text:
Friday, May 18, 2012
May Release Blog Hop with My Creative Time
150 comments:
OMG This is adorable. I Love this one!!! So "sweet"!ReplyDelete
This is amazing...that fudge topping is so realistic!ReplyDelete
This comment has been removed by the author.ReplyDelete
This is so cute. That fudge topping looks good enough to eat! My favorite is Celebrate Good TimesReplyDelete
Wow, love your card. Thanks for the blog hop...ReplyDelete
Yummy love this one, looks so real.ReplyDelete
This is just the cutest shadow box!! Fun colors and adorable stamps and dies!! Thanks for sharing a great week of projects!ReplyDelete
I love your project! It look so refreshing.ReplyDelete
kissmyjen at gmail.com
Hello Amy,ReplyDelete
Wow what a lovely project.Yummy.
Monique Kools
- AnonymousMay 18, 2012 at 4:51 AM
This is so cute. Love those stamps and dies.ReplyDelete
stuff at gt dot rr dot com
Great card! Especially since I'm an ice cream-aholic :)ReplyDelete
Love the cones & looks good enough to eat.ReplyDelete
I agree that Icecream=Your card turned out yummy. I love the way you framed the cone with pink and brownReplyDelete
This is adorable...love the shiny chocolate. Lee-Ann :)ReplyDelete
I'm a great fan of shadow boxes. Your box is so SUPER CUTE!! Especially the fudge topping. YUMMY!! Hugz:) TaylorReplyDelete
Wow Amy i love your shadow box icecream!!! my favorite is Day 3 the tag card with the sun peeking out of the pocket!!! :)ReplyDelete
Looks so good I want Ice Cream. :)ReplyDelete
Very very cute!
I just got this set in yesterday. Love what you did with the chocolate on top. I can't wait to play too.ReplyDelete
Hugs Chandi
So adorable, Amy! The frames you used are just perfect with the ice-cream cones!ReplyDelete
Amy, Super cute project!. Love the colors and the glossy accents topping.ReplyDelete
This is super cute! I take the kids every friday to our local ice cream shoppe for a special ice cream treat. Thanks for sharing.ReplyDelete
Great home decor for an ice cream lover! Very cute! TFS!ReplyDelete
tcsobotka at charter dot net
Super adorable!!!! The glossy accents were the perfect touch :)ReplyDelete
porteresther at gmail dot com
Wow! This card is so adorable!ReplyDelete
I love the shadow box, the chocolate looks so real! A yummy gift for someone special. Thanks for sharing.ReplyDelete
E. Tank
Simply sweet and always a beautiful project to inspire us.ReplyDelete
This is so cute Amy! I think it would look great in an old fashion Ice Cream Parlor! :) hugs ~CReplyDelete
What a neat idea! I cenrtainly could used that at home all of us aremIcecream lovers;) ok, you twisted my arm ;) I have to get this set... TFS all your talent with us Amy!ReplyDelete
Have a wonderful wknd.
Oh Amy this is adorable!!!ReplyDelete
I love the way you made the chocolate ice cream!!!ReplyDelete
Really cute project. I love shadowboxes! Thanks for sharing!ReplyDelete
Deb C
LOVE that the chocolate syrup looks so real. Nice job!ReplyDelete
ADORABLE!!! What a wonderful idea! I think everything you made this week was fabulous - but I think this one might be my favorite! LOVE it!ReplyDelete
What a neat idea! I love the glossy accents too.ReplyDelete
gohogwild dot renee at gmail dot com
oh my! I have liked all 3 of your projects this week, but today's I think is my favorite! great job!ReplyDelete
thanks for sharing all your talents with us!
I love this! The glossy accents add the perfect touch!ReplyDelete
What a yummy set! Great gift idea! TFS joy4umetoo at hotmail dot comReplyDelete
What a great little card! TFSReplyDelete
macsheilam at gmail dot com
So hard to choose just one...I liked the Father's Day #2 and the layout with the machine stitching was very good and today the framed cones...Guess I have at least 3 faves. Great job! Thanks for all the hard work :DReplyDelete
quilt 4 fun 2 at hot mail dot com
I love this card. The color combo is one of my favorites! Thanks for the chance to win!!ReplyDelete
LOOOOOVE this!!!!ReplyDelete
mmmmm, Amy-the icecream looks yummy, but I must say I liked your layout with the cupcake--I am partial to cupcakes ; ).ReplyDelete
Your Shadow Box is so Cute! Love that you used Glossy Accents! Awesome Job! :0)ReplyDelete
cindymarshall63 at hotmail dot com
I love this one... So cute!ReplyDelete
Erica <3
Love the dimension of this card. The colors are just great. You've done an outstanding job all week! email@example.com
I really like your home decor item with the ice cream cones but I think my favorite project you did this week is your black and white mustache card. I really liked that one the best. Thanks for sharing.ReplyDelete
Love your shadowbax frame - the ice cream cones look great and love the colours you chose!ReplyDelete
qtme2003 at yahoo dot ca
Wow, your frame is adorable!! Love the ice cream cones.ReplyDelete
cascrapper at gmail dot com
Love those cupcakes!ReplyDelete
dianaherrera at comcast dot net
Amy your projects this week has knocked me off my feet girl! You are just so darn creative :) Love the shadowbox and I agree whoever receives this will LOVE IT! Yummm Hugs, LeanneReplyDelete
Very cute card.ReplyDelete
Amazing shadow box... the chocolate looks so real! amazing release!ReplyDelete
What a great way to use the stamps and die!! So pretty!!ReplyDelete
sierrababy08 at hotmail dot com
Love the ice cream cones!ReplyDelete
Amy: this shadow box is so yummy. I never try to do a frame. I like the idea. Thanks for share, and happy day.ReplyDelete
I love this card!!! I got to get me some of these stamp die sets!!!ReplyDelete
The hot fudge is so amazing Super cute project.ReplyDelete
Hi Amy!ReplyDelete
OMG! What a BEAUTIFUL shadow box frame! It looks so YUMMY :). Thanks for sharing your ADORABLE projects throughout the week! You are all so talented! Have a wonderful day!
Yummy cards. Love the ice cream conesReplyDelete
Very cute. I love how you made all different flavors of icecream.ReplyDelete
Very cute framed piece--I like this color combo. My favorite project this week was your Father's Day card.ReplyDelete
slrdowney at hotmail dot com
It sure equals happiness for my daughter! She loves her ice cream!ReplyDelete
Looks yummy. TFSReplyDelete
Oh so cute (and delicious looking) Love this card. Great job.ReplyDelete
harperpooh at yahoo dot com
- AnonymousMay 18, 2012 at 4:08 PM
oh my goodness!! this is too cute!! I love the glossy accent detail I need to do that! What a cute idea to frame it! This would make a cute table topper for an ice cream party :) I loved ALL your projects this week!ReplyDelete
Oh I want some ice cream right now. This is SO perfect! I love those grouped in 3. Beautiful job! Hugs- GloraReplyDelete
This is so very cute! Love it!ReplyDelete
I love the ice cream and tags, but I really love your Father's Day card, the colors are awesome and the look is so cute!ReplyDelete
kidshomelove at yahoo dot com
Love the shadow box frame! I am getting up the nerve to try one myself with your inspiration :)ReplyDelete
sherii at cfl dot rr dot com
so so cute! Great idea! I LOVE the glossy accents.ReplyDelete
babi96 at aol dot com
AWESOME idea with your shadowbox, TOO CUTE Amy!I LOVE it,Have a great weekend!:)ReplyDelete
Amy, Your ice cream picture is adorable!!!ReplyDelete
What a great and yummy looking project!ReplyDelete
awesome job, thanks for all the ideas!!!!ReplyDelete
Beautiful card! Gorgeous.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousMay 18, 2012 at 6:47 PM
Love all the colors on this card!!! Very cute and creative!!!ReplyDelete
Beth l
Toothlesschef at comcast dot net
Great project, looks very colorful love how it pops in the frameReplyDelete
I just love what you did with Emmas dies, your always creative! have a great weekend!:pReplyDelete
You're so creative ... TFS all your great ideas :)ReplyDelete
pruttybird at comcast dot net
- AnonymousMay 18, 2012 at 7:56 PM
This is so sweet. I really love the brown combo with the pink. Emma's so generous. So thankful that I have been able to hop along.ReplyDelete
amy, I love this! I would have never thought to make a home decor project!!!ReplyDelete
Such a cute card...I'm definitely an ice cream lover!!!! This is my fav!!!! Thanks AmyReplyDelete
arcocha at yahoo dot com
I LOVE this shadow box - so creative, so much detail ~ GREAT job!ReplyDelete
Adorable! The ice cream looks delicious :)ReplyDelete
Love the ice cream! Thanks for a chance to winReplyDelete
owllet at comcast dot net
Super cute Idea. I thought at first it was a tray but I like the shaddow box idea. Great job and loving the cones. Yummy.ReplyDelete
Terri_ski at yahoo dot com
Love the ice cream in the shadow box, but I think my fav is the whimsical Father's Day card you made on day 2. Everytime I look at it I smile.ReplyDelete
Ogdendoll @gmail.com
Ice cream is so cute!!! Thanks for sharing!ReplyDelete
I immediately wanted to head to the freezer for ice cream!!!ReplyDelete
I am just freaking out over Emma's release this time....AMAZING!!!ReplyDelete
LOVE your project...it turned out SOOOO sweet!!!
Very cute card! I think this stamp set and die is my favorite.!ReplyDelete
WOW, WOW, WOW!!! I just LOVE what you did w/this set! The shadow box idea..... just GENIUS!;) Now I feel like changing a room in my house into ice creams just so I can make TONS of these!!! lol.....ReplyDelete
Big HUGE hugs & LOTS of luv!
Hi Love the new release and what u have made with it.ReplyDelete
Oh my goodness, this is absolutely adorable!!! TFSReplyDelete
You have outdone yourself using emmas great stamps.ReplyDelete
marg0006 at verizon dot net
Ice cream yum!! Love your framed art. TFS.ReplyDelete
dmcardmaker (email follower)
Adorable! LOVE the colors! I think it turned out super!ReplyDelete
paperdeckerations at gmail dot com
Great card!ReplyDelete
lreiterman at gmail dot com
This is just adorable. They look good enough to eat!ReplyDelete
Luv the glossy chocolate on top and how you set this in a frame. TFS --CReplyDelete
That is fun!ReplyDelete
I love the shiny "chocolate syrup" on top of those cones. Great job!ReplyDelete
Thank you for sharing and putting on a fun blog hop.ReplyDelete
vflambert at hotmail dot com
Love your card, and the topping on the Ice Cream cones look yummyReplyDelete
I love the ice cream cones and the way you did the chocolate on top. I think that set has to be one of my favorites. Off to the next blog for some more great ideas.ReplyDelete
What a great card!! Thank you Emma & Amy!!ReplyDelete
I love your unique use of the ice cream. Very elegant.ReplyDelete
Cute shadow box. Love the way you used the glossy accents.ReplyDelete
Yummy Yummy I love the chocolate dripping from the corn. Great Card TFS AJ~ReplyDelete
So cute this project!!! Love it! Thanks for sharing!! Big hugs.. Maggy :)ReplyDelete
What a beautiful shadow box Amy! Love the soft pink polka dot background paper! And those ice creams are super yummy!ReplyDelete
What a yummy looking shadowbox. So very cute!!ReplyDelete
Cute, cute, cute!ReplyDelete
Love this! Thanks so much for the chance to win!ReplyDelete
WAY CUTE!!!!ReplyDelete
Hugs, CyndU
cureta2 at yahoo dot com
Amy this came out so cute!!! You did an awesome job.ReplyDelete
What a darling shadow box,love the Glossy Accents on the chocolate icing, perfect touch.ReplyDelete
Debbie H.
This is adorable. I love ice cream cones and all the different ways they can be decorated. Thanks for sharing!!ReplyDelete
Angel Johns
This is adorable. I love ice cream cones and all the different ways they can be decorated. Thanks for sharing!!ReplyDelete
Angel Johns
Absolutely YUMMY!ReplyDelete
The ice cream dies look fab!ReplyDelete
Adorable frame project- my husband would definately agree with the sentiment.ReplyDelete
Oh my, Amy! This is super cute! I just love that idea to make a shadow box. Great job!ReplyDelete
You have done an awesome job. You do beautiful work! Love the colors on this one! Totally YUMMY!ReplyDelete
love your home decor piece, what a great idea!!ReplyDelete
Ice cream does equal happiness! You're shadow box looks so yummy that I could just eat it up! Lol.ReplyDelete
Fabulous job and thanks so much for sharing!
misshoanggg (at) gmail.com
Everytime I look at this card I start drooling!!! That fudge topping looks so real I want to lick it!ReplyDelete
This looks good enough to eat! I really like the look that the glossy accents gives to the ice cream topping - yum!ReplyDelete
l_pirelli at yahoo dot com
After being out on the field all week, it is a lovely moment to sit down this morning and enjoy your post. i hope to get to some card making this afternoonif i'm not too long on this hop! Thank you for sharing your project.ReplyDelete
marianne dot wanham at gmail dot com
So cute!!! Those ice cream cones look good enough to eat! :)ReplyDelete
What a cute and "sweet" idea! Just might need to scraplift that one LOL!ReplyDelete
Debbie P.
What a super cute project and it looks delicious.ReplyDelete
Sew Sweet N Crafty
I love your ice cream card the best! So cute!! Love the glossy look of the chocolate syrup!ReplyDelete
love the project!....and loved hoping along with the mct design team!....ReplyDelete
greeniebeanie1 at yahoo dot com
I just love this card it is so cute.ReplyDelete
Amy ~ HOW FABULOUS is your shadowbox! OMG! Okay I LOVE how you popped the cones up for dimension, the shape, the glossy accents ~ okay the paper ~ just EVERYTHING! As always Amy ~ AMAZING job! I really need to do a shadowbox ~ you just inspired me!ReplyDelete
This was one awesome release! Love it!ReplyDelete
This shadow frame is too cute Amy! Good enough to eat! Great projects this week! hugsReplyDelete
I most definitely Love Me some Ice Cream. This is a Yummy card too. Smooches... Felicia - frankleecrafts [at] gmail [dot] comReplyDelete
Love this fun picture frame! Yummy! TFS! Denise SpeigleReplyDelete
Absolutely adore the Love Me Some Ice Cream. So cute!!ReplyDelete
Cute idea!! My favorite project from this week is a toss up between the Father's Day card and the layout. TFS!ReplyDelete
So cute! My dad loves ice cream so this would come in handy for Father's Day. Thanks for posting this inspiration! :)ReplyDelete
dreger.ian at gmail.com
Yes, ice cream IS happiness. Love the shadow box!ReplyDelete
Yes, I've been very inspired by the blog hop!
Carmen L
cal8007 at aol dot com
Super cute. Lovin this! CallyAnnReplyDelete
Super adorable. I love the color combo and the fudge looks yummy.ReplyDelete
look so good i could eat them thanksReplyDelete
upnurse at aol dot com
I love how you added the chocolate sauce, it looks so real.ReplyDelete
WOW! Amy this is fantastic and yummy!! TFSReplyDelete
Oh how yummy!! Love it!ReplyDelete
Thanks for visiting my blog. I really appreciate the time you take to leave a comment. ;)
Amy ♥


