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Anyway, I thought I'd share a discovery that one of my brood made. Please note that the pictures that appear in this post are taken by this young one.
In our house, there are a number of doll lovers. We are currently quite happy with the Ever After High dolls, but our favourites (of the modern dolls) are Spin Master's Liv dolls. Of course, there are also Monster High, Bratzillaz, Moxie Teenz, Disney Fairies and some of the Pullip dolls are really wonderful. I also really liked the My Scene and Wee Three Friends dolls when they were available.
Getting back to the main reason for this post, however, a discovery that was made. I like the outfits that the Ever After High girls wear, but they are limited to what they come dressed in, unless you're handy with a needle and thread, and can work with really tiny pattern pieces.
In an attempt to get around this, here is what was placed before me:
|EAH Madeline Hatter
|Maddie giving upside down posing a try
|Um, I didn't expect that either
Just a short post to share, until I get the others done.


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Having completely failed investors at the most critical time in generations by comprehensively misjudging the credit risk of CDO's and other exotic structured instruments, the three major credit ratings agencies (CRA's) now seem to be overly anxious not to be accused of being asleep at the wheel with respect to the Eurozone sovereign debt crisis.
S&P on May 23rd changed its outlook on Italian public debt from stable to negative and all of the agencies seem to be trying to differentiate between different shades of "junk" in regard to Greece's debt.
In the case of sovereign debt the CRA's might want to think of a new category somewhere between investment grade and default which would be equivalent to the need for creditors - in most cases private sector banks - to seek a bail out from their respective domestic public sectors.
Mervyn King once observed that the world's major banks are "global in life but national in death" and this is really the overwhelming issue beneath the tip of the iceberg that seems to preoccupy most commentary on the EZ debt crisis. Should there be an ultimate unravelling of the duct tape that is holding together the "solutions" that have been hatched by the ECB and the enormous contingent of the smartest from Europe's business schools, then it will be the German, French, Swedish, and UK governments - to name just a few - that will have to clean up the mess. And that clean up will - despite all attempts to conceal it with smoke and mirrors - amount to yet another transfer of mistakes made by hapless bankers to the future generations of European taxpayers.
One supposed way out of this outcome would be for the EZ to become something like a United States of Europe with a federal guarantee provision for the ECB and mechanisms for fiscal transfers. The only problem with this pathway is that electorates across the more prosperous parts of Europe are unlikely to enable their elected officials to enact such a re-structuring of the EMU.
Ironically if they don't act together then as the troubled European banks "die nationally" as aptly characterized by Mervyn King, the outcome may not be very different from having the whole mess transferred to a federal EZ balance sheet.
U.S. Weapons Exports, 1950 to 2017
6 hours ago

subset: commoncrawl


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This is the head to a Wang 320K calculator. It is only a couple of circuit boards which has two circuit boards which have the keyboard, and the Nixie display tubes attached.
The head to electronics cable is missing.
|Main view
|Nixie Tubes
|Nixie Display
|Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratories was LASL prior to being renamed and repurposed.
|Nixie display tubes
|Nixie Display Tubes
|Wang Laboratories 320K
|Service TAg
|Service tag inside bottom cover
|Bottom Cover with product sticker (missing feet)
|Display board (bottom), Keyboard (top)
I don't know that this one was programmable, it may be a simpler model. Some had card readers which would read statically a single Hollerith card punched on a keypunch to load a program.


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Jul 23, 2014
When I have too much to talk about
So I wanted to update this blog yesterday with a continuation of my Seoul adventure series, then I found out that I accidentally deleted all my pictures in my Line Camera folder on my phone, and apparently I had no back up in my computer so right now I am wailing at the loss... *SOBS* I guess I will update tomorrow with some pictures from my instagram and other social media platform... but still...
anyway, there is Ied around the corner, which is a big holiday for us muslim, which means long holiday is approaching! WOO HOO~! Which explains all the holiday mood in the office, like almost everyone is too busy planning for the holiday instead (including me). Well fortunately I've finished all the to-do-list I gotta do until the end of the month so I am freeeeeeeeee~~~~~ °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°
What else is new? Oh, I am planning to revive my littletiara/tiararisa artwork line after the long holiday. Been researching for some needed informations, so wish me luck with everything! And please do anticipate the comeback! Hehe~
Something about the job and office? I'm doing good, I still can do whatever they want me to do and I can start enjoying the job (not that I didn't enjoy it). But of course, me and my never ending list of needs will forever seeking for a way to earn more, so yeah, that's where my artwork is coming to. (◍•ᴗ•◍)
Also, I've been trying new stuff and media to draw, it's always fun experimenting. I've been trying out with water colors and water color pencils, weee... so fun! The result is (of course) different from what I've been doing and it gives a pretty nice feeling trying and creating something new. Well, I am forever seeking and creating and evolving my style, so I have to learn to accept my own ever-changing style, I guess. (◡△◡✿)
I wanted to show my new artwork off but I have no scanner around me right now so.. ugh...
another dilemma I've been having for quite some time now is if I should buy a new phone, or a new camera, or just save the money for more travelling (lol) aish.. I can't seem to make up my mind... *SOBS* Even about travelling I can't decide where I wanna go, Korea (again, of course), Japan, or Bangkok? Aish, If only I were a billionaire I've flown to those places already.. aigoo aigoo..
Oh oh oh... another thing! I have this tiny liiiiittle crush here in my office! YAY! (eh...) I mean, I have someone to look forward to whenever I go to work, hehe~ found this cute little eyecandy and ughhh... I feel like a high school facing her crush all over again, dayummm... I still haven't found a way to even know his name so... uhmm.. :|
okay, so this post is everywhere and going nowhere I know. I guess it's just another life update post? Lol, I originally wanted to do some make up review, or showing you my HG list of make up, but eh.. that has to wait.
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text:
HSBC takes $4.4 billion in write-downs on weak US credit
HSBC warned: "If US residential property values continue to fall, we would expect an increasing and persistent trend in overall real estate-secured delinquency and loan impairment charges."
The global investment banking arm reported $925 million in write-downs associated with credit trading and leveraged acquisition loans. $750 million came from the securities portfolio, including subprime residential mortgages and structured credit products, and $175 million represented write-downs on non-syndicated debts associated with leveraged acquisitions. $600 million of the $925 million total originated in the bank's New York office.
The investment banking arm still holds $2 billion in wholesale US subprime mortgages, but the bank has "very little direct exposure" to collateralised debt obligations based on subprime mortgages, it said.
However, the widening of credit spreads also brought benefits; fair value accounting of the group's own debt contributed $1.3 billion to profits, representing the benefit of having borrowed at lower spreads, the bank added.
As a result of the losses, HSBC is pulling back from the US consumer finance market, with 100 branches already closing and another 260 scheduled to follow, reducing the bank to 1,000 US branches. The bank will also cut fees and charges on its credit cards in order to reduce delinquencies, and is tightening up loan conditions; "when we see the economy strengthening, we will be able to resume growth," the bank wrote.
See also:$400 billion losses on subprime, predicts Deutsche Bank
Wachovia declares $1.1 billion writedown for October
S&P: Two years of problems ahead
Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch reveal billions more subprime damage
More on Structured products
7 days in 60 seconds
Digital offices, Brexit swaptions and forex derivatives
The week on Risk.net, July 7-13, 2018Receive this by email


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Hi folks!
I just uploaded the library with comments and 2 examples to Sourceforge. You have the code here:
As you can see there, I put quite a lot of comments on the Lib file. It should be easy for you follow the code.
I create 3 classes:
B_Wheel: Virtual class to deal with any wheel / driver combination.
Driver_Wheel: Class to deal with wheels commanded by a driver using 2 outputs to define direction and a PWM output.
Platform: Class able to control a 3 omni-wheel platform. This class uses an array of pointers to B_Wheel variables. This way, this class can control any kind of wheels.
I will extend this lib by providing an additional wheel-drive type: Full Rotation Servo like this one of Sparkfun. This way, 99% of wheel-drive combinations were covered.
The To-Do list is quite long: Full rotation Servo, 4 wheel platform, 2 wheel platform (not omni), incorporation of compass to control direction, LIDAR support...
If you have any question or doubt, please put an comment in this page and I will answer you.


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I used only four ingredients to make these: unflavored gelatin, pure cane sugar, Hydrus concentrated electrolytes, and plain ol' tap water. For about half the batch, I also added artificial banana flavoring on top of the lemon-lime flavor of the Hydrus. You can use any other electrolyte source, but as many of them are powders, I heavily favored the liquid concentrate of the Hydrus as I thought it would mix in better and absorb better when eaten.
I started by mixing a teaspoon of gelatin with three tablespoons of water, just to get the gelatin dissolving a bit while I boiled another 1/3 cup of water. Once it was boiling I added the gelatin mixture to the hot water, to really get it started - this is the typical way to prepare gelatin. Once the gelatin granules were thoroughly dissolved, I poured in 1/2 cup of the pure cane sugar, then started the burner again to bring everything up to a low boil.
Keeping the mixture stirred constantly, I boiled it for about 16 minutes until I FINALLY noticed the liquid was starting to gel. I was worried I had left it on a little too long, but I pulled it off at the first sign of thickening and I think that was a smart move. Two teaspoons of Hydrus went in as soon as I took it off the heat, and I stirred very quickly before pulling out my mold: a 50 cavity GUMMY BEAR MOLD! Honestly, I'm so excited about being able to make my own energy chew gummy bears because they're going to be absolutely adorable AND (if all goes well) a great source of mid-run fuel.
The mold comes with an incredibly handy squeeze dropper, so filling the little bear shapes was a snap. Each dropper-full was enough for four wells, and I got my mold filled quickly before the mixture set any further. I did stop half-way through the mold to add some banana flavoring to the remaining mixture, just to see if the flavor made any difference. With all 50 wells filled, I wanted to move the mold directly into the refrigerator, but neglected to put the very flexible mold on a more solid and portable surface! So I had to let them set a little on the counter before relocating.
Disclaimer: I received the gummy tray at no cost in exchange for mentioning in this post.
A couple hours later: the moment of truth. I'd checked on the gummies a few times to see if they were setting, and while they had definitely firmed up a bit, every time I checked they were definitely not ready to come out of the mold. Finally I decided to leave them overnight and check in the morning pre-race. They'd firmed up enough to not be gooey to the touch, but weren't firm enough to pop out of the mold in any usable fashion! Instead I had a sticky mess on my hands.
I believe my error was in not heating the sugar mixture long enough. I had been worried that it wasn't firming up very quickly, then panicked when it finally started to get just a little more thick, and pulled the mixture off the stove right away. I'm going to be retrying my same recipe this week to see if heating a little longer works better (even though I'm worried I'll end up over cooking my next batch) and will report back on whether the retry is more successful! STAY TUNED!
What do you use to fuel your runs? Have you ever made your own fuel?


