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Anglesea Power Station
|Anglesea Power Station
The single steam turbine 150MW Anglesea power station. Photo: John Englart
|Anglesea, Victoria
|38°23′20.51″S 144°10′50.12″E / 38.3890306°S 144.1805889°ECoordinates: 38°23′20.51″S 144°10′50.12″E / 38.3890306°S 144.1805889°E
|Commission date
|20 March 1969
|Decommission date
|31 August 2015
|Thermal power station
|Primary fuel
|Brown coal
|Power generation
|Units operational
|1 × 150 megawatts (200,000 hp)
|Nameplate capacity
|150 megawatts (200,000 hp)
The Anglesea Power Station was a brown coal–powered thermal power station located at Anglesea, in Victoria, Australia. The station has one steam turbine with a capacity of 150 megawatts (200,000 hp) of electricity. It was previously operated by Alcoa of Australia and supplied almost 40% of the electricity used by Alcoa's nearby Point Henry aluminium smelter, until the smelter's closure in August 2014.
The power station was brought online on 20 March 1969,[1] and was supplied with coal by the adjacent open cut mine, transported to the power station along a 3-kilometre (1.9 mi) long private road. Overburden was stripped and backfilled into the mined area by earthmoving contractors using conventional power shovels and trucks. About 80 people worked at the coal mine and power station.[2] In June 2015 Alcoa announced that the power plant and mine would close at the end of August 2015, after the company was unable to find a buyer for the power station.[3] On 31 August 2015 it ceased operation as planned.[4] Mine rehabilitation, plant decommissioning and demolition are now in planning.
From 1955 test bores for coal were made at Anglesea by the Roche Brothers, who were then operating a mine at nearby Wensleydale where the coal reserves were dwindling. An extensive coal deposit was found two kilometres to the north of the Anglesea township, with mining commencing in 1959 to supply brown coal to industry and institutions in the Geelong area. The mining rights were taken over by Western Mining Corporation (WMC) in 1961 to supply the power station planned by Alcoa of Australia. The Mines (Aluminum Agreement) Act of 1961 granted Alcoa a 50–year exclusive right to explore and mine over some 7,350 hectares (18,200 acres) of leasehold land in the region.[5] After further drilling investigation WMC relocated the mining operation to the east of the original mine, closer to the power station site and providing access to a larger coal reserve of 50 million long tons (51,000,000 t). The total thickness of the coal seams is about 140 metres (460 ft), with total economic mineable reserves estimated at 70 million long tons (71,000,000 t) in the upper seam, and a further 90 million long tons (91,000,000 t) in lower seams. In 1992 the overburden to coal ratio averaged around 2.5 to 1, with an average coal thickness of 27 metres (89 ft).[5]
Following negotiation with the Victorian government in 2011, Alcoa took up a 50-year extension of the Agreement under the Mines (Aluminium Agreement) Act 1961, allowing for continued operation of the mine and power station until 2016.[6] Alcoa has outlined plans to expand the footprint of the mine by approximately 50 percent, taking the total disturbed area from approximately 400 to 600 hectares (990 to 1,480 acres), from about 2016.[7]
As of 2005 approximately 35 million tonnes (34×106 long tons) of coal had been mined, with about 1.1 million tonnes (1.1×106 long tons) of brown coal mined annually to feed a boiler that consumes 144 tonnes (142 long tons; 159 short tons) of pulverised brown coal an hour. The coal at Anglesea has a high quality heat value when compared to other brown coals used to produce electricity in Victoria, but has a much higher level of sulphur of around 3%, resulting in high levels of sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions.[8] Carbon Monitoring for Action estimates this power station emits 1.21 million tonnes (1.19×106 long tons) of greenhouse gases each year as a result of burning coal.[9] Anglesea draws its cooling water from six sub-artesian well bores, supplemented with rainwater.
With the closure of the Point Henry Aluminium smelter, Alcoa applied for and was granted a licence in May 2014 by the Essential Services Commission to sell electricity to the National Electricity Market. An Alcoa spokesperson said in February 2014 that it was seeking sale options and it may be closed if a sale was not possible.[2] In May 2015, Alcoa announced that it was unable to find a buyer for the plant, and would close it and the associated coal mine in August 2015.[3] Closure occurred as planned on 31 August 2015.
Since 2011 Alcoa and the Anglesea power station have come under increasing local criticism, with residents forming the Surf Coast Air Action group concerned with health impacts of air pollution from the mine and power station.[10] The group has campaigned for reduced emissions from the power station, and with the closure of the Port Henry aluminium smelter that there is little justification for continuing the operation of the power station.[11]
Alcoa rejected claims it had exceeded targets, saying it had met its worldwide targets for reducing sulphur dioxide emissions, although it did not dispute that Anglesea's SO2 emissions actually went up from a base figure of 32,899 tonnes (32,379 long tons; 36,265 short tons) to 39,000 tonnes (38,000 long tons; 43,000 short tons) in 2012-13.[12][13]
Friends of the Earth Australia argued in its December 2013 submission to the Essential Services Commission (Victoria) that Alcoa should not be granted a licence to directly sell power to the National Electricity Market for four reasons: no additional coal-fired power was needed, Alcoa has no social licence to operate in the energy market, local health concerns, and that continuing operation of the power station undermines efforts to address climate change.[14]
Alcoa's licence for the Anglesea Power Station to transmit electricity to the grid was approved, although community groups said the decision lacked transparency and legitimacy as no community consultation was conducted by the Essential Services Commission.[15]
Two major protests in Anglesea have occurred in 2014 regarding the future of the coal mine and power station. In July over 500 people made up a human sign on the beach at Anglesea saying 'Shut it Down'.[16] On 10 August 2014 several hundred people attended a rally and march calling for the coal mine and power station to be shut down.[17]
See also[edit]
- ^ R. Arklay and I. Sayer - 'Geelong's Electric Supply' - September 1970
- ^ a b Murphy, Noel, 20 February 2014, 80 jobs in doubt at Alcoa's Anglesea power station, The Independent, Retrieved 28 August 2014
- ^ a b "Alcoa to close Anglesea power station, coal mine after failing to find buyer". ABC News. 12 May 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
- ^ "Alcoa in Australia: News: News From Australia: Anglesea power station closes". www.alcoa.com. Retrieved 2015-12-27.
- ^ a b Vines, Jack (2008). "Anglesea Brown Coal Mine". Coal Mining Heritage Study. www.heritage.vic.gov.au. p. Page 45. Archived from the original on 18 October 2009. Retrieved 7 March 2010.
- ^ Soames, Nicholas, 25 October 2011, Alcoa Anglesea Mine Agreement Extended For Another 50 Years Archived 3 September 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Surf Coast News, Retrieved 28 August 2014
- ^ Baker, Richard, 21 March 2011 Alcoa mine could take heritage heathland The Age, Retrieved 28 August 2014
- ^ "Victoria - Sulphur dioxide reduction at AWAC". www.aluminalimited.com. Archived from the original on 14 February 2010. Retrieved 7 March 2010.
- ^ "Anglesea". Carbon Monitoring for Action. Retrieved 23 November 2008.
- ^ ABC Radio National Breakfast, 5 July 2012, Anglesea residents worried about Alcoa health impacts Australian Broadcasting Corporation Retrieved 28 August 2014
- ^ Arup, Tom; Donelly, Beau; 19 February 2014, Call to clear the air on Anglesea power plant's future, The Age Retrieved 28 August 2014
- ^ Taylor, James, Alcoa rejects claim of emission target failure, Surf Coast Times, Retrieved 28 August 2014
- ^ Andrew Laird, 17 July 2014, Corporate spin breaks into a trot, Letter to Surf Coast Times reprinted by Surf Coast Air Action. Retrieved 28 August 2014
- ^ Friends of the Earth submission Archived 12 March 2015 at the Wayback Machine. on Alcoa power station licence, Retrieved 28 August 2014
- ^ John Conroy, 23 May 2014, 'No consultation' over brown coal plant licence, Business Spectator, Retrieved 28 August 2014
- ^ Taylor, James (26 July 2014). "Anglesea beach sign spells out mine message". Surf Coast Times. Surf Coast Air Action. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
- ^ Whitelaw, Anna (10 August 2014). "Hundreds rally for Alcoa coal mine closure". The Age. Retrieved 28 August 2014.


text: Israel, Feeling Isolated, 'More Likely' to Attack Iran Latest NIE signals to some Israelis a US 'retreat' By Jim O'Neill, Newser User Posted Dec 23, 2007 5:45 AM CST 0 comments Comments Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert pauses during the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Sunday, Dec. 16, 2007. Israel has dispatched an unscheduled delegation of intelligence officials to the U.S. to... (Associated Press) View 3 more images (Newser) – Israel feels newly isolated and no less threatened by the US intelligence community's conclusion that Iran ended its weapons program in 2003, Newsweek reports. The atmosphere, says a former CIA official, makes it likely Israel will soon attack Iran. "Israel is not going to allow its nuclear monopoly to be threatened," he warned. The recently issued US National Intelligence Estimate asserts that American has conclusive evidence Iran was developing nuclear arms but shut down the program in 2003. Critics say the report glosses over Iran's continued development of a uranium enrichment program. "The irony is [the report] will accelerate Iranian acquisition of nuclear weapons," said a former Israeli official. View 3 more images

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Luck that lasts a lifetime
Draw Days: Monday & Thursday
Luck is what you make of it. You could have a lucky penny, a four leaf clover, or a lucky horseshoe. But imagine being lucky for your entire life.
The jackpot prize in Lucky for Life is $1,000 a DAY, every day, for the rest of your life!
Lucky for Life tickets can be purchase from a checkout counter, a vending machine or most Idaho Lottery retailers. Click here to find the closest one to you.
Each game costs $2. The easiest way to play Lucky for Life is to just ask for a Quick Pick. To choose your own numbers, download the myPlayslip app for Android or iOS, or pick up a Lucky for Life playslip at any Idaho Lottery retail location.
For each game, pick 5 "white numbers" from 1 to 48, and one Lucky Ball number from 1 to 18.
You can play the same numbers for up to 10 consecutive draws.
Drawings are held every Monday and Thursday night at 8:35 PM MT.
Redeem any prizes won, under $599, at any Idaho Lottery retailer.
Any prize won $600 and over, can be redeemed at the Lottery headquarters, in person or via mail. Click here for details on how to claim these prizes.
* In cases of multiple prize winners, prize amounts may be split. See prize limits quick reference tablein the official rules
‡ 20 year minimum. Certain "for life" prize limitations may apply, and cash option may be available.


