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tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36038601474230497252019-07-21T06:45:17.930-04:00Notes & CommentsKevinhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-3603860147423049725.post-33488145140602782102012-07-05T21:03:00.002-04:002012-07-05T21:03:46.673-04:00America's Finest at WorkLast month the Border Patrol stopped a car when it set off radiation detectors at a checkpoint. They detained the University of Arizona professor who was driving the car and her passenger, a 96-year-old Hispanic man. The man showed the agents ID and explained that he was probably the source of the radiation as he had recently had some medical treatments (unspecified in any of the articles on this incident). Agents took the man to a tent for secondary inspection, where they ran a radiation detector up and down his body. Then they told him he would have to wait in the tent. The temperature was nearly 100. His companion asked if they could wait in the car, which was air-conditioned. The agents said no. The man had to stay in the tent for a half hour.

To recap: border patrol agents stop a car because it sets off a radiation detector. In the car is an employee of that hotbed of terrorism, the University of Arizona, and a man old enough to remember the presidency of Herbert Hoover. Source of said radiation is explained. Nevertheless, the senior citizen is detained in a tent in summer in the desert for half an hour.

Icing on the cake: the senior citizen in question is a former governor of Arizona. His name is politically unfortunate (Raul Castro), but did they really think Fidel's brother was taking a road trip out West?

After the Border Patrol told the two they were free to go, they asked to see his ID again.

You can never be too careful.

Incidentally, Anne Doan, the University of Arizona professor driving the car, was never asked to show ID.

Kevinhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-3603860147423049725.post-77932962730607508012012-07-04T17:55:00.002-04:002012-07-04T17:55:45.520-04:00Fourth of July ThoughtsThe Continental Congress actually voted to declare independence on July 2, 1776, leading John Adams to write to his wife:

"The 2nd day of July 1776 will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. ... It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shews, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forevermore."

However, it wasn't until two days later that the Continental Congress formally adopted the Declaration of Independence (and only after some editing that severely wounded the young author's ego). Then someone rang the bell of the State House of the Province of Pennsylvania (that's the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall to you). You know the rest.

The members of the Continental Congress didn't even sign the Declaration until August 2, 1776.

Too busy, I guess.

One of the more interesting aspects of the events of 1776 is their effects on other countries. Years later, the United States' example inspired Spain's American possessions to revolt. And two Canadian revolts against British rule in 1837 led to Canada gaining a degree of self-government. The revolts had been successfully defeated by British forces, but instead of cracking down on the colonists as George III would have done, the British government—remembering how well the George III approach worked—sent a member of parliament named John Lambton (nickname: "Radical Jack") on a fact-finding mission to Canada. He found a politically viable way to release the captured leaders of the revolt instead of hanging them, and in his Report on the Affairs of British North America, Lambton recommended that the Canadian provinces be given some degree of control over their own affairs. Parliament approved his recommendations. By 1848 Canada was more or less self-governing, and in 1867 had all but full independence (London still had final say on Canadian foreign policy; that didn't change until 1930).

 **********************************

In spite of having been but a small horrible child at the time, I well remember the bicentennial celebrations of 1976. One of the more curious observations was the series called Bicentennial Minutes. Every day throughout the year, CBS ran a painfully earnest one-minute spot featuring a B-list celebrity (think Mark Shera or Valerie Harper) standing in a book-lined study recounting what happened on that day in 1776. Unfortunately for CBS employees, not every day in 1776 was a day of principled stands and heroic deeds. The researchers for that series had to really dig to find enough material. I remember one somewhat vividly (I'm pretty sure I don't have the names right, however):

"This is Vic Tayback. On this day in 1776, Thomas Putnam set out from Philadelphia with a company of rangers to fight British forces in upstate New York. They soon got lost in the Allegheny Forest when they were abandoned by their Indian guides. They marched on through the forest, hoping against hope to reach American settlements. They ran out of provisions. They ate their horses and dogs. Their bones were found in the spring. I'm Vic Tayback, and this has been a Bicentennial Minute."

Searching on YouTube I discovered a nice send-up of Bicentennial Minutes from the Carol Burnett Show, and here's an actual Bicentennial Minute that recounts the valiant last stand of a patriotic tree:

Kevinhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-3603860147423049725.post-24756335874425301332012-06-26T18:37:00.000-04:002012-06-26T18:37:01.942-04:00The World Just Keeps Getting Weirder"The poor world is almost six thousand years old..."—As You Like It.

Thanks to those Trojan Horses of stupidity (a.k.a. school vouchers), during the coming academic year some Louisiana school children will be taught at taxpayer expense that the Loch Ness Monster is an argument against evolution. Eternity Christian Academy in Westlake, Lousiana uses textbooks provided by Accelerated Christian Education Ministries, which raises the bar on toxic nuttiness to staggering heights. Students at schools following the ACE curriculum will be taught that South African apartheid was good for everyone because it enabled "each group to maintain and pass on their culture and heritage to their children," that the Ku Klux Klan fought "declines in morality," and that evolution clearly never happened because there are no "transitional fossils" (you can read what's wrong-headed about this belief here).

And then there's this gem:

 Are dinosaurs alive today? Scientists are becoming more convinced of their existence. Have you heard of the 'Loch Ness Monster' in Scotland? 'Nessie,' for short has been recorded on sonar from a small submarine, described by eyewitnesses, and photographed by others. Nessie appears to be a plesiosaur.

Why is this important to these nut jobs? If the Loch Ness Monster exists and it's a plesiosaur, then it's a surviving dinosaur. And (the reasoning* goes) the survival of a dinosaur is much more plausible if the world is only 6,000 years as old as opposed to millions of years old. One of the strategies employed by creationists is to contrive arguments that the world is much younger than it actually is.

It's bad enough that these "schools" exist. Unfortunately they're not confined to the U.S. In the U.K. approximately 2,000 young people are being subjected to this insanity. What's more, the National Recognition Information Centre, the UK office that evaluates educational degrees for universities and employers, has declared an ACE diploma comparable to an A-Levels diploma, the prerequisite for entering a British university.

A kid that's been through the ACE curriculum is in for a shock when he gets to a secular college (or most religious ones, for that mattter).

*If you can call it that.

Addendum: If you want to read a superb takedown of the ACE from a medieval perspective, go here.Kevinhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-3603860147423049725.post-24095036648475256232012-06-20T09:08:00.000-04:002012-06-20T09:08:08.542-04:00Onward, Christian KickboxersBy now most of you have probably read about the trend among some Evangelical Christians to use mixed martial arts as a way to lure young men into the fold. The practice is the subject of a documentary in the works: Fight Church—not the most imaginative title, I'll admit, but it works. I won't even get into how theologically and ethically problematic it is to encourage young men to "Beat the Shit out of Each Other for Jesus" (as The Gawker put it), but it seems to be part of a trend for men who want a Christianity in their image (i.e., one with outlets for testosterone), whether it's founding a religion that allows men to have multiple wives, or something as comparatively harmless as artwork depicting a ripped, macho Jesus.

That Jesus of "turn the other cheek" or "blessed are the meek?" Forget that loser.

On the off-chance you haven't seen it, here's the trailer for Fight Church. While there are a lot of unintentionally funny lines, my favorite occurs in the scene in which a pastor is praying over a battered guy hold an bag of ice to his crotch: "Dear God, thank you for the win. Thank you that he's okay. And thank you that he's walkin' and I pray that there's no damage and that nothin' swells up bad later, in Jesus' name, Amen."

The juxtaposition of words and the visual is priceless.

 But I also like it when a small boy gets a godly pep talk before going into a boxing ring, and he says to himself, "I'm gonna rip that kid's head off."

"And a child shall lead them." Isaiah 11:6Kevinhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-3603860147423049725.post-63364780103856693532012-06-17T20:50:00.003-04:002012-06-17T20:50:49.021-04:00I'll have a lobster and cod pizza with caviar on the side, please.

A town that actually wants a Taco Bell is in pretty bad shape.

Eat like it's the Neolithic.

If you want to support restaurants that treat their employees right, don't eat at these establishments.

Don't be alarmed: your calamari is just mating in your mouth.Kevinhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-3603860147423049725.post-7989233927062691632012-06-13T21:18:00.001-04:002012-06-13T21:18:59.760-04:00File Under "Loaded Language"A headline from Boston.com:

"Mass. House Approves Bailout for Troubled T"

Bailout? Bailout? The T is not an ineptly managed investment bank. It's not run by a gang of greedy Wall Street vermin who gave themselves bonuses as a reward for crashing the global economy. This "bailout" is merely the state legislature forking over money to temporarily address a problem they created.
Kevinhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-3603860147423049725.post-75738030617068690592012-06-10T18:26:00.001-04:002012-06-11T10:22:53.225-04:00The Week in Food

If you're in Maine and want donuts, don't buy five. Buy six. They're cheaper by the half-dozen.

