text:
Computer program tracks expenses Questions and uncertainty about weather, commodity prices, marketing options and regulatory restrictions loom in the minds of peanut producers throughout the year. Growers also face the battle of obtaining additional funds from lenders if they do not have a solid grasp on their production costs.
One survival kit for helping farmers determine the actual cost of production and assessing the performance of a commodity is a new management cost tracking system, FARMCATS. The system - Field and Resource Management Cost Accounting Tracking System - helps farmers know the specific cause of a loss in money or quality along with which production practices work better than others, explains Audrey Luke-Morgan, research coordinator with the National Center for Peanut Competitiveness.
The development of FARMCATS is a tri-state effort which began in Levy County, Fla. Anthony Drew, Extension director in Levy County, developed a program called REALNUT, to assist farmers in his county with record keeping. Drew worked with Luke-Morgan in 1999 to transfer the REALNUT program to Microsoft Excel and make other changes. The result is FARMCATS, which was released to growers for the first time in May 2000 for the 2000 peanut crop year.
During the first trial year of the FARMCATS program, much of the feedback was not what was expected. Many farmers stated they didn't have time to work the program, or that they received the program too late in the season. However, all of the growers who received the program in 2000 want to try it again for this year's crop.
The system employs Microsoft Excel and Visual Basic to provide a user-friendly format with a series of "buttons" for easy navigation and implementation, explains Luke-Morgan. Within the software, cells are protected so that a farmer can place information only in green highlighted cells.
The benefit to using an accounting software program, says Luke-Morgan, is simply allowing farmers to see the bottom line. "The program tracks all costs from pre-production to marketing. This makes it easy for farmers to make an analysis of their farming operation," she says.
FARMCATS is broken down into five steps. The first step deals with general information pertaining to a specific enterprise such as field names, acres, rent cost per acre, quota peanut pounds and irrigation access. Step two allows producers to enter input prices for seed, nutrients, pesticides, miscellaneous operating expenses and machinery and irrigation equipment and fixed and variable costs.
The third step in FARMCATS is where the actual production of a commodity is tracked, and it is one of the most intensive steps, says Luke-Morgan. Components in this step allow farmers to keep track of every trip they make in a field with equipment and irrigation, she says. This step also provides an excellent record of all pesticide and water application, information that will be helpful as environmental issues continue to develop, she stresses.
"FARMCATS will be very beneficial to producers in the Flint River Basin as an aid to quantify their water usage by field and to help producers respond more easily to state agencies," says Luke-Morgan.
Another component in step three tracks the marketing of the commodity. For example, whenever peanuts are sold, a standard inspection certificate and sales memorandum (FSA form 1007) is issued. FARMCATS allows the producer to input all of the information from this form and track not only the revenue generated but also quality aspects of the crop.
A further goal of the 2001 version is to link FARMCATS with the electronic grade sheet and 1007 at buying points, which currently is being developed by USDA. This would allow producers to receive a file containing all their data and to simply download it to FARMCATS without having to manually input the information, notes Luke-Morgan.
The fourth step of FARMCATS allows producers to input additional or miscellaneous income from sources other than the sale of the commodity. Examples include crop insurance indemnities, disaster transfer payments, loan deficiency payments or other income.
The final step, says Luke-Morgan, provides summary information for the farmer. An income statement is provided on both an individual field basis and an enterprise basis. A field-by-field summary with production information and financial data is provided along with a summary for irrigated versus non-irrigated fields within the enterprise.
In Levy County, peanut growers gave a nod of approval to FARMCATS. The program was received favorably, says Drew. Of course, he adds, programs like this are similar to building a house - there's always something that you want to change.
Drew stresses the importance of one-on-one instruction, at least initially, with any type of farm management software.
"Farmers should be using some type of record keeping to provide the information needed to do an analysis and look at how he should better manage his operation. When a farmer keeps these types of records, he can keep up with the costs and returns of all cultural practices," says Drew.
The most difficult part, he adds, is getting people to use the program. All bookkeeping is painful, he says.
"Records are not worth anything unless you're using them in the management of your farming operation. Management is an ongoing grading process on the farm. Something that works now may not work in five years," says Drew.
Since the initial release of the program in 2000, several changes have been made, says Luke-Morgan. The 2001 version allows farmers to keep records on other crops, including corn, wheat, soybeans and cotton. Farmers can track three fields for each of these commodities and 11 fields for peanuts.
"The software is ready to use for the 2001 crop year. Now, we need farmers who are willing to use the program and provide us with feedback on what does and does not work."
Farmers interested in trying the program for the 2001 crop year should contact their county Extension agent.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
In the first light of the dawn, the air is freezing and the grass is slippery with frost.
Makhmat Bisvov steps carefully down the path, picking his way over the stones. He breathes in deeply and lets it out in a small cloud, rejoicing in the sight of the steam. For an instant it hangs in the air, a little reminder that he's still alive, that he can experience the joy of such small things.
The village is small, a straggle of huts on either side of the mountain path. Bisvov has been here before, but that was years ago, when the people were full of hope and optimism. Now they – those that are left – hardly look at him and his men, and when they do, their faces are mistrustful and full of foreboding.
Bisvov sighs. Try as he might, he can't blame them. What has happened isn't their fault, but they're the ones who are paying for it. With their sons and their husbands, and there's still no end in sight.
He passes a young woman milking a large goat. Both the goat and the girl look up at him with silent hostility, the faces equally pinched and suspicious. He nods and smiles, but there's no answering smile from the girl. He hadn't expected any.
At the door of the chief's house he glances over his shoulder. The girl is still staring after him.
The chief's house is small and dark, with earthen walls hung with old, brown, threadbare rugs. The chief himself is at the door, and steps aside, ushering Bisvov inside. There are three low stools around an ornate old hookah set in the middle of the floor, and one of them, in the furthest and darkest corner, is already occupied.
"Salam," Bisvov says, nodding. The man in the shadows doesn't answer for a moment, and then, reluctantly, stands.
He's tall, quite a lot taller than Bisvov, has a full beard and long black hair spilling from under his balaclava. His hands are huge, his shoulders humped and powerful, and the jacket of his camouflage fatigues is stretched tight over his chest.
"Bisvov," he says, his voice neutral. "You asked for this meeting, so here I am."
"Ruslan," Bisvov replies formally. "It's good of you to come."
"Let's sit down." The chief sounds flustered. The two uniformed men both glance at him, at his wispy grey beard and sunken cheeks. "Let's sit down and talk."
"Thank you, Ataman." Bisvov sits, keeping himself as straight as he can, but even slouched opposite, the other man is bigger, and dominates the room. The chief's wary, timid eyes keep darting towards him.
"Why did you want this meeting, Bisvov?" Ruslan's eyes are dark holes under his heavy brow. He wears a green silk scarf round his neck, and pulls at the end with the hand that has a leather glove on it, the hand that lacks three fingers. "It's neither convenient nor safe for us to be here."
"My village is loyal," the chief protests, irrelevantly. Despite the chill, he's sweating slightly, and Bisvov wonders why he's so nervous. After all, neither he nor Ruslan is armed; that was the condition for the meeting.
"How long have we known each other, Ruslan?" Bisvov tries to look into the eyes of the bigger man, but the room's too dark. "A long time, isn't it? Three years? Four?"
"You know perfectly well. We first met in that damned train station."
Bisvov's mind flashes back an image of the train station as he had seen it last: blazing carriages, torn rails, platforms littered with spent cartridges and shattered glass. And he sees Ruslan as he had seen him then, lit by the red glow of the fire, screaming orders at his men. That had been a close call, with the Federal helicopters blattering overhead, machine-gunning anything that moved.
"Yes. And after that we were colleagues, weren't we, for a while? Things were different then."
"How does it matter?" Ruslan's voice is a growl. "You chose your way, I chose mine. That's all there is to it."
"But your way isn't ours. You must see that this…this jihad of yours…isn't the way we should be fighting this war. It's not the way we are, in this country."
Ruslan laughed. "You've lost touch," he said. "Things are changing. Your way isn't working any longer; it hasn't worked for a good long time now."
"Is yours working, then? Listen to me, Ruslan: your jihad is splitting the people apart. The Federals will roll over us when we're busy fighting each other. You know how many groups have already defected to the other side."
"We can do without those cowards. Bisvov, your time's over, and you should know that. You've had your chance, and you've lost. Why else are we sitting in these mountains here, and the Federal mercenaries are patrolling the streets of the cities?"
"We can fight back again, if we're united." Bisvov keeps his voice down with an effort. "But what you're doing is ruining all the unity we ever had. Your militia, and the Arab Brigade."
"The Arabs are guests, honoured guests. They're volunteering themselves for our fight, unlike some of our people I could name." Ruslan glances at the chief for some reason. The old man is looking more uncomfortable than ever, his hands fidgeting and eyes darting about. Bisvov again wonders what's wrong with him.
"The people hate the Arabs," Bisvov points out. "You know that the villagers say they misbehave with the women, tell them to cover up and so on. That's not our way."
Ruslan shrugs. "They've got a right to their views, that's all I can say. The people have to pay a price for freedom."
"Ruslan." Bisvov rubs his face tiredly. "I called this meeting to tell you this: I can't stop you from carrying out your jihad, but you don't do it in my territory. If you want your jihad, you and your militia had better go elsewhere."
"Your territory." Ruslan grins, a flash of white teeth in black beard. "What do you mean by 'your' territory?"
"This province. My militia's been placed in official charge of it, by order of the President himself. I'm responsible for what happens here."
"We don't recognise the President, not any longer. We obey only the Emir, and he says I'm in charge."
"We'll argue about that another time," Bisvov says. "But you've to move out, or I'll have to take measures to force you out."
"I don't think that's going to happen, my friend." Ruslan's hand moves, quickly, and suddenly the room's full of armed men. Bisvov is pulled to his feet, and pushed against the wall before he can react. "We're the ones in charge here."
"It wasn't my doing." The chief's eyes are wide with terror, his lips trembling. "They told me they'd hurt my family. I swear it."
"I believe you, Ataman." Bisvov shakes his head. "You're making a bad mistake, Ruslan."
"We'll see who's made the mistake." Ruslan says something to one of the others in a language Bisvov doesn't know. He glances at the other men in the room. Unmistakable Semitic features. The Arab Brigade.
Two of the Arabs hold his arms, pressing him back against the wall, while another pats him down quickly. "Laa," this third man says, stepping back and shaking his head.
