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Everyone who have read at least once about continuous integration or continuous delivery knows that it is not possible or, at least it is very difficult, to do if you use more than one development branches. If you have never ever faced any problems using two or more development branches you are a fucking lucky guy or, probably, you are not used to refactor your code as you should be (in these rare cases, I strongly recommend you to take a look in this Martin Fowler & Mike Mason interview and Jez Humber Continuous Delivery book). On the other hand, if you have found yourself in an endless merging task or if you have been feeling insecure about some merging results. Do not panic! Keep reading. You are not alone. :-)
As you may already know, there is no problem with branches. The problems are all about merges. So, to overcome big and error prone merges the best strategy I would recommend is Branch by Abstraction. According to Martin Fowler, Branch by Abstraction is "a term coined by Paul Hammant to describe a technique for making structural changes to a code-base without a Feature Branch in a source-code control system". To make that real, we are used to implement new features, or updating existing ones, using a very simple technique known as Feature Toggles. In short, a feature toggle is a way you develop your software in order to make it easy to enable or disable features through configuration changes.
This kind of strategy is widely used by companies such as Facebook, Flicker, Google, Amazon, and, of course, the ones I've been consulting. A very simple example of feature toggles can be seeing in the Chrome web browser by typing chrome://flags in the URL input. In this page you can enable or disable features of your browse and help Google to evolve it. ;-)
After some years of experience trying to improve clients' delivery processes, we have found some advantages and disadvantages of using toggles instead of version control system branches. So, the main idea of this post is to share and discuss our experience with the community.
The advantages we have found are:
- Ability to turn features On and Off at any moment
- If you have found yourself adding a new bug in production, for example, you could just turn your feature Off.
- Move forward, never backward
- Once you can disable incomplete or buggy features, you can move on and fix it instead of rolling back your entire app (which in some cases is extremely painful).
- Ability to put unfinished code in production
- At the first glance it may sound a bit weird, but it helps you to reduce the amount of stuff you put in production at once. Small batches reduce the risk of going live (see Reducing IT risk using continuous delivery )
- Reduce or eliminate the necessity to create branches in a source-code control repository
- Your integration team will be very thankful, believe me ;-). This means less or no merges any more. Given them more time to making smarter tasks than merging.
- Ability to make experiments that could not be done outside of production environment
- For example, those intermittent issues which are impossible to reproduce outside of production.
- Ability to enable a feature for only one group of users
- For example, you can enable a feature for a specific region, role, user group, or any other rule you need.
- Ability to enable and disable the features while the app is up and running
- But you may set toggles at build time
The disadvantages are:
- There are cases in which it is not possible or, at least, it is very difficult to implement a feature toggle
- Examples in the Java world
- Static configuration files (i.e. web.xml, ejb-jar.xml e persistence.xml),
- JPA mapping,
- etc.
- Every toggle requires an engineering process
- First, avoid doing toggles for everything.
- Second, you must be sure you need it.
- Third, if you realize it is extremely necessary, it is important to provide a good design for its implementation.
- Toggle On means: a pretty new technical debt
- Once you enable your toggle and it is working 100% in production you have a technical debt that should be removed as soon as possible
- If you do not remove the technical debt your software will be harder to improve, maintain, test and deploy. This happens because your code must care about all possible situations (i.e. toggle On and Off)
- Features loosing priorities
- Sometimes people forget to enable a feature toggle just because that feature loses its priority. It is very ease to happen, unfortunately. At least in my experience.
- Sometimes people find an issue in production and then disable the toggle, but never fix it. In this case, the toggle remains there disabled forever.
- Feature toggle could easily get out of control
- Sometimes people lose the control of what is enable in which environment
- The number of toggles will grow faster than you think. Take care.
Finally, the discussion about this subject
Any technique has its advantages and disadvantages. However, if you have noticed, most of disadvantages are a reflect of not given the right control feature toggles should have. With a good toggle management, frequent releases and focus (do one thing at a time) it is possible to solve most of these issues.
To help overcome these difficulties, we have been fulfilling the following information for every feature toggle:
- The Value
- Usually enable/disable, but can be a complex data structure informing the region it is enabled, the user grup, or etc
- A detailed description
- Detailed information about what this feature toggle does and why it is necessary
- The deadline (very important)
- When this toggle should die and how you should perform the clean up
- The responsible (very important)
- The engineer/team responsible to monitor and remove the toggle. Usually, this responsibility is given to the one which have chosen to add it.
Besides that we have developed a dashboard, which is revised periodically, which provides all toggles information in order to get the full benefits this technique could provide us. Moreover, as Martin Fowler already said "while feature toggles are a valuable tool in the box, they are a second-best option. The best thing to do with such features is to find a way to gradually release them into production as you are building them".
If you like or not, please leave your comment. I will be very happy to listen to other teams experiences.


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This was very relaxing though a little time consuming, but a lot of fun! I saw something similar in Papercrafts magazine and had to try it using Stampin' Up!'s great rhinestones and the Perfect Details Texturz Plate for the Big Shot. When I finished, it looked glitzy and glamorous, and the fun "naughty" stamp from Tags Til Christmas seemed to make sense with it too. A silver glimmer brad, some shiny clear tinsel and our 1/8 inch black taffeta ribbon finished this fun card quickly and easily.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Rhinestones on Perfect Details Texturz Plate
Posted by RhondaG -the stampin' bunny at 9:17 AM
2 comments:
- PaperFairyKris said...
WOW! That photographed nicely. Love the bling!
- December 7, 2010 at 9:41 AM
That is fantastic Rhonda! i love it! Liz
- December 15, 2010 at 1:37 PM
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subset: commoncrawl


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After our Phone Interviews yesterday, we went to the Centrelink office inn Ringwood today to prove my Identity. Along with my ATM Card, I took my driver's Licence as the second identity item, to make up the required 100 points needed, to prove my identity.
For a while it didn't look like she was going to accept my driver's licence as it turns out it expired in the first week in February this year.
As I was wondering to myself why I hadn't received a renewal notice, I turned it over to make sure that I had our Currant address on it, when it was pointed out to me that when I had it changed about 14 months ago, a major mistake had been made with the address. Whilst they got the unit number and street number, and even the suburb and post code right, they had only put down half of the street name. Thus they only had on my licences all the other information, but where the street name was required, all they had down was: "The". Instead of; "The Pass".
So after finishing with Centrelink, I then had to go over to Burwood and get it both renewed and the address corrected. I know that a lot of people complain about the delays and service at Government offices etc these days, but I only have praise for Vic Roads on today's experience.
Although there were a lot of people there, I was served very quickly and pleasantly. The Lady also laughed when she saw the partial address, and upon checking her computer remarked that the Renewal notice had been returned, and laughing and with a grin "a mile wide" asked, "I wonder why?" Anyway to cut a long story short, I paid my money, had my photo taken, and in around 10-days, will get my new driver's Licence e for the next 10 years.
So all is right again and I am again driving legally, but it just made me wonder though how carefully we all check things, as I have had that Change of address sticker on my Licence for over a year now and never picked up the mistake till now. What important things do you now need to check that all the details are correct?


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Age is a curse upon humankind. Everything seems to be just fine until the first wrinkle shows, or the first strand of hair begins to show a hint of gray. Do you know which parts of the human body ages the fastest?
The most difficult thing to deal with is old age; humans do not like getting old. There is even sadder news; some of your body parts begin to age even before you hit that age in terms of years. By the time you are 25 years old you will hear 10 year olds calling you uncle or aunty, and it is sad, it is depressing. Before long, you will realise that you no longer have that charm, you no longer look that young, and you will be visiting supermarkets to get the latest pill or the magic potion to make you look younger. Here are the parts of your body that age the fastest. You might want to note here that when talking about parts of your body, anything that has to do with your skin will age faster than any of your body parts.
Your neck and your décolletage are the two parts of your body that are most exposed to the sun. Now sun does have harmful ultraviolet rays that can damage your neck and décolletage. Also, you should know that the skin around your neck is thinner than that of your face and therefore it tends to age faster. Use sunscreen lotions and moisturisers everyday on these two body parts.
Have you seen an old person's hands? They look like paper, and are wrinkled and soft, and this is precisely because your hands lose elasticity, fat and volume. The fatty layer that is there on your hand during your younger days tends to disappear and leaves your hands more translucent and thus they look shrivelled. Once again you should apply sunscreen and moisturiser on your hands.
When you age, your face loses volume, then clumps up and tends to shift downwards. Therefore, you will see that those features that were once round would now sink, most notably the eyes, and the skin that once was smooth and tight will now begin to loosen and would sag. Once again here your face is the most exposed to sunlight and therefore causes sun spots and ageing. Therefore people who are old are found to have fine wrinkles around their eyes and lips. You could exfoliate on a regular basis and use an anti ageing cream. Also, use sunscreen lotions every day.
One of the best ways for you to take care of your body so that it does not age faster is to use sun protection creams and moisturiser your body every day.
Read more articles on Anti-ageing.
Good article. Yes even I have noticed how the skin is the first to start ageing and it is very sad. I am hitting forty and some of my skin is actually getting wrinkles and I am feeling old already. I must keep myself from the sun now and use sun screen lotion. Thank you.
Its true that those parts of the body age the fastest that are the most exposed to the sun and I am glad you have pointed that out. I often feel slightly withdrawn when I miss applying sunscreen. I will try not to forget it. Thanks for the information, anyway!
Though all possible measures have been taken to ensure accuracy, reliability, timeliness and authenticity of the information; Onlymyhealth assumes no liability for the same. Using any information of this website is at the viewers' risk. Please be informed that we are not responsible for advice/tips given by any third party in form of comments on article pages . If you have or suspect having any medical condition, kindly contact your professional health care provider.