British food: the Diamond Jubliee edition.

Mmmmm...cricket bars....

Sweet, veal-like, fishy? What do we taste like?

This would kill me.
Kevinhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-3603860147423049725.post-32088851249816046972012-06-07T18:32:00.001-04:002012-06-07T18:32:44.745-04:00What Wisconsin MeansWalker's defeat of the recall effort has been the subject of a number of op-eds, blog posts, and screeds today. Ezra Klein at WaPo's Wonkbook went so far as to write, "Wisconsin Recall Shows Labor Isn't Coming Back." And even more prematurely (but inevitably), some are talking of higher office for this creep.

Is Walker's victory a setback for labor? Absolutely. Is it the death knell of unions? Too soon to say.

Let me add that I have some ambivalence about unions, given that I am a member of a union that privileges seniority over competence, which has burdened my workplace with some serious dead wood and cost a good friend her job. On the other hand, without the protections unions afford, I honestly believe city government would have made all librarian positions half-time so they could weasel out of providing us health insurance. And the better wages and working conditions unions provide usually force some private employers to keep in step to stay competitive in hiring.

But back to Wisconsin: the vote shows nothing more than the unpopularity of union employees during recessions. If you're working two jobs just to pay your bills and you've got terrible insurance (if you have it at all), it's natural to resent somebody who can go home at five every day and who can get sick without becoming destitute. Furthermore, the pro-union forces were at a severe disadvantage in campaign finances (a shocker, no?), although the ubiquitous "outspent 7-1" seems to be debatable.Nevertheless, it's not a complete victory for Walker: the Democrats may re-take control of the Wisconsin Senate.

And while the failure of the Wisconsin recall has emboldened opponents of unions, the labor movement is still winning some victories. Last year the Ikea factory in Virginia unionized (think about that: Virginia). Also in Virginia a group of Eastern Shore chicken catchers who work for Tyson Foods have voted to unionize, after getting fed up with horrendous working conditions and making $40 a day. Here in Boston workers at the Hilton Boston Downtown are joining the local hospitality workers union, and in Chicago the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees will soon be negotiating wages and benefits for the registered nurses at Loretto Hospital.

And back in Wisconsin, Scott Walker shouldn't feel too smug: odds are he'll soon be facing criminal indictment.Kevinhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-3603860147423049725.post-39005546367297664522012-06-05T21:56:00.001-04:002012-06-05T21:56:23.486-04:00Quote for the Day"I need the rest of you to help me fix the world. The rest of the world is getting stupider."

—Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, speaking at Mount Holyoke's commencement.

Kevinhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-3603860147423049725.post-65297280018751079272012-06-03T20:43:00.000-04:002012-06-03T20:45:19.687-04:00I'm Back

After a long neglect of this already seldom-updated blog, I've decided to resume posting. Given my longtime obsession with the instruments of government intended to drive us all completely insane keep us safe, I'm restarting this blog by telling you what words to avoid using in social media posts if you want to stay off government watch lists. Recently (and uncharacteristically), the government actually responded to a Freedom of Information Act request and released the Department of Homeland Security's National Operations Center's Analyst's Desktop Binder, which includes a "current list of terms that will be used by the NOC when monitoring social media sites and to provide situational awareness and establish a common operating picture" (starts on page 20). Some of the words seem like sensible choices, like "anthrax," "dirty bomb," "assassination," and "Artistic Assassins" (the name of the contract killers for the Sinaloa cartel, but which could just as easily be the name of a rock band). Other words seem plausible depending upon what other words they appear with, like "El Paso" (since it's on the US-Mexico border, which is where the Mexican drug cartels operate), "crash," "bridge," "port," or "delays." Then there are choices that seem utterly bizarre, like "pork." So if I send a Facebook message to a Texas uncle, "I've experienced some delays in my trip to El Paso for the family barbecue because there have been traffic delays due to a car crash on the San Luis Rey bridge; but don't worry, I'll be there in time to help cook the pork," the gubmint might start monitoring my online activities? Seems unlikely on the face of it, but given their track record, they might well waste time on little ole me. The staff of Homeland Security are, after all, the same people who waste time on nonsense like asking a 79-year-old if she's wearing a sanitary napkin, and yet a guy without a boarding pass manages to bypass TSA staff and get on a plane without a boarding pass, only to be busted by a stewardess.

(Hat tip to Scribd).

Kevinhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-3603860147423049725.post-63827492778940178542012-03-01T21:24:00.002-05:002012-03-01T21:31:30.852-05:00The Way We Live Now......or the joys of auto correct.

A Georgia school was put on lockdown for two hours yesterday after a student received a text message that appeared to warn of the arrival of a gunman.

A student wrote, "Gunna be at West Hall today." Auto correct changed it to "Gunman be at West Hall today."Kevinhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-3603860147423049725.post-6119820646555055572012-02-20T17:38:00.002-05:002012-02-20T17:49:54.689-05:00The Week in Food (The One Day Late Edition)In honor of Downton Abbey, NPR answers the question of the ages: why was British food terrible for most of the twentieth century?

Slate's Explainer tackles another important question: does sloth taste veal?

First you kill a seal. Then you catch some auks. How to make the Inuit equivalent of the turducken.

Mmmmm....smokehouse fire.

The latest foodie craze...rats (at least in Thailand). Note: if you are at all squeamish don't click on the link.Kevinhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-3603860147423049725.post-3084811786825274012012-02-11T12:04:00.003-05:002012-02-11T13:07:19.519-05:00The Three Stooges, Part Two (and the Apocalypse)Santorum is on the rise (I apologize for any unpleasant mental imagies provoked by that sentence). In the Missouri, Minnesota and Colorado primaries, he won the anyone-but-Mitt vote (rumor has it that in Missouri, dogs voted in record numbers). A recent national poll placed the former Pennsylvania senator in the lead, with Romney second, and Gingrich third. And there's a tell-tale sign that Santorum has his eye on Gingrich's (and the Republican party's) hard core base: fundamentalist Christians.

In a speech last week in Plano, Texas, Santorum repeated his assertion that the Obama Administration is hostile to religion, and came up with this gem:

Some commentators have been scratching their heads over Santorum's references to the French Revolution, but any members of the Bourbon, Capet or Valois families currently living in the U.S. can relax. An online associate who had the misfortune of being raised in a fundamentalist church gave me some much-needed context by directing me to Revelation 20:4:

I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

When a speaker publicly invokes hostility to religion and decapitation, he's invoking a narrative of the end of the world believed by millions of Americans: after the saved are swept up into the Heaven, the Antichrist takes over the world and those who still worship Jesus (or at least refuse to worship the Antichrist) are executed. Now it's never been adequately explained to me why if the saved have been gathered up into Heaven there's anyone left on earth who still worships Jesus, but nobody has ever asked me to edit apocalyptic narratives for logic and consistency.

But the larger point: any fundamentalist Christian who believes that narrative and who heard Santorum's speech heard a presidential candidate imply that President Obama is the Antichrist, or at best paving the way for him. If you think this conclusion is a bit of a stretch, take a look at this clip from a film called The Image of the Beast. My recovering Christian friend was required to watch it as a teenager by his church youth group. I've read the film is still popular with evangelical churches. It's on sale as a DVD at a site called Christiancinema.com. In this clip, a Christian is decapitated with a guillotine.

WARNING: The film you are about to see has really bad production values. And even worse facial hair.

Oddly, at the same time that Santorum was invoking an American future where Christians are guillotined, he seemed to want to sound relatively sane to appeal to independents because he closed by saying, "Ladies and gentlemen, we're a long way from that."

Don't ask me how you call your political opponent an evil overlord with supernatural powers foretold by Biblical prophecy and then expect to be able to back-pedal from that, but Santorum has never asked me to edit his speeches for logic and consistency.

Hat tip to David Harnden-Warwick for the background information.Kevinhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-3603860147423049725.post-61490207163531719262012-02-05T13:47:00.003-05:002012-02-05T13:56:16.142-05:00The Week in FoodPublic schools: the enemy of baked goods and entrepreneurship.

If you want to buy foods with a long shelf, put lard first on your list.

Purple tomatoes: you know you want them.

There was chocolate everywhere. Oh, the humanity!