"No weapons?" Ruslan seems faintly surprised. "You're too trusting for your own good, my friend."
Bisvov shrugs as far as he can with his arms pinioned. "I trusted you, because I thought you were a man of your word. I'm sorry to see you aren't."
"Sometimes there are more important things than merely keeping one's word. The emirate is more important than my word." Ruslan jerks his bearded chin at the chief, and the old ataman scurries out. "We must have freedom of action in this territory. We have big plans, and you can't be allowed to interfere."
"What kind of big plans?"
Ruslan shakes his head. "Big plans. None of your business."
"So, what happens now? What are you planning to do with me?"
"You'll make a good bargaining chip for your militia to behave itself. We won't need to hold you long, three or four days. After that you can't stop us anyway." Ruslan gestures to his men, and they drop Bisvov's arms. "You'll stay here for the time being. The ataman is being very hospitable."
"Let the poor old bastard's family go." Bisvov says. "You've got me, haven't you?"
"In a few days," Ruslan says, chuckling. "In a few days, we'll let all of you go."
Bisvov paces the room, counting off the paces, eight steps either way, six if he takes long strides, but the floor's cluttered with the stools and the hookah. The pacing is soothing, and keeps his mind focused. One of the Arabs, a short man with a chin beard, is on guard, leaning casually against the wall.
"What's your name?" Bisvov asks. No response. The man's grey eyes don't even blink.
"You speak our language, don't you?" Still no reply. "How about English?" Bisvov asks in that language, but the man might have been a statue. Only his finger moves, slipping round the trigger of his rifle, and Bisvov steps back.
"Have it your own way," he mutters, and resumes his pacing.
Through the half-open door, he can see sunlight and a patch of sky. It must be late morning already, and his deputy will have begun wondering what's happened to him. Bisvov hopes he has the sense not to come in with an armed team. The last thing the movement needs is internecine warfare. Things are bad enough already.
He pauses by the stone shelf. It bears the stub of a candle, an essential in these parts because there has never been any power supply, and an old hourglass which might have been once a valued heirloom from someone who'd visited the great cities of the north. Bisvov turns it over and watches morosely as the sand trickles down. There's a book at the back of the shelf, too, but it's a Koran, and written in Arabic, which he can't read.
The inner door opens and a girl enters. Her head's partly covered with a scarf, but her face and lower arms are bare, and the Arab guard says something sharply. The girl ignores him.
Bisvov recognises her. It's the same young woman who'd been milking the goat earlier. She has a glass of milk and offers it to him. "My father asked me to bring this to you," she says in a low voice.
"Thank him from me. And thank you too." The girl isn't pretty, but she looks distinctly friendlier now. "Your father is the ataman, I take it?"
"Yes, and he asks your pardon again." The girl watches as Bisvov drinks the milk. It's thick and has a strong smell, but his throat is dry and the liquid's welcome. "He says that it isn't the way to treat a guest, but he had no choice."
"Please tell him I understand." Bisvov gives the glass back. "Do you know if any message has come from my men?"
"No, I don't know anything about that." The girl throws a quick glance back over her shoulder at the guard. "I'll bring you something to eat in a while."
"It's all right," Bisvov says. "I'll manage." He watches as she leaves, and notices the guard's eyes following her out as well.
Time crawls by, very slowly.
It's evening when Ruslan returns. The guard has changed at noon, the new man as unresponsive as the first, and girl has just come in to light up the candle.
"What's your name?" Bisvov asks her, as she begins expertly packing the funnel of the hookah from a little copper box. "I don't smoke, you know."
"Alla," she says, not looking at him, her fingers busy with the hookah. "My father asked me to fill it. There are people coming."
"That's right." Ruslan enters, ducking his head to avoid hitting it on the lintel. "Somebody from your group, and I, of course, and a couple of village elders. We'll have a regular summit meeting."
"What are the elders for? It seems to me that you take decisions pretty much by yourself."
Ruslan is about to say something, when the guard motions. "Send him in."
Zelim, Bisvov's deputy, enters, looking around. Seeing Bisvov, he steps quickly forward. "Are you all right?"
"Well, I haven't been physically harmed, if that's what you mean." He looks at Ruslan, and back at Zelim again. "You didn't come alone and unarmed, I hope?"
"No, I've got men positioned around the village, Are you expecting trouble?"
"Ask Ruslan. If trouble comes it won't be from me."
The big man raises his hands, palms out. "If there's going to be trouble, it won't be from my side. This is a genuine meeting I called."
The ataman enters, with a couple of other elderly men, probably members of the village council. The three uniformed men watch as they take their places round the hookah. Alla lights the hookah and leaves hurriedly, pulling her scarf further over her hair.
"We're here," Ruslan says, "to work out some kind of compromise. We don't want to harm anyone, but we don't want our freedom of action restricted either. Am I clear on this?"
"We don't want any trouble," one of the old men mumbles. Hookah smoke fills the room with an aromatic haze.
"You won't have any if you just give us a free hand."
As Ruslan rumbles on, Bisvov finds his attention wandering. The candle on the shelf is already guttering slightly, and the shadows are crowding around it. It looks to him as though the shadows on the shelf form a skull. He watches it in fascination; the eye sockets are deep and black, the curve of the dome broken at the apex, the jaw grinning ferally. He knows it's his imagination more than the shadows, but he can't look away.
He grows aware that everyone's looking at him, and the room has fallen silent. "Yes?" he asks.
"He says you're to stay in custody for four days," Zelim explained. "After that he'll let you go and withdraw his men from the province." He coughs. "We have the men ready to get you out," he says.
Bisvov stares at him thoughtfully and then at Ruslan. "I don't want a fight. I'll remain in their custody…for now."
When he looks back, it's just an ordinary shelf with a book, a candle, and an old, old hourglass. The skull is gone.
"What are you planning, Ruslan?"
Bisvov and the big man sit together over a plate of lamb stew and bread. "What's the big thing you're planning?"
"Why would you want to know?"
"If it's something my force can aid in, I might consider joining you."
"I don't think you will." Ruslan sits back, his hands, the good one and the gloved one, gathered beneath his chin, and regards Bisvov with some amusement. "Your scruples won't let you."
"My scruples? What on earth are you planning? Tell me."
"All right," Ruslan shrugs. "It's not as though your pathetic little band can actually stop us, even if you tried. I just don't want complications." He leans forward over the remains of the stew. "Here's what…" He speaks for a long time.
Bisvov sits back, staring at him. "You're crazy," he says incredulously. "Tell me you're joking."
"Why would I joke? I've got the men and the material to hit them where it really hurts. Why on earth would I joke?"
"Do you even know what they'd do to the people afterwards? Not to you or to me; to the people, like the ataman here and his daughter."
"There's always a price to be paid." Ruslan wipes his beard. "You know that as well as I do. Besides," he adds, "it's too late to stop it now. It's set to roll."
"When?" Bisvov asks.
"The day after tomorrow evening." There's no mistaking the relish in Ruslan's voice. "The operation begins the day after tomorrow."
Bisvov wakes instantly, sitting up so quickly that the figure bending over him draws back with a soft gasp of surprise. He peers at it in the darkness, astonished. It's the girl, Alla.
"What do you want?" he asks.
"The Arabs are gone," she says in his ear. "They're holding a meeting, but they'll be back. If you want to leave, you have to go now."
Bisvov wastes no time, pulling on his uniform jacket and boots. The room is dark and cold, and the blankets they'd given him delicious with warmth, but he's long since abandoned physical comfort as a dangerous luxury. "What time is it?"
"Just past midnight. They're over in old Uncle Salman's house down the hill, so you'd better not go that way."
"Thank you," Bisvov says. "But you're taking a risk telling me this, aren't you?"
The girl shrugs. "When they come back I'll be in bed and asleep like everyone else. It's not my fault that they left you unguarded, now is it?"
Bisvov grins and leaves quickly. It's even colder out than in, and the dew is already freezing hard. He can hear voices from further downhill, and slips quickly up the path, sticking to the shadows.
Once in the forest he whistles, low and modulated. As he'd expected, Zelim appears within moments.
"They let you go then? Or you ran away?"
"You think they'd let me go? They're in a meeting, so I left." Bisvov takes Zelim by the arm. "Something really bad's going to happen," he says. "The bastards are going to attack a school."
"A school?" Zelim asks incredulously. "Are they fucking crazy?"
"So crazy they don't even know how mad they are." Bisvov walks up the path with long, urgent steps, so quickly that Zelim has to trot to keep up. "They've planned it out to the smallest detail, apparently. It's going to be worse than Beslan, much worse."
"Can we stop them?"
"Not if half of what he said about his forces is correct. He's got us outnumbered five to two, even without his Arab Brigade." Bisvov turns to Zelim. "I'm going to Malcolm," he says.
"Malcolm?" Zelim says, surprised. "The mercenary? He betrayed us once already."
"Yes, he did. But we're on the same side on this thing. These madmen must be stopped."
"What makes you think Malcolm will agree to meet you at all? He'll suspect a trap."
"He'll meet me, because he knows there won't be a trap. There's unfinished business between us, the kind that isn't settled by traps." Bisvov pauses. "Are you coming along?"
"What else can I do?"
"I never thought to see you again," Malcolm says.
"I could say the same about you." The big African mercenary has acquired new scars since Bisvov has last seen him, deep slashes across his right cheek and arm. "Mortar?"
"Mortar," Malcolm grunts. "What do you want, Makhmat?"
The two of them are in a wrecked armoured personnel carrier abandoned by the side of the highway at the foothills. The corpses of its crew have long since been removed, but there's still a faint odour of burning, and Bisvov is reminded strongly of the skull. It's evening outside, the temperature dropping fast.
"Listen carefully, Malcolm. We haven't time to spare." Quickly, Bisvov tells all he knows. "They'll be moving out tomorrow evening and attacking the day after tomorrow," he says. "I don't know which school, that's the bastard part of it. It could be any one within a hundred kilometres of the border."
"Then we have to strike them tomorrow…at this village of yours?"
"Right. They're in the village, and you'll have to hit them while they're in the village." Bisvov squeezes his eyes shut, at the thought of the old ataman, of the girl, Alla, and even of her big wary-eyed goat. "I don't see anything else you can do."
"This must be really hard for you," Malcolm says, a soft note in his voice. "Really hard. I don't wonder you're crying."
"Crying?" Bisvov wipes at his eyes, and looks at the moisture on his fingers with astonishment. "It's nothing. Just hit the village and hit it hard."
"You understand that this doesn't change anything between us?"
"I'll still kill you the next time I see you," Bisvov agrees. He rises, not offering his hand. "I'm going, Malcolm."
"Thanks," Malcolm says, staring after him, but the smaller man has already vanished into the deepening night.
"Went off all right, did it?" Zelim, who's been standing discreet guard, trots alongside his commandant. "Malcolm didn't suspect you were luring him into a trap, was he?"
"Well…I just thought of something. Suppose you were deliberately fed that tale and allowed to escape, so that you'd do something like this." Zelim raises a hand. "I'm not saying that's what's going on, sir, but this Ruslan is as twisted as a snake, and one's got to wonder."
"What would he get out of that?"
"Uh, he could ambush the mercenaries when they hit the village, and also discredit our group as traitors. Sort of killing two birds with one stone. It's just a thought, but it could happen. Couldn't it, sir? Sir?"
The image of a skull on a shelf floating through his mind, Bisvov doesn't answer.
Copyright B Purkayastha 2011/13


