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'Tis the Season for Giving Back …. With the University of Dundee in Scotland
In many cultures across the world, this is a time for giving. In a departure from my previous blogs discussing data center services, cloud adoption and IT architecture transformation, I've decided to end the year by discussing how we in Cisco give back our time and money to help others, something that Cisco most definitely encourages. Here I'll discuss how a few colleagues and I have helped out in one of the computing degree courses at the University of Dundee in Scotland.
Many would argue that large companies in particular should give more money to worthy causes. Or have staff invest time in local community projects. And in Cisco we do both. I'm not here to debate that. However I would side with Louis Gerstner, the former IBM CEO, who wrote about Corporate Social Responsibility and "Corporate Giving" in his book "Who Says Elephants Can't Dance?". He strongly asserted organizations who engage in (simply) "cheque-book philanthropy" are "under-performing in a substantial way". He goes on to explain that it's far more valuable for companies to donate their expertise, especially specialist expertise and perspectives that are not readily available in many local communities and organizations. This in my view has a higher multiplicative effect than say an equivalent cash donation. And this is where myself and a number of colleagues from Cisco Scotland, together with a number of individuals from a range of technology companies both in Scotland and North America, have helped out in a University of Dundee initiative to broaden their course content.
A few years ago, the School of Computing at the University of Dundee decided to bring a commercial focus to some of their teaching. Recognizing the need to train engineers with an appreciation of marketing and business, they decided to add a Product Management module to their honours and masters degree courses in applied computing. Product management is a core competency of successful companies in many industries. While some of my engineering colleagues may not agree :-), product management has a central role in Cisco in understanding customer problems and requirements, driving and managing the value creation process for both products and services, prioritizing the requirements for engineering to execute upon, followed by communicating the end result to the outside world for both product and services.
The course itself has been delivered by local consultancy Northface Ventures for a few years now. Part of this course involved the students acting as product managers, interviewing a range of product managers in industry. Their goal is to propose a new product to help industry product managers themselves in their day to day work. The students were tasked in assessing the market opportunity, writing a market requirements document (MRD), defining the product requirements (authoring a product requirements document, or PRD), and assess the overall business opportunity, concluding with a clearly rationalised go/no recommendation to "their company board". This is significantly outside the normal syllabus of a computing degree (and in fact product management, while a central function in technology companies in particular, doesn't yet achieve much coverage in typical MBA courses). Consequently, you can imagine this marketing focus stretched the computing science students in ways they hadn't been stretched before! In fact, one of the class lecturers, Dr Annalu Waller, made a very pertinent observation – "the students at first struggle to stop thinking about how to build their product, when in fact they need to focus on what to build first".
Over the past few months, indeed over the past 3 years, myself and two colleagues from Cisco Scotland, Josie Goodale from Cisco Services (who also sits on the School of Computing Industry Advisory board) and KJ Rossavik in the Cisco Development Organization (R&D), participated in the student interviews. Here the students tried to figure out from us what kind of software tool would help us do our daily jobs. The students were quite astute in many cases, trying to figure out the kinds of problems we face in our jobs, so that they could develop an appropriate solution to help us. The students showed that they had learned quite a bit about the roles, responsibilities and challenges of product managers in industry from the interview process, more insights than they would typically gain from academic course work. There were quite a number of companies participating, including product managers from the likes of Amazon, Freescale, NCR, and IBM as well as a number of Scottish start-ups and companies including Wolfson Microelectronics, PrismTech and Sumerian.
A few weeks back, I was invited back to be part of "the board", or judging panel, to assess the student's final presentations, along with a number of other judges including Polly Purvis who chairs ScotlandIS, the local ICT industry trade body. The assessment we provided counted towards their final degree mark, so there was quite a bit of apprehension I think when the students started the presentations, where their proposals were critiqued by the judging panel. Steve Pickavance, Cisco Services delivery director for Scotland, chaired the judging panel, and our Cisco Scotland country director Donald McLaughlin (thanks Donald!) funded the prize for the winning team (£600, around $1000 US). While the prize money I am sure was appreciated by the winning team, what in my view that was far more valuable was the learning opportunity presented to the students of having their proposal critiqued by industry practitioners. We questioned the completeness of their product definition, its feasibility, their roadmap priorities, the competitive analysis, their forecast and go to market strategy. While the panel asked tough questions, each question helped the students learn more about the challenges of brining products to market from a "real world" perspective.
I have to say, I was very impressed by how many core principles of product management that the students had picked up in the course work, and applied in their project. All teams showed an appreciation of the challenges of assessing market opportunities and defining what features to build into their project (and what not to – which is almost as important in practice). Some teams extended their work to a three year financial projection and even in one case an advertising strategy. While most teams settled on a software tool to help product managers define and prioritise requirements, one or two teams did come up with quite innovative ideas, one being quite an interesting idea to help gather competitive information.
All too often universities and colleges are criticised for offering courses that don't meet the needs of industry. The University of Dundee's School of Computing has most definitely taken a bold step here to help mould engineers who have an appreciation of the commercial and product management challenges facing business today. I commend them on their vision. The time invested by the various industry representatives will I am sure pay back in multiples in ways that a cash donation alone could not. As a result, the university, Northface Ventures and the various industry representatives who participated have helped the students be more attractive to potential employers.
Those in the technology industry have a role in developing the next generation of technologists, so as we move towards 2012, why not see if your local school, college or university would appreciate some help from you!
PS: In another of our "giving back " initiatives, this week in Scotland we ran our now annual Connected Santa, where we connect children in a local hospital, Yorkhill Children's Hospital in Glasgow, to Santa Claus via Cisco TelePresence. The children were able to see and talk to Santa and were given presents (funded by the local Cisco Scotland team) in what is a very touching and emotional event. Donald McLaughlin, director for Cisco Scotland, said: "Over the years, Santa and his team of elves have continually looked for new and innovative ways to make toys and communicate with children, so it's only natural that Santa will be using the latest video technology to pay a personal visit to children in hospital." 🙂
In an effort to keep conversations fresh, Cisco Blogs closes comments after 60 days. Please visit the Cisco Blogs hub page for the latest content.


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On the heels of announcing that he would make three films out of J.R.R. Tolkein's classic fantasy novel The Hobbit, Peter Jackson revealed today that his upcoming Jack Sprat series had been stretched to four movies.
"I mean, we always wanted to do it as much justice as we could, you know? Really capture all the nuances and subtext," Jackson said in an exclusive phone interview. "But originally we could only get the budget for three films. I'm happy to say we convinced the investors to back a fourth."
The Jack Sprat series, based on the classic nursery rhyme of the same name, will follow a man and his wife – and their hilariously cross-purposed diets – through a fast-paced gastronomic adventure. Zac Efron and Melissa McCarthy are slated to star. Jackson will executive-produce the series and direct the first film, Jack Sprat: Eat No Fat, which is being penned by Night at the Museum screenwriters Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant.
"You see, the original plan was to cram it all into three films of maybe about two and a half, three hours each," said Jackson. "The first film would follow Jack through his college days and really show us who he is, you know, and why he just refused to eat anything that had fat in it. That's a big problem, of course, because of his dad."
"It's kind of breaking free of his father, right?" added Efron. "It's showing he doesn't want to live a life like Senior's, that he's defining his own path and being who he chooses to be. It's totally different than anything I've done before as an actor."
John Sprat Sr., to be portrayed by Will Ferrell, is conceived in Eat No Fat as a major barbecue enthusiast who loves lots of marble in his steaks and forces his son to conform to his dietary preferences. Ferrell, who refused to be interviewed for this piece, has said in the past that he sees Senior as "a very Bush-like figure" and believed the film, with its anti-fat message, would be a good influence on family diets.
Asked why a nursery rhyme needed a four-film screen adaptation, Jackson stuck to his creative vision. "It just wouldn't work with three. The first film has to be about Jack, and the second about his wife Doris. But then the third film, we were just trying to do too much. Having a fourth film lets us show these two characters together, fighting and eventually bonding at the end. 'Between the two of them,' the rhyme says, and that's what we're gonna show in number three. So then in the fourth film, we're just gonna cut loose with an orgy of eating."
Though McCarthy has only a small part in the first film, she is looking forward to her expanded role in the second. "It's gonna be a showcase, I think," she said. "Just a really meaty role that I can sink my teeth into. Doris will be the core of the whole series, you know, because she's going to be the person who shows the audience why someone would fall in love with this skinny geeky Jack."
Jackson dismissed Internet criticism that the real reason for the expansion of the franchise was to get another admission ticket out of committed fans. "Ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous," he said from atop his favorite armchair over-stuffed with hundred dollar bills. "It's necessary for the integrity of the franchise, just like three films are necessary to bring The Hobbit to the screen. And I don't know why anyone would accuse me of that anyway. I mean, it's not like there were multiple DVD releases of the Lord of the Rings films or anything."
With the expansion of the Jack Sprat series into four films, Jackson's next project – a series of films based on the letters of the English alphabet – has been pushed back. But he is still very committed to pursuing it, calling it "an epic on a grand scale. It was just gonna be twenty-six films at the beginning, you know? But some of those letters are really important. And then there's all the common symbols. You could do three films just on the ellipse."
Jack Sprat: Eat No Fat is slated to hit theaters worldwide in fall 2013.

