text:
News With Ed -- July 20, 2017
Trump halts CIA program training Syrian combatants
President Trump's sudden ordered halt of the covert Central Intelligence Agency program to train Syrian "moderate rebels" has rocked US foreign policy debate. RT America's Ed Schultz turns to former CIA agent Jack Rice for insight into what the move indicates.
CIA & private contractor collaborated on malware – Wikileaks
The Central Intelligence Agency collaborated with defense contractor Raytheon to develop hacking software, according to the latest in the Vault 7 series from Wikileaks. RT America's Marina Portnaya has more.
Impact of Trump's jab at Sessions remains unclear
Conservative commentator Gina Loudon and trial lawyer Ladawn Jones pick apart the president's decision to publicly attack his attorney general on RT America's Ed Schultz's politics panel.


text:
This danger Injectable Vitamin C
Kamis, 06 Juni 2013 0 komentar
Keep in mind, for kencantikan currently be same to own been distorted in ways in which ar terribly unethical. many ladies entangled selling seasoning ascorbic acid thus it terminated up being a "junkie" and pengedaranya injections, while not actually understanding however ascorbic acid functions within the anatomy and the way to take care of the condition of the body that has tersuplementasi while not the necessity to become "addicted" injections. Vtamin C is one inhibitor that may not be created by the anatomy, like alternative mammals (as researched by Grollman and Lehninger, 1957) and was conjointly found to reptiles and amphibians synthesize ascorbic acid in their kidneys (Chantterjee et al, 1975 ).
Vitamin C is very important for metabolic process, immune perform and healing, endocrine perform, neutralize toxins and allergies, yet as anyioksidan, vital as conductor of excitant nerve perform as well as Intropin, serotonin, neurotransmitter and is that the best medical care for pretty much all infective agent diseases as well as acute anterior poliomyelitis, hepatitis, and herpes. that is usually used as a "booster skin beauty" is as a result of it will increase the assembly of scleroprotein. scleroprotein may be a pliable substance (chewy), that is gift within the vessel walls yet, additionally to the skin. Kolagenlah that makes the skin look supple, not wrinkled, bright, and definitely freed from skin condition. but kolegan fashioned undue entirely ascorbic acid, however a healthy diet, maintain a balanced ..! Why torture yourself to injections of ascorbic acid (which invitations danger once done by people that aren't specialists / professionals within the fields of health, due to the danger needles disposable is that the transmission of HIV / AIDS, liver disease et al.
Air bubbles within the injection instrumentality causes tube-shaped structure emboli which may cause extra time owing to blockage of blood vessels owing to the bubble. detain mind, ascorbic acid injected intravenously / directly into the blood vessels and once it seeped into the encircling tissue can cause torturous pain. A diet loaded karbuhidrat chaotic and unhealthy (sugar, flour, rice, and starch) makes kolegan broken back. Sugar molecules to proteins to make compounds referred to as Advanced Glycation-End-products (AGE). AGE settles in tissues of the anatomy, encourage the onset of disease, the formation of wrinkles and grey hairs (Lee and Cerami. Annals of the ny Academy of Science. The Role of Glycation in Aging # 663, pp6370, conjointly weight unit trained worker et al. Journal of Clinical Investigation, Accumulation of Maillard Reaction merchandise in Skin scleroprotein in polygenic disorder and Aging, vol. 91, # vi June 1993.p .421 to 422).
That should not be unnoted is that the dose usage. Tissue levels of ascorbic acid within the lower ketimang current within the blood. thus opti-dosing (giving the optimum dose) is required. Supplementation higher than the counseled five hundred mg per day (Opti-dose: 6000-12000 mg per day. Below five hundred mg occurred inverse result of antioxidants (Can be scan from: Levy, T. ascorbic acid Infection Diseases, & Toxin. USA: Xlibris business firm . 2002). were no cases of toxicity excess ascorbic acid. diarrhoea is one indicator of excess. Opinions concerning the categories of salt calculus formation evidenced not caused by ascorbic acid. Chthcart analysis found exactly in patients World Health Organization have a history of salt excretory organ stones tend mengalaminnya once more. albeit vegetables and fruits as a supply of ascorbic acid ar referred to as, however several create the method|biological process} process tends to waste the remainder is wasted instead of absorb it intact-intact into the blood vessels once it's absorbed by the tiny internal organ. Would that ascorbic acid supplements (in the shape of esters or buffered) concerning one thousand -3000 mg / day in healthy conditions for the people that follow a healthy diet. quantity could also be enhanced beneath sure conditions that need supplementation higher. Selam diet remains chaotic, forget supplementation. get rid of cash, waste of your time, even giving a foul name for supplementation.
Do not ever need ascorbic acid as a drug or supplement. we tend to eventually can fall inside a similar paradigm as treatment. Supplements solely work well within the body being treated well, get applicable nutrition to form all of life becomes harmonious synchronization ...!
title: This danger Injectable Vitamin CHopefully this article useful to you. If you want to quote, be it in part or whole of the contents of this article please include dofollow links to http://healthylivingcenterr.blogspot.com/2013/06/this-danger-injectable-vitamin-c.html. Thank you stop reading this article.
written by misbah aja
Rating Blog 5 dari 5
written by misbah aja
Rating Blog 5 dari 5

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Research & Advice - Kia Grand Carnival Crdi Exe
Latest Article: 2011 Mercedes-Benz S-Class Gets New Petrol and Diesel Engines For AustraliaMercedes-Benz Australia's S-Class line-up has come in for a refresh this week, with new and updated engines across the range. The range-topping S 63 and S 65 AMG, revealed last year, have also arrived in Australian showrooms this month. Cl...
Continue Reading Feb, 23 2011 (8 years ago)
Feb, 23 2011 (8 years ago)


text:
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman
I did not want to read "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down" by Anne Fadiman, but it came up for book club at our local library. Well, I could not put it down, and it blew my mind. It's a non-fiction account of not only a single Hmong family, but also of how the Hmong came to America. Along the way, we learn about the rich Hmong culture, which is partially based in ancient legends, bad spirits, and unfortunate animal sacrifice. Once this culture hits the United States, that's where things begin to break down. For example, when a Hmong is born, their placenta is buried in a special place under their ancestral home. When they die, this placenta is their garment in the next world. Their spirit must retrace all their steps back to this garment, and then run a dangerous gauntlet to a peaceful place of rebirth. If their soul cannot find this garment, it's condemned to wander eternity naked and alone. But for a moment, let's go back to how the Hmong came to America. In Laos, there are different cultures as you move into higher elevations, including the Lao, the Karen, the Khmu and Mien peoples. "At the highest altitudes, between 1,000 and 2,000 meters, if it is possible, live the Hmong." These remote locations helped keep their ethnic identity very pure, despite their lack of a unifying literacy. They rarely visited the plains, which they called the Land of Leeches. At the end of the 18th century, the British East India Company introduced opium to China, and since then, the Hmong have been master opium growers, "drawn into this international trade they neither created nor controlled." Fast forward to the Vietnam War. For geographical reasons, the U.S. provided covert army training in Laos since 1955, and President Eisenhower considered the situation in Laos to be the most important problem facing the U.S. Then, in 1961, at the Geneva Conference, the U.S. and ten other nations signed an Accord agreeing to the neutrality of Laos. So what did the U.S. do to control this area without sending in U.S. troops that would violate this accord? We got the Hmong to fight for us by proxy, and we promised them a safe place to live if they would do it. And so, this charming and "non-violent" (by normal standards) people fought. At first, they would fire over the enemies' heads or throw away their weapons. They were murdered and napalmed for eight years, and had to uproot 90% of their villages and run, and run, and run. And we-the-people didn't know about it because the CIA forbid journalists from going into this geographical area. And then the U.S. airlifted thousands of Hmong out to the U.S. Oh, and then the U.S. also left thousands of Hmong on the tarmac to die, waiting for other planes that never came. Flash forward to the 1980's. Here is a people who are totally shell-shocked, clinging to the fragments of their culture, and pooling their welfare checks to buy animals to sacrifice, in an effort to fix things. Due to PTSD and lack of English Language skills, if they have a simple car accident (for example) and are arrested, they are expecting to be executed. And all they know how to do is fight guerrilla style, and grow opium. In 1982, a Hmong girl by the name of Lia Lee is born in Merced, California, and they immediately incinerate her placenta, her garment for the afterlife. And here is where our story really begins. A story of the collision of two cultures, and misunderstandings, and heroism and compassion, and sacrifice. And, it's fascinating. What if you believed that each person has a finite amount of blood in their body, and then the doctors keep coming in and taking blood from your child? What if you try to grow crops in the living room of your apartment in urban California? Or, on the other side of the coin, what if you are two dedicated and caring doctors who spend years trying to save the life of a child that is being raised in a culture you cannot really fathom or communicate effectively with? As I read this book, I just kept saying, "What!" This book is very well written and is now on my "must read" list. Anne Fadiman started out just writing an article about this little girl, but when the article got rejected, she then spent the next eight years writing this amazing book because she could not get this story out her mind and her heart. Fadiman manages to show the many characters in an objective light, and reveals the incredible compassion and heroism on both sides of this story. I've heard it said that there are now shamans at the Merced County Hospital, but after reading this book, I know stranger things have happened. Highly recommended.
Posted by Amanda Erickson at 5:53 PM
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text:
Quinces have such a wonderful aroma, strong enough to perfume an entire room that you want to try and capture that aroma by baking them in parcels. It is such a majestic fruit, it deserves to be treated simply and appreciated for itself. Treated simply like this the real flavour of the quince comes through.
Serves 2 Prep 3mins Cook 1 hour
- 1 large quince
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp brown sugar or to taste
Preheat oven 200c gas 6
Wash the quince, cut it in half from top to tail and remove the core and seeds. Put each half, cut side up, on a large square of foil put a spoonful of butter on each half and cover with 1-2 tbsp sugar, depending on how sweet you like it. Fold the sides of the foil over and make a sealed parcel. Bake for 1 hour until very tender. Cooking time will vary depending on the size and quality of the fruit. Serve hot or cold topped with cream, yogurt or ice cream.
Cooks Note A Quince tree is a real thing of beauty. It is, by far, my favourite fruit tree, hailing spring with its mass of pale pink briar rose like blossoms. As the great pendulous fruit develop i can't help wishing for autumn when the soft down starts to disappear and you know the great yellow fruit are ready to harvest