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Wednesday, November 3, 2010
[AVAILABLE] Nevada Election Results 2010 [HARRY REID]
11 comments:
- AnonymousNovember 4, 2010 at 8:25 AM
The people have spoken, and 50% of Nevada's citizens don't want Reid!ReplyDelete
How does Nevada, generall a conervative state, keep sending that idiot back to the Senate? Hmm. Funny.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousNovember 4, 2010 at 7:24 PM
I live in Nevada and I can not believe Reid won again. Whats wrong with you Nevadans! I once was a dem. before they went progressive. I voted for the rep. To bad the unions are so good at forcing their people to vote what they want " PROGRESSIVE".ReplyDelete
- AnonymousNovember 4, 2010 at 7:28 PM
the bad thing is that too many nevadans were afrid of sharon angles IdeasReplyDelete
- AnonymousNovember 4, 2010 at 8:01 PM
What can people expect. It does'nt take the wisdom of Solemenn to figure out that Sharon Angle is a lunatic fringe idiot. I even voted for Reid and I'm a republican. Can you say Michelle Bachman or ahost of other idiots in the Republican party. I think I'm changing to Democrat because I have lost my fath with these idiots.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousNovember 4, 2010 at 10:43 PM
I live in Nevada and I'm proud this state would not elect a politician who refused to reveal her political stances until after the election.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousNovember 4, 2010 at 10:46 PM
They both suck....Reid just sucks a tiny bit less than Angle....yawn. Same crap different day.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousNovember 5, 2010 at 12:36 PM
Regardless of who sucked worse, Reid should have never been re-elected. I am disappointed in my fellow Americans in Nevada. I won't be coming to your state anytime soon. What really happened in Nevada is that the big power brokers (unions, casino owners, etc.) took over from the will of the people, and Nevadans were not strong enough to stop it. This election in Nevada exemplifies all that is wrong aboutReplyDelete
America, and you all have allowed this awful person to affect the rest of our great country. Shame on all of you.
- AnonymousNovember 6, 2010 at 6:54 AM
harry reid is an asshole.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousNovember 6, 2010 at 2:51 PM
Well as Bill Maher said: "The left has moved to the center and the right has moved into a mental institution." You guys, the new republican party is nothing but idiots who want to take us all back to the 1950's. We need to progrees not go back. Do you think they care about YOU? There will be no more middle class there will be the haves and the rest of us will be ignored and sent down the river. Good luck with your right wing candidates.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousNovember 6, 2010 at 5:19 PM
I'm so glad that the propaganda being spread by those "staunch republicans" didn't influence enough Nevadans to swing the vote. Harry Reid isn't the best politican BUT he certainly isn't the worst either. Those whiney republicans have been crying since George W's failed policies and shameful international relationships convinced the entire country to vote democrat. Maybe we can take a page from George's play book and start a BS war in 2012 so we can stay in the white house for another term.ReplyDelete


text: Latest on Why Caroline's Out: Nanny, Taxes, Husband The leaks continue o By John Johnson, Newser Staff Posted Jan 22, 2009 4:22 PM CST 5 comments Comments In this Aug. 25, 2008, file photo, Caroline Kennedy introduces her uncle, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., before his speech at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. (AP Photo) View 2 more images (Newser) – So what's the real reason behind Caroline Kennedy's withdrawal? Depends on whom you ask. An aide to New York Gov. David Paterson says she had a tax problem and a possible nanny issue that emerged in vetting, the Times reports. But a Kennedy pal says she dropped because her husband "is controlling" and thought she'd wreck their marriage by moving to DC, the Daily News adds. The New York Post also cites her marriage, with an anonymous source close to the governor asserting, without elaboration, that "reporters are starting to look at her marriage more closely"—though Kennedy denied rumors of trouble with Edward Schlossberg. After all this, would she have gotten the post had she not bowed out? It was hers for the taking, say sources close to Kennedy. Not a chance, say Paterson sources. View 2 more images


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Monday, October 13, 2008
Elizabeth's New Photos!
You're probably looking at them and wondering why I need two photos since there's only one of me. The short answer is that I had trouble making up my mind--and it wasn't like any of the people I asked for input helped. I'd narrowed down the hundred or so photos the photographer took to 24 and these are some of the comments I got from family and (supposed) friends:
You look tired
I hate the red outfit.
There's a flower growing out of your head.
I hate the blue outfit.
Wow! Your make-up looks great! (This was said in such tones of surprise that it immediately made me suspicious of what my make-up normally looks like.)
Wow! Your hair looks great! (Ditto. Have you any idea how time consuming straightening hair is? Huh? Do you? And it's not like I'm a teenager and care any more...)
That's the spaniel pose. (This from my agent about the last pose. In an act of defiant passive-aggressiveness I got the spaniel pose anyway.)
Phew! Thank goodness that's over for at least the next five years!
So, your thoughts? Hate the red outfit? Hate the blue outfit? And what about that spaniel pose?
Elizabeth Hoyt
12 comments:
- Diana Holquist said...
I thought maybe the first one was Elizabeth and the second was Julia....
I like the first, but LOVE the second in red. You look about twenty years old. Not that you're not twenty...twenty-one?
Isn't it nice to know you can get back into your sweat pants and "Be nice or I'll put you in my novel" sweatshirt now?
- October 13, 2008 7:00 PM
- ArkieRN said...
I love the second picture. The color pops and I really like the pose. Plus, I like your expression in that pic better. You have a beautiful smile. I like that you show it.
- October 13, 2008 7:09 PM
- Kelley St. John said...
I love them both, but the first one is my favorite :)
Nice pics, Elizabeth!!
- October 14, 2008 2:02 AM
- AndreaW said...
Great pictures, Elizabeth! The second one is my favorite. :)
- October 14, 2008 5:40 AM
- Kathleen said...
Hi Elizabeth!
I like the second picture the best! The red shirt is very flattering and I like the pose.
- October 14, 2008 6:48 AM
- Carolyn said...
I love the one where you're wearing red. It's really lovely.
- October 14, 2008 7:05 AM
- Elizabeth Hoyt said...
LOL! Yes, I am amazingly young looking here, aren't I, Diana? Perhaps because of the magic of airbrushing, which has mysteriously taken away all my eye wrinkles. ;-)
Thank you for the compliment about my smile, arkiern! ;-)
And thank you, everyone for the input on my photos. I'm thinking I'll be using the close-up mainly, and save the "blue" one for when I want to look like a "serious" author. LOL!
- October 14, 2008 7:51 AM
- Mother Musings said...
I have to agree with most of the comments here. I like the one with you in red. I think it compliments your coloring better.
Very nice picture!
- October 14, 2008 11:19 AM
- May said...
I loved the red outfit. More than that I like your smile in that picture.
- October 15, 2008 6:48 AM
- Shari Anton said...
In the second one shows off your lovely eyes and wonderful smile! What the devil is spaniel pose?
- October 15, 2008 8:02 AM
- Annie Solomon said...
I think they're both great. If you put a gun to my head and force me to pick one, I'd have to go for the blue. Yeah, I know, I'm in the minority. Story of my life. I'm just a rebel at heart.
But truly, they're both lovely. And you should be commended for taking the plunge and having them done. Good job!
- October 15, 2008 9:35 AM
Just read something on cnn.com that said that men find women in red more sexy. Just saying...
Here's the link:
I'm not a man, but I like the red, too.
- October 29, 2008 9:01 AM


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Antarctica Condition 1 Weather
We're having a cold snap down here in Texas. It's gotten as low as 50ºF! Brrr. We'll survive though.
Now in Antarctica, they've got it really rough. Here's a video from McMurdo Station, the main American research center in Antarctica. It's a 2006 video showing what the weather is like in what the natives call "Condition 1." That's when the wind speed exceeds 55 knots, visibility is less than 100 feet or the wind chill temperature is below -100ºF. Rather nippy.
-via TYWKIWDBI
Newest 5 Comments
Oh, yes! I was thinking that we had an Antarctic Neatoramanaut, but I couldn't remember your name.
I love that video.
The temperature in Winnipeg the other day was colder than both the north and south poles. The wind chill was -52C (-62F). Here in Ottawa it was much warmer, wind chill was only -40.
That's them! They've taken about 10 years of footage and put it together in a feature-length film that is making its way across the country right now. They've got all sorts of his signature time lapse stuff, and talk about what it is like to winter over.


