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Colour Bland: ValueSeptember 29, 2003
This is the first in a series. View next.
Today was a sick day thanks to some bad chicken wings last night, so sticking with the theme, let's bring up the subject of colour. Yes, I said colour with a 'U': that's the Canadian (and [I'm told] British) spelling of the word (those followers).
Sparked by a conversation with the ever-understated and humble Joe Clark (in the flesh, no less, due to the recent ATypI conference taking place not 15 blocks from my doorstep), and continued by a thread over at Jon Hicks' place, what has been coming up frequently is talk about colour-blindness. Specifically that working with colour requires you consider the percentage of the population who have troubles viewing said colour.
Firstly though, run, do not walk, over to Pixy's Colour Scheme Picker application. Bookmark it, use it, and love it in every which way possible. This is the same Pixy that brought us the wildly ingenious CSS image hovers with preload… The Czech web design scene is flourishing, so say my site's referrers, and I can't wait to see what else Pixy brings to light for us Anglophones. (thanks to Nick for bringing this to my attention on the Digital Web What's New board)
Now that you're armed, here's what you need to know. Colour deficiencies are varied and specific to the viewer, so although Pixy and others have come up with mechanical ways to simulate the deficiencies, these can only be used as an approximation and not a final word. Additionally, converting a design to monochrome isn't an indicator of what someone without colour abilities will view.
But there are certain truths in working with colour that can be exploited for your benefit. These are what we're interested in.
For maximum legibility, black text on a white background is the holy grail of on-screen design. This is not to say that every single instance of every single design entails using solely black on white. In fact, to some people (especially those on LCD monitors, which have amazingly high contrast ratios to begin with) this can prove too much contrast. But the basic principle is a starting point: dark text on light background is more legible than light text on dark background, and contrast between the text and what it sits on determines how easy it is to read.
Now consider colour. If you use coloured text on a white background, you are moving away from the ideal. This in itself isn't a problem, but ignoring deficiencies for a second, a wide range of tonal value exists within the visible spectrum. Value is a hard concept to grasp for non-designers, so first the technical description, followed by an illustration. Art Fundamentals: Theory and Practice (publisher McGraw-Hill, 1998) defines it this way:
The property of color known as value distinguishes between the lightness and darkness of colors, or the quantity of light a color reflects.
Simply put, some colours appear darker than others. Purple is a dark colour, red is middle of the road, and yellow is light. Figures 1.1 and 1.3 attempt to demonstrate the difference in value between the colours shown:
Using this knowledge, it's not a stretch to see how using yellow text on a white background is ridiculously low in contrast, but using purple text on white could work.
What about the person who has trouble with purple though? There are many schools of thinking on this, and no definitive answers right now. Many who have trouble viewing purple and blue see the two colours as the same; the value of the colour may persist, despite confusion over the precise hue.
But we can see that converting our work to greyscale isn't an accurate test. Consider Figure 1.2 — the same colours shown in Figure 1.1 have been mechanically converted to monochrome, and come out an identical shade of grey. Photoshop sees the colours as being equal in value, but our eyes do not. Photoshop is value-blind, so we can't accurately test work this way.
Note: Douglas Bowman has pointed out that other methods of converting to greyscale produce more accurate greyscale values. I'm aware of at least three different conversion methods, all of them producing different results. Keep in mind that none of these are meant to be simulations of colour-blindness either, they're merely software algorithms to represent values. Nothing about an algorithm can simulate the human eye, they can only ever be approximations.
Continued with Colour Bland: Contrast.
More Reading:
Reader Comments
Raising the issue of colour-blindness is great. There are two URL's that I use from time to time to help determine colour contrast issues: HP's Color Tool http://h10014.www1.hp.com/accessibility/color_tool.html which is based on a formula from the W3C and you can also use Vischeck's different options http://vischeck.com/showme.shtml to test for colour blindness.
Jonathan, you added the comment before I revised the post, so I'll address the specific tools. I've used both, and find them to be interesting guides. They have the potential to highlight problems, but as I assert in my revision, software can't duplicate the complexity of the human eye.
Note that I AM repeating learned knowledge here, and nothing I've studied in excruciating detail. But just as taste in colour palettes is unique to the viewer, so too is colour deficiency. Nobody relies on software to coordinate their furniture, so it stands to reason that the tools can only generalize, and will inevitably not cover everyone.
I am partially (probably mostly) red-green color blind -although I can see _some_ reds and _some_ greens. When I get a chance, I talk to people at work designing web pages and application screens about how to help make pages readable based mainly on my personal experience.
I find these to be useful for someone like me -
1) Do not pair the difficult color pairs - red & green, or yellow & blue - to encode differences. Instead, use a color from the most common deficit - red/green - with one from one of the other most common deficits - e.g., blue/yellow. That way, at least one should be detectable by a large fraction of users.
2) Use differences in gray scale in parallel with colors to encode differences. I think up to four different gray shades are usually detectable. Treat the gray scale densities as if the colors were going to be copied on a monochrome copier - you would certainly want to make use of gray scale differences then.
3) I can often detect colors when they are bright or have a relatively large area - a thin line may be impossible to discriminate, a wide one may work acceptably.
4) Mix in colors from one pair with those of another. For example, mix yellow in with a green and blue in with a red. I realize that this advice may somewhat mess up some color schemes, but it can really help people like me. Mixed-in colors seems to be the main reason I can tell red traffic lights from green ones - they are bright and apparently do not use pure reds and greens.
5) Instead of relying on different line colors, try to use line widths to encode differences (they can still be colored). Three widths seem to me to work well and still allow a reasonable quality of design. You can combine them with different gray scale values - say two values. So between well-chosen colors, line widths, and gray scale values, you can help most people discriminate a good range of encodings.
If you follow these suggestions, I think that most people will be able to use your encodings well enough. Obviously there is no perfect solution, but the mixtures I suggest along with the difference values of gray scale provide multiple encodings, which is very helpful.
Tom (and anyone else with red-green deficiencies), if you have a moment, I'd really be curious to hear how close the results are to reality when running a sample image like this:
through the Vischeck simulator:
Right now I can't get the latter loaded, so hopefully you'll have better luck.
Sorry, Dave, your jpg gives me a 404 right now. Why don't you email me and we can discuss things until we have something to tell your readers?
Hmm. Something seems to have gone wrong with my MT character filters. I'll send an e-mail, thanks Tom.
as an aside: pure black on white can also cause problems for people with dyslexia due to its high contrast. the white space can cause the visual phenomenon of "rivers" of white appearing on text passages, making it very difficult to read. so the contrast shouldn't be too high either…
(showing off knowledge in a pointless aside)
Colour is also the British spelling, but interestingly, I was once told that we brits used the (now) US spelling up until the 17th century.
I agree some dyslexics will have issues with light sensitivity and brilliant white backgrounds with black text; though being dyslexic myself one doesn't have an issue regarding text legibility under those circumstances.
Thus black text on a white background being suitable for all webcitzens as was previously stipulated is not always an ideal goal. Hence why many sites aided at dyslexics use a pale yellow or cream background.
Like Tom, I too am colour deficient (so Dave, feel free to email the software test to me as well). I have strong protanomalia which means I do not see red as well as most people.
Approximately speaking, this means that to me, browns look green, purples look blue, pinks look grey and reds look black. It's not as simple as that because I do have *some* red vision (Ferraris, for example, are red, plain and simple).
Jeff Veen's blog (http://veen.com/jeff/) unwittingly provides an perfect example of why catering for colour deficient folks is a real problem. Jeff colours his links dark red and turns off the underlining, which for me makes the links absolutely indistinguishable from the rest of text!
A few years ago I wrote a little article on this subject. It shows a few more examples of problematic colour combinations: http://jalfrezi.com/features/Articles/colourblind.htm
One of the easiest ways to test for problems is turn down the colour on your monitor - it seems to have a different effect to grey-scaling an image comp.
P.S. language: en-gb
Here is a site that I wrote about back in march, and it does exactly what you want. It can convert pages into specific color blind schemes so you view them. I thought it was awesome then, and I use it still.
Figured I'd add this site to the growing list of sites here.
I have used this site to test colour combinations when designing:
G in Denver
It was only until I took a course with IWA-HWG that I realised how awful a website could look to someone with colorblindness, and neither did I know that there were different types. I assumed that people with colorblindness only had a problem with blue's I had no idea some could have problems with red's and green's.
Sigh. The number of times my CSS has failed, leaving me trawling through a mass of classes and attributes, only to discover I'd written "colour" and not "color". Again, sigh.
You have three choices with a colour scheme: 1) do what you like regardless of how any others perceive the colour scheme 2) amend your colour scheme to include as many other users as possible - realising that by picking any colour scheme you may indeed be excluding somebody 3) give people alternative skins that they can apply according to their preferences/needs (can be a difficult one to get past the corporate brand police). There isn't a simple answer, and 2) and 3) involve quite a bit of work. I like to apply the 80/20 rule loosely - this means aim for the big visual deficiencies first & then try and pick off the more obscure ones - where possible or desirable - later on. Maybe your main colour scheme should be inclusive along this 80/20 rule and then try to skin in for the other more "obscure" problems.


