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Sherman Alexie
Review © 2009 G.N. Jacobs
What is going on? I read a collection of short stories by a Native American writer and there isn't a single reference to a skinwalker or Wendigo. For a writer that dresses his angst and memories, however distorted, up in starkly drawn archetypes that scare, thrill and/or amuse, a mostly autobiographical collection of short stories from a segment of America that is almost as alien to me as the Barsoom culture of C.S. Lewis' Space Trilogy seems like a stretch. But, then I read everything and worry about what sticks later.
Sherman Alexie writes of his childhood on the Spokane Indian Reservation by turns far more stark than anything that bubbles out of my mind, but maintains a love and reverence for the people in his life to whom he extended the Names Changed to Protect the Guilty status. I suppose the operative rule here is that we grow up loving our families, even if they are drunks. It takes a lot to wipe clean the psychic scars of our families.
Lone Ranger causes a an intense emotional rollercoaster for the reader as much for the shared debate about our history as for the simple power of the stories about Indians on a reservation that lived the stereotype of drunks with no hope. We write what we see around us and Alexie saw fistfights on the lawn, fathers abandoning their children and a river of alcohol. Is it stereotype or autobiography?
The best writers say F-O and make their daily page quotas. It is not the writer's job to second-guess his life for appropriate review by people who weren't there. Even still, I couldn't decide if I wanted to weep for a culture destroyed by greed or simply shrug and let people figure out on-their-own that everyone has choices to make.
Alexie uses some clever shifts in narrative style to tell interlocked stories about the Spokane Reservation and the people with whom he grew up. Sometimes the narrator or focus character is Victor and sometimes Junior Polatkin. Both of these voices tell tales of alcohol-fueled stupidity mixed with echoes of the great stories of the tribe's past and a deep all abiding passion for basketball.
We all have our booze stories and we all think ours are the greatest until we read stories like these created by professionals. I haven't directly experienced fistfights between family members like in "Every Little Hurricane." I only heard about them a few days later. But, even on Alexie's reservation good things happen.
Boys skip school to visit grandfathers. Friends share beer, good times and fantastic stories. Mothers make fry bread and make do with government cheese. The people endure. The stories endure, especially when told by Thomas Builds-Fire, a storyteller like Cassandra to whom no one listens. The dream-stories of Indians winning against the whites or at least gaining a more favorable place in society serve as a counterpoint to the misery and despair of reservation life. Indians steal horses and play cowboy songs and hold their own.
There were some concepts missing from Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven at least in the versions of this book that have been circulating since 1993. I thought the basketball was given short shrift in the stories that passed muster with the editor. Hoops only serves as a symbol of loss, the one good thing that goes away because Indians drink too much and wallow in their sadness most palpable.
Sure, there are a few scenes of characters picking up the rock and shooting hoops until they heal. But, mostly Alexie violates "Show don't Tell" when it comes to the basketball. One of these stories really needed to take place on the court. Most of us have tried to play sports; we would recognize ourselves in the low post sweat running freely making a commitment that the gomer with the ball will never score on us.
But, we are only told how important basketball is for building and supporting what remains of Spokane Reservation society and culture. It's a flaw in an otherwise beautiful book where the reader can smell the whiskey, puke and meat not even a dog would touch. I could hear the laughter of Indians trying to hold onto what remains of their dignity. I really wanted to learn more about how Victor and/or Junior stood their ground in the ninety-foot arena, but I was only told "an Indian probably was shooting hoops before Naismith invented the game."
All in all Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven was a very good reason to learn literacy: that we get to learn new things we would never experience. So maybe their will be a better hoops story in the thirtieth anniversary version of the book.


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We rolled out in a drizzle that soon became a downpour, except that downpours tend to be short-lived. Three hours later with the road flooded in spots, the deluge continued. We were wet through and still had 70 miles in front of us. This turned out to be a blessing for me. In heat, I dehydrate quickly, no matter how much liquid of certifiable nutritional chemistry I pour down my neck. The cold rain kept me in the game. I didn't say anything to my companions, but I hoped it wouldn't end.
I was in over my head, honestly. Brad just finished a cross country bike race a few weeks ago, averaging 176 miles a day. Matt is the holder of a number of long-distance cycling records and in the middle of training for a 1000k brevet. The other Matt is closer to my equal, but he was riding to my end point, 125 miles out, and then turning around to ride home. My longest ride in 2015 has been 70 miles.
I had no business being on the front, and if my ego forced me there in the opening three hours of action, it was only stupidity that drew me to the sharp end thereafter. In my head I heard a voice, "just hang on/just hang on/just hang on," so I just hung on, even when I was foolishly burning matches on slow, steady climbs with my companions strung out on my wheel.
One way I can tell how I'm doing on a long ride is by whether or not I can smile. Around 75 miles, I stopped smiling of my own volition. At 100, I stopped being able to force myself to smile.
We stopped at a cafe about 15 miles short of my final stopping point, and I felt alright, almost triumphant. I'd come through. I'd make it, but then standing in line holding a muffin and a banana and straining my eyes to see the coffee menu I felt a wave of nausea sweep over me. I swallowed hard and stumbled forward to the register, ordered a smoothie and a cold brew and paid for my stuff. Then I handed it all to Brad and went outside in the hope that I'd be able to hold down the current contents of my stomach.
You can't underestimate the value and saving grace of a picnic table and a shade umbrella in a moment like that. Actuaries have broken pencil tips trying to calculate the sums.
The blood returned to my head and the palliative effects of calorie and caffeine quickly took hold. I regained the ability to smile, which was good because Matty deserved a cheerful send off for the return trip. I got a text 8 hours later that he'd arrived safely home again, 210 miles in 16 hours.
I swung my leg back over the top tube and continued on to the beach house, only to arrive a couple hours before my wife and kids. This is what happens when you ride with people who are faster than you are. I had to tippy-tap around the corner in my bike shoes to a local surf shop to buy shorts, a t-shirt and some flip-flops. I showered and dressed in the new clothes and began working my way through every bit of food and drink I could find, so as not to be completely useless when the family showed up. This was my longest ride of the year, 125 miles in 8 hours.
This week's Group Ride asks, what was your longest ride of the year like? How far? How'd you do? Is it still in front of you? Are you training, or like me, just hoping your background fitness will carry you through?
30 comments
My longest planned ride has yet to happen, but it is tentatively taking place on October 4th. My longest to date this year is 50 miles, otherwise it is usually just a lot of rides between 20 and 35 miles.
Bryan Lewis
You rock! 125 miles is my longest ride ever, and it took me 10 hours. You should be all set for D2R2!
After being one of only 9 people worldwide to rack up all of Strava's monthly long distance rides last year, this year I've taken it easy, with my longest ride being just 100.8kms.
Miles Archer
I have no goal, no training target this year. Work has kind of gotten in the way from building up the miles. Many years I have a century planned early in the summer that motivates me to get fit and ride some longer distances. Alas, not this year. Longest ride was around 40 miles. I ride a couple or three hours on Sunday mornings, so this is no epic journey. For me, the question isn't how many miles – I can do miles – it's how many vertical feet. That kicks my larded ass.
My longest ride will be a 20 miler next weekend. I had one hip replacement in February and the other in May, so for me this will be a big accomplishment and I am looking forward to the ride AND being back in the saddle with some of my favorite people!
Pat O'Brien
Forty two miles is the longest so far. Like Jay, we ride often but mostly 12 to 16 on the trail, and 18 to 20 on the road.
With a new job pushing my knee replacement to November, my longest ride of the year is a measly 26 miles. That one left me with a severe limp for about three weeks. So, most of my rides these days are of the 30 minute, easy and flat variety. Planning a ~40 miles per day end-to-end riding of the Blue Ridge Parkway to get my fitness back in the spring
Most rides are 25 – 35 miles. My longest this year was 101 miles in July with another century scheduled for September and another in October. I always find it strange that the last 20 miles are longer than the first 80, but I keep coming back for more!
Just did R.A.M.R.O.D. Around 250km for the day around Mt Rainier. Hot and just a bit hilly. Highly recommended, though. Spectacular scenery and generally great roads. Thanks to the organising club and a bunch of great volunteers. This is certainly my long ride for this season.
Way to sneak that long ride in! That is how I have to do it. My last big one was San Diego to Palm Springs. Sister lives in San Diego and we rented a house to hang out in Palm Springs. They drove, I rode. Roughly 175 miles. Surprisingly pain free and the descent of the Palms to Pines highway into San Diego is one of the top 3 best descents I have done. The route that Google maps gave me was spot on. I had a cocktail immediately handed to me upon arrival. Doesn't get much better than that!
I've done a bunch of 100+ mile rides this summer, some on gravel, but the 3 Pistes Sportive in the Scottish highlands was the hardest, with the worst weather and the most awful hills. Hell of a good time though!!
Longest so far is 70. Longest "fast" one has been 45. I just don't have the endurance in me at the moment, but it sure as hell feels exhilarating when I get those rides finished. Hoping to build up to more distance and better speed as the season goes on.
44.5 a couple weeks ago. I recently read that you should be training at 60% of your long distance goal. Normal for me is about 25 or so and I was beat at the end of this one. No real goals, other than "farther".
Each year there is an Edwardsville Illinois epic invite only ride on April 20th. It's in memory of the organizers mother. It's always 157 miles. I got the impression, that he went for a ride the day she passed, and it ended at 157 miles. I've never heard the full list of details. It all seems quite personal, so I just ride.
This year it rained, got cold, and then rained harder. There was gravel, pot holes full of water, and wind. My fingers got stiff with cold and I couldn't open my snacks without help. There were 11 flat tires between 12 guys (0 for me). Most of the time, I felt pretty miserable, but as we rolled back into town, I felt as if I'd accomplished something great. In all the cold, wind, and rain, we didn't talk, but there was a bonding experience that hours of deep communication couldn't have produced. It was terribly hard, but rich with a sense of community and accomplishment. I'll do it again next year, even if the conditions are worse.
Longest ride this year was a solo 140 miles in just over 8 hrs. I try to do at least one long ride a year, usually a one way that coincides with some method for convenient return. I'm pretty picky about the conditions. No headwinds, temps between 60 and 85, mostly flat though this one did have one 2400 ft climb for some diversity. I sort of equate using a long ride the same way you might dump cache, sites visited, recycle bin and scan disk on your PC. Everything runs a bit smoother and faster afterwards.
First year of long rides for me, having finally joined a group of friends that do charity rides. First century ever was in Chelan WA with a heap of climbing and one very long, very steep and very hot canyon climb. Another century 2 weeks ago (mostly flat!) and then a 60 miler yesterday that cooked me more than the fist century. Awesome fun all around with great people. Feeling stronger than I did racing 25+ years ago!
David B
I did the 100 mile version of the Lost-and-Found ride two months ago, and then got too busy rebuilding chunks of the house. It was excellent again except for that four mile bit of horrible washboard descent (it includes 80-some miles of sierra fire road).
54 miles to Purcellville and back on the W&OD trail. My quad cramped when I was loading up the vehicle to leave and I dropped my Lazer helmet cracking it. I'll remember this ride. Thanks for the blog!
On road 102. Off road 34. Most of my rides have been 30-60 solo efforts on the road. I am looking forward to the 6 Gap century in Sep. and the Hincapie Fondo in Oct. those will be my longest group rides.
johnny nj
As Bergermeister Meisterberger says, put one foot in front of the other…..
johnny nj
First, I misquoted Bergermeister Meisterberger. It was the other two guys that said that. Second, yes Mr. Robot I did have a big ride this summer from High Point, NJ to Cape May, NJ. 240 miles over two consecutive days. As a ham and egger cyclist, I was tired when I arrived at the Cape May Lighthouse and quite thirsty. I did the ride solo and found maybe most difficult part was being stuck in my own head for long long chunks of time. Lots of crazy time. Nonetheless, for those that don't know the Dirty Jerz, the route from HP to CM (detailed on the NJ Dep't of Transport website) provides some amazingly surprising scenery and you all should take that ride someday.
Peter Leach
Sadly, my on going saga with a very slow to heal broken femur has meant that my longest ride for 2015 = 0km.
That said, I did manage a couple of short sessions on the trainer in between surgery to implant a plate to support the break and more recent surgery to replace that plate with a bigger, stronger version after it fractured too.
But, distance = 0km.
Hopefully, I will start back on the trainer in three to four weeks, then on the road four to six weeks after that. If I get to keep that schedule, then my long distance target for 2015 will be 100km. And if I make that, then I might be able to do my usual Tour Down Under Community Challenge and the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Ride in early 2016 after all 🙂
Peter Kelley
Met up with an old racing pal last Sunday and was talked into joining the weekly Arc en Ciel Team ride. Did I mention that I haven't raced since 1999? I was the only dude on the ride without a US Cycling license and 20+ races under his belt this year. 91 miles and 5 hours later, his wife made me the best grilled ham and cheese sandwich I've ever had. I didn't take a lot of pulls (ok, I took 1) but I didn't get dropped either.
Sadly my year has had minimal rides.
I haven't seen tarzan post here so I'll give a shout out for him…https://www.facebook.com/tarzanrides…200+ mile rides day by day!!
85 miles, Brewster to P-Town and back this past Saturday with a hung over wife in tow. We ride it every weekend weather permitting. We always meet some characters along the way.
To date it is 109. It was on day 2 of a 3 day, 300 mile ride for the Make-A-Wish foundation of Michigan. I was with THE best group. Held their line and pace (21-24) and didn't mind my short 1 mile pulls. Great conversation and smiled the entire time. All 109 beautiful miles. We finished with beer and pizza and a renewed sense of friendship. Possibly my best ride YTD.
Tom in Albany
My longest, planned ride of the year will be http://www.FatCyclist.com 100 Miles of Nowhere. Up to now, I think my longest ride has been 30 miles. It's been a seriously low-volume year for me. I'm going to have to rely on muscle memory and frequent fuel-ups!
Hans M. Ruppenthal
My longest ride this year, and every year for that matter, was 185 miles. Every summer, mid summer, with plenty of daylight, I tackle the C & O Canal Towpath from Cumberland Maryland to Georgetown Washington D.C. I rode a cross bike this year and rode with a team mate. Very muddy the whole way from the wet spring and early summer we had. About 16 hours elapsed time and 14.5 hours ride time. Really cool stuff! Fourth time I have completed it in 5 attempts.
Tyler Shannon
Longest planned was a double century: we only made it about 142 miles unfortunately before road closures and delays cost us the day.