subset: commoncrawl


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WAYNE COUNTY, Mich. - Bob Bashara, David Griem and the tapes. For the first time, the Local 4 Defenders are learning Bob Bashara heard the audio evidence - the recorded conversations between himself and an alleged middleman who was secretly working with police.
Attorney David Griem obtained the potential evidence and played the audio for his client Tuesday inside the Wayne County Jail.
The audio is a key piece of evidence as pros work to show Bob Bashara allegedly wanted handyman Joe Gentz killed.
More: Bob Bashara locked up on $15 million bond
Watch: Bob Bashara arraignment
Sources tell the Local 4 Defenders Bob Bashara was captured on tape talking with at least 2 different people. In one exchange he allegedly revealed he's frustrated with the police investigation and is upset with Joe Gentz. In another alleged exchange, Bashara laid out the plan by talking money and exactly how to take Gentz out.
Bashara's attorney confirms the tapes exist but has said his client wasn't ordering a hit. He says Bashara was misunderstood and he believes the evidence will show the conversations were taken out of context.
Copyright 2012 by ClickOnDetroit.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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The first scientist to use lasers to trap tiny spheres published his groundbreaking study 29 years ago this month. His research led to the development of "optical tweezers," laser-based devices that can manipulate small particles and detect the forces of single molecules, and to Nobel Prize-winning work on using lasers to trap atoms.
Physicist Arthur Ashkin of the Bell Telephone Laboratories in Holmdel, New Jersey, shot a laser beam through a container of water filled with microscopic latex spheres. He found that the spheres were drawn from the edge of the beam toward its center, then were pushed in the direction of the beam's moving photons by so-called radiation pressure. Pointing two laser beams at each other created a stable trap for the spheres, he reported in the 26 January 1970 issue of Physical Review Letters.
"Art had a huge influence on both the field of optical tweezers and atom trapping," says William Phillips, a physicist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Optical tweezers use a tightly focused laser to manipulate microscopic particles. They can gauge the delicate forces of single molecules on a particle based on its slight displacement from the laser's focus. For example, in the past decade researchers used optical tweezers to measure the push and pull between two molecules involved in muscle contraction: myosin and actin. As for atom trapping and cooling, says Phillips, who won a share of the Nobel Prize in physics last year for this kind of work, Ashkin had "a lot of the key ideas."


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By Andrew Liszewski
I'm a notorious finger drummer. Particularly when I find something to drum on that produces a really good sound. So my sympathies to my friends and loved ones because this new TableDrum app basically makes any surface sound like a professional drum kit. If your goal is becoming a drummer by taking drum lessons, then this app will get you one step closer to this becoming a reality. To be more specific, the app works like a drum pad but instead of tapping the screen to trigger samples, it uses the microphone to listen for taps from your fingers. It's smart enough to distinguish between 4 different sounds too. So the sound of your finger tapping the dinner table could be used to trigger a high hat sound, while the clink of your fork on your glass could trigger a kick drum sound.
It's quite easy to use, and 'teaching' the application what sounds trigger what samples is as easy as tapping away for a few seconds while it listens and learns. The video they've included on their website does a great job at showing just how well it works.
I've been playing with the app for the past half hour and am pretty impressed with it. I mean it's not perfect, but it does a more than adequate job to justify its current sale price of $0.99 on the iTunes App Store. Regularly it's $3.99 which is a little high given additional drum kit sounds are only provided as an in-app purchase. But if you're the type who likes to whip out a new app that will impress your friends, you've found this week's fodder.


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Explicit content
It's great to hear music as the artist intended it to be heard. This means Spotify can sometimes include explicit content.
Look out for the EXPLICIT tag on any releases (E on the web player).
Note: Our explicit content tags are applied based on information we receive from rights-holders. We can't guarantee all explicit content is marked as such.
Explicit content filter
For: Mobile and tablet (more devices coming soon!)
Filter out content labelled as explicit with these steps:
- Tap Home .
- Tap Settings .
- Tap Explicit Content.
- Switch Allow Explicit Content off (gray).
- Tracks marked as explicit now appear grayed out. It's not possible to play them and they are skipped over by the player.
Things to note about this setting:
- It applies only for the individual account and device. For example, if you apply the setting on your phone, it doesn't filter explicit content for the same account on the desktop app.
- It doesn't apply if you use Spotify Connect to play to another device.
Remember: Content we identify as explicit is based on information we receive from rights-holders, so we can't guarantee that no explicit content will play with this setting. If you spot a song that needs an explicit tag, let us know by tapping next to the song and select Report Explicit Content.
Finding clean versions
You can check for clean versions of songs marked as explicit. Pick your device to learn how.
Note: Some explicit content may not have a clean version available.
- On an album page, scroll down to the bottom of the track listings.
- Find more releases of the same album in the bottom-right.
Note: If you don't see this option, there are no other versions of the album currently available on Spotify.
- Choose a version of the album that doesn't have the EXPLICIT label.
You can also enter the title of the song into the search bar to find any versions that that aren't marked as explicit.
Enter the title of the song into the search bar to find any versions that aren't marked as explicit.
Note: Some explicit content may not have a clean version available.


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Bluetooth headsets are great companions for cellphones and smartphones. They give you the ability to be more productive while you're on a call, and they free your hands so you can keep them on if you have to talk on the phone while driving.
This past week I tested two Bluetooth headsets, the Plantronics Voyager Pro HD and the Jabra Supreme UC. At $100 and $149, respectively, they're more expensive than some of the models on the market, but for the price, you also get some advanced features like voice commands and the ability to connect to more than one device.
Both work well if you make a lot of calls or work frequently from the road, but the Plantronics Voyager Pro HD has the slight edge here. The headset's design is somewhat bulky, but it offers great sound quality and an intelligent system for passing calls between your phone and the headset.
The Jabra Supreme UC is more comfortable to wear and has a more robust voice-command system, but when it comes to the most important feature — audio quality — the headset's performance is unreliable.
The headsets work with any Bluetooth-enabled smartphone or laptop. I paired them with the iPhone 4 and HTC One X and had no problems. Both headsets offered voice alerts to let me know when they were connected to the phone, and I appreciated the audio confirmation.
I used the headsets in my apartment and while I was out and about, and the Plantronics delivered natural-sounding audio with minimal background noise. I was impressed with the level of volume it cranked out, as I was still able to hear my friend even while walking through a loud street festival. There was some slight hissing, but it was never bad enough that I couldn't carry on a conversation.
People on the other end of my phone call were also happy with the sound quality of the Plantronics headset. While one noted some occasional crackling and another said there was a bit of an echo, everyone said it sounded like a regular voice call.
The only problem occurred on a particularly windy day in the city. Even though the Plantronics features technology to block out wind noise, friends said they could still hear it.
The biggest downside of Plantronics Voyager Pro HD was its design. The backside of the over-the-ear headset, which houses the battery and radios, is rather large, so it didn't feel all that comfortable against my head, especially when I had my glasses on.
Another highlight of the Plantronics headset is its Smart Sensor system. It has a proximity sensor that knows when you're wearing the headset and when you're not, so it can direct your calls to either the headset or your phone. If you're wearing the headset, calls will automatically be piped through the Plantronics; if not, your phone will ring as usual. The feature worked well in my testing, even when I decided to switch from my iPhone to the headset mid-call.
With the purchase of the Plantronics Voyager Pro HD, you also get a one-year subscription (it costs $25 per year after that) to Vocalyst. This voice-and-text service lets you record and listen to voice memos, hear and reply to emails, listen to news and weather reports and more. I tried it out, and everything worked well.
However, it doesn't support corporate email accounts, and while the idea behind Vocalyst is nice, it's not a reason to buy the headset. There are numerous voice apps available on smartphones today — like Siri and Speaktoit Assistant — that can do so much more and don't require a yearly fee.
The Jabra Supreme UC uses always-on active noise cancellation and noise blackout technology to produce the best sound for both the person wearing the headset and the person on the other end of the call. On my end, conversations sounded great. The audio was rich and voices sounded true to life without any distortion. But, like the Plantronics headset, the Jabra struggled with wind noises, which friends noticed.
The Jabra also had some hissing in the background, but it provided enough volume to hear callers even while driving in a car on the freeway.
With both headsets, it was nice to be able to have my hands free to type notes while working, and to talk on the phone while getting some household chores done.
All that said, the experience on the receiving end of the Jabra headset wasn't great. My friends said that the audio sounded hollow and had a bit of an echo, as if I were on a speakerphone. Everyone could still understand what I was saying, but most preferred the audio quality of the Plantronics.
The Jabra Supreme UC has a small hook that fits more easily behind the ear than the Plantronics, and it has a plush leatherette earpiece that goes over the ear for a comfortable fit. Both headsets feature a boom mic, which makes the headset longer but brings the mic closer to your mouth for better sound quality. The mics can be folded away when not in use, but again, Jabra wins in design with a more compact size.
The Jabra also offers a bonus: A USB adapter that you can plug into your computer, connecting the headset and PC via Bluetooth for making calls on services like Skype. You can do the same with the Plantronics Voyager Pro HD, but you have to pay an extra $80 for the adapter.
Also, while you can use voice commands with both headsets to dial a contact number, only the Jabra allows you to ignore and answer calls with your voice.
Shared features between the headsets include voice dialing; multipoint technology, so you can pair them with up to two devices; and A2DP support, which means you can wirelessly stream music from your phone to the headset. All worked as advertised.
The rated battery life for both headsets is six hours. In my battery tests, the Jabra fell just 10 minutes short of six hours. The Plantronics headset's proximity sensor automatically turns the device off, making it trickier to test the battery life, but it came in at six hours and 25 minutes.
While design is certainly a key aspect of any product, the Plantronics Voyager Pro HD proves to be the better choice by delivering on the most important aspect of a Bluetooth headset — audio quality.


