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Three Models to Inspire the Objectives of Torah Instruction
In the Modern Orthodox Day School
This article originally appeared in Ten Da'at, Elul 5753, pp. 10-13. Appears here with permission.
The following is adapted from a paper delivered at the International Research Conference on Curriculum in Jewish Education, Hebrew University, 1989.
An increasing number of contemporary administrators and teachers in some modern Orthodox day schools are attempting to apply the findings of educational theorists and practitioners in the world of secular education. [1] These same individuals who consider their personal religious orientation to parallel the modem Orthodox school in which they work, simultaneously seek support for their educational approaches to conveying Jewish tradition, practice and thought, from within the primary sources of that tradition. The resulting tension and desired complementarity between the cutting edge of modern educational theory and technique on the one hand, and Mishnaic, Midrashic and Talmudic sources on the other, constitutes a microcosmic representation of the struggles that anyone attempting to straddle both traditional and contemporary society must constantly confront. [2] The dilemma of properly balancing Judaic and secular considerations underlies the essence of the modem Orthodox educational endeavor in general. Those of us working in schools which are philosophically committed to encouraging our students to excel in both Torah and general studies on curricular and extra- curricular levels, [3] have to strive to establish a cogent, consistent educational experience which will equip and prepare them to hold their own as well as to grow in commitment, while residing and working within a secular, if not outright pagan, environment.
This paper will attempt to briefly explore some of the sources [4] that perhaps ought to inform the educational philosophy and practical approaches that underlie modern Orthodox education today.
I. Emotional Approach
One curricular principle, based upon an interpretation of a famous Talmudic passage, is suggested by Elie Wiesel. [5] The noted author reflects upon the discussion between Rabbi Akiva and Ben Peturah with regard to the well-known moral dilemma entailing two people in the desert with only enough water for one of them to survive. [6] Wiesel recounts that initially he had been unable to comprehend Rabbi Akiva's apparently harsh view that the possessor of the water should drink it himself, as opposed to the ostensibly more idealistic and self-sacrificial position offered by Ben Peturah that the water should be split between them. It was as a Holocaust survivor, however, that Wiesel first understood Rabbi Akiva's solution as one that requires the survivor to maintain the memory of those less fortunate than he or she. In effect, what may have appeared as a selfish egotistical solution in the short run, became a much more altruistic and forward-looking perspective when considered over the long run. Wiesel's specific recommendation to educators for conveying such a sense to students attending a Jewish school is the following:
Every Jew has someone in the family who didn't come back, whether Sepharadi or Ashkenazi. I would ask every child to find the closest person in his family, maybe an uncle, or a zeidah, or a grandmother, or a sister of a grandmother – the closest person – and I would ask the child to study everything about that person…Each of us should adopt a person who didn't come back – through letters, books, imagination – and write and live an imaginary biography. [7]
In effect, Wiesel would recommend evoking a sense of commitment within the student by irrevocably linking his/her personal existence with that of a Jew with whom he or she would come to identify personally, one who had suffered a martyr's death at some earlier time in Jewish history. Wiesel's approach of instilling a sense of responsibility for ensuring that the memory of those who were annihilated should live on within the hearts and minds of today's youth, could further be justified by the sociological and psychological insight provided by the Jewish historian Lucy Dawidowicz:
Commitment to people, country or faith is, for most people at most times, slack and habitual, undemanding, subordinated to the claims of personal affections. But when communal crisis erupts, when national disaster threatens, when the very existence of one's people is imperiled, the individual summons up his psychic vigor to stake his life, to put his selfhood on the line for his group. Crisis thus provides the occasion for self-discovery and self- avowal, dredging up dormant or repressed feelings, transforming them into affirmations of self. [8]
This approach, however, raises the question: Should a significant portion of the curriculum be devoted to dwelling upon the various catastrophes that have affected our people? Do we, thereby, hope to mobilize our students to feel that they must perpetually come to their nation's defense, while keeping alive the memories of those who did not survive? [9] Such an approach would appear to provide an educational dimension to the eternal alarmism that has been taking place throughout Jewish history. [10]
II. Social Approach
A second approach that attempts to assure greater Jewish commitment is to foster a sense that one belongs to a community. Norman Lamm suggests that the numerous references in Rabbinic literature to the importance of being part of a community, [11] of being engaged in acts of gemilut hassadim, [12] and of main-streaming contact with models of scholarship, [13] all promote the idea "of allowing individual citizens of a community to join it in its covenantal, faithful role." [14] The context of this thesis are suggestions that would allow the individual beset by substantive religious doubt to maintain his or her ties to Judaism, even while attempting to resolve that doubt. Just as Elie Wiesel translated the theme of crisis and urgent response into a curricular program, Mayer Schiller proposed curricular means by which a modem Orthodox school might develop a sense of community:
…the school must increase its activities so that students can spend leisure time under yeshiva auspices. These activities should offer everything from aesthetics, athletics, music, politics, hobbies, trips, etc… the school must provide a full schedule of meaningful activities on Rosh Hodesh, Hanukah, Purim and Shabbat/Yom Tov. There must be a steady diet of lavish and joyous siyyumim and melavei malkah…a school that provides, supports and improves the activities which youth crave and transforms them into meaningful experiences against a backdrop of faith and Jewish involvement… [15]
Schiller's vision of the ideal school involves turning the school into more of a communal experience, populated by educators who see their roles not merely as academics and classroom practitioners, but rather as generalists, committed to the total student, as well as to every aspect of the institution. Therefore, not only would curricular programs have to be devised that would promote communal sense and heightened levels of commitment on the part of the student body, training and compensation are needed to create professionals who are capable of working effectively in such an environment.
III. Cognitive and Intellectual Approach
A third model of education for enhanced and deepened commitment focuses upon cognitive and intellectual stimulation. I believe that it is valuable to keep in mind that the Talmud, according to at least one commentary, regards the Sinai experience as comparable to the conversion process. [16] Other examples of this presumed equation can be found in Masekhet Sofrim 14:18, where the practice to reciteMegillat Ruth at some point during Shavuot is recorded, a custom which is interpreted as paralleling the conversion of Ruth with that of the Jewish people as a whole. [17] The Midrash Rabbah [18] also portrays Sinai as something of a "born-again" experience, in the spirit ofYevamot 22a, characterizing conversion as comparable to tinok shenolad, a child who has been born. [19]
Of what relevance, however, is the Sinai/Conversion element to the contemporary religious experience and education? Perhaps the very transformation of a loosely organized collection of Hebrew slaves into a covenantal Torah community was meant to be a unique event that can never be recreated and relived. Such an argument could be countered by demonstrating that just as the Seder meal of Pesah ought to be viewed as the quintessential model for eating during the rest of the year – divrei Torah, guests, religious symbolism, extensive collective rendering of thanks to God [20] – similarly, Sinai is meant to serve as a paradigm for all subsequent Torah-learning activities. This is consistent with the reasoning found in the Sifre cited by Rashi on Deuteronomy 6:6: "The Torah should not be viewed as an ancient royal decree to which no one pays attention, but rather like a new decree that everyone hastens to read."
Thus, the following syllogism can be constructed: If the Jews at Sinai were cast in the role of converts, and if contemporary Jews are expected to regard their Torah learning as a recreation of the Sinai experience, then it follows that Torah education ought to at least echo aspects of the manner in which converts are introduced to the tenets of Judaism.
However, in order for contemporary educational policy to reflect the conversion analogy, a positive approach, distinctly different from the negative one which some advocate for conversions, must be adopted. [21] We should present material that would rather inspire commitment and enthusiasm for study and mitzvah performance. Therefore, the following three approaches, suggested by Masekhet Gerim, Rambam, and in an essay by Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein, are seen as more informative and encouraging for our purposes.
According to Masekhet Gerim 1:3, if, after hearing about the tragedies of Jewish history, the convert nevertheless decides to continue the process, then: "…they bring him down to the place of ritual immersion and they immerse the parts of his body normally covered, with water, and they say to him some of the details of the mitzvot, in order that he will give the tithes of shikhhah, leket, peah, and ma'aser." And, in the same chapter, halakha 5 states:
After immersion, he emerges, they say to him things that are good and correct: "To whom have you chosen to attach yourself? You should be joyful! To He who declared, 'Let the world exist.' For the world was created only for Israel. And no one is considered God's children other than Israel. And there is no one more beloved before God than Israel. All of the things that we said to you [that appeared to be discouraging] were simply intended to increase your reward [for doggedly pursuing your intention and going through with the conversion]."
These statements do not have to be viewed as discouragements, but rather, since they are declared during the mikuah ritual, the final part of the conversion process, they can be understood as encouraging a deepening of commitment in the individual newly entering the Jewish faith.
A similar but less absolute approach can be recognized in the words of Rambam. Rambam writes that significant attempts are made to discourage the candidate by means of references to the "burden of the Torah" and the "trouble involved with fulfilling its mitzvot." [22] But, if the convert nevertheless demonstrates willingness to continue, then, says the Rambam: [23]
…they make known to him the essentials of the faith, which is the unity of God and the prohibition of idolatry, and they go on at great length about these matters: [24] And they make known to him a few of the easy mitzvot and a few of the severe mitzvot, and they do not go on at length about these. [25] And they should not present him with a great deal of material nor with a large amount of detail, lest he [the person who is interviewing the candidate] cause him to be troubled and consequently turn away from the good path to an evil path, for initially one should pull a person with words designed to be attractive and that are gentle…
If the convert continues to persist, then the Rambam even redefines the difficult historical conditions to which Jews have been subjected: "And this that you see the Jews in a condition of pain in this world, it is really a good thing that is being preserved for them, for they cannot receive most of the goodness that is to be their reward in this world, as do the other nations, lest they [the Jews] become haughty, and they sin and they lose their reward in the World to Come." [26]
The references to persecutions is given yet another slant by Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein, [27] when he explains that the process of conversion entails not only the individual accepting mitzvah and faith commitment, but also becoming a link to the community at large and having an empathy with the collective fate of the Jewish people, for better or for worse. While such an explanation could be quite daunting, the positive aspect can be emphasized as well: upon becoming a Jew one becomes a part of a community – even if it is a community that is often hard-pressed to maintain its existence.
Another evocative source with respect to the relationship between conversion and contemporary educational policy is found in Yevamot 79a. The Talmud discusses the background and details of the events recorded in II Samuel 21, in which the Givonim take revenge on Shaul's family for his destruction of Nov. In the course of its account, the Talmud discusses the reaction of outsiders to these events:
The passers-by would say: 'What is the nature of these [the individuals who were being tortured to death by the Givonim]?'
They would be told: 'They are members of a royal family.'
'And what did they do?'
'They dealt improperly with inferior converts.' [28]
They said: 'There is no nation more worthy of joining than this one. If this is the manner in which members of the royal family are brought to justice, ordinary citizens [guilty of criminal activity] all the more so will be tried. And if this is the manner in which the rights of inferior converts who are victimized are protected, full-fledged members of the Jewish people, all the more so.'
Immediately, 150,000 people converted to Judaism.
In this case, no mention is made of the attempt to discourage those interested in converting. The Talmud in Yevamot 24b notes that in the times of Dovid and Shlomo, converts were generally rejected because of the concern that their only motivation was the relative prosperity and power enjoyed during the reign of these two kings. The type of historical conditions that are listed at the beginning of the passage in Yevamot 47a, designed to discourage converts, hardly applied during the rule of the second and third Jewish kings. Nevertheless, it is significant to point out that what attracted the converts, according to Yevamot 79a, was the fairness and air of justice that was perceived to pervade the Jewish community.
An additional implication which stems from the conversion analogy is that rather than teaching all mitzvot, selections should be made in order to encourage maximum commitment and personal growth. As the religious commitment of students advances, such selections take on even greater importance.
One could also deduce from the references about discussing theology, i.e. the uniqueness and oneness of God, that more time should be spent on investigating the parameters of belief and faith. This might be done, not in the academic context of Jewish philosophy which tends not to be terribly personal or of immediate relevance, but rather in terms of how individuals participating in the modern world perceive the dimensions of belief and how some stumbling blocks to belief might be dealt with. The issue of reward and punishment does not have to be approached exclusively from the perspective of its literal delineation, but also philosophically, with regard to imparting an awareness to the student that he/she is responsible for his/her actions, and that there will always be accountability and decisions in the psychological, moral and social make-up of any individual. Also of great importance in fostering a life-long allegiance to our teachings is the concern that Jewish life be perceived as a moral, consistent and just system.
While the sources in question do not provide specific examples of what should be taught and how, the general outlines that these examples promote are most indicative and highly suggestive.
[1] See my "The Day School Talmud Instructor as Teacher," Ten Da'at, Vol.3 No.1, Heshvan 5749, Fall 1988, pp.21-4, as an example of extending contemporary general educational approaches to the specific discipline of teaching Talmud.
[2] For a summary of the conflict, with regard to emphasis, that modern Orthodox schools currently find themselves facing, see my "Sensitizing Day School Teachers to Issues in Values Education," Ten Da'at vol.6 No.1, Nissan 5752, Spring 1992, pp.5- 9.
[3] This paper in effect seeks to apply the discussion regarding compartmentalization and integration that I presented in "Integration of Judaic and General Studies in the Modern Orthodox Day School", Jewish Education, Vol.54 No.4, Winter 1986, pp.15-26, to the specific case of the modern Orthodox educator who wishes to avail him/herself of the latest thinking in terms of educational theory and practice, and still strives to faithfully represent the perspectives of Jewish tradition as enunciated in primary sources.
[4] One such source that I have already presented in a previous article is Nedarim 37a. See my "The Day School: A Modern Orthodox Jewish Community's Reflection or Guiding Light?" in Ten Da'at, Vol.5 No.1, Heshvan 5751, Fall 1990, pp.27-28
[5] Elie Wiesel, "On Teaching Jewish Identity," in Jewish Education, Vol.43 No.4, Winter-Spring 1975, pp.9-11.
[6] Bava Metziah 62a.
[7] Wiesel, p.10.
[8] Lucy Dawidowicz, "Jewish Identity: A Matter of Fate, A Matter of Choice," in the Jewish Presence: Essays on Identity and History, Harcourt, Brace Jovanovich, New York, 1978, pp.7-8.
[9] Such an approach casts an interesting light on the very thoughtful article by Karen Shawn, "Goals for Helping Young Adolescents Learn About the Shoah," Ten Da'at, Vol.5 No.2, Iyar 5751, Spring 1991, pp.7-11. It would seem to me that Wiesel would see Teaching Goal #7 (p.9), "maintaining and strengthening my students' Jewish identity," as much more central than merely being the seventh in a list of 17. Since Dr. Shawn identifies herself as a "teacher of English" (p.7), a member of the faculty of the Lawrence Middle School in Lawrence, N.Y., as well as an educational consultant to ADL's Braun Center for Holocaust Studies, she might not share the same priorities that an educator in a modem Orthodox Jewish day school might have. But then again, is this not tne point, i.e., that those of us looking for guidelines must constantly temper what it is that we read in educational journals, even Ten Da'at, with the concern that perhaps what is being presented comes from a point of view that has not been fully informed by the issues that we are attempting to address in our own specific endeavors? Of course, there is another important issue that lies well beyond the scope of this article: to what extent ought the general studies curriculum reflect the fact that it is being taught within the context of a modem Orthodox school (assuming that the teachers of these courses will not necessarily be committed to such a religious orientation, let alone be Jewish)?
[10] This is documented most powerfully by Simon Rawidowics in "Israel: The Ever-Dying People," in Studies in Jewish Thought, Phila.: Jewish Publication Society, 1974, pp.210-26.
[11] See for example: Berakhot 8a, 28b – the need to participate in communal prayer; Rosh HaShanah l7a – the magnitude of the sin of separating from the community; Ta'anit 11a – the expectation that an individual will empathize with the situations in which the community finds itself.
[12] See for example: Peah l:l – the magnitude of gemilut hasadim in terms of the reward that is reserved for its performance; Sukkah 49b – gemilut hasadim's superiority over charity; Beraishit Rabbah 8:5 – gemilut hasadim as a justification for the creation of man.
[13] See for example: Berakhot lOb – the equation of assisting a talmid hakham and offering a sacrifice; Shabbat ll4a – the requirement that a talmid hakham's manual labor be performed for him by members of his community; Ketubot lllb – whoever associates with a talmid hakham is equated with clinging to the Divine Presence.
[14] Norman Lamm, "Faith and Doubt," in Faith and Doubt; Studies in 1raditional Jewish Thought, New York: Ktav, 1971, p.30.
[15] Mayer Schiller, "Realities, Possibilities and Dreams: Reaching Modern Orthodox Youth," Ten Da'at, Vol.3 No.2, Adar 5749, Winter 1989, pp. 25-6.
[16] In order to account for an apparent lacuna between Exodus 19:8-9, where the Torah twice mentions that Moshe reported to God concerning the response of the people, without any indication that there had been additional information presented for their approval or disapproval, the Talmud in Shabbat 87a, cites the interpretation of Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi. The editor of the Mishna claims that that the two verbs in question, i.e., "vayashev" and "vayaged" do not refer to two different missions carried out by Moshe, but rather, by two aspects of his original presentation ro the people; specifically the punishments that lay in store for anyone who would violate the Divine Law, and the rewards that were to be besrowed upon those in compliance with the mitzvot. The beraitah in which Rebbe's words are to be found provides two alternatives in terms of the sequence: either "vayashev" is to be understood in light of the root "shavev" indicating "affliction" and "difficulty," hence punishments, and "vayaged" is associated with "agaddah," something positive that engages and spurs enthusiasm within those who study it, similar to rewards; or "vayashev" is an allusion to yishuv hada'at, something pleasant, i.e. the rewards, and "vayaged" is to be cast as a word related to "gid" or wormwood, something bitter and difficult to withstand, namely punishment. Aside from the wordplay that is going on in this passage, it might be said that at issue is the sequence of the educational process by which an initiate into a religious system is brought. MaHaRShA, in the paragraph beginning "Bitekhilah piresh," draws attention to the parallel between the source in Shabbat 87b (Rebbe's delineation of the connotations of vayashev and vayaged) and a passage in Yevamot 47a-b which describes the procedure by which a potential convert is interviewed. After confronting the individual in question with a brief synopsis of the persecutions and calamities that have dogged the Jewish people throughout their history up to the present, the Beraitah instructs the individual to whom the convert has come, to: "Inform him of a few of the easy mitzvot and a few of the severe mitzvot, and to inform him of the responsibilities of giving the poor the tithes of leket, shikhha, peah, and ma'aser ani, and inform him of the punishments of the mitzvot…and just as he is informed of the punishments of the mitzvot, he is made aware of the granting of rewards." According to MaHaRShA, the sequence of first mentioning punishments and then reviewing the rewards, parallels the first version of rebbe's interpretation of what Moshe told the people with regard to these matters, reflecting that they were being approached by God as converts. Such a view allows for an understanding of shloshet yemai hagbalah (Exodus 19:10-11, 15) not only as a prerequisite for prophecy, but also as a purification and pre-conversion process reminiscent of that undergone by Yaakov's family prior to their return to Canaan, as described in Genesis 35:2.
[17] See Avudraham and Teshuat Hen cited in Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Shperling, Serer Ta'amei HaMinhagim U'Mekorei HaDinim, Jerusalem: Eshkol, pp.245, 281.
[18] On the phrase "hiko mamtakim," (his mouth is most sweet) found in Shir HaShirim 5:16.
[19] Rabbi Elimelech Bar Shaul, in his work, Mitzvah VeLev, Part 1, (Tel Aviv: Avraham Tzioni, 1967, pp.13-5) discusses this phenomenon with respect to a spiritual awakening that should take place in every Jew, as opposed to the radical legal transformation in terms of personal status that applies only in the case of the conversion of a non-Jew to Judaism.
[20] See "The Seder Meal," in Shiurei HaRav: A Conspectus of the Public Lectures of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, ed. Joseph Epstein, Tova Press, 1974, pp.91-3.
[21] For example: a) the terrible events of Jewish history are meant to be intimidating, b) the multiplicity of easier commandments are designed to discourage him or her by the extent of compulsive behavior that Judaism requires, c) the citing of the difficult mitzvot are obviously daunting, d) mentioning leket, shikhhah, peah and ma'aser ani are intended to cause consternation over the numerous donations that have to be made to the poor, e) the punishments are clearly frightening, and f) even with respect to the rewards, the emphasis that they will be forthcoming only in olam habah rather than in olam hazeh.
[22] Mishna Torah, Hilkhat Issurei Biah, 13:14.
[23] Ibid. 14:2. 23. Ibid. 12:2.
[24] The fact that Rambam also mentions that theology should be included in the presentation to the potential convert is informative for our discussion. Unfortunately, many modem Orthodox day schools, in the interests of not being perceived as watering down the traditional diet of primary sources including Talmud, Humash and Navi, rely on the occasional digression of the teacher to cover matters of hashkafah, rather than devoting serious classroom time to such study. The competing considerations of focusing upon specifics as opposed to dealing with the broader overview, can be understood to be at the heart of why the Hagaddah, in its answer to the question attributed to the hakham (Devarim 6:20), rather than present the Torah's very theological answer (Ibid.21-5), opts instead to direct the parent to provide an halakhic answer based upon Torah SheB'Al Peh (the halakhot of Pesach, to be found in the last chapter of Masekhet Pesakhim). The concept that material found in Torah SheBiKhtav concerns itself with the broader implications of religion is beautifully expanded upon by Rav Kook in Orot HaTorah, Chapter 1 (Jerusalem: Hoshen, 5733). It also makes a powerful argument for learning Tanakh b'iyun – in depth-rather than as an exercise in biki'ut – the more perfunctory manner that characterizes the schools who see "covering text" as their prime objective and communal mandate.
[25] Rashi, in his commentary on Yeuamot 47b, on the phrase, "and they do not go on at length" states that this is in order not to frighten the individual away. It would appear that this perspective would reflect agreement with Rambam rather than Meiri and MaHarSha in terms of what the ultimate purpose of the interaction with the candidate for conversion is.
[26] Halakhah 4.
[27] "On Conversion," Tradition, Vol.23 No.2, p.6.
[28] The Givonim entered the Jewish community under false pretenses, according to Joshua 9:3 ff. The only reason they were allowed to remain was to dispel a possible impression that the word of the Jews was not honorable, despite the lack of any legal requirement to honor the covenant that had been made under false pretenses. Because of their dishonesty they are being referred to as "inferior," as opposed to typical, converts.
RABBI BIELER, a Contributing Editor of Ten Da'at, is the Assistant Principal for Judaic Studies 7-12 and Lead Teacher at the Hebrew Academy of Greater Washington, Silv