text:
Dynasty A-Flow ANY Hiyama Asako 2ba Soft Tip Darts - 18g
Dynasty ANY Hiyama Asako PREMIUM Soft Tip Darts 95% Tungsten, 18g
FREE set of limited edition L-Style small standard Asako flights included!!!!
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With the cuts and the taper at the back end, this dart avoids any dropped throw and allows for a remarkably straight trajectory.
* The flights come pre-punched to allow usage of the Shell Lock ring.
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Very high quality typical of Japanese darts


text:
1) I've been receiving way more queries than usual.
2) The quality of these queries, on average, is WAY below normal.
Obviously there have been some pleasant exceptions and, if you read this or other agent blogs, even if I passed on your project the overwhelming odds (because you're awesome and doing your research) are that yours was one of the good ones. But on average, these queries I've been receiving lately are way way way worse than normal, like a train wreck on top of a volcanic explosion of cow dung (yay similes!)
What's going on out there?
I'll venture a guess.
If I were an editor or a literary agent and if I generously began dispensing free writing advice via a blog and if the people who discovered that blog liked it and told their friends, I believe I would expect to start getting a lot more queries than usual. And I would assume that many, many of those queries would not be carefully executed, but would come from clueless individuals who got excited and fired off pages and pages of garbage after asking themselves, "Why not? What have I got to lose?"
The internet has been a boon to writers. These days, if a wannabe writer can't afford to buy an armload of books on writing and can't attend writers' workshops, she can find all kinds of free advice--much of it very good--right here on the internet.
That's a wonderful thing--for the writers. Unfortunatley, this easy access to information means that nice, helpful professionals like Nathan Bransford are setting themselves up to be ambushed by writers with far more enthusiasm than talent and common sense. He seems to realize that, but who can blame him for grumbling a little:
...e-queries, because of their relative ease of use, have an unfortunate tendency to inspire some people to spend less time perfecting their query, somehow leads them to think it's a good idea to blast the entire industry with one e-mail, and/or prompts them to write a five hundred page query letter (I guess because they don't have to pay for the paper).
He continues:
...I'm getting exhausted spending the first several hours of my day wading through a morass of bad query letters. I'm still going to adhere to my policy of responding to everyone who queries me, but anyone who complains about agents not responding to queries should really spend several hours reading through 100+ queries every Monday morning.
I would advise unpublished writers to do their homework and polish their queries before approaching Mr. Bransford and his colleagues, but unfortunately, the people who most need to hear that advice are the people least likely to accept it. So to you smart cookies who have done your homework: be patient. If it takes a few months for an agent or editor to respond to your short, well-written query letter, bear in mind that before they get to yours, they must wade through hundreds or even thousands of long, badly-written ones.
Just keep writing and keep submitting. There's no way to hurry up the responses from editors and agents, so the best use of your time while waiting is to improve your writing skills and get more projects ready for submission.


text:
2011 Ferrari 599 SA APERTA
Meet the sensational Ferrari 599 SA APERTA! Just 80 examples of the super-desirable drop-top will be built and each car has already been sold. Ferrari chose the number 80 to celebrate design house Pininfarina's 80th anniversary. The SA in the name stands for Sergio and Andrea Pininfarina, whose company and work has been linked to Ferrari's most successful road-going cars ever built.
APERTA is Italian for open, which is appropriate, given that the car is designed to be driven predominantly with the top down - a light soft top which Ferrari says is "designed to be resorted to only if the weather gets particularly bad" is included.
The SA APERTA features a low-slung windscreen and suspension that is lower than the standard 599 to give it an even more dramatic appearance. The A-pillars have been designed to retain the flying buttresses of the hard-top car, but also incorporate two roll bars which mimic the lines of the seats. Under the bonnet the engine is the same 661bhp 6.0-litre V12 that powers the Ferrari 599 GTO, while the chassis has been redesigned to deliver a standard of stiffness comparable to that of a closed berlinetta with a negligible weight difference. Prices have not been released, but a spokesman confirmed that the car will cost in excess of £340,000. However, just like the 599 GTO, APERTA buyers will be encouraged to personalize their cars at extra cost, ensuring that each of the 80 examples produced is unique.
Gallery 2011 Ferrari 599 SA APERTA
Gallery 2011 Ferrari 599 SA APERTA


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Hello again. Now that social media is part of my work, I feel the absence of blogging more keenly than ever. So I have two things to report to the starved followers of Barak or Barack:
1. A tweet I posted this week: How Obama became "cool" -- just part of the "The Real Story of Obama's Mom," as noted on The Atlantic Wire http://t.co/YaBphZ5
According to this summary review of an excerpt from a book, it's an Asian thing. Well, it's a reaction the future POTUS developed in Asia to being mercilessly teased by little Asian kids when he was a little anomaly in Indonesia. Both touching and telling. (Which is not the same as kissing and telling.)
2. On another note, there was this note of appreciation for yours truly from a lovely African-American publicist I met a few months ago (delivered second-hand yesterday): "I just love that he has a black name!"
Um, thanks!
Friday, April 22, 2011
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'Curve Bender' is a test drive in manipulating curves and surfaces. There were no goals per se, other than exploring Grasshopper's capabilities in a somewhat prosaic way (i.e. making a blob).
'Self-organized Flats - Revisited' is much more interesting to me. This video is the culmination of the project I laid out in the original Parameter post. For more details, read here.
Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. You may have guessed I did from the long hiatus!


