the MISC Reliant, priced at $ 50. Designed by Dave Hobbins and decked out with Xi'an tech, the CommuniTeam's excitement for this ship was palpable.
4. Nobody is interested in an RTV Sports segment…unless it's SATABall!
Described as "Space rugby with a stun gun in a zero-g environment," it's safe to say SATABall could provide more highlights than a Game-6 NBA playoff game. (Go Rockets!)
Sidenote: We are all very proud of Ben for feigning interest in pro sports.
5. The FPS is a Space Wizard?!
It arrives precisely when it means to. Travis Day gave us five minutes of rapid-fire updates again, and we can't wait for the upcoming release of the FPS. He covers one-shot kills, the stun mechanic, and dual-wield guns. We want Star Marine!
That's it! We hope you enjoyed this week's episode and continue to tune in every Friday!
Check out past broadcasts of Reverse The Verse over on Twitch.
Follow us to be notified the next time we go live!
For a full recap of the episode, check out our friends over at the Imperial News Network.
Check here for INN's coverage of Reverse the 'Verse Episode 46.


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Criminal charges in undecided N. Carolina congressional race
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The political operative at the center of an election fraud scandal that has engulfed a North Carolina congressional race was arrested Wednesday on charges of illegal ballot handling and conspiracy. Four people working for him were also charged.
Leslie McCrae Dowless Jr., 63, was accused of directing workers to collect and mail in other people's absentee ballots during the 2018 Republican congressional primary and the 2016 general election. It is against the law in North Carolina for anyone other than the voter or a close relative to handle a mail-in ballot, a measure aimed at guarding against manipulation.
Prosecutors are still investigating evidence of ballot tampering by Dowless and others working on behalf of GOP candidate Mark Harris during last fall's congressional election in the mostly rural 9th District, which includes part of Charlotte and extends eastward across several counties.
The indictment represents the first charges in a scandal that has cast doubt on election integrity and will leave a congressional seat unfilled for months.
"These indictments should serve as a stern warning to anyone trying to defraud elections in North Carolina," state elections director Kim Westbrook Strach said.
Dowless was arrested less than a week after the state elections board decided that his work for Harris, starting with the primary, tainted the Republican's apparent victory in November. The board ordered a new election but hasn't set a date.
Harris is not running in the do-over election; his Democratic opponent from November, Dan McCready, is.
Harris has not been charged and has denied knowledge of any illegal practices by those involved in his campaign. But he, too, could come under scrutiny. During last week's board hearing, he admitted writing personal checks to Dowless in 2017, a potential violation if the payments weren't reported.
Dowless has denied wrongdoing and did not respond to phone and text messages Wednesday. A woman hung up on a call to Dowless' attorney.
Dowless was charged with illegal possession of absentee ballots, obstruction of justice and conspiracy to obstruct justice. He was booked into a Raleigh jail. The four others were charged with illegal possession of an absentee ballot and conspiracy to obstruct justice.
The crimes "served to undermine the integrity of the absentee ballot process and the public's confidence in the outcome of the electoral process," the indictment said.
Dowless was accused of directing his workers "to mail the absentee ballot in such a manner to conceal the fact that the voter had not personally mailed it himself" — an act the indictment said constituted obstruction of justice.
In last fall's congressional election, Harris led McCready by 905 votes out of about 280,000 cast, but the state elections board refused to certify Harris as the winner because of the fraud suspicions. Last week, Harris abruptly dropped his bid to be declared the winner and called for a new election, and the board agreed.
Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman, who pursued the charges announced Wednesday, is still looking into evidence of irregularities in November. She indicated it could be weeks before any decisions are made on charges.
According to evidence at the elections board hearing, Dowless and his assistants illegally gathered up absentee ballots from voters by offering to put them in the mail, and in some cases forged signatures and filled in votes for local candidates.
Dowless refused to testify before the board without immunity from prosecution.
Dowless is a political junkie with felony convictions for perjury and insurance fraud — which led to a prison sentence in the 1990s — and several worthless-check offenses. He came to Harris' attention because he was known to produce votes.
Harris said he wanted to sign Dowless onto his 2018 campaign after noting the Bladen County man's work resulted in one of Harris' Republican rivals scoring an incredible 98 percent of the mail-in ballots in the 2016 primary.
Harris hired Dowless despite repeated warnings from the candidate's son, now a federal prosecutor in Raleigh, that Dowless was probably resorting to illegal methods.
In fact, Dowless had been on the radar of state elections investigators since 2010, when he was suspected of vote-buying but never charged. That was one of at least a half-dozen instances over the past nine years that prosecutors and election officials received complaints of serious irregularities in Bladen County.
The four other people charged in the case were paid by Dowless to collect ballots during the spring of 2018, when Dowless and his team were on the Harris campaign payroll, and during the 2016 general election, when Dowless himself successfully ran for a local soil and water conservation post, prosecutors said.
Jail records indicated he hadn't posted bond as of early Wednesday evening.
The Western Journal has not reviewed this Associated Press story prior to publication. Therefore, it may contain editorial bias or may in some other way not meet our normal editorial standards. It is provided to our readers as a service from The Western Journal.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.


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Vegetation seasonality, particularly in the tropical dry regions, can cause conventional land cover classification that rely
on satellite data to "misclassify" land cover types, because a single satellite image might reflect only a particular stage
within a natural phenological cycle. To address this, we developed a phenology-based synthesis (PBS) classification algorithm that
maps land cover by analysing full time series, rather than temporal composites, of satellite images using the Google Earth Engine cloud computing platform.
The PBS classifier operates through occurrence rules applied to a series of single date image classifications of a study area to assign the most appropriate
land cover class. Since the launch of Landsat 8 in 2013, every point on Earth is imaged every 16 days with exceptional radiometric quality.
By feeding Landsat 8 data to a PBS classifier, we mapped the land cover of four protected areas and their 20-km buffer zones in different
ecoregions of Sub-Saharan Africa.
The Google Earth Engine script of the PBS classifier can be found at
https://code.earthengine.google.com/fcc04d2a79aef5f123008d6c178a18c0 (for GEE trusted user only)
Validation of the maps through a visual interpretation of coincident very high resolution images and a web-GIS showed that the combined overall
accuracy exceeded 90 %. The Sentinel 2 satellites will drastically increase the frequency of global image acquisitions, which, along with the
Landsat 8 programme and open data policies, will enable near real-time monitoring of Earth's surface at a 10-30 m resolution. Using the first
series of Sentinel 2a images over one of the test areas, we demonstrate that Landsat 8 and Sentinel 2 data streams can be jointly exploited by
PBS classification to provide exceptional spatial and temporal detail for the mapping and monitoring of global land cover.
... more info ...
The JRC TREES-3 project aims at estimating forest cover changes at continental and regional levels for the
tropical belt for the periods 1990-2000 and 2000-(2005)-2010 based on a systematic sample of forest cover
change maps. An operational system has been developed for the processing and change assessment of a large
data set of multi-temporal medium resolution imagery (sample units of 20 km x 20 km size analysed from with
Landsat imagery). The main task is to assess as accurately as possible for each sample unit the forest cover
and forest cover change between two dates.
The analysis includes a crucial final step of visual verification and final assignment of land cover labels
which is carried out by forestry national officers or remote sensing experts from tropical countries. The
visual interpretation is conducted interdependently on two-date imagery to verify and to adjust the labels
pre-assigned to each segment for the different dates. A dedicated stand-alone application has been developed
for this purpose. The application is a graphical user interface, called the JRC Land Cover Change Validation
Tool. The aim of this tool is to provide a user-friendly interface, with an optimised set of commands to
navigate through and assess a given dataset of satellite imagery and land cover maps, and to correct easily
the land-cover labels as appropriate. FAO is collaborating with JRC in this work under the Global Forest
Resource Assessment (FRA) Remote Sensing Survey. JRC has added functionality to the tool to enable labelling
of land-use classes that are part of the FRA classification.
The technical document, entitled "User Manual for the JRC Land Cover/Use Change Validation Tool"
describes the steps for the installation of the tool on a personal computer, as well as the detailed features
of this dedicated graphical user interface. The authors welcome feedback from potential users of the tool,
in particular reporting of any potential software issue or providing suggestions for improvements of future
versions of the tool.


