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15 Transactions for Week 10
We just witnessed a backup quarterback throw seven touchdowns in a single game, but all we can talk about is Brett Favre, a guy who could easily be that backup quarterback's father.
Only in the NFL.
Seven-touchdown Foles isn't the talking point today. It's all about Aaron Rodgers, his collarbone, and a Wrangler Jeans-wearing, 44-year-old Brett Favre.
Only in the NFL.
If you own Aaron Rodgers in fantasy football, you, like the Packers, need a replacement. We've already given you some options here, and I'll expand on this as well throughout this weekly column. And no, Brett Favre is not an option.
Let's get at it.
Hold Robert Griffin III
A juicy matchup led to another disappointing performance from the Redskins' quarterback. He won the game, sure, but his 11.3 standard fantasy points was nothing for owners to brag about. Unfortunately, every time they got near the end zone, they pounded it in. With fullback Darrell Young.
You may not get the value in return you'd want for RGIII, so there's no use in trading him unless you somehow find a willing owner. Therefore, it's probably best to hold onto him, cross your fingers, and get excited for his matchups against Minnesota and Philadelphia – two of the three worst pass defenses in the league according to our metrics.
I'm expecting a decent game from Bobby this weekend, but to think his ceiling is what it was last year would be foolish.
Hold Chris Johnson
The roller coaster continues with Johnson, who entered the week as the second-worst running back in the league in terms of rushing net expected points (read more about NEP), and exited as the 16th-worst. He had that good of a game on Sunday.
The Rams fell back to their old ways against Johnson after having a couple of solid performances against the run. That was part of the reason Johnson's schedule didn't look as good moving forward as some made it out to be. However, CJWhateverK still gets Jacksonville and Indianapolis twice, as well as an Oakland team that looked completely lost defensively against the Eagles this past weekend.
The reason I'm not all-in on buying Johnson is because Arizona and Denver are his Week 14 and 15 matchups – fantasy playoff matchups. The Cardinals rank fourth against the run when adjusted for strength of opponent, while the Broncos rank first in the league according to our metrics. Denver's a wild card, as they still give up fantasy points to backs (through the air especially), but they're stopping the run very effectively. It's a big risk if you're banking on CJ.
Add Andre Brown
I've been recommending Andre Brown for a few of weeks now, and it's going to be very difficult to get him this week off your wire. But if he's out there, and if you're in need of a running back, he should be your top waiver wire priority. Heck, even if you're not in need of a back, I'd spend my top waiver pick on him.
The Giants have increasingly gotten better this season at running the football, and Brown claims to be 100 percent after hurting his leg earlier in the season. Peyton Hillis? No thanks. This is Brown's job, especially considering the disappointing David Wilson hasn't been cleared for game action since injuring his neck.
As I wrote in July, Andre Brown was the most efficient runner in all of football last year. There's a lot of potential with the NC State product coming off his injury, and he's still available in over 20 percent of ESPN.com leagues.
Buy Mike James
James is one of those players who isn't sexy, won't make things interesting, but could provide a high weekly floor. He received 28 carries and ran for 158 yards against a now-pedestrian Seattle rush defense, and gets Miami, Atlanta and Detroit over the next three weeks. Though Detroit's been getting better at stopping opposing running backs, Miami and Atlanta rank as some of the worst teams at stopping them.
James shouldn't be highly regarded by his owners even after his big game against the Seahawks, but with an improving Mike Glennon and soft matchups upcoming, he could be a nice RB2 to target in a trade for some bench depth.
Buy Tom Brady
Fortunately, I wrote about Brady before Week 9, so at least you all know I'm not just hopping on the bandwagon here.
The situation with Brady is a little complex, but it boils down to, as I note in my article, a few things. First, Rob Gronkowski needs to be Rob Gronkowski. I think we can put a checkmark next to that after seeing him light up the Steelers secondary on Sunday.
Second, they need someone to fill the Wes Welker void. Danny Amendola finally looked healthy against Pittsburgh, and although his net expected points (NEP) numbers have been on par with what they were in St. Louis, time can help his performance with Brady. Let's assume this aspect is trending upwards.
Lastly, Brady has seen just a fraction of the production that he's usually gotten from his running backs through the air. Guess who's coming back after New England's bye week? Good ol' Shane Vereen, a running back who excels at catching the football. (Bonus add: Get Vereen now if he's available.)
All signs are pointing to this being Brady's game that gets him back on track. I thought it'd happen after Vereen returned, but I was just a week late with my projection.
Buy Alfred Morris
You could argue – and actually, you'd win the argument – that Alfred Morris is even better this season than he was last year. As of now, Alf ranks only behind Knowshon Moreno and LeSean McCoy among lead running backs in rushing net expected points, having added over 11 points for the Redskins offense above expectation compared to a replacement-level running back. Last year, Morris finished with a rushing NEP of 10.85. If he continues at his current pace, he'll far outdo that total.
He saw potential touchdowns stolen last week by Shanahanigans, but has now scored once in five of his eight games this year. Need a guy that gives you a high floor? That's Morris, who has double-digit half-point PPR fantasy points in five games this year.
Morris' upcoming schedule, like teammate RGIII, is pretty favorable. He'll face Minnesota this week, Philly next week, and the fantasy playoffs consist of Kansas City, Atlanta and Dallas. While KC is good overall on defense, they've become increasingly worse at stopping the run, ranking 21st in the league according to our metrics.
Hold C.J. Spiller
Selling Spiller after his game against the Chiefs probably isn't the smartest thing to do; it could be the start of him performing at his 2012 level. However, I'm not ready to just jump up and down and dub C.J. Spiller "back."
Fred Jackson still sits as one of the most effective runners in the league in terms of rushing NEP (number eight overall among running backs), and Spiller has given us a very small glimpse – sample – of what his potential could be. It wasn't smart if you sold him low (my hometown league saw him get traded for Terrance Williams last week!), but it's a wait and see game to see if he can perform down the stretch.
Keep in mind that he gets a good matchup this week against Pittsburgh, but then faces the Jets (number two against the run) and before the Bills' bye. After that, however, Spiller has a favorable schedule, including a playoff one that includes Jacksonville and Miami. If you're in good shape to make the playoffs, he's not a bad "buy" candidate.
Sell Carolina Running Backs
I've haven't been shy in saying I'm not a big DeAngelo Williams fan, and if you hadn't sold him prior to last week, you're now facing a situation where he's only become valuable in inexperienced leagues. I say "sell" here because you probably can't get a whole lot for him, but I'd still accept a leftover pasta dish for Williams.
While Mike Tolbert has produced in fantasy this year (this makes me very happy), we have to recognize that he's incredibly touchdown-dependent. That's not something to bank on if you're trying to make a fantasy playoff run.
I will say, however, that Jonathan Stewart should be added if he's on your waiver wire. He saw nine carries in his debut, and is the most talented runner of the bunch in Carolina. As of now, he's available in over 95 percent of ESPN.com leagues.
Add Aaron Dobson
Remember when Kenbrell Thompkins was a thing?
After being a healthy scratch against the Steelers, it's safe to say that the Thompkins hype train has come to a halt. Thank goodness. Now, it's Aaron Dobson leading the charge.
Dobson has three touchdowns over his last two games, and also has just two games of fewer than 49 yards since Week 1. Even in PPR leagues, he's worth an add given Tom Brady's potential in the offense and Dobson's learning as a rookie wideout. Don't be surprised to see him as a player that puts out consistent output from here on out, as a lot of receivers perform like this during the second half of their rookie campaigns (T.Y. Hilton and Justin Blackmon in 2012). We project him as a WR3 with upside over the remaining portion of the season.
Sell or Drop BenJarvus Green-Ellis
It's not looking like Giovani Bernard's rib injury is serious, which doesn't bode well for Green-Ellis owners. Even with volume though, BJGE isn't a huge fantasy factor. He's scored double-digit fantasy points once this season, and hasn't scored a touchdown since Week 5. According to our metrics, Green-Ellis is the third-worst runner in terms of efficiency, behind only Willis McGahee and Bernard Pierce. Yikes.
If you're in a deep league, I'd look to use him as a throw-in to get a trade to go your way. In shallow leagues, Green-Ellis isn't really worthwhile.
Hold Ray Rice
Rice ranks fourth-to-last in rushing NEP with a -20.62 score. Running backs typically will have low scores within NEP metrics, but compared to Rice's history (no lower than -12.18), this is clearly an off year.
It's showing in the fantasy ranks, too. He's claimed to be healthy, but his numbers suggest otherwise. He's scored touchdowns in just two games this season, and has yet to rush for more than 74 yards in a single contest. Doesn't Terrelle Pryor do that on each touch or something?
I wouldn't sell Ray Ray right now though because of his perceived value (which is low), and his fantasy playoff schedule. There's a chance health is a big concern here, and if he does get better as the season dies down, he faces Minnesota, Detroit and New England in the fantasy post-season. Not bad. Not bad at all.
Buy Keenan Allen
Allen's probably one of the best calls produced from this column this season, as he's become a fringe WR1 in fantasy since his slow emergence after Week 3. He now has over 100 yards receiving in three of his last five games, including reception totals of 5, 6, 9, 3 and 8. You better believe he's become Philip Rivers' favorite target.
Another good reason to buy Allen? His schedule. Upcoming for the Chargers are the high-scoring Broncos, the middling Dolphins, the depleted Bengals, the porous Giants, and the Broncos once again. He finishes the fantasy season – Week 16 – against a Raiders team that just surrendered seven touchdowns to Nick flippin' Foles.
The Chargers do get the Chiefs twice, but the other matchups should scream opportunity. Get Allen if you can. (He's somehow available in over half of ESPN.com leagues, too.)
Add Nick Foles
This is obvious, but I think it needs to be said. Foles' Week 9 performance was clearly a fluky one, but that doesn't mean he can't continue at a usable fantasy football pace.
Prior to Foles' disaster against Dallas, I noted that his passing NEP per pass was only worse than Peyton Manning's. In other words, with each toss, he was doing more for his offense than any non-Peyton Manning quarterback. The sample size at the time was incredibly small, and it still is, but Foles is now back in the same spot after his historically great performance on Sunday.
The point is, why would you not want to take a shot with him? If he continues to see volume and keeps up even at 75 or 80 percent of his efficiency, he can be a QB1 in fantasy football.
Add Riley Cooper
In Nick Foles two favorable starts, Cooper has a combined nine receptions for 259 yards and four touchdowns. In two games!
It seems like Cooper and Foles (new band name?) have a nice rapport, which makes this situation a lot like Foles': why not? This isn't to say he's going to be a full-blown WR1, but when a receiver and quarterback can connect like this, big things can happen. Cooper is worth a flier and waiver wire add this week, especially if your team is in need of a receiver.
Also, keep in mind that the Eagles haven't had their bye yet. You're going to have to plan for that in Week 12.
Buy Kendall Wright
Of course I catch Wright Fever and he goes on to post his lowest reception total since Week 1. Of course.
I know the Titans passing attack was a dud this week, and I take full responsibility for making them a giant sleeper choice for Week 9. But really, guys, the schedule is pretty favorable moving forward. Jacksonville this week should be a cake walk, and even Indianapolis in Week 11 should prove to be decent. Outside of Arizona in Week 15, the pass defenses the Titans will face down the stretch shouldn't scare anyone.
The one thing I did get "Wright" this week with Kendall is that he's the superior pass-catcher when compared to teammate Nate "Goose Egg" Washington. So hey, there's that.