Citrus: it's what's for dinner.Kevinhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-3603860147423049725.post-63605922163801057832012-01-29T10:36:00.002-05:002012-01-29T10:44:44.389-05:00The Week in FoodGreat news: Fried food—it's not all bad for you.

Fans of the National Mustard Museum can breathe a sigh of relief.

American Fans of Canadian orange juice (if any exist) are in for a disappointment.

What a waste of good cognac.

What's different about McDonald's in France.Kevinhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-3603860147423049725.post-48448900536197523512012-01-28T11:22:00.002-05:002012-01-28T11:25:48.712-05:00Quote of the WeekFrom a Newt Gingrich ad running in Florida:

"What kind of man would mislead, distort and deceive just to win an election?....This man would be Mitt Romney."

This from Newt Gingrich.
Kevinhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-3603860147423049725.post-65006894941224967192012-01-24T10:57:00.008-05:002012-01-27T20:28:23.271-05:00Thoughts on Patriotic SongThe other night I was rummaging through my shelves looking for an Elgar CD. I couldn't find it, and being in the mood to listen to some Elgar I started searching YouTube for some performances. I found some clips of the last night of the proms from recent years (the proms are a series of summer concerts in London). I had forgotten (if I ever knew) that at a certain point during the performance of Pomp and Circumstance everyone starts singing "Land of Hope and Glory," a British patriotic song whose lyrics were written to the music of P & C. I found myself staring in disbelief as members of the audience started waving Union Jacks and singing "wider still and wider may thy bounds be set/God who made thee mighty make thee mightier yet." It's fifteen years since the handover of Hong Kong, the Scots could well be on the verge of declaring independence, and a London audience is singing a prayer for imperial expansion.

I kept thinking, "The Brits really need to update their patriotic songs." I also kept wondering what was up with the people in the audience waving Norwegian flags (29 seconds in). But nationalism is about sentiment not rationality. No one in that audience seriously wants the UK to re-take India. Nevertheless it did make me reflect on the sense of national exceptionalism reflected in the some of the other songs from the proms, such as "Rule Britannia" and "Jerusalem" (the latter a Blake poem inspired by the legend that Jesus visited Britain as a boy).

Of course an American is hardly one to point fingers at the people of another country for any cultural hint they think they're better than everyone else. Hell, in this country nobody hints any such thing: they shout it from the rooftops (or on Fox News). And yet that's strangely absent from most of our patriotic songs. Our national anthem is essentially a prayer for national survival. "My Country 'Tis of Thee" and "America the Beautiful" are songs that bespeak love of a physical place ("I love thy rocks and rills/Thy woods and templed hills"). If I actually had to choose a new anthem (not that anyone's ever going to ask me) I might opt for "Shenandoah" (O Shenandoah, I long to hear you/Away you rolling river...Away, I'm bound away, 'cross the wide Missouri"). It refers to a specific, albeit prolonged historical event (the settling of the West by Americans of European descent) but it reflects the immigrant's sense of loss, the reality that to go somewhere new, however much promise it holds, you have to give up something. It's not a peculiarly American experience—but it's certainly part of who we are as a nation.

And then of course, there's "This Land Is Your Land."

Doing some cursory research for this blog post I did discover some fascinating gems of American patriotic song. I had never heard "Hail Columbia" before. Composed in 1789, it has a delightfully eighteenth century sound:

But my possible favorite among my discoveries when I googled "American Patriotic Songs" is "Stalin Isn't Stallin'" a song written to drum up solidarity with one of Our Gallant Allies during World War II:

I'm sure the songwriter was blacklisted in the fifties. Songs such as "Stalin," "Hail Columbia" and "Shenandoah" should be better known to us—provided we could think about them in some historical context.Kevinhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-3603860147423049725.post-19937017259257149352012-01-22T17:10:00.005-05:002012-01-22T18:37:02.484-05:00Southern Dispatch, or The Three StoogesA friend of mine pointed out to me the "upset" language in the Boston Globe's coverage of Gingrich's primary victory in South Carolina. The paper's headline writers described Gingrich as "roaring" to his win and denigrated Mitt Romney as "formerly high-flying."

I honestly don't know why anyone thought Romney had a chance in South Carolina: he's from Massachusetts and he's a Mormon. I would add that he's a terrible campaigner, but that doesn't really make him stand out among his competitors: at the end of last year Gingrich's campaign couldn't even get it together to collect enough signatures in time to get him on the ballot in Virginia, and last spring he didn't seem to realize that the Eastern Mediterranean isn't where you go to campaign for president. He now defends his cruise by saying it was intended to test his staff and show he's a "different kind of candidate." Then there's Rick Santorum, who publicly objected to Dan Savage's creative definition of his last name, thereby causing some of his more ignorant supporters to google it out of curiosity and thereby making it the top hit when anyone googles "Santorum."

But back to Gingrich. Other than Perry, he's the candidate who best appeals to the tribalism of a particular type of Southern white voter: the man or woman who's scared at who much browner America is than it used to be, who feels threatened or alienated by politicians who talk about issues in any manner approaching complexity. Gingrich is one of them. Even his Catholicism can't eclipse his essential Bubbaness. The South Carolina primary: think of it as one of White America's last stands.

Meanwhile, the show continues....Kevinhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-3603860147423049725.post-12137390273103568952012-01-19T20:28:00.006-05:002012-01-19T21:26:15.523-05:002011: The Year in Review(A little late, I know, but bear with me).

Normally I would have opened 2012 on this blog with a list of all the books I've read, but I'm a little intimidated by some of the other 2011 reading lists out there.

Instead I present you with:

These Are A Few of my Favorite Things (2011 edition):

Favorite novel: Galore by Michael Crummey, a multi-generational novel set in Newfoundland that puts this hitherto little-known Canadian author in a league with Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

Favorite book of short stories: In This Light: New and Selected Stories by Melanie Rae Thon, a collection of heartbreaking portraits of society's castoffs.

Favorite cookbook: Simply Ming One-Pot Meals page after page of simple and suprising fusion East-West fusion recipes.

Favorite political ad: Herman Cain's He Carried Yellow Flowers (below).

Favorite description of He Carried Yellow Flowers: "Dadaist meta-western."

Favorite parody of a political ad: James Kotecki's parody of Perry's "Strong" ad.

Favorite tributes to Christopher Hitchens:

This one by Christopher Buckely for its infectious warmth.

This one by Katha Pollitt for not being afraid to say the truth about Hitch's personal and intellectual failings.

Favorite political event: my native state voting down a referendum that would have criminalized many forms of birth control.

Favorite stupid thing Republicans did: Arizona Republicans selling their state capitol building for $81 million to help balance the state budget. They are now paying $105 million to get it back. That's some great financial planning there.

Favorite Internet time-waster: reading the pairings of panels from Peanuts cartoons with random tweets. Sadly there will be no more new ones thanks to those humorless dullards who run Charles Schulz's estate.

Favorite silly animal photo:

Favorite iconoclastic take on a children's toy: Barbie re-imagined as a hoarder.

Kevinhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-3603860147423049725.post-52330446054883930022012-01-10T10:42:00.007-05:002012-01-11T14:30:11.048-05:00The Way We Live NowForgive me if this is old news, but I just had to write about this.

One Ronald Ball of Madison County, Wisconsin, claims that in November 2009 he found a dead mouse in a can of Mountain Dew he had just bought. Unfortunately he didn't find the mouse before he took a drink out of the can. He claims he became "violently ill" and started vomiting. Only afterwards did he or a friend empty the can and find the mouse. Ball supposedly wrote a letter of complaint to Mountain Dew (with the mouse enclosed).* He then initiated a lawsuit against Mountain Dew's manufacturer, PepsiCo, for $50,000 in damages.

Mr. Ball has apparently finally had his day in court and here's where it gets interesting: PepsiCo's representatives recently offered the defense that Mr. Ball's account of events is simply impossible. Not because their quality control protocols would have prevented a mouse (dead or otherwise) from making its way into a can of Mountain Dew, but because Mountain Dew is so acidic that within thirty days the mouse would have dissolved into a "jelly-like substance" (the words of Lawrence D. McGill, an expert in veterinary pathology). PepsiCo asserts that at least 74 days elapsed between the can being sealed and Ball opening it.

So think about that, gentle reader: the next time you open a can of soda, you could be getting a protein bonus, a rodent smoothie, if you will.

Aged to perfection.