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What is the Lifespan of Positive Psychology? By Jeremy McCarthy
Positive psychology was created to address an overwhelming bias in the psychological and social sciences towards a deficit based approach to mental health. The science of psychology, which was focused on the cataloguing and treatment of mental disorders and weaknesses, was not spending a sufficient amount of time and attention on human flourishing and strengths—the positive side of the equation. By looking at mental health with a different kind of perspective, one based on prevention rather than treatment, on flourishing rather than illness, and on strengths rather than weaknesses, positive psychology has given us a new vocabulary to use when analyzing human wellness. This was the theme of Martin Seligman's address to the APA in 1998.
A New Bias?
Another Biased View?But there are some who argue that while positive psychology has done right to address an existing bias, it does so by introducing a new bias, one that underestimates the value of negative emotions, and does not do enough to address the clinical needs of its consumers. Critics of positive psychology such as Barbara Held argue that positive psychology creates a false dichotomy, presuming that the positive and negative aspects of well-being should be categorized and studied under different umbrellas, rather than via a more holistic, integrated approach. Some say that positive psychology discounts the importance of negative emotions and overlooks the potential downsides of positive mental resources. Being too optimistic for example, can make someone do things that are imprudent. Some even go so far as to say that positive psychology is guilty of sloppy science. Rather than scientifically trying to understand well-being, they claim it presupposes that positive aspects are good and then sets about trying to prove these preconceived notions.
Has Positive Psychology Served its Purpose?
In spite of these criticisms, I think most people agree that positive psychology has indeed served an important role in correcting the science's existing bias towards the negative. The question becomes, once this bias is corrected, does positive psychology simply fade away, leaving a more holistic, balanced and integrated psychology behind in its stead? Or will we always need this new domain to keep us from lapsing back to our focus on the dark side? Some psychologists, for example Alex Linley and colleagues have suggested that positive psychology should not live on forever. It will have served its purpose by recalibrating our perspective on mental health in a way that takes the positive aspects into account. Articles by Ingram and Snyder and by Maddi suggest that an integrated approach that blends the perspective of positive psychology with other existing areas of research would yield the most useful applications.But Alex Linley, who had previously argued that a successful positive psychology would quietly disappear after nudging psychology into a more balanced approach, recently indicated that positive psychology had passed a tipping point and would be around for quite some time.
What Shape Does the Future of Positive Psychology Take? Three Views
Paul Wong, a psychologist who focuses on the study of meaning and purpose, calls for the creation of Positive Psychology 2.0, a more integrated approach that is not only focused on positive traits that yield positive results but also understanding how negative traits can bring about positive outcomes and how positive traits can sometimes be harmful. From Wong's perspective, positive psychology will live beyond simply a corrective mechanism to fix our imbalanced science if it focuses on answering the ultimate questions of what makes life worth living and improving human flourishing, although others might argue that all science should have this goal and therefore this does not in and of itself distinguish positive psychology from other aspects of the social sciences.In their new textbook, editors Michael Steger and Todd Kashdan take a critical look at the state of positive psychology today. They caution that positive psychology's narrow focus on increasing happiness doesn't take into account individual differences in goals and values and is diametrically opposed to a broader definition of well-being based on mindfulness or psychological flexibility. In their view, the simple tools, singular variables, and rudimentary measurements used by positive psychology today are too static and fail to capture the complex circumstances and individual differences that are important to well-being. Steger and Kashdan also warn positive psychologists that the demand for applications is powerful, but can pull the science to market before it has been adequately validated. They caution scientists in the field, who by their nature want to spread their research quickly to make an impact on the world, to consider how their work could be misused. A part of positive psychology's mission has to be about educating the public on how to understand the limitations of the science.One of the founders of positive psychology, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, joined with his colleague Jeanne Nakamura to took a fresh look at the possible future of the field in the first chapter of the same book. Nakamura and Csiksentmihalyi feel there are those who would like to see positive psychology move towards a single unified theory of human flourishing. Others would like to see a balanced, integrated psychology. They propose a third alternative that is probably the most realistic, that positive psychology will remain as an area that draws people to rally around a shared purpose. And while there is energy around that purpose, the domain will grow organically. As he describes it, positive psychologists will continue to hold dual citizenship with one foot on the positive side and one foot in a more traditional area of psychology.They also sound optimistic about the continued growth and expansion of positive psychology, at least in part driven by the unique nature of the science. An emphasis on strengths, positive emotions, relationships, hope, and a sense of purpose not only creates interesting and previously neglected areas for research, but research findings also give these specialists greater psychological tools to create their own successes in developing this growing field. These virtues might not only be core constructs at the foundation of a new science, but could also serve as the fuel that will propel it into a brighter future.