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MP Paul Burstow urges care home abuse penalties for owners
Companies who own care homes in England where abuse is carried out should face unlimited fines and criminal sanctions, a former minister has said.
Lib Dem MP Paul Burstow has argued for new laws to ensure care providers are held criminally accountable for abuse and neglect on their premises.
This would have tackled a "culture of cruelty" at the Winterbourne View hospital, near Bristol, he added.
Ministers said there was a "clear gap" in regulation to be addressed.
Mr Burstow, who was care services minister until leaving the government in September, outlined proposed legislation in the Commons, which he said would see justice for future victims of abuse and their families
He said he did not want to see a repeat of the Winterbourne View care scandal that led to the conviction of six people for their role in abuse and neglect at the private hospital near Bristol, but for which he claimed there had been "no corporate accountability".
His proposals, which are likely to need government support if they are to become law, include:
- Amending existing legislation to make a corporate body guilty of an offence if the way in which its activities are managed by its board or senior management neglects or is a substantial element in the existence and/or possibility of abuse or neglect
- Offences should be punishable by unlimited fines, remedial orders and publicity orders
- Those with relevant information about suspected abuse or neglect must supply information to Adult Safeguarding Boards if requested to do so.
Speaking in the Commons, Mr Burstow said "no stone should be left unturned" when it came to protecting vulnerable people and reputable owners had "nothing to fear" from his proposed legislation.
"When things go wrong, when terrible abuse and neglect takes place, the public expect those who take the fee to be held to account," he told MPs. "This new law would act as a deterrent. It would force weak boards of directors to pull their socks up."
"At Winterbourne View staff carried out horrific acts because of the opportunities a culture of cruelty created. This bill would help to remove some of those opportunities."
'Duty of oversight'
Gary Fitzgerald, chief Executive of Action on Elder Abuse, which is supporting the MP's plans, said: "While it is right that abusing care workers should feel the full impact of the courts and sentencing, it is equally important that those who employ and direct those workers should also face justice.
"The public expect no less."
Mr Burstow's bill will be debated for the first time in March.
Ministers have indicated they are prepared to look at criminal sanctions as one of a number of future options.
"We need to have a situation where people who run and own care organisations, in the public, private or voluntary sector, know that they will be held accountable for the services they provide and that there will be consequences for those who fail in their duties of oversight," said Norman Lamb, who took over Mr Burstow's government role.
"When I first took on this job in September, I identified a clear gap in the regulatory framework - one which I am determined will be addressed. This spring we will announce proposals to address the gap in the law on effective corporate accountability."


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[DELETED] 14:13 10 Jul 2009
Just very quickly, are you certain your router has no passkey programmed into it.
If you "reset" the router, as in factory reset does it default to some pre supplied WEP code or whatever. Check your router documentation. Or can you via cable connection enter a passkey of your choice, then set it up wirelessly.
Take it you are clicking the start orb and selecting "connect to" in the menu and picking your router from any available.


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Janine Gibson, editor-in-chief at The Guardian, explains why security tools like an air gap and the Tails operating system are better and safer for sources than Google's Gchat or Gmail.
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California Wage and Hour Law and Litigation is published by California Education of the Bar (CEB), California's leading legal publisher. The treatise is available here.
Steven G. Pearl is a SuperLawyer™ mediator and attorney in Los Angeles, California. He focuses on wage and hour litigation, class actions, and unfair competition litigation.


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So, today I wore a saari. What's the big deal huh? Except that I believe it's a pretty dress disguised as a trap for efficient women, designed by a male chauvinist just for the purpose of torturing us. But it's pretty and I love the feeling while I wear it. I feel like a woman.
But I never find time to put this on. In between my late wakeup, morning bed-reading, then a rushed morning cleanup and running to the canteen, I never get time to put the aforementioned contraption on.
Then something happened yesterday.
I forgot my mobile charger in office.
Yeah. Can you believe that!
No way to charge my beloved Live. No way to read books. Or play games. Or call anyone. Or text. I agree that androids are at the top of the gadget world, but without a charger, it's like carrying a paper weight.
So morning came.
There she is! Miss.Smalltown-sree, without a gadget. And not knowing what to do in the morning after waking up.
I went stir-crazy.
Then I got up, took a long bath, and put on a SAARI. Took time and patience to look good in that.
And I got to canteen 20 minutes early.
And to work 10 minutes early. And not like my usual 5 minutes late.
Lesson learned: Take out the gadgets from your hand and minds and life, and you'd be surprised at what you have time for.
Real life after lesson : Thought in morning---> I am so going to blog this! In the blogger app on my frikkin amazing android!!
So, yeah.


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Thanks to everyone who has read, commented or joined the page. I'm really thankful that you have taken the time to check it out. As you can see I'm still short of followers, if you enjoy the blog please feel free to join or even just comment or pass on the page to friends!
"Visitor Q" is a 2001 film by controversial filmmaker Takashi Miike, whose other films I probably don't need to mention. It is the 6th volume in a series of straight-to-video movies called Love Cinema, made by the Japanese company CineRocket. The films did have a brief theatrical run in a small cinema called Shimokitazawa in Tokyo. The films were exercises in using Digital Video to explore the benefits and mobility of the medium.
The film begins with the rather ominous question, "Have you ever done it with your Dad?". Hopefully the answer to that question is no, and if this was a different director it would be slightly jarring but with Takashi Miike it comes as no surprise! It then shows a shot of a young prostitute being filmed through a camcorder. She is making a deal at a hotel room with a man who, after very little persuation, sleeps with her. When this has happened, you find out that the man in question is her dad thus setting the tone for most of the film.
In the next scene we are asked, "Have you ever been hit on the head?". The father is sitting at a station. Behind him is a window in which a man turns up and hits the father over the head with a brick for apparently no reason.
The next scene begins "Have you ever hit your mom?" . The mother is shown in the house, she walks with a limp and is covered in marks where she has been beaten. Her son comes in from school throwing things around the house, then beats his mother with a stick for buying the wrong toothbrush. The father comes home with the stranger who stays for the next few days.
It's very difficult to explain the plot without giving too much away. I'll give brief accounts of the characters while trying not to give too much away.
The mother is a prostitute with an addiction to heroin.
The father is making a documentary with his camcorder about Japanese youth. Later while looking at his old tapes he is shown being raped by a gang of teenagers. He also films his son being bullied for his documentary.
The son is being bullied and fireworks are being fired at his room window by the bullies. When he comes home he beats his mother and seems to have a lot of issues.
Not much is mentioned of the daughter, apart from that she has run away from home and is making money as a prostitute. She does appear at the end of the film though.
The stranger is the central character who eventually brings the family closer together in very unothodox ways.
Basically this film is Takashi Miike's warped view on the typical dysfunctional family. It's supposed to be about the family eventually coming together. The visitor is the central character who comes in and shakes the family up. It seems they are so used to their way of life it has become the norm to them and it takes a stranger to get them to see life in a different perspective.The visitor may make things go incredibly maniacal: necrophilia, multiple murder, hacking up bodies etc, but in the end it is strangely touching and serves it's purpose.
In my opinion, i'm not the greatest fan of Takashi Miike. He makes roughly four films a year but he isn't consistently good. For every good film he makes a few I don't like. What I do have is an admiration for him and his "couldn't give a damn" attitude. He's one of the few directors doing what he want's to do and not caring who he offends along the way. This film breaks taboos and definitely is one of a kind. You don't see many films like this one!
If you have the stomach for some of the themes I have talked about and want to see something truly original, this is the film for you. For everyone else, don't say I didn't warn you!
Thanks again to everyone reading, it really means a lot and i'm glad i'm not talking to myself! Please leave your comments below and if you haven't already, please join up. I have a twitter page you can join on the right of the page where you can talk about films you have seen or anything in general. I've had fun as always, the post is a bit shorter than usual but I don't want to give too much away!
Michael :)


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Smells like the beach
The product smells like a Pina Colada. I don't know how that comes off for the guys working at an ad firm, but for a young dude trying to be a doctor for some older folks....not so much. Doesn't really project a "professional" image. And I like Pina Coladas....to drink.2


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New post at the ministry site.
Hope you will read and then watch/listen to the wonderful song at the end.
You can find it all at Martin Christian Ministries.
You will also find a special prayer request for our friend and colleague, David Codrea, and his family here.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Death is Not the End--A Message in Word and Song
Posted by Welshman at 5:40 PM
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Today there was a meeting scheduled with the customer to review some last minute requirement changes. I went to lunch early so I would not miss the meeting. I dial in to the conference, but all I get is elevator music. After a while, the requirements team calls me up. I find out that I dialed the wrong number. This was a bad omen.
We get into the meeting. The requirements team drives the discussion. But they always go to me for all customer questions. This time around I had them document exactly what the code does. The danger is that this opens up all kinds of discussion. Now is not the time to discuss. We are at the end of testing. However it is better to get the bad news now than later after the code is running in production.
I get banged up a bit. There are some surprise requirements. I take it in stride. Right after the meeting I am banging out code. Luckily I have a huge unit test code library that helps me test out the changes. But guess what? I found a bug in my unit test data generation routine that is affecting the latest changes. I debug that and then test out all the new stuff. Oh boy this is so last minute. Luckily I am going on vacation next week. People on the team are scrambling to figure out who will be backing me up next week. Rant off.
Mysterious Double Instance Hampering Performance - I study the existing code base. Confer with a colleague. Then I determine the optimal plan to change the functionality to load only a slice of all the dat...