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Hospitals Opting for Organic, Local Foods
We've taken note of a number of efforts to change the first kind of meal many people would associate with overly-processed, institutionalized food: the school lunch. Hospital food likely comes in a close second for that distinction, and several organizations are working with the health care industry to shift its menu from "low-grade, tasteless and nutritionally deficient" food to healthier and more sustainable options. SustainableBusiness.com's Insider takes a look today at efforts hospitals are taking to provide patients with more appetizing food that's also better for them and the planet. Among the changes occurring in hospital food service:
- Catholic Healthcare West has an education program about the ecological impacts of the food system and is eliminate rBGH use in dairy.
- Kaiser Permanente: is creating guidelines for sustainable food sourcing that includes local, antibiotic/hormone-free meats and dairy, and serving fresh fruit for desert. It has farmer's markets at 25 of its medical facilities.
- Dominican Hospital (Santa Cruz, California) buys produce from a local organic farm and has a vegetable and flower garden on-site.
- Good Shepherd Medical Center (Hermiston, Oregon) has eliminated fat fryers, serves organic produce and rBGH-free milk, and is eliminating food additives. Instead of beef, the hospital serves naturally lean bison.
- St. Luke's Hospital (Duluth, Minnesota) serves only fair-trade coffee, rBGH-free milk, and wild salmon, and has a locally grown organic salad bar.

subset: commoncrawl


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Rail minister Norman Baker insists that fares are fairly fair. He must be one of those paragons who books online, months in advance
Liberal Democrat under-secretary of state for transport Norman Baker must struggle to know what to say sometimes. He's in a difficult position: part of a government many of whose policies he probably disagrees with, and not in charge of his own bit of it. And, even at the best of times (which, the overwhelming consensus tells us, is not now), transport is a subject which elicits more complaint than praise. People are vocal in their hatred of traffic jams, trains that are crowded or late or expensive – or crowded, late and expensive – bus services that are irregular and cycle lanes that are basically a bit of pavement repainted to fulfil some sort of quota and only result in the cyclists, after years of maltreatment from cars and lorries, taking it out on pedestrians in what I like to call a "cycle of abuse". We are apt to blame politicians for these things. We are less apt to praise them after a pleasant train journey or a surprisingly clear bit of M25. People notice the cones but are bad at spotting the no cones.
So it must be tricky for Norman Baker to know what to say. Particularly on a day, like last Wednesday, when there's been a big, above-inflation hike in rail fares. He must have been worried that he might say the wrong thing – something that would make things worse – so presumably there was a lot of thought and discussion between him and his aides before he decided to go with: "We're not doing too bad."
It didn't go down too good – largely because it's so obviously incorrect (factually as well as grammatically). Britain's railway network is by far the most expensive in Europe, incredibly overcrowded and not very fast. It is a crap railway network, on which millions of us glumly rely, where the season tickets have such astronomical and inexplicable price tags you'd think they were modern art – and certainly the 7.44am Henley-on-Thames to Paddington service is more crowded than the trendiest private view, even if it doesn't have quite the same buzz.
I'm not sure what Baker should have said instead, and of course he had to say something – "being available for comment when rail fares go up" is at the top of an under-secretary of state for transport's job description, along with "being available for comment when there's been a train crash due to poorly maintained safety equipment". So maybe he should have said: "At least there hasn't been a train crash!" But where does that leave him come the next train crash? "I hope it will come as some comfort to the families of the dead that their loved ones are no longer being overcharged for travel."
Obviously what he can't say is: "Look, if you were happier to pay more tax, the railways would be cheaper and better – that's how other countries like France manage it. There's no magic Mediterranean rail aptitude like there is for having a lunchtime drink without wanting to get pissed." That would lead to people talking about the waste in government and why money currently spent on Trident or bureaucracy or benefits couldn't be used instead – and to other people complaining that they don't use railways and why can't the subsidy go towards roads, or off fuel duty, or to maintain their local museum – and to a general awakening of our ongoing national dividing-up-the-bill discussion in which the middle classes moan about having to pay for the unemployed's starter while the super-rich magnanimously make a contribution towards the mineral water.
The main point Baker was trying to make was, as he told BBC Radio 5 Live: "Once you take the basket of fares, include early advance and off-peaks, we are not nearly as expensive as has been presented." In other words, once you factor in the cost of tickets that no one wants, the picture is not so bleak. As Baker said: "You could argue that the people who are travelling in the rush hour are using the premium product and therefore ought to pay something which reflects that premium product which they are buying." By "the premium product", I presume he means the early morning smell of a stranger's armpit.
As well as putting a premium on premium product, he also conceded that "walk-on fares" were expensive. That means tickets for people who haven't planned ahead – who've just gone to a railway station and got on a train without scouring websites months in advance to spot bargains. They're a slow-moving target, those guys (particularly after a signal failure). If you haven't got your shit together to buy a ticket in advance, what are your chances of getting it together to complain about pricing? The number of lobbyists campaigning in the interests of the unprepared is zero.
Most of us seem to have accepted the notion that, post-privatisation, there is no longer a fixed price for a particular train journey – that the cost must necessarily vary according to how much the train operator thinks it can extort at time of purchase. If you're buying it on the day, or even on the train, they've got you over a barrel (not literally – many of the seats are less comfortable than that). Maybe this is just an expression of market forces, although this is still a market heavily subsidised by the state, but it has always seemed to me like a tax on spontaneity. A railway station is no longer a place of possibility – where hundreds of destinations flicker on the departures board to tempt you. It's just the way to work, or the place you go for long pre-arranged journeys. Your pre-bought internet tickets are the papers that allow you to travel, like in – just to get totally over-dramatic for a second – Hitler's Russia.
Those who plan ahead get ahead – that's the rule. It is the wise, conscientious, evolutionarily sound approach to life. It's true for bees, for squirrels and for humans. But do our various railway companies have to contribute further to the woes of the slapdash? Anyone organised enough to book a ticket months in advance – to have all their movements so precisely planned – will surely die rich in any case. Does it really help society for someone like that to have their travel costs subsidised by forgetful idiots and spendthrift romantics? But even Norman Baker's spin doctor isn't stupid enough to stick up for them.
David Mitchell's autobiography, Back Story, is out now


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Friday, August 14, 2009
Sukiyaki in the Summer
We recently discovered the joys of Wagyu beef, and decided to try it in sukiyaki. Usually we only make sukiyaki in the winter, but it's been a cool summer and besides, we discovered the joys of wagyu beef!
What is wagyu? The word means simply Japanese beef, and it's actually a breed of cattle indigenous to Japan. The Japanese, although they didn't begin eating beef till the mid 19th century, have raised it to a fine art. But the most surprising thing about wagyu is that it is naturally low in saturated fat and high in monounsaturated fat. Usually monounsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature, while saturated fats, like butter and lard, are hard or at least solid at room temperature. Well wagyu beef, if you leave it at room temperature for a short time, almost begins to melt.
And in your mouth? It does melt.
The vegetables are also yummy: enoki mushrooms, shirataki (sort of noodles), nappa, green onions, tofu, bamboo shoots.
Unfortunately, I was too busy cooking and eating to take any pictures of the finished sukiyaki. But trust me, it was good.
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- Website: www.leftoversushi.com
- Facebook: facebook.com/EliLangAuthor
- Twitter: @eli__lang
- Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/eli_lang
Half by Eli Lang ~Giveaway~
13 comments:
Congratulations on the release of Half, Eli. I like the blurb of the book. You keep looking for a cure when you are ill.ReplyDelete
tankie44 at gmail dot comReplies
Thanks, Tanja!Delete
It feels surreal to see the cover in a new light. I've understood it more now. The division of life & death, the orchard, the mood that the overall design sets. When I realized it just few moments ago, I was like, "WHOA!" Like everything has finally slotted into place. ^_^ReplyDelete
That's so cool. :D G.D. Leigh, the cover artist, did an amazing job!Delete
Thanks for the post! Half is on TBR list.ReplyDelete
Thank you for the post. It sounds fantastic =)ReplyDelete
humhumbum AT yahoo DOT com
- AnonymousFebruary 15, 2017 at 6:05 PM
Good luck with the release!ReplyDelete
Love discovering authors new to me. Thanks for the chance!ReplyDelete
Good luck with the new release! I've heard good things about this book, can't wait to read it.ReplyDelete
This is now on my TBR pile. I am looking forward to the reading! kimcurington(at)yahoo(dot)comReplyDelete
Congrats on the the release!ReplyDelete


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Mostly because my ambitions when the temperature is above 75 degrees revolve around basking in the sun, reading books in the sun, sleeping in the sun, and swimming in the sun.
Me and the sun? BFF. Except that one time, but we're not talking about that.
My eyes? They don't like the sun. Well, to be fair, I don't know that they don't like the sun, but they get squinty and I get headaches so I wear sunglasses.
This summer I got my first pair of prescription sunglasses from Firmoo. They were cheap! I've been shopping around for prescription sunglasses [cheapest price I found? $90] then I discovered Firmoo! I found prescription sunglasses for less than $40. [As I always do when making a purchase online, I googled "Store Name coupon code" and found a 40% off coupon too. YAY!] You know I love a deal, so in about 5 clicks, they were purchased. BOOM.
As I was exploring Firmoo's cheap eyeglasses [hey-a girl never knows when she'll need another pair! They have a first pair free offer if you're a new customer to Firmoo!] I also signed up to get a pair of non-prescription, totally hip sunglasses for one of you!
Yup, cute! I'd keep them, but they're not prescription and as you saw earlier my heart beats for one pair of sunglasses.