subset: commoncrawl


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Jepson Interchange (more information)
©Copyright 1993 by the Regents of the University of California
For up-to-date information about California vascular plants, visit the Jepson eFlora.-->
Annual to subshrub
Leaves generally basal and cauline, alternate, generally simple; stipules 0
Inflorescence: generally raceme
Flower bisexual; sepals 4, free; petals (0)4, free, generally white or yellow, often clawed; stamens generally (2,4)6, generally 4 long, 2 short; ovary 1, superior, chambers generally 2, septum membranous, connecting 2 parietal placentas, style 1, stigma simple or 2-lobed
Fruit: generally capsule ("silique") with 2 deciduous valves, sometimes breaking transversely or indehiscent
Seeds 1many per chamber
Genera in family: 300+ genera, 3000+ species: worldwide, especially cool regions; some cultivated for food (especially Brassica, Raphanus ) and ornamental
Recent taxonomic note: Recently treated to include Capparaceae [Rodman et al. 1993 Ann Missouri Bot Gard 80:686699; Rollins 1993 Cruciferae of Continental North America. Stanford Univ Press]
Family description, key to genera by Robert A. Price.
PEPPERGRASS, PEPPERWORTAnnual to shrub; hairs 0 or simple
Leaves: basal not rosetted, generally petioled, entire to pinnately lobed; cauline short-petioled to sessile, sometimes clasping or surrounding stem
Flower small; sepals erect or spreading, oblong to ovate, shed early or persistent; petals linear to obovate, generally white, rarely yellowish, sometimes bristle-like or 0; stamens 6, 4, or 2
Fruit dehiscent, oblong to elliptic or obcordate, flat perpendicular to septum; pedicel cylindric or flat, winged or not
Seeds 1 per chamber, gelatinous when wetted; wing narrow or 0; embryonic root at back of 1 cotyledon, rarely at edges of both
Species in genus: ± 175 species: ± worldwide
Etymology: (Greek: little scale, from fruit)
Reference: [Hitchcock 1936 Madroño 3:265300]
L. fremontii S. WatsonPerennial, generally shrubby, 410 dm, glabrous, gray
Stem many-branched
Leaves 310 cm, linear, generally pinnately lobed; lobes 39, 13 mm wide; upper 23 mm wide, entire or not
Inflorescence many-branched, ± leafy
Flower: petals ± 3 mm, obovate to spoon-shaped, white, claw slender
Fruit 58 mm; valves thin; veins faint
Ecology: Sandy washes, barren knolls, gravelly soils, rocky slopes, ridges
Elevation: < 1600 m.
Bioregional distribution: s East of Sierra Nevada, Desert
Distribution outside California: to s Utah, w Arizona
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Show other taxa with the same California distribution | Read about bioregions
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University & Jepson Herbaria Home Page | Copyright © by the Regents of the University of California


text:
About seven years ago I posted this list of Essential Outdoor Knots on the Hammockcamping Group, a little later I posted it again here on hammockforums.net. As this topic comes up pretty regular I decided to make an article of it and update all the links from the original topic.
My Grandfather taught me tons of knots. He was an old time honest-to-goodness cowboy and outdoorsman and he never ceased to amaze me at the number of things one could do with the right rope and a good knot. I can tie about 30 knots from memory, but the Essential Outdoor Knots are those that I find myself using most often and teaching to others who are along for their first trip. Generally they are easy to tie, easy to untie and have multiple uses.
I have over the years added and subtracted various knots, replacing them with similar knots that are either easier to tie or untie, but serve the same purpose. I now call the list "10 Essential Knots for the Outdoorsman". With an addendum to a few other notable knots!
10 Essential Knots for the Outdoorsman
End knots: End knots are tied in the end of a cut rope to keep it from fraying. Whipping, melting or back braiding is considered superior, but when time is of the essence, these knots will do the trick. They may also be used for 'stopper knots'. Used primarily to stop the bitter end of the rope from slipping past a primary knot (for safety's sake), but also used to stop the rope at a certain point when using a pulley or for measurement.
Figure Eight
Double Overhand
Ashley (Oysterman's) Stopper
Loops: Or knots that form loops, are very numerous. Even the old standby, the Bowline, has many (5?) different variations. Some are better tied into the end of the rope and some are better in the middle (span) of the rope. The bowline and figure eight have variations for both needs. I leave off the 'Figure Eight on a Bight' for a reason. This is one of my favorite knots, cool to tie and it looks good lying along the rope when it is tied. But after it is loaded it can be a real bear to untie. So it gets an honorable mention, but that's it.
Bowline on a Bight* Honorable mention, the bowline on a bight is a great way to make a hande in order to drag something, like a heavy log, or to make shoulder straps for pulling an injured person on a sled. It doubles the area of contact at the loop causing less hand pain and more purchase.
Alpine Butterfly (Linesman's Loop)
Bends: For joining two ropes, or the ends of one to form a loop.
Double Fishermen's Bend* A variant of the Ashley Stopper described above.
Sheet Bend and Double Sheet Bend
Adjustable knots: like the Drivers' (Trucker's) Hitch and the Midshipmans' Hitch are worth their weight in gold.
Trucker's/Driver's Hitch This hitch has many names, but this is the only way to tie it properly. You can also double wrap the bitter end to get a better mechanical advantage. Once wrapped three times or so the rope will generally grab and hold itself while you finish the half hitches, very handy.
Midshipman's Hitch (Taught Line) This hitch also goes by many names, tent-line, tight-line and adjustable hitch ar just a few. It is actually a rolling hitch variant. The same hitch tied to a spar is a Rolling Hitch. Adding wraps under the half hitch will help it grab slick rope better, adding wraps above the half hitch will help it grap slick spars better.
Prusik Hitch* Honorable mention: Technically a slide and grip hitch, but it has many uses around camp.
Exploding Hitches: I use the Mooring Hitch and the Highwayman all the time. Very quick and easy to tie and untie. While I have used the Exploding Clove Hitch to suspend my hammock, I don't recommend it. The Mooring Hitch can be used to suspend a hammock as it is a sliding (adjustable), locking hitch that is easy to untie (exploding). The Exploding Clove Hitch is less reliable, but good when you need a quick grab on a line that will have steady tension on it. The Highwayman Hitch is great for hanging stuff from the ridgeline, like stuff sacks, or anything else you can add a short piece of cord to.
The Slipped Buntline Hitch is the best way to attach guylines to a tarp that I have found. Once you learn to tie it the easy way you will find yourself using it in all kinds of places!
Mooring Hitch
Highwayman's Hitch
Tumble Hitch* More secure than the Highwayman's Hitch.
* Honorable Mention*:
Slackers: Rope too long? Don't cut it, use these handy hitches to take up that slack.
Chain Sinnet (Monkey Braid)
Clove Hitch* Excellent for holding the tarp side up when used in conjunction with a trekking pole or stick. Easy to adjust up or down as well, just pull a little slack and slide the whole thing. I have also used it to pitch my hammock with just the trekking poles although I used extra guy outs to stabilize the poles.
Zeppelin Bend A good bend, but make sure to tie it correctly! I like the Sheetbend/Double Sheetbend for the easier tie up; but the Zeppelin get the nod if heavy loads are involved.
Klemheist Hitch A great slip and grip hitch but, it only grips in one direction; for this reason I like the Prusik, which grips in both directions, better.
Notable Knot Resources:
Rope Works
Animated Knots By Grog
Roper's Knot Page
Notable Knot Index
How to pronounce 'bitter' and 'bight'; it is bitter as in 'it tastes bitter' not as in bite like a 'dog bite'. However, a 'bight' in a rope is pronounced like 'bite'.
The 'standing part' or 'standing end' is the load bearing end or section of the rope.
The 'bitter end' is the free end.
a 'bight' is piece of the standing or bitter end that is doubled.
A loop is a bight that has been crossed over (overhand loop) or under (underhand loop) to form a loop.
All knots employ the various terms above during tie up.
Another thing is to make sure you 'dress' the knot. That is to make all the various loops and pieces straight, neat and tight, also called setting the knot. A pretty knot is a strong knot!
I once talked to a guy about using the gizzies on ropes and his thot was that it is better to use something like the figure 9 or double buckle because it has a higher breaking strength than a knot. This is a misconception because ANY turn, bend or loop in a rope, whether in a knot or on a friction device causes the same weakening. The loss of strength comes from the fibers being unequally burdened in the radius of the turn. IOW, fewer of the fibers are taking the load and this happens when you tie a knot or you a friction/clamp device that uses ANY bend,turn or pinch point in the rope.
Also, if you have two knots in a rope the weaker knot is the rating to use. For instance: knot A has a retention of 75% of breaking strength, knot B has a retention of 50% of breaking strength. The new load rating is 50% of the breaking strength, not 75%. However, tying multiple knot b's into the rope just lowers it by 50%. Let's say we have three knot b's in a rope, the rope has a SWL of 100 lbs, the new SWL is 50 lbs, not 12.5 lbs. Either way it's 50%, no matter how many you have tied in the rope.
Bowline and Sheetbend not the same knot; here's why...


