text:
Before I go ahead with this edition of the Thursday Diary for this week, I thought I would take the time to offer up a little bit of an explanation about Canadian currency, as well as some recent changes to the way that people spend money here.
I don't know how many of you outside of Canada are aware of what is happening, but as of 2012, the penny is slowly, but surely being taken out of circulation. The Government of Canada decided to get rid of the penny because the cost to manufacture a penny is actually worth more than the value of the penny itself.
I know...it costs more than one cent to actually make one cent. Go figure.
Now, as of June 2013, there are still pennies floating around the country. And, most retailers are still instructed to accept pennies if they are given to them by a customer who is paying in cash. Retailers, however, are not to give pennies back to people in their change, as the government is dead set on pulling them entirely out of circulation...
...thereby making the nickel the new "unwanted coin".
So, what does this mean for the people who are paying for goods and services? Well, very little really changed. If people are paying via debit card or credit card, things will work exactly the same. But, if you're paying by cash, well...let's just say that in Canada, you already are aware of the changes (or you SHOULD be anyway). After all, the chart is posted at almost every single retailer in town (including the one I work at).
For those of you outside of the country, here's the conversion chart.
And, here's an explanation both ways.
Okay, so say that you're buying a carton of chocolate milk that is on sale for, oh, let's say a dollar. And, let's say that you're living in the province of Ontario, where the harmonized sales tax is a whopping 13%. With the tax, that will bring the total to $1.13. Because the price ends in a three, the price ACTUALLY becomes $1.15. If you pay the amount of $1.15, expecting to get two pennies back in change...well, that will no longer happen.
On the flipside, if one were to purchase something, and the total came to $12.62, then it would actually be worth $12.60 (rounding down), and if one were to give the cashier $12.65, you would actually make a three cent profit!
All in all, everything will balance out quite nicely, and for the most part, I am happy with the decision to axe the penny (although I do admit that I want to find a penny from 1981 to save as a memento).
The reason why I wanted to start this blog off with this explanation is because it will make my diary entry make much more sense. And, to keep with the spirit of the blog entry, I will be typing today's blog entry in the same colour as a penny...copper.
June 6, 2013
I can't believe that it's been six weeks since I moved over to the Garden Centre area at work. And, you know, if there's anything that I have learned over the last seventy-two days, it's that there's really no job out there that I can't do if I really put my mind to it.
Oh, sure, the tasks that I have to do on a day-to-day basis are a lot of work. Shoving fifty bags of topsoil into a truck is hard work...especially after the driver announces that they also want to squeeze in an additional dozen bags of black cedar mulch on top of that.
Watering every plant in the entire department, and knowing exactly just how much water and sun each plant is supposed to get...that is also another hard part of my job. Prior to working the Garden Centre, I was notorious for murdering everything that had green leaves on it. But, to tell you the absolute truth, I'm learning quite a lot about gardening each day I spend out in that area. If ever I end up ever having a backyard of my own, I suppose that I have learned enough to possibly plant and garden and keep it going for months.
Or at the very least, a lot longer than, say, twenty-four hours.
I've even become a bit of an expert in cramming an entire patio set into almost every make of vehicle. Sure, in some cases, we might have to take some of the chairs out of the box, but I did find a way!
And, I'm already noticing that my arm muscles are getting stronger every day!
But there was one aspect about the Garden Centre that I was absolutely dreading. It was one duty that was expected of almost every single staff member that was placed there, and it was one part of the job that I was absolutely DREADING.
I was dreading it so much that for eight years, I made every possible effort to avoid it at all costs. I purposely steered myself towards departments that were as far away from it as I could get.
For eight years, I had successfully managed to avoid getting trained on a cash register. And, here I was, entering a department in which it would have been an asset to learn it.
The very thought of having to go behind a register placed so many butterflies in my stomach that I was impressed that I wasn't belching out caterpillars and cocoons!
And yet, as of now, that's exactly what I am doing. And, to be honest, it still makes me feel incredibly nervous.
I knew that heading into this new challenge in my life, I wasn't going to be completely perfect. In fact, I was heading into the world of cash training with a...shall we say...less than optimistic attitude about it.
I thought that I would be the one to accidentally scan the same item three times before I noticed that I made a mistake. I thought that I would be the one to break a cash register to the point where it would cost thousands of dollars to be replaced. I even had the really bizarre thought that I would accidentally get a packet of Kool-Aid wedged in between the conveyor belt of a register and while I was prying the Kool-Aid out of the register, I would accidentally hit a button and end up severing two of my fingers, spraying blood all over the customer and the poor CSM who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
(And, don't make fun. Those are some of the bizarre thoughts that occasionally make their way through my brain circuits!)
So, imagine my surprise when none of those things happened!
Oh, sure, I was incredibly nervous about getting behind a register. It was a brand new experience. My first transaction, I was shaking like a leaf! But, it went by smoothly. As did the next, and the next one after that.
I will also be the first one to admit that most customers seemed to be very understanding over the fact that I was not used to working a register. I especially want to thank the family who waited very patiently for about ten minutes while I was trying to get the debit card machine working again! It certainly made me feel a lot less nervous when you feel like you aren't being judged so harshly!
Truth be told, I've only handled a few transactions, but the ones I have handled, most of them went through without any hassle. I even managed to sell a couple of balloon decals for the Children's Miracle Network fundraiser, which I found to be a big deal...
...probably even more of a big deal than it really WAS, mind you.
Though, I will say that as a new trainee on cash, I'm still trying to get the hang of certain things. The hardest part of my job on cash is trying to give back the proper change. I know that the total change you are to give back is displayed on the screen, but you really also have to pay attention so that you accidentally don't give back one too many dimes or quarters. I'm not as fast at counting change as some of my co-workers are, but that's only because I am trying to make sure that I don't goof up the counting. After all, if our tills are unbalanced at the end of the day, we could get in serious trouble for it.
So, that's why when a customer pays for an item worth $1.13 with $1.15 in cash, and due to new government rules that correspond with the banishment of the Canadian penny, are not given back any change as a result of the rounding (which might I add is already programmed into the system which I cannot override even if I wanted to), I cannot simply give them two pennies just to make them happy. And, I don't care if the customer complains to every single person under the sun for getting shortchanged. There are rules to follow when it comes to cash, and I have no choice but to obey them. It's going to be the case at essentially every retailer in Canada, so we all have to learn to deal with it. And, in the grand scheme of things, are two cents REALLY going to make a difference in this economy? I don't even know anything that even costs two cents in this world anymore.
(Sigh...I guess we are all entitled to ONE rant every now and then.)
Though, I will say that when another customer received a nickel back in change instead of four pennies, it was quite amusing to see her cheer and holler the same way a person might react to seeing the Publisher's Clearing House staff at their front door surprising them with the news that they have just won a million dollars!
I guess what I am trying to say is this. Working the registers is not as bad as I thought it would be, but like every job, it has its pros and cons. And, one thing that I have noticed is just how alert one has to be at all times.
It's not just your scanning accuracy that I am talking about (though it is very important). I'm talking about having to deal with various customer complaints and not being able to run away from it. I'm talking about having to multitask in certain cases, and keeping everything balanced. I'm talking about trying to come up with a quick fix to a problem yourself, or knowing the right person to call to bail you out of a sticky situation. I'm talking about having to cope with people who are "extreme couponers", or people who force you to call several different departments for price checks while you're trying to ring through items.
I mean, going into the Garden Centre, I knew a bit about what I believed the main problems with being on cash were, but that was only scratching the surface. Anyone who has ever worked a register in a retail store automatically gets my absolute seal of approval. I had no idea just how much work cashiers really have on any given day. I certainly won't look at them the same way again having been exposed to the other side, so to speak. They will forever have my complete and total respect.
And, you know something? While I may have been apprehensive about working the cash register before, now I'm starting to realize that every now and then, it's not so bad. Just don't ask me to process a credit card application, because I KNOW I'm gonna bungle that up! But, that's okay! After all...weren't we all the new guy on the job once?
And, that's my TWO CENTS on that matter.


text:
Nevermore — a study of Khnopffs ink drawing "La Rêveuse"
Fernand Khnopff (1858-1921)
c. 1900
Pencil and coloured chalks, on grey paper
5 1/4 inches, 13.4 centimetres
Signed FERNAND KHNOPFF, lower centre; inscribed with the title of the study in broken capital letters, NEVERMORE, right centre
Commentary by Christopher Newall and Guy Redmond
The present drawing is closely related to Khnopff's more finished drawing La Reveuse, which he used as an illustration to the article he wrote, entitled "La Dessin a la Plume en Belgique," for The Studio, Special Winter Number, 1900-1. (See, Delevoy, R.L., De Croes, C. and Ollinger-Zinque, G. Fernand Khnopff, 1979, catalogue number 352, listed as untraced.) The various related studies for this subject, (another in the series was exhibited Chicago, New York and Delaware Art Museum, Fernand Khnopff and the Belgian Avant-Garde, exhibition organised by Barry Friedman, 1984, catalogue number 22), were derived from photographs that the artist had taken of his adored sister Marguerite Khnopff in about 1900. (Illustrated Fernand Khnopff, catalogue of the exhibition held in Paris, Brussels and Hamburg, 1979-80, catalogue number 115.)
If the present drawing depends upon the photograph for ah objective reality, Khnopff has selected the elements of the composition and placed them to the left-hand and lower edges of the circular composition, to weird effect. Khnopff knew the importance of dreams as the soul's refuge and inspiration; the subject of the present drawing understood symbolically is the escape of an individual from the physical world into a realm of fantasy into which, at least on this occasion, the artist's pictorial imagination cannot follow.
Related Works
- Dreaming Woman (slightly smaller version)
- Dreaming Woman &mdash Nevermore
[Note: I am not certain if this drawing and that entitled Dreaming Woman &mdash Nevermore (available on this site) are actually the same drawing, even though there are a slight differences in title and size. — George P. Landow
Newall, Christopher, and Guy Redmond. Fifth Exhibition: Master Drawings of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. London: Peter Nahum, 1987. No, 41.
Fernand Khnopff (1858-1921). Ostfildern-Ruit, Germany: Hatje Cantz Verlag, 2004. no. 100.
Peter Nahum Ltd, London has most generously given its permission to use in the Victorian Web information, images, and text from its catalogues, and this generosity has led to the creation of hundreds of the site's most valuable documents on painting, drawing, and sculpture. The copyright on text and images from their catalogues remains, of course, with Peter Nahum Ltd.
Readers should consult the website of Peter Nahum at the Leicester Galleries to obtain information about recent exhibitions and to order their catalogues. [GPL]
Last modified 14 November 2005