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New illustration created this week including beautiful flowers with shining sun light. @ Elli Chortara 2015
The Cheetah
Here is the illustration for this week a proud and beautiful Cheetah! Cheetahs are animals of extreme beauty and of course speed – they are the fastest animals on land, so I have read recently – but unfortunately also an endangered species. If you like big cats please contribute here:
Cheetahs are dynamic, wild, beautiful and fast – so here she is – an illustrated version of one! Font used courtesy of Retro Fonts from Laurence King Publishing.
A great way to start this month and the last of winter too, the month that prepares us to welcome spring and wishing you all a Happy February!!!!!!! Elli Chortara © 2015
Mills and Castles
Hello! Keeping the creativity promise as per 2015's resolution and here is the latest illustration called 'Mills and Castles' and -inspired- by beauty that older buildings have. Also by mentioning some inspiration by warriors, nature, castles here is a contemporary version of a static vector building construction. Clean shapes and of course keeping it as colourful as ever!
Elli Chortara © 2015
No title – Don't know what it is called yet illustration!
Hello! As promised this year will be a creative one with more and more illustrations coming up and and even more creativity for good measure! Well just a few days after the start of the new year and feeling more motivated to be creative than ever.. – here is the newest illustration full of colours, shapes and shades for your eyes enjoyment all combined with a smile to keep lighting up our hearts! 🙂
Copyright © Elli Chortara 2015.
Collaboration theme
Here is my latest one! Very vintage indeed – Combining F1 car style with a some kind of random space ship from the past – parked into an abstract port and using some reds, yellows and blues for a retro style palette – and with this composition visually 'completing' a circle of collaboration of blog posts – adding of course a cup cake on the side for a blog anniversary – since it is a due collaboration theme time of month and it has been almost a year this theme choice challenge has started! Also have added some texture a technique I have been trying a bit more recently.
Here is the latest illustration it is called 'Cosmic' and has been created in probably more that 2-3 cafes – as all my illustrations made with the best possible intentions. It might seem strange to some going to a cafe all the time especially on sunny weekends and doing all these drawings instead of just lying down somewhere in the sunshine – oh well – I like to create my illustrations somewhere with people and noise, especially after work or during the weekends when I simply like to have some creative fun, and I live in tiny tiny room too! Such is the life of a creative – what can be done – this is a blessing or a curse – take it or leave it – I think I 'll take it 🙂
new illustration! collaborative theme
So here is the latest piece which is the collaboration theme selection with a friend of mine. This one is called 'Hectic Day' which is not far from the truth at least for me at the moment! Hectic mornings rushing to do things as portrayed in this illustration! Well a little bit more about myself here I have settled back in London for a while now near my old neighbourhood and am rediscovering the big city. Working and exploring town, perhaps trying to meet some new people – if I am not busy I tend to take massive walks in town – go to cafes markets and try food sometimes all the same but some other times sometimes different! I enjoy the city life and walking around my area and exploring the nearby ones too perhaps taking some guided walks, because I think it is vital to appreciate and find out more about the place I live in. That's all for today – but l'll keep a promise to post more regularly my new illustrations 🙂


text:
James quit cold-turkey. He walked off the job three Fridays ago with two delivery jobs dispatched to him. He caught management off-guard. Customers paying upwards of $12 for same day delivery started calling the company, using their New York City attitude to spread hell over expensive cell phones upon the ears of unsuspecting dispatchers who had assumed James was still on the job and one of their slaves.
"Fuck-it. I'm not doing it," he must have said, I imagine out on my own route, already missing my morning conversations with a man who was once a first-line draft choice for the NBA. According to James, as he explained one morning as I sorted paychecks, his career in the sport ended with a terrible leg injury, yet James still managed to walk for miles every day as a messenger. Amazing, I thought. What a man. He was probably good in the sack back in his thirties, but now there he was, 56, with a trick- knee of some sorts, one that made him a cripple to the pro's who were responsible for drafting such men as James. His little, haphazardly cut fro and spacious teeth stained from a constant soaking in booze and marijuana smoke were not enough to make James homely looking. He has a tight body and pecks that still stand out. His sinister laugh would not stop me from going down on him although I'm just under a decade younger and rarely do men who are not as tall as I am.
He lives with a female roommate, introduced to him by the Division of Homeless services. James finally got a blow-job from her, in the shower, after taking 'her' out for bowling on her birthday. I didn't have the heart to tell my co-worker he may have been blown by a transgender but didn't want to be a square in the love triangle he found himself in. According to James, his roommate and girlfriend of a decade got along great and liked each other. James was plotting a way to get the two in bed, but the roommate was in a relationship with a girl who sometimes spent the night there. James often heard them making love and asked me how he could invite himself in. "Just crack open the door and put your dick through the crack. If they wave for you to come in, then they want you, otherwise, the lesbo will yell at you." James laughed hard.
Management at the messenger company had a certain love for James too. Perhaps the love was due to the six years the former, almost made it to the pro's basketball player, put in as a New York City messenger for the same company. Let's not count the number of times he left early on Friday to go home and get drunk. There were many times on Friday I was ordered by Steve to so some on-demand jobs or get fired. I was always exhausted after finishing my conglomeration of four differnt routes on the East Side, running from 43rd all the way down to the Lower East Side where groups like Blondie got their start. James and many other "on-demand' workers left early to hit the bottle, and there I was, a messenger for the same company, and everyone in NYC waits to the last damned minute on a Friday to send shit out.
James Clemonts finally had the balls to tell all the dispatchers and supervisors at work that he was not in the mood for another lecture and threat of termination. He simply quit without the desire to fight for unemployment insurance benefits. There was no cursing as one may expect from a senior member at NYC's largest messenger company, who has run from every tip of the city, back and forth several times a day– all for minimum wage– for more than a half decade, even in all those snow storms.
The fact was, James was only taking home a buck seventy-five, or so, every week, ever since he was banished from delivering paychecks and forced to do what the company calls "on demand"– taking packages from one business to another on the subway or on foot, and at times when traveling west to east, upon the very slow NYC bus system. Some of these on demand jobs pay just $2.50 per delivery, while a messenger makes $1.50 a paycheck and often delivers upwards of 10 per building.
James was holding down another part-time delivery job to make up for his loss in paychecks. He delivers Nespresso boxes, some sort of gourmet coffee to residences and door men all across town. Mike Day, one of our co-workers and an ex Heroin addict (if there is such a thing) once advised James, "You can't make any real money with them. They run you all across town." But James didn't listen, he took on that job and developed a certain attitude towards the company that took away his paycheck route simply because James misplaced a few packages while hung over one day.
Mike Day, another 7 year veteran of the company who delivers to the Wall Street area, pretended to be angry with his best-friend James. The two were under some sort of payday agreement, where upon receiving his paycheck on Friday mornings, James promised to head straight to the bank and hand over $40 to Day. I witnessed the bargaining every week. Mike Day often reminded James and I, and anyone else listening in, that his former best friend at the job, upon termination, left not only the messenger company, but Mike Day standing empty-handed, nearly $300 in the hole.
There were mornings when I'd chime into their negotiations like a white Al Sharpton without an evening show on MSNBC. I felt somewhat sorry for Day, who truly has recovered, but taken on a certain aura during his negotiations over coin that I can only compare to that of one of the saints, althought I must admit, I probably never met one prior to bumping into Day at the job. I could not hold my silence any longer. For more than four years I have been the white, quiet one standing next to the two– a set of ears, that cared, I suppose, to serve as the Jude Judy judicial system, presiding over their situation that never changed
"It is good that you have a friend like Mike Day. I think he is a saint, James. He never has anything bad to say to anyone, unless it's to their face, and Mike lent me $20 last Thursday, just so I could get a few beers the day before payday. And to think he is clean and sober. Mike Day is a saint, James. He has no bad habits and always has money that he is not afraid to lend out."
"But people take advantage of me all the time, Charles," Mike day blasted in a deep, Southern tone. He is softspoken, but his words carry right through one.
"What do you do with all your money, anyway?" I asked Day. "You probably have it stuffed in a mattress. What happens if you die tonight and here James and I are, flat-out broke?"
"I cannot believe you said that right in front of me," Mike Day rebuffed. I went back to sorting paychecks, feeling almost sorry, but I choose my words carefully while in the presence of those closest to what some call "A God".
James is gone now, though, and there stands 72 year old Mike Day without his best friend in the mornings. It's just me, an old queen, pretending to care. I told everyone this morning that I really missed James and that it was a shame that he had to quit the job after so many years working there. "You all were too hard on him," I cried. The Black men just stared at me and waited for my next words. There were none. They all knew why he was gone.