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Heavy rain is ending, but it's not over. Most areas along and north of I-40 got 2″ to 3″.
2" to 3" of rain estimated by radar last 12 hours along and north of I-40. Rain slacking off now. Blue arrows depict approach of a cold front. It's 67° now at BNA, expecting upper 50°s before/around dark with arrival of Jerk North Wind. pic.twitter.com/jgz9kJ14So
— NashSevereWx (@NashSevereWx) October 15, 2018
Some got more. Highest reported totals in Goodlettsville/Hendersonville:
Gauge is over 1" since the 7 AM dump. Goodlettsville. Storm total now 3.74"+ @NWSNashville @NashSevereWx
— Nathan Wellington (@AstrometeorWx) October 15, 2018
This morning's Flood Advisory for most of Nashville and NW Will Co expires at noon. Even though the rain is ending, water is still moving through feeder streams and running off hills, so flooding may continue to be an issue until the advisory expires. Localized flooding should subside after that.
Two Things:
Getting Colder Late This Afternoon, Tonight, & Tomorrow Morning
Just after 10 AM, BNA reported 68° with lots of humidity (dewpoint 66°). This won't last long.
A cold front is coming down from Kentucky:
Colder during the evening rush hour:
Temps continue to drop overnight, bottoming out in the mid/upper 40°s Tuesday morning.
Rain Not Over
Heavy rain is over, and most of the rain is gone, but not all the rain is gone.
NWS-Nashville confirmed the rain slackening off:
models continue to show coverage and overall intensity of the rains diminishing later today.
A few drizzlers or light showers may come through this afternoon, tonight, and maybe early Tuesday morning. HRRR model through 2 AM Tuesday:
No meaningful additional rainfall with this, ending flooding concerns after noon.
Pretty Quiet Tuesday through Most of Friday
Morning lows require a jacket/coat.
Early Weekend Rain, Then Cooler
Right now we think rain will start Friday night, probably late Friday night, but the ETA on that could be as early as Friday morning or as late as Saturday morning. Euro model thinks we'll see around 0.25″ or so. GFS model kinda agrees. ETAs will require adjustment later this week.
A cold front is pushing that rain through. Expect clearing at some point during the day Saturday, then slowly falling temps.
Sunday and Monday look nice (for now), but cooler, with low 40°s mornings and upper 50°s for highs.