subset: commoncrawl


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Greetings All –
Step 295 - I am now penetrating the mystery of my life. (MP3) [Open in Drive or copy to your Drive – Download folder or play from Drive – Step PDF also.]
|I am now penetrating the mystery of my life. Step 295
YOU ARE PENETRATING THE MYSTERY OF YOUR LIFE which seeks to reveal itself to you. The mystery of your life is the source of all that is manifest in your life. All that will be manifest and is intended to be manifest is embodied in the mystery of your life. Therefore, your current engagement as a student of Knowledge is absolutely fundamental to everything you will do in the world and to everything you will realize and fulfill in this life. It is absolutely fundamental to your need.
ALLOW THE MYSTERY TO BE MYSTERIOUS. Allow the manifest to be manifest. In this way, you will enter the mystery of Knowledge with reverence and openness, and you will engage yourself in the world with a practical emphasis and a concrete approach. This will enable you to be a bridge from your Ancient Home to this temporary world. Then, you will treat life in the universe with reverence and awe, and you will treat your self-application in the world with conciseness and responsibility. Here all your faculties will be properly cultivated and integrated, and you will be a vehicle for Knowledge.
WE WILL NOW BEGIN A MORE ADVANCED SECTION of your curriculum. You may realize that much of what you are learning you cannot yet understand. Many of the steps to follow will be to activate your Knowledge, to make it stronger and more present within you and to evoke within you the ancient memory of your true relationships in the universe and the meaning of your purpose here. Therefore, we will begin a series of lessons which you will not be able to comprehend but with which you must become engaged. You are now penetrating the mystery of your life. The mystery of your life holds all the promise for your life.
REMEMBER YOUR LESSON THROUGHOUT THE DAY. Recite it upon the hour and in your two deeper practice periods, enter into stillness and peace. Allow yourself to penetrate the mystery of your life so that the mystery of your life may be revealed to you. For all meaning, purpose and direction are born of your origin and your destiny. You are a visitor within the world, and your participation here must exemplify your greater life beyond the world. In this way, the world is blessed and fulfilled. In this way, you will not betray yourself, for you were born of a greater life, and Knowledge is abiding with you to remind you of this.
PRACTICE 295: Two 30-minute practice periods. Hourly practice.
Yesterday: Step 294 - Review
This thought recorded: "I do love the world."
From the Journal:
5:27 a.m. Saturday, May 6, 2000 – awakened early by a charley-horse in my leg – so – I'm awake – this is S2K Step 294 Review day – henceforth – the practices shall be of greater depth – as my soul dances closer in its quest for Knowledge – my life will be simplified/organized –
My sense was to finish reading the messages in my black sketchbook. I read half last night – 12/21/96 to 9/17/99. The number of Knowledge parallel points was amazing and gratifying. As a student – I'm feeling movement –
8:53 a.m. – On the porch – my EOAS goal is Oct. 16, 2001 – 17 months – I've created my own subject – regional intelligence – using networks in the world of bounded localities to empower. Boundaries, unless illegal, or abusive, must be accepted – common –
– high risk diplomacy –
– bottom up –
– Local is not enough –
– sneaker nets empower
→ To be a publisher/writer takes great discipline – I've not had that to date – my life will have to be redesigned/reorganized.
the problem with efficiency in processes is that it has to be pointed in the right direction. – Efficiency in the wrong direction – not guided by intelligence, morality, it produces a mass –
a computer virus clogs/destroys computer data/– A human virus – Nazis – commit genocide.
My view – regional networking – internal/standard regions – & region to region.
Remote viewing – seeing the world through data/maps/art
Earth First –
It is easy to understand why I was attracted to WF S [World Future Society]–
NASCAR – a model for managed competition – family sport – this serves earth diversity –
– world music
– world communication – internet
– world manipulation –
– LTWK – governments already influenced by ETs – as the email/web community says.
11:25 a.m. Seeking, seeking to understand – on the CD – "Dance of Life" from "Sky of Grace." Why do I love percussion? I like background music –
- some thought music/rhythmic sounds preceded language.
– life was once all music – rhythm and song, work gangs – to establish rhythm of tasks done together –
4:31 p.m.@ Little Bear – with my folding chair – for the long Practice Step 294
Step 281 – "Above all else I seek Knowledge." was on Easter Sunday, 4/23/2000.
6:07 p.m. Finished reading the lessons and journal for the two weeks. Overview: significant change in my relationship to the world as a result of the expansion of my relationship to Knowledge.
I read the last chapter of LTGCW today as well. This passes the "it works" test – so I go to the next level of student commitment.
The change in me – since the start of S2K – feels good.
Throughout the review I was spacing out… There is no call for stillness in the lessons – it just happens.
Time to begin heading out…
This is getting deeper and that is good. Let us continue.
Journal second time x2 Step 294. This is for those who have completed Steps once. Doing Steps with only the texts, messages and your life experience, including what you may have studied and practiced is your journey. I'm showing Step comments after the Step, so as not to influence you in advance. It is a wilderness trek to be left to your own wits, but then you can also listen more closely for guides, angels and teachers, always first saying: "I surround and protect myself with the Love and the Grace of God." Thankfully, I was taught this practice in 1989.
P.S. If you've some interest due to this or other Steps, you should go to the beginning blog post. From here you will learn about Steps to Knowledge and can begin it on the day that makes sense; then progress as needed. You can use the posts on this blog as a companion if it helps. They will remain in order in the archives - one post per Step.
Often it takes 18 months to get through the Steps once. For this blog, the pace is one-a-day, but it really makes no difference how fast you do it, only that you begin, persist and repeat. Posts here provide a trail that may let you have a virtual companion when and if you want one. One may have to study alone, as I did in the beginning. There are other Steps students blogging their experience and you might find a person more like you as a companion, or use a number of such Steps journeys. There are options as well through the Free School of the New Message.


text:
The breakdown of shipments by region is:
Worldwide PlayStation 2 Shipments by Region, as of September 17, 2002
Europe/PAL (Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Limited) 12.06 million units
North America (Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc.) 17.01 million units
Japan (Sony Computer Entertainment Japan) 10.97 million units
Since its European launch in November 2000, demand for PlayStation 2 across the SCEE territories has been phenomenal. Such is the global success of the PlayStation 2 that it has taken just four and a half months for lifetime shipments to increase from the 30 million units announced in May 2002, to the 40 million units announced today.
"The PlayStation 2 user base across Europe, Africa, Middle East Australia and New Zealand continues to accelerate and to grow the market for computer entertainment on TV based consoles," said Chris Deering, President of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. "The recent and forthcoming line-up of new software titles on PlayStation 2 is the strongest in our history. Reviews have been outstanding, and the range of choice between now and Christmas is just awesome."
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe is one of the leading publishers of games software for PlayStation, with a wide range of top quality, exclusive titles for every games genre. Delivering on its promise to publish top quality, blockbuster games throughout the year, SCEE's line-up of games between now and Christmas include such 'must have' titles as: The Getaway, WRC II Extreme, This is Football 2003, Formula One 2002, Tekken 4, Ratchet and Clank and Kingdom Hearts. Full details of all forthcoming releases for PlayStation are available at www.playstation.com..


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Todd Hewitt is the last boy in Prentisstown, living in a world where you can hear everyone's thoughts. One day, he comes upon an area of complete silence, something that should be impossible. Soon after this event, Todd forced to flee Prentisstown, running from something that he doesn't even understand.
Wow, wow, wow. You know, I'm generally not the action/adventure/science fiction type, but you can forget I ever said that. In fact, erase it from your memory. The Knife of Never Letting Go was so wild, so imaginative, so shocking, that I can't understand why I've ignored it for this long.
The first thing I noticed when I started reading was Ness' odd use of language and spelling. He frequently uses words such as "yer" instead of "your", and spells words like "explanation" as "explanayshun". I was a bit put off at first, but that's simply because I've never read anything like it before. It quickly became a part of the book and emphasized the fact that Todd is living on New World, a whole different culture of sorts. Ness' writing was effective, emotional, and at times even funny. I fell in love with the characters and the world he created almost instantly. Todd's dog, Manchee, was such a good addition to the book! And what a personality he had. (Ow, Todd?)
Not only does The Knife of Never Letting Go have an array of unforgettable characters, but the book is also such a page turner that it's on the brink of being painful to put down. Pretty much every chapter is left making you crave more, and there are twists and surprises everywhere you look. You'd think that a book like this would be totally plot-driven, but you'd be wrong. Every single element of this book works, and together creates a masterpiece that everyone should consider reading. Don't follow my example and wait to read this book - treat yourself to it right now.
I don't want to get too analytical, but there are countless messages and meanings you can take away from this book. Trusting yourself, the desire for power, the importance of privacy, are all touched upon and make this book so much more than simply an exciting and addictive story. It has substance, which was unexpected but very, very welcome.
Recommendation: YA readers sould get this book for sure, but even if this isn't your normal genre (like me!) don't ignore it. You'd only be punishing yourself.


