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Tragedy? Incident? Massacre?
One thing all of these deaths have in common is that lives were lost. Innocent people died through no fault of their own. It sounds like murder in all cases as far as I'm concerned. And it's so wrong.
You're right POP...any way you slice it...it's murder and it's wrong.
Thanks for posting about this, POP..You're the first blogger so far...I've debated whether or not I'll post anything about it..people seem so blaze...like we hear about this every day..how sad.
This dawned on me answering on another blog:
With the escalation of violence under this administration, plus the movies, video games etc, was there also this kind of escalation of death during the duration of the Viet-Nam war???
The whole damn planet just keeps getting more crazy, there is an insanity in this line of monkeys. I think I will start spending more time at home.
OT, POP me goil, but you might wanna take a look at Report says warming altering N. America from the St. Pete Times, which begins, "A new study compiled by hundreds of scientists warns that Florida and other coastal states are especially vulnerable to the effects of global warming."
You were thinking along the same lines I was today. My post is very similar today. The are both tragedies. In Iraq is has been happening on a daily basis.
Just like another day of "progress" in Baghdad. Just sad.....
Whether the massacres occur on our own soil or somewhere else, by Americans or others, it's a wholesale tragedy. What will it take to stop it?
On the endless news obsessions yesterday, there was much comparison between V. Tech and the UT massacre in 1970 (I think?). Maybe it's purely coincidental, but both happened during times of horrific American aggressions in illegitimate wars. Maybe there's a connection, maybe not. But IMHO, a violent government breeds a violent society, brings out the worst in its citizens and in others who want to lash out at us.
I agree with you. I feel like every day I get an emotional punch in the gut - this market bombed, these children shot, this family, this university. Violence begets violence on a global basis and never, ever solves anything, but brings more violence.
I work on a university campus, one that had a shooting 11 years ago, so you can imagine I was on edge yesterday and will be for awhile. There's always the a-hole who copies some fool because he wants his 15 minutes of fame
This country is still the Wild West without as many horses.
It is a tragedy. It always knocks me out how one madman can change the lives of so many.
Its all murder. Thats all it is.
If a Republican congressman from Virginia made the (usually bogus) claim that Baghdad was just as safe as his home district...in this case, he would be right. For a day.
This insanity defies description - both the senseless mass murder on the Virginia Tech campus yesterday, and the senseless mass, and continuous, murders in the Middle East.
We have no sense of decency, no way to value life any longer. It has become so cheap. We're so desensitized it staggers the soul. I'm very sad today.
What's happening in Iraq is an outrage. What happened at Virginia Tech is a complete breakdown of American society.
My 2 cents.
It is all just murder. Scary days are here when wackjobs start following the lead of Bush and kill, kill, kill!!!
killing is killing. no matter where, whom, or why. it's all connected.
What this nut case did is little different than what Bush is doing. Nevertheless, my heart goes out to the victims' families.
BRAVO, Patricia,
The only difference is the sponsor. Our war is US Government and Corporation Endorsed.
Last night on the Newshour Juan Cole made a very good point....the subject was the Shia in the Iraqi government wanting a time table for the US to leave......his point......the Iragi people see tragedies like what happened at VT everyday....and have for years.....
This sort of thing defies understanding......whether it is here....or in Irag....murdering innocent people
This brought me to a different place. When Columbine happened my hubby was in critical condition in Washinton Hospital. I can never forget that and the way I felt- I actually had planned his funeral. I feel so much for the families of these folks who have passed unecessarily. In Vaginia & Iraq!
You have much wisdom to say what you said in so few words!
I always find myself agreeing with your post on C&L. I thought I'd drop by and say hello.
Its just horrible, not only for those lost, but the parents, friends, siblings, teachers, spouses or boy and girl friends, and anyone involved with that school. One person made an impact on our country and it wasnt a good impact
I think it's murder too.
32 dying in Iraq in one day would be a good day.
Killing is really bad-no matter how its explained away. Divajood said it- the world is so used to violence and war now, its just a daily occurence. The world really has reverted back to cave man tactics.
I'm speechless that Bush is travelling to VaTech to provide some comfort. If it were me, I wouldn't find his presence comforting in any way. But it isn't me...so WTF do I know.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Hey PoP....
Looks like the spammers found your site. See above.
God Bless.
PoP, I will say there is one difference, the victims at Va Tech had no choice, they did not know what they were getting into. Now of course, every death is a tragedy, especially ones that have been ginned up by the govt
Is a good point to a great extent, Sparky D. But a majority the Iraqi folks dying didn't have any choice either.
I know you know it, so sorry for not lettin' it pass, but is an important, and not-so-fine point.
I totally agree.
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Hot Video Alert: Sara Bareilles - King of Anything
I know I'm a little late with this one but maybe some of you are too. Have you heard Sara Bareilles' new single "King of Anything?" Admittedly I really only came on board with Bareilles with the release of her 2007 #1 hit single, "Love Song" but don't hold that against me. I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm a late-comer when it comes to jumping on a talented artist's bandwagon. "King of Anything" is a bubbly, sweet yet sassy send off song. According to Bareilles, it's a "f**k you' song," kind of like "Love Song." "Apparently I don't get over things very quickly," she said about the similarity of the two songs. "King of Anything" entered the Billboard Hot 100 at #59. It's currently at #13 on Billboard's Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks and #26 on the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks. Produced by Neal Avron, the new single is the first since "Love Song" to chart on the Billboard Hot 100. Bareilles' new album, Kaleidoscope Heart, will be released via Epic Records on September 7th.
Labels: Music Videos, Sara Bareilles

subset: commoncrawl


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If you can visualize a movie made by Paul Naschy that brings to mind the classics of Robert Altman and involves a sad sack Spanish version of Woody Allen then you have a start in imagining NAKED MADRID (1979). Those images will only give you a sliver of the whole picture but it does serve to warn you that this is not your usual Naschy film. In fact, I can't think of another film in his long list of credits that resembles this odd but interesting effort. Adapted from a novel it tells the contemporary story of a large cast of characters of both the wealthy and working class in post-Franco
Spain. They are
mostly scheming, lying scumbags just trying to get whatever it is they need or
want but that doesn't mean they aren't entertaining to watch.
Naschy casts himself in a fairly sympathetic role as a put upon chauffer trying to create a new socialist political party but getting sidetracked by an adulterous affair. His performance is strong but the entire cast is very good even though each character has very little screen time. A number of Naschy's stock company of actors and behind the camera collaborators are present as well as one uncredited cameo that is as surprising as it is welcome. And the word naked in the title should be taken quite literally as this movie sports more bare flesh than any other Naschy directed tale we've seen so far! You have been warned!
The mailbag section of this show is pretty sparse but we have our first 'voice-mail' contribution from our friend in
Madrid! That's right- we have a brief visit
from Elena the host of Horror Rises From Spain and she explains a few pronunciations
to us silly Americans. If you'd like to get in on this segment please write us
at firstname.lastname@example.com and we'll dig into your questions next time. And if you
subscribe to the show through iTunes please consider leaving us a review there
or you drop us a comment on the Naschycast Facebook page. Thanks to everyone
for the love and encouragement. And once again we have to thank our amazing
art director Jeff Nelson. He works beyond the call of duty for us and always
gives us a distinctive piece of art to accompany the show.