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It's summer…The kids are out of school! Day care panic!
- Ask for help – the hardest thing to do is ask for help. The fact is having the kids go to school was part of your day care system. Now is the time to put your pride away and ask a family member or friend to help out. Maybe this is the time to have the in-laws visit for a week to get to know the kids better?
- Plan a vacation – a "real" vacation. If you don't plan it on your schedule it won't happen. You don't have to spend a lot of money; camping or visiting relatives and friends is just fine. This could be a time for you to disconnect from the office for a few days. Put someone else in charge at the office and it will be a good development opportunity for them.
- Camps are ok – we somehow have talked ourselves into thinking that putting our kids in a camp is terrible. There are fabulous camp opportunities that the kids really enjoy. We are the ones that feel guilty and inadequate. The kids will enjoy the change and probably learn something at the same time! Ask others for a reference on the good camps.
- Bring work home – If you can, try to leave work a little early and take advantage of the long summer days. You will need to make up for the time later at night or work on a few things from home but at least you were getting in an extra hour or two with the kids. Depending on their age, it is also a good time to introduce the concept of them staying home alone for an hour.
- It is a two-way street – you have a partner in finding this solution – your child's father. It is time to engage him more than he may have been during the school year. This is not just your issue to solve – it is a family issue. Both of you are going to have to adjust for the summer months. Meet in the middle and find a schedule that works for everyone.
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It's summer…The kids are out of school! Day care panic!


