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Taking Up The Role Of A Managing Admin
Taking Up The Role Of A Managing Admin
Jun 30 2007, 01:55 PM
Post #1
Group: Admin
Posts: 1183
Joined: 19-October 03
Member No.: 1
The co-founders and owners of HF had requested me a few weeks back to shoulder the responsibility of a managing admin. Offlate, the board is being targeted by trouble makers to create unwanted friction between the members and ruin the atmosphere on the board. Looking at this, I have now given my consent to function on my terms and conditions. Hence I'll be playing the dual role of technical as well as the managing admin with effect from July 1, 2007.
I may not take part in the topic discussions, but I'll surely take charge where behavioral measures needs addressing. The topic owners and moderators are failing here. My actions will always be in best interest of the board and members' interest in general and not specific to any member or group. My action at times may seem stern and unforgiving - but that is the way I work.
Troublemakers, from now onwards think twice before you use the board for your personal conquests. Those members who do not agree to this, may leave the board and those who agree, should understand the culture of this board and respect everybody. If a member's personal interest is not gratified, in no terms that the board or any other member is to be scorned for. Whether member or angel, all will be treated equally. Members on moderation, who respect the board will be evaluated time to time and may be freed from the moderation queue.
Let us all work to make HF fun, respectful and reverential community.
Don't show Me your attitude, I've enough of Mine.
|Lo-Fi Version | Disclaimer | HF Guidelines |
|Time is now: 17th November 2019 - 03:39 PM


text: Chicago Illinois This invited competition entry for a 10,000 seat arena and 500-room hotel seeks to foreground urban space. The arena and hotel together form a contiguous volume that frames two urban spaces on site: on the south a raised entry plaza for visitors coming from the adjacent McCormick Place convention center, and on the west a large sunken urban space, which serves as a neighborhood park, and a gathering area before and after arena events. A system of deployable metal mesh curtains animates the façade and serves as a spatial device to carve out social and meeting spaces in the concourse area surrounding the bowl.

subset: commoncrawl


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The number 10 Big Clear housing is a large capacity housing suitable for high flow applications. The extra large housing allows for greater water filter cartridge capacity, reducing the number of vessels required for high flow-rate applications. The Watts W10FFPH1CBPR number 10 Big Clear Housing will meet all of your large-capacity filtration needs, including high-flow and heavy-sediment applications. Durable construction. Ideal for homes, farms, private wells, restaurants, swimming pools, spas, and trickle irrigation. The water filter cartridge is not included with the housing. This allows you to purchase the best water filter for your water supply. Big Clear Filter Housings offer on-site examination of flow, performance, and cartridge life and are ideal for a variety of applications. The polypropylene caps include a pressure-relief button on the inlet side to relieve pressure inside the housing when changing water filter cartridges. Whole House housings extend the life of washing machines, water heaters, and other household appliances. 1-inch inlet/outlet for high-flow and heavy-sediment capabilities with minimal pressure drop. Leaking is prevented by the dynamically sealing O-Ring. The O-Ring should be replaced periodically to prevent leaks. For many applications, it makes sense to install two whole house housings. The first housing is for sediment reduction. The second housing is for the carbon filter to improve taste and odor and reduce additional contaminants. By installing the sediment filter first, the carbon filter will last longer because it does not get clogged with sediment. Since carbon filters are more expensive, it is better to have the sediment filter first that needs to be replaced more often. If you install two whole house housings, there is a double mounting bracket available for installation of two housings. If you have a lot of sediment in your water, you may want to consider three housings and use the first two housings for sediment reduction. The first housing contains a higher micron sediment filter and the second housing contains a lower micron sediment filter. The third housing is for the carbon taste and odor water filter. An example application is the first housing containing a DGD-7525 filter, the 2nd housing containing a DGD-5005 filter, and the 3rd housing containing a carbon filter such as the GAC-BB. If you install three whole house housings, there is a triple mounting bracket available for installation of three housings. Two number 10 Big Clear housings can be connected with a pipe nipple or pipe union. There are several pipe nipples available that can be used to connect two number 10 Big Clear Housings. Use the NP-10 pipe nipple to connect two number 10 Housings with 1-inch inlet/outlets.
- Genuine OEM Product
|Used In Brands
|Manufacturer's Id
|Advertised Size (in)
|10 x 4-1/2
|Materials of Construction
|Housing: Lexan, Button and Cap: Polypropylene
|Operating Pressure (psi)
|10 - 90
|Maximum Operating Pressure (psi)
|Operating Temperature (°F)
|40 - 100
|Operating Temperature (°C)
|4.4 - 37.8
|Fitting Size (inches)
|1 inch
|Color / Finish
- Watts W10FFPH1CBPR Clear Whole House Replacement Water Filter Information:
- The water filter cartridge is not included with the housing. This allows you to purchase the best water filter for your water supply.
- The water filter cartridge life depends on the water filter cartridge purchased, the quality of your water, and the amount of water used. You will know when to change the filter cartridge when your water pressure drops.
- Sediment water filters reduce dirt, sand, silt, sediment, rust particles, and scale particles. Choose from one of our sediment water filters at the 10" x 4.5" Big Blue Filter Page.
- Drinking water filters produce healthier, better-tasting drinking water by reducing chlorine taste and odor and other contaminants. Choose from one of our carbon drinking water filters at the 10" x 4.5" Big Blue Filter Page.
- Most Popular Water Filters for the #10 Big Clear Whole House Housing:
- Sediment Filters:
DGD-5005 5 Micron Sediment Filter (Recommended for well water and chlorinated water)
ECP5-BB 5 Micron Pleated Filter (Recommended for chlorinated water only)
- Carbon Filters:
CBC-BB 0.5 Micron Chlorine Taste & Odor and Cyst Reduction Carbon Block Filter
06-425-200-975 0.5 Micron Chlorine Taste & Odor, Cyst, and Lead Reduction Filter
GAC-BB 20 micron Chlorine Taste and Odor Reduction Water Filter
- Recommended Parts & Accessories:
- Replacement WOR-FF O-Rings. One o-ring is included with the housing purchase, but you should replace the o-ring periodically to prevent leaks.
- Use silicone grease to lubricate the o-rings to prevent leaking.
- Use the WW-FF housing wrench to remove the sump. The wrench should NOT be used to tighten the sump back onto the cap. Tightening may cause damage to the o-ring. Wrench sold separately.
- Use a single stainless steel mounting bracket to mount the whole house housing. There is also a double mounting bracket or triple mounting bracket if you purchase multiple housings.
- Another option is the the housing stand to set the whole house housing in.
- The replacement sump is the W10FFPH-SUMP. The sump should be replaced at least every 5 years.


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armeabi + armeabi-v7a
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3. Samsung+ offers a better experience when you are signed in to your Samsung Account on your device, but a Samsung Account is not required to begin using Samsung+. A Samsung Account is required to access Premium in-app features. If you don't have an account, you can create one in the app or by going to account.samsung.com.
4. Samsung+ is available in the US only and exclusive to Samsung Galaxy owners on the following devices:
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Samsung Galaxy Tab A (8", 9.7"), Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 (8", 9.7"), Samsung Galaxy Tab S (8", 10"), Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro (8", 10", 12"), Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 (7", 8", 10"), Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 (7", 8", Lite), Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7", 10"), Samsung Galaxy Note (8", 10", Pro 12")
The Samsung+ Team will be adding new features over time to provide the best experience. If you wish to provide feedback or need help using Samsung+, please call us toll free at (855) 795-0509 or email [email protected].
Version:10.6.6.0(12300) for Android 4.1+ (Jelly Bean, API 16)
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Source: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (US)
Release: Z.1 Financial Accounts of the United States
The FRED series Trade Payables - Liabilities - Balance Sheet of Households and Nonprofit Organizations is now known as Nonprofit Organizations; Trade Payables; Liability.
The source series id is FL163170003.Q.
This series appears in Table B.101. For further information see the assistance provided in the guide to the Financial Accounts at http://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/fof/.
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (US), [TPLBSHNO], retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis; https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/TPLBSHNO, November 12, 2019.


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WildCharge has finally announced their first production unit—the Motorola RAZR. For $89.99, you get the starter bundle including charging pad and phone adapter. The adapter is really a back plate replacement for the RAZR that has a "charging arm" that plugs into the phone. In other words, wires are involved, just not between the charging pad and the phone itself. Expect sales to being sometime this month, possibly tomorrow if they are on schedule. The second device to be produced by WildCharger will work with the iPod Nano.
Pricing will be the same as for the RAZR, and it will be available in August. The only way the WildCharger is economical, or even practical, is if you can use it with all your mobile devices. Hopefully the company will ramp up production and introduce units more often than one/month.
Thanks John!


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Microsoft Releases Light Patch Tuesday Update for September
Microsoft released a light Patch Tuesday update for September, but system administrators still have a lot of work to do before October to prepare for the new certificate rules.
Microsoft released only two bulletins as part of September's Patch Tuesday release, according to the company's update notification advisory. The patches deal with issues in Team Foundation Server, an add-on component to Visual Studio, and System Center Configuration Manager, a centralized deployment server that enterprises use to push out updates, scripts, and configuration changes to all the machines in the network.
Both the Visual Studio patch (MS12-061) and the SCCM patch (MS12-062) closed reflected cross-site scripting vulnerabilities. The SCCM flaw, rated important, is an escalation of privilege flaw but will not affect most users. Neither of the patches are critical nor do they require administrators to reboot the system after installing them.
"Microsoft has given us the least disruptive Patch Tuesday we've seen in a long time," Paul Henry, security and forensic analyst at Lumension, told Security Watch.
Both vulnerabilities are "pretty low risk," but it should be noted that employees should never be allowed to browse the Internet or check email from servers running SCCM or Team Foundation Server, Marcus Carey, a security researcher with Rapid7, told Security Watch. An attacker would craft a malicious link for a victim to click on to exploit these flaws and compromise the victim computer, Carey said.
Deprecating Short Certificates Next Month
While the patch load is light, administrators need to look at how they handle digital certificates within the network and deploy an earlier-released-update to be compliant with the new certificate system that will be in place next month. Microsoft announced in August it will deprecate all certificates using less than 1024-bit encryption as part of October's Patch Tuesday release on Oct. 9. The change was prompted by the discovery that Flame malware was able to game Microsoft's certificates.
Strong security means using 256 characters, or 2048-encryption, in certificates, so certificates using 1024-bit, or 128-bytes, is "nice enough," Pierluigi Stella, CTO of Network Box USA, told Security Watch. Online financial applications moved to 128 characters a long time ago, so there really was no reason for an organization to still be using short certificates for any of their applications, Stella added.
If organizations are still using applications which use 64-character certificates, "it's clearly time to update and I personally feel it's a very good idea that Microsoft has decided to 'force' our hands in doing so," Stella said.