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So it is my last week of work and I don't feel like I will ever have enough time to get everything finished like it needs to be done. I feel like I am simply put, going to go crazy in the process. I just have so much going on all around me and I have no idea how I am going to finish it all in time. The worst part for me is the whole documentation thing, well yep that is what I have let slide and I have like a million notes to type tomorrow as well as finish up all of the treatment plans and reviews that need to be done so I am going to spend my last week literally going crazy trying to get it all finished.
However it is my last week and my income from writing is going well. I do have three papers to complete tomorrow and 20 short articles so writing is taking off and busy busy busy but I know that I can get it all done and then that things will be going well overall. Not much else is happening, just hoping that I really do have time to get everything finished prior to my leaving.
There are some personal things that I need to get done too. Activity charts and charts for Andrew's bahavior all need to be completed as well so just more hecticness for me!! LOL! And I have to prepare and develop a chore chart. So we will see how it will all get done!!
Straight Outta Compton (2015)
2 years ago


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Rasa ('flavor') and Bhava ('mood')
One of the basic concepts that has preoccupied all writers on Indian theatre and dance since the third century is the theory of rasa (glossed as 'taste', or 'flavor') which is at the root of Indian aesthetics, providing an underlying unity to all classical mediums of expression. The theory is difficult to articulate, for all discussions of it are based on complex metaphysical concepts.
The theory of rasa, as conceived by the Hindu aesthetician and as practiced by the artist, has two aspects. the first is the evoked state (rasavastha) in which transcendental bliss is experienced; the second is the sentiments, the moods, the permanent and transitory states, which were the object of presentation. the second provided the content of art; the first was its ultimate objective . . . . The technique of the arts was directly conditioned by these principles, and the techniques of the Indian arts are the rules through which these rasa states can be evoked [Vatsyayan 1968: 6]*.
Interpretation of this theory is a constant theme that recurs in every treatise on Indian art forms whether music, architecture, painting, sculpture, poetry or drama. It differs slightly for each medium of expression. Discussion of the first aspect ('evoked state') mentioned in the passage above involves inquiries into the very nature of aesthetic experience. The second aspect (sentiments, moods) bears directly on the forms and presen-tations of what are known as the 'transitory' and 'permanent' states, in the various mediums which have been the foci of writers on dramaturgy since the sage, Bharata's writings.[i] Even if one can only present a glimpse of the concept of rasa in the available space of this essay, it cannot be ignored since it is essential to the concepts of natya and nrtya.
Fundamental to the idea of rasa is the notion of transforming nature into art [Coomaraswamy 1934]** which may be demonstrated with reference to thenavarasa (nine rasas) as codified in Indian dramaturgy. As Vatsyayan says, "Significantly, the one point on which all the commentators agreed was the in trinsic difference between aesthetic emotion and emotion in real life" [1968: 7].
The Indian actor-dancer evokes rasa through the presentation of one of nine complementary bhavas ('moods' or 'states') that have their basis in nine emotions, i.e. love (srngara), valour (vira), wonder (adbhuta), compassion or grief (karuna), laughter (hasya), fear (bhayanaka), aversion or revulsion (vibhatsa), rage or wrath (raudra) and tranquility (santa), which are considered to be several steps removed from the passions or natural feelings. With the use of gesture, the dancer repre sents situations that lead the spectator to enter into the bhava (mood) that accom panies contemplation of these emotions.
Performers present these emotions transformed into sentiments that are removed from the subjective and personal realms of experience by referring to those episodes from stories about the lives of divinities which best evoke these sentiments. He or she is expected to engender an intellectual apprehension of the idea of the heroic, the marvelous, the compassionate, the erotic, and so forth. The route to understanding these concepts is through reference to the senses and the emotions, but final understanding is at a level freed from sensory awareness and as far from nature as possible.
The actor or dancer conveys through movement the bhavas evoked by the music. He or she brings forth the meaning of the words and the melody by using conventional movements of the eyes, eye-brows, cheeks, neck, hands, limbs, torso, legs and feet -- indeed, every part of the body.[ii] The ultimate aim of the actor or dancer, however, is not simply to "please the eye" or to "tell a story," although these are intermediate goals. The true purpose is to engender in the spectator an apprehension of rasa. The ability to apprehend rasa is eventually dpenedent on the spectator's own capacityfor understanding.
The ideal spectator is the rasika (the 'taster of rasa') who is familiar with the conventions not only of drama and music, but of sculpture and painting. It is also assumed that the rasika understands Hindu philosophy and is conversant with the mythology and literature of India.
The Rasika and the Ordinary Spectator
From the many treatises on art, music and drama, one is led to believe that the ideal rasika must be as carefully trained and disciplined as the artist [Vatsyayan 1968: 3] and that nrtya and natya are on the whole, esoteric -- inacces sible to the ordinary spectator. Many scholars insist that properly to appreciate an idiom of dancing, one must know the significance of each gesture, the many associations of each word in the sahitya, and, they say it is also necessary to be able to identify each raga and tala.
While it is true that the more one knows, the more levels there are at which one can appreciate and enjoy a dance recital, a major part of the knowledge expected of the ordinary spectator is not that complicated. The requirement is common cultural knowledge.
The rasika is distinguished as the person who possesses scholarly knowledge: the person who has studied the sastras (the treatises and sacred books), and can comment on various aspects of a medium of expression with the use of a highly technical language. While this level of understanding is definitely specialized, there are aspects of what he or she knows which can be acquired informally simply through being exposed as one grows up to many cultural performances, including dances, religious rituals, dramas, and such. Cultural knowledge, then, is first acquired in the same way as one learns one's native language. Only after wards does a rasika formalize this knowledge with reference to scholarly texts and disciplined study.
Throughout his or her childhood an individual participates in religious cere monies, readings from the scriptures and literature, and in musical performances that take place. Since Bharatanatyam is allied to south Indian traditions -- the music is Karnatic and the spoken languages used (with the exception of Sanskrit) are south Indian -- a south Indian audience is familiar with the heroes and di vinities referred to by the dancer and he or she also knows many of the melodies and songs that the performer interprets. At an informal level (in contrast to a scholarly or analytical level), most south Indian spectators can discern the differ ent elements of the music, the poetry and the movements.
If organized by a south Indian community, it is not unusual during a recital to see spectators' heads being moved from side to side signifying appreciation of a particular musical passage or sequence of movements. Many spectators mark the tala (time cycle) by hitting the right palm against the right thigh, or by clapping, then waving the hand in the air. Occasionally, during a particularly complex jati sequence a spectator might get up and mark this tala till the end of the jati, ac centing the down beat that terminates both the jati and a cycle of tala. If the dancer's rhythm is precise, the spectator may turn around to face the rest of the audience and, with a smile, nod approval before sitting down again. To westerners, to whom such audience participation is unfamiliar, these kinds of action are distracting, but for an Indian audience, they are a primary means of expressing approval. It may be, too, that discussion of the merits or demerits of a performer takes place during the recital, although this is now frowned upon as western-style etiquette has begun to influence Indian audience's behavior.
[i] Bharata's Natyasastra (cir
[ii] The texts on natya and abhinaya describ
cf. Ghosh [1967] translation of Bharata Natyasastra,
Duggirala [1970].translation of Nandikesvara's Abhinaya Darpanam ('Mirror of Gesture')
* Vatsayan, 1968 is Classical Indian dance in Literature and the Arts by Dr. Kapila Vatsayan
** Coomaraswamy 1934 is The Transformation of Nature in Art by Dr. Ananda K. Coomaraswamy


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Well it is Friday already, and I am trying to put together my post to link with Karen for Tuesday @ Ten!
This week's prompt phrase is:
Wonderful, so very true...and something I really needed to read, and upon which I needed to meditate at this fell moment.
Thank you so much, Barbara, for giving me the opportunity to lean against your faith and strength for a moment, to regain my balance.
So blessed that you found what was needed to meditate on...you are quite welcome to "lean against my faith and strength" any time {and appreciate your saying that, as the words reflect my desires more than my actions in most cases}!! I try, as we all must, to live that faithful Christian life; but when the times get rough...find it hard; but must strive to that which we desire.
Thank you for reading, Andrew; and for "leaning"! We are all connected and offer what we can to others!
Thank you so much for your beautiful reflections on strength and the verses that mean so much to you. I'm spending time today seeking him and leaning on his strength!ReplyDelete
Glad you can spend time seeking Him and leaning on His strength!! Thanks for reading and commenting!!Delete
You must spend a lot of time with your devotions. I am just coming back to God and slowly getting to a point where I don't feel so lost.ReplyDelete
Tessa, I don't feel as if I spend ENOUGH time in them! But, I have gotten better at taking that time first thing in the morning (unless I have to be out EARLY in the morning; then I do it later). I guess we don't really ever spend enough time...
Thanks for reading and commenting...so happy to hear you are coming back to God; and God is there for you. Take the time to ponder His Word, and He will guide you back to Him. Praying with you!!
I am inspired by your devotion, faith is powerful thing. Im happy for you that you have found this way of strengthening yourself. I am sure the people that you help are very grateful. Thanks for sharing.ReplyDelete
Thank you so much Orana! Appreciate your reading and commenting...I pray that I can be the person God wants me to be in helping others - whether through a personal connection or one that is connected online through blogs, etc. And you are welcome...I love to write and am happy that there ARE those who enjoy reading what I write!!Delete
Thank you for stopping by to read my post today! I appreciate your reading and commenting - your comments are a welcome encouragement for me to continue one of my favorite things - writing!
You are special to me; and your words help in more ways than I can number...Thank you just isn't enough!