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Caesars Entertainment Inc, the latest U.S. casino operator to fall under federal scrutiny, is pulling out of a $1 billion joint venture in Boston after background checks by a local gaming regulator.
Caesars, which denies any wrongdoing, said in a regulatory filing on Monday that it would withdraw its application to participate in a casino venture with the operator of the Boston's Suffolk Downs racetrack.
Continue Reading Below
The company's shares fell as much as 9 percent.
Caesars also said one of its subsidiaries was subject to a federal grand jury investigation, part of a nationwide crackdown on money laundering in the gaming industry. ()
The company - whose chief executive has described Boston as the future "second city" of North American gambling - said investigators from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission had raised concerns about its suitability for a state gaming license.
In a report received by Caesars on Oct. 18, the investigators cited the company's relationship with a partner in a separate hotel project - since terminated - as a matter for consideration when assessing its license application.
In a separate statement, Caesars said it had ended its relationship with Gansevoort Hotel Group, a company with which it had been redeveloping a property on the Las Vegas Strip.
Gansevoort Hotel Group did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Caesars, which operates the Caesars Palace and Flamingo casinos on the Las Vegas Strip, is saddled with more than $20 billion in debt incurred when it was acquired in 2008 by private equity firms Apollo Global Management and TPG Capital.
The two firms, along with billionaire John Paulson, together own about 80 percent of Caesars.
Caesars' exit from the Suffolk Downs project is a major blow to the company. Only last month, CEO Gary Loveman said the proposed casino in Boston would draw elite international gamblers, making the city "one of the best" U.S. opportunities.
The company said in the filing that it "strongly disagrees" with the commission's findings and that neither it nor its affiliates had been found unsuitable by any licensing authority.
Ian Weissman, managing director of brokerage ISI Group, said Caesars had quit the Boston project before the Massachusetts Gaming Commission could rule on its suitability as a potential license holder.
This would preserve "a technically spotless track record, which may reduce the odds of future projects being rejected in other jurisdictions around the world," Weissman wrote in a research note.
South Korea rejected preliminary casino licenses in June for two international bidders, including a consortium of Caesars and Lippo Ltd.
Casinos have only been permitted in Massachusetts since 2011. Seven projects, backed by big casino operators including Wynn Resorts Ltd and MGM Resorts International, are pursuing three licenses in the state.
Nationwide, casino operators are facing increased scrutiny.
As part of a crackdown on non-bank financial institutions, the Treasury and Justice departments have begun to probe the degree to which casinos are complying with their anti-money laundering obligations.
In August, Las Vegas Sands Corp agreed to return $47.4 million to the U.S. Treasury to end a probe into the casino's failure to alert authorities to suspicious deposits by a high-rolling gambler.
Caesars subsidiary Desert Palace, which operates Caesars Palace, is the latest to fall under the spotlight.
Caesars said in Monday's filing that it had received a letter from the financial crimes unit of the Department of the Treasury about "alleged violations of the Bank Secrecy Act". A federal grand jury was also investigating the matter, it said.
The Bank Secrecy Act requires casinos with annual revenue of at least $1 million to file suspicious activity reports, which are used by government agencies.
A U.S. Treasury spokesman said he could not comment on any potential investigation.
Caesars said it was unable to determine the outcome of the federal investigations.
The company's shares closed down 5 percent at $17.81 on the Nasdaq.

subset: commoncrawl


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Food for Life Launches Gluten-Free Black Rice Tortillas
Food for Life introduces its Gluten-Free Black Rice Tortillas. The Black Rice Tortillas are a 100% vegan and gluten-free and are free of conditioners, additives, artificial flavors, colors and preservatives. Each tortilla contains 4g of protein, 2g of fiber and 0g sugar.
Black rice, which is loaded with natural fiber, is an antioxidant. The rice's dark purple color is primarily due to its anthocyanin content.
Food for Life's Black Rice Tortillas come six to a package and are available in the cooler aisle at natural food stores and better supermarkets across the U.S. For more information or for a list of where to buy, visit http://www.foodforlife.com


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BroadbandCensus.com: Setting the Table for the National Broadband Plan
WASHINGTON, October 30, 2009 – Over the summer, BroadbandCensus.com split our operations between the news and events that we host, and the Creative Commons database with the local broadband SPARC: the Speeds, Prices, Availability, Reliability and Competition in the local broadband marketplace. As we've now entered the fourth year of this saga in which BroadbandCensus.com has been leading the charge for public and transparent broadband data, much has changed about the opportunity that we face, and our country faces, in bringing better broadband data to consumers, and to policy-makers. In previous versions of this series of blog posts taking stock, I've highlighted our efforts to start the ball rolling on crowdsourcing broadband data, and on uniting scholars and state officials through the "Broadband Census for America" conference that we hosted on the eve of the passage of the Broadband Data Improvement Act. Today, I'd like to speak about some of the major changes that 2009 has brought to BroadbandCensus.com – particularly as both our news and our data side have helped to set the table for the national broadband plan currently under development. In the final series of these blog posts, next week, I plan to unveil some of the major changes in store as we relaunch BroadbandCensus.com. Keep Reading


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Explore the historic highlights of Íscar
The Château Comtal (Count's Castle) is a medieval castle within the Cité of Carcassonne, the largest city in Europe with its city walls still intact. The Château Comtal has a strong claim to be called a 'Cathar Castle'. When the Catholic Crusader army arrived in 1209 they first attacked Raymond-Roger Trencavel's castrum at Bèziers and then moved on to his main stronghold at Carcassonne.
The castle with rectangular shape is separated from the city by a deep ditch and defended by two barbicans. There are six towers curtain walls.
The castle was restored in 1853 by the architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. It was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1997.