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Author Liesel K. Hill explories all things fantastical, one alternate world at a time...
- Home
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Sunday, December 9, 2012
Dystopia and Social Psychology
So I went to the post office on Friday to mail out some books to bloggers. I usually just use the self-help thingy so I don't have to stand in line, but a few of these were international shipments and I didn't want to mess them up. So I stood in line with the rest of the joe-schmos trying to send Christmas gifts early enough (mine weren't Christmas gifts but they didn't need to know that) and when it came my turn, the woman who helped me started asking the regular retinue of questions:
|(Ghost coming out of parcel.)
Do the packages contain anything fragile, liquid, explosive, supernatural or nuclear? Not today. They're just books.
Then she asked if it was my book I was sending out to people. Don't know where a postal worker found that insight at ten minutes to five, two Fridays before Christmas, but I was impressed.
Yes actually, it is.
She asked me what kind of book it was and I told her. She didn't know the term 'dystopian' so I explained it. (All I ever have to say is 'Hunger Games' and I can see the light bulb switch on.)
You see, society, like individuals, has mood swings and waves of belief and cycles that it goes through. For the past thirty years, according to her, we've been in a very individualistic place. Now, we're swinging back toward the communistic phase.
I gotta say, I think she has a point. I don't mean to be political (necessarily) but the results of recent elections surely proves it. And the last time communes were popular were in the seventies, right?
The idea is that people can feel the movement of society in a different direction, and it disturbs them, so we're reading and writing very anti-communal literature. Makes sense.
I would venture to add one more thing, though. I don't think of society's mood in this metaphor as just a measurable wave with peaks and valleys, but rather as a pendulum. Every time we switch directions and swing back the other way, we swing harder and go farther, which means we'll be more radical than we've ever been before. It's really only a matter of time before we hit something.
Which is why I write dystopia. That, and it's fun. :D
What do you think? Does this theory hold up? Why do you think we're so obsessed with dystopia these days?
4 comments :
Would be so refreshing if we were moving in the direction of where we were in the 70's. Had to laugh about the postal worker questions about your packages. I get them all the time since I mail so many books for my giveaways.ReplyDelete
Dystopia is a fascinating genre!ReplyDelete
Maybe because we fear we're seeing the end approach?ReplyDelete
Hey, maybe you have a new fan in the making!
It's not a new concept. The Machiavellian theory is that it moves in a complete circle between 6 types of government (the breakdown of one leads to the rise of its converse). That is why dystopia is so fascinating because it could totally happen. Can't wait to read yours!ReplyDelete
Christy Woods


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All layered up for an outdoor concert! But what's underneath the layers?
The answer? Layer, layer, layer. I started with a base of my studio uniform and added two pieces on top of that: the first was a black sweatshirt with artwork by Nathaniel Russell on the front. The image reads "RESIST FEAR/ASSIST LOVE." I'm not one to wear sweatshirts outside of the PJ context, but this is one that I treasure, and it makes me feel strong and protected at the same time. I also really love this sweatshirt because Nathaniel made the PDF of this design free to the public around the time of the election and inauguration. All of my friends got together and printed a bunch of stuff (posters, bags, shirts, pull overs, bed sheets, etc.), so this sweatshirt sort of feels emblematic of our cohort, too. On top of the sweatshirt, I added my burgundy velvet blazer, which I usually keep adorned with a rotating cast of pins. Today, I'm sporting a square brooch made of stamped clay and a little brooch of two little ladies' heads.
As soon as I got to the studio, I stripped off all those layers (I was getting hot anyway) and got to work. Bada-bing bada-boom: back in my studio uniform! Natalie recently wrote about the virtues of uniform dressing for work, and clearly I'm in her camp. I love the way that a uniform can not only work as something you wear every day, but also as a versatile base that pivots as you need it to. Uniform dressing is a great way to keep things simple and to expand the potential for an outfit to last throughout the day.
Let me know what your uniform looks like!


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According to Famitsu Magazine in Japan, Serah and Noel of Final Fantasy XIII-2 will be getting Mass Effect 3 costumes some unknown day for some unknown price. It's also unknown if these costumes will be sold separately, sold as their own DLC pack, or if they will be part of another DLC pack. As for what these costumes will look like…we don't know that either. If the latest costumes as depicted above offer any hints, Noel will probably have N7 armor and Serah will dress like an asari dancer.
I was not a fan of FFXIII-2, but I have to admit that the overly ridiculous Mass Effect fangirl in me really wants these costumes. Maybe then I'll find some additional motivation to unlock all of the paradox endings.


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In an SVN world, you'd have to track what files were being modified and export them out to another location. Rather annoying, to say the least, because it defeats the entire point of using a version control system. You could also create a temporary branch, commit your broken changes and then merge that branch with your working branch afterward. An inelegant solution.
However, you're in a Git world, baby! Enter 'git stash'. Stashing allows you to "file away" some or all of your uncommitted changes. Stashes are pushed into a stack and can be popped back later when you want to resume work.
You sit at your desk while pondering the effects of beer after lunch. Then you look down at your terminal and type:
$ git status -s
M superawesomefile.cpp
Ah! There is one file that you were working on (there could have been more) but you don't want to commit it just yet. You smile shrewdly to yourself and type:
$ git stash save "mysuperawesome changes"
Saved working directory and index state On master: mysuperawesome changes
HEAD is now at b6c8a3f My last superawesome commit message
But wait, are you sure that your changes were stashed? What if they weren't? Paranoia leads you to type:
$ git stash list
stash@{0}: On master: mysuperawesome changes
$ git stash show stash@{0}
superawesomefile.cpp | 2 +-
1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-)
You list all of your stored stashes with 'git stash list' and then view the files in your stash with 'git stash show'. Sure enough, your superawesomefile is there.
At this point, exuding some major swag, you switch to the release branch and fix the issue with amazing prowess. You then switch back to your working branch and proceed to get back your last stash with:
$ git stash apply
# On branch master
# Changes not staged for commit:
# (use "git add
..." to update what will be committed)
# (use "git checkout --
..." to discard changes in working directory)
# modified: superawesomefile.cpp
You rise to a standing ovation as the crowd goes wild!
EDIT: My friend, Ananth pointed out that in an SVN world, it is possible to achieve stash-like behavior. You can perform a unified diff and redirect output to a file.
svn diff > /path/to/mysuperawesome_changes.diff
Later, when you switch back to the working branch, your saved changes can be applied back as a patch.
patch -p0 -i /path/to/mysuperawesome_changes.diff
Pretty handy that!