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With the close of 2009 coming soon, I expect to see a number of "2009 - Cloud Computing in Review" type posts. Let me get a jump on everyone and release mine a few weeks early. Though I am a developer, my Cloud posts have all been analytical in nature and this one is no different. For this post I chose a single data source for stack ranking the Cloud Computing vendors – Google search results. Not terribly scientific, but an approach that produced interesting results.
Google as an Analysis Tool
I have created a number of editions of my Cloud Taxonomy over the last 18 months. The goal of that project was to help newcomers to the market understand what types of solutions are available and who the players are. My hope was that people would find it useful as a launching off point on their journey into the Cloud.
Tonight, on a whim, I decided to see what would happen if a person used Google instead as the start of their exploration of Cloud Computing. It was predictable that a high percentage of results are focused on "intro" or "definition" type pages. A lot of blog posts, tweets, and conference sessions have been devoted to defining what exactly is Cloud Computing. Let's link to the NIST definition, and speak no more of that here.
What I found interesting was the relative ordering of vendors in the results list – it wasn't what I expected at all. Given that Google Page Rank arguably orders results according to mind share, I expected certain vendors (e.g. Google, Cisco, GoGrid) to appear high above others. Looking at the results below, that didn't happen.
To head off the flames, I recognize why this analysis isn't scientific:
- It is based off of a single data source – Google Page Rank
- It is based off of a single search phrase – cloud computing
- It assumes Page Rank == mind share
But its interesting to me nonetheless, so here we go.
Ranking the Cloud Vendors in 2009 on Mind Share
The table below shows the results. To collect this data, I did the following:
- Cleared all browser cookies
- Ensured I was logged out of Google (to avoid personalized results)
- Navigated to the google.com search page
- Typed "cloud computing" in the search box
And, here are the results. I first scrubbed anything that wasn't a vendor or open source product. Then I noted the first time their domain (xxx.com) appeared, even if that listing was not their primary cloud page (sometimes the blog comes first). Google itself is the exception on this – hits on Google Groups/Blogger/etc did not count.
Congrats goes to Rackspace, as they topped the list.
These things surprised me:
- Google? Where are you?
- Amazon was not listed as the top result, and Rackspace was
- Canonical/Ubuntu faired extremely well, given how new their enterprise cloud solution is
- Cisco listed lower than expected at page 8, given how active they are in the blogging community
CloudFutures 2009 (Dec 7-8, San Jose)
In closing, this is a short plug for the CloudFutures conference coming up on Monday. I will be speaking on "The Real Cloud Players". See you there!


text:
Friday, May 25, 2012
pick your battle
16 comments:
- Formerly known as Frau said...
Have a wonderful long weekend!
- May 25, 2012 at 7:44 AM
- Ivy Lane said...
Enjoy your weekend!
- May 25, 2012 at 9:48 AM
- Like Me Some said...
Wonderful message! Enjoy the weekend!
- May 25, 2012 at 10:16 AM
- Kwana said...
Have a good weekend!
- May 25, 2012 at 11:14 AM
- Karena said...
Patricia a wonderful reminder to all of us!!
Enjoy the weekend!
Then...Please come visit..Special Interview with Leslie of Segreto Finishes and her fabulous Book Giveaway!
Art by Karena
- May 25, 2012 at 12:15 PM
- I Dream Of said...
Thanks for the lovely reminder, Patricia. I hope your weekend is filled with kindness. XO
- May 25, 2012 at 1:05 PM
- pretty pink tulips said...
What a wonderful message. I think sometimes I forget that people may be going through trying times when you don't know it. And, I think it does affect how people act or react.
I am going to remember to be patient, kind and understanding.
I so agree....I think I'm going to need a new pve of the house. :) Maybe we can slide Molly into this one! :) We'll chat later about this!
In the meantime, enjoy your long weekend!!! Bring on some sun!
xoxo Elizabeth
- May 25, 2012 at 1:33 PM
- Ideezine said...
Enjoy a blessed, safe, and happy Memorial Day Weekend!
- May 25, 2012 at 2:54 PM
- The Buzz Blog said...
What a wonderful way to end the day and start a holiday weekend! My battle this weekend is against the weeds and will remember those who fight so hard for us. Have a great three days!
- May 25, 2012 at 4:09 PM
have a lovely weekend break!
- May 25, 2012 at 6:38 PM
- MJH Design Arts said...
I find more and more that simple kindness is relatively easy to give (if I suspend my judgments) and both the receiver and I am blessed by the created oneness. Have a wonderful week-end. Mary
- May 26, 2012 at 1:17 AM
- Emily said...
Happy Memorial Weekend. Thank you for those reminders!
- May 26, 2012 at 8:59 AM
- BRASWELL said...
Such a wonderful thing to remember + have a grand holiday. xxpeggybraswelldesign.com
- May 26, 2012 at 3:25 PM
- Ann said...
What a nice reminder/post.
Have a lovely weekend.
- May 27, 2012 at 9:47 AM
- Lisa Mende said...
love this...you are amazing...
- May 28, 2012 at 10:56 PM
- Aspiring Kennedy said...
i love this quote... it really is amazing/humbling to hear what is actually happening in people's lives. it reminds you that we are all, actually, vulnerable. even the ones that seem like they have it all tied up perfectly.
- May 29, 2012 at 2:15 PM


text:
How are you feeling these days? If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, a long winter may finally be getting to you. Even folks as far south as Florida have been dealing with lower temperatures than they're accustomed to. Winter is wearing me down but, like everyone else, I'm pressing on. Getting out definitely helps! So where will you be this weekend and will you be birding? Please share your plans in the comments below.
I'm taking the kids down to Potter County, PA for a few days of fun and feeder birds. Corey will be birding Jamaica Bay and other nearby environs with official friend of 10,000 Birds, Patrick. Charlie, on the other hand, won't be going anywhere as Evie has the chicken pox.
Whatever your plans this weekend, make time to enjoy SkyWatch Friday. Also be sure to come back Monday to share your best bird of the weekend!
Keep your eyes to the skies for white Snow Geese against the blue!
It's been a while since I've had a chance to do some real birding so I'm excited for a full day at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in east Central Florida on Saturday. Hopefully pick up a White-faced Ibis on the way too!
The Hunter Bird Observers are off to Seal Rocks – with a lake, littoral forest and headland jutting out into the ocean we're hoping for a range of birds. Warm tides are bringing northern visitors.
Wow, amazing contrast and well captured. Thanks for sharing, Mike:)
Nice shot
My son and I are headed down to the South Shore below Boston with the Hampshire Bird Club.
Yanacocha, Ecuador on the slopes of Pichincha Volcano. Then on to the Tandayapa Valley, Milpe and Mindo…other areas too including high altitude, then ending up in the Amazon region at Sacha Lodge. Dream birding trip…
Back out in a cold wintry North Sea counting seabirds whilst surveying for White-beaked Dolphin
never gone birding, although i might go on my first ever third week of March 2010; raptor watching along the west coast of Peninsula Malaysia! I dont think I have a good enough camera for birding tho! 🙁
that's a beautiful picture of geese in flight!
Snow Geese! How amazing! Fabulous capture…I love seeing their little legs all tucked up like the landing gear of an aircraft! Beautiful!
Wow!! The contrast of the white and black feathers against the brilliant blue sky!! Breathtaking!!
Whoa! That's great!
The contrast between bird and sky is stunning!
Great capture.
wonderful photo, the snow geese look so dramatic against that wonderful blue skiy
Birding a few spots around Tucson, Nice in flight photo!
A beautiful sky filled with beautiful birds.
Happy Friday!
I will be in GALAPAGOS for the first time in my life. My wife and I needed a vacation, a honeymoon, and both love birdwatching. I hope some of you can come to Ecuador and visit us some day.
Kapiti Island. Stronghold of the Lesser Spotted Kiwi (not that they ar out in the day).
Flights captured very nicely! Awesome shot with great details and clarity….
© 2013 10,000 Birds. All words, images, and opinions are the property of their respective authors unless stated otherwise.


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Rob Kardashian Calls A Fan A Wh**e On Twitter — Why Can't He Use His Fame For Something Good?
Rob is on another one of his profanity-filled Twitter rants — I can't believe that someone with five sisters can be SO sexist, immature and disgusting!
Rob Kardashian wants everyone to know that he has potty mouth. I guess he thinks it's pretty cool that he's not afraid to tweet his random and vulgar thoughts to his over two million followers. But I personally have a problem with it and think he needs to GROW UP!
Okay, so a fan wrote a disgusting message to Rob about wanting to do sexual things to him. Rob could have easily NOT replied or even re-tweeted this on his wall but instead the 24-year-old reality star decided to say this: "That is disgusting. You sound like a whore. Respect Yourself."
Rob even tweeted a degrading lyric from Raekwon's single "Ice Cream": "Ice cold bitches melt down within the clutch, they want there titties sucked!
For someone who has five sisters, I would have thought Rob would have a little more respect for women. But unfortunately his 32-year-old pregnant sister Kourtney Kardashian encouraged Rob's bad behavior by re-tweeting one of his mindless thoughts: "I fuks wut u boo! RT
@RobKardashian: I fuks wit real people only."
It really makes you wonder why someone with so many fans would choose to use their fame for such mindless vulgarity. Rob really has an opportunity to tweet about important things to his fans but this shows he's just an immature kid.
He gets very upset when his sisters, Kim Kardashian especially, give him a hard time about not having a job and just living off of his sister Khloe Kardashian. Rob tried to prove that he was growing up by appearing on Dancing with the Stars last season and sounding poised on TV. But this just shows Rob hasn't learned anything!
This is Rob's second Twitter ran in the past week. Rob wiped his Twitter clean the other day and started what many thought was a clean slate. But now, out of Rob's 34 new tweets, seven of them are incredibly disgusting.
Rob always talks about his late father Robert Kardashian, who was a famous attorney and represented OJ Simpson. Would his dad be happy to see that his son just sits around and tweets horribly disgusting things to the public about watching his sister Khloe have sex with her husband Lamar Odom and cussing out his fans?
It sounds like Rob needs a major wakeup call — what do you think?
— Chloe Melas
More Kardashian News
- Kim Kardashian Fled Marriage Because Terrified Of Commitment, Say Shrinks
- Kim Kardashian Attacks Kris Humphries On Twitter: 'I Gave U Loyalty'
- 'KKTNY' Finale: 6 Reasons Why Kim Kardashian & Kris Humphries' Marriage Seems Fake


