text:
Today I am thankful for technology. I mean I'm AirPlaying a movie from Amazon on my phone onto our smart TV while I type on this cool keyboard thing that's wirelessly attached to my iPad. (Except have you ever tried typing on a new keypad...sucky until you get the hang of it.) I heart technology that makes my life easier (aka: babysitting) but only when it works. Because when it doesn't work me no happy.
The kids on the other hand, they're anti-technology. I can't post a picture from my awesomely dumb iPad (don't ask me why) but they are watching a movie while sitting in cardboard boxes.
Anyway, it's been a pretty uneventful week. Except for all the snot and coughing. We were *blessed* with croup for a couple of weeks then better for a week and now something's back again. I kinda felt bad making Avila do her schoolwork yesterday but she was in her pajamas and had just had her third smoothie of the day so I didn't feel that bad. Plus it took her like 30 minutes to get it done. Either I just need to resign myself to the fact that school doesn't take long for her or I need to prepare myself that she'll be in college by the time she's 12. That could be cool. Or weird.
Max on the other hand is fairly content with playing dumb. Actually I think he is just so laid back that he doesn't care about anything. Not candy or consequences or anything else. Unless it's football. He is saying all these things and having memories that I had no idea he would remember and it's making me rethink how "out of the loop" I've made him out to be. He just knows how to play his mama.....
And now to close out this week, our Friday night movie night (Monster's University, watching in aforementioned boxes). Pizza and a movie is what the kids look forward to every week but little do they know it's really a ploy for me to get a couple hours to myself on a Friday afternoon. Now who's getting played, Max? Boom.
This weekend is fairly uneventful except I'm getting my yearly pedicure (with my sisters no less) so that will be awesome. I just avoid them because I"m nervous they will scrub off all my hard work (grossness) built up by running. And Michael has his second playoff game and then Sunday is family day. And tonight is SHARK TANK - seriously my favorite show. T-minus 2 hours.
So there's my all over the place post for the day. And now go read this. Because we all need a little joy and some tears on a Friday night.


text:
"Feed Me" Placemat
by Becky Keizer
Size: 10.25" x 12.75"
This project started as a strip of the monkey panels (five different ones) and the need for some fast & cute samples. I added some 3" strips to the sides & top to one block, sandwiched, and used two different fabrics for the binding. Then I appliquéd the fork, spoon, and "feed me" using a satin stitch.
Pattern: Pretty Little Baby Bib Pattern
The other four monkey panels became bibs. I added strips to each side and to the top, a layer of fusible fleece and backing. I finished each one with a Babyville snap in green or yellow - so cute!
Happy Quilting!

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Angels pitching all but shut down the Phillies offense with Garrett Richards leading the way, combining for a shutout, allowing just five hits with 10 strikeouts and zero walks. Halo batters scratched up a three early runs in the early innings but continued to struggle at the plate with runners in scoring position.
Click here to download the scorecard.
If your new to scoring baseball or just need help interpreting some of the markup, download the key here.


text:
Painter and collage artist Richard Hamilton passed on 13 September 2011 at the age of 89. He was perhaps best known as the founder of the Pop Art movement, primarily because his collage Just what is it that makes today's homes so different, so appealing was considered one of the earliest works in the movement.
Richard Hamilton was born in London on 24 February 1922. From when he was very young he wanted to be an artist. He left elementary school early and worked as an electrical engineer and attended night classes at St. Martin's School of Art. At age 16 he switched to the Royal Academy, but his education was interrupted by World War II. During World War II he worked as a jig and tool draughtsman at EMI. Following World War II he returned to the Royal Academy, but was eventually expelled. He then attended Slade. It was there that he began illustrating James Joyce's Ulysses, a project which lasted in to the Nineties.
Following Mr. Hamilton's graduation, he was often employed the Institute of Contemporary Arts, for whom he produced leaflets and posters, as well as curated exhibits. He also taught at the Central School of Art and Design. Richard Hamilton's 1956 collage Just what is it that makes today's homes so different, so appealing would prove highly influential and provide the inspiration for the Pop Art of the Sixties. Indeed, among other things the collage featured the cover of a romance comic book book as a poster (anticipating the work of Roy Lichtenstein), an Armour Star tinned ham (anticipating Andy Warhol's Campbell Soup cans), the old Ford Motors logo (anticipating James Rosenquist's I Love You with My Ford), and other familiar items from everyday life. Over the years Mr. Hamilton would do a typographical reworking of fellow artist Marcel DuChamps The Green Box, a series of prints entitled Swinging London, the cover of The Beatles' eponymous double album (popularly known as The White Album), a series of paintings (informally known as The Maze) based on the conflicts of the Irish Republican Army, and his series of illustrations entitled Imagining Ulysses based on the James Joyce novel.
Richard Hamilton has often been regarded as one of the founding fathers of Pop Art, he did not particularly care to be regarded as such. The reason was simply that while Mr. Hamilton may have provided inspiration for the movement, his work was a very eclectic mix that embraced several different genres and even several different media. While much of his work (such as his silk screens of Marilyn Monroe) could quite rightfully be described as Pop Art, a lot of his work (such as Imagining Ulysses) certainly could not be called such. He was both talented and versatile, with a love not only of art but even technology. Richard Hamilton even designed computers--the OHIO computer prototype in 1984 and the DIAB DS-101 in 1986. Few artists could boast of the achievements of Richard Hamilton, which ranged from typography to painting to collage art.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Artist Richard Hamilton R.I.P.
No comments:
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text:
he string of mediocre results in the recent past is best forgotten.
The loss of three key players -- blame it on that spot-fixing saga -- is not a problem any more.
As regards the delay in the appointment of the captain, well, forget it.
If Waqar Younis is to be believed, what matters most now is what lies ahead for his team -- the World Cup.
While experts can be forgiven for stacking the odds against Pakistan -- and labeling it as a team that can at most cause an upset or two -- Waqar believes his side has more quality than it is perceived.And bolstering the belief of the Pakistan coach is his side's recent success -- a series win in New Zealand as well as a good showing in the opening warm-up game (against Bangladesh).
"We are pretty happy with the performance so far," opines Waqar, adding, "We had a superb series in New Zealand.
"Overall, it's been good and, hopefully, it should stay like this."
Coming to the Pakistan team per se, captain Shahid Afridi has made it clear that veteran fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar might have a limited role to play at the World Cup.
Asked about his view on the issue, Waqar was forthcoming and seconds Afridi.
"We played him in New Zealand recently and he improved in patches," he explains, adding, "I think it is important for him to get into full throttle before we get him to play.
"But we are working with him; both me and Aaqib Javed are trying to get him into his rhythm before the tournament starts."
The message is loud and clear. With another reliable bowler, Sohail Tanvir , being ruled out owing to an injury, the Pakistani attack suddenly looks less lethal. However, Waqar does have ample faith in the abilities of the substitute (Junaid Khan).
"Junaid is a good prospect," says the coach, adding, "He is young and energetic and you do need youngsters to come up the ranks."
However, when asked if he intends to give the youngster an opportunity early on, the coach becomes a tad skeptical.
"I am not sure if he is going to get a start in this tournament," he explains, adding, "But you never know we might need him in the middle overs and so he might just be included."
Regarding the batting line-up, besides the experienced campaigners what excites Waqar most is promising youngster Ahmed Shehzad.
"I am pretty impressed with him," says the coach, mincing no words. That is followed by a somewhat elaborate explanation.
"He is playing really well," explains Waqar, adding, "Going back to the New Zealand tour, he got a hundred (115 at Seddon Park, Hamilton) in the last game he played.
"A youngster coming on the big stage, playing such a knock and taking up so much responsibility is pleasing to see that. Hopefully, he is going to continue."
With a good blend of youth and experience, Waqar's team looks well capable of upsetting the applecart of the big guns and make an impact in the tournament, if not go all the way and win the trophy.


text:
Aston Martin has revealed details and images of its first tie-up with design-house Zagato, since the two worked together for a limited run DB7 in 2002.
Based on the V12 Vantage, the new model – called the V12 Zagato – commemorates the 50th anniversary of the very first Aston-Zagato project, the DB4GT.
Dr Ulrich Bez, CEO of Aston Martin said: "The Zagato design language is a perfect complement to our design and engineering expertise. After 50 years of the two companies being associated with each other the partnership has produced some of the world's most iconic cars."
Dr. Bez went on to confirm "a strictly limited run of road going V12 Zagatos." Before then, a stripped-out race-ready version of the car will compete in the Nurburgring 24 hours race.
Underneath the newly crafted aluminium body is the same 6.0-litre V12 engine from the standard car producing 510bhp and 570 Nm of torque.
Production is expected to be well under the 99 units offered of the DB7 Zagato but prices will be similar, with buyers asked to pay around £200,000 for the car.
The V12 Zagato will debut at the Villa D'Este Concours at Lake Como, alongside Ferrari's coach-built Superamerica 45. For more details click here.
Thanks to: Auto Express
Thanks to: Auto Express