text:
To understand politics you must be able to read between the lines, especially when it involves the "elites" of modern American politics. Take Nancy Pelosi for example.
A recap of recent events would help set the stage.
Earlier this year Nancy Pelosi and other prominent democrats continued to criticize the Bush administration and accuse it of breaking the law by water boarding terror suspects. They called it torture and demanded that Bush administration officials be investigated and prosecuted for having provided the legal precedence and opinions that provided cover for the program.
Republicans responded that Democrat leadership in Congress was fully informed of all techniques being used. Pelosi stepped into a hornets' nest by stating that she, for one, was never apprised of the practice.
Leaks soon appeared in the media that the Speaker was informed of Bush era policies and their implementation. Pelosi responded by openly accusing the CIA of lying to her and Congress (she bypassed the usual term "mislead" and almost immediately went to "lie").
Unidentified sources in the CIA immediately leaked the dates of the briefings at which the Speaker was present and what was discussed in those meetings, including memo's and agenda's proving the subject was discussed. Ms. Pelosi lamely stated she wasn't at the briefings and made excuses that members of her staff never briefed her on what was said in those meetings (yet took to disciplinary action against the staff members).
Republicans, sensing blood in the water called her bluff and called for hearings into the Ms. Pelosi's accusations. The Democrat director of the CIA even released a statement stating that the briefings did take place and that there was no indication the CIA had lied to or mislead the Speaker.
So now let's read between the lines. Almost everything you need to know is included in the synopsis above.
The first thing to understand is that President Obama has allowed Democrat leaders to write most of his legislation for him. The President then stood back and took credit for additional TARP (Troubled Asset Recovery Project) and ARRA (American Recovery and Restoration Act) legislation. Naturally you can see why some of the leadership of his own party might feel slighted at that.
Next understand that the Democrat Party base was after Bush administration blood and desperately wanted investigations into "enhanced interrogation techniques". To appease these people Obama released memo's detailing what techniques were used, on who, and how often (although he didn't release what the outcome of those techniques was). This fanned the flames of the left, but the administration refused to start investigations.
In hope of appealing to the party faithful the Speaker echoed the cry for investigations. It also would serve as a spotlight for her if she could pressure the administration into conducting the investigations.
At this point you have to ask yourself that if she was indeed briefed, why would she say she wasn't? That has to be easy to understand; she wanted to grand stand and she felt the administration would dare call one of their party leaders a liar. She miscalculated.
It's easy to understand why the administration wouldn't want to investigate legal opinions that allowed torture. The administration's own lawyers had just come to the same legal opinions as the Bush administration had (they were deporting a former Nazi under the same legal interpretation that if he was tortured in Germany for information the US couldn't be held responsible because it didn't undertake its actions with the intent of torturing the prisoner). They were suddenly looking for any way they could to divert attention away from the subject and here was the Speaker forcing their hand.
I think the initial leaks out of the CIA were genuine leaks by agents that feared investigation and felt betrayed by the Speakers comments, but you know that in an organization such as the CIA, leaks don't continue if the agency doesn't want them to.
Pelosi's response therefore was a slap in the face of the administration and probably intended to force it into caving into the Speaker's demands (and ultimately sharing power and spotlight). It should be obvious to anyone that Leon Panetta's public statement backing the CIA was the administration's power punch in response. They left the Speaker publically isolated and alone. She was a public laughing stock overnight.
In short, the administration put her back in her place and retook control of the public agenda.
If you can't read between the lines and you think it's all about ideology, you'll never understand American politics. It's important to ask why people are saying what they are saying and examine the long term effect of every statement.
I'm not saying that nothing is done on the basis of principle in Washington, I'm just saying that there are always power considerations, and the elitist establishment throws the hardest fastball. Do both sides of the isle play this game? Yes. Who does it the most? The people who think they have been born with a superior intellect and think of themselves as not just another American, but as part of an elite group which understands better than almost anybody else.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Reading Between the Lines: Pelosi's Fight for Power
Posted by deadchickenman at 9:23 PM
Labels: Conservatism, Pelosi, Read Between the Lines
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text:
Education Secretary Alan Johnson has now formally ruled himself out of contention for the Labour leadership and announced he is contesting only the deputy's post - not at the Press Gallery Lunch as speculated on The Daily but in an exclusive interview with the BBC. That will piss a few people off for a start.
I must confess to being surprised. I am after all on record as having said that Johnson would "do a Prescott" and stand for both posts, while making the deputy leadership his main target. I wasn't the only one who thought this though....
What really did for him I think was his poorly received speech at the Labour Conference. He must have realised at that point that he didn't really have the support in the party to mount a meaningful challenge.
His withdrawal and declaration of support for Gordon Brown could have one of two effects. It could demonstrate that the momentum behind Brown is now such that he is unstoppable, or alternatively it could concentrate minds in the "Anyone But Gordon" camp to the effect that either (but not both) of John Hutton or Alan Milburn now emerge as serious contenders.
My assessment of the situation is that, with more than half the Cabinet on his side and the opposition to him fragmenting, Brown is looking pretty unbeatable, but politics abhors a vacuum and if at any point Gordon is seen as in any way vulnerable, someone somewhere will step into it. Even a very reluctant David Miliband might be persuaded if the alternative is a Labour election defeat.
A few weeks back, I produced this breakdown of where the various Cabinet members stand on the issue, and I think it's now time for an update.
Cabinet members explicitly and publicly backing Gordon Brown for the leadership
John Prescott
Margaret Beckett
Peter Hain
David Miliband
Hilary Benn
Alan Johnson
Cabinet members who have not expressed a public preference but who are known allies of Mr Brown
Jack Straw
Alistair Darling
Douglas Alexander
Des Browne
Ruth Kelly
Stephen Timms
Cabinet members who are currently remaining neutral or who have expressed no known public or private preference
Tony Blair
Patricia Hewitt
Hilary Armstrong
Jacqui Smith
Valerie Amos
Cabinet members who, while not allies of Mr Brown, have signalled that they will not run against him for the leadership
John Reid
Hazel Blears
Cabinet members who have privately expressed doubts about Mr Brown and who could reliably be expected to support "Anyone but Gordon" - if such a candidate exists
John Hutton
Charles Falconer
Tessa Jowell
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Johnson wakes up and smells the coffee
2 comments:
- politicalcorrespondent said...
Nick Robinson's interview was basically a follow up to the Press Gallery lunch, where he did make his intentions pretty clear by all accounts - and no, this isn't from any of our sources, it's from Tom Watson's blog and the press this morning.
I think our prediction was pretty much on the money, though I'll admit we did think it was a different journalist who would get the exclusive spin on his speech. As you say, going with the BBC may annoy others who would hope to make the running on Labour Party stories.
- 10 November, 2006 11:02
- skipper said...
I agree Johson's speech was a bit of a 'David Davis' job but I think it only weakened him; what really did for him was the U turn on faith schools.
- 11 November, 2006 12:47
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text:
This blog is for those who suffer from Alzheimer's Disease, FTD and forms of dementia, caregivers, friends and medical professionals that want to share their feelings, thoughts, encouragement, vent and open how they cope with this disease. I was diagnosed in 2004 with the early stages, and quite frankly it scared the beegeebees out of me. 2007 PET SCAN confirmed all. Joe
Friday, July 30, 2010
The very Fabric of This Blog
Hi there Lynn & Joe. You two sound like such a perfect couple. I'm sorry to say that I am not feeling that way about my husband and I. My spouse is 17 years older than me. He was diagnosed about the same time as Joe and yes, he seems to be experiencing relatively the same stages that Joe is going through. But I must confess, I am not feeling like the pleasant, let me make you feel better caregiver right now. The TV can only be on one of the two channels he chooses, Fox News or the Weather Channel and he doesn't even watch them. He, like you Joe, stares off into space. I try to strike up any type of conversation by commenting about what they have just shown on TV but he wasn't watching it and has no idea what they were talking about. Then he gets angry with me because he is confused about my comments. Lately, he is always crankey and YELLING at me and our extended family (5 children, 6 grandchildren) so they don't seem to come around anymore. I do go to work part time but he is insistant that I not leave him for more than a few hours at a time and demands that I not go anywhere away from him for any type of enjoyment. He doesn't even want me to go shopping to get things that we need, only to the grocery store a half mile away. He makes me feel guilty that he is afraid he will die alone and that I must be with him at all times. And I don't mean just at our home, he insists I be in the same room with him ALL the time. People say to me that I should get out and do things for myself. I agree. But the reality of life is that other people don't include you when they know you have to be home with your spouse all the time. They don't want to be the cause of his anger either. So here I sit feeling so all alone in the same room as him. I provide his meals, cut his hair, do the grocery shopping, take care of our expenses and accounts, pick up his prescriptions, do his laundry and clean up after him. He refuses to go ANYWHERE. Will not leave the house and wants me to do the same. I do understand that what he is going through is very difficult. But there is never any expression of gratitude or even acknowledgement that this is difficult for me to go through also. He used to tell me every night when we went to bed that he loved me, but even that has gone. Now I only seem to be the object of his anger and frustration. But all the same, I will keep on keeping on. I won't give up, but it does help to have an outlet to release my feelings, even if it is to someone I have never met and never will.
Joe, please give Lynn a hug and let her know how much you love and appreciate her. Sounds like you have a real piece of gold to hang on to through this journey we all pass through. My love to you both.
The above is a comment shared on this blog in respose to a posting by my wife Lynn, who I am 16 years older than. This lady is suffering just as Lynn is, I have become very combative, pig headed, a dick, paranoid and more withdrawn. I have asked many of you to be guest bloggers for the above very reason. I cannot tell you how many 100's of emails I have received just like the above comment. See all I can respond to these people is that I am sorry for your mate and you, but it is only going to get worse, a lot of comfort right, wrong, but it is the truth. I ask again that you help with posting. See even if you do the same thing everyday, you still do something a little different and that little difference could help someone like this lady. Me i love and appreciate your words of encouragement, but really they are gone as soon as I read them. You see I know that I will not get better only worse and it is doing that quite well. I am on a journey to keep an appointment with mental collapse and physical death that is the reality of it. It sucks, i hate how i feel, i do not like my distrust and disgust with others, but my emotions are no longer mine, I even do not feel bad anymore when I am a real pain in the ass or hurt feelings, my brain says tough crap to you. I hear and see things now that are not there, i do not even know when I am being talked to. Sex keeps rolling in my brain but the old pecker does not help out and I even say who the hell caaares to taht. I am getting like my good friend Dr. Joe Savick, making a 42 paragraph post. Thanks for listening shit has hjust built up in me and while I am thinking of it I am making this post.
God Bless & Keep You & This Country of Ours.
3 comments:
- JUST A MOM said...
JOe!!!! I love this post and YES this would be the PERFECT REASON FOR YOUR BLOG. Sorry I am just now catching up on posts... My oldest daughter and grand baby have moved in with me. Hang in there and keep on keepin on my friend.
I read your blog and comment when I can. For me you have given insight to what happened (and continues to happen) to my dad. I don't really have a connection to the caregiving side because that was done by my mom and it seems there are so few that are children of AD patients that aren't caregivers that I feel out of place. I continue to struggle with losing my dad(and to a certain part my mom) but still having him here physically. I have become lost to him and that is probably the hardest part. So many try to make a happy ending for this story but for now I don't see one. Reading how you and Lynn are facing this challenge and reading others responses does help pull me through. It is this group of people that truly understand how much this sucks even if we are trying to put on our happy face. Thanks once again for letting us inside. It is a difficult task but one you have taken on and by doing so given so much to so many.
Good Morning!
It's me, Anonymous. I have to write as Anonymous as my husband would absolutely flip if he knew I was posting anything. He is a very private person and for the first four or five years was in total denial that there was anything happening with him. He now will at least comment about his mind being so foggy that he can't think straight but don't dare say that he has AD. I suspect that a lot of people who read this site and would like to comment are probably going through similar experiences.
I wanted to share with you and the readers that when I wrote last, I was so down and depressed, with tears dropping down my cheeks as I typed, but I was angry and needed someone to talk to, someone who might understand how I was feeling. Life is strange, but you have no idea what a release it was for me and I felt so much better after I spelled it all out. In the past I attended an AD support group but found it of no assistance. People seem to want to tell you what you should and shouldn't be doing to cope with what you are dealing with. I, like others can read about all these things. Anonymously, we can all be brave enough to talk about our innermost thoughts and true feelings. God bless you Joe for having the courage to share your innermost thoughts and feeling so openly with all the world. As you can see from the lack of people responding, the rest of us do not have the courage you display. Maybe you can't always tap into the knowledge you once had but you certainly do display the wisdom that you have attained, even during such a difficult time.
To Heather,
I appreciate hearing your comments. Out of our five children and their spouses, I have one daughter-in-law who sometimes talks with me regarding her feelings of how this has effected our family relations. It does really help me to know that I am not the only family member recognizing the changes in our lives and it gives me the opportunity to share my feelings and observations and to remind them that even though life may be different now, I am so greatful that I still have him with me, still able to hug him, kiss him, know he is beside me at night. Yes, we have all lost the lives we once considered our normal, but life is continually changing and physically we do still have our families. The challenge as I see it is how we continue adapting to our circumstances. Please continue to share your feelings as I think you can be of so much help for me and others to understand some of the challenges our children may be experiencing.
I must admit, this is the only site I have ever found that really says it like it is, and I for one really appreciate the honesty I find here.
Love to you ALL.