subset: commoncrawl


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With the release of Marvel's Avengers: Endgame, the movie performed well on the box-office, with a record of $2.798 billion globally. It was a movie of massive scale, matching, if not surpassing all other MCU movies.
It had a massive cast with almost every Marvel superhero in it. Endgame earned a lot of love from MCU fans all around due to its rom-com, action, fantastic cast of 63 actors. With the thrills and craziness of the movie, it ended up becoming the highest grossing movie of all time.
The movie ended on a hard tone for many fans as Iron Man sacrificed himself to save the universe.
But due to some twisted squabble of heavenly timelines, there are still some superheroes who weren't able to meet him during Stark's time in the MCU.
So we at Fandomwire have decided to make a list of superheroes that weren't able to meet Iron Man.
But let us inform you that this list does not count the final battle against Thanos at the end of the movie. The motive of this list is to educate fans as to which Marvel superheroes he hasn't met physically.
We are not even criticizing the heroes who died before the events of Avengers: Endgame like Yondu.
In the battle of Infinity War, Stark met a lot of characters, namely Dr. Strange and the Guardians.
He has also teamed up with other characters in the Avenger's films.
He has almost met all the sidekicks, even meeting Captain Marvel in Endgame. But here are some he didn't get a chance to meet before he died.
1. He has never compared Bad Dad notes with Wasp
Before he sacrificed himself in Endgame, Tony was not able to meet any other member of Ant-man's team. However, he met Scott Lang, aka Ant-man twice. First, at the end of the Civil War and then later in Avengers: Endgame. We see Hope Van Dyne, aka Wasp, come out of one of the portals in Endgame, and she barely got a chance to connect with Iron Man.
2. Never had the pleasure of meeting Gamora
Infinity War's plot proceeded as such that when Tony reaches Titan where he meets Peter Quill and the rest of the Guardian. But he is unaware of who Gamora is.
By the time Iron Man, Spider-Man, and Doctor Strange meet them all, Gamora has already been taken to the planet Vormir by Thanos to get the Soul Stone, and later gets killed by him.
Even the "new" version of Gamora that has time-traveled from 2014 didn't get a chance to meet Iron Man.
3. Iron Man didn't get to tour Shuri's lab
Shuri Black Panther's younger sister got to play a vital role in Infinity War as she got to be science Bros with Bruce Banner.
But then, Iron Man was on Titan. We know that Tony is the smartest man in the MCU, which means when he comes back to Earth in Endgame and retires with his family in the woods, he might have known who Shuri is. But this leads to a fascinating question, and that is if Tony has ever been to Wakanda? There's very little info about this, but it looks like Tony has missed out on the world of Black Panther.
He never got a chance to witness all of Wankand's technology or even Shuri's entertaining nature.
Also read: 10 Iconic Marvel Weapons
4. Iron Man hasn't paid respect to the New Queen of Asgard; Valkyrie
Spider-Man was able to meet Valkyrie in Avengers: Endgame when he says, "Nice to meet you." Even Rocket Raccoon got to meet her at the New Asgard when they went to get Thor for the final battle. She became good friends with Hulk in Thor: Ragnarok.
But that was not possible with Tony. He has not even met any of Asgard's people except Thor.
5. Iron Man never got to Name Groot "Treebeard"
How is it possible that Tony never got to meet Groot?
Well, the answer to this question is that when in Infinity War, all the other Guardians, along with Iron Man, Spider-man, and Dr. Strange were fighting Thanos at Titan, Groot and Rocket were with Thor to forge his new hammer Stormbreaker. And then he joined everyone at the Wakanda fight, where he got erased from existence. Later, when he joined everyone at the final battle, he didn't have the opportunity to meet Iron Man. Imagine Tony assembling with a sentient tree. He would have created some pretty jokes on Groot.
Source: Looper