text:
So I have said before, it is HOT inAlabama……like Satan's living room hot. So being 700 months pregnant, I have gone on a strike of leaving the house, like not even to the mailbox. So that means lots of painting, crafting and baking with The Elder A. Sunday is our usual day to bake/cook something together. Yesterday we decided to make muffins.
Lately I have been obsessed with eating bananas, mostly because it helps keep my legs from cramping like I have run the Iron Man (aahh the joys of pregnancy). I eat at least 2 a day. The Elder A has become obsessed with pomegranates, specifically dried pomegranate seeds that resemble raisins. So I thought why not combine our 2 loves into some tasty muffins….and voilà.
So here is the recipe which is a combo of an old family banana bread recipe with some changes/ideas from recipes looked at online. Give these a try with your favorite ingredient added in, try cranberries, golden raisins, walnuts, chocolate chips if you are feeling sweet…whatever you are in the mood for or have on hand. Happy baking.
Banana Pomegranate Crumble Muffins
1 ½ cups of all-purpose flour (I know some people like to use wheat flour but for this you need white, all-purpose flour otherwise it won't rise properly)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1-2 teaspoons of cinnamon, depending on your personal taste preference
Pinch of salt
3-4 mashed overripe bananas, mashed
¾ cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup melted unsalted butter
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup pomegranate, raisins, walnuts or other ingredient of your choice, we of course used pomegranate (you can always add more if you want)
Crumble topping (optional)
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter that has softened to room temperature
Muffin Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375° and lightly grease 1 regular, 12 muffin pan or 2 mini muffin pans.
2. In a large bowl combine 1 ½ cup flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. In another large bowl combine bananas, sugar, egg, melted butter, lemon juice and vanilla. Combine the wet and dry ingredients into one bowl and mix until moist. Don't over mix this or it will dry out the muffins. . Lastly gently fold in your ingredient of choice i.e. pomegranate, walnuts, ect.
Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pans.
Crumble topping directions:
In a small bowl combine all the ingredients for the crumble topping. The best way to do this is to use your hands. This was The Elder A's favorite part. Combine until it resembles course breadcrumbs. Sprinkle the topping over the muffin batter in the pans and lightly press into the batter, just to make it "stick" when they bake.
Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean. I like to remove mine from the pans immediately to cool, yes you will likely burn your fingers, but if you don't the muffin bottoms tend to go soggy while cooling in the pans. Just a personal observation….if you like soggy muffin bottoms that's cool……gross, but cool. 🙂
Gobble these up as soon as they cool and once they are gone make some more trying a new favorite add-on ingredient. Hope you enjoy and stay cool bloggy friends.
Today I am linking up to these awesome blog parties. Check them out.
Filed under: Foodie Food Food, Life as I know it | Tagged: baking, banana, pomegranate, recipes, too hot to be outside | Comments Off on Bananas for Muffins


text:
Part of the gossip is that Portfolio is a favorite of Si Newhouse and that he would rather shutter other magazines to keep it afloat. (Does anyone even read Portfolio???) Rumor has it that Allure might be next. The real irony is that Domino subscribers will now receive Architectural Digest, the anti-Domino and the magazine most hated by the Domino demographic.
The ads might not have been there, but the readers were. Barely a month after Condé Nast folded Domino magazine, more than seven fan sites of the chic home-design magazine have sprung up, including a Facebook bereavement page. Many fans wonder why Si Newhouse shuttered Domino, which despite seeing ad sales decline had rising newsstand and subscription numbers. We doubt that if Newhouse pulled the plug on one of his other foundering books - like, say, Portfolio- such an outpouring of grief would occur.
***UPDATE: If you call Conde Nast, they will gladly substitute whatever magazine you choose to replace Domino and you will not be stuck with AD if you already subscribe to it or do not want it. Take that Paige Rense!
The photo from The Devil Wear Prada seemed to suit this story. That's all.


text:
Here are links to my favorite D&D web sites:
Order of the Stick
A web comic with stick figures, I have all the printed books and I still can't get enough of this comic.
It has great characters, story, humor all combined into one.
A web comic featuring goblins as protagonists instead of the level 1 opponents they usually are.
DM of the Rings
This web comic starts from "What if Lord of the Rings was a D&D campaign?" and is one of the funniest web comics I ever read.
Dungeons & Dragons
The official web site of D&D. The forums here are great, for DMs and players.
The Alexandrian
I discovered this web site when I was running Keep on the Shadowfell.
He wrote a series of articles on how to improve that campaign.
Since then I've been a great fan of his writing.
Sly Flourish
I discovered this web site when I was looking for DM tips.
Each DM tip of his should be in the Dungeon Master's Guide.
Campaign Mastery
This web site has an enormous amount of DM tips, campaigns, preparation, etc.
Each topic is treated in great detail.
Sarah Darkmagic
I love this web site for its content about sexism and gender roles in D&D.
RPG Blog Alliance
I'm a member of this group and I'm grateful for their support.


text:
Creation Lane
"Doing what I love, and loving what I do"
Saturday, April 14, 2012
May be Gladiolas, may be Lupins
I'm thinking these flowers look a bit like Lupins or Gladiolas?? I used the same sort of technique as my previous card entry with the PTI Leafy vine border die but just stretched it down the dowel instead of staying circular. I laid a strip of fast drying adhesive and then placed my "spiral" onto the glue. I gave the watering can a bit of an antiqued look by stamping it off lightly before finish stamping it. This die really has some potential. Love that sunflower entry by
Kelly G
!! Check out the MIM details
Stamps used PTI Life, Garden Variety
Die Leafy vine border
Paper PTI and SU
Posted by
7 comments:
All Occasion
All Occasion card
Roses in a pocket
This challenge was so fun that I had to make a couple more. I played with the PTI Leafy vine border die and found out that there's flowers galore to be made. Details for the MIM PTI challenge are found right
. After cutting the die out I cut it down the center lengthwise, I twisted it around a thin dowel and then glued the base to a punched out 1/2 inch circle. I sponged some color onto the ends, curled them some and used a bit of Copic here and there to add some definition. I cut a skinny edge from some paper to make the twirly fronds. Not sure it they will crush if put into an envelope. Might be a good idea to paint them with some sort of stiffener. Added a bit of Flower soft to the centers.
Stamps: used PTI Little Bitty bird and Wplus9 Spring tags
Papers: PTI, MS and SU
Posted by
1 comment:
All Occasion
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Make it Monday
I'm back with another challenge card. This one is for
Make it Monday #61
and I agree with some of the other entrants that it certainly is a fun challenge. "Make a flower using a die other than a flower die". Endless possibilities!! For my flower I used a Spellbinders leaf die from Assorted Leaves. Stacked them up and voila a flower.
Other supplies: Stamp: PTI Background Sheet Music
Paper PTI Pretty pastels on flower and bird
Other dies: Wplus9 leaves and bird from Folk art Florals and little hearts from Love Notes, Spellbinders center of flower
Other papers:SU
Posted by
1 comment:
All Occasion
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Casual Friday's Easter
Hi again everyone!! Hope you all had a wonderful Easter and holidays that some of you are still enjoying like KatieRose! I hear you're having a blast with Uncle Bill and his crew! ; ) Enjoy!
I'm just making it under the wire with my card for the challenge over at
Cas-ual Fridays
"Just a clean and simple card with something you'd find in an Easter basket".
Here's the supplies I used:
Stamps: Wplus9 -Spring Tags, Unity -Eggs(don't remember name)&-Gingham
Die: PTI leaf die
Paper by SU
Posted by
3 comments:
Spring and Easter
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
All Things New again
Happy April Everyone! Spring has sprung here! We're having warm days but not for long. Forecast is for a snowy Easter. My card today is for the challenge at
Casual Fridays CAS
"A Clean and Simple project based on a song". My card is inspired by a beautiful song by Brad Paisley and Sara Evans. If you have never heard it check it out at
New Again
So very fitting during this season that shows us A love beyond words. May you have a Happy and Blessed Easter!
Posted by
2 comments:
Spring and Easter
Newer Posts
Older Posts
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)


text:
Mary Karr on 20/20
May 2, 2010
What was I–a 21-year-old college student–doing this past Friday night?
I wish I could say I was out partying with friends or hanging out with my boyfriend, but no; instead, I was laying in bed at 10 pm and watching 20/20 (really).
I was flipping through the different channels when I got to ABC and saw that 20/20 was doing a special on moms who are secretly alcoholics–I was hooked. Probably for the same reason I love to read memoir, I also love television shows like Intervention, Dateline, Dr. Phil and 20/20.
While I enjoyed the 20/20 special, the reason I'm sharing it here is because one of the woman they interviewed was memoirist Mary Karr. Karr's latest memoir, "Lit," focuses on her time as an alcoholic and her recovery from her addiction. For anyone interested in Karr, definitely check out the episode on 20/20's Web site and an article about Karr's interview.
For the Internet and Memoir, What's Left?
April 24, 2010
Yesterday, I read an article in the New York Times by Brad Stone called "For Web's New Wave, Sharing Details Is the Point."
The article talks about the recent rise in Web sites that allow people to share every aspect of their lives, including every purchase they make on their credit card, where exactly they are at all times and how long they spend doing different exercises at the gym.
Too Much Memoir
April 23, 2010
A strange thing happened to me this week.
On Wednesday, after a surprise boat ride in Central Park and a homemade dinner for my 21st birthday, my boyfriend took me to Strand to pick out any book I wanted, his treat. As soon as we walked in I went to the back corner of the store and started flipping through the Ks until I found Karr.
The store had Mary Karr's second and third memoirs, but they were out of her first: "The Liar's Club." I made my way back to the front of the store to see what new memoirs they had. I started to pick up a few, quickly reading the back covers, when a weird feeling came over me.
Mary Karr: The Memoirist Everyone is Talking About
April 18, 2010
In the past few weeks, I have interviewed authors of memoirs (both self-published and Pulitzer-nominated), a college professor who teaches memoir writing classes, a student at a memoir writing class, a creator of a memoir blog and numerous people who enjoy reading memoir.
I posed similar questions to each of them, but their responses only seemed to match up on one:
"What is your favorite memoir?"
Favorite Memoir and Why: Eric Horvath
April 11, 2010
Second in my series on the favorite memoirs of my family and friends is my boyfriend, Eric Horvath. We've been dating for almost three years (33 months, but who's counting?), but it's only in the past year or so that I've seen him develop a real love for reading. When I asked him what his favorite memoir was, I honestly didn't know the answer I would get because of all the books he's read recently. (I also want to thank him for keeping his response within the allotted 2-3 sentences, not an easy feat for an English major.)
Name: Eric Horvath
Age: 20
From: Long Island
Currently: Studying English and Economics at Fordham University
Favorite Memoir: "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running" by Haruki Murakami
Why: "Murakami's memoir about his preposterous streak of running marathons (something like one every year for over 25 years) and writing best-selling novels really spoke to me. When I read it (last fall) I was training for a 9 mile race of my own and just admitting to myself that I wanted to write for a living. His intertwining of the two, along with his translatable work-ethic, made his book all the more resonant."
Interview with Marya Hornbacher: Author of the Pulitzer-Nominated Memoir, "Wasted" (Part 2)
April 11, 2010
No more babbling, I'm getting right to the good stuff. Here's part of my interview with author Marya Hornbacher from this past Wednesday.
How do you define memoir?
Literary truth telling. Memoir is not autobiography. It's about a specific period or thing in someone's life. My life is not terribly interesting, but a couple of interesting things have happened to me.
Why did you write "Wasted?"


