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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Diversity was perhaps the biggest winner at the 86th annual Academy Awards.
For the first time, a film directed by a black filmmaker – Steve McQueen of "12 Years a Slave" – won best picture and a Latino – Alfonso Cuaron of "Gravity" – took home best director in a ceremony presided over by a lesbian host and overseen by the academy's first black president.
McQueen's grimly historical drama "12 Years a Slave" took best picture, leading the usually sedate filmmaker to jump up and down in celebration after his acceptance speech.
The British director dedicated his award to "all of the people who endured slavery and the 21 million people who still suffer slavery today."
Cuaron's lost-in-space thriller "Gravity" led the Oscars with seven awards, including cinematography, editing, score, visual effects, sound mixing and sound editing. Some in his native Mexico have been critical that since the attention came for a Hollywood release and not a Mexican-themed film, his win didn't have the same kind of importance.
"I'm Mexican so I hope some Mexicans were rooting for me," he told reporters backstage.
The entire Oscar ceremony had the feel of a make-over for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences – an institution that has sometimes seemed stuck in the past. After a Los Angeles Times report revealed the academy was overwhelming older white men, new president Cheryl Boone Isaacs has pushed for a more varied membership.
The movie industry that the Oscars reflect has also been reluctant to tell a wider range of stories.
"Dallas Buyers Club," the best picture-nominated drama about AIDS in 1980s Texas, took two decades to get made after countless executives balked at financing such a tale. Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto won best actor and best supporting actor for their roles in the film as a heterosexual rodeo rat (McConaughey) and a transgender drug addict (Leto) united by HIV.
"Thirty-six million people who have lost the battle to AIDS and to those of you out there who have ever felt injustice because of who you are or who you love, tonight I stand here in front of the world with you and for you," said Leto is his acceptance speech.
Cate Blanchett, best-actress winner for her bitter, ruined socialite in Woody Allen's "Blue Jasmine," used her acceptance speech to trumpet the need to make films with female leads – films like her own and like "Gravity," starring Sandra Bullock. A study by analyst Kevin B. Lee found that last year's lead actors averaged 100 minutes on screen, but lead actresses averaged only 49 minutes.
"To the audiences who went to see the film and perhaps those of us in the industry who are still foolishly clinging to the idea that female films, with women at the center, are niche experiences, they are not," said Blanchett. "Audiences want to see them and, in fact, they earn money."
"12 Years a Slave" also won awards in the writing and acting categories. John Ridley picked up the trophy for best adapted screenplay, which was based on the 1853 memoir by Solomon Northup. The screenwriter is only the second black writer (Geoffrey Fletcher won for "Precious" in 2009) to win in the category. Backstage, the "12 Years" team mentioned their efforts to include Solomon Northup's memoir as part of high school study. The National School Boards Association announced in February that the book is now mandatory reading.
"It's important that we understand our history so we can understand who we were and who we are now and most importantly who we're going to be," said Brad Pitt, who produced "12 Years." "We hope that this film remains a gentle reminder that we're all equal. We all want the same: Dignity and opportunity."
Lupita Nyong'o was a first-time Oscar winner for her supporting role as field slave Patsey in "12 Years." "I'm a little dazed," said Nyong'o backstage of winning the Oscar. "I can't believe this is real life."
Nyong'o is the sixth black actress to win in the supporting actress category, following Hattie McDaniel ("Gone with the Wind"), Whoopi Goldberg ("Ghost"), Jennifer Hudson ("Dreamgirls"), Mo'Nique ("Precious") and Octavia Spencer ("The Help").
In her second time hosting, openly gay Ellen DeGeneres sought to make celebrities more like plain folk. She passed out slices of pizza to the front rows at the Dolby Theatre, then passed the hat to pay for it. She also tweeted a "selfie" with such stars as Meryl Streep, Julie Roberts, Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, Pitt and Nyong'o. The shot "made history," DeGeneres told the audience later. It's since been retweeted more than two million times.
[WATCH] What Black Americans Think About the Oscars
Sunday's Academy Awards was championed by many for its diversity. The program had big wins for people of color. Quite a few also presented awards. The NewsOne team hit the streets of New York City for the latest in our "On the Corner" series to ask people how they felt about the show and the Academy Awards as an institution. Their answers might surprise you.
Diversity Wins Big At The Academy Awards was originally published on newsone.com


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Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen meet at the pre-fight press conference for their Saturday bout in Las Vegas...
There was no thaw in the ice between UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and number one contender Chael Sonnen at the ritual pre-fight press conference at Lagasse's Stadium in Las Vegas Tuesday, no change in the weather between the two best 185-pounders in the mixed martial arts world.
In other words, the anticipation for the biggest rematch in the game this Saturday night at the MGM Grand is continuing to rise, and neither fighter is blinking under the bright lights, as evidenced by Silva's chest bumping of Sonnen during a post-conference photo op that forced UFC president Dana White to step in and separate the two.
"Playtime is over," said Silva earlier in the conference. "He can say whatever he wants. It's over. On Saturday night a lot of things are gonna change. It's gonna be much different after Saturday."
Sonnen, who pushed the longest-reigning champion in UFC history to the brink of defeat in August of 2010 before getting submitted in the fifth round, didn't pull back from his two years of verbal attacks on the Brazilian with his foe sitting just a few feet away, saying, "I offer absolutely zero apologies. And secondly, if you're not willing to go too far, then you'll never go far enough in life, and I don't care. I don't promote fights, I pick fights. I'm like Jon Jones, I sound like Sean Combs, and I've got trombone-sized stones like John Holmes."
It was typical Sonnen, the most polarizing figure in the UFC and one of the most, if not the most, compelling. He fielded questions with his usual wit and one liners as Silva sat stoically, occasionally grinning or grimacing, depending on the response from his rival. Yet while there wasn't a stream of incendiary comments from "The Spider" like there were on last week's media teleconference, he was no shrinking violet either, making it clear that he wasn't backing down from such statements, not now, and not on Saturday night. But when asked if he was risking getting too emotional before the 10th defense of his middleweight crown, he answered with an impish smile:
The post-conference altercation may have put that desire into question, but at the same time, you get the impression that Silva knows exactly what he's doing, and that he just can't wait to once again put his hands on his nemesis. So how will the fight go? Both men have vastly different takes on it.
"I'm gonna walk out there and as soon as I get the chance I'm gonna wait for him to throw a kick like he always does, I'm gonna put my forehead in his chest, run him into that cage, put him on his prissy little ass and run this (raises fist) into his head for 25 minutes until he gives up," said Sonnen. "That's my prediction."
"The way it's gonna go is that I'm gonna hit him, I'm gonna hit him some more, then I'm gonna hit him even more, and then he's gonna try to grab on to me, and I'm gonna keep hitting him until he gives up," countered Silva, getting the last word before the two meet again for Friday's weigh in.
Is it fight night yet?

subset: commoncrawl


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Bombardier Presents FLEXITY 2 Trams for the Gold Coast, Australia
September 20, 2013 in Electric Vehicles, EV News, Light Rail
- First trams for stage one of the Gold Coast light rail transit system (GCLRT)
- The world's first trams to be designed and built to include surf board racks
Rail technology leader Bombardier Transportation today presented the first BOMBARDIER FLEXITY 2 tram for the Gold Coast Light Rail system. At a ceremony to mark the launch of the new branding for operator franchisee, GoldLinQ, Dan Osborne, Managing Director of Bombardier Transportation Australia, introduced the new light rail vehicle to an audience of Gold Coast local officials, dignitaries and community representatives as well as project stakeholders.
The GCLRT project is part of an 18-year public private partnership contract between the Queensland State Government and GoldLinQ. As operator franchisee of stage one of the GCLRT, GoldLinQ, a consortium that includes Bombardier Transportation, is responsible for the design, construction, operations and maintenance. The first phase of the project will connect Gold Coast University Hospital to Broadbeach. The line will be serviced by a fleet of 14 seven-module FLEXITY 2 trams, to be delivered by Bombardier over the next four months.
FLEXITY 2 is the latest tram technology from Bombardier, the market leader in the light rail segment.
After a two-and-a-half-month sea journey, the first two FLEXITY 2 trams for the Gold Coast arrived in the Port of Brisbane on September 10, 2013 and were transported to the depot in complete units, using a specially designed 20 axle steerable trailer. The first tram will undergo testing and commissioning on the first section of the corridor, running from the depot along Queen and Nerang streets to Southport.
A further six trams, built in Germany, are on their way to Australia, with the remaining trams scheduled to be delivered by early 2014. Passenger services on stage one are expected to commence from mid-2014.
Based on Bombardier's highly successful FLEXITY family of light rail vehicles that combines proven technology with continuous improvement and innovation, the Gold Coast tram has been specifically styled by Bombardier's Industrial Design team in Brisbane to include a wave motif on the cab front. The tram is 43.4 m long and 2.65 m wide with seven modules for higher capacity and better passenger flow. It features the signature blue and gold colours of the Gold Coast and is the first tram in the world designed and built to carry surf boards on specially designed racks. These trams also feature the most powerful air-conditioning system for this class of tram, suitable for Australia's hot summers.
As well as having 100% low floor technology for optimal ride comfort, the FLEXITY 2 trams reflect Bombardier's commitment to sustainability in public transport. The twin benefits of saving energy and reducing CO2 emissions, for example through the integration of the energy efficient BOMBARDIER MITRAC propulsion system, also help reduce operating costs. More than 4,000 Bombardier trams and light rail vehicles are in revenue service or on order in more than 75 cities across Europe, Australia and North America.
About Bombardier Transportation
Bombardier Transportation, a global leader in rail technology, offers the broadest portfolio in the rail industry and delivers innovative products and services that set new standards in sustainable mobility. In Australia, Bombardier employs over 800 people to manufacture and maintain a wide range of rolling stock products for urban and suburban operations. Bombardier Transportation is headquartered in Berlin, Germany, and has a very diverse customer base with products or services in more than 60 countries. It has an installed base of over 100,000 vehicles worldwide.
About Bombardier
Bombardier is the world's only manufacturer of both planes and trains. Looking far ahead while delivering today, Bombardier is evolving mobility worldwide by answering the call for more efficient, sustainable and enjoyable transportation everywhere. Our vehicles, services and, most of all, our employees are what make us a global leader in transportation.
Bombardier is headquartered in Montréal, Canada. Our shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (BBD) and we are listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability World and North America Indexes. In the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012, we posted revenues of $16.8 billion. News and information are available at bombardier.com or follow us on Twitter @Bombardier.
This article is a repost, credit: Bombardier.


