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UCSB Baseball Postseason Guide
• The Schedule
Friday, May 31 at 12:00 p.m. vs. Texas A&M (32-27)
All-time record vs. the Aggies: 0-0
Saturday, June 1 at TBD vs. TBD
Sunday, June 2 (if neccesary) at TBD vs TBD
Monday, June 3 (if neccesary) at TBD vs. TBD
Other Regional opponents: No. 3 Oregon St. (45-10)
and University of Texas-San Antonio (35-23)
All games at OSU's Goss Stadium at Coleman Field
• Ticket Information
All-session tickets will be made available to the general public beginning at 7 a.m. on Wednesday (online only until 9 a.m.). Infield reserved tickets are $100 while outfield general admission seats are $75 and student outfield seats cost $56. All-session tickets guarantee the holder to all six games of the regional, and a seventh if necessary game.
Single-game tickets will be made available on each day - pending availability - and cost $20 for infield reserved seats, $15 for outfield general admission and $12 for student outfield seats. The ticket office at Goss Stadium will open at 10 a.m. on the first day of the regional and two hours prior to the first game's first pitch each subsequent day.
Fans can purchase tickets by calling 1-800-GOBEAVS (466-2387), going online at BeaverTickets.com or in person at Gill Coliseum, which is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets can also be purchased through the UCSB Ticket Office by calling 893-UCSB.
• Media Coverage of the Corvallis Regional
All games in the Corvallis, Ore. Regional can be viewed online on ESPN3.com or through the WatchESPN app. Tom Hart and Paul LoDuca will be providing commentary for the ESPN broadcast. An internet subscription that carries ESPN3.com (such as Cox) is necessary in order to stream the games. The Santa Barbara News-Press Radio will also have a live call of the game on AM 1290 and UCSBgauchos.com with Gerry Fall, the Voice of the Gauchos, on the microphone.
• Postseason Primer
The 64-team NCAA Tournament is divided into 16 regional brackets, with four teams in each Regional. The four teams play each other in a double-elimination format, until there is one team left. That team advances to a Super Regional against the winner of another regional bracket in a best-of-three series. The eight winners of the Super Regionals advance to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb. The winner of the Corvallis Regional will face off against the winner of the Manhattan Regional, hosted by Kansas State.
• Ending the Drought
UCSB's at-large selection into the Corvallis Regional represents the school's first appearance in the postseason since 2001, when the Skip Schumaker and Ryan Spilborghs-led Gauchos went 1-2 at the Super Regional hosted by Notre Dame. The 12-year drought was UCSB's longest since going 20 years between Regional appearances from 1952 and 1972.
• Corvallis Connections
The Gauchos have a number of ties to the Corvallis area and the state of Oregon in general. Head coach Andrew Checketts played three years for the Beavers, earning Pac-10 North Player of the Year honors in 1998 after going 11-1 with a 3.73 ERA as a senior. Oregon State was also the first team Checketts faced as a head coach, as the Gauchos went 1-3 against OSU to open the 2012 season. Sophomore lefty Greg Mahle threw a no-hitter and earned First Team All-League honors in summer 2012 playing for the Corvallis Knights. Assistant coach Jason Hawkins is a native of West Albany, Ore. UCSB's transfers from the state of Oregon include Tyler Kuresa (Oregon), Cameron Newell (Linn-Benton CC), and Parker Miles (Chemeketa CC). Newell was enrolled at Oregon State his freshman year before transferring to Linn-Benton.
• Going Streaking
With last weekend's sweep over UC Davis, the Gauchos have now won six consecutive series, the first time that has happened since 2001, when UCSB claimed six straight series between Apr. 6 and May 13.
• Record Year at Home
The Gauchos went 6-0-1 in home series this season, marking the first time in school history that UCSB went undefeated in home series for an entire year. UCSB's home stadium is Caesar Uyesaka Stadium.
• Pettibone the Workhorse
Sophomore right-hander Austin Pettibone has been racking up the innings for the Gauchos, leading the conference with 110 innings pitched. He is UCSB's first 100-inning pitcher since Michael Martin in 2005. The Gauchos' Friday ace has thrown 100+ pitches in eight of his 15 starts, while his lowest pitch count (79) actually came in a complete game shutout. He has pitched into the sixth inning in every start, while reaching the seventh in all but two starts. Over his first two years at UCSB, Pettibone has totaled 17 wins.