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Justin Bieber calls Usher "all the time."
The 16-year-old pop sensation is grateful for the support of his superstar mentor and knows he can always rely on the 'OMG' hitmaker for advice.
He said: "I call him all the time. I ask for advice. We hang out. He's probably the closest person to me in the music business."
Among the topics likely to be discussed by the singers is dating, as the teenage star admits he loves the attention he receives from women.
He said in an interview on 'The Early Show': "It's great, you know. I'm 16 and I love girls."
Usher stepped in to help rise Justin to fame when he was discovered on video sharing website YouTube by his now-manager Scooter Braun.
Recalling his sudden stardom, Justin said: "I just started posting videos online and then it just got to the point where they wanted to move me out to Atlanta and start recording songs."
However, it's not always all glamorous for the 'Baby' singer, who confessed earlier this month that he had to miss some important phone calls after his mum cancelled his contract after an argument.
He said at the time: "We got into an argument about something stupid, and she was like, 'Give me the phone' and I was like, 'No', so she just went and cancelled it."
"If Usher wants to get in touch with me? Then it's tough."


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"It's the culture stupid…" a response to the brogramming media
This is my first blog, it was a media article I submitted to the newspapers – strangely no-one took it up…Maybe the title could have been toned down, but honestly … why?
Caroline Simmard from Stanford was motivated to respond to the blog post "Why aren't there more women in tech: wrong question" with the above comment. This all came in quick succession after a series of posts and emails earlier in March deploring the media reporting of the "Brogramming" Facebook group, and closely followed by the "One step at a time" post of a young female software engineer who loves her job and challenges the male stereotypes daily. Media articles like 'Brogramming" do no more than replace one male stereotype (geeky unsocial) with another (macho bravado). Neither are particularly attractive to females.
Caroline is one of dozens of smart scientists, educators and researchers who are working to improve the diversity of students entering the creative and collaborative discipline of computing (aka ICT, IT, IS). It is startling that in 2012 we have not made any inroads to increasing diversity in this ubiquitous and influential discipline. But when the weekend papers show the current stats of women's economic situation with only 1.4% of women earning more than $104,000 compared to 6.4% of men, I think we have moved beyond the media issue of male bravado and unfriendly work environments, to the economic necessity of getting more women in our society credentialed and confident to become active participators in our discipline.
The National Centre for Women in I.T. in the US produces a "Scorecard" which highlights the latest statistics regarding female engagement with computing in the USA. I have complied the Australian equivalent , with a bit of a Victorian slant and drawing on their format:
Women are underrepresented in the computing workforce. While they make up 45% of the Australian workforce, there are only 18% in computing.
Computing needs women. In the US work teams with 50:50 gender membership have been shown to be more experimental and more efficient than single-sex teams. Firms with female senior managers outperform those without women in leadership positions. Women found high-tech start-ups with less funding and fewer failures than the average. There is no reason to believe that the same would not apply in Australia.
Girls are missing out on computing education. Since 2001 the number of female students sitting the final VCE IT exams has decreased from 5879 to 643 in 2011. Only 93 female students in Victoria satisfactorily completed the Software Development Unit. The overall number of students sitting the final year VCE IT exams has decreased by 75%. While VCE IT is not a prerequisite for any IT degree the pattern of declining enrolments is similar in VTAC first preferences for IT courses has declined 67% in the same time period.
In 2001, 686 secondary schools in Victoria delivered IT Units 3 & 4 . This has decreased to 443 in 2011 providing less opportunity for students to study IT in senior secondary school (in Victoria).
Women are more credentialed than men in our society, yet not in IT. Women now represent 55.6% of students on campus in Australian universities. Women earned 57% of all bachelor degrees in 2010. In the same year women earned 19% of undergraduate computing degrees.
If the solution was simple, we would have solved it by now, it is multi-layered and embedded in both the culture and societal stereotypes.
Australia recognises the issues of lack of diversity in the more technical careers. The 2012 Young Australian of the Year, Marita Cheng, was awarded this accolade for her work in promoting engineering to women through her Robogals program.
Another program working towards greater diversity in ICT in Australia is the Digital Divas Club, featured last year on the ABCs 7.30 show (Sleek Geeks, May 17) .
Digital Divas Club (www.digitaldivasclub.org) started in 2009 funded by an Australian Research Council Linkage Grant shared across Monash Swinburne and Deakin Universities, the DEECD, the ACS, Netspace and Brentwood Secondary College.
A women (ex-FICT Swinburne student Alana George now working in San Francisco for Thoughtworks) created our portal and managed it for 2 years.
A women (Brentwood current teacher Anna Crow) designed the bulk of our curricula. In total 11 secondary schools have participated in the research (all but one have continued with the program).
In 2012 we took the program interstate and it is running at two schools in Sydney.
Twenty-two undergraduate (female) students have already been trained as Expert Divas and worked in schools with the program. Since 2009 we have collected surveys and interview data from 284 female students, most in junior secondary school, some in middle school.
We have widely disseminated our findings. Over the last three years hundreds people have interacted with the project via local, national and international presentations at conferences, teacher focused events, as well as regional and national print media and national television media.
We won't give up, and the problem is not going to go away without active intervention.
Plenty of bright, involved young women at my university are supporting the Digital Divas program by being our Expert Divas. As well they run our university Women in ICT group and volunteer for many other initiatives like the Go Girl Go for IT program. Working with these young clever women is the highlight of my career, and with them I intend to continue to work actively to change the deploring statistics.
My advice to all who are concerned about the lack of diversity (women) in ICT is to become an evangelist for change . Make it personal and promote the positive aspects of the I.C.T. profession widely.