text:
Thank you for choosing Londolozi for your safari. We can't wait to welcome you to what we're sure will be a pinnacle life experience: a rare encounter with wilderness amidst unmatched luxury hospitality.
Use this page to help you prepare for your trip. We also invite you to become part of our global online tribe
Download the FREE Londolozi App
The Londolozi app is designed specifically to enrich your experience at Londolozi. Free to download on both iOS and Android devices, the app contains a wilderness checklist, 350+ HD wildlife videos and many more features to enhance your stay. Download the app either from the iOS App Store or Google Play Store for Android devices.
Rent Photographic Equipment
We have the latest professional level photographic equipment available for you to rent during your stay at Londolozi to help you capture exceptional wildlife images. Regardless of your level of experience, our qualified guides will help you with your settings, composition and post-processing at our Photographic Studio.
What to Pack?
The golden rule is that safari should always be more about comfort than style – although of course it's possible to do both! To help make your safari experience as enjoyable as possible, we've put together a small list of essentials [link] to help you pack.
When is the Best Time of Year to Visit?
This is a question we often get asked by guests but there's no single answer. Every month of the year offers something unique for visitors and it's for this reason that we've compiled a calendar [link] that includes the very best aspects of each month and season.
What Makes Each Londolozi Camp Different?
The camps at Londolozi are situated within walking distance of one another over one kilometre on the banks of the lush Sand River. Click on the button to read about what makes each camp at Londolozi unique as well as an indication of the distance and walking time between the camps.
The Londolozi eBook Collection
Those with Apple devices can explore our eBook catalogue for a range of digital books which are an immersive complement to your Londolozi experience. Our eBook titles are educational and entertaining, and will give you an overview of safari at Londolozi that our expert rangers will deepen and extend while you're here.
These books are only available for download with eBooks on your Mac or iPad, and with iTunes on your computer.
Stay Connected
The Londolozi Blog is a locus for thousands of past and future guests to tune in to the frequency of Londolozi wherever they are in the world. The blog gives you a ranger's-eye view of the happenings with the animals and the land, as well as the best of our wildlife photography. Follow the blog and bring the rhythm of life in the wild to your everyday life.
Should you have any further requests or questions about your stay with us, please feel free to contact us –email@example.com or through our social media platforms below.
With Love and Anticipation,
The Londolozi Family


text:
I am writing HW again. But now I try something new.
I have a rabbit. Who name is Jango Fat. I think I will be a little creative and I am telling a story of her perspective. You can see her on the picture.
A horroristic hot day for a big-eared!
I'm a little rabbit and I would like to tell a story when I visited my owner relatives. It was a terrible travel but the outcome was wonderful.
It was a normal morning for me. I saw that something was wrong on my owners but I didn't think It was my problem. But the end came to light that they planned something against me. They put me in a very little box. Where just I fitted in and a little hay. "I love the hay! It is delicious!" They packaged all of my things and always telling for me. I didn't understand it, just I felt it was relaxing. When they finished the packing we started. Out on the road was very hot and the sun shone continuously. We sat in a big metal box which was yellow. I sat in front of the yellow box and the filing was horroristic because everything was moving all-round me. I always felt a big force which pushed me to the wall of my little box. And my torture didn't finish here.
When we carried go out the big yellow box immediately we get on a big blue cuboid form box. Where the weather was perfect. But when I finally calmed down, everything changed. It became warmer and warmer and warmer. And It had torrid in few minutes. I was put in the soup by my owners. I didn't see the expedient. Fortunately my owners saw my problem and they ran my help. They brought a hanky with cold water to my ears and they started fanning me. It helped me. It was life saving for me. The travel in the blue box was a little long but I didn't bored.
When implemented we arrived the our destination. I amazed for the view. Where I was just seeing was meadow. It was my dream. And the coming days I always was running around out of the mead.
Unfortunately I had to come home.


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|Our usual Camping buddies
Panda and Chiefy
|The Interloper
Okay, I admit it. She's cute.
|Our usual Camping buddies
Panda and Chiefy
|The Interloper
Okay, I admit it. She's cute.
You gotta love a dog with heart.ReplyDelete
Heart she definitely has! And a whole lot of 'moxie'!Delete
Another fun story that I enjoyed. I love the pictures of the dogs. When we have a family reunion every two years everyone brings their dogs and it can be a pain; but mostly fun to see how they interact with each other.
Looks like you have another book coming; I will look forward to that.
Thanka, LeAnn! We do love our dogs! Family reunions wouldn't be the same without almost as many dogs as there are people!!! If you run out of things to visit about, there are always the dogs . . . :)Delete
Your dogs are beautiful, I especially love the little one... so cute:)ReplyDelete
Thanks, Launna! Cute was what saved her life!!! :)Delete
I LOVE dogs but I'm with you--big dogs are generally my preference for the very reasons of their general attitude towards quiet. However, I can see that my heart might--I say might--soften to the right sort of small dog.ReplyDelete
It took us a while. We're big dog people!Delete
Those are smart little dogs
Poor Ruby and her log of shame.lol
She is way too smart! Little monkey!Delete


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This week, I finished two scarves that I started in December. They were supposed to be gifts for the gals at work but never got finished. Instead of just tucking them away, I plodded on and finished them. They will be put away for gifts for next winter!
I also made three sets of Mastectomy pillows which is my guild's community project for this year. I still have a half a bag of fiberfill so I will be cutting more sets to use that up. We hope to make at least 200 sets to donate to Hartford Hospital which happens to be where I go for treatment. Last year, they gave away 700 sets. Breast cancer touches far too many lives.
The set in front was made from a 20x 20 pieced square I bought at a tag sale probably 10 years ago! Why was I holding onto it?? It made perfect pillows.
Finally, I finished piecing the pillow shams that match my rectangle quilt. I just need to get a copy of the ginko panto from my longarmer friend so I can echo quilt it on the shams. This is one of the fronts.
I am headed to our annual Rhode Island quilt retreat on Friday. I have packed three projects:
1. my underground RR quilt. I hoped to finish this as part of Finn's New Years challenge. I looked at it today and don't know what has taken soo long to finish it! The top and the back will be pieced this weekend.
2. A wool pillow kit that I bought last year.
3. Snowman wall hanging. I bought the pattern back in November when I met with Libby at the Quilted Crow. I have pulled all the pieces together and if all goes smoothly, I may get to this project as well.
Hope your January resolutions to do more quilting (whatever that may be) are still holding true!
Check back next week for my retreat pictures!
Til then, Quilt til you Wilt!!!


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If you commonly saw there was nothing special with movie poster which was used to promote the film while it was played in the cinema, then you have to see the funny and weird movie posters from Ghana below. Instead of promoting the film, the movie posters and movie walpapers (and the movie poster fonts include) just would make us frowned, confused, smile and laugh when we knew the movie poster for what movie or film was that, cause it really really didn't promote and describe the movie or film at all. What did you expect from the movie poster which was draw by the hands of the amateur artist whom was paid just a little dollar?
You could see the original article here on Movie Posters and Wallpapers With African Style.
I agree with the blog above when it was written thereon that we should appreciate those hand drawn movie posters above, those pictures just shown the restrictiveness of the technology in most of countries in the Africa, especially in Ghana. That's all for the funny and weird Movie posters from Ghana.
Fun or Not:


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The U.S Senate is scheduled to vote today on the ratification of the United Nations' Law of the Sea Treaty, a wide-ranging measure critics say will grant the U.N. control of the 70 percent of the planet under its oceans.
With Democrats in nearly unanimous agreement with the treaty and the Bush administration behind it, it will be up to a handful of determined Republican senators to derail it.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell has indicated he will oppose the plan, and other senators have indicated they have heard from constituents who are afraid of the proposal.
"In the same way that the people prevailed in the Senate in the matter of defeating the illegal alien amnesty bill, it is entirely possible that the U.N. power grab known officially as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) could be rejected," one commentator noted.
"If you want a U.N. on steroids, you want the Law of the Sea Treaty," Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., has said.
A two-thirds vote is required for approval, meaning only 34 "no" votes can kill it.
The Heritage Foundation warns the treaty would have unintended consequences for U.S. interests – including a threat to sovereignty.
The conservative think tank says "bureaucracies established by multilateral treaties often lack the transparency and accountability necessary to ensure that they are untainted by corruption, mismanagement or inappropriate claims of authority. The LOST bureaucracy is called the International Seabed Authority Secretariat, which has a strong incentive to enhance its own authority at the expense of state sovereignty."
"For example, this treaty would impose taxes on U.S. companies engaged in extracting resources from the ocean floor," wrote Heritage fellows Baker Spring and Brett D. Schaefer. "This would give the treaty's secretariat an independent revenue stream that would remove a key check on its authority. After all, once a bureaucracy has its own source of funding, it needs answer only to itself."
"The United States should be wary of joining sweeping multilateral treaties negotiated under the auspices of the United Nations," say Spring and Schaefer of Heritage. "Specifically, the benefit to U.S. national interests should be indisputable and clearly outweigh the predictable negative consequences of ratification."
Other critics fear the treaty will be used as a back-door to implement policies against global warming without any accountability to the American people. Parts of the treaty, they say, mandate international regulation of U.S. economic and industrial activities on land. With that in mind, critics of the treaty believe so-called greenhouse gases could be viewed as ocean pollutants.
Read the whole story.
We need to do what is best for the U.S. Giving up our sovereignty is not it.
Get on the phones.
Senate contact numbers can be found here.


