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When I first heard from an anonymous source about a flaw in the Oracle database, I was skeptical. I'm well versed in the endless cycle of bugs and patches that surrounds the software industry. But this was different. Unless that source was blowing smoke, this was a vulnerability at the heart of the industry's most widely used and trusted enterprise database product.
I immediately contacted InfoWorld contributing editor Paul Venezia and assigned him the story, which we've published today as "A fundamental Oracle flaw." I chose Paul because he has a deep, hands-on understanding of IT and proven instincts as both a technologist and a reporter. (Among other accomplishments, Paul was the only journalist to deduce the real story behind the infamous Terry Childs affair.)
[ Read "Revealed: A fundamental Oracle flaw" and learn the details of the Oracle vulnerability. | See Paul Venezia's insightful coverage of the Terry Childs affair. ]
Paul agreed that the Oracle story made logical sense, but seemed unbelievable. Apparently, the Oracle System Change Number (SCN), a sort of time stamp applied to every database transaction, could be raised artificially -- either through a bug that had recently surfaced or through a malicious attack that required very low database privileges. When the SCN number grew large enough and a threshold was crossed, the database could become unstable or crash -- and could not be revived easily.
Moreover, in environments where databases connect frequently, that high SCN value could conceivably spread among connected databases like a virus.
In testing, we confirmed that, indeed, the value could be raised artificially and spread from one database to another. And we consulted with many different Oracle experts about the problem. As with most newly discovered vulnerabilities, none of those experts had knowingly encountered the issue in the wild, but the story quotes two tech pros who clearly understood the implications.
We then contacted Oracle itself. Oracle representatives professed to be unaware of the method we had used to raise the SCN and asked us to hold publication of our story until the company could release a patch, which would purportedly also prevent nonmalicious methods of raising the SCN value to dangerous levels.
That patch is available today as a part of the Oracle Critical Patch Update for January 2012. It can be applied to the following Oracle Database versions:
- 11g Release 2, versions 126.96.36.199, 18.104.22.168
- 11g Release 1, version 188.8.131.52
- 10g Release 2, versions 10.2.0.3, 10.2.0.4, 10.2.0.5
- 10g Release 1, version 10.1.0.5
Oracle provided us with a download of the patch in advance of its release today. Although we've run preliminary tests and confirmed that the patch prevents some forms of manipulation of the SCN, we do not know how Oracle's remedy will fare in complex, interconnected database environments.
So I'd like to invite all Oracle customers who install the patch to contact InfoWorld and let us know about your experiences.
In the interests of protecting Oracle customers from malicious attack, we refrained from releasing any information about the vulnerability until today. Now that our story has broken, we want to hear from Oracle users about the effectiveness of the fix -- including advice on how to apply it, particularly in complex environments.
This article, "Calling all Oracle customers," originally appeared at InfoWorld.com. Read more of Eric Knorr's Modernizing IT blog, and for the latest business technology news, follow InfoWorld on Twitter.


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I will decline the nomination at this time.
Happy Trails!
The accept list is pretty short everyone...what's holding you back?
There's others that could be nominated. Two who I can think of deserve a nomination:
Dave1976 who's done work for land trusts and loves combining four-wheeling with geocaching.
Kaching Karen who's an awesome educator and has given kids a sense of accomplishment and confidence.
"Given a chance, a child will bring the confusion of the world to the woods, wash it in the creek, turn it over to see what lives on the unseen side of that confusion." --Richard Louv, Last Child in the Woods
"The funniest thing about this particular signature is that by the time you realize it doesn't say anything it's to late to stop reading it..."
C'mon Dave1976,
Someone has to keep me in line. ( insert smiley face of your choice here )
There could be small groups set up as needed to handle things that arise and it would be taken into consideration what the needs are and find people who are capable of addressing those needs.
Also, it seems pretty odd that there are three current board members on the "awaiting accept/decline" list. What's holding them back?
As far as why the remaining board members have not spoken up, I can't speak for them, but I held off for the short time I did fear of looking overly eager. Then I realized so few on the accepted list might make others apprehensive.
What is ironic is 32 people felt the need for an election, yet no more than two of those 32 have nominated themselves or accepted their nomination as of yet.
"The funniest thing about this particular signature is that by the time you realize it doesn't say anything it's to late to stop reading it..."

subset: commoncrawl


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Flat Light Bulb Idea: Compact Replacement for Round Bulbs
From incandescent to fluorescent to the latest LED fad, there are light bulbs that span the spectrum from long-lasting to energy-saving, but one designer has taken a step back and addressed a basic problem of the universal classic: the pear-shaped light bulb we all know and love.
By slimming the sides (a conceptual 'slice' of one third on either side of the center), this skinny bulb by Joonhuyn Kim takes up far less space inside the package, thus saving energy in a different way by reducing transportation requirements.
Not since the invention of the classic round bulb has someone thought to so fundamentally change the shape of this object, innovating our basic means of lighting but also making it more compact, efficient, thin, portable, stackable and difficult to break.


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Sharon Turner has just posted the 29th edition of the ESL/EFL/ELL Blog Carnival! As she writes:
The posts… represent future visions, perspectives and warnings of all kinds pertaining to English Language Education.
Thanks, Sharon!
David Deubelbeiss will be hosting an August 1st edition. I'll post here when he publishes info on if that edition will have a "theme" or if it will be a general one on ESL/EFL teaching and learning. In the meantime, though, if you have a contribution in mind, you can send the link to me.
Let me know if you might be interested in hosting future editions.
You can see all the previous editions of the ESL/EFL/ELL Blog Carnival here.


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Taking actions to reduce costs, drive commercial excellence and operational effectiveness
1,550 positions in Sweden subject to notice, affecting all parts of the organization
All sites in Sweden are affected except Falun, Hudiksvall, Kalmar and Katrineholm
Today Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC, news, filings) informs its employees in Sweden about the plan to reduce its operations in Sweden that involves a reduction of an estimated 1,550 positions, covering all job areas, including sales, general and administration, research and development, supply and service delivery.
"It is naturally a difficult message for our employees in Sweden," says Tomas Qvist, head of Ericsson's Human Resources in Sweden. "We must ensure that we can continue to execute on our strategy to maintain our market leadership, invest in R&D and meet our customers' needs. To secure this we need to focus on reducing cost, driving commercial excellence and operational effectiveness. This will enable us to secure our future competitiveness.
"Over the past couple of years we have been continuously driving these global efficiency measures across regions and units. And, sometimes redundancies are unfortunately inevitable," says Qvist.
In absolute numbers, the majority of the reductions are in Ericsson's Networks unit, but all parts of the organization in Sweden are to some extent affected, impacting all its Swedish sites except Falun, Hudiksvall, Kalmar and Katrineholm.
Estimated redundancies per site: Borås (40 positions), Gothenburg – Lindholmen and Mölndal (approx 200), Karlskrona (50), Kumla (106), Linköping (120), Luleå (10), Lund (15), Malmö (13), Stockholm (approx 1000).
Negotiations with the union representatives about how to handle the redundancies have started, and in March 2013 all employees concerned are expected to be informed. The number of consultants and temporary workforce will also be substantially reduced.
Total number of employees in Sweden was 17,768 on September 30. Ericsson has sites in: Borås (approx 1,100 employees), Falun (approx 230), Gothenburg – Lindholmen and Mölndal (approx 2,200), Hudiksvall (approx 300), Kalmar (aprox 20), Karlskrona (675), Katrineholm (approx 400), Kumla (approx 650), Linköping (approx 1,300), Luleå (approx 50), Lund and Malmö (approx 100), Stockholm (approx 10,800).
Invitation to a press briefing
Ericsson's head of Human Resources in Sweden, Tomas Qvist, will be available for comments at Ericsson, Torshamnsgatan 23 in Kista, today, November 7 at 1pm.
Only for accredited journalists.
Photos of Tomas Qvist attached; also available upon request.
Download high-resolution photos and broadcast-quality video at www.ericsson.com/press
Ericsson is the world's leading provider of communications technology and services. We are enabling the Networked Society with efficient real-time solutions that allow us all to study, work and live our lives more freely, in sustainable societies around the world.
Our offering comprises services, software and infrastructure within Information and Communications Technology for telecom operators and other industries. Today more than 40 percent of the world's mobile traffic goes through Ericsson networks and we support customers' networks servicing more than 2.5 billion subscribers.
We operate in 180 countries and employ more than 100,000 people. Founded in 1876, Ericsson is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. In 2011 the company's net sales were SEK 226.9 billion (USD 35.0 billion). Ericsson is listed on NASDAQ OMX, Stockholm and NASDAQ, New York stock exchanges.