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After finding these Tie Dyed Sacred Heart Shirts online, I just had to make some! We made a Sacred Heart shirt for my son, and Immaculate Heart shirts for me and the girls. Then my daughter insisted that "Daddy needs one", so I made a "Divine Mercy" shirt for him. (I didn't think my husband wanted to wear a shirt with a heart on it). For anyone who doesn't know, the feast of the Sacred Heart coming up on Friday 🙂
Supplies Needed:
- A Tie Dye Kit with desired colors. (I got the tulip kit with fuchsia, yellow, and turquoise. It cost $10, and will dye around 7 shirts if you dilute the blue or are willing to skip the blue on some of the shirts.)
- White shirts (Or you can tie dye a sacred heart onto something else like a white bag or a pillow case. Think creatively!)
- Black fabric marker or sharpie (for the Sacred Heart and Divine Mercy Shirts)
- Fabric roses or rose stamp with white acrylic paint (for the Immaculate Heart Shirt)
Before starting, it might be helpful to watch this video on how to tie dye a heart.
1. Start with a damp shirt and fold it in half as shown.
2. Sketch half of a heart onto the shirt with a pencil. Draw the "dip" in the top of the heart extra deep for a good final heart shape.
3. Gather the heart shape right on the pencil line- accordion style. Keep the pencil line as straight as possible. Start at the bottom corner of the heart and work your way around. This is what makes the heart shape, so do your best. As soon as you've gathered it all the way around the heart, rubber band it on the pencil line to secure it.
4. Place 2 more rubber bands down the shirt for color separation.
5. Prepare dye according to the directions, and dye the shirts making sure to get into the fabric crevices. Let the yellow overlap the red a little to let it bleed and create the orange "flames" around the heart. The colors go on in the order shown:
6. Finish your shirt according to the directions on your dye. (For mine, we put the shirts in plastic bags for 8 hours and then washed them in hot water).
7. Let the shirts dry.
Sacred Heart Of Jesus Tie Dye
1. Use a rose stamp to create the roses using white acrylic paint. I think acrylic paint is best because it dries so quickly, and lets face it- you've already had to wait for these shirts to dry once! This is a great way to go if you're making these shirts for a whole youth group or something. I found my rose stamp in the one dollar bins at Michael's.
2. Or, you can sew on little fabric roses. At Michael's, you can get 10 of them for $0.99! 🙂
How to Tie Dye a Divine Mercy Shirt
*a masculine alternative to a heart t-shirt 😉
2. Mark a diagonal across the shirt with a pencil. In St. Faustina's vision, the rays were coming from Jesus' heart, so I tried to make the top of this line end at at "heart height".
3. Gather the shirt on the pencil line accordian style, keeping the pencil line as straight as possible. When you've gathered it all the way across the shirt, rubber band it to hold it in place.
4. Add 2 more rubber bands, one on each side of the original. (This will keep the best "V" shape).
5. Dye the 2 rubber-banded sections with the red and blue dye. Then, dilute the blue dye and use for the remainder of the shirt. (For the diluted dye, I added 3 parts water to 1 part prepared dye). Alternatively, you could leave the remainder of the shirt white, but I had too many accidental blue splatters on the shirt to make that possible for mine.
6. Finish your shirt according to the directions on your dye. (For mine, we put the shirts in plastic bags for 8 hours and then washed them in hot water).
7. When the shirt is dry, use a sharpie or fabric marker to write "Jesus I Trust in You" on the shirt. Put a piece of paper under where you are working to prevent the marker from bleeding through to the back of the shirt.
Jesus appeared to St. Faustina, and asked her to have a painting made of this vision with the words "Jesus I Trust in You", so that's why I put it on the shirt. "The two rays denote Blood and Water. the pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous. The red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls."- St. Faustina's diary. If you're crious, read more about the Divine Mercy Image.
I think these shirts would be a fantastic for a youth group or vacation bible school project where matching shirts were needed. When I went to World Youth Day with my youth group, we wore matching shirts the whole time so we could keep up with our group. These certainly would have been fun!
If you make any and put them up on your blog, please leave the link in the comments so we can all see them! 🙂


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So a rough two-game road trip results in 4-3 and 4-1 losses to Chicago and Phoenix, respectively. Let's give credit where credit is due and say that Phoenix had a pretty good atmosphere for their home opener. Lots of duelling chants were heard on TV and a lot of passion in that building.
So, six thoughts on the last two games…
-I really like how Byfuglien jumps up into the play and can be an extra forward on many occasions. When he jumps forward into the play, he's often the best shooter up there. The problem thus far with Byfuglien is that he's really been shut down and it only looks like he's got one or two good shots away thus far in the season. Worth noting however that he is the only defenseman to ever crack 300 shots in a season, and he didn't really start going until seven games in last year (scored his first goal in Game Five) so it's a matter of "trust the process" for him.
-That said, against Phoenix, you could tell the big problem on the powerplay was that the Jets spent way too much time trying to work it down low. They have some great shots from the point. Byfuglien, Ron Hainsey (whose shot set up an Andrew Ladd goal) and Tobias Enstrom, but the three of them combined for a single shot against Phoenix. The team shoots at the 9th-lowest rate in the NHL and are one of just five teams not to score a powerplay goal thus far.
-When the Jets jumped out to a 2-0 lead, they did in a pretty impressive fashion, forcing a lot of pressure on the Blackhawks. They really do need to play a lot more aggressive particularly in forecheck situations and not try to trade chances with teams who may have a bit more raw talent and finishing ability. When you have guys who are fast enough to beat opponents to pucks, you should use all of that and cycle the puck a little rather than try to set up 2-on-1s and 3-on-2s because those have really yet to work for the team. I liked the way they played in the early bit of the game and they forced some offensive zone turnovers leading to some chances.
-Who had Jim Slater with a two-goal game? He certainly appeared more dangerous with those deflections than Kyle Wellwood did on that breakaway or Nik Antropov on the penalty shot. The Wellwood attempt was a classic blooper-reel moment, but Antropov's penalty shot was really uninspired. He was slower than a glacier and he was well out of good scoring position by the time he made that deke. It's good for a shooter to show patience, but Antropov looked to have little idea of his plan when he was moving in. Maybe that's why he skated so slowly.
-The goaltending hasn't been the biggest issue so far this season, but it certainly hasn't helped. Ondrej Pavelec is an .848 save percentage at even-strength to start the season and Chris Mason was just .870 against Phoenix. The two Jets goalies are 47th and 51st out of 52 goalies who have played in the NHL so far this season. It will probably turn around, but those are some pretty low numbers for a team that needs to count on its goaltending to get them at least 35 wins, which should be Winnipeg's goal this season.
-If advanced statistics are your thing, Alexander Burmistrov may be the best Jet so far on the year. He has a 3.0 Corsi Rel, which, to put it simply, means his team is three shots better when he's on the ice than when he's off the ice. He's done this despite starting more than half of his shifts in the defensive zone (47.4% offensive zone start rate). Three games so far, the commentators have discussed how dangerous he looks, and its unfortunate thus far that he hasn't been able to turn that into goals just yet.


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13 Ashley Park Drive
Chelsea Heights, VIC, 3196
Telephone: (03) 9772 1212
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com...
Monday to Friday : 8.00am - 5.00pm
Saturday : 8.00am - 1.00pm
Sunday : Closed
(03) 9772 1212
Chelsea Yamaha has been operating for many years servicing Chelsea Heights, surrounding areas, Victoria. Our customer base is as diverse and long standing as the residents of our community and we pride ourselves on giving all our customers the very best pricing backed up by superb and friendly customer service.
Our many services include Motor services, Trailer sales and repairs, Electronic sales and installation, Fiberglass Repairs, Boat Covers and Upholstery.Total 1 Stop Shop for all Boat Equipment and repairs
Over many years we have built a reputation for excellence in service and customer satisfaction and pride ourselves on offering value for money family boat packages.
Owner Robert Neely
There doesn't appear to be any news for this topic! Please check back later.


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These luscious White Chocolate and Lemon Cookies are light, chewy, and full of flavour and taste just like summertime. Word of warning, these cookies are highly addictive!
Makes around 25
110g unsalted butter, softened
100g caster sugar
55g soft brown sugar
pinch of salt
zest of one lemon
1 teaspoon lemon juice or extract
1 large egg, beaten
170g plain flour
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
200g white chocolate, chopped into chunks
Preheat oven to 190C (fan-forced 170C). Line a baking sheet with baking parchment.
Cream butter, caster sugar, soft brown sugar and salt together until fluffy. Beat in the lemon zest and lemon juice or extract. Taste and add more juice/extract if it's not lemony enough for you. Beat in the egg until well combined.
Stir the flour and bicarbonate of soda together then sift over the creamed mixture. Mix together until just combined, add the chocolate chunks and continue mixing until well combined.
Drop well-spaced heaped teaspoonfuls of cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 7-8 minutes until the cookies are pale gold and just beginning to brown round the edges. They should be a little puffy, too.
Cool on the sheet for one minute then transfer to a wire rack to completely cool.