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Browsing a toy display at the discount outlet, T. J. Max, while my wife looked at clothes, I found Hasbro's G.I. Joe figures. Joe has been through many mutations since I owned the original Vietnam era version of him in the '60's. Nowadays "G. I. Joe" is the code name for an elite operations team fighting Cobra, a ruthless terrorist organization.
I was drawn to the Cobra Mole Pod, because it looked so much like old illustrations of the "iron mole" from Edgar Rice Burroughs's first Pellucidar novel, At the Earth's Core.
Sean Long has an amusing demo of the Cobra Mole Pod:
Sean Long likens the Terra-Viper action figure to Darth Vader. I am at a disadvantage, not having seen the film G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009), but I have to wonder why the Rise of Cobra's bad guys have such an odd, fantasy-rpg/Star Wars/Ninja provenance. Oh G. I. Joe, how thou art fallen!
I didn't much care for Burroughs's most famous creation, Tarzan, but I loved his Martian Barsoom novels. The "hollow earth" Pellucidar books I mostly remember for their gorgeous Ace paperback covers by Roy Krenkle. The "iron mole" has been rendered by several artists:
From the 1976 film with Peter Cushing:
Moles are technically named Tunnel Boring Machines, (TBM's), but in real life these are unmanned. I'd rather call the Cobra and Pellucidar machines Subterrenes.
The oddest result I got searching for this was a man who built a "giant steampunk drill" in his yard for Halloween this year.
Stories featuring TBM's are a small subset of Hollow Earth fiction.
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On the nature of the Familiar explores society's physical and ideological connection to nature within an urban, domestic context. By taking organic and inorganic waste objects from homes, and re-presenting them with common household scenes, the work seeks to question where 'nature' meaningfully resides. While the natural world is closed off behind doors, curtains and fences, and representations of nature are brought into the home through adornments and motifs, concepts of 'nature' are hybridised, abstracted and dislocated from the physical realities of an impacted and disappearing natural environment.
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Earlier Event: March 7Group Exhibition: In Their Hands @ The Bulimba Sustainability Centre
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April 16th, 2018
The sharing economy is actually the rental economy, with plenty of upside to go around. But regulation (or the lack there of) and inconsistency in supply makes it hard to plan strategically. Blanket terms like alternative accommodations and vacation rentals fail to fully capture the scope and complexities of the market.
Airbnb sits at the epicenter of this green tsunami. Other marketplaces including HomeAway and now Booking Holdings are also cashing in and not waiting around for local officials to fully legitimize a clearly global phenomenon.
These platforms are transforming an otherwise cookie-cutter lodging sector into a lucrative and pervasive mosaic of relationships between hosts, guests, landlords, owners, tenants, property managers, service providers, and local regulators - sometimes compliant, sometimes not.
Look for opportunities within these folds.
Rental Economy DNA
We constructed a matrix to add some order to the chaos:
4 Attributes
8 Classifications
16 Archetypes
Market, Tenure, Occupancy, and Management.
These are the core four attributes that define a rental property's position relative to its host, guest, service providers, rental marketplaces, and the community in question. Out of those attributes we pulled 8 classifications.
Markets: Regulated / Unregulated
There are urban markets and resort markets. Rented spaces are new to urban markets where regulation has yet to catch up with demand. Rentals are not new in resort destinations e.g. beach, nature, and ski locales that have traditionally high visitor volumes. Some rentals are fully legitimate. Others fail to comply with local regulations. Regulated is not synonymous with restricted. Regulated markets have established rules and bylaws that allow ecosystems to mature.
Tenure: Owned / Leased
Hosts either own or lease the space. Landlords often include restrictions in their lease agreements with their tenants. In dense cities like New York, where rents and demand are both high, a large share of listings are likely leased properties. Tenants take on the risk of non-compliance with their tenant agreements. Owners have the added responsibility to abide by local ordinances and typically need to register their properties and pay taxes (as do tenants) on their rental activity. Certain property management groups lease out spaces for the exclusive purpose of running a rental business.
Occupancy: Primary Residence / Secondary Residence
Rentable spaces exist as either primary residences i.e. the host picks up his mail there, or as secondary residences serving as investment properties that accommodate guests as their primary function. Occupancy status impacts guest experience, terms of agreement between property managers and tenured individual (owner or tenant), volume of visitors and other considerations.
Management: Resident Managed / Professionally Managed
Rentable spaces are either resident managed or professionally managed. Owners or lease holders can do it themselves or contract with firms to manage the rental process including pricing, revenue management, guest services and housekeeping. Sometimes residents contract with service providers including housekeeping. A space is considered professionally managed when the process is coordinated by a third party end-to-end.
16 Rental Archetypes
1) Unregulated, Owned, Primary Residence, Resident Managed
Bill is a 30 something professional with a condo in New York City. He travels for work a lot and rents out his space while away. During certain months he can offset his mortgage payments by more than 50%. This is a classic sharing economy scenario. He might have a cleaning service come in to deal with bathrooms and laundry, but he manages the booking and guest relations on his own.
2) Unregulated, Owned, Primary Residence, Professionally Managed
John and Mary are early retired and own a modern row house in London. They vacation a lot spending up to 90 days away in Mallorca where they have their vacation home. They aren't home enough and can't be bothered with managing the rental process. They would also rather not lose out on lost income, so they hire a management firm that specializes in caring for resident-occupied spaces. John and Mary pay a premium for listing, housekeeping, and guest services.
3) Unregulated, Owned, Secondary Residence, Resident Managed
Jane lives in Nashville and recently decided to buy a 3-unit investment property. She leases out two of the units and keeps the third open as her office as an occasional getaway from her three kids and husband. She often rents the unit out on Airbnb and does all of the booking and guest management herself. She prefers Airbnb because she can screen her guests before accepting the booking. The women downstairs takes care of the housekeeping.
4) Unregulated, Owned, Secondary Residence, Professionally Managed
Drake now lives in Venice Beach, L.A. after having recently moved from Chicago for a sweet job in advertising. He still has his condo in Lincoln Park and pays a management company to run the whole operation. Summers in Chicago are his favorite and the company he works for has offices downtown. He blocks off a week in July and a week in September. The management firm insures the property and guarantees Drake a fixed monthly income that more than covers his mortgage payment.
5) Unregulated, Leased, Primary Residence, Resident Managed
Mable lives in Memphis and has been with his girlfriend Thea for sixth months now. They have entertained the possibility of moving in together, but have yet to make the jump - even though Mable spends most nights at her apartment. He helps Thea out with the rent. His landlord never explicitly forbade him from renting out his place, so he hosts visitors three weekends out of the month.
6) Unregulated, Leased, Primary Residence, Professionally Managed
A rare scenario, but it happens. Tim has a long-standing lease on a rent controlled one-bedroom in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. From March up through the holidays he can get top dollar for the space. His monthly rent is $1,500 but the place can easily go for $4,500 on the rental market. He works with a small rental management group to optimize pricing and to lower housing keeping costs. They split the difference. Tim lives rent free with his girlfriend in Manhattan.
7) Unregulated, Leased, Secondary Residence, Resident Managed
A rare but increasingly common scenario. Carl lives in Long Island City and sees a future for himself in the rentals industry. He talks it over with the building landlord and agrees to lease out the unit across the hall at a premium. The space typically goes for $2,000 a month, but Carl dishes out $2,500 for the right to rent it out at full capacity. He manages the entire rental process himself, including the laundry, to maximize his margins. In a typical month he clears $3,500. Realizing the potential to make real money, Carl is open to the possibility of leasing out another flat in the building across the street. Carl is on his way to becoming a professional rental property manager.
8) Unregulated, Leased, Secondary Residence, Professionally Managed
Joe is the CEO of Super Lofts, a successful rentals management firm based out of Denver. They focus exclusively on upscale properties in popular urban destinations. Super Lofts signs long-term leasing agreements, giving it rights to their inventory year round. The company has a proprietary channel management and pricing solution that has helped them scale beyond Denver. The staff full-time partially but also subcontract with cleaning and maintenance crews. Super Lofts turns a healthy 15% operating margin and recently broke into Los Angeles.
9) Regulated, Owned, Primary Residence, Resident Managed
Travis is a retired transplant from New York and now lives on Martha's Vineyard year round. He bought a beautiful three-bedroom Victorian just outside of Edgartown. He doesn't really need the money but as a hobbyist, he hosts guests in his spare bedroom during the summer months. Local officials are in the process of restricting rentals, but Travis needn't be concerned about his part-time operation.
10) Regulated, Owned, Primary Residence, Professionally Managed
John and Jane are well-to-do snowbirds residing half the year in Hollywood, Florida and the other half in New Jersey with their daughter and grand children. They work with Brand P Property management group to manage the rental process. Brand P gets most of its hits from HomeAway and families from Chicago's suburbs looking for week-long beach getaways. The operation complies with local bylaws. John has the family accountant settle their tax obligation, keeping in mind the "Masters" rule that gives them a 14-day tax exemption within the calendar year.
11) Regulated, Owned, Secondary Residence, Resident Managed
Maggie is a life-long resident of Key West, Florida. She owns two homes, lives in one and keeps herself busy renting out the other to weekend warriors coming in from Miami. The city of Key West signed ordinance 02-06 back in 2002, which capped the number of transient rental licences. Maggie lucked out and grandfathered in her rental two years prior to the ordinance passing. She now pays the $27.30 tax every year and enjoys helping her guests navigate the island.
12) Regulated, Owned, Secondary Residence, Professionally Managed
Harry and Sara own a beautiful property around Kaanapali Beach in Maui, Hawaii. They travel between there and their home in San Francisco. Right after the holidays, they fly off to spend the colder months in Maui, before returning back to Sonoma just in time for the vineyard bloom. Harry and Sara have an exclusive contract with Kaanapali Beach Properties, a management group recently acquired by Vacasa. KBP takes care of the entire process and sends Harry and Sara a check every month. Vacasa pulls in roughly 30% of KBP's bookings through their booking portal. The rest mostly come through HomeAway and more recently Booking.com for their European guests.
13) Regulated, Leased, Primary Residence, Resident Managed
Jake is a retiree living in Orlando. The city commission recently approved an ordinance that officially allows locals in residential neighborhoods to rent out their homes on Airbnb and other sites. Technically, Jake needs to be present while visitors are in town, but takes the risk and stays with his girlfriend down the road on select weekends. He doesn't own the place but the landlord doesn't mind as long as Jake works within the law.
14) Regulated, Leased, Primary Residence, Professionally Managed
Brian lives in Ellijay, Georgia a popular destination for hikers and outdoors folk. He leases out his home and works with a XYZ Property Group to maximize revenue during peak months. XYZ is a two-man operation with roughly 15 properties under management. They're just getting started and take contracts with both owners and lease holders to build their reputation in the community. Brian gets a deal and foregoes all of the hassles associated with the rental process. He's not a people person and would rather have XYZ deal with guests. The absentee landlord lives in Atlanta.
15) Regulated, Leased, Secondary Residence, Resident Managed
Walt recently moved to Virginia Beach, after a long career working in the pharmaceuticals industry out of Atlanta. He recently purchased a home, but still has six months left on the lease that he took out while looking for the perfect retirement home. He couldn't find anyone to fill the remaining lease and now rents the space out to visitors.
16) Regulated, Leased, Secondary Residence, Professionally Managed
Donna and Dan moved to Aspen, Colorado 18 months ago. After falling in love with the town they decided to stay year round and invest in a condo. They were lucky enough to find a great deal right off Main Street. After moving in to their new space they transitioned over the rental to TRR Management Co. TRR agreed to cover the lease in exchange for exclusive rights to management. Donna and Dan recover their obligations on the lease. TRR walks away with their due and proper.