text:
Beechen on "Batman Beyond"
Fans already excited for the forthcoming "Batman Beyond"-centric "Superman/Batman" annual (written by the legendary Paul Levitz) received a second blast of "news from Beyond" Wednesday when DC Comics announced a six-issue mini series based on the hit Warner Brothers Animation TV series. This "Batman Beyond" starts up in June from writer Adam Beechen and artist Ryan Benjamin.
"Batman Beyond" was created by Bruce Timm and Paul Dini and ran from 1999 to 2001, airing 52 original episodes. Set within the DC Animated Universe (DCAU) along with shows like "Batman: The Animated Series" and "Justice League Unlimited," the series introduced the world to Terry McGinnis, Bruce Wayne's successor as Batman, the protector of Neo Gotham circa 2039.
Yesterday DC teased that Terry and his mentor will face off against a threat in the mini series that is targeting villains from the original Batman's rogues' gallery. And the events of "Batman Beyond" may also trigger some hostilities between the master and the apprentice. CBR News wanted more info, so we reached out to Beechen, who did share some more details including who else we may see in the mini series, where the story is set in terms of continuity and what the writer feels makes the relationship between Bruce and Terry click -Â and tick, like a time bomb.
CBR News: Very cool news that you'll be writing a "Batman Beyond" mini series. How did the project come about?
Adam Beechen: [DC Co-Publisher] Dan DiDio visited L.A. in December of 2008, and we had a meeting, and he mentioned this project as a possibility for me. He encouraged me to come up with a pitch for Editor Ian Sattler, which I did. The pitch was nothing more than the title of the story arc sent in an e-mail – two words – and Ian flipped out over it, in a good way, and immediately asked me to write a full-blown summary of the mini series. I did that, and when I saw Dan again at the San Diego Comic-Con in 2009, he told me the series was greenlit.
May I ask what the two words were?
Absolutely not.
I know you've worked with WB/DCU Animation in the past but how familiar are you with the "Batman Beyond" TV series?
Pretty familiar. Like a ton of people, many of whom are reading this, I was a voracious consumer of Warner Bros. superhero animation stuff – still am, actually. So I followed the show pretty closely. I loved it – thought it was a great extension of the mythology that made perfect sense for what we already knew about the characters and their world.
Will you be going back and watching the old TV episodes on DVD to prepare for this assignment?
Yes, with great excitement. Any excuse to watch those episodes again is a good one.
What do you love about the concept of a Batman from the future? And what about Terry in particular?
I love the idea of the cowl getting passed down from generation to generation. It makes Batman a concept, in addition to being an individual. It sends the message that, as long as there are criminals, there will be a Batman to strike fear into their hearts.
Terry's great because, unlike Bruce, in whom the seeds of becoming the Batman were planted at a very formative age, creating profound obsession, Terry came to it later in life, when he was already a teenager. He already had opinions and outlooks he had formed, so he can be more conflicted about being Batman than Bruce could ever be.
You have scripted Batman in the past, but I don't believe you have written future Bruce Wayne. How will you go about finding his voice?
My idea of his voice is a slightly softened version of what Frank Miller did in "The Dark Knight." Grim and gritty, pretty dark and cynical, but maybe a little more willing to socialize – at least with Terry. And Ace.
What are you most looking forward as you further develop the relationship between Terry and Bruce?
Just playing their outlooks and attitudes against each other. Though they're on the same side, and they've come to various understandings over the years, they still have pretty different methods when it comes to certain things, and that can lead to clashes – serious clashes.
So what makes the relationship work?
For readers, or for them? For readers, it's the tried and true crotchety oldtimer/cocky whippersnapper dynamic, and the built in conflict that brings. It also provides lots of opportunities for humor, as well as drama. For Bruce and Terry, well, the question of just how well the relationship works is something we may be looking closely at.
The Source teased this story features some of Batman's old foes. Can you tease us any further as to who we might be talking about here in terms of rogues?
Nope. Suffice to say we'll see representatives from the A list all the way down to the D list.
Any other characters from the TV series playing a role like Max or Dana? And with that said, are Terry and Dana married now?
The full range of Terry's world will be on display in the mini series, but center stage will be occupied by Bruce and Terry. Terry and Dana are not married during this series, which takes place closer to the end of the animated series than to the character's appearance at the end of "Justice League Unlimited."
With all the excitement about Grant Morrison's "Return of Bruce Wayne" storyline unfolding this summer, does this series tie into that at all? Meaning does this series tie into DCU proper or does it exist in its own "DC Animated" universe?
This series does not tie directly to what Grant's doing, but isn't what Grant's doing fun? And this miniseries does tie the animated series closer to the DCU proper, but whether or not it becomes considered the canonical version of Batman's future remains to be seen. And decided.
Does it tie into Paul Levitz' upcoming "Superman/Batman" annual?
It does not. Paul and I have been working completely separately, but I'm sure our stories will be able to coexist without conflict. I'm psyched to see what he's coming up with.
Not sure what you've seen so far but what does Ryan Benjamin bring to the characters of "Batman Beyond"?
I've been a fan of Ryan's for a long time. He draws great, graceful figures, and when I think of "Batman Beyond," I think of Terry swooping around all these dark towers and spires, and I know Ryan's going to get all kinds of atmosphere into the visuals. I can't wait to see his take on the characters themselves.
Anything else that you can share about the series or anything special you'd like to add for fans of the original "Batman Beyond" animated series?
Hopefully, they'll feel the characters and concepts are in respectful hands. I'm as big a fan of the animated series as anyone, and I want to do right by all the people who've come before me, not to mention Bruce and Terry.
What else are you working on these days?
Still writing "WildCats" over at WildStorm. It's nice to go from that book, with its cast of thousands, to this one, with its relatively small list of characters. Any time I want a change of pace, I can switch from one book to the other. And I'm happily watching the art roll in for the sequel to my graphic novel, "Hench." AiT/Planetlar and I are hoping to have it out in time for the holidays.
Any updates on the "Hench" movie?
Still on pins and needles waiting on the script from Danny McBride.
So the project is still moving forward?
As far as I know.
"Batman Beyond" #1 is expected to arrive in comic book stores across North America in June.
- Ad Free Browsing
- Over 10,000 Videos!
- All in 1 Access
- Join For Free!


text:
Saturday, May 23, 2009 | 2:07 a.m.
A federal airline safety program that began as a way to reduce accidents devolved into an ineffective mess and, worse, turned into what airline workers came to understand as way of avoiding discipline if they made errors.
These were conclusions of an audit released this month by the Transportation Department.
Known as ASAP, the Aviation Safety Action Program began in the mid-1990s as a demonstration project and went industrywide in 2000. It was one of the programs recommended by a commission on airline safety led by then-Vice President Al Gore.
The goal was to stop accidents before they happen by way of a partnership atmosphere — not an adversarial relationship — between the Federal Aviation Administration and pilots. The program later expanded to include other airline employees, including mechanics and flight attendants.
Key to its success, it was thought, would be the freedom that airline workers would have to report potential safety problems. As long as no aviation rules were deliberately violated, potential threats to safety could be reported without fear of anyone facing discipline.
The idea was good but its success depended entirely on its being properly managed. The audit, however, stated that the FAA has been "ineffective" in its implementation of the program.
One problem is that ASAP administrators accept reports from employees about accidents, absolving the employees from discipline. Yet the program was set up to hear safety concerns before accidents happen. Another agency, the National Transportation Safety Board, investigates all accidents. The audit made it clear that ASAP should not be misused as an amnesty program.
Another problem the audit found is that ASAP reports, as currently submitted, are not effective for spotting trends throughout the airline industry that could pose safety problems. Evaluating such trends and acting upon them were among the main objectives of the program.
The audit went on for pages, identifying ways in which this program has gone wrong. The FAA should take the audit seriously, and get this program working as it was originally envisioned.


text:
Finished size: Approx. 2-3 inches, depending on what type of yarn is used and how it felts.
small round magnet, small decorative button or charm (optional), (US) size H hook, small amount of worsted weight feltable wool. (Example was made using Paton's Classic Merino Wool in Black)
Round 1: ch 3, 7 sc in 3rd ch from hook, join with sl st in top of beg ch, do not turn. (8 sc)
Round 2: ch 12, sc in same st, *(sc, ch 10, sc) in next st, rep from * around. Join with sl st in 2nd ch of beg ch 12 (this leaves 10 ch for the loop). (16 sc, and 8 ch 10 spaces)
Fasten off. Weave in ends.
Felt as desired.
Glue magnet to back.
Glue or sew button or charm to center front of flower.
**Can also be made into a pin by attatching a pin back in place of the magnet.**
Pattern designed and written by April Moreland
© 2008 All rights reserved


text:
Our November Instructor Development Course is now in full swing at Downbelow's PADI 5-star IDC Dive Centre in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.
Richard Swann, Downbelow's resident PADI Course Director, was , of course, on hand to welcome this eclectic group of IDC candidates to Sabah, the location of their knighthood as pro divers.
Attending our November Instructor Development Course are Lok from Hong Kong, Alex from Italy, Meredith from the USA, Bernard from Belgium, and Pablo and Luke from Germany.
Also joining the group is Sam from the UK, Oliver from Holland and our very own, homegrown Wellson from right here in Sabah, Malaysia – but they're part of the group because they're doing their IDC Staff Instructor programs.
Downbelow's Go Pro Team wishes the truly international group all the best of luck and we'll be sure to check back in to follow your progress.
In the meantime, we've updated our schedule to reflect the start of the next IDC in January 2013, so if you're a recreational diver wanting to live the diving dream, get in touch with us and let's talk about how you too can Go Pro with Downbelow.