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Studied Homeopathic Remedies
- A Combination Treatment of Oral Antimonium crudum plus Topical Thuja and Nitric acidum
- Antimonium crudum
- Calcarea carbonica
- Nitric acidum
- Thuja occidentalis
- Natrum muriaticum
- Sepia
- Staphysagria
- Sulphur
- Causticum
Warts are benign tumors on the skin caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV). Although they are not dangerous, warts can be uncomfortable and unsightly.
Scientific Evaluations of Homeopathic Remedies for Warts
While the list of classical homeopathic treatments for warts is rather long, there is as yet no real evidence that any of them are effective.
One large, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial with 174 participants tested a fixed homeopathic treatment plan for plantar warts (warts on the soles of the feet). 1 The trial involved a 6-week course of treatment consisting of one tube of Thuja 30c weekly, five pellets of Antimonium crudum 7c daily, and one tube of Nitric acidum 7c daily. The results of this complex protocol were not encouraging: at the end of the treatment period and the post-treatment follow-up, homeopathic treatment of plantar warts had not proved itself any more effective than placebo.
Another double-blind, placebo-controlled trial with a negative outcome enrolled 70 children with warts on the backs of their hands. 2 These children were assessed according to classical homeopathy for assignment to one of 10 preselected remedies. Each participant was then randomly treated with either the remedy indicated by the assessment, or placebo. Once more, the results were disappointing.
In classical homeopathy , there are many possible homeopathic treatments for warts, to be chosen based on various specific details of the person seeking treatment.
People who can be described as romantic, gluttonous, sleepy, weary, peevish, and sulky and who have horny warts on the hands and feet or flat warts fit the symptom picture for Antimonium crudum .
Those who have cold hands, feet, knees, and head; whose hands are clammy; and who sweat on the top of the head at night, fit the picture for Calcarea carbonica . It is often used for babies and children.
Practitioners use Nitric acidum to treat large jagged warts that bleed when washed and Thuja occidentalis to treat warts that are large, seedy, and pedunculated (meaning they have a stalk at the base).
If you are a responsible, reserved person with hot, moist palms but skin that is drying and cracking around the nail beds; who does not like direct prolonged exposure to the sun; who suffers from headaches; and who has skin conditions, like warts or other skin conditions, like fever blisters or eczema, Natrum muriaticum might be the right classical remedy for you.
Sepia (the ink from a cuttlefish) is a remedy used for many skin conditions. The skin of a patient needing Sepia is described as blotchy, dry, rough, and cracked or crusty, and pigmented with freckles, moles, sun spots, and age spots. The warts of a patient who could use Sepia may, over time, have also developed pigmentation.
The warts of a patient who may fit the picture for Staphysagria are said to look like figs or cauliflowers on stalks. Itching is another characteristic of the skin symptoms indicating this remedy.
The homeopathic indications for Sulphur go on for pages. Among its many other uses, Sulphur is traditionally used to treat skin symptoms, including warts. The skin of a patient who might respond well to Sulphur is typically dry, warm, and red. Unfortunately, this remedy also has a reputation for aggravating the skin symptoms of some people.
Finally, if you have warts located on the tips of your fingers or nose, Causticum might be appropriate. The warts described for this remedy are large and jagged and bleed easily.
For a thorough explanation of homeopathy, including dilution of therapies, see the Homeopathy Overview .
REF1 Labrecque M, Audet D, Latulippe LG, Drouin J. Homeopathic treatment of warts. CMAJ . 1992;146:1749–1753.
REF2 Kainz JT, Kozel G, Haidvoge M, Smolle J. Homeopathic versus placebo therapy of children with warts on the hands: a randomized double-blind clinical trial. Dermatology . 1996;193:318–320.


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Lindsay Lohan called into TMZ yesterday. Click here if you have the time to listen to almost 15 minutes of a liar's denial. I did. So I can save you the waste. In short:
Her dad is the enemy and her ma, Dina, is the real hero, and Dina doesn't use cocaine, and yes she gave her $40K to pay off her debts because Michael doesn't pay child support.
Lindsay admitted that she lied about her mother using coke because she was angry and insisted that Dina does not have substance abuse issues so ...that means she must be telling the truth now? How does that even happen? That you're so mad at your ma you'd make up a story about her being on drugs? I can understand name-calling but drug use is quite a false accusation to just throw down in the heat of an argument. And to do it on the phone with someone who's been your mother's adversary for so many years? To me that speaks to character. This girl will say ANYTHING. Any time. All the time. And this time she's saying that she's done with her dad. That it's over. Or until she and Dina hit up a club again and get into a scrap at 4am. There will never be an end to the drama if you're always out at 4am.
As for the money -- the NY Post is reporting that Dina's $1.3 million in debt. Most of it is because of the house. She bought the house for $1.1 million. She still owes over $900,000 on it. I can't understand this. And I know she's not the only one. There are so many, so many people living in homes they can't afford. Like it's the same as saying "dress for the job you want, not the one you have". Dina Lohan lives in a home she can't afford because she thinks she's too good to live in one that she can afford. This, obviously, is a quality she's passed on to her daughter. Which explains this tweet - click here to see the photo with the caption:
Birkin. Mac Computer. Chanel and a jet. Never quit fighting to live your dreams. God Bless.
It's never free, is it? And what does Lindsay Lohan have to exchange in order to get a ride on a private jet with some skeezy millionaire? Whatever it is, mom totally approves. Mom would do it herself if those skeezy billionaires were interested.
Here's Lindsay last night at some event to promote some energy drink. You can imagine then the low quality guest list at this party. But Lorella just messaged me all WTF because Anna Kendrick was there too. Someone needs to have a talk with Anna Kendrick's people.


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Love in the wet weather creek bed
And The Whole Picture
Want to see more heart rocks?
6/13/05: First Heart Rocks To Appear On Farmgirl Fare
8/22/05: Heart Rocks By The Barn
11/10/05: Hearts & Cats For Clare & Kiri
2/14/06: Happy Valentine's Day
3/27/06: Happy Birthday To My Sweetheart, Joe
4/12/06: Hearts & Rocks & Numbers & Thoughts
6/17/06: I Heart Homegrown Garlic
7/22/06: Heart Rock Embedded In The Front Step
9/20/06: Heart Rocks, Morning Sun
10/18/06: My Little Girl Is Growing Up
12/2/06: Snowstorms & Snowfall
1/17/07: My Heart Is Embedded In This Place
6/12/07: Hold Life In Your Hand & Keep It In Your Heart
1/9/08: Adding To My Heart Rock Collection
2/8/08: Handful Of Heart Rocks All Found At Once
2/14/08: Happy Valentine's Day
3/8/08: My Hearts Overfloweth
3/27/08: Little Hearts, Big Love
5/13/08: Still Collecting Heart Rocks
© FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where you may not always see the whole picture, but Lucky Buddy Bear is usually in it — and it's always a good idea to sign up for the super duper extended coverage AAA membership when you live in the middle of nowhere, since yesterday we broke our previous 'farthest we've ever been towed home after breaking down' record of 100 miles by another 70 miles.
Yep, we rode 170 miles in a tow truck, and as he unloaded our pickup in front of The Shack, the driver announced that we'd won both the Longest Tow and Most Remote Location awards. He also asked if we'd ever seen the movie "Deliverance." I told him everybody asks us that. (I've never actually seen the movie — and have been told more than once I don't need to.)