• UCSB Against Ranked Opponents
The Gauchos have gone 7-8 this season against ranked opponents, the highlights coming in series wins over conference-mates No. 19 UC Irvine and No. 17 Cal Poly and a 2-0 road shutout of No. 4 Cal State Fullerton.
• Second Half Performers
After going 18-17 over their first 35 games, the Gauchos rebounded to post a 16-6 mark over the final 22 games of the season. UCSB has won 11 of its last 14 games while posting records of 7-3 and 14-6 over their last 10 and 20 games, respectively.
• Wearing It
With 94 team hit by pitches, the 2013 Gauchos are just one HBP away from tying the team record set in 2002. UCSB ranks ninth nationally in total hit by pitches. Woody Woodward, who has been plunked 14 times, has been the biggest ball magnet for the Gauchos, while Jackson Morrow (12), Robby Nesovic (11), and Joey Epperson (10) have also been struck 10 or more times.
• A Brief History of the Gauchos in the Postseason
The Gauchos have an overall record of 6-17 in the postseason, and have appeared in the NCAA Regionals nine times, including this year. Their other trips to the postseason occured in 1952, 1972, 1983, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1996, and 2001. UCSB's last postseason win came on May 26, 2001 against Milwaukee-Wisconsin.
• Preseason Publicity
Following their stellar 2012 seasons, a pair of Gauchos were selected as Preseason All-Americans. In December, sophomore lefty Andrew Vasquez was named to the Second Team by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association after recording a 1.93 ERA as a freshman, the fourth best full-season ERA in school history. Junior SS Brandon Trinkwon was named to the Baseball America Second-Team after hitting .347 as a sophomore and starting the Cape Cod League All-Star Game. Trinkwon was also noted as the top defensive infielder in college baseball.
• Digging for Gold
The current UCSB freshman class was ranked as the No. 12 recruiting class in the nation by Baseball America, tops among all Big West schools. It was the first time in school history that the Gauchos had appeared on the list. The class was also ranked No. 18 by Perfect Game.
• First Run is Imperative
UCSB has excelled when given a lead in 2013. When scoring first in a game, they own a 30-7 record as opposed to their 4-16 record when the opponent scores first.
• Closing it Down
The back of the UCSB bullpen has done its job shutting down games, as the Gauchos are 27-0 when leading after seven innings. Freshman closer Dylan Hecht is a big reason for that success, as he sports a lowly 1.93 ERA while ranking first in Big West Conference play in saves (7) and appearances (15).
• Morrow the Backstop
Junior catcher Jackson Morrow proved himself to be one of the elite defensive catchers in the Big West in 2013. The LA Harbor CC transfer led the entire conference in pickoffs (7) and runners caught stealing (22). On the year, Morrow gunned down 42.3% of his attempted basestealers (22-52).
• Wearing Out the Big West
Despite ranking in the middle of the pack overall in most team offensive categories, the Gauchos lit up the leaderboards once conference play started, ranking in the top-three for batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, runs, hits, runs batted in, home runs, total bases, hit by pitches, sacrifice bunts, and stolen bases.
• Picking Their Spots
In 2013, UCSB's top baserunners proved not only adept at swiping a large number of bags, but they also showed a staggering ability to pick their spots and not get thrown out. Joey Epperson (15-18), Cameron Newell (12-13), Luke Swenson (10-10), and Brandon Trinkwon (10-12) all had success rates of 83% or better. Overall, the Gauchos outstole their opponents 76-34 on the year.
• Doubling Up
The Gauchos led the Big West Conference for the majority of the year in double plays turned, but ended the season just one twin killing short of the lead. Still, their 50 double plays ranked second in the conference and 60th in the nation.
• Sensational Freshmen
A pair of freshmen have showed maturity beyond their years in becoming key parts of the lineup and rotation. Freshman lefty Justin Jacome spent most of the year as the Saturday starter. In that time, he accrued a 3.97 ERA while issuing the fifth fewest walks among qualified Big West pitchers and allowing the fewest hits in Big West play. Robby Nesovic had a team-high .343 batting average and finished in the conference top-10 in average, OBP, and slugging percentage. He delivered key starts on the mound as well, including 6.2 shutout innings at Cal State Fullerton on Apr. 14 and 6.2 innings of one-run ball at UC Davis on May 24.