This isn't actually as horrifying as it sounds: the company is simply arguing that Mountain Dew is an acidic beverage, far less acidic than the fluids in anyone's stomach. Nevertheless, the public assertion by its manufacturer that a drink can dissolve bones and render flesh to jelly will probably make some people shudder with revulsion at the thought of consuming it. And given that PepsiCo already has financial problems, fewer buyers of Mountain Dew is the last thing they need.

I haven't enjoyed a junk food legal battle this much since Proctor & Gamble was reduced to arguing in a British court that Pringles potato chips aren't really food in a slimy try at weaseling out of paying Value Added Tax.

Given that sales of PepsiCo products are declining overall, maybe the company can use the publicity to market Mountain Dew for less conventional uses. Instead of cremation, maybe some people will opt for "jellyfication" of their bodies after death. Or the next time a group in the developing world commits genocide, the perpetrators can order tankers full of Mountain Dew to hide the evidence.

The possibilities are tantalizing.

*Now I'm wondering how you mail a dead mouse.Kevinhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-3603860147423049725.post-48302282931339586232012-01-08T20:11:00.003-05:002012-01-10T21:24:14.305-05:00The Week in Food
Roadkill: it's what's for dinner (at least in Illinois).

Songs about food aren't really about food.

That gingerbread clock looks tasty, but I'm afraid it's right only twice a day.

Having addressed all of society's other concerns, the BBC News Servic conducts a groundbreaking investigation on why we eat soup when we're sick.

You think you pay too much when you buy fish? Think again.Kevinhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-3603860147423049725.post-40616602262373747352011-12-17T18:09:00.010-05:002011-12-18T19:21:13.721-05:00On BookstoresI assume all of you have read Farhod Manjoo's takedown of independent bookstores in Slate. For the benefit of those who haven't, his argument boils down to this: by selling books for lower prices, Amazon has done more than any other business in America to foster reading. He goes so far as to argue that Amazon is the "only thing saving" literary culture. He also argues that bookstores are economically "inefficient:" because they spend money on utilities, rent and employees, small bookstores have to sell books at "a huge markup."

My response to his first point is that I think more credit is due to Oprah's Book Club than to Amazon for fostering reading in America. A talk show host with roughly 40 million loyal fans told them to go read Dickens, Faulkner, Garcia Marquez, and Tolstoy, and many of them actually did it. At least one academic historian credits her with democratizing reading, enabling American women who had never thought of themselves as "literary" to experience the pleasures of reading and of talking about what they've read, and to learn that their opinions matter. Oprah has also been credited with the proliferation of book groups in the U.S. in recent years.

Furthermore, to log on to Amazon and begin shopping a person must be already interested in looking for books. I doubt that Amazon's mere existence led millions of Americans to think, "Well, since I don't have to leave the house to do it, I think I'll buy some books" (If that is the case, Americans are even lazier than I thought).

As for bookstores being "inefficient," they're probably no more inefficient than any other business that doesn't operate on the scale of Walmart. Small bookstores create local jobs and bring foot traffic to neighboring businesses. They enrich neighborhoods in myriad ways—far more than they would if they were just another boarded-up vacant retail space (which is the inevitable result of the Amazon/Walmart business model). And if Amazon's labor practices are an example of "efficiency," then I want nothing to do with it.

Manjoo derides independent bookstores for having "paltry selections" and "no customer reviews." But with Amazon you have to already have some idea of what you're looking for. You can't really browse the shelves with Amazon. There are no surprises waiting for you the way there have been for me in brick-and-mortar bookstores, like my adolescent discovery of Didion's Slouching Toward Bethlehem or my graduate student stumbling upon Christopher Hitchens' The Missionary Position: Mother Theresa in Theory and Practice.

As for the selections being "paltry," bookstores can place orders for titles they don't have. And as for the lack of "customer reviews," bookstores have staff recommendations, which Manjoo sneers at as akin to "choosing your movies based on what the guy at the box office recommends." He's ignoring the obvious fact that people work in bookstores because they love books—God knows it's not for the money. The average bookstore employee is probably someone whose preferred leisure activity is reading. He or she is probably very well educated. Why wouldn't you welcome their book suggestions?

I will close with my childhood memories of an independent bookstore that was very important to me growing up. It was the unimaginatively named "Book Mart" in the even more unfortunately named Starkville, Mississippi. The store was roughly a forty minute drive from my home town. My parents were both avid SEC football fans, and by age nine or ten they realized I would never be one. So when they went to Starkville on a Saturday afternoon to watch Mississippi State football they would simply drop me off at the Book Mart and pick me up when the game was over. It seems shocking now. I can't even imagine the presumption that led my father to approach two owners of a business and ask them if they would babysit his nine-year-old son.

The Book Mart was owned by a Mr. and Mrs. Brown who were delighted to have me there. And the store was a wonder to me as a child. I never imagined there could be so many books in one place. And nothing about the Book Mart was "efficient." One of the top shelves was taken up with a third edition (published from 1788 to 1797) of the Encyclopedia Britannica. It was never intended to be sold. It was just there. They also refused to charge students sales tax if they were buying classics such as Hawthorne, Dickens or Tolstoy.

Every time I was dropped off there, after chatting with Mr. and Mrs. Brown for a bit, I would collect an armload of books, walk to one of the alcoves in the back and sit on the floor reading (when my parents came to pick me up after the game they would buy me one or two of the books I liked). I wasn't very discriminating as a child. I devoured a lot of dreck: G.A. Henty, Rudyard Kipling ....but that store was also where I discovered Greek and Norse mythology, the Arthurian legends, and many other stories that meant a great deal to me as a child, and that even now I can't dismiss.

I became a sort of store mascot: regular customers would come in on a Saturday, find me in the back, say hello, and ask what I was reading. I even went so far as to venture my opinions on the business: I would take books off the remainders table and tell Mrs. Brown she should raise the prices. Invariably her husband would hear me and say from somewhere in the store, "I told you..."

Years later when I went to college in that same town I would visit the Book Mart and it still had a little of its old magic. It's where I discovered John McPhee, Walker Percy, John Irving and many other writers. They don't mean as much to me as they once did, but they were steps to something better.

I look back on the Book Mart, and the Browns, and I feel grateful.

I will never feel that way about Amazon.Kevinhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-3603860147423049725.post-56989013881540570702011-12-14T20:46:00.002-05:002011-12-14T20:49:09.508-05:00Quote of the Week"That's one of the things that I like about him—because he's consistent since he changed his mind."
 --Christine O'Donnell endorsing Mitt Romney.Kevinhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-3603860147423049725.post-66155128818328189172011-12-13T12:38:00.003-05:002011-12-13T17:36:29.476-05:00The Week in Food
The forty-eight hours late edition....

Forget Greek debt, the collapse of the Spanish housing market, the implosion of Irish banks....Norway has a real problem: a butter shortage.

What's the real story on that olive oil you bought?

You call that a KitKat? This is a KitKat.

Amphorae: They're not just for wine anymore.

Admit it: you've wondered about this.Kevinhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-3603860147423049725.post-15997930596309325262011-12-08T20:22:00.008-05:002011-12-09T14:04:20.282-05:00What's in a Title?I learned today that a novel that won last year's German Book Prize, Tauben fliegen auf, (Pigeons Fly) is always referred to in the English-speaking press as Falcons without Falconers. It's a savvy decision on the part of the novel's Anglophone publisher—Falcons without Falconers sounds much more intriguing than Pigeons Fly. I have no real point to make about this other than to share my bemusement at how book titles change when a book is translated into another language or published in another country. The most famous example is Marcel Proust's À la recherche du temps perdu, (In Search of Lost Time), which appeared in English under a title lifted from one of Shakespeare's sonnets, Remembrance of Things Past.

And a book doesn't even have to be translated for a title to change. Beat to Quarters, a 1937 novel set in 1808 on board a British warship, was originally published in the UK under the much less martial title The Happy Return (the only reason I even know of this book's existence was that it was one of my dad's favorite novels). The 2004 Ian Rankin novel Fleshmarket Close was published in the U.S. as Fleshmarket Alley on the assumption that the original title would puzzle Americans (in British English "close" means dead-end street).

However, the most interesting title changes occur when a book is translated into another language. Stieg Larsson's books provide interesting recent examples. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo originally appeared in Swedish under the lackluster title Män som hatar kvinnor (Men Who Hate Women). The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest was originally  Luftslottet som sprängdes (The Castle of Air that Exploded).