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Contrary to popular belief, I do cook at home :) It's been couple of weeks since I have started my housewifing in Chennai and large part of it involves cooking. Of course, my husband and more importantly my father in law are my great helps there. but we do go to these nice restaurants in Chennai, visited four until now :P
So Murugan idli , one of the most popular eateries in the whole Tamilnadu, has a branch that is in the vicinity, and we go there. In fact, I have been there twice in just two weeks. Murugan has a decent amount of space, which can accommodate about 25-30 people, not to big and flashy, but the taste of food will make up for any lacunae this place might otherwise have.OK, so let us start over.
Murugan serves only south Indian food. All you can get to eat is variety of Idlis, Dosa, uttampam, and white Paniyaram (which we call appe back in Maharashtra) In drinks, it serves tea, coffee, milk, mineral water and their own product, Jigarthanda. That's all. No Menu card is served, of course because the choice is so limited. Murugan seems to be following the principle of serve little, serve the best.
You can swear by the quality of Idli here. well, people expect that while you are in Chennai, idli is one food which ought to be served best. It is not true. It is like saying whenever you are in Maharashtra, you ought to have Pohe and Misal served best. It is a local cuisine, and a staple to most of the people here, still there are places where Idlis are rice stones, and not cakes! Murugan serves Idlis which are an epitome of being idlis. Snow-white, extra soft, fresh and hot from the cooker direct to your plate. oh no, on your leaf.
Other aspect of Murugan being a Southie hotel is emphasized by it's absence of serving plates. There are banana leaves, one for each, laid out on the table by the waiter here. the customer is supposed to take some water, and wash the banana leaf with your own hands. Then There will be boys roaming around with bowls of different kind of chutneys (or Podi). And as soon as you are given a table and banana leaf is cleaned, samples of different Podis will appear on your leaf. your order is brought to you within 5-7 minutes, and as those super soft Idlis or other stuff appears, another waiter comes and your meal is made complete with Sambar and the normal white coconut chutney.
oh and most importantly, Whatever you might have ordered, just mix everything together, most presumably, make balls and start throwing them in your mouth. This is not a place to be sophisticated and eat your idli with a fork and get a taste of sambar with a spoon. This is a place to be totally Southie, eat that oh-so-tasty food with a typical south Indian fervor, and then, if you please, complete it with a filter kaapi :). Burrrp!
more on idlis and other stuff later. till then, sing my version of the song-
Idli dosa appam khao
tum bhi murugan ke gun gao!
mind it mind it! :)
mind it mind it! :)


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Thursday, 31 July 2008
Day 2 of Black Boxes Photo shoot......
Wednesday, 30 July 2008
Black Boxes Photo competition....
This was a costly photo shoot........I had to pay my son with chocolate, the monkey with a knitted banana and the parrot with a taste of freedom!
Please note: no animals were harmed in the making of these photos.
Friday, 25 July 2008
Inkheart....bringing characters to life
Friday, 18 July 2008
931 words.....and still the fear
Monday, 14 July 2008
Read, read, read....
So what have I been doing...............lots and lots of reading. I figure that this is still productive because all writers must read. The advantage is that I love reading.
What have I been reading over the past few days????
"Outcast" by Michelle Paver
"In Search of Adam" by Caroline Smailes
"Give me a Sign" by Shanta Everington
"Midnight for Charlie Bone" by Jenny Nimmo
All very different books, All very good. Check out the links by clicking on the author's names.
Now I'm off to catch up with all of you in blogland.
Monday, 7 July 2008
The Flubbafish family & lack of patience........
'3' things......
FIRSTLY - enough laughing, I know I can't draw. But I thought I'd share my rather 'special' example that I made for the Junior creative writing club at school.
Today, Michelle and I asked them to create characters for an alien family recently arrived on Earth. They decided that the family would be called the 'Flubbafish' family. Mum, Dad, sister, brother and pet Floop (hybrid hamster/seal/....) were created. Their artwork was far superior to mine (not that that's difficult, but it was very good). We had lots of fun drawing, colouring, sticking on post-it notes and creating personalities. Next week we'll create their home planet and write a Flubbafish family diary detailing their first experiences of our world.
Today's session was great fun and I'm looking forward to next week. This colourful way of creating characters is just as useful for us adults (especially if you're like me and have never grown out of colouring and sticking.)
Go on - give it a go!
SECONDLY - I FINISHED my first edit on Friday. Feels good.
THIRDLY - I've only just realised that writing requires a lot of patience.
OH poop! This is not a personality trait I possess!
I wish I'd realised this at seven years old when I set my heart on making writing my career! Or at least considered the 'need for patience' when a year ago I decided to treat my writing as a job and not just a hobby! All this editing, more editing and then waiting to hear back from subs (and I haven't even got to this stage yet)............I feel myself getting tense.........what if I don't live long enough?...... Aghhhh!!!!
I get impatient : at the lack of hours in the day; with not being able to write more; at not getting time for research; that my writing is not improving, my knowledge not growing fast enough and with needing greater energy to write out all the stories in my head. I could go on.... but 'not' has appeared too many times in this paragraph for my liking.
But I do love writing. So......................I guess this a 'life lesson'. I must overcome my impatient nature (and lack of grammatical skill) and be a writer despite my personality faults.
I want to be a published author - Now, now, NOW, NOW, NOW!!!!!!!!!! (stamping my feet, clenching my fists, gnashing my teeth, red in the face...........................and reaching for the Yellow Pages to look for 'Patience Therapists'......P....Pa......)
Thursday, 3 July 2008
Cute excuse........
I would have written far more today but I was doing a bit of puppy sitting. Isn't he adorable? You've got to admit he's a pretty good excuse for not working hard. Of course I will transform my puppy sitting experience into a literary masterpiece. Does that mean I can count it as 'research'? Can that few hours of cuddles, play and mopping up be considered part of my writing experience? The thing about having a good imagination is that I use it for bad stuff - like creating far fetched excuses for procrastination!! I promise to go and do some more editing just as soon as I've finished this post - paw on heart!
Ok - Tam tagged me to do this Meme. So you can write to Tam if you fall asleep reading this. Actually, it was the first time I've been personally tagged - thanks Tam - I'm chuffed.
What were you doing ten years ago?
Pre kids. Working as a sweetie rep for Trebor Bassett. Socialising lots more. Sleeping in on Sunday mornings. Amateur musical theatre. Cub scout leader. Part of Melton Mowbray writing club. Having piano lessons with a fascinating and intelligent lady from Brazil. Buying too many shoes. Keeping the local pubs in business!
Five things on my to do list for today
Well day's nearly over but it was:
1) finish doing my first edit of book (also known as making pretty colourful scribbles) - still to do!
2) Do my 100 words (seperate to edit) - still to do!
3) Learn how to use my new dishwasher that hubbie only plumbed in last night. (I am sooooo excited - no more washing-up or moaning about the mess on my sides)
4) Puppy sit.
5) Sort out boring pile of paperwork and finances. (this one is carried over daily)
What are three of your bad habits?
1) Talking too loud and too much (apparently)
2) Worrying
3) Bit grim - but - scratching my scalp when I'm nervous.
Other than this I am damn well perfect! Would I lie to you?
What would you do if you were a billionaire?
Spend lots spoiling the ones I love. Write (and get published - hey I'll have plenty of bribe money). Buy a gorgeous old house with land, sea view and a library. Set up a literacy charity. Travel and learn about as many different cultures and places as I can. More charity - I'd hate to be rolling in it whilst other people aren't.
What are some snacks you enjoy?
Chocolate (I couldn't survive without it). Red Wine (is that a snack? - don't care it is to me). Chilli Heatwave Doritos (oh hell these are the bane of my waistline at the moment). Cashew nuts (unsalted). Oh and loads more but I'm already sounding like an unhealthy bloater!!!
What were the last five books you read?
Wolf Brother (Michelle Paver)
Spirit Walker (Michelle Paver)
The Dream Master (Theresa Breslin)
The Dream Master Nightmare (Theresa Breslin)
The Welsh Girl (Peter Ho Davies)
ALL great books!!
What five jobs have you had?
Natwest - branch customer services (hated it)
Events organiser for Go-Karting track (men in suits fulfilling their dream of F1 success).
Powergen - business customer services
Sales & Law Recruitment (finding jobs for clever people)
Trebor Bassett (part of Cadbury) - Area Sales Representative (busy eating boot full of freebies meant for customers)
Name five places I have lived
Melton Mowbray (pork pie land)
Vale of Belvoir (just up the road from Melton but sounds good)
York (great city)
Canada (Well...in truth I haven't lived there. Haven't even visited. But I needed another to make five and it looks beautiful)
Cornwall (North and West - gorgeous, gorgeous place)
Okay YOU CAN WAKE UP NOW!!!! Stop snoring, it's making me sad! My life will be sooooo much more interesting when I'm a hugely successful author. Think JK Rowling and double the success & opportunities (is that possible?) Anyway.........when that time comes could someone be sure to tag me for a Meme so that I can show off. Thanks :-)


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After months of delay in filming the movie, "Huling Sayaw", of Angel Locsin with Aga Mulach it appears that the shooting is starting to speed up as Aga shared in a press conference for his upcoming TV sitcom two days ago.
In the interview, Aga confirmed that he is leaving with Angel next week for Japan. The first part of the movie will be shot there and expected to film there for 10 days. In this movie, we will see Aga dancing again but more serious than what he did in 'Bagets' movie in the '80s. Aga shared that he needs to lose more pounds than what he did in 'Love Story' in 2007. If he reduced his weight to 160 lbs for that movie, he feels that he needs to reduce his weight to 150 lbs for this movie since as an expert ballroom dancer, he needs to be lean and agile.
"Huling Sayaw" as we gathered is an action-drama and not a typical a love story because it will also involve politics. Angel and Aga are both dancers in this movie so there will be a lot of dance sequences but they are not stripteasers here although the theme will be dark and sensual. They both confirmed that the roles they are going to play are very challenging and some scenes will be difficult since they are entirely different from their past movies.
In preparation, Angel and Aga started meeting from 25th of February for dance rehearsals since they were supposed to begin shooting on 15th of March but did not materialize. To-date, they completed a one day shooting for this movie on 14th of June. Angel did a superb job in her first scene, which involved pole dancing and took her only one take. She was wearing a one-piece suit during her dance sequence.
Prior to filming, Angel underwent rigid training in pole dancing and got bruises. She enrolled in a pole dancing class to train her body to be more flexible and learn the art of sensual fitness routine. Imagine Angel Locsin shifting her weight and limbs through different balance positions while suspended in a pole, and suddenly she grips the pole with her inner thighs and all her limbs are extended upside down. She has also been preparing to become physically fit for the movie by running hard and working out.
In an interview with Angel, she shared that the moviegoers will see her portraying a different character which she has never though of portraying and will do scenes that that will be seen only in this movie because she will not be doing it again. It will be a challenge for her because she will be doing some uncomfortable scenes so it will take a lot of concentration and motivation.
Before the shooting, Angel has already bonded with Aga by having dinner together in a restaurant owned by the family of Cesar Montano. Here are the photos shared by Sunshine through her Twitter account.
Other casts are Jake Cuenca and Ryan Eigenmann under the direction of multi-awarded director, Olive Lamasan. She directed several blockbuster hits and critically acclaimed movies such In My Life, Milan, Madrasta, and Anak. Although this is the first project of Angel with Ms. Olive, Aga has worked with Ms. Olive in the past for "Sana Maulit Muli" that also starred Lea Salonga.
The movie was conceptualized by ABS-CBN unit head Enrico Santos and being produced by Star Cinema. Incidentally, Ms. Olive is also the ABS-CBN's Vice President for Creative.
sources: various articles and are hyper-linked as above.