• Scouting (2) Texas A&M
The Aggies received their school-record seventh straight bid to the NCAA Tournament after finishing 32-27 and advancing to their first ever SEC Tournament. Texas A&M went 13-16 in conference play and 2-2 in the tournament including a 5-0 win over #1 Vanderbilt (50-8). Shortstop Mikey Reynolds leads the team with a .343 batting average, 38 runs scored, 18 stolen bases, 72 hits and a .408 on-base percentage. First Baseman Cole Lankford is another offensive threat boasting a .332 batting average, team-high 34 RBIs, 15 doubles, and three homeruns. On the bump, Daniel Mengden has been the workhorse, pitching 107.1 innings and compiling an 8-3 record with a 1.84 ERA. He is holding hitters to a .193 BAA and he has 91 strikeouts on the year. Parker Ray leads the team with a 1.83 ERA in 59 innings pitched and closer Jason Jester is 3-3 with 13 saves and a 2.32 ERA. The Aggies have a 3-4 record in neutral site games this season and will take on the Gauchos in Corvallis on Friday.
• Scouting (1) Oregon State
The Beavers won the Pac-12 championship with a 24-6 record and enter the NCAA Tournament with an overall record of 45-10. They are the fourth ranked team in the nation and will host the regional as the top-seed where they have a 22-4 home record. Rightfielder Dylan Davis leads the way offensively for Oregon State with a team high .344 batting average, 53 RBIs, 20 doubles and three triples. Leftfielder Michael Conforto has a team-high 9 home runs while batting .332 with a .457 on-base percentage. Second baseman Andy Peterson is batting .341 with a team-high 11 stolen bases. Oregon State is second in the nation with a 2.21 team ERA. Contributing to that is top starting pitcher Andrew Moore who is 12-1 with a 1.22 ERA. Other starters Matt Boyd (10-3) carries a 2.09 ERA and Ben Wetzler (7-1) has a 2.10 ERA. Boyd leads the team with 98 strikeouts in his 107.2 innings pitched. Top reliever Max Engelbrekt is 4-1 with a 1.46 era in 24.2 innings pitched.
• Scouting (4) UTSA
The Roadrunners captured the WAC championship after sweeping the competition in their conference tournament. Winners of seven straight, UTSA finishes the regular season 35-23 overall and 15-11 in conference play. Offensively, the Roadrunners are led by shortstop RJ Perucki who leads the team with a .349 batting average, 12 homeruns, 49 runs scored, and 27 walks. Centerfielder Daniel Rockett is batting .338 with 10 homeruns and a team-high 48 RBIs. On the mound, starting pitcher Brock Hartson carries a 9-4 record with a 3.10 ERA including one complete game on the year. Reliever and conference tournament MVP Matt Sims is 6-2 with a team leading 2.13 ERA, eight saves and 59 strikeouts in 55 innings pitched. UTSA has a 10-14 record on the road and they will face top-seeded Oregon State in the Corvallis Regional on Friday.


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Biotech, African Corn, & the Vampire Weed
Biotech, African Corn, and the Vampire Weed
A parasitic weed is sucking the life out of East African corn. One way to deal with it would be to engineer corn for herbicide resistance, so that herbicide could be sprayed on the corn to kill the parasite-even though the corn seed and the herbicide would probably be too expensive for poor farmers, the herbicide would pollute, and the weed would likely become resistant. Another way would be to improve soil health. Tough call.
I was hot on the trail of the infamous Striga weed. Though I'd never confronted a live specimen, the plant had been hounding me in absentia, and often in public, for several years. Again and again, in various panel discussions on biotechnology, I have listened to my debating opponents hold up Striga as proof that genetic engineering could one day eradicate hunger and poverty in the Third World. The particulars varied, of course, but I had heard the same basic Striga argument from biotech executives, from industry-funded scientists, and from the industry's advocates in academia and government.
Striga hermonthica is a member of the Scrophulariaceae family, a widespread group of about 4,000 plant species that includes a couple of "heirloom"garden favorites, foxglove and snapdragon. But it also includes several important Old World plant parasites-plants that live off other plants. S. hermonthica is one of these. It's common in East Africa, where it's called "witchweed" or in Swahili, "buda." It looks innocent enough, standing about 15 centimeters (around 6 inches) tall, and bearing little lance-shaped, pale-green leaves that make a pleasing contrast with its pink-purple flowers. But below ground, the plant is a monster. Its root-like organs, called haustoria, seek out the roots of nearby crops, then rob them of water, nutrients, and life. And those pretty flowers can set as many as 20,000 seeds per plant. The seeds are easily dispersed and can lie dormant in a range of soil conditions for decades.