text:
Methi Pudas
I do not have the picture uploaded but I promise it shall be up sometime soon.
Ingredients: ( I have no idea what exact quantities to use because ma usually always plays it by the ear and just measures stuff....I guess it comes with experience...I too am usually able to get the quantities right)
Equal parts wheat flour, chickpea flour/besan, and rice flour - 1/4 or slightly more of each cup will do. We just want to make sure that we do not use so much flour that we dont see the methi :P
A bunch of methi/fenugreek leaves
A few cloves of garlic - minced
Green chili and ginger paste : 1-2 tsp
Salt- swad anusaar ( I love it when they say that on Hindi Cookery Shows)
1)Mix all ingredients in a bowl and add water last.
2)Mix it well and make sure the flour does not form clumps.
3)Break all clumps. I do this by hand but if you have a hand device that whisks, that would be great! Me and ma are just used to the old way.
4)Add enough water to make a thin soupy/pancaky paste - one that you can easily pour with a ladle.
5)Heat a pan. I usually let the pan heat while I am the mixture, that way I have a nice hot tawa to cook on.
6)Spread the mixture onto the pan with a ladle/tbsp. Gently make circles with the back of the ladle/tbsp and spread it on the pan like a dosa.
7)You can make it as thick or as thin as you want. My preference: slightly thin.
8)When one side is cooked, flip it and spread some oil or butter on the top. Flip the other side when its cooked and do the same. You can also cover to help it cook faster.
Methi pudaa tyaar!
Variations: Because as a child.... well and even now, I usually whine about methi pudas mom sometimes added onions to it. You do not have to use a mixture of all three flours..only besan or only wheat flour will also do. rice flour is skippable if you dont have any.
Try it with all kinds of chutneys!
Published in the Garvi Gujarat category.
A Note to Remember: Good cooking is more about using the right ratios than using the right quantities. Each hand its own dish! Eat away!


text:
Gahan Wilson's comic strip confronts the mysteries of childhood with often shocking frankness. Continue reading
Hayden's anecdotes about parenthood and marriage are related with real wit and poignancy. Continue reading
The Great Northern Brotherhood Of Canadian Cartoonists
This is perhaps Seth's strangest book to date. Continue reading
The Someday Funnies
Could be good, could be bad. Maybe a bit of both. Continue reading
Papercutter #17
This is the premier minicomics anthology series. Continue reading
Mome Vol. 22: Fall 2011
Tthis final issue of Mome is an unusual experience even in these anthology-saturated times: Its editorial focus is its lack of focus. Continue reading
Gay Genius
At the end of the Gay Genius anthology, its editor, Annie Murphy, uncovers some interesting definitions of the word "genius." One of them, dating back to ancient Rome, is "a guardian spirit." Reading this anthology, it felt as much like … Continue reading
Danger Country #1
Levon Jihanian, no knucklehead, brings much to the (gaming) table. Continue reading


text:
Wanderlust: a strong innate impulse or desire to travel the world.
I have always had this childish dream of one day traveling the world and visiting many different countries. This sense of restless wanderlust is continually with me. I have never quite understood why I constantly want to go somewhere new and be somewhere different. It is almost like my heart is longing to find a place where I can be at peace.
I came across a quote that I feel summarizes these feelings into one sentence: "The fact that our heart yearns for something Earth can't supply is proof that Heaven must be our home." -C.S. Lewis
This earth is not my home. The only place that will truly quiet my heart's desire is in the arms of Jesus. It is fine to enjoy the blessings that God has given me, but I must first remember Who the blessings came from. I must remember that all good things come from my heavenly Father (: I cannot waste my life searching for things to "satisfy" my soul when I have already found Him! He will continually be with me and will fulfill EVERY need I could possibly have. I will always have a little bit of wanderlust inside of me, but as a Christian I know that this world can't compare to what lies ahead. My heart longs for the day when I see My Savior face to face! Until then, I will enjoy this world that He has made for me. I will travel the globe and stand in awe of the mighty works of His hand. I will see a little more of His beauty everyday through His creation. But most importantly, I will eagerly await the day when I will spend eternity in heaven and be filled with everlasting peace and joy!
"Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love; Here's my heart, O take and seal it, Seal it for Thy courts above."
Abbey Nicole


text:
Posted by gadchik on May 3, 2012, at 10:39:08
In reply to Re: More Birding » gadchik, posted by Beckett on May 1, 2012, at 22:37:45
Well,I knew it would end badly.But at least they were holding hands outside.It was a strange movie.But I like things that are diff.and the way it was presented was certainly not like an average movie.Kind of like "Tree of Life",which I loved.
And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. Anias Nin
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20120312/msgs/1017025.html


text:
Faeries Gone Wild
This time out, I have the new anthology Faeries Gone Wild (St. Martin's) with stories by MaryJanice Davidson, Lois Greiman, Michele Hauf, and Leandra Logan. Davidson kicks things off with 'Tall, Dark, and Not So Faery', with the overly tall faery Scarlett arriving in Minnesota to do a count of a magical household with not just fae inhabitants, but other paranormal species as well. And she meets up with the even taller Owen, who might just be what she really needs. 'Pixie Lust' by Greiman is next, featuring Avalina sent to protect the Pinquil Fern from destruction by William Timber, aka Elder Mann. Developer William's life is just about perfect, very unlike his childhood with his crazy hippie mother, but when the naked Avalina appears in his bathroom, his life gets turned upside-down. Hauf's 'Dust Me, Baby, One More Time' has Sidney Tooth working as a librarian during the day, and the tooth fairy at night. Then she runs into the sexy Dart Sand on her rounds. He's got a wild reputation, and she has every intention of resisting him, as doing otherwise might get her sent away. 'A Little Bit Faery' by Logan sends single Luna faery Tia to New York City after her mother reveals a secret from her past. Hunky fireman Alec is new new neighbor, and Tia thinks he might just be the one, even though he's human. I'm not a Davidson fan, and this story didn't endear her to me; it's quite choppy, and with the point of view bouncing around from person to person, hard to really be in the main characters' heads and hearts. Greiman's 'Pixie Lust' is my favorite story in the collection, with the charming Avalina and her befuddled William/Elder who just can't resist her. Hauf's story is cute, but I didn't love it. And Logan's villain is pretty obvious from the start, though Alec is a terrific hero. I don't know that I'd call this one a keeper, but it's a fun way to spend an afternoon. It's earned three and a half of Cupid's five arrows.
Until next time, happy reading!
You Should Also Read:
Romance Novels Forum
Lois Greiman
Editor's Picks Articles
Top Ten Articles
Previous Features
Site Map
Content copyright © 2018 by Elizabeth Darrach. All rights reserved.
This content was written by Elizabeth Darrach. If you wish to use this content in any manner, you need written permission. Contact Val Kovalin for details.


text:
Young Adults, Student Debt and Economic Well-Being
Student debt burdens are weighing on the economic fortunes of today's young adults. Among the college-educated, those with outstanding student debt are lagging far behind those who are debt free in terms of household wealth.
Generations in the Next America Event Video
Video from the Pew Research Center's "Generations in the Next America" event held on March 7, 2014.
Millennials in Adulthood
Racially diverse, economically stressed and politically liberal, Millennials are building their own networks through social media – rather than through political parties, organized religion or marriage. Half now call themselves political independents, the highest share of any generation.
On Pay Gap, Millennial Women Near Parity – For Now
A new cohort of young women—members of the so-called Millennial generation—has been entering the workforce for the past decade. At the starting line of their careers, they are better educated than their mothers and grandmothers had been—or than their young male counterparts are now. But when they look ahead, they see roadblocks to their success.
Millennials: Only a Third Head Their Own Households
This refers to a post on FactTank about census data indicating that the rate of household formation among young adults (ages 18 to 32) is not growing, as of March 2013.
At Grandmother's House We Stay
In 2011, 7.7 million children in the U.S.–one-in-ten—were living with a grandparent, and approximately 3 million of these children were also being cared for primarily by that grandparent.1 Both of these numbers rose rapidly after the onset of the recession in 2007 and have stabilized since 2009, when the recession officially ended, according to a […]
Grandparents and Child Care
This posting links to a September 2013 Pew Research Center report on children living with, and being cared for, by their grandparents.
A Rising Share of Young Adults Live in Their Parents' Home
In 2012, 36% of the nation's young adults ages 18 to 31—the so-called Millennial generation—were living in their parents' home, the highest share in at least four decades. The number of young adults doing so has risen by 3 million since the start of the start of the recession in 2007, an increase driven by a combination of economic, educational and cultural factors.
Birth Rate Trends Differ Notably by Age Group
This is an excerpt from a FactTank posting about new data from the National Center for Health Statistics about birth rates in 2011. Rates for younger women fell to record lows, but rates continued to rise for women ages 40 and older.
Young Adults After the Recession: Fewer Homes, Fewer Cars, Less Debt
After running up record debt-to-income ratios during the bubble economy of the 2000s, young adults shed substantially more debt than older adults did during the Great Recession and its immediate aftermath—mainly by virtue of owning fewer houses and cars, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of Federal Reserve Board and other government data. […]


text:
|Project by TaybulSawz
|posted 10-22-2013 07:58 PM
|813 views
|1 time favorited
|3 comments
I recently completed this Memorial Burial Flag Box for a Fallen Warrior of WWII. We are losing these Heroes much to quickly. The box is made from quartersawn oak, with a Lexan window. Stained MinWax Gunstock. 45° angle at the top 67.5° at the bottom. 21 – 30 caliber 1/2 cartridges are embeded into the lower front frame.
It brought tears to the eyes of the widow. Mine too!!
I was Proud!!!
-- Still got all my Fingers!!!
3 comments so far
#1 posted 10-23-2013 01:45 AM
Very nice flag case. I like the inserted cartridges, too. i use them a lot.
-- Jim Jakosh.....Practical Wood Products...........Learn something new every day!! Variety is the Spice of Life!!
#2 posted 10-23-2013 08:27 AM
Beautiful work,,, God Bless all our men and women who serve.
-- Ken, "Everyday above ground is a good day!"
#3 posted 10-28-2013 03:58 PM
Looks great and well made, a great tribute to a great man who served the country. Great work!
Have your say...
You must be signed in to post the comments.