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Moss Ground Covers
While moss is often cursed as a weed encroaching on healthy lawn, it is more likely an indicator that your soil and site are not ideally suited for grass. Instead, embrace and cultivate the moss as a hardy and attractive ground cover.
Where to grow moss
Moss creates a thick, velvety green mat in spots where most grasses and other plants struggle. Consider moss for areas with:
• Deep shade
• Compacted soil
• Moist, acid soil
• Shady slopes
• Shallow, difficult soil near tree trunks and roots.
Moss can also handle some light foot traffic. On the other hand, moss will struggle and give way to weeds in bright sunlight.
How to grow moss
Those who struggle to get rid of moss in their lawns might be surprised to learn how difficult it can be to intentionally establish. It generally does not spread very quickly, and will go dormant during any dry periods.
Barbara Ellis, author of "Covering Ground: Unexpected Ideas for Landscaping with Colorful, Low-Maintenance Ground Covers," offers a plan for establishing a moss garden.
First, have the soil tested and add sulfur if needed, to lower the pH to an acidic level between 5 and 5.5. However, avoid digging up the soil too much, as moss prefers firmly packed ground.
For spots with some moss, reducing the pH, misting with water and pulling some competing weeds should help spread the moss.
For new moss gardens, Ellis recommends collecting unwanted moss from another corner of the yard or a neighbor's garden (they will likely be happy to let you pull up the moss for them).
There is likely no need to pay for moss, but if you must, look for local growers with established species that grow well in your area. Star, fern, broom, cedar and hairy cap moss varieties all are known for growing in a variety of climates. To plant moss sheets, adjust the soil to optimal acidity, clear the area, rake the surface and soak with water, then firmly press the sheets into place.
Ellis suggests crumbling the moss into a blender and adding equal proportions of buttermilk and water, and some stale beer. Blend until it is slightly thinner than pancake batter. Then pour the mix on your prospective moss garden site until the moss starts to grow. Mist regularly with water for several weeks, until the moss is thoroughly established.
Once established, Ellis notes it is virtually maintenance-free, as long as leaves and other debris do not smother the moss.
Moss also thrives under the same conditions as most azaleas and rhododendrons, so they make good ground cover companions.
Other uses for moss
Moss is a traditional ground cover in bonsai containers. It also works well between stones or pavers in a garden path, and between the rocks in a rock garden.
Mimicking moss
In addition to a variety of true mosses, some mossy-looking and mossy-sounding plants also make great ground covers.
• Irish moss or Scotch moss (sagina subulata) is a moss-like groundcover with small white summer flowers. It is ideal for rock gardens, but can be a grass substitute for some sites. It does best in rich, well-drained acid soils, according to Ellis, and is hardy in zones 5 to 9. Be sure to find the sagina species, as several other plants are also often sold as Scotch or Irish moss. Irish moss thrives in zones 6 to 9.
• Moss campion (silene acaulis) is a common wildflower in the high European and North American alpine tundra, but it can also be purchased and grown between paving stones in the higher reaches of zones 3 to 5. It grows in small mounds about 2 inches tall, and has a profusion of tiny flowers for a brief period in the summer.
• Moss pink or creeping phlox (phlox subulate) is another good option for garden paths and rock gardens. It forms a mossy carpet, but has plenty of spring flowers. Unlike true moss, it thrives in dry, sunny soil and does not tolerate much trampling, according to Diane Relf of Virginia Cooperative Extension. A variety of phlox cultivars are available and hardy in zones 3 to 8.
Steve Graham writes for networx.com.
Updated April 24, 2018.
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Saturday, July 18, 2009
Pathmark carries expired Baby Food
D ,my husband took them back to the store and notified customer service about it. They simply said, they would remove the expired products from the shelves.
Today I was back at the same store. Now I was more aware and I checked the dates before picking up the Gerber containers from the shelves. However there were very few of the Organic Gerber varieties available and so I started checking the Beech & Nut Naturals. And what do I see ? Products with expiry date stamped as April 2009. Today being July 18th, 2009 the product had already expired 3 months back and yet they were still sitting on the shelf.
When I complained to customer service, they simply said it was a vendor packaging issue and were not even apologetic. They did say they will remove these products from the shelves. But I don't understand how the store could be so careless and nonchalant even after our initial complaint. These were all Stage 2 foods and could be potentially harmful for a 6+ month old baby. The way the expiry date is printed, it is not something that is at your face, you need to look for it and I am sure many parents would not pay much attention while picking up these packs.
I have filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. I would urge all parents to check the dates on such packaged baby foods and lodge a complaint when they find something amiss.
Is there anything more I can do ?
* Please don't leave a comment if you think I am terribly wrong in feeding my baby Gerber. All constructive comments are welcome.
Edited to Add: I have sent e-mails to PathMark customer care and to the mayor's office of the township. No one has got back. I don't think the manufacturers are even responsible for this, so haven't called them yet. Test
28 comments:
- shilpaJuly 19, 2009 5:52 AM
Yes. Make your own baby food. Sorry that may sound rude, but that is not how I mean it at all. The jarred baby food, expired or not expired taste horrible.
ReplyDelete Shilpa
First of all your comment is not at all constructive but I am replying to debunk some myths
I don't know if you have kids or not or if you are scarred having eaten horrible baby food but seriously all baby food is not horrible.
If you wish, taste the Apple-Strawberry or Pear or such. They are pretty good and my 5 year old likes a spoon of them when I am feeding the baby. If you have a mailing address I can send you some.
It is not easy to find and buy all those organic fruit and veggies to make the 5 and 1/2 servings through out the day.Where I am all grocery stores do not carry a good variety of organic fruits and veggies.
I do make a khichdi every day for her lunch and also vegetables like squash, carrots and spinach which I can buy organic are made into home made baby food. Fruits like banana with a thick skin that can be peeled are also in her diet.
Making all of your own baby food that includes variety is hard for working Moms. If you do that kudos to you.That's horrible. I have a 15 month old and feed him baby food too. Will check all the dates right away.
I think you should also complain to Gerber directly. Call the customer service number or fill out a customer service form on their website. I am sure it is not Gerber's problem as Pathmark is stocking up expired baby food. But still you should let them know about it.
I once had a problem with Dannon yogurt - I think it was the Danimals yogurt. Everytime I opened a new cup I would notice small hairs in the yogurt. It happened with one particular batch I bought. I immediately called Dannon and they said they would look into it. They took the details of the store where I bought it from.
Definitely it is always 'buyer beware' but notifying the company would ensure such things don't happen in the future.
Do keep us updated.Sandeepa, i agree with you, being working & with 2 kids, it is not possible to make everything at home.. i did the same thing.. made the main meal but did buy the fruits & some veggies of gerber or tender harvest. only someone who has to juggle everything together would understand how impossible it is to steam fruits & veggies( & all the cleaning & everything else after that) every single time..
the jars work great outside home, & our entire family ate the mango & guava:-)
You should call Gerber & Beechnut & let them know that Pathmark is carrying expired food! This is shocking & thank god you checked. I never checked jars.. just becoz i never thought anything like could happen.Thanks Lakshmi and Soma for being Moms who understand :)
I will call Gerber but it is not really their issue. I think since the organic line does not move as fast as the regular ones, the expired ones still sits there without being checked.
I haven't tried the guava, I have heard it is yummy thoughThank U Sandeepa, I buy Gerber too and usually get fresh stock at the local Albertsons, but will check just to make sure!
I once got beech nut, but opening the jar found the cap had a kinda fungus(?) whatever, it did not look good, I returned them to the store and exchanged it for Gerber.
Have u written / called the Gerber line? Maybe they can help as well...
As for making baby food at home, well, we can have different opinions, however, Gerber has quality food and personally, I feel that the pureed food is good for the baby , it is difficult to get that kind of smooth puree with the small quantity that the baby eats, so making just 2/ 3 oz of puree is kinda difficult. I would rather spend that time playing with my baby than struggling to cook, steam, mash, puree , strain food/ veges.- AnonymousJuly 19, 2009 3:59 PM
I am a full time Mom and it is difficult for even me to bring variety to the table when you have to frequently feed a growing child. Once or twice you do end up giving them packaged food.Do we not add Horlicks, moltova etc to the milk? If that is ok, how is this wrong??
I am sure if u complained to a government agency which looks into food safety matters, it would be bring better results.
Nikki - AnonymousJuly 19, 2009 5:15 PM
Wow, that is scary.. I always check the ingredients and the expiry when I buy stuff..just don't trust the companies. Isn't BBB only for small businesses? But yea, good that you complained to BBB. I think you should call gerber and always check the expiry dates and also the ingredients.. on another note, did you know that "Natural flavors" in labelling can also be MSG? Marketing genius I guess
Anu - AnonymousJuly 19, 2009 5:20 PM
Well, just to speak to Manasi's comment on pureeing vegetables taking time, I usually pressure cook them (so don't even have to chop properly) and then puree in a sumeet small blender..doesn't take much time. You could do larger quantities and just freeze them. That way I know what's going inside my baby.
BTW, a few years ago, gerber baby purees had contamination in Southern California and there was food poisning. So don't go by the brand.. nothing's infallible. OMG!! how callous are some people huh....it is not enough that we as adults are suject to expired and toxic stuff..they do not leave babies alone...miserable...good on complaining and maybe let everyone you know around ur neighbourhood about this...perhaps..bad publicity will help them to get more careful..
ReplyDeleteI am surpised that any store would be so least concerned about the expiry date of a baby food in particular. Good you filed a complaint with BBB. Also, a good reminder for all of us moms to keep an eye on the expiry date.
As for the first comment on this post - Jarred baby food does not taste bad at all. And the question here is ethics of the stores selling baby food and not so about the usage of jarred baby food or not.
Also, it is not just working moms who feed gerber. Stay at home moms do too. There is nothing wrong with jarred baby food. Like Sandeepa's kid, my daughter eats home made food and gerber both. The applesauce is something I taste a spoon every once in a while.Raise a hue and cry, contact local media including television and print media. This sort of apathetic behavior needs to be highlighted. It doesn't surprise me that the fact you are a person of Indian origin had a effect on the attitude of Pathmark officials otherwise I am sure it would have been different. Whats appalling is that this concerns newborns and their lives and here we have total irresponsible behavior by a big company. This has to be highlighted.
ReplyDeleteI am sure this is completely unethical business practise not to mention something they can get into serious trouble considering the food they are selling are for babies. I would say follow up on that complaint and make noise so that its heard.
Are you sure they didn't apologize? What the heck is wrong with them?!Manasi
Yes, it indeed is time consuming to make all the servings at home especially with no house help at all
I will call Gerber tomorrow
Shall post @DMC
Issue is not about home food or not and nothing is "wrong" really. What is "wrong" is the store carrying expired baby food and not regulating such things.
I don't know about agency, will see to find
Thanks , yeah I know should do that. I try to look for the MSG in ingreds list of chips/crackers etc. but then there is only so much you can do.I don't have babies but this sounds real bad. I mean if they have stamped expired products with a recent date, that means it is intentional. What do they think ... consumers cannot read?
I think you can send an email to the company Sandeepa ... it will matter as they should know which of their retailers are stocking what. And more importantly ... the consumers are aware. Am sure they'll like the feedback and do something about it.Anon
Thanks for the info
Rajitha, Shreya, Arup, Nags
I would love to take this up to higher authority or media, but don't know how. One more thing that I didn't do is take a picture. Actually when the customer service guy was being insensitive, I did fish out my phone and tried taking a pic of the product with the expired date, but he snatched the jar away saying I am not allowed to take pics inside the store.
I sent my husband ten minutes later to take the pic but by then they had removed the expired productsWhoa!! This is serious... They put the expired jars on the shelves even after you complained?? Write to your local newspapers too, if you can. It will create an awareness and more people will start looking at the expiry dates.
I witnessed an incident concerning baby food which makes my blood boil till now. There was this woman who opened a few bottles of the food jar and sniffed at that them. I told her that she shouldn't open them and she gave me a look of disbelief and said 'how would you know if they smell bad'. ARGGGGGHHHHHH!!! Once the seal gets broken, the food starts spoiling right away since these baby jars are not refrigerated. I made a complaint too, but no, the store couldn't do anything about it. :(
And I also started looking for sealed jars after that incident. You can look at the lids and find if they are sealed. Slightly pop a jar open and put it next to an unopened jar [at home], you'll know the difference to look for.Kay
I get those boxes with a lid, the boxes not jars. Gerber has mostly these kinds for Organic Stage 1 & 2 these days. Maybe they got to know about your incident.
After my first complaint I think what they did is remove Expired products from gerber. The were so callous that they didn't check the other brands. This time it was Beech & Nut that I chanced to look uponThank god you checked the expiry date . Yes most of the working mom depend on packed baby food . Its not wrong . But the store people how they can be so irresponsible by doing this kind of thing ? & that too informing them once ?
I don't have any baby but I have friends who have babies & they use store bought baby food . I will tell them to keep on eye , whenever they bought those foods .
Thanks sandeepa to inform us this & I think if possible inform local authourities ( government )about this . Because I really don't think this local supermarket will do anything about this matter .- AnonymousAugust 03, 2009 7:59 PM
Hello! I think more should be done about supermarkets keeping expired foods stocked. I went to a C-town in my neighborhood and they were selling expired cookies at a discounted price. (non-expired of the same were at regular price) (ON the same shelf) I'm pretty sure the cookies didn't taste any good and it probably would make any baby sick. I notified the store manager and today its still on the shelf. Some one should make this a serious matter so no one gets hurt. It's a damn shame! I try to check the dates on all the products I purchase, but like always sometimes whether because I'm rushing or just not thinking, may overlook it, the expiration dates are so small. I was considering making bright labels and mark the products at the supermarket myself to warn other people of the expired items.
ReplyDelete - AnonymousOctober 30, 2009 12:25 AM
Hi, my wife visits your blog and mentioned this incident to me. I work in their IT dept, and would like to follow up on this incident within the company with some specifics. Could you pls. provide the town/state where you encountered this so that I can include in my correspondence?
There are strict policies within the co., however it's success depends on the labor staff within the store. Of course, the lack of action from the customer service is inexcusable.