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WE had confidently believed, from certain semi-official announcements in the columns of the leading journal of the day, that the Queen's speech on the opening of the session would have announced, in clear and unequivocal language, the impending fall of the double government for India, and the consequent extinction of the East India Company. The document which is supposed to dimly reveal the ministerial future, and set forth the programme of the parliamentary year, disclosed, however very little of the policy of the government on this vital and absorbing subject. It is now understood that considerable difference of opinion for some time existed in the cabinet on the form which was to be given to our future administration of India. A sufficient degree of unanimity appears to have been subsequently attained to enable the government to give formal notice to the Court of Directors of the intention of the ministry to bring in a bill for the extinction of their functions; but nothing more definite can be inferred from what has already been done, and it is questionable whether the administration is even yet agreed upon the principles of a measure which must, before long, excite very general discussion. The reconstruction of the Indian government will soon form the subject of earnest debate, and, doubtless, of practical legislation, and it is one that will tax to the utmost the patience and wisdom of parliament. Let it not, however, be forgotten, that while the British arms are employed in reasserting our supremacy in the plains and cities of Hindostan, a work of equal urgency and importance is to be done at home. We have to watch the development, sift the principles, and, scrutinise the details of this forthcoming measure, which may be destined to work immense changes both in India and England—to prevent, by the exercise of free discussion, a scheme framed for the better government of our great dependency from becoming a mere bureaucratic institution, and to guard against such a deviation from a noble plan of political improvement as shall convert the intended erection into a colossal edifice of parliamentary jobbery and corruption. We propose, therefore, to consider the present position of the question; but we must, in the first place, briefly pass in review a few of the changes which the government of India has undergone, from our first connexion with it as simple traders until the final consolidation of its wide-spread and magnificent territories under the imperial say or protection of Great Britain.
The East India Company is, or rather was, an anomaly without a parallel in the history of the world. It originated from sub-scriptions, trifling in amount, of a few private individuals. It gradually became a commercial body with gigantic resources, and by the force of unforeseen circumstances assumed the form of a sovereign power, while those by whom its affairs were directed continued, in their individual capacities, to be without power or political influence. This extraordinary commercial body was first formed in London in 1599. In the following year it [111/112] obtained a charter from the Crown, and was formed into a corporation for fifteen years under the title of "The Governor and Company of Merchants trading to the East Indies." The clear profits of the trade were said to have reached, in a few years, from 100 to 200 per cent. In 1611 the Company obtained permission from the Mogul to establish factories on several parts of the coast of India, in consideration of a moderate export duty upon its shipments. The success of its commerce was so great, that its capital was from time to time augmented, and its exclusive privileges renewed, for which the state received due equivalents in the shape of large pecuniary payments and loans without interest, and many leading statesmen, it is believed, more direct advantages. A Duke of Leeds, who was charged in the reign of Charles II with receiving five thousand pounds from the Company, was impeached by the House of Commons, and it is said that the prorogation of parliament, which occurred immediately afterwards, was caused by the tracing of the sum of ten thousand pounds to a much higher quarter.
In 1661 a new charter was granted to the Company, in which all its former privileges were confirmed, but with the portentous addition of a clause enabling it "to make peace or war with or against any prince and people not being Christian!" From that moment the East India Company was no longer merely a mercantile company, formed for the extenstion of British commerce; it more nearly resembled a delegation of the whole power and sovereignty of Great Britain sent into the East. It, in fact, ought from that time to be considered a subordinate sovereign power. The constitution of the Company thus began in commerce and ended in empire. "By possession of these great authorities," to quote the admirable summary of Burke, speaking in 1788, "the East India Company came to be what it is—a great empire carrying on subordinately a great commerce. It became that thing which was supposed by the Roman law irreconcilable to reason and propriety— cundem negotia torem et dominum: the same power became the general trader: the same power became the supreme lord. In fact, the East India Company in Aisa is a state in the disguise of a merchant."
Such was the Indian government for a long course of years, during which it carried on, simultaneously with its commerce, extensive wars, and subdued and annexed to its dominion some of the finest and most fertile provinces in Asia. These conquered territories, by a strange and indefensible policy, were long considered as a portion of the stock in trade of a commercial company, and were committed, with all their population and revenues, to the administration of a host of needy adventurers, who year after year left the shores of England, to return, after a short career of plunder, "laden with odium and riches," to enjoy the envied fruites of their oppression with very little disturbance from the governing classes of this country. At length, however, the notorious corruption of the Indian government, and the tyranny of its agents, aroused public attention, and towards the close of the last century the impeachment of Warren Hastings proved that the nation had been thoroughly awakened to a sense of its duties and responsibilities. Remedial measures were then first seriously thought of and discussed in parliament. The first great and comprehensive measure which resulted from this improved state of public feeling was the celebrated East India Bill of Mr. Fox. In 1783, [112/113] that great statesman, burning with indignation at the unparalleled mass of iniquity which the investigations of a committee of the House of Commons had just brought to light, introduced, in a speech worth of the subject and of himself, his plan for regulating the commercial concerns of the Company at home, and for the better government of their territories abroad. He proposed to supersede the two courts of proprietors and directors by vesting the whole of the territories, revenues, and commerce of India in seven commissioners, to be chosen by parliament, and they were to have the power of appointing and dismissing all persons in the service of the Company; nine assistant commissioners, being proprietors of India stock, were to be named by the legislature to assist in the details of commerce, and to be under the authority of the superior board. The soundness of the principle upon which Mr. Fox proceeded in bringing Indian affairs so directly under the control of parliament may well be questioned. The bill was vehemently opposed by the government of the day, and not receiving a very effectual support out of doors, was defeated in the House of Lords by a considerable majority, composed chiefly of peers who were personally subservient to the reigning monarch, to whom the great India Reform Bill was in the highest degree distasteful.
But public opinion was too powerful, even in those days, to be entirely disregarded, and Mr. Pitt having pledged hiself to remedial measures, and having really at heart, we believe, the interest and happiness of India, brought forward, in the following year, his bill for the better administration of India affairs, and established the existing Board of Control. We conceive this measure, however objectionable Mr. Fox's may have been, to have been and unstatesmanlike effort to evade, rather than grapple with, the real difficulties of the question. The East India Company had been proved to be utterly cor-rupt and incorrigible; it had lost its capital over and over again. As a commercial body it was bankrupt, and on every principle of justice all political power should have been then taken from it, and its affairs "wound up." But Mr. Pitt, unprepared for the task of governing India from Downing-street, and bewildered by conflicting schemes and interests, found himself compelled to recommit the government of Hindostan to a company which had often managed with the grossest ignorance and ill-success even its own legitimate business. He continued the government of India in the Court of Directors, but he restrained their political action by a number of, as he thought, salutary regulations, and by a permanent Board of Control, composed chiefly of ministers high in the service of the Crown. The East India Company had, until then, been one of the most corrupt and destructive tyrannies that probably ever existed in the world. He allowed, however, to use Burke's figure, "the wolf to continue the guardian of the flock, but inserted a curious sort of muzzle by which the protection wolf should not be able to open his jaws above and inch or two at the utmost." The scheme of reconciling a direction nominally independent with an office substantially controlling was a machinery that could not of course work smoothly if both should affect activity and independence. One must of necessity become subordinate, and the Board of Control soon became supreme, and the direction sank into a merely subservient council; and into immediate connexion with the Crown. [113/114] In 1793 the British territories in India, together with the exclusive trade, were continued to the "Company" for twenty years. In 1814 the charter was again renewed for another twenty years; the trade was, however, opened under certain restrictions, but the monopoly of the China trade and all the territorial revenues of India were continued until 1834. It was in this year that the East India Company, as a commercial body, may be said to have become, in fact, extinct, and from thenceforth it can only be said of it, "stat magni nominus umbra." Its privileges were entirely abolished, but the government of India was continued in the Court of Directors—a practical anomaly of the most extraordinary kind, there being really no company to direct. The only reason that could be assigned for this arrangement was the difficulty of framing an entirely new government for India, and the supposed necessity of putting up with a temporary makeshift until greater attention could be bestowed on Indian affairs, or public opinion should demand a total change in the system. The capital of the defunct company was guaranteed a fixed rate of interest by the government, and a provision was made for paying it off at a stated period. It became, in short, virtually a government stock. The proprietors of this stock have therefore no more special interest in the affairs of India than in those of Canada or New Zealand, although the farce of a Court of Proprietors is still kept up, which is the ridicule of the well-informed, but the source of many absurd and mischievous delusions.