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Chahine A's Contact Information
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Chahine A's direct and cell phone numbers are current since Sep 2023. Chahine's telephone numbers were verified in real-time using our proprietary access to direct dial and cell phone databases.
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Classification: Dentist
Definition: A dentist is a person qualified by a doctorate in dental surgery (D.D.S.) or dental medicine (D.M.D.), licensed by the state to practice dentistry, and practicing within the scope of that license. There is no difference between the two degrees: dentists who have a DMD or DDS have the same education. Universities have the prerogative to determine what degree is awarded. Both degrees use the same curriculum requirements set by the American Dental Association's Commission on Dental Accreditation. Generally, three or more years of undergraduate education plus four years of dental school is required to graduate and become a general dentist. State licensing boards accept either degree as equivalent, and both degrees allow licensed individuals to practice the same scope of general dentistry. Additional post-graduate training is required to become a dental specialist.
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Applewood Gouda and Pear Grilled Cheese
Smokey applewood gouda and crispy, sweet pears make the most amazing combination. Applewood Gouda and Pear Grilled Cheese is a delicious grilled cheese that everyone will love!!
April is grilled cheese month.
Did you know? I knew. I shared this little bit of wisdom with y'all before. I can't believe I didn't make a recipe last year. I'll have to remedy that going forward.
I have to admit that we're not usually very creative in our grilled cheese eating. For us, it's usually for events like this where I get to be adventurous with our grilled cheese sandwiches. Other than that, it's an American cheese and white bread sandwich with tomato soup for us. And that's still my absolute fave, to be honest.
I mean, I grew up on that!! How can that not be my favorite kind of weekend lunch? We didn't have fancy schmancy grilled cheese growing. Heck, we rarely had fancy cheese growing up!! Maybe some brie on occasion, but not often.
And never in a grilled cheese!
But now, I've made quite a few kicked up grilled cheese sandwiches. I think my favorite is the Polish Reuben and the Kielbasa Grilled Cheese. Are you seeing the pattern here? Not that the strawberry brie bites aren't fabulous, I'm just all about the meat and cheese on a grilled cheese.
I grew up on not only grilled cheese but what we used to call hot ham and cheese. And these were usually made in the microwave, so they were super simple and quick. I may have to share this "recipe" with y'all. It's so good. And so easy.
Is anyone else's stomach growling? No? Just me? Moving on…
So, I've been asking the hubs for his input in my recipes for events and campaigns. He totally came up with the ham rolls for the Easter leftovers. AND the kick ass lamb burgers. I'm still drooling over those.
When this even popped up, we started talking about what we'd put on a gourmet grilled cheese. He actually came up with this one all on his own. And I just put it into action and on the plate.
Now, I must admit, I haven't used brioche for grilled cheese before. If you haven't use brioche in grilled cheese, I'm here to tell you that it burns easily and you need to watch out. Brioche just burns easily. I was making toast the other day and my regular white bread would have been fine, but I'm guessing the butter and sugar in the brioche causes it to go up in flames sooner.
Not that I had bread flambé…
The first attempt that his turned out to have not melted cheese and burned bread. It was not appetizing. I mean, I was fine with it because sometimes I like the burned stuff, but the hubs wasn't into it at all. So, I had to try round two while I was teleworking and adjusted my thought process on cooking these brioche with the cheese and pears.
Now, with your regular American cheese slices, I'm sure a medium-high heat and a few minutes per side is sufficient. For this sandwich, it's going to take some love and more time than you think a grilled cheese should take. Trust me when I say it's totally worth it.
Applewood smoked gouda is a harder than your standard American cheese. I mean, that yellow cheese is processed, so yeah. Applewood smoked gouda takes a little longer to melt and some love to make sure the whole thing doesn't burn. OH, and it also takes a not so ripe pear to make sure that doesn't completely merge with the cheese.
The first attempt was a very ripe Barlett pear.
I finally went with a somewhat ripe but still sweet red pear. It had nice crunch and the sweetness of the pear paired well with the Applewood smoked gouda. Yes, pun intended!!
This is the most delicious grilled cheese without meat I've made to date. The flavors of the smoked Gouda combined with the sweet pear make for a delicious sandwich. Once the gouda is melted it's creamy and smoky good. The pear is crisp and sweet. They're the yin and yang in this gourmet grilled cheese sandwich.
What's your favorite grilled cheese? Have you ever had a gourmet grilled cheese?
Applewood Gouda and Pear Grilled Cheese
Smokey applewood gouda and crispy, sweet pears make the most amazing combination. Applewood Gouda and Pear Grilled Cheese is a delicious grilled cheese that everyone will love!! #SundaySupper
- 6 ounces applewood smoked Gouda, thinly sliced
- 1 large red pear, thinly sliced (I used a mandoline to get them 1/4" thick)
- 4 slices briche, thick cut
- 4 teaspoons butter, softened
- Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-low heat.
- Butter one side of each of the four slices of brioche. Place the buttered sides together and lay the slices in two stacks on your work surface.
- Place a thin layer of smoked Gouda on top of the bread, then layer with slices of pear, and then more cheese.
- Carefully lift the top piece of bread and place it in the skillet and top with the second slice of bread, butter side up.
- Cook, covered, on medium-low heat until the bread is golden brown and the cheese is melted; between 10 to 12 minutes. Check the bread often to ensure it doesn't burn.
- Allow to cool 2 to 3 minutes before slicing and serving.
Not Your Average 'Wiches
- Inside Out BBQ Ribs Grilled Cheese by The Freshman Cook
- Mozzarella Stick Grilled Cheese Sandwich by Life Tastes Good
- Potato Patty Grilled Cheese Bites by Sunday Supper Movement
- Ramen Grilled Cheese by Palatable Pastime
Protein Filled 'Wiches
- Avocado Bacon Gourmet Grilled Cheese Sandwich by Crazed Mom
- Bacon Cheddar Grilled Chip Butty by Tramplingrose
- Grilled Dill Havarti and Salmon by My World Simplified
- Grilled Liz Lemon Sandwich by Cricket's Confections
- How to Make Reuben Paninis by Cosmopolitan Cornbread
- Shrimp and Bacon Grilled Cheese Sandwich by Sprinkles and Sprouts
Sweet and Savory 'Wiches
- Applewood Gouda and Pear Grilled Cheese by A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures
- Bacon, Apple, Brie Panini by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
- Monte Cristo with Fresh Blackberry Sauce by A Mind "Full" Mom
Veggie Loaded 'Wiches
- Apricot Poblano Grilled Cheese Sandwich by My Life Cookbook
- Arugula Basil Pesto Grilled Cheese by Helpful Homemade
- Caprese Grilled Eggplant Roll Ups by Caroline's Cooking
- Grilled Brie With Smoky Portobellos and Caramelized Onions by Simple and Savory
Dessert 'Wiches
- Banana FluffaNutella Grilled Cheese by Soulfully Made
- Strawberry French Toast Grilled Cheese by Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
- The Ultimate Doughnut Grilled Cheese by Pies and Plots