text:
Justin Williams scored 4:36 into overtime after a turnover by Dan Girardi, and the Los Angeles Kings beat the New York Rangers 3-2 on Wednesday night in the Stanley Cup finals opener.
Williams was left alone in the slot after Girardi's pass from his knees went straight to Mike Richards. Williams put his eighth goal of the postseason past Henrik Lundqvist, who made 40 saves and nearly stole an early win for the Rangers.
Jonathan Quick made 25 saves for the Kings, who moved one victory closer to their second Stanley Cup title in three years after a hair-raising opener.
Game 2 is Saturday at Staples Center.
Kyle Clifford had a goal and an assist for Los Angeles, and Drew Doughty scored the tying goal in the second period as the Kings overcame yet another early deficit in a postseason full of comebacks.
The Kings hadn't won an overtime playoff game at home since May 6, 2001. Williams attributed the win to "resilience and believing. Certainly it was not the start we wanted, but we got the result we wanted."
Benoit Pouliot scored on a breakaway and Carl Hagelin got a short-handed goal in the first period, but the Rangers spent much of the final two periods on their heels. Lundqvist had several outstanding saves as the Swedish star began his attempt to win his first Stanley Cup, but had no chance on Williams' winner.
Los Angeles outshot New York 20-3 in the third period, becoming the first team to get 20 shots in a finals period in 16 years. The Kings also got a power play with 1:36 left, setting up a wild finish to regulation.
Moments after Hagelin was denied by Quick on yet another short-handed breakaway, Jeff Carter was stopped agonizingly short of a wraparound goal by Lundqvist, sending the Kings to their third straight overtime playoff game.
The tension-filled opener was a fitting start to the finals for two teams that traversed perilous paths to the first New York-L.A. championship playoff meeting since the Yankees-Dodgers World Series in 1981.
The Kings and the Rangers played a combined 41 games in the first three rounds — just one fewer than the maximum — to emerge from the middle of the playoff pack.
The series is big news in the nation's two biggest cities: Staples Center was packed for the opener with roaring Kings fans still not quite accustomed to their club's recent success. Meanwhile, thousands of New Yorkers packed Bryant Park to watch on video boards.
The Kings and Rangers hadn't met in seven months, but New York's speed quickly caused problems for Los Angeles, leading to an early two-goal advantage.
Pouliot scored the first goal of the series on a breakaway, stealing the puck from Doughty and skating past a stumbling Jake Muzzin. The Rangers' small contingent of fans roared again 2:42 later when Hagelin's breakaway shot was kicked in by Slava Voynov, who hadn't been able to keep up with Hagelin out of the New York zone.
Los Angeles answered late in the period when Carter passed from behind the net to Clifford, who banged in a sharp-angled shot for his first playoff goal since April 23, 2011. The grinding forward had played 37 straight postseason games without a goal.
Doughty tied it for the Kings with a beautiful move, toe-dragging around Derek Dorsett and firing a wrist shot past Lundqvist for his fourth goal in six games.
Los Angeles had the first 14 shots in the third period, but Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals went to overtime for the third straight season.


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Home » ReR Label » HACO: Ash in the Rainbow
HACO: Ash in the Rainbow
Out of print immediately after release, now re-issued. A test-bed of experimental arrangement and production ideas set in the context of songs that only just hold together - exquisitely realised. Extraordinary sounds, treatments and arrangements - in part because the whole project was made, so to say, in reverse - starting life in a body of existing material by Avant Garde Cellist Hiromichi Sakomoto, then reworked, with texts, vocals and other materials added (reversed vibraphone, and all manner of percussion, for instance)..by the incomparable Haco. One of a kind.
Only available at this price as part of the ReR Sale Offer (minimum) 4 titles)
Code: ReRHACO3
Price: £5.00