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Difference between revisions of "EclipseLink/Examples/OSGi/Equinox Byte Code Weaving"
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== Required Bundles ==
== Required Bundles ==
* Download [http://download.eclipse.org/equinox Equinox 3.5] to obtain the following bundles and place them in HOME\plugins.
* Download [http://download.eclipse.org/equinox Equinox 3.5] to obtain the following bundles and place them in HOME\plugins.
** org.eclipse.equinox.common
** org.eclipse.equinox.common
** org.eclipse.osgi
** org.eclipse.osgi
* From an Eclipse 3.5 install's plugins folder copy the following bundle to HOME\plugins:
* From an Eclipse 3.5 install's plugins folder copy the following bundle to HOME\plugins:
** org.eclipse.update.configurator
** org.eclipse.update.configurator
* [http://www.eclipse.org/eclipselink/downloads/index.php| Download EclipseLink 1.1.2] (or above) and place the bundles into HOME\plugins
* [http://www.eclipse.org/eclipselink/downloads/index.php| Download EclipseLink 1.1.2] (or above) and place the bundles into HOME\plugins
* Place your JDBC driver bundle in HOME\plugins.
* Place your JDBC driver bundle in HOME\plugins.
Revision as of 14:35, 27 May 2009
- 1 Overview
- 2 Setup
In EclipseLink 1.1.2 (Galileo) and above, EclipseLink JPA byte code weaving is supported in Equinox OSGi. Configuration is straight forward and the requirements on your JPA persistence unit bundle are minimal.
Byte code weaving support is implemented through two fragments: org.eclipse.persistence.jpa.equinox.weaving and org.eclipse.persistence.jpa.equinox. o.e.p.j.equinox.weaving is a fragment for the system bundle org.eclipse.osgi. Extending the system bundle is a special case in OSGi and such a fragment is called a framework extension. This extension make use of the Equinox AdaptorHook framework to hook into the byte code loading process and perform weaving when necessary. Configuring a framework extension is done using the standard OSGi osgi.framework.extensions property. This property needs to be declared either in your config.ini or on the commandline as:
o.e.p.j.equinox is a fragment for the org.eclipse.persistence.jpa bundle that registers byte code weavers for persistence units that require it. All that is necessary to enable this is to deploy it with your other bundles.
First create a root folder for the example, we'll refer to it as HOME.
NOTE: This example does not address how to develop an EclipseLink OSGi application in Eclipse PDE. It covers how to configure a runtime environment that supports byte code weaving for EclipseLink JPA. See Developing EclipseLink OSGi in PDE to learn how to develop EclipseLink OSGi applications in Eclipse
Required Bundles
- Download Equinox 3.5 to obtain the following bundles or copy them from an Eclipse 3.5 IDE install's plugins folder and place them in HOME\plugins.
- org.eclipse.equinox.common
- org.eclipse.osgi
- From an Eclipse 3.5 IDE install's plugins folder copy the following bundle to HOME\plugins:
- org.eclipse.update.configurator
- From the Equinox download page, download the launcher appropriate for your operating system. The launcher comes in two parts: a bundle and a native platform library. Copy both the launcher jar and native library folder to HOME\plugins.
- Download EclipseLink 1.1.2 (or above) and place the bundles into HOME\plugins
- Place your JDBC driver bundle in HOME\plugins.
- For example, you can download the Apache Derby database bundle org.apache.derby from the Eclipse Orbit download page. The Orbit bundle does not contain the client driver so you would be limited to an embedded database. Note that when using an embedded database only one process can have the database open at a time. Here's an example of the EclipseLink login and config settings for an embedded Derby database:
<property name="eclipselink.target-database" value="Derby"/> <property name="eclipselink.jdbc.driver" value="org.apache.derby.jdbc.EmbeddedDriver"/> <property name="eclipselink.jdbc.url" value="jdbc:derby:comics;create=true"/> <!-- Setting read and write pool mins to 1 will reduce the initial number of connections. --> <property name="eclipselink.jdbc.read-connections.min" value="1"/> <property name="eclipselink.jdbc.write-connections.min" value="1"/>
Enabling Byte Code Weaving in your Application
The following requirements must be met to enable byte code weaving on your Entities:
- Provide class loader to Persistence.createEntityManagerFactory
- The org.eclipse.persistence.jpa bundle must be required by your bundle
- Explicitly indicate you want byte code weaving in your persistence.xml
Passing Class Loader
Access to the classloader that loads your Entities is required by EclipseLink. In your application you need to pass this classloader as a property to Persistence.createEntityManagerFactory(). Failure to provide the classloader will result in a failure.
import org.eclipse.persistence.config.PersistenceUnitProperties; ... Map<String,Object> properties = new HashMap<String, Object>(); properties.put(PersistenceUnitProperties.CLASSLOADER, this.getClass().getClassLoader()); emf = Persistence.createEntityManagerFactory("comics", properties);
Require org.eclipse.persistence.jpa
In the manifest.mf of your application bundle, you need to require the org.eclipse.persistence.jpa bundle. Note that the minimum version that supports byte code weaving in OSGi is 1.1.2 (Galileo).
... Require-Bundle: org.eclipse.persistence.jpa;bundle-version="1.1.2" ...
Enable Weaving in persistence.xml
Typically, byte code weaving is automatically enabled by EclipseLink based on what environment it's running in. For example, in a Java EE5 container byte code weaving is always enabled. In Equinox, byte code weaving is not automatically enabled. If you have configured your Equinox runtime target correctly, you can go ahead and indicate that you want byte code weaving to be performed.
<property name="eclipselink.weaving" value="true"/>
Equinox Configuration
When running Equinox with a launcher you define your configuration in a config.ini file which must be placed in HOME\configuration. Here are the features of note in an example config.ini below:
- osgi.bundles.defaultStartLevel is set to 6 so that all the bundles that should be started will be started in an unambiguous order.
- osgi.framework.extensions identifies the framework extension org.eclipse.persistence.jpa.equinox.weaving. This is critical for byte code weaving.
- org.eclipse.equinox.common and org.eclipse.update.configurator are started as per the instructions in the Equinox Quickstart.
- javax.persistence is started before org.eclipse.persistence.jpa so that it can start up a service tracker to listen for JPA provider services.
- org.eclipse.persistence.jpa is started before user bundles so that it may register itself as a JPA persistence provider.
- my.example.jpa.bundle (or whatever you call your JPA bundle) is auto-started.
- The JDBC driver bundle (e.g., org.apache.derby) is deployed but started. Check the documentation of your driver to see if it must be started
osgi.bundles.defaultStartLevel=6 eclipse.ignoreApp=true osgi.noShutdown=true osgi.framework.extensions=org.eclipse.persistence.jpa.equinox.weaving osgi.bundles= \ org.eclipse.equinox.common@2:start, \ org.eclipse.update.configurator@3:start, \ javax.persistence@4:start, \ org.eclipse.persistence.jpa@5:start, \ org.eclipse.persistence.antlr, \ org.eclipse.persistence.asm, \ org.eclipse.persistence.core, \ org.eclipse.persistence.jpa.equinox, \ my.example.jpa.bundle@start, \ org.apache.derby
Running Equinox
With the required bundles in the HOME\plugins folder and config.ini in the HOME\configuration folder you're ready to start your application. On Windows, you can start Equinox by using running the native "launcher.exe" program from the HOME folder. During development it's recommended you run with the "-clean" option to clear caches between runs. The "-console" option can be used to interact with Equinox. This is especially useful when things aren't working as expected.
> launcher -clean -console
If launched with -console, you can examine the state of your bundles using the ss command. You should see something like:
osgi> ss Framework is launched. id State Bundle 0 ACTIVE org.eclipse.osgi_3.5.0.v20090513 Fragments=1 1 RESOLVED org.eclipse.persistence.jpa.equinox.weaving_1.1.2.v20090519-r4244 Master=0 2 ACTIVE org.eclipse.equinox.common_3.5.0.v20090513 3 ACTIVE javax.persistence_1.99.0 4 ACTIVE org.eclipse.persistence.jpa_1.1.2.v20090519-r4244 Fragments=8 5 RESOLVED org.eclipse.persistence.antlr_1.1.2.v20090519-r4244 6 RESOLVED org.eclipse.persistence.asm_1.1.2.v20090519-r4244 7 RESOLVED org.eclipse.persistence.core_1.1.2.v20090519-r4244 8 RESOLVED org.eclipse.persistence.jpa.equinox_1.1.2.v20090519-r4244 Master=4 9 ACTIVE org.eclipse.persistence.example.equinox.weaving_1.0.0 10 RESOLVED org.apache.derby_10.1.2.1_v200803061811 osgi>
You can see that that the fragment org.eclipse.persistence.jpa.equinox.weaving (1) has been successfully attached to the org.eclipse.osg (1) bundle. You can also see that the fragment org.eclipse.persistence.jpa.equinox (8) has been attached to it's master org.eclipse.persistence.jpa (4).
Confirming Byte Code Weaving is Working
You can test to see if byte code weaving was successful by checking to see if your entities implement the EclipseLink PersistenceWeaved interface.
import org.eclipse.persistence.internal.helper.Helper; import org.eclipse.persistence.internal.weaving.PersistenceWeaved; ... if (Helper.classImplementsInterface(MyEntity.class, PersistenceWeaved.class)) { // MyEntityEntity successfully woven! ...


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Australia Platinum Coins
Platinum coins from the Perth Mint are legal tender, offering assurances about weight and purity.Australian Platinum Coins - Australian Platinum Koalas and Platypi are official, legal tender in Australia. As the first prominent country in the modern world to announce the production of one-ounce Platinum coin issues, Australia approved the minting of Platinum coins on June 18, 1987. Upon the Australian government's approval, the Perth Mint began minting the Platinum Koala coin in September 1988.
Bullion Platinum Australian CoinsSince its introduction, the Australian Platinum bullion coin has played a significant role in world investment coin markets. The Platinum coins are .9995 fine and are available in 1 oz, 1/2 oz, 1/4 oz, 1/10 oz, 2 oz, 10 oz and 1 kg sizes. These coins sell at prices based on the value of their Platinum content, rather than their face values.
Australian Platinum Coin SalesWith historically low issue numbers, Australian Platinum Platypi and Koalas are great choices for coin collections and investment portfolios. APMEX makes it easy to buy Platinum by offering competitive Platinum prices per ounce on all Platinum products.
To view available Australian Platinum Coins, click on the image representing the Platinum coins of your interest:
Precious Metal Spot Prices
Last Updated: 4/18/2019 4:17:15 PM ET
All Prices In USD
Australia Platinum Coins
Invest in Australian Platinum coins to help balance your portfolio.Platinum coins, with a Platinum price per ounce that often holds its value as currencies and stocks falter, are a popular choice for investing in Precious Metals. Australian Platinum coins were the first Platinum coins produced for the international market and remain one of the most widely traded investment coins. With the beauty of commemorative coins, Australian Platinum coins are legal tender. But 1 oz Platinum coins are valued based on the Platinum price per ounce, far more than the face value, making these Precious Metal coins compact ways to achieve significant physical holdings.
Rare Platinum CoinsPlatinum coins are made from one of the rarest Precious Metals, valued both because of Platinum's rarity and its uses in industry. Australian Platinum coins are an easy and convenient way to buy and hold this Precious Metal. While commemorative coins have numismatic or collector value, Platinum bullion, available at APMEX, though, has a lower premium price, making it a great choice for diversifying your investment portfolio. From 1 oz Platinum coins to 1 kg Platinum coins, there are Platinum coins that fit a variety of investment budgets.
Platinum Coin PricesThe price of Platinum coins can fluctuate because Platinum is a hot commodity, with its uses in the making of cars and electronic equipment. The worth of Australian Platinum coins can vary dramatically, and the smart investor in Platinum keeps a close eye on the Platinum price over the long haul, as well as market pressures. When buying commemorative coins available at APMEX, you will find helpful tools, including an interactive Precious Metals portfolio tool, custom Platinum price alerts and personalized product information. So you can buy 1 oz Platinum coins at the right time and then sell when it is right for your investment strategy.
Invest in PlatinumWhen investing in Platinum coins, you will want to make sure you are getting high-quality Platinum for your money. Australian Platinum coins are legal tender backed by the mint, which guarantees the weight and 99.95 percent firmness of these coins. When buying 1 oz Platinum coins available at APMEX, you will discover that we carefully screen all of our manufacturers so you receive what you order. Commemorative coins from the Perth Mint are some of the most sought after Platinum coins in the world.
We provide all of our customers with a refund, return and / or exchange on everything we sell including all bullion and certified coins. If for any reason, you have a problem, please feel free to call us. We will always do our best to accommodate you.