text:
Your turn.
What is Santa saying? (Post a comment using your most extreme cleverness.)
Actually, Santa is flanked by two dear men who traveled all the way from West Virginia. They're members of a "Secret Santa" organization which helps 3,000 children; the trip was part of a fundraiser.
What do you win?
My praise.
That's it.
What more could you really ask?


text:
Santa's Helper (he needed a jump start and her vision of va-va-voom was just the trick)
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Santa Sighting!
Christmas is here! Bring on the cheer! And if Christmas ain't your thing then Happy Chriskwanzikkah!! Either way, our friend Richard over at Suburban Assault who is a great friend to this blog and an all around fantastic guy sent these shots into the Flickr group and I just have to share some of them! We are like that around here- we loooooove to share!!!
6 comments:
Awesome!! Thanks for posting the pics. That last one is me getting chased by the Santa's for being on naughty list. I guess I shouldn't have stolen one of their hats. LOL!ReplyDelete
BTW, here are some more pics that my wife took:
so awesome david, this ride seems (ibet it was beyond) a blast. another reason to visit the TX.ReplyDelete
maybe santa ride next year?! mmmhmhm :)
Hey, I was on that ride - I recognize those people! :) Yay!ReplyDelete
Yay! This is awesome.... I'm the elf! :)ReplyDelete
- AnonymousDecember 24, 2009 at 8:54 PM
This was a great ride for a great cause. Go Dallas!ReplyDelete
- AnonymousDecember 29, 2009 at 7:25 AM
I wanted a big new red bell for xmas and all I had was the chance to carry somebody else's boxes.ReplyDelete
Which Santa from these photos is responsible?
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text:
DUBLIN, Ohio – Zach Johnson was the last American to make the Presidents Cup team. He wondered if he would even be able to play.
Johnson arrived at Muirfield Village a day late Tuesday after a nasty bout with the flu. He says he became sick Sunday night as he was packing, and chose not to fly up to Ohio with Matt Kuchar and assistant captain Davis Love III.
But after sleeping some 16 hours, Johnson said he was able to start keeping food down Monday night.
He says he's not 100 percent, but the illness is gone and now it's a matter of getting his energy back. Johnson planned to play a practice round Wednesday and be ready to go when the matches begin Thursday.


text:
Some notes, good:
- desktop effects actually work, with free video drivers. A very pleasant and unexpected surprise. (Unfortunately they seem to conflict with xrandr. Doh. But they were shiny while they lasted.)
- most stuff Just Worked when I upgraded and left my old homedir in place; it appears that some gconf keys are not compatible, which is irritating, and some things I use were not installed by default, but otherwise, positive. (Most irritating: my xchat-gnome settings appear to have disappeared. [Ed.: mv .xchat2 .xchat-gnome. urgh.] Most silly/avoidable: ubuntu openoffice appears to use .openoffice.org2 and fedora openoffice uses .openoffice.org2.0.)
- the session manager is much, much improved. I owe someone a beer for that- I assume Dan Winship?
- Newest rhythmbox is very polished. Still prefer muine's mental model, but rb is impressive, especially the ability to interact with music stores.
- I'm quite impressed with yum; the performance is much better than I remembered. Still wish it had the rug two-letter commands :)
- xournal is available through Koji, which is awesome. Gimmie is packaged too- more awesomeness. (Overall, sadly, little has changed on the tablet software front since last year.)
Some notes, bad:
- my first user is not added to sudoers; apparently root's password is still used to install software. This feels very primitive compared to the slick OS/X/Ubuntu default behavior. I know there is a jihad on to fix this problem in a more Correct and Sophisticated ™ way, but in the meantime, it still feels like a primitive situation for single-user boxes.
- my wireless card works out of the box (great), but somehow NetworkManager doesn't run by default, so nm-applet fails silently and inexplicably. Winner! As a bonus, system-config-network appears completely hosed, and dhclient appears to want to daemonize instead of actually get me a network address like I expect it to.
- deskbar applet is vastly superior to the standard run dialog and mini-commander; it boggles my mind that GNOME still ships those by default and not deskbar-applet. (I know there are some performance issues, but c'mon- fix 'em. This is a clear, huge winner for the users.)
- my IBM volume keys didn't work out of the box. You can fix that by installing tpb, but even after that the volume keys don't get tied to the master volume, and the xosd visualizations take me back to the 80s. I know the fedora guys think that Ubuntu's solution for this is a hack, and that it will be fixed 'the right way' for F8, but the Ubuntu hack has worked out of the box on every thinkpad I've used recently. I can understand being a puritan on licensing issues, and I realize hacks carry a maintenance cost, but I have less understanding for being a puritan on 'hacks' when it means your user experience lags the competition by 18-24 months.
- the fedora installer did not attempt to recognize/make bootable my windows partition. Not a requirement (I have no idea if other installers do this) but it is a 'would be nice'.
Some notes, mixed:
- (sigh) All the proprietary bits that I shouldn't want/need, but I do. Ubuntu makes it easy to get them; Fedora does not. I know Fedora is doing the right thing here, but… ugh. What a lose-lose situation for everyone- Fedora gets beat up for doing the right thing; Ubuntu gets makes a nice user experience (which is good) but significantly reduces our leverage to get some of these things fixed.
- None of my tablet PC bits were not detected at install-time; this wasn't surprising but I'd been hoping. Have been documenting the tablet parts of my adventure at ThinkWiki. Most frustrating part: if someone had just updated F7's copy of linuxwacom at some point in the last seven months, 3-4 hours of my time would have been saved. (Will put a spec file and updated build patches in bugzilla tomorrow- yes, I built an rpm for the first time yesterday.)
- It is my own damn fault that I did not read the older thinkwiki documention more carefully before installing. It says that screen rotation works, but 'works' has different meanings for different people, it turns out, and the thinkwiki definition of 'works' is not my definition of 'works'. I have cobbled something together for now, but I'm not thrilled. Hopefully more time fixing that soon.
Overall, I can't say I'm thrilled; I spent lots of yesterday cursing at various things. But I'm pretty much back where I was functionality-wise (or almost); I'm using a very Free distro; and I'm doing the right thing by supporting my employers and giving feedback on our product. Hopefully my experience will lead to a better experience for lots of folks in F8, if I can just bend the right ears :)
[Ed.: I should note that Ubuntu's out of the box tablet experience is not great either; much of the most serious regressions are from Ubuntu-as-massaged-by-Emperor-Linux rather than stock Ubuntu. Still, there is polish in Ubuntu that Fedora can learn from, just as Ubuntu could learn some lessons about freedom and maintainability from Fedora.]