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2017 Air Jordan Shoes this year launched a lot of wheat color shoes, in addition to AJ1, AJ6 and AJ13, this pair of upcoming Air Jordan 1 Retro High Flyknit "Golden Harverst" also contains the details of wheat, but also in the black and red Blue color after the sale of the third paragraph color. Shoes braided upper to relatively low-key light gray as the main tone, shoes Swoosh Logo, tongue and upper wing logo and other details are made of wheat-colored suede material, lined with insoles and leather materials, and instantly upgrade The whole pair of shoes texture, and finally equipped with white in the end and yellow raw rubber outsole, the whole with just right. The design is not only attractive wine red high-quality leather to build the shoe body, shoes, lined and insoles are also used after careful processing of wheat-colored leather, the end of the wine red paint and color matching theme echo, with milk white crystal At the end, luxurious texture ready to come, people can not stop.
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- Control panel with icons - Cappuccino System: it combines steam, air and milk, producing a rich, creamy froth for great cappuccinos - Personalizing coffee as often as you want has never been easier. Choose from short, medium or long, try a strong or extra mild aroma, enjoy it piping hot, medium or low temperature. - Possibility to memorize the length of the "My Coffee" - The machine can be used with either coffee beans or ground coffee - You can prepare two cups of coffee with a single brewing - Removable brewing unit with variable capacity (from 6 to 14 gr) - New silent integrated coffee grinder with 13 adjustable settings - Adjustable coffee quantity - Adjustable water quantity - Pre-brewing cycle - Adjustable coffee dispenser from 86 to 142 mm height. - Programmable automatic shut-off - Brewed coffees counting - New thermoblock: to grant the espresso at the ideal and constant temperature - Flavor saving coffee beans container tap - Coffee-grounds container capacity indicator: 14 cups/72h - Removable water reservoir (total capacity 1,8 l.) with empty water indicator - Water filter - Rinse and decalcification auto-programmes - Programmable water hardness - Removable drip tray with level indicator - Cup holder - Energy saving function - Stand-by function - Rapid Cappuccino - Power supply switch for zero consumption
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when the end cannot be seen through mist and fog
have faith
trust your heart
and forge ahead
the clear path above
will make the struggles left behind
but a blur
and all that is in your sight
is beauty
and all that you have come through
is but a puff of white clouds
Category Archives: National Poetry Month
National Poetry Week- Thank you…So glad to have been a part of it all!
On April 3rd I noticed a post from the NAPOWRIMO and as my finger reached for the delete button I stopped. There was no harm in taking the challenge? Or at least trying to take it.
And over these past weeks as I wrote poems and shared thoughts I go to know a whole group of people that I might never have gotten to come into contact with. I got to know you through your words your poetry and your writing. I got a better understanding of the notion of blogging. And of the every morning deadline.
Thank you so much to everyone who has shared their beautiful words and ideas. Thank you for stopping by to check out my page and to comment on my words. Thank you for opening
my eyes and thoughts to your ideas and your way of thinking.
I am so glad that I took the challenge.
And that I had a chance to meet you.
Happy Beautiful Tuesday 🙂
If you have a chance to stop by and "like" my
All Love Always facebook page
(on the right side of the blog page) I would be eternally grateful 🙂
It's a great cause!
National Poetry Month- Gratitude
As I wandered down the lanes of my memory
and laughed at my mistakes
The birds chirped their songs of gratitude
so long forgotten in the tunes of man
And the trees swayed to the rhythms
of the ocean breeze
As the flowers bloomed to face the faithful sun
hidden behind the mist of foggy dreams
My soul was lifted in appreciation
for where my heart had roamed
Thank you was my song
national poetry month- beauty of you
do not let the fear
of your wants and desires
stop you
like the droplet of rain
that hurdles through the
waterless sky
to touch your cheek
and remind you of a moment
long forgotten in the warm summer night
the beauty of your perfection is
the love you bring with you wherever you go
not the love you hide from your own happiness to
travel in the footsteps of anothers path
National Poetry Month- you are loved
the leaves shake against the raging winds
as the tree stands immovable
grounded in its roots
and poised to the radiating sky
so does the will hold course as
the lips tremble and the eyes yearn
have faith
for the roots of your soul
our grounded in your faith
and the love in your heart
do not hear the laughter of your thoughts
but listen to the whispering voice that permeates
from beyond your mind
and know that you are loved
National Poetry Month- the Promise
I closed my eyes
to the sound of emptiness
As the rush of longing encapsulated my every cell
I breathed in the new day
The air of revived serenity, each particle reminding me
That I found love in the depths of a world
tormented by its insecurities
That I found faith in the depths of a world
broken by its empty promises
And as I lift my head to the heights of
unseen fortunes
Within me is where the
greatest gifts lay
And within the emptiness is the whisper of
a promise of what is to come


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I love to make treat bags, cards and goodies for my grandchildren and Dave's brother's kids for Halloween. I like it so much I even make Halloween treats for our next door neighbor's children. I have been busy all month on these crafts and they are now all finished and mailed out. I just have a couple of last minute things to add to the crafts for the kids next door but I have all week to do that.
These gift bags are for my grandsons and I used last year's Halloween collection from Bella Carta to decorate these. They got filled with caskets of candy, spiders, plastic zombies, money and lots of other little goodies that boys like.
I am entering these in the following two challenges:
Thanks for checking out what is new here on my blog. I really appreciate the comments so please leave me one and let me know you stopped by.


