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Jon and I celebrated our SEVENTH wedding anniversary! We took this picture that day. Hah! Just kidding. This photo was taken the day we got married at a very casual bonfire with our closest friends and families that night after the ceremony. I was such a happy girl and he still makes me a very happy girl on a daily basis.
Whitt is a full-time, non-swaddling crib sleeper now. Yay! The only thing is, he likes to push his face and/or head up against the bumpers (just like his sisters did) which makes me a nervous wreck. However, I just keep telling myself his sisters did the same thing and he's so mobile now, I know he could roll away if he needed to.
His sisters had fun decorating or tormenting him while he was in his exersaucer one day.
Jon told me not to put this picture on social media, so I didn't. My blog doesn't count because it's my scrapbook, right? I was cooking dinner one night and the girls were laughing hysterically. I walked around the island to see what the commotion was all about. I laughed hysterically, too. Jon did not.
We've had a lot of rainy days this month. One morning all three of my babies piled in bed with me. I wanted to stay there all day, but in reality it only lasted about 15 minutes.
My girls one Friday morning before we took Adeline to school.
And when you can't carry the baby AND the laundry back to the bedroom, you put the baby in the laundry basket. Problem solved!
Adeline's been taking piano since this summer, but we aren't always so good about practicing. So, when we do practice, I like to document it..hah! She loves that piano sometimes involves coloring sheets. When I had the grand idea of enrolling her in piano, I didn't really think it through. I was imagining it to be like dance. Something I can take her to once a week and she can learn something. Duh! I took piano once, too. I just forgot about all the practice it involves. However, she loves it and is doing so well. She knows where Middle C & G is. She can play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in its entirety, and she's learning all about rhythm and other musical aspects. She really has a knack for music so I think this is something she will excel at. If only her parents will remember to help her practice!
One of the rainy days we've had this month has fallen on a Saturday. We spent all day in our pjs.
Adeline was supposed to be napping one Sunday afternoon. She snuck out of her room and cuddled on the couch with her daddy.
Our friend Katie Lane had a birthday swimming party and look who came to visit! There were a lot of excited little girls there!
Jon had his company picnic that same day. All that partying wore Little Brother out.
Typical September weather...some days it's cold and rainy, some days hot and sunny. We spent one of the hot and sunny afternoons outside. Whitt can sit up in the grass, but not inside on the hard floor. I guess the grass gives him a little extra support.
Love this girl's sense of style.
And Annabel finally got to start "school" or Kids Day Out. She was ecstatic to finally get to go.
Whitt got a runny nose, cough, and low-grade fever last week. I was so worried about him, but the doctor checked him all out and couldn't find anything wrong other than two tiny little bottom teeth trying to come through. We've done lots of snuggling in between nose suctions and tylenol administrations.
This little Goldilocks said about her oatmeal one morning: I don't like it too hot or too cold, I like it just right.
Getting so big!
But still likes to sleep in Mommy's arms. :)
Annabel got a princess greenhouse for her birthday from a friend. Jon and the girls got it all set up yesterday. They can't wait for the flowers to grow.
She said, "put this 'stamp' on my forehead, please!" She keeps us laughing.
Up next...Annabel's birthday party!


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So, i've now watched what might have been my first 'woman's film', or at least the first one i tried to 'take seriously'. Last fall when David Halperin came to talk about melodrama i was skeptical, at best. "Really" i thought, "melodrama is something we're considering now", but now that i've seen one (Now, Voyager), i'm totally an expert.
We might, in some sense, think of melodrama as a sort of an über-Genre for Hollywood (this is a stolen idea, though i'm not entirely sure from whom). Everything that Hollywood makes aspires to melodrama in some sense... I'm starting to become truly convinced by Patrice Petro's (via Linda Williams {or vice versa}) idea of 'Body Genres', which are films that hit us viscerally, that force us to react bodily.
So, Tuesday we watched Now, Voyager in class and i was surprised not only by how much i enjoyed it, but by how much it paralleled the very real horrors of the American family i got to dig into in September*. Charlotte (Bette Davis) begins the film as a repressed daughter, an unwanted late child whose charge is to take care of her widowed, really quite scary, mother (mostly because she clearly won't ever find a man for herself, so she may as well be useful to someone). At one point Mother even points to this idea, finding comfort in a 'late child' by knowing that that child will care for you in your later years (the 'pre-late years', that is). This system only works, of course, if said child doesn't go off on their own path, make their own life (which in the world of melodrama {but perhaps more generally in contemporary American culture, too} means pairing off and starting a family of your own). So Mother stalls the child's development employing guilt, classist proclamations of 'proper' behavior, and constant reminders of the child's weaknesses (& sickliness) in order to assure her remaining at home.
What interests me in particular, is not necessarily the plot of Now, Voyager, or family melodramas like it. Rather, i find the underlying notion of the family structure itself an interesting (and often frightening) object of inquiry. My brother Tim has reflected on how 'the Family' operates for him, and i don't mean to present some personal sob story about my own family (i'm hugely fortunate in this regard), but i'm interested in the institution (notice the word, an odd word) of the family structure itself...
There's a model of the family (originally presented by Antonio Gramsci, i think), which operates as a sort of Social Taylorism, in which the worker's life is organized and managed to such an extent that not only is their work-day set up in assembly-line fashion, but through familial obligations and constructed consumerist needs, the worker's life outside of work (their leisure in other words) is similarly orchestrated (even to the extent of their 'entertainments' are constructed both through television & bar life {maybe even bowling}. Though bars and pubs might formerly have been been a place for radical organization {three cheers for the real Sam Adams}, but now they operate as places to lose yourself, to obliterate yourself. The music, the setup, and the way we no longer speak to strangers discourage any kind of organization in the modern bar).
Ok, this is just a start to this thinking, but it's where i'm going...
*This September a local matriarch passed away and it fell to brooke's family to do much of the sifting through the house. Along with a life-time's worth of stuff, we uncovered box-fulls of old letters, photos, and journals that painted a less-than-idyllic picture of this upstanding family.
28 October 2008
Then & Now, Voyager
Posted by seeger around 19:22
Labels: after further review, social engineering
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
Growing up in China, Ping Fu watched soldiers murder two of her teachers, lost her parents to re-education camps and suffered rape for trying to rescue her sister from drowning. She survived her childhood only to be imprisoned during college for her research into China's history of infanticide. She was deported and made her way to the United States where she became the creator and CEO of Geomagic, a 3-D software company based in North Carolina's Research Triangle Park. Fu's technology is used by NASA, NASCAR and many others.
Update 8/6/2013 - Ping Fu Responds To On-Going Controversy
The State of Things invited Ping Fu to return to the show and discuss the controversy surrounding her memoir. She declined to do so saying, "After selling Geomagic to 3D Systems, I have transitioned from a private entrepreneur to an executive in a public company. I can not grant any interview without corporate approval."


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The Adventures of Augie March - Saul Bellow
All the King's Men - Robert Penn Warren
American Pastoral - Philip Roth
An American Tragedy - Theodore Dreiser
Appointment in Samarra - John O'Hara
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret - Judy Blume
The Assistant - Bernard Malamud
At Swim-Two-Birds - Flann O'Brien
Atonement - Ian McEwan
Beloved - Toni Morrison (have the book, haven't read it)
The Berlin Stories - Christopher Isherwood
The Big Sleep - Raymond Chandler
The Blind Assassin - Margaret Atwood (have the book, haven't read it)
Blood Meridian - Cormac McCarthy
Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
The Bridge of San Luis Rey - Thornton Wilder
Call It Sleep - Henry Roth
Catch-22 - Joseph Heller
The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess
The Confessions of Nat Turner - William Styron
The Corrections - Jonathan Franzen
The Crying of Lot 49 - Thomas Pynchon
A Dance to the Music of Time - Anthony Powell
The Day of the Locust - Nathanael West
Death Comes for the Archbishop - Willa Cather
A Death in the Family - James Agee
The Death of the Heart - Elizabeth Bowen
Deliverance - James Dickey
Dog Soldiers - Robert Stone
Falconer - John Cheever
The Golden Notebook - Doris Lessing
Go Tell it on the Mountain - James Baldwin
Gone With the Wind - Margaret Mitchell (only an abridged version)
The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck (picked it up, never finished it)
Gravity's Rainbow - Thomas Pynchon
The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
A Handful of Dust - Evelyn Waugh
The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter - Carson McCullers
The Heart of the Matter - Graham Greene
Herzog - Saul Bellow
Housekeeping - Marilynne Robinson
A House for Mr. Biswas - V.S. Naipaul
I, Claudius - Robert Graves
Infinite Jest - David Foster Wallace
Invisible Man - Ralph Ellison (on my list of books to read)
Light in August - William Faulkner
Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
Lord of the Flies - William Golding
The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien
Loving - Henry Green
Lucky Jim - Kingsley Amis
The Man Who Loved Children - Christina Stead
Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
Money - Martin Amis
The Moviegoer - Walker Percy
Mrs. Dalloway - Virginia Woolf
Naked Lunch - William Burroughs
Native Son - Richard Wright
Neuromancer - William Gibson
Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro
1984 - George Orwell
On the Road - Jack Kerouac
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Ken Kesey
The Painted Bird - Jerzy Kosinski
Pale Fire - Vladimir Nabokov
A Passage to India - E.M. Forster
Play It As It Lays - Joan Didion
Portnoy's Complaint - Philip Roth
Possession - A.S. Byatt (maybe the book will be better than the movie)
The Power and the Glory - Graham Greene
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie - Muriel Spark
Rabbit, Run - John Updike
Ragtime - E.L. Doctorow
The Recognitions - William Gaddis
Red Harvest - Dashiell Hammett
Revolutionary Road - Richard Yates
The Sheltering Sky - Paul Bowles
Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegut
Snow Crash - Neal Stephenson
The Sot-Weed Factor - John Barth
The Sound and the Fury - William Faulkner
The Sportswriter - Richard Ford
The Spy Who Came in From the Cold - John le Carre
The Sun Also Rises - Ernest Hemingway
Things Fall Apart - Chinua Achebe
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
To the Lighthouse - Virginia Woolf
Tropic of Cancer - Henry Miller
Ubik - Philip K. Dick
Under the Net - Iris Murdoch
Under the Volcano - Malcolm Lowry
Watchmen - Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons
White Noise - Don DeLillo (on my personal reading list)
Wide Sargasso Sea - Jean Rhys (bought the book, haven't read it)
In other news, my car got a flat tyre yesterday. The short story is that it's now changed FOC.
Some appliance in my house short circuited the entire flat. And my grandmother waited 2 hours in the dark, and would have just spent the rest of the night like that if I hadn't come home and decided that something should be done.