text:
In the "Department of Redundancy Department," we have this law regarding taxicab licensing:
(b) ...The minimum license fee imposed by the Commission pursuant to this subchapter on taxicab companies, associations, or fleets for operating authority shall be not less than $100 per year. [Emphasis mine.]
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text:
Created 17 Jan 2005 at 10:59 UTC by grem.Homepage: http://www.jdistro.com/
Freshmeat page: http://freshmeat.net/projects/jdistro/
JDistro is a shared runtime, a swing desktop and a software distribution, all in and for Java.
License: GPL
This project has the following developers:
New HTML Parser: The long-awaited libxml2 based HTML parser code is live. It needs further work but already handles most markup better than the original parser.
Keep up with the latest Advogato features by reading the Advogato status blog.
If you're a C programmer with some spare time, take a look at the mod_virgule project page and help us with one of the tasks on the ToDo list!


text:
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
I knew I would never keep up!
I knew I would never keep up with this thing. I've got way too many things going on in my life to commit to something that I have to update! Oh well.... A lot has gone on since I started my little blog. I've had a baby and she is already 4 months old. I can't believe it. She is the most beautiful baby and the BEST baby. She is really laid back and pretty much just goes with the flow in life. Last week was a little hard because she came down with an ear infection and we had to travel to Michigan for the Thanksgiving holiday. I am going to try and start updating this once every couple of days, but I don't know if that will really happen!
Posted by Hollye at 9:16 PM No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)


text:
IRWINDALE SPEEDWAY "NIGHT OF DESTRUCTION" - By Tim Kennedy
Irwindale, CA., Oct. 26 – BAM. ZAP. POW. CRASH. No, it wasn't the latest Batman movie Saturday night at Irwindale Speedway. It was the traditional Pick Your Part "Night of Destruction" Halloween week bash at the San Gabriel Valley oval. The promised motorized mayhem attracted the largest crowd of the season. An announced 6,000+ spectators filled the main grandstand and suites to watch three demolition derbies and four races on the third-mile track.
Banging, steaming, smoking, spinning, crashing cars sent sparks, parts, and trailer contents flying throughout the evening. The third-mile track and infield looked like a war zone with scattered debris everywhere. An overnight track cleaning crew deserved medals for getting the facility in order for a race training center class Sunday. An engine fire and a high-revving dragster also caused oohs and aahs from amazed and vocal spectators. They even booed one demo derby perceived villain at times.
By many estimates, most of the spectators were first-time attendees at Irwindale Speedway and were witnessing their first racing action. The turnout had one lane of Live Oak Avenue backed up almost to the 605 Freeway near race time and long lines at all concession stands. Track management used an innovative Groupon promotion in which afternoon go-karting, food discounts and tickets to speedway races brought out new spectators and families seeking different entertainment on a 70-degree evening.
In order of events run, the seven events were:
ENDURO – A 25-lap Enduro main event started 31 cars, all 4-wheel drive skid plate cars with tires mounted on the back wheels instead of metal skid plates. All cars ran a modified oval or "ro-val" marked off by large truck tires painted white to mark the course. The track jogged to the infield just past turn two and rejoined the third-mile on the backstretch just before turn three. Gary Scheuerell started second and led the first three laps. Ninth starter Sean Brennan's No. 33 1998 Toyota Camry led laps 4-22 by as much as a straightaway. Jim Smith started 11th and was in P. 2 by lap 10. He was at Brennan's back bumper by lap 22. As they approached slower cars Smith took the lead in the final turn on lap 23. He led two laps.
On the 25th and final circuit Brennan and Smith again approached slower cars near the third turn. Brennan shot to the inside on the infield side of the course marking tire and took the lead with the checkered flag waving. Brennan crossed the finish line 0.719 in front of Smith. Race Director Mike Atkinson immediately called Smith the race winner and assessed a one position penalty on Brennan for short-cutting the course. Scheuerell was the only other driver on the lead lap. The top three finishers received $250, $200 and $175. Every starter received at least $35, the pit pass cost. The all-green light race took 9:27.330 and had an average speed of 52.760 mph. Smith posted the fastest lap at 56.799 mph.
OPEN COMP. - Eight of nine cars present ran an all-green light 20-lap main event on the third-mile. The contest took 5:16.546. A diverse field had two late models, two Enduro Honda Accords, and one each Figure 8, classic stock, S2 car, and dirt modified. Tom Morley led the first lap. Then Jerry Toporek, from Venice, shot his No. 40 Figure 8 car into the lead on lap 2 and won by 3.484 seconds over Richie Altman's No. 31 late model. Daryl Scoggins, down a lap, placed third in his No. 46 S2 car. Morley's dirt modified, Harry Michaelian's classic stock and Dennis Furden's late model followed; all completed 19 laps. It was Toporek's second feature victory at Irwindale. His first came on 5/12/07 in a Figure 8 main. Toporek also won the six car, six lap trophy dash prior to the first of seven features.
SKID PLATE CARS – The seventh SPC race of 2013 again captivated fans attention. Every car had spark-producing metal skid plates mounted to both rear wheels. A field of 34 took the green flag for 20 laps in the third feature. Four drivers led with five lead changes. Third starter Gary Scheuerell led the first lap. Tenth starter Jim Smith paced the next two laps. Then second starter Sean Brennan led laps 4 and 5. Smith led laps 6-18. Eighth starter Todd Browne took the lead in the third turn when Smith briefly got involved in a crash. Browne led the final two laps and won by 10.464 seconds and received $300. Runner-up was Smith, who earlier won the Enduro main in the same car with four tires, earned $200. The race time was 15:28.867. There were three brief red flags to push stalled cars from the third-mile into the infield. Brennan placed third, 12 seconds off the lead and took home $175. Robert Rice (-21 seconds) and Austin Lee (-27 seconds) completed the top five and also ran 20 laps. All starters received at least $35. There were 23 cars still racing at the conclusion.
Browne, a Jet Blue Airline 320 Aerobus pilot who flies out of Long Beach Airport, was in his fifth skid plate race and won for the first time. His best prior finish was a recent second place to Michael DiGregorio. Browne drove the No. 86 1988 Toyota Camry that was his grandmother's car and then his mother's car. It sat idle for the last eight years and had 240,000+ miles on the odometer when Browne converted it to a skid plate car. Browne, from Glendora, had the most vocal fans, with 30 family and friends in a suite. They cheered him forward each lap throughout the race. The winning speed average was 25.812 mph. Scheuerell ran the fastest race lap at 38.731 mph.
TRAILER RACE – Eleven cars towing trailers with boats, miscellaneous cargo or house-trailers raced 20 laps. Hitting and general mayhem were allowed and encouraged by track rules. The winner received $500, with the next three earning $300, $200 and $150. All others received $50. Spectators cheered, laughed and applauded as drivers separated boats and house trailers from tow vehicles, and in succeeding laps smashed through cast adrift objects littering the track. The race lasted from 8:44-8:53 pm. Robert Rice, competing in six of the seven events, won in his faithful Chevy El Camino from the pole. He led the first 19 laps and kept his large PYP orange boat on its trailer despite several well-timed hits by other drivers. On the final lap John Zimmerman passed Rice and reached the finish line first. However, fan-voting determined the winner from the first three finishers after they stopped at the finish line. Rice won for the third time in three trailer races this season. Low Budget TV racing videographer Jeffrey Best received fans nod for second place. Zimmerman had to settle for third spot.
> Powder Puff - Four females bashed each other for about ten minutes on a watered patch of infield. Audra Moore, Executive VP of 211 Entertainment (the Irwindale Event Center track lessee), outlasted Cheryl Hyland following their 5-10 mph head-on crash. IS track scorers Jannie and Sarah Atkinson, daughters of Racing Director Mike Atkinson, had car problems and did not finish.
> Compact Car – Eight cars participated. #37 Lawrence Tannas won. #14 Adam Ditto second, #00 Jeffrey Best third, fourth went to #7 Robert Rice and taking fifth place the #96 Tommy Mason. Sixth through eighth only had one registered name. #07 sixth, #1 Steve Dien seventh and eighth went to the #11.
> Full Size Car – Dave Smith, of Yorba Linda, (No. 18 1976 Chevy Impala) was the final car running in a six-car field. The concluding demo derby lasted from 9:39-9:54 pm. Scptt Zizelman, from Ohio, placed second in a 1967 Chrysler Cordoba. Joshua Holley, from Yorba Linda, took third in a 1967 Chrysler Cordoba. The top three finishers received $1,000, $500 and $200 respectively.
The 15th and final Irwindale Speedway 2013 season Saturday night race will be Saturday, November 2. It is also fan appreciation night with prizes distributed throughout the evening. Track championships are up for grabs in five divisions—super late models, Progressive Painting Race Trucks, super stocks, Legends and Bandoleros. PYP SW Tour Trucks will race as well for their traveling series points.