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"Increasing demand for nerve repair product options from orthopedic surgeons makes AAOS an ideal meeting to present the AxoGen portfolio of products," Jill Schiaparelli, Senior Vice President, AxoGen
Alachua, FL (PRWEB) March 12, 2014
AxoGen, Inc. (NASDAQ: AXGN), the emerging leader of the $1.6 billion U.S. peripheral nerve repair market, is pleased to announce its participation at the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS) 2014 Annual Meeting, March 11-15, 2014 at the Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, LA, Booth 5818.
"Increasing demand for nerve repair product options from orthopedic surgeons makes AAOS an ideal meeting to present the AxoGen portfolio of products," commented Jill Schiaparelli, Senior Vice President, Business Strategy & Marketing for AxoGen. "Surgeons who visit our booth will have an opportunity to handle and learn more about our full suite of products: Avance® Nerve Graft, AxoGuard® Nerve Connector and AxoGuard® Nerve Protector."
The AAOS Annual Meeting draws thousands of orthopedic surgeons and is the largest orthopedic meeting in the world, featuring presentations of scientific papers, scientific poster and technical exhibits, instructional courses, educational symposia, and company exhibits.
About AxoGen, Inc.
AxoGen (NASDAQ: AXGN) is a leading medical technology company dedicated to peripheral nerve repair. AxoGen's portfolio of regenerative medicine products is available in the United States, Canada and several European countries and includes Avance® Nerve Graft, the only off-the-shelf commercially available processed nerve allograft for bridging severed nerves without the comorbidities associated with a second surgical site, AxoGuard® Nerve Connector, a porcine submucosa extracellular matrix ("ECM") coaptation aid for tensionless repair of severed nerves, and AxoGuard® Nerve Protector, a porcine submucosa ECM product used to wrap and protect injured peripheral nerves and reinforce the nerve reconstruction while preventing soft tissue attachments.
Avance® Nerve Graft is processed in the United States by AxoGen. AxoGuard® Nerve Connector and AxoGuard® Nerve Protector are manufactured in the United States by Cook Biotech Incorporated, and are distributed exclusively by AxoGen. AxoGen maintains its corporate offices in Alachua, Florida and is the parent of its wholly owned operating subsidiary.
Cautionary Statements Concerning Forward-Looking Statements.
This Press Release contains "forward-looking" statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on management's current expectations or predictions of future conditions, events or results based on various assumptions and management's estimates of trends and economic factors in the markets in which we are active, as well as our business plans. Words such as "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "plans", "believes", "seeks", "estimates", "projects", "forecasts", "continue", "may", "should", "will" variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements may include, without limitation, statements regarding our growth, our 2014 revenue estimate, product development, product potential, financial performance, sales growth, product adoption, market awareness of our
products, data validation, our visibility at and sponsorship of conferences and educational events. The forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, which may cause results to differ materially from those set forth in the statements. Forward-looking statements in this release should be evaluated together with the many uncertainties that affect AxoGen's business and its market, particularly those discussed in the risk factors and cautionary statements in AxoGen's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results may differ materially from those projected. The forward-looking statements are representative only as of the date they are made, and, except as required by law, AxoGen assumes no responsibility to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Source: AxoGen, Inc.


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Over at Twitter, the gorgeous @Sarahndipitea inspired me to create a list of 110 goals for the year 2010. I ought to have made the first one finding 110 things to list... It took some time! But, here it is. 110 things that I want to achieve in 2010. If you are interested in writing your own list, join us here, or, just comment and add a link back so I can read what it is you want to do this year. Dream big.
1. Visit an o/s country
2. Take risks
3. Travel more – locally, Aus, Abroad
4. Meet new people
5. Make more friends
6. Let more people in
7. Start a grad dip in IKM
8. Write
9. Create
10. Look after me
11. Get a tattoo
12. Stand in the rain til I am soaked through
13. Be loved
14. Appreciate Friends
15. Exercise regularly
16. Learn Italian
17. Learn a dance – salsa!?
18. Keep a diary
19. Read a book a month for pleasure
20. Cultivate a stronger sense of self
21. Bake more
22. Clean closets and give away or throw out things I don't wear
23. Hang pictures
24. Take kids to zoo
25. Buy luggage
26. Conquer long haul flight
27. Buy or cut fresh flowers monthly min
28. Find new music
29. Decorate the house
30. Buy more shoes
31. Drive somewhere far - road trip!
32. Laugh more
33. Treat my hair more
34. Get massage
35. Drink less coffee
36. Expand movie collection
37. Blog more
38. Attend a concert
39. Watch a sunrise
40. Stay up all night
41. Watch a sunset
42. Buy more pretty things
43. Learn to better apply make up - smoky eyes...
44. Save $500 for no real purpose.
45. Get a job
46. Buy more pretty lingerie
47. Get more pedicures
48. Pierce my nose
49. Stay in bed all day with dvds and/or books
50. Swim in the ocean – beach hair!
51. Mosaic again
52. Try pottery
53. Paint, even just once
54. Donate unused toys
55. Grow herb garden
56. Grow basic vegies
57. Watch Schindlers list
58. Stop worrying
59. Attend a St Patricks Day parade
60. Learn a new word daily
61. Find something to be grateful for daily
62. Plant a tree
63. Kiss in the rain
64. Wish on a shooting star
65. See a movie at a drive in
66. Research Infertility book
67. Be more positive
68. Talk to strangers more
69. Take more photos
70. Do more RAOK
71. Compliment others often
72. Learn to relax
73. Be more environmentally friendly
74. Don't strangle anybody! (Hoping this is my definite achieved item...)
75. Keep a budget
76. Buy more dresses
77. Monthly movie night
78. Sleep more!
79. Read with kids regularly
80. Have fun with Finns school lunches and introduce new foods
81. Take Finn to scienceworks
82. Spend more time alone
83. Take kids to the beach
84. Get counselling
85. Move house or revamp current
86. Hug kids at least twice a day
87. Tell kids I love them at least twice every day
88. Explore San Fran in March
89. Write a letter to myself 10 years in the future
90. Write a letter to the child me
91. Organise my photos into albums on iPhoto
92. Write a haiku
93. Have someone read to me out loud
94. In addition to reading a book for pleasure each month, read at least 10 from this list: http://www.listafterlist.com/tabid/57/listid/12559/Books/The+Perfec...
95. In addition to movies for pleasure etc. Watch at least 10 from this list: http://www.listafterlist.com/Listof/tabid/57/ListID/15929/Default.aspx
96. Organize my pantry more efficiently
97. Be brave
98. Ask for help when I need it
99. Laugh til I cry
100. Cook new meals
101. Ease off on the self guilt
102. Believe and remind myself I deserve more happy
103. Try new foods
104. Work on relationship with the folks
105. Spend more time with my niece and nephew
106. Have confidence in the decisions I make and embrace them
107. Make those I care about feel special
108. Be open to possibilities, always
109. Take opportunities and make them count
110. Make a list for 2011
110 in 2010
Over at Twitter, the gorgeous @Sarahndipitea inspired me to create a list of 110 goals for the year 2010. I ought to have made the first one finding 110 things to list... It took some time! But, here it is. 110 things that I want to achieve in 2010. If you are interested in writing your own list, join us here, or, just comment and add a link back so I can read what it is you want to do this year. Dream big.
Labels: 110 in 2010 , fun , new year , resolutions , self
2 comments:
- Kellee 7 January 2010 at 4:55 pm
Wow, that's quite a list. I would totally do it as well but I think after reading yours I would either draw a blank trying to be totally different or put half the same things! hehe :)
Also, dictionary.com send out a daily email with the word of the day. :)
- Coffeegrl 24 January 2010 at 2:01 pm
This is a really great list! As a librarian by training, I'm all for having others read to us - even when we're adults. I love it!


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How it's done:
- You must head over to TLC's blog for details about the hunt.
Here's what you can win:
- Five signed copies of Sweet Venom
- A grand prize $50 bookstore gift card
**Giveaways are open to everyone, including participating bloggers, wherever you are in the world.
Now, are you ready?
My letter is hidden in the summary of Sweet Venom below.
My letter is hidden in the summary of Sweet Venom below.
Grace just moved to San Francisco and is excited to start over at a new school. The change is full of fresh possibilities, but it's also a tiny bit scary. It gets scarier when a minotaur walks in the door. And even more shocking when a girl who looks just like her shows up to fight the monster.
Gretchen is tired of monsters pulling her out into the wee hours, especially on a school night, but what can she do? Sending the minotaur back to his bleak home is just another notch on her combat belt. She never expected to run into this girl who could be her double, though.
Greer has her life pretty well put together, thank you very much. But that all tilts sideways when two girls who look eerily like her appear on her doorstep and claim they're triplets, supernatural descendants of some hideous creature from Greek myth, destined to spend their lives hunting monsters.
These three teenage descendants of Medusa, the once-beautiful gorgon maligned by myth, must reunite and embrace their fates in this unique paranormal world where monsters lurk in plain sight.
Now once you have my letter, go back to TLC's blog for the full list of participating blogs and go collect all those letters. Good luck!:)


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So. Now that anyone who had ever read this has given me up for dead...I have a new desire to start again.
Depression sucks. That's all I can say. Depression when you're a mom of four and have two jobs REALLY sucks. Depression when you're a mom of four, have two jobs and have just reached the dreaded "mid-life" stage can be devastating.
But guess WHAT? The time for wallowing has passed. I have a new desire...as well as nifty prescription drugs...and I want to make a change.
I've decided my brain is something like a hamster wheel.
Once it gets going...it just keeps going and going in the same way in the same direction and never reaches anywhere. If I let it focus on the things that make me sad..my hamster wheel goes faster and faster until it falls off the holder and runs into the wall of the cage.
Up until now I think I have primarily lived my life by default...I have let it run me into the ground.
So...there will be new changes on this blog. A new look...a new focus.
Each day...I am going to accomplish...something.
I may not get here everyday...but I hope to be able to share these baby steps with you.
Maybe...I can babystep myself out of this rut and live the life that I truly want.