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In Figure 1.0, there are four feature lines. The three red feature lines have been added to the surface, but the fourth feature line (the blue one) has not been added to the surface. How do I know that? It's all in the properties...just not the properties palette.
|Figure 1.0
|Figure 1.1
|Figure 1.2
Figure 1.3 shows the properties of a feature line that has not been added to a surface (such as the blue feature line in Figure 1.0).
|Figure 1.3


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Celebrating the Dinagsa Ati-Atihan Festival in Cadiz City A Guest Post by Logan. From January 22nd to January 30th , the citizens of Cadiz City will be celebrating their annual Dinagsa Ati-Atihan Festival to celebrate El Señor Sto. Nino. This festival usually lasts around a week near the end of January and includes vibrant costumes, dancing, and passionate beating of drums. Many ... Read More »
Home » Tag Archives: Negros Occidental


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But, sometimes, the labels just fit.
Peace Creek? Yes indeed.
|Cousins Hannah & Kinley - Rehearsal for Uncle Drew & Aunt Kate's wedding
Whew! I will try to keep "Peace" in my mind, even in the craziness.
|Cousins Hannah & Kinley - Rehearsal for Uncle Drew & Aunt Kate's wedding
Thanks for sharing a little bit of Peace Creek with us, Kim. A great way to start the week.
Good Luck with the busy week ahead of you and with wheat planting.
Thanks, Robyn! I am going to need a little luck with week, I think, since I already feel tired and it's only mid-morning!Delete
What a great word to start the week - peace! Sounds like you'll be needing a lot of deep breaths & peace this week. We understand the craziness as we prepare for our annual trek to Oktoberfest. This time is a little crazier since we are bringing our grandsons.
Wishing you & Randy luck & peace for this crazy week.
Thanks, Debora! It was a sermon to myself this AM, I think! Maybe we'll see you at Oktoberfest. Jill, Eric & Kinley are coming, too, so it should be fun!Delete


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That is what I heard someone call it last night, and that pretty much says it all. I am currently on day 60 or so of the 100-day cold. On Saturday morning I woke up feeling not too heinous, so I went out for my long run - only a few weeks until race day. I came home utterly exhausted, and managed to hang on long enough to get out to Liam's hockey game later that afternoon. Then we came home from the game and I went straight to bed and didn't get up until the following morning.
This week I have had a weird light-headed feeling, kind of a dizziness or mild vertigo that comes and goes. I'm hoping it's an inner ear thing (which might make sense, given the sinus problems I've been having that have also led to a toothache - weird how that happens) and not a brain tumour. Time will tell.
The kids are still feeling it, too. This is the scene in our house pretty much every night after we get home:
Actually, I think I took this picture while we were supposed to be Skyping with my parents, who are back in Maui. They were looking forward to seeing the grandkids but I couldn't bear to wake them up when I knew exactly how awful they were feeling.Most of this snow is gone now as we are in the midst of an early spring thaw, which sounds lovely, but has made work extra busy. There's nothing like being caught by warm weather when it's supposed to be cold to turn the world upside down! We are very much looking forward to a long weekend this weekend. Mallory has a birthday party to go to, and she was invited to wear her favourite princess dress or ballerina tutu. At first she was insisting on the Cinderella dress, even though I was pushing the tutu. Now she wants me to decide for her, just when I'd decided to let go of the battle. I just want her to wear something that makes her happy.The cat has taken to running and hiding under Liam's bed whenever I am around, no doubt the result of three consecutive months of shoving pills down his throat. Liam got his mid-year report card and is doing awesome. Mrs. Garrow commented (in a good way!) on his ability to make friends. He has suddenly decided to invite four boys from his class to his birthday party, and I will do what I can to help him foster those relationships. We went to see an exotic snake show at the mall last weekend, and Liam got to pet an anaconda, which made his day. Mallory was over-the-top thrilled to give Nicky his real Valentine on Valentine's Day, but she is now quite sad as he is heading off on vacation and she won't see him for another month. Her dance class is doing a routine to "Once Upon a Dream" from Sleeping Beauty for their recital, and she couldn't be happier about it. I ordered two dresses from ModCloth and two from Lands End last week and was heartbroken that not a single one covered my bum – I guess I will stick to Tall Girl from here on out. And that's what's new with the Cook Family these days. Pretty exciting stuff, huh?
Thursday, February 17, 2011
The 100-day cold
Posted by Carrie at 7:37 a.m.


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Review: Steel Lily The Periodic Series by Megan Curd
AVERY PIKE is a commodity. No, more than a commodity. Her existence is guarded at all costs.
She's a water Elementalist, the strongest of her dwindling kind. She creates steam to provide energy to fuel Dome Four: the only thing standing between humanity and an earth ravaged by World War III. No steam, no Dome. No Dome, no life.
Or so she thinks.
That is, until a mysterious man offers her a way out of having to donate steam. A way to escape the corrupt government of Dome Four. While the offer seems too good to be true, Avery is intrigued.
But when she arrives to her new home, she realizes the grass isn't any less dead on this side of the fence. Instead, the lies are just hidden better.
…Which means digging deeper.
When Avery enlists the help of her friends to uncover the truth, she learns that while some secrets are better left concealed, humankind was never meant to live in a cage. And when you can control the most sought after resource, you can learn to control anything…including the fate of your world.
I received this ARC copy to give an honest review.
I didn't know what to think when I got this book to read, would it be a good book? Would I lose interest within a couple of chapters?
Well I can say I loved it. The characters were well developed. Avery is a kind of female character that just doesn't fall heed over heels in love with a guy she just meets. Yeah he is good looking but she didn't throw herself at him. Which was awesome.
Avery lives in Dome four the only reason why is because of the War. It literally destroyed everything and the only way to survive is by living in these domes.
Avery has a power to where she can create steam, and she is more powerful than the others that she is relied on a bit more. She has been told that without her help those in Dome four would die. The oxygen levels at times gets to where you can not breath and you have to wear a mask.
The people that are just normal people called "Traditional's" hey live day to day in fear of the Polatzi.
Avery ends up meeting a mysterious man who wants to take her away from Dome four and let her be free. Little does she know that there is really no such thing as free and sometimes the grass is not always greener on the other side.
When she ends up going to another dome she meets Jaxon as he is the one that helps her escape and they have a I would call a love/hate relationship.
Now Jaxon oh I can just swoon over his dreadlocks and his sense of humor. I LOVED it, especially when he would "flirt" with Avery and be a smart ass half of the time.
I had way to many laugh out loud parts with Jaxon but here is my favorite two parts.
Part one:
Jaxon has a sense of humor that I fell in love with.
Don't look at me!" he cried, then grinned as he winked at me. "I don't want to make two ladies swoon in such a short period of time. How would I entertain myself tonight?"
Part two:
"There's drool on your chin. Either you're physically unable to keep your mouth shut, or I caused you to forget how. Since when I found you, you were drool free, I'm going with the assumption that it was me.
Avery meets new people makes a few new friends. With the help of Sari and Jaxon they all realize that there is something more going on in the dome and there is still a war going on between The resistance and The alliance. Jaxon gets answers on to why his father is the way he is. And Avery well lets just say she gets a big surprise that she didn't see coming or ever thought it would happen. Not all is what it is made out to be. Who can you trust? Strangers or those close to you?
I do hope there is a book two that will be out as I want to know what else can happen between the two sides, will more people realize the truth about the domes? This is a must read.
About the Author:


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The CTfastrak construction is on schedule and within budget, and transit planners are looking to offer occasional special busway service for events at Rentschler Field and perhaps even the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, state Transportation Commissioner James Redeker told lawmakers Wednesday.
"An awful lot of thinking and preparation is going on right now. It's unlike just putting a bus on a highway or a train on a track," Redeker said. "There's a very complex set of things to integrate."


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Your cart is empty.
Does you trampoline net have damaged or missing rods? Use the Upper Bounce® Universal Top Ring Enclosure Replacement Rods for 8' Round Trampoline Frames and get back to high-flying fun! Complete with 6 pole caps, these durable fiberglass rods are designed for an 8' round frame that uses six 1.5" diameter curved poles.


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Our pendant of the day comes to us from mariagotijoyas on Etsy.
This handmade sterling pendant is truly a wonderful piece. It is elegant in it's simplicity, different yet attractive. 925 sterling silver and 18kt yellow gold. It has an oxidized-texturized finish. The back is made from texturized silver. Visit this artist's on-line shop for more details on this and other handmade pieces.
Necklace Cords Ribbon Necklaces Black Necklace Cords Income Tax Pomona Ayotitlan, Jalisco Handmade Pendants .


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Compensation one of the least important factors for millennial talent
When asked what matters most to employees who are part of the Millennial generation – generally defined as those born after 1980 – the greatest number of respondents (23%) said it was "the ability to make an impact on the business," followed by "a clear path for advancement" (20%) and "development and ongoing feedback" (16 percent). Income came in at fourth place at 13%.
When questioning what makes Millennials choose one job over another, more than a third (38%) said "visibility and buy-in to the vision of the organization" while 28% said "a clear path for advancement." "Job title and pay" came in third place at 18%.
"This research demonstrates the changing priorities of today's young workforce. Where traditionally we might have expected salary to be the number one differentiator for talent choosing their next employer, Millennials are now placing greater value on understanding what a company stands for and how, as employees, they can play a role in growing the organization into a better, stronger brand," said Trish Healy, Futurestep vice president of RPO Operations in North America. "As part of the recruiting and onboarding process, organizations need to clearly communicate the paths for advancement and create ongoing dialogue about development opportunities."
The survey also revealed that nearly half (42%) of survey respondents believe social media is the best tactic for recruitment, followed by "word-of-mouth/networking" (28%) and online talent communities (19%).
"Businesses need to meet these young professionals where they live, which is on social and mobile platforms," said Healy. "These channels are clearly a way of life for this generation, making it imperative that when companies look to hire the best and the brightest, they are creating digital-first recruitment strategies. Mobile optimized career sites as well as online professional and social communities that communicate the culture, values and personality of the company with real-time interaction from the brand, will enable members of this generation to truly connect and engage with the company."
Healy added that a multi-channel approach is essential to attracting, engaging and retaining the talent with the right skills, experiences, traits and drivers to achieve the company's strategic objectives. "Doing so will allow the company to stand out from competitors in the war for top young talent," she said.
Additional findings from the survey revealed that once employees are hired there are key benefits to in-depth onboarding practices. While 81% of respondents said they currently develop Millennial employees differently than other employees, more than half of respondents (54%) said onboarding programs help improve performance and accelerate time to full productivity. Nearly one quarter (23%) claimed it provided company leaders with more insight into future stars within the organization.