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Sorry for the lack of blog updates. "Real Life" has gotten pretty busy with the birth of our first child, but that hasn't kept me from picking up a few random PCBs over the holidays.
First up is Heavy Unit, a relatively unknown Taito published shmup on Kaneko hardware, and apparently was unemulated up until the end of 2010. You can still find this pretty cheap in the US, so I went ahead and got one.
The detailed artwork is rather nice, a mix of bio-horror and mecha type enemy and scenery. You have standard powerups for your A and B shots (no bomb button), and a transforming powerup that switches your ship to a mecha. Unfortunately the game suffers from lack of autofire, which means a very sore wrist without (or much easier game with) autofire. Rank seems to depend completely on your powerup level, which is nice when you die, as its not too difficult to get powered up again.
I haven't had enough time to play this past the first few levels, and I like the detail and variety of enemies, but feel the game may be too easy with autofire. Bosses go down quite quickly if you are fully powered up. I'll come back to this when I get more time to clear the game.


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BRUNSWICK, Maine – The Harvard women's sailing team, led by a strong performance from the A division, finished fifth at the Women's New England Championship. The coed sailing team also sailed well, placing second at the Admiral's Cup hosted by Kings Point.
With the Reed Trophy up for grabs at the Women's New England Championship, the Crimson faced off against stiff competition from 13 schools. Juniors Emily Lambert and Alexandra Jumper sailed for Harvard in the A division, coming in second, trailing only Boston College. The duo captured three second-place finishes and a third in eight races to finish with a score of 33, two points ahead of Yale.
Morgan Russom and Meghan Wareham paired together in the B division for the Crimson, finishing in 10th place with a score of 69. The combined score of 102 gave Harvard a one-point edge over Rhode Island for fifth overall.
The Crimson went up against 16 of the top sailing teams over three divisions at the Admiral's Cup. The A and B divisions consisted of doublehanded fleet racing, while the C division featured singlehanded competitors. In the tightly contested A division, Alan Palmer, Quincy Bock and Alma Lafler finished with 65 points, three behind College of Charleston and five back of Hobart and William Smith for third place.
Senior John Stokes served as the skipper for the Crimson in the B division, while Lafler, Bock and Jason Michas spilt crew duties. That group tallied two top finishes in 10 races, good for 73 points and fifth place. Tedd Himler handled the singlehanded duties for the Crimson in the C division, recording a fourth-place score of 61, edging Randall Hartranft of SUNY Maritime by one point. Himler finished seven points behind Eric Horrocks from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy who placed third.
The combined score of 199 put the Crimson in second overall, trailing only regatta winner Charleston, which won the event with a low score of 166. St. Mary's rounded out the top three with a score of 215.
Harvard also competed in the Wellesley-Babson Tech Invite on Sunday. The Harvard A squad came in second with 20 points, behind Tufts A, which finished with 15 points. The Harvard B entry came in third at the event with 21 points.
The Crimson will head to California this weekend to compete in the ISCA Eastern Dinghy Championship semifinal, hosted by Southern California.


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clearly i am taking some time off from blogging. i am out of polaroid. yuck! depressing. boo hoo. weep weep. maybe a fairy princess will give me some for christmas. fingers crossed. if not, i will be forced to use the polaroid filter in photobag on my i phone (photo example above). oh, and running a small empire takes a lot of work. jamie and i always joke about how innocent the decision was. we'll just make some headbands and sell them online so our friends can buy them. what were we thinking? who knows, but it has been amazing and stressful and creative and rewarding and exhausting. we are super excited for 2010 and i am exited personally as well. i just know it's gonna be a good year.
ps. we are offering $20 off of any ban.do line purchase until midnight. type hooray in the coupon code at checkout. oh, and we just launched our new bridal as well.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Posted by jen gotch at 9:27 AM
14 comments:
- Marcyslaw said...
yeah, running out of polaroids sucks. but even worse is when for example my sx70 stucks for no reason and a whole film is down the drain :/ good thing though is that even the worst polaroid is better than digital;)
- December 17, 2009 at 1:59 PM
- mariel4985 said...
oh, i love the new bridal stuff! #100 is bella...well, they all are really! :)
- December 17, 2009 at 2:37 PM
- nopaynovita said...
wow.nice blog:)
- December 17, 2009 at 11:39 PM
- Anatomía said...
que bonitas fotos!!...so nice blog!!
- December 18, 2009 at 3:54 AM
- Szymon fotograf said...
I like your polaroids more :)
- December 19, 2009 at 1:21 AM
- December 19, 2009 at 6:52 PM
- career opportunities in new Zealand said...
- This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
- December 21, 2009 at 1:32 AM
- apartments in manila said...
- This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
- December 21, 2009 at 1:32 AM
- Alex Mathers said...
beautiful snaps! This blog is very inspiring, thanks :)
- December 25, 2009 at 10:09 AM
- Alexxander said...
looooove the polaroid!
- December 25, 2009 at 12:59 PM
- Hannah Sadie said...
I love your polaroids! and those headpieces are stunning, I've fallen in love with #60.
- December 28, 2009 at 8:13 AM
- December 29, 2009 at 2:09 AM
- Melissa said...
hey dig your roids. if you got time check out my polaroid blog.
- January 3, 2010 at 4:43 PM
- tine swijns said...
really like this one though!
- August 5, 2011 at 5:10 AM


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Club W Wine Club
Let us be clear: Club W is not intended for fine wine connoisseurs. The net it casts is likely too wide for specialists, the choices are a bit too offbeat, the price point too low, and the approach lacks formality. But to fill your coffers with reliable, drinkable, interesting bottles for under $15 a pop, all shipped to your doorstep, there's no better deal.
Beyond the idea of an endlessly refreshing wine cellar, the best part of Club W is its pricing: All the bottles are $13, shipping included. Bargain hunters will undoubtedly do their homework (wine-searcher.com has a convenient app for this, and will pretty easily find bottles that are cheaper here than in most stores). And while not all of them are below the wine store price point, they're low enough that the shipping almost always pays for itself.
What really makes Club W stand out from other monthly clubs, though, is its use of a tech to customize and refine your experience. The site works, in theory, a lot like Netflix. You fill out a short survey, which asks questions about your tolerance for salt, coffee, and mushroom, among other more straightforward wine questions. It then starts pointing you toward the month's dozen or so selections. You choose a minimum of three of these wines a month, and after you've received and sampled them, you rate the wine on a 1 to 5 star system to give better data on future recommendations. We found the algorithm complex and smart enough to be put on autopilot after giving feedback for a few months. To add to your basic three $13 bottles, there are also the curator's wines – hand-selected $19 bottles suitable for dinner parties, as opposed to a table wine for evenings at home.
Another modern-day, techie twist is that every Club W bottle comes with a QR code, a scannable signature that redirects you to a Club W-produced video of one of its sommeliers taking you through a tasting of that particular wine. The 60-second videos are informative and sometimes witty shorts that end in a tasting note telling you what to look for without weighing lofty, snobby terminology. If nothing else, it's a fun party trick, and an added bonus to all-around solid wine club. [$13 per bottle plus shipping; clubw.com]
For access to exclusive gear videos, celebrity interviews, and more, subscribe on YouTube!Back to top


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In Hollywood, a youthful look is an asset. In the line at airport security, not so much.
It's a lesson Emma Watson found out the hard, somewhat embarrassing way, as the erstwhile "Harry Potter" star took to Twitter to reveal that a member of the TSA stopped held up her recent holiday journey after being convinced that she was a child.
Make that, a very young child, in need of a parent to travel with.
Check out the first image from Emma Watson's Lancome In Love campaign
"Passport control: 'unaccompanied minor?' Me: 'sorry?' Passport control: 'where is ur guardian?' Me: 'I'm 22!!!!!!! #neverwearingabackpackagain."
Clearly, that particular agent wasn't a Hermione fan. Well, at least the Brit--proving she's ever bit an adult on the current cover of Marie Claire, incidentally--has a sense of humor about it.
Oops! Emma Watson's red carpet gaffe was one of the top 10 wardrobe malfunctions of 2012: See who else made the cut!
Then again, she's had some practice, as it's not exactly an unusual occurrence.
"The really sad thing is that this is not the first time this has happened," she added.
Long live the youthful glow.
Check out some hot celeb airport style