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White House Unveils CIO Council 2.0
New structure for chief information officers should be more agile and efficient, officials say.
The White House released a plan on Friday to significantly streamline its top council of information technologists.
The plan will slim down the 17-year-old Federal Chief Information Officers Council from six major committees and 29 subcommittees to just three committees focused on portfolio management, information security and identity management, and innovation. Those committees will report to a 14-member executive committee.
The new council will also include three communities of practice focused on accessibility, privacy and the federal IT workforce, with room for new working groups as necessary, according to a reorganization plan.
Some tasks previously managed by the council, such as establishing best practices and outreach, will be performed by council staff and contractors, the plan said.
"Under the new structure, the CIO Council will become more agile in its approach to supporting key administration priorities and will continue to develop valuable tools, resources, and data for federal CIOs and their staffs," the council said in a blog post.
The new executive committee will be led by U.S. CIO Steven VanRoekel. Several executive committee members will represent key priorities. The innovation track, for instance, will be represented by General Services Administration CIO Casey Coleman and Homeland Security Department Deputy CIO Margie Graves. Security priorities will be represented by Defense Department Deputy CIO Robert Carey and Justice Department CIO Luke McCormack.
The executive committee will be tasked with reviewing all council projects to ensure they align with government priorities, establishing criteria for projects and approving funding, the plan said.
The CIO Council was established by executive order following passage of the Clinger-Cohen Act, the major 1996 overhaul of how the government buys and manages IT. It was written into law by the 2002 E-Government Act.
Congress is currently working on a new IT buying overhaul known as the Federal IT Acquisition Reform Act. The bill was included as an amendment to the House version of the National Defense Authorization Act and is awaiting discussion in the Senate.
White House officials have expressed reservations about the congressional overhaul.


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|Jepson Flora Project: Jepson Interchange
previous taxon |
next taxon
Jepson Interchange (more information)
©Copyright 1993 by the Regents of the University of California
Annual to shrubs, generally glandular, some green root-parasites
Stem generally round
Leaves generally alternate, simple, generally ± entire; stipules generally 0
Inflorescence: spike to panicle, generally bracted, or flowers 12 in axils
Flower bisexual; calyx lobes generally 5; corolla generally strongly bilateral, generally 2-lipped (upper lip generally 2-lobed, lower lip generally 3-lobed); stamens generally 4 in 2 pairs, generally included, a 5th (generally uppermost) sometimes present as a staminode; pistil 1, ovary superior, chambers generally 2, placentas axile, style 1, stigma lobes generally 2
Fruit: capsule, generally ± ovoid, loculicidal or septicidal
Seed: coat sculpture often characteristic
Genera in family: ± 200 genera, 3000 species: ± worldwide; some cultivated as ornamental (e.g., Antirrhinum, Mimulus, Penstemon ) or medicinal (Digitalis )
Recent taxonomic note: Recently treated to include only Buddleja, Scrophularia, and Verbascum in CA; other genera moved to Orobanchaceae (Castilleja, Cordylanthus, Orthocarpus, Pedicularis, Triphysaria), Phrymaceae (Mimulus), and Plantaginaceae (= Veronicaceae sensu Olmstead et al.)
Key to genera by Elizabeth Chase Neese & Margriet Wetherwax.
Perennial to shrub
Leaves generally opposite, entire to toothed; upper sessile
Inflorescence: panicle or raceme; bracts generally small
Flower: calyx lobes 5, ± equal; corolla tube ± cylindric or lower side expanded, ± 2-lipped, generally pink or blue to purple (some red, yellow, or white), upper lip 2-lobed, external in bud; anther sacs 2, generally spreading ± flat at dehiscence; staminode attached near base of corolla tube, well developed, generally hairy on upper side; nectaries 2, at bases of upper stamens; stigma head-like
Fruit: capsule, septicidal and sometimes also loculicidal at tip
Seeds generally many, irregularly angled
Species in genus: 250 species: North America., especially w US
Etymology: (Latin & Greek: almost thread, from stamen-like staminode)
Reference: [Holmgren 1984 In Cronquist et al. Intermountain Flora 4:370457]
Largest genus of flowering plants endemic to North America. See also Keckiella , Nothochelone.
Perennial < 150 cm, glabrous
Leaves thick; upper cauline 411 cm, ovate, bases fused around stem, sharply serrate
Inflorescence glandular
Flower: calyx 46 mm, lobes ± ovate; corolla 1824(27) mm, throat 611 mm wide when pressed, cream to magenta, strongly lined, glandular outside, floor long-whitish-hairy; anther sacs 1.32 mm, spreading flat; staminode included, densely yellow-hairy
Ecology: Gravelly or rocky soils, creosote-bush or blackbush scrub, Joshua-tree woodland
Elevation: 7001500 m.
Bioregional distribution: ne Desert Mountains (Castle Mtns)
Distribution outside California: Nevada
Horticultural information: TRY; DFCLT.


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Rookie Profile: Maurice Hurst
Learn more about Raiders fifth-round draft pick Maurice Hurst.
Upon Further Review: Draft preview with Jason Fitz, Chris Warren III
Raiders.com's Eddie Paskal talks with ESPN's Jason Fitz and running back Chris Warren III ahead of the 2019 NFL Draft.
On the Clock: Things to know prior to the 2019 NFL Draft
The start of the 2019 NFL Draft is just days away; here's everything you need to know.
9 questions to test your Raiders draft knowledge
Are you obsessed with draft history? Take our quiz and test your knowledge.
Following a mentally trying season, Justin Ellis looks ahead to 2019 feeling rejuvenated
No player, or situation, has challenged defensive lineman Justin Ellis quite like his foot injury in 2018.
Definen Calendario de Temporada Regular 2019
La NFL anunció el calendario 2019 de los Oakland Raiders.
Upon Further Review: Schedule reveal edition
The NFL announced the regular season schedule Wednesday night, so naturally the guys had to break it down on Upon Further Review.
Highlights and notes from the Oakland Raiders 2019 regular season schedule
The Oakland Raiders 2019 regular season schedule is finally here; take a look at what to expect next season.
Seven observations from the Oakland Raiders 2019 regular season schedule
The regular season schedule came out Wednesday night, let's take a look at some early observations from the Raiders slate of games.
Raiders announce dates and times for 2019 regular season schedule
The NFL announced the Oakland Raiders' 2019 regular season schedule Wednesday; take a look.
Oakland Raiders set to return to England in 2019 for clash against Chicago Bears
The Oakland Raiders will play the Chicago Bears in Week 5 action at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the NFL announced Wednesday.
Benson Mayowa discusses return to Raiders: "I'm happy to be back"
After spending two seasons with the Raiders previously, Benson Mayowa is excited to be back in Silver and Black.
Raiders sign defensive end Benson Mayowa
The Oakland Raiders have signed unrestricted free agent DE Benson Mayowa, the club announced Tuesday.
Raiders Retienen Tres Jugadores
Tres agentes libres exclusivos continuarán en Oakland.
Raiders retain three exclusive rights free agents
The Oakland Raiders have re-signed the following three exclusive rights free agents, the club announced Monday.
Oakland Raiders arrive at team facility for start of Offseason Workout Program
It always feels like an eternity between the end of the Super Bowl and the start of the regular season, but we're working toward the inevitable return of football.
Upon Further Review: Jalen Richard joins the program, a closer look at this month's NFL Draft
Time for another installment of Upon Further Review.
Oakland Raiders host local pro day for prospects entering the 2019 NFL Draft
Thursday afternoon, the Oakland Raiders hosted a local pro day for prospects hoping to get selected in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Mike Mayock talks 2019 NFL Draft, gives thoughts on Raiders recent acquisitions
General Manager Mike Mayock held his pre-draft press conference Thursday afternoon at the team's Alameda, Calif., facility.
Raiders Retienen a Jalen Richard
El corredor continuará con el Plata y Negro.
Raiders re-sign running back Jalen Richard
The Oakland Raiders have re-signed restricted free agent RB Jalen Richard, the club announced Wednesday.
Oakland Raiders Mock Draft Tracker: 10.0
With the 2019 NFL Draft two weeks away the anticipation continues to build; take a look at who the "experts" have the Raiders selecting.
Raiders Iniciará Condicionamiento Físico
Definen fechas del programa de condicionamiento para receso de temporada.
Anuncian Pretemporada 2019
El calendario de pretemporada fue presentado por la NFL.
NFL releases full list of college prospects attending the 2019 NFL Draft
Many of this year's top pass rushers will attend the event in Nashville to take the stage when their name is called.
Raiders announce preseason opponents
The Raiders' 2019 preseason schedule features a nationally-televised ESPN contest against the Arizona Cardinals and games against the Los Angeles Rams, Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks.


