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Three days prior to the July 29, 2008 Senate Hearing on workplace Safety, " Dangerous Dust: Is OSHA Doing Enough to Protect Workers," ICO Polymers in Asbury, New Jersey witnessed an early morning explosion that severely burned one worker who is in critical condition with burns to his face and arms from the explosion in the plastic pulverizing unit. In the same week four other combustible dust incidents occurred throughout the nation. The cause at ICO Polymers is yet to be determined but all the ingredients are there again for another combustible dust explosion.
Prior Explosions
For instance, one year ago, last July, the same facility experienced a similar event that after an OSHA accident investigation, was deemed a combustible plastic dust explosion in Building One's Ambient Mill. Where micronized powders of polypropylene, polystyrene, and ethylene were allowed to accumulate, which ignited and exploded, injuring a worker who suffered burns to his hands and back of his head. In this recent incident, New Jersey Fire Officials closed the facility due to the extensive structural damages to the building, which posed an imminent threat.
Recent news reports in the Hunterdon County Democrat, uncovered additional fires at the ICO Polymers facility in 1999 and several explosions in 1997, 1990, and 1989, which also injured workers. In earlier years the plant was owned by Wedco. Change of ownership has not reduced the severity or magnitude of injuries with the events reoccurring in an alarming manner.
Combustible Dust Legislation
A troubling aspect of the recent Senate hearing on combustible dust in conjunction with the recent explosion in
Since the "Worker Protection Against Combustible Dust Explosions and Fires Act of 2008," was introduced by Congressman George Miller (D-CA) on March 4, 2008 as a result of the February 7, 2008 catastrophic Imperial Sugar Refinery dust explosion in Port Wentworth, Georgia there have been prior hearings held in Congress. Basically, the message has been the same at all the congressional hearings, that there is a problem with the hazards of combustible dust in the nation's manufacturing sector workplace.
NFPA Combustible Dust Standards
Yet no consensus solutions have been proposed. Instead sole blame has been placed on OSHA which doesn't have a general industry comprehensive combustible dust standard like the grain facility standard that is already part of OSHA work-place health and safety standards since 1989.
The central aspect of the proposed legislation is incorporating National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) combustible dust standards. This is would be great if OSHA had enough resources to inspect the thousands of manufacturing plants in the nation but it doesn't. So how will such regulations be enforced unless Congress appropriates additional funding to OSHA? It's like declaring war yet not sending the troops for lack of funding.
Manufacturing facilities are already required to follow NFPA combustible dust standards through general consensus and nationally recognized standards of care which is recognized by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). When a violation of combustible dust is found, OSHA inspectors can cite the facility under the General Duty Clause (GDC), Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
Local Jurisdiction Enforcement
Local fire and building inspectors that already conduct local inspections need to be utilized more thoroughly in the prevention and mitigation of future combustible dust fires and explosions. These are the professionals that are on the front lines daily and interact daily with local fire departments concerning specific issues that need to be addressed concerning the life safety and structural integrity of commercial buildings.
Fire codes such as the ICC International Fire Code and NFPA Uniform Fire Code already address combustible dust with references to the numerous NFPA combustible dust standards. Following the 2006 Combustible Dust Hazard Investigation, the Chemical Safety Board in addition to recommending an OSHA comprehensive combustible dust standard also outlined that many fire and building inspectors are not knowledgeable concerning combustible dust hazards.
Why hasn't this aspect of preventing and mitigating future combustible dust incidents been included in congressional testimony? Instead attention has solely been directed at the recent Imperial Sugar incident and placing blame on OSHA as a solution in the policymaking process.
While all the political spin and maneuvering between both political parties concerning labor and business has been taking place over the past five months in regards to pending combustible dust legislation, over 70 combustible dust related fires and explosions have occurred in the nation's manufacturing sector. The Combustible Dust Policy Institute has discovered through research that approximately 20% of these events are combustible dust explosions and an alarming number are reoccurring like the ICO Polymers accident last week.
A comprehensive combustible dust bill will not solve the problem of combustible dust fires and explosions. It's only through the cooperation between all stakeholders throughout the national, regional, and local levels that the complex issue of combustible dust can be properly addressed in lessening the severity of future incidents.


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Jigrii Dushman - The return of the Killer "Local Author"
One of the best parts of the new "independent" regime at COEP, has been forwarding of subjects ahead by one semester, thereby cramming Automata theory in second year, and Computer Organisation in the 5th semester and suchlike. Today, friends, Romans, Countrymen - I'm going to write the last paper of this semester in about 4 hours. Why, then do you ask, I'm writing this in spite of cramming as much as I can into my short-term memory banks? The answer? Nostalgia.
Nostalgia, can make you do strange things - and now as I'm writing this, I'm least bothered about trivial matters like "doing well" or "getting good grades". These things happen to me, rather than any conscious effort on my part.(rarely of course) What I am bothered about, is the fact that owing to the aforementioned prefetching of future subjects, my next semester is virtually free. Sure, there is the pesky project(which I aim to do with utmost sincerity, O lord of project guides!) and the stupid elective(which is very likely to be "Advanced Entrepreneurship Development" mwahahaa!) - but it basically means - no day-to-day college! Sure, this has been my routine anyway for at least the last two years - but gone will be the burden of using all my charm and diplomatic abilities to ensure that I do not attend and still stay relatively safe. I must say, that it came very close this semester - but it seems like I'll make it.
Anyway, the nostalgia is basically that this will be my last turbulent stream that I will cross with the help of my trusted Nirali (ok, ok it's TechMax today, but you get the drift). As it sits in the corner, horribly used, edges frayed, line after line highlighted(all by some chap called Vikram Kamble, His Noodly Appendage bless his soul!) staring at me - all I can say is thank you! You have given me the confidence to step into today's "Advanced Computer Architecture" exam, having no freakin' idea what separates a Vector Processor from a Scalar processor. Sure, I know 10 points of differentiation, and am hoping this question will feature in the paper - but if by some freak chance my future employers put me in charge of the "Vector/Scalar Processor" department of their company (ah, choose this boy, he had good ACA grades) I will have no chance of facing my juniors with a straight face.
And what is important, is that, this has been pretty much the pattern of my whole undergraduate study. I've technically studied Computer Networks, Automata Theory, Compiler Construction and Digital Signal Processing. Tomorrow, when I go out to work in the domain, it will be on the basis of such extremely volatile education - which is brilliant, because my employers are anyway going to erase my easily destroyed EPROM and program me to their requirements. Now you know why COEP engineers are so much in demand!
Anyway, I want to end by basically saying thank you -- thank you to all you "Godse-Bakshis", "Bhutiyani-Joshis" and "Prasad-Prasads". You guys are no less than any super-hero combo!
(PS: Coming Soon! The Sequel : Killer Local Author in "The Revenge of the Firgans" )
(PPS: This post was supposed to go online with the entire contents at 11 am today, but thanks to blogger quirks on Konqueror and my Firefox being down, it goes up now)

subset: commoncrawl


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Nintendo mastermind Shigeru Miyamoto is set to hold the keynote speech at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. The hour-long keynote will take place on Thursday, 8th of March, at 10:30am and is entitled ´A Creative Vision´, as the GDC page details:
In his keynote address at the 2007 Game Developers Conference, Shigeru Miyamoto will reveal how a singular creative vision drives his work, not only in terms of his world-renown software, but also in generating key technologies, including the current global phenomena, Nintendo DS and Wii. And he will challenge the audience to apply his approach in their own distinctive styles.
Source: GDC
Thanks to: Joystiq


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And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests."
When the angels went away from them to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go, then, to Bethlehem to see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us." So they went in haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger.
- Behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, "Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage."