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Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Farmer Chic buys a farm
We hadn't been up to the farm since mid-December so it is really no surprise mice found their way inside the camper. Mouse turds were in the sink, in the drawer, on our bedding, and on the bench. The idea of some rodent running all over my bedding and pooping on my blankets is not only unhygienic it just creeps me out. And to be honest, I have never been the trailers number one fan. So we booked a night at our favorite hotel, the Inn at Stone Mill. As it turns out the timing was perfect, we got two feet of snow over night.
To be sure my anxiety had less to do with mice and more to do with buying and renovating an unlivable house along with clearing the land dotted with rusted equipment, collapsing buildings, tires, weeds and dead trees. Everywhere I look another item is added to the to-do-list. And the list is getting very, very long.
As Darien and I drove to Lowes to pick-up mouse traps and other supplies we had a heart-to-heart. He had me list out all my concerns so we could address them one by one. A few of them were: How long we will have to stay in the camper? How much money is this going to cost us? and, Do I really want to live in this area?
Darien reassured me that we will make it our goal to have at least one room finished, that we can stay in by the end of the year. As for money, he reminded me again that at the end of the day whether we use the farm as weekend home or the site of our future home, it is an investment.
It's hard to imagine moving upstate because I am very comfortable where I am now. Of all the places we've lived, this is my favorite. Close to the city but still has lots of nature and a rural feel. I am also pretty involved in the local food movement here. It's hard starting all over again and in an area that may not be as open to sustainable agriculture. And quite frankly, the dining options are paltry. There is an abundance of chains, McDonalds, Denny's, Dunkin Donuts, and Pizza Huts, but few independent restaurants and no fine dining. But the reality is land is not affordable where we live. So, as Darien pointed out we will have to meet new people, and bring the sustainable food movement with us.
If you're someone who believes in omens, I do when it's convenient, we discovered a newly opened BBQ restaurant in a nearby town. The pulled pork, hand-cut thick french fries, pork ribs, and potato salad were served in large quantities and at a good price. This is one place where quantity and quality are actually on par. The owner told us he grinds the beef and makes everything from the sausage, soups to salad dressing. He is interested in serving local food but has to find a way to make it cost effective.
The pulled pork smothered in bbq sauce soothed my jitters. Darien, the farm, and I would make this relationship work.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Update: Organic food and butchery
Ten stops on the 1 train from Columbus Circle is all it takes to experience the different worlds of the haves and the have-nots. One minute I am in Williams and Sonoma's, shiny copper pots and $12 goat milk soap, talking with Brent from Beekman Boys about goats and farming. Twenty five minutes later I am in a "deli" in Washington Heights that sells beer, milk, and sad shriveled heads of lettuce.
I spent Saturday afternoon, and the past five days, doing research on organic food availability. I have a list of 250 stores through out Manhattan that I must visit over the next two weeks. As I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, my class did a research project to assess the availability of local and organic food at groceries, delis, outdoor food carts, and other establishments that sell fresh food in Manhattan. The first phase was to establish where the establishments are. The second phase, which I am working on now, is to determine what products are sold, such as conventional or organic, milk, yogurt, eggs, cheese, meat, and a select variety of fruits and vegetables.
What I found in Washington Heights was depressing. The stores each had a particular funky odor to them, the sanitary conditions were questionable, and the selection of fresh fruits and vegetables was limited and often looked weeks old. Out of thirty stores only a handful sold organic milk and one supermarket sold organic eggs. I can't say I am surprised at all. Its hard enough to find good quality fresh produce let alone organic food.
Back at Columbus Circle there is a supermarket that specializes in fresh good quality, and organic, produce, with its time-controlled misting on the so-fresh-you-can-smell-the-dirt vegetables. Of course you prices are higher but is it too much to ask that residents in the 160's have vegetables that aren't on life support?
Who needs health insurance when you can self-medicate?
I come from Canada, and we love our beer just as much as Americans do (except for me, I don't really like beer.) But the last time I checked a Canadian pharmacy you couldn't pick up a six pack to go along with your Prozac. In any New York City Duane Reade you can. Whether I think pharmacies should sell booze is irrelevant. Most retail stores all sort of blend together, the lines that distinguish one store from another have been blurred. Every store has become a one-stop-shop; liquor, drugs, food, and cheap goods from China. What I find truly amazing is the long aisles Duane Reade has dedicated to beer, sometimes even local craft beers. And yet the dairy section is marginal. No organic milk, yogurt, or eggs, the only option is some industrial crap.
I am looking forward to truths and ironies I unearth next week.
To some this may sound creepy, but I am fascinated by how meat is broken down into tiny neat cuts called culottes, loins, and butts. Since I have mastered the art of breaking down a chicken I have been eager to expand my repertoire.
A few weeks before Christmas I went to Dickson's Farmstand Meats for a trial to see if I want to do an internship there. I spent the whole afternoon vacuum sealing various lamb cuts, pork cuts, and beef cuts. My head spun as I tried to remember all the names of the cuts, most of which I have already forgotten. But I really enjoyed trying to remember them all. The least pleasant part of the job was trying to muscle my way in between hanging split sides of beef and pork, sometimes crouching underneath them, in the walk in cooler to put away the cut in their respective bins.
As I furiously packed meat into bags and sealed them, I stole glances of the two rock-star butchers breaking down pork and beef right behind me. The skill and strength required to break the animal down is impressive, you don't need to be a ravenous carnivore to appreciate the art of butchery.
It was a good experience and I may see if I can return in the future. We will see how well I remember what I learned the first time. I do remember that when I went to bed that night visions of meat cuts danced in my head.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Turkey Time
This afternoon I was washing dishes when I heard a rustling by the stove. I looked over and saw a mouse's little paw stuck in the mouse trap. The trap was flopping around and I thought to myself this isn't good. I can't just leave it there. I took a broom and brought the trap into the middle of the kitchen. I called my little Shiba Inu into the kitchen in hopes she might kill it but it turns out she is all bark and no bite. She cowered in the living room. The mouse's beady black eyes bulged in fear and was staring up at me. Little did it know I was staring back at it in fear. What do I do now? I picked up the phone and called my husband. I told him of my predicament. Should I kill it? I asked him. He answered in a hushed tone, he was on his cell phone on the train, "No don't kill it." He said " just release it into the woods." But I can't I whined, its dark outside and what if it runs after me?" Trying hard not to raise his voice, for fear of what the train passengers might think of this strange caller, he said into the phone "but you just killed turkeys yesterday. Think of it as a little turkey." We hung up and I took a deep breath and grabbed a broom and dustpan. I swept the mouse onto the dust pan and ran over to wood pile and placed the trap on the ground and released the mouse. Ok, not so bad. But nothing like a turkey.
Turkey Processing
Yesterday I went to Glynwood to help with turkey processing. I thought processing turkeys might be harder than processing chickens, I like turkeys better, but surprisingly it didn't bother me. Instead of killing them in the steel cones like we do with the chickens, because they are too big for the cone, the turkeys were killed out in the field. This was accomplished by rigging hooks to the tractor bucket so the turkeys could be hung by their legs. Then their throats are slit and they are bled out. They don't really make any noise when they are upside down, the only creepy part is when they are dead and start spazzing when all the nerves are firing off.
The rest of it, scalding, plucking, and removing the innards is the same process as for the chickens only the turkeys are much much bigger. They go into a scalder (around 140F) into a plucking machine and then onto a table where we remove the feet, head, and everything inside the turkey, I struggled to lift the turkeys in and out of the cold water baths and onto the stainless steel table where I "operated." I could have sworn they weighed 50 pounds or more. Out of curiosity we threw one of the cleaned turkeys on the scale and it read 30 pounds.
It took 6 of us to process 40 turkeys in just over 5 hours. We were a well oiled machine. I broke down four turkeys by myself but I still don't quite have the feel for finding and removing the crock. And I feel extra nervous trying to remove the bile duct from the liver. I always end up taking a large chunk of the liver off with it just to make sure I don't burst the bright green nasty liquid all over the liver. But the rest of it is fairly easy.
I won't say that its my favorite job on the farm but its not the worst either. And it helps that I get to bring home a turkey for Thanksgiving. A delicious heritage Bourbon Red turkey. It seems like only yesterday I was feeding them raspberries and apple cores. Rest in peace turkeys...your life will not be in vain.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
My agriculture class: Trawling the 200's in NYC, looking for milk.
At 9:30 am, two weeks ago, on a Wednesday morning I took a taxi from 125 street to 215 street on the upper West Side to some research for my agriculture class. Besides passing a live poultry market what is in the 200's that is agricultural? Well, nothing really. My project technically has more to do with the outcome of agriculture, the consumption side. Our whole class was undertaking a project to map out food availability in Manhattan. The map of Manhattan was divided into 24 parts and each student got a section. I was to walk around and record every store where you could buy food (can't be just prepared) with a minimum criteria of selling milk. I found the majority of food was sold in convenience stores and small grocery stores with a few super markets located in high traffic areas. Below is a blog post describing the project from the NYU Steinhardt website.
With Ambition and Walking Shoes, Students Catalogue Organic and Local Food Availability Throughout Manhattan
Carolyn Dimitri, visiting associate professor of food studies and an applied economist, is interested in the question of whether access to local and organic food influences consumer demand. To find out the answer, she and her graduate students have embarked on a yearlong study to assess the availability of local and organic food at groceries, delis, outdoor food carts, and other establishments that sell fresh food in Manhattan.
Using a simple data collection sheet, students from the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health's Food Systems classes will canvass every Manhattan neighborhood to note whether the store sells organic or local food from a variety of categories, including dairy, produce, and meat. Dimitri will analyze the data to create an index for each store, ranging from 0 to 100, that captures the availability of organic or local food.
"This is a vast undertaking, given the large number of stores in Manhattan," Dimitri says. "Fortunately, my students have responded with great enthusiasm, and have offered useful suggestions about the best way to divide Manhattan in sections to facilitate the data collection process. Last month, Krystal Ford and I collected data on store types and in Inwood. We identified about 50 stores in our assigned area. I was rather surprised to see the odd mix of products carried in the majority of the stores."
The class' research will also shed light on whether demand for organic food is greater in higher income neighborhoods or in neighborhoods with a greater concentration of stores that sell such foods.
"Research suggest that consumption of organic food tends to be a function of how well educated a consumer is, as opposed to his or her income level," Dimitri says. " The problem with estimating a consumer's demand for such organic and local foods has been the difficulty of measuring access."
The data collected will provide a more accurate measure of access to organic and local food, that should allow Dimitri to improve existing models of consumer demand for these products.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Buying a farm
We put an offer on the farm and it was accepted. We will be closing next week. My husband has started a blog to chronicle our Farm Makeover. And he has already put up pictures of the house and property.
Honestly, I am both nervous and excited about buying the farm. Nervous about depleting our savings, nervous about how much it might cost, nervous about how much time and energy it might take. But I am excited about what my husband and I will be able to accomplish together. Completely renovating an old farmhouse by ourselves, and with the help of friends and family we can manage to harangue. Most of all I am excited about the possibility of making it the site of our future homestead.
Our first plan of action is to clean the house out. This will make it easier for us to figure out what we need to do first and what we tools we need to buy. We are also contemplating buying a used camper to put on the property. The house in unlivable, no heat, no electricity, no running water, and probably a decade's worth of mouse and insect feces. Though I loath the idea of spending so much money to stay in a hotel every time we go to work on the house, I haven't exactly embraced the idea of living in a camper. I am a farm girl not a trailer park girl. I realize that makes me sound like a bit of a snob but we all have our hang-ups. The problem is my overactive imagination is picturing living in some 2o year-old trailer that smells of cigarette smoke, polyester, and vinyl. Maybe the trailer will be lovely. Who knows. We are going to check out a camper next week and I will try to keep an open mind.
One thing is for sure, we are about to embark on a new adventure.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Garlic planting!
I stepped out of the car and could faintly see my breath. The tips of the grass were frosted. I had smartly worn tights under my Carhartts and a wool hat. Dave, Dayna and I loaded up on seed garlic, hand tools, and the dibbler ( a tool that is used to make 3 holes in a bed every few inches apart.)
It was 8 am in the morning, the sky was blue, the air was crisp, and we were ready to go. Only one thing got in our way, the top layer of the soil was frozen. We stood there looking at the ground and then at each other. Well shit. We gotta wait until it warms up. So I helped them harvest some beautiful looking broccoli crowns and then went home.
At 1:30 pm I returned to the field for take two of garlic planting. The beds were smoothed out with a rake and then holes were dug a few inches apart. One clove was put in each hole with the pointy tip up. Seed garlic is just regular garlic, but you try to select the biggest and nicest looking garlic to be your seed garlic. One head of garlic could have 6 cloves, which means you get 6 plants of garlic from one plant. After all the cloves are in the ground we lightly rake soil over the top completely covering the holes. The fun part is mulching the garlic. We take bails of straw and sprinkle it heavily all over the bed to help protect the garlic and suppress weeds in the spring.
Garlic planting (at least in Northeast) takes place in the fall because it gives the plants a bit of a head start. It gives them just enough time to put on some roots before going dormant. In the spring it is off to the races and will be ready for harvest in July. You could technically plant in the spring but it may not be ready until August or September. It's important to get a bit of head start because it takes so long to cure garlic (about 6 weeks.) Curing garlic is what gives it the ability to be stored a long time.
If you plant garlic too early in the fall it could put on too much growth and start popping out of the ground and then it dies when the frost comes. So to be on the safe side Dave waits until after Halloween to plant garlic.
Planting garlic feels like I have come full circle, but in reverse. Typically you plant and then harvest. But this time I harvested and then planted. There is no doubt that the season has come to an end.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Going Freelance
Saturday we made a short visit to the Cold Spring Farmers Market and purchased some last minute items; some beautiful plump mushrooms, brightly colored winter squash, fresh baked bread. All day long she cooked while I prepped. She handed me vegetables to chop, dice, peel, eggs to whisk, oranges to slice and juice, and glasses of sangria to taste. We made big batches of red and white sangria with slices of oranges, orange juice, wine, and cointreau. Every few hours we took a tiny ladle of the sangria we made to check the flavor, it was initially too tart so we added honey to each batch.
The day proceeded with praise and scolding. "Good, good. No! What are you doing?" That was good for chopping the tomatoes nicely. Bad because I like to rinse things like my knife or bowls under running water without a container underneath to catch it. She has this obsession with saving water (not a bad thing especially if you live in the desert) but she lives alone, has a well, and lives next to a stream. But at the end of the day we got a lot accomplished and we get along very well.
Sunday is party time. Most of the food was cooked the day before but there was still last minute things to prepare, steamed bok choy, stratas, and croissant sandwiches stuffed with smoked salmon. The party was from 3pm until 10pm. She planned to serve lunch and supper, buffet style. I was given strict instructions that dishes are hidden away and not left around or put in the dishwasher. I was to put them under the sink or in her laundry room. As the party progressed the urge for me to do the dishes grew stronger and stronger especially when we were running out of utensils, plates and glasses. (around 8pm I couldn't take it anymore and when she was out of the kitchen I put a load of dishes on.) At 9pm, I had been there for 12 hours and I was tired. My cue to leave was when I dropped a bottle of Champagne, while trying to open it, on the floor in front of all her guests. She was a good sport about it, no doubt my prize winning pie, I brought two that disappeared in minutes, had helped.
After a long weekend I was ready to rest, but Monday morning I found myself with a shovel digging up plants known as Obedient. I had been asked to help another woman in her garden. So Monday and Tuesday I spent a few hours helping dig up plants, finding homes for those plants, and planting bulbs of alliums, tulips and narcissus.
While digging, the neighbor of the woman I was helping came over and chatted with us. He asked me if this garden work was something I was looking to do regularly. Sure, I thought. Why not? The wheels were turning in my head, maybe my next job is to help people in their gardens. I can call myself the Personal Garden Assistant.