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Jade Roper gets candid about postpartum depression: 'One of the darkest periods of my life'
Welcome to So Mini Ways, Yahoo Life's parenting series on the joys and challenges of childrearing.
With three kids under the age of four, it's safe to say Jade Roper has her hands full.
Roper, a fan favorite from The Bachelor franchise, shares little ones Emerson "Emmy" Avery, 3, Brooks Easton, 21 months, and Reed Harrison, 5 months, with husband Tanner Tolbert, whom she wed in 2016 after meeting on Bachelor in Paradise.
"I didn't even go on Paradise expecting to really find somebody in general. So it's quite the whirlwind," she laughs to Yahoo Life. "We've done things on the fast track, but I wouldn't change it. We're very blessed."
Those who follow Roper know she's an open book on social media — about both the good and the bad — when it comes to this crazy journey of motherhood. Right now, she is focused on bringing awareness to the importance of postpartum care during the "fourth trimester," calling that "one of my passions."
"Nobody talks about what we go through after we have a baby," she explains. "Nobody talks about those things or prepares you. People talk so much about pregnancy and birth and then what happens?"
That's why Roper has partnered with Tommee Tippee for a new series called Spill the Milk, in which she shines a light on topics like postpartum life and mental health. Here, she opens up to Yahoo Life's So Mini Ways about her own experience with postpartum depression, seeing a hypnotherapist after her "traumatic" delivery with Brooks and what she and Tolbert have learned about parenting during a global pandemic. (Yes, they will continue to schedule sex!)
As someone who dealt with heavy baby blues myself, I know how important it is to destigmatize mental health issues that occur during the fourth trimester. What inspired you to speak out about postpartum depression?
Each of my postpartum journeys has been so different. With my daughter, it was kind of a huge learning curve. She was my first and there were things like cracked nipples, what happens when your milk comes in, you know, just things like that that I had no idea about! I was like, "What is happening to my body?" Then with my son, I had a precipitous birth in our closet at home. I didn't make it out of there. It was traumatic for me and it really did kind of rock my world. I ended up having postpartum depression.
I can't describe it as anything else but one of the darkest periods of my life. I felt like I didn't know how to ask for help. So when I got pregnant with my son Reed, it was kind of this opportunity to take everything that I went through with my postpartum [experience] after Brooks and try to learn from it. I've really just tried to heal myself. With Reed, it's been such a different experience.
I've gone through a lot and I guess why I'm excited about stuff like the Spill the Milk series is I can take what I went through and hopefully touch somebody else who may be going through the same thing, and just let them know that they're not alone. You can make it to the other side and you can enjoy the good with the bad, too. I don't want people to be intimidated by motherhood thinking, "Oh my gosh, that sounds terrible." It's the most amazing experience and I'm so grateful for it, but I also want people to know that it's hard. It's something that we're not prepared for.
When did you realize you should ask for help and how did you?
I want to encourage women that if they do feel something's wrong, go with your gut and intuition. To know that maybe this is more than just the baby blues and reach out to anybody who they feel comfortable with and to keep advocating for themselves. But I didn't know. I didn't know how to ask for help. I felt like I was screaming on the inside and looking at my husband feeling like he should know how I feel, but I didn't tell him. I really learned just to advocate for myself. You're worth it and you matter. And it's OK not to be a superwoman. It's OK to ask for help.
Can you speak to the importance of postpartum self-care? What did you find helpful?
For me, when I became pregnant with my son Reed, I really wanted to [have] a redemptive birth process. With Brooks, I felt so out of control. So this time around, I wanted to feel like I could create that almost exact scenario in a safer space. I wanted to have my son Reed in our home with a planned home birth. I sought out a midwife who really approached me with holistic values. I relied on her. I relied on making sure I had better nutrition this time around, I did a lot of healing like hypnotherapy.
What was that like?
It was actually amazing. It's EMDR [eye movement desensitization and reprocessing] for trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder. It's so different for everybody, but really reaching out and finding those things for me made a huge difference.
As a public figure, what do you think about being on social media as a new mom when it comes to one's mental health? On one hand, it can be a great way of connecting with other women. On the other, it's an easy place to just feel bad about yourself.
Yeah, I think it's really hard. Social media can be a really amazing place. I have been blessed with finding women through it that I've connected with that have helped me through certain situations. At the same time, I even find myself comparing my experiences with somebody else's and feeling bad about it.
You have to know that social media is a highlight reel. I have to remind myself of that. The comparison can really bring you down, so I think you just have to keep that in check. That person is only showing really good parts of their life, which everyone should be able to do, but also know that there's a lot going on behind the scenes.
How do you deal with negative commenters?
It used to get to me a lot more when a "troll" would comment something mean-spirited. Every once in a while it gets to me and the mama bear comes out and I will put them on blast because it is not acceptable behavior. You have to kind of not take it too seriously at times. Sometimes I'll be like, "OK, that person is clearly having a bad day or clearly doesn't know what it's like to be a mom."
You share a lot on your parenting podcast Mommies Tell All. Is there anything you've said that you were surprised got so much attention? I remember the scheduling sex comment went everywhere.
You know, when people hear the word "sex" their ears perk up. I don't even think that [scheduling sex] is that big of a deal! I feel like it's so common and I feel like it's something that should be talked about. How do parents find the time to keep their relationship connected? Like, it's obviously an important part of a relationship and that's how it gets done!
What have you and Tanner learned about parenting in a pandemic?
We have learned that when one of us needs a break, to let that person have a break because there are no breaks in a pandemic! We've been together 24/7 for almost a year and with our children constantly. It's hard. As much as you're meant to be with your family, our social circles and people that we rely on has been stripped down.
We've really learned how to communicate. Like, "Hey, I need to like mentally check in with myself." Whether that's [letting] my husband go take a bath for 45 minutes or I go for a walk or whatever. But we've had to really, really work on communicating when we need something.
Will you let your kids watch your and Tanner's love story on your various Bachelor iterations? Or at least Bachelor in Paradise?
Yes, especially Bachelor in Paradise. It is where our love story started and it does have a special sentimental part to us, so someday when they understand more. The other day I was joking with Emmy and was like, "Did you know that Mommy and Daddy met on TV?" And she was like, "How did you get in there?" It was cute. But yeah, when they get little bit older. We might have to fast-forward through a couple parts of the show, but someday we'll show them.
What do you hope parents will take away from your Spill the Milk series?
I'm just really excited to be able to hopefully connect with other moms out there and let them know that they're not alone and hopefully we all can relate with some of these topics.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Read more from Yahoo Life:
Paulina Porizkova on grieving Ric Ocasek: 'I'm still struggling'
'Dear Khloe Kardashian, you are beautiful': Women share vulnerable photos in body-positive response to photo drama
Terry Crews says therapy saved his marriage to wife Rebecca — and himself: 'I don't even know if I would be alive today'
Want lifestyle and wellness news delivered to your inbox? Sign up here for Yahoo Life's newsletter.


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With each passing day, the fallout from the United Kingdom (UK) leaving the European Union (EU) keeps revealing itself. ZDNet brought this news to us in their article, "Brexit spells turbulence for cloud computing: 6 stormy scenarios."
For large cloud computing vendors, the impact will be about the data center build-outs. There will be some uncertainty ahead and it won't all be about the currency hit alone. UK data center plans by large cloud providers may go on hold, while United States cloud providers are building out data centers in the EU as well as the UK. With the departure, there will be new laws and regulations in place for cloud providers, which also means additional costs to cloud providers.
Tomorrow may bring new concerns and revelations of potential problems. It could literally take months to realize the full impact. There was already uncertainty in the global economy and now businesses face a prolonged period of uncertainty.
Melody K. Smith
Sponsored by Access Innovations, the world leader in thesaurus, ontology, and taxonomy creation and metadata application.


text:
Product Description
The new contoured Boost Ups from TotalDry are the most advanced shaped booster pads in the world today, from the innovative absorbent core utilizing special time-released polymer (TRP) technology to the newly designed ultra soft, ultra dry 3D microporous cover material. The Boost Ups TRP core construction allows the fluid to pass quickly into and through the pad, then pulls the remaining wetness back out of the product below, while the top surface remains drier against the skin.
Available in three sizes designed to work in harmony with body worn products like taped briefs, pull-up style protective underwear or belted shields. They are the most absorbent and driest contoured pads on the market today. They can also be used with cloth diapers for added protection, but because they have no plastic waterproof barrier, they are not designed to be used with conventional underwear. *We have not added any scent to these pads.The Boost Ups Maximum Pad (13") holds approximately 1,000 ml (34 oz)
The Boost UpsTM Ultimate Pad (16") holds approximately 1,700 ml (57 oz)


text:
Washington Chinese Crested & French Bulldog Breeders
Retiring... all dogs must go due to health Issues.
Great prices Please call
509-281-1533 for more info.
Washington Chinese Crested & French Bulldog Breeders
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Badgercrest is selling all but a few dogs .
Our Dogs and Our Mission...
For Badgercrest Kennel maintaining the health of our dogs is very important. After all, our goal is healthy , happy, well socialized puppies that will adjust to their adoptive families without disrupting their normal routine or that of the new family. Our dogs are raised in our home with air conditioning for those hot summer days and forced air heat for our cold winter months. We want them to be as comfortable as we are year round. Our intent is to educate people about their needs. Badgercrest Kennel welcomes your questions and actually appreciates your interest in your puppy because that shows us that you have every intention of treating your puppy with love, kindness, concern and respect.
Badgercrest Kennel keeps you updated throughout the process of getting your puppy. We send pictures and emails to keep our adoptive families in the know. If we suspect your puppy has a health issue you will be notified immediately and we will inform you that we will be taking it to the Vet for an evaluation. We will let you know as soon as possible what we find out. At Badgercrest we truly believe that honesty is the best policy. We are very transparent in our dealings with our adoptive families. Basically, you know what we know.
Our mission is happiness...For you, our adoptive families, us at Badgercrest Kennels and for our darling puppies.