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Tywin Lannister
Portrait by Amoka©
Lord of Casterly Rock Shield of Lannisport Warden of the West Hand of the KingSavior of the City (of King's Landing)
|House Lannister
|In +/- 242 AC
|In 300 AC, at King's Landing
|Joanna Lannister
A Game of Thrones A Clash of Kings A Storm of SwordsA Feast for Crows
|Played by
|Charles Dance
|TV series
|Season 1 | Season 2
Tywin Lannister is Lord of Casterly Rock, Shield of Lannisport and Warden of the West. Tywin is one of the most powerful lords in Westeros. He is the father of Jaime, Cersei, and Tyrion Lannister. He loves his children Jaime and Cersei, but despises Tyrion. This is partly because Tyrion is deformed, but also Tywin blames his son for causing his beloved wife Joanna's death during his birth, as well as for shaming the family name with his frequent whoring.
Character and Appearance
Tywin Lannister is a calculating, intelligent, ruthless, and controlling man. Tywin Lannister dedicated his whole life and all his efforts into maintaining the Lannisters prestige, ensuring House Lannister was respected or at least feared.
Tywin is a tall, slender, broad-shouldered man in his fifties. He has kept his head shaved ever since he started going bald, but grows out bushy golden side-whiskers and has green eyes flecked with gold. In battle, he wears deep crimson armor highlighted with gold, with a cloth-of-gold cape.[1]
In his youth, Tywin watched his father Tytos mishandle the Lannister fortunes and nearly ruin the family. Lord Tytos was an amiable and gentle man, but also weak willed and eager to please; his bannermen mocked him in their cups or openly defied him (for example, the Reynes and Tarbecks). Other houses borrowed Lannister gold and never bothered to repay it; at court they japed of toothless lions and when Lord Tytos' lady wife died he made a common born woman, the daughter of a chandler, his mistress.[2] The woman dominated him utterly and Tytos was soon asking her opinion on affairs of state; meanwhile she was ordering his knights about, dismissing servants and helping herself to his late wife's jewellery. Lord Tytos even agreed to the betrothal of his daughter Genna to Emmon Frey (the second son, not the heir, of Lord Walder Frey). As a result of his father's follies Tywin Lannister never laughed as he mistrusted laughter, hearing too much of it directed at his father and House Lannister in his youth. Tywin also seldom smiled when he was young and never smiled again after his wife's death.
After becoming lord of the house, Tywin managed to single-handedly restore the family honor and fortunes from near ruin.
He had his father's mistress stripped naked and forced the sobbing woman to walk the streets of Lannisport to confess to every man she met that she was a thief and a harlot before banishing her from the Westerlands.[3] Tywin wiped out House Tarbeck of Tarbeck Hall and House Reyne of Castamere for their defiance, leaving their ruined and shattered castles as a mute testimony to the fate that awaits those who scorn the power of Casterly Rock. Such was the brutality of Tywin's destruction of House Reyne that a song called "The Rains of Castamere" was written as a tribute to the event. Indeed when Lord Farman of Faircastle grew truculent Tywin sent a messenger with a lute instead of a letter and once the "Rains of Castamere" was played Lord Farman got the message and caused no further trouble.
Tywin married his cousin Joanna Lannister and from all reports the marriage was a happy one. Genna Lannister even said that Tywin smiled on the day he wed Joanna.[4] It was said that though Tywin ruled the Seven Kingdoms (as Hand) he was ruled at home by his lady wife. Tywin was devastated by her untimely death and took no further wife. Gerion Lannister once told his nephew Tyrion that the best part of Tywin died when Joanna did.[5]
Tywin was a powerful Hand of the King for many years under Aerys II until Aerys' increasing paranoia and jealousy drove the two into several bitter disagreements. According to Ser Barristan Selmy Aerys lusted after Tywin's wife when she was alive (Aerys's own marriage was arranged) which caused further friction between the two. After Aerys refused to marry Cersei to his heir, Prince Rhaegar, and raised Jaime to the Kingsguard without Tywin's assent, Tywin resigned the position of Hand and returned to his own lands.
During Robert's Rebellion Tywin remained at Casterly Rock, taking no side until after Robert's decisive victory at the Battle of the Trident. After the battle, Tywin mustered his forces and rode for the capital of King's Landing. After Aerys was convinced by Grand Maester Pycelle that Tywin had come to aid him, he ordered the gates of the city opened. Tywin's forces then brutally sacked the city, Jaime slew the Mad King, while Gregor Clegane and Amory Lorch (knights sworn to Tywin and under Tywins orders) slew Rhaegar's wife and children, Tywin then wrapped the bodies in crimson Lannister cloaks (to better conceal the blood) and presented them to Robert as a token of fealty. When asked by his son Tyrion years later why Tywin didn't let Robert Baratheon bloody his own hands, Tywin's reply was...
"...we had come late to Robert's cause. it was necessary to demonstrate our loyalty. When I laid those bodies before the throne no man could doubt that we had forsaken House Targaryen forever. And Robert's relief was palpable. As stupid as he was he even knew Rhaegar's children had to die if his throne was ever to be secure. Yet he saw himself as a hero and heroes do not kill children". [6]
This act also secured the new King's marriage to his daughter Cersei, whose proposed betrothal to Prince Rhaegar Targaryen had been rejected by King Aerys much to Tywin's bitter disappointment. Cersei'smarriage to the new, young, and popular King did much to make up for Tywin's earlier disappointment.
After the rebellion, Tywin returned to Casterly Rock where he continued to serve as Lord and Warden of the West. Due to King Robert's financial mismanagement of the realm, as well as his own new connection to the throne by marriage, Lord Tywin frequently lent money to the crown, placing the court in King's Landing in great debt to House Lannister (over three million gold dragons).
When Tywin discovered his son Tyrion wed a crofter's daughter for love, he decided to teach Tyrion a "sharp lesson" he commanded Jaime (who was visiting the Rock at the time and was there when Tyrion first met Tysha) to tell Tyrion that the girl was a whore Jaime had hired so Tyrion could experience his first woman. Jaime did as he was bid but unknown to Jaime at the time Tywin then brought to girl to Casterly Rock and made Tyrion watch as Tywin gave Tysha over to his garrison of guards having each man pay the girl a silver coin after raping her. He then forced Tyrion to do the same but then pay the girl a gold coin.[7] This incident traumatized Tyrion and Jaime was full of guilt afterwards.
Tywin Lannister also refused to allow Tyrion to travel and see the world (as Tywin's brothers both had in their youth) fearing he would bring further shame on House Lannister and as a "gift" for Tyrion's sixteenth nameday he put his son in charge of cleaning all the drains of Casterly Rock.
Though ruthless, Tywin Lannister was also an able and shrewd ruler who brought great prosperity during his tenures as the King's Hand. He was especially talented at the raising of funds, leading to a persistent jest that he must "shit gold."[8] His daughter Cersei once reminisced that the common folk of Lannisport cheered twice as loud for him as they did for their actual king, Mad Aerys II. Even so Tywin was more respected then loved in the Westerlands and he became despised in King's Landing after his House treacherously sacked the city.
Though his children also greatly respected him, none of them were ever able to conform to the paths he had laid out for them, a fact that caused many difficulties.[9]
Recent Events
A Game of Thrones
Believed to be responsible for hiring an assassin to murder Bran Stark while he lay in a coma, Tywin's son Tyrion was encountered and arrested at the Inn of the Crossroads by Catelyn Tully, the wife of Eddard Stark. She took him to her sister Lysa, at The Eyrie, for trial. Though Tywin didnt care about his son Tyrion's welfare he saw the arrest and kidnapping as a direct slight on the family's honor and Tywin Lannister does not tolerate any slights to House Lannister, and in response sent Ser Gregor Clegane and his men, disguised as brigands, to sack and pillage various villages and hamlets across the Riverlands, Catelyn's home.[10] These raids marked one of the seminal points in what was to become the War of the Five Kings.
Tywin's aim was to draw Eddard out of King's Landing, capture him, and exchange him for the freedom of his son. Eddard, however, had been injured in a skirmish on the streets of King's Landing with Tywin's son Jaime and sent Lord Beric Dondarrion in his stead. When Beric's forces reached the Mummer's Ford, soldiers of Tywin's and Gregor's attacked from all sides, routing Dondarrion's host. Dondarrion himself was mortally wounded, though he would be revived by Thoros of Myr and go on to form the Brotherhood Without Banners, which would continually harass the Lannister forces for the duration of the war.
As the war gained momentum, Tywin's forces took the majority of the Riverlands and laid siege to Riverrun before meeting their first real opposition in the Battle of the Green Fork. Just prior to the battle, Tyrion, having won his freedom from the Vale via trial by combat and earned the loyalty of many of the Mountain clans along the way, met up with his father. Tywin sent Tyrion and his clansmen into the battle on the left flank, believing the undisciplined men likely to rout, but giving the Northern commander, which Tywin believed to be the young and inexperienced Robb Stark, a chance to over-commit and be annihilated.[11] The clansmen did not rout, however, and the Northern commander was not Stark but instead the more cautious and experienced Roose Bolton. The battle was a Lannister victory, but it bought enough time for a separate Northern force, under Robb Stark's command, to cross the Trident at The Twins and lift the siege of Riverrun, capturing Tywin's other son Jaime in the process.
After the death of King Robert, Tywin had been named Hand of the King for his grandson Joffrey Baratheon.[12] After the battle, he sent Tyrion to King's Landing to serve as Hand in his stead, and to prepare the city's defenses in anticipation of an attack from one or both of Robert's brothers Stannis and Renly, both of whom had laid claim to the Iron Throne, while Tywin managed the war with the North and the Riverlands.[13]
A Clash of Kings
The loss of Riverrun meant that Tywin was not able to pursue and destroy Roose Bolton's forces. Instead he marched south to Harrenhal while he pondered his next move. When Robb Stark marched from Riverrun and invaded the Westerlands, smashing a new Lannister host being raised and trained by Stafford Lannister at Oxcross and turning his forces loose to scour the Westerlands, Tywin left Harrenhal and marched his forces West in pursuit. Robb's plan was to lead Tywin's army on a long chase across the Westerlands, bleeding his forces and living off of their lands. However Edmure Tully, who had been tasked with holding Riverrun (and who was unaware of Robb's plan), met Tywin's army in the field in the Battle of the Fords.[14]
Tywin's forces were bloodied and thrown back, but the delay allowed word to reach Tywin that Stannis Baratheon had murdered his brother Renly and laid claim to the majority of his army, and that he was marching and sailing on King's Landing with an enormous force. Tywin turned his force Southeast on a forced march to King's Landing, and arrived just in time for the waning moments of the Battle of the Blackwater, where he was able to break and drive away the majority of Stannis' army, which had been on the cusp of victory, by taking them in the flank.[15] Tywin was declared Savior of the City by King Joffrey (which is ironic as Tywin was responsible for the previous Sack of the city during the War of the Usurper)
Tywin's son Tyrion, who had done much for the city's defenses, was critically wounded in the fighting.[16]
A Storm of Swords
Tywin's timely arrival at the Battle of the Blackwater allowed him to take the majority of the credit for the Lannister victory. Tywin assumed his official position as King Joffrey's Hand,[17] while giving Tyrion, after his recovery, the position of Master of Coin, which Tyrion saw as a demotion and an insult. He arranged for Tyrion to be wed to Sansa Stark[18], giving him claim over Winterfell and directly denying Tyrion's ambition to inherit Casterly Rock.[16] He also made plans to find a suitor to marry his widowed daughter Queen Cersei, though they were never realized. He offered her to Willas Tyrell but Mace Tyrell (after being hectored by his mother) refused the match.[19]
After learning that Robb Stark had unexpectedly wed Jeyne Westerling and that House Westerling had gone over to the Starks, Tywin remained in communication, via raven, with Jeyne's mother Sybell Spicer, as well as with Roose Bolton, who had switched sides to the Lannisters after taking Harrenhal, and Walder Frey, who saw Robb's marriage to Jeyne as an insult to his house, as it broke a marriage pact Robb had previously made to wed a Frey girl. The Red Wedding was the direct result of their correspondence, which saw Robb Stark betrayed and murdered along with the vast majority of his host, effectively ending the war with House Lannister the victor. Tywin stated that...
"some wars are won with swords others with quills and ravens".[16]
Tywin Lannister also had Ice, the Valyrian Steel greatsword of Eddard Stark melted down and reforged into two longswords, one was a gift for Joffrey on his wedding day the other as a gift to Jaime.[19] Not long after, King Joffrey was poisoned and died at the feast that followed his wedding to Margaery Tyrell. Tywin's son Tyrion was (falsely) accused of the crime, and Tywin agreed to be one of Tyrion's three judges, alongside Oberyn Martell and Mace Tyrell, at his trial. When it became clear that he was going to be found guilty, Tyrion demanded trial by combat, and Oberyn Martell surprisingly volunteered to champion him. Cersei being Tyrions accuser had selected Ser Gregor Clegane to represent the crown. Gregor won the duel, slaying Oberyn, and Tyrion was thus found guilty.[20]
Awaiting his sentencing, however, Tyrion was freed from the Black Cells by his brother Jaime (and a reluctant Varys). During his escape, Jaime revealed the truth about Tysha (Tyrions first wife) to Tyrion saying she was not a whore but a girl just chance met on the road and father had made Jaime speak the lie to Tyrion. Tyrion was enraged by this and had Varys show him to a ladder that led directly into the Tower of the Hand, and climbed it straight into Tywin's residence, He found his ex-whore Shae in Tywin's bed, wearing nothing but his father's golden chain of office. Tyrion strangled her to death with it. He then took a crossbow from the wall and found Tywin in the privy and confronted him about Tysha. Tywin remained belligerent, repeatedly calling her a "whore", which Tyrion saw as the final insult and shot him in his bowels with the crossbow, killing him. Tywin died while seated on the privvy and his bowels loosened in the moment of death causing Tyrion to think as he left his fathers body...
"...the oft repeated jape about his father was just another lie, Lord Tywin Lannister in the end did not shit gold". [21]
A Feast for Crows
After his body was discovered, it was prepared for a state burial. Cersei had the Kettleblacks remove the body of Shae and swore she would have the tongue removed of any man who mentioned she was ever there.[3] The remains of Lord Tywin were shown for seven days in the Great Sept of Baelor before making its way west with an entourage of knights and lords from the Westerlands. The smell of the body was so bad many of the mourners grew sick or faint from being too near. A drying of the mouth also caused Lord Tywin lips to curl up and make him appear to smile.[22] This disturbed both Jaime and Cersei because as mentioned above Tywin Lannister seldom smiled.
Though House Lannister remained respected and powerful while he was alive, it increasingly looks like the House is going to collapse into ruin and become an embarrassment again due to the follies of Tywin's children, Cersei especially who in an ironic twist of fate was forced in A Dance with Dragons by the Faith of the Seven to do a penance walk naked through the streets of King's Landing just as Tywin once forced his father's mistress to do the same through the streets of Lannisport.
In the end Tywin Lannister died a humiliating death and was also proven to be a hypocrite, through out his life Tywin repeatedly put Tyrion down for his whoring. Yet he was caught with a whore (no less his sons former whore Shae) in his own bed before his death. He was blind when it came to his children, refusing to see the true relationship between Cersei and Jaime and Tyrion's true potential. Even when his own sister Genna Lannister saw Tyrion's worth and told Tywin so, Tywin's response was to ignore her for half a year.
Tywin married his cousin Joanna Lannister. They had three children; Cersei, Jaime and Tyrion. Joanna died when giving birth to Tyrion. It is an unexplained mystery why Tywin named his first son Jaime, after no one known, and gave the family-traditional-style name Tyrion to his deformed second son.
References and Notes
- ↑ A Game of Thrones, Chapter 56, Tyrion VII.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 62, Jaime VII.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 A Feast for Crows, Chapter 3, Cersei I.
- ↑ A Feast for Crows, Chapter 33, Jaime V.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 38, Tyrion V.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 53, Tyrion VI.
- ↑ A Game of Thrones, Chapter 42, Tyrion VI.
- ↑ A Clash of Kings, Chapter 30, Arya VII.
- ↑ A Feast for Crows, Chapter 44, Jaime VII.
- ↑ A Game of Thrones, Chapter 43, Eddard XI.
- ↑ A Game of Thrones, Chapter 62, Tyrion VIII.
- ↑ A Game of Thrones, Chapter 57, Sansa V.
- ↑ A Game of Thrones, Chapter 69, Tyrion IX.
- ↑ A Clash of Kings, Chapter 45, Catelyn VI.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 14, Catelyn II.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 4, Tyrion I.
- ↑ A Clash of Kings, Chapter 64, Arya X.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 19, Tyrion III.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 32, Tyrion IV.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 70, Tyrion X.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 77, Tyrion XI.
- ↑ A Feast for Crows, Chapter 8, Jaime I.
This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original content was at House Lannister. The list of authors can be seen in the page history of House Lannister. As with A Wiki of Ice and Fire, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.