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This event will be co-hosted with the Scenario Doctoral Training Partnership and will take place at The University of Reading, room 109, The Palmer Building
Coffee and Tea available from 10.30
11.00: Welcome from Jennifer Scott
11.00-11.45 Dr Samuel Hatfield, ECMWF (Chaired by Jennifer Scott)
'Millibars and Megabytes'
Over the past 40 years there has been a monumental increase in the accuracy of weather forecasts, fuelled by supercomputing technology. Nowadays, by simulating the Earth's atmosphere, oceans, and other natural systems on these supercomputers, we are able to predict the tracks of hurricanes and other storms even 8 days ahead. Such high accuracy forecasts have demonstrable value to a global society more and more exposed to the extreme weather of a changing climate. In this talk I will discuss the key advances in supercomputing that allowed these developments in Earth-system simulation science, and what further advances we can expect as supercomputing technology continues to evolve into the future.
12.00-12.45 Dr Christopher Maynard, Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science, University of Reading and The Met Office (Chaired by Jochen Broecker)
'The challenge of weather and climate prediction on the next generation of supercomputer'
Improvements in the accuracy of weather forecasts and climate model predictions rely, at least in part, on improvements to computational speed of supercomputers. However, inter-generational processor speed increases ceased in the late nineties. Since then, gains in computational performance have come from exploiting parallelism in computation, i.e. doing multiple things at once. However, power constraints have forced processors to become ever more parallel. Moreover, even complex, heterogeneous architectures in supercomputer nodes such as CPU+GPU are now becoming common. How can we develop scientific software when the underlying computer architectures and programming models change more rapidly than model development? In this talk I will detail the approach the Met Office taking to developing new weather and climate models for future supercomputers.
12.45-14.00 Lunch – room 111 The Palmer Building
14.00-14.45 Dr Joanne Waller, The Met Office (Chaired by Colin Cotter)
'Can we handle spatial observation error correlations in atmospheric data assimilation?'
Over the last 10 years the use of inter-channel correlations in data assimilation has resulted in improved weather forecasts. However, despite the existence of significant spatial error correlations they are not yet widely accounted for in atmospheric data assimilation. This presentation will consider how we can handle these spatial error correlations. First, the importance and expected benefits of including spatial error correlations will be discussed. Next, potential methodology for handling spatial correlations will be presented along with some of the technical challenges that still remain. Finally, we present results that show the impact of assimilating Doppler radar radial wind observations when explicitly accounting for the correlated observation errors. We conclude that, though some technical challenges remain, we are able to handle some spatial observation error correlations, and the benefits of this are beginning to emerge.
15.00 Closing remarks, Dan Crisan


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Forward deployment on a military ship means that the 24/7 cycle that is the life of a ship at sea is one of those things that can not change. Not even for a day. The section may gather for a turkey dinner when it's their turn to eat, and somebody may offer a blessing on the food and a prayer for the occasion, but that's it. The comfort of family, hearth and home is a missing ingredient.
As a retired Lieutenant Commander (1130) in the US Navy, my heart goes out to shipmates.
So it is to those men and women who are on the line that my thoughts and prayers turn on this most propitious of days as we prepare to celebrate Christmas. My thanks go out along with my prayers for their continued safety as they travel in harm's way.
Wenceslaus II |
Thank you for the explanation of the Three Ships. I had always heard it was the three camels, too. The best for you and yours this weekend.
Merry Christmas LL.
For me, it's off to Houston and Aunt Sally's, which reminds me of Scripture: yes, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for you are with me; your rod and your staff they comfort me.
Merry Christmas to you and yours.
Spent Christmas 1964 walking guard, Post 2, Ammo Bunkers, Campo Pond, Hanau, Germany. Just another day.
Merry Christmas to you and yours, John, and thank you for your service to the world's finest navy, and the country.
Bring Tums.
Merry Christmas!
Thank you WSF, and thank you for standing tall for the nation on Christmas. Merry Christmas.
I always say a prayer for those away from family.
Love the Walmart miracle.
Have a wonderful day with your family, LL
Thank you Adrienne!
Merry Christmas to you and those you love.
What a powerful miracle! Rest assured of prayers and, of course, Merry Christmas!
The miracle speaks for itself.
God bless us, every one!
MERRY CHRISTMAS Oh Great One!
I bask in Odie's shadow. His Christmas celebration (see his blog) eclipses mine.
I love the flash mob, never having seen an orchestra version. Who'd have thought the Air Force could muster such talent?
All my best to you and your lovely family LL.
Yes, you would expect it from a Navy orchestra, but the USAF? Never the less, they reached deep into their souls and pulled it off.
Merry Christmas!
And what was in those ships all three, on Christmas Day, on Christmas Day,
An Aston Martin for lil old me, on Christmas Day in the morning.NEVER GIVE UP HOPE.
Great vids, White Wolf.
I hope you have a fabulous Christmas and BOXING DAY!
Merry Christmas to you and yours!
I'm sure that your son, Harrison, will have a lot of fun on Boxing Day.
Wishing you and the clan a Verry Merry and Blessed Christmas!
Hopeful next year the gathering of the clan will be in the mountains at the White Wolf compound!
I have high hopes, but based on the projected building schedule of 12 months from ground breaking, I think that I'll be renting in Scottsdale next Christmas.
Merry Christmas, Brig.
Merry Christmas to you and yours!
Thank you – Merry Christmas
and a big cow bone for Vito.
Entertainers in Hollywood and elsewhere have refused to perform for the inauguration of the forty-fifth President of the United States of America.
They suck anyway.
Merry Christmas!
Yes they do.
Merry Christmas, Nautical Dude!
Comments are closed.


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Apparently, there's a big event coming up this Sunday where lots of people eat and watch expensive commercials, and catch a little football in between. Bill Daley suggests Vietnamese chicken wings, the Sun-Times is touting a sour cream-apple pie and sangria, and Mike Nagrant thinks you should skip the game altogether and instead recommends a slew of en-bowled treats from all over the city.
Super Bowl Sunday is not the only holiday coming up; Donna Pierce has some fried oyster-based ideas for Fat Tuesday, and Denise O'Neal rounds up some Chinese New Year options. We will inevitably be hearing more about these eating holidays, but these articles are the first salvos.
As for the rest, in ten words apiece:
• Monica Eng visits Michael Ruhlman, food writer extraordinaire, in Cleveland [Tribune]
• Like cocoa? You should really be drinking quality hot chocolate [Sun-Times]
• Sandy Thorn Clark suggests where to get some around town [Sun-Times]
• George Washington Carver: not just peanuts and sweet potatoes [Tribune]
• Lisa Donovan investigates the high surface-to-volume ratio Edge Brownie Pan [Sun-Times]
• Dust off your old stereotypes about crock-pot cooking; it's fashionable now [Sun-Times]
• Welcome to Green Grocer Chicago, new West Town organic market [Sun-Times]
• Some good basic tips on chicken purchasing and preparation [Tribune]
• Or you can just buy the pre-made frozen variety, lazyass! [Tribune]