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Friday, May 1, 2009
We Are Going to Aunt Josephine's... BE GOOD!!!
10 comments:
- Nancy said...
Ha! Ha!! You made me giggle...I had an aunt like Josephine!! Great card, Dawn!
- Friday, May 01, 2009
- Cindy said...
What a cute card!! Loved your story too!!
- Friday, May 01, 2009
- Tina said...
Oh man, we used to get a talk like that too, how funny.
Your card is perfect and conveys those feelings. Fun!
- Friday, May 01, 2009
- Meli Mitchell said...
What a funny little story. This stamp is adorable!
- Friday, May 01, 2009
- Christi said...
This is too cute and I love your story!
- Friday, May 01, 2009
- The Mama Monkey said...
That is so funny; it does look like wallpaper! Great card!
- Saturday, May 02, 2009
- CathyRose said...
Love your memory and how cute this card is! It is like a scrapbook page in a card. Great details!
- Saturday, May 02, 2009
- Traci said...
How cute! LOL I had an aunt that everytime we went to see my sister and I got the same speech! I love the "wallpaper" and what a cute idea for a painting. Love it.
- Sunday, May 03, 2009
- gale said...
Cute card. The Tilda stamp fits perfectly on the chair!! I remember those days too. How boring it was to not fidget and listen to the grownups talk.
- Monday, May 04, 2009
- Heather said...
Cute story! I love your card! Great job!
- Monday, May 04, 2009


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Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Disaster, Disaster, New Computer
Last Saturday, 5:00 a.m. woke up to Mr. Jewels asking if I'd like to go swimming in the basement. Our water softener, which, by the way, we had just fixed after years of not having it work, overfilled and spilled out during the night. A tube had come loose. We filled up buckets and buckets of water and watched as the things that had been floating around finally find solid ground. Second disaster...went to help a sister-in-law and her roommate pick up some mattresses for their new apartment 45 minutes away from where we live. Having been told that these were twin mattresses I left home with a tarp and some string and I mean string, not rope, that Mr. Jewels had handed me. They were not twin mattresses, they were full size, two mattresses, two box springs loaded into my small and old Nissan pickup truck. Strapped down with tarp and string I headed onto the freeway to make it back to their place. As I was heading onto the freeway going 40 mph, I see in the rearview mirror the tarp and top mattress fly across 4 lanes of traffic, not hitting a single vehicle and land in the left hand side meridian. I called Highway Patrol to assist me in getting this mattress. He comes and tells me that we are going to get up to speed and dart across the lanes over to the left meridian and then back up to where the mattress is and load it back onto the truck. I suppose I had a look of terror on my face because he said "no, that's too dangerous." After some phone calls to family to come help, we tied down the remaining beds with actual rope and headed back home going 40 mph all the way, leaving behind a good mattress for someone else's lucky day. And now I get to type this post on a brand new computer, this is a first for me.
3 comments:
- We in Minnesota said...
AHHHHH!!!!! Your life is NEVER boring. But I love it...probably because it is not me. Well, sometimes my life feels like your life, but then it is not funny. It just sucks. Hope everything is going better. We miss you.
- April 15, 2011 at 1:31 PM
- Nancy Campbell Allen said...
JULIE! I'm so glad you're ok. That's one of those moments where you think, "I'm a good person. I try to serve, I feed my kids, I try to be nice to my husband..."
So, so glad everything worked out ok. Is the basement damage really bad? Do you need help with anything?
- April 15, 2011 at 7:05 PM
- Jewels said...
Basement is dry and not much damage, the floors actually look pretty clean from all the salt water. We just need to get some more carpet padding.
- April 18, 2011 at 7:14 PM
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- The photo of terrorists using a mosque in Najaf as a base
for attacks against our forces is an example of what we're finding.
There have been additional attacks taken from mosques in Fallujah, and
I believe there have been embedded reporters who have been able to --
as well as combat camera -- able to make some of that available to the
American people.
There are two ways, I suppose, one could inform readers of the Geneva Convention stipulation against using places of worship to conduct military attacks. One might be to headline saying that Terrorists Attack Coalition Forces From Mosques. That would be one way to present the information.
Another might be to say: Mosques Targeted in Fallujah. That was the Los Angeles Times headline this morning.
Which is, I suppose, valid as far as it goes, though our own adherence to the Geneva Conventions has also been, say, less than scrupulous.
But there are other things in Rumsfeld's remarks which could also be portrayed more than one way. Like this:
- What's happening is that General Abizaid, General Sanchez, General Metz, General Conway, General Mattis, down that chain, Jerry Bremer and his representatives, Dick Jones, have been in near continuous discussion with these four elements that are interacting with themselves and with the people of Fallujah. If at some point the military decides that the string has run out, then they will tell us that and take appropriate action. At the present time, I think it's accurate to say that their conclusion is that they see sufficient prospects that it leads them to believe that this is a useful thing to be doing.
Most of the coverage of current action around Falluja in the Western press is along these lines -- that we've decided to give negotiations and joint patrols a chance. But a quick glance at the headlines shows that they aren't likely to have much of a chance -- the Mujahedein, or whatever they are, in Falluja don't seem to answer to anyone outside their own ranks, which don't seem to be represented in the parties that we're negotiating with directly. The question of the hour is what to do about it, and in particular, whether to stay outside and try to contain the resistance, or to try to clear the town with a full-scale assault.
Or rather, that was the question of the hour last weekend, when several articles appeared saying that Dubya was going to make that decision personally. With that in mind, let's review again what Rumsfeld said about it yesterday:
- If at some point the military decides that the string has run out, then they will tell us that and take appropriate action.
Nothing about further consultation with higher national authority, which, given last weekend's headlines, would seem a strange thing to omit, since "appropriate action", in context, pretty clearly means at the very least, a significant escalation in the use of force.
Now if the situation truly is as Rumsfeld described it, there are two ways, I suppose, to inform one's readers about it. One might be to headline, as Rumsfeld has, and as much of our media have, that we are giving negotiation another chance.
Another would be to say that our commanders on the ground have been authorized to initiate a full-scale assault, as and when they see fit.
Or maybe Rumsfeld just didn't mean what he said. But who could say that about a member of the current administration?
More on this general topic: There were times, during the '90s, when the U.S. government had to deal with violent, crazed fanatics on its own soil. Sometimes that went well, as in an 81-day standoff with the Montana Freemen; sometimes very badly, as at Waco. David Neiwert is a little worried that the guys who were in charge at Waco are now directing our dealings with al-Sadr in Najaf.
Update: Dubya himself is a bit more straightforward: "Our military commanders will take whatever action is necessary to secure Falluja".


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So, in order to try and feel more spring like I've made this rather bright journal page.
The base is my large art journal. I started the background by applying Ranger texture paste in opaque matte (wow I like this! lovely and thick, dries quickly and with the ability to be smooth or add peaks, my new fav!) thro' the mini distress diamond mask - once dry I added some DecoArt fluid acrylic paints…. various doodling and stencilling was then added to the page using paint and inks… I then added some gold texture paste thro' the mini distress sequin waste stencil….. a couple of Tando mini butterflies were also painted using the DecoArt colours. Using some distress crayons I created a masterboard and then stamped the flowers from the Paperartsy plate EKC0, I cut these out and then gave them, and the butterflies, a coating of Distress collage medium - crazing…a stamped saying from another paperartsy plate, some washi tape and a bit of prima bling finished off the page.
Don't forget there is still time to join in with this months challenge over on the Tando blog…hope to see you there.
For the first time ever I have combined both of my DT responsibilities for this week, time has just been against me - please see the Tando Creative blog and also Papermaze Scrap, paper and scissors...