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As South Africa heads for the polls in a few months time in its sixth democratic election, political party electioneering has begun in earnest.
President Cyril Ramaphosa kick started the governing African National Congress's (ANC's) election campaign in his January 8th Statement celebrating 107 years since the birth of the liberation movement. This campaign continued with the launch of the ANC's manifesto at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in KwaZulu-Natal on January 12. An estimated 80 000 ANC members and supporters attended the launch.
The ANC declared 2019 the year for "united action to grow South Africa". This year sees a continuation of the dominant themes of unity, hope and renewal, for both the troubled ANC and South Africa, which Ramaphosa has reiterated since he assumed the presidency in February 2018.
Ramaphosa noted that he was presenting a plan:
that we have forged together to respond to the challenges of unemployment, inequality and poverty.
South Africa's political parties – 285 are contesting the elections – will soon be providing the country with their priorities and plans. The key question will be which plan is robust enough to turn the country around from the trajectory of despair that overwhelmed it under former president Jacob Zuma.
The same applies to the ANC. Are their nuggets of hope that something different will transpire if it's elected for another five years? The majority of South Africans agree on the challenges, but does the party have effective solutions and the political will to implement them? Can the ANC's vision provide all South Africans with a common agenda and a renewed sense of purpose?
It won't be easy. The roar of support for Zuma as he left the stadium is a telling sign of the deep divisions within the ANC, despite the shows of solidarity. It's still an open question as to whether its change in leadership is enough to ensure that the party – and the country – doesn't make a u-turn and head back towards the path of despair.
For now, all the right noises are being made to, as Ramaphosa put it,
restore our democratic institutions and return our country to a path of transformation, growth and development.
But the ANC still needs to develop the toolbox for mobilisation and implementation to get this done. The vision articulated by Ramaphosa has the seeds for galvanising South Africans to get back on the right path. It urgently needs a plan to make it happen.
The commitments
The "Rainbow nation" seems to have revealed all its ugly stripes over the past few years: a rise in incidents of racism, tribalism, xenophobia, factionalism and continued high levels of gender-based violence.
This has necessitated the emphasis on unity, non-racialism, equality and managed migration that echo in Ramaphosa's statements. It's bold of him to want to put the country back on the principled path of non-racialism amid a rising race-based populism. But calling on South Africans to abide by the principle isn't enough. Making this long standing principle a lived reality, when race still largely defines where South Africans live and work and their life's chances, is a big task. As Ramaphosa notes
the promise of freedom is yet to be realised for so many of our people.
The core of the ANC's plan revolves around the building of a developmental state that will create inclusive growth, stimulate investment, create jobs and drive infrastructure development. It also seeks to provide for skills development, progressive free higher education and access to health care. It's also promising to facilitate redistribution through land expropriation and compensation. And it's committing itself to strengthening governance and service delivery through reclaiming state enterprises and government institutions.
There is nothing really new here. The ANC has been making these promises since it came to power 25 years ago. What is going to be different this time around so that implementation can yield the desired results? Ramaphosa's Thuma mina (send me) call to South Africans to join him in working for a better country?
This may indeed be the glue the country needs for citizens to all begin to work together to achieve these laudable goals. But, again, proclaiming it will not make it happen.
How does the country get the nation-building spirit of Nelson Mandela back? How can people working in the public service be made to change their attitudes and deliver what they are employed to do? How does the country stop graft? How can South Africans be made to sign onto a new social contract that requires both citizens and government to determine what they want, how they will live together and how they collectively fulfil their roles and responsibilities to make good on the contract?
The country needs to have many local dialogues in all its nine provinces that can develop a new charter for South Africans to live by. A plan that emanates from the people, for the people.
Can the ANC deliver?
I am encouraged by the strong stance against gender-based violence in Ramaphosa's manifesto statement. But the ANC now needs to figure out how it is going to make sure that the pledge to stop the scourge will go further than the show of solidarity at the stadium. Every man and woman in South Africa should make a monthly pledge to uphold the human rights and safety of all citizens and prevent gender based violence. Citizens need to hold one another to account for its implementation.
Only when the scourge of this violence has been eradicated will South Africans be able to meaningfully begin to speak of equality and dignity for all. This is not something the ANC can do on its own, it needs the whole of society.
If globally – and across the continent – South Africa wants to champion the transformation of multilateral institutions, silence the guns and achieve women's security, it needs a plan that can provide it with the national credibility and legitimacy to do so.
The elephant in the room is whether or not the ANC can overcome its divisions to deliver effectively.


text: 50 Days 2014 AAS Winner! Be prepared to pick lots of cukes from these compact plants. The medium green, white-spined fruits are sweet, firm and crisp, ready to pick only 50 days from sowing at 3 inch gherkin size for great pickles or left to grow to 6 inch length for slicing fresh in salads. The semi-bush vines grow only 24 inches long, so they are well-suited for growing in patio containers as well as the garden. Plants have excellent heat tolerance and disease resistances to CMV, Scab and MMV. 1/4 oz = approx 250 seeds


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Thursday, June 24, 2004
In fact, it's only when a stranger is around to ask "What does that mean?" that we even notice we are doing it.
Here's a quick decoder:
1. What We Say: "I'm going with Jerk Store!!!!" What We Mean: "Don't sully my artistic vision."
2. What We Say: "I celebrate Julianne Moore's entire catalogue." What We Mean: "I like Julianne Moore."
3. What We Say: "That's gold, Jerry, gold!" What We Mean: "That's freaking funny."
4. What We Say: "Some foolish carpenter parked in my spot!" What We Mean: "Some idiot took my spot."
5. What We Say: "Brought you a little snack, Eckart." What We Mean: "Check this out."
6. What We Say: "I feel very... confused and titillated." What We Mean: "What the *&!@ is that?"
Can anyone name all the movies/shows?
My only recent genius quote was way back at Christmas when Owen got some annoying light up/musical toy. I said "I like the glow. It's red like our Krypton sun. But not this irritating noise." I was pretty amused, but nobody else got it :(.
4 comments:
- harmony said...
I get SO frustrated when I quote Seinfeld and no one gets it. My latest is "I'm down. Put me down. I am so down." You know, from George's nonsexual "Hey! TONAY!" episode.
Other than that, it is always Adam Sandler. "Carl! Good to see you!" Although Family Guy is starting to show up. And Lebowski never left.
- Connie said...
Sarah I am an enthusiast of many of those quotes. My brother and I love to quote the episode where Elaine can't stop sleeping with Puddy, and in trying to find an excuse to go over to his place says, "That's a funny story. You know who likes funny stories? David Puddy" so now we always just fill in David Puddy with name of one of our moron friends.
- B said...
i'm not a quote-master, like you and my sis. i do however have a few that i whip out on a daily basis:
"your ideas are intrieguing to me, and i wish to subscribe to your newsletter" from les simpsons, meaning "i like what you're saying--please tell me more"
"let us in! let us in! let us out! let us out!" from clue--used whenever i'm having trouble gaining access to something/someplace
"1+1+2+1, not 1+2+1+1" also from the cinematic blockbuster, clue--whenever something is getting confusing.
also, instead of saying something is "hands-down" the best or the funniest, i quote jack from will n grace and say that it's "pants-down."
will and grace is good for lots of alcoholic and, well, homophobic name-calling quote material.
for example:
"martin scor-sissy"
"dumb and drunker"
"francis ford faggola"
also, whenever i have a martini in my hand (which really only happens when i'm at the new martini bar in the district) i pretend to swirl my pill in my martini, toss my head back and pop it--a la my idol, miss carol (karen) texas ranger (walker).
- Colleen said...
my three favorite quotes right now hang by my desk at work.
The first is from Buffy, "I commit. I'm committed. I'm a committee."
The second is from really bad Kathy Bates movie with Rupert Everett called Unconditional Love. There's some British people on a plane, including Julie Andrews. They experience turbulence and Julie goes in the cockpit and sings over the PA system. A passenger says, "Julie Andrews is in the cockpit?" Another answers, "Thank God" and makes the sign of the cross.
The third quote is from a Menards ad flyer. At the bottom, it said, "We always weaken whatever we exaggerate."
These help me make it through the day.