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Jul 19, 18 03:38 PM
cancer a fight we can win
Jul 19, 18 03:35 PM
Global Warming Knowledge gathered from around the world
Jul 18, 18 10:21 AM
Mednews announcements of latest treatments, medicines and discoveries
Black-holes are a space phenomenon that are no threat to human beings, there is one at the centre of our galaxy and whilst it is a strange and very violent place it has been there for a long long time and I could joke and say nobody has ever seen it, but we do know it's there, scientists have told us.
As an example as to why it is no threat to us consider this. If our sun were to stop shining suddenly we would not be aware of it for a full eight minutes, because that is the time it takes for the light from the sun to reach us here on earth.
Now the nearest black hole is the one at the centre of our galaxy and our galaxy is many light years across, a light year is the way we measure the enormous distances across space. We cannot do this in miles, the numbers are just too big for our reasoning.
You can work it out, the sun is about 93 million miles away, and light travels that distance in eight minutes so divide a year by eight minutes and multiply that figure by 93 million miles and you get a large number of miles, that's a light year.
It's impractical to think of miles when you are thinking about space, distant stars are millions of light years distant from Earth, when we think about, photograph or record these stars, we are recording what they were like millions of light years ago, we don't know what they are like today.
The biggest known black hole is four lights Days in diameter this equates to 70,000 million miles, and remember the sun is 93,million miles away from the Earth
How can we be sure that what science is telling us is actually a true picture of the universe? we know that as we go faster time actually slows down, we also know that the universe is expanding and everything that we are looking at are travelling at different speeds, and this means some parts have different times.
The world is a weird and wonderful place and if you include the universe in your thinking things get more weird and more wonderful the more you think about it.But do not worry about such things, it has been like this for thousands of years and it's not likely to change soon. Home Page - black-holes-video3
Please click on a link
Go to this page to see the wonderful treatments that are now on offer with these all natural remedies


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We have been learning to write recounts about a personal experience this term with the focus on organising our ideas into paragraphs. We had to start with an introduction and then write what happened and finish with a conclusion or summary of what we thought or how we felt about our experience.
Jett's Journey to School
by Molly
On Thursday 20th June Jett came to school. Jett belongs to Ms MacKenzie.
Jett was born in March and is 16 weeks old. No-one knows if Jett is a he or she.
Jett is not allowed to eat lettuce but Jett is allowed to eat any other fruit or vegetable. He normally eats rabbit pellets. Jett does not eat brocoli that much but he loves silverbeet. Jett loves eating apples as well.
Jett's breed is Netherland Dwarf. He will not grow very big and his ears will not flop.
Jett runs around in the backyard in the afternoon, but he must be watched because there are lots of cats going around the place.
It was awesome having Jett visit because he is so cute.
Monday, 24 June 2013
circus science
Today in Circus Science we had to find the centre of gravity or balancing point on a cardboard bird. We used two paper clips to add weight and balanced the bird on our fingers.
Here some photos of us balancing our birds.
Here some photos of us balancing our birds.
Room 18 Writing
|Bridie arrives to school covered in Snow!
Slippery footpath
Icy ground hockey sticks clash
Whistles blow cold air
By Bridie
Snow falling softly
Frosty mornings frozen breath
Cosy blazing fires
Icy hailstones fall
Glistening snowflakes flutter
Cold frozen air
By Josh
Tuesday, 18 June 2013
Icy breath cold hands
Marshmallows melt in milo
Flames flicker and burn
By Claudia
Friday, 14 June 2013
Friday, 7 June 2013
Holiday Recounts
Check out some of our recounts we have written from the last school holidays.
Hanmer Springs
By Baillie
In the first week of the school holidays I went to Hanmer Springs with my family.
First I went for a bike ride in the forest up a steep hill. I had to walk my bike up it. There were heaps of trees. The track was bumpy and slippery because it had rained. Reuben fell off because he wasn't looking where he was going. I thought it was funny.
In town there were lots of shops to go to. One of the shops had coloured pencils mad out of trees. I liked the bracelet it got.
My bach was and A-frame house with two storeys. I liked the bach. I slept upstairs by the driveway. There were 3 rooms.
The bike ride was fun but I got puffed because I went a long way.
by Ollie
On May the first Matthew, dad and I went to Iron Man 3 at Hoyts Riccarton.
First we went to McDonald's to get something to eat and then we went to get some lollies.
Then we rushed back and when we got in the cinema Matthew lost his 3D glasses.
After the movie we went home and our nan called and said she sold the camper van.
It was really fun because we got lollies and we got to watch it in 3D. It was the best movie ever because there were explosions and people getting killed. Matthew's glasses didn't get found.
My Trip to Australia
By Hugo
We went swimming on the first day at the Crown Plaza. The pool was very cold.
The next day we went to Wet 'n' Wild. We went on the blue race ride and heaps of other rides too.
On the next day we went shopping at the market. I bought two hats and my sister bought a slushy for me.
I got to go in the cockpit of the plane on the way back with my sister, me and my dad.
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EVERY TIME I DIELabel: EPITAPH
Release Date: 23 September 2016
Format: LP Vinyl
|EVERY TIME I DIE Low Teens Limited Gatefold Vinyl LP
Every Time I Die have never been a typical hardcore act. The band have been forging their own musical and ideological path via their distinctive brand of aggressive music and unstoppable live shows. Those who have caught a show understand the powers of Keith Buckley (vocals), Andy Williams (guitar), Jordan Buckley (guitar), Daniel Davison (drums) and Steve Micciche (bass) onstage. Low Teens is the bands 8th album and may be their most poignant and impassioned album in a career full of sardonic illuminations and pit-inciting fervor. The album title refers to the average temperature readings last winter in the bands hometown of Buffalo, NY. The icy backdrop of Buffalo underscores a winter of dramatic change for the band. Change that began with frontman Keith Buckley exiting the bands Dec 2015 tour early to race home to his wifes hospital bedside, where she was facing life-threatening pregnancy complications. Both wife and daughter survived the ordeal, but the moment of crisis had a lasting impact on Buckley and an inevitable role in shaping the lyrical scope of Low Teens. From a sonic standpoint, the most crucial development was writing with new drummer Daniel Davison. Fans of Every Time I Dies caustic combination of savage metallic hardcore and pentatonic riff-laden classic rock will not be disappointed by Low Teens thrash attacks and Southern-boogie breakdowns. But Davisons heft, dexterity, and creativity pushed the band forward. The pressure drop that yielded Low Teens could have crippled a lesser band, but Every Time I Die weathered the winter to deliver their strongest offering to date because of, not in spite of, these hardships and roadblocks.
Featured Tracks:
1. Fear and Trembling
2. Glitches
3. C++ (Love Will Get You Killed)
4. Two Summers
5. Awful Lot
6. I Didn't Want To Join Your Stupid Cult Anyway
7. It Remembers
8. Petal
9. The Coin Has A Say
10. Religion Of Speed
11. Just As Real But Not As Brightly Lit
12. 1977
13. Map Change


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Stampin' Up! is offering something NEW!
Perfect for today's busy lifestyles and for those who want to just sit down and create something fast and cute!
It is called PAPER PUMPKIN.
|Click HERE to go to the Paper Pumpkin website
Beginning in March, you can have a surprise project sent to your home. All the materials needed to complete the projects are included. Each kit includes stamps, ink, paper, and accessories....only thing you will need to supply is adhesives.
Paper Pumpkin is perfect for those who want to begin rubber stamping....each kit includes detailed instructions with a picture of the finished product.
Paper Pumpkin is also perfect for those who don't want to invest alot of money in stamps and supplies.....each Paper Pumpkin kit is just $19.95 and this includes shipping.
So, be sure to go to the Paper Pumpkin website and sign up (please be sure to designate me as your demonstrator). Your first Welcome kit will ship mid March and includes a FREE clear acrlyic stamping block which you will be able to use with each kit you receive.
Pretty cool stuff!!
Until next time, find some time for stamping!
Hugs, Cindy


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Here's another card I made, this time with the new stamp set Jar of Love (141587) and the coordinating Everyday Jars Framelits (141490). Love this! I also used Fruit Stand DSP and the Woodgrain embossing folder.
Cardstock: Whisper White, Flirty Flamingo, Tip Top Taupe, Peekaboo Peach
Inks: Flirty Flamingo, Peekaboo Peach
Fresh Fruit Designer Series Paper
Jar of Love stamp set
Everyday Jars framelits
Woodgrain embossing folder
Big Shot, Snail Adhesive, Mini Glue Dots
Of course, you can bundle the stamp set and framelits and save 10%, item #142342.
Have a great weekend and be crafty!