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It is Saturday, two days before the event which will come close to consuming his life, and C has taken his daughter to the swimming pool. His wife is away from home for the weekend, attending a service-excellence conference on the other side of the country. C is grateful for the time. It is a quiet day, the training pool occupied by only three or four other families, which C finds surprising as in the world beyond the leisure centre it is a bright, white summer's day, and naturally he associates the heat with the need to escape it. He forgot to put sun cream upon his daughter's skin, for the walk up from the house. This slight failure still irritates him.
His daughter is four years old and she mistrusts water. She cannot quite comprehend the treachery of its mass, always ready to pull you under its surface. She prefers to stay upon the steps, chattering through a private game while playing with a plastic bucket and a watering can (as he watches, she picks up a small red ball and flings it from her, as though performing her own experiments into the nature of this substance). C is trying to persuade her around from this fear, for which he feels somehow responsible. Not for anything he has done, but perhaps for things he didn't do, the impossible logic of a parent, the multiplicity of cause and effect. Although he enjoys these visits to the swimming pool, although for his whole life he has enjoyed the proximity of water, the sense of calm it offers as well as danger, C is actually a very bad swimmer.
He is sitting on the pool floor, in the shallows. Although the movement of the water affects his balance, he has found a poise to sit quite comfortably. What does C think about while the irregular beat of the water pulses against his back and shoulders? Work, mainly. Over the years he has loaded his time with projects and side projects which essentially are only there to occupy his mind in moments such as this. For a number of years, C has known that the free time of his youth was only a distraction for him, offering opportunities and tangents which he was unable to calculate. The only way to postpone this sense of hopelessness, he realised, was to always be busy and to never have to think.
But even work is a distant thing for him right now, because he has the responsibility to watch his daughter. This observation is patient, but also demanding; C can't ever really relax. His daughter could slip at any moment; anything at all could happen. The empty, trembling acoustics of the swimming pool surround him. C thinks about all the swimming pools he has visited, about water passed into water. The sun is bright through the skylight.
A new couple enter the pool from the changing rooms, carrying two small children. Because C is facing the entrance, he notices them immediately. Although the man must be in his late fifties, the woman is younger than C. Her face is sharp with attractive, angular features, but there is a heaviness to her body, the cellulite rippling across the backs of her thighs, her large breasts straining the material of a peacock-patterned bikini. As C watches her step down into the water, leading the elder of the two children by the hand (she winces slightly; the water is colder than she imagined) C remembers how his wife had hit the gym after the birth of their daughter. He remembers driving to collect her from this very leisure centre, waiting in the café and watching her through the glass as she pounded along the treadmill in front of the flat screen television. Her first words, when he greeted her, were always about how she had compared against personal goals. These days they rarely sleep together. He wonders whether this is the reason for the regular visits to the swimming pool: that he is not really interested in educating his daughter and assuage her fears, but indulging in primitive voyeurism. He hopes not.
Recently, C has begun to appreciate the fact of his own mortality: the lines that have sliced into the flesh around his eyes, the slackening at the corner of his mouth, making him look disappointed, querulous. He never thought that the signs of age would affect him, he thought that he would accept the inevitability, that to question the passage of time was only a question of delusion, of vanity. And so, the couple tune into C's insecurities. Although he glances once or twice at the woman— whose figure, he allows himself to admit, he finds alluring— it is the man who fascinates C the most.He has a swollen pot belly, the skin of which is smooth and pale and oddly delicate. His hair is grey, the flesh of his chest is limp and atrophied. At first, C thinks that he this woman's husband or partner; the way he is holding the baby, their manner together: it is the obvious conclusion. (Only later, will C realise that they are father and daughter, and he is amazed that this didn't occur to him immediately). As he walks towards the steps, C notices that the man has two tattoos, one a band of runic shapes around his upper arm, the other curled tribal crests upon his calf, which remind C of flames. And so, C compiles a history of the relationship, and because he is a man of little imagination, he thinks of the man as a boss seducing a junior, a midlife crisis the random logic of which might very well soon claim C himself. The tattoos are the only proof he needs.
C returns his gaze to his daughter. She is now taking small tentative steps into the shallows, watching the water well against her plump undefined thighs, marvelling in the insane intricacies of this liquid mass. His eyes move over the other parents throughout the training pool: the way they look to encourage and guard, to foster independence but not to abandon. And as he watches them it suddenly occurs to C that he is the only adult without a tattoo. The woman accompanying the grey man has a small hummingbird or kingfisher upon her right shoulder blade. One man has a spider upon his chest, and a thorned pattern on his bicep. Another has 'Carpe Diem' scrawled upon his lower back in Gothic script. A woman has two hollow stars upon her thigh, another has a butterfly on her right buttock. Names: Christine, David, Stacey; Manchester United. C has always thought of tattoos as being improvised and personal, as unique as the bodies they adorn. And although he doubts whether anyone in the pool has the same tattoo, all the designs he sees seem generic to him, with clean lines and measured precision. They miss the point.
C is still thinking about this when a door opens beside the pool and an attendant in the yellow and red uniform appears. His face reminds C of an actor popular five or so years ago, whose fine good looks C always found sinister, like a china death mask of an infant boy. Already, at his appearance, the other lifeguard, a girl in her late teens, has jumped down from the high stool by the entrance. C watches as they exchange a few words, both of them laughing as the man is apparently late for his shift. Nearby, the couple who occupied C's attention have now immersed themselves in the water, cooing at the two infant children in a manner that C finds slightly excessive. From somewhere, C's daughter has found a blue plastic boat. She notices him watching, and smiles, suddenly self conscious.
A boat, she says, and holds it up to him.
Yes, he replies. That's great.
She places the boat down upon the water. Out of the corner of his eye, C notices that the life guard has jumped down from his stool and is walking towards the edge of the pool. Towards C.
I'm going to sail it, C's daughter says. On the sea.
The sea is very rough, C replies. Make sure it doesn't sink.
C's daughter laughs at this, as though the idea is absolutely absurd, and that C has revealed himself to be a hopeless fool. C loves the ability of children to distance themselves from the logic of their own inventions, maddeningly, automatically, their great intricate dreams deflated at a whim. That's stupid, she says.
The lifeguard stands awkwardly, waiting for this exchange to finish. C keeps him waiting. He is aware that he dotes upon his daughter, that he expects the world to acknowledge the love he has for her, but this sense of entitlement is his one arrogance. Finally, he looks up.
Sorry, sir, the lifeguard says. I'm afraid I have to ask you to leave.
Excuse me, C replies.
You have to get out, he says. You're wearing a yellow wristband.
I've only just got in, C replies. He is laughing as he speaks; this is obviously a mistake.
But you're wearing a yellow wristband, the lifeguard repeats. He doesn't look at C, but instead, glances around the swimming pool, a gaze of professionalism and seriousness. His duties are larger than C's apparent transgression. Lives are at stake.
Unable, at first, to answer, C finds himself glancing around, hoping that another parent is close to hand to support him. But everyone else is at the far side of the pool. C is alone. His daughter is looking at him, now, from her position on the steps. Probably, she has sensed the confrontation; she is, C thinks, peculiarly attuned to those moments when placidity is disturbed into tension. C smiles at her, comforting, consoling.
I've only been in the pool for a few minutes, he says, still looking at his daughter but directing the sentence to the lifeguard. He puts a hardness into his voice. It is the voice he uses at work, his telephone voice. You really have made a mistake.
The lifeguard shrugs. I'm afraid I'm still going to have to ask you to leave. Others are waiting to use the facilities. As he speaks, he removes a walkie-talkie from the waistband of his shorts, and holds it inside his bunched hands. The threat is obvious.
When C makes no attempt at leaving, the lifeguard squats down to his level. Despite his delicate features, the muscles are smooth and defined underneath the bright red T shirt and the fine blonde hairs upon his tanned forearms are bleached almost white by the sun. He is at least ten years younger than C, probably, more.
Sir, he says. I'm sorry if you feel there has been a mistake. But there are rules. They extend to everyone. I can see that you are wearing a yellow wristband. And this means that I have to ask you to leave the pool. He spreads his fingers, a theatrical gesture of powerlessness, probably learned from a film, perhaps starring the actor he resembles.
C argues that the attendant on the front desk must have given him the wrong wristband. (Doesn't he remember two piles of wristbands, and wasn't the attendant chatting to a colleague when she should have been devoting herself to C's transaction. Didn't that happen?) The lifeguard remains unmoved.
Sir, he says. I am asking you to leave.
When C hears the voice behind him, for some reason he imagines that it is the grey haired man, come to intervene. Instead, he turns around to see a younger man, heavily built, with a shaven head and a long goatee beard. His ears are pierced in three or four places. His chest is decorated with a large tattoo, like a dreadful wound. It is convoluted, an intricate, eloquent shape of red and green, a poem of a tattoo, almost like a medieval frieze. Without introducing himself, he begins defending C, pointing a finger at the life guard, aggressive and purposeful. This is totally wrong, he says. You can't talk to this man like that. He shows his own wrist band. All of us, he says, have yellow wrist bands. Everyone in here. Look around you. Even the people queuing by the wall have yellow wrist bands. Are you going to ask us all to leave. You have made a mistake.
Even before he speaks, it is clear that the life guard has lost his earlier confidence. He offers his hands to the man, shrugging his shoulders. What, he asks, would you like me to do?
The man points at the walkie-talkie. Call the front desk. Ask them about the wristbands. Then we'll know.
The life guard stands up and steps away from the edge of the pool. C stares at him, but the life guard turns his back. Bringing the walkie-talkie to his mouth, he asks about the colour of the current wristbands. Despite the static over the speaker, the uneven acoustics and the noise from the pool, the answer, when it comes, is perfectly clear.
I can only apologise, the lifeguard says, as he turns around. I made a mistake.
C is angry, irritated. But he does not want to seem petty in front of the other man. Instead, he laughs it off. It's fine, he says. You were only doing your job. I understand.
As the life guard walks back to his seat, C and the man face one another. These people, the man says, and allows the sentence to die.
I know.
They're given rules. And the rules replaces their minds. It's frightening to see. He runs his hand over his beard.
I know what you mean. C pauses. I want to thank you for speaking up for me.
It's no problem. Anyone would have done it.
C wonders if the grey haired man had tried to intervene, whether the life guard would have been so easily persuaded. The man is glancing back towards his family: a women in a green all-in-one bathing suit playing with three children, two boys, one girl. C steals a look at the details of the man's tattoo: a unicorn rearing upon its hind legs, an archer in a green cloak, a vast, phallic red tree, in the distance, beyond the forest, the tower of a cathedral, morose and sinister.
I designed it myself, the man says suddenly. He is still looking away from C as he speaks.
I'm sorry to stare, C says.
Don't be. I like people to look at it. He glances down at his chest, but it must, C thinks, be very difficult to actually see his the details of his own tattoo, its intricacies only admirable in the mirror, or reported to him by others. My pet, he says. She's very talented.
Your wife did this?
The man nods. From my design. Her father was a tattooist, and she took up the craft. It's in the blood. He laughs at the joke, and C follows.
The detail is amazing, C says and even while he is looking, he notices a white hart deep within the forest, gollums and gargoyles pulling lewd crazy faces within the bark of the trees. A fox. A serpent. An egg. A divine light.
She is a talented woman, the man repeats.
You must be talented too. To draw it.
Oh I can't really draw. I just have these… He wriggles his fingers near his temple. These ideas. And I describe them. And then Sonja does her work.
They stand together for a few more moments, both watching their families. C's daughter has retreated from the water's edge, and is now handling an oblong float, rested upon her knee as though it was a book. She is talking to herself, looking up at the light through the ceiling. The water feels suddenly cold, but C tries to appreciate it. Beyond the walls of the building the day is still, doubtlessly, hot and he has a long walk home. It is Saturday. Only two days later, the disaster for which C feels that he has been preparing for his whole life will strike. The time will be one of frenzy, anguish and regret, yet at the centre of it, C will find a kind of solace. He will realise that up until this point, his life has lacked a dimension of suffering, and about this he has always felt a curious kind of guilt.
Well, the man says. I'd better go. It was good to meet you.
You too, C says. Thanks again.
On their way back through the changing rooms, C is walking slightly ahead of his daughter when she calls after him. At first, he thinks she has found some lost object, a dropped coin from one of the lockers, or a hair band, perhaps even one of the yellow wristbands. But she is standing looking curiously at her foot, which C suddenly notices, is trailing a thin ragged seam of blood upon the wet white tiles. When C bends down, he finds a small circular puncture upon her heel, which seems to stop bleeding even as he examines it. He looks back across the tiles of the floor, but the way seems clear, he can't understand how it could have happened.
Words © Daniel Bennett