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Summer officially begins in just a few days and it's the height of the theme park season. This will be a slow year for me as we've got a young one at home and we're still adapting to life with two kids. There's a chance that I'll make it back to Kings Dominion. Perhaps fittingly, I could be returning to my home park where it all started to ride my 200th roller coaster and Intimidator 305. I may also get to check out Family Kingdom thanks to a family trip to Myrtle Beach. Sadly, Freestyle Music Park won't be open, but a ride credit on the fun-looking woodie, Swamp Fox, will lessen the sting.
With theme park travel in full swing I figured it'd be cool to discuss where everyone's planning on going this year. And, if you need any advice on choosing which parks to visit I'll try to help and I invite everyone else to chime in with their take too.
Where Are You Headed in 2010?
Are you sticking with your local park or headed on to a new park far from home? Are there any big roller coasters that you're looking forward to or milestones in your coaster count? Leave a comment below and take the poll below.Sorry, there are no polls available at the moment.


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For one day, a modest man in the teaming city of Trivandrum, capital of the southern Indian state of Kerala, was the center of much attention.
On 14 May 2005, dignitaries from around the world, led by the Prefect of the Congregation for the Eastern Churches, Patriarch Ignace Moussa Cardinal Daoud, converged on St. Mary Cathedral. There they celebrated the elevation of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church to the dignity of a major archiepiscopal church, a status that accords it more autonomy within the Catholic communion of churches. But they focused their energies on its self-effacing leader, Major Archbishop Cyril Mar Baselios.
The archbishop, who celebrated the 25th anniversary of his episcopacy last year by building houses for the poor, is just the third leader of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church. A noted scholar, ecumenist and pastor, Mar (a Syriac honorific for Lord) Baselios follows in the footsteps of two giants of the 20th-century universal church: Benedict Mar Gregorios, a gregarious man who guided the Syro-Malankara community from 1953 until his death in 1995; and Mar Ivanios, a visionary whose quest to reunify Keralas Christians led, in 1930, to the establishment of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church.
Though the youngest of the 21 Eastern Catholic churches, the roots of this community stretch through nearly two millennia of Indian history and culture.
Apostolic origins. Until Portuguese explorers, merchants and fortune hunters arrived in southern India in the late 15th century, Keralas Christians flourished as a unified church. These Thomas Christians traced their faith to the evangelizing efforts of St. Thomas the Apostle, who is thought to have arrived on the shores of Kerala in the year 52, subsequently establishing seven faith communities.
Isolated from the development of the church west of Jerusalem as well as the schismsand controversies that destroyed its unity the heirs of St. Thomas were in communion with the Assyrian Church of the East, sharing its distinct Eastern Syrian liturgy and traditions. First developed by Mesopotamias Jewish-Christian community, who had also received the Gospel from Thomas, these customs were enhanced by Syriac-language scholars working independently of the churches of Rome and Byzantium.
Ties between Assyrian and Thomas Christians were strengthened by trade, the periodic immigration of Assyrian Christians to southern India and regular visits of Assyrian bishops to the subcontinent to ordain priests and deacons. In the eighth century the Assyrian catholicos-patriarch appointed a hierarch with the title of Metropolitan and Gate of All India to shepherd the Thomas Christians, though authority resided with an Archdeacon of All India, an Indian priest appointed by the metropolitan. Though not without its own internal conflicts, the Thomas Christian community was thoroughly integrated into the fabric of southern Indian society but remained Eastern Syrian in its religious heritage.