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Apr 24,2009
Oregon hunters: deadline to apply for controlled hunts is May 15
by Bend Weekly News Sources
SALEM, Ore. — Hunters, avoid the long lines and busy fax machines and get your controlled hunt application in as soon as possible. Apply by fax, mail order, at a license agent or online. The deadline to apply is May 15.
The ability to apply for controlled hunts online is new this year. Fees are the same as those paid at an ODFW licensing agent or an ODFW office—$4.50 for a controlled hunt application. Online controlled hunt applications can be printed out instantly, so there are no shipping and handling fees. (A fee may apply if the application is purchased with other license documents.) ODFW accepts VISA and MasterCard for online payment.
Send mail order applications to ODFW Licensing, 3406 Cherry Ave. NE, Salem, OR 97303 and fax orders to (503) 947-6117 (or 6113). Mail orders must be postmarked by May 15 and fax orders must be received by 11:59 p.m. PT May 15.
Hunters that choose to apply at license agents are reminded to check store hours. Even stores open 24 hours may not have staff available to do license sales at odd hours. Stores have also been known to stop accepting customers because of long lines on deadline day. Get your application in ASAP to avoid this problem.
ODFW limits the number of hunters for certain big game hunts (some deer and elk hunts, all pronghorn antelope, bighorn sheep and Rocky Mountain goat hunts) for game management purposes and to enhance the hunting experience. Applications for these hunts are due by May 15 every year. A random computer drawing occurs in June and hunters are notified about results by June 20.
Specific tag proposals will be available online by early May when ODFW's annual hunting regulation meetings begin.
Avoid common controlled hunt mistakes
Hunters should carefully consult the 2009 Oregon Big Game Regulations before applying for a controlled hunt online and avoid these common mistakes:


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Next week, Microsoft will launch Windows 8, an absolutely pivotal release for the company. The implications of this big day got me thinking back to another pivotal launch — Windows 95 – where many things initially went well, and eventually turned out so badly. Let's go back in my mental time machine to revisit the Windows 95 launch, and consider what will make the Windows 8 launch just as important – but also very different.
How Microsoft shined with Windows 95
I became an external analyst in November of 1994, and Windows 95 defined much of my early career. I became the lead launch analyst as a result of publishing the first five-year operating system forecast ever attempted. It was controversial, to say the least. I predicted that Apple would decline through the rest of the decade (it did), OS/2 would go away (it did), Netware would go away (it did), and UNIX would decline (that, too). The only winner was Windows and, as you can imagine, Microsoft loved me. Virtually every other CEO — not so much.
Windows 95 was the iPad of its time. Every major network and newspaper all over the world did regular articles on it, Microsoft jumped to become the most powerful technology company in the world after it launched, and Bill Gates became the world's richest man. It was their day in the sun, and the folks at Microsoft reveled in the fame and excitement.
The launch itself was amazing. The clouds in the sky over the Microsoft campus were identical — not close, identical — to those in the graphic on the box. The campus was laid out like a circus with each tent having more amazing displays of things imagined for this new platform (most of which would never come to be).
Jay Leno was on stage and the Stones did "Start-Me-Up" as the product's theme song. People were lining up to buy the software, and the biggest problem was there simply wasn't enough to sell.
Apple was caught napping. The company had no concept of how many customers it would lose over the following years. This created the same pressure that would eventually force it to buy back Steve Jobs.
How Microsoft failed with Windows 95
Despite this great start, Microsoft took the most powerful launch in the history of the company and destroyed it. To this day there are few things I've ever seen that have been so foolish.
Right before shipping, Microsoft made some changes to the OS, causing problems that hadn't shown up in the beta test. Lots of hardware was shipped with rushed and buggy drivers, and millions of people suddenly called Microsoft help for assistance. Microsoft was so overwhelmed, the woman who headed service helplines blocked the calls so her metrics wouldn't look bad. We'll never know how many really pissed off people that created. Lines at stores morphed into massive piles of unsold copies, and all of that momentum grinded to a near complete halt.
Nevertheless, this operating system became the spark that caused Microsoft to create Internet Explorer and keep Netscape from taking its spot at the top. It helped people see Microsoft very differently. It was no longer a little company under IBM's shadow but a major player — hell, the major player — in the market.
Windows 8
Over the last decade, Microsoft has diminished in relevance, so much so that its employees regularly ask Bill Gates to return. (That's why he has to keep publicly saying he won't.) Apple and IBM have returned to power equal to or greater than they were prior to Microsoft, and it appears that Google has most of the power that Microsoft once had. Eric Schmidt, in his latest talk at All-Things-Digital referred to the company as "irrelevant."
Windows 8 is Microsoft's platform to make them relevant again, but it's breaking into a market very different than the PC market Windows 95 came to dominate. In mobile, Microsoft is far behind Apple, which leads the phone and tablet markets with its iPhone and iPad. In fact, Apple is planning to launch its 7-inch iPad Nano (or Mini) right before the Windows 8 launch to make Microsoft's 10-inch tablets appear out of date. Apple CEO Tim Cook has even openly disparaged Windows 8, referring to hybrid and convertible tablets (the signature Windows 8 form factors), as the unhappy marriage between a refrigerator and a toaster. This time, Apple, not Microsoft, owns the perceptions surrounding tablets, and it doesn't plan to give that ownership up.
That means to even have a chance of success, the Windows 8 launch will have to be massively better than the Windows 95 launch, and that's a very tall order.
I'll be there
I'll be on the ground in New York on October 26, because I have little doubt that the Microsoft folks know what they are up against — which means the launch will be memorable, even if it doesn't meet these lofty expectations. Either it will restore Microsoft to relevance, or it will show that relevance is no longer within the company's reach. Either result will create changes in the current market that we can't even begin to imagine.
I'll let you know how it goes, but this one will be epic.
The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not reflect the beliefs of Digital Trends.


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Marshawn Lynch is dealing with a injury, but don't expect him to be missing in action against the Atlanta Falcons.
ESPN Radio reported Friday that Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll told reporters Lynch has a sprained foot. Despite the injury, Lynch is listed as probable.
Lynch practiced on a limited basis Friday after sitting out Wednesday and Thursday. Carroll was asked what it would take for Lynch to miss Sunday's game.
"Miss the flight? Doesn't show up in Atlanta?" Carroll quipped. "He's fine, he'll be all right."
Lynch has been the best running back on the planet in the non-Adrian Peterson category this season. He's gone over 100 yards rushing in five straight games, including 132 yards and a touchdown against the Washington Redskins in last week's wild-card win.
Lynch worked his way through back issues earlier this season. We expect the same here.
Follow Dan Hanzus on Twitter @DanHanzus.


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Planted November 2011.
Got this for $2 from Walmart. The guy in the shop said that it would flower nicely.
Im surprised this is still here, but it looks Ok, has a sort of brown leaf? New or maky? I wonder..
Planted this in the 'shade garden' as im now calling it. Hopefully it will fit in and flourish.


text: Dear all, I am totally a blind rookie for beowulf and I am trying to run gamess on our new built 16 nodes beowulf cluster. There is no "rsh" command in this scyld beowulf. I tried to change "rsh" in ddikick.c to "bpsh" or use "alias" to make bpsh equal to rsh. both of them don't work. It can run without any problem on any single cpu. I am desperately hoping someone can tell me how to get this done. Thanks a million times!!! ============================== _________________________________________________________________ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com


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Candidate presented by Dr. Gary Meyer, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Programs and Teaching
Will Allen is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Growing Power, Inc., an organization dedicated to transforming communities through sustainable food systems that are equitable and ecologically sound. Identified by many as an urban farmer, Mr. Allen works tirelessly to help ensure individuals, especially those in low-income urban areas, have access to healthy, safe, and affordable food sources regardless of their economic circumstances.
Since 1995 Mr. Allen and Growing Power have worked to grow food, to grow minds, and to grow communities. People from around the world come to Growing Power's headquarters in Milwaukee for tours, workshops, and hands-on demonstrations where they learn farming techniques that are simple and accessible. Visitors learn about everything from raising vegetables and livestock to efficient and effective composting processes that can be replicated on rooftops and porches from Detroit to Ghana, Africa. While Mr. Allen believes people are never too old to learn, he pays special attention to educating youth, an important part of Growing Power's mission accomplished through after school and job training programs.
Recognizing that not everyone wants to become a community farmer, Mr. Allen nonetheless works to ensure that people have access to nutritious and affordable food sources. This is done through the Rainbow Farmer's Cooperative, using multiple sites to distribute produce grown on Growing Power farms and the farms of over 300 small, family farms across the United States. Allen also started a year-round food security farm-to-city market basket program that provides nutritious foods to low-income families at a reduced rate.
A graduate of the University of Miami, Mr. Allen is widely considered the leading authority in the burgeoning field of urban agriculture. Prior to his work in this area, Mr. Allen was a professional basketball player and highly successful corporate executive. He left the corporate world behind to pursue his love for farming and at the same time fight for social justice in ways no one thought possible. A true social entrepreneur, Mr. Allen believes it's important to change the system so everyone has access to high quality food sources.
Mr. Allen received a Ford Foundation Leadership grant in 2005 for his extraordinary efforts to bring safe and affordable food to low-income communities. In 2008 he was honored with a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship "Genius Grant" given to him for his ongoing exceptional creative work and for his originality, insight and potential to make a difference. In 2010 Mr. Allen helped First Lady Michelle Obama launch "Let's Move!" a program aimed at reversing childhood obesity in America. Also in 2010 Time Magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world.Because of his substantial and ongoing commitment to changing lives, one community at a time, Reverend President, I hereby recommend Will Allen for the Marquette University degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa.