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In a wilderness survival or tactical environment how can you tell if you've sprained or broken an ankle? The distinction may seem minor, but the implications are dramatic. In a wilderness environment it means the difference between wrapping the ankle and the patient can walk out, or immobilizing the limb and carrying the patient out.
Tactically, the distinction is the same, but instead of having another shooter, you have a casualty.
So here is a field expedient method to determine if an ankle is broken or sprained. It called the Ottowa Ankle Rules.
(This isn't completely fool-proof, so use some common sense. If the patient's foot/ankle is obviously deformed then it's safe to assume it's broken and don't let the patient put any weight on the foot.)
Begin by palpating (feeling) the ankle or foot at a site away from the injury. Slowly work towards the site of injury.
If the patient has pain on the top of the ankle/lowest 6cm portion of the leg (malleolar zone, see picture) AND point tenderness on the side of the bone where the leg bone meets the ankle (either A or B) then assume it's a broken ankle.
If the patient has foot pain near the ankle (midfoot zone, see picture) AND point tenderness on the bones on either side of the foot closest to the ankle (either C or D) assume it's a broken foot.
Patient can't walk four consecutive steps without assistance (limping counts) then assume it's a fracture of something.
If the patient doesn't have the above indicators, then it's probably a sprain or the patient is a whiney pussy.
Why take the time to distinguish between a fracture or a sprain?
These rules were originally developed to decrease the amount of unnecessary x-rays in the emergency department, but for wilderness medicine or contractors this test will determine whether you need immediate care, or you can continue what you're doing.
A fracture means that you are out of action and will need to be seen by a medical professional. Wilderness First Aid steps are to wrap/splint the foot to eliminate movement, elevate if possible, take some pain relievers (ibuprofen or acetaminophen) and try to not put any weight on the foot as it may cause more damage, and will certainly be painful.
Ice may be hard to come by, but a cold pack will help with the swelling and pain. You will need to be carried or use a crutch of some sort to get wherever you need to go, preferably to medical care. R.I.C.E – Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation.
A sprain, while painful and may limit your mobility, means that you can still put weight on the foot.
So tighten the laces on your boot, take a couple of ibuprofen and man up.
~John B Correspondent - Medical and S&R
John B has been an EMT for 18 years and is currently a Field Team Leader for a Search and Rescue Team, he also holds a Master's degree in Neuroscience.


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I've been on a strange kick lately: quilts. The search for a perfect one for my bedroom is still ongoing (any suggestions?).
This colorful one is pretty.
Posted by angela hardison // labels: interiors, miscellaneous
2 comments:
- Leigh said...
That quilt is lovely! I've always wanted a quilt made especially for me. Recently begged my Aunt who is an award-winning quilter. I'm hoping she'll oblige!
- April 18, 2009 at 12:14 PM
- Joanna Goddard said...
- April 23, 2009 at 9:53 AM
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Today, she9 has brought a semi embroidered dress collection for spring summer season 2014. In India and Pakistan, spring season brings wedding season, sales of embroidered, formal and semi-formal dresses increases. For this spring season, this Royal Collection Spring Summer 2014 of semi stitched embroidered dresses will give you a handsome choice of semiformal embroidered dresses for weddings and wedding parties. The dresses are available in 4-PC format.
Tawakal Fabrics has designed these embroidered royal dresses for semiformal use. Ankle length kameez (shirts) are being nourished with neckline embroidered patches and embroidered lace strip for borders. Tawakal Fabrics has emerged as promising and creative dress designing label in last couple of years. Tawakal has designed several casual, formal and semiformal dress collections for winter and spring summer seasons. Moreover, the designer "Tawakal" has also designed bridal dresses as well. In this Royal Collection Spring Summer 2014, Tawakal has put embroidered cum printed shalwar kameez dresses in a wide range of vivid colours like red, blue and sea green. Hope you like this royal embroidered collection and select one for this spring summer 2014.
Thawakkal Fabrics Royal Collection of Lawn 2014
Long Shirt and Angarkha Dresses
Royal Pakistani Embroidered Dresses
Angarkha Embroidered Royal Dresses by Tawakkal Fabrics
Full Embroidered Dresses
Royal Collection for Summer-14
Night Party Wear Royal DressesFacebook page, follow us on Twitter or add circle on Google+, and leave your comments…! Keep visiting She9 to change your life style.


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Kirby cucumbers are now at all the local farm stands.
They are perfectly tiny, firm, moist and delicious. And they make a great pickle.
We make weekly runs to the local farms, and as the seasons progress, we will share with you what is in season and how we use it in our kitchen as well as what we are drinking with it. Visit our web site for more info on Swoon Kitchenbar http://www.swoonkitchenbar.com


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When Klout first came out it seemed like a decent idea with limited appeal. If you were doing business with someone online and wanted to profile them at a glance it was a handy tool to pull together both Facebook and Twitter info on one spot without any information overload.
The Klout Score is the measurement of your overall online influence. The scores range from 1 to 100 with higher scores representing a wider and stronger sphere of influence. Klout uses over 35 variables on Facebook and Twitter to measure True Reach, Amplification Probability, and Network Score.
How does Klout influence SEO? Well head on over to our Klout score and take a look at what an honest Klout looks like from an organic SEO: BeanstalkSEO on Klout
See how there's some influence and natural looking results? Now say you found the twitter name of our biggest competition on Google's search results.. Go look at their Klout, see what's missing?
Suddenly Klout has a role in defining who really listens/talks to who, what crucial networks they belong to, and when someone is just a source of noise/self importance, it shows.
You could get on Facebook, and Twitter, friend all the people you're curious about and compare the results from the two networks, or you can just go look them up in Klout and save a bunch of time.
The only problem I have with Klout is that it's rather proprietary with it's support for just Facebook and Twitter. This means if you have an excellent profile on Wikipedia that's linked to from lots of other Wiki pages, that would never effect your Klout score, but it's one of many sources that probably should?


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Vote for Asghar Farhadi to be on Time 100
Time asks you to cast your votes for the leaders,
artists, innovators, icons and heroes that you think
are the most influential people in the world.
Official voting ends on Friday, April 6
so cast your vote and ask your friends to do the same.
Good Luck Mr. Farhadi!


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LEGS' is an experienced, prominent and well established Designer, Manufacturer, and Distributor of Premium Quality Corporate Apparel, Uniforms and Attires for all occasions and is well positioned to offer the full benefits of our expertise to the Global Marketplace. We are specialists in the provision of Corporate Apparel and Image Uniform, a market in which we excel and fully understand.
We can offer a Corporate Image, Quality of clothing, premium manufacturing supported by Program Management, Warehousing and Distribution, all of which provide a level of service which is second to none.
Besides a wide range of traditional garments you will find many new and innovative designs in our catalogue. At our company we listen carefully to our customers and continuously strive to originate better apparel wear. Our experience results in a range of apparels that provides professionals with on-the job comfort, protection and functionality all underpinned by our Products Promise of better quality, service and value.
Quality matters and our team of designers understand this. They know the daily requirements expected from corporate apparels and that the right choice of material is crucial to a given task no matter what the season. Our garment technologies control the production process. They design and test new materials as well as developing function and design, which means you will always have our product fit for purpose.
As a responsible supplier we take steps to ensure that all our garments are sourced in a responsible way and that working conditions comply with the relevant guidelines.
Our friendly and efficient sales team is supported by our distribution centres.
We guarantee value for money. From our extensive range of quality apparels to our efficient service and prompt delivery through to the final invoice, you can be assured of our commitment to delivering better values for our customers. Indeed, we have consistently reduced prices over the last seven years and we now provide better value than ever.
size 36- bust size is 34inches (UK size 10, US size 6)
size 38- bust size is 35 inches (UK size 12, US size 8)
size 40-bust size is 36.5 inches (UK size 14, US size 10)
size 42- bust size is 38 inches (UK size 16 US size 12)
size 44- bust size is 40 inches. (UK size 18, US size 14)
size 44- chest size is 34.5 inches (US size 34)
size 46- chest size is 36.5 inches (US size 36)
size 48- chest size is 37.5 inches (US size 38)
size 50- chest size is 39.5 inches (US size 40)
size 52- chest size is 41 inches. (US size 42)
size 54- chest size is 42.5 inches (US size 44)
size 56- chest size is 44 inches (US size 46)


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- This event has passed.
Spoke O'Motion Weekly MTB Race Series
August 30, 2017 @ 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Event Navigation
The original.
The often imitated, but never duplicated…that is the legend of Coulson Hill racing.
One of the foundational series on which mountain biking in Ontario has arisen. Home track for Canadian National Champion Andrew Watson, Olympian Ed Veal, and X-Games World Champion Brett Rheeder. This is truly the birthplace of champions yet never loses it's fun and family appeal.
The Coulson Hill weekly series is one of the longest continually running cycling events in Canada.
Throughout this history, great friendships have been forged, skills tested, and endurance pushed to it's limits. But despite the different skill levels and riding expectations of our participants, we always return to one fundamental truth: The riders who join us at Coulson Hill leave with an experience that will forever change them.
The sense of accomplishment and exhilaration will get you addicted. And you will ride more. And you will get stronger and fitter. And you'll have the time of your life doing it! But don't say I didn't warn you.
What makes our series unique is the broad skill and age range that we draw. For example, our youngest rider was only 4 years old and our oldest, 69 years. No other series in Ontario is as family focussed and fun-oriented as the Spoke O'Motion Weekly Race Series.