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Mini USB Cable
The mini USB cable is a versatile device that can be used on many devices.
NOTE: These products come with a micro USB cord when purchased, these are in case you need/want an extra or replacement.
High quality: Made out of the best industry standard material.
Portable: Lightweight. Easy to transport.
Convenient: Use with any computer or USB charger to charge and acees the files on your compatible.
Safe charge: No questions about compatibility since it is manufacturer OEM.
100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
- 30 Day Full Refund Returns
- 1 - Charging/Data Cable


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There have been numerous stories reported online recently that have dealt with innocent people falling to their deaths. Two people have already died this year while visiting the Grand Canyon in Arizona.
Now, a sad story is coming in from Oregon. An Oregon State student slipped from a rock ledge and fell 100 feet to her death. Her body reportedly hit a tree down the slope and was caught on the branches. Below the tree was the iconic Oregon coast.
"Michelle Casey, 22, was taking pictures with her boyfriend at Neahkahnie Mountain when police say she stepped over a retaining wall and slipped, falling to her death. The Tillamook County Sheriff's office received a 911 call at around 10:16 a.m. reporting someone had slipped and fallen at one of the viewing areas along Highway 101," reported Fox News.
Casey was said to be unconscious but still breathing by the time rescuers reached her body on the tree. It took crews nearly an hour to free her from the situation due to the steepness of the terrain.
She was eventually airlifted to a local hospital. Sadly, she died that evening due to injuries she sustained in the fall. Thanks to her willingness to donate her organs, Casey has already helped save the lives of other people.
Our thoughts and prayers are with her family at this time. Please join us in praying for them and asking the Lord's peace to comfort them during this time. We also pray that this devastating story raises situational awareness for anyone who may be tempted to cross a protective barrier in order to capture a photo.


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London: Digital Social platforms relationship and strategy Manager:
£50-£60k + 30% bonus + benefits working in a global capacity for a global technology leader.
This is an excellent opportunity to work for a global tech firm employing more than 10,000 people and a supplier of services to millions. You should have a strong background in Social and bridging relationships and driving social strategy with multiple suppliers.
Innovation will be at the heart of this role. Contact firstname.lastname@example.com or 07710 463 499


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In the past six years, the Northeast Community College women's basketball team has averaged more than 26 wins per year under head coach Matt Svehla, reaching the national tournament on two different occasions.
The vision and purpose hasn't changed for Svehla, as he embarks on his 25th season at the helm of the Northeast women's basketball program beginning tonight at 6 p.m. against Northeastern Junior College in Norfolk.
Svehla will turn to his five returning sophomores for leadership and a balanced offensive attack, coming off a 25-5 record last season.
"We are going to be pretty conventional and a balanced team," Svehla said. "We have some people that can shoot the three and some point guards that can create some things for us."
One of those scoring threats will be Irene Sanz, a dominant shooting guard that hit 43 percent from three-point land. A native of Spain, Sanz averaged 8.9 points and 3.2 rebounds per game last season. She had a season-high 22 points in an 82-65 victory over North Platte Area Community College on Jan. 24.
Another key contributor from last season that will look to increase her offensive production will be Jade Blackburn. A 6-foot-1 native of England that Svehla refers to as, "a versatile forward that can handle the ball and shoot the three."
Blackburn started in 12 games for the Hawks and averaged five points and 3.1 rebounds per game.
With hopes of returning to the national tournament, the Hawks will also need to rely on other key sophomores in Lauren Hunstad, Kori Fischer and Teagan Pompa.
Hunstad played in all 30 games a year ago and averaged 6.8 points per game, while Fischer and Pompa averaged 5.8 and 3.4 points, respectively.
With Fischer's length and Pompa's ability to shoot the basketball, the Hawks will be a force to reckon with at the NJCAA DI level. But, replacing All-American Mykala Baylor won't be an easy task. Baylor, now a member of the women's basketball program at Missouri University of Science and Technology, started in all 30 games as a sophomore, while averaging 11.7 points and eight rebounds per contest.
Other notable departures include: Judit Valls (University of Bridgeport), Sierra Bell (Purdue University-Fort Wayne) and Jerrica Neal (Concordia University-Ann Arbor).
Despite losing critical pieces, Svehla will lean on a talented group of freshmen down the stretch.
Freshman Blake Mann, Katie Richards, Eriana Brown, Kyla Moore, Emina Hadzihusejnovic, Macey Kulhanek and Jacalyn Schwanebeck hope to be the key pieces of the puzzle for the Hawks.
Mann, a native of Burwell, Neb., was the all-time leading scorer at Burwell Jr.-Sr. High School and was a Second Team All-State member as a senior. At the guard position, Brown and Norfolk, Neb., native Kyla Moore will be counted on early to distribute the ball for Northeast.
"We want to push the ball up and down the court," Svehla added after talking about the potential of the young Northeast guards.
The Hawks will look to do just that in hopes of making another postseason run and bringing home the District 'K' Championship.


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Dragonfly POS
Restaurant point of sale software that simplifies and expedites operations by providing control of all restaurant processes from an app.
- Stage Concept Only
- Industry Software
- Location Cary, NC, USA
- Currency USD
Company Summary
Our company provides restaurant software solutions to enhance the efficiency and hospitality of the restaurant industry. Restaurants are always seeking to enhance their service as a means to improving the customer experience. By providing POS solutions compatible with iOS and Android devices, this system improves hospitality and efficiency in areas where traditional POS systems create problems.
Wes BeckFounder
Business student with two years experience as a restaurant server.
Jesse Jones (Smith Anderson)LawyerUnconfirmed
Previous Investors
Wes BeckUnconfirmed


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Busy Mom? Take "Tote"al Control With This Bag
If you're anything like me, you know that the more organized you are, the more smoothly your life will run. My sister, a busy mom of 4 adorable children, lives by this motto. When I wrote "4 Projects to Celebrate Friendship with Your Sister", the project my sister latched onto was the Martha's Vineyard Tote. So . . . that's what she received for a belated birthday present!
Let me tell you, she's made good use of it! In fact, like many resourceful moms, she's been able to find 5 completely different ways to use this bag to make her life easier:
1. Diaper Bag: To moms of young children, this is probably one of the most obvious uses for this tote, but the size makes it perfect for carrying diapers, extra clothes, and anything else your baby might need.
2. Library Books: After a diaper bag, using this tote to haul around library books seems like one of the most logical uses. Whether you're checking out books for yourself or for your kids, this bag will carry them all, within reason, of course!
3. Club Activities: From Girl Scouts or Frontier Girls to Indian Guides or Boy Scouts, this tote makes is easy to keep track of vests, badges, snacks, etc. When you bring this bag along, you're sure to be one of the coolest moms in the club.
4. School: My sister homeschools her children, so between co-ops and other extra-curricular activities, there's always something that needs to be carried. She's also a tutor, so keeping her kids' and other kids' school information organized is a must.
5. Scrapbooking: All moms need some time for themselves, whether it's just "45 minutes all to myself" (White Christmas) or a girls' night out. My sister loves to scrapbook, and she's great at it, so organizing pages, stickers, etc., is a must, and this bag makes it possible.
How would you or another busy mom in your life use the Martha's Vineyard Tote? Let us know in the comments!
Happy Stitching!


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Hi! Rosh Hashanah is close at the hand -- September12th(sunset) -- 14th (nightfall), marking the beginning of the Jewish new year. The entire world's going to be judged on this solemn holiday and the world's fate for the coming year is going to be decided.
So friends, wishing you all a very Happy Rosh Hashanah.
Personalize & Send This As Ecard
Click Here To Get More MySpace Rosh Hashanah Comments
Copy The HTML Code And Paste It In Your Friends' "Post Comment" Box...
To get daily updated MySpace comments on love, friendship, birthday, special events etc. register here. You also can subscribe by email.