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@PattiLaHelle Got 2B Real: The Finale Part 1 Hosted by @TheSkorpion Show
It's been a long time coming. Trust me, I know. For those of you just now joining the journey I appreciate your views, and for those who've been here since the start, words can't express how much I value your support. I've always said these videos only got as big as they did because of YOU, and I mean that still. I love you all madly.
- "Patti LaHelle"
These are the words, that I read on the Got 2B Real Diva Variety Show. "The show will be over soon, but shade lasts forever" are some of the phrases to be said. The Great parody show is entering into its finale. Makael and Kevin of the Skorpion Show presents to us as host, the Part 1 of the hilarious and dynamic Got 2B Real Finale. The divas include, Beyonce, Chaka Khan, Janet Jackson, Dionne Warwick, and many more.
In this finale the teams Sass and Class, come together for their finale shade and reading sessions. Thanks to Patti LaHelle, this web series has brought joy into the hearts of many across the globe. Get into the bitchcraft and wiggatry below.


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Reno (Nevada, USA), April 25: Nevada Earth Day 2010 celebrations here today opened with prayers from ancient Sanskrit and Hebrew scriptures.
Starting with Shanti Mantra in Sanskrit, acclaimed Hindu statesman Rajan Zed read "Prithvi Sukta" (hymn to earth) from Atharva-Veda (composed around 1200 BCE), invoking the Goddess Earth.
Just before the Earth Day invocation in Nevada, from right to left are Jewish Rabbi ElizaBeth W. Beyer, Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, and Lord Ganesh image.
Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, also prayed from Bhagavad-Gita (Song of the Lord), where Lord Krishna is quoted as saying, "The brightness of the sun, which lights up the world, the brightness of the moon and of fire—these are my glory. With a drop of my energy I enter the earth and support all creatures. Through the moon, the vessel of life-giving fluid, I nourish all plants."
Rajan Zed also lighted a lamp before the image of Lord Ganesh and sprinkled Gangajal (sacred water from river Ganga of India) before the invocation. ElizaBeth W. Beyer, Rabbi of local Temple Beth Or, read the Jewish prayers.
According to Travis Souza, one of the Directors of Nevada Econet, the organizers of this Earth Day, participants took positive ideas home about environment. Celebrations included live entertainment, crafts, farmers market, display booths by over 100 non-profit and other organizations/agencies/businesses offering energy conserving and sustainable living products, children's activities, vendors selling eco-friendly items, etc.


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Speaking about the design process behind V164, Vestas Technology president Finn Stromm Madsen says it was driven by two aims beyond lowering the machine's all-important cost of energy. These were choice of the drive system and its serviceability. Madsen says: "Initially we followed two parallel drive system development tracks, direct drive and geared. A key design team question was to determine the main factors causing wind turbine downtime. Our in-house studies supplemented by third-party reports from 2010 show that faulty electrical components cause more failures than gearboxes."
The second finding was that other mechanical components such as fail-safe brake and blade bearings also cause more downtime than gearboxes.
Direct-drive generators contain four times as many electrical components as medium-speed geared drive systems, explains Madsen. "For Vestas, the main conclusion was that wind turbine reliability discussions should not focus on gearboxes. We had also decided that no technology solution should create high and unwanted dependence upon rare-earth elements used for the magnets in permanent-magnet generators."
The main outcome of the comparative drive system study favoured a three-stage medium-speed drive system, which in the specific V164-7.0MW configuration steps up 10-12 rotor revolutions to 400rpm rated generator speed. The drive train concept itself consists of a main shaft supported in two main bearings, and as an assembly incorporated into a single-cast housing. It is further connected to the gearbox and generator via a low-speed coupling.
The 3.3kV Vestas-design permanent-magnet type generator is liquid-cooled and based upon similar design principles to the smaller V112-3.0MW generator. The V164-7.0MW converter and 33-34kV transformer will be located in the tower base, ensuring easy access. A 66kV option exists.
Vestas will not offer standard towers for the V164-7.0MW, but has said the typical hub height will be around 107 metres.
The new 80-metre slender blade follows a similar design to that used on the 54.6 metre V112-3.0 blade. Vestas has used carbon fibres to enhance stiffness and as a mass-optimising feature in the central blade spar. The V164-7.0MW blade mass is 35 tonnes. The combined mass of the nacelle plus separate transformer is about 290 tonnes, whereas the rotor mass - hub plus blades - is approximately 210 tonnes. The nacelle is 24 metres long, by 12 metres and 7.5 metres.
Despite its plans to launch a next-generation offshore turbine, Nordex is a relative newcomer to the sector. So far, its only two marine-specific machines are an adapted 2.3MW N90/2300 and a 2.5MW N90/2500 prototype, installed in 2003 and 2006 respectively.
From Nordex's point of view, its first offshore-specific turbine, the 6MW N150/6000, is notable as earmarking its first switch to direct drive. The company says this can result in higher reliability and thus potentially better availability due to significantly fewer components. The turbine also has 55 tonne/megawatt top head mass, comparing favourably with 70-90 tonne/megawatt quoted for current "relatively heavy and expensive" second-generation 5MW turbines.
Besides an approximately 300-tonne top head mass for the nacelle and rotor, another distinctive design feature of the N150/6000 is a permanent-magnet type liquid-cooled generator located behind the tower.
Explaining the drive system layout preferences, Nordex chief technical officer Eberhard Voss says the main considerations, besides low cost of energy, were serviceability and easy exchange of main components.
Speaking about the design, he adds: "The rotor and generator are fitted to separate rotating shafts, each with their own bearing sets. These two shafts in turn are interconnected by a hollow torque shaft, which results in a substantial mass saving compared with a rear-mounted generator solution but with a single, long drive shaft."
He adds that the turbine's outer rotor generator design, with the rotating part turning around the stationary part, offers higher torque and better efficiency compared with inner rotor equivalents. Nordex has long experience with liquid-cooled generators, dating back to the 1.3MW N60 in the 1990s.
Discussing the blades, Voss says Nordex has succeeded in retaining a 10.5-tonne mass for three successive blade generations, each five metres longer than the last, to match a corresponding ten-metre increase in rotor diameter.
"For the N80, N90, and N100 blades, glass-fibre reinforced epoxy composite material is applied," he says. "We incorporated carbon fibres for the first time in the 57-metre slender blades for the N117/2400 and will do this again in the much longer N150/6000 rotor blades. Carbon fibres as a key characteristic enable a combination of high stiffness and slender blade design."
Some competitors have introduced cyclic pitching in their latest large-diameter turbine models, a technology whereby the blade angle is continuously adjusted during each rotor revolution as a load-reducing control and optimising measure. However, Voss is not convinced about the overall benefits associated with this.
He says: "Rotor blade pitch systems typically operate at 0.1-0.2 degrees per second, which is too slow for adequately meeting advanced load-control needs. In addition, frequent pitching actions put high strain upon the pitch system and this could result in accelerated wear and increased failure risk."
Nordex plans to install an onshore prototype of the N150/6000 in 2012, followed by an offshore prototype in 2013 - milestones in a years-long offshore strategy. Nordex launched its offshore division, Nordex Offshore, in 2010. To fast-track its entry to the offshore wind market, it then acquired a 40% share in major German wind farm Arcadis Ost 1. Nordex plans to deliver up to 70 turbines for the offshore project in 2014-15.
German gearbox supplier Winergy has introduced a new compact medium-speed drive system that is suited for geared offshore and onshore wind turbines with power ratings of 6-7MW. A prototype of the technology, dubbed HybridDrive, will, however, be first fitted into a new 3MW Fuhrlander FL 3000 IEC WC IIa wind turbine model with rotor diameter of 120 metres. The prototype is expected to be completed by next April.
A HybridDrive consists of a two-stage planetary gear system and a permanent magnet-type synchronous generator integrated into a single product. A power converter can supplement HybridDrive, as Winergy is likely the world's sole fully integrated wind turbine drive system supplier able to design and manufacture gearboxes, generators and converters.
Development of the technology marks cooperation between German companies Winergy, Fuhrlander and wind turbine development consultancy W2E Wind to Energy. W2E earlier developed a smaller 2.5MW Fuhrlander FL 2500 turbine model, fitted with a flanged gearbox and a non-integrated, double-fed induction generator or DFIG. Both turbine models feature a patented Larus Compact drive train system, which as a main design feature transmits "pure torque" while preventing harmful rotor-bending moments from entering the gearbox.
A key focus of the HybridDrive's product development was compact design. A direct flange connection of the two-stage gearbox to the generator eliminates the need for an intermediate shaft. According to Winergy business development representative Tobias Hang, this enables the drive train length to be shortened by about 35% compared with a conventional non-integrated geared drive system of similar power rating.
An additional goal was to achieve maximum operational efficiency under both partial and peak load. Winergy claims that its total system peak efficiency of over 94% is among the best of all existing drive technologies. The HybridDrive generation only requires about 20% of the rare-earth element needed in direct-drive generators of the same power rating, Hang says.
Siemens Wind Power has launched the 2.3MW SWT-2.3-113m rotor, direct-drive turbine to cater for mediumand low-wind speed sites.
Overall, the SWT-2.3-113 shares a similar concept to its earlier sister product, the SWT-3.0-101. Elaborating on the new design, Siemens Wind Power chief technology officer Henrik Stiesdal says: "Due to the larger rotor diameter, we reduced rated rotor speed from 16rpm to 13rpm, but the generator torque level remains unchanged. The reduced power enables us to apply the same generator to both sister models, and with the larger rotor we get much more energy at low and medium wind sites."
So far, five SWT-3.0-101 turbines have been installed, including two prototypes in Denmark and Norway. One of the 15 turbines currently being built is a "final" series model. This incorporates optimisations such as a single turbine control cabinet instead of two, and a new onboard crane.
It is possible to walk through the hollow generator for access to the rotor hub, while the power converter and medium-voltage transformer are located in the tower foot. In some other concepts the converter and power converter are located in the nacelle.
An alternative is to locate a rectifier in the nacelle, feed DC power down the tower, and put the inverter part and transformer in the tower foot. When the rectifier and inverter are combined into one assembly it is called a converter.
The SWT-2.3-113 Quantum Blade is fitted with a new generation of in-house developed blades. Siemens' IntegralBlade manufacturing process casts the glass-fibre reinforced epoxy blades in one piece, eliminating the leading edge and trailing edge glue joints traditionally considered to be weak points.
Stiesdal says the company has consistently reduced mass in rotor blades developed in-house, starting in 1998 with the first 30-metre long B30 blade for a 1.3MW former Bonus turbine. Specific mass, in terms of kilogram/metre, of later rotor blade types - the B40, B45 and B55 - gradually dropped.
Stiesdal explains: "Our first new-generation B49 and B58 slender blades were developed for the 2.3MW and 3.6MW standard geared turbines. The single most important benefit of these load-reducing slender blades is that - despite significant growth in rotor swept area and therefore yields - the dynamic loads did not significantly increase."
With the new SWT-2.3-113 Quantum Blade for the direct-drive platform, significant specific-mass gains have again been made without having to apply carbon fibres. The model is expected to become commercially available in 2012.