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This customised red Ferrari, complete with blacked out windows, is among many supercars to have been delivered by rich Arabs to Cannes on the glamorous south coast of France''
They are the glamorous playthings of multi-millionaires usually seen parading along the seafront of Dubai or locked up in vast garages in Riyadh.
But dozens of stunning supercars owned by mega-rich Arabs have now descended on the glamorous city of Cannes on the south coast of France - days after many were seen jamming the streets of Knightsbridge in London.
Wealthy playboys from Dubai and Kuwait have had their expensive toys delivered to the French Riviera where many spend their holidays in the summer months.
Eye-catching: Tourists stop and stare at a powerful-looking Kuwaiti-owned X-Bow convertible super car parked along with ordinary vehicles by the side of a sea-front road''
Sparkling: A young boy admires a shiny silver Porsche 911 GT2 complete with eye-catching red alloys. It is one of many luxury vehicles delivered to Cannes from Kuwait''
Two Kwaiti-registered Lamborghinis in white and blue are parked up in front of an orange McLaren next to a restaurant in upmarket Cannes''
A man drives his large blue convertible down a seafront road in Cannes while walkers stop and stare at the vehicle ''
Wealthy families from Dubai and Kuwait have reportedly had their cars delivered to the Carlton hotel in Cannes where many spend their holidays in the summer months'
The vehicles are tailor made special versions of famous models from car makers like Ferarri, Lamborghini and Bentley - and are certainly turning heads in the resort.
The owners seem trusting enough to leave their luxury vehicles parked up on the side of the road while tourists walk past in amazement.