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Associate Degree in Fashion and Textile MerchandisingEntry requirements
Sorry, this program is not available for local students.
Please contact Info Corner for more information.
Sorry, this program is not available for international students intending to study on a student visa.
Please contact us for more information.
RMIT is committed to admissions transparency. View the 2018 ATAR distribution information for our degrees and information about how admissions work at RMIT.
You must have successfully completed an Australian Year 12 (or equivalent senior secondary school qualification) with a minimum 60% average (check calculator below).
Equivalent qualifications may also include completion of the RMIT Foundation Studies program or a recognised post secondary diploma in the relevant discipline with the required grades.
Meeting the minimum academic requirements does not guarantee entry. Your application will still need to be assessed and accepted.
Selection tasks
If you were not studying year 12 in 2017 you should submit a personal statement outlining:
- your reasons for wanting to study this program
- your intended career path
- the personal strengths and attributes you will bring to the program
- details of any related work or voluntary experience
If you do not submit a personal statement you will be considered on the basis of academic achievement only, e.g. ATAR.
Selection tasks
English language requirements
- IELTS (Academic): minimum overall band of 6.0 (with no individual band below 5.5)
- TOEFL (Paper Based Test): minimum score of 550 (TWE 4.0)
- TOEFL (Internet Based Test - IBT): minimum overall score of 79 (with minimum of 19 in all sections)
- Pearson Test of English (Academic) (PTE (A)): minimum score of 50 (with no communication band less than 42)
- Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE): minimum of 169 with no less than 162 in any component.
For detailed information on English language requirements and other proficiency tests recognised by RMIT, visit English language requirements and equivalency information.
Don't meet the English language test scores? Complete an Advanced Certificate at RMIT English Worldwide.
2 + 1 pathway
Graduates of the Associate Degree in Fashion and Textile Merchandising can apply to complete one additional year of study and gain the Bachelor of Fashion (Merchandise Management).
Learn more about pathways or if you are eligible for credit transfer and recognition of prior learning.
When you successfully complete the Diploma of Fashion Styling you are guaranteed entry into the Associate Degree in Fashion and Textile Merchandising.
Alternatively, you can gain entry into the Associate Degree in Fashion and Textile Merchandising from RMIT Foundation Studies or a range of vocational study programs.
Further study
When you successfully complete the Associate Degree in Fashion and Textile Merchandising and achieve a minimum GPA of 2.0, you are guaranteed entry into the Bachelor of Fashion (Merchandise Management).
Alternatively, you may be eligible for entry into other RMIT undergraduate programs