In a badly infested field, Striga can destroy most of the harvest, perpetuating not only poverty and hunger, but also gender inequity, since it's usually women who must undertake the largely futile task of disentangling Striga from the crop. Throughout East Africa, Striga causes several billion dollars in losses each year.
The solution, according to the biotech advocates, is to engineer varieties of African staple crops to resist herbicides, so that farmers can spray their infested fields-and kill the Striga without killing the crop. This is an extension of agricultural biotech's dominant commercial application: the engineering of soybeans, corn, cotton, and canola by Monsanto to withstand the company's best-selling herbicide, glyphosate ("Roundup").
An anti-Striga niche would make it easier to claim the moral high ground for herbicide-tolerant crops. Such products might eventually seem as humanitarian as the industry's "golden rice"-the beta-carotene enhanced rice variety that is being developed to combat vitamin A deficiency. Beta-carotene is the precursor of vitamin A, an especially important nutrient for children. Worldwide, nearly 134 million children suffer some degree of vitamin A deficiency, a condition that can suppress immune system function, cause blindness, and in extreme cases, even kill. Little wonder that golden rice has become the emotionally compelling hook for a $50 million public relations campaign launched by the Biotechnology Trade Organization. (It's true that not everyone is sold on this idea. Some nutritionists argue that it would make more sense to help poor people grow green vegetables, which produce more beta-carotene than golden rice-along with various other nutrients completely lacking in rice, golden or otherwise.)
But in any case, I decided that the time had come for me to get a first-hand sense of this expanding moral high ground. From a political point of view, the Striga issue looked especially interesting because Striga, unlike vitamin A deficiency, is almost exclusively an African problem, and Africa is ground-zero in the global food debate. Although hunger is sorely persistent throughout much of the developing world, Africa is the only region where it is actually getting worse. In Latin America and Asia, the past two decades have seen a modest decline in malnourishment among children, in terms of both the percentage of children affected and their absolute numbers. In Africa, however, the share of children who are hungry has risen from 26 to 29 percent over the past 20 years, and the absolute number of hungry children has doubled. It now stands at 38 million. That helps explain why, sooner or later, almost any major agricultural development will have to justify itself in an African context.
That, in turn, explains why I was looking at cornfields outside Maseno, Kenya last February. Maseno is a small but rapidly growing town near the Ugandan border, about 30 kilometers northeast of Lake Victoria. And from what I could see, the local harvest was going to be an uncertain affair. In some fields there seemed to be more Striga than corn, which is often called maize in Africa. Spindly corn stalks with pitiful, dried-up ears stood above a carpet of purple flowers. But in other fields, the corn looked good and there was no Striga at all. Several farmers and ag extension agents helped explain what seemed like pure chance. One of them, a farmer named Paul Okongo, put it categorically: "Striga is only a problem in overused and depleted soils."
Striga thrives where farmers have grown nothing but corn for decades, especially where fallow periods have been shortened or eliminated. (During a fallow period, land is allowed to "go wild" or soil-building fallow crops are sown. The practice helps maintain long-term productivity by reducing weed and pest infestations and by allowing soil nutrient levels to recover.) But as Kenya's population has grown, the size of the average family field has declined, and farmers have become increasingly reluctant to take land out of production. Of course, fallowing isn't the only way to renew soil; another standard approach is fertilizing. And where farmers are able to do this-whether in the form of manure or artificial fertilizer-Striga is rarely a problem. But most East African farmers can't afford commercial fertilizer. And manure is often scarce because livestock are not generally penned, where their droppings could be collected, but grazed out in the open. No fertilizer and little fallowing: the result is depleted soil, and then Striga moves in. Striga infestation, in other words, is a kind of second-order effect: it's what happens after soil health declines. It was obvious that a herbicide-resistant fix wasn't going to get at this problem.