text:
Last week, Fox and Friends saw a photo on The Drudge Report and started saying that President Obama had time to sit down with a comical "pirate" but not to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The only problem: The photo was three years old.
This week, MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell was fooled by Politico's "story" that GOP vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan calls his running mate Mitt Romney "the stench."
Now Iran's Fars News Agency has bitten on The Onion's "report" that "according to the results of a Gallup poll released Monday, the overwhelming majority of rural white Americans said they would rather vote for Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad than U.S. president Barack Obama ."
"Rural Whites Prefer Ahmadinejad to Obama" says Fars' headline.
Here's hoping we're not the next news outlet to be duped.
By the way, did you hear about how it may be healthier to squat than it is to sit when it comes to ... doing your dootie? (That's actually real news, our friends at the Shots blog say.)
Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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Machine Learning
Contents[hide] |
[edit]Join the Mailing List
[edit]Next Meeting
- When: Thursday, August 14, 2014 @ 6:00pm
- Where: 2169 Mission St. (Church classroom)
- Topic:
- Details:
- Who: Andy McMurry
[edit]Learn about Data Science and Machine Learning
- Coursera Machine Learning Course with Andrew Ng
- Coursera Computational Neuroscience Course with Adrienne Fairhall
- MIT Machine Learning Class with Tommi Jaakkola
- Stanford CS229
- Carnegie Mellon Machine Learning Course with Tom Mitchell
- Linear Algebra with Gilbert Strang
- Neural Networks Class with Hugo Larochelle
- Elements of Statistical Learning
- Pattern Recognition and Machine Learning
- Information Theory, Inference, and Learning Algorithms
- Interactive Data Visualization for the Web (D3)
- Introduction to R
- Introduction to Probability (Grinstead and Snell)
- Modern Introduction to Probability and Statistics (Kraaikamp and Meester)
- Bayesian Reasoning and Machine Learning
[edit]Noisebridge ML Class Slides
- Intro to Machine Learning
- A Brief Tour of Statistics
- Generalized Linear Models
- Neural Nets Workshop
- Support Vector Machines
- Random Forests
- Independent Components Analysis
- Deep Nets
[edit]Code and SourceForge Site
- We have a Sourceforge Project
- We have a git repository on the project page, accessible as:
git clone git://ml-noisebridge.git.sourceforge.net/gitroot/ml-noisebridge/ml-noisebridge
- Send an email to the list if you want to become an administrator on the site to get write access to the git repo!
[edit]Future Talks and Topics, Ideas
- Random Forests in R
- Restricted Boltzmann Machines (Mike S, some day)
- Analyzing brain cells (Mike S)
- Deep Nets w/ Stacked Autoencoders (Mike S, some day)
- Generalized Linear Models (Mike S, Erin L? some day)
- Graphical Models
- Working with the Kinect
- Computer Vision with OpenCV
- Small Group Subproblems
- Fundraising
- Noisebridge Machine Learning Course
- Kaggle Social Network Contest
- KDD Competition 2010
[edit]Datasets and Websites
- UCI Machine Learning Repository
- DataSF.org
- Infochimps
- Face Recognition Databases
- Time Series Data Library
- Data Q&A Forum
- Metaoptimize
- Quora ML Page
- A ton of Weather Data
- MLcomp
- Upload your algorithm and objectively compare it's performance to other algorithms
- Social Security Death Master File!
- SIPRI Social Databases
- Wealth of information on international arms transfers and peace missions.
- Amazon AWS Public Datasets
- UCDP/PRIO Armed Conflict Datasets
- Socrata Government Datasets
- US City Census Data
- Yahoo Labs Datasets
[edit]Software Tools
[edit]Generic ML Libraries
- Weka
- a collection of data mining tools and machine learning algorithms.
- scikits.learn
- Machine learning Python package
- scikits.statsmodels
- Statistical models to go with scipy
- PyBrain
- Does feedforward, recurrent, SOM, deep belief nets.
- c-based SVM package
- PyML
- Modular framework, has lots of stuff!
- VirtualBox Virtual Box Image with Pre-installed Libraries listed here
- sympy Does symbolic math
- Waffles
- Open source C++ set of machine learning command line tools.
- RapidMiner
- Mobile Robotic Programming Toolkit
- nitime
- NeuroImaging in Python, has some good time series analysis stuff and multi-variate response fitting.
- Pandas
- Data analysis workflow in python
- PyTables
- Adds querying capabilities to HDF5 files
- statsmodels
- Regression, time series analysis, statistics stuff for python
- Vowpal Wabbit
- "Intrinsically Fast" implementation of gradient descent for large datasets
- Shogun
- Fast implementations of SVMs
- High performance scalable ML Library
- Torch
- MATLAB-like environment for state-of-the art ML libraries written in LUA
[edit]Deep Nets
- Theano
- Symbolic Expressions and Transparent GPU Integration
- Caffe
- Convolutional Neural Networks on GPU
- Neurolab
- Has support for recurrent neural nets
[edit]Online ML
- MOA (Massive Online Analysis)
- Offshoot of weka, has all online-algorithms
- Jubatus
- Distributed Online ML
- MATLAB-based online learning stuff
- libol
- oll
- scw-learning
[edit]Graphical Models
- MCMC for Bayesian Models
- Hierarchical Bayesian Models
- Stan
- A graphical model compiler
- Jayes
- Bayesian networks in Java
- ToPS
- Probabilistic models of sequences
- PyMC
- Bayesian Models in Python
[edit]Text Stuff
- Beautiful Soup
- Screen-scraping tools
- Tool for embedding strings into vector spaces
- Gensim
- Topic modeling
[edit]Collaborative Filtering
- Personalized Recommendation Algorithms Toolkit
- SVDFeature
- Collaborative Filtering and Ranking Toolkit
[edit]Computer Vision
- OpenCV
- Computer Vision Library
- Has ML component (SVM, trees, etc)
- Online tutorials here
- Generic C++ ML and Computer Vision Library
- PetaVision
- Developing a real-time, full-scale model of the primate visual cortex.
[edit]Audio Processing
- Friture
- Real-time spectrogram generation
- pyo
- Real-time audio signal processing
- PYMir
- A library for reading mp3's into python, and doing analysis
- Speech analysis toolkit
- Sound Analysis Pro
- Tool for analyzing animal sounds
- Luscinia
- Software for archiving, measuring, and analyzing bioacoustic data
- List of Sound Tools for Python
- Jasper
- Voice-control anything!
[edit]Data Visualization
- Orange
- Strong data visualization component
- Gephi
- Graph Visualization
- ggplot
- Nice plotting package for R
- MayaVi2
- 3D Scientific Data Visualization
- Cytoscape
- A JavaScript graph library for analysis and visualisation
- plot.ly
- Web-based plotting
- D3 Ebook
- Has a good list of HTML/CSS/Javascript data visualization tools.
- plotly
- Python plotting tool
[edit]Cluster Computing
- Mahout
- Hadoop cluster based ML package.
- STAR: Cluster
- Easily build your own Python computing cluster on Amazon EC2
[edit]Database Stuff
[edit]Neural Simulation
[edit]Presentations and other Materials
- Awesome Machine Learning Applications -- A list of cool applications of ML
- Hands-on Machine Learning, a presentation jbm gave on 2009-01-07.
- http://www.youtube.com/user/StanfordUniversity#g/c/A89DCFA6ADACE599 Stanford Machine Learning online course videos]
- Media:Brief_statistics_slides.pdf, a presentation given on statistics for the machine learning group
- LinkedIn discussion on good resources for data mining and predictive analytics
- Face Recognition Algorithms
- Max Welling's ML classnotes
[edit]Topics to Learn and Teach
NBML Course - Noisebridge Machine Learning Curriculum (work-in-progress)
CS229 - The Stanford Machine learning Course @ noisebridge
- Supervised Learning
- Linear Regression
- Linear Discriminants
- Neural Nets/Radial Basis Functions
- Support Vector Machines
- Classifier Combination [1]
- A basic decision tree builder, recursive and using entropy metrics
- Unsupervised Learning
- Hidden Markov Models
- Clustering: PCA, k-Means, Expectation-Maximization
- Graphical Modeling
- Generative Models: gaussian distribution, multinomial distributions, HMMs, Naive Bayes
- Deep Belief Networks & Restricted Boltzmann Machines
- Reinforcement Learning
- Temporal Difference Learning
- Math, Probability & Statistics
- Metric spaces and what they mean
- Fundamentals of probabilities
- Decision Theory (Bayesian)
- Maximum Likelihood
- Bias/Variance Tradeoff, VC Dimension
- Bagging, Bootstrap, Jacknife [2]
- Information Theory: Entropy, Mutual Information, Gaussian Channels
- Estimation of Misclassification [3]
- No-Free Lunch Theorem [4]
- Machine Learning SDK's
- Applications
- Collective Intelligence & Recommendation Engines


text:
I have been enjoying cherries by the bowl full lately and while I was snacking on a bowl I was thinking about ice cream. I remembered seeing Mike's cherry frozen yogurt with chocolate stracciatella at Mike's Table and thinking that I just had to try it. I realized that I had not really done an ice cream with chocolate chips and now was the perfect time since cherries and chocolate go so well together. This recipe did not however call for chocolate chips but rather melted chocolate was poured into the ice cream when it was almost done and still in the maker which sounded like fun. I went with my standard ice cream base and I used halved cherries as I wanted some nice big chunks of cherries in the ice cream. The stracciatella ice cream was a bit more challenging to make than normal ice cream as you have to time the melting of the chocolate and pouring it into the ice cream when it is almost done but not quite. The cherry and chocolate stracciatella ice cream turned out really well. I though that I might have poured the chocolate in a bit too late but the chocolate had mostly formed nice little flakes. There were also a few big chunks which were always nice to run into. The cherry and chocolate flavoured creamy ice cream was really good!
Cherry and Chocolate Stracciatella Ice Cream
- 1 cup cherries (pitted and chopped)
- 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup milk
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate
- Heat the cherries and sugar in a small sauce pan until the sugar is dissolved and the cherries are tender, about 10 minutes.
- Heat the cream and milk in a sauce pan until it almost boils, about 5 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to low.
- Add one tablespoon of the cream mixture to the eggs to temper them.
- Add the egg mixture to the sauce pan.
- Cook at low heat until it thickens and can coat the back of a spoon.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the cherries and vanilla extract.
- Chill the mixture in the fridge.
- Start freezing according to the instructions for your ice cream machine.
- When the ice cream is almost done melt the chocolate and pour it into the ice cream in a thin stream.
Black Forest Pancakes


text:
School Fees
In spring 2017, the provincial government passed legislation that sets out what kind of fees schools can and cannot charge for. The changes take effect for the 2017-18 school year.
The fee sheets are detailed and include every fee that might be charged, for every grade. It is important to know that you may not have to pay for every item. Your school will tell you what your fees are in September and will also provide a detailed explanation of what the fee is for, in September.
Based on the changes from the province, your fees may be reduced, eliminated, or may not change at all.
Click here to view fee details for this school