The elaborate parliamentary inquiries of 1852-3 resulted only in a trifling modification of the old system. After an investigation extending over two sessions and the examination of numberless witnesses, the united wisdom of the two Houses of Parliament was able to devise nothing more satisfactory than a trifling modification of the Board of Directors, by admitting the principle of government nomination to the extent of six members of that body, giving it thereby rather more the character of government council, and indicating, by an approach towards a correct system, the direction which future and more important changes would probably take.
Thus, by the last legislative arrangement for the government of India, the antiquated and obsolete system was almost entirely retained, a system not only theoretically absurd, but, we are convinced, practically mischievous, and such as no statesman would ever have originated, or could consistently retain one hour beyond the necessities which gave in existence. And one of the most censurable portions of the arrangement thus prolonged for another term of years, was that of retaining the fiction, or even assuming the reality, of an East India Company, by permitting periodical meetings of the proprietors of East India stock, and recognising their corporate action. The Court of Proprietors is even a greater fiction than the direction; nevertheless, a few pompous and insignificant individuals have been permitted to assemble half-yearly to propound their views and discuss the interests of an empire which they affect to take under their especial protection. This is, perhaps, the grossest error that has been committed. It has been the cause of those misconceptions which exist to a very great extent not only in this country but throughout Europe and Asia. Who does not frequently observe in the public prints of this country, as well as of France [114/115] and Germany, allusions to "the Hon. the East India Company" as a still existing body, possessing territorial rights, and a political and commercial organisation? On the continent of Europe this misapprehension is very general, nor can we feel surprised at the mistake, when even public men of some repute in this country have been observed to labour under similar delusions. It was but the other day that a gentleman,1 who' had for a considerable period a seat in the legislature, declared at a public meeting that it was unjust to permit the people of India to be ruled by a few commercial gentlemen, whose only object must necessarily be to obtain the highest dividends for their constituents! If a public man, living in the clear atmosphere of English public life, and with access to all the sources of correct information, can labour under such extraordinary misapprehensions, what sort of idea must be formed of the British government in the untutored mind of the Hindoo, or by the fierce and fanatical Mussulman? They never hear of any other power than that of the "Company." They regard it as the source of all authority. From it alone the governor-general receives, as they suppose, his commission, and to it he is responsible, and their highest conception of sovereign power must be a grasping and avaricious mercantile association draining India of its wealth to swell its enormous gains. What sort of allegiance could the people of India justly owe to such a government, and what attachment could a native soldiery entertain for a power supposed to maintain them out of the very spoils of their country? It is certainly not in human, far less in Indian, nature to venerate a power which it conceives as ruling not for the righteous purposes of protection and justice, but for its own selfish and mercenary ends.
Mr. Halliday, a gentleman who had filled very high offices in India, speaking in the presence of his employers, the Court of Directors, stated that the charter of 1833, giving a twenty years' lease to the East India Company, was considered by the natives of India as farming them out. "You used the expression," was one of the questions put to him by a directory, " 'farming the government;' do you believe the people of India think the government of India is farmed out to the Company in the same sense that the taxes were farmed at the period you allude to?" "They use precisely the same word in speaking with the renewal of the charter. They will talk with you as to the probability of the 'jarch,' or farm, being renewed, and, as far as I know, they have no other term to express it."
Such is the conception very generally formed in the native mind of the nature of the English rule, and as long as such a misapprehension exists—and it cannot but exist while the phantom of the East India Company is permitted still to hover over the territories of India—so long will a spirit of hostility be engendered against England, and conspiracies organised to shake off the ignominous, although imaginary, yoke.2
"If," Mr. Halliday continued, "you were to change the system, and [115/116] to govern India in the name of the Crown, you would enormously add to the reverence which the people of India would have for your government, and increase the stability of your empire."
It is impossible that this miserable political fiction, the source of so much misconception and, we doubt not, of such disastrous alienation of the native mind, can be permitted any longer to exist. The utter hollowness and rottenness of the whole system have been shown and recorded in our previous numbers. The time has arrived for it to be utterly condemned and cast aside as the relic of a past age and an exploded policy. The veil which has hitherto concealed the Crown from the eyes of the people of India must now be rent asunder, and the glorious symbol of British sovereignty revealed to the eyes of every inhabitant of our Indian dominions.
The precise form of administration must necessarily be a subject of great consideration. It is clearly essential that the functions of the Court of Directors, should be utterly, and as speedily as possible, extinguished, and the Court of Proprietors abolished. We have no wish to deny the merits of some of the gentlemen now composing the direction, but their services may be secured to the government in a different form. The Board of Control must undergo the same dissolution as the little senate of Leadenhall-street.
A Council of State for Indian affairs, presided over by a cabinet minister, and composed of a limited number of persons most eminent for their Indian services, nominated by the Crown for a definite period, and their offices exempt from the fluctuations and uncertainty of political life, is, we conceive, the nearest approximation to a satisfactory government for India that we can hope to attain. India, to adopt Lord Macaulay's aphorism, "must be governed in India." A supreme council sitting in London could only define the general policy to be pursued in India, correct errors, reform abuses, and make satisfactory appointments. The proceedings of a council such as we have suggested would not be above the reach of public opinion, and all its measures would be subject to the free criticism of parliament. It might be a desirable arrangement to require the opinions of any members of the council who should dissent from the president to be recorded in the form of written protests or minutes, similar to the system adopted in the supreme council at Calcutta. The necessity of such formal and solemn assertions of opinion would check any tendency to minute and captious objection, and, in the event of any serious difficulty arising between the chief of the council and his subordinates, the detailed reasonings of all the members of the board would be preserved in a form easily presentable to parliament. We should desire to see this council elevated to the rank of a great, responsible, and dignified department. Let distinctions be conferred on its members corresponding to the importance of their functions. Let it be divided into committees for the more convenient transaction of business, and let each department be provided with its appropriate staff. On special occasions, or on stated days, the whole council would naturally assemble for deliberation, and the president would state the general views of the government, as advice, and receive trustworthy and important information from those most competent to give it, and be prepared to advise his colleagues in the cabinet, and to either mature or modify his Indian policy in accordance with the judg- [116/117] ment of able, disinterested, and enlightened men. The choice of the Crown should be strictly confided to those civil and military functionaries who have served a definite period in India, and the government may then be safely entrusted with their selection. Distinguished ability and success in Indian administration will establish irresistible claims to a seat at the India board. A considerable salary should be attached to the office, so as to make it an object of desire as well as of laudable ambition to eminent Indian statesman. We anticipate the happiest effects from this future prospect upon the Anglo-Indian community, and public men, instead of looking forward to a degrading and often unsuccessful canvass for a seat in nominal direction, will carry with them throughout their Indian career the conviction that proved ability and distinguished services cannot fail to attract the notice of the home government, and to secure for them a reward of great dignity and importance. All parliamentary jobbing would necessarily be excluded by this arrangement, and the right men would be selected because no others would be eligible. Recommendations from the Governor-General of Viceroy of India, in whichever name the government may be carried on, should be allowed great weight. It might be expedient to give him the power of nominating one or more members of the board, and retired governors-general should be entitled, by virtue of their rank and services, to seats at the board.
It is a necessary condition of our parliamentary government that an Indian council should be presided over by a minister of the Crown, and be thus directly connected with the administration of the day. An elective or independent council for Indian affairs is an impossibility with our form of government. An imperium in imperio would be created of a most anomalous and dangerous description. The disadvantages of a frequent change in presidentship of the council are obvious enough, but they are unavoidable. But the minister for Indian affairs would, we may assume, always be a statesman of the first rank, possessing the confidence of the cabinet, representing their views, and instructed to carry out their measures. For minute and accurate knowledge he must rely on his council, and to it may be safely entrusted the general administration of details. It may, however be objected, that a council for Indian affairs would be found impracticable in its working, that its time would be occupied in constant discussion, to the obstruction of business and derangement of the machinery of government. We would give the President of the Indian Council a power of overruling the decisions of his colleagues in every instance, and he would, in the rare occurrence of a collision, be obliged to defend his policy in parliament. Nor do we discover any reason why an India board more than a cabinet, or any other council, should be exposed to the inconvenience of frequent differences of opinion; and we have never heard it objected to our government that a cabinet council is a focus of political dissension.