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Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Board of Commissioners' Vote On A New Judge Is, In A Word, Juvenile
It's too bad, because with less than three whole months under its belt as the new majority on the board of commissioners, the Democrats with this vote set a tone that will cause damage far beyond this single issue.
That's because this second Juvenile Court judge is one of the lamest ideas to come before the county legislators, much less approved by it. It's short on justification and long on political payback.
Worst of all, it has the potential of proving that Republicans have been right all these years – Democrats really don't have a problem raiding the public purse for their own advantage.
Abject Ignorance
Most amazing of all is the fact that the commissioners' vote appears rooted in an abject ignorance of what the Juvenile Court judge does in the first place. More to the point, the job has long been more administration than judicial, and if the commissioners' objective is to reduce the number of child support cases pending in Juvenile Court, this was about the worst possible way to go about it.
That's because the Juvenile Court Judge doesn't really hear cases. He manages a bureaucracy that among other things includes Juvenile Court referees, lawyers who are appointed to hear the cases in its courts, and a detention facility.
Incredulously, the commissioners voted to create this judgeship without even finding how much it will cost. The salary of the judge - $140,000 – is only the tip of the iceberg, because once the costs of court clerks and support staff are added, the amount could easily spiral to $500,000 a year.
Put The Money Where It Will Do The Most Good
If the Shelby County commissioners have this much money on an unneeded judge, why not simply spend a fraction of that amount to pay the salaries of more referees to hear cases?
Commissioners base their decision on a 1967 private act of the Tennessee Legislature that empowered them (seven years before the county mayor's office was even created) to appoint a second judge in the event a need was ever proven.
But here's the thing: the bill was passed in the wake of the creation of the joint city-county court (now only county again), and in the intervening years, former Juvenile Court Judge Kenneth Turner surpassed any conventional thinking of the time to create a system that was viewed as a national model across the U.S. and the subject of a nationally televised documentary.
Stuck In A Time Warp
The system that he developed is light years from the simple notions that inspired the 1967 law – the notion that the judge would only hear cases rather than manage a sprawling operation of which courts is only one part. In other words, the current Juvenile Court bears no resemblance to what was thought to be the case 39 years ago.
Adding a second judge has about as much relevance to today's operations of Juvenile Court as adding a second sheriff to address jail overcrowding.
While we were admittedly no supporters of Curtis Person's election to the judgeship, this decision by the commissioners is highly dangerous, because it exposes lame political tendencies that can set public perceptions about the way that the new Democratic majority will rule county government.
After years of being one vote away from a majority, the new seven-member majority gives all the indications of a teenage-like overexcitement at the prospects of doing whatever they like.
Partisanship Over Promise
While it is tempting to say that the Republican push for partisan county elections years ago has finally come home to roost, it's more to the point to be concerned that Democrats' years of promising that they would be fairer and more egalitarian have quickly fallen prey to the arrogance of the majority vote.
In brushing aside Republican Commissioner David Lillard's request for a two-week deferral, the Democrats also sent the message that the environment in county government would be more adversarial and decidedly less civil. Such deferrals have been routine over the years – and no one has profited more from them than Democrats – and it's a shame that their new adulation with their own power trumps the courtesies and civility that are the grease that makes the wheels of the commission move.
And if the idea wasn't illogical enough on the surface, Commissioner Steve Mulroy's suggestion that the administrative duties should bounce back and forth between Person and a second judge sounds like a prescription for chaos and politics in a place that already has too much of them. From someone from whom so much was expected, this vote by Commissioner Mulroy for party purity was particularly demoralizing.
She Deserves Better
It's widely believed in the county building that the judgeship is being created for Veronica Coleman, former U.S. Attorney and unsuccessful candidate for the post now held by Person, and while we are great admirers of hers, this is the wrong way for her considerable skills to be put to work. She's an honorable person, and she should take the opportunity now to disassociate herself from the games that are afoot.
To make the political motivations even more transparent, the commissioners seemed intent on waiting to advance this idea so that it couldn't be put on the ballot where citizens could pick their own judge, rather than allowing seven Democrats – with Republican Commissioner Mike Carpenter's inexplicable backing – to pick who they want in the job.
All in all, it's a sad tale of raw, albeit a bit amateurish, political gamesmanship, and hopefully, it's an aberration and not a sign of things to come for the board of commissioners.
15 comments:
Dear Smart City Memphis,
I generally make it a policy not to respond to blog postings, but in this case I will make an exception. I enjoy your blog and read it regularly, but this post misses a few key points.
Starting at the end of your post, you call my vote "inexplicable." It's inexplicable because you didn't ask. Here is the process I went through in making this decision:
First, the State Legislature by private act created the second division of juvenile court in 1967. The 8-5 vote by the County Commission simply authorized the filling of that position in accordance with the private act.
My vote with the Democrat majority on this issue was based on facts I had gathered through review of data and interviews with private citizens who have experience with the court. Admittedly, not everyone agreed another judge was the answer, but everyone agreed there are problems in juvenile court that must be addressed.
I stated emphatically that I did not agree with the timing of this decision. I voted twice during the meeting with my fellow Republicans to defer the issue to allow for more discussion. Both times deferral was voted down. The easy political decision would have been to vote along party lines and vote against the measure. However, based solely on the merits of the proposal, I believed voting with the majority was the right thing to do.
For the record, there were no deals, no quid pro quos in relation to this decision. Right or wrong, I voted my conscience.
The most critical factors for me were these:
• 26,000 delinquency cases affecting 16,000 children were addressed by the court last year. More aggressive law enforcement and the dramatic spike in juvenile crime will increase that number;
• There are an enormous number of child support cases now and the number is growing;
• The Juvenile Court judge is largely administrative with court-appointed referees hearing most of the cases. A judge who hears cases would eliminate a layer of bureaucracy and more swiftly bring closure for families and victims;
• Other court-appointed referees must be interviewed and confirmed by the County Commission, but juvenile court referees do not. A judge would initially be appointed and later elected by the people;
• There are many examples of "model courts" with multiple judges. This can work for Shelby County too.
In terms of cost, I have discussed the issue with county finance staff and am assured that the resources to afford a single judge and the minimal staff requirements are available. Estimates of huge expenses related to this decision are completely distorted, especially in light of the fact that Judge Person in a letter to Jim Huntzicker just requested 7-11% raises for his top staff, most of whom make more than $100,000 per year.
Throughout this process no one from juvenile court ever contacted me with facts about why another judge would be detrimental to their system. During discussion representatives were unable to articulate exactly how this proposal would negatively impact them. I determined based on my research and their presentation that the pros of having a second judge who would actually hear cases outweighed the cons.
There is much more I could include, but I will conclude with acknowledgement that another judge will not address all of the issues in juvenile court, but I believe it is part of the solution.
I would remind you of your post earlier this year in which you said, "With so many at-risk teenagers ending up in Juvenile Court in this community, it's much more important that the focus be on intervention and inspiration rather than on the judicial kingdom that has built up over 40 years."
A new judge would certianly shakeup the "kingdom" and hopefully focus on intervention.
I cannot speak to the motivations of any other commissioner, but as for mine I made the best decision I could make with the information I had.
I will be a watchdog along with you to insure the court is managed efficiently and with the best interest of our children in mind.
Thank you for your comments and thought-provoking posts on this issue and others
Mike Carpenter
County Commissioner
District 1, Position 3
P.S. Any of your readers can contact me at my e-mail firstname.lastname@example.com or call me on my cell at 331-0153 about this issue or any other.
- Smart City Consulting said...
Thanks so much for writing, and we appreciate your explanation about the process that led you to be the 8th vote for the second Juvenile Court judge.
You've have a reputation for thoughtful decisions. That's why we found the vote inexplicable - not because you voted with the Democrats. In truth, we need more reaching across the aisle, not less of it. And we didn't think we implied it, but just for the record, we made no suggestion, or harbored a suspicion, that there was a quid pro quo in your vote with the other party.
Your thoughtfulness in posting a comment is appreciated and the justification for your vote is helpful. As you point out, we've noted before that we think that the entire juvenile justice system needs overhauling, and that's the reason that another juvenile court judge seems like something that does nothing but complicate the already cumbersome operations there.
Perhaps a better answer is to split the judicial duties from the others that consume so much of the judge's time - operating a detention facility and some social services. Juvenile Court was a well-known model for the nation a couple of decades ago, and it seems like a good time to take another look to make it one again.
Your point about referees is a good one. But does the county commission actually appoint all of the assistant divorce referees who are hearing pendente lite cases or just the head Divorce Referee nominated by the mayor and confirmed by the commissioners? If you are in fact confirming all of those referee assignments, then commissioners should certainly do the same for those working at Juvenile Court.
And when the county finance officials compute the cost of a new judge, tell them to add in all expenses - the cost of the judge, the cost of clerks, the cost of bailiffs, the cost of construction, etc., and include fringes with the salaries. We think the final cost is closer to our number than to the one you've heard.
That said, we expect that you will be one of the better members of the board of commissioners, as your commitment to explaining your votes proves.
Thank you again for the comment.
Again, thanks for elaborating on your vote. We appreciate your reading and we welcome and are grateful for your taking the time to comment.
I'll chime in here as both a former law enforcement officer and a father.
SCM is correct in that the admin duties need to be taken off the judge. Isn't that why there is clerk???
I've long advocated a 2nd judge but not in the manner the commission is doing it.
Juvenile court should be split into two separate courts ... criminal and civil ... just like other courts in the state.
It's a lot for a judge (or referee) to keep up with changes in both criminal and civil laws.
I personally had to read a change in the law to a referee in the court when he didn't believe me about it. I read it out of the book to him and he was none too pleased that he looked stupid for not knowing the change in the law.
Mike Carpenter, I'll tell you why a 2nd judge thrown in will be detrimental ... especially to children.
The judge sets the philosophy of the court.
For far too many years, the philosophy has been if you're the father, you're wrong unless proven otherwise.
For far too long, the court was too focused on squeezing child support out of fathers. It ignored pleadings from fathers that the mothers were interferring with visitation.
For far too long, the court, along with gov't agencies, lined up and gave mothers support, legal advice, filled out paperwork, etc. to collect child support but told fathers they needed to hire a lawyer.
Juvenile court was hurting children in the name of helping them.
Judge Person has committed to changing that attitude. He has created a pro se office for non-custodial parents.
Judge Person has committed to the philosophy of a presumption of shared parenting. No longer will fathers who want to be fathers have the door slammed in his face.
So, yes, create a position to handle criminal cases but don't throw a judge in with a different philosophy to confuse the situation on the civil side.
The fallacy of the arguments of Judge Person, the Commercial Appeal, and many others is that the Juvenile Court Judge is an administrative position and the judge does not supposed to hear cases. IF that were true, they might have a sound argument. However, their arguments must fail because the underlying premise that the Juvenile Court Judge does not hear cases is FALSE.
The Tennessee Constitution requires that cases be heard by the elected judges; there is no exception for Shelby County's Juvenile Court. The long-standing practice of appointing one of the referees as a "special judge" every day started back in the nineties when the law changed and former Judge Turner became ineligible to hear the cases that the elected judge is required to hear; the reason being that Judge Turner was not a licensed attorney. There is no such infirmity with the current judge. In fact, during the campaign, Judge Person promised that he would be the judge and take the bench to hear cases; this he has not done.
Another problem with Judge Person's philosophy is that the bulk of the employees at Juvenile Court are supposed to serve the Juvenile Court Clerk, not the Juvenile Court Judge. The employees in the Circuit Court serve the Circuit Court Clerk, not the 9 (NINE) Circuit Court Judges; the employees in the Chancery Court serve the Clerk and Master, not the 3 (THREE) Chancellors; the employees in the General Sessions Court serve the General Sessions Court Clerk, not the 14 (FOURTEEN) General Sessions Judges; etc.
There is a need for a second judge, and the leading rationale is to have a civil division and an unruly and delinquent division. Of course, the judges should be hearing the cases that the judges are supposed to hear. Judge Person has continued the use of appointing referees as "special judges", in violation of the Tennessee Constitution and Tennessee statutes. This will be brought to head in a Complaint for Writ of Certiorari and for Writ of Habeas Corpus in a delinquency case involving a mentally retarded 13 year old that was transferred to the adult criminal court, remanded after the criminal court found him incompetent, and then sent to Wilder by a "special judge" without any consideration of his mental health.
If the elected judge would take the bench and hear the cases he is required by law to hear, that would eliminate the need for one of the referee positions. With a second judge hearing cases, that would eliminate the need for a second referee. The two eliminated referee positions would more than pay the salary for the second judge, plus an administrative aide for the second judge. If the judges and referees would work full days every day, a good deal of the backlog could be eliminated.
William T. Winchester
Attorney at Law
(901) 685-2440
To date, no one, including county commssioners who voted for creating a new judgeship in the juvenile court have produced one single piece of evidence that this position will do anything to alleviate the perceived problems at juvenile court.
Worse than this, these same commissioners also failed to produce any compilation of fact regarding the costs, benefits, or ramifications on the court or the citizens of Shelby County. They ignored the only expert testimony that was given and instead relied on anecdotal evidence provided by their own colleagues.
It is obvious with the expeditious manner that this was moved through the commission, and the unwillingness by these commissioners to defer the vote until all parties had been allowed to have meaningful study of fact, that the primary agenda is purely political and has nothing to do with improving the court or those affected by the court.
Judge Person was elected overwhelmingly by the voters of Shelby County to replace Judge Turner less than 120 days ago. No one, even someone as qualified as Judge Person, can be expected to evaluate and remedy the needs of the juvenile court in this short time frame. As the duly elected Judge of the court, he should be given time to address these issues and bring recommendations before the commission.
It is very disturbing also that many of these commissioners admit in private that the only person being given any serious consideration for this position is one of those that was soundly defeated at the ballot box on August 3rd. This same person also is a client of one of the commissioners and calls into question whether or not this commissioner may have a serious conflict of interest.
The republican commissioners who voted against this measure did so because of the lack of study on this issue.The transcript of the vote is full of arrogance, hypocrisy and partisanship. It is very likely that this will now be a protracted court fight which does nothing to serve the community or the families affected by the court. If those supporting the measure had provided definitive data that supported their position, much of this could have been avoided.
The citizens of this county should demand that this item be deferred until the commission has supplied us with undeniable proof that creating a new judge in juvenile court is the best solution to solving the problems in the court. As of yet, they have failed to do that.
Bill Giannini
Shelby County Republican Party
Bill Giannini said in his post:
"Judge Person was elected overwhelmingly by the voters of Shelby County to replace Judge Turner less than 120 days ago. No one, even someone as qualified as Judge Person, can be expected to evaluate and remedy the needs of the juvenile court in this short time frame."
Although Judge Person was only elected back in August, he has been part of former Judge Turner's administration for decades. He has been a referee, a chief referee, and Turner's chief legal officer. He has been the architect for most of the current system at juvenile court. He was Turner's hand-picked successor to take over the reign at juvenile court.
Also, do not forget, that at the same time he was drawing his full salary (six figures) as the chief legal officer, he was also drawing his full salary as a state senator. Again, do not forget, that at the same time he was drawing his full salary as the chief legal officer, he spent the bulk of his time in Nashville doing his state senate work.
As a taxpayer, I am highly offended that a public servant would be able to draw a six figure salary and actually show up to work only, at best, one day a week.
William T. Winchester
Attorney at Law
(901) 685-2440
I hope it will give everyone some comfort to know that I requested of Chairman Ford and received appointment as Chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on Juvenile Court. The committee will fully study the costs, processes and problems associated with the decision and juvenile court in general. We will meet before the end of the month. You have my word that representatives from all of the the stakeholders will be heard and that pre-existing funding deficiencies in juvenile court will also be discussed. The appointment of a new judge is at a minimum many weeks away. As chair we will not only deal with the judge issue, but a full review of juvenile court. This is the study of the issue I had previously requested prior to my vote and that everyone seems to agree is still warranted. I would welcome any input that could be helpful to the committee's study.
Thank you to everyone for your comments and your passion.
Mike Carpenter
It sounds like William Winchester can't handle the facts. The judge just doesn't hear cases. And if he doesn't like someone working one day a week and earning six figures, he ought to check out the state courts where a hard week seems to get the judges working about 25 hours.
It sounds like Carpenter got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He needs to remember he's playing out in the open now and not in the back rooms. If he wants someone to be judge, they need to win it at the ballot box instead of making deals with Democrats.
- Steve Mulroy said...
I agree with the arguments posted by Commissioner Carpenter and attorney William Winchester on the need for a second judge in Juvenile Court. Everyone involved in the issue seems to acknowledge the need for additional resources to deal with a backlog. The Juvenile Court staff itself has suggested two additional referees. I believe that it would be better to add a second judge and have both judges actually hearing cases, as voters expect a judge to do.
The idea of separate criminal and civil divisions within the court is one I have heard from many attorneys who practice there, and who agree that a second judge is needed. I am open to this idea and hope to study it as we go forward with the committee process referred to by Commissioner Carpenter.
I intend no criticism of Judge Person, for whom I have great affection and respect. I would be for a second judgeship regardless of who won the Juvenile Court race this August. Indeed, the decision has more to do with this August's County Commission election. Now that we have 8 new members, the Commission was able to look fresh at a reform idea which had long been suppressed, in part out of deference to former Judge Turner.
Finally, rotating administrative responsibilities among sitting judges is a common approach in courts, and one which need not lead to administrative chaos. It will force judges to work together to reach consensus while leaving a clear chain of command. As I indicated in my letter last week to the C-A, it is by far more common than the system we currently have in Juvenile Court.
I think Smart City does a real public service in fostering discussion in important areas, and I hope people will keep an open mind on this topic as we go forward.
Steve Mulroy
County Commission
District 5
- Smart City Consulting said...
Commissioner Mulroy:
Thank you for the reply and the information.
There's clearly some problem areas in Juvenile Court - we've referred to them earlier, as Commissioner Carpenter points out - but rather than the board of commissioners respond with a political answer to an organizational question - add another elected official and the attendent staff support - what about the idea of taking a comprehensive approach to the entire Juvenile Court system? That sounds like what Commissioner Carpenter wants to do, and we think it's needed, and we hope he gets the support from his fellow commissioners to make it as through and objective as possible.
As Larry comments and others have said to us, there is no argument that the judge is now an administrative post and that referees hear cases. There's a backlog of cases, but to get the definitive answer about the cause of it and other issues, there needs to be an independent evaluation that looks at the the structure and all possible options for the most efficient organizational structure for the court. If that objective review recommends a second judge, then the public is more assured that the decision is rooted in reform, not politics.
Thanks for the comment, and more importantly, for serving in your office.
Why can't politicians ever just say they screwed up?
Carpenter just doesn't get it. When you're in a hole, quit digging. Now he's the chairman of a committee looking into Juvenile Court, and he's got to make sure it's honest. That's going to be tough as the lone Republican in a Democratic power grab.
- WellInformedLady said...
I think that a lot of people are focusing on the money and that is understandable. But what about these questions. Why is this the only court in the County with just one judge/a monarchy so to speak. Also, if a judge would sit on the bench, the docket would move much faster. Why shouldn't this judge sit on the bench, why is this judgship still viewed as primarily administrative? There is a very large turnover of staff at juvenile court so the court never has a full staff. There are tons of problems at the court, like children waiting three years to be legitimated. How does this delay help the taxpayers? Shelby County ranks as the second lowest county in collections of child support when the percentages are looked at (ie: amount due vs. amount collected). Shelby county child support caseworkers have a much larger caseload than any other child support caseworkers across the state. Those are all serious issues that need to be addressed/ changed if the court is to be more effecient. There are also problems in other areas of the court, like probation. They are just not getting the media attention. For example why are so many children being referred to adult court? The increase in serious crimes is far less than the increase of referrals to adult court? Why? There are more than enough issues that need correcting to keep two judges busy, on the bench and off the bench.
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Whenever this beauty becomes active, it'll be Edwin "Bagels" Jackson vs. Gavin "Lox" Floyd.
The Tigers are itchin' to actually win a series against the White Sox, which I've only seen in pictures at the bottom of Loch Ness. Detroit currently a four-game lead over the Minnesota Fraternals. Meanwhile, the Bleached Footwear are six and a half games back of first place, nestled snugly in third place.
2:15 pm -- Here, try to name as many Gold Glove winners as possible. By the time you finish those, maybe we'll have some primo tarp removal.
2:23 pm -- Gavin Floyd's perfect game remains intact.
2:26 pm -- As part of your Walkoff Walk Bonus Coverage Sponsored By A Half 2-Liter Of Cherry Diet Pepsi, we bring you the Marlins and Cardinals already in progress, with the Fish up 5-3 in the eighth inning. Did I say untied? I meant tied. Cody Ross was generous enough to let Ryan Ludwick's single slide through his footsies, and after a Colby Rasmus Kraft single the Archbishops are now up 6-5.