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Monday, November 14, 2011
Sweets for the sweet
We gave sweet potatoes one more try this season after being disappointed with them last year. From two small shriveled roots, I began my own slips in a sunny window during late winter. They yielded about five little plants, which I placed in a sandy area side-dressed with compost. At first, the slips died back from too much sun. But by then they had already begun to grow roots and once these took hold underground, the leaves returned and the plants flourished. They were moderately neglected after that. I weeded once and never watered, but the conditions must have favored them just enough because we had an amazing haul.
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A Film Unfinished *** ½
Directed By: Yael Hersonki.
There has never been a government who has better understood the power of cinema, and how to exploit, than Nazi Germany. From the beginning, Hitler and Goebbels knew that one way to win everyone over to their side was to use cinema – images burn into your brain much more effectively than words, and they sought to exploit this. They approached Fritz Lang to become the unofficial head of Nazi filmmaking, but he wasn't interested and ended up fleeing Germany for Hollywood – where he made a number of explicitly anti-Nazi films. The works of Leni Riefenstahl, despite their undeniable evil intentions, have become recognized as propaganda masterpieces.
A Film Unfinished is a documentary about another propaganda movie the Nazis made – although they never finished it. It was discovered in the vault of Nazi films in the middle of a field in the years after the war and was simply entitlted "The Ghetto". What was inside was a little more than an hour of edited material, with no soundtrack, that stands as a testament at just how much the Germans sought to influence people through cinema.
A Film Unfinished presents this material for the world to see, and offers some interesting background information in the form of a journal by one of the Jewish residents of the Warsaw ghetto forced to participate in the film, reports from the senior Nazi in charge of the ghetto, testimony of one of the cameramen (the only one ever identified) at a war crimes trial in the 1960s, and finally from some of the residents in the ghetto who have survived all these years – who watch the images and cannot believe what they are seeing.
It is clear what the duel purpose of the film was. The first was to show that life in the ghetto was not bad at all – that the Nazis may have confined the Jews to a ghetto, but were still allowing them to live their lives the way they see fit – and that everything is essentially fine. The second was to the paint the Jews as heartless and cruel – which they do by constantly contrasting the lives of those with money, and those without. The rich people celebrate in fine restaurants and parties, dress in their best clothes, arrange flowers in their spacious apartments and completely ignore the suffering of those around them. One of the most heartless scenes in the film shows corpses strewn on the sidewalk, as the Jews walk by them – sometimes even stepping over them – without even realizing or caring that they are there.
Of course, this is all lies. It was all staged – as "outtakes" on one of the reels shows us quite clearly as we see multiple takes of the same scenes to get them to be more believable. The journals of the man forced to participate paint a picture of almost a professional film being made – with actors and sets, etc. The survivors watch in horror as they see the scenes painted on the screen in front of them – this didn't reflect the reality of life in the ghetto at all.
A Film Unfinished is a wonderful documentary, that is about cinema – about its manipulations, and how because of its primal power, it can be used for either good, or in this case, complete evil. The film was never finished probably because they didn't have time to finish it – it was filmed in May 1942, and a few months later they started to liquidate the ghetto and send all the Jews to concentration camps. Their propaganda about life in the ghettos was therefore useless to them, and as they weren't even pretending to treat them fairly anymore. The film is a valuable document of how cinema can be manipulated – and how you have to question everything you see.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Movie Review: A Film Unfinished
Posted by Dave Van Houwelingen at 8:12 AM
Labels: 2010 Movies, Documentary, Yael Hersonski
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I went into this contest not expecting anything. In fact, at the time I decided to compete not because I was looking to win, but because I have been kicking my own ass for my NPC fitness contest – which is Saturday by the way – and I look damn good. I also spent a lot of money on a most adorable bikini that I then spent more money on by painstakingly gluing Swarovski crystals to. I figured why not show off my hard work and my most adorable bikini? So I signed up and expected nothing.
On the day of the contest I came in feeling like a million dollars. The night before a friend had given me a gorgeous set of extensions (meant to give me in edge afore mentioned NPC contest this weekend) that took me from a short A-line to long curls. I also had my amazing gold bikini all ready to go. Plus I did a really good job on my eye makeup. Basically you can wrap all that up in a neat little bow called "I was feeling hot."
So I went up on stage and strutted my stuff. Uniform, dress, bikini – I rocked them all. I waved. I blew kisses. I popped my hip. I disgusted myself with how bubbly I became with so little effort. Essentially, I was a nearly perfect example of a Hooters Girl.
|First runner up, second runner up, winner
When it finally came town to announce the winner, I still expected nothing. Sure, it would be nice to win and spend nine glorious days in Miami, but I certainly wasn't going to be upset if that didn't happen. So when the crowning began and I suddenly found myself with a pink runner-up sash around my neck I was totally content. I got second and that, my friends, was awesome.
Then they announced the winner. And that surprised everyone. A wonderful girl who has been with Hooters Missoula since we opened, was also surprised to win. It wasn't that she shouldn't have, it was that this girl was pregnant. Not very pregnant, but pregnant none the less.
In that moment, she looked at me and I looked at her and had the sudden realization that I very well could be going to Miami to represent our store. And the next day that is exactly what I was told. Well sort of anyway.
My owner called me the next day to say that though I had placed second, the odds were very good that I would be the one going. In fact my odds were so good that he said, "ok, you're going." While there was obviously still I chance that things would change, I was left to believe that through a crazy set of circumstances I had found myself as Miss Hooters Missoula.
For a week I wrapped my head around the idea that I would be going to Miami. I thought about all the things I would need to prepare. I thought about what my costume would be for the vendor show. I thought about how small my "fit girl" boobs would look.
And exactly a week later my owner called me again. He told me that circumstances had changed and that the winner would indeed be our representative. Now before you jump to horrid conclusions, I'll be the first to say that I think this girl is not the type that would ever do anything drastic for a bikini contest. Of course rumors have flown, but I don't believe a one of them.
Initially I was disappointed. In fact, I was surprised by my disappointment. While I'd prepared myself for not going, I'd also become excited for the idea that I very well might; I had been looking forward to it without even really realizing it. I couldn't help but be a little bummed.
So all this is why I didn't go into detail about the contest. To be honest, I was waiting until I could tell you that I was going to Miami. The story wouldn't have been complete without that bit of information. Instead, I come to you finishing second and not being upset about it.
I love my Hooters family and couldn't be happier for the dear friend who will be representing us in Miami; I know she'll do a good job. Would I have liked to go? Sure, but it certainly wasn't my desire or my expectation. My desire was only to be confident and proud of the hard work I've put in changing my body composition. My desire was to represent myself as the strong, fit, happy woman that I am. And that I certainly accomplished.


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The Witcher 2 has been a diamond in the treasury of PC gaming exclusives. Developer CD Projekt RED has updated the game on several occasions, adding more content and refining the experience each time. Not satisfied with just balance changes, they added a tutorial to help assist players in learning the ropes without sacrificing the pace of the prologue, a DLC mission, an arena minigame, new hairstyles for Geralt and a new difficulty mode that added weapons and armor with a twist for the hardcore fans. All of this was done at the price of free, for anyone who bought the game in the past and all those who bought it in the future would get that content with their purchase. Now along comes the Enhanced Edition, further tweaked with more DLC missions seamlessly added into the world and all of the previous content updates brought along for the ride.
Their biggest splash however comes as they enter the market for the Xbox 360 for the first time. They had to stuff a game that was known for bringing computers down to their knees onto DVDs and make it run on hardware that, in computer years, is considered antiquated. Read on to find out how well the game has tailored itself to fit the Xbox 360's slim cut pants.
The Witcher 2's story starts off some short time after the first game's finale. The titicular Witcher, Geralt of Rivia, is a mutated human who has been raised in the art of monster slaying. Witchers are renowned for their physical prowess, yet feared as being "nonhuman", a slur that weighs heavily on them wherever the go. The humans tend to look down on them as they would elves or dwarves, despite Witchers being hired to save them from animals that would otherwise rip their scrawny asses to pieces. Geralt is employed by King Foltest, ruler of Temeria, as a sort of good luck charm on the battlefield. An unusual decision for a Witcher, as they tend to stay out of politics and stick with the business of killing creatures.
All out war is threatening to erupt within the northern kingdoms, relations between nations are tense. As a result of getting involved with the doings of Monarchs, Geralt is forced on a wild goose chase to track down a mysterious man who has been killing Kings. Along the way he runs into an elf named Iorveth who presents to him another side of the coin on global politics, and he is faced with a tough decision. Which side will he choose? To continue along the human path, being treated like a puppet by those in the highest of positions? Or would he side with the nonhuman uprising The Scoia'tael to fight racial injustice? What will the implications be for his friends and aquaintences? How will the world itself be affected?
Your decisions carry meat on their bones much like the prostitutes you spotted in the back alley behind the bar. Most major choices will either come back to bite you in the ass or give you a little helping hand. But the reprocussions are often delayed; similar to the first game, you'll make a tough choice and you won't see just how it is going to affect everything until several hours later. One major choice you make will even change your entire Chapter 2 experience! Your location, missions, characters (mostly) are all different than if you chose the other. This rewards multiple playthroughs, allowing you to see how the other half lives. You'll also make smaller choices that will determine what character you will meet somewhere and what information you'll get out of that person instead of the other. The only way to get the full picture for yourself is to play through again.
The word "Mature" gets thrown around as a throwaway buzzword in reviews, press statements, and on the covers of games to represent a certain level of violence, blood, sexual content, drug use and other morally "objectionable" things that are used beyond a certain extent in a game. Very rarely does it so refer to the mental maturity required to understand a plot filled with grey areas and realizing that decisions you make are going to come to fruition eventually. Entire armies, civilizations, races and classes depend on who you side with and what choices you make. No matter which you choose, there will be blood. Whose blood that is is left in your hands. Characters are multifacited, a character may appear to be one thing but be something else entirely, and wether or not you find out the truth about them depends on your convincing skills, what other characters you talk to and what actions you take during certain missions. Even Geralt's friends perform some rather questionable moves from time to time.
Upon release, The Witcher 2 was a visual powerhouse on the PC, and still is one of the most remarkable looking games on the platform. The RED Engine is incredibly powerful and is capable of doing some extreme things to make the game look prettier (Ubersampling, anyone?) so a thought on many a gamer's mind is "Can The Witcher 2 be run on the Xbox 360?" CD Projekt RED did an incredible job cramming most of the visuals of the PC version into a system that is 6-7 years old. PC Players will notice a huge difference in the lighting engine, which is less neon hued and doesn't give off as much "radiation glow" on the 360. Lighting is a lot more muted but still decently atmospheric. It's a tradeoff that works well. Character models are still finely detailed and textures are sharp and crisp on most characters and surfaces but the occasional blurry texture will marr an otherwise picturesque scene.
However, due to the way the game streams in assets texture and object pop-in can became a huge issue. The developers suggest you to install the game before playing, and trust me it makes a big difference. Once I installed most of my pop-in was reduced or removed, having the occasional texture or low LOD model show up for a second during a cutscene but it was quickly fixed. Load times also improved dramatically once I installed, making a death or moving to a different location much smoother overall. Screen tearing is also reduced by installing. So make sure you install both discs before taking off, its worth losing the 15GB of space.
Even still with the stress of all the eye candy, the game maintains a silky smooth framerate pretty much the entire game. I ran into an issue with maybe one cutscene running abnormally low due to the sheer amount of special effects on screen, and that alone is very impressive. Many games wish they could claim as steady of a framerate, and it is something I wish more developers would strive for. The image quality is without a doubt nowhere near as crystaline as the PC version, but the result is still gorgeous. It looks great in motion and doesn't hitch up on you when you need it to be at its smoothest: the combat.
Combat is an often highly misunderstood part of the game. While Geralt dances about the battlefield like a death ballerina or action game hero, you cannot simply mash one button to win. Each battle you enter will require intelligent positioning, strategic use of traps and magic and knowing when to attack, dodge, block or riposte. At the start of the game you will feel the most under-prepared but with reason. As with all RPGs you gain more skills as you level, giving you access to more tools of the trade or perks in battle that will serve a multitude of purposes. You get 3 schools of fighting (once you hit level 8 and get out of the starting skill tree) to choose from as you add your points towards unlocking better benefits for your chosen style. Each skill has two levels, so you can further concentrate your build on certain types of bonuses or spread your points out and gain more skills in other trees.
A witcher needs his specializations to cater towards his style of fighting, so pay attention to what you find you use most in combat and built towards that. Its natural to say you use the swords a lot, and the swordsmanship path was my preferred school. But some players go down the alchemy route to give themselves more power through potent potions and stronger bombs and traps. Others may want to have a better control of the battlefield through magic, turning an enemy onto his friends, holding a foe in place, lighting them on fire or pushing them away with a powerful gust among other things. Even on normal difficulty, a wise selection of potions, blade oils, magic, traps and bombs for each battle will make your fights much easier. Enemies are still dangerous, and require understanding of what works best against them including your position on the field and if they are more likely to dodge a heavy attack or shake off a light attack like a breeze hit them.
In order to get the most out of the combat system, you'll have to play smart, play careful, and learn how to take advantage of every opportunity you get. Once I increased my dodge range and gained the riposte ability I found most fights to be much easier than before. Soon I was reaping the benefits of my new skills and smoothly integrated them into my use of bombs and traps on the field for fast paced action and ending encounters with satisfyingly styled finishers. You won't be a master out of the gate, but it is something worth working up towards. The amount of preparation for each battle isn't as tedious as you might think, and once you're in the thick of battle and having to make decisions on the fly, you'll be glad you put down that freeze trap. It's intense, and makes you feel like a hunter that much more.
You're going to need money to equip yourself, a witcher always strives to do a job that pays him well. You get your standard selection of "Kill x" quests, which are fairly uninventive but make sense in the perspective of the lore. You'll also get quests that make you run back and forth between two or more NPCs trying to resolve some kind of conflict, again nothing that hasn't already been done before. However, the series' signature "grey area" choices often make it so that there's no clear cut right or wrong. If you make a decision, someone will benefit, someone will suffer. You have your choice of gambling via fistfighting, arm wrestling and dice poker for money. When you want to maximize the amount of money you make, I find Dice Poker to be the worst option for making money (and to hell with its "Get 5 of a kind!" achievement, at that), and arm wrestling to be the most lucrative.
One of my favorite little details is Geralt's quest logs, which are all written by his bard friend Dandelion. His dramatic and silly retellings of events that occur during a quest add flavor to a section of games that usually consists of lists of objectives. The RPG fan who enjoys a good read will get a kick out of the bard's scribblings from awesome main quest adventures down to trying to make Geralt being the champion of arm wrestling sound intense. If you fail a mission he will not hesitate to call you out on it either. It's only appropriate that Dandelion be the scribe for this tale, as he prides himself on tales of Geralt. No matter what he does, no matter which side of the field he finds himself on, Dandelion wants the world to remember the choices and sacrifices made on the journey.
However, not all is perfect with the Xbox 360 version. Some of the voice acting sounds like the audio has been overdriven. King Foltest was especially prone to having his voice clip frequently, which may cause players to get frustrated listening to an otherwise outstanding character. The interface for your inventory and shops is cluttered, especially as your pack fills with trinkets and crafting materials aplenty. While you can easily sort through for a specific type of item, it feels like it takes way too many button presses to get to what you want to see. For some reason, the animation for drinking potions has been removed entirely, being replaced by a static menu that returns you to the game with buffs applied. In general, the minimap is confusing and rotates with your character which can cause some disorientation, especially in a new area. Character models are reused, sometimes often to a painful enough degree that you can see the same person standing 10 feet away from one another.
The game absolutely has its faults. The brutal difficulty and unforgiving barrier of entry can be a detriment for some gamers. For me though, I consider The Witcher 2 to be one of the best games on the 360, just as it was on the PC. Though I encourage anyone with a capable PC to pick up that version for the crisper graphical fidelity, you can't go wrong by picking up the Xbox 360 version. It is the same great game as it was when it first launched a year ago, updated and fit perfectly into the xbox 360's older hardware with zero compromises. 360 owners even get cool physical extras, a map of the world, soundtrack CD and a game guide for those who get a little lost. With a beefy main quest and a completely different second chapter depending on your choices before it, and a replayable Arena minigame, there's plenty of replay value and bang for your buck (If you get that kind of humor).
(Screenshots taken are from the PC version of the game)