 But my all-time favorite title change pertains to a Spanish health book I stumbled upon at work, Cuerpo radiante (Radiant Body), which originally appeared in English as Dr. Jensen's Guide to Better Bowel Care.Kevinhttp://email@example.com


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I have been working on my family tree. Updating names, trying to get birthdates and so on. I realized there are not alot of Yeldell men. How long does this name have? I called my mom and she and I counted ten child bearing Yeldell men that can carry on the name.
Can you believe it 10! We are so proud of who we are but has anyone noticed that we are dying. From thirteen original siblings over 360 offsprings but only 10 can keep that name going. What does this tell me? The chances of my daughter or sons marrying, falling in love with, sleeping with or God forbid getting pregnant a cousin has just gone up. Sure the Donaldson's, Robertson's and Williams's boys are all Yeldells but that name will die.
This is my plea…log on to our family site (weareyeldells.myheritage.com), Enter your children's names and age, add birthdates, be a part of planning a family reunion. Candace gave a compliment that was so nice I want to share it with you:
"You know, out here (in Seattle) all we get from national news of all sorts is either politics on the lawn of the White House or with the Capitol in the background. If it's about the city as a whole, it's usually about crime or in the past, Marion Berry's activities. Watching Top Chef this season, we're getting some views of the city as a place where ordinary people live and eat. Getting to know you shows me that there are lots of accomplishments in the city as a place where non-politicians have lived and built their town. Hearing Robert's story was great."
"Your grandparents must have been incredible people. Your grandparents started an incredible legacy through those children. It will be an honor for me to meet a few of the family in September."
We have slowly dwindled away as a family. Cliques getting stronger, lost of loved ones or people moving forward and not sharing the good and bad times with each other. As many people as there are in this family I know of three of our children going away to college this year. I know there are more than that with our numbers being so large. This is not the way it should be. We must get together the way our Grandparents originally raised us to be. If we don't we not only will be losing our name but, losing who we are as well.
Peace & Blessings,

subset: commoncrawl


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The mud was thinking fondly of old, while working.
You can look up on the Tower after July 22, weekends and holidays.
Whats in the delicious rice Curry for lunch.
Come join the planting next year please.
Next appreciation society 8/27 (Sunday) 10 pm-4: 00
Please look forward to!
Inquiry Tanaka's rice paddy art run Committee Chairman Ikeda Tadashi mobile 090-5850-9643
This page has been automatically translated. Please note that it may differ from the original.


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Safety and Efficacy of Two Vaginal Products Versus Placebo in Patients With Vaginal Discomfort
|The safety and scientific validity of this study is the responsibility of the study sponsor and investigators. Listing a study does not mean it has been evaluated by the U.S. Federal Government. Read our disclaimer for details.
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00590590
Recruitment Status : Completed
First Posted : January 10, 2008
Results First Posted : February 9, 2011
Last Update Posted : March 2, 2012
- Study Details
- Tabular View
- Study Results
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
|Condition or disease
|Drug: Lidocaine/Diphenhydramine Drug: lidocaine Drug: placebo
|Phase 2
|Study Type :
|Interventional (Clinical Trial)
|Actual Enrollment :
|105 participants
|Intervention Model:
|Parallel Assignment
|Quadruple (Participant, Care Provider, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
|Primary Purpose:
|Study Start Date :
|October 2007
|Actual Primary Completion Date :
|June 2009
|Actual Study Completion Date :
|July 2009
|Placebo Comparator: 3 (Placebo)
Drug: placebo
semi solid, twice weekly for 4 months
|Experimental: 1 (Lidocaine)
Drug: lidocaine
semi solid, twice weekly for 4 months
|Experimental: 2 (Lidocaine/Diphenhydramine)
Drug: Lidocaine/Diphenhydramine
semi solid, twice weekly, 4 months
- Mean Marinoff Dyspareunia Scale Score (MDSS) at End of Treatment (12 Weeks) [ Time Frame: 12 weeks ]The MDSS consists of a participant rating of their dyspareunia (painful sexual intercourse) on a 0- to 3-point scale. Each numerical value on the scale coincides with a level of pain experienced during sexual intercourse; 0 = no dyspareunia (no pain with intercourse) and 3 = completely prevents intercourse
- Change From Baseline in Marinoff Dyspareunia Scale Score at End of Treatment (12 Weeks) [ Time Frame: Baseline -12 Weeks ]0-3 scale with 0=no dyspareunia and 3= completely prevents intercourse
- Change From Baseline in Overall Vulvar Vestibulitis Syndrome (VVS)-Related Discomfort Visual Analog Scale (VAS) Score at End of Treatment (12 Weeks) [0 = No Discomfort and 100 = Most Severe Discomfort] [ Time Frame: 12 Weeks ]
- Change From Baseline in Overall Intercourse-Related Pain Visual Analog Scale (VAS) Score at End of Treatment (12 Weeks) [0 = No Pain and 100 = Most Severe Pain] [ Time Frame: 12 weeks ]
- Change From Baseline in Overall Vulvar Vestibulitis Symptoms Visual Analog Scale (VAS) Score at End of Treatment (12 Weeks) [0 = No Symptoms and 100 = As Bad as They Can be] [ Time Frame: 12 Weeks ]
- Change From Baseline in Tenderness (on a 0- to 3-point Scale) on Palpation at End of Treatment (12 Weeks) [Scale Rates the Severity of Pain; 0 =Absent and 3 = Severe] [ Time Frame: 12 Weeks ]
Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contacts provided below. For general information, Learn About Clinical Studies.
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|18 Years to 50 Years (Adult)
|Sexes Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Inclusion Criteria:
- Patients must have sought doctor's care for this condition.
- Patients must be having menstrual cycles.
Exclusion Criteria:
- Patients must not have any vaginal infections.
- Patients must not be pregnant or nursing.
- Must not be receiving any other medicinal therapies or any medications that would interfere with the outcome of the study.
To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contact information provided by the sponsor.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT00590590
Show 48 Study Locations
|Study Director:
|Jim Joffrion
|Lumara Health, Inc.
|Responsible Party:
|Lumara Health, Inc.
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|NCT00590590 History of Changes
|Other Study ID Numbers:
|First Posted:
|January 10, 2008 Key Record Dates
|Results First Posted:
|February 9, 2011
|Last Update Posted:
|March 2, 2012
|Last Verified:
|February 2012
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
Sleep Aids, Pharmaceutical
Vulvar Diseases
Genital Diseases, Female
Anesthetics, Local
Central Nervous System Depressants
Physiological Effects of Drugs
Sensory System Agents
Peripheral Nervous System Agents
Anti-Arrhythmia Agents
Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel Blockers
Sodium Channel Blockers
Membrane Transport Modulators
Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action
Hypnotics and Sedatives
Autonomic Agents
Gastrointestinal Agents
Histamine H1 Antagonists
Histamine Antagonists
Histamine Agents
Neurotransmitter Agents
Anti-Allergic Agents
Dermatologic Agents


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It's pear season and whether you're making a tarte tatin or pears pears with vanilla - dessert wine is a must!
We love the 2013 Michel et Marie Bortytis Semillon, dry grown from 30 year old vines.
This wine has a purity and intensity that you expect from wines from Sauterne or Barsac in France. It also shows unctuous nectarine, apricot and lemon meringue notes through the palate and a licking clean finish. A perfect match with poached pears.


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Opposite of selection word list. Here are a variety of words whose meaning is nearly the opposite of selection.
- indiscrimination
- promiscuity
Hope the above listing of antonyms for selection is useful. This page may interest people looking for the opposite of selection and selection opposite.Popular phrases for this post include, opposite of selection, selection opposite.