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Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Visit With Santa
Every year Santa is a little bit less scary for Will. This is the first year Will would actually tell Santa what he would like. Will told Santa he wanted a Santa Lego guy, kinds seems like he is brown nosing with the big guy. Happy Day friends!
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Austin is a slacker town.
Slacker according to the Merriam Webster dic:
: a person who shirks work or obligation; especially : one who evades military service in time of war
: a person and especially a young person who is perceived to be disaffected, apathetic, cynical, or lacking ambition
And according to the urban dic:
A person who does anything they can to avoid doing work. A person who doesn't do a big project till the last night, and then does it half-assed and turns it in. A person who writes urban dictionary definitions instead of studying for his finals. A person who would rather smoke weed and play video games all day than do anything else.
Some people say slacker like it's a bad thing. Those ppl should go work in Chinese factories if they believe hard work is a way of living. On contrary to some misconceived notions hard work is actually a sin. If you do something great it never feels like work. If you do something lousy like passing around silly papers in an office you will suffer and suffering is against my religion. Unless we are talking about bdsm but that another story. Any-way, the singer Jerm Pollet wrote that Austin is a retiree city for 30 something year olds. I agree, at some point it began to feel like I'm taking a vacation from a vacation. On Saturday I did more things than a young spirited grandma at a busy home would do.
First we went to the Hope Farmers Market, ate some yummy things, listened to some good southern music and met some nice ppl.
|A beautiful family serving healthy african food
|The cactus lady
|The cigar-box guitar musician
|I don;t know what they are for, but they are shiny
|Trust me, you don't want to eat the green beans
|Cactus lady art
Seeing and getting jealous of all the art at the farmers market put me in the right mood to visit Stafanie Distefano at her FlamingO ranch. Stafanie is a ceramics fairy; her house is like Austin's wonderland and her workshop is a melting pot and a heating stove for artists coming around to play with clay.I haven't played with clay since I was 10 so I just grabbed that material and made some awesome clay work. I still believe that me early work, 17 years ago was better, but we will judge again after I glaze those kick ass figures.
|The ceramics fairy's work
|Clay Party!
|This is Darshan Jani, he is an artist
|This is Drashan Jani's work
After all that hard clay work we needed a retreat so we headed towards Barton Springs, the best city-spring-pool in the world. This IS a slacker's paradise. The pool lies in the middle of the city and it's a habitat of a holy salamander so the evil city real estate ppl can not touch it. The pool was made with surrounding concrete walls and a dam that made the natural spring into a very long natural freezing swimming pool, real pretty and all. I tried looking for the holy salamanders but apparently they are tiny and stick to the bottom. If I was holy I would probably do the same.
While resting on the grassy slopes I heard a Cuban band playing on across the fence. The fellas I was with did not want to dance so I ended up teaching rumba steps to two retirees, one was an ex ballet dancer from Bulgaria and the other had golden teeth and crazy hip moves. A nice girl came by and taught me some Cuban salsa steps, apparently you do the same just in circles. I think you should do a Cuban circle version to every dance. All those hip swings heated me up so I needed to take another long cool swim.
|Pool side slackers
Claying, swimming and dancing , that's what I call a hard day's work. Luckily tonyromano took me to his friends BBQ in Cedar Park so I could be revived with some food and company. The dishes were good but Cedar Park sucks. Never live in Cedar Park, never live in a suburb of an interesting city, this is also against my religion.
That was the end of the day but definitely not the end of the Slackerville. This is not a name I invented, this guy Mike Poulson that rents studios to slacker artists in South 1st Street gave his compound that name. I hereby declare Slackerville as a name to the whole of Austin.
When they are not lying around, drinking or making art, Austin's slackers eat trailer food . The city is loaded with trailer food trucks eateries. Put a bunch of food trailers together, through in some picnic benches, and there you go, you have an Austin style food court. The reason for the food trailers up rise in recent years is that the city has so many rules and regulations for opening a restaurant, that slackers prefer to open an easy-on-the-regulations food truck. Some trailer were so successful they became a local chain.
so you see, slackerism can lead greatness.