text: Artist: 213 Album: The Hard Way Song: Gotta Find a Way Typed by: email@example.com [Nate Dogg] Funny how time flies Funny how one thing leads to another Funny how mothers cry Funny how we live at night and in the gutter Funny how cash rules everything around me Funny how people never seem to change Funny how my closest friends is my rebuttal Seems like it all can change and I can get paid Whoa! [Chorus - Nate Dogg] Nigga gotta find a way Find a way to make some money Nigga gotta find a way Find a way to make some cash Got to find a way Nigga gotta find a way Find a way to make some money Nigga gotta find a way Find a way to make some cash Got to find a way [Warren G] I was giving this a lot of thought Should I trip? Should I not? Should I set this off? A whole lotta pressure is on my shoulders My soul is with all my niggaz I roll with; so know this Cut the bullshit, take it back to the music use it right, don't matter what you do with it I'm here to represent the real I still stayed G'ed up unless must I will I stayed up all night, I argue and fight by myself; this can't be right Hmm cuz if the lights were the sound of the siren I'd make you niggaz get a deal and act wild I'm for real and I can see through these suckers that dick riding motherfuckers Yeah, that's me bustin' cuz I'm a huslter for the chips And I'm trippin 'cuz I'm sick of this shit Listen [Snoop Dogg] It wasn't about money up front All a nigga wanted was a big gold chain and a blunt Why? What do you mean? Living my Auntie Mary and I ain't having a damn thang I can't get a job; I might as well steal and rob Man, life is so hard Hanging in my homie garage while other niggaz doing killing for a living in the city of stars I got a lick but I ain't got caught Nigga slippin' leaving a sack by the bar And I seen where he set it, thought he had hid it Nope, and I'm about to go get it Come up, I gotta stay run up Left eye open while I'm sleep with the gun up Please don't run up about that money I'm funny My nigga you'll get done up [Chorus]


text:
Here at Craft Obsessions, we're passionate about bringing you an enjoyable shopping experience, top-quality card-making and rubber stamping supplies; combined with great value for money and all backed up with fantastic customer service and speedy, free of charge deliveries in the UK if your order value is £30 or more!
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- any product you can see available for purchase on our website is actually in stock unless otherwise stated (Pre-Orders for example)
- in the event that we have made an error on our stock system, we will contact you immediately to let you know.
- we will despatch your order promptly once payment has been received, usually the same day - but at the absolute latest, the next working day (please note that during THE Sale, despatch times will be longer but we'll keep you updated via the website in these circumstances)
We will be adding new products almost constantly so don't forget to add us to your favourites list so that you can check back often with just one click!
Customer feedback is vital to any company that takes it's service as seriously we do. Please take a moment to drop us a line via our Contact Us page if there is anything you would like to see included in our store, if you have any suggestions about how we could improve our service to you or if you think there is something that we're not doing as well as we should. We promise to take on board all of your comments and suggestions and we will reply to let you know that we have received them!
Above all, we know that you have a choice about where you shop for your craft supplies. We aim to do everything we possibly can to become your number one choice.
Thanks for taking the time to visit us, we hope you enjoy your stay!
Brenda & David


text:
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Ensure your products are safe, employ our expertise to plan and deploy the appropriate flammability test method and program for your consumer goods. Our testing covers products including (but not exclusively) bedding and mattresses, furniture (materials and filling), clothing, toys, building materials and plastic items.
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text:
Palm has pulled the plug on its Palm OS operating system.
Instead, the company will bet its future on its newly unveiled but still mysterious Palm webOS, built to power the new Pre smartphone, according to company CEO Ed Colligan, who spoke Wednesday at an investor conference in San Francisco.
The current Centro smartphone will be the last to use the Palm OS. "There will be no more Palm OS products," Colligan said. "We will transition to webOS as our core OS, in addition to supporting Microsoft Windows products in the enterprise segment of the market."
Palm is working hard to convince some 30,000 Palm OS software developers, who have created over 100,000 applications, to move to the new operating system, even as it reaches out to "more than 10 million Web developers" globally, Colligan said
Colligan brushed aside questions about speculation that Apple might file a lawsuit charging that the Pre's mult-touch interface infringes on Apple patents.
"There are no issues with Apple over patents right now," he said. "We've built a very extensive patent portfolio in the mobile space. The reason you do that is to have a defensible position in the marketplace." He said Palm had about 1,600 patents. He likened the two companies to two porcupines, circling but careful not to sting each other.
[ See a slideshow, based on the two products spec sheets, that gives a preliminary idea how the two phones compare ]
Palm so far has revealed publicly very few details about webOS, which supports an array of Web standards. And Colligan didn't add anything to what's already known. He repeated a key Palm talking point: that anyone who can program today with tools such as Cascading Style Sheets, JavaScript, and HTML will be able to write applications for webOS.
In January, Palm made what it calls a "private prelease" of the webOS Mojo application framework and Mojo software development kit. According to Palm's website and some early development partners, webOS supports HTML5, enabling a local data store, so applications and data are available offline, and a file system. Tucked within, is a Linux framework, according to one developer.
Also supported is a message bus based on JavaScript Object Notation (JSON), a lightweight, text-based data interchange format that can be used in place of XML, to connect with an array of device services and features.
Though the name "webOS" can suggest a browser-based program, webOS applications install and run on the Pre itself.
The combination of webOS and Mojo really does live up to Palm's development claims, according to some software partners. One of them is Tom Conrad, Chief Technical Officer for Pandora Internet Radio, who described Pandora's experience with webOS in a January interview with PalmInfoCenter.com.
Conrad said he was initially skeptical that common Web development tools combined with Mojo would result in a great user experience and fluid presentation. He's a believer now, at least for a range of applications.
"What makes it this 'webOS is that the programming models for your developer, rather than being C or Java, is really just HTML and CSS and JavaScript," Conrad said. "So you can take developers who have been developing Web applications and quickly get them productive in the webOS SDK, leveraging their familiarity with these Web-based standards. And that decision is one of the reasons we were able to get, very quickly, a version of Pandora up and running [on the Palm Pre]. We were able to take one of our star Web developers – someone who has never touched the Palm webOS and not done mobile development before – and have that person be immediately productive because it's all based on systems that the person is familiar with from Web development."
The Mojo SDK "helps you with managing the layout of the UI and the storage of data and the interaction between the data and your presentation element," Conrad said. "It's another great mechanism that ensures that you don't start to reverse principles but rather can build upon a rather rich base."
Mojo and webOS seem suited to many applications except those such as sophisticated gaming programs, according to Conrad.
The Mojo SDK, due out later in 2009, will have sample code, documentation, and development tools, including an Eclipse-based IDE. Developers can choose what tools they want to build the webOS programs.
Despite the fact it supports widely used Web standards, webOS is not open source, and Colligan confirmed Palm has no plans now to license it. "We're completely focused on delivering an integrated solution to consumers," he said.
The Pre will be the first in a series of webOS-based products, for which Palm does have a roadmap in place, Colligan said. He didn't offer details, and made it clear there won't be a flood of products soon. "We're relentlessly focused on getting this [the Pre] out the door, and our platform and SDK," Colligan said.
At the debut for Pre (pronounced "pree") during the recent Consumer Electronics Show, Palm demonstrated a battery of webOS capabilities, including multi-tasking specifically designed for a handheld device, a feature shared by Google's Android platform but not Apple's iPhone. Palm uses a "deck of cards" metaphor: you can manipulate a "stack" of open applications with finger gestures that mimic working with a deck of playing cards. Each program remains live even when minimized.
One element of webOS is Synergy, a program that creates a single, integrated means of tracking and organizing multiple calendars, contacts and messaging applications. If you update a contact on your Palm Pre, Synergy updates the same data on any of your online accounts. The messaging application combines SMS text messaging and instant messaging, creating threaded conversations that span both.
Palm is developing an online software market for webOS applications, analogous to Apple's App Store and Google's Android Market. But Colligan did say that Pre users will be able to download software from a variety of other sources as well.
This story, "Palm pulls the plug on Palm OS, bets future on Pre's webOS" was originally published by Network World.