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Front page
Thursday, May 12, 2005
# Posted 1:02 AM by Ariel David Adesnik
In light of how little attention the American media has been paying to events in Haiti, Randy Paul deserves considerable praise for his continuing efforts to keep us apprised of what is going in Port-au-Prince. To go directly to his long string of posts about Haiti, click here.
Recent concerns about the situation in Haiti include the pardoning of convicted human rights violators, the imprisonment of former ministers on political grounds, and reports of police brutality.
Randy also has plenty of harsh words for the Bush administration (no surprise there), which seems to be taking a somewhat lackadaisical approach to the situation. The Brazilian president, Mr. DaSilva, is also taking a lot of heat since Brazil is in charge of the UN peacekeeping force that is on the ground but apparently not accomplishing much. Really? An incompetent UN peacekeeping mission? Say it ain't so!
In light of how little I know about the situation in Haiti, I don't dare make any suggestions about what the US or any other foreign government should do. All I really can do is keep my fingers crossed. (0) opinions -- Add your opinion
Comments: Post a Comment


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iPhone 3G: 2 more days to the second wave
August 20, 2008
In the midst of all the WiMAX excitement, this is just a friendly reminder to all the iPhone 3G fans out there.
Mark 22 August on your calendar.
In less than two days the second wave of iPhone 3G launches will hit 20 new countries. One of them is our neighbor across the causeway, Singapore and none of them is us – Malaysia.
In the build up to the Singapore release, exclusive (for a limited time till StarHub and M1 comes in) device partner SingTel has released its price plan to complement the sought after device.
Check out our sister blog iPhone3GforMalaysia on some of the details.
Maxis, Celcom, DiGi, U Mobile – so how? Malaysia Boleh right?
P1 W1MAX Launch & Full Official Pricing
August 19, 2008
We didn't get an invitation but we managed to get in! 🙂 P1 W1MAX has officially launched in Malaysia just hours ago at Mandarin Oriental. The launch was spectacular with impressive presentations, testimonial as well as light dance shows. They even got Hannah Tan to be the MC for the event.
Its CEO Michael Lai has spoken many aspiring stuff about broadband and how Packet 1 is eager to broadband whole Malaysia.
If you read our previous post, we revealed that there are 2 speed packages for business & personal. Apparently the said page was removed from the website after our posting. This time, the page is up again and we discovered that they are actually offering 4 speed packages of 400Kbps, 700Kbps, 1.2Mbps and 2.4Mbps. Read on to check out the updated packages.
P1 WiMAX Launch and Packages
August 18, 2008
Update 19082008 – Check out the official and updated packages in our latest posting.
Tomorrow Packet 1 will make history with Malaysia's first ever WiMAX launch which has been widely anticipated. It is said that Energy, Water and Telecommunications Minister Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor would officiate the P1 W1MAX event tomorrow afternoon.
So how much is the subscription? Are subscribers tied to a contract? Read on as we managed to get an early peek on its offerings.
DiGi 3G Network discovered
August 17, 2008
We managed to find DiGi's 3G Network at several spots in the Klang Valley. Just only after several months of transfering Time Dot Com's 3G Spectrum license, DiGi has already started its 3G testing. The screenshot above is an evidence that DiGi is eager and aggressive in pushing its 3G services beyond everyone's expectation. Although DiGi's 3G network is searchable but DiGi subscribers can't use it just yet. They are still testing at the moment.
With MNP coming, having able to offer 3G services soon would be an advantage to DiGi in order to match the offerings from the existing 3G operators. Let's hope DiGi could surprise us earlier than expected.
Video: DiGi I Love Simple & Easy TV Commercial
August 16, 2008
New on the airwaves is DiGi's 2nd & 3rd batch of TV Commercials themed "I Love Simple" & "I Love Easy". This is a new addition after "I Love Savings" series of ads.
Official Malaysia WiMAX Roll out next week!
August 13, 2008
WiMAX is officially available in Malaysia next week! We will be witnessing not just one, but TWO WiMAX operators rolling out their services in the country.
Packet 1 will be having their official launch on next Tuesday August 19th in Kuala Lumpur while another operator REDtone will be launching theirs on the next day August 20th in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.
Both operators will be launching at different ends in the country and its obvious that the two won't be competiting heads-on in the same market segments for now. We are unsure on the reason behind such roll out strategy but both would have different challenges to face.
What to expect?
P1 W1MAX by Packet 1 has been showcased to the public several times namely at WCIT and the recent PC Fair. We are aware that they have a working LAN based WiMAX modem and initial feedbacks we seen have been encouraging.
Before this, Packet 1 has been actively promoting its trial programme and recently it has also mentioned that Packet 1 managed to sign up its first subscribers. This not only incidates that Packet 1's W1MAX is ready for service but it also marks as Malaysia's 1st ever WiMAX subscription in the country. At present time, we are still unsure of their current coverage areas and we hope to find out soon during the launch.
It is rumoured that P1 W1MAX would be available at 4 packages with competiting speed offerings with different price ranges. Their biggest competitor would be Streamyx at the moment and judging on evaluations we've seen, the performance of P1 W1MAX is something existing Streamyx users would look forward to.
As for REDtone, they have not given any clues on their WiMAX devices or offerings. There was nothing tangible to date and we are interested to see what sort of devices and packages available for subscription during launch in Sabah.
After much hype in the press, 2 operators have finally came out to launch officially in the market. The other 2 WiMAX operators, YTL and AsiaSpace have yet to make announcement on their commercial services to date.
Watch this space for more updates!
Related Links
REDtone to roll out WiMAX by month end
LiewCF's WiMAX Experience at PC Fair
Claycam – Hotlink Rewards
August 5, 2008
Have you seen it? Click here for more
Hotlink is hyping its rewards program with this rather creative approach.
Claycam is a website that features a clay modeller sculpting clay all day long. The hype is is that the clay modeller sculpts models based on your requests.
So you can log on to the site and submit a request and if its approved, it will appear on a que. All you have to do then is wait for the your request to move up the order and eventually be sculptured in clay.
And apparently this is all streamed live.
The site will be up for five days this month starting from 4 Aug to 8 Aug. You can watch the clay modeller sculpt all sorts of stuff in clay daily from 10am to 8pm.
Did you notice Hotlink changed its tagline from "
Activate your life Life Unlimited" to "So much is possible".
MNP in Malaysia: Nationwide by October 2008
August 2, 2008
MNP in Malaysia has been hot on the lips of telcos recently as it is seen as a big shake up in the communication business. After a long wait, MCMC has finally confirmed that MNP or better known as Mobile Number Portability will kick off in the Klang Valley by September before it is implemented Nationwide by October.
What is MNP?
If you haven't heard of it, MNP allows mobile subscribers to keep their mobile numbers including its prefix with them if they wish to switch to a different operator. Currently, there are 4 main operators in the country and the prefixes (010, 011, 012, 013, 014, 015, 016, 017, 018, 019) are fixed with the registered operators.
If a user is a Maxis subscriber bearing 012-1234567, he/she won't be able to bring this number with them when switching to a different operator. This has become a big barrier for consumers who wish to switch as mobile numbers tend to be a personal identity which many won't want to lose. Read the rest of this entry »


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My thoughts, which I've repeated in a few different forums already:
The underlying mechanisms for the CLR as well as for the JVM *are* dynamic. The problems for making these systems universal are in the necessity to use nearly the entire language model of C# or Java, rspectively, in order to achieve any kind of integration.
A better approach, IMHO, would be to make integration more abstract and more loosely coupled than the "shared object model" of the CLR or JVM.
Components written in various languages should be integrated via a simpler, asynchronous, shared-nothing, message passing model. Then those components could be instantiated in the same OS process, a different OS process, or on a distinctly different host on the network, without having to alter the mechanism for integration.
A virtual machine in this model would offer a reusable implementation of garbage collection, component instantiation, time-sharing, channel discovery, message formatting, optimized "intra-OS-process" message passing, and an instruction set for sequential processing. A universal virtual machine would not require a shared-memory, monitor-based, object model.
I would choose Scheme as the "instruction set" of my virtual machine, and not make language implementors deal with low level CPU models.


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three films
Between Miami and SXSW, I've seen three documentaries in the last four days. Friday night, S, her friend So, and I caught a screening of Cocalero at the Miami International Film Festival. Cocalero tells the story of the election Evo Morales, a union organizer who is now president of Bolivia. Morales organized the cocaleros, most of whom are indigenous ("indians") people living in the country's remote regions. Cocaleros grow coca, which is a plant that can be used to make tea. Unfortunately, its new leaves also contain cocaine, which used to make it a very profitable crop. The U.S., in conjunction with the Bolivian government, organized a fight against coca growers by destroying their crops, beginning in the 1980's. The cocaleros, led by Morales, organized a union against this threat to their livelihood.
Cocaleros are very improbable types to not only run a candidate for president, but also to actually win the election. The film shows the union and party's organization, much of which is led by peasants who live in traditional shelters in the forest. Many lack formal education, and, as both S and So pointed out, a government run by uneducated peasants has the potential for disaster. The film didn't go into how Morales and the cocaleros have done at governing, but it made clear Morales' ties to radical leftist parties and politicians in Latin America. So, who is part of Bolivia's elite, also noted the class tensions between peasants and the elite, which has always ruled in the past.
Cocalero raised some very interesting questions: how do you help people whose livelihood depends on a crop that has been criminalized? They don't know how to grow much else. Can a government of the people actually govern? How do you deal with class conflict writ large?
While it raises great questions and tells a fascinating story, the film is difficult to watch because the cinematography is terrible. When asked after the screening, the director said that he was going for cinema verite. My feeling about that is that while you can certainly put a fancy French name on it, that doesn't make up for bad camera work. The film almost makes you sick becuase the cameras shake so much.
It was also difficult for S and I to watch for reasons having nothing to do with the filmmaker's approach. Our friend Ken was part of the American response to the drug war in the region. About 3/4 of the way through the film, the camera closed-in on Mount Ilimani, which towers over Bolivia's capital city, La Paz. Ken died in a horrible accident on Ilimani. We talked on the way home about what Ken thought about the war on drugs and how it affected the region's peasants. Ken was one of the best people I have ever known, and the peasants of Bolivia would have benefitted from his intelligence and compassion.
Sunday, Steve Not the Lawyer and I saw the premiere of What Would Jesus Buy? at the Paramount as part of SXSW. The film is fantastic and will certainly get a distributor, so you should be able to Netflix it eventually. It features Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping Gospel Choir (as well as the Not Gonna Buy It band) as they travel across America encouraging consumers to stop buying unnecessary things and amassing debt during the Christmas season.
Part performance art and part crusade against the rampant consumerism that is destroying our country, Rev. Billy and his group's work is meaningful - and hilarious. I'm not sure what my favorite part of the film was. Maybe the exorcism of the sign at Wal-Mart's corporate headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas? Or when Rev. Billy and the choir step into a New York subway car carrying a pulpit and two large crosses - on which Mickey and Minnie mouse are crucified? Or when an Anaheim police officer informs Rev. Billy that, in Disneyland, "It's not like the rest of America, where you can stand on a street corner and...sing," before proeeding to arrest him on Christmas Day? Watching Rev. Billy wince every time he applies hair spray to create his sanctified hair?
I don't know. Perhaps the most poignant moment of the film occured when the Reverend Jim Wallis said, his narration juxtaposed over a scene of a shopping mall, "This isn't what Jesus intended for us." And that really sums it up: there's something immoral about how much we waste, how our consumption is destroying our environment and our souls. What Would Jesus Buy? is definitely worth your time. If you're in Austin, it's showing again on Saturday night.
Monday morning, we saw Audience of One, which is a beautifully shot piece about a Pentecostal preacher in San Franscisco who believes that God has commanded him to make a futuristic science fiction film about Joseph that somehow involves a threat from invading aliens -- despite the fact that the pastor and his followers know next-to-nothing about filmmaking. This movie was the most fascinating of the three. Despite financial and technical setbacks (including completely running out of money and only being able to shoot two scenes), the pastor presses on with the goal, and calls his congregation to an even broader vision that involves owning an airline and colonizing another planet.
The pastor, Richard Gazowsky, and his family were present for the screening and he and the director answered several questions about the film, what it was like to be seen on screen with a theater full of people who think you're crazy, and why he felt called to pursue the vision in this way.
What was most fascinating to me, though, was the fact that his crazy vision, in which his church members seem to almost blindly follow him, despite bankruptcy, embarrassment, and near-ruin, is that what Pastor Gazowsky is doing isn't really all that different from anyone who has a dream. Whether you're an independent filmmaker who has a story to tell, a person deeply troubled by our society's focus on money, a peasant coca grower who wants to make things better for his people, a loyal soldier who recognizes that a policy hurts ordinary people, or a graduate student trying to write a book about an horrific situation, you have to be a little bit crazy to see a dream through. You have to believe against all odds that your story is worth telling. You have to believe that someone, somewhere will carry you through. You have to believe that, despite all the odds against you, eventually it will work. You have to...believe.