text:
Sitting in some bemusement in the Steppenwolf Garage Theatre on Sunday night, I found myself wondering if I'd ever seen a Christmas cabaret show — this one was actually subtitled "A Holiday Bender" — where I had absolutely no idea, for great swaths of the evening, what, exactly, was going on.
But then Scott Bradley, the writer and lyricist of "We Three Lizas," the bizarre, adult, less-than-coherent and thus weirdly refreshing new Christmas musical from About Face Theatre, is not a conventional kind of writer, as his formidably bizarre, Freddie Mercury-fueled concoction "Alien Queen" proved a couple of years back. Who else would come up with the notion of a Liza Was (played, very amusingly, by the fearless Danielle Plisz) sharing the stage with a Liza Is (played by Bradley himself, the Liza Minnelli du jour being more accommodating to drag)? I kept looking at my program in search of a seemingly inevitable Liza Yet to Come. There was no such listing, although there was, I think, another Liza represented by a giant eyeball.
Actually, the Lizas are not Bradley's problem, especially as the two main models are played with such witheringly adroit aplomb. When the Lizas are actually in the building, the show has a certain spring in its step, you might say. The Z's just take a long, long time to arrive, leaving us lost in what seems to be a television studio where one Conrad Ticklebottom (Scott Duff), a designer of boxes with an empire called the House of Conrad, is going through a Scrooge-like transformation (with shades of Chekhov and "It's a Wonderful Life") involving Reggie (Dana Tretta), his nervous assistant who dreams of greater things in a queerer world. Things progress — toward some goal deep within Bradley's skull — from there.
You have to give Bradley and his cohorts (Scott Ferguson directs) credit for not just serving up a few cocktails in the lobby and trotting out a few Liza-baked renditions of "New York, New York," "Bye Bye Blackbird," or "My Own Best Friend." In fact, "We Three Lizas" has a full-blown original score (with music by the very talented young composer Alan Schmuckler), replete with a stellar power ballad for Tretta, who does her darndest to keep this show on some kind of cogent track, and various intriguing specialty numbers (for Sean Blake, Arturo Soria and other big personalities in the cast), accompanied by a live jazz band. The design work is notably stellar, especially the delightful purple-hued costumes created by Mieka van der Ploeg and Robert S. Kuhn. In fact, the Steppenwolf Garage, generally a merely utilitarian space, has been converted into quite the glamorous little venue by Jerry Dye. Therein, Bradley's wobbly Liza bares her soul and her vocal chords.
Now, back to that little matter of dramaturgical coherence. Or, you could always head to the lobby and have another Christmas cocktail instead.
When: Through Dec. 23
Where: The Steppenwolf Garage, 1624 N. Halsted St.
Running time: 1 hour 40 minutes
Tickets: $25 at 312-335-1650 or steppenwolf.org


text:
Education World – Steve Haberlin
"It's no secret that social studies regularly takes a back seat to other academic subjects. If teachers are honest, they will admit that they struggle to find time to teach social studies, and if they do, it's crammed into the last minutes of the day, or perhaps creatively combined with other lessons. hat if there was another way to approach social studies? What if there was model that could provide students with meaningful, relevant social studies instruction, while at the same time, enhancing learning in other subjects in an engaging way? Sounds like an infomercial, too good to be true, right? Well, I'd like to introduce you to a concept known as Social Studies at the Center. I learned this method from Dr. Michael Berson, an internationally known social studies scholar at the University of South Florida."(more)


text:
Victoria's Purrrrfect Treasures
Victoria ~ Proprietress, New Germany NS Canada
This pretty vintage gently worn Green Adventurine chip Bracelet is coil style . It will fit most wrist and sitting flat on a table is about 1/2 tall by 2 1/2 inches across. The metalware coil is flexible. The chips are in various shapes and sizes. Pretty and easy to wear.
Aventurine is a form of Quartz. Chakras - Heart Chakra Zodiac - Aries, Leo Element - Earth
Please Note : The Standard Shipping Option will not provide tracking or insurance.
20 other shoppers have this item in their Cart or Wish List
Dear Customers we do offer Layaway with flexible options. Do Meet Our New Co-Shop Mascot Wacky Jacky
We offer Square POS to Canada & USA and Interac Email Money Transfer to our Canadian Shoppers.
|Shipping & Handling:
Standard Flat Rate Shipping Service
|To Be Determined
|Shipping to:
|other services


text:
It's board game math according to Rex Sorgatz! YIPEE! So Monopoly + Risk = The Economy, Operation + Sorry = Heath Care System, and well, you get the idea. What we really want to know? What board games make up the Social Media High? [Tumlr]
The US Air Guitar Championships are coming to the Bowery Ballroom. Prepare yourselves for May 28th. People are already buying their tickets. [StubHub]
Google links up with Twitter-to sell ads that is. Google is now letting advertisers stream their Tweets on its AdSense network. In other words, instead of a traditional ad, you can buy a recent Tweet. Turbo Tax was the first company to sign up. [AdAge] Ironically, on the same day, Adage runs this article titled: "The Top 10 Reasons Your Company Probably Shouldn't Tweet" [Link]
No one's sure how Foursquare got a full page in this weeks NY Magazine, not least of all, it's founder Dennis Crowley. [Flickr]
Need a job? Join some our favorite nerds over at The Buisness Insider. They are expanding and looking for an Operations/Web Producer, Summer MBA Internship, and Editorial Interns. [Business Insider]
Take a look at the 100 most iconic internet videos of all time! [Urlesque]
Flutter: The New Twitter. As Twitter-mania reaches new levels, Slate V presents a mockumentary about a company that wants to take microblogging to the next level. [YouTube]
Social Media is taking you and your company hostage! Here's why. [Silicon Alley Insider]
The GM-Segway PUMA (below) has been unleashed on the streets of Manhattan by the geeks of Gizmodo."When we first saw the PUMA last night we didn't really know what to make of it. It looks like a cross between a mobility scooter and a roller coaster car. But appearances can be deceiving, as this is just a rough chassis serving as an engineering prototype." [Gizmodo]


text:
Build Muscle and size
You want to support muscle growth.
You want to recover well from training.
You want to power intense training sessions.
Training and diet go hand in hand
So you have carefully planned your training, you put in the effort in the gym but have you been as rigorous with your diet and nutrition? Training is just the stimulus for muscle growth and this adaptation that you trigger must be supported by proper diet and rest. Without these things results will either be poor or non existent.
With today's fast paced lifestyles your diet can sometimes suffer, giving way to the pressures of everyday life. If you don't consume the nutrients your body needs in the recovery phase you won't be making the most of your time in the gym and will only get poor results, instead of gaining muscle you may actually even lose it!
Our products are designed to help you meet your goals, supplementing your whole food based diet to make sure that you hit your nutritional targets every time.
"Your body can only build muscle through exercise if sufficient energy and muscle-building nutrients in the form of carbs and protein are absorbed."
Mirco Schöning
Eat for success
Proteins and carbs — the foundation for muscle-building!
Protein is the basic structural component of all cells in the body and is needed for the repair processes after intensive training sessions. Protein has been proven to promote muscle gain if you exercise properly.
Carbs are needed in order to resupply the body with energy needed for training and cellular growth. When you eat carbs the release of muscle building hormones is also stimulated. Together these factors enable the body to convert the exercise stress into muscle.
To achieve this, you should ideally have a meal every two to three hours with a large portion of both your protein and carbohydrate intake following training to support recovery and muscle growth.
To support your muscle gain, you should consume the right amount of high quality protein. The main sources of protein are foods of animal origin such as meat, dairy products and fish. Ideally you should add some plant-based protein that is found, for example, in beans and pulses. A combination of plant and animal sources of proteins will ensure you're eating the high quality proteins found in animal foods but also getting additional amino acids — the building blocks of protein — along with fibre, vitamins and minerals found in the plant foods.
According to the national nutrition survey II conducted in 2008 by the Max-Rubner-Institut and Federal Research Institute of Nutrition and Food (BfEL), protein intake averages between 1.0–1.2 grams per kilogram of body weight per day.
To support recovery and muscle growth, we recommend a protein intake of 2.0 grams per kilogram of body weight per day. This extra protein is to support recovery, the additional requirement at cellular level as a result of the intensive training. For a person weighing 80 kilograms, this equates to around 160g of protein per day so the average person would need to consume an additional 64 to 80g of protein per day.
After training is one of the best and most important times to provide the body with the nutrients it needs to recover and grow. At this time the body's ability to absorb and utilise protein and carbohydrate for growth and recovery is increased. Due to the ease of use and speed of digestion, this is time when protein supplements like whey can be especially useful. They can then be followed up with whole food meals that reflect your post workout needs, including high quality proteins and carbohydrate containing foods such as rice, pasta or potatoes.
It is important to plan your meals. This way, you avoid the temptation to eat fast food and ready meals which generally contain a lot of calories but not in the form of the nutrients that will help you recover and put on lean muscle. Food supplements can help you here. They are low in fat, without any additional sugar and contain high-quality protein as well as energy-providing carbohydrates. Added to their nutritional benefits they're easy to carry and prepare, supplying what you need at the right time, starting the recovery processes and carrying you over until you can get a nutritious whole food meal.
Exercise efficiently
A good method: pyramid training
There are many different ways to build muscle, many different workout routines and training philosophies and the one that suits you at this time will depend upon your goals, needs and experience.
Though workouts may differ the basics remain the same — focusing on selection the right exercises, the amount of training and the progression of weights and repetitions.
Full Body Training is popular method that works especially well when the trainer is new or intermediate level or training around other sports or activities. Popular with the old school body builders, its effective routines have recently be rediscovered.
The basic layout is to aim for 2 to 3 workouts a week with each session comprised of 3 to 4 'compound' exercises (ones where you're using more than one joint at a time). Compound exercises include the squat, deadlift, lunge, chest and shoulder presses, rows, pull ups and dips. For each exercise you should do 3 to 5 sets of 7 to 12 reps. This means the total count of reps will be in the region of 25 to 35.
These full body sessions should be short, about 45-60 minutes in total and cover the whole body so the emphasis should be to balance pushing and pulling movements and including leg based movements.
Regardless of the weight you can lift you must schedule in sufficient recovery time and don't overdo exercise frequency of the training session — muscle growth and strength increases happen between sessions and not in the gym! The body is a clever machine and will get more efficient as you progress meaning that to carry on growing effectively you have to surprise it every so often. To encourage muscle growth, arrange your workouts with plenty of variety and change your exercise variations every six to eight weeks.