text:
"A verrine? What's a verrine?" the conversation would always start, furrowed foreheads and confused, half-squinting eyes included.
Handing out a glass to each member of the family, each piece of dinnerware mismatched and slightly different from the last, it was a bold move to present something like this. It would have taken just a plain old slice of chocolate cake to please this crowd, but oh no, going the easy route for a family gathering just wouldn't do. Such a great opportunity to
test feed my recipes to a large, more varied audience was simply too tempting to pass up!
I struggled to define it, mumbling something about layers of sweet components, but then realized that there are savory verrines out there, too.
"Okay, well you could also call it a parfait…" That's less intimidating, right? Faces all around seemed to relax a bit and approach with less trepidation, but still, this blood-red custard topped with a fluffy white cloud lacked a name.
Chilled and refreshing, pureed raspberries cooked with a touch of agave conceal a handful of diced crystallized ginger at the very bottom, making for a spicy surprise. Crunchy, chocolate-coated rice cereal is sprinkled on top, lending a crispy contrast to the previous smooth layer. Finally, my standard coconut whipped cream tops things off, and a few shreds of lightly toasted, fancy flaked coconut crown the whole piece. In short, it's delicious, easy to eat and enjoy, but complicated to explain.
But some of the best things are seemingly inexplicable like that. Just the other day, I got some equally inexplicable and astonishing news: It seems I've been nominated for 3 different categories of the 2009 Veggie Awards! Vying for the title of Favorite Blog, Favorite Cookbook Author, and Favorite VegNews Column, I'm still struggling to find appropriate words, but for now at least, let's start with… Wow, and of course, THANK YOU! I know I'm up against some stiff competition in all arenas here, so I need your help: Please, please, go vote for me!
And then once you do that, make sure you hop right on back here, and get the recipe for my equally puzzling, but gratifying parfait. Maybe you'll even have the creativity to think of an appropriate name when you serve it!
Raspberry-Ginger Parfaits
Raspberry Pudding:
4 Cups Raspberries, Fresh or Frozen
1/3 Cup Light Agave Nectar
1/4 Cup Orange Juice
1 Tablespoon Cornstarch
1 1/2 Teaspoon Agar Powder
1/2 Cup Finely Diced Crystallized Ginger
Chocolate Crunch:
3 Ounces Bittersweet Chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 Tablespoons Canola Oil
2 1/2 Cups Crispy Brown Rice Cereal
1/2 Teaspoon Instant Coffee Powder
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
Coconut Whipped Creme:
1 25.5-Ounce Can Coconut Milk, Chilled
1/4 Cup Confectioner's Sugar
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Using a blender or food processor, thoroughly puree the raspberries so that the mixture is as smooth as possible. Pass it through a fine mesh strainer, and discard the solids. You should be left with about 2 2/3 cup of seedless raspberry puree; if you end up with less, add apple juice until you reach that amount.
In a medium sauce pan, whisk together the seedless puree, agave, orange juice, cornstarch, and agar vigorously to prevent any of the dry ingredients from clumping. Once homogeneous, set the sauce pan over medium heat, and stir occasionally. Meanwhile, distribute about 1 tablespoon of the diced ginger into the bottom of each of your (8 – 12) parfait glasses.
When the mixture just begins to boil, quickly turn of the heat, and pour an equal amount into each glass. Allow the raspberry layer to cool at room temperature until solidified (about 1 hour) before transferring all of the glasses into the refrigerator to chill.
To make the chocolate crunch, place the chocolate and oil in a microwave-safe dish, and heat them for about 1 minute, checking at 30 seconds to ensure that the mixture doesn't burn. Stir well until completely smooth and all the pieces of chocolate have melted.
In a large bowl, combine the brown rice cereal, coffee powder, and salt. Pour the chocolate mixture in, and mix well with a large spatula, being careful not to crush the cereal. Once well coated, pour the cereal out onto a silpat, and spread it out into as thin a layer as possible. Place this in the refrigerator to solidify (about 30 minutes.)
For the coconut whipped cream, do NOT shake the can of coconut milk. Simply open the can and use a large spoon to skim off all of the thick cream on top. You will be left with some thin coconut milk in the bottom of the can, but you can use that in another recipe. Place the coconut cream, confectioner's sugar, and vanilla in your stand mixer, and whip on high for about 5 minutes, until thick and fluffy like whipped cream.
To assemble your parfaits, crumble pieces of the chocolate crunch into each glass to form an even layer. Spoon the coconut whipped creme on top, and garnish with lightly toasted coconut flakes and/or additional fresh raspberries if desired.
Serves 8 – 12


text:
CRS: China's Anti-Satellite Weapon Test, April 23, 2007
From WikiLeaks
About this CRS report
This document was obtained by Wikileaks from the United States Congressional Research Service.
The CRS is a Congressional "think tank" with a staff of around 700. Reports are commissioned by members of Congress on topics relevant to current political events. Despite CRS costs to the tax payer of over $100M a year, its electronic archives are, as a matter of policy, not made available to the public.
Individual members of Congress will release specific CRS reports if they believe it to assist them politically, but CRS archives as a whole are firewalled from public access.
This report was obtained by Wikileaks staff from CRS computers accessible only from Congressional offices.
For other CRS information see: Congressional Research Service.
For press enquiries, consult our media kit.
If you have other confidential material let us know!.
For previous editions of this report, try OpenCRS.
Wikileaks release: February 2, 2009
Publisher: United States Congressional Research Service
Title: China's Anti-Satellite Weapon Test
CRS report number: RS22652
Author(s): Shirley Kan, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division
Date: April 23, 2007
- Abstract
- On January 11, 2007, the People's Republic of China (PRC) conducted its first successful direct-ascent anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons test in destroying one of its own satellites in space. The test raised international concerns about more space debris. Longer-term, the test raised questions about China's capability and intention to attack U.S. satellites. The purpose of this CRS Report, based on open sources and interviews, is to discuss that ASAT test by China's military, the People's Liberation Army (PLA), and issues about U.S. assessments and policies.
- Download


text:
Dec 13, 2012
Lots of shopping left to do, less left to spend
Dec 13, 2012
Most Americans are nowhere close to having their holiday shopping done, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll shows, raising hope there could be a big boost in sales during the last two weeks before Christmas.
The survey results could provide solace for retailers in an environment where Americans' view of the economy and their finances took a turn for the worse in early December.
Fifty-eight percent of respondents in the survey said they had done about half or less of their holiday shopping so far. Twenty-eight percent said they still had not started and 16 percent had completed less than a quarter of it, the poll found.
Only 18 percent said they had completed their shopping, which suggests that stores will be busy in the final two weekends before Christmas.
"One thing is for sure, consumers procrastinate every year and they wait until the very last week and even the few last days to go shopping," said Jharonne Martis, director of consumer research for Thomson Reuters.
The final weekend before Christmas, including Saturday, Dec. 22, "is going to be the pivotal sales weekend."
The final weekend takes on extra importance this year as Christmas falls on a Tuesday, instead of the Sunday it fell on last year. An extra two days between Thanksgiving and Christmas is also expected to boost sales in the final stretch of the November-December holiday season.
Shoppers are keeping an eye on their budgets.
Only 14 percent of respondents plan to spend more this year than in 2011, while 55 percent will spend the same and 20 percent spend less.
But that does not mean they will actually spend less.
"Expectations and what happens are really two different things," Martis said. In general, shoppers expect to spend less, and then spend more "every year, without failure."
While Black Friday and even Thanksgiving were busy this year, some of the biggest shopping days are still to come, including the two Saturdays before Christmas.
Sales at stores open at least a year, or same-store sales, are expected to be particularly strong for discount chains and department stores this month, according to Martis.
Discount retailers that release monthly data, such as Target Corp and Costco Wholesale Corp, are expected to post a 5 percent rise in same-store sales, up from 4.3 percent growth in December 2011, Martis said. For department stores, including Macy's Inc and Nordstrom Inc, a gain of 4.5 percent is forecast after a 4.2 percent rise last year.
Three percent growth in same-store sales is considered good, according to Martis. Same-store sales at apparel chains should rise just 2.3 percent versus 4 percent growth last December.
The findings are from an Ipsos poll conducted for Thomson Reuters from Dec. 8 to Dec. 11, with 1,330 American adults interviewed online.
Results are within the poll's credibility intervals, a tool used to account for statistical variation in Internet-based polling. The credibility interval was plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
The poll is the latest in a series that Ipsos will conduct during the holiday season.
© Thomson Reuters 2023 All rights reserved.