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We've taken the plunge and moved on over to our own site!
Check us out at crunchycrafty.com
We've taken the plunge and moved on over to our own site!
Check us out at crunchycrafty.com
UPDATE: This event was originally called The Mom Summit, but they have decided to alter the name and dates of the now Mom Conference. Please let me know if you have any questions! Now, on to the original post minus some name and date changes!
This past week a post came up in my Facebook feed telling me about an event. I get my fair share of fundraisers and park date birthday parties (my social butterflies have two this weekend), but rarely is there something that sparks my interest. But this…this got me…The Mom Conference.
At first I thought that it was going to be a conference like BlogHer and cost more money than I have to spend, and involve me traveling which I do not want to do right now. I almost scrolled on by, but then I saw the magic word. You all know it. When you see it you feel like the heavens open up and sing to you…FREE! Well that was enough for me! I clicked on the event and checked things out.
"The Mom Conference is a FREE, online event taking place from April 7- April 14th. It's gonna be more fun than shopping in your flannel PJs and fuzzy slippers while getting a massage… and more educational than having Dr. Spock, Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz hanging out in your living room!"
Hmmm…if you look past the slightly cheesy comparisons there was hope there. I read on.
"The Mom Conference is 7 days of online presentations from the world's most informative, successful, intelligent, super-lovely moms, who are all willing to show you their tips and tricks…
You'll go from SUPER MOM to SUPER DUPER MOM with the information that these moms are going to share!"
SOLD! Where do I sign up?! Well the answer to that is by clicking HERE. I entered my name and my email and BOOM! I'm all signed up. Confirmation email in my inbox lickity split. They even shared 5 bonus videos with me with topics ranging from Tips and Tricks For Awesome Hair by twistmepretty.com to Find Clothes That Fit Your Body Type by chiconashoestring.com.
Now there is one catch…presentations for each day are only available for 24 hours. So from 10:00am EST to 9:59am EST you can access them, but after that you will have to purchase. I think that is more than fair, but if you happen to miss some of the presentations you can purchase the entire Mom Conference Package HERE. I am really looking forward to seeing all of the amazing presentations that they have scheduled. There are a few presenters that I follow already and so many more that I am looking to become addicted to!
I am planning on doing a bit of a wrap up at the end of the Conference. I will tell you about my favorite presentation each day and what I thought of the conference overall.
Sign up for the FREE Mom Conference HERE and get access to 30+ presentations from April 7 – April 14.


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This blog has a new home! Click here to visit!
snapshots from a drive around the island of turks and caicos during a recent trip.
the break of dawn in south carolina.
++ a soundtrack to accompany it.
the sun was in our eyes. but the day was perfect and the setting was breathtaking. our new home on the water is a happy place to be.
Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.