text:
Country Club Hills Mayor Dwight Welch won't be racking up bills on his city issued credit card anymore.
Aldermen Monday unanimously voted to rescind his credit card amid questions about his spending. The city will continue to have one credit card, but that card will be kept "locked in the office," said Ald. Steven Burris, who heads the city's finance committee.
"At this point, because of excessive spending, all credit card payments will come before the city," Burris said.
WGN-TV last week reported that Welch, who has served as mayor for 24 years, accumulated thousands on his city credit card for everything from breakfast at a local pancake house to Broadway tickets for nearly $1,400. Last year, the mayor used his city credit card 303 times at restaurants.
Welch Monday continued to defend his spending, saying each expense was legal and benefited the city.
"I make no apology for this," he said. "Not one dime of that money goes into my pocket …. I'm not ashamed of what I've done."


text:
Today is the last evening I have to myself. I pick up Mini-me from camp tomorrow morning (can't wait!) It's been a few crazy weeks at work and tonight will likely be spent having a few cocktails with a good friend. As delightful as that will be, what I'd really like to do is talk to Rona. You see today marks 15 years that she has been gone.
And, as much as I would really like to sit at a bar and have a cocktail and talk to Rona, I'm reasonably sure that talking and laughing out loud with myself – laughing so hard I may snort – would all be frowned upon. And just saying the words in my head doesn't seem the same. So, I will write her a letter.
Dear Ro,
How the hell are you? I miss you like crazy. Life has been good, bad and all the stuff in between. There is much to tell you and much I want to know. I have so many questions and while I know you don't have all the answers, you make me think differently about things and often, offer some twisted humor to put it all in perspective.
Mini-me is growing quickly – she would certainly be your shopping buddy. Girlfriend loves a good bargain. While I never forget I'm her parent, she can be quite the pal; you would love that and she would love her tante Rona. She loves Hebrew and Sunday school – the ritual and tradition, learning the songs and taking pride in writing Hebrew words. I never had that background but know it was so important to you. Each week it reinforces that giving her your Hebrew name honors you in the best possible way. You will be there with her as she experiences each new rite of passage – you will be honored. You will be remembered.
My family is fine – growing, changing, and moving but all are healthy and reasonably happy. I'm learning to be simply grateful that I have such a great relationship with my siblings and their families. To take things as they are and put much less stock in what they think. After all, they have no choice but to be related to me and for the most part, love me as I am. I miss my folks terribly. I imagine you miss your mom, too – and that your dad is near you, lecturing everyone on exactly how fast they should drive on any given road. I miss our talks about our parents – what drove us crazy and our fear of turning into them. Guess what? That shit happens.
My friends are good, great and everything else. Neiman just had another clean scan – remaining cancer free two years to the day after her diagnosis. And no, it doesn't escape me that the date of her diagnosis is the date of your death. This date always feels a bit "off" to me. This time of year is crazy for me at work – it helps to keep my mind busy but weird thoughts creep in and I never feel quite like myself.
I've been lucky to have a summer of great time with friends both behind and in front of me. Geek and Kooky were here a few weeks back – good times spent poolside and the cool of the house. I spent a weekend in the mountains with Belle, Handy and our sweet kids - so nice to get away and have a chance to really just visit without worrying from moving from point a to point b. I am taking Mini-Me and my dear friends Geek and Kooky to Bethany next month – and can only hope they embrace the sand, surf, Nic-o-bolis and Thrashers fries as much as you and I did. I will visit old friends, see old hangouts and drive roads once so familiar. This trip will be full of memories as I introduce Mini-Me to my old world, one in which you were such a central character. I will miss you but have a feeling you'll be along for the ride.
Neiman visited me last weekend – a grown-up few days of shopping, eating, drinking and just visiting. Bless her for being such a good sport and visiting me in the summer, when my town feels like the surface of the sun. And Runner will visit again this summer with the youngest in her flock. You know, Ro – Runner has not aged one bit. It's most infuriating. You were one of the few that was never surprised by my long-lasting friendship with her. She's become the religious compass that you once were and I'm constantly reminded of you when I go to her with all my Jewish questions – be it political, religious or a new recipe to get me through one more Passover.
Who are you hanging out with up there? Are you sharing scotch and off-color jokes with my dad? Is my mom complimenting your always perfect hair? Are you having coffee with her and Big Susan? Is Jack cooking for you, offering to cook for you or making pickles? Do you see some of our old classmates and reminisce about the old days?
I miss you Rona. I miss our talks. I miss gossiping over California Chicken Salads (and can you believe White Flint is gone?) It never mattered whether we connected on the phone, with a card or letter (days long before the immediacy of email or texting) or were face-to-face in one of our regular haunts. We could be chatting, laughing or sitting in comfortable silence. It all worked. No words were ever necessary.
Except for now. Rarely a day goes by when something does not make me think of you. I miss you. More than you will ever know.


text:
If you've ever been to a festival before you know that you get given a wristband that lets you get into certain areas, but what if that wristband was also your wallet?
The Big Wine Festival, to be held in Reading in June 2012, is using the latest technology to do just that. Ticket holders will be allowed access certain areas of the wine festival but also have tasting notes emailed to read later as well as use their bracelets as a method to pay for wine that they like too.
The idea is that when you go to buy your ticket, instead of it being a simple piece of paper, you actually buy an intelligent wristband that contains a RFID chip that allows it to be read by staff at the festival.
That intelligence comes in a number of different guises, but mainly that the band can then be loaded with cash that all the retailers at the show will use to take. Rory Musker, managing director of Wrist Marketing, the company behind the wrist band wallet, explained the benefits to Pocket-lint at a preview for the festival.
"If you run a stall at a festival, you can lose up to 30 per cent of your takings through theft and bank charges in something the industry calls shrinkage. With our system there is no cash and therefore no fear of theft."
It's the same technology used alongside Global Auto ID which managed the ticketing for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa that allowed fans to make sure they had the right seats. Here, however, the technology is used to speed up transactions, improve security, save retailers money, and make sure people are legally allowed to drink.
Users can either pre-load the wristband when they buy the £50 ticket or use terminals around the event to top up more cash on to their band as they go. At no point is hard money passed over to the retailer or stallholder. The organisers manage the cash flow and assign it at the end based on the data from the wristband readers.
That means the Big Wine Festival's organisers can also see transaction data for the entire event letting them know exactly what was and wasn't successful. Any money left on the card and not claimed at the end of proceedings will automatically go to Missing People, a local charity.
But it is not just about taking money according to Olivia Ocana, the chairman of the event, who hopes the new wine festival can replicate the enjoyment of the Marlborough Wine Festival in New Zealand. All wristbands will also allow people to see what they tasted and a chance to vote for their favourite wine of the festival.
Regardless of whether you've loaded up your wristband with cash or not, all visitors to the show will be able to touch in on special pods which will pull up all details of everything they have tried, at which point they will be given the opportunity to rate them. They will then be able to access this information after the event. What's more, during the event, live poll boards will continually update to display a live list of the most popular products across the whole festival giving festivalgoers a sense of what's hot and what's not. As you can imagine, the implications for stallholders could be fantastic news or spell the end to a bad festival with poor sales. The proof really is in the pudding.
With the Big Wine Festival the first to trial the technology, Musker is keen to sign up other events around the UK - something that, so far, has taken time to achieve.
"We've yet to sign up anyone else," Musker admitted to Pocket-lint. "These things take time."
Naturally, the ultimate goal is to sign up one of the big summer music festivals using the tickets to not only act as your wallet, but allow you into certain areas of the festival be it VIP or exclusive certain acts.
Time will tell whether Musker and Wrist Marketing's plans to change the way we spend money at festivals will become the future or relegated to being something that was deemed "quaint", but Ocana hopes that the future in payments is successful, at least for now and for her show.
The Big Wine Festival is on from the 7 – 10 June 2012 in Kings Meadow, Reading.


text:
Monday, May 4, 7:00pm
WhereSolar One, East 23rd Street at FDR Drive, Manhattan (map)
Green Renter Lecture Series: Dispatches from the White House Organic Farm Project with Daniel Bowman Simon Last year, Daniel Bowman Simon began The White House Organic Farm Project (TheWhoFarm), a quixotic quest to petition the winner of the 2008 presidential election to grow food on the White House lawn. After Waiting For Apples, a solar-powered publicity stunt held outside of Apple's flagship store on 5th Avenue in Manhattan, Daniel and his friend Casey traveled across twenty-five states and ultimately to the nation's capital on an upside-down school bus with a rooftop vegetable garden. Everywhere they went they talked to folks of all walks to raise awareness about the White House's edible landscape potential, and gathered heaps of signatures in support of the project. As improbable as their vision may have seemed at the outset, it is in fact, in both spirit and objective, not unlike what has actually come to pass since the White House's current occupant has taken up residence. On March 20th, with the help of a class of DC elementary school students, First Lady Michelle Obama broke ground on an 1,100 square foot vegetable garden at The White House. Since her announcement, the First Lady of California and the Mayor of Baltimore have announced plans for their own vegetable gardens. In this presentation Daniel will share a colorful account of his experiences on the road in 2008, discuss what motivated him to pursue the project in the first place, and talk about his most recent (and more local) agrarian ambitions: a small vegetable garden at New York's City Hall. For more information on Daniel's project, visit www.thewhofarm.