text:
Write us a letter
We invite you to be a part of this community forum. Express your point of view! Our deadline for letters sent by e-mail is noon on Mondays. For faxed or regular mail, the deadline is 5 p.m. on Fridays.
Letters submitted for publication must be typed or printed legibly and must be signed. We ask that you include your neighborhood and phone number for confirmation. Phone numbers will not be printed. E-mail letters should be sent to email@example.com. Our fax number is 781-433-8202 or send U.S. mail letters to:
Letters to the editor
The Roslindale/West Roxbury Transcript
254 Second Ave.
Needham, MA 02494
Note: Due to the July 4 holiday, the deadline for the July 5 edition of the Transcript will be 4 p.m. on Friday, June 29. Sorry, but there will be no exceptions. All items received after deadline will be held until the following week.
Write us a letter
We invite you to be a part of this community forum. Express your point of view! Our deadline for letters sent by e-mail is noon on Mondays. For faxed or regular mail, the deadline is 5 p.m. on Fridays.
Letters submitted for publication must be typed or printed legibly and must be signed. We ask that you include your neighborhood and phone number for confirmation. Phone numbers will not be printed. E-mail letters should be sent to email@example.com. Our fax number is 781-433-8202 or send U.S. mail letters to:
Letters to the editor
The Roslindale/West Roxbury Transcript
254 Second Ave.
Needham, MA 02494
Note: Due to the July 4 holiday, the deadline for the July 5 edition of the Transcript will be 4 p.m. on Friday, June 29. Sorry, but there will be no exceptions. All items received after deadline will be held until the following week.
Thoughts from the right on the gay marriage issue
To the editor:
My letter congratulating representatives Michael Rush and Anthony Scaccia had no company in last week's Transcript, surrounded as it was by pieces favoring the legislature's action. The legislature deep-sixed the petition and took the issue off the table. Time will tell about the long-run effects, but there are a few points suggested by the favorable comments that deserve commentary.
The Transcript indicated editorially that the legislature acted consistently with the process of representative democracy. In general, I agree. Goodridge has now been validated legislatively, satisfying the requirement that the people through their representatives, and not the courts, possess the law making power. But, the issue would likely never have been decided as it was if Goodridge hadn't first established the right by judicial fiat.
Thus, the legislature validated judicial infringement of its powers. This is not a good development from the perspective of the proper role of the principle of separation of powers.
In addition, I believe the substantive outcome is bad policy. It ignores the fact that a heterosexual relationship is essentially different from a homosexual relationship. Marriage law was established to deal with the heterosexual procreative relationship, and not the naturally barren homosexual relationship. Conflating these two distinctly different types of sexual relationships in our law is not politically wise.
A moratorium on the careless and excessive use of the words hate and bigot should be declared. I'm sure there is some hatred and bigotry on both sides of this question, although I have not observed it among the people I know who agree with my viewpoint. The word hate should not have been used in the heading to Ms. Emmett's letter, and Robert Mason should not attribute the views of those with whom he disagrees to hate and bigotry. It impedes rational discussion of honestly held differences
Ms. Harvey's contention that civil rights legislation and the women's suffrage amendment were not established by voting is puzzling. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was established by legislative action backed by broad based public citizen support, not by judicial fiat. And, women's suffrage came about through the 19th amendment, not judicial fiat. It required legislative action in both the U.S. Congress and in the individual states.
And finally, there are many puzzling elements of Mr. Mason's op-ed piece For example: what does he mean by stating that good and evil exist only in the mind? Is there no objective good or evil that can be discerned by reason? Are all judgments of good and evil simply the expression of subjective preferences, and thus just arbitrary? Mason ought to develop a clearer articulation of what he means by much of what he writes.
Francis M. McLaughlin
West Roxbury
Marriage ban was rejected in a fair and legal process
To the editor:
I support equal marriage rights, but I actually agree with Francis McLaughlin that the Goodridge decision was a judicial usurpation of legislative authority (letters: 6/21/07). However, I disagree that the legislature was obliged to place the matter on the statewide ballot in response to the citizen petition to overturn same-gender marriage.
The legislature was only obliged to vote on the petition, which they did. The framers of the state constitution created two distinct steps to amend the constitution. First, the petition must receive legislative approval. Only then can it go on the statewide ballot. Their petition failed to achieve the first step.
The notion that opponents of same-gender marriage were entitled to a statewide vote because 170,000 people signed their petition is nonsense. Only 4 percent of the state's 4 million voters signed their petition; 96 percent did not.
So while the Goodridge ruling was initially a judicial overreach, it has now been effectively ratified by the people's representatives by a vote of 151-45. This issue has now played out through the rules of the democratic process, and same-gender marriage is no longer mere judicial fiat.
John M. Kelley
West Roxbury
Rozzie strategic plan is flawed
To the editor:
As someone who has been a part of the rezoning process for over two years, I have some deep reservations about the proposed strategic plan. The Roslindale plan is woefully shortsighted and incomplete towards the continued improvement of Roslindale.
· Major Concern #1: No traffic improvements proposed!
Despite traffic being identified as a "top three" issue at a community meeting in summer 2005, this plan has no big plan for traffic improvements; in fact no detailed studies were done at all! This is just plain wrong! How can there be no plan for a "top three" issue?
· Major Concern #2: Stricter zoning will force more people through the zoning variance process.
The proposed zoning that is stricter than before will channel even smaller, inconsequential home improvement projects through the 6-12 month-long zoning variance process. This means more man-hours spent by city officials (who are already overloaded) reviewing these "existing non-conforming" situations, and more taxpayer dollars being spent needlessly.
The more stringent zoning requirements include larger side yard set-backs in residential zones (formerly 10', proposed 12-15'); the new 40 percent maximum lot coverage, the new minimum open space requirements, the new parking requirement (2 spaces per unit), etc. Roslindale will go from being 75 percent non-conforming to 99 percent!
Other Boston neighborhoods and nearby towns have introduced a fast-track process for small non-conforming projects (dormers, decks, etc). In a fast-track process these small projects are still reviewed, but do not go before the Zoning Board of Appeals for a formal hearing. An advantage of the fast-track process is that less people will be discouraged from making the smaller improvements that help to spruce up homes and neighborhoods.
Another proposal by the strategic plan that will have a similarly discouraging effect on improvements to residences and businesses alike is the proposed design review process.
Some people think design review benefits everyone, but it doesn't! Not only does neighborhood review not prevent ghastly projects (such as the recent Cliftondale/Kittredge project), it creates additional costs (project delays, architect/engineer fees) to owners and developers.
In a tight real estate market, many developers refuse to do projects in design review districts because a review board can easily delay progress for a year or more. Roslindale Square in particular needs to be friendly to good development, otherwise nothing will ever happen with the substation or gas station properties, or even worse, we will get stuck with more Cliftondale-type monstrosities in our midst!
· Major Concern #3: The Strategic Plan really fails to offer any substantive ideas or recommendations for the Roslindale Square business district, and the recommended zoning will impede rather than facilitate improvement and development.
The strategic plan has good goals for the Square, but recommends nothing new except decorative banners, new lights in the Taft Hill Parking lot alley and the replacement of a chain link fence by the Bank of America.
The recommended zoning will make development and building improvements within the Square more difficult and less likely. I am referring to the proposed FAR (density limit), higher parking requirements, smaller allowable floor plates and a historic/design review process. Many of Roslindale Square's better buildings far exceed the new proposed zoning; this means buildings like them would be strongly discouraged from being built in the future.
The strategic plan and zoning really miss the opportunity for Roslindale Square to benefit from doing more of what it almost does well: being a walkable, thriving shopping district. With just a little more density, the area could reach the critical mass it needs to become a bustling district like it once was.
The Square is very walkable and has good access to public transportation, so it has great potential to benefit on several levels from denser mixed-use development. Many people in Boston and other cities enjoy "car-free" living, so not why not here, too? This means more people without the added traffic congestion and parking problems, more shoppers shopping and less empty storefronts.
Denser, more walkable neighborhoods have other big benefits, including: less air pollution, less dependence on oil, people healthier from walking more, less demand for more freeways and parking lots; and local business districts that use existing infrastructure in town centers instead of endlessly destroying acres of woods and wilds for new strip malls. Smart density has been done with great success in many cities across the country, bringing new life to places like Roslindale Square.
More density in the Square could possibly lead to less density in outlying areas, such as the "Roslindale Wetlands." With the current strategic plan, Roslindale is missing its big chance to become the really vibrant & sustainable neighborhood that everyone agrees it should be.
Thanks for considering my comments,
Jonathan Goodhue
Stop Menino's meal tax plan
To the editor:
It's time to put the local option tax on meals to bed. Many small mom-and-pop restaurants are going to be hurt if Mayor Thomas Menino is allowed to raise taxes by 1 percent, 2 percent or 3 percent. The mayor is out of control when it comes to looking out for low and moderate income working families who are paying the bulk of taxes because the rich are allowed tax shelters. Pressure is put on the hard-working low and modest income people to pay more in taxes to make up for the taxes that the rich do not pay or to make up for the tax breaks that are given to undeserving corporations.
Menino couldn't care less for hard-working low and modest income Americans. He wants more taxes so that he can continue his out of control bureaucracy and expansion instead of implementing fiscal controls and fiscal austerity.
What's needed in the city of Boston is leadership that we Bostonians don't have and accountability of municipal elected officials. All these buffoons want to do is hang on to power, and tax and spend the citizenry into oblivion.
Each year the Boston City Councilors have a chance to send Menino a message on property tax increases, and each year these councilors increase property taxes.
Despite all the new housing that has been brought on line in the city of Boston, you would have thought that it would have added revenue to the base. But these municipal bureaucrats are greedy and the more tax money they receive, the more they will want and will try to get without any accountability.
I urge all taxpayers and voters to call the following elected officials and ask them to vigorously fight any additional local option tax on meals for municipal bureaucrats. Another local option tax is belittling the hard-working taxpayers. Call these representatives today; they need to hear from their constituency. Let them know that you the voters oppose any local option tax on meals. Call House Ways and Means chairman Robert A. Deleo at 617-722-2990; Senate Ways and Means chairman Steven C. Panagiotakos at 617-722-1481; also, call House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi at 617-722-2500 and Senate President Therese Murray at 617-722-1500 and urge these elected officials to defeat Mayor Menino's local option tax to increase meal taxes.
There is a lot of duplication of services that are not needed because the state has the same agencies or departments, and the city should downsize and merge these agencies or departments with state agencies and get rid of duplication of services.
Menino should be working on improving bureaucrats' effectiveness and efficiency, and getting rid of waste and abuse instead of seeking more money from taxpayers. If this is allowed, it will hurt small restaurants, low income people and modest income workers, who eat out every now and then or patronize their mom and pop neighborhood restaurants.
Right now, Menino is pressuring the larger restaurants to support a local option tax on our meals when we eat out; however, I urge legislators and the Senate to defeat the Municipal Partnership Act and put it to bed once and forever.
Althea Garrison