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Monark campmeeting has been a different story this year.
First off, Tyrel wasn't going to come until the middle of the week, then he came and arrived early. :D We took Engagement pictures with our photographers on Monday morning, then got a call that he was being shipped back to West Virginia that afternoon to do some farming while the weather was fine.
So I spent some time at home working on wedding stuff and dresses and taking care of my darling little plants.
I'm spending one last night out with my friends before Tyrel arrives at Monark again in the morning. Sooo ready for him to be back and to not be "wandering around alone" :P
Friends in the new Tabernacle on the first night:)
Hurts Donuts with Mecia the first night :) (thankgoodness for 24 hour places)
A full tabernacle... how it made my heart happy :)
And even happier when to have this crazy man here to goof off with 😘
My lil hunk-a-chunk of a nephew ❤
I love seeing all the golf carts carting people to the new tabernacle.
People milling around after lunch under the tent where the old tabernacle stood.
They get the award for the cutest mode of transportation to church. 😉.
Beautiful sky!!
My good girls who came to my rescue after Tyrel left.
Zinnias in the garden at home 😍
Brent kept telling the doggy "hiii" 👋🏼😚
Finally... Christy arrived! ☺


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Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer defended his remarks on Mitt Romney's Mormon heritage, saying his comment that Romney's father had grown up on a "polygamy commune" was taken the wrong way.
"People are taking this far away from where I was discussing," Schweitzer, a Democrat, said in an interview Monday with CNN. "I was saying that Mitt Romney currently has a problem with Latino voters. And it is ironic that his father had come from Mexico. You could think he could embrace his Latino roots."
Recent polls have shown Mitt Romney trailing President Barack Obama among Hispanic voters. The former Massachusetts governor has moved to increase his appeal to Latinos, including campaign appearances Monday with Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) a Hispanic popular with Tea Pary voters, and reaching out to Hispanic voters in states like Arizona.
Schweitzer told CNN he didn't intend his remarks as an attack on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
"I didn't say anything about religion," Schweitzer said. "The Mormon religion hasn't accepted polygamy in 120 years. As I said before, Mitt Romney, or his family that I know of, doesn't accept polygamy today."
The governor's original comments came during an interview last week with the Daily Beast. While discussing Romney's difficulty connecting with Hispanic voters, Schweitzer said it was "ironic" because "his family came from a polygamy commune in Mexico."
In that interview, Schweitzer clarified that he was "not alleging by any stretch that Romney is a polygamist and approves of [the] polygamy lifestyle."
Romney quickly responded to the Montana governor's comments.
"My dad's dad was not a polygamist," Romney said in an interview with Fox News. "My dad grew up in a family with a mom and a dad and a few brothers and one sister. They lived in Mexico and lived a very nice life there from what I understand and then when he was 5 or 6 years old there was a revolution in Mexico. They escaped."


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Ghost Hand by Ripley Patton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Review of Ghost Hand by Ripley Patton
5 stars
I reviewed an e-book copy from the author provided in return for my fair and impartial review, via the Goodreads Group Making Connections.
About eighteen years ago, the first instance of PSS appeared: Psyche Sans Soma (which I roughly translate as "soul" or "spirit' without body). Those who possess PSS have one body segment that is "not there," "ghostly," and it could be the hand (as in Olivia's case), arm, nose, leg portion… Almost everyone without PSS finds it odd; some, the CAMPfers, find it freakish, abnormal, and in need of eradication. Olivia never thought that her "ghost hand" would put her in danger, until she discovers simultaneously that her PSS hand can reach in and pull symbolic items out of others; and that the new boy in school is far, far more than he seems—and he may be her only ticket out of terminal danger, because someone is determined to extricate her PSS.
"Ghost Hand" is an exciting and riveting story which kept me turning the pages to find out the next tension-filled moment. I highly recommend it, both to YA readers and older. Even higher level middle school readers can enjoy it.
Buy Now
View all my reviews


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Will Home Cooking Turn the Tide for Stars, Flyers?
Last night, the Penguins took Game Two in Pittsburgh from the Flyers by a 4-2 score. They're up 2-0 in their best of seven series, as are the Red Wings out west (if Detroit is really all that far west).
On Monday and Tuesday both series will shift back to Dallas and Philly, respectively. Both are also critical dates for the home teams. Going down 3-0 -- especially against teams this good -- is basically a death sentence. It's a must win. It's whatever you want to call it. No matter what you choose to call it (po-tay-to and/or po-ta-to are both acceptable), they're big games.
Conventional wisdom tells us that the Wings and Pens are more than likely to take one road game, and then close out the series in either Game Five or Six. But the Stars and Flyers have been anything but conventional this year. The Flyers got to this point without winning a single game one. The Stars, for what it's worth, took the Sharks to overtime in four-of-six during the semifinal round. And, despite sounding like a broken record, you can always go back and look at the way they fell flat on their face in March, winning only two games all month. Logic and reason has no place here, as Chris Osgood and Mike Ribeiro showed us on Saturday night.
So here we go, folks. The next two nights can show us one of two things. They're either going to show us who will likely be in the finals, or they're going to signal that we may be in this for the long haul. Hopefully, for the sake of good hockey, it's the latter. And that's not a knock on the first four Conference Final games that we've seen. Except for Game One in the West, they've all been pretty close. But close isn't good enough and the Flyers and Stars are going to have to shape up or ship out.