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Project '39 Part 8
Today we are catching up with Rob Fortier/Rod & Custom's 1939 Chevy Truck progress. Time to focus on the interior, the dash board in particular. One of three things to always inspect in a restored classic's interior are the: the floor boards (good shape, no rot), decent upholstery, and a clean dash (gauges, correct parts and nice paint). Lets face it you stare at the dash every second you are in the drivers seat so why not make it top notch. Here we see Rob's dash freshly painted with restored gauges and switches updated to a 12 volt system. Clean and Classy - no "corny digital billet clusters" here. Roll O.G. Americana -Cheers, Grant's Golden Brand Pomade the premiere water based pomade made in the good old USA


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Opening hours
- Mon, Tue 11:00 - 20:15, 11:00 - 20:15
- Wed, Thu 11:00 - 22:00, 11:00 - 22:00
- Fri 13:00 - 22:00, 13:00 - 22:00
- Sat 12:00 - 22:00, 12:00 - 22:00
- Sun 12:00 - 20:15, 12:00 - 20:15
Kungsgatan 7, 111 43 Stockholm
Burgarna serveras medium well, om ingenting annat anges
Gnarly dressing, pickled onions, crispy lettuce, tomato, jalapeños and Pepper Jack cheese. Bob's treat to the street, so to speak. Served with pickles.
Gnarly dressing, pickled onion, crispy lettuce, tomatos and cheddar. Served with pickles.
Double smash burger, cheddar cheese, raw silver onion & Gnarly Dressing. A double smashed Gnarly without pickles, YES!
No bean chili, crispy lettuce, raw silver onion, jalapenos, sour cream & Hot n Hot. We like Sloppy Joe-style! Served with pickles.
Cheddar cheese, crispy lettuce, pickled onions & gnarly dressing. The original bestseller in our foodtruck! Served with pickles.
Vego burger, pineapple salsa, crispy lettuce, raw silver onion & Gnarly dressing. East and west in San Francisco. Served with pickles
Tripple burger, cheddar cheese, mayo, crispy lettuce, raw silver onion & bim bap sauce. Too big, too greasy, too delicious. OMG!
Romaine salad, ceasar dressing, parmesan, croutons & chicken breast
Cajun crusted sashimi grade tuna, mixed leaf salad, cocktail tomato, pickle onion, soft boiled egg and house vinaigrette.
Cajun crusted tuna, mixed leaf salad, glass noodles, avocado, egg & lime dressing
Slow cooked chuck roll chili with tortilla, avocado, onions & sour cream.
Grilled bread, mustard, roast beef, onions, avocado, horseradish & parmesan.
Hamburger with french fries and dressing of your choice.
Deep fried.
Deep fried.
Deep fried.
Deep fried.
Old school french fries.
French fries with some blue love.
New school french fries.
BBQ, onion and bacon.
Cheese with french fries.
Deep fried.
With herbs.
Corn tortilla nachos.
Mixed leaf salad, pickled onion, cocktail tomatoes and parmesan.
Pineapple, chili, cocktail tomatoes, red onion and coriander.
Cocktail tomatoes, red onion, vinegrett och coriander.
Rocky road cake with chocolate ice cream and chocolate sause.
Served with vanilla ice cream.
33 cl
33 cl
33 cl
33 cl
33 cl
33 cl
33 cl
33 cl
Kungsgatan 7, 111 43 Stockholm


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Around Town (07/02/14)
PFLAG barbecue
PFLAG Merced will hold its annual summer barbecue at 6:30 p.m. July 8 at United Methodist Church, 899 Yosemite Park Way in celebration of nine years at the church. Hamburgers, hotdogs, veggie burgers and drinks will be provided. Attendees with last names starting with the letters A-R bring a side dish, S-Z a dessert. For more information email firstname.lastname@example.com.
Independence from Hunger
Merced Grocery Outlet, 1125 W. Main St., is holding its third annual Independence from Hunger food drive. The store is encouraging customers to donate food and cash to support Merced Catholic Charities' local families poverty campaign. Participants can look for specially-marked foods that Catholic Charities has identified as needed by the community. These items can be purchased and put them in a collection bin at the front of the store. Customers can also make a cash donation at the register. All money raised will go directly to Catholic Charities in the form of cash or products. For more information visit groceryoutlet.com/Merced-CA.
Scholarship deadline extended
The Horatio Alger Cortopassi Family Foundation is offering vocational scholarships for community college students. The deadline has been extended to July 25. Students can receive $2,500 per semester, up to a maximum of $10,000. Applicants must live in Merced, Stanislaus, Madera or San Joaquin counties; be no older than 25; demonstrate financial need with a financial aid award letter; and be a high school graduate or have a GED equivalent. For more information and to apply online, go to www.horatioalger.org/scholarships/certificateprogram.
Atwater VFW
The Atwater VFW has a breakfast the first Sunday of the month and hamburger night every Wednesday, and all proceeds benefit veterans. Also, the chapter is looking for more members. Call (209) 358-7224 for more information on joining and costs.
Dance at Club Mercedes
The Fresno band Saboris is scheduled to play from 7-10 p.m. July 26 at Club Mercedes, 569 W. Ninth St. Doors open at 6 p.m. No-host beverage bar and food bar will be available. Price is $10 per person. You must be age 21 or older to attend. For more information call (209) 383-9906.


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Delhi police chief BS Bassi who retires next month will likely be replaced by Ahmedabad police commissioner Shivanand Jha, known to be close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, reports The Telegraph.
Shivanand Jha, a 1983 batch Gujarat cadre IPS officer, had been part of the Supreme Court-appointed special investigation team (SIT) for the riots in Gujarat in 2002 when Modi was chief minister. The Supreme Court later had him removed from the SIT, which gave Modi a clean chit in the case.
Home ministry sources told The Telegraph that Jha, if appointed to the Delhi post, would report directly to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) instead of the Home Minister, which is responsible for the Delhi police.
"The PMO calls the shots as all internal security decisions are taken either by Narendra Modi or national security adviser Ajit Doval," a senior official said. "If Jha is appointed Delhi police commissioner, it means all the less power to Rajnath Singh."
Modi is known to appoint people close to him in senior positions. When he took office as prime minister in May 2014, he had brought to Delhi 20 Gujarat cadre officers (both IAS and IPS).
Sources said that the battle between the Modi government at the centre and the Arvind Kejiwal-led AAP government in Delhi could be another reason why the PM is considering Jha for the Delhi police commissioner post.
Other contenders for the post include Deepak Mishra and Dharmendra Kumar, both special commissioners of the Delhi police.


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William Hackos, Jr. PhD
Vice President, Comtech Services, Inc.
As information developers, we live in fear of having our jobs outsourced to India or China. Prosperity as we know it is coming to an end. As our salaries here drop to the levels of India or China, we wonder how we will be able to feed our children.
If all of this doom and gloom seems like a new phenomenon, you should read the recent essay by John Ralston Saul in the March issue of Harper's Magazine, "The Collapse of Globalism." Saul takes a broader historical look than we do. He points out that the stresses we are going through now have happened before. In the 1920s the robber barons, Rockefeller, Carnegie, Walker, J.P. Morgan, and others, were given free rein to pursue their corporate profit goals worldwide. With new forms of communication, the world was getting smaller. The measure of a country's success was the success of its multinational corporations. Salaries were high, and nobody worried about the fact that these corporations were corrupt or that many people in this country did not share in this prosperity. Then in October 1929, prosperity ended and the Great Depression started. But for three or four years, our government did nothing. Corporate excesses continued. The same thing happened throughout the industrial world.
John Ralston Saul defines globalism as a regime in which multinational corporations are powerful, national governments are weak, and the success of a country is measured by its corporations' profits and the growth of its financial markets. The role of government is to ensure the successes of its corporations throughout the world. Corporate excesses are ignored.
The reaction to the collapse of globalism in 1929 led directly to a rise of nationalism in which each government acted unilaterally to protect its own interests. In the 1930s we see the rise of Hitler, Stalin, Tojo, Mussolini, Tito, Franco, and more. The United States retracted from the global scene with an isolationist policy until forced into WWII by Pearl Harbor. Nationalism itself lead to extreme excesses, in particular the imperialism of Japan, Russia, and Germany. Eventually this intense nationalism led to World War II and a collapse of world nationalism. The United Nations, NATO, and the rebuilding of Europe and Japan started a new phase of globalism.
If all of this seems a little familiar, it should. It has been repeated with the rise of multinational companies and the weakening of governments that peaked in the Clinton administration, followed by the dot.com crash in 2000, nationalistic fervor in the United States, Israel, and the Middle Eastern countries, and even leading to the unilateral invasion of Iraq by the United States.
What does this mean to us as IT professionals? It means that we are probably not going into some kind of Orwellian future, but we are witnessing another transition from globalism to nationalism. While the current administration's international policies have moved strongly to the nationalistic, they maintain a globalistic leaning toward economic policy. In the current administration's view, corporate profits and the New York Stock Exchange numbers are proof that the economy is thriving. Soon, corporate excesses will result in a renewed government interest in the people of the United States rather than its corporations.
Glimmers are already visible. A recent survey of 2,000 CEOs has found that interest in offshoring is waning. Only 25 percent of these corporations were doing any offshoring. The number considering offshoring is down from previous surveys. A number of organizations have abandoned their offshoring efforts. CEOs are now able to measure the benefits of offshoring based on earlier efforts, and they're finding that the savings are not what they expected. Companies are also concerned that offshoring may tarnish their image among consumers and have an impact on sales.
Based on past history, things will get better economically for American IT professionals as well as other Americans. But also, based on past history, we must keep nationalism in check.