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Discover Author
Carrie Hudson Books & Biography
Tawny Weber has always loved romance-ever since she checked out a couple stories in her grade-school library. Despite her family's warnings, all that romance stuff didn't warp her (too much). What's more rewarding than reading about the crazy twists and turns to happily-ever-after and, even better, reading steamy-hot love scenes? Nothing-those are the good things in life. Add to that a lifelong wish to write and a nudge from her husband to pursue her dreams, and Tawny took the leap. The result? Three Golden Heart nominations and a Harlequin Blaze contest win that led to her coveted first sale to the Blaze line.
Tawny's usually found dreaming up stories in her northern California home, surrounded by dogs, cats and kids. When she's not writing hot, spicy stories, she's testing her latest margarita recipe, shopping for the perfect pair of boots or drooling over pictures of Johnny Depp (when her husband isn't looking, of course). Her alter ego, Mom, also spends a lot of time scrap booking and playing in the garden. Please visit her website above as she'd love to hear from readers.


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Formats and tools
- Unit Description
- Reconstruct the unit from the xml and display it as an HTML page.
- Assessment Tool
- an assessor resource that builds a framework for writing an assessment tool
- Assessment Template
- generate a spreadsheet for marking this unit in a classroom environment. Put student names in the top row and check them off as they demonstrate competenece for each of the unit's elements and performance criteria.
- Assessment Matrix
- a slightly different format than the assessment template. A spreadsheet with unit names, elements and performance criteria in separate columns. Put assessment names in column headings to track which performance criteria each one covers. Good for ensuring that you've covered every one of the performance criteria with your assessment instrument (all assessement tools together).
- Wiki Markup
- mark up the unit in a wiki markup codes, ready to copy and paste into a wiki page. The output will work in most wikis but is designed to work particularly well as a Wikiversity learning project.
- Evidence Guide
- create an evidence guide for workplace assessment and RPL applicants
- Competency Mapping Template
- Unit of Competency Mapping – Information for Teachers/Assessors – Information for Learners. A template for developing assessments for a unit, which will help you to create valid, fair and reliable assessments for the unit, ready to give to trainers and students
- Observation Checklist
- create an observation checklist for workplace assessment and RPL applicants. This is similar to the evidence guide above, but a little shorter and friendlier on your printer. You will also need to create a seperate Assessor Marking Guide for guidelines on gathering evidence and a list of key points for each activity observed using the unit's range statement, required skills and evidence required (see the unit's html page for details)
- Self Assessment Survey
- A form for students to assess thier current skill levels against each of the unit's performance criteria. Cut and paste into a web document or print and distribute in hard copy.
- Moodle Outcomes
- Create a csv file of the unit's performance criteria to import into a moodle course as outcomes, ready to associate with each of your assignments. Here's a quick 'how to' for importing these into moodle 2.x
- Registered Training Organisations
- Trying to find someone to train or assess you? This link lists all the RTOs that are currently registered to deliver RIICBS202A, 'Hand spread asphalt'.
- Google Links
- links to google searches, with filtering in place to maximise the usefulness of the returned results
- Books
- Reference books for 'Hand spread asphalt' on fishpond.com.au. This online store has a huge range of books, pretty reasonable prices, free delivery in Australia *and* they give a small commission to ntisthis.com for every purchase, so go nuts :)
Elements and Performance Criteria
1. Plan and prepare
1.1. Access, interpret and apply compliance documentation relevant to the work activity
1.2. Obtain and confirm safety requirements from the site safety plan and organisational policies and procedures, and apply to the allotted task
1.3. Identify, obtain and implement signage requirements from the project traffic management plan
1.4. Select tools and equipment to carry out tasks consistent with the requirements of the job, check for serviceability and rectify or report any faults
1.5. Identify, confirm and apply environmental protection requirements from the project environmental management plan
2. Spread asphalt
2.1. Conduct hand asphalt spreading in safe proximity to the paver
2.2. Hand place asphalt to required level and line
2.3. Achieve even finish when raking and construct joints to correct level
2.4. Identify and repair low spots, high spots and defects in the mat
2.5. Identify and report faults in the mat detected prior to or during operations
3. Clean up
3.1. Clear work area and dispose of or recycle materials in accordance with project environmental management plan
3.2. Clean, check, maintain and store tools and equipment


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We are available to assist you with your employment needs and to connect you with qualified candidates for full-time, part-time, temporary, and cooperative education positions. We can help you take the gamble out of the search process by prescreening candidates who meet or exceed your minimum qualifications. You are welcome to recruit students on campus or send employment listings to us. Openings are posted on the Madisonville Community College Career Services website.
If you have an employment listing you would like to advertise or need more information, contact Abby McGregor-Mullen.


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Tension Headaches
Tension headaches account for about three quarters of all headaches. They cause moderate pain on both sides of, and across, the forehead, tend to both start and fade away gradually, and are the result of muscle tightness coming from the SCM (sterno-cleidomastoid) muscles in the neck. These muscles begin behind the bottom of the ear and come around the neck to the top of the collar bone (clavicle). They are the muscles that turn your head from side to side. With tension headaches you can often find a tender knot right in the middle of the muscle. This knot, called a "trigger point," refers pain and tenderness to the sides of your forehead (the temple area), and then sends the pain across your forehead. Although putting a hot compress or the pain creams on the temples and across the forehead may help temporarily, they are more effective when placed over the tender knots in the muscles on both sides of the neck.
Occasionally, tension headaches are felt at the base of the skull, on the top of the head, and/or behind the eyes. For these headaches, the pain is often coming from the muscles where they attach to the base of the skull at the top of the back of your neck. If you push on those muscles (called the sub-occipital muscles) where they attach at the base of the skull during a headache, they will be very tender and can make the headache better or worse. When the pain is reproduced by pushing on the area, you know that these muscles are part of the source of that headache. If this is the case, use heat and the pain creams over those tender areas.
How Can I Make the Headaches Go Away and Stay Away?
Because tension headaches are muscular, the same treatments that cause your muscles to relax will often eliminate the recurrence of these headaches—permanently! These are nutritional support, hormonal support, getting at least eight hours of sleep at night, and treating underlying infections. Paying attention to structural factors and eliminating annoying stresses in your life can also help. I call the metabolic approaches to treating muscle tightness the "SHIN Protocol". Here's how to treat them.
1) Disordered sleep. Many people with headaches and muscle pain find that they are unable to get 7-8 hours of deep sleep a night without taking medications. For muscle pain to go away, it is critical that you get 8 to 9 hours sleep at night! Helpful medications include Ambien, Desyrel, Klonopin, Flexeril and/or Elavil. In addition, natural remedies can help sleep. An excellent one (which I developed -Revitalizing Sleep Formula by Enzymatic Therapy -- 100 percent of my royalty for all products I develop is donated to charity) includes theanine, Jamaican Dogwood, wild lettuce, valerian, passionflower, and hops. These are also powerfully effective muscle relaxants as well. Other natural sleep aids include Calcium and Magnesium, 5-HTP (100-300mg), and melatonin (3/10-1mg). Some patients find that over-the-counter antihistamines such as doxylamine (Unisom for sleep) or Benadryl can also help.