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The beginning of this week my body was just rebelling against the simple thought of moving. Shortly after my diagnosis of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome I heard someone describe what the bad days feel like:
Imagine walking with legs that feel like telephone poles, arms that are carrying 10 pound bowling balls and being so tired you could cry
I can't find any better words to describe Monday physically. When you tell someone that you have Chronic Fatigue they always assume you just aren't getting enough sleep. Believe me if that was the solution I'd be cured.
Many with CFS also suffer from Fibromyalgia, of course I am one of those lucky ones. Complete with the muscle cramps in the middle of the night that linger longer than any charlie horse should. While I've had some down days both of them acting up like this simultaneously hasn't occurred in a while. Thanks to the pharmaceutical company discovering that their anti-depressant Cymbalta seems to bring relief to many of the symptoms of Fibromyalgia I've been enjoying those benefits. So where did that relief go? A mega-dose treatment of vitamin D a while back seemed to have put a stop to those late night muscle cramps. My recent blood work showed a decrease in CK level (measure of muscle breakdown) so why the revisit of the cramps considering I taking a Vitamin D supplement? Unfortunately studies have shown that increasing the level of Cymbalta doesn't increase the relief so there goes that option and I want immediate relief as in NOW.
And just so as to not be left out it seems the more tired I get the more word issues I have. So yeah aphasia's making more appearances than usual. Did you really think my stroke wouldn't rear it's pretty little head?
Put those together and what manifests:
Guilt. I'm talking Italian/Jewish grandmother level self-imposed guilt. My kids are on Spring Break and all I want to do is stay in my room til I feel normal. We originally were supposed to go away last weekend and that fell through. I was hoping to get some spring cleaning done and then just "play" the rest of the week. Meg's birthday. Hunger Games movie premiere. Beach Day. Those plans just crashed horribly. Sure we're still doing things it is just that I really am struggling through them. And today? Well today I just can't stop crying. It started with my daughter being disappointed when friends misunderstood and excluded her from going to the beach. She's fine and I'm still crying!!
Of all the crazy things happening lately and believe me the list just seems to be endless something as innocuous as Meg not going to the beach has sent me into a tear fest I haven't endured in ages. In fact since I started taking the Cymbalta I rarely cry at all. The only change that I can point to is the addition of because it seems my thyroid has decided to stop working. However we've added a med (buspirone) into the mix for that as well so can't really blame that now can I??
So there you have it my perfect storm
- Fibromyalgia
- Guilt/Tears


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My Newest Card Class and Kit to Go is for the kids! Create (3) cards to celebrate kids of all ages! Birthdays, Baby Shower, Welcome baby – you choose! Great cards to have on hand!
* Supplies to create (3) cards
* All die cuts and embellishments
* Full-color step-by-step instructions
Kit DOES NOT INCLUDE:
* Stamps/stamped images
* Inks
* Adhesives
* Shipping (US only)
SU!pplies Needed to Complete:
Stamps: Moon Baby. Sweet Cupcake, Number of Years, Party with Cake, Gorgeous Grunge
Ink: Jet Black Stazon, So Saffron, Smoky Slate, Mint Macaron, Crumb Cake, Real Red, Archival Basic Black
Accessories: Blender Pen, Aqua Painter, Watermelon Wonder marker, Peek-a-Boo Peach marker, Daffodil Delight marker
Kids and Babies Card Class and Kit to Go - $10.00
(+ shipping - US only)
Happie Stampin'!


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Today we are proud to announce that out-of-copyright materials in NYPL Digital Collections are now available as high-resolution downloads. No permission required, no hoops to jump through: just go forth and reuse!Thank you NYPL for making these available.
Oh, by the way, the concept of the Public Domain is a artifact of the Western legal tradition.
Go enjoy some free images, like these, to make your blog look cooler.
|Partying like it's 1799!


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LMS software market is constantly growing due to the increasing acceptance of digital learning among corporate organizations, growing usage of eLearning devices, and the ever evolving technologies such as Gamification, video based learning, among others.
Nowadays, the use of Learning Management Software is not only confined to learning and learner management but organizations are looking for complete corporate learning suits to keep a track of the learner's usage of training materials, manage the course access of the learner, create customized reports, manage assessments, manage course properties, and for various other tasks. Since a considerable amount of training budget is invested in the LMS software, organizations expect better return on the investments made on talent development and employee trainings. Here, the significance of LMS scalability comes into picture.
Scalability refers to the ability of Learning Management Software, to handle the growing amount of work in a proficient manner. A scalable LMS is the requirement of almost all the companies because LMS accommodates with the growth saving time, effort, and resources of the company that it would require to set up a new LMS.
4 Things that aids to LMS Scalability are:
- Supporting large amount of data: LMS should
be able to accommodate large number of courses for the learners to consume. If new
employees join the system, then new content can be uploaded in the LMS as per
the needs of the learner, so that new learners can consume the relevant content,
and the existing learners can reap the benefits of new learning material. It is
also possible to add new learners keeping in mind the learner base of the
organizations which grows over a period of time.
- Accessibility by large number of users at the
same time: Good Learning Management Software should be able to
tolerate large number of users accessing the LMS at the same time, as it is the
need of every organization to provide course access to large number of learners;
and the learners need to get the flexibility to consume the content at any time
they wish to.
- Connectivity from all across the world: Uploading varied content in different
formats also benefits in scalability, as the LMS can now be used by a global
audience and is not just restricted for the consumption in local offices.
- Interactivity: LMS software should also have features that are utilized by the learners and helps them in their skill development such as social interactions through different collaborative tools, which allows the learners to connect with their peers, allows them to share their progress reports etc.
Most of the organizations that tend to expand and grow across the globe, choose a platform which is capable of adapting to its growing training needs while keeping up the good quality, usability and flexibility.


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|Maddi on green.
I did, however, learn how to use Photoshop to do some higher quality video restoration. Adobe Media Encoder allows you to convert videos to jpg sequences which you can then batch edit in Photoshop. You import one image, make your changes and save them as an action and then run that action as a batch file on your directory of video frames. It works like a champ.
Ah, the highs and lows of a crazed blogger.