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Staff at the Animal Village in Westney Road, Mangere come from diverse backgrounds and have a wide range of experience with animals. Our vet teams, Hospital staff and animal attendants work to rehabilitate and re-home the animals that come into the SPCA. Our Inspectors rescue animals in distress, educate the public, and enforce the Animal Welfare Act where needed.
Our fundraising, administration and retail staff work with the public, suppliers and sponsors to raise desperately needed funds. And our Op Shop managers each work with dedicated volunteers to raise further funds for the animals.
Volunteers are a crucial part of SPCA Auckland. Over 2,527 volunteers donated over 37,733 hours of their time to help Auckland's animals in need.
SPCA Auckland CEO Andrea Midgen feels extremely privileged to head New Zealand's leading animal welfare agency and will continue to build on the strong reputation and sustainability of the organisation.
Andrea is an experienced executive with a corporate background holding various senior roles in finance, business integration and change programs, strategy and customer service. She began her career as an accountant and has worked in New Zealand and overseas for large organisations such as Owens Transport, British Airways, Ericsson, Vodafone and Southern Cross Healthcare. In the not-for-profit space Andrea was Chair of the Vodafone NZ Foundation, who have a focus on at-risk youth.
Andrea is passionate about people, animals and making a difference in this world of ours, and sees her role at SPCA New Zealand as wonderfully value-aligned with her passions. At home Andrea shares her life with her boys – husband Dave, son Shaun and best companion and walking buddy Max.
Email contact: Andrea Midgen
Northern Region General Manager
Chief Inspector
Animal Services Manager
Customer Services Manager
Animal Services Manager


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Jaron Senecal has been awarded a Second Place prize in the Innovations in Fuel Cycle Research Awards sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Fuel Cycle Technologies. Jaron's award is in the Open Competition in the category of Nuclear Science and Engineering. His award-winning research paper, "A Modified Tightly Coupled Method for Reactor Transient Simulations," was presented at the Physics of Reactors (PHYSOR) Conference in May 2016.
In order to be successful and retain its leadership role in nuclear technologies, the United States must foster creativity and breakthrough achievements to develop tomorrow's nuclear technologies. The Department of Energy has long recognized that university students are an important source of breakthrough solutions and a key component in meeting its long-term goals. The Innovations in Fuel Cycle Research Awards program was developed for this purpose.
For more information on the Innovations in Fuel Cycle Research Awards program, click here.
Several of Dr. Ji's students have won this award in previous years: Elise, Andrew, and Chris.


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This weekend, I hope to post a podcast of my Q&A with Mayor Ravenstahl on his decision not to rescind the controversial police promotions. The video was to be added to The Pittsburgh Channel website this evening, but at last check it hasn't appeared. If the video isn't available, I'll provide the audio here on The Busman's Holiday blog.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Podcast Coming--Mayor Q&A On Decision
Posted by Bob Mayo at 10:57 PM
Labels: Podcasts, Police Promotions, Ravenstahl
1 comment:
- ninelives said...
I look forward to listening to it.
Thanks for your had work, Bob. I and my family are faithful WTAE viewers!
- June 30, 2007 at 12:34 PM
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Organisations in Racing
You are required to write the organisations in full, when you come to sit your exam. You will also need to know the purpose of a couple of the charities. This quiz will help you to revise for this exam.
published on August 08, 20141 response 0 5.0★ / 5


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There is no better way to express one's self than with a tattoo. But unlike in the past, society now allows girls to get tattoos just like the boys. In fact, most men find it tattoos on girls extremely sexy especially with the appropriate design and when placed at the most strategic places of the body.
When it comes to popular female tattoos, butterfly tattoos rank first in the list. There is that sense of playfulness that comes with butterfly tattoos which works well for the ladies. We all know that women, even if it is generally acceptable now to don tattoos, are quite conservative with having their skin printed with ink which is why they go for smaller and daintier tattoos.
Together in the same category as butterflies are flowers, stars and fairies. They all come from a mystic realm that women often associate with fiction-wise.
These tattoos are likened to that as accent pieces that women only have in selected parts of their body. The sexiest places to have a tattoo is on one's nape, the back of the shoulder, lower back, the rib cage, ankle and foot.
These places allow the women to be able to hide their tat easily but at the same time, they can catch the attention of the opposite sex. Nothing screams as sexy as when a lady flips her hair to reveal a tattoo on the back of her shoulder or when a woman bends down to reveal an floral design on her lower back.


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Creating the form of the Dragon over the shape of the interior cave was really just a matter of cutting and carving pieces of Styrofoam and attaching them to the inverted bowl shape with tacky glue and toothpicks.
Then I started adding Paperclay to the surface to cover the Styrofoam, just about six square inches at a time. I rolled the clay out on waxed paper, painted Tacky glue on the area to be covered and applied the clay to it. As the Paperclay began to firm up I applied texture with stiff brushes and any other tool that would create the effect I wanted.
As the clay dries it shrinks and cracks. There was a fair amount of crack filling to be done each morning before moving ahead with the sculpture. I wet the crack and the area around it before filling it with more Paperclay.
A small tube was fitted into the back of the piece between the dragon's body and wing. This was to hold up a wire tree. The area at the lower left that appears to be missing a rock is where the battery for the candle's light goes.


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This April, MTV takes viewers through life's ups and downs with two, new MTV exclusive series about life, love, and the obstacles that stand in-between.
Premiering April 11 at 10 p.m. ET, famous sexpert columnist, and co-founder of the It Get's Better Project, Dan Savage, brings the real life version of his wildly popular column, The Stranger to MTV with SAVAGE U.
Viewers are then taken on a journey through new beginnings and personal reinvention of college graduate Chelsea Settles, as she pursues a fashion career in Los Angeles, in the new docu-series CHELSEA SETTLES, at 10:30 p.m. ET.
SAVAGE U features media pundit, author, and sex columnist Dan Savage and producer Lauren Hutchinson as they travel to college campuses across the U.S., taking questions and offering a crash course to students on relationships, responsibility, sex, love and life.
Dan and Lauren dive deep into each campus' culture while exploring "taboo" topics. From learning how to avoid the "friend zone", to safely navigating online dating and one-night-stands, to kinks and fetishes, no topic is off-limits and every question is driven by the students themselves.
Each half-hour episode, set at a different college, features an open Q&A session in which Dan and Lauren address anonymous audience questions candidly. Dan also provides personal, in-depth advice in one-on-one settings with students who are faced with deeper relationship issues.
CHELSEA SETTLES, MTV's newest 12-part docu-series, follows 23-year-old Chelsea Settles as she moves from a tiny town outside of Pittsburgh, to Los Angeles to follow her dreams. A college graduate with hopes and dreams of pursuing a fashion career in Los Angeles, Chelsea must also face struggles with her weight. Not only is moving to L.A. a chance for Chelsea to jumpstart a career in the fashion world, but also an opportunity to expand her social life. First she must confront the social phobias that have been holding her back, and to take control of her weight in an effort to get healthy. MTV is there every step of the way as Chelsea deals with the stresses and challenges that come from moving into a new city, having a roommate for the first time, finding a job, committing to a trainer, and getting a first hand look at the L.A. social scene.


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It was a mix and match type of day!
I love my new silk polka dotted blouse, which looked lovely
with my red maxi lace skirt.
I was really feeling this combination of different textures, colors, and prints.
I'm so excited for the weather to start warming up...
cannot believe yesterday was the first day of summer ! ! !
Silk Dotted Blouse: Cabi
Maxi Lace Skirt: Forever21
Wedges: Kelsi Dagger
Necklace: Stella & Dot
Earrings: Forever21


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Monday, February 13, 2017
Word of the Week - Frank
Another Word of the Week request! (Love those--keep 'em coming!) This week for frank as an adjective--made by someone of that name. ;-)
Frank is taken directly from the people group, the Franks, who took over Gaul in the Middle Ages and named it for themselves (hence, France). At this time in history, you were either free, captive, or slave--so in this area, the only free people were the invaders, the conquerors. The Franks. Therefore, frank came to mean free.
By about 1300, the word had entered English, still carrying the meaning given it by the tribal group in Europe--"free, liberal, generous."
So if you want to be frank with someone, or to speak frankly, it's all because a group of people who called themselves the Franks invaded Gaul in the 400s, defeating the Huns and taking over part of what had recently been the Roman empire.
Side note on Paris--in the Roman days, there was a fort along the Seine called Lutetia Parisiorium. When one of the Frankish kings, Clovis, decided he would unite all the tribes into one nation, this is where he set up his capitol in 481. He simply shortened the Roman name of the fort to Paris and called it his city--and it's been the capital of France ever since!
at 6:13 AM
Labels: Word of the Week
2 comments:
Ah, thanks.ReplyDelete
There is an alliteration in German, "frank und frei" (frank and free), basically meaning "frankly". I always thought those words were just chosen because they are close in their sound. Now I know that they are also very close in their meaning.
Have a good week!
Thanks for answering my question Roseanna! There was more history behind it than I thought. Hope you don't mind ,but I do have another word request; Could you find out the history behind the use of the word dickens in such phrases as full of the dickens or he's such a little dickens ? Thanks again Roseanna!ReplyDelete
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NEWPORT NEWS — Northwestern Region teams made good use of the temporarily clear skies over Todd Field Friday, scoring well in the field events to take early leads in the the boys' and girls' competitions at the state Group AAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
According to the National Weather Service, showers and thunderstorms are likely for today's events - a prospect which appeals to the Northwestern schools, which are stronger in the field than on the track. The rain might slow the field down somewhat, perhaps permitting a few upsets.