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...Is as fun as oral surgery.
Funny that Canada's border should be where I have trouble. India? Waved me through without a blink, bypassing customs.
Canada? Well, I will admit that given the evidence- the fact that as a backpacker, everything I need to live is in a big backpack and I have no proof of my bank account's holdings on me (this is good security among thieves) that I might, just might, look like a vagrant American hippy looking to get himself lost indefinitely in the Canadian Forest because expatriotism in a Canadian forest is somehow more novel than just getting lost in a forest in the US...
Anyhow, once I told the border officer that I had a ticket to fly to Tbilisi, Georgia, and therefore a reason to return to the US, he sent me on.
Once in Canada, I found myself at the doorstep of Van Dusen Botanic in Vancouver- an old historic-private-holding-turned-public-garden. Some places are easy to blow through, check off your list, and move on, but Van Dusen's atmosphere absolutely demands that you have a sit in one of the gardens and relax. It's probably the distillate-of-Greek-siren with which they fertilise. No, it's like fish emulsion...
Vancouver itself still enjoys a residual high from the Olypic games a few months back. No, I lie, actually. It is in withdrawls, according to locals.
(Above: Horseshoe bay owes much of its economy to the hour or two people must wait there before the next ferry arrives)
Having things to see on the island, I caught the evening ferry to Nanaimo.
For those who have not had the experience: one parks his vehicle in what appears to be any multi-layered parking lot, makes his way up a level to the cafeteria for dinner, browses the mall-esque giftshop, and, if he's failed to make it up onto the outside deck (catching a fine island-studded oceanic sunset) and realise he's moving on the water, will, in an hour or two's time, find that leaving the building, he's in another town on a island. Magic, for $59.65 Canadian.
Nanaimo is a large village or small city North of Victoria, British Columbia.
I haven't been to the UK to compare, but it feels pretty British here. Or European. Folks are pretty domestic and value simple things in life- there are a lot of bookstores here. And Pet stores. And dogs. And gardens. Everyone is talking importantly about just how her mother likes to make her cherry pie, that the neighbour is getting new raspberry canes, that the dog is getting groomed. It's lovely and laid back. I could live here.
Folks are also happy because it has warmed up here, and the sun is bright behind the oft-present thin film of maritime cloud.


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Desperate for a fix of the two most hilarious gals I know, I shall board a flight in less than two weeks to see my sisters who reside outside the Detroit Metropolitan area. We never plan much on these trips other than poppin' tags at the thrift shop, consuming mass quantities of lentil-laden middle eastern delicacies and hopefully engaging in a little road trip to somewhere.
This visit, I have one obligatory mission: visit the Detroit Institute of Art (DIA). Despite having spent my formative years within close proximity to this bastion of fine arts, I've never stepped inside. Now, with all its treasures being threatened with the auction block if the city cannot find another way to pay its (gasp) $18B debt, there is no time like the present. Plus, I have a major thing for Van Gogh and several of his works are housed there. I've never been to
I am also hoping to visit the Eastern Market which was recently featured in Rehab Addict; a show about Nicole Curtis, a rehabber and sassafras from the 313.
So, it's on! Time to grab a bottle of Faygo Redpop, fill up the tank, and art it up.


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The national dish of Brunei is nasi katok, which literally means 'knock rice'. The idea is that you knock on the door and get whatever is on offer, though now it seems to have become standardised as steamed rice with deep fried chicken. It's a basic dish that you can get in most simple restaurants.
The Standard Malay for 'knock' is ketuk, as in mengetuk pintu rumah 'knock on the door of the house' (from an article on page 3 of today's Media Permata).
So where does katok come from? First, Brunei Malay only has three vowels rather than the six vowels of Standard Malay; so the vowel in the first syllable is /a/ rather than the /ə/ of Standard Malay (which is represented by the letter 'e').
Then, for the second syllable. In Malay, /u/ in a closed final syllable tends to have a centralised realisation that we can represent as [ʊ]. For example, the vowel in the two syllables of duduk ('sit') sound quite different, and we can show the actual pronunciation of this word as [dudʊk]. So, in fact, using 'o' to represent the vowel in the second syllable of katok is not so surprising after all.
Cut his finger out into
52 minutes ago


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Top sites remain vulnerabl
The problematic RFC 5961 has not yet been fully implemented in Windows or Mac OS X, so those operating systems aren't believed to be vulnerable. By contrast, the Linux operating system kernel, starting with version 3.6 introduced in 2012, has added a largely complete set of functions implementing the standard. Linux kernel maintainers released a fix with version 4.7 almost three weeks ago, but the patch has not yet been applied to most mainstream distributions. For the attack to work, only one of the two targeted parties has to be vulnerable, meaning many of the world's top websites and other services running on Linux remain susceptible.
In an accompanying research paper titled Off-Path TCP Exploits: Global Rate Limit Considered Dangerous, the researchers said the vulnerability is the result of changes in the way TCP establishes a connection. When carrying out a so-called three-way handshake, the first of two parties sends a SYN (short for synchronize) packet, the receiving party responds with a SYN-ACK (synchronize-acknowledgement) packet, and the connection is established when the first party sends an ACK packet.
While similar attacks have existed for several years, the introduction of RFC 5961 makes this new exploit much more powerful. That's because the attacker need only have an Internet connection, even when there's no man-in-the-middle ability to control or monitor traffic passing between the two parties. The researchers wrote:
In this paper, we discover a much more powerful off-path attack that can quickly 1) test whether any two arbitrary hosts on the Internet are communicating using one or more TCP connections (and discover the port numbers associated with such connections); 2) perform TCP sequence number inference which allows the attacker to subsequently, forcibly terminate the connection or inject a malicious payload into the connection. We emphasize that the attack can be carried out by a purely off-path attacker without running malicious code on the communicating client or server. This can have serious implications on the security and privacy of the Internet at large.
The root cause of the vulnerability is the introduction of the challenge ACK responses and the global rate limit imposed on certain TCP control packets. The feature is outlined in RFC 5961, which is implemented faithfully in Linux kernel version 3.6 from late 2012. At a very high level, the vulnerability allows an attacker to create contention on a shared resource, i.e., the global rate limit counter on the target system by sending spoofed packets. The attacker can then subsequently observe the effect on the counter changes, measurable through probing packets.
Through extensive experimentation, we demonstrate that the attack is extremely effective and reliable. Given any two arbitrary hosts, it takes only 10 seconds to successfully infer whether they are communicating. If there is a connection, subsequently, it takes also only tens of seconds to infer the TCP sequence numbers used on the connection. To demonstrate the impact, we perform case studies on a wide range of applications.
Besides injecting malicious JavaScript into a USA Today page, the researchers also show how the vulnerability can be exploited to break secure shell, or SSH, connections and tamper with communications traveling over Tor. In the latter case, attackers can terminate key links in the Tor chain—for instance, those connecting an end user to an entry node, an entry node to a middle relay, or a middle relay to the exit node. The Tor attack could be particularly effective if it knocked out properly functioning exit nodes because the technique would increase the chances that connections would instead use any malicious exit nodes that may exist.
"In general, we believe that a DoS attack against Tor connections can have a devastating impact on both the availability of the service as a whole and the privacy guarantees that it can provide," the researchers wrote. "The default policy in Tor is that if a connection is down between two relay nodes, say a middle relay and an exit relay, the middle relay will pick a different exit relay to establish the next connection. If an attacker can dictate which connections are down (via reset attacks), then the attacker can potentially force the use of certain exit relays."
The researchers went on to offer a workaround solution while administrators of vulnerable systems wait for a permanent fix. While Windows, OS X, and most other operating systems aren't believed to be vulnerable, the researchers warned that they could become susceptible if developers don't use extreme care when more fully implementing RFC 5961.
"It is a subtle problem," researcher Zhiyun Qian told Ars when asked if the vulnerability resided in the RFC specification itself or a specific implementation of it. "I want to say that the RFC is written in a way that if OSes implement it straightforwardly, it is going to be problematic. So I think we should probably split the responsibility between the RFC and implementation."


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The Archived by Victoria Schwab is a story about a place where the dead rest on shelves like books. The dead are called histories and the place where they rest is called the Archive. Their lives are seen in pictures that only librarians can read. Mackenzie Bishop is tasked with making sure the histories, remain asleep but that proves to be difficult when someone is intentionally waking them up. Victoria Schwab uses her enchanting imagination to reveal the thin lines between past and present, love and pain, trust and deceit, unbearable lose and hard-won redemption.
Schwab wrote a masterful, dark and beautiful novel. Her descriptive ways take you into this imagined world where bodies are filed away like books. This book changes the way you see the dead. You'll realize that when we lose people that they aren't truly gone because they left footprints on everything they touched.
Schwab's book helps those who are suffer from the loss of a loved one heal. She reminds us that they are not truly gone and to morn by their graves is to mourn for the empty shell they once occupied. We carry those we love with us because of the memories made together.
-Book review by Cheyenne Hixson