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Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Avenge Me-Maisey Yates
Avenge Me Maisey Yates Harlequin Presents, May 27 2014, $9.99 ISBN: 9780373430376 Once best friends, Alex, Hunter and Austin meet every year as they have for the past decade on the anniversary of the event that turned them into shallow deniers. This time Austin shows them the letter proving his renowned (for advocating women's rights) father Jason caused Sarah to commit suicide when he ignored her rejection of his advances. Austin feels guilty for also ignoring Sarah's mental state just before she killed herself. The three men agree to prove Jason's guilt in this and other female victims including two others who were very close to them. Sarah's sister Katy received a letter from her sister explaining all to her just before she jumped off the building. Since that fatal day, she has sought evidence to destroy the man responsible for tormenting her sibling to death. At a gala Katy and Austin attend seeking to avenge Sarah's death, they meet and are attracted to each other. Once she learns who he is, she wants nothing to do with him; while he vows to insure his father keeps his creepy hands off of her. The first Fifth Avenue romance (prequel Take Me by Maisey Yates; future pubs: Scandalize Me by Caitlin Crews and Expose Me by Kate Hewitt) is an entertaining opening act as two people fall in love while sharing a common obsession for avenging justice. Although Jason's behavior in this age of instant media seems unlikely to not have been exposed by now especially with deaths and pay-offs; he is diabolical using his support of female causes as sheep clothing for his proclivity. Readers will enjoy strike one in the effort to destroy the vile man who devastated so many lives behind the façade of mentor. Harriet Klausner
Posted by Harriet Klausner at 11:32 AM
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Sunday, April 24, 2011
Chef Thomas Wood's Chili Glazed Scallops
As we began with the whites, he impressed us immediately with one of his signature dishes, Chili Glazed Scallops. The fresh, gigantic sea scallops were cooked to perfection and served atop a bed of sauteed spinach and pears. Equally as gorgeous is the wine we choose to pair it with, the 2008 Castello della Sala Cervaro della Sala, a very Burgundian styled Chardonnay from Umbria. So if this first course is any indication of what will follow for the next four, we are all in for an incredible evening!
We'll be finishing up the menu and pairings this week and I'll post the information as soon as it is confirmed. But as a special treat, Chef Thomas has shared the recipe with us so you can give it a try yourself before hand or just wait 'til May 18th at 7pm!
Chili Glazed Scallops
Chili Glaze:
1 Tablespoon Garlic, Minced
1 Tablespoon Crushed Red Pepper
1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
1 Tablespoon Unsalted Butter
2 Tablespoon Pomace oil (though any neutral cooking oil will work)
1/2 cup Honey
1/4 cup Stock (Preferably fish, though chicken, shrimp, etc., will work)
1/4 cup White wine (Dry though whatever you're drinking will work
just fine)
Pinch Salt to taste
Pinch Black Pepper to taste
4-2 ounces Diver Scallops
(seasoned and grilled)
Place oil, garlic and red pepper in a medium sauté pan on medium heat, making sure all ingredients are incorporated in the pan while in heating. Toast the garlic until golden brown. Deglaze pan with white wine, stock, honey and lemon juice. Incorporate ingredients in pan. Add butter, parsley, salt and pepper. Reduce contents in pan; sauce will visibly change (all bubbles will appear the same size). Drizzle glaze over the top of scallops.
Chef Woods serves this dish at Maximo's accompanied with a pear and baby spinach sauté. Serves 2.
Labels: chef thomas woods, maximo's, recipe-fish
Posted by Beth Ribblett at 12:18 PM
Under the Radar Wines
We've taken advantage of an incredible sale offered by our friends at Purveyor's and have some highly rated wines at really great prices. Check out the reviews, but believe me, these wines speak for themselves. Get here quick, they are going fast....
2006 Bodegas Artazu Santa Cruz de Artazu Navarra
($50; 100% garnacha, from vines up to 100 years of age) Full, bright-rimmed ruby. A decadent bouquet displays ripe cherry, mulberry, smoked meat, incense and Asian spices. Deeply concentrated red and dark berry preserve flavors are admirably pure, with exotic floral pastille and anise qualities adding complexity. Suave oak spices build with air and carry through the long, sweet finish. The energy of this wine is captivating. Tanzer says $50, we say $16.99!!!!
2006 Tensley Syrah Three Creek Vineyard
The 2006 Syrah Three Creek Vineyard possesses a similar dark ruby/purple color as well as a beautiful bouquet of creme de cassis and lychee nuts, which give uplift and complexity to the aromatics. Tasting more like a Cote Rotie than its siblings, it offers medium body, silky tannins, and beautiful purity as well as complexity. This is a lovely wine to enjoy now and over the next 7-8 years. Should be $40, now $21.99!!
2004 La Cova del Vins Terros
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 92 points
The 2004 Terros is produced from three different varietals, 50% Garnacha from 96-year-old vines, 25% Carinena from 75-year-old vines, and 25% Syrah from 20-year-old vines and was aged for 14 months in barrel. Inky purple, it exhibits a fragrant perfume of cedar, tobacco, pepper, cassis, black cherry, and blackberry. Supple on the palate, this plush wine is forward and easy to drink. The tannins are ripe and soft, the finish long and pure. Drink this tasty wine over the next decade. $19.99, Sold Out!
2004 Celler de Capcanes Cabrida
The 2004 Cabrida is the winery's flagship and is composed of 100% Garnacha from low-yielding 70- to 105-year-old vines. It was aged for 12 months in new French oak. Deep purple, the wine has a splendid perfume of pencil lead, scorched earth, smoky black cherries, and black raspberries. This is followed by a high-toned, racy wine with considerable elegance. Its flavors are intense and it is well balanced with a lengthy finish. Drink this tasty effort over the next 10-12 years. Should be $48, now $26.99
2008 Tensley Camp Four Vineyard Blanc
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 06, 07, 09 all rated 90 points, 2008 not rated
Tensley's only white wine, the elegant 2009 Camp 4 Blanc, is a blend of 65% Grenache Blanc and 35% Roussanne. Aromas of nectarines, quince, and white currants are followed by a medium-bodied white wine revealing fresh acids as well as a heady finish. Should be $28, now $14.99
Posted by Beth Ribblett at 12:17 PM
Monday, April 11, 2011
Wine of the Moment, 2010 Abiouness Carneros Rosé
I tried this wine a few weeks ago with Monica and Neil from Neat Wines and fell in love with it. Female winemaker Nicole Abiouness makes only 175 cases of this Pinot Noir Rosé made from a blend of the vineyards used in her single vineyard Pinots: Stanly Ranch and Hudson Vineyard. It is fruity, fleshy, and deliciously dry, with a juicy nose of red cherries and spice. On the palate you get everything a good pinot should give while still retaining the characteristics of a Rosé….light yet crisp on the finish with strong, typical fruit characteristics of Pinot Noir: strawberries, red raspberries and a touch of tart cherry with a balance of green earth and terrior. You can almost taste the crisp, cool Carneros breeze!
Also look for the Abiouness Eagle Point Range Sangiovese at the bar in half bottles and her Pinot Noir should hit the shelves soon. And as a side note she donates a portion of the proceeds of this deliciously pink wine to breast cancer research. Way to go Nicole, I hope we get to see you in the shop one day!
Labels: abiouness, rosé, wine of the moment
Posted by Beth Ribblett at 6:53 AM
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Pasta with Italian Sausage and Veggies
Serves 2-3
For the Sauce:
1 large zucchini, grated
2 big handfuls of fresh arugula
2 links of Brau House Spicy Italian Chicken Sausage (Whole Foods)
4 tablespoons good olive oil
3 large cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
1 to 3 tablespoons unsalted butter (optional)
1 cup or more chicken stock
Diced fresh tomatoes and a handful of chopped fresh basil for garnish
For the Pasta:
3 quarts water
1 teaspoons salt
1/2 pound orecchiette or we've been using pasta shape called "lumaconi" from WF that we love 'cause it really soaks up the sauce.
For Serving:
1 ounce or more Piave cheese, grated
Preparing the Sauce:
- Slice the sausage and saute over moderately high heat in a tablespoon of olive oil. In a moment or two, add the crushed garlic and continue sauteing for another 2 to 3 minutes, until the sausage is lightly browned.
- Add another tablespoon of olive oil and toss in the arugula and zucchini. Taste, and season lightly with salt and pepper flakes. (At this point, you could start the pasta.) Cover the pan and let steam for several minutes.
- When the spinach has wilted, stir in the butter, then the stock and bring to a boil. Taste again for seasoning, and let cook uncovered for several minutes more to reduce and concentrate the liquid.
- At this point grate the cheese. Again taste and correct seasoning keep on a low simmer until the pasta is ready.
- As soon as the pasta has cooked and drained, turn it into the hot sauce and toss gently to blend. Taste carefully for seasoning, and remove from heat.
- Sprinkle on half of the freshly grated cheese and the chopped basil, and toss to blend. At once, turn the pasta onto the hot platter or plates, sprinkle with the rest of the cheese and diced tomatoes, and serve.
Labels: recipes-pasta
Posted by Beth Ribblett at 4:17 PM
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Taste The Wines of Bastianich Tonight @ Swirl
Lidia's cookbooks are some of our favorites and I feature her recipes regularly on my blog and Joe's book "Vino Italiano" is one of my go to references on the crazy world of Italian wine. Besides owning 18 restaurants across the country, they now own three wineries in Italy in Friuli, Tuscany and recently a property in Piedmont, all which produce very high quality, food friendly wines at approachable prices. Due to our crazy tasting schedule, the wines go in and out of inventory so, needing a Bastianich fix, I asked Monica from Neat Wines about doing an event. We'll be tasting 5 wines from Friuli and the Maremma and I might just throw in a special treat of an older vintage bottle of their 5 time winner of the acclaimed "Three Glasses" award, The Vespa Bianco. We'll have copies of a few of Lidia's recipes available and some Italian cured meats and cheeses to try with the wines.
Our events with the Neat Wines crew are always fun and with this lineup, Tuesday night is sure to be a sell out, so please call 504.304.0635 for a reservation. Attendance is limited and pre-payment is required to hold your spot. $10, Tuesday, 6:30-8pm.
Labels: joe bastianich, Lidia Bastianich, Vespa Bianco
Posted by Beth Ribblett at 10:26 AM
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This week's "Doodle Penance" comes from some anonymous web-creeper who came by the site looking for "detached mustache," just as the title above implies.
Mike finished his doodle before I got mine done, so I'll let him explain his results:
In a way, this doodle would serve just as well as my inaugural contribution to WHWBR?, since it is based on images from one of the few comics I've had any time for lately. In my typical fashion for reading webcomics, though, I tend to forget to read this one for weeks on end, then binge on a couple of months' worth of archived strips. So far I'm up to January 2005, which means I am well acquainted by now with the usually mustachioed figures of Nice Pete and Lyle from the famous Achewood:
It should be clear from the typography (as it were) how my thought process worked on this one. Surprisingly, the Achewood-specific element came really late in the day: I had notions of just drawing guys screaming in agony as mustaches were torn from their faces, thereby conveying the sense of an "ache"; but this version seems less horrendous, as if the 'staches really did just detach, slipping down from 'neath the noses of Nice Pete and Lyle, and thereby, Samson-like, depriving two of the hardest characters in Achewood with the main source of their strength and danger. At least, they don't look so tough to me now that they are clean-shaven.
So that's Mike for this week. And, perhaps predictably, my own analysis of the search term proceeded along a similar path. Noticing, as Mike did, that both words contained the same string of letters, in the spirit of Lewis Carroll's "Mischmasch" word game, I started searching for the other magpies that contained T-A-C-H-E.
I hadn't known that tache itself, in English, means a buckle or a clasp; nor had I known that in French tache means a blot or a stain. Equipped with those obscurities and one cheat I allowed myself to invent, I cooked up this story in seven silent panels:
It was nice to draw an actual comic for a change. Not that I had time to do it, really. But sometimes you have to make time for fine art.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Doodle Penance: "detached mustache"
Labels: doodle penance, WHWBR?
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Evangelism? Or proselytism?
I've heard of "Christian businessmen", and "Christian witness in the workplace", but this seem to be taking things too far. I think it certainly crosses the line that separates evangelism from proselytism, and goes a long way into proselytism territory.
And I'm pretty sure that in South Africa it would be unconstitutional.
Russian Would Fire Abortion-Compliant Employees, Seeks 'Orthodox Transfiguration of Russia':
MOSCOW, August 13, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The head of a large dairy company near Moscow has informed his 6000 workers that company policy will require all employees to closely follow the teachings and precepts of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Vasily Boiko-Veliki, director of Russkoe Moloko (Russian Milk), told Ekho Moskvy radio that the company was established to promote the Orthodox revival of Russia, and the rules were meant 'to prevent future sins by employees.'
'We have about 6,000 employees, most of whom are Orthodox, and I expect them to be faithful and to repent,' Boiko-Veliki said.
Hat-tip to Ad Orientem: Repent or you're fired.
Has anyone heard of anything similar being tried elsewhere? Was Cadbury-Fry, the Quaker chocolate maker, ever like this?
I suppose I encountered one thing that could perhaps be compared, though I think it was much more positive, I think.
It was back in the early 1970s, in the Anglican Church in Namibia.
The bishop, Colin Winter, was visiting South Africa, and spoke to a group of people in Durban, and urged them to come to Namibia, and help the church there.
One of them, Ed Morrow, said, "I'm just a builder — what can I do?"
And Bishop Colin said, "Come anyway, we'll find something for you to do."
So Ed resigned from his job at Murray & Roberts, one of the biggest building firms in Durban at the time, and he and his wife Laureen let their house, sold their car, and bought a second-hand Volkswagen Kombi, loaded their few remaining possessions into it (including a stove) and set off for Windhoek. A venture in faith.
When they arrived, the church set up a building construction firm. They wanted to call it Ikon Construction, but the Registrar of Companies said that was too similar to another firm's name, so they called it Noki Constuction instead. It had 200 shares at R1.00 each, of which the diocese owned 198, Ed Morrow 1, and the Diocesan Secretary 1.
Then they asked the clergy in Ovamboland if there was anyone in their parishes who was interested in learning the building trade, and got three people to join them. They started doing building repairs on church property, but also took on small outside jobsm alterations and so on, to make a bit of money. The travelled around in Ed's old Kombi, with bricks and cement. They also went to church together, and had parties together. It wasn't just a business, it was a Christian fellowship.
After a year, Ed Morrow reported to the diocesan synod. He said that they had dhown that it was possible to run a business of Christian lines and still make a profit. They paid three times the going rate for building labourers in Windhoek. They tendered fair prices and did a good job, and their outside customers were satisfied.
But this was not evangelism. The employees recruited were already good Anglicans, and at least part of the aim was skills training. There was no pressure on them to go to church services, because they wanted to do that anyway.
The Russian example sounds somewhat different, with a lot of top-down pressure. It strikes me that it is not the "fear of God" but the fear of man that would provide much of the motivation. Repentance that doesn't come from the heart is not true repentance.
14 August 2010 9:20 am
An interesting story but other sites have noted any action towards redundancy or sackings under such terms would be unconstitutional.
Perhaps this is just an odd offshoot of the resurgence of the presence of the Orthodox church in Russia. I was looking at some photos of their airborne forces day recently, orthodoxy has certainly become part of that group.
14 August 2010 12:21 pm
This is not just an odd offshoot of the Orthodox resurgence – the guy in the question is beyond "freak" and soon will meet us on the other end of normalcy scale 🙂
Take for example his last name: Boiko-Veliki. When he was one of many "new Russians" who obtained by semi-criminal means his wealth in 90s he was just Boiko. After he was imprisoned for a short period of time for shady real estate deals he claimed that he found the Christ and legally changed his name from Basil Boiko to Basil Boiko-Veliki (the Great) in honor of the Basil the Great
I'm not sure how he functions as the owner of the company but he's a known case of a not very sane person.
Errol Narain permalink14 August 2010 6:54 pm
It looks like there is a phenomenon of orthodox evangelicalism even in the Russian Orthodox Church, a kind of emergent orthodox-evangelical. Maybe there needs to be conversation between this group, renewalists and social activists for healing and wholeness.
I suspect that the evangelical-orthodox will continue in their evangelical bubble. For them, I assume, it makes good political and economic sense.
Evangelicals in the United States align themselves with centers of power. The result- conservatism on all fronts and economic neo-colonial wars.
God bless evangelicals.
15 August 2010 3:08 am
There are ways and way of doing things. I think if the so-called "Christian" business acts in a legalistic and heavy-handed way – it could all back fire one way or another. Whereas becoming a model consultative, loving and just employer might mean that no one would ever touch you, legally. The other thing though is why, when there are significant numbers of Christian employees, cannot suitable non-Christian employees come into the business. If they find they are not a fit with the culture of the company, they will decide of their own accord to go elsewhere. But a truly Christian business could be a great influence.
And then there is the real world.
I used to be a union organiser. I organised across a very wide range of industries. It included the sorts of service industries that the three mainstream churches – Catholics, Anglicans, and Uniting Churches – were involved namely education, aged care, and health services. I have to tell you that my top worst three employers were as follows:
1. A hotel owner who was sort of the Mafia in miniature. A nasty piece of work – even on the admission of the representative of the Australian Hotels Association who knew the family well.
2. The Uniting Church – was even lied to by them let alone the injustices some of my members faced.
3. The Anglican Church – actually I nearly had two Anglican Church enterprises before the Industrial Commission at the same time but there was a limit to my time and energy. The case I did take was dreadful and had amazing repercussions and further injustice from the Diocese of North Queensland – and before too long the Bishop retired as well.
As for the Catholics – it just depended. In some enterprises, the employees were treated so well that I couldn't sign up a single member. Other places, not so good and one had always to be on watch to see that employees were being treated equitably.
BTW, I might add that most of my union members could best be described as the working poor and most of those were women.
In the church facilities there tended to be two classes of employees – the professionals, such as teachers, and nurses and the ancillary staff – cooks, cleaners, nurses aides, gardeners etc. I didn't cover teachers and only rarely nurses.
At the time I was working there were generous tax deductions for employers with regard to training. Generally what happened was that most of the training budget went to the professionals. In some cases, none went to ancillary staff or, if there was a training budget for them, it was spent on "mickey mouse" courses like stress relief! Nothing to do with their actual work function.
In fact, it seemed that the attitude was that women were born knowing how to cook and clean, etc. The one exception to all this was Sheraton Hotels who did provide proper work-relevant training for their hotel services staff. They knew how to do it – but clearly the churches couldn't figure it out at all.
Nearly ended poorly at the Uniting Church's Garden Settlement (Aged Care facility) one day! A cleaner was cleaning a particularly dirty large floor space. A nurse happened along to find the cleaner almost ready to pass out. Turned out that because of the state of the floo,r the cleaner thought she would attack it aggressively and mixed two domestic cleaning products together – Handy Andy (ammonia based) and Snow White (chlorine based)! No proper training let alone regard for occupational health and safety at the Garden Settlement! Churches really can be the worst of all employers.
Oh, and BTW, I won't repeat the stories from my mother's cleaning lady who had been a Salvation Army officer. How she was treated probably would have filled a book!