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My spring break has flown by. With hubby in class, as a full time student, and my youngest daughter on a different schedule, I had the week free for me. My kitchen has been scrubbed and de-cluttered. My floors are clean! We'll see how long that lasts with my preparation for dinner tomorrow.
I also decided I needed to spend time in my classroom to get it back it order. With no days off since January 3rd, the room had been lacking the usual day off clean up I usually do. With an evaluation (the p is supposed to be back :) and conferences coming, I knew a reorganization was needed.
The worst culprit? My classroom library needed to be sorted and inventoried. I have the least responsible group this year. I let all of the fifth graders borrow books. I was noticing many books leaving shelves, but no sign-outs. Many students don't follow the rules, and simply put books back in any old basket. After a day and a half, all chapter books in the room are where they belong. The exceptions are curriculum support baskets and buddy books. They will have to wait for another day.
I am taking a break from updating my inventory list to write this post. I am afraid to see how many have actually walked away. I forgot the sign-out list at school, so will need to check it over before I officially close the library on Monday. I can hear the whining already.
Yes, that would be Naughty Nancy that probably has a dozen books in her desk, cubby, locker, and under her bed at home. I closed my library for three days last year. Miraculously, all but 5 books reappeared. Considering I have over 2000 books, that wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I will actually know my total when I finish the inventory soon. I am looking into doing an online book inventory. I tried a scanner, but can't do it anymore with our frozen system. An online one looks the best. What do you think?
Lastly, I decided to take advantage of the somewhat decent weather here in southeast Michigan, and have logged 20 miles of walking for the week. I am on a mission to get in shape. Our district has been on a challenge to "walk" from New York City to Los Angeles. I hope to add another 5-8 miles before Monday. I better get going!
Have a wonderful relaxing Easter with your family!


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New York City, NY
This is one of those simple looks that simply work. Nothing too fancy, but at the same time, never too casual.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Street Swag
4 comments:
- AnonymousMay 19, 2010 at 10:40 PM
Where did he get those shoes? I want!ReplyDelete
Hmm . . . I love the look entirely but I don't think it is that simple. I mean check out the hat! The cut of the brim is not "simple". It's architectural, almost. At least it appears that way. In other words, this is a thoughtfully put together look with many elements. As I look at it again, the color palette is the only simple part.ReplyDelete
What them boots be, G?ReplyDelete
The shoes look to be vintage. I'm assuming the only place you'll find them is in a thrift shop.ReplyDelete
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She is a big football fan; and always dreamed of having the dream job of NFL Commissioner. And you thought she was a nerd. This is who every guy wants to hang out with on Sundays. Just think she can give you all the skinny on George W. Bush. Football, beer, and laugh at President Bush stories (funny).
I would like to see her do that; but I think it's hard to go from Sec of State to Exec of 49ers. Maybe the Chicago Bears would be a better pick.
Randall Watts
Chicago Funnies


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In addition to being one of my dress sponsors and, of course, a sponsor for my Fall 2011 collection, mom has always been there for me. From scrapes and falls to boyfriends and break-ups, mom was there with a hug. I can't exactly say the same for the parties, the broken statues or paint on the carpet, but hey, at least I'm alive to tell about it!
mom, 1964
mom and me, 2010


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Stoke City defender Erik Pieters has not given up hope of earning a place in the Netherlands squad for the FIFA World Cup.
Pieters scored his first goal for Stoke in their 1-0 win over Newcastle United on Saturday, the club's fourth win in five matches.
The 25-year-old has 17 senior international caps for Netherlands to his name, although he has not featured for his country since a 2-0 friendly win over China last June.
He knows a call-up to Louis van Gaal's 23-man squad for the World Cup is unlikely, but is still keeping his fingers crossed.
"Of course I have one eye on the World Cup, but that might just be to watch it on the 'telly' I think," Pieters told The Stoke Sentinel.
"We've got four matches to go. I will give everything in these last four games and see if I will either go on holiday or to the World Cup."
The left-back was delighted to contribute in an attacking sense for Stoke, and is hoping to add to his tally in the final four games of the season after getting one over good friend Krul.
"Everyone knows he's (Krul) my best friend in football, so it was really good to score my first goal – and a great goal as well – against him," Pieters added.
"We're still friends, I think. He looked a bit disappointed. Now I want five goals before the end of the season.
"I like to attack but the main thing is to defend, to keep clean sheets and I want to keep doing that over the next four games."
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Chickens are everywhere in Indonesia. Even in metropolitan Jakarta they are running around all over the place. Now while I've never had anything against them – at least they don't pose any aggressive threat or crap everywhere like dogs do - it is nonetheless a little bit worrying to see them in front of your house knowing that they could be carrying the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus.
Indonesians you see aren't really that worried about bird flu. And that's not really surprising to be fair: many see the deadly dengue fever as far more dangerous. After all, only a handful of people have so far died from bird flu in Indonesia; dengue fever kills thousands every year.
But the risk of a bird flu pandemic in Indonesia is worrying Aus:
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said Australia may be forced to close its borders to people fleeing a human pandemic that could result from the virulent H5N1 strain of the bird flu mutating into a form easily transmitted between humans. Meanwhile, Australia's Health Minister Tony Abbott did not directly respond to questions on whether Australia would expel foreigners, close its ports or accept "flu refugees" in the event of a pandemic breaking out in neighbouring Indonesia.
Blooming heck! Nice to know who your friends are. Everyone for themselves, I guess.
And it's going to be very hard to persuade Indonesians to avoid contact with chickens anyway. These creatures are important in Indonesian culture, especially In Bali and in parts of Java, where cockfighting is practiced.
Although the sport may not go down too well with the RSPCA, it is good unclean fun nonetheless:
The fighting goes down with an assortment of birds measured by height, weight, and wing span to make for an even battle. When two birds match, they're fitted for a razor sharp blade that is tightly tied around one foot, with the blade sticking out the back. The birds are held face to face as their feathers are pricked to stimulate aggression. A fury of money changes hands as bets are accepted. The roosters are taken to their respective corners and released. For one, maybe two minutes, roosters fly in the air and that's it. The loser backs off, slowly collapsing to the ground. Their legs are then sliced off or the throat is cut. The losing bird is scooped up and skinned right outside the stadium to get ready for the dinner pot. The winning rooster will be heading there as well, as most times their injuries are just as bad.
Heck – with money to be made on the betting side, I think I should get into this sport. And I think I've got just the rooster to win…


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Sambar is a lentil based vegetable stew / Gravy dish made in Southern parts of India and Sri Lankan Tamil Cuisines. This recipe is a variation of Sambar and it is authentic dish of Palakkad ( a district of Kerala state in India). Sambar is served in Sadhya along with steamed rice and other vegetables.This stew has a distinct flavour of roasted coconut and spices.
Prep Time: 20 min
Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 30 min
Total Time: 50 min
Yield : 4 servings
- 1/2 Cup Toor Dal / Split Pigeon peas/Thuvaram Paruppu in Tamil
- 1/ 2 Teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- 3 Brinjal - diced
- 3 Okra / Ladies Finger cut into small sized pieces
- 1 Cup diced Ash gourd
- 1 tomato chopped
- 1 lemon sized tamarind
- 1 Tablespoon coconut oil
For Dry Roasting
- 1/2 Cup Grated fresh coconut
- 1 Table spoon Coriander seeds
- 5 Whole red chillies
- 1/4 Teaspoon raw rice
- 1/4 Teaspoon Fenugreek Seeds
- 2 pinches of Asafoetida powder
- 6 curry leaves
For Seasoning
- 1 Teaspoon Mustard Seeds
- 2 whole red chillies
- 1/2 Teaspoon coconut oil
1. Dry Roasting : In a pan on medium heat add whole red chillies, Coriander seeds, raw rice, fenugreek seeds and roast till nice aroma comes out. Then add grated coconut and curry leaves and keep roasting until coconut turns yellowish. Do not brown coconut. Finally add asafoetida powder and dry roast for few seconds. Remove pan from flame. Set aside , let it cool. When the mixture cools down, add the mixture to the small mixer jar and grind it into fine paste by adding 3 tablespoons of water
2. Wash toor dal and pressure cook it with 1 cup of water and 1/4 teaspoon of turmeric powder until dal is cooked well
3. Add tamarind to 1/4 cup warm water and extract tamarind pulp, set aside
4. In a deep pan, heat 1 tablespoon of coconut oil. Saute okra and brinjal for 2 mins. Add 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder, salt as required , chopped tomatoes , diced ash gourd and 1 cup water. Let the vegetables cook on medium flame. When the vegetables are half cooked, add ground coconut paste and extracted tamarind pulp. Let it cook for 10 more min
5. When the vegetables are cooked, add cooked toor dal and let it boil for 4 min then switch of the flame
6. Prepare seasoning : In a small wok, heat 1/2 teaspoon coconut oil. Add mustard seeds. when the mustard splutters, add red chillies and switch of the flame.
7. Add this seasoning to the cooked sambar
8. Serve sambar warm with steamed rice and vegetables


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For more than a decade, Gibney Dance Community Action has pioneered movement workshops that help women in domestic violence shelters to find their voices and move towards healthier futures. Now, you too can be part of the groundbreaking work that positions movement and creativity at the forefront of positive social change.
Institute for Community Action is open to dance and social service professionals and students. Participants will gain the tools and skills to initiate, build, and sustain arts outreach projects targeting specific populations.
Friday, January 25 / 6pm – 9pm: Building Awareness
Saturday, January 26 / 10am – 6pm: Building a Workshop
Sunday, January 27 / 10am – 2pm: Building a Program
Tuition: $500
Learn more about this important program here.
Applications for ICAT are now open through January 4th and can be accessed here.
Yasemin Ozumerzifon
Community Action Manager
Gibney Dance Center