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Paul Goble
Ankara, May 12 – Russian officials are mistreating the survivors of the 1957 nuclear accident in the Urals, refusing to pay them the pension supplements they are legally entitled to, apparently pocketing the money, and using delaying tactics in court in the hopes that they can outlast the dwindling number of such veterans.
Because this accident took place so long ago and has remained almost entirely out of the public eye and because the number of survivors is now so small, the victims of the Mayak catastrophe have generally suffered in silence. But now some of them are seeking to exploit Internet media portals to attract attention to their plight. .
An example of this new phenomenon, one that reflects the increasing desperation of the survivors, is a letter sent by one of their number, Galina Pashnina, to the Islamnews.ru website. In it, she paints a picture of official indifference, malfeasance and chicanery that stands out even under Russian conditions (www.islamnews.ru/news-11451.html).
"We, who were evacuated from various villages as a result of the accident at Mayak," her letter begins, "ask you to help us solve our problems. Since 2000 and even earlier, in connection with inflation, the monthly benefits we are supposed to be receiving have been indexed" by law, but officials have not given us the money we are supposed to receive.
According to the declarations of the officials responsible for this, Pashnina continued, they have distributed the money in a completely correct manner and consequently owe us nothing, but "where our money has gone, we can only guess." The victims of the long-ago disaster "have not received it."
As a result, Pashnina said, she had gone to court to try to force them to pay what they have been supposed to. She hired a lawyer, but the latter did not show up at the hearing, and consequently, the local court issued the following decision, one that would have pleased Gogol's heroes:
"According to the provision of the Federal law about the federal budget, reliable financial conditions are created for the realization of the norms, defined in other federal laws, published before its adoption and specifying he financial responsibilities of the state; that is, indicating the means and materials guarantees and the necessity of corresponding expenditures."
But, "at the same time," the court continued, "to the extent that the federal budget must be based on the principles of balance, reliability and reality, the federal legislator is within its rights, after having preserved the extent of the guaranteed compensation to stop the action of financial norms which guarantee the realization of the rights and freedoms of citizens."
"Why such [obfuscation and] injustice?" Pashnina asked. And then she pointed to the logic of legal delay, the kind that animated those in the Chancery Courts described by Dickens in "Great Expectations" and very much in evidence in a small district far from Moscow, the attentions of human rights activists, and the focus of the media.
Apparently because those who control the money and probably are pocketing it, Pashnina suggested, are counting on those who have filed suit to die before they can collect. Six of the 185 veterans in her town have died in the last three months, many are elderly, and more will certainly die before the court reverses itself.
Moreover, the veterans who are not receiving the money they have a right to cannot possibly find work and cannot even use the local lake to catch fish that might supplement their all too meager diets. On the one hand, and despite Russian laws against age discrimination, no one locally will hire any of the 80 percent of the victims who are over 55.
And on the other, a wealthy "new Russian" has bought the land around the lake near the village and prohibited the local people from catching fish. Once the weather warms up, she suggested, local residents are sure they will be banned from swimming. And other new companies are cutting down the woods that the villagers have used for firewood.
Consequently, the future for the village and especially for the surviving veterans of a nuclear accident the Soviets did so much to try to hide and to whose survivors the Russian government committed itself to help have been left to die, at a time when as the Western media likes to say Moscow is flooded with money from the sale of oil.
"In general, who are we? And who needs us? Will the government ever think about its citizens?" It is clear that Pashnina has doubts that it will do so before she and the others who continue to suffer from the actions of officials has grave doubts that this will happen before she and they die off.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Window on Eurasia: Russian Officials Mistreating Survivors of 1957 Soviet Nuclear Accident
Posted by Paul Goble at 11:18 PM
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September 17, 2009
Preview of Project Runway Episode 5 + My Own Newspaper Dress..
Check out the newspaper dress I did myself a little over year ago, I used the comic section because I wanted the dress to have "pop of color" lol.
Project Runway
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Style Blogger, Wardrobe Stylist, Designer, DIY Fanatic, Social Media over user, curly hair enthusiast, Pinterest junkie who LOVES to travel and eat good food.
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text: Sri Aurobind, >>Do you say that mAyA which has no fundamental existence has a location in Brahman? Yes, with one small change to the wording - mAyA which has no fundamental existence, *appears to exist* in Brahman. That apparent existence is only possible because of brahman lending existence to it. Regards, Venkatraghavan On Tue, Jun 23, 2015 at 3:40 PM, Aurobind Padiyath < aurobind.padiyath at gmail.com> wrote: > Sri Venkatraghavanji, > > When you say > " mAyA cannot be destroyed because it does not exist fundamentally. That > does not mean that experience of mAyA doesn't exist. mAyA and its effects > are experienced by gyAnI also, but he knows that a) mAyA does not exist and > b) He, the Brahman, is not the one apparently experiencing the effects of > mAyA. In deep sleep he doesn't experience mAyA, but it does not mean that > the kArANa sharIra is destroyed." > > Do you say that mAyA which has no fundamental existence has a location in > Brahman? mAyA is like the X introduced in a mathematical equation to know > the Unknown. So it has to have location only where the unknown need to be > located. But when the unknown is the only One and all pervading, then? > That's why it becomes mystical in expressions. > Regards, > > Aurobind Padiyath > On 23 Jun 2015 19:56, "Venkatraghavan S" <agnimile at gmail.com> wrote: > >> Sri Aurobind, >> >> There is a risk that we are debating all over the place. The topic under >> discussion is not whether mAyA has fundamental existence or not - it does >> not. We are only debating whether avidyA and Brahman can co-exist or not. >> >> My contention is that it can and does. >> >> You say >> Maya or MoolAvidya or what ever we call it is not in Swaroopa >> or Brahman, both being the same, but in the >> Anthakarana thru which the Jeeva bhava is assumed. >> >> My point is that Brahman, being asangA, is not affected by mUlAvidya - so >> yes, mUlAvidyA is not "in" the svarUpA of Brahman, however, you cannot say >> mUlAvidyA is not "in" Brahman. mUlAvidyA has to exist with brahman as its >> locus. Nothing else can lend apparent existence to mUlAvidyA. mUlAvidyA >> cannot have antahkaraNa as its substratum - in fact, the antahkaraNa is a >> projection of mUlAvidyA, which in turn, depends upon Brahman for its >> apparent existence. >> >> mUlAvidyA's apparent existence in Brahman does not affect the asangatvam >> of Brahman in any way whatsoever. >> >> mAyA cannot be destroyed because it does not exist fundamentally. That >> does not mean that experience of mAyA doesn't exist. mAyA and its effects >> are experienced by gyAnI also, but he knows that a) mAyA does not exist and >> b) He, the Brahman, is not the one apparently experiencing the effects of >> mAyA. In deep sleep he doesn't experience mAyA, but it does not mean that >> the kArANa sharIra is destroyed. >> >> All this talk of turIyam etc. are introducing elements of mysticism, >> which is not really needed for mokshA in my opinion. >> >> Regards, >> Venkatraghavan >> >> >> >> On Tue, Jun 23, 2015 at 2:58 PM, Aurobind Padiyath < >> aurobind.padiyath at gmail.com> wrote: >> >>> Sri Venkatraghavanji, >>> >>> Your two questions are: >>> So two questions here: >>> 1) Are you saying that mAyA or mUlAvidya is non existent in deep sleep? >>> >>> mAyA is only to him who in waking feels or experiences the effects of >>> it. In his deep sleep he doesn't have any experience (visheSha vigjnanam) >>> since his all types of sharIrA is in laya and has merged into the Turiya. >>> When that Turiya vibrates (spandanam) again, the cycle repeats. This laya >>> is in fact becoming one with IT as there is no two in reality. But what >>> happens or seems to happen, even though in reality it is not happening, is >>> the all pervading when reflects through the same sharIrA the individuality >>> appears to come back to life in the waking as Jnani or AJnani or the Jagat >>> through their respective Upadhis. These explanations of theory of mAyA etc >>> are only to make one inward and not in reality. In reality only That is >>> there. Rest are for the inquisitive mind to calm down and realise that >>> "Brahmaivedam sarvam" or "Atma vyatirekena nasti kinchit". >>> >>> 2) Are you saying that the lack of experience of sharIrA is equal to the >>> lack of existence of the sharIrA >>> >>> From the above you can understand that the laya is a temporary absence >>> like a wave when not seen does not mean it is absent in the ocean. >>> Regards, >>> >>> Aurobind Padiyath >>> >>>


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Lets start the week with more pretty vintage cards!
I love this girl with her big hat and daisy umbrella,
wonder if you could make a real umbrella like that.
Wouldn't it be great?
And this adorable little girl with her kitten, how cute!
Or this stork with his delivery.
How about some roses and daisies?
I'll take a bunch!
Bye for now!


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Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Selvedge Denim Work Vest, v.2; Finished
Finally finished this denim vest for my Grandma' today. I had been waiting over a month for some buckles to arrive, one of the many inconveniences of living on an island 2,000 miles out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The buckles showed up while I was in the South-land at the Firefly Gathering and visiting folks in FLA, so I was unable to finish and deliver the vest by hand as hoped. Otherwise this version came together pretty well. The horseshoe chest pocket was fun to do. Probably won't do the exposed selvedge back seam again though. Also, I'd like to make a four button version next time with a shorter neck drop.
Ingredients: Vintage/antique green-line selvedge denim for the back and pockets*; Cone Mills red-line selvedge denim front; black, late-1800's style two-prong wire buckle, vintage buttons, all cotton thread. Oh yeah, hand-made ceder bark cordage attaching the hang-tag.
*from last year's Hongwanji Buddhist Mission rummage sale
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Okay so it's been more than the first day, or even the third day for that matter, but today is the first day that I've felt awake enough to actually write/remember what has happened. After four plane rides (including a rather stressful layover in Huston) I get to wake up to the the view above.
After a early morning bird watch I ate some breakfast and morning tea, which is an amazing thing. We should really make it a habit in the states. Later in the day I spent time at a beautiful beach collecting cool shells and doing other Biology related things. I also spent a great deal of time staring out at the ocean watching humpback whales playing around. I couldn't believe that was class.
Oh and did I mention I saw a Koala. My very first Koala in the wild. I would post a picture but the only ones I have are horribly blurry so I leave you with this beautiful view instead.


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The Haze by James W. Hall
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Review: THE HAZE
Reading opens new worlds to our imagination--in this story, quite literally. An elderly nursing home resident fondly "recalls" his days as a contract killer. He is a voracious reader of crime, noir, and pulp fiction, provided by his not-so-devoted daughter, a bookstore clerk. In his mind, past, present, and fiction weave a fascinating new and adventurous life tapestry.
View all my reviews


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|Facebook logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
This would cause a problem with the rest of the day, as I try to do clean and check my laptop at the same time with hopes that the internet finally connected. This is terribly inefficient. Not only I wasn't getting anything useful done, I would only stick reading the news or browsing Facebook This wouldn't require much of an attention span. If I were interrupted by the kids, I wouldn't feel so guilty not finishing the news feed.
As a result, I started to become burned out. I guess I get burned out easily when I do things that are useless. No, keeping up with the family isn't useless, but watching the umpteenth cute and hilarious kitten/dog video is... So is passing on the umpteenth "idiot politician flavor of the day" picture meme, or watching the millionth poor sucker getting the tar beat out of him by some cop or other poor sucker.
To be honest, I didn't do anything useful in the limited time I did spend on the computer. I ended up playing Minecraft for a total of two hours in one week. Possibly less than what the average American spent watching TV.
Actually, I modded it mostly and reminisce on the days when I was capable of creating these mods. When was the last time I programmed anything? I think it was 4 or 5 years ago. Okay, if you don't count web design with a WYSIWYG editor, it's been longer than that.
There is good news. Rumor has it that the RV park changed internet providers with fiber optics. I hadn't asked yet to see for myself but I have noticed the change in speed. The WayPoints still cut out way too frequently, but we are a bit far from the nearest one. I'm not sure what could be interfering with the signal. It could be that our antennas are not strong enough.
We have considered buying our own repeater with a stronger receiver. In the meantime, I formulated a plan. After all, being offline has allowed me to formulate one.
- I still WON'T be on Facebook until at least after the elections. Besides not wanting to create more enemies of people I would have otherwise gotten along with, I do have to retain my sanity for my kids - at least what's left of it.
- I WILL be blogging on one of three blogs. This one, my family blog, and my new story blog.
- I WON'T be deleting my Facebook. I do have a lot of family who want to keep up with what we are doing. So all of my blogs will post to Twitter, than to Facebook. This actually means more family updates as I will have a little more time for it.
- I WILL be revamping MOMETEK (but not to the extreme). Since we have been cautious on how much money we spend, it's likely I will delve more into life tips for simplifying than on products.
- I WILL eventually be vblogging again. Not sure if I'm going to wait for my new laptop, which I desperately need. My current laptop heats up too easily if I use anything graphic intensive. Since we are replacing the desktop (which is used by everyone else), it's likely I won't be getting one soon.
- I WILL be checking in on Google+ comments to my posts, but not that I have a choice. My Blogger blogs are all integrated with Google+ so, if you want to follow me were you are more likely to be noticed, you can follow me there.
For instance, I can choose just to see family, religious, or Tech posts (those are three of the categories I have for my circles).
So there you have it. Why I left Facebook (and most of the internet). It's not permanent, unless the world ends sometime soon.