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Last Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court made same-sex marriages legal across the country. It was an important moment, not just for people in the U.S., but for LGBTQ supporters all over the world. People on Facebook expressed their support by changing their profile pictures, and many of us here in India joined in too. Of course, there were those who were cynical and questioned whether a legal change halfway across the planet was of any relevance to us Indians. And then there were others who brought out the usual argument that we were merely 'aping the West', and giving undue importance to the United States.
Being queer in a country like India can be a lonely experience. Most of us Indians grew up in ignorance in a very homophobic culture. It's taboo to even talk about sex and sexuality, and there are many who grew up without any inkling that there are other sexual orientations besides heterosexuality. There is also overwhelming social pressure to conform to traditional norms of morality, and those who reject it are at risk for violent 'moral policing'. There is no relief from the legal system either: under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code you can be imprisoned for 10 years for having consensual gay sex. Because of all these factors, members of the LGBTQ community in India live under severe repression.
One of the striking parts of a queer Indian's experience is the fact that homophobia is so pervasive, even among people who claim to be liberal and supportive of LGBTQ rights. Many of my otherwise progressive friends and colleagues continue to crack homophobic jokes without even pausing to ask themselves whether that is acceptable. And while my closest friends have accepted me for who I am, I know that my family is too conservative to accept my sexual orientation. Like most other Indian families, they believe in following the accepted traditions and values, and they want to make sure that their children don't 'bring a bad name' to the family by going against social expectations.
Between the taboos around discussing sexuality and the pervasive homophobia, it is often very difficult to tell whether even the liberal people around you might be willing to accept you for who you are. So you dismiss the idea of coming out to those around you, and give up on the possibility of finding any support through them. It's a difficult situation: you either come out to others and risk being harassed, shunned or physically assaulted, or you stay in the closet and find a way to deal with the isolation… Most people choose to stay in the closet.
So back to Friday night: I saw a couple of my friends change their profile pictures to celebrate the SCOTUS decision. I debated changing my picture as well, but there were too few rainbow-hued profiles among the people in my friends list. If I changed my profile picture, I would effectively be outing myself, or at the very least, I would've had to answer questions that I'm not prepared to answer. Eventually, I decided that it wouldn't be a good idea to risk it, and went to sleep feeling rather blue over the fact that there was so much homophobia around.
Fast forward to Saturday morning: the number of friends who changed their profile pictures had grown to a steady trickle. I finally felt comfortable enough to change my profile picture, too – being part of a stream of rainbow-hued profiles wouldn't raise too many eyebrows. It was huge relief to be able to express myself publicly through one of the limited avenues available to me.
By the afternoon, the stream had grown into an overwhelming tide of people expressing their solidarity with the LGBTQ community. The solidarity came from unexpected sources – people whom I hadn't spoken to in years, people who had cracked homophobic jokes in the past. Hell, even among my relatives who I'm so intimidated by, there were two cousins showing their acceptance of queer folk.
I saw my fellow Indians embrace a more tolerant culture, and I saw the first signs of acceptance from mainstream urban India. I didn't expect to see so many people who cared enough to publicly express their solidarity. It may only be a small number of Indians, but this show of support was unimaginable even a few years ago. This tolerance points to a future where the next generation of queer Indians are no longer forced into heterosexual marriages, or worse. For a group that has been repressed for so long, a group that is starving for acceptance, this is a huge deal.
For the first time in my life, I felt less isolated by my queerness. I knew that there were many people around whom I could be myself, that I didn't have to hide myself from the entire world. And if the time comes when I'm ready to come out to my family, I know that I can reach out to my cousins for support. But most of all, I felt a huge relief that there would be a future where I wouldn't have to pretend to be someone else. I was overwhelmed by this simple show of solidarity… And I finally felt optimistic about the future.


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Apple has extended its subscription-based pricing options beyond newspapers and magazines, allowing at least one game company to offer access to its games on a subscription basis. Seattle-based Big Fish Games will begin offering a $6.99 per month subscription that will provide access to "dozens" of games via an iPhone and iPad app. That could open the door for more companies to offer subscription access to specialized software services via iOS apps.
Until now, Big Fish has offered each of its titles as a separate app on the App Store for about $1.99 each. However, founder Paul Thelen saw the new iOS subscription APIs as a way to offer his company's games on an "all-you-can-eat" basis. The idea is that users could simply download one app, pay a monthly subscription via an iTunes account, and play whatever game struck their fancy. (Big Fish's catalog largely consists of casual puzzle and mystery games.)
"This is the first time that the technology has matched the business model," Thelen told Bloomberg News.
Apple originally offered subscription APIs to allow content publishers a way to offer an easy way to pay for periodical content such as newspapers and magazines. At first, it required that all this content be made available for purchase within apps at the same or lower price than available elsewhere, with Apple collecting its usual 30 percent cut. However, many publishers balked at the rules, and Apple later relaxed them to allow greater pricing freedom. Content providers could even forgo in-app subscription payment altogether as long as apps didn't include direct links to outside purchase mechanisms.
While that satisfied most publishers and content providers, many e-book readers—such as Amazon's Kindle app—and apps like Netflix and Dropbox had to remove links to outside stores or Web-based payment options.
Former Apple CEO Steve Jobs noted that subscription payment APIs and its rules weren't geared towards SaaS (Software as a Service). And according to Thelen, Apple was reluctant to allow Big Fish to use subscription pricing for its games. "It took longer than usual to be approved," Thelen said. "They needed to be convinced there's a reason to charge customers every month."
Customers used to paying a few bucks or less to play a game indefinitely may also need convincing. However, if Big Fish's experiment proves successful, other game developers might try a subscription model. That could encourage software service providers to provide their wares via in-app subscription pricing.


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AV Equipment Dealers near Ambrose, North Dakota
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Innovative Presentations, Inc.
6150 Summit Dr N Brooklyn Center , MN 55430
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10400 Yellow Circle Dr Minnetonka , MN 55343
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Chief Manufacturing, Inc. - Milestone AV Technologies
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Electronic Design Company
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10901 Hampshire Ave. S. Minneapolis , MN 55438
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Presentations and Displays have never been sexier in Ambrose, North Dakota thanks to the latest AV Equipment Dealers.
Today not only does Audio Visual (AV) Equipment save your company money and time by eliminating printing, shipping, travel and other costs but it has never been more affordable or easier to use. Whether you are in Sales, Marketing, Training, or Product Development your local AV Equipment Dealer is ready to help you choose the best AV technology solution to meet your needs.


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by Rob Cox December 27, 2013
Looking over your pool equipment pad, scan the pump, filter, heater for anything out of the ordinary. Cracked pipes, pumps, filter tanks. If there is dirt, mulch or leaves surrounding your pump, now may be a good time to clean up. Trapped dirt and mulch holds acidic water which creates a moist, acidic micro climate around your pump motor. Clean out any fallen branches as well.
Look Up above your equipment pad and behind it. If there is overgrowth that shades the equipment too much, it cuts off airflow and evaporation, making a moist environment that is not good for metal and electrical items on your equipment pad. If necessary, trim back any over grown areas around the equipment pad.
Have you ever cleaned your equipment? Most people don't - but if you wanted to, all you need is gloves, a few gallons of water in a bucket with a teaspoon of dish soap, and a good scrub brush. You can scrub the filter and valves, pumps and pipes, and then hose it off clean. Just don't spray directly onto your pump motor, electrical panels or heater controls.
If you haven't cleaned and lubed the pump lid o-ring in awhile, a winter check up is the perfect time to lube and protect any sealing o-rings on your pool equipment.
Check out the deck to be sure that none of the pads have shifted, tilted or cracked. Inspect diving boards and pool slides for tightness. Wrapping tightly during winter helps preserve the finish on gelcoat boards and slides. Diving board covers are best, or you can use a good tarp and rope and/or bungee cords to block the sun and snow.
The pool skimmer - check check visually for any cracks, and that the skimmer weir and lid are intact. If you winterized accordingly, you will find a quart or gallon sized bottle, 1/4 full of pool antifreeze or pebbles. The purpose of a 'skimmer bottle' is to absorb the expansion of ice that forms in the skimmer, from rain water and snow melt. Filling it slightly with antifreeze or pebbles (something that won't freeze) allows the bottle to sink slightly into the skimmer water, so that it freezes around the bottle. NOTE: If using antifreeze, be sure to completely rinse any traces of previous chemicals from the bottle before pouring in antifreeze.
After pulling back the cover onto itself, to expose a length of the pool, look for any signs of cracking, discoloration, water line marks or new stains. For concrete pools, inspect the tile and coping stones for any movement or cracks.
If you can find the pool floater, it would be a good time to refill the floater. NOTE: If you used a non-chlorine Winter Kit floater, be sure to completely rinse any traces of the chemical before filling it again with chlorine tablets. And, tie it off on both sides of the deep end, using a long piece of twine tied to the floater, to prevent bleaching or staining of pool surfaces by a stuck floater.
Take note of the water level, if you have a mesh safety cover, you may want to lower the pool water at this time, so that the water is not freezing at the tile line, which puts pressure on the tile, and gets the cover stuck into the ice. Ideal water level for a safety cover would be about 6 inches below the tile. For solid pool covers, I like to have the water level about 4 inches below the pool tile, or below the skimmer, for vinyl pools.
Check the breaker box, to be sure that the pump breaker is still in the off position. The time clock should also have the 'ON' tripper removed, and placed in the bottom of the box, or screwed to the wire shield.
Make sure that your pool light is not on! Some people with heavy solid covers have unknowingly left their pool lights on all winter!
Secure the power boxes, and lock them if you want extra security. Inspect the area above your electrical panels to be sure that nothing is overhanging that would drip water onto the electrical boxes. Building a small roof to deflect rain water from falling directly on outdoor power boxes is a pretty good idea, if you can swing it.
Finally, check the wire harnesses that run from the power boxes to the pool pump, heater, salt system, valve actuators, sensors... Check all wires and wire conduit to be sure that they are secured, connected and intact, and that everything looks safe.
Quick scan to your pipes above ground, or for aboveground pools, inspect the any visible plumbing at the pool. Slide valves, or push pull valves, should be tested, and left in a mid-position. Lube the disk o-rings if the action is not smooth. Multiport valves should be set in an open position. That is, push down on the handle and leave the handle in a position between any two positions, so that the back of the handle is pushed down.
Others may prefer to use the 'Closed' position on the multiport, but if you leave the valve rotor raised off of the valve body (by having the handle in between positions), it creates an air space that could prevent freeze damage if water was to flood the valve. Leaving the valve in the 'Waste" position is another option. If the system were to become flooded, or un-winterized, this allows water to run out of the system.
Inground pools will usually have the main drain valve closed, inspect that it is closed. If you have Jandy type valves, you can remove the handle if you want to prevent anyone from accidentally opening the valve before spring.
I like to clean off the deck around the pool at this time, and clean up any trapped leaves nearby the pool. A leaf blower is my choice, and if large enough, you can blow any leaves or twigs off of the pool cover. For safety covers, you are making sure that all of the straps are tightly connected, and the springs all have a medium tension. Larger covers should deflect downward towards the water, but smaller covers should appear drum tight. Tighten up the straps if there are some that are not medium tight.
For solid covers, some of your time should be spent cleaning the cover. A leaf rake works best, to scoop off any leaves and twigs. Take care with larger branches, that they don't pierce the cover while you are removing them.
Tighten up the cover if it has many wrinkles across it. This will help it to drain more easily. Tightening-Up the cover is done by grabbing two handfuls of pool cover at the edge, and pulling hard away from the pool. Do this around the pool, about every ten feet or so, and you will have pulled the cover up more onto the pool deck, and pulled out surface wrinkles.
Replace or repair any deflated water tubes, aka water bags. Water bags should be spaced end-to-end, without gaps, and doubled up in areas of short overlap, where the cover is only 1-2 feet from the pool's edge.
Be careful not to use cinder blocks, bricks or planters within 3 feet of the pool's edge. If they fall in they can do a lot of damage to the cover and to the pool.
For aboveground pool covers, locate the wench, and give it a few cranks, to make sure the cable is tight. Check your wind protection method (Cover Clips, Wall Bags or Cover Seal - or other homemade remedy), to be sure that it's still functioning. Tightening-Up aboveground pool covers is also very important, to prevent the wind from whipping it around on the surface. Air pillows, while primarily used as an ice compensator, to break up the pool ice sheet, also help to keep an above ground pool cover tightly fitted to the pool.
Now is the time to check the water chemistry - your pH, Alkalinity and Calcium Hardness. For thin mesh covers that allow a lot of sunlight through the material, also check your level of cyanuric acid. You may want to shock the pool, or superchlorinate at this time, refill a floater, or add additional algaecide. Since you have the cover open, skimming and brushing the areas you can reach, or to distribute chemicals, would be time well spent.
Final part of your winter pool inspection is to give the pool fencing and gates a good looking over. Fix any loose boards, or misalign gate latches. Make sure the gates self close and self latch, and if you don't use a pool fence gate during winter, consider keeping it locked.
- Rob