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Friday, September 25, 2009
Deflation Straight Ahead?
Sorry it's been so quiet around here. Keep checking in because I will post when I get a chance.
Let's get to the markets:
Hmmmm.....Is that the smell of Deflation in the air? The market sure seems to be acting like it.
Let me preface my deflation take by stating that the market is totally manic right now. I expect both inflationary and deflationary panics as the US economy stands on the brink of collapse.
Earlier this year, the Fed turned on the printing press as the economy collapsed hoping that companies and consumers would feel more confident and start spending as things appeared to get back to normal.
As much as we hate it, the Fed must replace the consumer during tough economic times until both the consumer and corporations heal their balance sheets. This usually works very effectively during a mild recession: 1987, 1990, 2001 anyone?
As companies and the consumer recover, the Fed can then yank their liquidity once the economy stabilizes and the private sector is stable enough to stand on it's own.
The problem we have this go around is the economy collapsed in 2008. The Fed has tried to react like it always has and attempted to replace the private sector. What we are slowly learning is that the balance sheets of the consumer this go around are practically beyond repair.
How does an average Joe ever pay off a $600,000 30 year home loan? Answer: He doesn't.
As a result, the Fed is in a real jam with few options. They can't replace the consumer forever because the deficits would eventually destroy the dollar. However, if they pullout, the economythen collapses because the private sector is too damaged to replace them. This would assuredly lead to a deflationary death spiral like we saw in Japan in the '90's and here in the US in the 1930's.
The Bottom Line:
So what will the Fed do? That's the million dollar question. Do they spend spend spend until they create a currency/hyperinflation nightmare?
Do they fold their hand and let the economy collapse via deflation?
The market appears dazed and confused on this issue. Before this week, the market was screaming inflation as the metals, stocks, and other commodities went on a tear.
This week things changed after the Fed statement. The market began to sell off and both bonds and the dollar started to to rally. What was most noticeable was there was a lot of buying in the long end of the bond market(10/30 year).
This price action screams deflation. The reason I say this is why would anyone buy a 30 year bond at a 4% yield if they expect inflation to rise 10% a year? Answer: They wouldn't because they would be 6% in the hole each year.
So is it deflation or inflation? We have seen panics in both directions in the past few weeks. I don't expect this to change much in the near future.
The future of the dollar and the world economy is very much in the air. This is a time where investors must focus on capital preservation versus yield.
IMO, diversification is a must for both inflation and deflation.
Batten down the hatches folks, there is a nasty storm on the horizon.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
This is what happens when your bankroll is dwindling and the economy sits on the brink of collapse. The Fed has just about run out of options.
Their plan of stimulating the economy until the "real" economy can heal itself has failed. How long can they keep this zero interest rate game going without destroying the dollar? My guess is the Fed runs out of money before the economy heals.
The damage has already been done when it comes to the economy. The Fed's "tourniquet" is no longer working. The patient(the economy) is about to bleed out.
I am very tempted to get short right now although I didn't put any positions on today. My spidey sense is telling me that investors are on the brink of realizing that Rome is still burning.
I have seen some horrifying evidence of this anecdotally when I talk to friends involved in banking. Companies are panicking in reaction to this crisis and don't know what to do. They are trying to make 10 workers do the work of 30. Their ability to lend their way through this crisis has dried up.
They have run out of options!
Bill Gross from PIMCO(who I think is a genius) has consistently talked about the new "normal" of our economy which is low to zero growth.
Many businesses are still leveraged up hoping that a gigantic recovery can save them from blowing up.
This ain't happenin folks no matter how bad CNBC wants it too. Welcome to the modern version of The Great Depression.
You think it's bad now? IMO you ain't seen nothing yet.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
The dollar, MBS, and the Fed
It's been a long day but thought it was important to discuss a few things tonight. Tomorrow is a big day because we hear from the Fed. The buzz on Wall St is all about the Fed's 80% ownership of MBS and all ears will listening to see if they plan on continuing their purchases of MBS.
Before I explain this let's take a look at the 1 year chart of the dollar because I thought this was the news of the day:
My Take:
That is one ugly chart. We are once again testing the key support level of 76. If this doesn't hold we could easily retest the recent lows of 72. If we break there? Find a desk to hide under because you could potentially see an unwind of the dollar.
Gold was up sharply once again as the dollar dropped. This is a deeply disturbing trend. Gold is now much higher than it was the last time the dollar was down around 72.
This tells me that the world is beginning to question the value of paper dollars as we continue to spend trillions that we don't have. This move in gold isn't an inflation trade IMO.
This is a total fear trade where investors are beginning to question the value of everything whether it be stocks, the dollar, or real estate. They are flocking to things that have historically held value. Gold has done so for thousands of years.
Things are getting pretty chaotic folks. This dollar problem is a very serious situation.
The Fed
Tomorrow's statement by the Fed is critical tomorrow IMO. Word is now out that the Fed now owns 80% of the newly issued MBS market since the market crashed. Essentially this means since the crash that the Fed has financed almost all mortgages wether it be FHA or Freddie.
This news has been floating around the street for a week now but it finally got some attention by the media today.
This is an extremely dangerous situation because the lending that's being done right now in a desperate attempt to keep the housing market alive is still piss poor.
You can qualify for an FHA loan with a credit score of 620 and a down payment of around 3%. To FHA's credit they have risen the minimum credit score up to 620 from 580. However, this type of buyer is hardly a lock to pay a loan back!
If I was a bank I would have no interest in doing a loan with a guy with a 620 credit score, especially with only 3% down!
And their lies the problem folks. The banks have no interest in doing these loans anymore because of the risk involved. So as a result: THE GOVERNMENT ESSENTIALLY NOW HAS TO FINANCE THE WHOLE DAMN HOUSING MARKET BECAUSE THE BANKS HAVE NO INTEREST IN DOING BAD LOANS WITH PEOPLE WHO HAVE 620 CREDIT SCORES!
This is absolute insanity people! What pisses me off about this situation is at least last time we created the housing bubble the banks took the losses.
We will be the ones eating the loans of these idiot first time home buyers that bought a house with essentially no money down when you include their 8k tax credit.
Folks, when is this insanity ever going to end? How many times can Uncle Sam repeatedly shove it up the taxpayers behinds? Any future losses will be our problem not the banks because WE THE PEOPLE own these mortgage backed securities via the Fed.
This is what makes tomorrow's Fed announcement interesting. They have already spent over $900 billion of the $1.25 trillion that was targeted for MBS purchases.
They must now announce what their future plans are before this fund gets depleted. If they announce that they plan on winding down this program, you could see one hell of a nasty dump in the markets tomorrow.
Now of course I think we have a better chance of seeing god before we see the Fed pull liquidity so I don't expect them to stop buying the MBS's. They must do so because there will be no home loans without their guarantee.
Because the banks know most of these loans are garbage and the pigmen have no desire to do the bad loans without a government guarantee. I mean Christ, the delinquency rates on FHA loans is approaching 20%! Why on earth would a bank want any part of this?
The Bottom Line
If the Fed shocks the world tomorrow and ends the purchasing of MBS, you can expect to see strength in the dollar and a collapse of the stock market(especially in the financials).
If the Fed continues it's Ponzi ways and announces more MBS buybacks, expect the dollar to tank and the commodities to continue and rise.
Basically folks, there will be no housing market if the Fed stops buying MBS because the banks won't take on the risk of doing bad loans. The only way you would pull a loan out of them in this scenario is with 20% down and a near perfect credit score with a DTI of less then 36%.
As a result, my bet is on the second scenario where the Fed continues to drop worthless dollars out of helicopters!
The move up in gold and the collapse of the dollar in front of the announcement today only reinforces my thoughts that the Fed has no plans to stop spending. I am sure "the word is out" on the their plans.
As I have said a million times before: This is not going to end well.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Currently Trading? Watch Yourself!
There really hasn't been much to talk about and things have been very busy at work so I haven't had much time to blog.
I will continue to be here but my posting may be reduced until things settle down at work. Like everyone else right now, the heat is on to produce in the corporate world as we march through this brutal recession/depression. My situation is no different.
Back to the markets:
It's amazing to me that the market can continue to ignore all of the negative news and continue to move higher. The market has truly turned into a casino at this point.
I have thought a lot about why the market is acting so irrationaly rigth now. It has pretty much morphed into nothing more than a bubble blowing/specualtion machine.
I believe one of the key reasons the market is acting this way is the ease in which the retail investor can now go long or short via leverage.
Inverse ETF's can be bought just as easy as any stock. Etrade, Think or Swim, and the other trading platforms have now made buying options a piece of cake.
As a result, the ability to speculate in the stock market has become much more accessible. More importantly, investors can also speculate using much higher leverage than ever before.
This is a very dangerous developement because many of the people using these financial instruments have no idea what in the hell they are doing.
Wall St has taken advantage of the new "leveraged" retail investor IMO.
I mean think about it:
The number of "fish" in the trading pond is now larger(easier access to speculate) plus they are highly leveraged via ETF's and options. This makes the average trader a sitting duck for the wolves on Wall St.
Because the retail investor becomes much easier to manipulate as a result of being so highly leveraged. This makes it easier to force them out of positions. They don't have the deep pockets to sit on positions especially when they are leveraged up. Don't think Wall St doesn't know this. As a result, it doesn't take much to force them to cover.
The best analogy I can come up with here is poker. The poker pros love when the "fish" take a seat at the table because more times then not the "fish" will be taken to the cleaners. The same goes for Wall St.
Why is Wall St so much better then the retail investor?
A) They know information before you do. How many times has the market moved before a big announcement was made? Is this fraudulent? Of course, but it is what it is and it's a HUGE advatage.
B) This is their profession! They are much more experienced when it comes to the intangibles like trading sentiment.
C) Wall St is filled with math geeks that graduated with 4.0's from MIT. These geeks can use their quants in a market like this to look for inconsistencies in the markets which enables them to find numerous trading opportunities. HFT's anyone? Short covering rallies?
I mean just think of all of the short covering rallies that we have seen recently. Many of these rallies are triggered by the trading desks when they place huge long positions on stocks or ETF's that are too heavily shorted. Commercial Real Estate is the most blatant one that comes to mind.
This one defies belief in my view. There is no rational reason that we have seen many of the REIT's double or even triple from the lows. Defaults continue to soar, most of them can't rollover their debt, and the retail consumer continues to collapse.
Most of these companies would be dead if the mark to market accounting standards hadn't disappeared. The only reason the REIT's are alive is because the government refuses to kill them.
The Bottom Line
Wall St is lining their pockets with the retail investors money.
I believe the reason this rally has been so sharp is because many of the retail(and some professional) traders continually keep getting caught short.
Remember: Calling tops and going short is just about as successful as calling bottoms and going long. Both strategies usually put you in the poor house.
Go surf the net and you will see what I mean when it comes to the leverage being used by the average investor:
Hop on any trading site/investment forum and see what investments they are talking about. It's very rarely a stock. It's almost always the SPY, IYR, SDS,FAZ,SRS etc.
Many are convinced that they are the next "Warren Buffet" of trading. They pull charts and graphs and try to scalp a few points on the S&P. When this collapse is done, I would love to see what the average return is for the average day trader.
Let me also say that there are a small select few that can do this and make money consistently. However, the majority will end up getting toasted for the most part. A 50 year veteran trader in the trading pits once told me "Jeff: Traders die broke". I have always remembered those words.
It's time to get back to fundamental investing folks.
What ever happened to buying and holding a stock that you like? What ever happened to buying treasuries and CD's and focusing on preserving capital when the economy takes a cliff dive? I guess this "old school" type of investing is way too boring in this new greedy ADD world that we live in.
What's sad here is most traders will blow themselves up just like they did after the tech bust. What's scarier this go around is the speculation is 10x worse because we now have highly leveraged ETF's with terrible "slippage" that weren't available during the tech bubble.
I will be the first to admit that I dabble in these trades but it's never more than 10% of my nest egg. My advice is to stay away from trading right now. The fundamentals are non existent, and the market is totally irrational at this point.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
China: Don't Believe the Hype?
Can China really become the engine of economic growth that the world desperately needs without the US consumer? My thought is no way but you decide:


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Thursday, 31 May 2007
So it begins...
I write my first blog post. Definitely not anything I've done before. Why? Well, I'm going to be relocating to Wellington in New Zealand near the end of August of this year for 12 months! In advance of that though I'm flying out next Wednesday for the month of June in advance of this. Anyway, I had this thought the other day that maybe I should consider having some sort of blog or something for while I'm down there for the 12 months. I left it at that until today at lunch time, a friend from work asked me if I was going to write a blog while away. Seems like a fairly decent way of trying to keep friends and family updated while I'm away so I thought, what the hell. I ended up creating my blog on blogger.com as an Irish friend married to a swiss bloke keeps a blog on this site and I love reading it to know what she's up to... admittedly her entries nearly always make me laugh... suspect I won't be quite that amusing. English writing was never my strong point!!
In advance of my travels I took a picture with my camera phone the other day (camera been broken for months so no idea what I did to it that it took it upon itself to work again!). Once I realised the tempermental thing was temporarily working I grabbed a picture of my tree as i know i'm going to miss this alot while I'm away (particularly the reflection of the mountains in the glass!). I should explain that "my tree" is a piece of art by the Irish artist Michael Wann, that I "invested" in a few years back and which hangs on my living room wall. And which is shown here... as you can probably gather quality ain't great but hey it will do.
That's it then...
Posted by eefa at 7:10 pm
1 comment:
Welcome to blogging.
I look forward to keeping track of you and your travels.
- June 05, 2007 7:30 am
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By Nic Ledoux on
E.S. Kluft & Co., recently announced that Alain Rauh will assume the responsibilities of acting chief executive officer while the company searches for a replacement for David Binke, who has resigned as chief executive officer.
Rauh has been a long-time executive of The Flex Group and will add the acting chief executive officer duties to his role as head of the parent company's international division. He led the Flex team that navigated the acquisition of Kluft, playing a key role in the integration, strategy development and relationships with key customers and vendors/suppliers.
"We have a very strong leadership team that has worked closely together for many years, and a proven business plan that has benefitted our customers, suppliers and employees. This transition should really be quite seamless," said Rauh.
Flex Group Chairman and CEO Rafael González said, "The Kluft and Aireloom brands have been growing very robustly in the U.S. and internationally, and we expect that pace to continue with the strong leadership team we have in place and based on the long-term relationships they have with customers and clients. We have begun a search for a new leader for the business, but are already seeing the senior leadership team come together to continue to execute our business plan. I am grateful to Alain for assuming these additional duties on an acting basis and David for his work with us these past few years."
Binke was named chief executive officer in 2015 after the Flex Group completed its acquisition of the company.
More about E.S. Kluft & Company: Based in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., E.S. Kluft & Company's two brands are Aireloom and Kluft. Kluft is its most luxurious brand available through Bloomingdale's and other prestigious retailers like Harrods. Future plans include international distribution of Aireloom, its iconic American luxury brand. Aireloom offers artisanal quality and legacy features such as, hand-tied coils and hand side-stitching in the best-in-class category. These quality designs feature cutting edge, patented production methods. To learn more about Kluft and Aireloom product lines, please visit www.KluftMattress.com and www.Aireloom.com.
Kluft and Aireloom are owned by The Flex Group from Madrid, Spain. Founded in 1912, The Flex Group is the world's top 10 global sleep products producer. It commands market leadership positions in Spain, Portugal, Brazil, Chile, the United Kingdom and the United States. The company is comprised of seven manufacturing companies with a total of nine production centers, three retail chains and 115 showrooms in seven countries. The Flex Group brands include Vispring, Kluft, Aireloom, ASTB, Flex, Drown and Epeda.
Furniture Industry News and in depth magazine articles for the furniture retail, furniture manufacturers, and furniture distributors.
Read other articles by Nic Ledoux


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I haven't been around for a while, and can place the blame directly on our house and its never-ending need of maintenance. Again, since I mentioned this earlier in October when this fall-fix-up blitz began, if anyone out there has some romantic notion about restoring an old house, please talk to me first! Especially if you are in your mid-20's and are under the impression that both your youth and energy are of endless supply. I was that person, but am much wiser now…
Our area was blessed with five consecutive days of unseasonably warm weather. Near 70 degrees in early November is unusual, and we took full advantage of it. Although our house is brick, the trim is wood and, no matter what brand/type of paint I buy, needs to be repainted every few years. However, with all of the painting I have done in these almost-25 years here I simply never get around to the front porch. This is not the main entrance to our house; it doesn't even have a path or sidewalk access, so it has been ignored while I was kept busy with the windows and other parts of the house. The front porch is 2 story's in height, with fancy spindles on both levels, as well as recessed panels and sidelights. There were over 140 years' worth of paint accumulated, some had fallen off to the bare wood and the rest was cracked. The job was just so overwhelming that we put it off every year, and every fall wished that we hadn't. This year was different. We just did it.
We completed the first level 2 weeks ago and, this past Monday morning I saw the weather forecast and suggested that we see if we could finish the second level. Some of the work had been done last year, and protected with plastic which recently tore and had to be removed.
Yes, Jack is standing on a ladder with only one side supported.
He insisted that it was the only way he could get the angle which he needed to scrape paint from one area, and he since didn't fall off and break a leg, I guess that it worked.
All week we scraped and burnt off the remaining paint layers, repaired cracked windowpanes and missing pieces, caulked the numerous areas where pieces has "moved" apart, sanded, primed, and added a layer of topcoat. Even though the spindles on this level are rotting and need to be replaced, it still looks beautiful! We do need another top-coat, but that can be done in the spring. And we finished with two hours to spare.
This has been a brutal week, though. We both have bruised, scraped, sore hands and many aches and pains as well. A cold front arrived last night (thankfully!) and brought high winds and rain. I had cleaned the kitchen after dinner then joined Jack in the living room where a book held my attention of a whole 15 minutes before I fell asleep until 11pm. We went to bed and, to illustrate how wiped out we were, Jack was awakened by the storm (because he was so achy that he wasn't sleeping well) and I slept through it (because I was exhausted). Normally I am the light sleeper and he is definitely not.
The outdoor work is over for this year, yahoo!
Lunches this week became very quick meals. We didn't want to spend too much time inside, since we had to quit working at 5 since the daylight hours are shorter now. A few times I was able to make extra for dinner the night before and recycle those meals, but we did have one outstanding lunch which took only 20 minutes and really hit the spot.
I have mentioned my love of Trader Joe's Indian simmer sauces in previous posts and I shall reiterate that again here. A jar of TJ's Punjab Spinach Simmer Sauce, a can of chickpeas, some veggies, and J's tandoori naan—a great meal in about 25 minutes, tops.
Here is what I did:
(If you want to serve rice instead of naan, start it first)
Prepare 1 cup cauliflower florets and ¾ cup diagonally sliced carrots
Bring ½ cup water to a boil in a large nonstick sauté pan and add the cauliflower and carrots. Cover and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes while you prepare:
1 cup diced onion and ¾ cup diced green pepper
Add to the pan and cook for 2 more minutes until cauliflower is almost tender.
(At this point, I started to preheat my toaster oven to 425F* for the naan.)
Add the spinach sauce and another ½ to ¾ cup of water (the directions on the jar call for a cup of water in addition to the sauce, but you will have some water still in the pan from steaming the veggies; make your own decision here). Add one 15-ounce can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed (this is about 9 ounces of cooked chickpeas).
Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat, and simmer for about 10 minutes.
(About 3 minutes* before serving, heat the naan, if using.)
Serve with a large dollop of nonfat plain yogurt.
A sprinkling of chopped cilantro would have been good, but my plants froze last week...
The beauty of this kind of recipe is that almost any vegetable can be added (green beans, red bell pepper, peas, broccoli, etc.) and canned kidney beans or cooked lentils can be subbed for the chickpeas.
I steam the vegetables instead of sautéing because that eliminates any additional oil, and the cooking water is then used in the sauce so that more nutrients are retained.
*- About the naan-- I have found that, even though the naan instructions call for a 400F oven and about 2 minutes of baking time, my toaster oven needs a lightly higher temperature and a longer cooking time than my "regular" oven or the grill (which remains my favorite way to heat this particular bread).
Now, especially if it is served with rice, this could probably make at least 3, or possibly 4, servings. We ate it all. We were hungry!!!
I should be posting more regularly now that the outdoor fix-up blitz is over. :)