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John Waller
"While I'm Waiting"- Live Concert
Saturday, October 24 7 pm
First Presbyterian Church
206 Willowbend Rd
Peachtree City, GA
All things happen in God's perfect timing. Just ask John Waller, the newest artist on Beach Street Records' roster. Waller has seen God move in a powerful way as he has entered this new season of life.
A talented singer, songwriter, and worship leader who was considered to be one of the best kept secrets in Christian music, John Waller knows the power of prayer and the spoken word as both helped him through his multiple decade-long struggle with depression.
These days, John Waller has a clearer mission than ever before: to help give people a new legacy. He states, "God has called me to use my songs to help set people free, (whether it be) from depression or some other stronghold.
Ticket Required: $10 adults/ $5 under 12/ $8 with student ID
Childcare will be provided for ages 4 and younger.
For more information: email@example.com
Community News You Can Use
Fayette Front Page
Fayetteville, Peachtree City, Tyrone
Georgia Front Page
Follow on Twitter: @GAFrontPage


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I took this photo the day of my last exam ^^ That day I fell very sad, but
I asked my friend for hang out together and enjoy the afternoon : )
That day the rain was... horrible! And very very cold :/ but sometimes for me it doesn't matter
haha and I wear the outfit I have in my mind due the weather conditions
I worn this skirt first time. I bought in Zara and I have the same in red and black colour.
and here the photo of our afternoon snack we had in a new café.


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Follow me on instagram - missellacronin
From left to right
- Started of the week catching up with orders for The Bambee Store. Creating a mess on my side of the desk as usual.
- Started working on the wolf hoods. I made these cute little ears first from my own template.
- Broke the needle on my sewing machine but got a picture with the unfinished hood anyway. I look so worn out in that photo.
- Birthday present from mum arrived in the post in the form of a cat all-in-one to keep me warm in the flat and a little gift to myself in the form of a floral jumper.
- Got the first practise wolf hood completely finished. The hoods are up for pre order here. They are being made to order.
- I was having a good day so another shameless selfy for everyone.
- Went back to London for the first time in a few months last weekend and the first thing I did was get cuddles with my little princess cat. (Her names Dumbledore)
- Mum gave me a big selection of my favourite chocolates.
- First day at MCM Expo (London Comic-con). I didn't take many pictures myself because I was doing a Black Cat cos-play so my gloves restricted much use of my phone. Lots of people asked for photos of me which was flattering and loads of fun but I am yet to see them pop up any where yet. BUT I got to play the latest Tomb Raider game which isn't out till March and loved it. Wasn't too keen on some of the physics and the jumping but other than that I can't wait for it!
- We made a last minute decision to got to MCM on Sunday also. Tania and Ant in the queue whilst we waited to meet Rooster Teeth.
- Me with our signed Grifball. I was still pretty giddy at this point.
- And right back round to the beginning. Starting of the week with catching up on orders.
I also felt I should throw in these photos from this weekend as well. Me and Ant basically met two of our favourite people - Gavin and Geoff from Rooster Teeth. They are absolute legends and my favourite channel on YouTube If you don't know who they are or haven't seen their videos I highly recommend checking them out especially if you are a Minecraft fan. Their Minecraft let's plays have me in fits of laughter every time.
You can see all my photos on instagram - missellacronin
Thank you for reading and let me know what you think in the comments!


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© 2018 EthosVO Ltd ·
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Ethos Skills is all about helping people achieve their true potential by putting them at the heart of organisations and problems.
Ethos Skills is our division that explores the Future of Work – how the working environment can become more meaningful for individuals through a collaborative rather than transactional model; enabling successful career transitions and tackling skills gaps in industry. Our projects include SkillsPlanner, BuildLondon and BuildForce.
For more information about what we could do for you, whether you are an individual or an organisation, contact Mike Davis-Marks..
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Ethos Sport is an exciting enterprise which raises funds for sport in the Army, Royal Navy and Combined Services, with the aim of promoting excellence, increasing opportunity and enabling recuperation and rehabilitation from operations.
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Ethos Sport's highly successful initiatives, Team Ethos and Team Army, are endorsed by the Ministry of Defence and work in partnership with a growing number of companies, and the Service sports boards that regulate all sport played in the Armed Forces.
For further information visit the Team Army/Team Ethos website or contact Lamont Kirkland
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Current projects include GEOmii, which integrates parking, retail and mobility data and Project Irene, which explores smart renewable energy solutions. For further information please contact Edward Lambert


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He was, over his long life, the indefatigable teacher, enthusiastically discovering with each new generation of students at Fordham University the inexhaustible riches of the Angelic Doctor.
In season and out, he sought to demonstrate, in the face of every new philosophical fashion or school, that St. Thomas had been there first. He was the original inspiration for my definition of a Thomist of the Strict Observance: Someone who believes that Thomas is the hardware that will run any software. I was never entirely persuaded, but his many books — for instance, The Philosophical Approach to God, The One and the Many: A Contemporary Thomistic Metaphysics, and interviews in The Universe as Journey — are warmly recommended to anyone seriously interested in exploring the riches of the Christian intellectual tradition.
Please join in the prayer that Father W. Norris Clarke will be welcomed with the words, "Well done, good and faithful servant."
Via Fordham U. "Services Set for W. Norris Clarke, S.J., Professor and Thomist Philosopher":
A native New Yorker, Father Clarke was born in 1915 and attended Loyola High School. He graduated, enrolled at Georgetown University in 1931 and entered the Society of Jesus two years later.
His deepening interest in Thomist philosophy was developed at College St. Louis in England in 1936. He continued his studies at Fordham, earning a master's in philosophy in 1939. He earned his doctorate from Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium, where he studied under Roman Catholic philosopher Louis De Raeymaeker.
Father Clarke was ordained into the priesthood in 1945 and joined the Fordham faculty 10 years later as an assistant professor of philosophy. He taught for three decades before becoming an emeritus professor in 1985.
In 1961, Father Clarke helped found the International Philosophy Quarterly (IPQ), a journal promoting philosophical dialogue between Europe and the Americas. He served as editor until his 1985 retirement.
Even though officially retired, Father Clarke continued to teach in Fordham's philosophy department and to publish articles. In 2007, he was honored by his peers at a philosophy colloquium on campus, where he presented a talk, "Integration of Personalism and Thomistic Metaphysics in Twentieth-Century Thomism."
Father Clarke considered his philosophical journey as one moving from strict Thomism to a perspective revitalizing Thomistic philosophy to include an "implicit dimension of personalism." He felt that the latter was inspired by the writings of Pope John Paul II.
The colloquium coincided with publication of a revised edition of his 1979 book, The Philosophical Approach To God (Fordham University Press, 2007). Additionally, the Press will publish a book of his essays on Thomistic philosophy in the fall of 2008, The Creative Retrieval of Saint Thomas Aquinas.
The author of eight books and more than 70 articles, Father Clarke was the recipient of numerous awards, among them the "Aquinas Medal" from the American Catholic Philosophical Association and a Fordham "Outstanding Teacher Award." He held honorary doctorates from Villanova University and Wheeling Jesuit College.
In June 2000, International Philosophy Quarterly published a Festschrift in honor of Father Clarke's 85th birthday and his longstanding editorial service. Presenting articles were religious philosopher Louis Dupré, the T. Lawrason Riggs professor of the philosophy of religion at Yale University, and the late Gerald A. McCool, S.J., (FCRH '40) professor emeritus of philosophy and former chair of the department.
Father Clarke resided at Loyola Hall, where he was house confessor.
His wake will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. and from 7 to 9 p.m. on Sunday, June 15 in the Loyola Hall Chapel on Fordham's Rose Hill campus, and his funeral will be at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, June 16 in Fordham's University Church.
- Fr. Clarke's Fordham U. faculty webpage, in which he relays his "philosophical journey".
- A Taste of Existence: An Interview with W. Norris Clarke, S.J. on the Metaphysics of St. Thomas Aquinas [Transcript]
- A Creative Retrieval of Thomism: Another Visit with W. Norris Clarke, S.J. [Transcript]
- The Notion of Person in Theology - David Schindler and Steven Long in conversation with Norris Clarke in the pages of Communio
- Philosophy Colloquium Honors Father Clarke February 16, 2007:
Inspired by the writings of Pope John Paul II, Clarke stressed that "we cannot know a person just by metaphysics...which can describe [only] the general structures of being. The interior life of conscious reflection can only be described phenomenologically."
There is an "implicit dimension of personalism" hidden in Thomism that Aquinas himself never developed, said Clarke, noting that the Saint died at age 49 and perhaps had not had time to explore the concept.
Father Clarke said that he tried to first explicate this idea in Person and Being (Marquette University Press, 1993), which encountered some resistance upon publication. "But it was not overthrowing the ideas of Thomism," he said. He said the two concepts he wished to add to Thomistic thought are that receiving is equal to giving, and that the highest being in all of nature is the self-communicating person. "The interpersonal … was never developed by St. Thomas, but I think it's waiting to be done. The highest level of being is not solitary, but persons in communion," he said.