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Today I'm thrilled to welcome my friend Shonda to this space. Shonda and I are college friends (quite a few years ago) and recently reconnected. It's amazing when God is part of your relationships, it's easy for those friendships to grow and become like time never passed in-between. Even though we live on opposite ends of the country, I'm grateful for the way she speaks into my life and the lives of other mamas. I love the perspective she shares here. Thanks for sharing your heart, Shonda!
Life is full of seasons. I am thankful for seasons because they mean there is a beginning and an end. Change and transitions are inevitable, and we are constantly wrapping up or starting a season. This brings me peace. The "not forever" of each season encourages me to keep going when things are heavy and overwhelming. I can take another step when I know there is an end. This concept also helps me look at new endeavors with a bit more excitement rather than fear.
In this season I am venturing through, there is a consistent topic of my conversations and prayers that I call, THE SPREAD. I had our fourth child a little over a year ago and a month later my eldest started high school. I also had a third grader and a pre-school aged child. In the months to follow, it became very clear that not only having a fourth child, but having a fourth completely different stage of development child to parent, was going to take intentional planning, focus and grace to do well (or even kinda okay).
The more I looked around at my tribe, the more I realized that THE SPREAD of our children and family make-up is unique. We only have four children. Some of you laugh at that statement. But, most families I know with a 14 year span have more kids and so their kids have a sibling or two in their stage that share common pastimes, likes and trends. We have more than three children. This difference stems from the exact opposite of my last reason. We have a few friends with three kids, but a "grand finale" was not something they were going to partake in themselves and so having our fourth child created a distance in those "whole family" relationships. We are not a blended family. Our family does life with several blended families with a wide range of ages and stages. They also have a lot of other pieces to their story that is not part of our story. It's just the two of us, me and my husband, and our pregnancies, waiting periods and age gaps.
From conversations and prayers about THE SPREAD, I am learning and stretching. And although my family story is unique and it has taken the unique factors above to grow me and teach me a few things in this season, the lessons learned, when shared somehow apply to many a mama out there.
And so for that reason, I share.
Connection Places
Having a teenager, an older school age kiddo, an almost school kid and a newborn forced me to be intentional about finding places and experiences that connected all of us. I found that a lot of times we were together, but not together. Amusement parks, restaurants, church and even parties often lead to the divide and conquer approach. Hallelujah for that approach! I would be long gone if it weren't for the welcomed, "Tag~you're it". But, I longed for time together-together. Our family has found the outdoors to be our connection place. We are all together, experiencing, creating memories, playing and just actually enjoying being together when we are outside. I say "yes" more and "no" less on a hike, in a big field or at the beach.
Creating Conversations
I am the first to admit that as parents we have to be savvy on this one. Kids, especially teenagers catch on to a conversation starter and clam up. I have learned to do it anyway! Having a meal together and intentionally asking each child for the high and low of their day has taken a fight more than a handful of times. The noise and scramble of meal time can make conversation seem like wishful thinking. Let me encourage you mama. Do it. Make it happen. Ask for their high and low and really listen and even with a squealing baby do your best to make the other children listen too. Talk about faith stuff, hard stuff, topics that aren't comfortable (the lows often provoke these talks) and point them to the answers. They want and need it and so do we.
Sibling Bonding
I talk about birth order, family position and purpose a lot with each of my kids. Creating purpose in their spot and calling out their role with their siblings and in our family is a way for them to understand in a tangible way that every detail of who they are is important. God made them special and they were born at exactly the right time, in exactly the right place and God chose them to be where they are. I talk to my older girls about spending time with their younger siblings. We talk about the innocence and freedom there is in playing and dancing and skipping (instead of walking). I talk with my younger ones about how blessed they are to have built in mentors and friends that can help them. When they are angry with me, they go to their siblings for encouragement and wisdom. It rocks!
Every Stage
As important as it is for me to keep my gang united and bonded, I am constantly reminding myself to connect with each one individually as a mom, at their level, in their way, regularly. It recently looks like this and is ever morphing: car rides with only one child (this takes planning), coffee/tea runs, bed time snuggles for longer than I would naturally take, long walks, Pokemon Go-ing (yep! I do it), saying yes to playing and sitting more often, cooking meals together, movie nights and reading books. This is also a big reason why we've chosen to slow waaaaaay down and homeschool, but that's for a whole different time and requires a lot more words.
Here's to the longest days and the shortest years! Here's to YOU mamas! Enduring, keeping on keeping on, doing another day, loving better, growing, stretching, running in your lane and breathing. What we do in our spot is eternally important. We got this!
I'm Shonda. Southern California is where I am planted and doing this life of marriage, children, friendships, and a billion things in between. But, the Midwest with its slower ways and hospitality are forever a piece of my heart and spills into all I do. I strive to follow Jesus every moment. I love to read (although I rarely finish a book). I love singing, intense conversations, loud laughter and creating memories with my husband and four amazing kiddos.


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Coherent Inc. shares rallied in the extended session Tuesday after the laser manufacturer topped Wall Street estimates for quarterly earnings. Coherent shares jumped 12% to $180 after hours. The company reported adjusted fiscal first-quarter earnings of $2.57 a share on revenue of $346.1 million. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had estimated earnings of $1.81 a share.
Copyright © 2017 MarketWatch, Inc.
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One of the most lovely surfaces to paint on is
Ivory. But I realize it is the most offensive, as well. There is another option. Through Boone Trading, I found Vegetable ivory or tagua nut, a product made from the very hard white endosperm of the seeds of certain Palm trees. It resembles real ivory, is extremely hard, and has a grain. It also has a lovely dark brown textured coating that gives a nice contrast if left along the edges, (much like the Mammoth Fossil ivory.) Boone Trading polished a window on one side of the nut at my request, and the other side was simply sanded but not polished. I can get at least two pieces from the one nut by slicing the cabochons off each side, and a possible unbordered slab from the center.
Unlike copper or real ivory, there is not much preparation of the surface needed. The nut is very dense and hard, and even dark dyes do not penetrate far past the surface. But the paint will stick, especially well on the unpolished surface.
Slicing the nut was another story! It took quite an effort using a table top vise and a jeweler's hack saw. I'm not keen on using power tools, but I'm sure it would have been easier and faster. Another benefit of using this nut as opposed to ivory is it's stability during the heat produced by the saw. Ivory, on the other hand, can burn and split easily, and you must saw slowly to avoid overheating.
For this pendant
I chose to keep the coating border irregular and organic, and only along one side. I roughed in the head shapes with an oil wash of sepia and medium. To go with Chloe's nature-loving personality, I decided to keep this monochromatic in browns. It will look more like a wood burning than a painting when it's done, which will keep that biotic effect.
As luck would have it, this nut had a natural hole at the top, which will serve as the "bale" for a lanyard.
A sepia version of the young couple
is the reference photo for the double portraits. I really like backlit faces and in this case, it seems to emphasize the love they feel when they look at each other.
For the most part, Joshua's face is done.
But I have a problem with the darkness of Chloe's features and how the contours of her face are lost in the shadows. I was trying to achieve the portraits with transparent washes, but I'm going to have to introduce white into the paint mix, and take advantage of the covering properties of oil paint. On second thought, Josh's features could use some contouring and highlighting as well.
Part Two of this post will illustrate the process of finishing and detailing the portraits. One mistake beginning artists make is to panic when things seem to go wrong. But these "stumbling blocks" can actually help build character and dimension in the finished image. When I painted from live models, it was almost impossible to get the model back into the exact same pose each time. So you paint what you see, adjusting and tweaking each time. After a number of sessions, you can see the image take on a life of it's own, and it's because of all the changes hiding beneath the surface. So if you are a painter, never throw out a painting that you think is not working out… fix it! You'll be a better artist because of it.
Stay tuned for Part Two. And don't forget to browse the prints on sale in my shop! Very limited quantities – specially priced till May 8.
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I'm not having a good day. Over the weekend Princess Jewel has gone downhill quite quickly. She has gradually stopped eating.She's had a little water but not really interested. Her back legs have seem to have given out on her.She can't really walk or stand on her own power. I think her advanced old age is now bringing her to her last days.
Today,I have her comfortable in a nice nest of blankets. Her favorite ones. I put on a George Winston piano cd because through the years she always would relax and fall asleep to the soft music.
I'm hoping that she will drift off to sleep and go peacefully. I hate to see her suffer and perhaps she will have to go to the vet to let her rest.
So it's a quiet day around here.I'm very sad. She has been a companion to us for 8 years. It will be hard saying goodbye.
Sunday, November 27, 2005
A Quiet Day...
Posted by Pratt at 1:03 PM
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4th Edition
I forgot to mention that I'm in a D&D 4th Edition game. One of the Sunday crew works at Wizards and he managed to get us into the playtest. I'm under NDA so I can't say much, but they definitely made some significant changes to things.
We've only played one session, but so far it's been a lot of fun learning the new rules (at least in how they apply to Morwen, my half-elf Warlock) and seeing how everything works.


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Methocel F50 is a type of methylcellulose. Methylcellulose is made from cellulose pulp, which is taken from plants' cell walls. Methylcellulose is one of the most interesting ingredients due to its unusual property of gelling as it gets hot and melting as it cools.
There are about 20 kinds of methylcellulose and while similar, they all have different properties. Methocel F50 is commonly used to stabilize foams, especially whipped foams.
You can discover more about Methocel F50 from my how to use Methocel F50 guide or any of the Methocel F50 articles and recipes below.


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How do you know if your students are learning? There are two usual ways of tracking them:
1. Check how well they have learnt the specific stuff you have taught them.
2. Decide if they have moved up a generic hierarchy(such as levels) devised to describe 'progress' in a particular subject.
I am writing this quick blog because option two is so standard that Ofsted inspections depend on it but my school uses option one and I thought people might be interested in how differently things can be done. The demands of comparative accountability require state schools to use progress measures. The second option also arises because of a distaste within the education establishment for the idea that education is about learning a body of knowledge. The idea of actually comparing schools by checking how many students in a year group can recite, or explain Hooke's Law or a myriad of other facts, seems almost absurd (although it is what GCSEs do). However, what is more absurd, to an outsider such as myself, is the alternative. How can I really check my year 9 history students have made 'progress' over time in some generic sense, that doesn't actually hinge on whether they have learnt the latest stuff they have been taught? That apparent 'progress' will evaporate if students make less effort on the next topic (or my teaching is poor). Yet despite this, progress in history is expected to be linear and measurable. I do think there is such a thing as 'being good at history' but it is too contingent on grasping content to be independently measurable. The old national curriculum levels tried to suggest there was general progress that could be made in history, or science, or geography that was generic and not very content specific but if you are interested in reading about it, all these ideas are pretty problematic, see here, here and here. Using the idea that a child is making 'progress' rather than simply learning more stuff can work better in subjects where the content is more hierarchical such as reading at primary level, maths or languages although even then it can lead to short termism in approaches and can be problematic because models of progress are often inevitably flawed.
Levels are now pretty widely criticised but the point of my blog is to argue that there is no point choosing another model based on charting overall progress in a subject over time. That whole idea which started with the national curriculum is flawed.
In my school we are able to check if students are getting better at learning what they have been taught (Option 1).We do not track progress. Our tracking starts with benchmark tests on pupil entry to the school and then involves me giving my impressionistic grade of a student's standard of work and effort about every half term. If they have learnt and understood the material really well, relative to the cohort, they get an A.
[Pause to allow people to recoil in horror…]
…I'll continue. If I think they have learnt it fairly well they get a B. If their knowledge and understanding is fairly incomplete they get a C etc, etc . So if a student starts to get fewer As and more Bs on their half termly report cards this shows up on the data analysis. Actually it is rare for the report card to come as a surprise. I do wonder if, in practice, this approach is really what is happening anyway in many schools when they assign levels, see a brilliant description here. "The students who have learnt the stuff really well must be a level 6…". I don't think my school's system is especially wonderful, it is impressionistic. However, at least it is based on judging whether a student has learnt rather than a vague and problematic notion of 'progress' .
In my school most interest is placed in the effort grades (1-6) also provided. A string of 4s for effort can lead to a lot of hassle for a student, so they try to avoid that. What is fascinating to me is the way my school's system is focused on whether the student is making the effort to learn rather than whether the teacher is successfully teaching. I think this is very healthy from a student's perspective. It is not that department heads and management are unaware of weak teaching because of this approach. We might know from a myriad of indicators who is struggling to teach effectively in our schools. Statistical evidence in my school can come from comparing results in subject tests and end of year internal exams as well external exams. Anyway, I'd say the difficulty isn't identifying a teacher who is really struggling, it is effectively helping them to improve.
I am in favour of accountability but the uncomfortable fact is that the only, even moderately, effective way to compare schools fairly is through the setting of external tests (such as SATs GCSEs and A levels) which can compare how much stuff students in different schools have learnt and understood. I don't say this because I love SATs or think they were that great. However, the idea that you can chart a student's progress, in the majority of secondary subjects, let alone assume the stats you produce provide a common currency, is a mirage.