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It is hard to believe that next Sunday (September 30th) our Mother would have been 75 years old because in my mind she is still that young woman I remember. It is even harder to believe that she has been gone for 37 years (this past May).
Remembering my Mother is always easy but the thought that we lost her at such a young age is still hard to believe and accept.
My Mother was a woman filled with life, spirit and so much love. She loved my father to a fault, but when it came to her children there was no end to that love. She really lived for us. I know this is a cliche but she really did without to give to us.
My Mother was an only child, which makes it harder since we have no aunts or uncles from her side. I suppose that is why she wanted a big family, and that was exactly what she got. She had seven children, her "Magnificent Seven" as she called us. I have such wonderful memories of her, as I know that my older brother Tito does, since we were 22 and 21 the year she passed. But, for the other five the memories are minimal to none and that really saddens me. I wish everyday that passes that she was still with us, influencing us through our lives, helping us get through the rough times and mend the fences that have been broken through the years.
I was having a conversation with my sister Annette the other day as we speculated and dreamt how different out lives may have been had she lived. Who knows what roads our lives would have taken and where we all would be now had she lived. But one thing is certain, she would have been there through thick or thin for her children. Of course we can not question God's reason for taking her when He did. We just have to keep believing that we will see her again one day.
I know one thing for sure, Mother would have enjoyed her 19 grandchildren and her great-children so much and I know she would have spoiled them all, each and every single one. Because that is just who she was, an unselfish, caring, giving woman with the kindest, biggest and warmest heart.
This Saturday her 5th grandchild (her first grandson) will be getting married. His wedding is just one day before what would have been her 75th Birthday. While her family gathers to celebrate this wonderful ocassion I know she will be there in spirit giving her blessings as she has done in the past with all the momentous ocassions of her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Happy 75th Birthday Mother
You are Loved and You are Missed
|I made this photo about ten (or 12) years ago.
Her youngest son is now almost 5 years older than what she was when she passed.


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I can't say that I was an entirely lonely high schooler, but I was rather limited in my extra curricular activities. The result of having such a strict upbringing was creating an outlet for myself via social media, which was rather dismal compared to the cooperative string of networks and applications we have now. Admittedly I relegated the bulk of my activity to BlackPlanet and dating sites with 14-day free trials, just so I could look at photos of cute boys.
But then I got to college.
In a sense. The option to interact with others in real life and in real time was much preferred over online social networks, chat rooms and free trials. But my connection to social networking never waned. It was an ability to comprehend the underlying structure of social interaction that held my interest. So after starting a career in clinical research, I found myself right back in the midst of social media.
Within a year I was writing and editing at Mashable, spending more time researching the regular happenings of social networks instead of enjoying them. Because of work I found myself observing social networking instead of truly experiencing it. That kind of observation can only get you so far.
So I took a break. Spent some time outside in the sun. Fed ducks at the lake. Perused antique shops. Went rollerblading (I know). And I shared very little of that with my online social networks. It was refreshing in a sense, but disconnecting in another sense. And now that I've begun to return to my hyper-active social media lifestyle, I fear for what I will become.
Yet there are so many forces pushing me right back towards social media.
I mean, spend a week away from Facebook. You'll miss a lot of shared memories, in the immediate. Looking at Halloween photos a week late just seems moot after a certain threshold has been achieved, not to mention the ability for one to recount all the shared memories from friends within their proximate network is a timely and daunting task. There was a time when you had to bring extra film for your camera, take it to a developer, order double prints just in case, and hope it was worth the extra $6.95 because there was no digital preview display of your shots before you took them.
Where did we get the time to constantly check Facebook and Twitter, and consume the shared thoughts vibrating between our screens to our fingertips? How much of your daily time and thought process have you given up to flipping through albums and sharing links across the web? When does the sharing of too much knowledge (in the form of information) become a burden of social norm?
Granted, I am in no way longing for the days of 1-hour photo developing, shopping while I wait at Meijer. I couldn't be happier about the ability to share photos on Facebook. I think it's the easiest way to do so on the social web. And there are only a relative few that are more excited about social media's potential than I am.
But I'm hesitant to jump back into social media full force. I fear the necessity of being glued to my phone, and carrying around my laptop more often. I fear the lack of social awareness I will have due to further decreased social network activity. I fear the disconnect. Either way.
Above all, I fear what this all means for us as a culture. Will our children have different pressures to face in high school? Will they grow up fully aware of social networking ramifications, or is it something that doesn't really hit any of us until we're well into our twenties? And now that social networking has become almost fully de-anonymized, will real life wall flowers be encouraged out of their shells thanks to Facebook, or further coaxed in?
So after hours of careful fear-pondering, I realized that I just don't care. If I miss the last album you uploaded on Facebook, I'm sorry. Show it to me from your phone the next time we hang out. And if I miss a day of intense Twitter-chatting, so be it. We can catch up on all the important stuff when we talk on the phone. Real talk. On the phone.
And all that concern about the social ramifications therein? Social networks still represent an undeniable aspect of human nature, so I consider this all a part of our behavioral evolution. My lesson learned? Be brave enough to balance both worlds.


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My husband and I are traveling to Italy in about a month (eek), and beyond a financial windfall, we also need some good city maps for our adventures. So late last week, I hopped on Tripadvisor.com to do some research, deciding on the Rough Guide Maps... great reviews, waterproof, awesome.
So I ordered one for Rome, Florence, Venice.
Or so I thought. I received a puzzling note about how two shipped, and I thought, hm wonder when the other will. Check it out.
Seriously?? Amazon, you kill me with your free-but-entirely-crappy shipping.
1 day ago


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As promised here are pictures and a bit of commentary:
Masons...and uh...here is their office in Nacogdoches.
This is the place that I am obsessed with - the Main St. Theater. It's closed and rundown and I wants it.
Creepy Easter display on Main Street. Antique & Collectible Creepiness. Reminds me of Castle Rock's Needful Things.


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Written by Stephen West
Being the head volunteer at a local animal rescue, I received a phone call from a woman in Montreal, Canada who was communicating with her friend on Facebook about an abandoned dog on the Mexican border. After receiving an approximate location and after investigation, I found that Zoey (a name I gave her), a female American Boxer mix, wasn't actually abandoned — she was chained up in front of a trailer. Animal Control was monitoring the situation to see if the dog was being fed. After seeing the dog, it was ridiculous to me that Animal Control would be monitoring this situation. The dog was skin and bones, was covered with open sores, and appeared to be deaf and obviously being neglected. The neighbors said she had never been off that chain, ever.
I chose not to wait for Animal Control. They have to go by the law, I don't. In my point of view, it seems like the laws in abuse cases are there more to protect the pet owner than to protect the animal (and to allow for Animal Control inaction, if desired). Not to mention they would probably euthanize anyway. So whenever I see a situation, I rarely rely on the law to do the right thing.
A Time to Take Action
Even her shadow is painful to see.
That night, I decided it was time. However, I got worried at the last minute because I didn't know how Zoey would react to a stranger approaching her with a flashlight at night. It could be bad. So I didn't do it.
The next night I went back and didn't see any lights on in the owner's trailer so I just walked right up and Zoey was in the doghouse. It was like she had no fight or life in her at all. I had to pull her out by the chain. She was very cooperative. I unhooked the chain and put her on a leash. She walked right away with me. I was worried about her barking but she was completely quiet. It was like she knew she was going to a better place.
Safe at Last and Beginning to Experience Life as a Dog Should
I took her to the vet. Her ear infection was so bad she couldn't hear.
The open sores were the result of being eaten by ants and flies. The whole
area where she lived was covered with ants — ants that are big and bite
She'll never be chained again.
I kept her for three months until she healed. Someone donated the money to have her chipped, fixed and vaccinated. Everyone at the vet clinic knew her story. While she was there, I got a call from the clinic that someone would like to adopt her. I delivered her the next day. They kept her name. They are a nice family with children and two other dogs, a Chihuahua and a Corgi mix. She has put on a few pounds. I called on Zoey about month after she was in her new home. She's doing fine with her new family and their two other dogs. The things I miss most about not having her are watching her experience simple things like grass, trees, running in a river and just experiencing normal dog things, knowing she was doing this for the first time.
The neighbors and the woman from Montreal that initiated Zoey's rescue still thank me today. The neighbors said it was like living next to a concentration camp.
Is There Ever a Time to Break the Law to Save an Animal?
Animal rescuers regularly wrestle with inadequate laws. Most live with the chronic frustration and try to stay within the bounds of their legal rights. Others take matters into their own hands. Is this a black and white issue?
Do we have a higher moral responsibility than the law provides? Please
share your thoughts in the comment section below and if you have saved an
animal in need, and please share your story and photos on The Great Animal
Rescue Chase website. Many of the heroes who share on our website are
featured right here on Care2.com
Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/man-ignores-the-law-to-save-chained-dog.html#ixzz20rVTGW11
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