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Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Britney Spears' Line at Kohl's
When we first heard about Britney Spear's designing a line of Candies' clothes and accessories for Kohl's, we were tempted to laugh. But then, we rememberd how much we like Lauren Conrad's collection, so maybe we should give it a shot. BettyConfidential gives us the inside look at Britney Spear's line for Kohl's.
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Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Do We Still Need Women's History?
In the spring of 2007, the Organization of American Historians (the nation's premier body of professional historians, teachers, and public advocates of U.S. history) asked me to take a look at what had changed in the profession with regard to the history of women and gender over the 100-year life span of the group. My findings would...
I'm guessing Kessler-Harris' answer to the question is a resounding YES. But if any of you with subscriptions out there want to put me out of my misery, do share! Or, of course, I could just finally the bullet and subscribe :)
And speaking of Women's History of course, which I for one adamantly believe we still need, in addition to traveling with an intergenerational feminist panel alongside some of my favorite feminist colleagues, [Shameless Plug Alert] I am currently booking speaking engagements solo for March 2008 (Women's History Month) based on my book, Sisterhood, Interrupted: From Radical Women to Grrls Gone Wild. If you are interested in bringing me to your campus or organization, please do get in touch soon, as my schedule is booking up! [Shameless Plug Ends]
4 comments:
- Deborah Siegel said...
A thousand thanks to you out there who just sent me the unlocked link! Ever grateful, GWP
- December 4, 2007 at 2:51 PM
- Adi said...
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- December 7, 2009 at 6:09 PM
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Introduction to Facebook
5th November 2014
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Use Facebook effectively in your business.
This workshop is ideal if you want to create a Facebook business page and want to improve your connections engagement level and need help defining your Facebook strategy and implementing it.
Venue: ISME, Dublin
Fee: ISME Member €230, Non Member €315< Go Back


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|1/2 cup (60 g) whole wheat flour
|1/4 cup (28 g) wheat germ
|1/2 cup (70 g) raw almonds
|1 cup (155 g) oats
|1/4 teaspoon salt
|1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
|1 teaspoon vanilla extract
|3 tablespoon honey or agave nectar
|1/2 cup dried cranberries
|1 cup (244 g) unsweetened applesauce
|1. Place flour, wheat germ, almonds and oats into the Vitamix dry blade container and secure lid.
2. Select Variable 1.
3. Turn machine on and slowly increase to speed to Variable 10, then to High.
4. Blend for 40 seconds. Turn machine off. Pour out into bowl.
5. Add salt, cinnamon, vanilla, honey, cranberries and applesauce to mixture.
11. Stir by hand until moistened. Spread into greased 8x8 pan.
12. Bake for 25 minutes in a 350F (180C) oven.


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GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- Here are some of the stories that topped the news in Greenburgh, Edgemont, and Hartsdale this week:
- Greenburgh town purchased a pair of "BigBelly" solar-powered trash compactors to be placed on East Hartsdale Avenue that are expected to save the town thousands in waste removal.
- A woman was found dead after gas leak near the intersection of South Broadway and Church Street in Tarrytown. The woman was identified as Karen Brown, 45, of Tarrytown. Police do not suspect any foul play and are still investigating.
- Elaine and Jim Jensen of Elmsford joined CERT to help those still affected by Superstorm Sandy.
- The Republicans and Democrats continue to have it out down in the nation's capital, Westchester County residents continue to be shut out of St. Paul's Church in Mount Vernon.
Click here to sign up for Daily Voice's free daily emails and news alerts.


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This post -- and its subject -- are actually a foreshadow of the next.
Regardless of whether a person's layout is super-realistic or toy-like in appearance, a large G-gauge outdoor garden layout or a tiny Z-gauge layout stored in an attache case, one thing remains true -- it's never completely finished.
And that's turned out to be the case for the Straco Express layout. Purely by chance I ran across an amazing selection of six new old stock Nomura vehicles. I happened to win the bid, and suddenly, I had too many cars for the already overcrowded streets of the layout.
So I spent some time outlining various options with painter's tape and arrived at the solution you see in the photos. A new side street feeding into the main road. It should provide enough space for the increased traffic.
I used the same technique as before (see: Part 10 - Paving the Pegboard Paradise), and am pretty happy with the results.
When my purchase arrives, we'll see if I provided enough space, or if I need to add even more roads. A situation that strangely mirrors the challenge of many state transportation departments!
Layout construction:
- Pegboard: $4.95
- Flathead Screws: $0.40
- Molding: $2.49
- SilClear: borrowed from a friend
- Green Paint: left over from another project
- Wood Screws: $3.60
- Felt Pads: $1.99
Small Houses: $3.00
Testor's Gray Paint for road: $1.29
Bandai Areo Station: $8.99
2 tinplate signs: $1.00
4 tinplate signs (with train) $5.99
- Two Japanese toy cars: $2.00
- A.W. Livestock truck: $4.99
- Taxi: $2.99
- Ambulance: $2.99
- Two Japanese patriotic cars: $6.99
- Haji three-wheel sedan $3.00
- 1950's sedan $2.99
- Line Mar Pepco Truck $8.50
- Line Mar Bond Bread Van $8.00
- Line Mar Fire Engine $4.95
- Line Mar Dump Truck $12.99
- Line Mar GE Courier Car $10.98
- Nomura red Sedan $5.00
- Nomura police Car $2.52
- Nomura lumber truck $3.48
- 6 Namura vehicles $16.99
- Orange sedan $10.99
- King sedan $9.95


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Gay and vegan in the burbs (of Los Angeles). I blog about veganism, equality, compassion, activism, politics, spirituality and the awesome life experiences of The Gay Vegans. The "s" includes my husband, Mike! I believe that we all have more in common than not and that we all have the power to be the voice of the voiceless. I want this blog to be a tool for me to build bridges amongst communities and those with differing opinions.
Friday, January 6, 2012
Cooking at home
One doesn't need to be a chef to create a simple, scrumptious vegan meal. There are many, many vegan recipes out there, and to find some amazing ones just click onto one of the links we have here and check out some of the bloggers we adore who blog about cooking and post recipes. You'll go from WOW to YUM in a matter of minutes as you create their recipes.
I am a great example of one who thought cooking vegan would be tough, but love it. Mike does most of the cooking so me warming up leftovers from his creations is easy. Yet I am pretty good in the kitchen too. One of my favorites is cooking up some fresh kale or swiss chard. It is this easy: heat up a little olive oil in a cast iron skillet. Chop up the kale or swiss chard and add it to the heating olive oil. Add a tiny bit of salt and a nice amount of cayenne pepper and boom, there it is. This is more of a side dish but if you add your favorite bean and maybe some beets it can become a full meal.
We use the cast iron skillet a lot. It's a great tool for cooking.
Another easy dish is a simple scrambled tofu. Most vegan cookbooks have a recipe and they are simple. I love making this on a Sunday morning, just add toast with my favorite mango pepper jam! Scrambled tofu is just firm or extra firm tofu crumbled up in your perfect cast iron skillet with a little olive oil, some onions (I usually saute the onions first, then add the tofu), nutritional yeast, tumeric, some kale or swiss chard, a tiny bit of salt, some pepper and you are on your way. When I want to be decadent I add Daiya cheese. Mmmmm.
Cooking at home is so much fun. I love cooking with Mike. It adds to a perfect date night. And each time you make something you can change the recipe a bit and begin creating a whole new dish.
Try it out and let us know what you made. And we'd love to hear about your favorite vegan recipe. Finally, don't forget to check out some of the vegan cooking blogs linked from our site.
Thank you for reading!
2 comments:
I recommend, and have used extensively, the FatFree Vegan Kitchen blog. Susan has great and easy recipes that are so delish!!ReplyDelete
Mark Reinfelds recipe that won Vegan.coms recipe of the year Mediterranean Pistachio Crusted Tofu with Saffron Quinoa. That's my new favorite recipe. I've been Vegan one year this new years. Blogs with recipes made it so easy to stick with itReplyDelete


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In case anyone needs proof I'm crazy, this is it.
I just signed up for National Novel Writing Month. If you haven't heard of this before, the idea is to write 50,000 words of a novel during the month of November. You're allowed to come up with notes and an outline beforehand, but you can't start writing the actual novel until November 1st. In order to meet the word quota, you have to average about 1,667 words a day. I'm lucky to make 300 words a day, and that was before Alex. If I get even a fraction of the way to the goal, I'll be amazed. But the idea behind NaNoWriMo (as it's abbreviated) is to focus on quantity, not quality. I'll need to change the way I write in order to make quota. Also, I'll have to bring my laptop to work and write on my lunch hour--something I told myself I'd do but haven't so far. Whether I succeed or not, at least this will give me some motivation to get writing again. I haven't done anything for a while (it's hard with a baby), and I feel the need to write. Besides, this gives me a good reason to stretch myself and work on something different from Paul Harrison or my Season Lords.
I probably shouldn't say too much about what I'm working on, but it's a fantasy novel, and the tentative title is Only an Owl. I'll be using the rest of this month for research and outlining.
Wish me luck with this new endeavor, and if I don't post much during November, you'll know why--I'll be saving my words for my story.
Saturday, October 06, 2007
National Novel Writing Month
Posted by Sandra Almazan at 6:01 PM
1 comment:
- Maria Zannini said...
Good for you, Sandra!
I won't be doing Nano since several of my crit partners have arm-wrestled me into their own month-long writing spree.
I need to start a new book, and this group is good at poking me with pointy sticks if I stray from my obligations.
Keep us updated on your progress. We can be your ether-based conscience. lol
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I know I have mentioned a great little site called Scrap-Friendzy before... They are a fun challenge scrapbook site with an amazing group of ladies! I am not just saying that to brag 'em up, they really are! Amy and Cheryl work so hard to give it a laid-back, relaxed feeling filled with challenges and support!
Now I can say that I am more than a member of the boards! I am on their DT as well! I can't wait to see what the next six months has in store for me!
Come check us out, and be prepared to get more scrapping done than you ever have!
Lights Out!