In framing a new government for India, and ministry must be prepared to encounter the old objection of a design to accumulate power in its own hands. The danger of vesting the patronage of India in the ministers of the Crown will of course be urged by political opponents, whether sitting on one side of the Speaker's chair or the other. Mr Fox was assailed by a similar cry, although he proposed to rule India by a parliamentary commission. His reply was decisive. "If," he said, "the [117/118] reform of the government of India is to be postponed until a scheme be devised against which ingenuity, ignorance, caprice, or faction shall not raise objections, the government will never be reformed at all." And a yet greater man3 said, on the same occasion, "If we are not able to contrive some method of governing India well which will not of necessity become the means of governing Great Britain ill, a ground is laid for their eternal separation, but none for sacrificing the people of that country to their constitution." The system of open competition for civil and military appointments has already done much, and will do more, to check the abuses of patronage. Indian appointments may be largely distributed among our best public and private schools as prizes for merit; and the test of a rigid examination be in all cases enforced upon candidates nominated by the council, in the hands of which a large portion of the patronage may, we should hope, be safely lodged. An increase of the patronage of administration must, however, be accepted as one of the necessary conditions of parliamentary government. It is not an addition to the power of the Crown so much as an augmentation of the means of influence which must always be possessed by a minister. We must accept our free institutions with their necessary and inevitable drawbacks. The disadvantages of parliamentary government may be considerable; a certain amount of corruption must always be one of the greatest, but we look for its correction not to any impracticable abnegation of patronage, but to the increased and increasing power of public opinion, the free criticism of the press, and an improved tone of political morality among all orders and descriptions of public men.
It may be instructive, in the present transition state of our Indian government, to cast a retrospective glance upon the policy of other states, but more particularly that of Spain in the government of her distant dependencies. It may appear extraordinary to refer to that country in her state of decadence of degradation, but there was much in the colonial administration of Spain that is worthy of our attention. Making due allowance for the difference in the character of the two nations, they had much in common during certain periods of their history. The same spirit of enterprise, and the same indomitable perseverance, marked the Spanish as it did the English conquests. Both nations exhibited the same marked ascendancy over the subject races, and those races both possessed a very ancient civilisation. But it is to the policy of the Spanish government when it was under the necessity of constituting an administration for its colonial empire that we wish to direct attention. There is one peculiarity in the Spanish conception of government, as applied to its dependencies, that, in a most important particular, distinguishes it from our own. Zeal for the propagation of the Christian faith was with that country more than an ostensible motive for encouraging the spirit of enterprise and discovery in the New World. A missionary establishment was an institution of the state. The success in diffusing Christianity was great in proportion to the means employed, and if the benevolent intentions of the supreme government had not been counteracted by the iniquitous conduct of delegated power, the noble efforts of missionary enterprise would have been crowned with success, and a [118/119] Pagan would perhaps have been converted into a Christian community. Widely different has been the policy of England towards her distant and idolatrous dependency. There the light of Christianity was for a long period studiously hidden from the native mind, or was seen, if at all, only as a thin veil thrown over the general profligacy. There was never even a pretence to any higher motive than mercantile gain in our original connexion with India, and a Christian missionary who had dared to set his foot in the land dedicated to the worship of Vishnu and Mammon was expelled with contumely from the soil. Here the policy of Spain stands out in bright contrast to that of England, for, however unsuccessful in results, and inapplicable as a precedent, her noble effort to christianise her subjects by imparting to them the light, such as it was, that she herself possessed, must for ever give her a claim to respect.
A fundamental maxim of the Spanish jurisprudence with respect to America was to consider whatever had been acquired there as vested in the Crown. That state never committed the preposterous mistake of perpetuating a gigantic monopoly, bartering its territorial rights for money to a company of merchants, and delegating to them the awful and almost incommunicable attributes of peace and war. The Spanish government became instantly, in fact as well as in theory, the absolute proprietors of whatever soil had been conquered by the arms of its adventurous subjects. The colonists who established infant settlements were entrusted with no privileges independent of their sovereign, or that could serve as a barrier against the power of the Crown.
When the conquests of Spain in America were completed, she divided her enormous territories into three distinct and independent viceroyalties, which may suggest a comparison with our three Indian presidencies. Each viceroy possessed almost regal prerogatives. The civil business of the various provinces and districts was committed to magistrates of various orders and denominations, and the administration of justice was entrusted to tribunals formed after the model of those of Spain and to judges of Spanish blood; and a power of appeal was given first to the viceroy, and in the last resort to the Great Council of the Indies.
It is on the constitution and functions of this celebrated department of Spanish administration that we wish to briefly remark, as affording an example of the policy of a nation placed in circumstances somewhat analogous to our own. It was composed of the most eminent statesmen of the Spanish nation, well acquainted with the colonies, eminent for the purity of their characters, and illustrious for their public services. These men, celebrated even in the age of great characters, were selected by their sovereign to assist him in arduous task of ruling his distant empire, and in them was vested the supreme government of all the Spanish dominions in America. The jurisdiction of the council extended to every department—ecclesiastical, civil, military, and commercial. All the laws and ordinances relative to the government and police of the colonies originated there, and required the approval of two-thirds of the members before they were issued in the name of the king. To it every person employed was made responsible, and every plan originated or suggested by the viceroys fro improvising the administration or police of their governments was submitted to its decision. "From the first institution of the Council of the Indies," says Robertson, "it has been the constant habit [119/120] of the Catholic monarchs to maintain its authority and to make such additions from time to time, both to its power and splendour, as might render it formidable to all their subjects in the New World. Whatever degree of public order and virtue still remains in that country, where so many circumstances conspire to relax the former and to corrupt the latter, may be ascribed in a great measure to the wise regulations and vigilant inspection of this respectable tribunal."
A presiding and regulating council such as this, but constituted in the way that we have suggested, is, we conceive, the description of government adapted for our great East Indian dependency. The statesman to whom the great powers for ruling India are delegated must necessarily be supreme and irresponsible in India, his policy receiving only its general direction from the great council at Whitehall, and he should be aided by a local council appointed by the Crown. We believe it to be generally felt that the governor-general, while he might enter into wars entailing the expenditure of millions, has been restricted from initiating any public improvements costing more than 5000l. a year. All works requiring a larger outlay have been referred to the home authorities. A governor-general and his council sitting at a Calcutta must be far better judges of the immediate economical requirements of India than a body of gentlemen, however able, whether sitting in Leadenhall-street or Whitehall. An apprehension of future censure from the home council would, we need not add, be one of the worst of errors, and could result only in confusion.
Not the least remarkable of the many astonishing characteristics of the recent revolt has been the complete secrecy in which its origin and organisation are shrouded. The government, notwithstanding the tens of thousands of intelligent and educated natives in its pay and employment, and, without doubt, more or less cognisant of the gigantic conspiracy for the extinction of the British rule and race, never received from any official the slightest intimation of the approaching danger. The history of the world cannot furnish another instance of such complete and wide-spread treachery. A complete reorganisation of the police, revenue, and native judicial establishments would appear to be inevitable. No native can, we fear, for a long period, be trusted even in subordinate offices. Great reforms are called for in the general administration of justice throughout India. The multiplication of tedious written forms and the oppression of stamps are evils of great magnitude, and require speedy redress. A commission is now engaged in the labour of reforming the civil code, and much may be expected from it; therefore we entertain strong hopes of improvements in this direction. Brevity of process, rapidity of decision, and a restricted right of appeal, are the objects to be aimed at in this as in all other legal reforms.
Next in importance to the necessity of providing a competent council [120/121] for the transaction of Indian business is the great question of the Indian debt. Now this debt represents the sums of money which have been spent for the two purposes of carrying on the Indian trade during the time that the Company was a commercial association, and of conquering the country. For the former of these objects we have spent a sum redeemable at twelve millions sterling, representing the capital of an extinct company, of which the imperial government has thought proper to guarantee the interest and provide for the repayment. The interest of this debt is charged upon the revenues and raised by the taxation of India. The people of India, therefore, are paying interest at the rate of ten per cent. per annum upon a capital which the government has, with the grossest injustice, fixed as an incumbrance upon their country. The government of England has, moreover, charged upon the natives of India a debt of fifty millions sterling, incurred not in wars of defence but in wars of aggrandisement, and undertaken for carrying out its imperial policy. What can be said for the paternal character of the British government while such a blot as this remains conspicuous to the world? How do such acts differ in principle from the very worst proconsular exactions of the Roman Empire? We capitalise the money that we have spent in extending our empire, and to secure interest upon this we impose taxes upon India, which are remitted to England, and we send out collectors and an army to gather in these taxes for the relief of British finance. Until we have removed from ourselves the reproach of such injustice let us cease to proclaim our anxiety for the christianisation of India. Our hands are not clean; our conscience is not clear. Every rupee raised in India should, after providing the ordinary expenses of government, be expended for the benefit of India. We may then without hypocrisy, and in self-denying earnestness, address ourselves to the task of enlightening and converting the population which we rule.