text: Congressman Deletes His Wikipedia 'Controversies' Site quickly restores them about GOP's David Rivera By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff Posted Apr 7, 2011 12:19 PM CDT 28 comments Comments In this Oct. 20, 2010 file photo, Republican candidate for Congress David Rivera talks to reporters at an early voter location in Miami. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz, File) View 1 more image (Newser) – David Rivera's been involved in a lot of controversies—so many that when Eric Cantor visited Miami last month, he refused to meet with him—but for a few minutes at a time, he's had a clean slate on Wikipedia. Last month, Wikipedia editor "Lmveiga"—which is to say, Rivera's press secretary, Leslie Veiga—went in and edited her boss's page, pasting in a list of "legislative accomplishments" straight from his campaign website, and deleting the entire "controversies" section, Politico reports. Among the allegations in that section: That Rivera was named the defendant in a 1994 domestic abuse case (something he and the victim both say isn't true), that he got into a car crash with a truck carrying fliers about that case, and that state law enforcement agencies are investigating $500,000 that a dog track paid to Rivera's mother after he lobbied for it as a state legislator. Wikipedia quickly restored the section, which was well-sourced. Veiga deleted them again, but it was again quickly restored. The page has now been locked, with the controversy section intact—complete with a line about Veiga's attempts to edit it. View 1 more image My Take on This Story Report a story error Show results without voting | 5% Annoying 79% Hilarious 1% Intriguing 2% Depressing 11% Brilliant 3% Scary


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About Us
Our team developed Rotor because we knew it needed to exist. It was too expensive, too time-consuming and too painful to keep up with the constant demand for creating promotional videos and music videos.
So, we've built a tool that will help all artists and labels to create the videos they need without wasting time, money and effort. Musicians need to spend more time making music and labels need to continue building their service. That's the way it should be. Rotor aims to take one more task off their list to allow them to do what they do best.
Our ethos is to build something that adds value, something that is useful and something that gives everyone access to video creation in a way that makes sense.
The demand for great video content keeps growing and we need new tools to make life easier. Rotor aims to do that.
The Team
Diarmuid Moloney
Co-founder & CEO
Diarmuid has created promotions in the music industry for 10 years, including video promos for the World DJ Champion. He developed the original concept for Rotor.
Eoghan Kidney
Co-founder & CCO
Eoghan has 15 years experience as a director in the music industry and has directed work for countless acts including Madonna, Caribou, Modestep and Nicola Roberts
Simon Hamilton
Co-founder & COO
Simon has spent the last 18 years as a technology leader, from online backup in 1999, through enterprise IT, to building scalable websites, APIs, and apps.
Simon has a keen eye for design, and a proven track record in operational efficiency and process optimization. He specializes in product development, nurturing talent, and growing highly talented teams of designers, and engineers.


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Ranking the 2009 US Open Opening Round Pairings
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
You're gonna be in attendance for the entire 1st and 2nd round at Bethpage. So you obviously need to know who to follow.
The Top Ten Groups You Want to Watch
1. 8:06 a.m. Padraig Harrington, Angel Cabrera, Tiger Woods - Oh Tiger Woods is in the most intersting pairing, way to go out on a limb there.
2. 1:25 p.m. Sergio Garcia, Camilo Villegas, Adam Scott - You have three players who are amongst the best in the world without a major, yet all three could easily be trainwrecks and out before the weekend. If I was at the tournament this is likely the group I'd follow.
3. 1:36 p.m. Retief Goosen, Ernie Els, Phil Mickelson - You know you want to watch Phil.
4. 7:55 a.m. Geoff Ogilvy, Jim Furyk, Paul Casey - Any of these three golfers could hold up the trophy on Sunday.
5. 7:55 a.m. Ian Poulter, Justin Leonard, Robert Allenby - Come on, you know I'm basically just interested in Poulter's outfits.
6. 1:36 p.m. Rocco Mediate, Kenny Perry, Tom Lehman - It's the Old Men group. What are the Vegas Odds that they all miss the cut? Rocco and Kenny haven't missed the cut yet this year, so good right? I'd throw down 2 bucks.
7. 7:44 a.m. Henrik Stenson, Andrew Svoboda, Steve Stricker - Henrik is one of those under the radar studs and Mr. Stricker finished 3rd at Bethpage in 2002.
8. 1:03 p.m. David Duval, David Toms, Darren Clarke, Northern Ireland - It's always entertaining to see whether David Duval is a trainwreck or not.
9. 1:14 p.m. Anthony Kim, Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson - The Young upcoming American vs. the young upcoming Brit + Dustin Johnson. It'll be interesting how these two interact with each other come their opening 2 rounds.
10. 1:58 p.m. Mike Weir, Stephen Ames, Stewart Cink - Oh Canada, that's all I know.
The Next 10 Intriguing Pairings
11. 7:33 a.m. Rory Sabbatini, Martin Kaymer, Ryuji Imada - If Only because I desire Rory to miss the cut, even if he is wearing .
12. 8:06 a.m. Luke Donald, Clinton Jensen, Tim Clark - Luke Donald is again going to be top 3 in a major sometime soon.
13. 1:47 p.m. Justin Rose, Sean O'Hair, Ross Fisher - O'Hair finished top 10 at the Masters, I have an inkling his name will be somewhere noticeable on the leaderboard on Sunday.
14. 1:47 p.m. Stuart Appleby, Fred Funk, Todd Hamilton - We want the Funk, gotta have that Funk.
15. 7:44 a.m. Vijay Singh, Jeev Milkha Singh, K.J. Choi - TEAM ASIA
16. 8:28 a.m. Lee Westwood, Zach Johnson, David Erdy - Lee Westwood always seems like a better Ryder Cup player than an actual tournament player. Maybe he makes a name for himself.
17. 8:28 a.m. Michael Campbell, Boo Weekley, Rod Pampling - It's always fun to cheer for the beer swigging big hick Boo Weekley.
18. 8:17 a.m. Andres Romero, Eduardo Romero, Miguel Angel Jimenez - Its the "We all Speak Spanish group."
19. 7:33 a.m. Ben Curtis, Graeme McDowell, Chad Campbell - Three solid golfers. Whoopy.
20. 18. 1:58 p.m. Hunter Mahan, Oliver Wilson, Brandt Snedeker - Another threesome of decent golfers. Not much to see here.
Groups With A Guy Or Two You Know But Don't Really Care About
7 a.m. A-Rickie Fowler, Casey Wittenberg, Bo Van Pelt
7:22 a.m. Heath Slocum, Charlie Wi, Richard Bland
8:17 a.m. Ryan Moore, Ben Crane, Eric Axley
8:39 a.m. Bubba Watson, Johan Edfors, John Merrick,
8:39 a.m. Kevin Sutherland, Scott Lewis, Ken Duke
12:52 p.m. J.J. Henry, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, Briny Baird
12:52 p.m. Carl Pettersson, Azuma Yano, Charl Schwartzel
1:03 p.m. A-Kyle Stanley, Lucas Glover, D.J. Trahan
1:14 p.m. J.B. Holmes, Alvaro Quiros, Nick Watney
1:25 p.m. Soren Kjeldsen, Soren Hansen, Peter Hanson, Sweden
2:09 p.m. Billy Mayfair, Matthew Kuchar, Ricky Barnes,
2:20 p.m. Andrew McLardy, Chris Stroud, Brian Gay
Groups With No One You've Ever Heard Of
7:11 a.m. A-Drew Weaver, Angelo Que, Simon Khan
7:22 a.m. David Horsey, John Mallinger, Jose Manuel Lara
7 a.m. J.P. Hayes, Greg Kraft, Jeff Brehaut
7:11 a.m. A-Drew Kittleson, Sangmoon Bae, Michael Sim,
8:50 a.m. Francesco Molinari, George McNeill, Simon Dyson
9:01 a.m. A-Cameron Tringale, Sean Farren, Andrew Parr
9:12 a.m. A-Vaughn Snyder, Ryan Spears, Michael Miles
8:50 a.m. A-Bronson Burgoon, Craig Bowden, Chris Kirk
9:01 a.m. A-Ben Martin, Josh McCumber, Kevin Silva
9:12 a.m. A-Josh Brock, Trevor Murphy, Nathan Tyler
12:30 p.m. Matthew Bettencourt, James Kamte, Kaname Yokoo, Japan
12:41 p.m. A-Nick Taylor, Scott Gutschewski, Gary Woodland, Topeka, KS
12:30 p.m. James Nitties, Peter Tomasulo, Martin Laird
12:41 p.m. David Smail, Cameron Beckman, Steve Allan
2:09 p.m. Thomas Levet, Jean-Francois Lucquin, Raphael Jacquelin, France
2:31 p.m. A-Clark Klaasen, Colby Beckstrom, Cameron Yancey
2:42 p.m. A-Kyle Peterman, Michael Welch, Cortland Lowe
2:31 p.m. A-Tyson Alexander, Charlie Beljan, Ryan Blaum
2:42 p.m. A-Matt Nagy, Shawn Stefani, Douglas Batty
2:20 p.m. Darron Stiles, Shintaro Kai, Matthew Jones


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Why were women so important on the frontier?
Women were important to the survival of the frontier community. Women were responsible for raising children and taking care of the home. Typical household chores, such as doing laundry or preparing a meal, were often as labor intensive as farming. Women helped with all the farm work from planting crops in the spring and helping to harvest them in the autumn to caring for the cows, chickens, pigs, horses and other livestock. In the spring, after the wheat or corn had been planted, a man might leave for weeks or months to go hunting or travel downriver to trade in New Orleans, leaving his wife and children to care for the family farm.
Illinois State Museum