text:
First off, Wolfe has a new book coming out in January titled Home Fires, the official blurb of which runs thus:
Gene Wolfe takes us to a future North America at once familiar and utterly strange. A young man and woman, Skip and Chelle, fall in love in college and marry, but she is enlisted in the military, there is a war on, and she must serve her tour of duty before they can settle down. But the military is fighting a war with aliens in distant solar systems, and her months in the service will be years in relative time on Earth. Chelle returns to recuperate from severe injuries, after months of service, still a young woman but not necessarily the same person - while Skip is in his forties and a wealthy businessman, but eager for her return.
Still in love (somewhat to his surprise and delight), they go on a Caribbean cruise to resume their marriage. Their vacation rapidly becomes a complex series of challenges, not the least of which are spies, aliens, and battles with pirates who capture the ship for ransom. There is no writer in SF like Gene Wolfe and no SF novel like Home Fires.
Although the only (early) review I can find is not glowing, I am still really looking forward to this book. The reviewer groups it together with An Evil Guest and There are Doors as some of Wolfe's lesser works. However, I absolutely loved There are Doors - it's my favourite of Wolfe's stand-alone novels - and I certainly didn't mind An Evil Guest. Also, the premise of Home Fires sounds very interesting, and I look forward to seeing how Wolfe treats the gender and relationship issues that look like they will play an important part in the book.
C.S.E. Cooney recently interviewed Wolfe for Black Gate - it's a great interview that is certainly worth reading. A week earlier Cooney wrote a Live Journal blog post asking if anyone had any questions they'd like Wolfe to answer, so I posted a question in a comment. I had to sign in to post, so I just used my Twitter account, although I should probably have used Facebook or at least signed my name to the comment (although my real name appears if you open my Twitter profile), because when Cooney came to asking my question, it ran thus:
Cooney: "The second guy – I… didn't get his name, actually. I only have his LJ handle."
Wolfe: "What is it?"
Cooney: "Um… Silk4Calde."
Wolfe: [Gene started to laugh.] "Say no more! I know where he got it."
So, that was kind of embarrassing! Funny though - in an oh-my-gosh-I-feel-like-such-a-dork kind of way. Anyway, I asked what Wolfe was working on at present, and he said he was writing a new book called The Land Across, which he summarised thus:
There's a young man. His father is dead – or he believes his father is dead. He's grown up all over the world, because his father was in the State Department. He has written a travel book about Austria. English is his cradle language, but he picked up others – some German, French, and Japanese – when he lived in those countries.
He decides to write another book about a different European country, "on the other side of the mountain," from Austria. This country is a surreal Balkan nation, formerly under the Communist government, anciently invaded by the Turks, completely fictional.
The young man is arrested as soon as he enters this country. His passport is taken, his luggage is taken. The police there bring him to the house of a man they do not like – this is the kind of thing the police do – and explain to him that he is to live in the man's house. He must sleep there every night; should he escape, his host will be shot. And they give him as a little hint:
"If you don't like the food, you can threaten to escape."
And it goes on from there.
Sounds rather interesting! And a bit like his most recent novel, The Sorcerer's House, although perhaps more sf and less fantasy.
Anyway, I had better get back to working on this article on late-nineteenth-century Australian utopian literature. Thesis results will be released on Friday, and after that I'll be back posting more regularly - I have a lot of Wolfe's fiction still to read!


text:
Student Research Projects
Motivation of Participants in VWC's "Cooking for Kids" Program
|Kelly Fauth,
Ed Fisher,
Michelle Neal
|Faculty Mentor(s)
|SOC 350: Introduction to Social Research
Hunger is a growing problem in the United States with low income families with children experiencing a huge shortage of food. Virginia Wesleyan College hosts a volunteer program called "Cooking for Kids" which offers students, staff, and faculty the opportunity to assist in feeding children in the Hampton Roads area by pre-packaging meals. Data was gathered through the distribution of a survey to each "Cooking for Kids" participant before their experience in the program. The results show that most student volunteers participated in the program as part of a club or organizational requirement, and that significantly more females participated in the program than males. This research will provide the Office of Community Service with data which will aid in the development of an advertising campaign that will draw a larger number of volunteers—leading to an increase in "Cooking for Kids" opportunities at Virginia Wesleyan College.


text:
MONTGOMERY, Alabama --- The Jefferson County delegation of the Alabama House of Representatives this morning approved a bill to change the appeal process for those issued traffic camera tickets in the city of Center Point.
A judge has ruled that the process outlined in the current law is not valid, and the city suspended use of the cameras.Rep. Arthur Payne, R-Trussville, sponsor of the bill, said the city could resume use of the cameras and people would be left without a full appeal process.
Payne's bill would set up a civil appeal process with the Circuit Court.
Reps. Allen Treadaway, R-Morris and Jim Carns, R-Mountain Brook, voted against the bill.
"I'm not a big fan of these things at all, when law enforcement doesn't control them and the profit made by these things is unreal," Treadaway said.
Carns said he was opposed to arrangements that involve private, for-profit companies in law enforcement.
Center Point contracted with Arizona-based Redflex Traffic Systems Inc. to install and operate
traffic cameras after the Legislature passed a local bill authorizing their use.
Rep. Patricia Todd, D-Birmingham, said she did not like the profit motive, but said decisions on such programs should be left to cities.
Payne said he was opposed to traffic cameras but that Center Point Mayor Tom Henderson had asked him to help with the legislation.
Center Point officials have said the purpose of the cameras is to promote safety, not to raise revenue for the city.
A bill to revise the Center Point traffic camera appeal process has also been approved by the Jefferson County Senate delegation.
One of the two bills would have to pass the House and Senate to become law.


text:
Works Gallery
Artist Information
Erin M. Riley
Erin Riley's tapestries, woven from a Macomber floor loom with hand dyed wool yarn, are a series of pieces inspired by the images produced by the internet generation. The series is a product of her research into the symptoms and results of various themes, including addiction and single-parent households. Drawn to images of self-discovery, experimentation, regression, development, her works depict a generation of excess and confusion. Erin Riley received an MFA from the Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia, where she currently lives.
Past shows
" Forgotten in a file" – April 2012
" Nothing to Say " curated group show – January 2011
" November show " AJ Fosik, Ben Venom, Erin Riley – November 2010
2009 MFA: Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia, PA
2008 Jacquard Workshop with Louise Lemieux Bérubé; Introduction to Jacquard Weaving:
Montreal Center for Contemporary Textiles, Montreal, QC
2007 BFA: Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston, MA
Forthcoming Erin M Riley, Galerie Pecka, Prague, Czech Republic
Erin M Riley, The End is Near Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2012 Forgotten in a File, Guerrero Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2011 Erin M Riley, 2012 Wind Challenge Exhibition, Fleisher Art Memorial, Philadelphia, PA
Jailbait, Sky High Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
Graphic, Central Utah Arts Center, Ephraim, UT
Erin M Riley Featured Artist, Store at The Society for Contemporary Craft, Pittsburgh, PA
2010 Erin M Riley: New Works, Guerrero Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Daddy Issues, Helene Davis Gallery, Artspace, Richmond, VA
How's my driving?, Bambi Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
After, Featured Artist, ARTillery Ohio, Columbus, OH
2012 PRB, EMR, JAT, Extension Gallery, Orchard Skateshop, Boston, MA
Cat Exhibition, Practice Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Night in the Box, MassArt Graduate Auction, Somerville, MA
Second Self, Lux/Eros Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Where My Cones At?, Double Break Gallery, San Diego, CA
Blank Land – Oh Nancy, Torrance Art Museum, Torrance, CA
2012 Philadelphia Pickup Truck Expo, The Icebox at Crane Arts, Philadelphia, PA
23rd Annual Benefit Art Auction, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston, MA
Tropico Post-Apocalyptic, Extra Extra Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Recalibrations, Gross McCleaf Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Optical Fiber, Space 1026 Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2011 Woven Stories: Exhibition of Contemporary Tapestries, Ann Street Gallery, Newburgh, NY
Oye Chica!, The Mission Projects Gallery, Chicago, IL
(re)Consider, The Martin Agency, Richmond, VA
Myself, Sheppard Fine Arts Gallery at the University of Nevada, Reno, Reno, NV
Artist-in-Residence Exhibition, McColl Center for the Visual Art, Charlotte, NC
2010 The Big Country, Wassaic Project Fall Exhibition, Millerton, NYErin M Riley
Cutting Edge: A Celebration of Fibers, juried, Textile Arts Center, Brooklyn, NY
Re-invent, Re-interpret, Re-make, Town Hall Gallery, Hawthorn, VIC Australia
Resident Artist Summer Exhibition, Emmanuel College, Boston, MA
2010 Faculty Exhibition, Sally D. Francisco Gallery at Peters Valley Craft Center, Layton, NJ
2012 Ruth and Harold Chenven Foundation Grant, New York, NY
2011 Vermont Studio Center Artist-in-Residence Full Fellowship, Johnson, VT
Kittredge Foundation Grant Recipient, Cambridge, MA
2010 LEAP Award Finalist, Society for Contemporary Craft, Pittsburgh, PA
2012 Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Amherst, VA
Bemis Center for Contemporary Art, Omaha, NE
2011 Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT
McColl Center for Visual Art, Charlotte, NC
2010 The MacDowell Colony, Peterborough, NH
Emmanuel College, Boston, MA
2012 Lotto Magazin. Places and Locations Issue, English/German, July 2012: 315-321. Print.Erin M Riley
The Textile Artist's Studio Handbook by Visnja Popovic and Owyn Ruck, Quarry Books, Beverly,
MA. May 2012: 161. Print.
2011 O'Toole, Meighan, " Fishbowl." Foam Magazine August/September 2011: 36. Print.
Levine, Faythe. "Caught in the Web." Fiberarts Magazine 22 March 2011: 32 – 33. Print.
2010 Pardi, Lou. "Re-Invent Re-Interpret Re-Make." Beat Magazine 4 August 2010: 31. Print.
1000 Artisan Textiles: Contemporary Fiber Art, Quilts and Wearables by Sandra Salamony and
Gina M. Brown, Quarry Books, Beverly, MA. May 2010. Print.
2009 New American Painting, no. 81, juror George Kinghorn, April 2009: 128-131. Print.
2008 "Weekly Update – New Galleries in Town!" by Roberta Fallon, Artblog, Wednesday, 11/19/08
"2008 Student Showcase." Fiberarts Magazine November/December 2008: 45. Print.
2012 Visiting Artist Lecture, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS
Visiting Artist Lecture, University of Nebraska, Omaha, Omaha, NE
January Art Talk, Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, Omaha, NE
2011 Visiting Artist Critique, UNCC Fibers Department, Charlotte, NC
Artist Talk: Artistic Freedom, North Georgia College & State University, Dahlonega, GA
Weaving Demo, North Georgia College & State University, Dahlonega, GA
2010 Visiting Artist Talk, Senior Seminar, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston, MA
Artist Talk, Freshman Foundation and Art Therapy Classes, Emmanuel College, Boston, MA