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Ure Mute Watch the donor a let pres on the Fladen af clock, and the band will light up with the times. If you move your finger away the Face af band, you can adjust your alarm time. When the alarm sounds , the mute Watch vibrate that charge you loose that move to the next task, and not just any old vibration, indbygget bevægelsessensor register your bevægelser and automatically adjusts the strength af vibrationerne.
LED Mutewatch
This watch gennembrud in red, White and gray, with LED skærme, where adjusted based on surrounding lysniveau. This banebrydende The watch comes in Red, White and gray, with an LED skærm, which adjusts lysniveauet based on its surroundings. Mute Watch is a Swedish-based Society, where the lobes dare to Stockholm, where it is now handled carefully and they sold in local stores. If you would rather do not want to jet to Scandinavia that fetch up, Gemma frequent flyer miles, and try online.
Sophisticated LED


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I have yet to tell anyone the truth about why I moved here. I embellished a few of the more minor reasons, but the true MAIN reason I moved here was for a guy I "loved", but love is such a stupid word and infatuation can feel stronger, but isn't love. I used to tell everyone who loved that they were naive and "love" is nothing more than the equivalent of eating mass amounts of chocolate in a single sitting. I believe this to be true. But said individual whom I "loved" didn't live in Portland. He lived in Philadelphia. Plot thickens.
Here's the back story: Chris and I knew each other for a long time in Kansas City. We partied together, but were never more than friends. In fact, the thought of being more than friends had never even crossed my mind. I didn't feel "that way" about him. I thought of him as a friend, and nothing more, but I knew he felt "that way" about me. I always knew.
He went away. He moved back to the east coast and eventually found his way to Philadelphia where he lived for years. We still kept in contact, every one in a while a phone call was made just to catch up on things. I like to keep tabs on my friends after they've gone.
I began having dreams about him. "Distance makes the heart grow fonder"? True. I felt very strongly that I messed something up. I couldn't believe I let him go away.
I called him late one night, after a few too many, and confessed. He told me he felt "the same way" about me. For months, we continued a phone, long-distance "I love you" relationship. Fucked up, huh?
The dilemma: Chris lives in Philly, I live in Kansas City. What to do? Chris and I fantasized about moving to the west coast. He wanted to expand his musical career and I wanted to get away. I was feeling trapped in Kansas City. "I feel 40" I said in a journal entry. I decided to move away--closer to him. In order to do that, I needed to sell my home. So I moved in with my parents in Michigan while the house sat on the market for 167 days. No buyers. I couldn't stand living in Detroit, not finding work, and STILL being away from Chris. This was getting pointless. Didn't I move away to be with him? So why am I stuck here? I cashed out my 401k and ran away--again.
I went, where else? Philly! I wasn't nervous about seeing Chris again for the first time in ages until I finally entered the city. I had a blast there. I loved the oldness and I loved New York. But Chris and I didn't pursue and loving, deep relationship like I thought we would. I mean, how do you do that when you haven't seen the person in years? We sorta "dated" but really never romantically did anything. Ever. I was quite disappointed that I had changed my life so much and for next to nothing. We continued together, as friends, and took all summer finally getting to Portland.
"Love" shouldn't have been the reason. But it was.
I felt betrayed. I felt like he had used me to get here--an elaborate plan to expand his music career. Like I was a wagon or something. "Sure! I'll give you a ride!" We were roommates, until I moved out, and I learned that he was... not the person I thought. What will years of being apart do to a person? Think what it did to him. Think what it did to me.
Chris and I barely talk now.
In the last few weeks, I've been wondering what I'm still doing here. People ask, "What brings you to Portland?" I can't tell them the truth. It just sounds so pathetic. Wait... it is so pathetic. So I tell people I just needed a change, which was true, and that I couldn't get work in Detroit, which was true, and that I felt trapped in Kansas City, which was true, but all these things were not the main reason for moving and changing my life.
What brings me to Portland? Nothing. I've been here for 6 months already, and I still feel like an outsider. I've been trying to stick it out. Find some cool friends and have a good time. I have found cool people and friends, but it's tough when I think about the hundreds of friends I have/had in KC. Tough to think that I can never go back there, for fear of being perceived as having my tail between my legs. Before I left KC, I had a going-away party and Will said, "You're not moving." I proved him wrong, but for what?
Either way, I'm pathetic. Pathetically sad and still lost. Lost in an ocean of apartments and drowning. When I get close to the surface to break for air, something grabs my leg and drags me back down to the bottom.
I continue to drown.
Monday, February 2, 2009
2 comments:
Hey Bitch!
Come on out to Indianapolis! It's dull as a motherfucker, but I somehow manage to log a little jail time each month. Tha grrlz are all at university and it's totally like I am 15 years old and my parents are perpetually out of town. HELLS, YEAH! DOn't make me go all Spatula on your ass.
(aka Nancy W. Kappes, Paralegal.)
- February 13, 2009 at 12:05 PM
- Jeremy said...
As strange as this seems...I have the same story just reversed. We lived in Manhattan Kansas. She moved to Portland Or. and I live about an hour from Philedelphia.
Hah. And to think I came accross this page through Geekologie.com.
- May 27, 2009 at 7:58 AM
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text: In this film based on the popular newspaper comic strip, big-game hunter Jim "Jungle Jim" Bradley (Johnny Weissmuller) again springs into action. After brawny football player Bob Miller (Bob Waterfield) goes missing in the dark jungle, Jim is called upon to ensure his safe return. As he leads a determined search party through the treacherous terrain, he encounters such wild obstacles as vicious tribesmen, creepy skeleton-men and carnivorous dinosaurs.


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The Homeschool Post hosts a annual Homeschool Blog Awards contest. It is a fun way to meet other homeschool bloggers. The Homeschool Post will be accepting nominations from October 8th to October 22nd. Voting will be from November 2nd to November 16th. Winners will be announced on the 19th of November.
Here is their main page on the contest.


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|New Floppy Bunny Crochet Pattern. Make
one now for hugs and one for Easter.
|Make this cutie with bulky weight yarn, size L
and H crochet hooks.
|Finished size approx. 16" tall from top of head to
bottom of feet, not counting ears and hat
|Pattern includes detailed instructions (in English),
material list, photos and helpful notes and tips to complete


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Remember the school laptop spying case? As much as I agreed that a school should NOT be able to activate a webcam when the laptop is in my kids' bedroom, the thought of a lawsuit and subsequent $600,000 dollar reward makes me shudder a bit.
"Lower Merion School District has settled the webcam case that made national headlines after students accused school officials of spying by using the webcam installed on school-issued laptops.
The School District Board approved a $610,000 settlement Monday night..." (SOURCE)
What money does a school have other than tax payer money taken from residents for the sole purpose of educating that township or city's children? So, to sue and take almost a million dollars from that school system (which is most likely already under-funded...) seems, well, a bit evil.
What was the money for? See, now the litigious nature of this family has lost my sympathy. The school should have removed the webcams from take-home laptops, but to shell out $600,000?