When justice to India has been proclaimed and acted on as the basis of our future government, we may direct our thoughts to the relation in which we stand to our idolatrous fellow-subjects, and to the responsibilities of our position in reference to their religion. Our policy in this particular will probably, before long, undergo some modification. The task of governing India has hitherto been relegated to as clique of superannuated and often effete officials, with no views beyond the interests and exigencies of the hour. Nor has the legislature bestowed more than a passing thought on Indian affairs, because the public itself evinced a profound indifference to the subject. All this has now passed away, we believe, for ever, and the most fearful shock that the sensibilities of a nation ever received has recalled it to a sense of its duty. The religious question seems to have been more generally dwelt on than others, and the government will have at least to reconsider its policy on this momentous subject. A higher tone will be required to be taken both as regards Christianity and the popular superstitions. The degree of government interference will be a problem to solve of great difficulty and delicacy. It cannot, in this age, follow the example of Spain, and all modern theories of government are opposed to direct religious action by the state. It will be difficult to resist the popular demand for a government interposition, but it will be more perilous to yield to it. No government can, in the nineteenth century, undertake the propagation of [121/122] religious truth without departing from its first principles; nor can the legislature, of this country at least, invest any religious body with an exclusive commission for the conversion of the heathen. A general support and encouragement of missionary enterprise appears to be all that can be reasonably expected from it. State assistance may, perhaps, be afforded to every religious denomination supporting a missionary establishment; more, we think, cannot be demanded. A strong sense of public duty and responsibility will probably show itself in a vast augmentation of the means of missionary labour, to bear, we trust, at no distant day, abundant fruit.
However great may have been the anomalies and shortcomings of the imperial government of India, the affairs of no country were ever administered by a more able class of public servants than those selected for ministerial offices in the East. The local administration of India has been distinguished by an amount of ability of which this nation may well be proud. Let us do justice, too, in the hour of its inevitable dissolution, to the merits and services even of the East India Company. If it perpetrated great crimes it performed great actions. It governed India with energy, and generally with success. It sent into the East, as the representatives of its power and the instruments of its will, some of the most extraordinary men that ever took upon themselves the direction of public affairs or wielded the terrible energies of war, and the circumstances by which they were surrounded often developed the characters of these men into heroic proportions. Whether their actions were always regulated by the principles of street justice, may be unhappily questioned. The vigour of their policy, and possibly the necessities of their position, have undoubtedly, even of late years, tempted them to the commission or approval of acts both shocking to humanity and derogatory to a Christian people. We must here quote from a speech but recently delivered by Sir John Pakington at a provincial public meeting:
"After the victory should have been gained, let them bear in mind that their own hands were not clean; India had not been governed as it ought. It was only yesterday that he had submitted to the astonished eyes of a large party in a country house official proof that in collecting the revenues of India there had been practised in the name of England—he would not say by the authority, but, he feared, not without the knowledge of Englishment—there had been practised tortures little less horrible than those which we now deplore."4
In conclusion, we have only to make a few remarks on the recent revolt in our great Indian Empire. It appears to be now accepted as a fact that it was the result of a vast Mahomedan conspiracy long organised, and having for its object the re-establishment of its ancient dominion. The Brah-minical element in Indian society combined with the Mahomedan for one common purpose, namely, the extermination of the British race. The rapid progress which European civilisation has made of late has been viewed by the Brahmin, indeed, with more alarm than by the Mahomedan. The one may have been actuated by ambition, but the other was impelled by the instinct of self-preservation. [122/123]His traditional faith had received several severe shocks, some of its oldest customs had been authoritatively suppressed, and the diffusion of secular knowledge, and improvised education, and an active press threatened to undermine the very basis of the religious edifice. Both races probably viewed the extension and consolidation of British power with dismay. The fears of both for the future must naturally have been great. The progress of railways and the mysterious electric wire aroused undefined apprehensions, and it must have appeared that the alien race had, indeed, resolved to establish itself permanently in the land. A conspiracy at such a crisis, among such a people, and for a common object, cannot be considered an unnatural, if it was an unexpected, event. Advantage was taken of a period of supposed weakness of the British government to bring it to maturity. The well-known spirit of insubordination existing in the Bengal army was an excellent instrument for revolt, and an unintentional shock given to its religious prejudices afforded the wished-for opportunity. Such we conceive to be the rationale of the Indian rebellion.
The great minister who personifies the good sense and practical earnestness, not less than the spirit, of the British people, will not, we are confident, neglect the great opportunity which now offers itself for remodelling the Indian government. He may accomplish that for which other statesmen, less favoured by circumstances, have toiled and striven in vain. Immortalised in European history, he may now earn an imperishable name in the future annals of India as the statesman who first conferred on that long-neglected country the blessing of a stable and uniform government. This great act of justice and policy will throw all his former services and diplomatic triumphs into the shade, and light up the evening of his life with all the "sunset glories" of a prolonged and brilliant career. His countrymen have unbounded confidence in his firmness and virtue, and he may rely upon their sympathy and support. He may rest assured that this great convulsion has been fraught with much instruction, and that it has taught many lessons which they are not likely to forget. It has taught us the necessity of a radical change in our whole system of government, and the propriety of an immediate assertion, throughout India, of the sovereignty of the British Crown. It has taught us the fatuity and wickedness of our former indifference to the interests of the vast territories committed to our care, and may it teach us, in the words of that great man to whose capacious mind the affairs of British India were almost as intimately present as those of his own country or parish, that "it is not a predilection for mean, sordid, home-bred cares that will aver the consequences of a false estimation of our interest, or prevent the dilapidation into which a great empire must fall by mean reparations upon mighty ruins!"
Last modified 6 April 2010


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Optimising cutting, welding, heating and surfacing applications with a full line-up of application technologies, supply solutions, high-purity gases, bespoke mixtures and support services
Welding involves joining two or more pieces of metal to form a single workpiece. The welding melt is generated through an intense heat source, such as oxygen and fuel gas, an electrical arc or a laser. A similar source of intense heat is also used in cutting processes – although here the aim is to separate a piece of metal. In heating and surfacing applications, heat is applied to alter the surface finish of fabricated parts to ensure the desired performance. Some or all of these processes are essential in just about every industry. Depending on the metal and desired results, various application techniques, hardware, apparatus and gases or gas mixtures are required.
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No spyware, No adware, No viruses. Read-only, and never disclose, overwrite, damage, modify your phone data without permission.
To guard against theft your data on your old iPad, iPhone and iPod when you sell, donate or trade your device, Coolmuster meticulously releases the iOS Eraser that wipes all types of files from the device with zero possibility of recovery.
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Austin Canoe and Kayak (ACK) Launches Re-Designed Outdoor Gear Website
Outdoor retailer, Austin Canoe and Kayak (ACK), announces the re-launch of AustinKayak.com — re-designed and re-engineered to deliver an enhanced outdoor adventure gear shopping experience.
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Austin, Texas (November 12th, 2012) – Outdoor retailer, Austin Canoe and Kayak (ACK), a division of MSP Holdings, LLC announces the re-launch of AustinKayak.com — re-designed and re-engineered to deliver an enhanced outdoor adventure gear shopping experience.
Customer service was the driving force behind the re-launch of the website according to Peter Messana, CEO of MSP Holdings, "every single enhancement, whether on the front or back-end was examined, refined and delivered from a customer's perspective, we were very cognizant of the fact that we had to develop a site that was equal to or better than the existing site to continue to win praise and awards."
The re-launch of AustinKayak.com also signifies the start of a new era in ACK's evolving business model, encompassing a wider array of outdoor adventure gear categories such as camping, hiking and snow sports. Known to be one of the nations largest paddlesports retailers, ACK will always remain true to its core but with the re-launch of AustinKayak.com, the evolution has become more apparent.
"While the site's new look and feel emulates what ACK has become to date" said Peter, "it's what you don't see that is harnessing the power of where we are going to take this tomorrow," referring to a highly customizable infrastructure ready to accommodate new business goals.