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Tuesday, February 23, 2010
15 comments:
I might have to check that book out. I love scary stuff.ReplyDelete
Noelle--It starts slow, but when it gets creepy it gets really creepy!ReplyDelete
Nope, not me. Creepy books get in my head too much.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousFebruary 23, 2010 at 9:39 PM
oooh I love scary! Will write that book down. Thanks! :o)ReplyDelete
Amy--I was seriously anxious during my short sleep last night!ReplyDelete
Niki--Don't read the last half when you are alone...or it's really late...or if you have a little sister...(LOL)
I am such a chicken. I hardly even watch scary movies! Realistic scary books/movies scare me more than mythical monster movies/books though.ReplyDelete
Kelly--This was a haunting type of book. I thought it was a mental illness book, which is why I bought it (research).ReplyDelete
Did you do your Mark skype yet? I am nervous...I haven't tried skype out.ReplyDelete
Um, that cover alone scares the crap out of me. I don't think I'd sleep for months if I read that book!ReplyDelete
Shelley--I talk to him tomorrow at 9. If you want to do a practice chat with me after that, I'm willing. :) skmayhewReplyDelete
Lisa & Laura--I like twisted, but this was so creepy. (Which is good if you like creepy.) I really was expecting mental or behavioral stuff, not hauntings...I guess I should READ the back cover, not just look at the picture and the title. LOL It was a good book, I just got a bit freaked out reading it late into the night. Shoot...I shouldn't be talking about it right before bed. UGH! Another restless night...ReplyDelete
Sharon, thanks a lot - yet another book to add to my TBR stack! They're coming out of the woodwork lately. I really like scary stuff, but I'll be sure not to read it when Scott's on a business trip.ReplyDelete
I don't do scary. I think I'd be sleeping with all the lights on if I got that frightened!ReplyDelete
Oh girl this is why I can't read great books like this. I just can't do it. I have a wild imagination already. You poor dear! Thanks so very much for you lovely comments. I appreciate it.ReplyDelete
Susan--Add THE HANDMAID'S TALE to you list. It is amazing! I was up late reading it last night. It isn't scary, I'm awe-struck by the story line.ReplyDelete
Sherrie--Maybe that's why I have to have a light on in the hall...too many scary books.
Vanessa--I'm still a bit freaked out over it and I started a new book (THE HANDMAID'S TALE) yesterday.


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Please consider the following, which will appear in your mailbox nearer election day.
If you have any questions, please contact me via Facebook, and I'll be glad to answer any questions you may have. You can also contact me at the e-mail address below.
As required by Burbank voters 16 years ago, the decision on a new airport terminal is in voters' hands. We believe the terms negotiated for this proposal, a result of 70 meetings taking public input over three years, offer powerful, new protections for residents. We urge you to vote "YES!"
Voting Yes will allow construction of a terminal with the same 14 gates as today's, but in a new building, safer from earthquakes, and offering amenities travelers expect. Gate areas will be comfortable, luggage carousels move indoors, and the facility would be fully accessible to the disabled.
Safety improvements include moving the terminal more than two football fields further from the runway. Today's terminal, just 250 feet from the runway center-line, would be demolished.
Because the feature is beloved, the new terminal would still employ boarding and exiting aircraft using rear stairs. The airport is also helping to lobby Congress for a mandatory night-time curfew.
The terms give Burbank the power to stop future changes, like any move to add gates, alter the voluntary curfew, and more. Means to discourage adding flights include limiting airport parking to 6,637 spaces, just as there are today.
No City funds would be used.
Federal grants and fees added to tickets at every airport would be among construction funding sources.
The length and placement of current runways will not change.
Expansion and much more can be blocked by just two of Burbank's three representatives on the Authority that runs the airport, even if outnumbered by other commissioners.
If this measure does not pass, the Airport Authority announced it will build a new terminal on a less desirable site the Authority maintains Burbank cannot control. We would lose the limits, the "blocking" power, and all other protections described.
Please, vote "Yes" to protect Burbank.
Several arguments in opposition to the proposed replacement terminal at Burbank airport are simply untrue. The terms negotiated by the city are much different from those the opponent describes; and your City Council didn't vote for ANY replacement terminal.
We ask YOU to decide for yourselves whether the true proposal deserves approval.
Do not be fooled: Measure B does not expand the airport. Measure B gives Burbank greater protections and power to stop airport expansion.
With Measure B approval, just two Burbank airport commissioners can BLOCK any effort to change the voluntary curfew, increase size, gates or other forms of expansion. These can be blocked even if every Glendale and Pasadena commissioner votes to expand!
A YES vote will authorize a replacement terminal with no more than 14 gates.
NO Burbank taxpayer dollars will be used.
There will be only ONE replacement terminal. Once built, today's terminal will be demolished.
If Measure B does not pass, the airport has control over the second site, and warns that's where they'll build a new terminal if their proposal is rejected without any approval from Burbank.
See the terms and maps at http://www.BurbankCA.gov/BURinfo
Read the impartial analysis and confirm all this for yourself.
Vote YES ON B!