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Police entered Naked Guy's house with no warrant, guns drawn
The case of the Naked Guy -- the Fairfax County man arrested for being naked inside his own house last fall -- is starting to sprout some serious legal wings, after Fairfax police officers testified Friday that they had no warrant when they entered the man's house, and then approached him with their guns drawn as he slept, with pants on, in his bed.
The case of Erick Williamson, 29, attracted significant media attention for his claims that he had been arrested for indecent exposure on Oct. 19 simply for drinking coffee in the nude in the kitchen of his rented Springfield house. At his misdemeanor trial in Fairfax General District Court in December, it turned out it wasn't that simple.
Actually, according to witness testimony, two separate women passers-by had called police to report a naked man standing very visibly in the doorway to his carport, one at about 6:40 a.m. and then another about two hours later. The second "victim" had her seven-year-old with her, and is the wife of a Fairfax police officer, Williamson's lawyer said.
Williamson testified he never posed in any doorway or window -- the second woman said he appeared at both the carport door and then in a front window -- and had no intent to flash the many pedestrians heading to nearby Hunt Valley Elementary School. Judge Ian M. O'Flaherty ruled that the extended nudity "indicates an obscene display" and found Williamson guilty.
Williamson appealed to Fairfax Circuit Court. And on Friday, his lawyers tried to suppress his arrest and his statements to police. Fairfax Circuit Court Judge Jane Marum Roush rejected both motions, but along the way new information emerged that Williamson's lawyers will use in his Circuit Court trial on April 7.
Officer Sha'aron Williams testified that he responded to both nudity complaints at the house on Arley Drive. After the first, received at 6:41 a.m. and checked out at 7 a.m., Williams said the house was dark, he could see no signs of life, the complainant wasn't around, and he left after a few minutes.
Three police officers responded to the second complaint about 9:16 a.m., and again Williams said the house was dark, there were no signs of forced entry and no one around to speak with. But in the carport, behind the glass storm door, the interior door was missing a pane of glass, the officer said. Williams said he tried the knob, and it was unlocked. The three officers went inside.
Williams said entering an unlocked house was Fairfax police policy in this situation, in case unauthorized people had broken in or someone was injured or in danger inside. He said he repeatedly, loudly, announced, "Fairfax County police, is anyone here?"
Weapons were drawn "just in case we encountered a hostile individual," Williams said.
The officers eventually went upstairs and found a man face down, asleep, with trousers on, Williams said. His hands were under him, so he was ordered to show his hands, which he did, the officer said. He was told why the police were there, and police found a traffic summons to obtain his identification, Williams said.
Williams asked about any naked men walking around, and he said Williamson initially "said it was his roommates. Then he changed his story and said it might have been him, "he was up making coffee, he might have been in the nude."
After a few minutes, the three officers retreated to their cars to ponder their next step. Then Williamson took an odd step. He walked outside to his truck, carrying an open beer. The officers advised him that was illegal. Then, one of them asked if they could take his photo, Officer Stewart Struthers said. And they did.
Struthers said police then drove the digital photo over to the second victim's house and showed it to her. Then the officers went back to Williamson's house and arrested him, intending to charge him with felony indecent exposure because a child was involved.
But at the Fairfax jail, a magistrate only charged Williamson with a misdemeanor. After he was processed, he began walking back toward Springfield from Fairfax City. His lawyer, Dickson M. Young, said Williamson then got a call from his employer, asking why he'd been arrested for exposing himself to children. Young said police had called Williamson's boss. The boss, who also rented out Williamson's house, ordered Williamson out of the house immediately.
Young wanted Roush to rule that the arrest was illegal and Williamson's statements inadmissible, under the logic that the warrantless entry enabled the police to obtain Williamson's name, and then his comments admitting nudity.
"They couldn't have gotten the [arrest] warrant," Young said, "without finding out who he was."
He said the photo taken of Williamson was then "fruit of the poisonous tree," and that it was likely shown to the victim without a lineup or array.
Roush said, "I believe the police were operating in good faith under the community caretaker exception," in which officers may make warrantless entry to ensure citizens' safety, "and this was not a pretext to enter the house. They were called to the house twice, they saw a window broken, they had reason to go in."
Young cited to Roush a 2005 Virginia Court of Appeals case, which ruled that "the mere discovery of an 'open door' of a residence -- absent some other reasons for concern -- is not, in and of itself, a circumstance that could give rise to a reasonable belief that entry is necessary to prevent harm to persons or property."
But Roush wasn't buying it.
"I think it's a sad day for the citizens of Fairfax County," Young said afterward, "when these officers can enter a private residence without a warrant, without an invitation, to investigate criminal activity, because of a missing window pane on an interior door."
Young has another round of legal challenges, both on the privacy issue and on the question of whether nudity alone equals obscenity or indency, set for next Friday.
-- Tom Jackman
Tom Jackman
March 26, 2010; 6:15 PM ET
Categories: Fairfax , From the Courthouse , Tom Jackman , Updates
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thanks for the article=very interesting
Posted by: gary11311 | March 26, 2010 7:08 PM | Report abuse
Previous news stories reported that the 7 year old child is a boy. The stories also reported that Erick Williamson was not "aroused" when he was visible to the two women and the boy.
If Erick Williamson were changing in the locker room at the public pool and the 7 year old boy walked by and saw him nude, would that be indecent exposure?
Posted by: postisarag | March 26, 2010 7:57 PM | Report abuse
You can't carry an open beer outside in Fairfax County? What, no patio parties?
Posted by: dottie_b | March 26, 2010 8:50 PM | Report abuse
pants on the ground
Posted by: TheDubb | March 26, 2010 9:32 PM | Report abuse
If you have a no trespassing sign in your yard, then the cops would have been breaking the law if they had illegally searched the house like they did in this article.
Posted by: slydell | March 26, 2010 10:01 PM | Report abuse
People need to spend 24 hours minding their business and 24 hours leaving other's alone. Stop looking in the windows of people and you won't see what is none of your business. Has anyone heard of "turn away" and "keep it moving"? JMHO
Posted by: cntnulprze | March 26, 2010 10:17 PM | Report abuse
I agree that a warrant should be required before entering a home, except in life threatening situations. I'm just wondering what specifically would have been listed on the warrant in this case, the man was alleged to have nothing.
Posted by: vmax02rider | March 26, 2010 10:44 PM | Report abuse
You can't carry an open beer outside in Fairfax County? What, no patio parties?
Posted by: dottie_b | March 26, 2010 8:50 PM
My question, exactly.
Posted by: waterfrontproperty | March 26, 2010 11:02 PM | Report abuse
When this pervert loser does something really bad a few years later down the line, all you idiots will be crying, "Why didn't they do something earlier when they had warning signs?!"
Posted by: bendan2000 | March 26, 2010 11:35 PM | Report abuse
When this lawless bullying by the police gets even further out of control a few years down the line, all you idiots will be crying, "Why didn't they do something earlier when they had warning signs?!"
Posted by: 12008N1 | March 26, 2010 11:49 PM | Report abuse
Geez, louise, how much time and resources are going to be spent on this nonsense? I thought we were supposed to be in a critical budget crisis, no money for schools, need to raise the tax rate, blah, blah, blah - there's no evidence I have seen that this guy is a chronic flasher, just had the bad luck to decide to make his coffee in the buff on the day that a couple of busybodies were passing by. Drop the d__n case!
Posted by: exgovgirl | March 27, 2010 1:14 AM | Report abuse
what a joke, I hate busy bodies. What you do in your home is nobody's business but your own. I guess that if I get out of the shower and walk to my bedroom to get dressed and my bedroom curtains are open I'm a flasher. Get a life lady!!!
Posted by: FrankMonzon | March 27, 2010 3:34 AM | Report abuse
I don't think Naked Guy is the only one with issues here. Clearly the man has issues though, and I wouldn't describe him as a `morning person' to say the least. I wonder about this broken window too, and I don't like the lack of a warrant.
This is a pretty messy case in a lot of ways and I dunno why the county is taking it for a ride.
Had the cops handled it differently the results probably would have been less ongoing witlessness.
Posted by: Nymous | March 27, 2010 3:37 AM | Report abuse
Did the officers on both calls knock or ring the doorbell? The story didn't say, but based on my first hand knowledge of police procedures, that should have been the first step. And was a road sergeant called to the scene to advise the responders? That is usually done in situations such as this.
Posted by: buddrs | March 27, 2010 4:37 AM | Report abuse
Cops are just trying to get through the day sometimes. I'm happy with their work on this one. (The guy should ask himself if he could have avoided a massive waste of time and energy for many people if he just would have closed his windows like normal people.)
Posted by: kls1 | March 27, 2010 4:39 AM | Report abuse
Nudity? We are all nude at one time or another what is the big deal? People should really learn to mind thier business. I could see if the dude was doing a jig on his front lawn but standing in front of a window or door with coffee? Please.....I bet if someone was getting raped not one of those busibodies would have thought to intervene. (ie. Story about girl beaten in front of transit security officers and on camera...everyone just watched.)
Posted by: chynna12169 | March 27, 2010 5:32 AM | Report abuse
Sheesh, who will police these police? Let this guy go and hope he doesn't sue the county.
Posted by: sarahabc | March 27, 2010 6:09 AM | Report abuse
This country and county get progressively and progressively less free. Apparently now the police can enter your residence at will on the basis of two telephone calls about nudity in your house, to the applause of Judge Roush
Posted by: garrafa10 | March 27, 2010 6:39 AM | Report abuse
The cop just had to do something. He couldn't go back to the frau empty handed. If she hadn't of been an officer's wife, no one would have ever heard of this and the cops would not have interrupted their donut break.
Posted by: Calabrese99 | March 27, 2010 7:12 AM | Report abuse
"After a few minutes, the three officers retreated to their cars to ponder their next step."
They tossed the place and couldn't find anything.
Posted by: blasmaic | March 27, 2010 7:47 AM | Report abuse
It's unbelievable. Now you can not walk naked in your own home??!!! People need to mind their own business instead of sneaking on windows or doors!! And if you happened to see someone naked in his/her own home, just turn your face and walk away! That's all. Don't make a big deal out of this!
Posted by: boni40 | March 27, 2010 8:32 AM | Report abuse
New information is coming out, slowly stripping away the layers - revealing all!
Posted by: cmecyclist | March 27, 2010 8:56 AM | Report abuse
bendan2000 writes;
"When this pervert loser does something really bad a few years later down the line, all you idiots will be crying, 'Why didn't they do something earlier when they had warning signs?!'"
See, we live in a free society, where people are presumed innocent until proven guilty. This means two things: 1. Sometimes, someone doing something out of the ordinary eventually does something illegal, but 2. We don't go around locking up people in batches for no reason other than, "I don't like the look of this guy, see...".
What's next? Locking up a man because he watches "Meet Me in St. Louis", because everyone knows that gay guys like Judy Garland, and everyone knows that some pedophiles are gay?
Get a grip...
Posted by: iamweaver | March 27, 2010 9:03 AM | Report abuse
"When this pervert loser does something really bad a few years later down the line, all you idiots will be crying, "Why didn't they do something earlier when they had warning signs?!"
Yes, we should have police walk into homes without invitation, without warrant, just to check and see if there are any warning signs of possible future criminal proclivity. You never know. Today's walking-in-house-naked person is probably tomorrow's child molester.
Better yet, just put a TV in everyone's house that you have to check in with, and the authorities can watch what you're doing through it.
Posted by: hitpoints | March 27, 2010 9:44 AM | Report abuse
In Fairfax, you don't watch TV, the TV watches you.
Those idiot cops should be punished.
Maybe things like this wouldn't happen if we got more cops who are college graduates.
Posted by: kenk3 | March 27, 2010 10:13 AM | Report abuse
I agree with the posters earlier in this thread who complained that all this stuff against nudity implies that patio parties are not legal. It just ain't so.
Posted by: blasmaic | March 27, 2010 10:49 AM | Report abuse
This is issue so ridiculous that the police officers should all be reprimanded and the women who complained should be charged with filing a false complaint.
This sounds more and more like busy-bodies running roughshod over the rights of other citizens merely b/c they were "offended."
How long before Fairfax declares martial law because someone, somewhere is doing something that someone else doesn't like?
Posted by: B-rod | March 27, 2010 11:05 AM | Report abuse
Naked Guy was asking for a warrantless search of his house by having the nerve to sleep with his door left unlocked, right?
Why don't we just get rid of this silly warrant business and let the police go on a fishing expedition any time they want to? We might as well get rid of the rest of that civil liberty nonsense, too -- we weren't using them anyway.
Carrying an open beer in his yard -- horrors!
Posted by: elizestrada | March 27, 2010 11:28 AM | Report abuse
1) He lived in a house owned by his boss? 2) he was evicted
3) he should consider a new occupation with free housing
4) A Catholic Priest.
Posted by: afsd | March 27, 2010 12:23 PM | Report abuse
check that.
doubt he could wear a robe.
Posted by: afsd | March 27, 2010 12:24 PM | Report abuse
wander outside to the cops with a beer at 0930?!?
Posted by: mloaks | March 27, 2010 12:29 PM | Report abuse
Ah, the wife felt offended so the cops take it on themselves to persecute the supposed evil-doer. Meanwhile, in corporate suites across DC, taxpayers nationwide are being raped silly but that's not only ok, those criminals get big bonuses.
Posted by: hairguy01 | March 27, 2010 12:35 PM | Report abuse
Good thing he didn't own a dog because the cops would have shot it to death ala Cheye Calvo.
Posted by: ozpunk | March 27, 2010 12:36 PM | Report abuse
"Judge" Roush is a mo-ron. Obviously, this should have been dismissed with stern plecture to the cops to get a warrant if they want to go in.
Roush is just too stupid to get it.
Posted by: RogerRamjet2 | March 27, 2010 12:59 PM | Report abuse
mloaks wrote: "wander outside to the cops with a beer at 0930?!?"
I'll tell you what- if I was peacefully sleeping in bed, and was suddenly woken up by three armed police officers inside my bedroom, guns drawn, asking me questions involving possible arrest or child molestation charges, as soon as I was alone I'd probably need a drink also, regardless of the time of day.
Posted by: yrral | March 27, 2010 1:04 PM | Report abuse
So you're telling me I can't walk down Jefferson Davis Highway naked?
Posted by: PublicEnemy1 | March 27, 2010 1:47 PM | Report abuse
You can't carry an open beer outside in Fairfax County? What, no patio parties?
Posted by: dottie_b | March 26, 2010 8:50 PM
My question, exactly.
Posted by: waterfrontproperty | March 26, 2010 11:02 PM
You can't take a beer onto the street; which, I imagine, is where the police were. You'd be fine with a beer on private property.
Posted by: BigBubba1 | March 27, 2010 1:58 PM | Report abuse
He is just lucky the police didn't shoot and kill him. Then he would have had a couple of hours of news media & Nancy Grace would have complimented the Fairfax County police on killing a child molester.
Posted by: VA_Bob | March 27, 2010 2:18 PM | Report abuse
The cop just had to do something. He couldn't go back to the frau empty handed. If she hadn't of been an officer's wife, no one would have ever heard of this and the cops would not have interrupted their donut break.
Posted by: Calabrese99
You must have a lot of practice with a hammer...you just hit the nail squarely on the head.
Posted by: streff | March 27, 2010 2:31 PM | Report abuse
I wish there was a poll with people's political affiliation and their opinion on this issue. I'm willing to bet that all the people who think this guy is guilty/wrong/sick are the same Law-and-order types blathering on every day about America going-to-he!l-in-a-handbag, and that most of the people saying they think that the police/justice system are in the wrong on this one are the people that the law-and-order types routinely call "Anti-America","Pinko-Commie-liberals', et cetera. It's amazing how so many people claim to want to protect our Freedoms and "The American Way of Life", and this and that, but then have the NIMBY mindset when something like this happens.
BFD. A Man was standing nude in his doorway. I've seen alot more of alot of people than I'd like to over the years. It happens. Deal with it. It's not like the guy busted into your shower or even your back yard or street. The guy was in his own house. Regardless of the police's behavior (which stinks by the way), Do I have a legal responsibility to make sure that I'm living up to community standards when I'm on my own property? OH WAIT, nobody on the law and order side of the fence even cares. They've already made their mind that the guy is a sicko and perv and this and that.
If America is on the Road to Tyranny this is a far more telling indicator than anything the Federal or even State Government s can do.
Posted by: JoeMck | March 27, 2010 3:23 PM | Report abuse
This is outrageous conduct by the police to enter a residence without a warrant for something as minor is indecent exposure. I think that the defendant should sue Fairfax Co. I'ld probably award him money.
Posted by: ANONS | March 27, 2010 3:30 PM | Report abuse
Only in America, the Land of the Prudes. No wonder Europe kicked out the Puritans.
Posted by: pjs1965 | March 27, 2010 4:29 PM | Report abuse
Imagine that... Fairfax County police over-reacting, and ignoring the Constitution entirely by entering someone's HOME without a warrant.
Why even HAVE a constitution if were going to live in a police state anyway?
Posted by: jeffc6578 | March 27, 2010 7:52 PM | Report abuse
Fairfax County.
Someone makes a report of a nude person in a house.
The Fairfax police then have probable cause to enter the house without a warrent because there was a unlocked door.
The Fairfax police found a person in the house and under gun point took his picture.
They took the picture to another person and used that person's identification to arrest the person in the house.
The Fairfax police then called the arrested person's boss and informed him of the arrest.
WHAT LAWS DO THE FAIRFAX COUNTY POLICE GO BY? Is Fairfax county exempt fron the US Constituion?
Posted by: Jimof1913 | March 27, 2010 8:43 PM | Report abuse
As a previous poster aptly notes, being in your house naked is legal. Looking in, as long as it is from public property, I don't actually think is illegal but definitely creepy. If a man had admitted to watching a woman naked in her house, we'd have a whole different situation. And this poor guy's life is ruined regardless of how the case comes out. I'm totally disgusted with how some police in NOVA conduct themselves. It stains the many (I still try to believe there are many) honorable members of that profession.
Posted by: DG99501 | March 28, 2010 5:45 AM | Report abuse
What about one of the officer's wives being a 'victim'? The whole story has been fishy from the beginning. Seeing that they had no warrant and the knob was 'unlocked' even though they had a missing pane of glass to easily unlock it with.
Posted by: Crucialitis | March 28, 2010 11:45 AM | Report abuse
Once they found out no one was harmed they should have left. Without a warrant they shouldn't have been in there. This is ridiculous, the man lost his job and house for being nude at the wrong time and place. Unfortunately this lawsuit is going to cost me more taxes, but NOVA police really messed up.
Posted by: jper1 | March 28, 2010 3:27 PM | Report abuse
With this absurdity dragging out for almost 6 months this guy has racked up some serious legal fees. The rest of us that enjoy our rights and our coffee ought to put together some funding for his attorney. Its a real sad day when the court can overlook illegal police entry and charge someone for nudity INSIDE THEIR HOME!! LOOK THE OTHER WAY LADY!!!
Either way, it'd be nice to see the people get together some funds to help this guy out.
Posted by: Maury2 | March 28, 2010 3:57 PM | Report abuse
oh for god sake, this weenie wagger got exactly what he deserved. your seven year old shouldnt be exposed to this nonsense! i was a detective and police officer in fairfax for 25 years, this crap is common! why do they always try to make the cop out to be the bad guy? he knows what he did, now fess up and do your time ya pervert!
Posted by: djlojak | March 29, 2010 10:56 AM | Report abuse
Come on people... two women at different times called about the same guy standing in his doorway. The police did nothing the first time and started looking into it on the second complaint. They had confirmation a guy was exposing himself to the public. I got no problem with people being naked in their homes... but I know guys like to expose themselves for their own thrills. Many see him as some innocent coffee drinker. I hope the officers had gloves on and checked him with a black light before they arrested him. Alrighty Then!
Posted by: AceVentura | March 29, 2010 2:02 PM | Report abuse
djlojak... You got it..
To make the bad guy look better.. you have to trash the cops and the people making the complaint.
I have a question... why walk around naked to make coffee but put on pants and go to bed? This guy got what he had coming.
Posted by: AceVentura | March 29, 2010 2:12 PM | Report abuse
Posted by: jper1
"Once they found out no one was harmed they should have left. Without a warrant they shouldn't have been in there."
So if I steal from a store.. nobody is harmed.. so the police should let me go too?
Yes, they should have been there. They received two complaints for the same thing. This perv needed to be stopped.
I am pleased the entire world knows about his perversion. Do not feel sorry for him at all.
Posted by: AceVentura | March 29, 2010 2:41 PM | Report abuse
It is amusing how everyone immediately sides with the naked guy without knowing all of the facts...we weren't there, people...we don't know all the facts and will never know ALL of the facts.
As always, the police is wrong. Two complaints for the same guy by "victims" as one was called...yeah, it's a conspiracy against an "innocent" naked guy. Come on, people.
Posted by: AT08 | March 30, 2010 11:11 PM | Report abuse
The comments to this entry are closed.