It was also obvious that Paul knew what he was talking about, and I began to wonder what local expertise might have to offer in lieu of a prepackaged, imported solution. And indeed, it turns out that some African farmers have found a way to suppress Striga with a widely available, home-grown technique: planting leguminous tree crops- that is, tree species that are members of the legume family. Plants in this family often have certain microbes on their roots that can "fix" nitrogen: the microbes withdraw elemental nitrogen from tiny air pockets in the soil, and bond it chemically to hydrogen, producing compounds that plants can metabolize. (Pure, elemental nitrogen is useless to plants; fixed nitrogen, on the other hand, is the principal component of fertilizer.)
These nitrogen-fixing trees are grown as a fallow crop, during the one more-or-less obligatory fallow period of the year: from February to April. This is the dry spell between the two rainy seasons-the long rains of late spring, which yield the main corn harvest in July, and the erratic, short rains of fall, which produce the smaller, January harvest. Of course, three months isn't long enough for the trees to get very big; they're usually 2 or 3 meters high when they're pulled to sow the fall corn. But that one season of tree growth can cut Striga infestations by over 90 percent. This is not just the effect of the added nitrogen. Some of the preferred tree crops are native to the region and have co-evolved with Striga; their evolutionary defenses to the parasite apparently include chemicals that they exude into the soil, and that disrupt the Striga lifecycle.
Control of Striga is not the only benefit of nitrogen-fixing crops, according to Bashir Jama, a scientist with the Nairobi-based International Center for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF), the main promoter of these "improved fallows." Where farmers can be persuaded to employ longer fallows, leguminous trees can accumulate 100 to 200 kilograms of nitrogen in 6 months to 2 years. (The results depend on the species used, soil quality, moisture levels, and whether the fallow is taken all at once or in intermittent periods.) These fertilization rates would satisfy most U.S. and European farmers. In severely depleted soils, they generally increase corn yields two to four times-not bad for adding just one crop to the rotation.
Bashir reports other benefits as well, such as improved soil structure, better water retention, and higher levels of other nutrients besides nitrogen. The fallow crop also shades out weeds-which means fewer weed seeds to cause problems when the field goes back into production. And because it adds diversity to the agroecosystem, the fallow tends to suppress the most serious insect pests of corn as well. (Monocultures foster very high insect infestations; in more complex systems, the pests encounter more predators and less food so their populations tend to be much lower.) Fallow greens are also nutritious livestock feed; the wood is useful for fuel. A six-month tree crop fallow on as little as half a hectare can meet a family's cooking needs for an entire year.
Another Striga control has emerged as the byproduct of an ingenious local response to the most important insect pest of corn, the stemborer. The borer is thought to chew up between 15 and 40 percent of Africa's corn harvest each year. In other corn-growing regions of the world, the borer is the target of extensive insecticide spraying. African farmers generally can't afford insecticide, but they may not need it anyway, to judge from the work of another Nairobi-based organization, the International Center for Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE). ICIPE's work is founded on the idea that pest problems are caused by ecological imbalances; progress is therefore a matter of correcting the imbalances, rather than simply trying to poison the pests. "The long-term solution is generally more insect diversity, not less," says Hans Herren, ICIPE's director. This attitude helps explain why the gates at ICIPE headquarters bear a sign reading "Duduville." "Dudu" is Swahili for bug. Kenyans don't generally seem to like bugs any more than Americans do; I saw billboards throughout Kenya that read, "Raid kills dudus dead."
ICIPE scientists have developed what they call a "push-pull" strategy for dealing with the stemborer. The corn is sown with certain plants, such as molasses grass (Melinis minutifolia) and silver leaf desmodium (Desmodium uncinatum) that repel, or "push" the borer. The field perimeter is sown with other plants, such as napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum) and Sudan grass (Sorghum vulgare sudanense), that attract, or "pull" it. Most of the larvae end up trapped in the gummy substances produced by these grasses. This system can cut stemborer losses from 40 percent to below 5 percent. It also offers substantial relief from Striga, because desmodium secretes a chemical that interferes with the parasite's ability to tap into the roots of other plants. (Desmodium is a legume genus from the New World, so this mechanism is not an adaptation to Striga specifically, but perhaps the genus coevolved with a similar parasite.)