text:
SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners' 9-7 loss to Kansas City on Sunday proved to be a comedy of errors. Five of them. But none were all that funny.
The Royals also hit two home runs — the first a grand slam, the second a three-run shot — to augment a come-from-ahead-then-behind victory, a game the Mariners led 7-5 until Kansas City's four-run seventh inning against reliever Danny Farquhar.
Afterward, Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon was short, direct and colorful all at once. And he was right.
"We kicked ourselves in the ass today," he said, "and it's that simple."
The self-inflicted damage to their hind-parts began in the second inning, when the first two Kansas City batters reached on singles, one that deflected off the glove of third baseman Kyle Seager.
Lorenzo Cain followed with another sharp ground ball to Seager — back in the lineup after missing two games with the flu — and again he had trouble corralling it, this time committing Seattle's first error. Had he picked it up cleanly, a double play was likely. Instead, the bases were loaded with nobody out.
Mariners starter Roenis Elias struck out the next batter. He had less luck with Alcides Escobar, who launched a first-pitch fastball over the left-field fence for his first career grand slam.
"That was the first pitch I threw to him today, and he jumped on it," Elias said through an interpreter. "That's all there was to it."
The Mariners (19-18) did score some runs for him, enough that he left with a 6-5 lead after throwing 87 pitches through five innings.
Dustin Ackley was the chief supporter, homering against Royals starter Jeremy Guthrie in his first two at-bats — both to center field — after doing the same in his final at-bat Saturday. Ackley's second home run Sunday immediately followed a two-run homer by Seager in the fourth inning, and Corey Hart's run-scoring single with two outs in the fifth put Seattle ahead 7-5.
Even shortstop Brad Miller contributed offensively, snapping an 0-for-19 slump with a two-run double in the third inning.
"I think I've been seeing the ball pretty well, putting good swings on balls, not missing things," Ackley said. "In the past it's just been a little off with some foul balls and things, and I think now I'm not missing the pitches that I'm supposed to hit."
But the Mariners missed too many balls they were supposed to field, or threw them where they shouldn't have. Catcher Mike Zunino committed the team's second error in the fourth inning when he short-hopped a pickoff attempt to second base, allowing Johnny Giavotella to advance to third.
First baseman Justin Smoak committed the Mariners' third error, charging a slow roller later in the same inning in an attempt to throw Giavotella out at home. But Smoak missed it and the run scored.
The fourth and fifth errors wound up harmless. They were both committed by right-fielder Cole Gillespie, a defensive replacement, in the ninth inning. And they occurred on the same play — first a mishap fielding a single that allowed Alex Gordon to reach second base, followed immediately by a poor throw that allowed Gordon to advance to third. But reliever Yoervis Medina struck out Cain to end the inning.
Of larger consequence was Farquhar's mistake in the seventh, though he missed with a pair of 3-2 pitches on back-to-back batters that very well could have been called strikes.
Instead, they were walks that loaded the bases. All three of those runners scored, first on Cain's sacrifice fly, then on Giavotella's three-run homer with two outs.
"I played (against) the guy in college, and I kind of knew he was an ambusher, and I should have been a little more locked in and executed the pitch a little better," Farquhar said.
The Mariners, who have still won seven of their last 10 games, managed only two hits in the final four innings against the Royals' bullpen. If not for their leather-related miscues, seven runs might have been enough to win.
McClendon didn't want to talk about it.
"One thing I don't do is make excuses for guys," he said. "The onus is on the players in that locker room today. So you've got a question about errors, go talk to them."
Said Ackley: "Sometimes, they're as contagious as hitting is. Anything's contagious. I think we've just got to scratch this one and move on. It was a tough game. I think we should have won it. But we're going to have these games. I think we're going to have games, too, that we're not supposed to win that we do win. We've just got to come back strong tomorrow."
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text:
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Chateau Musar Lebanon Rouge 2011Other Red Blends from Lebanon
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Learn about Lebanese wine, common tasting notes, where the region is and more ...
Home of the actual, historical temple of Bacchus, which dates back to the middle of the 2nd century AD, the Bekaa Valley today continues to represent the center of Lebanese winemaking. Here summers are dry, nights cool and consistent rainfall provides an excellent environment for viticulture.
What today is known geographically as Lebanon, was the original home of the Phoenicians (approximately 1550 to 300 BC), who were sea-faring merchants and the first to trade wine as a commodity. Jumping to the Middle Ages (476 to 1453 AD), Lebanese wine continued to be of high value for Venice merchants, who sold it to the eager European buyers. But in 1517, when the Ottoman Empire took command in Lebanon, winemaking came to a halt. Christians were the only ones allowed to make it, and only for religious purposes.
The foundations of the modern Lebanese wine industry come from the mid-19th century Jesuit missionaries of Ksara, who introduced new varieties and production methods from the then French-dominated Algeria. Today French varieties still prevail with Cinsault, Carignan, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah as the main red grape varieties and Ugni blanc, Chardonnay, Sauvignon blanc and Viognier as the main whites.
While Chateau Musar was the only producer to survive the Lebanese 15 year-long civil war, the 1990s saw an emergence of new producers such as Chateau Kefraya, Chateau Ksara and new investment from major French producers.


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SPOILER WARNING: I may let some things slip that you'd prefer not to know.
1. Should I bring the kids?
No, probably not. You'll certainly want to leave your younger geek kids at home for this one. Along with language and violence, there's heavy drug use and a bit of toplessness in the movie too — this is not gratuitous nudity, but more than most teens would like to see while sitting next to a parent. This gets an 'R' rating for good reason. Consider it a nice excuse to go out on a date with your spouse, if your spouse is OK with seeing this sort of film on a date.
2. What is a "looper?"
A looper is not a crazy hoverbike move or reality bending drug (at least not in this movie). When the mob of the future wants to kill someone, they use black-market time travel technology to send the victim into the past where they can be killed and covered up with no trace (assuming all goes well in the past). The guys pulling the triggers in the past are the loopers. This is about a looper named Joe.
3. Is this a mob movie, a sci-fi film, or an action flick?
The mob elements aren't strong, though they are part of the premise: the mob uses time travel to off people without leaving a body trail. While there certainly is a lot of action, it is built around central story elements. If you're just looking for a string of mindless explosions, this isn't the place for you. If you can't wrap your mind around a guy being sent back to be killed by his younger self, you shouldn't be in the theater.
4. Wait, they play the same guy??
Yes, Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays a younger version of Bruce Willis's character, Joe (or vice-versa). It took three hours of makeup and some great character building to get Gordon-Levitt to look enough like Willis that the two can sit across a table from each other believably without CG assistance. It works. Move along.
5. How is the time-travel tech?
Looper is about time travel. (OKAY, Looper is about characters and it happens to have some time travel in it.) Do they use a fusion-powered DeLorean? Spinning ring of alien origin? Does Bruce Willis arrive naked? (NO!) According to production designer Ed Verreaux,
"We went for a retro, simplified, down-and-dirty look. The important thing is to get across the idea that the time machine works – beyond that, it's more important to focus on the narrative of the movie."
It looks good enough to pass without being over stylized to the point of asking "Wait, what would that part even do?" when you see it. They even put it near a electric sub-station so it has a plausible power supply!
6. Seriously, how is the time travel handled?
I was surprised to see how much they dealt with causality, multiple timelines, and the effect of tampering with the past. It could have just been a special effects gimmick to get the action started, but it wasn't. It is much more Quantum Leap than Terminator (but having neither a hologram nor cyborg).
7. Any sweet future tech trend we might see copied other places?
Not likely. Most of the tech of the future is recycled or retrofitted tech of the present. Verreaux designed it to look fairly familiar for a reason; "It's a future where things didn't go well – the economy fell apart, major manufacturing stopped." Think Mad Max instead of Tron: Legacy.
8. Nothing awesome in the future? Really??
They do have a completely implausible jet-powered "bike" that gets some use. And there is a rocket-powered crop duster. (YES, I know that is even less plausible than a jet bike.)
While there is some talk of "TK" in the movie, Jean Grey may have given us an unrealistic expectation for telekinesis. It would be dangerous to have a population that could do more than neat bar tricks anyways, right?
9. What is the geekiest moment in the movie?
After insisting he's not going to discuss time travel, old Joe (Bruce Willis) explains shifts in his memory: the 30 years between now (movie timeline present day) and when he is sent back in time are becoming fuzzy. His memory is a potential space of all the possible futures he might have lived now that he's disrupted the timeline. As soon as something happens to the younger "Joe" he can remember it, but details of future events are a blur.
10. Should you see it?
Yes. While Looper isn't part of a larger universe or the result of a billion-dollar CGI budget, it is a good movie. It feels like a short sci-fi story brought to life. You won't be forming fan clubs for characters any time soon, but I'll bet you'd stop and watch it again if you flipped past it on TV next year. I would.
Looper opens today in theaters, and is rated 'R' for strong violence, language, some sexuality/nudity and drug content.