text:
As most of you know, I attend Southern Utah University in Cedar City as a Family Life and Human Development major with a minor in Psychology and an emphasis in Family Services. In order to complete graduation requirements, SUU requires a really cool program called the Education Designed to Give Experience (EDGE) project. For this project, we are allowed to choose any type of activity or service project that is approved by EDGE professors. For my EDGE project, I decided to choose to coach volleyball. First and foremost, I was looking for a job so I reached out to several schools in the Iron County area to see if there were any job openings for coaching positions. After no luck, I decided to look for jobs elsewhere. After I had found another job doing retail, I got a call from the Athletic Director at Parowan High School who had seen my resume and wanted me to coach their 7th and 8th grade volleyball team on a volunteer basis. I figured this would be the perfect EDGE project opportunity! I was excited and nervous all at the same time, but I knew it would be a perfect fit for me. Here's why:
I played volleyball competitively from early middle school through high school (and still play, but mostly for fun). I loved the game so much not only because I loved my teammates and we were very successful, but I loved the coaches I had over the years and the way they shaped my life. Many of them were volunteers (especially my middle school coaches) and were there purely because they loved the game of volleyball and wanted to teach us to love it the same. I seriously lucked out with the best coaches, who genuinely cared about not only teaching us how to get better on the volleyball court, but who cared about the individual human beings we were. I felt a love and connection from all of my coaches on and off the court. However, I never really appreciated them until I got out of high school and realized, "Wow, they really impacted my life".
When I took the coaching opportunity at Parowan High School (their middle schools and high schools are combined), I didn't go in thinking, "Oh I'm going to change these girls' lives". However, I went in thinking, "I am excited to coach these girls the fundamentals of the game that I love so much". Most of all, I was hoping that they would learn that being a competitive athlete can teach many more lessons than just running and jumping. I learned leadership skills, communication skills, friendship skills, and hard work skills from my time playing competitive sports. To put it simple, I was hoping to coach the young aspiring athletes the same things I learned. Oh, and to have a little bit of fun while we were at it.
I was excited, more than anything, for the adventure ahead and for the opportunity that the EDGE project provided me to serve young girls, a school, and a community just like my previous coaches had served me. However, I learned quickly that coaching is not as easy as it looks, and it's not all sunshine and roses.
I kept journal records from each week of practices and games. Here lies proof of the fact that it was not exceptional fun 24/7, but I learned so much from this experience:
Week one:
The first day I realized how little experience these girls had with volleyball. I was able to teach them the basics of passing and serving. We will see how quickly they catch on, but I'm sure we will be practicing passing and serving much more than the other skills.
The rest of the week we practiced passing and serving, as well as rotations, because we had a game the following week. During week one, I began to realize that this EDGE project would be more difficult than I thought it would due to never coaching volleyball and being inexperienced with adolescent girls (at least since I was one). I am anxious and excited to begin this service project.
Week two:
This week at volleyball practice was a little more frustrating than the first week. One of the girls is very uncoachable, disrespectful, and quite frankly kind of a brat (teenagers, ugh). She texts during practices and games; she constantly asks when practice will be over and leaves games and practices early. It's kind of like these girls have never been on any team with any sort of rules. This particular girl TELLS us coaches what position she wants to play. She rolls her eyes when I try to coach her and it's getting really frustrating.
Our first game was pretty bad, if I'm being honest. I didn't expect us to win or anything like that, though. I am really excited for the growth, progress, and potential I see that will happen. I am excited to be a coach and a role model for these girls in volleyball and in life. I feel appreciated when the players, teachers at Parowan, and parents tell me thank you for the volunteer work I am doing. They tell me it has taken a huge load off of their shoulders, and I'm really happy that I can help so much. I look forward to the following weeks and improving on coaching fundamental skills. I hope that I can help these girls learn how to be good student athletes and learn to love the game of volleyball.
Week three:
This week we made a lot of improvement involving volleyball skills. I noticed how different intellectually each girl is when learning different skills. Some things are much more confusing than others to each girl. We finally won some games and it was fun to see their excitement and progress. Many girls are able to serve it over the net, even if it is only once. Progress is progress!
I am starting to get excited for the following weeks and how much we have to improve on. I am looking forward to getting to know the girls more and helping out the school and community by being a coach. I'm starting to realize that while I am helping these athletes learn to play volleyball and have sportsmanship, they are teaching me to be positive, enthusiastic, and patient not only on the court, but in my everyday dealings as well.
Week four:
This week was more frustrating than the past three. 13-year-old girls are OFF THE RAILS! I am kind of a serious, competitive, get-it-done type of person. When I was in high school, playing sports was fun, but I was extremely competitive and hard on myself. Coaching these girls has been a task because I can't get them to take it seriously (or as seriously as I want them to). They acted like they didn't care, and I was upset that they weren't appreciating me for the efforts I was putting in to coach them. Realizing this, I kind of was ornery last week and practice and games weren't all too fun. One practice, two girls were out of control. They were hyper, disrespectful, and didn't care about what was going on in practice. They interrupt me, roll their eyes at me, ignore me, avoid me, disrespect me, and I could swear, purposely try to annoy me. I have to remind myself that they are pre-adolescents and that they're just in a stage. I just hope that I was never like that, even though I'm sure I was (sorry, my old coaches). I have realized much more difficult this is than I expected. I still love it and learn so much, but it can definitely get frustrating. I am learning so much patience though!
Another thing that happened this week is I had to get mad at one girl during the game. In games and practices, she gets frustrated with herself, her teammates, and me. She rolls her eyes, doesn't slap hands, and is extremely uncoachable. She ignores my coaching and it honestly makes me feel bad. I am doing this several hours a week, taking important time out of my day, schoolwork, relationships, etc. and sometimes I don't feel like it's worth it. Not only does said girl offend me as a coach, but she offends and disrespects me as a person. I do not, as a human being, deserve to be treated like that. I pulled her aside during the game, after an eye rolling incident, and said, "You have got to have a better attitude. No more eye rolling ignoring me, not slapping your teammates hands, etc. It's not acceptable, and it never will be. I don't deserve to be treated like this, no one does. You won't play if you continue with this bad attitude".
I realized I am a little impatient and need to be more understanding, especially if I plan on being a social worker or therapist someday. I have a lot to learn, especially empathy. However, I believe this coaching experience is making me better at those things I am not so good at. I never realized that this experience would help me more than anyone else.
Week five:
This week, I realized I was not really connecting with the girls at practices or games. I was kind of a mean coach up until this point. I realized I was thinking about other things that were going on in my life while I should have been more engaged with and focused on the girls. Because of this, I decided to buy small Gatorade for each of the girls and tie ribbons to them. I plan on continuing this little project to give each girl before the remainder of the games. When I was in high school, a tradition my volleyball team did was each girl wear the same ribbon at each game, and by the time state rolled around, we wore all the ribbons together (we won two state championships…. So yeah, I think it worked). I was expecting the girls to not really care and not really understand or appreciate it, but they were extremely happy, excited, and appreciative. I think this incident was one of the only times I heard the girls say "thank you" to me. After this, I felt a little more connected to the girls. I realized I shouldn't hold it against them that they aren't very successful in volleyball, but that I should connect with them, care for them, and be a good example to them.
I realized that if I want to be a professional in human services, I need to be more aware of those I'm helping/dealing with, and I shouldn't let my busy and stressful personal life get in the way so much. I had been impatient, ornery, and wanted thing done exactly my way. I'm slowly but surely realizing that's not the point.
Week six:
This week one of the girls on the volleyball team quit. It was out of nowhere, and she didn't even talk to me about it. Interestingly, this girl seemed to enjoy being there and was the most active and talkative of the group, so I was slightly surprised when she suddenly quit. felt really bad and felt like it was my fault, or maybe one of the other girls' fault. The whole situation made me want to be much more aware of the FULL situation going on, so I can prevent possible bullying and misunderstanding (if that was the case, I never found out).
Another thing that's becoming slightly frustrating, that I didn't really anticipate, is that the moms of the players are not minding their own business. These girls say they can handle things on their own, but I never hear problems from them; I hear it from the mothers! Parents in the stands, trying to referee, coach, and solve problems on the court is getting so frustrating. None of these girls are learning to be independent, and I am definitely not feeling appreciated.
It does sound like I'm being super negative, so I think it's time to start being more positive, especially with the girls and when I'm talking about my service project. It's supposed to be an enjoyable experience, but it's been more difficult than anticipated. I am having fun though, at some times.
Week seven:
This week, I was just straight up disappointed. I thought that the girls would easily beat the team we were playing Tuesday. NOPE. Big, fat, NOPE. We are skilled enough and have made so much progress that I was finally looking forward to having a successful game. I think I've figured it out, though: I'm coaching 13 year olds girls! That's the problem. I doubt they go home and think about volleyball. They think about their friends and boys. I doubt they practice on their own. There are only two girls who are apparently and obviously competitive, but the rest of the girls couldn't care less about losing or winning. It's frustrating because I know they can be successful, just like I was when I was there age. I really did care about the sport and improving!
I am excited to be almost done, but I know I am going to miss it once it's over because there has been many good moments as well. I keep focusing on the bad ones, but they have improved so much as individuals and as a team, and I hope they keep improving and end the season on a good note.
Week eight:
"Wow," is all I can say about this week. I have learned so much from this experience.
Thursday was our very last volleyball game. We have 11 players, and only seven of them showed up in Fillmore to play against Millard. That started the frustration for me. It made me mad that I had put so much time and energy into practices and only had seven of them show up to their last game! And they didn't even tell us. I had to drive 1 ½ hours to find two of my best players weren't there, and four of them not there at all. I had told them all season that they absolutely had to let us know if they weren't coming to practices or games. Nope, they never understood that concept (preteens).
Oh, and it gets better. Two girls started bleeding during the game (you can't play with blood on your body) and that left five people on the court, and six are required to play. One girl fell and hurt her wrist and was absolutely bawling the rest of the game. That left six girls (after the other girls stopped their bleeding), which screwed up the whole rotation line-up that we had. Then another girl lost her shoe and felt really embarrassed trying to get it back on in front of the whole crowd. Five minutes later, said shoe girl started bawling. When I asked her what was wrong, she said she hurt her ankle. I didn't believe her for a second (she wasn't even limping), she was just crying because she was embarrassed. And then we lost.
However, there was an extreme positive to this whole trip to Fillmore! The girls got a pass, set, hit over the net and scored the point off of that. We were so excited, jumping up and down for joy! It was so rewarding to see their hard work pay off, and to see them so excited for accomplishing such a fundamental task.
However, there was an extreme positive to this whole trip to Fillmore! The girls got a pass, set, hit over the net and scored the point off of that. We were so excited, jumping up and down for joy! It was so rewarding to see their hard work pay off, and to see them so excited for accomplishing such a fundamental task.
In the beginning of the season, most of them had never played volleyball, let alone serve a ball over the net. At the end, almost all of them could make a serve over the net, plus knew the fundamentals of volleyball! To see their progress was truly remarkable.
Looking back at my journal entries, I feel bad for how negative I was about the whole situation. I definitely could have been more positive and had a lot better time with it. I know the girls enjoyed there time playing volleyball and I did as well, even though it was more difficult than I though it would be. I give major props to coaches/teachers of any kind, especially to early adolescents. However, this season was overall a very good learning experience. It had its ups and downs for sure, but I am so grateful for the opportunity. I am grateful I was able to teach many girls who had no idea how to play volleyball improve on their volleyball skills. I am grateful I was able to help out the school and community by providing coaching, because without me, they wouldn't have even had a team because there was no one else to coach. I had a very fun time, even though it was more difficult than I anticipated. I am so glad I chose coaching volleyball for my EDGE Project!
Here are a few photos of the journey:
Ribbons and gatorade for "good luck"
Ribbons in their hair. :)
Thanks for reading along!