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As many of you were anticipating and as our testers obviously knew very well, there is a new Magnus frame just around the corner.
Introducing the new Velocite Magnus!
Since the original Magnus set the performance bar so very high, following up and improving upon it was no simple task, however I firmly believe that the new Velocite Magnus retained all that was extraordinary about the Magnus and improved on it.
Our live testing program test feedback has been universally positive with some really surprising findings. While numerically the new Magnus is identical in stiffness to the original Magnus, the testers all reported that the new Magnus feels stiffer. While this was welcomed but not expected, I was hoping that one other target aspect of the new Magnus frame will be observed in use. To my great delight the testers did observe it: they found the new Magnus to be more comfortable than the previous one.
High modulus and ultra high modulus unidirectional carbon fiber
High Compression Technology molding – smooth walls
Monocoque (multicoque) structure
Carbon fiber headset races
1.5" asymmetric head tube
Carbon fiber BB30 shell
Carbon fiber dropouts (thermo set in a mold, not pinned to the stays)
Patented seat post clamping system
Unmatched stiffness
Weight: 1100g for size L, fork 360g uncut
Price: US$ 2499 This price includes the frame, fork, seat post, seat post clamp and headset.
Availability: by March 2011
They also reported even greater feeling of being in total control and feeling as one with the bike. This is something I also observed during my brief ride on the new Magnus. You get the sensation of being able to feel what each wheel axle is doing – you can feel the bike pivoting around those two points, and nothing else. There is no perceptible flex.
Thus again in our findings, using empirical data on stiffness, and rider feedback, there is no correlation between frame stiffness and rider comfort when riding the road bike on sealed roads. Our findings indicate that all other things being equal, what actually delivers the comfort is the vibration dampening, and one other thing that will for the time being remain confidential.
So what are the changes for the new Magnus that delivered this new high water mark for high performance road bikes?
- Revised head tube headset races. Our modification of the standard allows much greater interface area for any angular contact bearing with nominal 52mm diameter. This ensures a very tight fit of the bearings without relying on friction or high accuracy bearings (as used in in the Velocite 1.5 headset) to keep the bearing in place.
- Rear brake internal routing. It now uses cable stops so the brake cable housing is not threaded through the frame.
- Derailleur cables. Now routed through the head tube using threaded adapters and CNC machined (Alligator®) adjusters. This makes for a visually "cleaner" appearance and allows for easier adjustment and crisper shifting due to less housing use
- No front derailleur braze on. We removed the braze on to allow for changing front derailleur technology. We will offer the Velocite Elemental carbon front derailleur clamp that has been in testing for 7 months now, as an option.
- Patented seat post retention system. This new system simplifies the seat post retention and allows torque values up to 10 Nm without risking damage to the frame or the seat post. Even though there is no seat post extension above the top tube, this new system does not save weight due to increased frame reinforcement at the new clamp area. Over time as technology develops we will consider introducing this technology to our other frames
- Bowed and aerodynamically profiled seat stays. I need to say that while the new Magnus [and the old one for that matter which precedes the competitor's design] resemble a new aero road frame from one of the major brands, the new Magnus is not designated as an aero road frame. If it performs well as an aero road bike we will not complain, but for that purpose we have the extraordinary Helios Aero which is a true aero road frame.
- Layup changes. The new Magnus now makes use of what is commonly known as "ultra high modulus" carbon fiber, has a different layup in the rear triangle, and seat tube/seat post junction areas. The new Magnus still retains the no compromises 13 layers of high modulus carbon at key areas. This is between 5 and 6 layers more than is used with mainstream frames.
- New fork. The new Magnus is using the new Bora S fork which is 20% stiffer than the current Bora fork while weighing just 360g, uncut. The profile is also thinner and more aerodynamic. In fact we are considering offering this fork as an option with the Helios Aero for those riders that want to experiment with a 45mm offset fork while riding in a full aero position with the saddle above the BB which the Helios Aero seat post allows.
The graphical design of the new Magnus has also been modified to enhance the simple beauty of the frame…or possibly to enhance the raw aggression that it radiates. To help it in this regard the special HG Giger inspired red texture is now rendered in gloss red while the rest of the frame is finished in matte lacquer with the trademark UD carbon finish showing – we still do not use cosmetic top layers with any of our frames so you can admire the beauty and intricacy of the hand laid carbon fiber.
The overall appearance of the new Magnus is now decidedly high end, and still mostly unique even though the mainstream is encroaching
Notable achievements of the new Magnus during live testing include a third place division 2 finish in a grueling 228km Grafton to Inverell Cycle Classic race. This is over 7 hours of racing on at times truly terrible roads with the test rider reporting best ever comfort levels; and an outright win and the new course record for a tough hill climb event in Taiwan. I mention these two results since they help communicate that the new Magnus is a very versatile high end frame that is equally at home on tough classics as well as hill climbing, and it excels at both while weighing a highly unfashionable 1100g for size L. In essence, if you want to win a classic, criterium or a hill climb and have the power and aggression to do it, ride a Magnus. Why just talk about one day events? Because Magnus pushes you to ride harder, faster, more aggressively, without letting you keep anything in reserve. This sensation is familiar to all current riders and it is something that needs to be experienced to be fully appreciated. For stage racing and alternative geometry needs we have the unique Helios Aero and the versatile high performer, the new Geos frame.
For the current Magnus owners, the new Magnus would be a minor upgrade simply because while the new Magnus offers improvements, they do not invalidate the excellence of the current Magnus model. For anyone else, the new Magnus is a revelation.
The new price point positions the new Magnus squarely among the high end frames from large brands. I feel that it outperforms them all thus we still remain true to our original pledge of offering the best performance at a more reasonable price. It is also highly unlikely that any major brand has a frame in current or future production (baring special versions for their pro teams) that can equal the Velocite Magnus in performance for one day events regardless of their asking price, or heritage.


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Sennheiser momentum 2.0
Sennheiser has a trusted name in the world of leading headphones. If you have been tired of the unbearably uncomfortable current generation headphones and looking for extraordinary sound quality then Sennheiser momentum 2.0 is the only answer. They are second-generation momentum headphones, as 2.0 denote, which just got updated in 2015. Meanwhile, Sennheiser has also released its high-end wireless version which supports easy portability.
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Sennheiser momentum 2.0 offers a complete fashion-conscious package with its top tier design providing more spacious, wider and softer cups to fix the issues with the previous version. The sheer depth of the pads helps distribute pressure evenly and reduces the friction which can result in sweaty earphones.
Moreover, the comfort level is enhanced by the feather-like a headband. The brushed metal hinges followed by brown leather covering the headband and the ear pads make up a classy contrast with the three amazing shades of sophisticated colors. This spectacular design followed by color changing Sennheiser icon on the ear cups gives it an overall a great look. Besides the glamorous look, they work excellent in rendering vocals like the top of the range headphones.
The vast refinements made in the current version include an increased level of sophistication and easiness with the bigger ear cups and softer ear pads. One of the most impressive features is the powerful bass like Apple's Beats which is quite deep without ruling over the sound. The new earphones are assisted with the ability to fold in the cups making them portable. These are one of the most stylish headphones in the race of leading headphones, however, less classy and style drove than the previous version as supported by over-ear size cups. Sennheiser momentum 2.0 is the second attempt of over-ear momentum headphones with no significant changes in the quality of sound as well as the look so that what makes it get the lead over the previous version is its soft and comfortable design.
Sennheiser momentum 2.0 is available in limited versions of color (black, brown and ivory) however multi shades are expected in future. They are enclosed in a luxurious and hard yet smooth jaw case where they are stored in a folded condition. These headphones are provided with a detachable, L-shaped data cable which protects it from getting yanked into the cups with the built-in microphone and 3- button remote which allows controlling phone calls, music and volume supporting both Android and Apple smartphones. For storing the headphones safely, there is also an additional pouch available in the box.
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Build Quality
As far as the longevity of the headphones is concerned, it provides a durable and long ending profile with the soft and smooth design. The pads and the headband are memory foam covered with leather all over which ensure the durability and strength of the headphones.
Sennheiser momentum could not gain much success as the cups were complained to be smaller to cover average sized ears and resulted in a major drawback. However, Sennheiser momentum 2.0 is specifically addressed for the people using the previous version which was unbearably uncomfortable, leading to sore ears. The ear cups have an increased diameter in order to fully surround an average sized pair of ears followed by ear pads that are softer memory foam that actually relieves pressure on the ears. The cups are assisted with the wonderful feature of slight rotation to perfectly fit around the ears. The comfort level is increased to that extent that you can easily carry them while jogging or doing exercise.
With these headphones from being one of the most reputed companies, Sennheiser, it becomes no longer surprising that the sound is audiophile worthy. From deep bass to full mids to lush highs it does a great job. The powerful bass gives a clean and refined sound. The highs offering pleasing detail with no harshness or piercing sound which makes vocals to be more detailed and revealing. Aside from the frequency, the soundstage for the headphones is especially wide for a closed-back pair and the separated layers allow pinpointing most sounds individually. The 18-ohm Neodym transducers help to produce clear, richly detailed and high-resolution sound.
Whether traveling in the bus or moving through the city with dense traffic, there is no need to contend with the noise as long as you have Sennheiser momentum 2.0 offering pleasant, warm and cozy design and optimal sound quality yet being expensive which proves to be a negative point but they are good at providing refined and enriched sound.