text:
OrthodoxWiki talk:Copyrights
Lack of Authorship/Editorship Information in Encyclopedic Wiki Entries
All what one finds in wikis are IP addresses and nicknames. The lack of clear and complete authorship/editorship information attached to each entry, including authors/editors' affiliations and credentials, is a very serious quality issue encountered in most wiki-based encyclopedias these days (not just OrthodoxWiki). There are no built-in wiki mechanisms or policies to enforce the presence of such metainformation in every article.
Problem with Citations
Citing a wiki page in your work can also be very tricky (unless one uses the new 'permanent link' feature in MediaWiki to point to a specific revision of that page). A page might significantly change and become a totally different article than the one you were originally referring to (while still maintaining the same URI).
Some Related Links
From User:Arbible
As far as Wikipedia is concerned, they explicitly state "a direct link back to the article satisfies our author credit requirement" (wikipedia:Wikipedia:Copyright). I think we should adopt the same explicit policy (and to this end, the "click through" language has recently been revised. I agree about the permalinks -- that's why I'm now recommending that the link to the original article go to the version permalink rather than the article itself (although I'm not requiring it since Wikipedia does not require it for compliance).
As far as OrthodoxWiki is concerned, we don't have the issue with IP addresses. Besides this, an author is free to give as much or as little information about themselves as they wish (on their user page). There is more discussion of this at Help:Citing OrthodoxWiki - please feel free to comment there too. Thanks, — FrJohn (talk)
- Just to confirm - does OrthodoxWiki have the same stipulation as Wikipedia, ie that OrthodoxWiki must be referenced in quotes and borrowed articles? — Pιsτévο, at 22:48, May 31, 2006 (CDT)
- Yes, I believe this is the case, Pistevo. --J. J. 15:32, August 17, 2006 (CDT)
Until I noticed your multimedia announcement today, I hadn't realized that OrthodoxWiki ran under dual licensing. Maybe it would be best to remove the CC image from the footer and replace it with plain text, like "GFDL-CC licensed"—or just remove the image and leave the "Copyright Information" link as-is in the footer. --J. J. 15:32, August 17, 2006 (CDT)
- I think this would be a good idea, actually, especially considering that the consensus over at Wikipedia finds our dual license incompatible with their single one (which would allow material to be brought from there to here, but not here to there).[1]. I've updated the text on this article to make this incompatibility more explicit. —Fr. Andrew talk contribs 14:30, April 24, 2007 (PDT)
Exporting to Wikipedia
I noted that FrJohn weighed in over at Wikipedia stating that material from here could indeed go there.[2] That's of course conflicting with the clarifications I added to this page. I changed it the way I did because of the "both/and" language used throughout rather than the single "either/or" used in Template:Defaultcopy.
It's now not clear to me what the clarification should be, since the "both/and" language seems essentially incompatible with Wikipedia's GFDL-only policy. If we instead choose to opt for the "either/or" which Fr. John's comment on Wikipedia advocated, then we run the risk of having done a bait-and-switch on our licensing: folks contributed thinking that they were issuing their edits under a truly dual license, when they could in fact have been issuing them under either one or the other.
I'm honestly of the opinion that the dual license makes us compatible with WP in only one direction: from there to here. —Fr. Andrew talk contribs 14:50, April 24, 2007 (PDT)
- Okay, it seems that I was wrong in interpreting dual licensing as "both/and" rather than "either/or" (mainly because much of the language in this article used that kind of wording). I've adjusted this article to make the "either/or" language more explicit and consistent. —Fr. Andrew talk contribs 15:24, April 24, 2007 (PDT)
- Hi all, it's not a question of "bait and switch" at all, though I see how this could be confusing. There is, however, a clear context and background for what "dual licensing" and the reasons it was adopted. I probably should've explained this better, although I guess I just had in my head all of the terminology used by the more technical articles I looked at... In any case, it's not a question of us chooisng one interpretation or the other -- it's that using this type of dual license has always implied "either/or" rather than "both/and". — FrJohn (talk)
- ro.OrthodoxWiki.org started, few months ago, with a group of editors from the OrtodoxRoNet romanian orthodox webmasters association. Some of us hesitated, at this time, to enter (or to use our energies) in this project here, arguing that is more important to focus on the Wikipedia project, in order to "preach" or to create visibility for the Orthodoxy on WP, because of the large number of visitors there. Finally, we concluded that the two projects are complementary and we voluntary use articles in this two directions: WP->OW and OW-WP, with the necessaries adaptations. And I think this is very important. - Inistea 16:52, April 24, 2007 (PDT)
- I agree with you, Fr. Julian, and am grateful for your work. There are helpful things which are appropriate for OrthodoxWiki but not for Wikipedia and also the reverse. — FrJohn (talk)
- According to this version of the copyrights page, it seems that OrthodoxWiki used to use CC by-sa as the default license, not CC by-nc-sa as the current page says. Is there something I'm missing? Obviously, this is pretty important: in my view (as a Wikipedia admin & user familiar with copyrights there), it's okay to reuse material there licensed under the CC by-sa license, but not the CC by-nc-sa. CC by-sa is not the same as the GFDL, but they are similar, in that the GFDL doesn't add any restrictions incompatible with the freedoms in CC by-sa, and that the GFDL maintains all the restrictions required by CC by-sa. CC by-nc-sa, however, is a different story. Is there a reason for the change? It happened right around when the licensing policy was changed to the current dual-license thing. Mangojuice 06:50, April 25, 2007 (PDT)
- Hi MangoJuice, good to see you here too. You've made a good catch and it took me a moment to figure it out. The problem is that the Template:Cc page was updated (check out its history). Sadly, were were using by-sa-nc prior to November 2005. We made the changes exactly for the reasons you mentioned. Hope that helps! — FrJohn (talk)
- P.S. I've created a template to mark this earlier content at Template:Prerevised. — FrJohn (talk)
- Okay, i think I've answered my own question. What really matters is MediaWiki:Copyrightwarning, because it wasn't until 11/22/05 that the warning referred to OrthodoxWiki:Copyrights for the copyright policy, and before that, the copyright warning did specify CC by-nc-sa 2.0. That copyrightwarning is the text everyone sees when they submit, so it holds the actual agreement. Mangojuice 07:13, April 25, 2007 (PDT)
- Thanks all for weighing in over at wikipedia and helping us to sort this all out. Your helpfulness is greatly appreciated. -- Pastordavid 09:15, April 25, 2007 (PDT)
Republishing by the author himself
Hi all, I just registered to the greek version and was reading the respective copyrights page in greek. I guess these pages should be exact translations of eachother on all OrthodoxWikis, so I propose here one small change for purposes of clarification. The text says "...and authors remain free to re-issue their own work under any other license they choose". It might be better to clarify that they remain free to re-issue their own work under any other non-exclusive license (or else they would be revoking this already existing one, which they can't do). By submitting here they waive their right to grant exclusive licenses to anybody in the future. This may be of interest to authors who would like to publish their work later with publishers who require exclusive licenses. No big deal - just since the page is in my opinion very well written, this clarification would make things even better. --Αρχίδαμος 11:37, July 23, 2007 (PDT)


text:
This post is in honor of the two best doctors in America, and possibly the world.
While their names aren't known to the general public, they're instantly recognizable to all of us in the medical profession. And, in spite of their amazing talents, neither has ever been recognized by any of the various "Best Doc" magazines published in different cities.
So I feel that, after years of them laboring in secret, it's time to honor them.
Some Guy, M.D. and This Lady, M.D.
And here is why they so richly deserve this honor:
1. Accessibility.
I don't know either of them personally. In fact, they have no phone listing. Yet, they're far more accessible than any other doctor I know. While I only see people in my office, or the hospital, during certain hours, Drs. Guy and Lady are accessible anywhere, anytime. Patients tell me they run into them at grocery stores, beauty salons, amusement parks, laundromats, hardware stores, cocktail parties- anywhere.
I might get a little irritated (okay, a lot irritated) if patients were to corner me for a consultation while I was out with my family, but not Some Guy or This Lady! In fact, from what I've been told, they don't mind at all, and often initiate the discussions themselves!
2. Cost.
This is how I make a living. I like this job, but it's still my job. I have a family to support. So Mary has to make sure we take your insurance, collect your co-pay, etc.
But not Drs. Guy and Lady! They don't check those minor details before providing treatment! As best I can tell, they don't charge anything for their time and advice.
3. Sheer brilliance.
I, and most doctors, do physical exams and order tests. They may vary from a few labs to an MRI, but generally that's how we get an idea of what's going on, and what the best course of action will be. Not Some Guy or This Lady, though!
They appear to have an uncanny knowledge of EXACTLY what's going on with you, even though they never touch you, ask detailed questions, or order any studies whatsoever! I can only assume they must always be right, as my brief search of American medical board records showed that neither of them has ever been subject to a single complaint or lawsuit!
4. Treatments
I prescribe medications. Some are cheap, some hideously expensive. But I do it to help you.
But Drs. Guy and Lady apparently have knowledge of treatments beyond the medical realm, which they generously share free of charge, involving a number of simple over-the-counter remedies that can apparently cure anything.
5. Knowledge.
I'm a specialist. I know a lot about common things in my fields, less about rarer disorders, and only a little bit about other fields. I think most other specialists would say the same.
But this amazing pair knows about EVERYTHING. They are general practitioners extraordinaire, with a knowledge fund that puts even the greatest doctors, like Osler, Charcot, or (my personal idol) Oscar London, to shame.
I can only assume this tremendous knowledge has come from experience. Some diseases are so rare that many of us go through an entire career without seeing them, but these two have seen ALL OF IT! They have incredible connections that have led to this (usually involving their uncle's friend's second cousin's wife, who once met a lady who's sister might have had the rare disorder).
6. Trust.
There's this mysterious thing called the Doctor-Patient relationship. It involves trust, and can take a while to build. There's some chemistry in it, and conversation, and voodoo. But it's critical to helping people.
But while it can take 1 or more appointments for most doctors and patients to reach this stage, for these two it's amazingly instantaneous. Most patients who get advice from them trust them automatically and completely, and are quite confident in their diagnostic and treatment abilities. This is in spite of (or perhaps because) they don't appear to have the same, years-long, formal medical training that I and my colleagues do.
7. International reputation.
I only practice in Grumpyville, and only have one medical license. But these 2 apparently are somehow EVERWHERE. I've had patients run into them in all 50 states, and even on overseas trips. Quite frankly, hearing about them makes me embarrassed to only be able to cover 1 hospital.
So, as 2011 comes to a close, I salute these 2 giants of medicine, and their numerous contributions to patient care.