New Technology and Design Enhancements:
- Improved Navigation – Refined product category and menu structure and product searching and filtering capabilities
- Google "Search as You Type (SAYT)" – Predictive search technology (currently only available to select retailers)
- User Friendly Interface – Updated look and feel throughout and a cleaner more attractive product catalog and presentation
- Back-end Stability & Speed – Built from the ground with key components of the website hosted in the "cloud" allowing for scalability and fail-over abilities while producing faster response times
- Customizable – 100% engineered and designed internally without any 3rd party software packages, enabling a future-proof and highly customizable infrastructure
The website re-launch was part of a cohesive strategy involving ACK's internal development, merchandising and marketing teams. The site is currently live at www.AustinKayak.com.
About MSP Holdings, LLC
MSP Holdings, LLC operates Austin Canoe and Kayak (ACK), an award-winning paddlesports and outdoor retailer and Rack Boys a vehicle rack and sports travel outfitter dedicated to providing exceptional customer service. Both retail outfits are based out of the central Texas area, with their respective online stores at www.AustinKayak.com and www.RackBoys.com and within four physical locations in Austin, San Marcos, Spring and Houston, Texas.
If you'd like more information about this topic, or to schedule an interview with MSP Holdings, LLC, please call Roland Jimenez at 512-687-3010, or email firstname.lastname@example.com.


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See Powers & Duties above. CURRENT MEMBERS: State Attorney or designee Public Defender or designee Chief Circuit Judge or designee County Judge or designee Chief Corrections Officer or designee County Probation or designee Board of County Commissioner - Chair
Each board of county commissioners shall establish a County Public Safety Coordinating Council for the county or shall join with a consortium of one or more other counties to establish a Public Safety Coordinating Council for the geographic area represented by the member counties. The Council shall meet at the call of the chairperson for the purpose of assessing the population status of all detention or correctional facilities owned or contracted by the county, or the county consortium, and formulating recommendations to ensure that the capacities of such facilities are not exceeded. Such recommendations shall include an assessment of the availability of pretrial intervention or probation programs, work-release programs, substance abuse programs, gain-time schedules, applicable bail bond schedules, and the confinement status of the inmates housed within each facility owned or contracted by the county, or the county consortium. The Council may also develop a local public safety plan for future construction needs. The plan must cover at least a 5-year period. The plan may be submitted for consideration to the local planning agency for the county, or the planning agency for each county within the consortium, at least 120 days before the adoption of or amendment to the Comprehensive Plan for the county by the Local Planning Agency pursuant to Part II of Chapter 163.
The Public Safety Coordinating Council shall consist of: State Attorney or an assistant State Attorney designated by the State Attorney. Public Defender or an assistant Public Defender designated by the Public Defender. Chief Circuit Judge or another Circuit Judge designated by the Chief Circuit Judge. Chief County Judge or another County Judge designated by the Chief County Judge. Chief Correctional Officer. The Sheriff or a member designated by the Sheriff if the Sheriff is not the Chief Correctional Officer. The State Probation Circuit Administrator, or a member designated by the State Probation Circuit Administrator, to be appointed to a four year term. The Chairperson of the Board of County Commissioners or another County Commissioner as designee who shall serve as Chairperson of the Council until the Council elects a Chairperson from the membership of the Council. If the County has such a program available, the director of any County probation or pretrial intervention program to be appointed to a four year term. The director of a local substance abuse treatment program or a member designated by the director to be appointed to a four year term. Representatives from County and State jobs program and other community groups who work with offenders and victims appointed by the Chairperson of the Board of County Commissioners to four year terms.
Duration of their terms of office.


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What defines beauty- the eye of the beholder or perhaps our genes? A sunrise photo elicits pleasure for most of us and we can agree that it is beautiful. This is not so for most insects even though they may have amazing colors and shapes. As a naturalist I find it impossible to ignore insects since they are so numerous and have very remarkable life histories. They are difficult to deal with since there are so many types, some unfamiliar to us. But with a little effort you can begin to learn the common species in your habitat and you will be richly rewarded since this knowledge opens up a panorama of ecological interactions and natural patterns that are often hidden from us. Just consider a few insects that I encountered recently in early December in SW Florida.
The salt marsh caterpillar moth is widely distributed from Canada to Texas and I often encounter the caterpillars feeding on dog fennel. This moth is the first adult I have seen in Florida and it was attracted to our window light at night. They are known to use plant toxins to protect themselves and the defensive display of this moth is striking as it reveals orange areas that are normally hidden. The life story of this moth reveals that dog fennel contains dangerous toxins and should not be eaten by humans.
A common but rarely seen scarab beetle is the large ox beetle. It is a "rhino" beetle since the male has three horns which are used in male to male combat. The grub larvae of this beetle are commonly found in sandy soils where they leave small mounds of sandy pellets. Both moles and white ibis relish these large grubs and provide biological control when these beetles occur in lawns.
An interesting beetle was encountered at Wildlfower Preserve when it landed on the dark shirt of a hiker- it is the sculptured pine borer. This is a general pest on various pine species. Adults feed on young buds and leaves and the larvae bore in decaying wood. If you are growing pines for profit they can be a nuisance, but they are a useful part of the community of animals that participate in the turnover of tree biomass in forests. Woodpeckers likely have a different opinion of this bird food than humans do.
Insects that can be considered very beneficial to humans are the dragonflies, since they eat other insects including injurious species such as mosquitoes and flies. Because of their rapid movements they can be hard to appreciate but it is becoming popular to study them with binoculars and learn the common species. This large twilight darner flew into a window and I was able to catch it for a moment and appreciate the beauty of its form- the amazing wings, large eyes and strong jaws which it used to bite me. All dragonfly larvae are aquatic and thus live totally different lives from their parents- an adaptation that avoids competition between juveniles and adults.
One group of insects that humans find very attractive are the "flying flowers," the butterflies. Yellow cow pea flowers are in bloom now and are attracting many small blue butterflies. This Cassius blue is a tiny marvel which is restricted to far southern climates. The local milkweed butterflies are much easier to identify but still somewhat confusing. A queen is shown here getting nectar from a slit in the base of a Cape honeysuckle flower. These gorgeous flowers are native to S. Africa and local butterflies are not suited to obtain nectar through the "front door" of the flower corolla tube; instead this crafty butterfly is using a hole in the base of the flower, possibly made by a bee, to use the "back door" to steal nectar. Since pollination does not occur, the flower will not benefit as it would if S. African sunbirds drank from the front of the corolla tube. Another surprising sight is a monarch obtaining nectar from the tiny flower of Florida privet. This is unexpected since the flowers do not seem to be designed for attracting large butterflies and indeed are mainly visited by bees and wasps. If you observe butterflies visiting flowers you will soon come to realize that they are more flexible in their behavior than the insect automatons we may think they are.
Finally I offer a short story about blue crabs, which obviously are not insects, but as crustaceans are sister arthropods. The female has red claw tips which might seem to be pretty but of limited general interest. However it has been found that if you paint these claws black, the males have no interest in mating with them. So suddenly you realize that this is "lipstick on a crab." It has become a common theory that many genes in humans have their origins in very early stages of animal evolution. I have often wondered why of all things, human females started coloring their lips red with plant pigments to enhance heir sexual attractiveness. Isn't it amusing that a very primitive animal such as the crab basically does the same thing?
So BUGS RULE! It is thus in our interest to keep an eye on insects for our potential benefit. But a far greater reason to learn about invertebrates is just because they are incredibly diverse, fascinating and beautiful.
Bill Dunson, Englewood, FL & Galax, VA


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Ignite Children's Love for Books with the Audiobooks HQ App9:54 PM
I love books. They are dangerous for me though, because once I get into one, it is hard for me to put it down and walk away. Take this weekend for example. I finally gave in and decided to start reading a series of three books that have long been on my "to read" list. I am now halfway through the last book in the series. I just can't stop! I want my children to have that same love of reading. To understand that with the vivid words recorded in those worn pages and their active imaginations, books can be every bit as thrilling and exciting as the latest blockbuster movie. I think the Audiobooks HQ app is going to help me instill a love for books in my children.
{What is the Audiobooks HQ App?}
This amazing app is available for the iPhone and houses over 5,000 free audiobooks. You heard me right, I said free! The app itself can be purchased for just $1.99 right now on iTunes, and once installed, you have immediate access to 5,450 free audiobooks, that contains some of the best classics, including The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Swiss Family Robinson, Anne of Green Gables and so many more.
You just search in a wide variety of ways, including by the most popular audiobooks and then press the download button. Downloads take only a few seconds and once you have downloaded an audiobook, you can play it on the app without WIFI service, so anywhere and at anytime!