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Confidence Men: Wall Street, Washington, and the Education of a President, a new book by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ron Suskind says that U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner ignored an order from President Barack Obama calling for reconstruction of major banks. According to Suskind, the incident is just one of several in which Obama struggled with a divided group of advisers, some of whom he didn't initially consider for their high-profile roles.
The book states Geithner and the Treasury Department ignored a March 2009 order to consider dissolving banking giant Citigroup while continuing stress tests on banks, which were burdened with toxic mortgage assets.
In the book, Obama does not deny Suskind's account, but does not reveal what he told Geithner when he found out. "Agitated may be too strong a word," Suskind quotes Obama as saying. Obama says later in the book that he was trying to be decisive but "the speed with which the bureaucracy could exercise my decision was slower than I wanted."
Geithner says in the book that he did not recall that Obama was mad at him about the Citigroup decision and rejected allegations contained in White House documents that his department had been slow to enact the president's plans.
…"The Citbank incident, and others like it, reflected a more pernicious and personal dilemma emerging from inside the administration: that the young president's authority was being systematically undermined or hedged by his seasoned advisers," Suskind writes.
Buy the book


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Glamour.com Sees Social-Focused Redesign
Rapid social media, mobile growth pushes brand to reinvent itself online.
In March, Condé Nast's Glamour magazine reintroduced itself to the world with a redesigned publication. The idea for the redesign, editor-in-chief Cindi Levie told FOLIO: in an interview, came from a need to update the magazine to reflect the desires and personalities of contemporary women.
Now in the digital space the brand is looking to do the same, rolling out its newly redesigned website this week with enhanced functionality and avenues for social engagement—a move the magazine says reflects the desires of its target millennial audience.
"We've seen really rapid growth on social media, both on platforms and as referral traffic back to the site," says Mike Hofman, digital managing director for the brand. "We started to learn things as we tracked more and more of the social media referrals about how completely obsessed with visuals and rich imagery our readers were. We started to get a sense that the way people browse the Web is changing—as we were going into the relaunch, we knew we wanted the site to be way more visual than it had been before."
Hofman says that Glamour.com has almost doubled its online traffic year-over-year, growing to about 5.5 million monthly unique visitors. The brand's total social media footprint has also risen to a total 5 million across the major networking platforms. Glamour tracks the most shared, commented on or liked pieces of content across their various social media sites and used this information during the planning of its site redesign.
"We wanted everything to be super sharable so that a real sense of community could be fostered by the site," says Hofman. "We see this year and this relaunch as a way to signify that we're a site that competes not just in the magazine category but with digital-native competitors as well."
In addition to social widgets, every image that appears on Glamour.com can be instantly pinned to a Pinterest pin board. Additionally, the brand has begun commissioning original photos, illustrations and infographics specifically for the Web and designed for social media. The site publishes about 70 pieces of new content a day across its seven core channels.
"Rich and luxurious images are so important for us and something the magazine has always done well," says Hofman. "With the refreshing that happened, the visuals in print are so fantastic and dynamic. We wanted to capture that same energy while still being true as a digital product since there are nuances with the two audiences."
SEE ALSO: With Redesign, Glamour Ditches Fashion Title Sameness
While making the website more social was important, Hofman says the digital infrastructure was also refreshed to support the new image-heavy, socially geared site and its growing mobile audience that now represents 25 percent of all website traffic.
"Early on we decided we wanted to do responsive design because our mobile audience is incredibly important to us," he says. "We wanted to focus on the responsive piece because in the past we felt that the mobile experience was not consistent brand wise or design wise with the desktop experience. From a behind the scenes work-flow perspective, if you made a change on the desktop site you had to go in and manually make those changes on our mobile site. Keeping the two in synch was difficult. As the desktop site became more complex the mobile site felt like a lot of mobile sites do—clean and simple with a string of headlines but not much more than that."
Providing a seamless experience between the desktop and mobile phone was one of Glamour's biggest challenges, adds Hofman, who says the site was redesigned with HTML5 to provide a cohesive experience. Additionally, when redesigning the site the brand considered its advertisers—now some ads remain stationary on the site even though a user scrolls, giving partners more exposure.
Stay updated on the latest FOLIO: news, follow us on Facebook & Twitter!


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Here we are at my condo... after face painting in the 'hood forAnyway, fun ensued on the mountain... pictures follow:
the sidewalk sale action in Irvington.
the sidewalk sale action in Irvington.
On the ski lift... headed up to the alpine slides...
After a fun afternoon on Mt. Hood, we were both pretty excited. But seeing as how I got to drive, Coyla got to take a nap on the way home. ;) I love to embarrass her!
That night I went to visit Grandma, who's now moved post-surgery to a skilled-nursing facility to continue recovering from her knee replacement operation. It's been a busy workweek already, too, but last night I got a massage from Sarah -- then went to dinner with her, and tonite I had a lovely bike ride with Meagan and had happy hour on NW 23rd before shopping for a late birthday present for my 21-year-old niece. 21!!!
That's it for now! :)
That's it for now! :)
P.S. Just saw this online... and had to share. I've thought this guy was a badass since I was in junior high!


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2 New Items from Ferm Living
My birthday is a mere three weeks away and all I WANT THIS BLANKET!!!
It isn't available quite yet...but I am hoping that it will be any day now. Please check here to see if it is.
{I also wouldn't mind having a knitted yellow pouf or a set of these awesome candle holders...just saying.}
Thank you,
Obsessions: Ferm Living
Posted by Jessica
2 comments:
- michelle b said...
hi there,
just popped by to see your blog and love the knitted balls.
where are they from?
- February 20, 2010 at 10:08 PM
- Amy said...
I love that blanket too. I think it's the subliminal reason why I ordered that Nate Berkus chevron throw from a site that shall not be named. It's not nearly as cool, but it it's a good placeholder until that Ferm Living blanket is available.
- February 21, 2010 at 2:41 PM
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Park City, Utah (PRWEB) May 16, 2013
Today, Zane Benefits, Inc. published new information on Exchange Navigators. Zane Benefits, which provides comprehensive and flexible alternatives to traditional employer sponsored health benefits, is the leader in health care reform, defined contribution and health reimbursement arrangements.
According to Zane Benefits' website, the Affordable Care Act requires state health insurance marketplaces to establish a "navigator" program that will help eligible individuals learn about their options and purchase coverage through their state health insurance marketplace. So, where do brokers fit in? How do navigators differ from brokers?
With the new health insurance exchanges a broker can act either as a traditional broker or a navigator (but not both). While some details are not yet confirmed, this articles explains how navigators will differ from brokers, and two different ways brokers can benefit from the health insurance exchanges.
What is a Health Insurance Navigator?
According to Zane Benefits' website, under current health care reform law, navigators will have five duties:
- To conduct public education about the availability of qualified health plans.
- To distribute fair, impartial information about enrollment in qualified plans and about the availability of premium tax credits and cost-sharing assistance in the exchange.
- To facilitate enrollment in qualified plans.
- To refer people who need help resolving a problem with their health plan or with their premium assistance to a consumer assistance or ombudsman program or to another appropriate agency that can help with a grievance or appeal.
- To provide information in a culturally and linguistically appropriate manner to the population being served by an exchange
Compensation for navigators will be paid through a navigator grant, or if working under a navigator organization, hourly compensation may be available (rates and details will vary by state).
Who Can Become a Health Insurance Navigator?
According to Zane Benefits' website, the law lists a number of different kinds of entities that could become navigators including: community and consumer focused nonprofits; trade, industry, and professional associations; commercial fishing, ranching, and farming organizations; chambers of commerce; unions; Small Business Administration resource partners; licensed insurance agents and brokers; and other entities.
Under the law, a licensed health insurance agent or broker can be a navigator, however this disqualifies them from acting as a traditional producer (selling policies on or off the exchanges and receiving commissions).
What is the Role of Brokers on the Exchanges?
According to Zane Benefits' website, the role of brokers will be similar to the role of brokers now: selling individual and small group health insurance policies on and off the Exchanges.
Whether commissions will be available for brokers, and how this will be managed, will vary by state. In general, commissions will likely be paid for QHP policies sold on the Exchanges. Commissions will be managed either by Exchange or paid directly from insurance carrier to broker. Brokers must register with the Exchange and will receive a unique ID number to track sales and commissions.
How Do Brokers Register with the Exchanges?
According to Zane Benefits' website, all states will require brokers to attend training and register with the state in order to sell policies through the Exchange. Details will vary by state (see State by State Guide to Health Insurance Marketplaces). Many states are still finalizing these procedures and final details are expected by August 2013.
Click here to read full article.
About Zane Benefits
Zane Benefits was founded in 2006 to provide a revolutionized SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) administration platform ("ZaneHRA") for Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs) and defined contribution health care. The flagship software provides a 100% paperless administration experience to employers and insurance professionals that want to offer better health benefits without a traditional group health insurance plan at lower costs. For more information about ZaneHRA, visit http://www.zanebenefits.com.


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Sunday, January 4, 2009
Every weekend CUIP's president Jacqueline Salit and strategist and philosopher Fred Newman watch the political talk shows and discuss them. Here are excerpts from their dialogue on Sunday, January 4, 2009 after watching selections from "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer," "Hardball with Chris Matthews" and "The McLaughlin Group."
Salit: When I first posed Chris Matthews' question to you – is this a paradigm shift or just a pause? – you said that the paradigm shift has already happened.
Newman: Yes.
Salit: So, what are the characteristics of that paradigm shift?
Newman: The world is not uni-polar or even bi-polar. It's multi-polar. There are a lot of powerful countries – China, India, Brazil, etc. And they're starting to relate differently. They're not relating to one common center or to a bi-polar power dynamic, like the U.S./Soviet Union. They're relating more directly to each other. In that kind of world, there's a pressing need to discover what shape things are going to take…economically, socially, politically, diplomatically. Countries all over the world are struggling with that, to figure out what they would like to see emerge and whether they can effect it. And, if they can't effect their ultimate design, then what can they effect? That's what's going on in the world.
Continue reading Talk Talk here.


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MarsDrive Consortium (MDC, of which I am a member) has announced a Mars sample return mission design contest. The contest requires the design of an unmanned mission that would (1) place a scientific payload on the surface of Mars, (2) collect geological and astrobiological samples, and (3) use local Martian resources to produce propellent (methane, LOX) sufficient to allow the collected samples to leave the surface and return to Earth orbit.
Abstract submission is summer 2006, with design submission in fall 2006, and announcement of winners in winter 2007. A distinguished panel of experts will be involved in evaluating and selecting from the submissions, including Dr. Chris McKay (Planetary Scientist, NASA Ames Research Center), Dr. Robert Zubrin (President, The Mars Society), and Louis Friedman (Executive Director, The Planetary Society). Prizes will include cash and an expense-paid trip to the ISDC 2007 conference.
I think this is a great way to promote interest in a Mars sample return mission and to raise awareness and promote research on in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) for the production of sample-return fuel and oxidizer. ISRU is a key component in learning to "live off the land" as will be required in future manned missions to Mars.