text:
How to play Dibbles: for the greater good Game
Use you mouse to seelct commands and place the command stones in the play area.
Dibbles: for the greater good game controls
fire = na;jump = na;movement = mouse;
Game Description
Help the Dibbles get their king to safety. They will carry out any order you give them, even if it means certain death.
Dibbles is an updated take on Lemmings, but with our own unique and original twist. Each action costs a Dibble and you only have to save the king to progress, with a bonus for saving extra Dibbles. Instead of clicking on the Dibbles, you place command stones - the first Dibble to encounter the stone will carry out it's orders, in most cases they will remember the order until it's the right time to carry it out, meaning you can queue up commands.
Dibbles was reviewed on Jayisgames.com


text:
Oil's Global Reach
The risks within oil exploration are many, so those in the industry should do their due diligence--prepare for the worst and hope for the best
Gone are the days when countries in the Middle East were surveyed as the sole distributors of oil. Today's oil and gas industry is evolving globally, and explorers are scouting new locations to set up drilling sites.
In fact, recent exploration in Ghana and Sierra Leone in West Africa led to the discovery of oil reserves of 2.5 billion barrels, according to RIMS.
George Hutchings, senior VP and COO of Bermuda-based Oil Insurance Limited, agrees there has definitely been a push to find oil and gas reserves in more technically challenging locations, especially in the offshore E&P sector.
"Reserves are becoming more difficult to find," he says. "This has dramatically increased the cost of exploring for oil and gas reserves. And when looking for reserves in more extreme environments, for example in deeper water, the capital cost required is substantially higher than it has been in less challenging environments."
However, for stakeholders in the insurance industry, oil exploration and discovery lead to business development.
"The industry has been international for many years but it has gotten even more global recently," says Bertil Olsson, practice leader for energy in the U.S. at Marsh Inc. "Several major insurers have established underwriting centres in some of the key oil and gas locations [e.g. Singapore, Dubai, Perth in Australia]."
As a result of this globalization, compliance has become a bigger issue, Olsson says. "There are complex insurance-related tax and regulatory issues that brokers and insurers must comply with on a local level."
The BP Oil Spill
The catastrophic event that has forever tainted oil and gas exploration is the BP oil spill. The spill has resulted in 114,000 claims, of which it has paid out over $200 million (US) to 32,000 claimants as of July 16, according to the company. But the environment, businesses, and insurers are still feeling the repercussions of the spill.
At press time, the insurers that had been affected most are those that provided property damage insurance. The insurers and coverages that are still pending are on the liability side.
The spill has resulted in 114,000 claims, of which it has paid out over $200 million (US) to 32,000 claimants as of July 16, according to the company.
With BP being the largest partner at 65% and considering it is completely self-insured, it will be quite some time until the legal issues are resolved, according to Hutchings.
"Those that didn't have significant liability insurance, including business liability, product liability, D&O for the shareholders, and workers' compensation, are starting to feel the effects," says Hutchings.
He adds that even if BP had wanted to buy insurance, they couldn't have bought sufficient coverage for this type of event. "They would've needed maybe $40 billion or more in liability insurance, and at best you can buy maybe $1.5 billion."
So what did those in the industry learn from this event?
"The primary lesson is that big and bad things can happen," says Hutchings. "Just because you have the equipment does not guarantee it's going to work. When an insurance company provides coverage, they need to know a lot about the safety, technology, and maintenance on these facilities so that they can properly assess the risks."
Going forward, the U.S. and possibly other foreign jurisdictional regulatory environments for oil and gas exploration will likely change, according to Hutchings. "There will be a higher level of regulations from a safety and financial responsibility point of view."
Olsson adds it will also be more challenging to obtain insurance for deepwater operations, and that pricing could increase as a result.
Due to the risks involved with drilling, oil exploration has been given a bad name. But if the proper safety precautions are taken, then certain risks can be mitigated.
Generally, the risks when drilling offshore versus onshore are much greater. However, there are property and casualty risks associated with exploring and developing oil reserves, no matter where the site is located. This includes the risk of safety on the site, such as employee safety, and environmental risks, such as forest fires. Lastly, with new technology advancements come new risks.
One issue is trying to preserve the sites as they were before development. "Companies will go into a site and start excavating and drilling," says Ramy Dasuki, commercial broker at Alberta-based Western Financial Group. "When they are done, they must make it like it was before. Coming up with ways to do the least amount of damage can be an issue."
'Green' initiatives are being put in place to help mitigate some of the risks, and reduce the carbon footprint left by oil exploration.
Prior to drilling, O&G companies will typically need to prepare a site, he says. This usually involves some excavation and land grading in order to allow the drill rig to be appropriately set up. When they are done with the site, they must remediate the site and leave it in as close a condition to what it was prior to any disruption. Reducing environmental impact on these sites is an issue that firms and industry are grappling with regularly.
Brokers must inform their clients about all the safety and maintenance procedures, and ensure their client's equipment is working properly. Additionally, abiding by best practices is a must.
"Some of the pending regulatory changes are going to be a fact of life," says Hutchings. "Companies are going to have to change their practices to meet these standards if they want to participate in future E&P activities. This will mean that they may need to buy more insurance in the commercial markets, and brokers will need to know of these changes to be value-added participants in the clients' solutions."
O Canada
When looking to oil exploration in Canada, the Alberta oil sands come to mind. The risks are similar to many other oil projects–site safety being the number 1 concern.
"In Alberta, we have a higher workplace/accident ratio than many other provinces," says Dasuki. "Some of these accidents can be attributed to the oil and gas industry, so safety is one of the major inherent risks and priorities here."
Additionally, there is a risk of forest fires due to the nature of the sites because they tend to be in remote locations.
"Green" initiatives are being put in place to help mitigate some of the risks, and reduce the carbon footprint left by oil exploration. At this time, it takes about half a barrel of energy to drill and produce one barrel of oil, according to Dasuki.
"Companies are looking at ways of improving this by reducing the use of fossil fuels and utilizing more solar and wind power," he says. "The green approach is also going to make it safer to drill."
For example, says Dasuki, when using fossil fuels an employee could light a cigarette and cause an explosion. Using solar or wind power could prevent this type of risk.
"We have a niche market and we are revolutionizing the way we are doing business," he adds. "The Canadian oil patch is one of the cleanest, most organized and regulated industries in the world."
Oil and Gas Insurance
A look at some of the various coverages for contractors in the oil and gas sectors
- General liability insurance (any business, regardless of whether it's in oil and gas, would have this).
- Sub-surface coverage provides coverage for loss or damage that is caused underneath the ground level.
- Forest firefighting expense coverage helps pay for any forest fires.
- Riggers or hook liability is coverage for the contractors that operate cranes as part of their job. For example, it covers the value of the equipment being lifted or moved by a crane.
- Limited pollution coverage provides coverage for bodily injury or property damage caused by a pollution accident. This also covers clean up costs associated with the accident.
Errors and omissions insurance is for the consultants, engineers, industry professionals, etc.
In order to be approved for some of these coverages, insurers look to two areas. The first is experience–contractors must have work experience in the oil and gas industry to ensure coverage. The second is education. Insurers expect companies and their employees to have the appropriate licensing, and have taken the necessary work safety courses.
Source: Ramy Dasuki, commercial broker, Western Financial Group
Oil Quick Facts
- Canada is the top U.S. supplier of crude oil, exporting $15.8 billion in the first half of 2010; Nigeria follows with $8.6 billion; and Mexico is third at about $8.3 billion
- The cost of crude oil per barrel was about $76 (US) in July 2010, and expected to rise to $88 per barrel by July 2011
- Canada had 178 billion barrels of oil reserves in January 2009, second only to Saudi Arabia
- 95% of Canada's oil reserves are the oil sands deposits in Alberta
- The 2009 merger of Suncor and Petro-Canada created the largest oil producer in Canada
- Other large oil producers in Canada include: Imperial Oil, EnCana, Talisman Energy, Suncor, EOG Resources, Husky Energy, and Apache Canada
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, oil-price.net
© Copyright 2010 Rogers Publishing Ltd. This article first appeared in the July/August 2010 edition of Canadian Insurance Top Broker magazine.