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Zenescope Entertainment Sponsors Lehigh Valley IronPigs Comic Book Night
Zenescope Entertainment is proud to be a sponsor for the first Comic Book Night at Coca-Cola Park for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs baseball game on Thursday, June 27th. Zenescope will be giving away thousands of comic books to attendees ages 14 and younger at the gate.
Zenescope, along with their all-ages imprint, Silver Dragon Books, will have tables in the concourse throughout the game where they will be giving out comic books and having a number of comic creators autographing their work. Some of Zenescope's top creative talent will be in attendance, including co-founders and writers, Joe Brusha and Ralph Tedesco. In addition, writer, Pat Shand, and artists, Anthony Spay, Mike Capprotti, and Daniel Kaye, will also be attending.
The fans will have the opportunity to meet and have their pictures taken with Bigfoot, as well as costumed heroines from Zenescope's Robyn Hood and Grimm Fairy Tales series. Those attending the game are encouraged to stop by the tables to find out more about this top ten comic book publisher based in Horsham, PA.
Fans are also invited to dress up as their favorite characters for the costume contest and the top three costumes will win prize packages from Zenescope Entertainment. The prize packs will include comic book collections, limited edition merchandise, and even a one-of-a-kind sketch by one of Zenescope's top cover artists.
Tickets for the game can be purchased on http://ironpigsbaseball.com . For more information about Comic Book Night or other Zenescope news, visit blog.zenescope.com or follow their updates on Facebook and Twitter.
Zenescope Entertainment was founded by Joe Brusha and Ralph Tedesco in 2005, and has quickly grown into one of the top comic book and graphic novel publishing companies in the world. Zenescope's Grimm Fairy Tales and subsequent spinoff series such as Wonderland, Neverland and Robyn Hood, which put a dark twist on classic fables, are some of the best-selling and longest-running original independent comic books on shelves today. Zenescope publishes and develops both original and licensed material and has worked with dozens of clients that include Discovery Channel, History Channel, CBS, Lionsgate TV, Mandalay Vision, New Line Cinema, Titmouse Studios and many others.


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Maximised returns is the bottom line for property owners. And a strategic, proactive leasing approach can make all the difference to a productive commercial real estate investment.
Take Illovo Green, for instance. This signature 80 000m2 mixed-use development in a prime location between Sandton and Rosebank in Johannesburg is aimed at progressive corporate, lifestyle and residential tenants. Financiers and developers, North Face Capital, has retained JLL's agency services to position their investment to attract an appropriate tenant base and achieve optimum rental rates. JLL will lead the commercialisation of the new project, from recommendations based on intense market analytics to a targeted marketing campaign and exclusive representation rights on pre-leasing activities for 100 selected companies.
Valentina Ardonceau manages the Agency Lease Advisory service offering for JLL SSA. She explains, 'Agency is an industry term for landlord leasing services that assist property owners with focused strategies to maximise the value of their leased asset. At JLL we see this as a strategic partnership and offer an individual approach to every real estate investment'. Valentina says this means a client may require just one targeted solution from a diverse range of leasing capabilities or a holistic turnkey approach that can encompass anything from research and asset positioning to full scale marketing implementation, depending on the landlord's commercial goals.
Solutions can include one or all the following:
- Market research and in-depth property analysis (e.g. occupancy rates, rental levels, existing and future supply of stock)
- Proactive strategic marketing campaigns within well-connected professional network
- Advice on asset positioning and occupancy improvement for occupied assets
- Turnkey leasing capabilities for new commercial projects (bringing the property to market, identifying potential tenants and negotiating leases)
Valentina says JLL's defining factor is the ability to add value. 'We have the competitive advantage of a proven track record. This, combined with exceptional market intelligence, the power of the JLL network and an in-depth understanding of what landlords want, allows us to help maximise real estate investments.' By outsourcing a property's commercialisation requirements to us, property owners are free to focus on their core business growth.


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The film academy is adding a "Project Runway" element to the Oscars this year by asking the public to vote on which dress the trophy presenter will wear.
The academy tapped seven emerging designers to create gowns for the competition. They unveiled their entries Tuesday during the annual Oscar fashion show at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' headquarters.
The winning dress "will be seen on Oscar night probably more than any other gown on the red carpet," said Oscar fashion coordinator Patty Fox. She and show producers Laurence Mark and Bill Condon selected the competing designers.
Moire Conroy, Alan Del Rosario, Sam Kori George, Marianne Kooimans, Maria Pinto, Nicolas Putvinski and Robert Rodriguez each had about three weeks to design their dress.
Del Rosario, who already counts Michelle Pfeiffer and Debra Messing among his clients, said he was inspired by "old Hollywood glamor" when creating his strapless silk-and-lace mermaid gown.
"The Oscars is all-time glamour," he said. "It's one of those events when a woman can go all out."
Maria Pinto, famous for making Michelle Obama's Inauguration Day dress, called her Oscar entry "modern Marie Antoinette."
The strapless silver column "is a study of control and release," she said, noting that pleats at the waist shape a makeshift bustle in back.
Putvinski cited New York City skyscrapers as the inspiration for his flowing white gown with folds of silver across the front. Rodriguez also chose white, looking to Grace Kelly as a muse for his silk Grecian column accented with an asymmetrical black strap.
Conroy was inspired by the '60s summer of love for her floaty gray chiffon design, while George was inspired by champagne — specifically the Taittinger girl — for his strapless silver crepe gown adorned with handmade orchids. Kooimans showed an intricately embroidered, one-shouldered dress dripping with antique diamond brooches.
Oscar-worthy gems decorated each of the dresses. Neil Lane, a red-carpet regular who has worked with Marisa Tomei and Angelina Jolie, said he expects vintage looks and subdued glamour at the Oscars this year.
"Everything is classical," he said. "Everything goes back to the golden days of Hollywood."
Fox said that while she didn't offer the design contestants any guidelines, she hoped they'd embrace classic colors and styles.
"All the fashion gods were with us," she said.
Fans can vote online for their favorite gown until Feb. 17. The winner of "Oscars Designer Challenge" will be announced during the red-carpet show before the Feb. 22 Academy Awards.