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This is the 9-month culmination of an ill-conceived bet made last New Year's Eve. Confidence was at an all time high that night. Every single person involved thought they would win. We've focused largely on trash talking and scheming since then. And now, here we are, more than nine months later with the race upon us; just a few short runs between us and the final 13.1 mile dash.
Do you think I'm ready? Well, it sort of snuck up on me.
Truth is, I got a little behind in my training during July and the first half of August, when I mostly chose drinking vodka lemonades and walking to the park over racking up miles on my running watch. There were weekends away, and a week's vacation, too, to blame for my lack of training; but really, I needed a break. It happens every year: I run my marathon in June, and then I celebrate my accomplishment by not running for a while. So, after my hiatus, I've been on sort of a fast-track training plan for the past six weeks, going from eight to ten then twelve miles on the weekend, and filling the space in between the long runs with some speed workouts and a special torture called lunges.
The sudden spike in weekly mileage has me walking around with a twinge of pain in my left ankle lately, and a state of constant wobbliness in my legs. I'm getting charlie horses in the arches of my feet almost daily, and in my calf muscles while I sleep - sometimes in both calf muscles at the same time. It's a real treat, I must stay, waking up thinking that both of your legs have been blown off below the knee by a cannon. I have found that Adam is really impressed by this occurrence, too, at 5:45 in the morning.
But, I'm getting faster. I can feel my legs getting stronger, and the seconds on my pace watch are slowly, slowly ticking down. At this point in the game, I wish I were faster, but at least I'm in the groove. I logged my last long run on Saturday, just eight miles this time - eight solid miles. I was a little hungover and I don't think I drank any water on Friday, but my legs were rested, and a cool morning sky gave me the rush of energy I needed to push my time down to low eight-minute miles. It was the perfect last run, a confidence booster, before the race.
But still, I'm getting nervous. I had my dream last week where I was getting ready to run, and then realized I was wearing black dress shoes (like, loafers). (This is typical for me: before the marathon in June, I got to enjoy a nightmare where I show up to the starting line wearing jeans.)
The other night, I asked my iPhone (via the voice thing, Siri), for a prediction.
Me (talking into the phone): Who is going to win the half marathon?
Phone: I don't know what that means. If you like, I can search the web for "Call Elizabeth doing this bath mat fun."
Me: ... Who is going to win the half marathon?
Phone: Searching the web for "Call Elizabeth doing this bath mat fun."
Guys, my running partner's name is Elizabeth. What does it mean?
All will be well. I'll likely take fourth place out of four, but I'll probably have the most fun. The important thing is that we there's a finish line - and I'll be crossing it soon.
I hope!
Scallion Meatballs with Soy-Ginger Glaze
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
I'm not kidding about this: these little guys might be my number one favorite weeknight meal. And, I especially love them when I'm running a lot; the lean protein is just what my tired muscles need at the end of the day. The sauce adds a nice sweetness, but the meatballs themselves are somehow satisfying in a way that ground turkey is usually not - I think the sesame oil is the secret weapon here that adds the depth of flavor, so don't skip it. I have brought these little guys to parties before to huge accolades, too. Seriously - do you get it? These are SO GOOD.
Word of warning: do not, do not use extra lean/99% ground turkey breast. I did that once by accident, and the meatballs were sad, sad, sad. Use ground turkey thigh (93% lean).
And a final note, about the mirin: I hate buying ingredients for a recipe that I don't use for anything else, and I can't say I use mirin a whole lot. But, I found a bottle of this at the grocery store for $7 or so, and it has lasted me through dozens and dozens of these meatballs; definitely worth the purchase.
For the meatballs:
1 pound ground turkey thigh
1 egg
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/2 cup scallions, chopped
1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix all ingredients together. Form into meatballs using about 2 tablespoons of the mixture each (you should end up with about 18 meatballs); place on a cookie sheet. Bake for 18 minutes.
For the glaze:
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup mirin
3 tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled and chopped, or 1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander (optional)
Combine all ingredients in small saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir until combined (the sugar will melt into the liquid as it heats up). Bring to a low boil, then turn the heat down to medium low. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes or so, until sauce thickens a bit.
Serve meatballs with some brown rice and a light drizzle of the glaze, with a stir-fried veggie on the side. Sometimes I'll plop these onto a bowl of rice with diced avocados, some browned onions and sauteed veggies, and a handful of walnuts. Go wild!