text:
The Boston Globe takes a look at the newly released military records of John Kerry: "Navy records detail Kerry Vietnam duty." The records released are entirely laudatory. The Globe, however, notes that they are incomplete:
The campaign earlier this year showed the Globe a document verifying that Kerry was treated for a shrapnel wound that led to the first purple heart, but a campaign official was quoted by the Associated Press yesterday as saying Kerry did not plan to post that document on the website because it was viewed as a private medical record. Given that decision, it is not clear whether the campaign has other documents that it is not posting due to their personal nature.
The campaign also did not post a copy of the official card describing the first purple heart wound or the after-action report for that event, which occurred on Dec. 2, 1968. The Navy Historical Center has said that it cannot locate a copy of the card or after-action report for the first purple heart, although it has verified that Kerry did receive the award.
In that first purple heart event, Kerry and two sailors were on a small boat, similar to a Boston Whaler, when they spotted men running from a boat along a beach. Kerry has said he believed he was facing the enemy and ordered the crew to open fire. During this event, Kerry has said, he was hit by a piece of shrapnel. The Kerry campaign has declined to respond to a question about whether Kerry believed he was hit by enemy fire, and Kerry has been quoted as saying he didn't know where the shrapnel came from.
The Globe is unable to unravel a mystery regarding a reference to 20 enemy killed in one of the performance evaluations:
One of the evaluations from that period says that Kerry, in an event during what was supposed to be Christmas truce, "effectively suppressed enemy fire and is unofficially credited with 20 enemy killed in action." The report was signed by two of Kerry's commanders: George Elliott and Joseph Streuli. But both said in telephone interviews yesterday that they did not recall the fighting.
"That number is so high I just don't recall anyone coming back and saying we got 20 of the enemy," Elliott said, adding that the timing of the fighting meant it would have happened when Streuli oversaw Kerry. Streuli, however, said, "I just don't remember it."
One of Kerry's crewmates, Steven Michael Gardner, said he remembers the firefight but does not recall 20 enemy killed. He said the crew would not have been able to verify the deaths.
Kerry, in interviews with the Globe, has not claimed to have been responsible for 20 enemy dead. The Globe has previously described the event, quoting a Kerry crewmate who said the crewmate had killed an old man in the crossfire and citing reports that two South Vietnamese allies were wounded or killed and a machine-gun nest manned by a dozen Viet Cong was silenced. Kerry provided the Globe last year with a lengthy diary entry about the event. It describes the firefight, but it does not mention 20 enemy being killed.
The song playing in my head as commentary on Kerry's treatment of his military records is "For What It's Worth" by Stephen Stills, then of the Buffalo Springfield. Stills sings laconically, "Something's happenin' here, what it is ain't exactly clear." I deduce that Kerry would prefer not to make the documents evidencing the superficiality his wounds readily availiable, but who knows.
Inquiring minds want to know what might be learned from a review of the ketchup lady's tax returns. The Kerry campaign's refusal to disclose them makes one wonder why, and here again I suspect that appearances supply the rationale: the returns would make it apparent that Kerry is living off her.
I'm waiting for someone with the requisite knowledge to analyze Kerry as a literary character as a means of better understanding. Whereas Bill Clinton had walked unmistakably out of the pages of Willliam Faulkner (think Flem Snopes), Kerry seems to me to have walked out of a Henry James novel. I think Kerry is the soulmate of the Jamesian villains, inevitably European, who are in search of heiresses to marry and exploit. The ketchup lady, however, may be the more complex character for whom we need knowledge of late-period James (which I sadly lack) to understand.
Our radio hero Hugh Hewitt discusses the contemporary candidate Kerry in his Weekly Standard piece: "International man of apology." Hugh identifies Kerry's three great strengths as the Democratic presidential nominee:
Kerry has three things going for him. First, the press, like Tim Russert, isn't listening very closely to the absurdities like "literally, formally rejoining the community of nations." Second, his speaking style is so overwhelmingly self-important and so stultifying oppressive that most folks hit the off-switch when his lips begin to move, thus tuning out comments that would outrage them if they registered on the ears. And third, the "Bush Lied!" crazies wouldn't care if Kerry simply declared the dissolution of American sovereignty and a merger with Canada.
As if to put an exclamation point on Hugh's assessment, Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby compiles a numbing set of quotations from Kerry's Meet the Press appearance, from which Jacoby deduces the operative axiom:
Kerry's answers on Iraq always boil down to a single recipe: Shrink the US role in Iraq and defer to the United Nations instead. That's it. That is the sum and substance of his thinking about Iraq. He doesn't relate it to the war on terrorism, to the future of liberty in the Middle East, to America's national interests. He repeatedly declares Bush a failure for not kowtowing to the UN and vows that in a Kerry administration, the UN will be given the commanding role it deserves.
On that subject, Kerry has achieved perfect clarity. Jacoby's column is "Kerry's UN fetish."
UPDATE: On his Jim Miller on Politics site, Jim Miller links John Kerry's compulsion to apologize to the world with his upbringing as the son of a diplomat: "John Kerry's father." The Washington Times has an excellent article by Charles Hurt on the Kerry military records: "Records on medals spark questions."


text:
Journal for Geometry and Graphics
Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 79–88 (2000)
Reconstruction of the Satellite Orbit via Orientation Angles
A. M. Farag, Gunter WeissInstitute of Geometry, Dresden University of Technology
Zellescher Weg 12–14, D-01062 Dresden, Germany
email: firstname.lastname@example.com, email@example.com
Abstract: This paper presents an efficient geometric method to find the mathematical model for the normal orbit of a moving satellite observed from a given station on the earth. The method relies on getting a sufficient number of observations oriented from the earth station to the satellite which moves on its predictable orbit on the celestial space. The concurrence of the revolution of the earth and the motion of the satellite is utilized to orient the calculated normal orbit in its fixed plane. Rather than deriving the geometric model for the case of a known orbital plane, we reformulate the method of solution to study the case of an unknown orbital plane. Since the earth station rotates with the earth and the satellite moves, the lines of observation are generatrices of a ruled surface with the elliptic orbit as one directrix. In this paper we assume that the satellite obeys the Keplerian laws and that the true anomaly of the orbit is the only time-dependent Kepler element.
Keywords: Applied Geometry, Celestial Mechanics, Satellite Orbits
Classification (MSC2000): 51N05; 70F15
Full text of the article: (for faster download, first choose a mirror)
Electronic fulltext finalized on: 14 Mar 2002. This page was last modified: 10 May 2013.
© 2002 Heldermann Verlag


text:
After a long weekend (4 nights, 5 days) away from home, Hubs and I are back in our little apartment and tucked in away from the cold.
I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We certainly did. And because so much has happened I've decided to do a quick recap of our Thanksgiving weekend, newlywed wife style. (In case you don't know what that means, I'll be throwing in my thoughts, insights, questions, ideas, opinions, etc. while sharing the stories of our trip home. Hope you don't mind my sometimes random, sometimes wandering thoughts!)
1. We spent Thanksgiving day away from my family this year, which is hard. But that means we spent Thanksgiving with Wyatt's family, which is great. We have so many wonderful family members that we want to spend time and that want to spend time with us. It really is a blessing we don't take for granted.
(The holidays are both wonderful and hard because sharing our time is so important. More on this later.) However, since we were home for so many days this weekend, we were able to spend time at both parents' houses. We headed to Sedalia on Wednesday after Hubs got home from work and spend that night and Thursday night at the in-laws. Then, we re-packed our suitcase and moved into my parents' house for Friday and Saturday nights. It sucks moving around and living out of a suitcase, but it's great to see both groups of people in one weekend, especially when we have no real plans and can just hang out, talk, and relax…and cook. And bake. Which brings me to my next point…
2. I love holiday baking. This year, Hubs and I made the pies for Thanksgiving dinner. Using our prize-winning recipe from my Grandma Lois. They turned out super yummy.
We made pumpkin and two pecans. He's saving one to take to work tomorrow. His coworkers are about to get super lucky. Or at least their taste buds are.
Baking or cooking with Wyatt is one of my favorite things to do. He's great at so many things and I'm thankful he's willing to spend time with me doing something I love, even if he'd rather do something else. He doesn't love to bake as much as I do, and honestly, he'd rather eat more meat than dessert any day but he knows I consider dessert an important part of any meal and I love that he appreciates that about me.
I also made this pumpkin beauty the day after Thanksgiving at my parents' house. It was divine.
Oh my. I feel the holiday pounds packing on already. And you know what, I don't care. Not one bit.
In fact, I wish no one did. People are supposed to eat delicious things for the next 2 months. (Not that you aren't supposed to eat delicious things all year long…) I know that people try to watch their weight and stay healthy. I'm all for that. I try to eat as many healthy things as I can. I run, I do kick-boxing, and pilates as many days a week as I can, usually every day, but I also don't ever make my mouth suffer for my stomach's sake. It's all about moderation, people. Eat the cheesecake if you want. Just not the whole one.
Or in my case, eat both slices of cheesecake, since Hubs decided he didn't want it.
3. We got a jump start on our holiday spirit by "shopping" in my parents' basement for old Christmas decorations they no longer use or want. We found this.
We also found a bunch of stuff Hubs says we can't have. I understand. Everything we bring into our apartment is something we're going to have to carry out when we buy a house. And while I agree with that argument, I still want it to be our home, and feel like a home should feel.
Maybe this is the sentimental side of me, but I don't want to live only thinking about how inconvenient something will be in the future. I'm all for planning, and thinking ahead to the future, but I'm also for making today the best it can be. It's a point of discussion and contention for us every time I want to bring stuff home. And it isn't that he doesn't want or appreciate the stuff, he just knows how heavy it will be going back down those three flights of stairs…. (But this is a discussion for another whole blog post…)
4. We did a little black Friday shopping for the first time ever. And by little, I mean, we waited until noon, and went to look at what all was left, and what all had been cleared out. It was fun. We got in no fights, saw no cops, and were shoved or pushed or stolen from zero times. We bought 2 little things for Christmas gifts for family members. We stand by our decision to stay in and in bed the morning after Thanksgiving. Kudos to those who enjoy it. We just do not.
5. We made granola. It's like my Christmas drug addiction. It's a secret family recipe, and it's the most addicting thing I've ever eaten. I'll show you.
The picture doesn't do it justice. At all. Wyatt doesn't like it as much as I do, but that's because his love affair with pecans hasn't really begun yet. He'll come around. Someday.
6. I realized I need to get moving on my gift for Hubs's birthday. I have less than one week until we celebrate. He doesn't even want to celebrate. He's not very festive or excited about birthdays. We're EXACT opposites there. I love celebrating birthdays.
7. I also realized we need to find a good compromise for Christmas festivities. He doesn't like decorations as much as me. I love them. He doesn't love giving or getting presents. I love them. He doesn't like Christmas music. I love it. He's not Mr. Scrooge, but I might start calling him that if he doesn't perk up on the festivities after his birthday. I knew this long before I married him though, so it's not a surprise. More on this later.
8. We reflected on our blessings. As is appropriate for every day, especially Thanksgiving. And we are truly blessed. Check out this page for my list!
9. I got a whole bunch of new craft supplies and ideas. I also made a couple more trees. I'm taking pictures and notes, and can't wait to share all my adventures soon! I also went bridesmaid dress shopping for my best friend's wedding (it will be way better than the movie by that name!). I can't believe it's getting so close to time. I can't wait to celebrate and watch you begin your life with your husband! We have so much planning and showering and bachelorette-ing to do!
10. We're now home, after this long, fantastic weekend of giving thanks and having fun. And you know what? I think I'm somehow even happier when I'm able to wrap up my weekend doing just this. Having a quick, quiet dinner with just the two of us after a weekend full of family and friends.
This is us, this is home, and this is our little family. Blessed? I think so.