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Putting current traffic and tourist information at your fingertips: digital road maps for BMW navigation systems are available on CD or DVD and are updated regularly. With up-to-date map material, you will always find the best route to your destination.
Whether you're looking for the shortest route, scenic roads, how to avoid traffic jams, a parking space or even restaurant tips, BMW digital road maps have the answers, letting you know as much about your new destination as you do about your home town.


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My blog has moved from https://ydabondelli.wordpress.com to http://www.kevinbondelli.com.
The site has a new design and is now self-hosted, which means I have the flexibility that I lacked with wordpress.com.
All the posts from the this blog have been transfered over there, as well as the comments.
The RSS feed has not changed and was transfered over to this site, so if you are subscribed everything is already taken care of.
Thanks for reading the site and let me know what you think.


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"This event is almost overwhelming in terms of opportunities," said Michelle Metter, festival organizer. "The caliber of professionals who join us is dramatic. Each year we pull from a larger network of food and talent."
The festival is the largest culinary event in San Diego, but extends far beyond. Highlighting local and national talent — not to mention Food Network celebrity chefs — it has evolved over the years as a vacation destination, drawing visitors from across the country while boosting the tourism economy in the off season, said Metter.
Classes are always a highlight at the festival, with cooking demonstrations and wine tastings held at the San Diego Wine and Culinary Center in downtown's Marina District and the Macy's School of Cooking in Mission Valley.
This year's class highlights feature a tribute to Julia Child, "Celebrating Julia: Past & Present, Inspired French Dishes with a Modern Twist," hosted by chefs RJ Cooper and Katsuya Fukushima from the Food Network's "Iron Chef America."
Former "Top Chef" contestant and San Diego restaurant group owner Brian Malarkey will host fellow "Top Chef" alumni Edward Lee, Lindsay Autrey, Sarah Grueneberg and Mike Isabella for a "Fruits de Mer" class presented by Alaska Seafood, while festival-favorite chef Billy Strynkowski of Cooking Light Magazine returns with a "Flavors of the Mediterranean" course.
Master sommelier Joe Spellman will hold a "blind tasting," walking participants through using their senses to identify characteristics in unmarked glasses of wines — a treat for both those with limited wine knowledge and a challenge for more experienced wine connoisseurs. Meanwhile, La Jolla's Roppongi Sushi and Asian Fusion restaurant will be the site of a Tastemaker dinner with Michael David Winery on Thursday, Nov. 15 at 6:30 p.m.
One of the festival's most exclusive events — and new to this year's festival — will be the "Eight decades of Barolo and Italian Luncheon" on Friday, Nov. 16 at the Marriott Marina Kitchen. Celebrity chef Suzette Gresham and wine expert Giancarlo Paterlini will host an intimate group of guests for an Italian luncheon and Barolo wine tour with vintages dating back to the 1930s.
The festival culminates in the Grand Tasting Event, this year to be held Saturday, Nov. 17 at Embarcadero Marina Park North behind Seaport Village. The tasting features 170 wine and spirit purveyors, 70 of San Diego's top chefs and a "Chef of the Fest" competition, where local food stars battle it out for bragging rights and $50,000 in cash and prizes.
The San Diego Wine & Food Festival also helps raise funds for the next generation of chefs, benefiting the American Institute of Wine & Food (AIWF). Money from the AIWF fundraiser luncheon and silent auction, to be held Nov. 18, goes toward the AIWF culinary arts and oenology scholarship program. To date, the festival has raised more than $200,000 for culinary scholarships.
The AIWF luncheon, headed by chef Bernard Guillas of the Marine Room and La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club, closes out the festival in grand fashion.
"Our goal is make sure we are creating an amazing community," said Guillas. "By inviting chefs from all over the U.S., you are able to give a good taste of what's going on culinary-wise."
Guillas, San Diego's chef statesman, said he continues to see the local culinary scene blossom, as young chefs are not only embracing the farm-to-table movement, but are also creating establishments that are high-energy meeting places, rather than just restaurants.
Hotel and festival packages are available. For full event schedule and to purchase tickets, visit www.sandiegowineclassic.com.


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Obama, Boehner duel on fiscal cliff
President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner traded sharp words Wednesday as each leader urged the other to get serious about averting the fiscal cliff — and Boehner revised his strategy on the Hill.
House Republican leaders are changing their plans for Boehner's "Plan B" tax proposal as vote counts show the margin extraordinarily close.
Story Continued Below
( PHOTOS: Fiscal cliff's key players)
GOP leadership is considering attaching a package of spending cuts to ride alongside Boehner's tax rate bill. Republican lawmakers are skittish about voting on allowing taxes to snap to near 40 percent for millionaires without paring back federal spending.
Simultaneously, Republican leadership scrapped a plan to vote on the Senate's tax rate proposal, which extended Bush-era tax rates for income below $250,000. Republicans are looking to keep their message tight, sources said.
Amid signs that negotiations are stalled, Obama stepped out first, telling reporters at the White House that it is "puzzling" that Republicans haven't accepted his latest fiscal cliff offer when they're only separated by a few hundred billion dollars in spending cuts.
"Take the deal," Obama said.
( Also on POLITICO: Cliff talks turn into public posturing)
Boehner responded a short time later with a 54-second statement from the Capitol, rejecting the president's offer and announcing his intention to push forward with a vote Thursday on his so-called Plan B bill that raises taxes on income above $1 million.
"The president will have a decision to make," Boehner said just before he abruptly left the room. "He can call upon Senate Democrats to pass that bill or he can be responsible for the largest tax increase in American history."
The dueling statements Wednesday were an attempt by both parties to frame the high-stakes debate over the fiscal cliff and pin blame on the other side if Washington fails to deal with more than $500 billion in spending cuts and tax hikes, which are scheduled to go into effect in the new year.
Substantive talks have ground to a halt since Boehner announced he would pursue a Plan B bill that raises tax rates but does nothing to deal with across-the-board spending cuts known as the sequester, reduce entitlement spending or address a host of expiring provisions.
The administration issued a veto threat earlier Wednesday in a signal to Boehner that he should abandon the fallback bill and reengage in the talks on a $2 trillion budget package.
( Also on POLITICO: "Plan B" stalls in Senate)
Obama said he is willing to continue talks with Boehner. But the two have not spoken since Monday night, when the speaker informed him of the alternate strategy. Obama said he would reach out to congressional leadership over the next few days in an attempt to learn why Capitol Hill isn't making progress.


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The Facebook fiasco - May 25th, 2012
Date created : Latest update :
François Hollande may have the momentum, but who will agree to pick up the tab for eventual eurobonds? Also, why Facebook's IPO floundered, Egypt's presidential election, and how the Eurovision song contest put Azerbaijan's human rights record centre stage.
- A.Craig Copetas, Author of "Bear Hunting with the Politburo", Madison Books;
- Hassan Zitouni, Senior Correspondent, MBC television;
- Anne Bagamery, Senior Editor, International Herald Tribune;
- Ulrike Koltermann, Freelance journalist.
Produced by Paul Maakad, Mary Colombel, David Boratav


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Translation Disclaimer
Adopting a Pet
Come see all the pets available for adoption at the shelter -- dogs, cats, rabbits, birds, and rodents!
You can also view our adoptable animals at:
CAT ADOPTIONS http://friendsofbacs.org/adopt-cats/
DOG ADOPTIONS http://friendsofbacs.org/adopt-dogs/
You may also visit www.petharbor.com. www.petfinder.com
Adoption Fees
Adoption Process.
Our adoption process is designed to ensure the best match for both you and your new pet. You must be at least 21 years old to adopt a pet. We ask that everyone in the household come to meet the pet and we require proof that you can have a pet where you live. This can be a copy of a lease indicating that you may have a cat or dog, or any document indicating home ownership such as a mortgage statement.
There is a simple adoption application to complete which will help us advise and prepare you for your new pet. If you are adopting a dog and have another dog(s) already, we ask that you bring them to meet the dog you would like to adopt. We offer home adoption counseling visits for any of our dogs and may require it for some dogs.
In the event that more than one interested party wants to adopt an animal on the morning it becomes available, we enter the names of qualified adopters into a random drawing. Please note, the adopter must be physically present at the shelter, and be deemed a fit home for adoption. For those individuals coming to our shelter from out of town to adopt a specific animal, we suggest calling the shelter prior to starting your trip, to confirm that the animal is still available for adoption.
All cats and dogs adopted from the shelter will be neutered or spayed, vaccinated and microchipped before going home as your new pet. If the animal is spayed or neutered at the time of adoption, it can leave the same day. If the animal is not yet spayed or neutered, you can pick up your new pet the day after surgery.
THE BACS 60/6/60 PLAN If you're sixty or over, and you adopt an animal who is 6 or over, you'll get a 60% discount on the adoption fee.
For information about low-cost veterinary clinics and our Low Cost Spay & Neuter Voucher Program program, please call the shelter at (510) 981-6600.