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Around the World: Travel Photography 101
Photographer Jim Richardson beats the clock to get a great shot in Cusco, Peru—the first stop of an around-the-world trip.
Contributing editor Jim Richardson is a photojournalist recognized for his explorations of small-town life. His photos appear frequently in National Geographic magazine.
Around the world by private jet. Sounds like the perfect photo assignment, right?
National Geographic Expeditions sponsors these "around the world" tours, and they are amazing adventures. I was asked to go along to deliver lectures, help guests with their photos, and shoot pictures for an end-of-the-trip show. Nine countries in 22 days with all stops being signature destinations of world travel. What could I say?
Photographers are known for their ability to find things to complain about, and I'm no exception. So I got right down to it on the first destination of the trip: Cusco, Peru. Our group's bus was trundling down the narrow streets of this ancient Inca capital. It emerged onto the Plaza de Armas, known as Huacaypata (Warrior Square) in Inca times. A stunning sunset was in progress, complete with glorious clouds on the horizon. But I was still on the bus, several blocks away from the hotel where we were to check in. I was champing at the bit, knowing that all the great light would be gone by the time I could get back.
Welcome to the real world of travel photography.
This dilemma is the steady fare of photographers on the road. If you wait for everything to be perfect, you'll never take pictures. The clouds change. We arrive late. It rains. The museum is closed. The monument is covered in scaffolding. The sign says, "No Photography Allowed." Great. Now what? Truth is, these things happen on the very best of trips. The only answer is to hit the ground running.
Running and gunning. That's what I was going to be doing during this tour. In the coming days, we would be traveling on to Easter Island, Samoa, Australia, Cambodia, India, Tanzania, Egypt, and Morocco. Our expedition leader, Carsten Stehr, likes to say that this is an expedition, not a vacation. Carsten is right. And it is also superb fun.
In my next few entries, I'll be taking you along on that trip around the world, sharing the adventure as well as dishing the dirt on making pictures on the run.
Let's start with that evening in Cusco. I had already made one crucial decision before leaving home: traveling light. Almost all my equipment was in one shoulder bag. I had packed a couple of fast lenses to cope with low light and left my lighting kit home. Those two Nikon lenses—the 24mm f/1.4 and the 85mm f/1.4—would be my workhorses. That's why I was able to grab my room key at reception at the historic Hotel Monasterio, dump a clothing bag in my room, and barrel out the door with my camera bag.
Arriving back at the Plaza de Armas, I saw that the great clouds were gone, but that the electric lights on the great Cusco Cathedral and adjacent Church de la Compañia were glowing now. With a quick dash over to the central fountain, I was able to make a good picture within just a few moments. The 24mm f/1.4 Nikkor let me hand-hold this shot at 1/200 at f/2, ISO 2000. (I needed the high shutter speed because I was out of breath.) Within another ten minutes, the blue was gone from the sky and the scene was not nearly as interesting.
It is claimed Francisco Pizarro proclaimed the conquest of Cusco on this square. That conquest brought a host of changes. Perhaps the most telling was construction of the Catholic cathedral, begun in 1559. Cusco is laden with history, including magnificent stone walls crafted by the Inca as only that civilization could. Today Cusco is a vibrant city, and the plaza is its heart. It is the focal point of nightlife and at the same time rich with both tradition and romance. On a more somber note, it is also believed that the conquistadors executed the last Inca ruler on this very square.
On this night in Cusco, I was happy to run and gun with my camera in such a place of triumph, sorrow, history, contemporary Peruvian life, and sheer beauty. There I was reminded that action—not inaction or excuse or regret—is the highest perfection.


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Golden Eagle, this magnificent bird is widespread in the wilder country of North America, Europe, and Asia. About the same size as the Bald Eagle, the Golden is less of a scavenger and more of a predator, regularly taking prey up to the size of foxes and cranes. The Golden Eagle was important to many Native American tribes, who admired the eagle's courage and strength, and who ascribed mystical powers to the bird and even to its feathers.
Searches for prey by soaring high or by flying low over slopes; also watches for prey from high perches. When prey is spotted, eagle plunges to capture it in talons. Members of a pair sometime hunt together, with the second bird capturing prey that evades the first.
Eggs, 2, sometimes 1-3, rarely 4. Whitish to buff, marked with brown. Sometimes one egg in the clutch is unmarked. Incubation is by both parents (female does more), 41-45 days. Young: Female remains with young most of the time at first, while male does most hunting, bringing prey to nest. After young are half-grown, female also does much hunting. Age of young at first flight roughly 60-80 days.
Female remains with young most of the time at first, while male does most hunting, bringing prey to nest. After young are half-grown, female also does much hunting. Age of young at first flight roughly 60-70 days.
Diet, mostly small mammals. Typically preys on mammals ranging in size from ground squirrels up to prairie-dogs, marmots, and jackrabbits. May take smaller rodents (voles and mice) or larger animals such as foxes, young pronghorns, or young deer on occasion. Also eats birds, mostly gamebirds such as grouse but rarely birds as large as cranes or as small as sparrows. Also some snakes, lizards, large insects. Will feed on carrion, including dead fish.
May mate for life. In courtship, 2 birds circle high in air, making shallow dives at each other. Display to defend territory includes repeated high flight followed by steep dives, loops, rolls, and other acrobatics. Nest site is most often on cliff ledge, also frequently in large tree, rarely on ground. Sites may be used for many years. A pair may have 2 or more alternate nest sites, using them in different years. Nest (built by both sexes) a bulky platform of sticks, lined with weeds, grass, leaves, moss. New material added each year, and nest may become huge.
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Golden Eagles
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(127) Information Disclosure Statements May Be Filed Without Copies of U.S. Patents and Published Applications in Patent Applications filed after June 30, 2003 Background The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO or Office) regulations concerning Information Disclosure Statements (IDSs) currently require that copies of the cited references be submitted with the IDS listing. See 37 CFR 1.98 (a)(2). In a prior notice in the Official Gazette this requirement was partially waived with respect to U.S. patents and U.S. patent application publications when an applicant submitted an IDS using the Office's electronic filing system (as an electronic IDS, eIDS). See Legal Framework for the Use of the Electronic Filing System, 1263 Off. Gaz. Pat. Off. 60, 10/8/2002, Part V. All U.S. applications1 filed after June 30, 2003 are stored in electronic form in the Office's Image File Wrapper (IFW) system.2 IDSs submitted for these electronic applications are processed by Office staff to create an electronic link which permits cited U.S. patents and U.S. patent application publications to be conveniently viewed by examiners through the Office's patent search system. This feature enables the Office to avoid scanning these documents into IFW, obviating the need for their submission. Waiver The Office hereby waives the requirement under 37 CFR 1.98 (a)(2)(i) for submitting a copy of each cited U.S. patent and each U.S. patent application publication for all U.S. national patent applications filed after June 30, 2003 and for all international applications that have entered the national stage under 35 USC 371 after June 30, 2003. See 37 CFR 1.491(b). For all patent applications filed on or before June 30, 2003, copies of cited U.S. patents and patent application publications are still required unless an eIDS is filed. Applicants are still required to submit copies of foreign patent documents and non-patent literature in accordance with 37 CFR 1.98(a)(2). FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions concerning this waiver may be submitted to Jay Lucas by e-mail at email@example.com or by telephone at (703) 308-6868. Comments may also be submitted by mail addressed to: Commissioner for Patents, Box Comments - Patents, Post Office Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450, or by facsimile to (703) 305-2919, marked to the attention of Jay Lucas. STEPHEN G. KUNIN Deputy Commissioner for Patent Examination Policy 1 Except in special situations, such as in applications under secrecy order or containing national security markings. 2 See Notification of United States Patent and Trademark Office Patent Application Records being Stored and Processed in Electronic Form, 1271 Off. Gaz. Pat. Off. 100, 6/17 2003. [1273 OG 55]


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Thirty five years ago I had yet to be born, but artist Scott Weaver had already begun work on this insanely complex kinetic sculpture, Rolling through the Bay, that he continues to modify and expand even today. The elaborate sculpture is comprised of multiple "tours" that move pingpong balls through neighborhoods, historical locations, and iconic symbols of San Francisco, all recreated with a little glue, some toothpicks, and an incredible amount of ingenuity. He admits in the video that there are several toothpick sculptures even larger than his, but none has the unique kinetic components he's constructed. Via his website Weaver estimates he's spent over 3,000 hours on the project, and the toothpicks have been sourced from around the world:
I have used different brands of toothpicks depending on what I am building. I also have many friends and family members that collect toothpicks in their travels for me. For example, some of the trees in Golden Gate Park are made from toothpicks from Kenya, Morocco, Spain, West Germany and Italy. The heart inside the Palace of Fine Arts is made out of toothpicks people threw at our wedding.