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Posts Tagged 'JEEcamp'
On March 14 I will be hosting an 'unconference' around journalism enterprise and entrepreneurship. Rick Waghorn, of MyFootballWriter.com, will make the keynote speech. JEEcamp is an opportunity for a range of people to get together to talk about how on earth journalists and publishers can make a living from journalism in the era of free […]
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They had a really fun day. I was pleasantly surprised that Miss Stella went with her class and hung out with her teacher all day, even when Grandma tried to come get her. Maybe preschool won't be as hard as I thought this fall. Piper enjoyed the science experiments, and we talked about pandas on the way home. The giant whale was a big hit, even though I had to correct their learning that a whale is not a fish. They were able to walk inside the pretend MAMMAL and hear the story of Jonah.
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Ooh, a bug!
Posted by Michelle at 9:38 PM
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Monday, June 3, 2013
Butterfly Craft
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I am currently spinning with this beautiful dark purple roving, which I bought from E-bay. It's a very soft merino. It spins up quite quickly and is a joy to work with.
So far I have several spools of it and some of it is already in use. More of that another day.
However, I am excited about getting a raw fleece to work with, later in the week so I will be back on here to tell you how I'm getting on with that. I'm not sure what I'm getting yet, but it could well be a long staple variety, like the one in the following video. You will see how www.taylormadeyarns.co.uk spins up an art yarn using a Wensleydale fleece. It's quite fascinating. Do take a look:


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So IU made it to Regionals!!! They're headed to Louisville this weekend to play another double-elimination round. I told JJ I wanted to make the guys cookies again b/c they're doing so great. I asked him to think of some naturally red and white cookes (like, I didn't want to use tons of red food coloring and add them to peanut butter cookies or something)... and he was like, "you need to make the same ones." And I said, "JJ, I don't like making the same things again and again for the same people.... I need to be creative!" And he said, "No, really. You NEED to make the SAME ONES!" And I started to argue, then he gave me that look, you know, the "We're really superstitious baseball players, we'll be wearing the same socks and we'll tie our shoes the same way, we'll listen to the same songs, and we will have THE SAME COOKIES" look.
So I conceeded. I made the SAME cookies. But then I also added another kind, oatmeal craisin - crimson craberries, perfect! He said I could make more, but had to make the same basic ones. I didn't know there were rules like this....
So anyway, I made the same sugar cookie baseballs and red M&M cookies. It was interesting to see how using the same recipes only a week apart yielded such different results. I attribute this to the weather. Last week it was around 70 and sunny, this week it was 85 and humid... which made my chocolate chip cookies flatten a bit more, and made my royal icing runny! It took a lot more time for them to dry, and the red seams bled a bit into the white.
He said no one complained :)
So once again, please wish the Hoosiers tons of luck! They have the talent and especially the heart, and if they make it past this round it will be the first time in school history!!!


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by Professor Ron Daniels
Clearly British Petroleum Oil Company (BP) is responsible for the most disastrous oil spill in U.S. history and must be held fully accountable for its negligent behavior. Beyond overseeing the crisis and ensuring that BP is deploying the necessary resources to stop the flow of oil and clean-up the damaged beaches and marshlands, there is precious little President Obama can do to clean up the mess. However, I agree with New York Timescolumnist Thomas Friedman and other commentators that the crisis presents the President with an opportunity to offer bold and visionary leadership in terms of the future direction of the U.S. economy.
Ever the pragmatist and craving "bi-partisan" support for his massive energy bill, prior to the horrific oil spill, Obama caved in to the McCain/Palin "drill baby drill" crowd and ordered more areas opened for off shore drilling. Earlier he threw another plum the Republicans way by placing priority on building new nuclear power plants. I strongly disagree with these decisions but chalk it up to Obama being Obama. It's his inside the beltway method of trying to drag defiant Republicans to the legislative table at a time when they are out to create a "waterloo" moment by whatever means necessary to defeat him and advance their conservative agenda. However, the oil spill has potentially created a new political calculus.


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Tigner James - Blogger,Media personality, Inspirational and Motivational writer. The Soul's Remedy Ministries blog is known for daily-distributed Good Morning! Affirmations, devotions, and testimonies. Tigner James also host weekly radio show Soulful Sundays – A Place Called Soulsville, Sundays at 12 noon eastern. streamlive www.wigoam.com or Tunein app
Thursday, March 31, 2016
Good Morning! - Does Man Limit God?
Posted by Souls Remedy at 1:51 AM
Labels: does man limit God, don't limit your treasures, doubting God, God Power, Good morning, The power of the tongue, the souls remedy, Tigner Rand
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text: This blog of mine has moved and been renamed to www.brittanyaray.com. Come take a look around. I am still getting all the kinks worked out. It will take some time but I already like it a lot better. Please make sure to change any links that you may have in any readers or what not.


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Elder Nguyen opened his mission call on Saturday, June 20, 2015 and learned that he had been called to serve in the Russia Novosibirsk mission for a period of 24 months beginning in August 2015. This blog will detail his journey.
As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (some people call members "Mormons"), Elder Nguyen will serve the people of Russia and teach those interested about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is a wonderful opportunity to love and serve God's children.


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Cheney Effect [chay nee ee fekt]n. the manifestation of personality changes brought on by the reception of a transplanted organ, usually the heart. JEFFREY EUGENIDESThe book is scheduled to be out next month.
dark natter [dark nat ur]n. an analogue of dark matter, which astrophysicists speculate may constitute as much as 90 percent of the universe, dark natter is empty but continuous chatter of an ominous sort, whether in direct discourse, by way of the electronic media, or in print. A lethal cloud of dark natter formed above the nation's capital and is reported to be drifting in all directions. JOYCE CAROL OATES
limbaugh [lihm bah]n. a trait that renders one's testimony less relevant. Often used to refer to a paradox of hypocrisy, as when a commentator on public morals and ethics is himself a felonious drug addict. The fact that the president dodged the draft is a limbaugh for him, given he would like to send troops to their deaths. DAVE EGGERS"
Sunday, 18 July 2004
Wonder what Dubyaed will mean?
Some extracts from The Future Dictionary of America, which has contributions from Dave Eggers, Joyce Carol Oates, as excerpted in NewYorkMetro.com:
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Vintage EINAR MODAHL ? Silver Modernist Brooch 60mm by 30mm - vg cond
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A nice vintage Einar Modahl Modernist Silver Brooch.If you are an overseas bidder please check with me for postal costs and to see if I will actually ship to your country The makers mark is for Einar Modahl ? marked 925S Modahl mark N and then Norge, it also is marked again with a ND mark a import mark .925 and what looks like a letter (l) The brooch is in an excellent condition for the age. Please note that vintage items may have some expected and associated light age wear so please look at the images and please ask questions if necessary


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Received Friday, October 29, 2010
Friday afternoon, 10/29, Harbor Island Park, Mamaroneck, NY, 5 pm. Your nanny is Carribean, wore a short black jacket, skintight blue jeans/leggings, heavyset, short hair pulled back tightly off her face. She was in charge of 3 Caucasian girls, approx 9-10 yrs old. One of the girls, dressed only in a white tee and pants (it was a very windy and chilly 50 degrees) fell off the playground equipment (spinning disc) and was writhing in pain on floor, sobbing, wasn't getting up. I asked where her mother/babysitter was, and her friend told me they were under the care of her babysitter. (Apparently the injured girl was on a playdate with that friend and her friend's babysitter.) I told the friend to get the babysitter, and she proceeds to run down to a parked car at the end of the lot, nowhere within view of the playground. Several minutes later, the nanny strolls - VERY slowly - toward the playground. I asked if she were in charge of the injured girl; she said yes and then immediately unleashed a barrage of expletives about me getting involved in her business and telling a nanny how to do her job. Mind you, I merely asked if she were in charge. Also, at no point during her screaming did she even CHECK to see if the girl was ok. She demanded that the girls tell her what they said that prompted me and other concerned adults to get involved, and then sped off. Another parkgoer took down the babysitter's license plate number, and I hope she posts it here.


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Today is the second week for the current challenge over at ABAC. The continuing challenge is Tie It Up which means anything you can tie needs to be used on your project.
This notebook I did for my mom because she has been begging for one for awhile. I guess she likes all the other ones I made for myself and gave as gifts that she wanted one too.


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Jentra Extended Slide Lock Black G43
Price: $12.95
14ea in stock available for immediate delivery
Code: JTL-4
Weight: 0.01pounds
Additional InformationThe Tak Lok Jentra Extended Slide Lock is a precision laser cut extended slide lock lever (slide removal lever) that is designed for easier slide removal. TAK LOK is longer than the OEM lever but not long enough to Snag or hangup on holsters. Benefits: •Longer for easier gripping •Nicer looking than stamped levers •Properly hardened for durability & dependability •Properly sized for a perfect fit •Easy to install, no fitting, instructions included (Fits G43)
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Even though today was a scheduled day off for me, I asked permission to travel some of the closed roads in the sanctuary area of the refuge so I'll be prepared to answer questions from the public when they open on September 1. Permission was given as long as I used a refuge vehicle, so at 8:00 this morning my sidekick, Rachel, and I headed off for a day of exploring.
The first stop was at a small bridge near the beginning of the Chippewa Trail. A long time ago, loggers sent their logs down the Otter Tail River. There is one log that has been stuck just past this bridge underwater for over 100 years. It's visible just under where I took this shot.
My idea was to send Rachel descending down the slope to check out what swallows had nests under the bridge. Being young and agile, she was game for the challenge.
For some reason, she declined my suggestion to take off her shoes and wade through the deep rushing water under the bridge to get a closer look at the barn swallow nests. I don't know what's the matter with this younger generation. She mumbled something about all the ticks and leeches. Pfft! Likely excuse!
As we continued on our way, we enjoyed the wildflowers that were blooming. One of these days I've got to get me a wildflower book. I surely enjoy looking at them, but I just don't seem to have the burning desire to identify them like I do with birds.
The damselfly and dragonfly explosion continues… along with battling the ticks and now deer flies. Some people call them black flies up here, but, you know, they're those triangle shaped nasty bugs that give very painful bites. Bug spray doesn't work against them. I guess you just have to put up with them. I avoided getting bit by them today, but because of a side trip I'll talk about tomorrow, I had to remove an astronomical number of ticks from my body today. If I didn't like what I'm doing here so much, those ticks just might persuade me to leave.
It's peaceful scenes like this that make me want to stay. So few people get to enjoy this along with the background sounds of loons, swans, and sandhill cranes, that it has hooked me on serving at this refuge.
Rachel and I spent close to eight hours discovering the jewels to be found within a small part of the 40,000 acres of Tamarac NWR. At one point, we came across a gathering of 36 trumpeter swans on Flat Lake. What a thrill! These four were just a part of the group that were loafing and preening along the shore. After declining to shockingly few numbers across the country, these swans were reintroduced in Minnesota here on Tamarac. It's estimated that there are now 5000 trumpeter swans in Minnesota, and they all started here. Cool beans!
To me, our afternoon encounters were just as exciting. I'll chat about those in tomorrow's post as this one is long enough for tonight. I appreciate the suggestions about my new shower head. I can hand hold it, and that's what I'll be doing until I can come up with a workable solution.
Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later, Judy