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Jason swam in the 1st ever Whidbey Adventure Swim. 1.2 miles in the Puget Sound - which I thought was so amazing since he had only started swimming this summer. The kids and I volunteered. It was a well-organized event and I hope I can do it with him next year. We'll see if I can get over my open water fears!
5 weeks ago


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GOM Reminder – a handy organizer for the N900
March 20, 2011 Leave a comment Go to comments
Checked out this nice app at the Ovi Store. Its a simple and easy to use utility that allows you to set up reminders quickly which trigger the standard system alarm.
Reminders can be from simple ones that trigger after a set time to more sophisticated ones with various options for recurrences like 'Forever', 'Until' and 'X Times'. The options are laid out logically and makes using the app a breeze. Nice job by the guys at Tardigrada.
March 20, 2011 at 4:09 pm
This app would be absolutely perfect for me if it could send an SMS to someone when the alarm goes off. Very nice as it is though, thanks!
March 20, 2011 at 11:15 pm
What about Google Calendar integration? That would be awesome!


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Testing the Submissive
By: Al Daltrey
Abby stood nervously before her Master in the classic submissive pose: fully nude, legs apart, wrists placed behind her back; deeply ashamed of her evident arousal.
How far would her Master push her with these 'tests'? How far would Abigail go? How many times could she stand before him blushing; yet with that unmistakable tingle? Their relationship was surely headed for a collision course. Or was it?
Book Links:
US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KRPUC0Q
UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00KRPUC0Q?%2AVersion%2A=1&%2Aentries%2A=0
Author Bio:
By day I work in Marketing, which involves a fair amount of writing. Therefore, I never really had an interest to write for pleasure. When you do it all day, the last thing you want to do when you get home, is more writing. All the while, as my career progressed, so did my involvement in the BDSM lifestyle.
This interest in kinky sex started in my University years. Like most men, I loved meeting women, and especially the occasional one who didn't mind being tied up, or blindfolded, or spanked. All sex was great, but kinky sex was more exciting, more exhilarating, and more fulfilling.
Over the years I was lucky enough to meet my fair share of submissive women. And don't for a minute think these women were weak. Outside the bedroom they were confident, opinionated, gregarious and self-assured. However, inside the bedroom (so to speak) they wanted to feel the strong firm hand of a dominant man taking complete control.
Eventually I found the perfect partner, and am happily in a relationship.
One day, I flipped my laptop open, and to my surprise - I had an urge to write a BDSM story. Soon I had 20 pages, then 40, then 60. The novel that resulted is pure fiction and more extreme than anything I'd subject a submissive to in real life. As many reviewers have said it's not for the faint of heart. That said, the reviews have been spectacular. This enthusiastic response fueled me to begin a second book. The next one will be written from the point-of-view of both the Dom and the sub, chapter by chapter.
If you decide to read my book, or any of my future efforts, I truly hope you enjoy it. – Al


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If you know me and Glen personally,
You know that we have been kinda busy building our empire
The last year we have build 2 custom homes.
We like to put something unexpected and personal to the new home owner.
In this last house, we built BARN DOORS!!!!
The photos are kinda bad, I took them with my phone
(I've been hinting for a new one!)
I absolutely loved this project from the start to finish!
We got so excited the night they were hung, that we went ahead and stained one of them!
And here they are in all their glory!
I can't wait to build some for our future house!
One day......
If you want to see pictures of our houses:


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Saturday, October 1, 2005
Back to the Bars!
The latest spot to cater to our fascination with retro nostrums is Suite 410, around the corner from Toi on the slippery slope between the Mariners Store and Rochester Big & Tall. Toi's owners, Damon Maletta and Max Borthwick, had already demonstrated a knack for exotic beverages; their move to Suite 410 has left culinary pretensions behind to concentrate on beverages, period.
They hired drinks guru Ryan Margarian (remember when he was the barman at Zoe?) to develop a list of "resurrected" and "original" cocktails, and brought in Robert Hess (whose website, www.drinkboy.com, is the authoritative record for cocktail recipes) to train the staff in mixological history. The result is a lounge that's gratifyingly serious about its drinks-not in a snobby "battle of the premium vodkas" way, but serious like great restaurants. Serving a vodka-soda would be like the chef sending out an unadorned head of lettuce.
The "chef" at Suite 410 is Amon Mende, lately at Via Tribunale and remembered by downtown imbibers as Murray Stenson's talented understudy at Cafe ZigZag. No free-pours here; everything is measured into a mixing glass, some aromatic ingredients literally by the drop. Ice is added only when the blend is perfect. And worth the wait.
Suite 410 isn't a loss leader for a dance club with $1 well drinks. It isn't the waiting room for a restaurant. In fact, everything's the same price-$8.75. Steep but fair. I just hope the throngs of pretty young things packing the joint every night understand what they're in for-a lounge with real drinks that are hand-mixed, not squirted. High time.
Classic and fanciful names alternate on the drinks list. Have you tried a Blackthorn? Gin, Dubonnet and kirschwasser; it tastes like a Manhattan. The Corpse Reviver is lemony, with gin, freshly squeezed lemon juice, Cointreau, Lillet and a drop of Pastis. The Pisco Sour uses an organic egg white; a dash of Angostura bitters floats across the top, providing a fragrant accent of ... chocolate!
Amon and his coterie worship at the altar of Audrey Saunders, who opened her own bar, Pegu Club, in New York only weeks ago. She's the deity; they're the disciples. We're fortunate to have an outpost.
Posted by Ronald Holden at 7:44 PM No comments:
Location: 410 Stewart, Seattle, WA, USA
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Note: Do not read on if you have not seen Season 3, Episode 14 of Fox's "Glee," entitled "On My Way." This story includes some spoilers.
I just tried Nutella this week, it made peanut butter look like crap, and I love peanut butter. What are you looking forward to? What are the amazing experiences you think about? Think BIG! Mr. Schue had it right. Mr. Schuester was also right to not assume that the Glee Club was safe from suicidal ideology.
The episode people are calling "controversial" and "bold" reminded me of my high school experience more than any other Glee episode. An episode discussing teen suicide was needed, long overdue, and it shocks me that people are saying it is "bold." In a show about teens, played by twenty-somethings, this episode not only mirrored my experience almost 20 years ago but the experiences I hear from the high school and college students I work with. Bullying looks similar in many ways and now has a new tool: the Internet.
Since I left high school in 1995, the only two people that had anything to do with anything LGBT, out of my class of about 1,000, passed away due to suicide. I also lost my close friend in a car accident in 2000. This episode brought back so many memories.
Last year, a woman I know in her late 60s, was talking about the death of one of her friends. I was listening to her and then she blurted out that I "wouldn't understand." I couldn't believe she made such a huge assumption. I quickly set her straight, with anger in my voice; I made it clear that assuming that people who are, or appear, young have not encountered death is very off base. At 34, I have had more than my share of death and sorrow.
Mimi was the only friend I had at my new school. It was seventh grade, and at my last school I rocked the flute. Now there were about 30 flute players and I was last chair. I met Mimi because she was next to last chair. Mimi lived on the other side of town. The rougher side, the side my upper-middle-class parents didn't want me hanging out in. My mom could not resist when it came to Mimi's birthday party, a slumber party. She dropped me off at the small ranch style house out on a dirt road. There were plastic items in the front yard, things like buckets and stuff my dad would never let near the visible part of his meticulously manicured lawn. However, the yard decorations were not the only difference between my family and Mimi's. As my mom and I entered the house Mimi introduced us to her moms. I thought my mom was going to faint; I could feel her get tense next to me. To my amazement, my mom called Mimi's house within five minutes of leaving me there. It had to be at least a 20-minute drive and this was before cell phones were part of American life. My mom would do anything I wanted to get me out of there. I refused and had a good time at the party.
By ninth grade Mimi was first chair in the flute section. I was still last chair. Though she had improved in band and other areas of life, the kids in school started teasing her. I started hearing that Mimi was a lesbian, or at least her mom's were, so that must mean that she was. I went to a church that told me that homosexuality was a sin and that gay people would go to hell. Not only did I keep my distance, but also I started actively harassing Mimi. I teased her, called her names, and just ignored her. I didn't totally understand why I was doing it, and it made me sad at times to see her eating lunch alone. I often ate alone too.
My other friend Ezekiel was out-and-proud starting in 10th grade. To my knowledge he was the first person to go to prom with a same-sex date. We went to Poway High School in San Diego County. In 2006 the school was finally sued for its lack of support for LGBTQ students. The school supported the homophobes all the way to the 9th circuit court of appeals. In 1992-1996 being out was no small feat. Zeke was harassed regularly because of who he was. He was loved by the theater crowd but often was also alone. For some reason, I was a friend to him. We were in the same English class and unlike Mimi; I would stand up for him in small ways.
There are very few things I regret in my life. Most of the things I do regret don't play a leading role in my regular thought patterns. The way I treated Mimi, is something that I have to live with. Oh, I have forgiven myself, recognizing that my internalized homophobia played a big part in how I acted. If I was nice to Mimi then people might think that the queer girl in the baseball hat was really a lesbian. I didn't think I could survive that. I was barely surviving as it was. But, did my bullying drive Mimi to her death? I know that it played a part.
A few years after Mimi passed away I was planning to come out of the closet as a lesbian. I had been working as a missionary and youth pastor at a Pentecostal church, this was not going to go over well. I knew though that if I didn't come out and live true to who I was that I wouldn't be doing much living at all. It felt like I couldn't hang on much longer.
I started looking online for Ezekiel. I was sure he was out there doing queer work and that he might be able to help me through the coming out process. What I found was that while at law school at University of California Los Angeles. On April 29, 2004, Ezekiel Webber, 25, was found dead in his apartment in what authorities concluded was a suicide. Zeke was not there to talk to. I came out anyway. I had plans for my life, I had dreams, I wanted to experience everything from Nutella to sky-diving (still on my list).
Suicide is an awful thing. Karofsky and I are similar people. I was a bully. I was suicidal myself, but in my life, the person I bullied was the one who died. It is not fun and games though. Sebastian, the gay bully on Glee, says, "It's all fun and games, until it's not." I choose to differ. The words we say and our actions mean something.
I decided to blog about this because the young people I work with are telling me that high school has not improved much in the past 20 years. We all need to address these issues. Our young people need all of us. They need young adults and older adults. As long as you can pass a background check, getting involved with your local high school and/or youth center is often easy. They are looking for mentors!
Teachers, don't be scared to talk about suicide. Get trained and start talking! David McFarland, the interim executive director and CEO of the Trevor Project, a national organization that provides crisis and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth, told MTV, "Overall, we need to do a much better job for our young people in providing safe environments and they need to feel socially, emotionally and physically safe and supported at home, in their communities and their schools." Be part of the solution.
What are you doing and... what are you looking forward to? Do something about teen suicide. Remind yourself of things you are looking forward to and tell a young person. It can make a world of difference.