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If you've not seen the original show go check it out on youtube. It's great Gothic RPG fodder!
Based on viewings of the old show and various sites about the series on the web the following should be pretty close to what a classic Dark Shadows TV Vampire would look like. Strong but not overwhelmingly strong, with several classic powers and weaknesses.
To build a Vampire, simply make a character with a character class. Then apply the Abilities and Flaws below.
Viola! Dark Shadows Vampire.
- Batform: The Vampire can transform into a large bat. The transformation is instantaneous but the creature cannot do any other action that round except move.
- Bite: The Vampire's razor sharp fangs inflict 1d4 damage.
- Blood Healing: For every 2 hp damage the Vampire causes with his teeth he can drink and regain 1 hp. He can only do this with living human or animal blood.
- Curse of the Vampire: Two ways exist to become a Vampire. The first is to be cursed by a poweful Witch or Warlock. The second method involves the bite of the Vampire. If a target is drained to death by a Vampire he or she will rise three nights later as one of the undead. These newly formed vampires are usually subservient to their more powerful master.
- Darkvision: A Vampire can see in the dark up to 90'.
- Hypnotism: The gaze of the Vampire can affect his target as if a Charm Person or a Sleep spell had been cast. The target receives a saving throw to avoid this but it is at a 4 penalty if the Vampire has previously bitten the target.
- Immune: Vampires are not affected by Sleep and Charm spells.
- Strength of the Dead: As undead creatures they have an unnatural strength when compared to mortals. To reflect this the Vampire gains a +2 (in addition to their normal Strength bonus) to all melee and unarmed damage rolls, as well as to attempts to open doors. The +2 is also used as a bonus to any Strength attribute checks.
- Travel: The Vampire can disappear and reappear from sight, teleporting from one location to another. This is limited to 30' per hit dice of the creature and can only be used a limited number of times per day: once per day per every four HD of the Vampire.
- Undead: Vampires need not eat, drink, sleep, or breathe. They are immune to poison and disease. Their only need is blood. Their nonfunctional organs and dead flesh make them harder to damage. +2 to AC. The Vampire is incapacitated when a stake is driven through his heart (-8 attack.) If the stake is removed the Vampire returns to life. Cutting off the head gives them a final death.
- Anchoring: A Vampire is compelled to sleep in a coffin to hide from the sun. If a crucifix is placed on the coffin and it is wrapped in chains the Vampire is trapped within, paralyzed and unable even to use itsTravel ability to escape.
- Curse of Blood: When expcosed to fresh blood the Vampire must make a saving throw or attempt to feed on the source. If the Vampire does not drink at least 4 hp of blood daily he ages 1d4 years and Strength, Dexterity, and Charisma drops by one point. These an never go below one however and can be healed up by one point per day with normal 4hp feeding.
- Holy Items: Vampires cannot approach within 10' of a holy object, bible, holy water, or sacred ground without making a saving throw. Even then he will take 1d6 damage if he come into physical contact.
- Sunlight: Any exposed flesh causes a smoking, withering damage to the Vampire. The damage is variable: 1 point for a finger, 1d2 for a hand, 1d4 for a limb or head, 1d6 for a torso or full exposure.
The Vampire retains all statistics except his Str, which effectively drops to 0.
His movement is now 180 (60),
He has a bite attack of 1d6.
In the show Barnabas Collins and others showed various powers which could be explained by their back-stories of dabbling in black magic. In addition to mundane character classes the Vampire may have studied the Dark Arts and gained levels in magic using classes.
Here is a write-up for Barnabas Collins, central character for most of the original Dark Shadows TV series
Barnabas Collins
Vampire Soldier 5/Witch 3
Str 13
Dex 12
Con 13
Int 14
Wis 15
Chs 13
AC: 14 (+2 Soldier, +2 Vampire)
Save: 10 (Best of both classes)
Attack: +5 melee, +4 ranged (two attacks per round)
Soldier Abilities
Vampire Abilities
Witch Abilities (Folkloric and Infernal Magic options)
Fine clothing, cape, black signet ring, silver wolf-head cane (dmg: 1d3+4 Str/Vamp bonus).


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This past week, a former coworker and current friend gave me the 5 Days of Positivity Challenge. In this, I had to post 3 positive things every day for 5 days. I don't have a hard time posting happy stuff, but to be dedicated to it took some effort. I kept note on the phone whenever something particularly good happened, or made me smile. I flipped back through others' Facebook posts to see what I may have missed, or what these posts triggered. It was not always easy, with the tragic death of Robin Williams, the turmoil in Ferguson MO, and staring my ended relationship in the face. Still, I persevered.
I am SO GLAD that I did! When I wrote my last post today, I really could feel how much better I see the world now. Especially now with so much trouble at every turn. It makes my day a little brighter to think of the things that are good in my little corner of the world. I've long thought that positive thinking has power, and this exercise has helped me recognize it yet again. While I am an upbeat person, I'm not always looking on the bright side of things, or for the simple joys all around me.
In the last few months I have made a whole bunch of new friends, most of whom are also very positive and upbeat. These guys have helped me look harder at the good and to hell with the rest of it. I'm sounding a lot like a self help book right now, so I'll leave that part of it there.
In this time, though, I've also seen just how negative a LOT of people I know are. We all have hardship, I get that. We all have insecurities, I get that too. But sometimes it just seems like people go out of their way to gripe about things that otherwise wouldn't affect them. These people have a hard time empathizing with others' good fortunes because it didn't involve them.
Many of my friends are in career transitions, and some got exactly what they were looking for and others didn't. Those who didn't have griped very publicly the whole time. Some, to the point that those who did get what they want feel like they can't say anything because it'll be a lightning rod for the negativity to these people. It's really a shame that the negativity taints everything around it so much.
I've also seen people being super bitchy about: various events, gay subcultures, different brands of technology, and TV shows that they hate. Not a single one of these topics are a mandatory part of life. Don't like Market Days? Don't go! Some people do have fun there, and it's not affecting you at all if you stay away. Think the bear culture is ridiculous? Then steer clear of the bear websites and bars. Hate Apple products? Fine, enjoy your Samsung stuff! Hate reality TV? Then don't watch it just so you can bitch about it.
I really don't understand how people can devote so much of their time and energy to things they hate. I don't have the time for all the things I enjoy! It seems so silly and such a waste to devote so much mindspace to things that piss you off. Maybe it makes these individuals feel superior to dump on things others love? I'm not sure. There are certainly things out there that I dislike, but if someone tells me how much they love them, I usually just accept that it's not for me, and move on.
People also cannot fathom why someone doesn't like things they themselves love. For example, an acquaintance of mine didn't like Guardians of the Galaxy. Now, I LOVED this movie, but I can accept that it's not for everybody. When he announced it on Facebook, people piled on trying to convince him that he didn't get it, didn't see it with the right audience, or in the right theater. I fell for some of it too, extolling what I loved so much, before remembering that it's perfectly fine if he didn't like it. Doesn't detract from my love of it at all.
I guess where all this rambling is going is to say that we should all try a little bit to look for the good things that are all around us. Allow yourself to enjoy things without shame, and don't shame others for liking or disliking things differently than you do. Being happy is often a choice, and I suggest we all do our damnedest to choose wisely.


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IDW Publishing has released their publishing plans for October 2014. Not anything major this month with four floppies and the Windblade trade coming out. For the full details of IDW's other books including GI Joe, Star Trek, and more click here.
Tom Scioli & John Barber (w) • Scioli (a & c)
THE WAR AT HOME! But whose home—and whose war?! Interstellar war has never been so cosmic! The G.I. JOE team faces the TRANSFORMERS—on Earth and Cybertron. Plus—just in time for Halloween… meet the OCTOBER GUARD!
FC • 32 pages • $3.99
James Roberts (w) • Atilio Rojo (a) • Brendan Cahill (c)
THE DILEMMA! On a planet dedicated to Right and Wrong, four damaged AUTOBOTS must make an impossible choice: kill or cure? Whatever they decide, their lives will never be the same.
FC • 32 pages • $3.99
John Barber (w) • Livio Ramondelli (a) • Andrew Griffith (a)
THE ENIGMA! At last… the secret origins of CYBERTRON's golden age are revealed to OPTIMUS PRIME—and what he learns changes everything about the AUTOBOTS' mission on Earth!
FC • 32 pages • $3.99
Chris Metzen & Flint Dille (w) • Livio Ramondelli (a & c)
CYBERTRON AT WAR! The giant city-sized Titans, METROPLEX and TRYPTICON, battle on a scale the universe has never seen—and the destruction they leave in their wake leaves CYBERTRON ready for the DECEPTICONS to strike!
FC • 32 pages • $3.99
Mairghread Scott (w) • Sarah Stone (a) • Casey W. Coller (c)
In the aftermath of DARK CYBERTRON, WINDBLADE takes the planet by storm! But where did she come from—and what does her secret mean to the future of the TRANSFORMERS?
TPB • FC • $17.99 • 104 pages • ISBN: 978-1-63140-052-0
"Sarah Stone's art brings new life to Transformers!" –Unleash The Fanboy
Sunday, July 20, 2014
IDW October 2014 Transformers Comics
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Scientific name: Ocimum basilicum
Common name: Sweet Basil, Selasih (Malay)
Family: Lamiaceae (mint family)
Origin: Africa, Asia
Category: Perennial shrub and culinary herb
Photo taken at: My home garden
The genus "Ocimum" is derived from the Greek word "okimom" meaning fragrant/aromatic.
The common name is derived from the Greek work "basileus" meaning "king".
The common name is derived from the Greek work "basileus" meaning "king".
With this, Ocimum basilicum would mean "Royal Herb"or "King of Herbs"
How to grow :
Grow in full to partial sun. Propagation by seeds or cuttings. Pinch back to keep the plant bushy and compact. Let the flowers dry up before collecting the seeds.
Features :
It can grow to about 1m tall. The leaves which are edible are used in cooking; in stir fries, soups and in flavouring food.


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A story from my mother.
She hitch hiked to Canada in 1972. She got word of a spot to sneak over on the boarder, I don't know why she had to sneak over. She waded through swampy grass and cow shit into Canada and walked until she found a road. She hitchhiked to Vancouver. She slept in flop houses and Became a Stripper. Her stage name was Sarah Gil and she performed in an act called Vanilla and Chocolate with a woman that looked like Tina Turner whose stage name was Trixie LaVonne. They were toppless dancers. The day my mother first danced she was almost fired for wearing the only shoes she had, the pimps told her she had to leave her stinky cowboy boots at home. She became a shoplifter, she shoplifted shoes, ligeriea and food. When she danced she would paint her face with crazy colors as if at a carnival and weave feathers in her hair. She felt safer from the men with the eyes (and especially the one that would poke them with the big stick)with her real face shaded by these paints.


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August 9, 2011, a photo by osseous on Flickr.
I hear runners love these 5 toed shoes. Honestly, I think they are a fad. I'm interested if we see them in 5 years.
They give me the creeps. they make feet look even worse than feet!
Via Flickr:
New Vibrams!!!