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Reading film critic Roger Ebert's correspondence with the producer and director of Chaos, a movie I shall likely never see, I had a similar feeling.
I read Ebert every week -- not because I agree with him, which I often do not, but because he's a good writer. He's funny, creative, thoughtful, and tells you why he thinks what he does about a movie. Often that is enough to help me decide whether or not I want to see a given flick. If, for instance, a movie is a warm and sensitive portrayal of a reverse-transsexual homosexual surviving his/her/its narrow, rigid, repressed, hate-filled Fundamentalist Christian Republican evil white parents (and yes, I did just say the same thing nine different ways, in Ebert's thought-world), and finding meaning in days filled with sex and directionless motion, he'll commonly give it fifteen stars. If it's foreign-made and subtitled, sixteen. (I exaggerate, slightly.)
My favorite bad Ebert review was his of Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring. He spends most of the review talking about what he thinks of the book, and only gives passing reference to the movie here and there. He likes it, but not totally; no lesbians, no evil Christians, three stars only -- maybe including an extra star for the subtitles. And what's worse, he misunderstands the book! He thinks it was "about brave little creatures who enlist powerful men and wizards to help them in a dangerous crusade." Right -- except the opposite!
"Me digress," as Cookie Monster would say.
Ebert hated the movie Chaos. He explains exactly why, in classic Ebertesque fashion: he wrote that the movie
is ugly, nihilistic, and cruel -- a film I regret having seen. I urge you to avoid it. Don't make the mistake of thinking it's 'only' a horror film, or a slasher film. It is an exercise in heartless cruelty and it ends with careless brutality. The movie denies not only the value of life, but the possibility of hope.He gave it no stars. This provoked the producer and director to write a response letter, challenging his perception. They argue that it is a post-9/11 horror movie, reflecting the ugly evil of our times. They plainly see themselves and their film as visionary:
We tried to give you and the public something real. Real evil exists and cannot be ignored, sanitized or exploited. It needs to be shown just as it is, which is why we need this [crud], to use your own coarse words. And if this upsets you, or "disquiets" you, or leaves you "saddened," that's the point. So instead of telling the public to avoid this film, shouldn't you let them make their own decision?Ebert is, to say the least, not persuaded by their response. Here is the conclusion of his surrejoinder:
But what is Ebert's answer? He provides none, specifically. What he really says amounts to this: "I don't like the hopelessness of your portrayal. I like feeling hopeful. There are things that make me feel hopeful, even if they're untrue (myth). I like them better."Animals do not know they are going to die, and require no way to deal with that implacable fact. Humans, who know we will die, have been given the consolations of art, myth, hope, science, religion, philosophy, and even denial, even movies, to help us reconcile with that final fact. What I object to most of all in "Chaos" is not the sadism, the brutality, the torture, the nihilism, but the absence of any alternative to them. If the world has indeed become as evil as you think, then we need the redemptive power of artists, poets, philosophers and theologians more than ever.
Your answer, that the world is evil and therefore it is your responsibility to reflect it, is no answer at all, but a surrender.
Well, we all like feeling good over feeling bad. I prefer to think that my income is not taxed. I prefer to think I can drive as fast as I want. I prefer to think I can gratify every impulse I have without one negative consequence.
There's only one itty-bitty snag: what I'd like is not true. If I'm to find hope, it must be truth-based, or it is delusional, and anyone's hope (or hopelessness) is as good as anyone else's.
On Mr. Ebert's premises, I'd have to side with the filmmakers. Solomon saw it long ago, and wrote it out for us in Ecclesiastes. If the God of the Bible is not true, then "under the sun" there is no meaning, no joy, no redemption, no purpose. It's all ugly and squalid. Immediately under the surface of every pleasure is the yawning chasm of chaos, and the grinning skull of Death.
Now, I reject the filmmaker's premise because I don't share Mr. Ebert's worldview, nor theirs. I believe Jesus. Because I believe Jesus, I believe the Bible, and the Bible gives a comprehensive solution to the problem of evil (which I've sketched out briefly elsewhere).
So meanwhile, the best Ebert and the makers of Chaos can do is mud-wrestle. Their premises are equally sound, and equally baseless. They've both autonomously patched together their worldviews, and neither can find a purchase by which to throw the other.
God grant that they find the sole unshifting pivot point of the word of the infinite-personal God of Scripture. Only the house built on the rock will stand (Matthew 7:24-27).


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Through months of campaigning and 18 debates, the Republican presidential candidates have limned a range of issues -- from taxation and corporate personhood to abortion and gay marriage, even open marriage. Economic concerns have predictably loomed large, and of course we want to know if they'd launch a strike against Iran. But how about their views on public education?
With No Child Left Behind being overhauled and nationwide school testing scandals and teacher accountability measures in the news, K-12 public schooling is an issue that many care about deeply. So, as a public service, here is a brief synopsis of the education platforms, such as they are, of the Republican candidates, gleaned from their official Web sites and news reports.
Newt Gingrich: In addition to Gingrich's recent eyebrow-raising statements about employing school children as janitors in their schools, he has other ideas on education, which he elaborates as "A 21st Century Learning System" on his campaign website. The Gingrich system favors parent choice, which means no limits on charter schools or home schooling and no teacher unions to muck things up. Merit pay and no tenure for teachers, and a state-created "rigorous standard that allows every student everywhere to master the skills they will need to be competitive." What's not to like about rigor?
Gingrich would shrink the federal Department of Education, reducing it to a collector of data and research and turn most of the control over schools to local districts. Schools can design their own curricula -- with state approval. And the erstwhile professor provocatively calls for every student to learn to read, "and much of what they read should reinforce American civilization." Presumably, that could include such soon-to-be classics as Gingrich's own books, like Pearl Harbor: A Novel of December 8th or Rediscovering God in America.
Mitt Romney: The man from Bain, who attended elite private schools, stands out for the complete absence of any specific educational agenda on his campaign Web site. His "Plan for Jobs and Economic Growth" mentions education fleetingly: "From preschool to PhD, America must have the best education system. If we want to turn things around, and for our economy to bloom in the future, we need an absolute focus on educational excellence." But that's about it.
In the past, Romney was for eliminating the fed ed department, but changed his mind. In his prior presidential run, he said he supported No Child Left Behind and its accountability and testing mandates, but said states need flexibility in meeting testing and achievement standards--which is exactly what the Obama administration decided to do. He supports charter schools and opposes limits on their proliferation.
Romney's proxy on education is Phil Handy, a Florida financier whom the Orland Sentinel described as a "campaign rainmaker." Handy was a three-time Jeb Bush campaign chairman, and the state's Board of Education chairman for six years. Romney last October named Handy co-chair of both his Florida Advisory Committee and his National Education Policy Committee, which apparently has not done much that is newsworthy.
Rick Santorum: The "true conservative," as Santorum calls himself, doesn't specifically focus on U.S. public schools in his platform plank called, "Restoring America's Greatness Through Educational Freedom And Opportunity."
Mostly, Santorum believes in anything-but-traditional public schools. He especially likes home schooling -- his seven children have been home schooled. He believes education is the responsibility of consumers -- the parents -- who have the "right to direct the upbringing and education of their children with local school systems supporting, as desired." His crazy-quilt, avant garde approach to schooling got his family into hot water and headlines back in 2004 when a school board member in Penn Hills went public with the fact that Santorum's family was claiming local residency when they'd actually moved years earlier to Virginia. The Santorums had enrolled five of their kids in a Pennsylvania online charter school and got the Penn Hills district to pay for it -- to the tune of about $72,000, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The Santorums yanked their kids out of the Pennsylvania cyber school and were not required to repay any of the districts costs.
Santorum is a booster of charters and online learning and would remove any constraints to increasing them. Common core curricula are okay, as long as they are not forced on any school. The fed role should be limited to civil rights protections of disabled students, enabling research and promoting equality of opportunity. No mention of federal funding of schools. The problem with schools, which he doesn't identify, can only be solved at the state and local levels. Federal legislation won't work. However, Santorum used to think federal legislation was appropriate at the local school level when he was a senator. His now-infamous amendment to No Child Left Behind aimed to encourage public school science classes to teach controversies about such theories as evolution. But that was then.
Ron Paul: The libertarian Texan claims the mantle of "home schooling champion" on his campaign Web site and that means he thinks the feds should mostly get out of the way and let parents take charge of kids' education. Paul doesn't have any ideas for fixing public schools; he believes the government's most useful role is to give tax credits for home schooling and make sure that home schooling remains a "practical alternative" for families. Enough said.