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Spice up the Season with these 30 Fall Front Door Ideas
Fall is coming, and it's time to spice up your décor with crisp fall colors and cool new ideas. Welcome guests to your home with a beautiful fall wreath, a unique pumpkin topiary, or a falling-leaf doormat, and they'll be ready for the fall festivities!
Read on to discover 30 of the top fall front porch decorating ideas.
Unique DIY Fall Wreaths
A beautiful fall wreath is one of the best ways to dress up your front door for autumn. From simple to complex, gourds to fall flowers, our list of favorite DIY fall wreaths has something to suit every taste. Hello, autumn!
- Budget autumn leaf wreath. This colorful wreath celebrates the season with long-lasting silk autumn leaves. Better yet, it's inexpensive and easy to make!
- Fall rag wreath. This wreath is a real break from the usual fall wreath materials. It takes the traditional country-style rag wreath and uses oranges, browns, and golds to give it a fall flavor.
- Fall garland wreath. This super-easy wreath uses pre-strung fall garland to fashion an autumn wreath. It's fast, easy, and frugal.
- Pumpkin and gourd wreath. This wreath is the epitome of autumn! Use miniature pumpkins and other gourds to fashion some one-of-a-kind fall décor for your front door.
- Corn husk fall wreath. This gorgeous wreath is crafted from ruffles made of corn husks and ribbons.
- Mini-pumpkin wreath. This adorable wreath is fashioned of pumpkin-on-a-stick eggplant, which looks like miniature pumpkins. Acorns add an extra autumn accent.
- Shimmering fall grasses wreath. This autumn wreath takes the traditional fall harvest look and adds shimmer with a light brushing of multi-toned metallic paints.
Dress up your Door with Fall Pumpkins
Pumpkins are the perfect fall decorations. The sight of these gourds brings thoughts of jack o'lanterns, pumpkin pie, pumpkin spice latte, and all things autumn.
Check out our list of favorite front door decorations using pumpkins, and click here to get our tips for carving and preserving your best jack o'lantern yet, plus how to make homemade pumpkin spice candles.
- Colorful pumpkin harvest. This colorful idea from Southern Living Magazine uses multi-colored pumpkins and pots of purple kale to make a bright fall entryway.
- Towering pumpkin topiary. Take your pumpkins vertical with a pumpkin topiary. Create this topiary by layering bay leaf wreaths between vertically stacked pumpkins, accenting it with colorful plants such as ornamental cabbage.
- Gather pumpkins. This pumpkin stack is similar to the pumpkin topiary above, but sphagnum moss layered between the pumpkins in place of the bay leaves gives it a different look.
- Pumpkin cascade. If you have front steps, you can arrange a variety of pumpkins and other gourds in different shapes, sizes, and colors in a cascade down the side of the stairs for an eye-catching fall display.
- Pumpkin patch. To get into the fall spirit, turn your front porch into a pumpkin patch with pumpkins, gourds and pumpkin patch with pumpkins, gourds, and bales of hay.
- Mumkin pumpkin planter. This creation combines two autumn mainstays—pumpkins and mums—by fashioning a hollowed-out pumpkin into a planter for your fall mums.
- Colorful pumpkin house numbers. Display your house numbers on stacked white pumpkins for attractive and functional fall décor.
Spruce up your Doorway with a Colorful Fall Container Garden
Summer isn't the only time to enjoy gardening. An autumn container garden will bring that fall feeling to your front entryway. Here are some of our favorites.
- Crimson mums and Mexican sage. This beautiful fall container garden lines your front steps with deep red mums paired with purple-blooming Mexican sage and green boxwood plants for a burst of color.
- Fall "firework." This striking single-container arrangement combines purple fountain grass, red-blooming lantanas, "Fireworks" gomphrena, and trailing sweet potato vines. The plumes of colorful grasses from the top give this container garden a firework effect.
- Fall color container garden. This container garden has plant names and step-by-step instructions for building a container garden with layers of fall jewel tones such as orange, red, gold, and purple.
- A washtub fall garden with berries. This rustic fall container garden repurposes an old washtub to create an autumn masterpiece of fir branches, wheat stems, and holly.
- Flowering kale and calla lilies. Colorful flowering kale, flowing calla lilies, and bright yellow billy balls make this autumn container garden a unique treat.
More Stylish Accents
Now that you have the mainstays covered, it's time to add extra touches to your autumn front door design.
Here are some fall decorations:
- Cornhusk garland. To make this easy garland, use sisal rope and Indian corn. It will add a unique touch to the door!
- Autumn broom badge. Fall wreaths aren't the only autumn centerpieces for your door. Try this colorful broom badge made of millet, salvia, rose hips, sorghum, and dried hydrangeas
- Fall door knocker accent. Decorate your door knocker with this autumnal accent made with crookneck gourds and foliage.
- Autumn leaf luminaries. Take advantage of earlier sunsets with these easy-to-make autumn leaf luminaries. Use paper bags, leaf stencils, and votive candles.
- Corn badge. This rustic badge is made with Indian corn on a burlap base with goldenrod and safflower blooms.
- The full treatment. This fall front door goes all out with corn stalk, a garland, a hanging basket, and mums.
- Autumn doormat. This DIY autumn doormat is easy to make and will greet your guests with falling leaves all season!
- Fall accent planter. It has miniature pumpkins, polka-dotted bows, and metal curlicues in the autumn spirit.
- Fall corn garland. This corn garland uses colorful corn ears and husks for a multi-textured look.
- Flower bucket. This rustic vase is a beautiful way to greet guests. Hang an antique bucket filled with flowers on the door.
- Budget autumn door décor. You have many things to buy this season; try these budget-friendly decorating ideas for your front door.
Fall is an excellent time to paint your front door. A color change can easily boost your home's facade, and fresh paint will protect your door from winter weather. Here are some painting tips.
Interested in more ideas about your front door? Click here
Learn more about solutions to everyday problems! Click Here
Photos courtesy of DigsDigs, Nellie Hill, Front Porch Ideas and More, scott1346, and Life is a Party.


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Step Guide To Wearing And Caring For Contacts Lenses
15 Sep 2018 18:03
If you have not had an eye test or consulted your Optician in the last two years, it is hugely advised that you spend them a check out. This ensures that your speak to lenses are the best match for your vision correction demands, and that you are conscious of any underlying eye troubles you may possibly not have noticed ahead of.She suffered swelling around the eye that ultimately went down and she never ever wore challenging contact lenses once again. Blue-eyed individuals share a frequent ancestor with every single other blue-eyed particular person in the world. Tweet this. CATARACTS take place when modifications in the lens of the eye trigger it to turn into significantly less transparent, click for more which benefits in cloudy or misty vision.Green is one of the very best shades of colored contact lenses for brown eyes, as long as you happen to be picking the appropriate shade of green. If you liked this write-up and you would like to obtain more data concerning Click For More - Http://Murilogaz2711804.Wikidot.Com, kindly visit the page. Mint or lime shades are much less than ideal if you want natural colored contacts, but there are a range of green contacts that will look organic. Deep olive tones will blend properly with brown eyes, and if your natural eye color shows by way of, it will just appear to be accentuating tones. Deep emerald shades will not look as natural, but they are less complicated to blend in. On dark brown eyes, you can efficiently use a medium opacity green. If your eyes are brown with amber tones, you can go for shades of green that lean a small much more on the jade side. Jade complements golden tones.Natick Eye Care in Natick gives several alternatives for contact lenses. Prescription formats: If you have myopia (brief-sightedness), hyperopia (lengthy-sightedness) or astigmatism you can acquire prescription lenses that alter the appearance of your eye colour (not accessible from Vision Direct), so that you can put on these for cosmetic purposes as nicely as for vision defects. It is worth noting that if you have astigmatism it is considerably tougher to locate toric coloured lenses, though they are offered, this is only in a limited range of prescriptions. We advocate speaking to your optician if you want to locate out about toric coloured speak to lenses.FDA joins eye care professionals—including the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus, the Get in touch with Lens Association of Ophthalmologists and the American Optometric Association—in discouraging customers from using illegal decorative (colored) get in touch with lenses These are speak to lenses that have not been authorized by FDA for safety and effectiveness. Customers should only use brand name contact lenses from properly-identified contact lens organizations.Arguably the most critical portion of selecting coloured lenses is generating sure you pick a pair that'll modify your eye colour in the way that you hoped. The trick is to make positive whether the lenses you choose are created to enhance your all-natural eye colour or change it significantly.Even if they did operate for me, I would not be in a position to fly military aircraft - the RAF automatically refuses entry to these who need to have glasses or make contact with lenses. But the civil aviation testing centre makes it possible for pilots to wear make contact with lenses, so I was curious to see if coloured lenses would pass the test.A soft blush lends the face freshness and assists define its contours. But it have to be applied appropriately - applying it too liberally is taboo. Powdered blush is ideal applied onto the foundation and faded out up to the temples using the brush. A golden rule applies here too: when wearing brilliantly colored eyeglass lenses, the lenses and make-up should remain in the identical color family - warm or cool - so as to accomplish a harmonious appear.The most severe concern with illegal get in touch with lenses is the threat of eye infection due to contamination of the lenses. Decorative make contact with lenses sold with no a prescription at Halloween retailers, convenience retailers, flea markets, beauty shops and on the internet are not regulated, are frequently expired and often contain higher enough levels of bacteria that can result in significant eye infections, impaired vision, and even blindness.Colored contacts, circle lenses, sclera contacts and other costume speak to lenses may possibly be advertised like toys. They may well look like a no-fuss way to add anything additional to a costume. But make contact with lenses are medical devices. Wearing contacts without having an exam and prescription from a medical professional can blind you.In the case of changing eye colour, simply removing the brown pigment is adequate to do the trick simply because blue eyes are not blue at all, just as the sea is not complete of blue water — it really is a trick of perception caused by scattered light. A blue iris is merely an iris without colour.Due to their shape and the way they fit the eye, month-to-month toric lenses enable wearers to see clearly as soon as once more. These soft contacts are worn daily for up to one particular month and are removed each and every night so they can be cleaned and stored in the recommended solution. Re-usable lenses are more price powerful than every day disposables if you wear your lenses each and every, or almost every single day.
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Brother Nicanor "Nick a.k.a. Junior" Garcia was initiated at APO Theta UPLB as part of Batch 1971A (Angels Unchained) and later affiliated at Sigma Chapter, Adamson University in Manila. When he got married and settled in Negros Occidental, Bro. Nick became involved with APO activities of the brothers and sisters in the Calatrava and San Carlos City areas.
Bro. Nick passed away on 22 August 2013.
US-based batch mate Bro. Henry Astorga recalls:
"Bro. Nick was a batch mate. He, along with Tony Gopez, Cesar Gumboc, and I concocted the batch name; we sold the idea to the rest, and thus the name was born - Angels Unchained. Yes, we do indeed leave imprints in the lives of others making them remember us in a unique way separate from the rest. Brother Nick had done his own imprinting - that is, uniquely Nick."
His remains were laid to rest at the Calatrava Catholic Cemetery on 1 September 2013. Let us pray for the eternal repose of our dear departed brother's soul. Those who wish to may post their remembrances of Bro. Nick in the combox below.
Based on emails posted by Bro. Domingo B. Tunque '69B and Bro. Henry James H. Astorga '71A


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Urs Hölzle, Google's eighth employee and overall cloud boss, thinks that within the next five years, the company's Google Cloud Platform revenues could surpass Google's advertising revenue.
"The goal is for us to talk about Google as a cloud company by 2020," Hölzle said on stage at today's Structure conference in San Francisco.
That would represent a huge transformation of Google's business. The internet company generated 89% of its revenue from advertisers in 2014, primarily from the lucrative search ads that appear alongside its search results.
And it would require serious acceleration in Google's cloud business, which is generally considered to lag the competition.
Google Cloud Platform is generally thought to be lagging Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure, the leading players in the exploding cloud computing market, mostly because it's struggled to forge relationships with the major enterprise customers it needs to turn it into revenue.
But today, on stage at the Structure conference in San Francisco, Hölzle said that while "we're clearly coming from behind," he defended Google's place in the cloud computing market, and said that there's only room to get bigger.
"Our cloud growth rate is probably industry-leading...and we have lots of enterprise customers, happy enterprise customers," Hölzle said.
He says that the cloud game is a little bit like the rise of the smartphone: The iPhone was first in 2007, basically creating the demand for smartphones. But despite a later start, Android has become the single most popular operating system in the world.
"I hope we're going to be the Android of that story," Hölzle said.
The basic idea, Hölzle is that Google has gotten very good at squeezing more and more resources out of its computing infrastructure. That means that Google can offer ever-increasing lowered prices to customers, while simultaneously raising the bar on performance.
That performance translates into programmers who can get more done for lower costs, creating a curve that benefits customers.
"You're making people more productive by spending machine resources,"Hölzle said.
So while Hölzle knows that Google is seen to be lagging with the critical enterprise market, "I think that will change very soon," he says. In fact, he says that there are some announcements coming up that will "remove any doubt."
And since the cloud is still so new, there's plenty of opportunity for Google to be had, despite Amazon's early success.
"I think the next five years in cloud will be much more evolution than the last five years," Hölzle said.