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Thursday, July 10, 2008
I'm not a writer, I don't even play one on TV * Updated
As I get out in to the blogosphere more and more I've noticed that many bloggers aspire to be published writers (outside of what they publish on their blogs of course)and I respect and admire that. But me, not so much. I have no desire whatsoever to publish anything. Ever. Besides the fact that I can't punctuate worth a damn I just don't think I possess that creative talent and frankly even if I did I don't think I have the wherewithal to take the time required to actually pen a full length book.
I blog because it's fun (most of the time anyway). It's also,as many of you can attest to quite cathartic. As my subtitle suggests, this is my attempt to preserve my sanity one post at a time. I love that on this blog, I can be real, I can let it all hang out, I don't have to be some professional, stuffy workplace version of me. I can just be me. What you see on this blog is what you get. I don't pretend to be someone I'm not.
In blogging, I've also found a great sense of community. Sure there are cliques which I don't get. I thought we'd all left that kind of thing back in high school but ultimately, I think we're all there to support one another. Some of the most amazing words of encouragement I've received when in need have been from individuals I've never met IRL. That to me is incredible and wonderful and crazy all at the same time. I wouldn't trade it for the world.
I love blogging, just to blog, not as a means to anything else. That's not to say if I was propelled in to bloglebrity status and was then able to quit my job and blog full time I wouldn't jump at the chance. But I'm quite alright knowing that the chances of that are infinitesimal.
So what was my point you might ask ? It's not to insult or demean anyone who blogs as a means to acheiving a larger writing goal it was merely to state that I am not one of them.
I blog for fun and nothing more.
Tell me something why do you do it ?
*Updated to add- If you are a blogger that aspires to be a published author do you think that those of us that aren't writers cause you to not be taken seriously. Do tell. I wanna know! Oh and feel free to go anonymous if it means you'll be truthful.
22 comments:
- followthatdog said...
I started blogging as a way to keep track of all the cute, funny, stunningly gross things my kids did. Kind of like a journal crossed with a scrapbook since I don't do either of those things in real life. But now, I have decided it is a small part of my larger plot to take over the world.
- July 10, 2008 at 2:19 PM
- Jumpin' On My Last Nerve said...
I absolutely agree with you. I started my blog as a way to keep family informed of the craziness with our twins. I would occasionally interject some stories as a way to vent and now the blog is a combo of both. I have NO aspirations of becoming a famous writer like many of our blog colleagues, but I truly enjoy reading what they right.
- July 10, 2008 at 2:25 PM
- Worker Mommy said...
- This comment has been removed by the author.
- July 10, 2008 at 3:15 PM
- Michaéle said...
I started blogging because I was an editorial columnist for six years and my editor NEVER let me say the kind of stuff I can now blog about!!!!
- July 10, 2008 at 3:24 PM
- A Buns Life said...
It started as a way to document my kids sayings and doings and since I live on my computer for work it was easy to do. I was never good at the pen and paper journal. It then evolved to a form of therapy as well...
- July 10, 2008 at 4:00 PM
- Not Afraid to Use It said...
My family blog is for the cutesy stuff. My other blog is for me. To say what I want to say. Esp. about my MIL. Blech! LOL
- July 10, 2008 at 7:39 PM
- Stacia said...
I started blogging because I have friends all over the world and it was a way to keep in touch. Now I'm pregnant, and it'll probably be the baby book as well. My family doesn't know where to find my blog, and I'd like to keep it that way!
- July 11, 2008 at 5:04 AM
- Queen of the Mayhem said...
I have had this same discussion before. I teach grammar and writing.....I use my blog as a "slap in the face" of that(oh..and the whole preserving sanity thing)...on a daily basis. I love writing in such a casual manner. I don't have anything against people who look for more...but I don't. I don't have advertisements, I don't do reviews...I just mainly bitch and moan on a regular basis. For me..that is enough.
However, like you, I am NOT opposed to stardom! I was destined to be a celebrity...all I need is a chance! (hee-hee)
- July 11, 2008 at 6:13 AM
- Suzie said...
I am blogging because I am lonely. I work I take car of the kids I have no community anymore I never get to see my friends. When I blog I meet people and I dont feel quiet so alone...wow...sniff...that sounds pretty sad...poor me
- July 11, 2008 at 12:18 PM
- odat_kim said...
I blog to avoid the phone and email updates to friends. Just read the blog, you'll know what's up :)
- July 11, 2008 at 2:20 PM
- Alex Elliot said...
I started my blog because I was so frustrated with the lack of support for moms who weren't able to breastfeed. For example knowing about bottle nipple stages, how to choose formula, etc. Basically things that seem basic, but yet as a new parent you really would have no reason to know that stuff. Mine evolved to just telling parenting lessons that I think are funny that people don't really talk about very much as well as just general ramblings. I have to say that while I have mixed feelings about telling people about my blog, it has been wonderful in terms of family because basically most days of the week they know what the kids are up to.
- July 11, 2008 at 5:30 PM
- Mike said...
I think the community aspect of blogging is neat...I know my wife has made some real connections with people and I'm starting to as well. We also plan to print out everything we have ever blogged and have it available for our daughter to read later if she wishes to. That's kind of neat!
- July 12, 2008 at 12:38 PM
- devilish southern belle said...
Hi! First time visitor to your site via a google shared item from one of the folks I read...
Anyway....I blog, and I hope to one of these days be published. But I have never given any thought to whether or not bloggers who blog for fun cause bloggers who hope to be published not to be taken seriously. I doubt it, though.
I blog for fun as well (and maybe just a teensy bit of side income), and I think there is room for everyone in the blogosphere.
- July 12, 2008 at 9:49 PM
- doozie said...
I blog so I can shock the crap out of people with my lewd and crude humor. I also started blogging as an outlet for my feelings, but it became an epic adventure of which I see no end
- July 13, 2008 at 10:21 AM
- Mrs. Tantrum said...
I blog to get shit out. I like it. Maybe if I become famous because of it that would be awesome. But maybe not. I mean did you see Dooce on the Today show? She totally should have kicked Kathy Lee in the jaw. I am not sure that I could take that much criticism without falling into a heap. I think all bloggers are writers. I think that the ones that don't do it to be famous are the truest writers of all.
*ps my word verification was very close to va-jay-jay
- July 13, 2008 at 1:29 PM
- Ann(ie) said...
I blog to get shit out as well. I also enjoy writing, but have zero interest in stardom or meeting Kathie Lee. But, I would consider being a co-host on The View for a day. I think I'd fit right in and I'd enjoy kicking Elisabeth Hasselbitch in the teeth. ;)
- July 13, 2008 at 8:45 PM
- Melain said...
You speak for me here. I love the community most, I think. I feel safe putting myself out there. Getting postive comments and feedback after a soul exposure is extremely gratifying.
- July 14, 2008 at 12:17 AM
- CDP said...
What a great post.
I blog because I do love to write, but I don't know that I really aspire to be a professional writer. You know, amateur artists, actors, musicians, etc. , have always had a chance to do what they do and have a small audience, but before the advent of blogging, amateur writers didn't have the same outlet. Basically, I do it because it's fun, and I like the community I've become a part of.
- July 14, 2008 at 7:35 AM
- Lollie said...
I have a few reasons. I originally started blogging because I was comfortable on the cmputer and thought this would be a good way to mark points in my life that I, or my children, would wantto read in the distant future. Sort of a diary if you will. Then I discovered commenters and realized that the funnier I wrote, the better comments I got. I like to exercise my funny, so that has worked out for us all. Sarcasm needs to be nurtured and I like that side of myself.
- July 14, 2008 at 11:45 AM
- andi said...
I've always been a writer, but I didn't start my blog as a means of becoming a published writer. Nope. I had no idea about the community or that it can (rarely) open the doors to more "published" writing.
I started to tell funny stories about the kids mostly. And just to flex my writing muscles.
- July 14, 2008 at 8:46 PM
- Nette @ Smiling Mom said...
Here here! I blog because it's fun. I like the community, and I enjoy telling stories. But I don't blog every day, and I don't believe that I could make any money from this gig.
So as I head to BlogHer, I intend on just having fun. :-)
- July 15, 2008 at 7:49 AM
- you da mom! said...
i am a published author, and that part of my life certainly has nothing to do with blogging. i'm completely anonymous when it comes to blogging. i don't want people knowing who i am or being able to google me! btw, i didn't even know you lived in seattle! i'm so jealous. next time we'll have to meet up!
- July 15, 2008 at 11:08 AM


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Unspeakable words come to my mind when thinking of our heroes that have sacrificed everything since the inception of the Iraqi and Afghan war. This is the only war I truly know (and somewhat understand) only being 33 years old. And it's a war that has seen local heroes perish from Western Pennsylvania, three of which are from the very high school I graduated from. I don't know how to react to these untimely deaths, these war-stricken, yet life-saving acts of heroism. I feel immense pride and a sense of sadness at the same time…two emotions that don't sit calmly in the root of my guts. More than anything, I think these emotions rise up from the moral fabrics that have been instilled in me being from "The 'Burgh; a sense of brotherhood, family, togetherness and modesty." If you haven't been born and raised in this great city, you may not understand, but it's an unwritten rule in all of the little neighborhoods that border the three rivers; work hard, learn humility and smile above all else. The city of Pittsburgh got word early Monday morning (12/10/12) that we lost another brother. It's time to grieve the lost, but it's also time to smile, remember and salute the heroes that have grown up in Western Pennsylvania.
From Pennsylvania, since 2003 until today, there have been 196 casualties in Iraq and 83 in Afghanistan, half of which (more or less) are from the Pittsburgh region. On September 15 of this year, Pittsburgh lost yet another serviceman; Marine Lt. Col. Christopher Raible of North Huntingdon and graduate of Norwin High School. The latest just hit the news yesterday; Petty Officer 1st Class Nicolas David Checque (Seal Team Six) of Monroeville, Pennsylvania, and a graduate of Norwin High School, as well, was killed during an early Sunday mission to rescue Dr. Dilip Joseph who was kidnapped by Taliban fighters. This was all I could think about yesterday, lying in bed last night and immediately when I woke up this morning. But it's not about me or my emotions or how I feel. I honestly feel bad constantly typing in the letter "I" as much as I (and again) have so far as these thoughts and words take shape onto this computer screen. This is about the lives that have been dramatically changed forever; the families, fellow soldiers and the friends of the fallen.
|Marine Lt. Col.
Christopher Raible
|Petty Officer 1st Class Nicolas D. Checque
|SSgt., Special Agent David Wieger
As we move in closer to the Holiday Season and settle in with our families and friends, let's not forget the true meaning of the holidays; celebrate the ones we love, remember the ones we've lost and salute the ones that have died fighting the good fight.
Happy Holidays to all.
Ryan Carmen
Nemacolin Woodlands Resort
Golf Operations Manager


text:
Sunday, April 01, 2007
5 comments:
- Ian said...
Fuck. Please let that not mean what I think it means.
I'm going to boycott if they split it up.
- 9:57 pm
- Jesus said...
In my country (Spain) we are going to "see to great movies for the price of two". We can't do anything, Aurum Spain said that The Weinstein Company take this decision. They (Aurum) said too that the film is not going to be split up in USA, England and Australia (you have the information in this post in Spanish)
I'm going to boycott it, The Weinstein Company think that we are stupid and only americans can understand a doble feature Grind House. It's a big sh**
Congratulations for this marvellous blog
- 11:46 pm
April Fools?
- 12:05 am
- Brendon said...
Sadly not in this case.
Which English language audience should be the most scared?
- 7:49 am
I won't pay to see these movies! Gonna download them and see them as they are SUPPOSED to be seen. Take that you dollarwhores!
- 4:28 pm