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Vinatge Blvd Coming Out!
Confidence showed on the faces of these young women, who in just a few moments would be the center of attention in a room full of exhibitionistas, the fiercer cousins of plain and pretentious fashionistas.
People began to arrive as the clock struck eight. High tops and high heels mingled with one another as Teirra Chameleon, and her team of stylists frantically pieced together an unforgettable show in the cellar of Frank White.
As I stripped down to my bare essentials and hurriedly tried on my second ensemble, I looked around the activity filled cellar that I was in.
To my left a young alabaster toned model full of smiles. To my right, an aspiring stylist doing hair, make up, and fittings although none fit her job de scri ption.
In front of me a soon to be stylist to-the-stars whose fashion wand could make even Cinderella's step sisters look good.
I saw young, beautiful women who had come together, in an effort to make the dream of a close friend a shocking reality. Passion, fear, excitement, nervousness and self conscious confidence showed on the faces of these young women, who in just a few moments would be the center of attention in a room full of exhibitionistas, the fiercer cousins of plain and pretentious fashionistas.
Each group of women represented an era or moment in time. First up, the leggy modelette Mahogany. Silk scarves, velvet dresses and red leather gloves graced the bodies of the models that followed her onto the runway.
But this event wasn't just about style.
It was a celebration of beauty, a confidence booster, a world created for us, by us in rebellion of what the industry norm currently is.
I spoke to one brainy belle who pointed out the beauty in seeing models every shade of cinnamon on the runway. I couldn't agree with her more.
As the show came to a close and all the modelettes gathered for the finale, in the cellar of this coffee house ode to biggie, one of them shouted OBAMA!, which started a ripple effect amongst this group of vibrant women.
Oh-BA-MA, Oh-BA-MA, Oh-BA-MA. We all chanted as if the name of our president elect signified that in between all the vogueing and twirling we'd achieved yet another feat in our formidable rise to success.
And so when the applause subsided, the curtains closed and the last confetti had fallen, the end was only really the beginning for those who believe that we all, fair or fawn, young and old... Can.
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I think you have "Filtered HTML" turned on here. If you switch to "Full HTML," it will probably...
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Next up in the Week of Shapes is the circle! Isobel Piper who blogs at To Ithaca created this beauty titled Ring Quilt as her reinterpretation of Joelle Hoeverson's Color-Wheel Quilt from Last-Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts. She taught herself to quilt from a number of resources on the internet over the past couple of years and loves to use solid colors and predominantly geometric prints to create useful and beautiful quilts. This one forced her out of her comfort zone as you'll read in her words below. The clean lines of this 56×56″ circle quilt make this an instant favorite though. Check out those circular quilting lines too!
Question: What was your inspiration for this quilt?
Isobel: I wanted to make a wedding quilt for my cousin, but I didn't start on it until after the wedding. The color themes had been yellow and grey, so I decided I'd use that as a color scheme – a bit of a departure for me! After a bit of indecision, I decided to go for the Color Wheel Quilt pattern by Joelle Hoeverson in her book 'Last-Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts', but using only grays and yellows. The ring shape links back to the wedding, as well as being a bold graphic statement.
Question: What is your favorite part of this quilt?
Isobel: I really like the color scheme – I would never have chosen yellows and grays before, but now I've branched out into this bit of the spectrum I'm using them in lots of projects. I'm really pleased with the quilting, even though there was a really steep learning curve associated with it!
Question: What did you learn while making this quilt?
Isobel: All the quilting I've done previously has been free-motion quilting but I didn't think it would be quite right for this quilt, so I thought I'd emphasize the circular nature of the quilt with concentric rings, a technique I'd not used before. I learnt that a walking foot is absolutely crucial for line quilting and that the rings get easier to quilt as you get further out! I also learned that I should try more new color schemes – I'm now really happy with using grays and yellows in quilts.
Isobel blogs at toithaca.wordpress.com/ and you can also find her on Flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/36017542@N05/. She's hoping a Modern Quilt Guild starts in her hometown of Bristol, UK so she can join. Maybe we can convince her to start one!


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Learn how to make hand-knit socks! This class is a three part series in which we will knit a basic pair of top-down socks out of sock-weight yarn. (Warning: sock knitting can be highly addictive!) This course will not only introduce you into the wide world of sock knitting, but will also give you the knowledge and techniques needed for intermediate knitting projects.
* Class I (Tuesday, April 21, 2-4pm): The first class includes an introduction to sock yarn, sock architecture, measuring the foot for good fit, working comfortably with double pointed needles, knitting in the round, the merits of ribbing, using reinforcing thread, and different heel treatments for durability and beauty.
* Class II (Tuesday, April 28, 2-4pm): The second class covers short rows for heel turns, pickup and knit stitches for the gusset.
* Class III (Tuesday, May 12, 2-4pm): The third class covers toe shaping, kitchner stitch, and sock problem solving. Materials: Approximately 350-400 yards of sock weight yarn & appropriate needles (usually US1)
Instructor: Mary Hayne
Cost: $100 for this 3-class series


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"I'm fine, as long as I'm moving," I said.
"Seems like a lot of clothing on a hot summer day. Couldn't you get by in something a little more comfortable?" the lady says.
"I don't believe in magic," is the only reply I can think of.
They wandered away, probably confused by my response. It's the truth, though. I don't carry a rabbit's foot, a crucifix, a picture of Jimmy Carter in my wallet, or have a Suzuki tattoo on my butt. I don't believe in magic. I do believe in preparation and luck, but I only have control of the first of those ingredients. So I practice my riding skills, wear good gear, and leave the luck to whatever is in control of that aspect of my life. My Aerostich Darien suit is the best full-body gear I've ever owned and I wore it non-stop for 26 days and almost 10,000 miles this past summer.
This piece of equipment has received so many positive reviews that it is probably pointless to add another. However, I feel an obligation to tell the story of my Darien riding gear. I "tested" the Darien suit in a 45-55mph crash on 4" of arrowhead shaped rocks and the suit held up better than my helmet. I can't say I came away from the crash undamaged, but I didn't lose a drop of blood. From the waist down, I was completely unharmed. The shoulder armor absorbed most of the impact and the 500 Denier Cordura barely shows any evidence of abrasion, even though I slid thirty feet on my side and back on that godawful road surface. I crashed on the 9th day of a 30 day trip and my Darien suit is responsible for my being able to go on with my lifetime-dream motorcycle trip to Alaska.
I spend a lot of my year riding in the rain. Since sometime in the mid-1980's, I've covered myself in an Aerostich Roadcrafter one-piece suit, but the GORE-TEX® has long abandoned the waterproofing realm and I've "grown" a bit in the last 25 years. I bought the Roadcrafter when I lived in California when a local dealer recommended I look into Aerostich because I was "crazy" enough to want to ride year around in L.A.'s insufferable winter weather. Some folks say I look like an over-stuffed gray sausage in my old Roadcrafter. Last season, I too often became a wet, over-stuffed gray sausage when I got caught in the rain. I hauled out my old Belstaff rain suit for emergencies for the rest of the year, but I decided to upgrade to a more modern Aerostich.
In January 2007, I drove to Duluth and got fitted for a new Darien two-piece suit. I picked the Darien over the Roadcrafter because Mr. Subjective said the Darien is more waterproof. Since I expected to be rained on for a good bit of the 12,000 miles I planned to be on the road, I went for waterproof-ness over style and convenience. I bought whole Darien rig, including the standard liner. I should have gone for the electric liner, but I can always add that to the garage closet later.
After decades of breaking in my old gear, I wasn't looking forward to dealing with the stiffness of the new suit. My old Roadcrafter is so worn and worn-out that it will wad up into a ball small enough to stuff into a tailbag or a GIVI E21 side case with room to spare for lots of other stuff. The Darien suit takes up all of both E21 cases. The stiffness relaxed with use, but storage has not become less of an issue. That is the high cost of better protection.
After wearing the Darien suit almost every day for two months, it became much more flexible. After two years of wear, the suit is part of me. The Darien pants-jacket combination is warmer, drier, more visible, more versatile, and tougher than anything I've ever worn. I'm still discovering pockets (at least 9, not counting the liner) in the Darien Jacket. I'm pretty sure there is a cup holder somewhere on the jacket.
I often used the large front pockets to store a video camera, a still camera, and lenses on my Alaska trip. I was rained on for 20 days on a 27-day trip stayed mostly dry for the whole trip. I am the polar opposite of a "pencil neck geek" body type and my one complaint is that the Velcro'd neck gusset is too short when the collar of the jacket liner is added to my neck circumference (18 1/2"). When the Velcro lets go, water dribbles down the front of the jacket and the back of my neck. Not much water gets in this way, but enough to let me know that I'm riding in cold weather.
Aerostich has offered to extend the Velcro tab, but I have to give up the jacket for a few days for that to happen and my desire to be perfectly dry hasn't overwhelmed my affection for this jacket. When I'm zipped up, hook-and-looped, belt and shock-cord adjusted down, I'm water, wind, dust, and abrasion resistant and secure in all ride-able weather and some weather that a smart person would only observe while sipping whiskey in front of a fireplace.
At the each end of weather extremes, the jacket's air flow design is good enough that I'm comfortable on a 90oF or a 25oF day. I'm not flexible enough to unzip the jacket's under arm ventilation without removing the jacket, but I've seen it done. A combination of open sleeves, under arm vents, and the large rear jacket vent allows for a lot of air flow. When you stop moving, it gets hot in the Darien suit fast, but when I'm moving I'm comfortable.
The Darien pants have fewer features than the jacket. The pants are equally waterproof, abrasion resistant, and adjustable for comfort and fit. There are two deep front pockets and a single back pocket closed with a hook-and-loop patch. The TF2 armor is held securely in place where it protects the rider's knees and a good bit of the shin. The zippers are on the outside of the leg, as are the Scotchlite™ covered ankle adjustment gussets, so they don't hang up on kickstands or footpegs like another brand's gear (left unnamed). The zippers are well covered by inner and outer flaps for weather protection. A heavy-duty removable belt is included so you have someplace to hang your Leatherman case.
Last, but among the best, is the Darien liner. It is removable and becomes a very nice free-standing insulating jacket when separated from the Darien jacket. Nylon on one side and fleece on the other, it's a good looking casual windbreaker away from the bike. One of its seven pockets doubles as a stuff sack, including belt loops so you can carry it like a fanny pack. The liner is a highlight of the Darien suit, in my opinion: comfortable, practical, good-looking, and compact.