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104 Gilead Rd, Huntersville, NC 28078
(704) 230-0081
About Us
Located in the heart of Huntersville, we offer individual and group musical experiences for all ages. We specialize in private lessons for flute, guitar, piano, drum set/percussion, voice, woodwind, brass, violin, cello and Bluegrass instruments (including banjo, mandolin, bass and fiddle). Our toddler/preschool music program,Music for Little Mozarts, introduces musical learning and basic musical concepts in small classes or individual piano lessons.
All of our instructors are professional musicians or educators who enjoy working with people of all ages and at all levels. Music enhances the lives of the members in our community, and our instructors are knowledgeable and passionate about music in all forms.


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The conservative group Judicial Watch has FOIAed documents of then Secretary of State Clinton related to the September 11 2012 attack in Benghazi which killed a U.S. ambassador and several CIA honchos. The documents prove that the Obama administration knew that the attack in Benghazi was part of an Al-Qaeda operation. Clinton and the Obama administration have publicly claimed the attack was in reaction to some anti-Muslim movie that was circling on the Internet.
Judicial Watch announced today it has obtained new documents from the Department of State containing the telephone transcripts from the evening of September 11, 2012, in which then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton informs then-Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham Kandil that the deadly terrorist attack on the U.S. compound in Benghazi "had nothing to do with the film."
Similarly, Judicial Watch litigation also forced the release of the September 11, 2012 email in which Secretary of State Hillary Clinton informed her daughter by email that the attack had been staged by an "Al Qaeda-like group," rather than as the result of "inflammatory material posted on the Internet," as Mrs. Clinton had claimed in her official public statement one hour earlier.
Full report:


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One of my favorite things when it comes to street style is the crazy kooks that bring something new. When I was in New York for Teen Vogue Fashion University I saw a lot of girls with cool ensembles that they made or crafted together. This one girl in particular caught my eye- well, Sara Marie from Sassy Riot might of caught everyone's eye… (including the New York Times, and Teen Vogue)
She was so friendly and let me take a few snaps of her outfit! In one picture you see a close up of her DIY teen vogue fashion u purse and in another, her whole outfit inclusive of her betsey johnson-like floral two piece, glittery platforms with matching peter pan bib, glitzy accessories, and infamous DIY purse.
High-five to Sara Marie for her Sassy Riot realness!