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Last week was really hard on me. I went to the appointment on Wednesday and then wasn't able to keep anything down on Thursday. On Friday, Ben called home and was worried about how I was doing. He made me promise to call and get a same day appointment at the OB clinic.
I really was not doing well, I had been sleeping on the couch through the day and fighting to keep down water, so I called my friend Katherine and asked her to come help me. She called the OB clinic, but they were closed for the holiday weekend, so she called around and was told to take me to the Emergency Room. We dropped Lauren with Katherine's sister in law and went to the base. I only had to wait about an hour to be taken back and seen by a nurse. They took my vitals and started an IV. The doctor came in to talk to me and he prescribed Zofran for my morning sickness. It doesn't make me drowsy, so that makes it better than the Phenergan I took when I was pregnant with Lauren. They pushed Zofran through my IV then had me wait for it to kick in. I then had to eat some crackers and juice, and when I didn't throw that up, they got me ready to go. The whole trip, from the time we walked into the waiting room until I was done and had picked up my prescription at the pharmacy was about 4 hours.
It made a huge difference. I haven't thrown up since, though I do still get a queasy feeling. That just means I'm hungry, and once I eat I feel better. I've been back up and catching up on everything I had let slide when I wasn't feeling well. Hopefully I'll take some new pictures to post soon.
Lauren is doing great. She is stringing together small sentences now. She's been really good especially the last week when I wasn't as attentive as I'd have liked to have been.
Rachelle bought plane tickets to come visit in June, and I'm really excited to have her here. I haven't planned anything, I just want to get in some good hanging out time.
7 hours ago


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Category Archives: Career Advice
2015: Let's Do This!!
Happy New Year! For some reason, I did not do a year in review post for 2013 or make any resolutions for 2014. So let's fast forward and do one this time. This last year was an amazing year for me professionally: I moved to Atlanta, started working for an amazing company (Innovative Architects), traveled across the country speaking at different SQL Saturday events, and ultimately Microsoft named me a SQL Server MVP for 2014. How do you top that? I am not sure that it is possible, but I plan on trying.
So now I think I have a plan for 2015. Are you ready?
I am planning on speaking for at least five out-of-state SQL Saturdays, helping coordinate our event here in Atlanta again, attending PASS Summit again in Seattle, volunteering with the PASS organization again, and submitting to speak again. As a speaker I will continue to grow, and I am doing my first pre-conference session in Nashville on January 15th with my good friend Mike Lawell (t|b). In addition, I have been named an Ambassador for IA for 2015 and will continue to be vocal about our #WorkSomePlaceAwesome campaign, help with recruitment, and giving back to the community.
While we are on the subject, this company that I work for has a motto that 'we work with people who do not suck.' This mentality leads to an amazing and fun work place. It is by far the best job that I have ever had and that is saying a lot since I once had a dream job around the turn of the millennium. Anyway, since being named MVP by Microsoft, we now have three working at IA and I am going to try and help encourage a few others to be more active in the community and possibly grow some more MVPs. In addition, there are a few other speakers in my Atlanta MDF user group that I believe can or should be MVPs as well. The theme for this year professionally I believe will be to help others grow as I grow.
So let's get to the fun resolutions while we are here.
I will double my live concert output from last year and see at least 25 this year alone (have tickets for four upcoming shows currently). I am a season ticket holder for the Braves this year and that will double the amount of games that I went to last year. I will also aim to do at least five other sporting events next year (Falcons, Hawks, Gwinnett Braves, the GT-UGA football game, and possibly the Gwinnett Gladiators hockey team). Let's also throw in a few Broadway shows and plays (I have tickets to Wicked already for February) as well as some cultural events as Atlanta has epic festivals and events such as Dragon Con. Finally I also plan to try to finish my Atlanta bucket list (which has 50 items that every person should see or do in Atlanta…I did nine of them in 2014).
Oh I almost forgot that I am moving in a couple of weeks to the Old Fourth Ward area of downtown Atlanta which is a culturally rich area and will start a new chapter of my Atlanta journey. I am moving into a renovated nearly hundred year old Sears & Roebuck warehouse, now called Ponce City Market which will be the epicenter of awesomeness in 2015 and has already been recognized in several publications. If you are passing through Atlanta in 2015, come see me after the winter and the mixed use development should be completed and in full swing. Then we can play putt putt on the roof or have a drink in an old train box car on the roof viewing the gorgeous Atlanta skyline as well as visiting some of the stellar restaurants located inside the building.
I hope you have an epic 2015! Happy New Year!
Presenting at Summit 2013
Today I was thinking about the SQL PASS Summit which begins next Tuesday and I just realized that I have yet to announce that I was chosen to speak for the very first time at the Summit. I am so humbled and excited at this opportunity. I cannot begin to thank the program committee, PASS headquarters, and the SQL community enough for everything they have done for me in the past few years. At this point in my career, I truly feel that my career has exploded thanks to my involvement with SQL PASS.
Rob Volk (b|t) and I had this idea to do a humorous session where we play Laurel and Hardy depicting the interactions between junior and senior DBAs. It should be a good time for all. Our session is Wednesday at 3pm, come by and say hi. Enjoy!
Bucket List Finally Compiled
For years when someone has mentioned something really intriguing I would of course respond with oh yeah I am adding that to my bucket list, or things you want to do before you die. Well a few weeks ago, I finally decided to actually compile a list just to more or less set some goals in life long-term that I would like to accomplish. I have done many parts of these items, such as sleep in every state in the country, but I am going to reset the list and move forward from this day forth. Enjoy!
- Go to Idaho and declare it to be "My own private Idaho" to everyone I encounter, no exceptions.
- Spend at least one night in every single state in the Union.
- Visit the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Grand Central Station, watch the ball drop in Times Square, grab the bull's balls on Wall Street, dance on the Big keyboard at FAO Schwartz. Sing New York, New York at a karaoke bar, laugh at people falling while they ice skate in Rockefeller plaza. Take a cab and tell him he's going the wrong way, and jog through Central Park.
- Have a beer and a dog at every Major League Baseball stadium.
- Watch when the Braves win the World Series from the stands.
- Watch when the Gators win the National Championship from the stands.
- Take a selfie on the top of a mountain that I hiked.
- Visit every port of call in the Caribbean.
- Have a place that when I walk in they yell "Ed" because it's a place where everybody knows your name!
- Take a Mediterranean cruise.
- Sing "We Are the Boys of Florida" and the Alma Mater from the top of my lungs at every SEC stadium.
- Take an Alaskan cruise.
- Dress up like Gene Simmons from Kiss in full regalia and go grocery shopping.
- Attend the European SQL Bits conference.
- Attend a SQL Saturday on four different continents.
- Pack our bags and drive with no destination in mind stopping in random places.
- Take a vacation along route 66.
- Parasail into some blue water source.
- Zipline down a mountain.
- Visit Oklahoma and sing "Surry with the Fringe on Top" to everyone you encounter, no exceptions.
- Take a selfie in front of Mt Rushmore, the Grand Canyon, Buckingham Palace, Eiffel Tower, Musee du Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, the Great Pyramid of Giza, Stone Henge, the Colisseum, and the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
- Ride the Cable Cars in San Francisco and sing the Rice A Roni song. Visit the Golden Gate Bridge and tell everyone not to jump.
- Sing along with the Opera in Sydney.
- Go to Carnivale in Rio de Janeiro.
- Go cage diving in South Africa with a great white.
- Visit the Alamo and run across the field yelling "I remembered the Alamo!"
- See the northern lights.
- Learn to scuba dive.
- Tour Europe from a train.
- Eat chocolate in Switzerland.
- Ride in a sleeper car on Amtrak across the country and occasionally sing the Gambler in the dining car.
- Spend days getting lost in Italian and French art museums.
- Ride in a gondola in Venice.
- Find all the David statues in Florence and take a picture with his junk.
- Walk in Caesar's footsteps and constantly shout out "Et tu Brute!"
- Take a European vacation and drive around the circle yelling "Parliament House, Big Ben"
- Visit a beach on five different continents.
- Take a polar plunge.
- Get over my fear of ice skating.
- Bungee jump and yell "she pushed me, please stop this ride"
- Ride in a hot air balloon.
- Make a difference in someone's life.
- Experience a sunset and sunrise on four different oceans.
- Visit the volcanoes in Hawaii and calling it Hav-a-ee the whole time.
- Visit at least five Castles.
- Go to the real comic con in California.
- Having dinner with SQL Server friends in their neck of the woods.
- Steal someone's bacon.
- Write a new bucket list because you cannot die if you still have items on your list.
Saddened #WIT
My daughter started at the University of South Florida this week and a story she told me last night made me sad, very sad. Her roommate is a bright young lady who has chosen to major in engineering. With my strong feelings for the Women in Technology group within our SQL Server community, this made me very happy to hear about her desire to enter a STEM profession. However, after two days of classes, I was told that she has already been harassed and ridiculed for her choice of major in the predominately male classes. At this point I really do not know the specifics nor does that matter. The fact remains that there was enough of a problem that she told my daughter about it. That makes me angry.
I am thinking the next time that I go back to campus, I will do my best to encourage this young lady with some personal stories of strong, courageous women in technology that I know. Until then I told my daughter to encourage her and to let her know that I am rooting for her and to not give up because our STEM professions need her, our society needs her, and we need her.
A Month, Really?
Wow, I just realized this morning that an entire month has passed since I last blogged. Surprisingly, much has happened yet I could barely find time to blog. That isn't necessarily true, but it sounds better than I've been lazy for the last 30 days.
So let's do a rundown real quick of the last month. I spoke at the very first SQL Saturday in beautiful Cocoa Beach, Florida and had an amazing time catching up with old friends and meeting new ones. I completed my dizzying full-time college schedule with resounding success in my first semester back to the glorious University of Florida in pursuit of a Business Administration degree. Last but not least, Rob Volk (b | t) and I were selected to present our Lightning Talk for the PASS Summit in Charlotte, North Carolina. That is an extremely humbling and terribly exciting feeling. Our session, titled "DBAs in Toyland: Here's Another Fine Mess You've Gotten Me Into!" is going to be a lot of fun to present as Rob and I are thoroughly enjoying the process of putting it together. Enjoy!
What Motivates You?
What motivates you? Every time I think about work and motivation, I am reminded of the quote from Office Space:
Peter Gibbons: The thing is, Bob, it's not that I'm lazy, it's that I just don't care.
Bob Porter: Don't… don't care?
Peter Gibbons: It's a problem of motivation, all right? Now if I work my ass off and Initech ships a few extra units, I don't see another dime, so where's the motivation? And here's something else, Bob: I have eight different bosses right now.
Bob Slydell: I beg your pardon?
Peter Gibbons: Eight bosses.
Bob Slydell: Eight?
Peter Gibbons: Eight, Bob. So that means that when I make a mistake, I have eight different people coming by to tell me about it. That's my only real motivation is not to be hassled, that and the fear of losing my job. But you know, Bob, that will only make someone work just hard enough not to get fired.
I see this all the time. When I started at my current position and I worked hard on projects, everyone said: "Why bother, it's not going to get you anywhere." After working here for two years, I am starting to understand that logic sadly enough. However, It goes against how I was raised.
In addition, money is the ultimate motivator, but not the only motivation. For me it is growth, I am not out to break the bank. But, I do want to be acknowledged with regular raises. I personally need something to work for, a goal whether it be financial or a clear path for potential growth. Currently I have reached a glass ceiling, there is nowhere to go and without raises, I must rely on personal motivation. Yet, everyone around me is performing less and less due to the lack of motivation. It is difficult not to become Peter Gibbons. Maybe it is time to move on? However, I must fight to remain motivated.
We had a meeting this morning where our Director talked about initiatives and people bringing forth new ideas to help streamline our department. Therefore, soon I will be bringing forth a new initiative to eliminate Oracle altogether and replace it with SQL Server. It will ultimately be denied because of the cost involved with the conversion but they will have to discuss it and think about it. Take that Oracle, SQL Server Global Domination plan is gaining traction.
T-SQL Tuesday #42 – The Long and Winding Road
This month's T-SQL Tuesday blog meme is brought to us by Wendy Pastrick (blog|twitter) and the subject is "The Long and Winding Road."
When I saw this month's subject, I lunged forward and began to write dropping everything else that I was working on. Why? Any chance to incorporate SQL Server with the Beatles is worth the time and effort. After all, they are the greatest band of all time and if you disagree then you are just going to have to live with being wrong, right?
Many moons ago, well it was actually 1997, I had written some applications in Visual Basic: yes, the old and horribly slow one, you know the one. But then I discovered Delphi (Object Pascal for the kiddies) and wrote amazing some amazing applications. I even wrote a few games back then just to prove to myself that I could, they were not horribly great but I felt accomplished and I often wonder where those floppies are so that I could play them again. Programming was my passion and it felt so amazing to create something from scratch, my own creation, my own Frankenstein: "It's Alive!"
From there a company noticed some of my freeware applications and offered to move me to Virginia and teach me to write business applications in Progress 4GL for Unix and Windows. Wait, you are going to train me, mentor me, and pay me double my current salary. I'm in. Progress was an amazing product with a very well written SQL-compliant RDBMS that rivaled Sybase, Informix and Oracle only without the marketing hype. Their claim back then was that they were in over 60% of the Fortune 500. The problem was that with their Value Added Reseller structure, many vendors would repackage their database as their own (as was allowed if they paid enough for the rights to distribute the product), so many of those companies had no idea that their database was "Powered by Progress."
My years with the product were amazing learning to write code that would run in Unix, compile and run in Windows and then eventually would become used inside of tags of HTML to deliver data to the web was ground breaking at the time. I was sure that this was the future, so much so that I became a consultant for the company traveling the globe for two years helping clients with installation, troubleshooting and training. I drank the kool-aid. I was pretty sure that with a little marketing they would sink the Oracle juggernaut.
At one company I even administered a SQL Server 6.5 and 7.0 boxes because they had vendor software that required it and I was the database guy for Progress. I remember thinking how SQL Server was so miniscule compared to Progress. I remember thinking that they will never make it in this sector. Well I was wrong about the Xbox, too.
Enter early 2004, I had just successfully completed a fulfilling project and was looking for my next contract opportunity. The well was dry, there were no opportunities for Progress. I had a home and a small children and my family did not want to move. The road had ended that day. I had to take a job as a systems administrator to make ends meet. The dream was over. In the words of the Beatles….
The wild and windy night, that the rain washed away
Has left a pool of tears crying for the day
Why leave me standing here? Let me know the way
Then in 2008, I started a position that was part programmer and part SQL Server DBA. Prior to this, I contemplated going back to school and leaving the IT field. But as the Beatles would say…
And still they lead me back to the long winding road
You left me standing here a long, long time ago
Don't leave me waiting here lead me to your door
The dream had come full circle, I found my new passion: SQL Server. It really was my old passion in disguise: DATA! Hopefully this technology will be the one for many years to come, what do you think?
T-SQL Tuesday #41 – Why I Love Presenting
This month's T-SQL Tuesday blog meme is brought to us by Bob Pusateri (blog|twitter) and the subject is "how did you come to love presenting?"
For me I am not sure that I am at that point. I love being a presenter, I love going to the speaker dinners for SQL Saturday events, I love meeting other speakers and talking about presenting, but in all honesty I am not sure that I am in love with presenting. But I am getting there. Presenting still terrifies the hell out of me, but it is a fear that I set out to conquer last year as a goal in my personal development plan.
For a long time, if an activity involved a public speaking component I avoided it like the plague. Seriously. I am not kidding here. I coached Dixie Youth baseball and Pop Warner football and every year I had to give a first practice speech. I would spend a couple of sleepless nights and I would vomit several times before muttering something from my note cards and then quickly move on to begin the practice. The last few years I stopped doing it all together and went around to the parents individually and this worked much better for me. Crisis averted. Problem put back on the shelf for a later date.
After several SQL Saturdays, I started to think that I could do this again. Some time ago, I was a consultant that also provided week-long training courses in addition to programming and DBA work in Progress 4GL RDBMS, but all of the material that I presented was created by a team (similar to a Microsoft training course) of professionals. Whenever I got nervous in those courses, I could always go back into the material as it had notes on the slides. It was fool-proof, and after doing them over and over I was a pro at it. But after not doing this for twelve years, the fear took over again.
After presenting a lightning talk in Pensacola, a couple of user group meetings and a few SQL Saturdays, the fight or flight reflex has lessened and the vomiting is non-existent. I can do this, I am doing this, and I will conquer this. I can proudly say that I brushed the fear back and now think that I am getting better at this. I am starting to love presenting, it has a foothold in the depth of my being. What about you?
A Different Perspective
Every day at lunch I walk around the perimeter of the work compound in the fresh sunshine. I have done this for over three months now. Today, however, I went in the reverse direction and everything appeared different. Obviously, it was the same compound with all of the same buildings and the same roads. But when you approach it from a different prospective, your view is altered. Today I saw things from a different light and it appeared as a new shining vista, fresh and renewed.
Work is the same dynamic, some times we need simply to walk in a different direction to get a new perspective. Sit with your developers and see how they see the data. Find out what problems they are having from their point of view. Look at your environment from a different perspective and maybe you will find a new shining vista too. Enjoy!