text:
On his first day, he meets Roger, his manager, and his new colleagues:
Roger had a bushy mustache, an unruly mustache, and he wore his shirt unbuttoned one button too far, which showed off his rough throat and dry Adam's apple, and where you would expect a hairy chest was a mysteriously hairless expanse, which my fellow employees spent much time speculating about. One the first day I was introduced to Melissa, who was round and black and a mother of two, Francis, who had thick glasses and was going to become a filmmaker, Ho, who was a refugee, and Wexler, who talked about cars and nothing else. Whenever Roger told my fellow employees to do something, they always said his name twice, after which he'd threaten to make them call him Doctor Macarona, he wasn't actually a doctor, but he was way the hell ahead of the rest of us in the school of life, his words, and we couldn't call him bachelor because he was married and we couldn't call him master, because Melissa was black and what kind of message would that send, his question.Before he can start working, Porter is required to watch a training video, one that presents "two separate realities, two alternate universes," one a terrible restaurant and one a successful one. The key to the successful restaurant? That one follows "the fast-food place's five-point system, which was illustrated by a gold cartoon star, five points for five points, each one glinting as it was listed off":
One, smile even if you feel bad. When people smile back you will feel better. Two, do what you can to make others feel important, especially if they are angry about something. Three, take pride in your work. Four, the company, I'm not going to name it, is a great big family. Five, the customer is always right.In other words, the sort of points that sound fine in the boardroom but rarely survive the grease-laden transition to the fry station.
But Porter, inclined to assume sincerity, takes the five points to heart and attempts to put them in practice with his coworker Ho:
Ho did not smile, not in the least. So I smiled at him the broadest smile I could, and to make him feel important I said thatI hoped to someday learn a few of the many skills he obviously possessed in the kitchen, and to make him feel like family I called him brother. When Roger came in, finally, a half hour later, the first thing he asked was what I had said to Ho. I repeated exactly what I'd said. Roger said that I had disturbed Ho. I explained that I was using techniques I'd learned in the video. Roger said that the only reason he'd shown me the video was so I could sign a paper saying I'd seen the video. . . . Roger said that I was now one of the troops. I thought it was interesting that he called us troops and said so. He said we were at war. I had no idea. I asked him with who? He said the customer.You know, how I one in a while mention that there are things I miss about being a bookseller? Well, there's nothing I miss about my time in fast food. (Except the free bagels. And the fact that since I was the trainer of new employees, I could have them make whatever sandwich I wanted to eat. And the ten-gallon barrel of pickles. Okay, so maybe fast food wasn't so bad after all?)


text:
An Illinois man who persuaded a company to provide almost $1 million in financing for a telemedicine computer tablet named after the physician on the "Star Trek" TV show was arrested for fraud, according to federal prosecutors.
Howard Leventhal also allegedly presented an undercover U.S. agent posing as an investor with a fake contract to supply the Canadian government with a make-believe device.
"Leventhal claimed to have lucrative connections within the Canadian government and cutting edge technology that could help save lives," U.S. Attorney Loretta E. Lynch in Brooklyn, New York, said in a statement today announcing Leventhal's arrest on a wire fraud charge. "In reality, his scheme was pure science fiction, complete with phony documents and a fictional medical device."
Leventhal, 56, last year told executives at Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based Paragon Financial Group. Inc. that Health Canada owed him as much as $4 million and that the agency had agreed to purchase the "McCoy Home Health Tablet" from his company, Neovision USA, according to the complaint.
After that meeting, Leventhal sent Paragon officials what he said was a contract between Neovision and the Canadian government, with a forged signature by Deputy Health Minister Glenda Yeates, for $8.4 million CAD ($8.2 million USD), according to the complaint. The purported contract included a document describing the device.
Leonard McCoy
"Heltheo's McCoy Home Health Tablet, named after the fictional Dr. Leonard McCoy of TV's Star Trek series, is designed as a platform to maximize the patient benefits through broadband-augmented in-home telemedicine," according to the document.
Paragon was duped into giving Leventhal $800,000, according to prosecutors. Leventhal later gave the forged Canadian government paperwork and phony bank statements to the undercover agent in a bid to secure $2.5 million more in financing, according to the complaint.
Leventhal, of Long Grove, Illinois, appeared today in federal court in Chicago. He was released on a $100,000 bond and ordered to attend an Oct. 30 hearing in Brooklyn, said his court-appointed attorney, Gary Adair.
Adair said Leventhal intends to contest the charge against him.
Now a franchise of Viacom Inc,'s Paramount Pictures, "Star Trek" began as a three-year NBC television series about the crew of the interstellar spaceship USS Enterprise in the 23rd century. It has since spun off four more television series and a dozen feature films.
The case is U.S. v. Leventhal, 13-mj-00902, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York (Brooklyn).
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I'm the club founder of the Creepypasta club. Those who enjoy reading pasta are welcome to join...even you won't be active. But if you do contribute to my club, PLEASE make sure that what you share is related.
A mod of the Persona fan club. It isn't the most lively club, but I do enjoy Persona. Apologies since I usually post P3 stuff.
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Random Thoughts on a Tuesday
1. I feel like I'm constantly saying "Stop!" to my children. When they start arguing, I don't know what else to say. The argument usually involves one of them asking "What did you say?" over and over and the other one saying something that doesn't make sense. They just get louder and louder. Every time I say, "Stop!" I feel like Kelly from the Real Housewives of NY when she argues with Bethenny...I say it in a whiny voice just like she does.
2. Casey is doing okay without her gunkles. She is sleeping fine at night but naptime is a bit of a struggle. She only sleeps for an hour and she won't put herself back to sleep. The bus that comes by at 2:30 also doesn't help her stay asleep. It seems to wake her up every time.
3. We tried a frozen PF Changs dinner tonight on the recommendation of Pat's mom and it was delicious. Easy and delicious.
4. After 6 months of not being able to eat correctly on the left side of my mouth due to issues with fillings, re-fillings and re-fillings, I think it is finally fixed! Thank goodness I went to see another dentist and didn't end up having a crown or a root canal.
5. I have a bazillion crafty projects that I want to work on between now and Christmas and it's taking me away from my blogging a little bit.
6. The funniest thing I saw today - Jack and Casey were playing on their tricycles out on the street corner and I guess they decided to come back up to the garage by going through the grass. Jack gave Casey a push for about 5 seconds and then she pushed herself over to the driveway. He then called her over to return the favor and give him a push. The difference being that he got her to push him all the way across the grass while he basically enjoyed the ride. At one point, she was down on her hands and knees, in her dress, trying to get more traction and pushing as hard as she could. What a good little sister!
7. The travelling is finally over for a bit. We went to a wedding this weekend in Pittsburgh and had a great time with the exception of the last 3 hours in the car, in the rain with an overtired two year old in the back. If there had been a gunkle in the car, I might have given in. She finally dozed but when we got home she was so hysterical and tired and contrary. I finally had to put her in the crib and leave her because nothing would make her happy.
8. Casey has a new tactic for when she doesn't get what she wants. Three little words. I want Daddy! Jack never went through that, but as soon as I tell her no, that's her new response. If she's with Daddy she'll switch it up and say she wants Mommy. So far it hasn't really helped her cause.


text:
This RM1 Commemorative coin was issued on 30 September 2003 by Bank Negara Malaysia to commemorate the event of Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace (LIMA) that held from 30 September 2003 to 5 October 2003 at Langkawi island.
The Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace (LIMA) Exhibition began in 1991 to showcase both commercial and defence related aerospace and maritime excellence and development both in equipment and systems. LIMA'03 is the seventh of this biennial show and it continues to witness successful partnerships, bringing about effective transfer of technology between global aerospace industry players and their Malaysian counterparts. LIMA combines air show prowess and maritime superiority in a stage that continues to grow as a premier event in the Asia Pacific Rim. This exhibition does Malaysia proud as it promotes the country in the global arena.
Techincal Specification
Type : Brilliant Uncirculated Cupro-Nickel Coin
Composition : Copper 75 Nickel 25
Diameter : 33.7 mm
Weight : 16.8 g
Thickness: 2.6 mm
Approved Mintage : 25,000 pieces