text:
New boards for wireless network project
I recently finished some boards for a 915MHz/2.4GHz network. Their design files will go up on github soon but until then here's a summary.
This was the first board and was meant to be flexible. It had two radios – 915MHz (MRF89XAM9A) and Bluetooth LE (BL600-SA) along with environment sensors and hot-swappable power supply circuitry. The sub-components passed initial testing but the BASIC programming language required on the BL600 chip proved to be less convenient than I had hoped. Along with a high BOM (~$40) I determined it would be better to break it up into smaller sections.
Temperature, pressure, altitude (MPL3115A2)
Visible light, IR, IR proximity, UV index (SI1145)
Humidity, temperature (SI7020)
Sound (MAX4468 + electret mic)
This board takes in up to three power supplies – USB micro, single-cell LiPo battery, and a coin cell battery – and outputs 3.3V. The supplies are hot-swappable and the ORing circuitry will connect the load to the largest supply automatically. For example, if you're running off a coin cell then plug in USB, the coin cell will be disconnected and the load will use the USB power instead.
A voltage supervisor and load switch disconnect the LiPo when it reaches 3.5V and reconnects it when the voltage rises to 3.7V. A charging IC allows the USB supply charge the LiPo at 100mA (configurable by resistor).
This board is meant to be the furthest out on the network yet hopefully capable enough of running a limited version of the Contiki OS. The LPC812 was picked for the cost ($1.58) and memory (16kB flash, 4kB RAM). The board has a temperature sensor but since the LPC812 doesn't have an ADC I added some passive components to make a sigma-delta ADC. There's also a header for a nRF24L01+ radio to plug in. The total BOM ended up being about $5.


text:
Blink 182 Irvine Tickets
Hailing from Florida, A Day to Remember are multi-platinum selling rockers who have taken the music world by storm. Their ability to push boundaries and continuously evolve has made them the next big thing, and they plan on remaining in the industry for a long time. 2016 is a busy year for the quintet as they will be headlining various music festivals and have also been roped in as the main supporting act for Blink 182's summer tour. Together with Blink 182 and All Time Low, A Day to Remember will head to the Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre on September 29. Excited fans have already bought their A Day to Remember Irvine tickets.
Top Reasons to buy A Day to Remember Irvine Tickets
It has become a trend in the world of music that once a band starts to sell out they change from what they originally were. A Day to Remember refuses to be anything other than what they started out to be. Despite going through tough times, trials and tribulations, the band has album after album produced genre-bending music. Their superb musicianship and incredible songwriting brings purpose to music. Here are some reasons to be excited about their upcoming concert.
- A Day to Remember has been a genre of its own. They blend various styles of music into one but metal core and pop punk have always been dominant in their compositions. The lead singer Jeremy McKinnon also mixes up his vocal style, singing one half of the song quite melodiously and then would immediately switch to screaming in the second half.
- Their concerts always witness a mix gathering as people of different age groups enjoy their music. Without becoming monotonous, they fuse fast, slow and medium pace beats, treating the listeners to something ingenious each time.
- Their live shows are full of energy as the members make the most of the stage, jumping and dancing around from one end to the other. Every performance is driven by passion and everything from singing to drumming to guitar-playing is top notch.
Other Concerts in IRVINE
- Wed Aug 01 2018Wed Aug 01 2018
- Buy Foreigner & Whitesnake, FivePoint Amphitheater Tickets for 08/01 07:00 PM FivePoint Amphitheater, Irvine, CAForeigner & Whitesnake, FivePoint Amphitheater, 1 August
- Wed Aug 15 2018Wed Aug 15 2018
- Buy Charlie Puth & Hailee Steinfeld, FivePoint Amphitheater Tickets for 08/15 07:30 PM FivePoint Amphitheater, Irvine, CACharlie Puth & Hailee Steinfeld, FivePoint Amphitheater, 15 August


text:
It is with regret that I have come to the decision to completely discontinue the Chiari Carnival. I will leave the existing posts up in hopes that they may help others who suffer with this very complex condition.
The Chiari Carnival Facebook page is changing to the Chronic Chiari Facebook page and will link to blogs posting about Chiari or other articles about Chiari. Please 'like' the Chronic Chiari Facebook page to receive updates from several Chiari bloggers. If you are a blogger and are interesting in having your blog featured on Chronic Chiari please message the Chronic Chiari Facebook page.


text:
You are currently browsing the tag archive for the 'beezlebug' tag.
The Repiglicans with their (totally having no basis) sanctimony are truly obscene! And moreover, I think that presently Beelzebub is even throwing up a little in his mouth! Although, much like the bar's been lowered on intellect — or lack thereof — thanks to Herr Drumpf we now need new definitions and figures that represent/stand in for evil to aptly characterize the behavior and actions of these "grade A" (the creme de la creme in fact) thugs!


text:
Unvented Cylinders - Mains Pressure Unvented Hot Water Cylinders
Huge savings can be made on can be made on the most efficient cylinders availible today
There are Indirect and Direct patterns for gas/oil and electricity with 14 models in total, with litreages ranging from 90 to 300. There are also an additional 8 options available catering for those with, or intending on, Solar technology so your home can work efficiently and reliably.
The Stainless Lite is also simple and easy to transport and manuvre when empty making installation easier and hassle-free.
Duplex Stainless
The Stainless Lite uses the very latest high specification Duplex to resist all forms of corrosion including crevice and stress whilst its high mechanical strength gives it the strength for long life. It is particularly light and easy to handle on site.
The very latest automated welding procedures along with full post weld treatments guarantee welds that are as strong as the parent material. Stainless Lite is pressure tested in the factory to a full 12 bar which is four times the normal working pressure.
More Hot Water
Stainless Lite uses a high heat transfer corrugated tube heat exchanger to give 20% faster recovery than plain tube. It is also lighter and stronger than plain tube making the vessel the lightest and easiest to handle on site.
Controlled Stratification
The unique Gledhill diffuser reduces turbulence when cold water enters the store by baffling the flow
Minimal Heat Loss
Tests show that the 50mm of polyurethane foam injected into the case and covering both domes achieves astonishingly low levels of heat loss.
The 25 year guarantee underlines the usual Gledhill confidence in its own products.
Stainless Lite Models
Selection Guide
The Gledhill Stainless Lite is supplied complete with all the quality fittings you need:


text:
firstname.lastname@example.com -- In the Civil Rights Justice system there are two sets of people: Those who are haters and those who fight back. These are their stories. Blink-Blink.
Movies: KingCast.net and KingCast65 YouTube -- A NENPA member news and information journal.
03 August 2011
KingCast says "bring on the Canon 60D in time for JP Music Festival."
Heck yah I'm excited, it's a good step up from the SX20 IS that will remain in the quiver. Now that the Triumph has settled into a regular maintenance schedule (grrrr.... hiss....) I can buy my new camera in time for the Jamaica Plain Music Festival with 20 bands! The only downside to the 60D is that if you want superzoom you're gonna spend super money for super large lens that is not going to transport easily. And it doesn't have stereo audio input on the body either so you gotta run a shotgun mic, which in the long run will get you better sound anyway, but you know what I mean it's added layers of complexity. It's not like I'm going to use it every time for every occasion but it will be the lead camera for all future Mortgage Movies videos as the quality is good enough for sustained viewing on the Big Screen, and that is precisely where Mortgage Movies is going. There will be plenty of corruption to capture for the next several years, call it job security if you will.
Posted by Christopher King at 2:25 PM
No comments:
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text: The World on Time on May 29, 2009 Get link Facebook Twitter Pinterest Google+ Email Other Apps b/w Clouds Mountains Plane Sepia Sky Snow Get link Facebook Twitter Pinterest Google+ Email Other Apps Comments Dewdrop5/29/2009Love this in sepia. Great scene. Love the clouds.ReplyDeleteprkl5/29/2009Whutta great settings for an airport. And a fantastic pic of it. Happy SWF!ReplyDeleteBabooshka5/29/2009Sepia does add such a nostalgic yet timeless themeReplyDeletefloreta5/29/2009the contrast of the blurry sky with the crisp airplane is interesting. i also like it in sepia. it almost gives it a romantic feel.ReplyDeleteHappily Retired Gal5/30/2009Wonderful sepia photo ... seems timeless!Hugs and blessings,ReplyDeletePhotodiarist9/18/2012Is Wilson on Board! It's great with the background!ReplyDeleteAdd commentLoad more... Post a Comment


text:
Sweet Wedding Video by The Film Poets :: Mary Beth & Tyler
Erin from Lucky Luxe Couture Correspondence sent me this incredibly sweet wedding video because she knew I would love it (oh boy did I love it!), and the lovely bride Mary Beth kindly agreed to let me share it with you. I'm just warning you – if you're anything like me you'll want to have a box of Kleenex handy.
Absolutely beautiful work by The Film Poets.