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Friends of the Earth Europe, ActionAid and Global Witness have welcomed the EU's latest action on sustainable finance, but warned that tougher action is needed to ensure that Europe's financial sector includes robust regulatory safeguards.
The European Commission must double efforts to create the more resilient and sustainable financial system that Europe needs, according to a coalition of environmental and development organisations.
Florent Compain, President of Les Amis de la Terre / Friends of the Earth France was fined a symbolic €500 today, a decision that the group condemns, for his role in the peaceful 'Faucheur de chaises' protest – a grassroots initiative to highlight the tax evasion of large financial institutions and banks like BNP Paribas.
The European Parliament voted today on rules that would make companies more accountable to their shareholders, making a step towards a more accountable and sustainable financial system, according to Friends of the Earth Europe, ShareAction and WWF Europe.
The Shareholder Rights Directive is intended to tackle the lack of transparency between companies and shareholders – a significant barrier to challenging unsustainable business and investment practices.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker today reaffirmed his commitment to CETA – the EU-Canada trade deal – calling it as "the best and most progressive agreement that we have ever entered into."
Reacting to European Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis' hearing this morning in the European Parliament regarding his assuming the portfolio for Financial Stability, Financial Services and the Capital Markets Union, Friends of the Earth Europe accountable finance campaigner Anne van Schaik said:
Europe needs to toughen-up its regulations for how investors deal with environmental and social risks, according to Friends of the Earth Europe and Global Witness.
A large number of forest fires have been discovered on Indonesian plantations owned by global palm oil companies Bumitama and Wilmar International. Despite new evidence that both companies violate their own 'no deforestation' policies, major U.S. and European investors have not taken significant steps to address these problems, according to a new report released today.
The European's Commission's proposal to increase the use of non-traditional banking systems across Europe - known as the Capital Market Union (CMU) initiative – poses major risks to people and the environment, a coalition of European civil society groups has stated today.
Food speculation by banks and financial institutions has contributed to rapid and unpredictable swings in food prices over recent years, with devastating impacts on poor people in developing countries. The European Union will introduce new regulations which take small steps towards curbing the financial speculation on food crops, according to Friends of the Earth Europe, after a deal was struck last night between the European Parliament and Greek EU Presidency.


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George Clooney, Natalie Portman and Justin Timberlake are among the potential witnesses listed by Ed Asner and the 15 other plaintiffs in the lawsuit against SAG-AFTRA over $130 million in unpaid funds.
Thursday's filing of the witness list comes a week and half before an Oct. 7 hearing in federal court over the union's motion for a dismissal of the suit, which alleges extensive misconduct by the union in how it has handled foreign royalties and residuals. SAG-AFTRA has repeatedly brushed off the suit's allegations and insisted it has done nothing wrong.


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His column is lengthy, but the first example on his list should serve as a suitable appetizer. It's a fallacy called "begging the question." This occurs when someone assumes the truth of the very claim he's trying to prove. For example, sometimes people will argue that miracles aren't evidence of a God because miracles are impossible. But one can claim that miracles are impossible only if one already knows there's no God. That's begging the question.
The phrase is often used in conversation to mean something like "raising the question," as in Joe's purchase of a new car begs the question where he got the money from, but that's not how the phrase is used in logic.
Anyway, here's Torley:
The first and most egregious fallacy regarding the origin of life is the fallacy of begging the question: since we're here, life must have originated by some chemical process. This fallacy was committed by no less an authority than Professor John D. Sutherland, a chemist at the UK-based Medical Research Council's Laboratory of Molecular Biology....In an interview...Professor Sutherland stated: "We're here on the planet, and we must be here as a result of organic chemistry." In other words, we're here, so abiogenesis (the origin of life from non-living matter) must be possible somehow. Of course, that conclusion doesn't follow unless one assumes all of the following premises:There's much more in Torley's column. Some of the errors in reasoning he documents are very common in discussions of biological evolution and are worth becoming familiar with.
(1) Life began at some point in time during the history of the universe;
(2) The complexity which characterizes life must have had some cause; and
(3) The universe is a causally closed system during the entire course of its history: nothing and no-one outside it can interact with it in any way.
Finally, in order to rule out intelligently guided organic chemistry explaining the origin of life...(as I presume Sutherland would wish to do), one would have to assume an additional premise:
(4) Neither the laws nor the initial conditions of our universe were set by an intelligent being.
The first premise can of course be ascertained scientifically, and the second premise is an admission that the complexity of life requires an explanation of some sort – a point which even New Atheists such as Richard Dawkins readily concede. However, the third and fourth premises can only be described as blatantly question-begging metaphysical assumptions. We don't know that the universe is causally closed, and we don't know that it was not designed. Professor Sutherland's assertion that "we must be here as a result of organic chemistry" is therefore without warrant: it simply begs the question.


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recently we ran into some friends that we haven't seen in a couple of years.
it was one of those moments that afterwards you think back on and you wish you could totally redo.
i've been thinking about it, not obsessing over it, but just mulling it over, on how this exchange could have been different.
you know how it is when you haven't seen someone in a while.
there is a lot that happens in two plus years.
how in the world do you sum it up in a 10 minute conversation?
here's how the exchange went:
friend: "so, what have you guys been up to?"
me: "oh you know, not a whole lot. mike works a few jobs & i stay home with eli."
there was a little more to it than that, but i'm gonna stop right here because i am just so ashamed by this!
did you read my response?
what kind of pathetic answer is that?
redo, please???
here's a little tidbit about me:
i'm not always such a quick thinker.
my best friend and i used to joke about how i couldn't think on my feet.
it was better if i was sitting.
or give me a few days and maybe i could generate a good comeback.
so, since i've had some time to think (and i've been doing it sitting down), i've thought of a few things that i might say instead.
"so, what have you guys been up to?"
~experiencing the Lord's provision, His grace & mercy, His undying love and His wonderful goodness
~championing families in our church & teaching kids to treasure Jesus
~creating memories with our little family of 3
~watching in absolute wonder as our little boy grows right before our eyes
~overcoming obstacles
~learning to let go of what others might think
~taking moments to just be still
yeah, i think that's a much better summary.
maybe they will read this and see that we really aren't boring, pathetic people?
what have you been up to?


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Thursday, September 30, 2010
White Love & Inspiration
18 comments:
~**~WOW I am drooling and loving that white kitchen and that table...stunning!!!Thanks for sharing Tammy~*~* Hugs, Rachel~*~*ReplyDelete
Hi Tammy, I am loving every single room...beautiful! Love your blog too and thanks for the link for the pumpkin signs, they are awesome and I am hoping to order one...love etsy!!! DebReplyDelete
Oh...this is very, very nice, I love it. I really like your blog and have become a follower.ReplyDelete
Best wishes :)
I absolutely Love this rooms ~ had to check out David Coote right away, Amazing..... Thanks for SharingReplyDelete
- AnonymousOctober 1, 2010 at 9:51 AM
Great inspirational pics, Tammy! I LOVE farm tables, too... the bigger the better! And you're right... we wouldn't be able to shop together... we'd be scrappin' over who gets what!!! LOL ;-))ReplyDelete
Have a great weekend!
~ Jo
I left a comment but not sure where it is!!?!ReplyDelete
Sometimes, when there's word verification, I click off before I see that. :(
Thanks for coming by...and leaving such sweet words. I, too, just signed up to follow..:))
I love all these rooms, too.
Lovely inspirational photos! you have a lovely blog and I am now a follower. Thank you for visiting me today also.ReplyDelete
Morning Tammy....!ReplyDelete
I've had such a HARD time choosing between shabby chic, vintage & junk style over the years I FINALLY developed a mix that I was happy with....ONLY to pop into a LOVELY blog like yours to find GLORIOUS pics that make me want to do a big old RE-DO....aghhhhhh....Will I EVER be 100% happy with a design style....I think not....hahahahaha....!!
Have a GREAT weekend....!
Tamarah :o)
Great inspiration photos. Now if I only had that much room!ReplyDelete
Hi Tammy, Thanks for stopping by today. And thanks for sharing the pics of the sale you had gone to for the fall event. I saw so many goodies there I wish I had gone. Have a good evening.....JulianReplyDelete
Hey Tammy! Oh my gosh....that kitchen is swoon-worthy!!!! You posted a photo of my new dream kitchen, did you know that? lol! Love it! Thanks for the inspiration, and good luck with your garage sale! Happy WW too!ReplyDelete
xoxo laurie
Tammy I adore this kitchen, too. Really inspirational! Thanks, LezleeReplyDelete
Hi Tammy...thank you for sharing these pics. LOVE that white kitchen..LOVE it!!!!ReplyDelete
Hi TammyReplyDelete
I have not seen this designer before, love it all.
Thanks for sharing, have a great weekend
What a Fab U Lous home and designer. I've got to go and check this out more. Thanks for sharing the info...would have hated to miss this guy!ReplyDelete
Oooooh Tammy, white farmhouse tables are one of my favorites too. These are great kitchens. It makes me want to redo mine RIGHT NOW!! Thanks for linking up with VIF!!ReplyDelete
Hope you had a great sale!
yes~ these images are perfect and yummy and have been some of my favorites for a long time!ReplyDelete
Hi Tammy,ReplyDelete
I see that many of my friends are visiting so I had to check you out closer. I too love farmhouse plank top tables and love your inspiration rooms, I to am in a dreaming of this kind of kitchen mode :)
Thank you for sharing I will be back!


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GuitarSpeedLearning-Hero in 30days!
"How To Hold Chords Easier"
If you're struggling to hold down chords, try this…
Instead of placing your fingers in the middle of the fret, try pressing down just below or above the actual fret itself.
The frets are the thin metal bars that run across your guitar neck. There are usually 21 frets on most guitars but some have 26.
By pressing down just above or below the fret, this makes it easier to hold chords, takes less pressure to hold down and most of all, allows you to last longer when you play songs.
This is a neat trick to help you hold chords easier, last longer with your playing and help reduce the soreness on your fingers!
As a side note — if you've always wanted to learn to play the electric / acoustic guitar – you'll like what I'm about to tell you…
We've just made an entire web site containing over 70 Jam Packed guitar lessons which teaches you to play the electric / acoustic guitar from beginner to advanced.
The entire thing exists online, so you can access the site online any time, any where, any location — no matter what age you are or which country you live in!
You'll save a fortune on hourly guitar lessons and learn during the hours that suit YOU best!
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Save a fortune on hourly guitar lessons and learn in the comfort of your own home at a time that suits you best!
Log into the online site anytime, any where, any location — no matter what your age is or which country you live in!
To find out more, go to:
…Or copy and paste the above link into your Internet Explorer address bar.
Please note: due to the large amount of media content, we can only support 100 members. The response has already been overwhelming so get in quick before memberships run out.
Thank you for being with us once again and I look forward to showing you what we've got in store in the next coming weeks!