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Thursday, July 17, 2014
Imagine this
6 comments:
Okay, I'm a little in love with this truck too. Too bad your not in my neck of the woods because I would take this off your neighbors hands in a heart beat! :) I'm moving back to the states in a few months and I'll need a truck :)ReplyDelete
I, too, would love to own this truck. Right now we only have the one car, and it's available, but not if he wants it. You know how that is. It would be my independence. But no, I can't afford it while we are looking to move.ReplyDelete
Three of us, and no buyer.
I love 69 Camaro's - they are one of my dream cars too. I love the color of the truck too - they sure don't make them like the good old days.ReplyDelete
someone has to win it so why not you!ReplyDelete
- SusanaJuly 18, 2014 at 2:51 AM
I remember my dad had one, It was fun riding on the back , I wasn't allow to drive it, toooooo young at that time.ReplyDelete
You should have it if you really like it.
How fun! Love the baby blue color!ReplyDelete


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Revised MBChB Programme: Themed Case Discussion events for Session Leads and facilitators 24/06/16, 09:30 - 11:30
PRIME: All Workshops
Friday, 24 June 2016 from 09:30 to 11:30 (BST)
Event Details
***It is necessary to register if you wish to attend due workshop capacity*** If the event is full there will be a limited number of waiting list places available, once these have been taken the event is sold out and we reccomend you look at future workshop dates.
A key element of the revised Yr 3 will be 'Clinical Reasoning Case Discussions'. This will be in the form of a large group session, where students will work through an unseen clinical case with a Session Lead and Facilitators. Students will be required to demonstrate their knowledge acquisition, cognition and ability to transfer knowledge during this session. The use of real-world scenarios will encourage students to develop diagnostic skills and begin to understand cognitive errors inherent in this process. The students will also attend sessions on "Patient Centred Consulting" on the same day to allow flexibility to discuss issues as they become topical, such as discharge planning, community services, care and compassion. This workshop will explain the session process, the roles of Session Leads and Facilitators and how it fits with the revised programme.
When & Where
Room 2A
Anaesthetics department, MRI
Oxford Road
M13 9WL Manchester
United Kingdom
Friday, 24 June 2016 from 09:30 to 11:30 (BST)
Add to my calendar
PRIME: All Workshops
These sessions are part of a series of staff development workshops run by the Manchester Medical School. For further details and related workshops please see the PRIME website.
The workshops are free and open to all staff involved in teaching Manchester medical undergraduates. Places on workshops are limited so booking is essential.
Show: All workshops | PBL | OSCE | Communication | Conference | Supervision | Giving Feedback | OSCE Writing


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'Ascendant' TV Series Based on the 'Divergent' Franchise Coming to Starz
According to Deadline, Starz is developing a TV series titled Ascendant, based on the Divergent film franchise. The show was originally intended as a feature film, which would have been the fourth in the series, based on the books by Veronica Roth.
The first two films, 2014's Divergent and 2015's Insurgent, did well at the box office, but the third, 2016's Allegiant, performed poorly. In July 2016, news broke that Lionsgate was considering moving the franchise to the small screen. Yahoo Movies was there when Shailene Woodley, who plays Beatrice "Tris" Prior, heard the news, and she did not seem pleased. Later, Woodley spoke with Screen Rant and said, "I didn't sign up to be in a television show. Out of respect to the studio and everyone in involved, they may have changed their mind and may be doing something different, but I'm not necessarily interested in doing a television show."
Woodley appeared on the first season of HBO's Big Little Lies, so it's possible she may have changed her mind since that interview. Woodley aside, it's unclear whether the rest of the film cast would be on board, either, so we may be seeing all new faces. If the films' stars aren't available, there are plenty of other characters and storylines that the show could mine from the books, which are set in a dystopian future where individuals are sorted into factions based on their skills. In the book series, Tris's mom, Natalie, has a compelling backstory about the faction she ended up joining. The show might opt to do a prequel of the film series focusing on Natalie, or the beginning of the sorting technique after the fall of modern society. There are also several other cities mentioned in the books that are undergoing their own issues and problems, and mentions of these were left out of the films.
Shailene Woodley discusses her regrettable post-protest mug shot on The Late Show
Read more from Yahoo TV:
- James Corden's Disgusting Revenge on Gordon Ramsay: Eat a Fish Eye
- James Van Der Beek Reveals When 'Dawson's Creek' Jumped the Shark
- How the Unabomber Got His Nickname Might Surprise You
Tell us what you think! Hit us up on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, or leave your comments below. And check out our host, Khail Anonymous, on Twitter.