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Friends, today, I'd like to remind you that the tradition of the left's tax-and-spend politics is not a recent tradition; it is in fact one that true, conservative, freedom-loving Americans have battled for over two centuries. You see, one of the things that George Washington did as President was to raise taxes when he decided to tax several luxury items that he considered distasteful. One of the prime purposes of President Washington's un-American taxation plan (they would have called it socialist but it's over a hundred years before the Communist Manifesto) was to alter the way people in the United States behaved and believed. This clear violation of the 10th Amendment was no more than a shady attempt to usurp states rights, disguising their intentions by telling the people of the United States that the money was needed to pay off the massive "debt" left by the Glorious War of Independence Against the Tyrant George.
A well-known liberal, Washington ignored the will of the people and chose to implement a form of taxation designed to conform behavior to progressive, liberal norms: he taxed whiskey. Like all people who hate freedom, Washington has a set lifestyle he wants Americans to live, and he had illegitimately abused his power this enact the tax. I don't know if you were aware of this, but Washington's Congress had only one party. Do you know what other country only had one party? That's right. Nazi Germany.
When patriots in Pennsylvania decided to turn away tax collectors by the mouths of their muskets (God save the 2nd Amendment!), Führer Washington decided to send a sheriff to issue writs against those heros. Rather than give in to the proto-Marxist tyrant who once self-styled himself as "General of the Continental Army", the liberty-loving Pennsylvanians decided to "tax" the home of John Neville, the "tax inspector" for western Pennsylvania, by burning it to the ground. Washington then decided to mobilize a militia to destroy the patriots by force.
In order to crush, beneath his fine leather-clad heel, the heroic anti-tax movement, Comrade Washington asked the activist judges of the Supreme Court (all of whom were nominated by who? That's right: George Washington) to issue him a writ stating that the patriots were "out of control". Over 500 men were sent to Pennsylvania, but the local patriots, unwilling to risk their lives, decided to end the fight. They instead began a long process of working against the liberal organization of Washington by electing well-known conservative hero Thomas Jefferson some years later, who removed the tax.
I'd like to remind people of a few basic questions surrounding the Washington administration. It's said that Washington had wooden teeth, but I'd like to ask who paid for these teeth, and what position they had in the Washington administration. It's clear that these lobbyists may have had undue control over the Washington government, and the influence of these favours may have had long reaching controversy in the development of the Republic.
Here's something you may not have heard of: Washington was elected with the help of a group called ACORN (All Cotton-picking Or Road-building Negroes). This coalition of pro-Washington anti-American businessmen registered their slaves as free people, rather than 3/5ths of people, and as such, may have inflated the vote in some areas. ACORN's influence in the election of Washington cannot be ignored, and if it wasn't for the fact that Herr Washington appointed all the judges to the Supreme Court, perhaps all the legal challenges to Washington's so-called "election" wouldn't have been quashed under scanty legal reasoning.
Finally, there is compelling evidence that George Washington was not born in the United States. Some official records have his place of birth somewhere called "Colony of Virginia, British America". Washington has always maintained he was born in the State of Virginia, but the records show differently. The State of Virginia refused to provide a valid birth certificate for Washington when requested, saying instead that "What's a birth certificate?"
When you curse Obama, the blackguard, for the way he's leading America down a Communist-Nazi path of socialist destruction, remember that he's not alone with corrupting the great nation of America. He's just one more installation in a tradition that goes all the way back to the beginning, and if George Washington had his way, we would all have been goose-stepping and getting free health care since 1776.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
George Washington's Tea Partiers
Labels: fiction, lol, us history, us politics
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Friday, May 12, 2006
The gas man came-eth
This year's visit was a rollercoaster of emotions. Oh dear, says he, your boiler should not make any long term plans that involve a continued existence. From what I could tell, its insides are all twisted up (like Gollum's, perhaps). But this was expected. That thing had one yellow tooth left and a walking cane the day I bought this place.
Then, then came the best bit. I decided, as a treat to myself (and as a tribute to gas) to have my living room fire serviced. It is an exciting fire that produces hot, Bunsen burner-like flames that you can admire. I imagined the gas man would clean out a few tubes and nozzles, compliment me on a handsome and fiery appliance, then go on his way, whistling. Things did not work out like that at all.
John, he said, this thing is a death trap. You are lucky not to be dead from carbon monoxide poisoning. Your chimney is a non-functioning disgrace and you should seize every day because frankly, each one is a precious gift ill-deserved.
But, said I, see the pretty flames, how they dance! At which point he disconnected the offending heat-maker, tucked it under one sooty arm, and took his leave. It was probably for the best, thought I, gazing upon my ravaged hearth and checking for short-term memory loss.
I bought an electric fire today, which I thought would have led to some nice anecdotes about how I drilled some marble and knocked my house down, but sadly it took longer to extract it from its box than install it. The nice thing about the new fire is that you can turn the faux flames on without generating any heat.
I shall let the faux flames lick all decadent summer long.
9 comments:
- Anna said...
The last time I had an encounter with one of that ilk, he spent some time in our basement 'checking the meter'. The odour of gas was quite prominent when he had finished, so I thought it prudent to leave and hope it had dissipated by natural causes on my return rather than through the violent destruction of property/my housemate having a cigarette. We had not called him out for a gas leak - they cannot be trusted.
...this random story bought to you by procrastination and too much tea..
- 10:47 PM, May 13, 2006
- Lucy said...
In a month I'm moving into a 70s-fabulous three bedroomed monstrosity whose highlight is exactly the kind of gas fire you've just thrown out. It also has a serving-hatch and moulded plastic wardrobes and orange carpets and I think it is great.
I am holding a real-life rendition of 'Abigail's Party' and in the final act we will all turn blue and collapse on the carpet (because of emissions).
- 8:30 AM, May 14, 2006
- Tom Meade said...
Our heater simply beams, and beaming is all I expect from it.
- 12:16 PM, May 15, 2006
- Christophe said...
It's at times like this I worry about giving you money Allison!
- 6:21 PM, May 15, 2006
- Gasoline Hobo said...
i've always wanted to put a tv in my fireplace, playing footage of a nice little fire, complete with the sounds of crackling and exploding pine cones.
- 6:10 PM, May 16, 2006
- javier said...
you know, i've never lived anywhere with a working fireplace. i must look into this. but i live in southern california, thus, would rarely use it. you post did make this day far shinier than it was mere minutes ago. you're a genius...
- 3:14 AM, May 17, 2006
- Slimey said...
I had my telly in a fireplace once. The novelty wore off when a big clump of soot fell down upon it, right during a game of MarioKart.
- 3:55 AM, May 17, 2006
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Chevrolet Cruze
It is a solid car, but there is really nothing special. It has an average amount of power, an average engine note, average handling, average interior, and a subpar exterior. When it came out in 2009, it was at or near the top of its class, but almost 4 years later, several other cars have come out that are better. Those cars include the Dodge Dart, Toyota Carolla and Mazda 3. Don't get me wrong, it is not a bad car, just an average one.


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The best account (as so often happens) is in Wikipedia, which says it "recall[s] the escape of Prince Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie) from Uist to the Isle of Skye after his defeat at the Battle of Culloden in 1746." Don't believe the bad things you hear about Wikipedia!
According to Wikipedia, for all their romance about Scottish rebellion, the lyrics was written by the British aristocracy of the 1800s -- " by Sir Harold Boulton, 2nd Baronet, to an air collected in the 1870s by Anne Campbelle MacLeod (1855–1921), who became Lady Wilson by marriage to Sir James Wilson KSCI (1853–1926) in 1888." The air, or melody, is traditional, however, and it's lovely. It has been covered by everyone from James Galway and the Chieftans to Tom Jones and Rod Stewart. YouTube has covers by the Corries, the Scots Guards Pipe and Drums and the Tampa Bay Children's Chorus, among others.
A lead sheet is available on EverythingDulcimer.com at http://www.everythingdulcimer.com/tab/ (scroll down the alphabetical directory to the "rlwalker" version of "Skye Boat Song.") It's dulcimer tab, in DAD and DAA, but it has the melody line and chords for those of us who play other instruments. You can also print it out directly by linking here:
There are several versions on YouTube, but the one that's probably the most instructive for us shows a local band called Carl Purdy and Friends at O'Donovan's Irish Pub in Augusta, Ga., Musicians include: Carl (harmony, Irish pennywhistle) and Erin (lead vocal, guitar). The woman who inquires at 1:50 who ordered the "burger with a side of mayonnaise" is surely a waitress and not part of the performance. Think of her as adding to the ambiance!
There's also a nice fingerpicked version on the mountain dulcimer by YouTube user dulcibard.
A classical arrangement -- Beautiful Classic Scottish Music - The Skye Boat Song - Relaxing Harp, Flute, Clarinet, Violin Solo: Beautiful instrumental Scottish folk music solo of the classic traditional Skye Boat - Speed Bonnie Boat song. Best Relaxing Harp and Peaceful Flute music. Mormon Tabernacle Choir Principal Flute, Jeannine Goeckeritz and Principal Harp, Tamara Oswald performing live an arrangement by Skaila Kanga and Clive Romney, joined by Becca Goeckeritz, violin, Daron Bradford, clarinet, and Scott Allen, bass. From the Oswald Goeckeritz Duo live concert "A Joyful Evening" at BYU Education Week. http://www.harpandflute.com.
And an a cappella performance by the UCD Choral Scholars at University College Dublin. If you'd like to hear the lyrics without a conversation about hamburgers in the background, this is the one to listen to!