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Converting Raster to Vector for Superb Blueprints
Converting raster to vector is the very first action prior to the editor takes over the work. If he obtains the drawings in the original layout after that he initially needs to examine if they are in a condition to be transformed from raster to vector. Even messy patterns and dual sketches can be liable for a poor scan or also converting it from raster to vector.
The original drawing requires to be sent out to the editor to make a checklist where it needs enhancement. Most drawings and sketches are done in black ink or occasionally in blue ink on a white background. As soon as the wrinkles are also ironed out, a proper conversion from raster to vector is possible.
The ideal resolution is also crucial for the conversion. If the resolution is lower, the high quality of the scan is very bad. It will be blurred or smeared. The resolution is determined in dpi i.e dots per inch. A minimum of 300 dpi is perfect for converting raster to vector. Anything less is a patchy task. The resolution offers appropriate form to the sides of the illustration. The lines stand out. When the lines, https://pinkmirror.com and also the contours are distinct after that vectorization is easy. Generally much less than 300 dpi picture can not be utilized for transforming raster to vector. The information, intensity will also be missing. The drawing also may look distorted. As well as this isn't very easy for the check. Once re-scanning is done, and afterwards there are possibilities of the drawing obtaining a better resolution for converting from rector to raster to vector.
Important Tip for conversion:
Prior to scanning get in touch with a seasoned picture editor prior to the task implementation. It will certainly reduce the unneeded time consuming process of re-scans, if the requirement is immediate.


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Nadya Booyse
Midstream Estate, Midrand
Budokon Yoga, Hatha, Meditation, Vinyasa, Yin Yoga and Teacher Trainings
Website | Email | Facebook | Instagram
Studios: Lunula Yoga Studio, Mind Body Connect Yoga & Wellness Studio (Kramerville)
082 955 2282
"The wonderful thing about yoga is what you find out about yourself when you learn to pay attention. When you watch your mind as you practice, you learn to listen to the story that has become your life. When you observe your story, you give yourself an opportunity to take a step back and choose a different story. In doing so, you become the true author or your life."
Nadya started yoga simply because she was drawn to it. She continued doing yoga because it became an obvious enabler of her personal transformation. "Yoga has had an enormous influence on my life, not the least of which has been finding my calling as a teacher but I will also remain forever a student. It is part of my calling as a teacher to continue to grow both for myself as well as for my students benefit."
Nadya is fiercely dedicated to the well-being and growth of her students, always hoping that their yoga eventually follows them off their mat and into their lives, creating ripples of change as they move into the world.
'As a teacher, this is my work: to share this practice, this experience, with you which will bring you to yourself just like it brought me to myself. Not everyone needs to be a yoga teacher, but everyone should be strong enough within themselves to follow their bliss. Yoga is the practice that can get you there. It won't absolve you of life, responsibility, or magically fix what you deem broken though. It will bring you to yourself in the best way. There will be work to do and it will be hard, but it will be worth it!'
200 hour Yoga Teacher Training
Yoga4Kids Teacher Training
The Vivekanda Kendra, Bangalore India
50hour Budokon Yoga
Monday @ Lunula Yoga Studio 6.30PM Budokon Yoga
Tuesdays @ Lunula Yoga Studio 8.15AM Budokon Yoga
Thursdays @ MB Connect 8.30AM General Hatha
Sundays @ Lunula Yoga Studio 9AM Budokon Yoga
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Episode 16 of The Yoga South Africa Podcast


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After 36 years, a new race director will be at the helm of the Heart of the Rockies Triathlon this year.
Invermere residents Bruce Stroud and Sandra Boot started the local race in 1983 and have managed it ever since. Now, says Mr. Stroud, it is time to let someone else take over the mammoth event that sees more than 350 athletes come to Invermere every July to participate in the run/bike/swim event.
Triathlon enthusiast Tom Bamford is the new race director.
"Tom brings a whole new dynamic to the event as a new personality with great ideas, enthusiasm, and has a long history with the Invermere event," comments Mr. Stroud. "He's a veteran of over 100 triathlons. He's been a race director at other events. And of course, he has a feel for the Valley."
Mr. Bamford's history with the Heart of the Rockies is as old as the race itself. At 12 years old, he recalls standing on the sidelines near his family's cabin in the Valley, watching the first Heart of the Rockies triathlon unfold.
"It looked so cool to me. I decided I'd try to be a triathlete," he recalls.
He started training, and competed in his first Heart of the Rockies triathlon in 1989. He was hooked, completing more than 100 triathlons since then, including many years at Heart of the Rockies, as well as World Championships and the pinnacle of triathlon traditions: the Ironman. Mr. Bamford has traveled the world for triathlons, but says he has always loved the race that brings him back to where it all began.
When he heard the triathlon was seeking a new leader, Mr. Bamford knew he could not let the race that ignited his passion for triathlons die. The Calgary resident bought Heart of the Rockies from Mr. Stroud and Ms. Boot last February, and has been busy planning for the 2018 race since.
The Heart of the Rockies is branching into new territory this year, adding four new limbs to the expanding Heart of the Rockies tree: Gran Fondo Cycle (60 km loop or 100 km), aquabike (swim/bike), duathlon (run/bike/run) and 5km and 10 km runs. These races add to the roots of the Heart of the Rockies: the long-running individual triathlon, team triathlon, and junior team triathlon. There is also a Young Hearts triathlon, and an open water swim event.
"The trend now is a multi-sport festival," suggests Mr. Bamford. "We want this to go on for another 30 plus years. To do that, we need to offer more to more people … The effort is to not only bring new options for everyone, but a world-class race experience even though it's in the Valley, which is a very comfortable, laid-back setting."
So, what draws racers to the Heart of the Rockies each year?
"I truly think it's the setting, and the logistics of how it works. You're at the beach; the weather is always warm, even when it's raining. You have the mountains, and the curvy course is very scenic," lists Mr. Bamford. And, he adds, it is just plain fun: "This is recess for grownups. We have a life full of responsibilities. But we get to go out and play recess once in awhile. This is supposed to be a fun time for everyone."
Mr. Stroud agrees, affirming that the stunning location continues to draw racers to the Valley.
"We have this incredible lake, this incredible surrounding area," says Mr. Stroud. "It's the locale; the scenery; the volunteers."
Mr. Stroud assures they will stay on to help Mr. Bamford as long as they can.
"We are there to mentor, help, and serve. We will be helping for as long as we're here," says Mr. Stroud.
Mr. Bamford says that relationship has been vital to the transition in leadership, and is grateful for Mr. Stroud's and Ms. Boot's continued help and guidance.
If you would like to volunteer, contact firstname.lastname@example.com.
Visit www.heartoftherockiestri.ca for more information or to register.