text:
As this silly imbroglio fades into the rearview mirror, I'd like to announce that I am contemplating a lawsuit of my own, for pain and suffering incurred when trying to read Brown's cackhanded prose. I approached the book several years ago without much prejudice. I read Holy Blood, Holy Grail somewhere in the mid-Eighties and found it an engrossing, if academically highly suspect, read. I went on to steep myself in Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum, a far more rewarding wallow in paranoia, and that, I thought, was that. When I read that Brown, of whom I had never heard, had written a novel that appeared to recapitulate Baigent and Leigh's basic premise -- that a historical conspiracy had suppressed hidden knowledge of a royal bloodline that began with Jesus and Mary Magdalene -- I made a note to see what the fuss was about.
I suppose reviewers of contemporary trash fiction have hardened themselves beyond any trace of sensitivity to dreadful prose. I edited quite a large swath of the stuff myself decades ago, and I know at first hand the pressures that bear on editorial workers at mass-market houses to pump out product. If I'd kicked up some high-minded fuss about the fundamental oafishness of some of the authors I was expected to "clean up" -- Clive Cussler, Clive Barker, and John Gray among them -- I'd have found myself on the street, replaced instantly by someone plucked from the bottomless fund of idealistic recent college grads eager to toil for slave wages.
Reviewers of The Da Vinci Code said nothing that led me to expect writing as dismal as what awaited me. Blurbs on the jacket might have tipped me off. My old migraine Clive Cussler calls it "one of the finest mysteries I have ever read"; given a genre that encompasses Poe, Conan Doyle, Du Maurier, Sayers, P. D. James, and Hammett, it's impossible not to impute such an assertion to either spectacular incuriosity or profound dishonesty.
I was thus unprepared for the dull throbbing at my temples that was set off by Brown's opening sentence:
Renowned curator Jacques Saunière staggered through the vaulted archway of the museum's Grand Gallery."Renowned curator"?
OK, fine. Start your novel with a breathless action sequence that sets the pace for an international chase across Europe. No problems there. But why in the name of shrieking Peter Wimsey do you begin your first sentence with a detail as mindbendingly dull as the fact that the subject is a "renowned curator"? What the hell does this add? Surely the expository fact that he is a curator at the Louvre can be saved and inserted a few sentences later when the action has been fully established? And the fact that he is "renowned" in his field is hilariously irrelevant in an action sequence.
He lunged for the nearest painting he could see, a Caravaggio. Grabbing the gilded frame, the seventy-six-year-old man heaved the masterpiece toward himself until it tore from the wall and Saunière collapsed backward in a heap beneath the canvas.Joining the two clauses "it tore from the wall" and "Saunière collapsed" with the conjunction "and" is simply a schoolboy's error, a classic run-on sentence. The fact that Saunière's name is repeated rather than the pronoun "he" suggests criminally sloppy editing: No other characters have yet been introduced -- "he" could only possibly refer to Saunière! "As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams Gregor Samsa found Gregor Samsa transformed in Gregor Samsa's bed into a gigantic insect." There: Perfect! Print that sucker!
All this in the first paragraph in the book -- three sentences that a less blithering stylist and more diligent editor would have sweated over until they were perfect.
A few lines down:
On his hands and knees, the curator froze, turning his head slowly.Again Saunière's a curator! Nice to get that relentlessly established! I forget: How renowned is he? Another solecism: you can't simultaneously freeze and turn your head. You just can't. Try it: Stop all movement (freeze) and now slowly turn your head. Hah! Caught you! You're moving!
Only fifteen feet away, outside the sealed gate, the mountainous silhouette of his attacker stared through the iron bars. He was broad and tall, with ghost-pale skin and thinning white hair. His irises were pink with dark red pupils.
So while Saunière is defying the laws of physics, the narrative voice continues on its clodhopping way. From Saunière's point of view, a silhouette appears. We'll leave aside the fact that a silhouette can't "stare"; instead, let's observe that Brown's narrator jumps in the space of two sentences from the subjective (what Saunière sees -- a black outline) to the omniscient (a detailed description of the very person Saunière can only make out as a sihouette).
This, my friends, is a master class in Awful Writing. This stuff just goes on and on and on, pages and pages of clangorously dull plod. These fundamental editorial mistakes are analogous to a piece of music in which the instruments are out of tune and playing in different keys, a film where the actors can't remember their lines and the cameraman trips over small objects on the floor, a ballet performed by stevedores. Its wretchedness may entertain for short periods, but eventually the sheer, blistering clumsiness of it makes one pine for a horde of lawyers at one's disposal.
I'll probably see the movie, though. It can't possibly be worse.


text:
While a proper beauty routine can seem involved, it can be fun if you know how to do it. Without the right skills and knowledge, you could find yourself with an unflattering look or irritated skin. The tips you are about to read will help you design an adapted beauty regimen.
Try filling an empty lip gloss pot with your moisturizer. You now have a portable container of your favorite moisturizer, which can be kept in your purse, at work, in your car or even your pocket. Just put some moisturizer all over your face when you think your skin looks or feels dry.
Air dry your hair whenever possible to prevent exposing your hair to heat damage. Straighteners, curling irons, and dryers can be harsh on your head. If need to dry it fast, dry your hair with the lowest setting. If you apply this tip, your hair will remain soft and silky as you age.
Be sure to moisturize your facial area. Even if you have oily or greasy skin, you should make sure you use a moisturizer on our face. Get a moisturizer that also has some SPF value as well.
Make lips appear bigger by applying shimmering white shadow above the bow at the center of the top lip. When you highlight this part of your lip, you let it catch and reflect light in a way that leaves others with the impression that the upper lip is larger and more full than it may be.
If you plan on going out on the town immediately after work, you can use a big fluffy brush to add a nice powdery finish over any oily places. Emphasize your cheekbones by sparingly applying a bit of shimmery powder to the apples of each cheek.
You can use baking soda to restore your hair's shininess! This simple and inexpensive ingredient can be mixed into your everyday shampoo. Continue to wash your hair as you normally would. Your hair will be restored to a healthy and shining condition.
Make sure to have Vitamin E readily available. It has many different uses. It can help keep your skin healthy and soft. Vitamin E can be used on the nails to prevent cracking and special creams fortified with the vitamin will soften the cuticles.
Pink lipstick can be used to conceal any imperfections. A warm pink shade compliments every skin tone so the attention will be on your lips rather than the flaw. By combining the use of a good concealer with beautiful lips, no one will even see that unsightly blemish.
Some beauty products work best when chilled. This is especially important in summertime. You can use your various lotions and toners more easily in the heat of the summer if you keep them in the refrigerator. The cooling sensation is sure to leave your skin feeling refreshed and chilled.
If you can afford it, consider purchasing duplicates of the beauty products that you use religiously; whether it is a lipstick, foundation, or even hand cream. You should keep them somewhere you can get to them easy. By doing this, you are certain to be prepared to apply makeup at all times.
Peppermint Oil
You can make a DIY mouthwash by mixing peppermint oil with purified water. Add one drop of peppermint oil for every ounce of water. Start by boiling the water and measure the oil drops into a ceramic or a Pyrex container. Next, add the boiling water. Drape a clean piece of fabric over the top of the container and set aside for cooling. Store the solution in a bottle that has a lid that fits tightly. Then, use your mouthwash whenever you need.
You now know that beauty regimens do not feel as complicated from the inside. They are more than worthwhile in the end, even with the research and technique practices involved. If you take the tips given, you should now be knowledgeable enough to create a beauty regimen that is perfect for you.


text:
Different than the Adoption (on-boarding process) and Traction (market sector) slides, the Growth Slide overlays a company's innovation traction numbers and explains how your solution success has been tracking over time. This includes quantitative figures such as user adoption numbers, trials, downloads, purchases, etc.
Purchase access to the Growth Business Discipline education individually, below OR purchase the entire pitch deck education, design, and evaluation, here.
Questions? Contact us or read the FAQs.