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Fishing piers and protected species: an assessment of the presence and effectiveness of conservation measures in Charlotte and Lee County, Florida.
Document Type
Internship Report
Publication Date
Fall 2013
The concentrated fishing activity at piers results in a variety of threats to federally protected marine species in the form of incidental captures and entanglement in and ingestion of fishing gear. Biological opinions issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in accordance with Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) state conservation measures which must be implemented in the construction of fishing piers. The databases used in the biological opinions to estimate the effects of fishing piers on protected species are highly dependent on public reporting and their comprehensiveness is unknown. Furthermore, there is currently a lack of follow up on the usage and effectiveness of conservation measures. The objectives of this study were to (1) conduct an overall characterization of the fishing piers in Charlotte and Lee counties, (2) provide preliminary results of the effectiveness of informational signs at educating pier anglers and encouraging reporting of sea turtle and sawfish incidental captures, (3) map and evaluate the extent of pier fishery related interactions with protected species as reported by interviewed pier anglers compared to those reported to the STSSN and ISED, and (4) investigate pier angler acceptance of additional potential sources of information. All piers within the study area were visited twice, one a weekday and a weekend. During the first visit the overall assessment was performed and during each visit, one hour was spent conducting interviews with anglers. The pier assessments showed fishing piers in the study area varied and, overall, sawfish signs (19.2%), sea turtle signs (3.9%), mono filament recycling bins (46.2%) and pier attendants (3.9%) are lacking. Angler interviews indicated few anglers were aware of reporting incidental captures of sea turtles (7.5%) and sawfish (11.8%). Signs were both the highest reported current source (47.6%) and preferred source (54.5%) of protected species information. Therefore, increasing and revising the content and placement of signage at fishing piers combined with awareness raising efforts such as distributing floating keychains, stickers and koozies are likely to translate into increased reporting rates of sea turtle and sawfish encounters. Additionally, the use of traditional media, social media and smartphone applications has the potential to increase pier angler knowledge and encourage reporting of protected species encounters.
Department: MAF
MPS Track: Marine conservation
Location: National oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration , Office of Protected Resources
Recommended Citation
Hill, Ahsley, "Fishing piers and protected species: an assessment of the presence and effectiveness of conservation measures in Charlotte and Lee County, Florida." (2013). Internship Reports (Restricted). 188.
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Departing Thoughts
The following poem was written in the spring of 2013, which was the lead up to creating my graduation film. I explored concepts that I had never previously done that had heavily impacted my life. I thought these words were going to flow into the film, but not before long, this poem took on it's own identity.
The wayward ways a soul can go
Are things we want to explain
To theirs and our own.
Some find a familiar and some just don't
Find the difference between being told and feeling alone.
Some just find themselves left in the void.
Empty, becomes emptier, heavier and grey.
They can't avoid the sinking feeling of dismay.
No matter how much I tell myself to stop feeling this way.
I wanna be as free as the spirits of those who left
Prolonging to live my pain with each attempt.
Breathe a lot of air hoping my soul will exhale with it too,
Steal it from me if you want, I'll care less when I'm through
With the spiral of darkness—but clinging to obsession
A real desire to change misery to resurrection.
Because death alone is not perfection
Which is what everything needs to be—given attention.
Good is never good enough, no exception.
Countering could be and must be with his depression.
You think that you could just forget it—easily
And it might've done wonders in the vast expanse—memory,
And you repeat these motions every single unending day,
To find out that you're still unhappy.
Everything, from a step to a smile,
Takes effort that comes from walking miles
To go before I sleep
In the woods, lovely, dark & deep
Less about frustration,
And more of being forgotten.
Finding a way to leave—all clean,
Without dropping them a baggage downtrodden.
Always thinking my problems aren't significant.
Almost convinced it's comfortable being quiet.
Oh he's just sad again… oh I guess I am.
Over and over—compliments of etiquette.
How can this work
When self-guilt and hate stands in the way of change
Left and right blaming, not a single one ashamed.
Internalizing the pain
So it doesn't effect others
But the pain will remain
And will just be forgotten
When there's everything else left
To accommodate for
Living didn't qualify—foreign to a standard.
Continuing to live, and to put himself through
Was never seen as a statement untrue.
Kept asking could, neither did understand,
Before their idealisms told him his 'can'
Or just a bucket if you will,
Before kicking' it got a lil' too real.
Could have been sent a 'do'
Or a what-you-love
Or any form of question
Or a statement
That let him know
That they were with him
That there was more
That they wanted to say
That they hadn't before
Known his pain.
They left him with a label
That he couldn't handle
Never raised his voice
Never called no one
An example.
For his life to have meaning.
Poor little fellow.
Giving up, giving in, not even 10 candles.
Because a moment came
When he felt no connection
With anyone
And separation anxiety's
A cycling drum
That bangs on your door
Whenever it wants--
Except when it breaks down
And takes over your life
For days or months
Years pass but of course
They won't always tell you
If they've had enough.
Not when there was no one to tell him
That it's worth it—it's tough.
That you should be good to yourself,
Because you deserve it.
What you feel is real,
There's a way to find yourself
Among life's resources.
Whatever you have,
It's definitely a curse.
And you must weather the storm.
But the forces are different
When the edges of your existence,
Can even be adorned.
There's an endless journey of finding more
And you can appreciate it when you find
That no one else
Will get to have our persistence.
Fight for your existence, because sometimes it's a war.
But in the end—your journey of sizing up how amazing you are.


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26 January 2017
45th anniversary of the IUCConference "International Migration: Trends and Challenges", 2 June 2017 16th IUC Council meeting, 3 June 2017
19 January 2017
Books resulting from IUC course in Social PhilosophySocial Philosophy course has been active and seccessful in publishing two books and several collections of the papers which have been presented at the IUC Dubrovnik.
5 December 2016
IUC COUNCIL MEETING AND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON MIGRATIONInter-University Centre Dubrovnik is pleased to announce that the 16th IUC Council meeting will be held on Saturday, 3 June 2017. We are inviting all IUC member institutions to send their representatives to the Council meeting. Traditionally, along with the Council meeting the IUC is organising an international conference which will be held a day before, on 2 June 2017. The topic of the conference is "International Migration: Trends and Challenges".
14 July 2016
Henrik Birnbaum's work available onlineMore on Henrik Birnbaum's work is now available for free download
28 June 2016
COLLABOROLOGY 2016The announcement if the internationally dederated course and education design project
Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 < >


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What makes a great taxi driver?
In the modern times, individuals frequently take cabs to and from. All these are some of the qualities that make a good taxi driver. I've been using cabs and now currently own a taxi company. We now have serious conditions when hiring drivers because these folks represent our business to the public.
First they must have a clean driving record with NO DUI. Secondly the driver cannot no more than one ticket and have had more than one injury in the last 10 years. The reason we do because anyone can happen to be in one mishap not this' fault, they is thus we don't wish to exclude great motorists that have been in a poor scenario. DUI's are just not taken in our company although this is allowed by many firms. We would never hire someone using a DUI because that means the companies likely possess a history of driving under the influence but that is possibly the only time the authorities found them.
Another item is they must be clean and tidy. Seems easy where that just wasn't true, but I've been in taxis. Our motorists must keep their cars clean and every customer by using their baggage and help be professional. Most significant is when picking up customers, the good taxi must be on time. My Personal Cab strives to get to every pick up the absolute minimum of 10 minutes early. That was we can get the luggage loaded and be on our way in the time that is appropriate. The rates should be fair without a lot of add on surcharges that you just get hit with afterwards. That's why I call in advance before creating a booking to check on speeds and information on a cab.
Drivers should further be able to communicate clearly with all the public and be personable. All these are important qualities in a motorist. All drivers should also always possess a functioning GPS unit inside their vehicles and be skillful within their use. Now using a mapping or map guide when GPS units can be bought for under $100 is inexcusable. Customers ought to be fast and directly brought to their destination via a GPS. This way if your driver runs into traffic or construction or any other such difficulty, they are able to quickly and easily navigate around it. Every motorist for My Private Taxi should possess a functioning GPS all the time.
Clean vehicles will also be essential. Drivers vacuum and should wash their vehicles. In this way their customers are consistently getting right into a vehicle that is clean. They also want a vehicle that smells fine, not one that's a lot of waste and stale Airport Transfers odors inside.
Drivers must also take good care of the customer's luggage. Drivers should make certain drag it or to not drop luggage so that it could stain or get tears or rips. Occasionally customers bag can be quite expensive of no one wants their things damaged, and have fragile items inside, so taking excellent care of the bag of a customer can be very important.