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John Rziha
To take a journey, travelers must know where they are, where they are going, and how to get there. Moral theology examines the same three truths. The Christian Moral Life is a handbook for moral theology that uses the theme of a journey to explain its key ethical concepts. First, humans begin with their creation in the image of God. Secondly, the goal of the journey is explained as a loving union with God, to achieve a share in his eternal happiness. Third and finally, the majority of the book examines how to attain this goal. Within the journey motif, the book covers the moral principles essential for attaining true happiness. Based on an examination of the moral methodology in the bible, the book discusses the importance of participating in divine nature through grace in order to attain eternal happiness. It further notes the role of law, virtue, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit in guiding and transforming humans into friends of God, who participate in his happiness. Following this section on moral theology in general, the book analyzes the individual virtues to give more concrete guidance. The entire project builds upon the insights of great Christian thinkers, such as Thomas Aquinas, Thérèse of Lisieux, and John Paul II, to uncover the moral wisdom in scripture and to show people how to be truly happy both in this life and the next. This book will be of great interest to undergraduate students of moral theology, priests and seminarians, parents and teachers seeking to raise and to form happy children, and anyone interested in discovering the meaning of true happiness.
"What is unique about The Christian Moral Life is that it at once offers a comprehensive treatment of moral theology with the necessary background in theological anthropology, takes an approach based in the virtues, beatitudes, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, and also treats the numerous elements of the law pertinent to the virtues." — Christopher J. Malloy, University of Dallas
"John Rziha's book satisfies the long-awaited hope for a suitable textbook for students and professors of moral theology that is both robustly Catholic and rigorously academic from cover to cover. His copious work provides the framework and principles for a study that is both soundly Thomistic and refreshingly personalistic. This delightful text, laudably unencumbered by needless technical jargon, leads the reader to a fruitful contemplation and critical apprehension of the way toward genuine human beatitude in Christ by way of grace, virtue, and law. More than merely a suitable textbook, Dr. Rziha's book exemplifies true Christian and Catholic humanism at its finest. As such, this text ought to be standard fare for all students and professors of Catholic theology—not only those whose work directly treats of the moral life in Christ." — Michael G. Sirilla, Franciscan University of Steubenville
"The Christian Moral Life provides a necessary corrective to the popular misperception of Christian morality as nothing more than a system of oppressive rules that impair human freedom. He methodically sets forth the Christian moral life in all its splendor as nothing less than our grace-filled journey to personal fulfillment and eternal happiness, drawing upon scripture and the timeless wisdom of the saints. We used an earlier version of this text in our permanent diaconate program, and the students found it eminently readable and enlightening." — Leon Suprenant, Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas
368 pages
"Rziha always writes in accessible language to convey deep philosophical and theological ideas to the uninitiated. . . . The Christian Moral Life is a sound introductory textbook on the complexities of moral theology." — Catholic Library World


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Good morning dear readers. I was able to go to the Snowline Monthly Sale this past weekend. I found some lovely things and I wanted to share with you. First off is this lovely Russian porcelain egg trinket box. Actually Conor found it and so its his item. He's doing the research on it will let you know more about it later.
This is actually a wooden pin. I thought she was so cute would go great on a Halloween costume.
No markings on this lovely garden cart. I just thought it was pretty. This could be added to a fairy garden.
I had to add this lovely lady to my cat collection. She actually holds jewelry in the back very nice. Frankie's not to happy about her can we say jealous cat.
I saw this and another upcycling project came to mind. I'm thinking Haunted Birdhouse for Halloween we'll see how it goes.
I love getting inexpensive craft books to give me ideas. I'm looking into making art dolls looks like a lot of fun.
Linking to these parties:
Here's some amazon links to give you more ideas on your thrifting journey.
Want to check out a craft you've been reading about check this out


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by Margaret Bail
I noticed her when she walked into the conference, not because she was pretty (though she wasn't not pretty), but because she reminded me of a Renaissance painting – round, full and ripe – not at all today's feminine ideal. She wore an inappropriately revealing white dress, cut low up top and cut short down below, obviously designed for a slimmer form then manufactured and distorted to fit everywoman. When she sat her big breasts bounced and threatened to overflow, while under the table her ample thighs were visible much farther north than I preferred to see, though from my angle the ultimate terminus was still a mystery. I tried to pay attention to the conference. And yet... inexplicably distracted, my eyes were still drawn to that fleshy chasm, rippled legs spread too wide (but not quite Sharon Stone wide). I wondered, both titillated and revolted, how much information the men directly across from her were getting and if it was too much or just enough.
Margaret Bail - writer, grad student, mom - is hiding out in the vast, unending northern plains.


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After all, if the product is "free" how are you going to make a profit on it?
UPDATE: For some reason, starting in September 2016, this posting has gotten tons of hits. I am not sure why. It was just me bitching about the flash player. However, perhaps some folks are pissed off that Adobe is going "cloud" on us and using the subscription model.
I have an old copy of Acrobat 8.0 Professional (which you can find online for free) and it works fine. Adobe Reader DC, on the other hand, is a pain-in-the-ass as it keeps hijacking Acrobat 8.0 as the "default" viewer for PDF files from Firefox. I finally uninstalled it. It has so many sidebar menus and crap exhorting me to go on the cloud and pay them money. I just want to look at a document and then store it in MY HARD DRIVE thank you very much.
But apparently, this "cloud" solution is making money for Adobe, although not enough to justify the stock price. I guess some people and enterprises like this solution. But I wonder how many more are like AOL users (yes, they still exist!) who keep paying that monthly fee because they think they need AOL to access the Internet, or as one oldster told me recently, "I just like the old e-mail address and don't want to move!"
People are idiots. Sort of like paying $40 a month to a storage lot to store a rusted-out car that will never, ever run again.


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Check out the new Marshmallow Mforcer!
This marshmallow blaster is powered by an air tank system that is pumped up by a handle which is also designed as part of the front cover. The overall build quality is quite good and its logos are nicely etched into the casing.
It has an auto-rotating barrel and offers an ammo capacity of 15 mini-marshmallows. It also features a rear-loading ammo system too. After loading all the mini-marshmallow ammo, the blaster will require around 25+ pumps to fill up its air tank, then just pull the trigger to fire.
The Mforcer features a firing system that portions the air output per shot, therefore just continue pulling the trigger to fire more shots, the air tank stores enough air to keep firing the marshmallows in semi-auto.
With mini-marshmallows that fit properly (try out different marshmallow brands), the firing range is around 20-25ft with a full air tank.
Just right for firing shots into your co-worker's cubicle! :)
Marshmallow Mforcer - Box (Front)
Marshmallow Mforcer - Box (Back)
Marshmallow Mforcer - Side Profile
Marshmallow Mforcer - Pump Handle & Auto-Rotating Barrel
Marshmallow Mforcer - Rear Loading Ammo System
Marshmallow Mforcer - Mini-Marshmallow Ammo (Example, Sold Separately)
Marshmallow Mforcer - Scale Comparison with Nerf Maverick
Marshmallow Mforcer - Nerf Foam Dart Barrel Fit
Marshmallow Mforcer - Demo & Test Fire Video:
Looks abit like Earthworm Jim's Raygun huh?
Interestingly, the Marshmallow Mforcer could also fire Nerf foam darts (though in its original state, just one at a time).
All it requires is just some re-barrel and front cover customization work, and it could be a very nice semi-auto Nerf blaster! :)