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Kimchi pajeon is a Korean kimchi pancake or pizza that is similar to the Japanese okonomiyaki . In its base form a pajeon is made with eggs, flour and green onions and from there you can add whatever you want. In this case the obvious next ingredient is the kimchi. Kimchi adds a ton of flavour to the pancakes and gives them a nice bit of heat. I really like the crunchy texture that the kimchi adds. Like most pancakes you are going to need some liquid that makes this the perfect way to use up any excess kimchi juice at the bottom of the container. With that you have the simple version of the kimchi pancake. I like to add some bacon as it goes really well with kimchi and when I am looking for something healthier I like to add grated zucchini, squash or sweet potatoes. Once you have the pancakes you can top them with various garnishes and/or serve them with dipping sauces. You can really do whatever you want.
Kimchi Pajeon (Kimchi Pancake or Pizza)
- 2 strips of bacon (cut into 1/2 inch pieces)
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup kimchi liquid
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup kimchi (drained and chopped)
- 2 green onions (chopped)
- Cook the bacon in a pan and set aside to cool retaining the grease.
- Mix the bacon, flour, water, kimchi liquid, egg, kimchi and green onions in a large bowl.
- Heat the bacon grease in the pan.
- Add the batter and cook until golden brown on both sides.
Ssam Sauce
- 1 tablespoon ssamjang
- 1/2 tablespoon gochujang
- 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- Mix everything until smooth.


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The city of Scranton, Penn. now faces two federal lawsuits over a decision last week to slash public employee's pay to minimum wage. Unions representing the city's workers also are asking Lackawanna County Judge Michael Barrasse to hold Mayor Chris Doherty in contempt of court.
Doherty cut all city workers' pay to $7.25 an hour, saying Scranton had run out of money. Doherty, a Democrat, and the Democratic city council have been fighting since last fall over how to fill a $16.8 million budget hole. Without a resolution, the city is in a cash-flow crisis and can't pay its bills.
Ten former police officers and firefighters on disability are suing the city in federal court. The disabled workers say their pay was reduced to minimum wage without the required hearing under Pennsylvania law.
In a separate federal class action suit, workers from various city departments claim Scranton's leaders violated U.S. labor law by failing to pay overtime. Both suits seek to have wages restored, back pay and attorney fees.
Scranton has had financial troubles for a couple decades now. A troubling mix of declining population since World War II and economic hard times has stretched finances.
Doherty has proposed increasing property taxes 29 percent to fund the city's operations this year and give banks the confidence they need to lend the city money to get past the current cash crunch. The council wants to find other sources of revenue — such as payments from tax-exempt non-profits like local universities.
Doherty on MSNBC Tuesday said he's called for higher taxes in the past and still been re-elected. "[Y]ou have to tell people, here's what our costs are and here's how we get through it. Because we need the confidence of the banking community and we have to be in it together. If you want services, you have to pay for them," said Doherty.
Neither Doherty nor City Council President Janet Evans has responded to NPR's requests for interviews in recent days. Doherty did talk with NPR last Friday and said: "If they [council members] had gone with my budget, we wouldn't be having this discussion. The taxes would have been raised. The bills all would have been paid because we would have had a dedicated revenue stream."
In June, Doherty filed a lawsuit against the city council, trying to force members to pass a revised recovery plan for the city. In that lawsuit he said the city's insurance company, fuel supplier, a landfill where the city dumps its garbage and Scranton's water supplier all were threatening to cut off services unless they were paid. As of June 20, Doherty said the city had amassed accounts payable totaling $3.5 million.
After paying workers minimum wage last week, the city reported it had only about $5000 in the bank. Since then the city has brought in more revenue, but not nearly enough to cover back wages that are estimated at over $1 million.
Given increasing media attention and a worsening problem — not to mention that city workers are now earning less than many fast-food workers — you might think the mayor and city council would be working on a resolution to the problem. But there is no indication that's happening.
[ Jeff Brady is a NPR National Desk reporter based in Philadelphia.]
Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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Shipping Policy
All orders are shipped from www.entercise.com via one of our courier services companies to anywhere in Egypt
After you place an order, you will receive an email confirming that we have received your order and are processing it.
To keep you informed about the progress of your order, we will send further email notifications as we dispatch your order.
Shipping costs for your order are non-refundable and are based on the weight of the items you order and your location. The date of delivery for your order may vary due to courier shipping practices, delivery location, the method of delivery and the number of items ordered, and in addition, your order may be delivered in separate shipments. Usually the orders take 2-5 business days to arrive at your door steps.
Additional shipping charges may apply depending on your location and the size of your order.
If you have any questions about your order please contact us.
Our policy lasts 14 days. If 14 days have gone by since your purchase, unfortunately we can't offer you a refund or exchange.
To be eligible for a return, your item must be unused and in the same condition that you received it. It must also be in the original packaging.
To complete your return, we require a receipt or proof of purchase.
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Please call our Customer Service to proceed with the return process (conditions above apply).
In any case, the return request must be executed within 14 days after delivery. Some products have an extended return/exchange policy that can go up to 30 days.
What if my product is faulty?
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We will examine the case to verify the defectiveness and get back to you as soon as possible.
In any case, the return request must be executed within 14 days after delivery.
What if I was sent the wrong item?
Oops! This is our mistake and we apologize. Please call our Customer Service; we will guide you through the return process (conditions above apply).


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Rural Massachusetts Imprints Collection
Although printing requires a substantial capital investment in equipment before any hope of profitability can be entertained, there have been numerous attempts over the years to set up printing houses in communities with astonishingly small population bases. In even the most remote Massachusetts towns, people like John Metcalf (Wendell), Ezekiel Terry (Palmer), and John and Solomon Howe (Enfield and Greenwich) operated as printers during the nineteenth century, specializing in a quotidian array of broadsides, song sheets, almanacs, toy books, and printed forms, hoping to supplement, or provide, a decent living.
This small, but growing collection consists of materials printed prior to the twentieth century in small Massachusetts towns, defined as towns with populations less than about 2,500. Although few of these houses survived for long, they were important sources for rural communities. Typically simple in typography, design, and binding, even crude, the output of such printers provides an important gauge of the interests and tastes of New England's smallest and often poorest communities.


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After all of the snacks that I had on the weekend I was looking forward to something lighter. A while ago when I made the chicken noodle soup I thought that an Asian style salmon noodle soup would be really nice and it was the perfect time to try it. When I think of salmon the first thing that usually comes to mind is salmon teriyaki which is my favorite way to enjoy salmon. Since I was going to have salmon in the soup I might as well take the opportunity to add some flavour so I decided to use salmon teriyaki for the salmon in the soup. This would be a great way to use up some leftover salmon teriyaki. For the noodles I decided to go with some nice thick udon noodles though I was also thinking about soba noodles. Given the Japanese flavours in the soup so far dashi was the natural base for the soup and of course miso was the next logical step. I rounded the soup off with some shiitake mushrooms and spinach. The salmon noodle soup was really easy to make and it turned out even better than I had hoped! All of the flavours came together really well. The slight sweetness of the teriyaki'd salmon went well with the saltiness of the miso. The soup was nice and filling and yet surprisingly light and good. I will be making this again!
Salmon Noodle Soup
- 2 packages udon noodles (gluten free for gluten free)
- 4 cups of dashi
- 6 shiitake mushrooms (sliced)
- 2 tablespoons miso (gluten free for gluten free)
- 1 cup teriyaki salmon (cooked and flaked)
- 2 handfuls spinach
- 2 green onions (chopped)
- Cook the udon noodles as directed on the package.
- Bring the dashi and mushrooms to a boil and simmer for a few minutes and turn off the heat.
- Mix the miso into a ladle full of the dashi and then pour it back into the dashi.
- Divide the noodles, salmon and spinach between 2 bowl and pour the broth in.
- Garnish with the green onions.


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Customers who bought this product also purchased...You May Also Like |