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Allan Harris Knows Love Songs
A period when romantic songs had depth. When melodies caressed the heart and soul and made women swoon. It was a time when singers sang and emotions ran high, an era so desperately missed.
(Allan Harris--the man knows something about love).
Allan Harris stood upon the famed Blue Note stage accompanied by pianist Eric Reed crooning songs that were reminiscent of the 1950s and 1960s, a period when romantic songs had depth.
When melodies caressed the heart and soul and made women swoon. It was a time when singers sang and emotions ran high, an era so desperately missed. Listening to Harris's soft sentimental lament, I was reminded of the stylings of singers like Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Johnny Mathis, and Tony Bennett. Yet, Harris clearly brought something new and exciting to his renditions. It was evident the audience certainly thought so.
Harris's manner on stage is gentle and unforced. He is bidding his time, savoring each note. He's smooth, articulate and in total control. A Brooklyn native, Harris grew up around music. The product of a musical family, his mother was a classical pianist and his aunt sang opera and later on, blues. It's no wonder that Harris appeared to have total control of his vocal accoutrements while he experimented with the songs of 1950's balladeer Johnny Hartman. "I am trying out new material this evening. I am only here for this one night but I am happy to be here because it's such a special evening. My music will pay tribute to the Blue Note's 25th Anniversary," declared the singer who has thrilled world wide audiences.
"I want you to check out my CD. I am selling them tonight at the performance. I'll give one to you" added Harris with a wide grin. "The CD features the songs of the great Billy Strayhorn. "It's entitled Love Came: The Songs of Strayhorn. Eric Reed the pianist who is with me tonight is also featured on the CD. He is a great pianist. I am lucky to have him."
The album has songs like "Passion Flower," "Just A-Sittin' and A-Rockin'," "Love Came," and "Love Has Passed Me By Again." There are 14 songs in all on the CD. Harris talked about his upcoming engagements in Florida and the Caribbean.
Harris plans to spend Christmas in Istanbul with his wife but music has taken him all around the world. He has appeared and performed in jazz clubs in Europe, Asia, Finland, Italy, Holland, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Sweden, Turkey and Japan, to name a few.
"I am feeling real good tonight. Things are going great this evening. I am playing with Eric and we are hitting some new highs. After tonight, Eric and I will head to Philadelphia where we will be doing a two weeks engagement in a week or so. So far, it's been a wonderful year, I played Kennedy Center and then did two weeks at the Algonquin," reflected Harris about his ability to continue to book performances with ease over the past year.
Harris has appeared in some of Europe's most famous opera houses. He appeared with the Metropole Orchestra, the Rias Big Band, and the Thilo Wolfe Big Band. BET Jazz aired Allan's live concerts with Lou Rawls and Ramsey Lewis. Harris sang for the first Jazz Awards Show, held in Washington, DC which was filmed in BET's Jazz studios. Chuck Mangione and Mark Carey were also part of the awards event. Interviews with Harris were also featured by the Smithsonian via their "Jazz Singers" series. He was touted by CNN's Showbiz Tonight as one of the three best male jazz vocalists in the country.
Other CDs recorded by Harris are: "Setting the Standard;" "It's A Wonderful World," "Here Comes Allan Harris and the Metropole Orchestra," "The Music of Duke Ellington," and "Laid Back" His recordings have featured artists like Ray Brown, Mark Whitfield, Clark Terry, Nestor Torres and Jon Faddis.
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Summit County Chamber of Commerce
011 S. Summit Blvd.
Frisco, CO, 80443
Phone: 800-530-3099
Fax: 970-668-1515
National Recreation Reservation Service: (877-444-6777)Reservable Forest Service and Army Corps campgrounds and cabins.
Reserve America: (877-444-6777)State Park campgrounds for California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin.
National Park Reservations: (800-365-2267)National Park Service campgrounds and tours.
Outdoor activities can be hazardous, if you have not read our Disclaimer, please do so now!
©1998 Interactive Outdoors Inc. All rights reserved.


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Exhibition: Of Bodies and Borders | Ana Teresa Fernandez
The Grunwald Gallery at Indiana University is pleased to present Of Bodies and Borders, an exhibition of paintings, drawings and video by artist Ana Teresa Fernández (b. 1981, Tampico, Mexico). The exhibit, organized by Gallery Wendi Norris and previously shown in Miami, will open on January 11 and continue through March 2, 2019. The artist will be present the week of February 6 and will be engaged in gallery talks, student critiques and will present a public lecture on Friday, February 8. An exhibition catalogue Of Bodies and Borders, will be published by the Grunwald Gallery featuring an essay by María Elena Ortiz, Associate Curator at the Pérez Art Museum Miami.
- Start
- Wednesday February 13, 2019 12:00 PM
- End
- Wednesday February 13, 2019 04:00 PM
- Location
- Grunwald Gallery of Art
- Contact
- Grunwald Gallery of Art
- Website
- https://soaad.indiana.edu/creative-activity/grunwald-gallery/exhibitions/upcoming/2019-01-11-of-bodies.html
- Contact Email
- email@example.com
- Cost
- Free and open to the public
- Sponsoring Unit(s)
- School of Art, Architecture + Design, Grunwald, IU Arts & Humanities Council


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If you've spent any time teaching, you've had problem students. They are kids who, despite your desperate pleas, refuse to submit their homework, stay seated in their desks, or even show up to class. Each semester, you hope you won't have them, but despite your hopes and prayers, they show up. Ready to throw out your lessons, disrupt your flow, and try your sanity. Ironically, I usually like these problem kids. Their sly tricks and cunning ways remind me of what it must have been like to teach Zach Morris in "Saved by the Bell." The naked truth is that they wouldn't be so disruptive to other students if they weren't so magnetic.
So what do we do with these problem students? How do we champion progress and learning in our classrooms if we have at least one who has set his will on dismantling our grand plans?
I have three pieces of advice for handling problem students.
1) Be fierce. Do not let your Zach Morris run your class. Use an appropriately strong tone when dealing with disruption, and don't delay in quelling a storm. Your students will appreciate that someone is in control of their class.
2) Deal individually. No one deserves to be humiliated in public. When you have a stern word or grave concern to speak with the student about, do it privately. You are much more likely to get honest answers, and are sure to command that student's attention when it's just the two of you.
3) Speak a positive identity. Nine times out of ten, your problem student has been told continuously that he or she is disruptive and rebellious. To some level, they have agreed with those negative identities that others have heaped on them. That's why it takes one brave soul (you) to search out that student's positive attributes and affirm that individual with that new identity. If I have a student who is dramatic, emotional, and explosive, I pull her aside and tell her what a great gift of passion she has. I tell her that she was made to be a great catalyst for change because only truly passionate people can challenge pervasive mindsets.
What have been successful strategies that you've used with your problem students? What utter failures have you endured? Tweet to me at twitter.com/eslbasics, or "like" me at facebook.com/eslbasics.
Happy teaching!
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Sky Bet Championship: Sheffield Wednesday earn 3-2 win over Middlesbrough
Last Updated: 24/08/14 11:17pm
Sheffield Wednesday held off a dramatic late Middlesbrough fightback to claim a 3-2 win at the Riverside in the Sky Bet Championship.
The Owls appeared to be cruising after Atdhe Nuhiu had struck either side of Stevie May's first goal for the club.
Three-nil up after 57 minutes following Nuhiu's second, Wednesday were in total control until Glenn Loovens brought down Boro fans' favourite Kike.
Skipper Grant Leadbitter despatched the penalty, and then repeated the trick in the 92nd minute following Tom Lees' handball, to set up a tense finish.
But Wednesday held on to take the spoils and lift themselves into the top six following a solid start to the campaign.
Boro started well as they passed with confidence, Kenneth Omeruo heading just over from a corner.
Yet they found themselves behind due to some dreadful set-piece defending at the other end.
After Tomas Mejias initially failed to deal with Jacques Maghoma's delivery, the hosts made a hash of their attempted clearances - allowing Nuhiu to eventually find the net via a deflection.
Boro responded impressively as Adam Reach forced a fine fingertip save from the outstretched Keiren Westwood.
Undeterred, the home side pressed forward further, Leadbitter rattling the crossbar with a vicious free-kick.
The Owls were still looking menacing going forward, though, and nearly grabbed a second as Maghoma cut in from the left and fed May, whose side-footed effort was tipped on to the post by Mejias.
The game entered a lull thereafter, only for Wednesday to double their advantage through May.
Nuhiu flicked a hopeful, long free-kick into the path of the Scot, who looped a delightful lobbed volley over Mejias with the outside off his foot.
Buoyed by the freedom that second goal brought, Wednesday initially controlled proceedings through some neat play after the break.
And their ingenuity gleaned reward when Maghoma's vicious delivery allowed Nuhiu to glance a header beyond Mejias.
Boro were not about to give up, however, with Kike forcing a smart save from Westwood after getting in behind.
And despite some home fans heading for the exit, Karanka's men were given a lifeline when Loovens brought down Kike in the area.
Leadbitter converted the spot-kick, sending Westwood the wrong way, although Middlesbrough were lucky not to concede again when Giles Coke's header hit the post.
The tension built as time wore on, Loovens almost heading beyond his own goalkeeper before Leadbitter's effort struck the arm of Lees.
The midfielder made no mistake again from the spot, but his intervention prove too little, too late.


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2006-Q1 Intel ICH8 South bridge to succeed ICH7. Complements i965 / Broadwater. Includes 10 USB 2.0 port, S-ATA 300, but no P-ATA.
2006-07-27 Intel Merom Mobile processor succeeding Prescott-M and Yonah built on a 65 nm process. Accompanied by the Crestine chipset. Recent rumours claim that Merom is a major new core design with multiple cores and, depending on version, 2-4 MB of cache, which will also form the base for the next desktop chip, Conroe. Said to consume about 45W.
Earlier said to launch in 05-H2 or 2007, prototype chips has been out since May of 2006.
Merom is part of the Santa Rosa Centrino platform, succeeding Napa. Said to be used in future Macs.
Bus speed to go up to 800 MHz in 2007-H1.
Will be named T7600, the T7400, the T7200 and T5600.
2006-H2 Intel 965GM Mobile chipset for Merom, succeeding Alviso / Calistoga.
Have earlier been called Crestine. Will include DirectX10 graphics capabilities in the Graphics Media Accelerator 3000 core (probably by microcode update). Part of the Averill platform.