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Have the oven broiler on or a grill heated to medium-high.
Peel the mangoes with a paring knife. One at a time, set each mango on its side on a cutting board and cut the flesh away from the large flat seed in the center. Place the largest 2 pieces from each mango in a medium bowl (set the rest of the flesh aside for another use).
Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat and cook until it turns nut brown. Add the Toasted Spice Rub and salt. Remove the skillet from the heat. Pour or brush the butter mixture over the mangoes and toss well to coat them.
Grill the mango slices (only on the flat, cut side) over medium-high heat until nicely marked, 3 to 5 minutes.
While mangoes are grilling, cut the blue cheese into 1-inch pieces.
Remove the mango slices from the grill and spread them on a baking sheet, with the grilled sides facing up. Divide the cheese on top of the mango slices.
Place under the broiler for 30 seconds to weep the cheese (optional step). Be careful not to get the mango too hot. Arrange on a platter or individual plates.
In a heat-proof bowl, warm the honey briefly in the microwave and drizzle over the top. Serve warm.
1/4 cup fennel seeds
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 tablespoon peppercorns
1 1/2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
1/4 cup pure California chili powder
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
Toast the fennel seeds, coriander seeds, and peppercorns in a small, heavy pan over medium heat. When the fennel turns light brown, work quickly. Turn on the exhaust fan; add the red pepper flakes, and toss, toss, toss, always under the fan. Immediately turn the spice mixture out onto a plate to cool. Put in a blender with the chili powder, salt, and cinnamon and blend until the spices are evenly ground. If you have a small spice mill or a coffee grinder dedicated to grinding spices, grind only the fennel, coriander, pepper, and chili flakes. Pour into a bowl and toss with the remaining ingredients.
Toasting freshens spices, releases their oils, and makes them more fragrant, as well as adding a new dimension of flavor. Keep the spice mix in a glass jar in a cool, dry place, or freeze.
Taste your chili powder and, if spicy and hot, cut back the amount. California chiles are almost sweet, not hot.
Yield: about 1 cup


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non-commercial site to collect and disseminate information on
the natural history of Shetland.
contact us
About these pages
Nature in Shetland
Recording nature in
Shetland since 1996
Winner of a Shetland
Environment Award 2004
Shetland Bird Club
Bird Sightings and Photos
To access the archives, click on the links in the menu to the
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No liability is accepted for the accuracy of this information. Copyright
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text:
By Lisa Capobianco
Staff Writer
With the ongoing search for a new home, Bread for Life has withdrawn its application with the Southington Planning and Zoning Commission in order to add more time to look.
During a Planning and Zoning meeting last week, the civic group decided to reapply for a new facility, hoping to spend more time with school and town officials to find an alternate location. In October, Bread for Life requested from Planning and Zoning a 60-day continuance for its application, which would have expired December 17. Southington school and town officials decided to collaborate with the civic group after parents rejected its proposed new site across from Derynoski School on 296 Main Street, concerned for their children's safety. Bread for Life, a non profit organization that provides hot meals to people in need five days a week, plans to expand the size of its facility to meet the growing demand of Southington's residents in need.
Michael DelSanto, the chairman of Planning and Zoning, said reapplying for a new site was a good idea with the original deadline just around the corner. He said Planning and Zoning has waived the fee for Bread for Life's new application.
Stephen Giudice, the owner of the engineering firm Harry E. Cole and Son, who represents Bread for Life, said the collaboration between the civic group and school and town officials has continued to run smoothly. Although he would not speak specifically about their current plans, Giudice said Bread for Life is "looking at two other viable options" in town.
"Reapplying allowed Bread for Life to buy more time in looking for other options," Giudice said.
Southington Supt. Dr. Joseph Erardi, who plays an active role in the committee that is currently helping Bread for Life, said the teamwork between local officials and the non-profit organization has become powerful. Although he also did not go into specifics, Dr. Erardi said he feels confident that they will find the right alternative site.
"When our work is done, it will be a strong, alternative option," Erardi said.
Bill McDougall, the chairman of Bread for Life, said he hopes to find an alternate site by the end of the first quarter next year. Although he also would not speak specifically about any alternate sites, McDougall said he feels pleased that his civic group now has more time to work with school and town officials as well as parents, emphasizing how their collaboration has progressed.
"We are doing very well," McDougall said. "We are looking at alternate sites, and we are in the process of negotiating a few different sites."
Bread for Life withdraws application, still seeking a new site
By Lisa Capobianco


text: On Tue, 3 Apr 2007, Toon Knapen wrote: > Robert G. Brown wrote: > >> It isn't completely crazy that the US government would intervene here if >> they broke MPI portability. After all, MPI exists at all primarily >> because of direct government intervention (unlike PVM, which exists >> because some Very Bright People conceived it and invented it and made it >> fly). > > > It's not up to the government to decide if MS can put some product on the > market or not. They can indeed refuse to finance porting code to CCS because > of its incompatibilities. The way they intervened in the case of MPI (IIRC) is they said something like "we will not buy supercomputers from any vendor that does not also provide a portable message passing environment". At the time, they were "the" market for supercomputers -- at least a sine qua non of survival (given that supercomputers were munitions and controlled). So the vendors of hardware and a team of academic and lab types wrote up MPI and made sure MPI would run reasonably portably across all their big iron hardware. In the current case if the government says "we will not fund any cluster and research software development that uses non-portable constructs in their MPI implementation" I think that it would have the same effect. rgb > > toon > -- Robert G. Brown http://www.phy.duke.edu/~rgb/ Duke University Dept. of Physics, Box 90305 Durham, N.C. 27708-0305 Phone: 1-919-660-2567 Fax: 919-660-2525 email:rgb at phy.duke.edu


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Joe Dombrowski in pink at the 2012 GiroBio.
Friday File, let's get started...
Ever watched the 1966 American comedy, The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming? Russian submarine runs aground beside a New England coastal town and the hilarious shenanigans that follow. Well, I'm inspired to call this Friday File: The Americans are Coming! A cycling invasion of the young up and coming Americans in 2013...
I'm inspired by this title and call this cycling weekend:
The Americans are Coming!
Joe Dombrowski may well be the new American wunderkind rider to grace the 2013 pro peloton.
And, he does have the credentials to do very well in a Grand Tour. I may be ahead myself. He is a climbing forza, becoming the first American rider ever - winning the 36th edition of the U-23 GiroBio or the 'Baby Giro'. His name joins famous winners such as Marco Pantani, Francesco Moser and Giovanni Battaglin.
He is only 21, signed for Team SKY as the go to guy to support Wiggins and Froome. This young rider, with nurturing, has the ability for Grand Tour success. Here's an excellent article on the new wunderkid. George Hincapie have some encouraging words to say...
It's definitely unique when someone like that comes along because it doesn't happen very often.
And, American hopefuls; Taylor Phinney, Tejay Van Garderen and Andrew Talansky will try their talents this weekend. Phinney is TT force and also a classics specialist. He will line up for Strade Bianche for a tussle on the sterrati. Starting Sunday, Van Garderen (2012 Paris-Nice: 5th overall and young riders classification winner) and Talansky will go head to head in Paris-Nice. Tejay Van Garderen has a very strong BMC squad and mighty chance in winning his first stage race.
One lone Canadian at Strade Bianche...
Canadian veteran, Francois Parisien is on WorldTour team, Argos-Shimano and is amped to do well in the Strade Bianche.
Francois Parisien will line up
at the Strade Bianche
photo: Argos-Shimano
Here's to a fun action-packed cycling weekend!


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Our providers are available anytime, anywhere, either in the office or via our mobile app
You'll receive care from a team familiar with your health history and needs, and they'll view your skin diagnosis as part of the bigger picture
Our providers are trained to handle a spectrum of skin conditions, covering the majority of your dermatology concerns
"I practice evidence-based medicine, but am not opposed to other forms of medicine, such as acupuncture of naturopathic medicine. I try to incorporate the patient's interests into what will work for them."
Most skin issues fall within the scope of primary care and do not require a dermatologist. While dermatologists are trained to address complex cases that are unresponsive to standard treatment, primary care providers are trained to treat and diagnose most common skin concerns. We can handle most needs, but if we feel your condition warrants additional care from a dermatologist, we'll refer you to one of our trusted partners and help you get the timely care you need.
Primary care providers have a wide breadth of education and training, and their diverse knowledge and skill sets equip them with the necessary tools to manage a range of dermatological concerns. As the core member of your health care team, your primary care provider understands your entire health history and lifestyle, and sees how all elements contribute to your total wellness. So not only can a primary care provider assess and treat many of your skin concerns, but they can also serve as your trusted partner for care. Plus, thanks to our same-day appointments and mobile app technology, our providers can help you avoid the long waits associated with specialists.
Our primary care providers are trained to handle a range of common skin issues, including everything from moles and rashes to acne treatment and skin cancer screenings, as well as eczema, alopecia, and wrinkle management. They can also perform many dermatological procedures during the course of a standard appointment, including biopsies, cryotherapy (wart freezing), and suturing (inserting and removing stitches).
Not necessarily. We now feature digital dermatology in the "Treat Me Now" section of our mobile app, so members can get free treatment for basic skin conditions (as well as seasonal allergies, yeast infections, and UTIs) virtually — no office visit required. After answering a few key questions about your symptoms and submitting a few photos of the condition, One Medical's dermatology team will review your case and respond with a recommended course of action within 24 hours. Studies show that virtual diagnosis is just as accurate as in-person diagnosis for basic skin conditions, and our mobile app integrates your immediate skin concern with your broader health care picture for greater continuity of care and a seamless experience.
Our board-certified providers are trained to handle everything from preventive medicine to treatment of acute and chronic conditions. Los Angeles team members who have a specific interest in dermatology include:
For more guidance in picking a provider for your specific needs, just call 323-305-7606. And rest assured that there is no commitment in selecting a provider; you can always change providers at any time and for any reason.
One Medical is a membership-based practice that combines the highest level of care with exceptional services. Members support our practice by paying a low annual membership fee of just $199, which provides a full year of access to all of our urgent and primary care services. If we ever fail to meet your expectations, we'll do our best to fix it.
It takes less than five minutes to join online, and once you sign up, you can book your first appointment online, on the phone, or on our app.