{Why Do I Love It?}
I have been searching for a way to get Jordan interested in books. He has dyslexia and he thinks books are the devil. He gets a lot of reading and language arts practice in throughout the day, so I have been reading our actual "reading" books to him for the most part. We are traveling through the classics, and are on Treasure Island right now. This takes a lot of time from my schedule though. The Audiobooks HQ app is making this so much easier. They have all the titles I plan on covering for the next year and he can follow along in the book while it is read to him. He retains more of the information from the story and has actually started to enjoy books!
I also love that you can fast forward, pause, rewind and the recordings even have bookmarks that you can add customized notes to.
{Big News!}
As of tomorrow, the Audiobooks HQ app will be getting a huge upgrade. There will be a free version of the app that will still have access to over 5,000 free audiobooks, but you will also have the ability to pay a small fee of $.84 per month to have access to even more amazing auiobooks, including access to LibriVox Live (6350+ books), Podiobooks Live (650+ books), Globe Radio Repertory (4 books).
Check it out now! I promise you won't be sorry. You can download the Audiobooks HQ app directly from iTunes, or check out their website for more information on this great educational and fun app!
26 comments
Sounds like a great app!ReplyDelete
I love audio books sounds like a cool app!ReplyDelete
I bet my son would love this app!ReplyDelete
Looks like a great app!ReplyDelete
I'll have to check this out!ReplyDelete
That is a huge library!ReplyDelete
My daughters might enjoy this.ReplyDelete
Sounds like a great app!ReplyDelete
I'll have to get this app!ReplyDelete
I am downloading today as I have an addiction to audio books. I pay a monthly fee for them now, but have been going through them like water.ReplyDelete
I have never been able to get into audio books - I guess I just like reading the words myself, over hearing someone else read them in my ears.ReplyDelete
Looks like a great app!ReplyDelete
Same for me as Tammy says, I need the real book in my hands and if good I cant put it down either!ReplyDelete
Looks like a great app!ReplyDelete
I'll check it out! Thanks!ReplyDelete
I hope it helps inspire a little more interest in reading over there (except for you...maybe you need a little less, lol)ReplyDelete
Thank you for sharing this app. I especially love that so many of the audiobooks are free.ReplyDelete
That's neat.ReplyDelete
Looks like a great app. I'll have to check it out.ReplyDelete
I have never been much into audiobooks.. but this does sound like a blessing your son:)ReplyDelete
That sounds like a great app! My husband would love that, he listens to podcasts while he works but would prefer books.ReplyDelete
This sounds like such a useful app!ReplyDelete
wow that is a lot of books.ReplyDelete
I need to download this!ReplyDelete
I have a kindle fire but this might be great for my daughters iPod.ReplyDelete
Thanks for sharing!ReplyDelete


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Do you remember the children's game duck, duck, goose? A group of players would sit in a circle, facing inward and one would be it and walk around the outside of the circle tapping each child on the shoulder, "duck, duck, duck." And then they'd finally pick one to be the "goose." Frantic chasing around the circle ensued — until one tagged the other. I don't remember the details, but the name came to mind when I sat down to write this post.
I think "duck, duck, goose" morphed into "spin the bottle" once adolescent hormones kicked in. Not that I would know.
But I digress.
Eggs — duck, duck, goose. The notes attached to the eggs in the photo above have nothing to do with who laid them. I have a winter egg share from my local CSA, Grant Family Farms and I'm now receiving some duck and goose eggs to go with the chicken share. My name is simply on my eggs at the pick-up location so share-holders don't get confused, so no snide comments please. The photo is of one goose, duck, and chicken egg so you can see size comparisons.
The ducks, geese, and chickens at Grant Family Farms are fully pastured and consume an organic diet. The egg's nutrition and flavor depends on what the birds eat and these lucky ducks (et al) eat what they're supposed to be eating — bugs, plants, grasses and organic veggies. I'm told they're particularly fond of organic romaine lettuce and have a rowdy barn dance when that's served up. I suppose that's one of the perks of living at Grant Farms Bird Spa. They have their own half-acre and access to swimming, fresh air, sunshine, and great food.
In the case of Grant Farms, "organic and pastured" means the birds live the good life outside, eat organic food, and are treated with care and consideration (as they should be). "Free range" may mean the birds are packed into a warehouse, but uncaged. It's not quite what the name implies and the birds and the nutritional value of their products may be compromised. I'm finding it more and more important to know where my food comes from and who is responsible for growing, raising, and caring for it.
The ducks at Grant Farms are of the Peking variety and the eggs are cream-colored and make for light and fluffy baked goods. If you bake with gluten-free flours, these eggs help add texture and "spring" to everything from pancakes to muffins. The goose eggs I receive are from any of three breeds — Toulouse, African, or White Chinese and they're big, as you can see below (compared to chicken eggs). One duck egg equals about 1.5 chicken eggs and 1 goose egg makes for 2 chicken eggs. They seem creamier than chicken eggs and the whites beat up a little stiffer. I LOVE them for gluten-free baking.
For everything you ever wanted to know about the nutrition of chicken eggs, including why you shouldn't worry about them in connection with your cholesterol, check out this past post I did on the subject. If you eat eggs, choose high-end, pastured chicken eggs.


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I've had a brief break from blogging, mainly because I've had a lot on, and much of my time has been spent reading about spirits - not something I'd imagine most readers of beer blogs are interested in.
Today, it's budget day. Tax on beer will go up. A tiny number of people have signed the petition against beer duty escalation, and Camra have come under criticism for not urging their members to sign it. In a way this is understandable - their members, I think, should be urged to sign it. In the end though it's a large and (as far as I can see) democratic organisation, and by its very nature is therefore unlikely to do something quickly enough to be effective. Still, maybe a pointer towards the fact that it is there, suggesting to members that they make up their own mind about whether the government should be supported in doing this? I'd suggest silence from beer's largest consumer group on the issue could be construed as tacit consent.
Locally, BrewDog Nottingham seem to be going strong, presumably because it is 'The only destination for real beer in Nottingham!' which means the pint I had in the Lincolnshire Poacher the other night must have been a figment of my imagination. Bastards. £2.60 for a glorified dream. BrewDog are going ahead with Totem 'Red Indian' Pale Ale. I was rather surprised a company who go so far as to use 'flavor' on their website and 'draft' on their chalkboards are so clueless about culture across the pond that they don't know 'Red Indian' isn't exactly politically correct. Maybe we should be glad it's not a dark beer they're releasing with an accompanying racial slur as a name. Nottingham's criminal reputation doesn't need any enhancement from scenester-induced race rioting after all.
Anyway, proper blog to return very soon. I'm off to check out Hops in a Bottle in Mansfield today before the prices go up, and hopefully get to write about some nice beer!
* Website not up and running yet but they're on Twitter.
Wednesday, 21 March 2012
Hiatus and Return
2 comments:
I also frowned at the use of the term 'red indian' pale ale, that's just not right.ReplyDeleteReplies
I'm not one to get offended on someone else's behalf or I'd never be able to venture anywhere near the internet I reckon, but I was certainly surprised! Especially since I'd say there's absolutely nothing wrong with Red India Pale Ale. They could even save the shareholders a couple of quid on printing costs by dropping the extra letter - win all round!Delete
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OTTAWA – Canada's budget watchdog agrees with the federal government's claim that Canadians are going to get more from the climate change tax rebate than they are paying in carbon tax.
The federal government implemented a fuel surcharge this month of $20 per tonne of emissions in the four provinces that have not enacted carbon-pricing systems of their own.
The new analysis by the parliamentary budget office predicts that this year, the fuel charge will bring in more than $2.4 billion. Another $200 million will be raised from the tax applied to emissions from large industrial emitters, who pay it on a portion of their emissions above a level set by the government.
WATCH: Trudeau defends carbon tax during town hall in Cambridge
In 2022-23, when the price hits $50 a tonne, the revenues will climb to $5.8 billion from the fuel charge and $448 million from large emitters. The four provinces involved are Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and New Brunswick.
The figures are very close to the government's own projections for revenues. The Department of Finance predicted the fuel charge will bring in $2.36 billion in 2019-20 and $5.7 billion in 2022-23.
Ottawa has committed – and has now written into law – that 90 per cent of the revenues collected from the fuel charge will be returned to individual households in the provinces where the revenues were raised. The PBO report says over the next five years all but the wealthiest 20 per cent of Canadian households will get more back from the rebate than they will pay in carbon tax.
WATCH: Carbon tax fuels higher gas prices and plenty of political spin
The rebates are the same regardless of income, but wealthier Canadians tend to own bigger homes, drive more and bigger cars, and consume more products, all of which contribute to a higher carbon tax total.