text:
|American Agribusiness 1925 (JoeAm's Heritage)
|The Competition Gets It
|American Agribusiness 1925 (JoeAm's Heritage)
|The Competition Gets It
I don't understand the Anti-Pinoy/Get Real crowd's strategy of linking this hacienda to Noynoy Aquino. Even if the supposed crimes of the Cojuancos where to be proven true, how does this link to Noynoy? These conspiracy theorists delude themselves into thinking that Noynoy is the evil mastermind ordering the execution of farmers.
If they wish to judge Noynoy fairly then judge him by his own actions. Judge him by the fruits of his presidency and not by deeds of his corrupt and annoying (Kris) relatives.
Anon, those sites have an agenda, and are committed to it because they have pushed themselves so far down the anti-Aquino path, that they cannot go back, or they'd lose credibility. So they will grab anything, twist it, amplify it, to win the argument. That is how they confirm that they are merely what they condemn, people who cannot be objective, who are reactive, and have to win to preserve self exteem.ReplyDelete
Agriculture is a good investment. This is how I view it:
1. Population will grow
2. Population will increase demand for resources (food, fiber, fuel)
3. Efficient agriculture can fill that demand
If one knows how to play it smart, they'll make lots of money off agriculture. I think Filipinos should really consider revitalizing the farmer cooperatives.
brianitus, yes, done correctly, there is big money to be made in agriculture. Cooperatives are a good way to bring power to producers. I'm surprised there are not more of them. I think younger thinkers who like agribusiness ought to go to the US to study at the University of California Davis, or Colorado State University, or other good ag schools, then come back here and make a ton of money doing things the modern way. I'd do that rather than take up HRM or technology which are one-way tracks to nowhere for most students.ReplyDelete
Joe, there was a boom in cooperatives back in the 80s or 90s. However, the system sort of suffered from abuse.
From what I know, there are some really good cooperatives out there. There are those that invest in mechanization of farms.
It's actually funny that a lot of Pinoys consider this country to be "agricultural" when there's hardly anyone investing in making it a modern practice.
brianitus, it seems to me the correct term would be a "farming" nation. Not agriculture, which suggests science and machines are used. And not agribusiness, which considers a focus on exports and profits.ReplyDelete
I'm in favor of actually redistributing lands to the Hacienda Luisita farmers instead of the SDO. Those poor folks work under the heat of the sun for the criminal sum of P7.50 A DAY. They really deserve a break.ReplyDelete
7.50Php a day? When I visited Sugar cane field workers in Sagay, Negros for my photo project, they told me that they were making 80php a day. It is still only 2 dollars a day but not 7.50php
Are there such differences? Am I missing something?
The standard labor rate in Biliran is P170 per day.
I agree, in looking at farm laborers as individuals, that they work much too hard for much too little. The problem is that giving them the land does not correct the circumstance of their condition, it only tides things over for a short while. My argument is for permanent, productive, profitable reconfiguration of Philippine farming. Looking at the Hacienda Aquino payout as any kind of solution is like looking at a bandaid as a cure.
The rice problem has been with us for a very long time. I remember my grandfather telling me he used to go to vietnam in the 20s to import rice. I think our low output has more to do with arable hectarage, weather, and population growth rather than the size of farms. We have been able to increase rice production through science but unfortunately science has never caught up with our population growth. I think we should just eat less rice.
@ Attila: Yes, it is true. The daily wage of the Hacienda Luisita workers is P7.50.ReplyDelete
MB, true, the consumption variable is key in terms of overbirthing, but if you eat less rice, you have to eat potatoes, and still have a problem with production. I'm not really an ag specialist, but I know California is one the the top rice producing states in the US, most from the Sacramento Delta. Some rice is planted via airplane. Between A, for US, and Z, for Philippines, there must be a better way than individual farmers planting small plots and drying the rice in the middle of the National Highway.ReplyDelete
"I don't understand the Anti-Pinoy/Get Real crowd's strategy of linking this hacienda to Noynoy Aquino. Even if the supposed crimes of the Cojuancos where to be proven true, how does this link to Noynoy?..."
Well, you can't help it. See, Noynoy's main selling point was not any personal achievement because he had none but that he was the son of a democracy icon/saint and a hero. In short he became president by virtue of genealogy. Problem is as recent revelations tend to show now, his genealogy is not so pure, saintly or heroic after all
Please take up comments at the new blog site at joeam.com.
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.


text:
Shuttle Discovery bolted to external tank; roll out stays on schedule
09/11/2010 12:17 PM Filed in: STS-133 | International Space Station
Engineers successfully re-positioned a wayward nut in the shuttle Discovery's aft engine compartment and finished bolting the orbiter to its external fuel tank early Saturday, keeping the ship on track for roll out to pad 39A Sept. 20 and launch on the ship's 39th and final mission Nov. 1.
The shuttle Discovery, being lowered into position for attachment
to its external tank and boosters. (Photo: NASA)
to its external tank and boosters. (Photo: NASA)
Discovery was hauled from its processing hangar to the Vehicle Assembly Building Thursday. A large sling was attached to the orbiter late in the day and the shuttle was rotated vertical and lifted into the high bay where its external tank and boosters were waiting.
Engineers successfully attached a large separation system bolt on the lower right side of the shuttle's belly, but an internal nut on the left side near a 17-inch liquid hydrogen feed line slipped out of position and fell away inside the aft compartment. The explosive bolts are part of a system that ensures the tank separates from the shuttle after the ship reaches orbit.
Troubleshooters initially worried Discovery would have to be removed from the tank and placed back in a horizontal orientation to make repairs. But they later concluded they could safely open the aft compartment, set up access platforms and reposition the nut with Discovery in a vertical and partially mated configuration.
That work was completed early Saturday and the ship was "hard mated" to the tank at 9:27 a.m. EDT.


text:
I know, I know - TOOK YOU A WHILE GEORGIE. But hey, I'm new at this, so let's all give Georgie a break yeah? hehe.
Cost: $35each (AUS pricing)
Colours Purchased: Rubenesque and Bare Study
Recommendation: 5/5
Benefits of the product:
Beautiful Colours
Great alone or as a base
Click below for full review.


text:
Mayyors, Megan's LOLZ 7" (Mt. St. Mtn. 2008)
Mayyors are a violent noise punk four-piece from Sacramento, CA who are so loud that singer John Pritchard wears protective headphones at performances and so delinquent that they do not have a Myspace page. Their label, Mt. St. Mtn. only just begrudgingly took the social networking plunge and their profile is private. Despite efforts to keep a low profile, reviews of Mayyors' squalid, sweaty shows, namely at SXSW 2009, have graced the farthest reaches of the blogosphere and their latest EP lives up to the buzz. The Deads 12", already out of print from elusive 'no-represses' Mt. St. Mtn., wields a four-song spiral of unhinged guitar and thundering bass and drums battling Pritchard's psychotic vocals. Each track takes off like a fighter jet and proceeds recklessly, saturated in effects pedals and feedback.
Besides Pritchard shouting what seem like undecipherable commands on the mic, the band is Mark Kaiser on bass, Julian Elorduy beating skins and Chris Woodhouse, who has produced music for Thee Oh Sees and engineered Mayyors' first record, on guitar. If you missed them on the first night of the SMMR BMMR Fest in Portland, OR on this week, catch them at Web of Sound in San Fransisco this Friday, August 28 at the Hemlock Tavern with Wounded Lion, Lamps and Christmas Island.
Web of Sound
Friday, August 28, 2009
Hemlock Tavern
1131 Polk Street
San Francisco, CA 94109
Mayyors, Deads 12" (Mt. St. Mtn. 2009)
Stream: "Clicks" MP3
Stream: "The Crawl" MP3
Mayyors on Last.fm
Mt. St. Mtn.
Posted by IDLM at 8/19/2009
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As well-known as chamomile is, you may be surprised that there are two different plants both commonly called chamomile. Both types have gentle healing properties and are similar in appearance, flavor and scent. Its fragrance has apple-like qualities, and in fact chamomile's name means "ground apple" in Greek. The annual German chamomile (Matricaria recutita) grows tall (2 to 3 feet) while its perennial sister the Roman chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile) only grows up to 9 inches, but boasts a stronger fragrance.
|German chamomile (Matricaria recutita)
|Roman chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile). Used to be called Anthemis nobilis
In ancient Egypt, chamomile was used to cure malarial chills and Pliny took chamomile baths to relieve headaches. Chamomile was strewn about medieval English homes to freshen the air since bathing was a rare activity. It can be used as a hair rinse to bring out natural highlights and brighten blond hair and is sometimes used as an insect repellent. The volatile oil found in the flowers have anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, and anti-infective qualities. This gives the chamomile plant its "cure all" reputation, and has been used to help relieve skin conditions, indigestion, menstrual cramps, and boost the immune system's ability to fight illnesses and infections. However, the flowers contain pollen, so be aware of potential allergic reactions when using this herb. Roman chamomile is not recommended for use during pregnancy as it can cause uterine contractions and miscarriage.
Ginger is another well-loved and soothing plant that has been used for thousands of years. Like chamomile, it is also reputed to ameliorate indigestion. Though soothing, it is also a stimulant and promotes circulation, which makes it beneficial to the skin as well. The ginger lends this sweet and spicy soap an invigorating and warming quality that balances well with the chamomile.
Note: this recipe uses two pounds of unscented basic soap from my Hand Milled Soap Recipe which must be made in advance.
In addition to the basic soap you will need:
1 cup dried chamomile flowers
1 tablespoon plus one teaspoon ground dried ginger
2 teaspoons sweet orange essential oil
Step 1
Grate and melt soap according to directions in my Hand Milled Soap Recipe.
Step 2
While the soap is melting, grind chamomile in a spice grinder until it is very fine.
Step 3
When the soap is melted, remove from heat and thoroughly stir in chamomile, ginger, and essential oil.
Step 4
Pour soap into final molds and leave undisturbed in a warm place for a few days, until the soap is firm enough to hold its shape outside the mold. At this point, remove the soap from the final mold, cut into bars if desired and allow to cure indoors for about 3 to 4 weeks. The longer you allow the bars to cure, the harder they will become. Don't expect the soap to be a light yellow; the plant material will darken the final bars as they cure, making them a dark brownish green instead.


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|Gorse, Ulex europaeus.
What makes gorse so weedy? The young shoots are palatable to livestock, but once the prickles have hardened off they won't be grazed. The seeds are ejected explosively from the pods, but they only travel a few metres. Then they can remain dormant for a long time. We recently took up a concrete path that was laid in the mid-1960s (dated by an old newspaper lodged in the cavity of a concrete block in the adjacent wall) and within months several gorse seedlings had appeared in the newly-exposed soil. Over a very few years, a few scattered bushes can turn into a dense closed impenetrable canopy.
Gorse is a legume, and legumes have an association with nitrogen-fixing bacteria that enables them to acquire nitrogen easily. Not a single one of the millions of eukaryotes (organisms that have membrane-bound nuclei and mitochondria in their cells, i.e., including all animals, plants, fungi, and protists) is able to fix nitrogen. All living things need nitrogen—it's absolutely essential for proteins and nucleic acids—and it's abundant in the atmosphere (about 80%), but it's not available to eukaryotes without being processed first by bacteria. That's not an intelligent design, but we have to live with it. Legumes live with it very well by having a permanent association with such bacteria in nodules in their roots, and that can give them a competitive advantage on some sites, particularly in the presence of phosphate (it's worth noting that both superphosphate application and scrub weed clearance were subsidized by the New Zealand government until the mid-1980s).
|Gorse at Hinewai reserve, with a fire in the distance.
As alternatives to spraying, burning, and waiting until gorse reverts to forest, Landcare Research Ltd have trialled a range of agents for biological control of gorse, including several insects (moths, thrips, a weevil) and a mite.
Sullivan, J.J.; Williams, P.A.; Timmins, S.M. 2007. Secondary forest succession differs through naturalised gorse and native kānuka near Wellington and Nelson. New Zealand Journal of Ecology 31: 22–38.


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Yarn has arrived!
DS helped to unpack the box (he believes that any package must be a present for him as most have been this last year). Seeing that many skeins of yarn all together made me feel a little nauseus, this project will be an epic for me as I'll be using more than twice the yarn I've used in any one project ever.
My needles still haven't arrived so I'm going to spend a bit of time swatching up the two lots to see how badly it'll all look and formulate a plan from there. I have dpns in the right size so I'll probably be starting the sleeves in the next day or two.