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text: Hi, Sorry - I had meant data being distributed on nodes (not necessary compute) - and in Lustre case in dedicated data servers called OSTs - and not in a central SAN. I believe Lustre can actually run compute + IO today on the same nodes but not a recommended configuration as it may lead to some data corruption - saw a FAQ on this and CFS points to a new version that will resolve this problem. Cheers! Laurence Guy Coates wrote: >>I would still prefer the model of PVFS1/2 and Lustre where the data is >>distributed amongst the compute nodes >> > > Lustre data isn't distributed on compute nodes; the data sits on dedicated > nodes called OSTs. You can't mount the lustre filesystem back onto nodes > which are OSTs as you hit all sorts of race conditions in the vfs layer. > > One filesystem to look at is GPFS from IBM. You can run it in a direct-SAN > attached mode or you can run where the storage is distributed to local > disk on the compute nodes. We run both configurations on our cluster. > > GPFS will also do "behind the scenes replication", so you can tolerate up > to two node failures per node group and still have a complete filesystem. > > Cheers, > > Guy Coates > -- Laurence Liew, CTO Email: laurence at scalablesystems.com Scalable Systems Pte Ltd Web : http://www.scalablesystems.com (Reg. No: 200310328D) 7 Bedok South Road Tel : 65 6827 3953 Singapore 469272 Fax : 65 6827 3922


text:
LONDON, Ontario (Reuters) - The figure skating world championships closed on Sunday as they almost always do with a glitzy gala, arguments and controversy.
With a scoring system that is harder to understand than the theory of relativity and offers about as much transparency as a Papal conclave, figure skating still struggles to connect with the average fan, particularly in North America where their numbers are on the decline.
That confusing system allowed Canada's Patrick Chan to claim a third consecutive world championship title on Friday despite hitting the ice more times than a toddler learning to skate.
The routine was so dreadful that Chan spent the next two days apologizing profusely to fans for his performance but he certainly did not apologize for the win.
"I deserved it," declared Chan. "It's totally understandable that people have their doubts.
"You look at hockey, it's really simple score one more goal than the other team. Figure skating is a little more subjective.
"But I would keep telling people I deserved it and would more than love to explain why."
There were plenty looking for an explanation. Even Chan's fellow skaters quickly challenged his victory through social media channels.
"No disrespect to Patrick but a skater shouldn't be able to fall twice & get such high PCS," tweeted former U.S. and world champion Todd Eldredge.
Canada's Minister of State for Sport Bal Gosal saw things very differently tweeting: "Is it me, or is @SkateCanada's @pchiddy (Chan) getting better every time he skates?"
Therein lies figure skating's great conundrum; one skate, two polar opposite views.
The outcome of judged sports will always be open to debate but in figure skating there is increasingly little faith that the anonymous men and women perched rinkside dispensing scores are getting it right.
It has been over a decade since the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic judging scandal exposed the corrupt underbelly of figure skating, plunging the sport into a credibility crisis it is still trying to recover from.
Critics see the head-scratching results as more evidence that old biases remain firmly entrenched in the figure skating culture, where skaters are rewarded as much for their reputation as their performance.
"No question Salt Lake was a turning point," International Skating Union (ISU) vice-president David Dore told Reuters. "It seems no matter how hard we try I don't think we are ever going to escape that unfortunately.
"While we have made a fair system, it is a complicated system and I think we are still trying to explain it."
Skating officials admit that while the sport is flourishing in Asia, it is faltering in North America.
In a clear sign of down-sizing, this year's championship were awarded to London, a small southern Ontario city midway between Toronto and Detroit and held in a charming but smallish 7,000 seat junior hockey arena.
Not long ago, any major figure skating events held in North America were reserved for only the biggest of venues, the previous three worlds hosted in Canada (1996, 2001 and 2006) all staged in National Hockey League (NHL) rinks.
But those days are over and never coming back, according to Dore.
"I think everyone wants to come back to the big huge arenas and I don't think we are going back to that," he said. "Maybe we are in a smaller venue but reaching a broader audience then before with social media."
Officials insist there is more upside to holding an event in a packed smaller venue than a half full NHL arena but the fact the London worlds, featuring the comeback of Korean figure skating queen Kim Yuna and the presence of hometown ice skating celebrities Olympic and world champion ice dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, could not fill the Budweiser Gardens every session shocked many.
The trend towards smaller venues has also hit the United States, which has taken the once hugely popular national championships to Omaha, Spokane and Greensboro, North Carolina in three of the last four years.
A red-hot television property at one time, live figure skating has all but disappeared from American living rooms.
"There was a boom in the '90s, there was an explosion of interest that created those packed 18,000 seat stadiums," David Raith, the executive director of U.S. Figure Skating, told Reuters. "I think it can go back to that. We are looking to host the worlds in 2016 in a major city, in a major arena and we think we can fill it.
"Television ratings are not what they use to be.
"We want to see it edge back towards those astronomical numbers but I don't think anyone will ever see those numbers again in the United States.
"Things evolve. It use to be a horse and now it's a car."
Editing by Gene Cherry


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If you're a dad or married to an involved dad (and if so, lucky you!), chances are your baby and his father will be spending some time on the playground, at the indoor play space, or even at a nonjudgmental mommy-and-me group. Yes, I realize those can be hard to find.
If your local tot spot is like ours, dad will be welcomed and the assumption will be that he is the father of the child he brought, and as a father, must be at least partially interested in the health and welfare of children. Maybe even worth chatting up a bit about day cares, snacks, the weather. But apparently not all playgrounds are as equal opportunity, as some dads have been getting the stink-eye when they bring junior out to play. And some dads have been insulted, ignored, and had assumptions made about their sexual proclivities that are not in the least bit flattering.
Some moms think dads on the playgrounds are perverts.
When Motherlode opened up the can of worms that is dads on the playground, bloggers and regular old dads alike chimed in with their own horror stories about being treated like a criminal when they were trying to give their baby a push in the swing. Daddy Dialect blogger Jeremy Adam Smith even told how a grandmother asked him to leave a playground.
What followed Smith's Twitter confession were more tales of dads being treated poorly including: being asked to leave a playground, being excluded because they were a dad and not a mom, and being criticized for their parenting. Dads also report the phenomenon of never being asked over for a play-date, but as soon as their wife takes the kids out, the invites flow.
With the exception of the play-date scenario (my husband doesn't get as many play-date offers as I do, it's true), my husband claims he's never experienced any of the discrimination described above. Whether it's because we're in a urban area and he's not the only dad on the playground, or he's just oblivious to the suspicious looks and whispers, I don't know.
But it does seem really strange that this kind of thing goes on in today's equal parenting society, and with regularity. Why are so many women suspicious of men on the playground, who are there with their own kids? Do we really think men who are interested in children must have something wrong with them to the point of making nasty assumptions about their motives? If so, we all need to get a grip. Dads love their kids too, and have the same rights to entertain them on the teeter-totter as the mom next door.
Have you or your husband ever experienced dad discrimination?


text: New warm weather calf starter March 5, 2013 03:05 AM Tweet TAGS: Marketing, Overseas December 18, 2014 By News Release Email Source: Purina Animal Nutrition LLC Purina Animal Nutrition LLC introduces AMPLI-Calf Warm Weather Starter feed, formulated to meet calves' needs as temperatures increase. When temperatures rise, calves' energy needs escalate as respiration rates increase and they attempt to drive heat from their bodies. Coupled with this increase in energy, is a reduction in feed intake and as a result, growth is reduced. "To meet these additional energy demands and to keep calves growing all summer long, we've developed AMPLI-Calf Warm Weather Starter feed," says Dr. Dari Brown, director livestock young animal marketing with Purina Animal Nutrition LLC. "AMPLI-Calf Warm Weather Starter feed more efficiently provides the optimal nutritional balance of energy and protein for a dairy calf's diet in warm weather conditions to help maintain growth." AMPLI-Calf Warm Weather Starter feed includes AppetiteMAKER, a patent-pending, proprietary additive proven to stimulate higher feed intake of young dairy calves, ClariFly Larvicide to help control flies and organic chromium, along with other organic trace minerals that are highly digestible, providing efficient energy at the cellular level. AMPLI-Calf Warm Weather Starter feed can deliver greater growth and average daily gain in warm temperatures – beyond the performance of the competition and original AMPLI-Calf Starter feed. Research shows that calves fed AMPLI-Calf Warm Weather Starter weighed 12.16 pounds more at weaning, were 0.38 inches taller and had an increased average daily gain of 0.15 pounds when compared to two formulations of a national competitive brand and five different competitor's custom starters. When compared to the previous formula of AMPLI-Calf Starter feed, calves feed AMPLI-Calf Warm Weather Starter had weighed 12.44 pounds more at weaning and had an 0.18 pound greater average daily gain. "AMPLI-Calf® Warm Weather Starter feed combined with AMPLI-Calf Cool Weather Starter feed represents a new way to approach calf nutrition," says Brown. "This seasonal method of feeding is designed to be more efficient in meeting a calf's needs for Full Potential growth and lifetime productivity potential all year long." Use AMPLI-Calf Warm Weather Starter feed in tandem with industry leading WarmFront calf milk replacers available through Purina Animal Nutrition, after a healthy first feeding of Land O'Lakes Colostrum Replacer. AMPLI-Calf Warm Weather Starter feed will be available starting March 1, 2013. For more information contact your Purina Animal Nutrition representative or go to: www.amplicalf.com. Back to news