In Saskatchewan for instance, the average household is expected to pay $425 in carbon tax this year, and will get $598 back from the rebate. In Ontario, the average cost will be $256, and the average rebate $300. In Manitoba, the average cost will be $260 and the average rebate $336, and in New Brunswick the average cost will be $193 and the average rebate $248.
The wealthiest families in Saskatchewan, Ontario and New Brunswick will pay between $13 and $50 more in carbon tax than they receive from the rebate. In Manitoba, the wealthiest families will still be better off by $37, the PBO says.
The lowest-income families will get $70 more than they pay in Saskatchewan, $101 in Manitoba, $89 in Ontario and $63 in New Brunswick.
The benefits also grow almost every year, across every income group. By 2023-24, the PBO predicts the lowest-income households in Saskatchewan will get $131 more in rebates than they pay in carbon tax. In Manitoba, that group will be $214 better off; in Ontario, $195; and New Brunswick, $143.
The carbon tax is intended to encourage Canadians to find ways to reduce their carbon footprints, and therefore pay less carbon tax, without causing them economic hardship.
WATCH: Andrew Scheer speaks out about federal carbon tax in New Brunswick
Environment Minister Catherine McKenna said Thursday the report confirms what the government has been saying about the rebates.
"A price on pollution works, it protects the environment for our kids and grandkids, and puts money back into the pockets of Canadians," she said.
The carbon tax has become one of the hottest-button political disputes of 2019, with the Conservatives angling hard against it as an effective environmental measure and three of the four provinces with the federal tax now challenging it in court.


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Welcome to the Tales of the Abyss Fan Club my fellow Abyss friends ^o^
If you like a character in particular (like the Awesome Jade Curtis or the beautiful Tear :love: ), or this series in general, show it by joining this fanclub ^o^
/!\ [[[[If you want me to modify/add/erase something in this decsription, just post a message and I will do it.]]]]
>>>A few informations about this Club.<<<
*****Official Animesuki threads about the anime and the game*****
---If you want to talk about the anime, do it in the official thread for the anime. Just go there: http://forums.animesuki.com/showthread.php?t=67611
--- If you want to talk about the game, there is also an official thread in a different sub-forum: http://forums.animesuki.com/showthread.php?t=27513
*****Why would it be interesting to join us?*****
---By joining the club, you can show on your profile that you are a fan of a character, of many characters, or of this series in general. You can also check the members list to see who on the forums also like this series.
---You can share as much pics, screenshots, drawings, fan arts, artworks as you want with us. You have to create a gallery in your profile. Then upload your images in it and come here again to add them to the club.
---If you want to talk about something without fearing to get a warning by the mods, just post your messages here. But as much as possible, avoid to use this fan club to discuss things which could be posted in the official Abyss threads of Animesuki.
*****What would be nice to avoid*****
---To Talk about something which could be discussed in the official threads for the anime or the game.
---To post spoilers from the anime or the game before the end of the anime.
*****What can be discussed here*****
---Everything related to the series, but don't forget that the fan club doesn't replace the official threads
---What you think about the images from the galleries.
---The silly discussions about the series which could annoy the Mods if posted in the official threads.
---Everything related to this fanclub.
*****Interesting Links*****
---You can find nice and funny reviews for the episodes of the anime on AnimeHistory. They are written by Deathkillz, a well know animesuki member. You can aslo check the others articles. All the AH staff is composed of well know members/Mods from Animesuki. Go there: http://animehistory.wordpress.com/category/autumn-2008/tales-of-the-abyss/
---Another interesting link: Xebek's Blog. You can also find a review for each Tales of the Abyss episode there. They are written by FlareKnight, who is also a member of AnimeSuki. I love what you're doing with the images on each article =p - http://xebek.animeblogger.net/category/anime-current/tales-of-the-abyss/
Have fun ^o^!


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Schmear campaign
Wandering through the bagel-less desert.
In 1859, the United States War Department published The Prairie Traveler, a handbook for westbound pioneers. Author and U.S. Army Capt. Randolph B. Marcy wrote, "Provisions for each grown person … should suffice for 110 days." Besides salt and pepper, coffee and sugar, bacon and beef, Macy advised bringing flour and baking soda and yeast sufficient "for making bread."
Add malt syrup, and Manifest Destiny might have brought bagels to the needy settlements of our great West. But this was not to be.
I love bagels, and I live in Missoula, Mont. This July marks the seventh anniversary of my move. Big Sky Country is beautiful. In terms of bagels, however, it is still a wilderness. And how can you settle somewhere, however wonderful, that does not meet such a basic human need?
We are all tribal, and my tribe believes in bagels. I was initiated in stages, starting when I was six months old. My parents tied string through the middle of a frozen bagel and attached it to my stroller. They pushed, I teethed. By my 10th birthday, I was biking with my father to nearby Skokie, Ill., home of New York Bagel & Bialy. Only a see-through counter separated the small shop's kitchen from its customers. You could almost tap the bakers' shoulders as they dunked plump rings of dough in bubbling pots of water, then shoveled them into a ceiling-high oven. As one heavy door closed, another opened: Finished bagels tumbled into metal baskets placed under the counter.
In those days, each treasure cost 25 cents. The price of 12 bought a baker's dozen. Our "bonus" bagel, invariably poppy, never made it into the bag. I asked to have it handed to me directly over the counter, still alive and steaming.
One afternoon in Missoula, feeling nostalgic, I called my father's cell phone and reached him at a downtown Chicago branch of a nationwide bagel chain, where he had holed up to prepare for an important meeting. "I'm having what they call a bagel, if you know what I mean," he said. I knew what he meant.
It was my decision to move West. It was my problem that the bike ride to New York Bagel & Bialy now stretched 1,600 miles. "Want what you have, give what you need," I was once advised by a bumper sticker. To achieve that enlightened state, would I have to open a Montana bagel bakery?
Making bagels at home is hard. Very hard. The meticulous Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice presents, to my knowledge, the only complete recipe for the prospective amateur bagel baker. It totals eight pages, longer than the United States Constitution and all 27 amendments, longer even than the lyrics to Don McLean's American Pie. Key terms include "hydration range" and "liquid nondiastatic malt." Instruments as imprecise as measuring cups are discouraged. Reinhart recommends, for example, a 57.1:51.3 ratio by weight of water to flour.
And so, for four years, I imported bagels instead. When I visited my family, I brought an extra suitcase, which I filled at New York Bagel & Bialy on my return to the airport. I sliced and froze those bagels the moment I returned home, no matter how tired I was from the multiple long flights. My supply was supposed to last at least six months, but all too often it dwindled precipitously. Sometimes I tried to content myself with simply sniffing the designated bagel suitcase. Long after the myriad other odors had vanished, fragrant whiffs of onion and pumpernickel remained.
Three years ago, I married. Trained as an environmental scientist, Crissie seldom cooks, as cooking is work for the weaker sex. But she, too, has needs. Born and bred in Mississippi, Crissie on occasion craves genuine peach cobbler the way I seek the one true bagel. Exactly one orchard in the entire state of Montana grows peaches to her specifications. Each summer we transfer the entire contents of our joint bank account to that orchard. Crissie cuts and freezes the fruit for year-round access. When appetite moves her, she thaws her prize. She steals my rolling pin and apron. And she bakes.
It's a cliche that cooking is art, and baking is science. Now I had, in my home, a professional. The only question was: How could I convince a 28-year-old former Southern Baptist in Missoula, Mont., to channel her inner Jewish grandmother? Crissie, as ever, cut to the chase. Bring me the recipe, she said.
On my cutting board at the moment are four perfect homemade poppyseed bagels. The kitchen windowsill holds chives to spread into our cream cheese. Ten more bagels hide from me in our basement chest freezer. We are trading them with the Australian owner of a dog-boarding business nestled in the nearby Mission Mountains. An avid fisherman, he smokes his own salmon to make the best of all bagel toppings: lox.
Tribes wander, intermarry, change tastes, and order takeout. But we are what we eat, and people of substance regularly require the sort of food that should never change. I believe that, with bagels, Lewis and Clark might have blazed a trail all the way to Siberia. If I have briefly become a pioneer myself, it is only out of necessity. Life was tougher in the 19th century, and it is tough in the 21st. There are worse problems in the world than making do without bagels. Few are best contemplated before breakfast.
Jeremy N. Smith writes about food and other subjects at jeremynsmith.com.


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This is the second version of "Intertwined" (my most popular print).
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