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well i'm a jesse white tumblr. born under punches
Filed under techmology …
[_] is following you
I get a kick out of little things like this. Thanks, Google Reader.
Love it
Guys in Norway in scuba gear set up for, wait for, then chase the Google Street View car. http://gizmodo.com/5468300/absurd-mysteries-scuba-divers-chase-google-street-view-car?sms_ss=email
We could use some of these around town…
via Gizmodo, a touch of that ol' New England accent in a hacked road sign.
Adventures in Word Verification #6
I'm pretty sure this was posting to Conrad's blog.
Three Links and a Dot
Gizmodo was entertaining this afternoon. Here are three links worth sharing. Awesome White Elephants including Burrito Glasses: Custom stuffed toys made from your child's sketches: And sculptures made from dust. I should clean my house. When I got home, Dottie had been on my computer. This is what she managed to get up on the … Continue reading »
Technology + Creativity
It's amazing the things people hear and see and think to mash up.
Spam, Illustrated
More here, and I hope he keeps going, because there aren't enough of these gems!


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Experience the beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains when staying at Hampton Inn Morganton in North Carolina. Centrally located in the Piedmont Region, this hotel provides easy interstate access. Visit Pisgah National Forest located in the Appalachian Mountains of western North Carolina. Swim, fish or water ski at Lake James State Park. Cycle the 17-mile mountain bike loop at South Mountains State Park. Go on a zip line tour at the Beanstalk Journey. Admire panoramic views from Grandfather Mountain when visiting the Mile High Swinging Bridge. Hike Linville Gorge, a federal wilderness area in western North Carolina. Our hotel is within 15 miles of fishing, hiking, jet skiing and biking, and snow skiing is 40 minutes away. We're also only six miles away from Bimbo Bakery, Continental Teves, Catapillar and Siegwerk.
Discover our great amenities at this Morganton, NC hotel. Choose a comfortable guest room and enjoy the extra convenience of a microwave and refrigerator. Check emails with free high-speed internet access, make yourself a cup of coffee using the in-room coffeemaker and wake up to Hampton's free hot breakfast. If you're in a rush, simply grab one of our free Hampton On the Run® Breakfast Bags, available Monday through Friday. Catch up with work in our business center and enjoy helpful services including print, copy and fax facilities. Cool off in our refreshing pool or re-energize with a workout in the gym.


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George went in for his 'snip and chip' yesterday. He's fine. He came home and immediately tried to eat ALL the things and destroy ALL the toilet paper. It took hours for him to calm down. But he's definitely fine.
The stack embiggened again. Embiggen is such a lovely little word, even if it means the size of the virtually towering TBR pile has grown ever larger. Or especially because!
For Review:
The Ancestor by Lee Matthew Goldberg
Behind the Red Door by Megan Collins
The Bitter and Sweet of Cherry Season by Molly Fader
Breathe the Sky by Michelle Hazen
Everything Here is Under Control by Emily Adrian
The Glass Kingdom by Lawrence Osborne
Hearts and Stones (Celta's HeartMates) by Robin D. Owens (review)
The House on Vesper Sands by Paraic O'Donnell
How to Catch a Queen (Runaway Royals #1) by Alyssa Cole
If the Boot Fits (Cowboys of California #2) by Rebekah Weatherspoon
Kitty's Mix-Tape (Kitty Norville #16) by Carrie Vaughn
A Lady's Guide to Mischief and Mayhem (Lady's Guide #1) by Manda Collins
The Less Dead by Denise Mina
Love and Theft by Stan Parish
Musical Chairs by Amy Poeppel
Our Darkest Night by Jennifer Robson
The Paper Daughters of Chinatown by Heather B. Moore
Persephone Station by Stina Leicht
The Princess Knight (Scarred Earth #2) by G.A. Aiken
The River Home by Hannah Richell
Voodoo Heart by John Everson
When She Was Good (Cyrus Haven #2) by Michael Robotham
Purchased from Amazon/Audible/Kickstarter:
The Trouble with Hating You by Sajni Patel
The Year of the Cat: A Cat of Disdainful Looks edited by Kristine Kathryn Rusch and Dean Wesley Smith (Kickstarter)


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Manage performance, temperatures, and devices all from a single application. NZXT CAM 4.4.0 is fast, efficient, and easy to use, allowing you to control every aspect of your computer.
It's a free PC monitoring software built for Windows, IOS, and Android operating systems. NZXTCAM shows accurate readings about CPU temperature, GPU temperature, Memory usage, Storage capacity, Network consumption, and Running process in a single window.
Download NZXT Cam offline installer version for Windows. Works with both 32bit – 64bit versions of Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP operating systems.
NZXT CAM – Create an account
Unlike other PC monitoring tools that you can instantly use after the installation. NZXT Cam software asks you to sign-up or sign in before you actually get into the program using existing social network accounts.
However, if you don't want to create an ID you can also operate this software as a guest. As a guest, you can use all its features. but you can't share your system information with other users who are using NZXT CAM to evaluate or help in solving any issue.
Shows system status at a glance
On the Cam dashboard, you'll notice the most vital information about your computer i.e. CPU, GPU, memory, storage, and network situation at a glance. You can see all readings in real-time. You can also easily check your maximum and normal CPU temps.
Intuitive interface
The program uses percentages and graphs to show important readings in a very simple and attractive manner. It has a default white color mode but if it doesn't appeal to your eyes you can switch to dark mode. The main window shows 6 main blocks, just click on any of them to get more details.
If you click on CPU, it will show you the model, stock frequency, current frequency, load, temperature, clock speed, and CPU fan speed. But if you click on Ram it will show you the capacity model and current load. This tool shows everything in a very organized manner.
Monitor running processes
Many will find that the built-in Windows Task Manager is a little old and not feeling appealable to the user's eye. If that the case then you don't need this utility anymore because the CAM app also has its own processes tab. Here you can also see which software is consuming how much GPU, CPU, or memory. It's very interesting to get so many features in a single app.
Best NZXT CAM alternatives
If NZXT Cam software doesn't meet your requirements, then there are other best CPU temperature monitors available you should try; MSI AfterBurner, HWinfo, CPUID HWMonitor
These programs are free and show comprehensive details about your PC.
Custom cooling curves
Those users who have a habit of tweaking PC's CPU fans can get more benefits if they download this PC monitor.
First, this tool shows the RPM of an already running CPU or GPU fan. But if you want to change that speed manually you can do so easily use this software. Among PC fans controller software CAM holds a prominent place.
In-game monitoring and overclocking
Performance matters most when you're in-game. Track your FPS, temperatures, bandwidth, and more with our low-impact, super-stable in-game overlay. Make the most out of your computer. You can monitor your PC capabilities while playing games. In-game monitoring features
- Display Current FPS,
- CPU / GPU Temperature,
- Time Played,
- Battery Level,
- CPU / GPU load, and many more.
If you want to enhance the performance of your GPU you can use its overclocking features. It can run some basic bench-marking stress test on your PC and gives you details.
Is Nzxt CAM any good?
NZXT has a well-earned reputation in PC monitoring tools. It will perform better than the reviews users post on forums. Manage to run fans creating less noise, more cooling capability.
Is Nzxt Cam still bad?
It is a good program safe and clean from malware. Moreover, it consumes fewer system resources as compared to another benchmarking tool.
What does Nzxt Cam do?
CAM lets you monitor what your computer is doing, from CPU load and temperature to bandwidth consumption. You can also see what applications are consuming more power of your machine. You can quickly track down any issues to ensure that you're getting the optimal performance out of your computer.
Is Nzxt Cam free?
CAM is the free PC hardware monitoring software for gamers and overclockers. The free version is capable enough and gives you total control over all the CAM features.
Why is Nzxt cam not working?
If CAM is still not pulling up or doesn't start when manually opening the application, this could be a problem with a bad configuration of CAM.
Deleting these bad configuration files can typically resolve an issue like this.
You will need to delete the NZXT CAM configuration folder at the following file path. C:\Users\YOUR USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\NZXT CAM or you can access this folder by typing %appdata% into your windows search bar and pressing enter.
Does NZXT need Cam?
For NZXT cooling and lighting products, CAM utility is required because cooling products may not operate at the correct speed for your system's temperatures.
What is the Latest Version of NZXT CAM?
Currently, NZXT CAM 4.4.0 is the latest version available to download for Windows PC. You can visit the official site to check the latest version availability.


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Road pricing is a way of pricing mobility more fairly. It reduces congestion by providing incentives that spread out the use of the roads and encourage the use of alternative modes like transit. This shift helps to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and raise revenue for public investments in infrastructure, such as transit.
Equitable access to transportation is a backbone of strong, sustainable communities. One important concern about road pricing that has been raised by stakeholders is its potential to add to the financial burden of low-income residents. Research on the potential impact of road pricing on low-income communities is scarce, leaving policymakers without essential insights needed to design good policy.
This study examined which income groups would be impacted by the City of Toronto's 2016 proposal to apply a flat highway toll of $2 on the Don Valley Parkway (DVP) and Gardiner Expressway (Gardiner). We find that a majority of GTHA commuters who would be impacted have household incomes above Toronto's median. However, we also find that without mitigation measures, the toll would represent a higher financial burden on those lower-income households that would be impacted.