text:
Sep 27th 2020
This Week in Tech 790
The Snaggletooth Network
Hosted by Leo Laporte
TikTok Ban, Amazon Drone Camera, Pixel 5
Records live every Sunday at 5:15pm Eastern / 2:15pm Pacific / 21:15 UTC.
Guests: Dwight Silverman, Brian McCullough, Peter Rojas
TikTok Ban, Amazon Drone Camera, Pixel 5
- Galaxy Z Fold 2 Review
- Is TikTok banned yet?
- The Palantir IPO is coming up. Should you invest?
- Amazon Sidewalk is a terrifying sci-fi security network
- Amazon's new Ring security cam flies around your house and lets you know if you left your stove on
- Google Pixel 5 preview - We already know everything about it, except the price. Will it be an inexpensive premium phone?
- 5G is still BS. When will that change?
- Epic Games, Spotify, and Tile form a Rebel Alliance to fight Apple. Europe and Facebook are fighting them too. When will Apple come around?
- Streaming gaming is the future. Physical media will die. Get over it.
- Microsoft buys Bethesda for $7.5 BILLION dollars
- GTA is the most valuable media series in the world
- Quibi is a failure. They are up for sale 6 months after their launch.
- Republicans hate the Three-Body Problem and want Netflix to drop it.
- The upcoming Foundation TV series and Dune movie make us want to re-read our childhood favorites. Should we?
- Rent a goat for your next Zoom call!
Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech
- Epic Games, Spotify, and Tile Form 'Coalition for App Fairness' to 'Fight Back' Against Apple
- Google celebrates 22nd birthday, together but from a distance - CNET
- Google Pixel 5 leaks in official renders w/ 107° FOV wide-angle camera, 4K60 video, more
- Amazon's 2020 hardware event: all of the news and announcements
- Ring's Mailbox Sensor lets you know if someone's messing with your mail - CNET
- Ring's latest security camera is a drone that flies around inside your house - The Verge
- Amazon Sidewalk is coming to your neighborhood. Here's what that means - CNET
- U.S. Cites Saturday Ruling Against 3 TikTok Users to Defend Ban
- TikTok's Fate Coming to a Head
- DOJ files its opposition to TikTok's request to halt Trump ban, says blocking the ban will infringe on Trump's authority
- 'There's No There There': What the TikTok Deal Achieved - The New York Times
- In the WeChat, TikTok U.S. shut down order, TikTok gets Nov 12 delay
- China Calls TikTok Deal 'Extortion'; Says It Will Not Approve
- Microsoft to Buy Bethesda for $7.5 Billion to Boost Xbox - Bloomberg
- Quibi reportedly weighs selling itself less than 6 months after launching - CNET
- Netflix Stands Firm on Its Plan to Adapt Chinese Sci-Fi Novel
- Book a goat for your next Zoom call
- 5 Things to Know About Palantir's Upcoming IPO
- Samsung's new smartphone: Know when to fold 'em


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Ben Winspear is a Central Victorian based artist and tutor who works in several mediums including oil, watercolour and graphite. He has been painting professionally for over ten years and has held several successful solo and joint exhibitions.
Ben paints a wide range of subject matter; anything that inspires him at the time, but his love for the Australian landscape is something that stands out.
His work runs the full spectrum from representational through to abstraction, frequently combining both seeking to give the viewer room to explore his work through their own experiences.
He is a multi award winning artist in Bendigo and surrounding districts including the Castlemaine James Farrell Self Portrait Prize.
Ben has facilitated the execution of a number of major art projects in schools – and projects in conjunction with local government and private departments - including The City of Greater Bendigo, Coliban Water, NCCA, Department of Primary Industries and in numerous schools.
He can be contacted on 0427505793 and takes commissions.


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Ran across an interesting study by The Hay Group from 2001. A summary of the study on Winning Workplaces says:
The study finds that engaged workers exert more of what the authors call "discretionary effort." In other words, they go beyond meeting the minimum standards for their job. It is this difference in discretionary effort that separates great performers from average performers, the report argues.
The study looked at a large professional services firm with multiple offices. The consultants from offices where employees were highly engaged outperformed disengaged offices by 43% as measured by revenue generated.
The summary never defines what "engaged" actually means, but offers some tips for getting there:
The report urges managers to focus more of their energy towards engaging their employees and identifies six core factors that address this issue: tangible rewards, quality of work, work/life balance, inspiration values, creating an enabling environment and providing growth opportunities.


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An artist, a pioneer, a performer with no equal…
Words by Jason Guest, Photos by Rich Ward
Gary Numan is back with another outstanding album. And with Savage (Songs From A Broken World) – released on 15 September – Numan has perfectly married image and music. And, it seems, has perfectly married image, music, and stage show. Throughout the set, on a wall of near-ceiling-high screens behind the band are projected images of fire and of desert wastelands which, combined with an incredible light show, transform tonight's venue into that dark, bleak arena whence Numan's music arises.
And centre-stage stands Numan, khaki-clad and delivering a magnificent performance. Once a pop star, now a rock star, Numan doesn't say one word to the crowd. It's not arrogance. He simply doesn't have to. He says it all through the music, through the stage show, and through his and his band's performance. And as Numan embraces, even becomes the music, the crowd hang on very lyric and every gesture, a huge applause ringing out as he sings the line 'everything comes down to this' and points to this stage, to this moment, to this crowd.
The set list draws from mostly from 2013's Splinter (Songs from a Broken Mind) and the new album and includes 'A Prayer For The Unborn' from 2000's Pure and material from the classic albums Replicas, The Pleasure Principle and Telekon. Laced with a more industrial weight, the older material stands strong alongside the new, 'Down in the Park', 'Are 'Friends' Electric?', and 'Metal' bearing a sonic heft that the originals, classics as they are, approximated but didn't quite realise, the sole reason being that Numan's musical vision was far ahead of the technology available to him at that point.
A long-time Numan fan, as much as I like the original studio versions, I much prefer the heavier live versions that have been staples of his set lists in recent years. That the Telekon material, 'Remind Me To Smile' and 'We Are Glass', require little 'updating' is testament to Numan's innovation as a technical adept as far back as 1980. As for 'Cars', a pop song that takes the cheerless topics of alienation an isolation as its central themes, it feels out of place in tonight's set. That the band seemed to race through the track suggests that maybe Numan thinks so too.
At it for 40 years, Numan has gone through what would cause most musicians to rest on their laurels and succumb to the effortless and uncreative safety of nostalgia tours and festivals. Realising that trying to produce radio-friendly, commercially successful material is a worthless venture has long served Numan well. 2017 and Savage (Songs From A Broken World) sees Numan at his best. And tonight's show further cemented his status as an artist, as a pioneer, and as a performer with no equal.
Set list:
- Ghost Nation
- Metal
- Everything Comes Down To This
- Remind Me To Smile
- The End Of Things
- Splinter
- Down In The Park
- Pray For The Pain You Serve
- Here In The Black
- Mercy
- Love Hurt Bleed
- My Name Is Ruin
- Cars
- When The World Comes Apart
- A Prayer For The Unborn
- We Are Glass
- Are 'Friends' Electric?


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Technological progress and regional divergences: evidence for Colombia (1980-2010)
The theory of endogenous growth posited that technological change is endogenous and presents increasing marginal returns in factors, so there is not necessarily convergence between rich and poor countries. Based on this principle and integrating the theoretical approaches evolutionist and structuralist, in this article, using statistical indicators and econometric estimates, it is shown that at regional level, technological progress is positively associated with the industrial and economic development of each region. For this reason, regions of greater economic development attract and concentrate a greater proportion of scientific and technological resources, while regions whose predominant economic activity is agriculture present restrictions to generate, access and productively incorporate technological advances. Consequently, it is concluded that technological progress leads to divergent processes between regions in the long term.
Check other articles from the issue Autumn 2017 or from other issues.