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The School of Graduate Psychology (SGP) at Pacific University is seeking applicants for an extended term (long-term, but not tenure track) position at the Assistant or Associate Professor level as the Associate Director of the Pacific Psychology and Comprehensive Health Clinics (PCH) in Hillsboro, OR, beginning July 1, 2019.
The successful candidate must have a PhD or PsyD in clinical or counseling psychology and must be licensed or license eligible in the state of Oregon. Duties include collaborating with the PCH Clinic Director in overseeing all operations of SGP's Pacific Psychology and Comprehensive Health Clinics (Hillsboro & Portland) and assisting in managing our APA-Accredited Internship program. This position is primarily located in the Hillsboro clinic and includes supervising a team of student clinicians, supervising an interns, consulting on psychological assessment of children and adults, providing training and consultation to First-year Practicum students, supporting clinical supervisors, developing and supporting interprofessional collaboration opportunities, and serving on committees, based on interests . The Associate Director is responsible for outreach, building community partnerships and increasing utilization of clinics. The clinics operate year-round, making this a 12-month position. The ideal candidate will have experience in clinic administration as well as clinical supervision of therapy interventions and psychological assessment. We are looking for a candidate who will have innovative ideas about how to foster quality clinical training, community service, interprofessional collaboration, and clinical research. Candidates who are bilingual and bicultural are strongly encouraged to apply. SGP has a Latino/Bilingual emphasis program and serves Latinx individuals and families at the Hillsboro Clinic. Community outreach and interprofessional experience are highly desirable.
The search begins immediately and will continue until the position is filled. Applicants should submit a detailed letter of interest and competencies, curriculum vita, and names of three referees to Dr. Irina Gelman, Director of PCH and Chair of Search Committee, at firstname.lastname@example.com.
SGP is housed within the College of Health Professions of Pacific University and is located in downtown Hillsboro, adjacent to Tuality Community Hospital. The College of Health Professions is also home to schools of physical therapy, audiology, occupational therapy, physician assistant studies, dental health science, pharmacy, and health care administration. PCH values interprofessional collaboration and opportunities for this type of work are plentiful. Hillsboro is 15 miles west of Downtown Portland, and easily accessible by public transit. The Portland-metro area consistently ranks among the most livable regions in the U.S., and the surrounding area (e.g., Mt. Hood National Forest, Pacific Ocean, Willamette Valley) provides a diverse variety of recreational activities. As an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer, Pacific University encourages minorities, persons with disabilities, women, and veterans to apply.
Position: Associate Director of Pacific Psychology and Comprehensive Health Clinics. This is a full-time, extended term (permanent), 12-month faculty position.
Qualifications: Must have a PhD or PsyD in clinical or counseling psychology and must be licensed or license eligible in the state of Oregon
Primary Function: The Associate Director works collaboratively with the Director to oversee day to day operations of the Pacific Psychology and Comprehensive Health (PCH) clinics. The Associate Director facilitates interprofessional collaboration programming and oversees Outreach and Social Justice activities. This position also serves as Associate Director of an APA-Accredited Internship program that is housed within the clinic. The Associate Director must uphold ethical standards and support all PCH representatives in doing the same as well as comply with all legal and contract requirements of the PCH clinics.
Job Responsibilities:
Training and academic responsibilities:
- Provide clinical consultation to students as requested
- Crisis coverage for students, interns, and postdoc
- Schedule didactic trainings for the students, interns, and postdoc
- Teaching the Pre-practicum class alongside the Director during summer term
- Help plan and implement a comprehensive clinic orientation in August of each year
- Have an opportunity to serve as a Clinical Mentor within the PsyD program
Internship Training:
- Serve on Internship Committee
- Provide primary/secondary clinical supervision to the interns
- Assist Director in execution of didactic clinical trainings for the Internship program
- Lead Outreach and Interprofessional Internship Seminars on a monthly basis
- Participate in monthly Professional Development seminar
- Mentor interns in leading an annual Interprofessional Case Conference
- Participate in annual internship match process
- Participate in accreditation process as needed
Management of clinic:
- Assist Director as requested in reviewing and implementing clinic operating policies and procedures (PCH Handbook, Internship Handbook, Box, Moodle, forms, etc.)
- Monitor the use of and authorize access to HIPAA Box
- Manage EHR and stay up to date with updates regarding the use of EHR
- Meet regularly with the EHR Specialist to consider the trainings that need to be scheduled for students, interns, postdoc, and supervisors
- HIPAA compliance officer for all privacy questions and records releases
- Approve all new student led groups and marketing for those groups
- Outreach: approve student-led or staff-led outreach efforts, oversee website update, coordinate outreach presentations to the community, and engage in building and strengthening relationships with community partners
- Assist in clarifying clinic policies/procedures as questions arise in day-to-day operations
Clinical Supervision and Oversight:
- Serve as primary clinical supervisor for 4-6 clinicians
- Provide support and clinical direction for all clinicians between supervision sessions with their clinical supervisor
- Provide consultation and feedback to clinical supervisors
- Assume responsibility for being clinical backup for urgent situations, abuse reports, serious concerns, risk issues, or client crises
- Provide crisis coverage for clinicians and after-hours access
- Design the PCH clinics' training schedule
- Provide clinical back-up to supervisors' student clinicians when the supervisors are off site
Coordination with Supervisors and SGP:
- Lead Supervision of Supervision meetings in the Hillsboro Clinic
- Offer feedback to supervisors about student professional conduct
- Assist Director in documenting student performance concerns not reflected on supervisor evaluation
- Approval for all student research using clinic data or clients, some assistance with communication between researchers and clinic staff/students
- Ensure supervisors and all clinicians are following PCH clinics' policies and procedures
University/Community Service:
- Coordinate community outreach requests, recruit students, and supply materials
- Engage with other members of the community and agencies in the area in order to provide outreach services
- Serve on the Internship Committee
- Engage in additional service based on interest and availability
- Other duties as assigned


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sharing in governance of extractive industries
A weekly digest of activity on GOXI
The potential for the fiscal regime to be used as a tool for environmental protection in the mining sector is under-explored, writes Steve Macey, as he seeks to mainstream it. Imagine a regime that "would tax pollutants, water and energy used in the mining project, while reducing taxes on non-polluting inputs such as labour." Read more about greening the fiscal regime for mining.
Also under-explored, according to James McQuilken, is the application of market systems development to mining, specifically artisanal and small-scale mining. This is exactly what the Sustainable Development of Mining in Rwanda program aims to do.
Mukasiri Sibanda too knits together the fabric for sustainable development from mineral revenue for Zimbabwe.
In an experiment of "governance without enforcement," the International Panel on Arctic Environmental Responsibility (IPAER) seeks members to help promote better environmental performance in Arctic resource extraction industries.
In similar fashion, UNDP and the Canadian International Resources and Development Institute (CIRDI), have validated their regional study on Participatory Environmental Monitoring Committees (PEMCs), with cases from Argentina, Bolivia, Panama, and Peru.
Is it the water? A three-year study to assess how to quantify water-related risks of mining portfolios presents its results.
GIZ wants your input for the encyclopedia on gender and mining. (Also en Español and en francais)
And on the occasion of the EITI regional conference on beneficial ownership in Dakar, Senegal, Transparency International releases a new guide for governments on how to use beneficial ownership data to combat corruption in licens....
These and more jobs, blogs, photos, videos, and discussions on GOXI.
Emma Wilson is an independent researcher and consultant on energy, extractive industries and sustainability. She has worked as an industry consultant, as a researcher and for NGOs, in Russia, Nigeriia*, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Greenland and other regions. Her last post was as principal researcher at the International Institute for Environment and Development for over 8 years. She left and started up as an independent in May 2015.
(Information on featured members and organizations is based on content shared by members or publicly available information, sometimes edited for language and brevity, and should not be considered an endorsement by GOXI of any member's skills or experience.)
* We are forced to misspell so the email doesn't go to spam
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Child Led Service, May 14th
God has blessed Advent with so many great kids!
We want to encourage them to love Christ and his church and to love serving others. One of the ways we do that is by inviting them to lead us in liturgical worship. Enjoy this special Sunday and encourage our kids with your presence on May 14th!
If your kids haven't signed up to serve e-mail Jennie this week email@example.com


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Songstress Ammara Brown has challenged the corporate world to support the local arts industry saying talent alone is not enough as they need financial backing to develop it.
"South Africa invests heavily in their arts industry and it becomes lucrative. Zimbabwe isn't short of talent and we're literally bursting off the seams with talent," said Ammara.
The artiste, who was in Bulawayo over the weekend with rapper Tehn Diamond for his Tehn Outta Ten Tour at Club Connect however, acknowledged that they had a long way to go as artistes in enticing the corporate world to support them.
"The entertainment industry is a business and some of us should start treating it that way. Once we do so, the corporate world will start paying attention and start investing in us," she said.
". . . because, if Zimbabwean corporates don't pay attention, corporates from other countries are going to take us as they're watching."
The Wachu Want hit-maker who last year collaborated with South African artistes such as Sizwe Ngubane and Zinhle Ngidi said staying relevant and taking her music as a business was the key to her success.
"I don't believe in staying the same. I've grown because when I listen to my music from three years ago and compare it to now, it's sounding different. People never know what to expect from me as they are always exposed to a new and improved Ammara."
Turning to her performances, Ammara who refers to her fans as Ammaritians, equated the love she has for them to the love she has for her son.
"I think there's a point in every artiste's career when you realise that it's not about you. Even though it's your dream and goal (to be an artiste), you realise you're responsible for so many people's memories as you become a part of the fabric of your fans' lives," she said.
Ammara said she enjoys watching fans showing appreciation for her music when she is on stage as well as having people approach her to reminisce about her previous shows.
"I feel a lot of things when I'm on stage. I feel overwhelmed, grateful and inspired. I love seeing my fans with me (on stage). They're just the other half of my world to me, my son (Khameel) being the other half," she said


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School boy killed during school hours
Keywords: Fatal accident solicitors, fatal accident claims, Fatal school accident
A Mother and Father sued a £30,000 per year school after they failed their duty of care to their son.
The two claim that their son and his classmates should have been supervised by an adult as they crossed a busy road to get to the school's rugby pitches.
Their son was sadly knocked down by a car on the busy road and before even identifying the boy's body or informing the parents, the school almost immediately posted the news on their school website.
The parent's solicitors said they had received a letter from the school admitting liability.
For further information please see the following link:
For more information and advice on for general free advice on fatal accident claims click on the links which will take you to our specialist solicitors web site.
Posted: February 1, 2014 at 12:30 pm