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campus climate task force
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Where is the Cornell community?
To the Editor:
Over the past several months, we have been inundated with emails from Cornell's administration in the wake of racist incidents, always addressed to the "Ithaca Campus Community." These messages always condemn bigotry, and claim that the Presidential Task Force on Campus Climate is working to make Cornell a more inclusive community. But as these attacks continue, we struggle to define exactly what this "Cornell community" is. We all have our own communities on campus that make us feel safe, empowered and challenged, but is there a greater sense of community that makes us feel responsible for the safety of others? When violent bigoted incidents occur on campus, not everyone is equally affected. The majority of people who condemn the attacks and mobilize against a weak administrative response are directly impacted by the incidents.


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Interview: Fake Club
Published on January 31st, 2013 | Jonny Abrams
First rule of Fake Club: you don't talk about Fake Club.
Wait, scratch that. First rule of Fake Club: you don't talk about the Spice Girls. There are five of them, and they're all female, but – whatever reports based on an off-hand, jokey comment may have you believe – one listen to their sleazy rock monster of a debut single "Do What You Gotta Do" and you'll realise that the comparisons pretty much end there…
When Rocksucker sat down with Aicha, Carmen, Chloe, Rosie and Vicky at their Holloway studio, that was the only track to have been made available out of the two albums' worth of material they've apparently already recorded. Now we also have the attitudinal blast of "Over and Over" to whet the old appetite…
Fake Club are also set to play Camden Barfly on Thursday 7th February (click here to buy tickets) before launching a monthly series of nights at their studio, so however much they may be "giving up growing old", they would appear to retain a healthy appetite for rocking the nuts off anyone within an eighty-mile radius. (Dig that tenuously constructed journalistic cliché…)
Here, then, is the transcript of Rocksucker's highly entertaining meeting with the five-headed whirlwind of energy that is Fake Club…
Fake Club… Bloody nailing it
Are you happy with the press you've been getting for "Do What You Gotta Do"?
(General assent)
Rosie: The only thing is the misquoted "they say they're the Spice Girls with instruments", which keeps coming up!
Vicky: Basically we said to The Accidental Tourist that we're the Spice Girls with instruments, but it was a bit of a joke. Not that we've got anything against the Spice Girls.
Rosie: Love the Spice Girls! But they keep saying "they call themselves the Spice Girls with instruments".
Aicha: So don't mention the Spice Girls. Er, even though we just spoke about it.
It did strike as an odd comparison upon hearing the song. I gather the album's recorded – when can we expect it to be released?
Aicha: This year at some point, hopefully, but we haven't pinned down a date yet. We've got another single to put out first. It's called "Over and Over" and it's a high-energy song.
Rosie: We don't want to do things conventionally – we just want to release stuff when it feels right. We might release an EP before the album, or a set of EPs…
Aicha: We're kind of aware and sad about the fact that people don't buy albums anymore. We've made an album where the songs sort of flow into each other and it takes you on a bit of a journey, but obviously the kids aren't listening to music like that anymore so we're in this dilemma: do we work out something new and fresh, or do we just release the album?
Rosie: We've been thinking about doing a pick 'n' mix thing where you have a selection of songs, and people can make their own album out of them.
Carmen: We've recorded the second album already, so when that gets mixed and mastered we'll have a total of about twenty songs or more to put on iTunes for people to make their own album. We haven't pinned it down as of yet.
Rosie: Everything's so up in the air in the music business these days that you've just got to think of new ways of doing stuff. It's all changing and we want to be at the forefront of that.
Aicha: There are no rules anymore.
Last I saw, Rosie, you were part of BIGKids along with Mr Hudson. Is that still ongoing?
Rosie: That was basically my mistress, my sordid love affair over the summer! BIGKids was so much fun, we got an amazing album and I'm so happy that I did that, but this is my main focus now. I put it like this: they're my husband that I'm happy to be back in bed with!
Is "Do What You Gotta Do" a decent indicator of what your other material sounds like? Big, sleazy riffing and whatnot…
Vicky: I think so, yeah. We thought it was quite a good taste-maker.
Rosie: It's the heaviest.
Vicky: It's quite heavy, yeah, but then so is our second single ["Over and Over"]. I think it's heavy but it's groovy and catchy, and people seem to be really loving it.
Aicha: It's quite a simple song as well, not saying too much.
Rosie: The thought process behind that being the first single was that we wanted to put out the track that was most in opposition to the kind of thing you hear in the chart at the moment – so we wanted it to be the heaviest, weirdest, darkest track. A really sleazy, dark thing.
Aicha: With no Auto-Tune!
Vicky: We want to prepare people for what's in store. We're very much a rock band and we want that to be clear.
How often do you find yourselves – as per the lyric in "Do What You Gotta Do" – chewing on matchsticks and sucking on tin cans?
Rosie: Almost every day. There's not often an hour goes by when I'm not sucking on a matchstick.
(Rocksucker is handed a matchstick to chew on for the journey home)
That was a frivolous question, so let's follow it with a serious one: got any gigs coming up?
Rosie: We've got a warehouse downstairs so we're going to put on our own nights here. The next one will be at the beginning of March – we've got a few gigs in the lead-up to that, but that's going to be the big one. We want to put on bands that we really believe in, have loads of entertainment and make it an amazing night out. That's part of what we want to be doing as well.
So you practise here as well?
Vicky: Yeah, this is like our home.
Rosie: It's like Byker Grove.
Aicha: …or Heartbreak High.
Rosie: (Laughs) Classic!
Come on, let's do the lame one: if you were the Spice Girls, which one would you each be?
All: We've already done it!
Vicky: We've basically realised that we align quite well with them. Can you guess who's who?
I wouldn't dare.
Rosie: Yeah, that's like "do I look fat in this?" You don't know what to say! For our last show here, we did an encore where we came back onstage dressed as the Spice Girls.
Vicky: We did a rocky cover of "Wannabe".
Aicha: So, Rosie is Geri, obviously. Vicky is Posh. Carmen is the Baby.
Chloe's from Liverpool, so she must be Sporty.
Chloe: Yeah, and I sing most of the backing vocals!
(There is then some debate concerning Rosie's change of hair colour to blonde and how this might which Spice Girl she is)
Fake Club… Even Statler and Waldorf had good things to say
How did you come together in the first place?
Chloe: Vicky and I were friends from uni, and Vicky knew Aicha.
Vicky: I met Aicha in a rehearsal room in Stoke Newington.
Chloe: Then Aicha knew Rosie.
Rosie: Well, she'd seen me playing in a band I was in, and she basically came up to me after the gig and said, "We're starting this band, can you come and be our singer?" I said, "I'm already in a band." Then we had a play and I thought, "I've got to be part of this." Then we saw Carmen playing in the Blues Kitchen in Camden and we thought she was a boy. Not because of her looks! We just saw this amazing lead guitarist and it turned out to be her, so we went up to her after the gig and told her to come down to our little rehearsal space and have a play.
Aicha: We said, "You don't know it yet. but you're already in a band."
Rosie: We bundled her in the back of our car and tied gaffer tape round her mouth.
Carmen: I was kidnapped, basically.
Rosie: She was tied to a chair for the first two weeks until she agreed.
What can we expect from a Fake Club live show?
Rosie: Broken noses.
Aicha: Ceilings cracking, floors falling down…
Rosie: Bruised knees, vomit…
Vicky: Sweat, singalongs, laughter hopefully…
Rosie: Torn T-shirts. The best night you've ever had in your life.
Aicha: The beat thumping right through your chest.
Vicky: And, at our next gig, hopefully whistles.
Chloe: And 3D glasses.
Rosie: A good time, basically.
Are you signed to a label?
Rosie: No, not at all.
Is it something you're seeking, or is it not really necessary?
Aicha: We're managing to reach out to people without a label. We've got a great team around us and we're really picky about who we work with. We need everyone around us to be on the same wavelength as we are in terms of what we're doing, because we've got a very clear idea of it.
Rosie: As a band, what we want to be representing is the opposite of what's going on in the charts at the moment. We want to be something that's as real as possible. All those talent shows and whatever have their place, but we want to be the opposite of that: paying intense gigs with real instruments, do something really real.
Carmen: At this early stage, you wouldn't want to conform to the kind of creative control that a label can have.
Vicky: At the moment we've got some strong ideas and we're allowed to be really free with what we do. If we did have a label, we might be constricted. It would depend on who they are, of course, but I think it's important that we establish who we are and what we're doing first.
Do you take issue with X Factor and the like?
Aicha: Of course we do. It's a bit of a cheat, isn't it? We've all come in the hard way, practising our instruments for the last ten years then being lucky enough to meet each other and write music together. There are people who haven't put that time in who can just turn up to an audition and make out that you'd be taking their whole world away if they don't win. "I'm not going to do music any more" – well, why don't you just play in the pubs around the corner like everyone else does?
Rosie: Obviously there are exceptions to the rule, but what that show has bred is a generation of people that don't think about the graft you have to put into something, that want to be famous without thinking about what they want to be famous for. That empty fame is starting to implode on itself because it's not filled with anything.
Carmen: It's got no longevity.
Aicha: Our strength, the way we do things, is because of the journey we've had leading up to this, and that's so important towards backing up everything you do. There's no other option for people like us who are that into what they do.
Are they any other up-and-coming artists that you'd like to give a shout-out to?
Aicha: I know everyone loves him at the moment but I really like Jake Bugg's music. He's keeping it real, writing his own songs and playing some interesting stuff.
Rosie: I love the Haim girls. I think they're wicked.
Vicky: We're lucky that we're coming into an age of people writing their own music and guitars coming back.
Aicha: The magazines are talking about there being a guitar revival, and that would be good. There are so many backing tracks these days, so much trickery and fakery.
Am I right in thinking you record without a click-track?
All: Yeah.
Aicha: A lot of our songs aren't necessarily metronomic – it requires ups and downs in dynamics and movements. I'm not saying I wouldn't use a click if I was recording a dance track or something, but with our music it's not really necessary.
Vicky: We begin each session all playing at the same time and if something good comes out of that then we'll stick with it.
Rosie: Recording here is the next aim. We'd love to do an album that's completely live.
Aicha: We have to do the vocals over the top because the studio where we've been recording doesn't have the facility to capture the different instruments in isolation – it would need to be a bigger room. So we do the instruments all live then put the vocals on top.
Vicky: Rosie loves recording the vocals with the music blaring out in the control room. She's not in a little booth with headphones on.
Aicha: Running around the control room.
Rosie: I don't do headphones! We had one week to record the first album and six days to record the second album, so we needed to rehearse our tits off in this room to make sure we could just put down those tracks quickly and not fanny about cutting and pasting.
Carmen: We try and do everything in three takes.
Aicha: We do whole takes as well, so it's not like anything's copied and pasted or anything like that. That goes for backing vocals that bump up the choruses an anything like that – there's no "drop me in here".
Vicky: We want everything to do to sound exactly as it would live.
Aicha: We're also aware that it's human nature to want everything to be perfect and therefore you can overdo it, but what Fake Club is is staying true to how you are as what you are, and accepting that, capturing it. So when someone says, "That take's not as good as it could be," the other four have to turn around and remind them of that!
Carmen: People are losing that a bit, so we want to bring it back.
Aicha: Everything's over-quantised these days. I'm into drummers like John Bonham and Mitch Mitchell: that's real musicianship. You can't quantise that shit, it's got too much feeling in it.
Finally, if you each had to spend the rest of your days in solitary confinement, with the back catalogues of just three musical artists for company, whose would you choose?
Rosie: Prince, Michael Jackson and Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Vicky: Jeff Buckley, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Biffy Clyro.
Carmen: Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones.
Aicha: Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and The Black Crowes.
Chloe: Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age and The Beatles.
Rosie: Wait, I want The Beatles too!
Fake Club, thank you.
Fake Club will play at Camden Barfly on Thursday 7th February (click here to buy tickets). For more information, please visit facebook.com/fakeclubband