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I'm off tomorrow. I'll try and post some updates while I'm gone and of course I'll come back with some pictures.
One FO after another...
I finally finished the Olive Striped Cardigan. Yay me.
I love finishing stuff. What do you think? I need lots of positive responses... (don't worry, I got a therapist).
Labels: Olive Striped Raglan
Slip Stitch Camou Cap FO & Pattern!
When I saw Paton's had Classic Merino Wool in the colorway Forest and it looked very camouflage, I had to have it. Using a slip-stitch pattern, to try and bring out the camou-y colors, I created a hat for my sister. While the effect was much more muted than I was hoping for, I am very happy with the end result as is the sister I gave it to.
It has not been tested by anyone else so if you make it, please send me some feedback. The border looks long, but my sister likes it and flips it up in the front, but leaves it down over the back of the neck and ears for warmth in Seattle.
yarn: Patons Classic Wool Merino in Forest
us size 5 needles (circs or dpns as you choose)
this pattern is knit from the top down with a garter stitch edging.
I added instructions in the first row to place markers.
CO 5, join
[kfb pm] in each stitch
For the crown of the cap, between each marker you will kfb the first stitch then knit to the next marker and continue until you have 20 sts between markers for a total of 100 sts. If you find this to be too small for your cap, you can keep casting on until you have more stitches in a multiple of 4.
Begin slip stitch body: repeat instructions in [] until instructed otherwise
1. k1 sl1 [k3 sl1] (until two stitches remain) k2
2. k around
3. [k3 sl1]
4. k around
rep rows 1-4 until the cap is ~ 1.5 inches shorter than desired length
Begin garter border:
At the end of your last row, CO 6 additional stitches
5. k5 k2tog
6. sl 1 k5
repeat 5-6 until only six stitches remain then join ends of garter strip as you see fit. You can cast off and join them like a seam or at the beginning of the garter border, if you cast on provisionally you can do a 3-needle bind off to join them.
finish and weave in ends. enjoy!
Alpaca Collar
My sister's Alpaca Collar has come off the blocking board and will be mailed this week.
What do you think?
Labels: Collar
The Beloved Alpaca Hat Completed
I did manage to finish Special K's Beloved Alpaca Hat for christmas, but didn't have photos to share properly.
I got rid of the cables, the flaps are in seed stitch to keep them flat, and we both agreed it HAD to have a pom-pom on top.
Labels: Beloved Alpaca, FO
Knitting LA style...
This week I went to LA to take care of my passport for my upcoming London/South Africa trip that I leave for on Saturday. I stayed with my Aunt and rode public transportation which put me in a Crazy Aunt Purl state of mind. I kept thinking, "man I wish I had my camera. Laurie would have her camera." "I wonder if she works around here." "Am I a stalker?" I can never show up at the West Hollywood Stitch n'Bitch because I could never be sure I wasn't there for purely Stalker reasons.
Anyway, all this thinking about Aunt Purl got me to realize it was almost exactly two years ago when I was introduced to her blog. Which inspired me to use knitting to quit smoking. Which got me on the current knitting position I am in now. It reintroduced me to knitting (seems lots of folks have to be reintroduced doesn't it?) and this time it seems to be hard core.
Thank you Crazy Aunt Purl. This is all your fault.
I was heavily consulted by my aunt who wants to make the leap from scarves to a sweater. A large boxy sweater that she wants to felt (she does that to all of her sweaters for some reason, she loves the dense material). You would be surprised at how little material there is out there on felted sweaters (scratch that, you would be surprised that anyone wanted such a thing). She must be in a league of her own. She has ordered some Cascade 220 is practicing swatching with some Patons Classic Wool we picked up and learned to purl (she was only making garter stitch scarves), k2tog and kfb.
Before I left for LA I blocked my Olive Striped Cardigan and left it to dry while I was gone...
When I came back I finished up the button band and that is currently blocking...
I did the button band after blocking the body because I wasn't sure how wide to make it. Last night I got to looking for my buttons but I could only find 4 of the six I purchased so I will go by Beverly's on my way to the Infinite Knitters tonight to pick up two more. I will attach the buttons, weave in some loose ends and hopefully I will be wearing this sweater before I leave on Saturday. I don't know if I will take it or not. It might get eaten by acid this trip and I don't like that idea.
At my aunt's house I finished the Alpaca Collar for my sister. I added red buttons and it is blocking right now as well.
(pic removed for pattern reasons, stay tuned)
I really hope she likes it.
I also 'finished' the Sonar Tam and it is hideous. I need to figure something else out for that, but for right now consider it sleeping.
I have been working on a pair of socks as well. Actually I have been working on them for a long time but I have been having issues. I reworked the toe 3 or 4 times, and the heel now 3 times. I think I have it figured out and will share as soon as it is completed. But I will probably take them to finish on the airplane to London and Durban.
Labels: blocking, Collar, Olive Striped Raglan, Socks
Tam? I thought it was a mushroom...
So I am nearly completed with the Cabled Tam. The Cotton/silk blend looks and sounds beautiful. I absolutely love the soft sheen each strand has as a result of the silk. I was even caught playing with the reflection of my hat on the table cloth at the training course last week (It reflects enough light to even do that, how cool is that?).
However, I am unfamiliar with how well cotton blocks when blocked properly. How does one block cotton properly? I am hesitant to bind off the ribbing. Scared really. I was going to block it over a dinner plate, but the dinner plates I got seem too large when the tam is fitted over the top. However, if cotton doesn't take blocking well, I might need to stretch the crap out of it to make it retain a tam-ish shape. Also, if the blocking doesn't hold, it looks like a mushroom on my head. What do I do? Suggestions? Help me!
I have given it a name, for those of you waiting (ha, right). It is the Sonar Tam.
The scarf I started last week... Frogged. I decided I didn't like the stitch pattern (it was curling) and I wanted cables instead. Then realized I don't have time to complete it and block it before I leave, I can't block it on the ship and I don't need it when I get back. So the New Zealand wool will have to find another life later.
I need knitted items, who woulda thought?
I just recently found out that I am going on another trip. At the end of the month I am meeting one of our ships in South Africa and going on a six week trip down around the Antarctic ice field. My head has been all aflutter with the knitting possibilities to keep me warm. However I have not stopped working on my sister's collar I told you about last time.
(Pic removed for pattern reasons, stay tuned)
The Yarn is Alpaca Twist 100% Baby Alpaca and it feels like butter in my hands. I absolutely love it, but the stockinette is getting a little old. Hope you checked out those damn fine stitch markers my Aunt made me for Christmas. Once she figured out what I was looking for, she made some beautiful pieces.
Also, I have been looking for a tam pattern for the cotton/silk blend I bought at the Infinite Knitters yarn crawl. I found one on Ravelry and tried to recreate it top-down (cuz you all know how I hate casting on more than a few stitches), but it was impossible. It did however give me some ideas and I started creating my own (I am taking very detailed notes and you will have it as soon as I finish my own).
I have been working on it under the table at a training course I have to take this week to keep me awake during some pretty intense physics lessons. Did you notice the beautiful sheen the silk gives the cotton?
I also started a scarf specifically for this upcoming trip (but the knitting needles were too large to fit under the table without stabbing my boss with every stitch). It is the Slacker Scarf which I also found through Ravelry. It is created with yarn left over from a hat I made in and from New Zealand wool for my roommate.
Also, Pinktiff has been unloading a bunch of her knitting needles on her Etsy site and I took plenty of advantage. I have already received two pairs of dpns and one set of addi turbos (in my hands and everything!), so I went back and unloaded all the dpns she had under size ten. Check her Etsy shop at pinktiff.etsy.com and her blog (where I found out about the needles) at http://pinktiff.blogspot.com/.
Labels: branching out scarf, Collar, hat, scarf, shopping, Travel
And... Done.
The holidays I mean. The last month was so busy. I only just got home from a trip to the Carribean, N. Idaho and Boise all in one go. I got to see islands and snow and wear all sorts of hand knitted goodness.
To start us off, I knit a face/neck/ear warmer for my cousin. Because it was a Christmas present I haven't posted it yet, but now that she has received and used it, here's a few slices...
The first was immediately after completion,
and the second after having received it, she went snowshoeing on New Year's Day and fell down a slope. It has already saved her life.
I have started a lovely neck warmer for another sister, no photos, yet and I should hurry up and finish it before it is too warm to wear in Boise.
Tomorrow is my first night back at the Infinite Knitters in what seems like ages. I'm really happy to be going back.


text:
NYC Fleet Posts Record Revenue
The New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) fleet brought in $11.65 million in revenue in FY-18.
August 25, 2004
The New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) fleet brought in $11.65 million in revenue in FY-18.
Coweta County, Ga., is building a new fleet maintenance facility that is expected to be ready for use in early 2019.
Government Fleet is conducting its annual industry trends survey to learn more about public fleets and to track changes to the industry.
We asked fleet managers: What's the biggest change in the fleet industry since you first started? Who do you look up to in the fleet industry? What are your predictions for the industry 10 years from now? And we asked for a memorable experience from attending GFX.
The Sonoma County, Calif., fleet consists of more than 1,300 vehicles, managed and maintained by a fleet staff of 23. Here's an overview of the county's fleet operation.
The reform plan argues that a private entity would be able to raise money for new vehicles and other improvements instead of burdening taxpayers.
Every year at the 2018 Government Fleet Expo & Conference, public fleet professionals gather to celebrate the industry and recognize the achievements of high-performing fleets.
The 2018 Government Fleet Expo & Conference took place June 4-7 in San Diego, Calif. Public sector fleet professionals, suppliers, and other members of the industry gathered to discuss the state of the industry.
Investigators found that West Virginia Supreme Court Justice Allen Loughry misused Supreme Court fleet vehicles in at least 14 instances.
Mike Joyce, fleet manager for Travis County, Texas, will retire on August 31 after serving in the role for more than 18 years.