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Truckin'. In 1963, Bob Panella owned a fast, loud, pretty red truck that hauled buns. Now he's got 350 of 'em hauling freshly picked produce from "the Land of Fruits and Nuts" to plants throughout the West. Wherever you live, chances are that something you've eaten lately got its first ride in a trailer that was dispatched—and built entirely in-house—by Panella Trucking of Stockton, California. At last count, the company owned about 2,000 of them.
None of this seems to impress the guy whose name is on the sides. Bob Panella Sr. politely answers each business-related question from a prying reporter, then power shifts the conversation back to hot rods, race cars, and personal heroes spanning 55 years. When a teenage farm kid first dumped the clutch at Lodi's Kingdon Drag Strip in 1957, he was also launching one of the longest, greatest door-car careers enjoyed by any hobby racer. Indeed, precious few professionals can claim such consistent success at the highest levels of competition.
However, we didn't come to Stockton to talk about big rigs or big wins. What inspired the visit was a casual reference by employee (and ex-Kingdon manager) Gary Cox to a "whole warehouse full of Willys" that barely anyone has seen, let alone photographed. Luckily, the boss is a fan of HOT ROD Deluxe and agreed to share the Willys wealth with his fellow readers. Bob Panella's personal tour starts here.


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I have an issue where missed tasks are being triggered more than once. This only seems to happen when my computer has not been started for a few days. The following is from the nncron log:
13:43:26 532 TASK [missed]: FTP_backup
13:43:26 532 Start: E:\nnCron scripts\FTP_backup.bat
13:43:26 1584 TASK [missed]: FTP_backup
13:43:26 1584 Start: E:\nnCron scripts\FTP_backup.bat
13:43:27 1056 TASK [missed]: FTP_backup
13:43:27 1056 Start: E:\nnCron scripts\FTP_backup.bat
What do the values 532, 1584, 1056 represent?
Is there a way to stop multiple instances of the same task from being started?
Thanks for any help,


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On his first day as Secretary of State, John Kerry joked about being a man in what's been a woman's agency for nearly a decade.
"Here's the big question before the country and the world and the State Department after the last eight years: can a man actually run the State Department?" Kerry told a large and enthusiastic crowd of Foreign Service Officers and staff at Foggy Bottom. "As the saying goes, 'I have big heels to fill'."
Of course, Kerry was talking about replacing Hillary Clinton (D) and Condoleezza Rice (R) before that in the Bush administration, but going slightly further back, there hasn't been a white male to head State in 16 years, since Warren Christopher under Clinton.
Establishing his "bona fides" with the diplomats, he waved his first diplomatic passport: given him when he was a 12-year-old boy traveling to Berlin with his father and family for their assignment at the post-war U.S. embassy.
Speaking Monday, incoming Secretary of State John Kerry asked, jokingly, "Can a man actually run the State Department?" NBC's Brian Williams reports.
He even told a story about using it to ride his bike into East Berlin on the wrong side of the wall, saying he got a tongue-lashing later from his father, who told him he could have become an international incident. His passport was lifted, and he was grounded.
The State Department has been besieged by bad news in recent months – from the killing of U.S. Amb. Chris Stevens and three other Americans at a consulate in Benghazi, Libya, to the suicide bombing in front of the U.S. embassy in Ankara, Turkey.
"So I pledge to you: I will not let their patriotism and their bravery be obscured by politics, No. 1," he said of those who died in Benghazi. "No. 2, I guarantee you that beginning this morning, when I report for duty upstairs, everything I do will be focused on the security and safety of our people."
Kerry ended on an idealistic note.
"What other job can you have where you get up every day and advance the cause of nation and also keep faith with the ideals of your country on which it is founded, and most critically meet our obligations to our fellow travelers on this planet?" he said. "That's as good as it gets, and I'm proud to be part of it with you. So now let's get to work."
After Kerry's speech, he placed calls to his counterparts in Britain, France, and Germany, three of America's closest allies.
After meeting with senior staff, Kerry met the Afghan National Institute of Music Group which was in the building today. Later, he will briefed on the implementation of the Accountability Review Board's recommendations on how to prevent another attack like the one in Benghazi.


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Monday, February 8, 2010
Lock & Lock bento (yes, another one!)
No coffee Monday.
Got-to-go-grocery-shopping Monday.
Wish I was still asleep Monday.
The 8 year-old's lunch:
Clockwise from top left: strawberries with mini-fork, Cheez-It crackers, granola bar and pretzels, baby carrots with ranch to dip them in the small container.
Easy peasy.
8 comments:
- amy said... [Reply to comment]
Where do you find a little container like that? (for the dip)
- March 5, 2010 at 11:48 AM
- Melissa said... [Reply to comment]
Hi Amy! That little dip container is "authentic" bento gear - I ordered it from a store called Ichiban Kan. They have actual stores in Northern CA and they used to have an online store (that I ordered from several times)...unfortunately, that online store closed. They come 4 in a set for $1.50, such a steal! You CAN find them on ebay, search for "bento mayo cup" and there should be a lot that pop up.
Some other options that may be easier to find... Tupperware makes some tiny lidded containers, the Laptop Lunches box comes with a small lidded container, and even the disposable plastic cups (like Silo brand) that you get with take-out can be washed and used in bento boxes. Those are what I used when I first got started bentoing, before IchibanKan opened!
- March 5, 2010 at 4:45 PM
Hi There, Love Love your site. I can't seem to find the name of the box pictured above ( berries, cheezits pictured) Can you point me in the right direction to purchase this, Thanks
- January 4, 2012 at 11:17 AM
- Melissa said... [Reply to comment]
Hi there! That box is made by Lock & Lock and it comes with the four inner square dishes. Here's a link:
Thanks for visiting! :)
- January 14, 2012 at 6:58 PM
- Guattuxedo said... [Reply to comment]
are these easy to open? I'm thinking about getting this for my rising Kindergartner.
- April 26, 2012 at 10:24 PM
- Melissa said... [Reply to comment]
Hi Guattuxedo! Yep, Lock & Locks are really easy to open. My younger two could manage them independently from the age of two on. :)
- April 27, 2012 at 12:03 PM
- Magen said... [Reply to comment]
do you have any recommendations for the box that you use? The link you gave isn't working on Amazon any longer and I can't seem to find another that would be similar in size.
- August 26, 2012 at 12:09 AM
- Melissa said... [Reply to comment]
Megan, unfortunately Lock & Lock has discontinued that particular box. :( So sad. There is a similar one they've introduced to replace it. You can see it here - http://bit.ly/O7j2Oo But it is currently out of stock. I suspect they will get more in after the Back-to-school rush is over, but I'm not certain.
I'm sorry. It's such a great box. So unfortunate they aren't making it any longer.
- August 31, 2012 at 10:42 PM


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Believe it or not, I don't actually look for the limelight, although I know that must be hard to believe after this week! For me the silver lining to this week is that through all the activities, other people outside of our school are able to see the school that I see. There's such a great sense of family, of love and caring, of taking care of each other. When teachers feel that kind of support on an adult level - when their cups are full - it is easier for them to give to children, to get involved in their lives and to really understand the mission of making a difference. If there is a larger message that I hope that people will get from this week of tears and laughter, it is that relationships have to be the foundation for quality instruction. When you trust the people you work with and when you feel safe and honored for your efforts, when you are invested in the children and families that you teach, you are willing to take risks and with risks and relationships (and good on-going embedded professional development) amazing results are possible. And we do know how to celebrate our results - triumphs and accomplishments!
Does that mean we don't have problems at Chets Creek. Absolutely, we have problems. Even with Julie's radiant sunshine as we enter every day and KK dancing through the halls sprinkling her fairy dust, we have devastating, difficult, heart wrenching problems, the same that every school in America faces. But the difference is that when the problems come, and they inevitably do, we are able to see them as learning opportunities because we know there is always someone who has walked before us and now there will be someone to walk beside us and to stand behind us to pick us up if we need the support. You are never alone and that makes the difference.
As for me, I will take the lessons I have learned at Chets Creek and the forever friendships that I have made into this next chapter. I will smile often at the memories and I will remember my time here... with love, because I know...
Once a Creeker, always a Creeker!


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I love to watch bloopers and behind-the-scenes footage from movies and television shows. Did you know you can see this type of footage on the VBS 2012 Worship Rally DVD Set? Back in the day when we actually shot the video on tape, we would end up with lots of bad takes and extra footage we couldn't use in the actual drama. Much of it would end up in our bloopers. In today's digital age, most of those extras simply get wiped off the video card.
So, coming up with bloopers has become more challenging for our video editor, Tim Cox.
The bloopers always show up in our "Credits" section of the DVD. Here are some fun things to know as you watch the bloopers for this year's video:
• The guys had to spin that propeller probably 70 times or more before the plane started.
• Michael Kennedy who played the part of our "ground crew chief" is the owner of the fabulous plane we used.
• You'll see Bill Cox, our video director, hiking up Waimea Canyon. That was a hard . . . let me emphasize . . . HARD hike! We had passed the "End of Trail" sign before we began that descent into the canyon! There's always a moment every year when I ask myself, "What am I doing here?" Hiking up this canyon was that moment for me in this particular shoot.
Those are just some fun tidbits to know as you watch the credits this year. Enjoy!