text:
Sharks deserve to be treated gently.
Photo: Wolfgang Leander (2008)
Click to enlarge
Here is an open letter to all shark dive operators written by Cape Town resident Glenn Ashton. Glenn is a freelance writer, journalist, and researcher. He has much local expertise and has previously dealt with environmental management issues. Glenn is, thus, very well suited to express an expert opinion on the subject.
Open letter to the SA shark dive industry re: best practice.
Hi all,
As a journalist and observer to the debate about best practices concerning shark attraction methods and the shortcomings of some methods, it is clear that the issues that have been raised are extremely important to deal with in order to ensure that our South African shark diving industry has a reputation that we can indeed be proud of.
This cannot only come from a shark diving industry perspective but from a conservation perspective, a tourism perspective, a best practice perspective and most of all for promoting an open and transparent dialogue about the matter - shark diving, either in cages or without - for profit.
There is nothing wrong with generating profit from shark diving. The dive industry is a powerful tool to assist in protecting sharks, in getting the public to understand them and in taking their plight to a wider audience.
Public oversight has assisted in improving practices in all aspects of the shark dive industry and indeed in all related aspects of human/ shark interaction. This mirrors the experiences of other conservation practices in other nature conservation fields which have often learned and advanced themselves through outside pressure.
However it serves nobody when baseless allegations are thrown around, when issues become personalised for reasons that are completely unrelated to the issues at hand and when discussions that are aimed at improving industry practices are marginalised because of illogical and ill informed inputs.
It cannot be denied that public oversight and pressure to change from shark enthusiasts have improved the cage dive industry hugely. The cage dive industry would like to take most of the credit for themselves but that is just human nature.
The same goes for shark diving on the Aliwal shoals and other offshore shark diving spots. The methods used to attract sharks have been shown to be damaging to sharks and yet those who rely on these flawed methods have denied any cause for concern and have instead attempted to sidetrack and personalise the discussion and debate. Others have worked hard to clean up their acts and have listened to outside inputs.
Denial of any problems in how sharks are chummed and attracted obviously serves nobody except the denier and it does not move the debate forward. As a journalist and someone involved in covering environmental management in South Africa I am quite prepared to go out and expose any dangerous or damaging practices to the widest possible audience so that things do change, through either the force of public opinion or the force of law. Both are equally relevant in this case.
It would however be far more beneficial for all of the role players in this debate, especially the shark dive charterers who have been criticised for poor baiting practices, to play a far more mature and responsible role in this discussion. There clearly are operators who have tried different methods of baiting which appear to be non damaging to sharks - through encasing cables and chains in polypropylene pipe - which is rigid and extremely tough and non damaging to shark mouths, compared to exposed cables and chains. Why can this and other useful discoveries not be made best practice?
An industry standard should be agreed upon and any parties who continue to practice dangerous methods of attracting sharks, just as those who do not properly care for, or endanger their divers and customers, or who follow other dangerous practice, must be sanctioned and isolated, if shown to be intransigent in the face of changing toward best practice behaviour.
If we wish to have an industry that is good for tourism and for our image as a leading nature and eco-tourism destination then we must pursue best practice in all aspects of environmental tourism in South Africa. If we wish to be the world leaders in this field, that we claim to be, then we must behave like world leaders. Accordingly the industry must support a move toward transparency and best practice and engage with each other in a constructive way that promotes mutual interests
The alternative is to identify and deal with those who refuse to play the game according to mutually agreed rules and isolate them utterly. The choices are simple. So lets rather consider moving on toward finalising what is essentially a straightforward procedure.
A useful first step would be to invite all shark tourism operators to sit down around a table, at a shark tourism conference, of SA operators, and start to hack out the issues, formalise them and put these steps into practice. SA tourism and other regional tourism boards would be supportive - we all know that the industry brings in significant money. Any other relevant parties must also come aboard, including government (Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and Dept of Environment and Water, and possibly Tourism and also the Shark Board but there may be ambivalence about this).
It would just take a few champions of the cause, from within the industry, to drive this. They could reap huge benefits by being shown to lead the way toward the most progressive and ecologically sound practices, and could accordingly advertise along these lines.
This should ideally happen from within the industry - self regulation is always preferable to having regulations imposed on you. But if nothing happens then imposition of tighter regulations may just follow.
Over to you, the people who want to do the right thing, the people who make money out of sharks and those who want to conserve the resource for the benefit of all. Lets see the changes roll on!
All the best
Glenn Ashton
Freelance writer, researcher, author and editor.
Cape Town
South Africa


text:
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text:
tgoe wrote:OSX is a true BSD and has a stellar security profile compared to Windows
No. It isn't.
People seem to think that *nix is all about the code. It isn't.
Yes, OSX uses the BSD kernel.
No, the rest of the system is not open source. No, the rest of the system is not nice, lean code but is instead bloated, shiny, dumbed-down crap putting emphasis on graphics over functionality.
What is Unix?
An operative system you might say, and that's correct, but also quite limited. Unix is a culture, a philosophy, it's a way of understanding and interpreting technology. Computers to me were and are a lot like Lego, and I always thought that's a good metaphor for UNIX: you have all these pieces, and maybe a picture of two of how you can combine them and what you can do, and then it's entirely up to you. Such a beautiful concept.
That quote puts it perfectly.


text:
Author Notes: Dirt cheap is an interesting way to phrase this weeks contest and would allow all kinds of soliloquies if one so desired. Opening cans and dumping them into a pot is probably the cheapest on my wallet. I could spend the extra bucks on organic but then that would sort of defeat the purpose of dirt cheap, yes you can discuss and debate this statement all you want but if you are hungry and can't afford it then you don't care about what it will do to the environment down the road or what your future health ailments might be. But enough. So here is what I did and my reasoning. First off, while I can buy larger quantities and have left overs for lunch I won't. In this case it is one dirt cheap meal and I am actually going to put the dirt part of the statement to work for me. I always get a kick out of people saying they saved money because it was on sale. Anytime something green is leaving my wallet I am not saving money but spending it and if it is on sale I am just not spending as much. So back to dirt cheap dinners. Luckily at my grocery they often times offer pasta at ten boxes for ten dollars but if you buy one they have to sell it to you for one dollar not the usual price. Fresh garlic is the same way, often you can get a head for fifty cents. Unsalted butter these days often times comes in two packs for smaller families but unless I am going to steal margarine from the baked potato station at Wendy's it is about the best I am going to do, so a buck forty nine. Everyone should have salt and pepper and if you don't you won't be looking at this recipe but standing in line for Taco Tuesday and collecting up your four for a dollar soft shells and a super-sized cola. So the final couple of components for this dish are where you might have some expense. You can pay $2.99 for a packet of fresh sage or you can go by the garden center and buy a sage plant, not a start, but a plant for 3.99 and plant it. It will be big enough you can use the sage tonight and not kill it and down the road you will have something that has beautiful purple flowers, is a perennial so it will grow back after the snow has cleared and you will be able to use it for many years to come. The poor man's parmesan is not my idea and I think I saw Jamie Oliver create something like this once but I am sure he was not the first and, obviously, for eons many have used this sort of topping on all sorts of things. I don't waste bread. I make my own bread so I am very aware of the effort it takes to make a good loaf. I save the heals, odds and ends and if I dry them out they will not mold. I can then use them for all sorts of things. The almonds, quite honestly I have no idea of their cost, but I am guessing a little bag in the baking section probably goes for top dollar or at least 99 cents. Is this the cheapest meal, well probably not but for my family anytime they enjoy something and it is this inexpensive I am good with it and I am guessing it is less then the Golden Corral, or human CAFO as I like to call it, but then again I haven't been to one of those in a long time so I have no idea what it costs. Oh and BTW, the real value of this meal is both girls like to jump in and help make it and it is one where they easily can. - thirschfeld —thirschfeld
Food52 Review: As always, thirschfeld has put together a beautiful dish, and this one really is dirt cheap. Going well above and beyond buttered noodles, this pasta is just as simple and easy. I love the almonds with the brown butter and recommend toasting them a little first before adding the breadcrumbs to the pan. The "poor man's parmesan" adds something special that brings out the toasty goodness of the brown butter. I left the crispy sage leaves in when tossing the pasta and loved the little flecks in my dish. - biffbourgeois —Stephanie Bourgeois
Serves: 2 adults and 2 kids, both good eaters
pound linguine
stick, unsalted butter
fresh sage leaves
garlic cloves, sliced thinly
cup dried bread crumbs
cup sliced almonds
salt and pepper
- Melt 1 1/2 tablespoons of the butter in a saute pan placed over medium heat. Add the bread crumbs and almonds. Season them with salt and pepper. Saute and stir them until they begin to toast and turn golden brown. Remove them from the pan.
- Bring a large pot of heavily salted water, should taste like sea water, to a boil. Drop in the linguine noodles and cook them for 11 minutes or as directed on the package.
- Place a large 12 or 14 inch saute pan over medium high heat and add the rest of the butter. Add the sage and let the butter bubble and crackle until it starts to get brown bits. Add the garlic.
- Once the garlic is fragrant add 1/2 cup of pasta water to the butter sage sauce to stop the garlic from over cooking and let it simmer. Once the noodles are al dente us a spider to scoop the pasta from the water and put it directly into the pan.
- Toss and mix the pasta with the sage butter. Taste for seasoning, correct it if necessary and plate it up. Top it with the bread crumb mixture serve.
- This recipe is a Community Pick!
- This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Dirt Cheap Dinner
More Great Recipes:
Pasta|Butter|Parmesan|Sage|Make Ahead|Entree