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Pentax telah secara resmi mengumumkan kamera terbaru mereka DSLR entri-level yaitu Pentax K-50 (lihat rumor sebelumnya) dan Pentax K-500. Pentax K-50 ini merupakan update dari Pentax K-30, menampilkan style yang lebih konvensional dan sedikit tweak menawarkan ISO maksimum hingga 51200. Sementara Pentax K-500 mendapatkan sebagian besar fitur K-50 minus fitur weather-sealed dan tentu dengan harga lebih murah. Meskipun tidak secara radikal berbeda dari K-30, kedua kamera membawa fitur twin dial control dan viewfinder prisma 100% dengan harga $799 untuk K-50 dan $599 untuk K-500, di mana kedua fitur tersebut jarang ada pada kamera lainnya. Bersamaan dengan kamera ini, Pentax juga meluncurkan revisi lensa versi yang 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 WR dan 55-200mm F4-5.6 WR.
Spesifikasi Kamera DSLR Pentax K-50
- Sensor APS-C 16.3MP CMOS
- PRIME M Image Processing Engine
- Monitor LCD 3.0 "921k-Dot
- Video Recording Full HD 1080p 30 fps
- SAFOX IXI + Autofocus Sistem
- Continuous Shooting hingga 6 fps
- In-Kamera Reduction System
- Body Weather-Sealed (Tidak terdapat di K-500)
- Rechargeable Baterai Li-Ion atau AA
- In-Camera HDR dan RAW Image Processing
- Harga K-50: $ 696,95 hingga $ 1,096.95 tergantung lensa
- Harga K-500: $596.95 satu lensa kit, $696.95 dengan dua lensa kit
Preview, Hands-On dan Sample Gambar Kamera DSLR Pentax K-50 dan K-500
- Hands On review dari Techradar
- Hands On oleh PCMag
- First Impression di DPReview
- Sample Image di DPReview
- First Impression di Imaging Resource
Gambar Kamera DSLR Pentax K-50 dan K-500
Press Release DSLR Pentax K-500
PENTAX RICOH IMAGING Breaks Tradition with Serious Specifications and Serious Color
PENTAX enhances product offering with two new cameras and two new lenses
Denver, CO (June 12, 2013) — PENTAX RICOH IMAGING AMERICAS CORPORATION today introduced the PENTAX K-50 DSLR featuring advanced functionality beyond its mid-level classification. Ideal for photographers looking to transcend traditional DSLR offerings, the PENTAX K-50 combines a uniquely advanced feature set with a consumer-friendly price tag and 120 color combinations to meet an important additional demand of the creative consumer: personal style.
Rivaling many cameras higher in class, the K-50 boasts a long list of advanced specifications not found in other mid-level DSLRs. Beginning with its 81weather seals, the K-50 incorporates PENTAX's long-standing heritage of weather-resistant products making cameras that extend shooting environments to wet, rainy or snowy conditions. Building on this leading advantage, the K-50 features high-speed continuous shooting at approximately six frames per second, super-high-sensitivity shooting at ISO settings up to 51200 and high-precision SAFOX IXi+ autofocus with accurate subject tracking, guaranteeing crisp images even when in low-light or with a fast moving subject. Additionally, the K-50's 100% field of view viewfinder, innovative shake reduction system, four optional interchangeable focusing screens and a fast shutter with the ability to shoot at speeds up to 1/6000 of a second enable photographers to push the boundaries of high-speed shooting while providing total confidence that their vision is framed accurately and captured in complete focus. And, with new Eye-fi SD card compatibility built in photo and video sharing a breeze! Users can enable automatic transmission of images and video to a smartphone for rapid sharing and even select their favorite images and resize them before transmission.
The K-50 is available in 120 brilliant and eye-catching color combinations and sets a new standard in the customization of electronics. PENTAX's Color to Order™ system takes advantage of a newly architected supply chain management system that is built to empower consumers to design the product they want.
"The K-50 introduces features that raise the bar in the mid-level DSLR class," said Jim Malcolm, executive vice president, PENTAX RICOH IMAGING AMERICA. "Not only do the hardware and software specs outclass competitors, the Color to Order system is an industry first making it a truly unique offering among a sea of similarity."
PENTAX has also strengthened its weather-sealed lens lineup with the debut of two new lenses; the smc PENTAX-DA L 18-55mm F3.5-5.6AL WR, and smc PENTAX-DA L 50-200 F4-5.6ED WR. The addition of these two lenses expands PENTAX's extensive line of weather-sealed lenses which offer a wide variety of focal lengths and shooting perspectives ensuring there is a lens appropriate for many different shooting and weather scenarios.
Also introduced today is the PENTAX K-500, an entry-level DSLR that augments PENTAX's DSLR lineup by including advanced features uncommon to the entry-level class. Ideal for families and casual photographers with rigorous demands, the K-500 features a 16 megapixel APS-C CMOS image sensor, fast continuous shooting, high sensitivity shooting up to ISO 51200, 100% field of view, in-body shake reduction, and an advanced auto focus module. Operating on four AA batteries, the K-500 guarantees ultimate flexibility and accessibility to a power source when travelling or in remote locations. In addition, the K-500's wide selection of simple user-modes and creative tools enable limitless personalized expressions while its intuitive ergonomics and menu layout make the K-500 approachable and comfortable to use.
Both the K-50 and K-500 are built around PENTAX's acclaimed K-mount system. Thanks to the lasting commitment PENTAX has made to the K-mount photographers are able to use any of the 25 million K-mount lenses that have been manufactured over the life of the mount. Access to this wide a selection is unparalleled and opens up many new perspectives for photographers encouraging boundless creativity.
Pricing and Availability
The K-50 DSLR is available to order today in a choice of 120 color combinations at pentaximaging.com and retail outlets nationwide in July 2013 with a suggested retail price of $699.95 for body only, $799.95 for the kit including DA-L 18-55mm WR lens and $879.95 for the dual lens kit including the DA-L 18-55mm WR and DA-L 50-200mm WR lenses. The K-500 DSLR will be available at retail outlets nationwide and online in July 2013 with a suggested retail price of $599.95 for the kit including the DA-L 18-55mm lens and $699.95 for the dual lens kit including the DA-L 18-55mm and DA-L 50-200mm lenses.


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A team of chemical weapons experts has arrived in Syria, where they will begin the long and complicated task of destroying the country's chemical weapons arsenal. Under a plan endorsed by the U.N. Security Council, the weapons are to be destroyed by next June.
Syria is wracked by a civil war that has killed more than 100,000 people and forced more than 2 million others to flee the country, according to recent U.N. figures.
The experts from the Netherlands-based Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons are expected to meet with Syria's foreign minister later today, the AP reports.
The OPCW team enters Syria one day after a U.N. inspections team departed. Led by Ake Sellstrom, that team had earlier concluded that poisonous sarin gas had been used in Syria in an Aug. 21 attack that left hundreds dead — a report that prompted a U.S.-Russia agreement to rid Syria of the weapons.
The U.N. team had returned to Syria for about a week to examine claims of at least six other chemical weapons attacks in Syria, spanning from March to August. It is due to present its final report on those incidents later this month.
As NPR's Parallels blog has reported, "dismantling a chemical weapons program is a laborious process."
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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The Mom in the Mirror
She couldn't have been more than nineteen, maybe twenty, years old. She could have been much younger. She wore jeans and running shoes and a light winter jacket and no makeup. There were half-moon circles under her eyes, deep and dark, and she clutched a Mcdonalds take-out bag in one hand.
The other hand rested lightly on a small fold-out umbrella stroller. I would have known that she was a mother from the circles under her eyes, but it was the stroller made me smile at her when I sat down next to her on the subway. It was facing away from me, and covered in blankets, such that I couldn't see the very small child within it, but still. A child. I have one, too. I was going to smile at the child, ask its age, make conversation. I'm a mother too!" I would say. Mine's at home, a toddler. There were, no doubt, many years between we two mothers, she and I, but still. Mothers. We're of a kind, we are. There is always something to say to another mother.
And then, as she pulled the stroller back slightly to adjust the crush of blankets, I noticed: the child was a baby, a very small baby, newborn. Cradled awkwardly, so awkwardly, in the steadfastly upright seat of the umbrella stroller. The young mother adjusted the blankets, cooing softly; the infant slept, slumped, its heavy, fragile head bent over tiny shoulders, twisting tiny neck.
If the smile froze on my face, she didn't see it, so intent she was on adjusting her baby, whose tiny, delicate shape was not made for the unforgiving upright seat of her vehicle. But it did, my smile, tired metaphors be damned, it froze on my face and the cheerful words of commiseration died on my lips as new, shriller ones burbled up in their place.
I didn't speak these words, of course. 'Oh, but you mustn't put newborns in umbrella strollers! Do you know that? They mustn't be kept upright for too long, they mustn't be pushed along bumpy streets with their backs unsupported, their tiny backs, their fragile spines, their delicate, delicate necks...' I didn't want to speak them, and I didn't. I couldn't. I couldn't, because she would look at me - older, smarter, richer, maybe, presuming to know better - and say, or think, bitch. She would ask me, with or without words, who I was to judge her.
And I wouldn't have an answer.
I sat there, beside her, for what seemed a very long time, sick with uncertainty. Surely I must say something. What if she doesn't know? She must know. She must know. She does know. She knows but she can't afford a proper stroller. I resolved to offer her a stroller - I would offer her our second stroller, the lightweight stroller that we use for buses and subways, one that reclines. I would say that we no longer need it, that we're looking to get rid of it. I would give her my phone number. I would turn to her and I would say... what? 'Hello, I notice that you've put your newborn in an umbrella stroller and wanted to tell you that that is very, very bad for their necks and spines but I'm sure that you know that, you must know that, and so it must be the case that you simply could not afford a proper stroller, poor thing, (cluck cluck), and so I would be happy to offer you one, because I have two.'
Because I have two, one for the snow and the parks and one for the shops and the subway, both of them fine strollers, both of them costing far more than anyone would expect to pay for bits of fabric wrapped around a small fibreglass chassis but costing far, far less than what I would pay to ensure my child's well-being, than what I would pay to keep us happy and comfortable. What I can pay. What I can pay, and she, perhaps (and only perhaps, for who am I to judge?), cannot.
I never did speak to that young woman; I still feel guilty about this. I couldn't, at the time, because the right words wouldn't come; I would have said the wrong thing, I know, I think, I would have given the wrong look; I would have been one of those women. Pinched, critical, judgmental. And I would have had no words to explain to her that I meant well, that I wanted to help, that I understood.
She mightn't have believed me, anyway. Rightly, too. Because I don't understand. I can't, not entirely. I can only imagine that I can.
I need to remember that.
What would you have done?
The above isn't my meta-post. It was going to be. I've been struggling to figure out where judgment, or ideas about judgment, figure into our happy blogospheric/momospheric community. To what extent might our like-mindedness blind us to certain issues/ideas/perspectives? And does that matter? Can we really be radical - can this whole writing-through-our-lives thing be meaningful beyond our own little personal emancipations - if that 'we' is a collectivity that is defined by privilege? I think that the answer is yes - not least because the experience of motherhood/parenthood is, to some degree equalizing in that it gives all of us something of the taste of disempowerment, and the more that we speak about that the more that we can dispel myths and misunderstandings about our relative experiences as women, as people. But I still haven't worked out my thoughts on that.
In the meantime, as I said last day, I'd (we'd) love to hear your thoughts.
Oh, and I'd also love for you to visit the Basement, and my reviews page. Because you don't have enough to do already.