text:
*My first stop in the ATL airport during my layover :)
*Opening Celebration for all the Missionary Partners
*Welcome basket in my room - my host home knew me well!
*My set-up at the Expo
*Afternoon snack :)
*I did spend some time on the UF Campus
*Bat Houses - At dusk they all fly out...and one peed on my head - gross!
*Cracker Barrel for my last night
*I had a tight connection in ATL on my way back but somehow found time for this :)
I am grateful I got the chance to represent Epic and share our story with many people - I was also thrilled to have some my favorite foods along the way!


text:
A week ago Sunday, I made the pork chops again for dinner, along with a cauliflower gratin and some glazed baby carrots. For dessert we had a malted milk ice cream. Emily got some great shots of the food, so I figured I'd write up the recipes.
Bourbon Peach Pork Chops
This is southern American classic, found by Carmen on Williams-Sonoma's web site. I've substituted thicker pork chops, and use a thermometer to determine doneness. The pork chops can be glazed and refrigerated a few hours ahead of time, but I'd take them out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking. I substitute moutarde de meaux pommery for the mustard seeds and some of the lemon juice and make the mayonnaise myself. (Is the mayonnaise necessary? I don't know, but it was a good excuse to try my hand at making it.)
6 pork chops, cut 1" to 1 1/2" thickPreheat the oven to 400 degrees.
3 tbsp mustard seeds
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 cup apricot or peach preserves
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup dijon mustard
1/4 cup Maker's Mark
2 shallots, minced
1 tbsp chopped rosemary
Combine the mustard seeds and lemon juice and let sit for 30 minutes. Then mix in the rest of the ingredients. Adjust and season to taste.
Put a third of the glaze in the bottom of a baking dish. Add the pork chops and cover with the rest of the glaze. (Optionally sprinkle with some fine bread crumbs.) At this stage, you could refrigerate the pork for a few hours if you're preparing this dish ahead of time.
Cook until it's about 145 degrees in the center. Check the other chops with an instant read thermometer, them cover with foil and let rest for 5-10 minutes.
Cauliflower Gratin
This recipe came from Keller's book, Bouchon. I substituted a wasabi/horseradish powder for the horseradish, and added a tiny pinch of cayenne pepper to the sauce. If you are serving guests that are not big fans of cauliflower, cut the florets in smaller pieces and mix some cheese into the sauce, to taste (some of the Emmentaler, some parmesan or pecorino). If you use pecorino - adjust the salt after adding the cheese.
1 head (about 1-3/4 pounds) cauliflower
Kosher salt
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons minced shallots
Freshly ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 thyme sprig
1 Italian parsley sprig
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon prepared horseradish
Pinch of curry powder
Freshly grated nutmeg
1/3 cup grated Comté or Emmentaler cheese
1 tablespoon panko (Japanese bread crumbs) or fine dried bread crumbs
Remove the leaves from the cauliflower. Cut the florets from the core. Remove the exterior of the core and throw it away. Dice the rest of the core and put in a food processor. Cut the florets into 1" (or smaller) pieces. Put the stems in with the core. Process the core and stems until they are finely diced. If you don't have 1 cup of processed cauliflower, add some florets to make up the difference and process them.
In two batches, blanch the florets in water season with salt and vinegar for about 2 minutes. Strain and place in a bowl. Season to taste.
Cook the shallots in butter for a couple of minutes, until they are translucent. Add salt, pepper, thyme, and bay leaf. Add the cauliflower stems and 2/3 cup of water. Simmer for 5 minutes or until most of the water is gone. If the cauliflower is not cooked, add a bit more water and cook longer.
Add the cream and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove the whole herbs and put in a blender. After it cools, add the horseradish, curry powder, and nutmeg. Blend until smooth and season to taste.
Mix the cauliflower with the cream mixture and place in a baking dish. Refrigerate for 1-24 hours.
Sprinkle with bread crumbs and cheese and cook in the oven at 450 degrees until warm and bubbling. Use the broiler to brown the top, if necessary. Let rest for 5-10 minutes and serve.
I used Keller's instructions for glazed vegetables, from his book Bouchon.
1/2 tsp sugarTrim the carrots and stems. Try to get them a uniform size, if possible.
1 tsp butter
1 pinch salt
baby carrots
thyme or parsley leaves (optional)
Put the vegetables in a saucepan, add the water to cover. Add the water, salt, butter, and herbs. Simmer until the vegetables are tender. The sauce should be reduced to a glaze. If not, remove the carrots and continue to reduce to a glaze, replace the carrots and reheat. The results can be held for a few hours. If the carrots vary in size, you'll have to remove the smaller diameter ones earlier.
This can be done with any root vegetable, pearl onions work too, but you should add a little white wine vinegar at the end. Keller's book explains this in much more detail.
Malted Milk Ice Cream
This is from David Lebovitz's Book "Perfect Scoop," reworded by me for copyright reasons. I got the recipe from Ruhlman's blog, but have been directed by Emily to pick up a copy of the book. It was unclear whether the original recipe was calling for actual malt powder or malted milk powder. I went with the latter, since pure malt powder was hard to find. (I think brewing supply places may have it.) The process is a little different from Keller's - the cream and flavoring are added at the end - but I followed it as-is. (But if you choose to use half of a vanilla bean in place of extract, put it in with the half and half, and let it steep for an hour or so.)
1 cup half and halfMix the cream, malted milk, and vanilla in a bowl and prepare an ice bath. Warm the half and half with the sugar over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Be careful to not let anything stick to the bottom. Lightly whisk the egg yolks in a bowl, then slowly whisk in the warmed milk. Return the milk mixture to the pan and gently cook it over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon and making sure nothing sticks to the bottom, until it coats the back of the spoon, about 5 minutes. Strain into the cream mixture, stirring to combine. Place the bowl over the ice bath and stir occasionally to cool.
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup malt powder
6 large egg yolks
a handful of malted milk balls, chopped
Refrigerate for at least 6 hours (preferably overnight) to cool and allow the flavors to meld. Process in your ice cream machine, then freeze for at least 6 hrs (preferably overnight) before serving.


text:
Hereditary Princess Sophie spent her childhood with her parents and sisters in Wildbad Kreuth, where she also attended the first years of the primary school {Source}. From 1978 to 1980 she attended the Girls' Home Primary School of the English Lady in Heiligenstatt and then changed to the Girls' Secondary Boarding School Hohenburg in Lenggries {Source}. In 1984, she entered the Adolf Weber Gymnasium in Munich and passed the school-leaving examination in 1988 {Source}. During a stay in London, which lasted several months, she attended tutorial classes at the Inchbald School of Interior Design {Source}. She was particularly interested in the various styles of interior furnishings {Source}. Hereditary Princess Sophie studied history and English language and literature at the Catholic University in Eichstätt {Source}.
In 2006, she founded The Sophie von Liechtenstein Stiftung für Frau und Kind (Sophie of Liechtenstein Foundation for Woman and Child) with the goal of the Foundation to give women, who unintentionally became pregnant, a more positive life perspective for themselves and their child{Source}.
She married Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein on 3 July 1993{Source}. Together, they have four children {Source}:
- Prince Joseph Wenzel (1995)
- Princess Marie Caroline(1996)
- Prince Georg (1999)
- Prince Nikolaus (2000)