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In The Mailbox: Early Weekend Edition
Posted on | March 12, 2016 | 6 Comments
— compiled by Wombat-socho
EBL: I Kissed A Girl And I Got Expelled
Da Tech Guy: The Unexpectedly Chronicles – Thugs Will Be Thugs
The Political Hat: Survey Says – Kill All The Normal People
Doug Powers: President "I Want You To Get In Their Faces" Obama Claims That When It Comes To Divisiveness, He Didn't Build That
Twitchy: Admitted Terrorist Cheers On Anti-Trump Rioters In Chicago
Shark Tank: GOP May Lose Rubio's Senate Seat
American Power: Violence At Trump Campaign Events
American Thinker: Enough With The Double Standards For Muslims
BLACKFIVE: Book Review – Hard Cold Winter By Glen Erik Hamilton
Conservatives4Palin: Hello Again, Reagan Democrats
Don Surber: Why Hoax Is My Default Reaction
Jammie Wearing Fools: Mexico Just Ruined The World's Sexiest Police Squad
Joe For America: At Least Someone's Building A Wall
JustOneMinute: The Michelle Fields Assault – The Plot Thickens
Pamela Geller: San Bernardino Top Cop – Officers Responding To Terror Attack Were Outgunned
Protein Wisdom: Obama's DOJ Has Made It Clear – You Belong To The Government
Shot In The Dark: A Tale Of Two Rallies
STUMP: Illinois Weekend Watch – Round And Round While We Wait For A Strike
The Jawa Report: Where's Dr. Rusty Shackleford? Trump Rally Edition
The Lonely Conservative: Confirmed By NPR And Harvard – Obamacare Stinks
The Quinton Report: NASCAR CEO, Drivers Endorse Trump
This Ain't Hell: Wounded Warrior Project Execs Fired
Weasel Zippers: MoveOn Takes Credit For Assault On Trump Rally – "Welcome To The General Election"
Megan McArdle: Trump's Clumsy Pivot To The General Election
Shop Amazon – $10 off $50 on Select Fishing Products
Get $30 GC with your first Amazon Home Services purchase
6 Responses to "In The Mailbox: Early Weekend Edition"
March 12th, 2016 @ 12:57 pm
No love or a fond farewell to the tragic Keith Emerson?
You make me doubly sad.
March 12th, 2016 @ 3:13 pm
We ought to have words with the nitwits at National Review
Williamson has some explaining to do re 'working class communities deserve to die' ????????
// NRO Williamson's TRUE COLORS – Hey Kevin – we love you too
March 12th, 2016 @ 5:13 pm
Their comment section is that way =====>
March 12th, 2016 @ 5:14 pm
Somebody (maybe Weasel Zippers, i don't recall) had a post on it but they had something else I thought was more important. This isn't Live at Five, it can't cover everything.
Jeannine Frost
March 13th, 2016 @ 3:02 am
"my .friend's mate Is getting 98$. HOURLY. on the internet."….
two days ago new Mc.Laren. F1 bought after earning 18,512$,,,this was my previous month's paycheck ,and-a little over, 17k$ Last month ..3-5 h/r of work a days ..with extra open doors & weekly. paychecks.. it's realy the easiest work I have ever Do.. I Joined This 7 months ago and now making over 87$, p/h.Learn. More right Hereoi!846????? http://GlobalSuperEmploymentVacanciesReportsData/GetPaid/98$hourly…. .?:?:?:?:?:?:?:?:?:?:?:?:?:?:?:?:?:?:?:?:?:?:?:?:?:?:?:?:?:?:?:?:?:?:?:?:?:?:?:?:::::oi!846……
FMJRA 2.0: Corned Beef & Eggroll, $3.99 : The Other McCain
March 19th, 2016 @ 8:38 pm
[…] In The Mailbox: Early Weekend Edition Proof Positive Batshit Crazy News […]


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"The Increasing Dangers Inside California Prisons," from CCPOA's Sept 2018 issue Peace Keepers Magazine, is an inside look from the Corrections Officer's vantage point of how state leadership is allowing the criminality of prison gang culture to flourish in a way that we haven't seen in decades.
Changing conditions inside our prison system are a good barometer of what is soon to happen outside on the streets, much like the coal miner and the canary.
The last 10 years of so-called "crime initiatives and legislation" that were promising to rehab career criminals and make our communities safe, have failed to do either.
Law Enforcement is finding itself playing some sort of a high stakes game of "catch and release" with offenders, knowing they have little chance of actually going to prison. Now it seems gangs and thugs are taking control of the prisons themselves.
Mike Reynolds


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In Chicago's Copland, Muted Reaction To Van Dyke's ConvictionBy Miles Bryan
In Chicago's Copland, Muted Reaction To Van Dyke's ConvictionBy Miles Bryan
Updated 8:08 p.m.
Reaction to the historic murder conviction of Jason Van Dyke again exposed the huge chasm between Chicago's police officers and the communities they are charged with serving and protecting.
While many people across the city echoed the jurors who found Van Dyke guilty on Friday, it was hard to find any of them in Beverly, a far Southwest Side neighborhood that many cops call home.
The mood after the verdict was somber in the bars along Western Avenue, in stark contrast to the protests and chants of "16 shots and a cover-up!" in other parts of town where people long have demanded justice for the 2014 police police shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald.
Outside of one bar in Beverly, a retired ironworker with three Chicago cops in his immediate family said he thought Van Dyke should receive a medal for marksmanship.
"Because he got him all 16 times," said the ironworker, who declined to give his name to a WBEZ reporter.
A group of retired officers who meet every Friday to smoke cigars and talk at Cork & Kerry, an Irish pub in Beverly, also kept their thoughts on the verdict to themselves.
One of the retired officers did want to talk, though, about his grandson — who asked him Thursday night if he should change his license-plate holder because it reads, "Chicago Police Department."
"He was afraid of the demonstrators," the retired cop said with a flash in his eye. He did not want to give his name.
The elected leaders of the Chicago officers' union, the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7, were more than happy to criticize the verdict against Van Dyke as an injustice.
"I don't believe all the evidence was presented," said FOP leader Kevin Graham.
Graham said he talked to dozens of cops on Friday. "They all believed he should not be convicted," he said.
Before the trial resumed each day, Graham marched into the courthouse a few steps ahead of Van Dyke, who wore a bulletproof vest.
On Friday, Graham said there will be an appeal of the verdict and regretted that Van Dyke's case could not be moved out of Cook County, to another venue.
And Graham also blamed politicians for the outcome of the trial, saying they had "used one case to really kick around the Chicago Police Department."
Out in Beverly and Mt. Greenwood neighborhoods, home to lots of cops. Retired CPD officers generally seem like they're hurting. Folks are quiet. Sad. @WBEZ #16shots— Miles Bryan (@miles__bryan) October 5, 2018
Miles Bryan is a reporter for WBEZ. You can follow him at @miles__bryan.


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Last week Hurricane Michael became one of the strongest ever hurricanes to make landfall in the United States. Fed by the unusually warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, Michael hit Florida in the Southeastern US and beat a path through a region where climate change – and responses to it – are becoming an election issue.
Florida, which bore the worst of the hurricane, is a key battleground state in America's midterm elections, with senators, members of congress, governors, and a bevy of other local officials all facing voters next month. Florida is a low-lying state that depends heavily on tourism, making it especially at risk from climate change.
Democrats, who are broadly supportive of climate action, face an uphill battle to retake the country's Senate so retaining Senator Bill Nelson's seat in Florida will be essential. Nelson has linked the hurricane directly to climate change. By contrast, his challenger, the state's current governor, Republican Rick Scott, banned the use of the words "climate change" by state officials.
The two are also fighting over toxic algae blooms, which have hit tourism, killed wildlife and risked residents' health. Algae thrive in warm water, so the hotter weather has contributed to bigger blooms. Scott was recently chased from one of his own campaign events by protesters chanting "Red-tide Rick".
Not all Florida Republicans agree with Scott on climate though. House Representative Carlos Curbelo, of Florida's 26th district, leads the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus. Curbelo has challenged Republican Party orthodoxy, recently putting forward a bill for a nationwide carbon tax. He's also in favour of increasing the state's resilience to stronger storms, recently joking that "If people try to dismiss me, I'll say, 'Hey, that's OK. When my district is under water, I'll go to yours and run against you."
Many Republican Climate Caucus members, including Curbelo, could lose their seats if a "blue wave" of Democratic support washes in and flips the House of Representatives. On the one hand, Democratic control of the federal government seems the only real chance of passing meaningful climate policy in the near future, on the other hand, the efforts of unorthodox Republicans like Curbelo are essential if climate legislation isn't going to be immediately overturned when control of government changes.
Following Hurricane Michael's path, climate change is also an issue further up the coast in North Carolina. In the state's 9th congressional district, a traditionally conservative area that voted for President Trump by a wide margin, Democrat Dan McCready is campaigning on the successful investment he made in solar energy in the state – putting more than US$80 million into 36 different renewable energy projects. By contrast, his opponent, Republican Mark Harris rejects established climate science and wants to abolish the parts of the federal government that deal with energy.
Far away from hurricanes, on the country's west coast, the political climate is very different. Here, more progressive candidates are battling to put in place stronger climate policies. Citizens will be asked in Washington state to vote on a measure to implement the country's first statewide carbon tax. The possibility of the measure passing is being taken very seriously by the fossil fuel industry, which has already spent more than US$20 million to try to defeat it. In California, where an unusual election system sees two Democrats fighting for the same Senate seat, incumbent Dianne Feinstein and challenger Kevin De León are vying to outdo each other in supporting renewable energy and opposing President Trump.
While climate change is a growing concern for voters – an August 2018 Yale poll found that 70% of Americans recognise global warming is happening, and 59% recognise humans are causing it – it's still hard to get climate change into the election debate in many places. Only 5 of 36 Senate debates have included a climate-related question so far. Instead, President Trump's extreme positions on healthcare, the economy, immigration, and the country's Supreme Court are dominating the narrative in these elections.
President Trump remains intransigent on climate change although he declared this week that climate change is not a hoax, "I think something's happening. Something's changing and it will change back again". Ultimately, while this election may provide victories for those in favour of doing something about our unfolding climate crisis, for things to really change, America will need to elect a different president. And it's another two years before people get a chance to vote on that.