text:
This 49th floor apartment occupies a 1,800 square foot corner site overlooking Fifth Avenue at Rockefeller Center. The client, a German professional couple, envisioned a living environment of formal clarity and spatial harmony as an urban sanctuary for their frequent visits to New York City. This interior renovation project illustrates a new level of refinement in minimalist spatial resolution.
The design concept called for creating a crystalline light volume within the black tower monolith for observing the metropolitan landscape. White plaster, honed Yugoslavian Sivec marble, and matte translucent optical glass compose the elemental material palette that frames the space. An open helical plan anchored by the fulcrum of a central tectonic media pier permits the subtle articulation of study, living, dining, and master bedroom areas against panoramic full-height windows. An illuminated glass wall, both sides of which support a white enameled server, separates the kitchen from the dining area.
The seamless integration of intelligent technological systems into the spatial concept produces a highly functional living environment. Audio-visual systems are concentrated within a central pier fitted with a flush-mounted video screen on a revolving panel. Magnetic sensors activated by a simple hand gesture provide access to blind panels and remove the need for traditional hardware. Remotely programmable mechanical, security, lighting, and data systems discretely monitor and maintain the fluctuating interior environment.
The master bathroom inspires a heightened awareness of the pleasures of the bathing experience. Forming an interlocking volume within the master bedroom and raised on a stone platform, it is distinguished by a monolithic carved marble bathtub from which the Empire State Building and downtown Manhattan can be viewed through an optical clear glass panel. Two custom-carved marble sinks—an elliptical sink adjacent to the tub and a cantilevered gravity sink—balance the proportions and geometry of the composition.
Furnishings reinforce the serene horizontal character of the space. The Knoll sofa and custom-designed pieces such as the living room coffee table, desk, and dining table form planar elements that highlight the relationship between the interior and the expansive Manhattan landscape.
The lighting concept takes advantage of abundant natural light to connect the interior environment to the atmosphere beyond the surface of the windows. Sensors gradually adjust interior light levels in response to variations in natural light levels, negotiating transitions between daylight, twilight, and nightlight. Large-dimension, motorized solar shades offer privacy and additional control over sunlight penetration.
A transcendent, elemental purity throughout the apartment shapes the interplay of light, form, and material within a minimal envelope.


text:
Congratulations, you just found out you're expecting. Now you have free reign to eat for two, right? Wrong. Although it's easy to let nutrition fly out the window when you're pregnant and hungry, experts say you need to add only about 300 calories a day during the second and third trimesters. Fortunately, these extra calories won't stress your grocery budget. Moreover, sticking with a balanced, healthy diet can mitigate unfortunate pregnancy side effects, such as heartburn and morning sickness.
10 Tips for a Healthy and Affordable Diet When You're Pregnant
Protein is absolutely vital during pregnancy because it promotes fetal brain development and tissue growth and helps your body accommodate the growing baby. The American Pregnancy Association recommends two to three servings a day of lean meats (ground beef, pork, chicken, fish/seafood) and/or legumes (split peas, beans, chickpeas); nuts and seeds also count. Cooking in bulk keeps costs down and saves time. Make a big pot of meat or vegetarian chili, for example, and use half for one or two dinners, then freeze the other half and enjoy leftovers for lunch.
Three to four servings of vegetables a day is the standard recommendation. In particular, choose green leafy vegetables for the necessary hit of iron and folate (sometimes referred to as folic acid). Iron helps stave off anemia and make more hemoglobin for the increasing volume of blood in your body; folate helps prevent neural tube defects in the fetus. The best sources for iron and folate are leafy lettuce, spinach, cabbage, and turnip and collard greens. Meet the requirements with a large salad at lunch and a side salad at dinner. For variety, make a spinach smoothie for breakfast or afternoon snack. (Savings tip: Buy spinach in bulk-size bags; wash and dry thoroughly, then freeze in single-serving portions to dole out as needed.) For dinner, dig into hearty stuffed cabbage, a filling meal that is likely to leave you with leftovers. The Internet is loaded with recipes using these nutritious vegetables.
Experts recommend two to four servings of fruit every day. Fruit is fiber rich, low in calories, and packed with vitamins. Vitamin C, for example, helps promote bone and tooth development, aids the metabolic process, and partially fulfills the folate requirement; citrus (especially oranges), melon, blueberries, apples, strawberries, mango, and kiwi are sweet choices. Vitamins A (apricot, papaya, peach), E (nectarine, raspberry, pomegranate), and B6 (banana, dates, grapes) likewise have important beneficial effects on developing bodies. Enjoy fresh as a snack, incorporate fruit into a meal, or blend up as a drink. Frozen fruit conveys the same nutritional value as fresh, but is less expensive and is a solid base for smoothies. Start with a banana for creamy texture, then add half a serving of fruit (e.g., strawberries), 1 cup of raw spinach, one-half to 1 cup of milk or yogurt; mix in some ice and a spot of honey for extra sweetness.
Calcium, like vitamin C, promotes the development of strong bones and teeth. Be sure to get three to four servings of dairy or calcium-rich foods each day. One cup of milk or yogurt counts as one serving, as do one egg or 1.5 ounces of pasteurized cheese. Other sources of calcium include cabbage, green turnips, salmon, white beans, tofu, and almonds. Although nuts aren't cheap, buying them in bulk cuts the unit price; pack a small baggie with roasted (unsalted) almonds for an easy and filling on-the-go snack.
Like fruit and green leafy vegetables, whole grains are essential for fulfilling the folate requirement while pregnant, and also contribute iron, magnesium, and B vitamins. Aim for three servings of whole grains every day: one slice of whole-grain bread or one-half cup of cooked grains (e.g., cornmeal, oatmeal, quinoa, millet, barley, brown rice); even one serving (three cups) of air-popped popcorn is acceptable. Money-saving coupons on these pantry staples are easy to find.
Caffeinated beverages, including coffee, tea, and sodas, fall into a grey zone for pregnant women. Caffeine doesn't offer any nutritional benefits but is OK in limited amounts -- up to 300 mg a day, according to WebMD. For coffee drinkers, that's the equivalent of two 8-ounce cups; tea drinkers can sip a bit less than four 8-ounce cups. A tall glass of caffeinated soda contains 30 mg to 60 mg of the stimulant -- that's a lot of soda, not to mention all the sugar. Maybe pregnancy is a good time to kick the caffeine habit and save some money in the process.
On occasion, certain artificial sweeteners are acceptable during pregnancy. These include aspartame, acesulfame K, and sucralose. WebMD says to steer clear of saccharin during pregnancy because it can make its way to fetal tissue. When in doubt, discuss any dietary needs, including the use of artificial sweeteners, with your health care provider.
Some foods just aren't safe for a pregnant woman to ingest. These include soft, unpasteurized cheese; unpasteurized dairy or juice; fish that are high in mercury, including swordfish, tilefish, and king mackerel (tuna should be consumed in limited quantities); raw fish; pate and meat spreads; and undercooked meat and eggs. Fruits and vegetables should be washed thoroughly.
It's no secret that alcohol, tobacco, and drugs are big no-no's during pregnancy. Use of these substances can cause low birth weights, preterm labor, mental retardation, and birth defects. Even some over-the-counter medications may not be safe while you're pregnant; Always consult a health care provider taking any medicine.
Common ailments in pregnancy include morning sickness, heartburn, and constipation. While these come with the territory, the foods you eat and when you eat them may heighten or diminish the severity of these conditions. For example, many women struggle with morning sickness or all-day sickness in the first trimester. Six small meals a day instead of three large meals may ease the symptoms; the same advice holds for heartburn. Spicy foods can aggravate both heartburn and morning sickness, so lay off the hot sauce. A glass of milk can help alleviate heartburn while caffeine may make it worse. To relieve constipation, increase the amount of fruits and vegetables in your diet and drink at least six to eight glasses of water a day. Changing your habits can make you feel better and perhaps eliminate the need for pricey medications.
Cheapism.com participates in affiliate marketing programs, which means we may earn a commission if you choose to purchase a product through a link on our site. This helps support our work and does not influence editorial content.