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144 Boon St
Narragansett, RI 02882
401 783 1810
Crazy Burger is a funky little place in RI near the beach. You can literally walk from the restaurant down to the ocean and then along the road to beaches. Inside there are lanterns, fun napkins, and bright colors. You can dine outside (no kids allowed) in the cozy gazebo behind the restaurant. It is decorated with strings of lanterns and lights, plants, and cool murals.
The restaurant is not exclusively vegan, but the menu is veg friendly and the wait staff are very knowledgeable. They offer 5 vegan burgers, a number of vegan side dishes, vegan breakfast, and yes...desserts. The carrot cake is noteworthy. Oh, did I mention they have sweet potato fries?
On street parking is available and there is a large lot around the corner behind the all the stores in that block.
A few pics from my last visit:
The "Wild and Crazy Mushroom Burger"


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The normally scheduled reports and foraging forays will be interrupted by World Cup Soccer this month. Robert was willing to sacrifice a day of games to go to a letterboxing gather this Sunday, Where the Wild Things Are, put on by MMACJ. Gillian and I stayed behind at the pavilion, exchanging stamps and playing with lots of kids. Robert went off hiking with Choi and one of The Travellers 4, and he gave them an earful on the edibles they passed on the trails while finding letterboxes. I met some crazy ladies from Maine, littlmoon and GollyGee, Gillian ate far too many marshmallows, and we all went home tired. For potluck, I made some crostini with ramps pesto and some mini pollen biscuits with cream cheese and roasted onion and ramp jam.
The mulberries in our area ripened, and Robert went out early in the morning to fight with the birds. He picked enough to make 8 pint jars of jelly, and I made some mulberry filled cookies. I got the recipes from a new book we bought, "Wild Seasons: Gathering and Cooking Wild Plants of the Great Plains" by Kay Young. It is a nice book with some stories about what people have been doing with wild edibles for many generations, along with some really good recipes. We don't live in the great plains, but most of the edibles discussed in the book are available here in Connecticut. Some books we buy seem like they are geared towards specific areas of the USA or even other countries, but we recognize most plants talked about in other books.
We took another quick drive out to Harkness Park to check on those lindens, but still no flowers! We are also watching a white mulberry tree there, and I suppose it will have ripe fruit within the week. On the way out, we noticed the cattails were full of pollen, so we donned some big boots and collected another cup or so. We also collected some male flower spikes, since that chowder I made last week was so tasty and Gillian just loves eating the spikes boiled like corn.
We added to the winter tisane supplies with some more pineapple weed and some elderflowers that are drying on a sheetpan. Robert picked a sackful of orach greens, and cooked them up like creamed spinach, declaring them better than spinach.


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Elsa was fussy today and not being able to understand her cry (we're using the Dunstan language method), I ran down the list checking her diaper (clean and dry, for once!), the clock (fed her less than an hour before, and she had napped right before that), her clothes (adorable- and not twisted or too tight), and I tried burping her. She wasn't screaming so I knew it wasn't gas so I was at a loss for what the crap her problem was. Jeff said "She's probably just bored." Maybe so?? We haven't really played with her very much because she's just a newborn! I don't know any newborn games. She has been noticeably more alert and interactive the last two weeks though so I pulled out her little IKEA play gym and parked her under it on a soft blanket. She loved it! For two minutes and then started crying, but still. We can play with toys now! Milestones every day I tell ya.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Back by popular demand...
Elsa was fussy today and not being able to understand her cry (we're using the Dunstan language method), I ran down the list checking her diaper (clean and dry, for once!), the clock (fed her less than an hour before, and she had napped right before that), her clothes (adorable- and not twisted or too tight), and I tried burping her. She wasn't screaming so I knew it wasn't gas so I was at a loss for what the crap her problem was. Jeff said "She's probably just bored." Maybe so?? We haven't really played with her very much because she's just a newborn! I don't know any newborn games. She has been noticeably more alert and interactive the last two weeks though so I pulled out her little IKEA play gym and parked her under it on a soft blanket. She loved it! For two minutes and then started crying, but still. We can play with toys now! Milestones every day I tell ya.
Posted by Liv at 8:11 PM 0 comments
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Too much baby?
Yeah, I know, this is totally turning into a mom blog. The cats arrive on the 10th though!! Elsa will be old news then. Babies will be out and Siamese Wedgeheads will be in! Until then, here is the baby today, 7 weeks old, with a faux-hawk, big girl diapers, and cooing!!
Posted by Liv at 8:57 PM 2 comments
Monday, August 29, 2011
Morning smiles
See!? Told you she smiles.
We figured out that lightly blowing on her face delights her to no end. It's pretty cute, so of course I made a video:
Posted by Liv at 8:56 AM 1 comments
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Two Vikings
Posted by Liv at 8:43 PM 3 comments
Seth and Godmomma Mandy bought Elsa the cutest and smartest books! I'd never heard of Indestructibles before, but they're pretty genius. They are made of Tyvek but feel like paper and are chew-proof, rip-proof, nontoxic, and 100% washable. Pretty brilliant, right? You can take them anywhere, even bath time! The pictures are so well done and with lots of really saturated and pretty colors. The one that they gave us last night (Frere Jacques) doesn't have any words, so you can make up your own stories to go with the pictures. They also got us Jungle Rumble and this morning I bought Mama and Baby (Karen- you have to see this one!) and Flutter! Fly! because I can already see these books coming very much in handy. Thanks Mandy and Seth!!
Posted by Liv at 11:35 AM 1 comments
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
6 weeks old
We went for a walk in the big El Dorado park this afternoon and I rode in the back with Elsa. She makes the cutest faces, sticks out her milk tongue, crosses her eyes, and makes funny noises. We had a little photo shoot, and I shot this video of her adorableness:
Posted by Liv at 9:20 PM 2 comments
Otter vase
I pinned this Leif Otter Vase on Pinterest and now I can't stop thinking about it. It's so awesome. And would be perfect with a mini succulent planted in it. Now I just have to trick Jeff into buying it for me.
Posted by Liv at 1:00 PM 0 comments
Monday, August 22, 2011
The elusive smile...
So hard to capture in the wild on film! But she smiled at Jeff two days ago when he was grinning down at her and I think his world exploded. He even got teary eyed over it. Me too, it was a pretty special moment. I can't wait to get more smiles out of her, but for now, here are some of our morning shots:
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Posted by Liv at 6:50 AM 1 comments
Friday, August 19, 2011
I really love the Hipstamatic app on my iPhone, despite the name. It takes such cool pictures and was only $1.99. I was lamenting the fact that we only had digital pictures of the baby the other day so imagine my elation when I discovered the HipstaMart on the app, where you can order prints of the pictures!! I was thinking they might come out shitty but I just received our order in the mail yesterday and they look SO GOOD! I got 24 four inch square prints for $9.99 which I don't think is a bad deal at all, especially since you get to select your favorites to be printed (unlike a film camera where you get what you shot, regardless of whether it was a good picture or not). You can get 96 for $34.99 (36 cents a piece for those that suck at math), and you can also get them in seven inch squares, ten inch squares, or a whopping 30 inch square! Oh the possibilities! The printing and shipping were lightening fast too, I ordered them on Monday this week and got them on Thursday in the mail. Not bad for shipping that was only $1.28.
I should be their spokesperson.
Posted by Liv at 1:24 PM 1 comments
The new neighbors!
We hit the awesome neighbor jackpot! The neighbors we had to the left of us recently moved out so Jeff and I have been crossing our fingers all week for a nice family to move in, and our prayers were answered! We met them yesterday and guess what?? WE ALREADY KNEW THEM!! We met several years ago at a tiny restaurant in Long Beach where you're pretty much eating dinner and sharing conversations with everyone around you since you're seated so close together. They were hilarious and super friendly and we had a fun dinner with them. We even became Facebook friends with them but never met up again in person until yesterday! We were all dumbfounded and grinning at our small world luck. Bradford and Donnie are married and they have two awesome dogs and are already planning their new landscaping (including the plants on our property that faces their house! Score!). Every year they are known for their Halloween and Christmas decorations too so we're going to have to step up our game this year.
So now we're surrounded on both sides and in front of us with amazing neighbors. Moving to Wrigley was a good decision. :)
Posted by Liv at 1:02 PM 0 comments
Thursday, August 18, 2011
So squishable
Posted by Liv at 8:40 AM 0 comments
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Still sleeping...
Posted by Liv at 11:08 PM 2 comments
Our friends are the best.
UPS delivered a huge box of baby awesomeness today, from our wonderful friends Joie and Matt. They have two little girls that have gotten chubby enough to outgrow and pass on their baby fashions to Elsa. There are so many cute pieces, I can't wait play dress up with her! We even got a bunch of shoes, including pink baby Uggs, which I never thought I'd like but in mini size they're pretty damn adorable. Whoever has a baby girl next in our friend circle is going to get hooked up! Thanks so much friends!!
Posted by Liv at 11:00 PM 0 comments
Monday, August 15, 2011
Saturday, August 13, 2011
The Bird print is up for sale!
The first edition print is now up for sale at PaperTigerStore.com! We put one of the artist proof prints in Elsa's nursery and it looks gorgeous. They came out so beautifully, all of the tiny details are super clear and the colors are super rich and true to the original piece.
Product Description
Print Size: 24"x36"
Printed on Archival cotton rag fine art paper
Posted by Liv at 10:28 AM 0 comments
More shots. I hope this isn't going to the baby's head...
Posted by Liv at 10:21 AM 1 comments
Friday, August 12, 2011
Happy 1 month birthday baby girl!
Elsa turned the big 3-0 (days) today and her gift was a womb chair. What a lucky baby!!
Karen is quickly becoming our family photographer. She came over today and took 7400 pictures of Elsa, who luckily was awake for a good portion of her photo shoot. She likes being in the straight jacket I sewed for her, even though her little frog legs don't fit in the bottom half. We just wrap that part up between her legs and she's snug as a bug. And can I just say... I love my new womb chair. It's so dang comfy. I need to style that corner up a bit because it's having a severe beige moment, but it will fit in perfectly with the living room when I'm done.
She loves Henry! Until he started poking her in her fat belly. She wasn't too thrilled with that.
I'm still scared of her. But love her to pieces. Happy birthday baby!!
Posted by Liv at 9:37 PM 0 comments
Thursday, August 11, 2011
New post on We Like Flowers!
I miss flowers. We need to get crackin' again. Check out the post on the We Like Flowers blog!
Posted by Liv at 12:51 PM 0 comments