text:
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN — There's one bookstore in the world where you'll never, ever find a copy of "The Bookseller of Kabul."
That would be the Bookseller's. The epic literary feud that erupted with the book's publication more than five years ago still endures -- at least from the perspective of Shah Muhammad Rais, who hated his depiction as Sultan Khan, a liberal intellectual in public but a tyrant in his own home.
The author is Asne Seierstad, a young Norwegian journalist who had come to Afghanistan in late 2001 to cover the fall of the Taliban government. On arriving here in the capital, she encountered Rais, the erudite, English-speaking proprietor of the battered city's best bookshop, which then had a branch in a half-ruined hotel where many journalists stayed.
Seierstad asked if she could live for a time with Rais and his family to document their domestic life as the country and its people emerged from five years of harsh Taliban rule. Without hesitation, he agreed.


text:
Emma asked me several months ago to post about the doll I made N. for Christmas. I managed to remember to take photos of most steps, so here they are!
First of all, I bought this pattern from Fern and Faerie: http://hyenacart.com/FernandFaerie/index.php?c=11&p=23
This doll is basic enough that a more experienced sewer could easily do it without a pattern, but since I hadn't touched my sewing machine in over a year (and then only to hem maternity pants!) it was a must-buy.
First step: form the head. I stuffed tubular stockinette with wool then tied the eyeline and vertical strings. The head came out a bit smaller than I wanted, but I've since modified my method of stuffing and my second doll is much better!
Next I used peach cotton-interlock for the outer head and embroidered the eyes and mouth (this required dollmaking needles).
After that it was on to the body. Although the pattern called for print and solid flannels, I used two solids.
Once the two body pieces were done, I attached the head. This was the toughest part. I need to work on my ladder stitch to hide the stitches.
I made the hat, blanket stitched it on, and tied knots at the end of the hat, "arms," and "legs" and that's it! Most the project went very quickly. N. uses the doll for teething and sleeps with it each night.
As I mentioned previously, I'm working on another doll and I'll post a few pictures when that one is done too. This time, I'm embroidering the baby's name and birth date on the doll to make it even more special!


text:
Solution to Error: Flash Player 10 ActiveX
Urmi Jun. 28th, 2015
How to Fix Flash Player 10 ActiveX Error?
Flash Player 10 ActiveX Error? What is Wrong with My Computer?
I got error Flash Player 10 ActiveX after I run outlook. Sometimes I also got blue screen error 0x0000005F SECURITY_INITIALIZATION_FAILED. my computer is becoming slower and slower. what's wrong?
- Elba Bonn
Flash Player 10 ActiveX Error Again? What is Wrong with My Computer?
"Flash Player 10 ActiveX Error" is displayed.
Your computer periodically "lock up" for a few seconds at a time.
Download Flash Player 10 ActiveX Error Fixer Now!
What You Can Do with Error Flash Player 10 ActiveX
Because of this Flash Player 10 ActiveX error, Windows can fail in starting some processes and the system's performance can significantly slow down. In some cases, Windows has problems starting up and the system can freeze.
Lastly, this error Flash Player 10 ActiveX can even result in the Blue screen of death error message, just like other critical Windows errors. If any of the above problems and symptoms occur in your PC, then you should immediately seek to resolve this problem.
In order to resolve Flash Player 10 ActiveX error or repair the corrupted and damaged Windows files, you will need a Flash Player 10 ActiveX error repair tool. There is more than one method of treating this kind of error code, and here is how you can manually do it:
Scan your computer for viruses.
Some viruses can cause error Flash Player 10 ActiveX, especially ones that infect the master boot record (MBR) or boot sector.
Important: Make sure your virus scanning software is completely up to date and that it's configured to scan the MBR and boot sector.
How to Fix Flash Player 10 ActiveX Error with SmartPCFixer?
1. Click the button to download SmartPCFixer . Install it on your computer. Open it, and it will scan your system. The junk files will be shown in the scan result.
2. After the scan is done, you can see the errors and problems need to be fixed. Click Fix All.
3. The Repair part is finished, the speed of your computer will be much higher than before and the errors have been removed. You can also use other functions in this software. Like dll downloading, junk file cleaning and print spooler error repair.
Tagged: Flash Player 10 ActiveX, Flash Player 10 ActiveX fixer
What People Say: (About Flash Player 10 ActiveX)
by Alexandra Tucker Jun.21st
Over 395000 Downloads
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text:
by Category:
FREE SHIPPING available on orders of $50 or more using Standard US Postal Service.
Parram�n Editorial Team - All books by this author
Pocket Art Guides - All books in this series
Art students and amateur painters alike will find advice and instruction in Barron�s popular Pocket Art Guides series. Each title focuses on a specific aspect of painting or drawing, and includes tips that even experienced professionals will find helpful. These information-packed books are handy artists� companions for the reference shelf, but are also small enough to carry along with art supplies on field trips. Includes captioned color illustrations and notes on how famous artists solved specific problems. This newest addition explores the fundamentals of perspective.
Hardcover / 96 Pages / 5 3/4 x 8 1/2 / 2012


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How would you feel if I was to tell you today that a King was coming over to your house for lunch? That in our midst right now is the king of an entire nation, a people, and you are responsible for preparing lunch and a resting place for him amidst his travels.
The responsibility of preparing for a King has been lost to us. The thought of preparing the way for anyone of greatness doesn't even occur in our minds. With the advent of TV, where those of high standing enter our homes every day without us even needing to give a second thought, to think of the advent, or coming, of a king makes no impression upon us.
But today, as we light the first candle of the advent wreath, to remind ourselves of the coming of our king, let us take some time to reflect on the thought that the King, the One and Only, made his dwelling among us. Let us prepare our hearts and our minds for the advent of one who is greater and far above all else that we can think or imagine.
It reminds me of the verse where Jesus says, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." Let us prepare our hearts today for the advent of our Savior, that he may come in and eat with us, our heart united with our King.


text:
Who: VN Associate Editor Abigail Young and Editorial Assistant Liz Miller
What: Snack breaks at Loving Hut and Starbucks
Where: Downtown San Francisco, Calif.
When: Sunday, May 2, 2010
Why: Because we'll take any excuse—especially brand-new vegan offerings—to spend the day downtown.
The Scoop: Living out by the beach has its perks, but the distance from bustling downtown SF can be quite the deterrent on the weekends when all I want to do is sleep in and lay around on said beach (weather permitting). Luckily, last weekend provided two viable excuses to motivate, and not surprisingly, both were of the edible variety.
Liz and I set out with Loving Hut in mind, whose new location in the Westfield mall's fancy food court promised a bit of shopping, too. Loving Hut has more than 100 locations worldwide, proving the all-vegan chain is doing something right. Even better, the new location has prime food-court real estate, smack-dab in the middle of this mall-food mecca, with its cute, glowing "vegan cuisine"sign and friendly staff inviting everyone to give some egg-free fried rice a try.
Loving Hut's newest location
We each decided on the buffet special, which included two entrée items and a side of rice. The best part? It wasn't just steamed rice like the typical mall chain—diners have a choice of steamed, brown, or fried. We rolled with fried, naturally, and picked out two unlabeled—but completely delicious—items. I stuck with a simple choice of steamed, seasoned veggies and a crispy tofu dish. The servings were huge, making it impossible for me to try two other offerings that caught my eye in the display case: cha siu bao and some major cake business.
Vegan fried rice, steamed veggies, and crispy tofu
It was a good thing we ignored our initial sweet-tooth craving, because it wasn't long before we stumbled into a Starbucks. Have you tried the newly reformulated, vegan-friendly Frappuccinos? Because they might change your life. We both went for a soy mocha frapp, and pretty much couldn't stop talking about how delicious they were until we had annihilated them. A chocolate shake with caffeine? That's all I need in life.
The almighty soy mocha Frappuccino
Oh, there was some shopping and other stuff in there, too, but all I can think about is fried rice and frapps. Is it the weekend yet?


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If you are...
I always said that when I got out of the Shul Rabbinate I would stop staying up all night for Shavuos...
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Are you in Toronto for Shavuos?
Posted by The Rebbetzin's Husband at 9:02 AM
Labels: Calendar: Shavuot, Life in the Kollel
3 comments:
It's not the staying up all night, it's all the walking you're doing that impresses me!ReplyDelete
The Dark Knight never has a problem staying up- it is the morning after that he doesn't like as much. ;) Chag Sameach.ReplyDelete
The walking is what enables me to stay up...
The Dark Knight never felt this old.
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text:
'Obama pays your bills' scam claims more victims
A multistate identity theft scam that claims President Barack Obama will pay your utility bills appears to have widened. According to MSNBC.com, more than 2,000 customers in Tampa, Fla., fell for the fake offer last week.The scheme was first reported in May, when Dallas-based Atmos Energy warned its 3 million customers in 12 states that scammers had been asking for Social Security numbers to enroll in the faux federal program. According to the pitch—distributed via email, Facebook, text message, phone and, in some cases, door-to-door sales—the government would pay a month of energy costs through credits offered by the Obama administration.
You know, this doesn't surprise me one bit. Heck, we elected a junior senator with 143 days of experience based on his promises to play Santa Claus with tax dollars. He offered us "hope" and "change" - never giving specifics, never being seriously questioned by the media about his plans, either. Folks honestly thought that Barack Obama was going to put gas in their car and pay their mortgage - why wouldn't he help with utility bills, too?
In a way, they got exactly what they deserved. There's an old adage out there, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is, that applies here. You give out all of your information - information the government is supposed to have anyways - and in return they cut a blank check for all your utility needs for a month? Please! This is barely a step above the classic Nigerian scam. Give us all the information we need to empty your bank account in exchange for the promise of a few hundred dollars in utility bills. Sounds like a great idea!
On the flip side, though, the current administration has been little better than a 419 scam. From "Cash for Clunkers" - which managed to do little more than distort the used car market for a few years - to the billions poured down the "alternative energy" holes, all we've seen from this bunch is a lot of talk and very little action. GM and Chrysler are "too big to fail" - but the unions get paid first in the bailout. They've done "bait and switch" routines like expert flim flam artists, promising us
I do have to admit - when I first saw the headline, I thought they were finally coming clean about the 2008 election...
That is all.