text:
A Woman's REAL Right to Choose
Did you think that I was going to talk about abortion? Wrong. I'm talking about a woman's right to choose how she gives birth.
I know I've touched on this topic briefly before, particuarly when I was doing my obstetrics rotation in a tertiary care centre. I saw so many bad outcomes in both high and low risk pregnancies, it seriously biased my view of childbirth. For quite some time, I thought that if I were currently pregnant I would chose an elective c-section over labouring. For me, I prefered the idea of predictible risk against the idea of unpredictible risk. A c-section is a higher risk procedure than uncomplicated vaginal birth overall, to be certain. But an elective c-section is a lower risk procedure than an emergency c-section (meaning any c-section done for medical indications after labour has started) and it's impossible to predict beforehand if your birth will be one of the uncomplicated vaginal ones or if it will get complicated as your labour progresses.
In Chatelaine magazine this month (did I mention I'm a total magazine whore?) columnist (I refuse to call her a journalist) Rebecca Eckler waxes poetic about her elective c-section. People, for the most part, are horrified that she is 'too posh to push'. I have to disagree. Why mock her motivation for chosing a c-section? No where in the article does she say that she doesn't want to mess up her eye makeup by labouring or anything that implies that she made her choice based on aesthetics alone. Granted, some of the 'pros' to elective c-sections that she mentions do seem a little superficial (like knowing exactly when she'd be giving birth, being able to plan her mat leave accurately, knowing when her mother should come and visit) but who are we to judge?
I'm all about giving patients the choice. Like when it comes to Vioxx. Vioxx was a drug that gave many people with osteoarthritis a new lease on life. Finally, their pain was under control and let them be active with far fewer gastrointestinal side effects than many of the earlier drugs for OA. Then it was pulled from the market under fears of cardiovascular disease. I know for a fact that many people would gladly accept a higher risk of cardiovascular events for the improvement in their quality of life that this medication offered. I also know that I'm not alone in wishing that this medication were still available so that patients would have the choice.
But I'm going off on a tangent. I know, so unlike me.
The health care system has evolved far beyond the days when the doctor would decide what's best for the patient and the patient wouldn't have any say. Why shouldn't the patient get to decide if they prefer the predictibility of a c-section over the experience of a vaginal birth?
Sure, a c-section has it's drawbacks. It's major surgery-- the recovery period is longer, there are risks associated with any surgery, and there is the threat of wound healing problems. But there are risks associated with childbirth, period-- and the complication rate of elective c-section in low-risk pregnancies is very comperable to the risks associated with vaginal birth. Vaginal birth carries the risk leaving women with urinary incontinence, fecal incontinence, sexual dysfunction, uterine prolapse-- some studies suggest that these complications are less likely in women who were sectioned. And the tearing... ugh! I've seen tears that have ranged from what we affectionately refer to as 'skid marks', superficial tears that don't require closure, to fourth degree tears that penetrate the anal mucosa. And that's if you're lucky enough to tear downwards. Clitoral tearing is also a possibility. Then there's always the potential for the stellate tear (I'll give you a hint... stellate means "star-shaped") and the ever-horrifying perineal blowout.
Sure, natural childbirth can be a beautiful thing. But that's not a guarantee.
I know I'm singing a different verse of the same old song. But if the pros and cons are laid out for expectant women in a non-biased way, why shouldn't they have the right to chose?
Now if only I could figure out how to reconcile the increased costs to our overburdened health-care system that c-sections would carry...


text:
Frontier High-Speed Internet
Be prepared to break ground in Internet speeds with Frontier Internet service! You'll enjoy a whole host of amazing web-enabled features. Yes, this is all possible only with Frontier Internet, where new excellence boundaries are created everyday-only to be exceeded the next. Frontier Communications offers both Broadband Internet and FiOS® Internet, depending on your location, and is a leading local exchange carrier with a wide range of services across 27 states. With Frontier Internet service, you can expect fast and reliable speed to power all of your Internet-enabled devices and surf the web and stream music and movies as you like.


text:
I really wish somebody would look into the effectiveness of seawalls for tsunamis. As I mentioned to my old ladies, if you plot the scales of 1000 km, and the depth of the ocean, you get a thin sliver of ocean, like holding water in a cookie pan. Once that water starts to slide, it does not act like a wave, but like a moving slab. Put a seawall in its way, and it just runs up it. Under the right conditions these things run up hundreds of feet.
Just get the generators out of the g-damned basement! Seal them for immersion, and ready to run once the water drains off. Have an underground power cable laid to a safe zone. These are just a few things.
Of course, our own crazy people aren't learning anything from all this. Bring on The Linda to shake some sense into them. :)


text:
Since I started blogging, I've discovered a huge community of Christian women writers online. I have enjoyed reading their blogs and getting ideas and inspiration for my own blog as well as gathering writing-related information. A few years ago, Janet was posting about an online writing competition she had entered. I really liked reading her entries, but I also got interested in the contest myself. I joined FaithWriters and starting surfing around the site.
The topic for the weekly competition was Reading. I thought about it, trying to decide what I could write about. It was a broad topic, something I could write pages about. But finally I hashed out a story that I entered in the contest. It was a small sense of accomplishment for me, because I had:
-written something on a topic provided
-written it within the deadline and word count
-actually done something with my writing, rather than just leaving it sitting on my computer to be submitted "someday."
It's a short simple story, and I've already thought of ways to revise it. The point, however, was to write and enter the contest. And there are tons of contests around, from small free ones like FaithWriters to ICWF's Fall Contest to bigger ones with more expensive entry fees. Contests offer writers the chance to get feedback on their writing and, if they are among the winners, pay and even publication. Both Marcia Laycock and CJ Darlington had their first novels published by winning a contest.
You can find out about these contests by watching other writers' blogs or following writers' newsletters such as FundsForWriters. And as I said above, even if you don't win anything in the contest, just entering should come with a sense of accomplishment. You wrote something that you judged was good enough for this contest and you entered it. Good work! Keep going!
August 10, 2010
Entering Writing Contests - Bonnie Way
Labels: Bonnie Way, contests, writing tips
1 comment:
I totally agree with this! I find that writing for contests brings out the best in my writing. It's revised and polished and even if I don't win, I've improved my writing. You can't lose. If you win, it's just a bonus.ReplyDelete
Also, those stories can be picked up again and revised and sent somewhere else. It's a great way to build your writing portfolio.
Write on!
Pam M.
Thank you for taking the time to join in the conversation. Our writers appreciate receiving your feedback on posts you have found helpful or meaningful in some way.
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text:
|By Admin1 (admin) (pool-141-157-13-244.balt.east.verizon.net - 18.104.22.168) on Saturday, January 15, 2005 - 1:48 pm: Edit Post
1989: Megan Sweeney served in Kenya in Kaloleni beginning in 1989
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Megan Sweeney can be contacted at msweeneyawescodistdcom
Country of Service: Kenya
Training Group: June 1989
Cities you served in: Kaloleni
Arrival Year: 1989
Departure Year: 1991
Work Description: Small Business Advisor
Originally posted: January 3, 2002
Please post messages to the RPCV below.
If this is your profile, post additions, updates or corrections to your profile below.
RPCVs: To add your own RPCV profile click here.


text:
Deb Long (You are here)
The details:
1. Visit each blog and leave a comment. Read carefully, there may be individual requirements as some designers are offering little prizes of their own!
2. After you have visited each Designer's blog come back to My Sketch World blog and let us know what you thought. Part One of the hop ends Monday, December 5th, 11:59 EST.
3. Everyone who posts a comment on each blog will be entered to win! Winners will be randomly chosen.
4. To receive an additional entry, scraplift a layout and link it back to the My Sketch World blog (in your comment) and tell us what inspired you!
6. Have fun! Be inspired! Part Two of this hop begins December 10,2011.


text:
With Madame's cousins visiting this weekend we thought it would be a good time to grab some cupcakes and head down to Grandma Kay's house so they could help Jocelynne celebrate her birthday a little early. As Jocelynne had her first go with a cupcake it made me laugh that she was not overly impressed.
Getting some pointers from Mummy
" Really I'm suppose to like this"
Think the grass might taste better
" Really I'm suppose to like this"
Think the grass might taste better
Really I am not impressed
Maybe it will taste better if I put my foot in it
No definitely no better after putting my foot in it
Let me give it another go
Hmmm this might just be edible
Always important to coordinate your cloth diaper with your food


text:
When you file for a building permit, the application will be reviewed by other county departments. This is true except for the cities of Fort Jones, Etna, Montague, where the same reviews will be done by the city.
The Assessor's Department reviews the application to verify ownership of the property on which the improvement is to take place. The Assessor's Department is located at the Siskiyou County Courthouse, 311 4th Street, Yreka, California 96097.
The Planning Division of Community Development reviews the plot plan for setback requirements, and whether the proposed use is allowed in the assigned zone. The Planning Department is located at 806 South Main Street, Yreka, California, 96097.
The Health Department reviews the plot plan for compliance with health-related matters in conjunction with activities associated with well and waste disposal systems. Public Health Department is located at 806 South Main Street, Yreka, California, 96097.
The Road Division of Public Works requires encroachment permits for private roadways connecting to the county road systems. The Road Division is located at 1312 Fairlane Road, Yreka, California, 96097.
CAL-TRANS requires encroachment permits for connection to the state highway systems.
CAL FIRE The Fire Agency for Siskiyou County is CAL FIRE (California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection). CAL FIRE reviews projects located in the State Responsibility Areas for compliance with the State Fire-Safe Regulation (4290 & 4291 Public Resources Code). CAL FIRE is located on Fairlane Road near the South Yreka I-5 exit. The Building Division routes all projects subject to the regulations to CAL FIRE upon application for building permit.
The Fire Official reviews your plot plan to ascertain if the subject site is located in a mapped flood hazard area, and is located at 806 South Main Street, Yreka, California, 96097.
School Development Fees have been adopted by most school districts. The Building Division will complete the development forms for the appropriate school district(s) at the time of plan check. The school fees must be paid prior to permit issuance directly to the school district(s).
The Building Division generally takes about two weeks after you have received the other agency approvals to review your plans and specifications. Assuming your submittals are complete, the building permit can be issued as soon as the plan review and approval process is completed by the Building Division.
Siskiyou County does not require a grading permit but requires that the building site grading be shown on your building plot plan. It does not permit you to pre-grade your building site prior to approval of your construction plans because many times property owners have destroyed the building site and made it unusable through incorrect grading.
If you plan to live in a mobile home while you are constructing your home, a permit can be obtained at the same time you obtain your building permit and should be applied for when you initially apply for a building permit. The temporary housing must be removed upon final inspection of the suite-built dwelling.