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Lionfish are here to stay. That is the message NOAA Research Fisheries Biologist Tom Jackson delivers when discussing the invasive species that has been present in the Gulf of Mexico since 2010.
"The cat is already out of the bag," Jackson said. "You can't ever get rid of them. Anyone who tells me otherwise, I just point to the phone book and the number of companies there are for getting rid of cockroaches. If they were successful, there wouldn't be a need for so many of them."
While eliminating lionfish is impossible, better actions can be taken to reduce the population.
The problem is cost.
Read the full article in the Feb. 18 issue of Navarre Press. Click HERE to subscribe for as little as $38 per year.
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Tuesday, 3 March 2015
Spring Coffee Lovers Blog Hop
34 comments:
Hmm, I think I love your card a latte! ;) Those LF images are so cute!ReplyDelete
Looks like the perfect breakfast to me, so so yummy.ReplyDelete
So cute, love that little donut.ReplyDelete
I love your cute stamps! What an adorable card!ReplyDelete
This is SO cute!ReplyDelete
Yummy card! Love it ♥ReplyDelete
Such darling cups and donut! I love your sweet card!ReplyDelete
Oh this is so adorable!ReplyDelete
Ooohhh this is so sweet love that stampset and your card is awesome.ReplyDelete
Mmmm, what a lovely collection of goodies!ReplyDelete
Now that looks yummy!! I want some! Love your card!!ReplyDelete
I think I will come for a do nut, Shannon! Love your card, beautifully colored! Happy Wednesday and happy hopping!ReplyDelete
CUTE...love the colors and where have I been hiding, I didn't realize that SSS had 120 lb cardstock, gotta check that out.ReplyDelete
Thanks for joining in the fun!!
Awesome coloring, that banner looks so cool against the patterned paper.ReplyDelete
Very cute! Such a bummer you were sick, glad you're feeling better! :)ReplyDelete
This is adorable Shannon! Sorry you are not feeling well. I wanted to play but never found the time.ReplyDelete
Love your stitched border. TFSReplyDelete
What a great card! Love those sweet little LF images and who doesn't love a donut with their coffee, right?ReplyDelete
Love those little Lawn Fawn images and your coloring! Sweet card!ReplyDelete
Love those LF stamps! Cute card!ReplyDelete
This is so sweet! Love the little beans and your faux stitching! Perfect coloring on those cute little images too. Love this card! BevReplyDelete
Simply delicious!!!!ReplyDelete
Gorgeous CAS!! Love the background and bright colors you used for the mug!! Also making me crave a doughnut really badly right now... lol Beautiful work! :)ReplyDelete
Thanks for sharing your cute card.ReplyDelete
Crafty hugs,
DesignsbyDragonfly {blogspot}
first I love your image its so cuuteeReplyDelete
and lovely coloring too
I then love your design
and that coffee beans on the card base is clever add
sweet twine
and I love your profile picture you are so beautiful Shannon
My card is #387 on the HOP and I have a little GIVEAWAY if you maybe like :)
hugs, Monika
I made other #151 and 301 if you like to see my cration :)
Fab! I want that donut!ReplyDelete
Your card is a sweet treat ;-)ReplyDelete
Oh how cute! I need to use that stamp set more.ReplyDelete
Love what you did with this great LF set, love that banner die and how you arranged the drinks and treats on it!ReplyDelete
totally CAS Cuteness!ReplyDelete
Lovely collection of coffee and cuteness!ReplyDelete


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Many of you may recognize this famous sculpture Horse and Rider by Marino Marini on the front terrace of the Peggy Guggenheim Gallery in Venice. The Guggenheim is one of our favorite spots in Venice, we get here often, so much so that this year we became "Friends" of the museum.
When my mother and two sisters were here visiting us the beginning of this month, we spent a pleasant afternoon in the Guggenheim. I discovered during the course of the afternoon that my older sister had been here many years ago when she traveled throughout Europe right after college, and she remembered actually seeing Peggy Guggenheim in the living room of the house. In those days, it was a private residence, not a museum, but Peggy opened certain rooms to the public a few days a week to view her private collection. Can you imagine? I was envious, to say the least, that my sister had witnessed this herself.
Another revelation that day was the discovery that my mother had never been in a modern art museum before. She took it all in, stopping at each piece, reading, and observing. Mom, going on 83 this year, took us all by surprise. (She declared later at dinner that she didn't really care for modern art, but it was interesting to have seen it--- a better result than we ever expected, honestly).
But, the best part of this particular Guggenheim visit is this: while Mom was taking her time going through the museum with my older sister by her side, my younger sister Denise and I were ahead of them, and stopped in the dining room to wait up for the others. There we are, just chatting away, when the docent in the room came up and told me to not lean on the dining room table! Yikes! I hadn't realized I was slightly touching it with my side as we were talking. Totally accidental, mind you. My sister heard this, and in the blink of an eye she yells, "I'm going to tell Mom!!!!!".
Yes, that's right. She RAN off and tattled on me, just like the clock had rolled back and we were 10 and 5 yr olds again. That would be just like her! We're grown women, with grown children, and my sister even has two grandchildren! I spent years getting in trouble for stuff that Denise ratted me out on, or embellished upon in order to get me in some sort of hot water for her amusement. Now, we are quite a few years older, and have not spent the better part of our lives together after I left for college many moons ago, so you can imagine how astounded I was as all this was going down in the Guggenheim!
There was nothing I could do. I was right behind her , but she reached my mother first, and blurted out : "Mom, Karen got in trouble in the Guggenheim!! She was SITTING on the dining room table and got in trouble with the docent." Oh, my God!! I fully expected my mother to come running into the dining room prepared to give me a good spanking! Instead, my mother lets out one of the funniest lines of the whole visit, we'll be remembering this for the rest of our lives. She says, "Oh, for goodness sake, and I can't even bail her out today, they don't take American money here."
What's particularly funny about this is that Mom had arrived in Venice 2 days earlier with a few Euros in her purse, and more American dollars. She wanted to pay for dinner the first nite, but we went to a small Osteria that didn't take credit cards, and she didn't quite understand why her American dollars wouldn't fly either. Every place we went into all the next day she would ask, "Will they take my American dollars?" It just wasn't getting through, so we just let it go after awhile. And here, in the Guggenheim, she finally got it!
For the rest of the day, we got a good laugh out of this. The leaning on the table soon became sitting at the table waiting for Peggy to come serve me a cup of tea. By dinner time, it was lying on the dining room table taking a little nap while I waited for everyone to finish up in the museum. Trust me, this incident will be rehashed for years to come.
Yup, Karen got in trouble in the Guggenheim.
P.S. One week later I also got in trouble at the Dolce and Gabbana Kids shop in Sorrento. Fortunately for me, Mom was not with us, so Denise was not able to run tattle. Spared in Sorrento!


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Madhubala 14th January 2014 Written Episode Update
Madhubala 14th January 2014 Written Episode, Madhubala 14th January 2014 Written Update
Part 1
Madhu informs about theft of her jewelery … n talks of informing cops..! Dips says not to do so…! Pabho supports her! Pabho tells Madhu she is worried about her jewelery ..more than her hubby! Madhu says worried about RK too . .but no news..! She says jewelery matters coz RK gifted them! Pabho asks if she is sure its been stolen? Pabho asks if Madhu is trying to create a scene? Paddo speaks up too! Madhu asks Paddo to relax but she says cant tolerate ur insult..! Pabho says she is sure.. n Paddo says.. u urself know ur only blaming Madhu ..! Pabho says knew Madhus upbringing is faulted..! Paddo says.. dun blame me… i m proud of raising my kids with pride..!
Pabho says thank u for showing me my place ..Paddo..! Pabho says once RK comes .. i will leave..! Sikky says
Sikky tells Dips that he stole Pabhos mala.. not Madhus jewelery! Dips wonders who stole then? KRK shown playing marbles with kids..! He misses and the kids tease him ..! He goes to get the marbles and just as he turns he reads the poster about his mom missing..! KRK is in panic! He calls on the number mentioned n its Bhujang..! He fumes on KRK and he says cant do such work.. return my mom to me..! Bhujang says.. poured money like water on u..do as i say! KRK relents!
All try to appease Pabho …! Paddo apologizes for her behaviour! KRK arrives.. and all are relieved..! Madhu chides KRK and asks never to repeat it..! Paddo chides KRK..n KRK asks Paddo who she is? All are stunned..!
Part 2
Sikky says.. chot saas ko lagi hai aur yadash damad ki chali gai..! KRK is worried and dramatisez to cover his track..! He says.. u forgot us so i forgot u..! Paddo says went for char dham yatra! KRK teases saying ur not that old..! Paddo asks where KRK was..?
KRK says he went to Bhind jail to check on the duplicate! He says just to be reassured!
Part 3
KRK finds out that Pabho is on maun vrath. .n asks why? Dips says.. ask ur mom in law.. whose rude words have hurt her..! KRK asks why? Dips says.. reason is not important.. Pabho has been insulted..! KRK is all emotional …! Pabho melts at KRKs words! Madhu apologizes too!
Precap — Madhu comes and finds RK holding her jewelery and is shocked..!
Update Credit to: Armu4eva


text:
John Darling
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