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Head Coach Paul Riley
"Corner kicks were 13-3. So if you're getting corner kicks, you're getting into the final third of the field. We had a lot of shots tonight and a lot of really good chances. Jess had three or four clear cut chances. Sinclair had three or four clear cut chances. Allie Long had a couple of great chances. I thought Allie Long did a great job underneath Sinc. They have a really good understanding with each other. Angie Kerr had a fantastic game I thought. Amber [Brooks] and Sinead [Farrelly] just played their roles really. We played with two defensive midfielders tonight, which we haven't played with most of the season. They sat in and covered that hole so Western New York couldn't get to Abby [Wambach] on the floor and run Carli Lloyd off of her. I thought it worked pretty well, until they started knocking diagonal balls over the top of everybody. Then we got ourselves caught out a bit. I think for the majority of the time, Sinead and Amber did a good job. Probably Amber's best game for the Thorns so far. She got in the game a little more. She's been around 35-40 passes a game. I think she'll be around 45-50 at least and we need to get her up around in those 50s."
Defender Nikki Marshall
"I'm happy with the defense right now. I've been blessed to be in a leadership role because I have two young players next to me and Kat [Tarr] is kind of new on the outside as well. Just being able to step in there and play with two young players that are playing like they've been playing for five years. They're great players. They're strong, they're smart, they listen. They help me, too. We have, what Paul likes to call, a good marriage within the back line. I think we've done really well thus far. I think this was one of our worst games, defensively, but we still came out with a win and I think we can really learn from this experience."
Forward Jessica McDonald
"It's extremely important, simply because they have Abby Wambach on their team and that's one of the players we truly want to shut down as an individual on a great team like that. Them coming from playing in the championship last year and being in the standings the way that they are this year, it's a good opportunity for us now to get the three points against them and hopefully we just continue that."
Midfielder Allie Long
"It was huge. We wanted this win at home and we knew that it was big time, especially against Western New York. I don't want to say that they're a rival, but in a way they kind of are. We just want to make it hard for them to come and play us. Grinding it out, we were under pressure the last 10-15 minutes and I was just happy we were able to not allow Abby [Wambach] a header on one of those services that they kept pounding in the box. Our defenders did awesome. We got the job done so it feels really good."


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5:45 am and I am up as the alarm sings tunes from the king of pop (aka Michael Jackson). I grew up during a time where his music prowess was unprecedented, flawless, and life giving. I decided to stay in bed for another 5–10 minutes and opened the window next to me. The sun comes out earlier in the months of April so it doesn't seem like I'm up that early, but the beautiful chirping melodies from the many birds accompanied with the silence of the city, is a reminder that I am. After a few minutes of being utterly transfixed and inspired by the new day, I started my daily routine of rituals.
Continue reading "#57 – 6 Ways to Cleanse the Mind, Body, & Soul"


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You never know where the next idea and inspiration will come from, which is why I am always looking in books and magazines, and keeping an ear to the radio and TV. About a week ago, I was at the hospital, running the clinical experience for my students, and I heard a couple of local grilling gurus talk on Good Day Wisconsin, a local morning show on our Fox affiliate.
The gurus, who go by the names of Mad Dog & Merrill, were talking about thin crust whole wheat pizzas and that caught my attention. We love homemade pizzas, especially thin crust. And we always try to use a whole wheat product whenever possible. But some of the whole wheat crusts left a lot to be desired.
They were talking about a new product available locally. An "ultra-thin" crust. Hmmmm. It might be worth looking at. I found a package (at Woodman's Market). This is what they look like:
It is a very thin crust 12 inch crust (it's almost a thick tortilla) but it holds up to the pizza toppings very well. And very tasty! Don't bake it as long as the label suggests (10-14 minutes) because after 7-8 minutes it was already too brown.
I've already posted the veggie pizza recipe that I made using the crust.
On a totally unrelated line of thinking, I tested by portable camp stove and find that it will boil 2 cups of water in 20 minutes. I take my practice hike on Thursday, and leave on the real hike next Thursday. I've got all the food purchased and now I only need to put it into ziplocks as ready-to-cook recipes. I am getting excited–and nervous–about this walk.
More on it as it gets closer.


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The Tflex™ SF800 and Tflex™ SF200 are the latest addition to Laird Technologies' thermal gap filler line. The introduction of these two new products expands Laird Technologies' silicone-free gap pad selection. Tflex SF800 is a high performance gap pad with exceptional wetting characteristic, while Tflex SF200 features extremely low contact resistance for effective heat transfer. These products are naturally tacky on both sides and require no additional adhesive coating, allowing for exceptional thermal performance.
Both the Tflex SF800 and Tflex SF200 are offered in a variety of thicknesses to suit virtually any need. The SF800 has thermal conductivity of 7.9 W/mK, while the SF200 offers thermal conductivity of 1.8 W/mK or 2.0 W/mK, depending on thickness. These silicone-free gap pads are easy to handle in all available thicknesses while their natural tack allows for the pad to be held in place during assembly. Tflex SF200 is available with differential tack for easy assembly and rework.


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24-Inch Norway Spruce Pre-Lit Warm White LED Artificial Christmas Wreath - NH204703
Out of stock
Embrace the holiday festivities with a bit of green foliage that will greet your guests with open arms. Our Christmas wreath offers your home a splendid ring of deep green Norway spruce needles and shimmering LED lights to complete the look. These lights come with a convenient timer, creating the perfect decorative accessory for any blank space. Featuring a sturdy iron frame to keep its shape, this lovely wreath offers a beautiful classic arrangement that will bring holiday cheer to your home for years to come.
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SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED: This Christmas accessory comes ready to use with minimal assembly required. Simply remove this from the box and fluff out the branches for your desired look and insert batteries to operate the lights.
- Includes: One (1) Artificial Christmas Wreath
- Needle Material: PVC
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- Number of Lights: 50
- Number of Branch Tips: 200
- Flame-Resistant
- Some Assembly Required
- Requires 3 AA Batteries (Batteries Not Included)
- Dimensions: 4.00 inches deep x 24.00 inches wide x 24.00 inches high


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When Alpine Bank turned to Thayer to plan and install upgraded exterior lighting at drive-up banking facilities, even they were impressed with the final result. The project was designed to replace canopy lighting with LED lights at the two drive-up facilities: North State in Belvidere and East State in Rockford. Here is what they had to say:
"We were quite surprised with the change. Not only did the lighting levels increase tremendously, but we were also amazed how much it enhanced our security video camera picture clarity. Once we saw the advantages of LED lighting, we immediately upgraded the parking lot pole lighting to LED at two Rockford locations. Again, great success."
"Better yet, employees have commented how much better lit our parking lots are and how it makes them feel more secure. With good ROI, we look to continue with additional LED lighting upgrades in the near future with Thayer Energy Solutions."
"This entire process was very easy. Thayer Energy Solutions handled everything from beginning to end: from analysis, to placing the order, to follow-through with installation. We are extremely pleased to be working with a quality company like Thayer Energy Solutions Inc. and an LED manufacturer like Cree Inc."
Randy Bridgeland, Facilities Officer
Alpine Bank