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The Gory Details on Commercial Vehicle Group's Double Fumble
Commercial Vehicle Group (NAS: CVGI) reported earnings on Oct. 31. Here are the numbers you need to know.
The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Sep. 30 (Q3), Commercial Vehicle Group missed estimates on revenues and missed estimates on earnings per share.
Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue dropped and GAAP earnings per share expanded significantly.
Gross margins dropped, operating margins dropped, net margins increased.
Revenue details
Commercial Vehicle Group logged revenue of $204.8 million. The three analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ foresaw sales of $222.3 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 5.6% lower than the prior-year quarter's $216.9 million.
Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.
EPS details
EPS came in at $0.12. The three earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.34 per share. GAAP EPS of $1.07 for Q3 were 312% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.26 per share.
Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.
Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 12.9%, 80 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 4.3%, 190 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 14.9%, 1,150 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.
Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $210.8 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.31.
Next year's average estimate for revenue is $912.8 million. The average EPS estimate is $1.53.
Investor sentiment
The stock has a one-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 60 members out of 90 rating the stock outperform, and 30 members rating it underperform. Among 32 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 21 give Commercial Vehicle Group a green thumbs-up, and 11 give it a red thumbs-down.
Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Commercial Vehicle Group is outperform, with an average price target of $11.75.
Add Commercial Vehicle Group to My Watchlist.
The article The Gory Details on Commercial Vehicle Group's Double Fumble originally appeared on Fool.com.
Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. The Motley Fool has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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If you fall asleep on the wings of Lunesta or swear that Ambien works like a dream, then you're one of millions of Americans popping sleeping pills to have a good morning.
New research suggests that sleeping pills are heavily over-prescribed, raising potential public health concerns. The study, published online in the American Journal of Public Health on June 16, found that sleep drug use far outpaces need.
Researchers examined data from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, an annual, nation-wide survey of physician office visits in the U.S. The survey included approximately 28,000 office visits per year, for adult patients ages 18 and older. They looked at a 15-year period, from 1993-2007, and compared rates of sleeplessness complaints and insomnia diagnoses to actual sleep drug prescriptions.
The results were striking.In 1993, the number of sleep drug prescriptions was lower than the number of sleeplessness complaints. But by 2007, the number of sleep drug prescriptions was more than three times higher than the number of sleeplessness complaints, outpacing actual insomnia diagnoses by 13.8 million prescriptions.
A Jagged Little Pill:
Insomnia is often treated with two kinds of sedatives: benzodiazepines (BDZs), which have a high risk of dependence with long-term use, and nonbenzodiazepine sedative hypnotics (NBSHs), which have a lower risk of dependence. NBSHs include popular sleep drugs like Ambien, Sonata and Lunesta.NBSHs are advertised directly to consumers and after they hit the market in 1994, prescriptions for NBSHs grew 21 times faster than sleeplessness complaints and five times faster than insomnia diagnoses.
"Many people take them like a multivitamin—daily and indefinitely," says Mairead Eastin Moloney, Ph.D., lead author and postdoctoral research fellow at the University of North Carolina.
That habit can have serious side effects.Long-term use of any sleep drug can lead to tolerance and addiction. On average, NBSHs offer only 12 extra minutes of sleep and side effects include driving, eating and walking during sleep, as well as short-term memory loss.
Adults over the age of 65 are more likely to have trouble sleeping due to changes in the brain and a higher rate of other medical problems, but surprisingly, they're not getting the bulk of the sleep meds.
Instead, the study found that adults under 65 outpaced older adults on all measures of sleeplessness—complaints, diagnoses and prescriptions. The authors guess that non-biological issues were most likely at play, such as stress, ever-present technology and targeted marketing of sleep drugs.The rise of sleeplessness and sleep drug use among younger adults may be a sign that medical solutions are being used to treat normal sleeplessness.
Is Sleeplessness Really a Medical Problem?
Studies estimate that approximately 30 percent of Americans experience at least one symptom of insomnia in a given year, but only an estimated 10 percent meet the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-IV-TR criteria for insomnia, which requires that the symptoms have persisted for at least one month and impair daytime function.
Over the study's 15-year span, annual insomnia diagnoses increased from less than one million to 6.1 million. Prescriptions for NBSHs rose even faster, from roughly half a million in 1994 to 16.2 million in 2007, suggesting that people are taking sleep drugs for ordinary sleeplessness.
Sleeplessness, unlike chronic insomnia, is a relatively normal part of human life. Whether parenting, poor sleep habits, stress or other common issues interfere with a good night's rest, most people experience some difficulty sleeping.
The authors warn that treating ordinary sleeplessness as a medical problem "may reframe and transform ideas of physical and emotional normalcy, prompting the overuse of potentially harmful drugs." In other words, people may be treated for problems they don't have.
Still, sleeplessness is concerning.Sleep is incredibly important and often undervalued. (We'll sleep when we're dead, right?) Six to eight hours of sleep per night is essential for heart health, energy, healthy skin, good posture and weight management. It even refreshes neurotransmitters that help suppress pain. You need to catch your Z's.
But when sleeplessness strikes, sleep aids are not the only answer. "There are natural ways to cure insomnia," says James Maas, Ph.D., YouBeauty Sleep Expert. "For many people, insomnia is a behavioral issue." Sleep drugs may simply be a Band-Aid for underlying stress or poor sleep habits, which when ignored, will eventually do more damage than a sleep drug can repair.
More importantly, difficulty sleeping can betray a deeper psychological issue, especially depression or anxiety. In fact, a 2007 study published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine estimated that 40 percent of insomnia patients also have a psychiatric condition, most commonly depression. In those cases, the underlying problem needs to be treated—sleeplessness is merely a symptom.
Sleeplessness Properly:
For the millions of people suffering from sleeplessness, a pill may be the only solution they're offered.
"Most physicians aren't educated on behavioral therapies for sleep," says Moloney. "Many patients want the easy fix and physicians may not have many other options in their tool-kits.
However, behavioral therapies for sleeplessness are shown to be highly effective.
Behavioral treatments include learning to relax, keeping a sleep diary, limiting the time you spend in bed and changing basic lifestyle habits like drinking caffeine after 4pm, exercising in the late evening, or watching TV in bed.
READ MORE: Meditate for Sleep
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends behavioral treatments as a first-line approach and suggests that anyone taking sleep drugs should be educated about and encouraged to try behavioral treatments as well.
"Unlike sleep medications," Moloney says, "the effects of behavioral therapies are enduring and lack side effects."
If you're sleepless in Seattle, the city that never sleeps or any other city, think twice before you pop a pill. Ask yourself whether your sleeplessness is a medical problem or a life problem. By addressing the root of the problem up front, you'll sleep better and easier than any pill could promise.