Ironically, a major U.S. foundation, which has been funding the "push-pull" research, has asked ICIPE to isolate this chemical-and the related gene. "Part of their interest is to use that gene to come up with molecular biology solutions to the Striga problem," says Zeyaur Khan, who directs work on the push-pull strategy at ICIPE. In other words, they might be interested in funding the development of a corn variety engineered to produce this substance. How would that relate to ICIPE's interest in promoting ecological balance? Presumably, it would tend to undercut it, because it would push the system back towards monoculture-and it would likely do nothing for the borer problem. The full benefits of ICIPE's system are only available if you buy in at the ecological level-not the molecular level. And of course, the ecological level is the one that's available to farmers.
After several days of farm visits in western Kenya, I was beginning to get a better sense of how the biotech approach to Striga compared with the improved fallow technique. The biotech fix would be costly for the farmer, would increase chemical use, would add no other benefits to the system, and in any case, does not yet even exist. On the other hand, improved fallowing is extremely low-cost and confers all the benefits mentioned above. It's also readily accessible. In at least a rudimentary form, the technique is already being used by tens of thousands of farmers in eastern and southern Africa. Pedro Sanchez, who recently stepped down as director of ICRAF, sees improved fallowing at the early stages of an exponential growth curve similar to what happened with Green Revolution rice varieties in Asia. Sanchez envisions 50 million farmers using improved fallowing within the next five to ten years.
One of the most interesting features of the improved fallow system is that it allows for forms of R&D that farmers can do on their own. In 1997, for example, a moth infestation began to threaten a popular East African tree crop known as sesbania (Sesbania sesban)-until some farmers discovered that occasional rows of tephrosia trees (either Tephrosia vogelii or T. candida) would keep the pest in check. This field-level innovation is very far removed from the biotech paradigm, where innovation occurs, not on the farm, but in million-dollar laboratories, and where the principal actors are not farmers, but Ph.D. biologists and patent attorneys.
This distinction is critical, and not just for the harvest. The ability to innovate could be crucial to the future of farmers themselves. But if innovation is to contribute to the welfare of farming, it will have to extend beyond issues of yield. After all, many U.S. and European farmers have been teetering on the brink of economic extinction for years, and a substantial number have gone over it-even though they produce some of the highest yields in the world. In most developing countries, agriculture is still the predominant way of life, so the economic health of farming is a basic social issue. This is why the agricultural status quo is a dangerous absurdity. The multinational corporations that sell farmers seed and pesticide are ringing up tens of billions of dollars in sales each year; the multinationals that distribute, process, and retail the harvests are ringing up hundreds of billions. But farmers themselves are now members of the poorest-and ironically, the hungriest-occupation on Earth.
This is the problem that has come to dominate the agenda of another Kenyan NGO, the Association for Better Land Husbandry. ABLH was set up in 1994 to promote a variety of conservation farming techniques, including biointensive farming, a form of organic production popularized by one of organic agriculture's best-known proponents, John Jeavons of Willets, California. When I visited farmers working with ABLH in the Vihiga district of western Kenya, I instantly recognized the neatly laid out "beds" that characterize the biointensive method. In 1996, I had attended a three-day workshop taught by Jeavons, and I knew from direct experience how much effort went into those beds. They are prepared through a deep-digging technique, called "double-digging," which aerates the soil, and permits better nutrient circulation. Jeavons places tremendous emphasis on soil health. "Feed the soil, not the plants" is one of his mantras.
Biointensive farming can boost yield dramatically, and it packs a one-two punch against Striga by enriching soils, then producing a dense, diverse plant canopy that shades out most weeds. But by themselves, such improvements aren't going to bring prosperity to farmers. "Doubling maize yields and tripling kale yields doesn't make much of a difference if you can't get your produce to market, or if a flood of cheap imports squashes your local market," says Jim Cheatle, founder and director of ABLH. To get at these issues, Cheatle expanded the group's agenda to include a kind of farmer empowerment. ABLH now coordinates seven farm cooperatives so that local growers can capture the marketing and distribution advantages that come with scale. (Nine more co-ops should be in operation by the end of the year.) "Instead of each of several thousand farmers buying their own delivery truck and setting up their own marketing offices," says Jane Tum, an ABLH extensionist, "the cooperative can pool its resources for a much larger delivery truck and a marketing staff." This might seem like kind of an obvious thing to do, but any concern with marketing is still unusual in places like Kenya. A recent survey of over 200 sustainable farming projects in the developing world found that only 12 to 15 percent had tried to improve marketing or processing.
Co-op produce is now selling in both local and national markets under the "Farmer's Own" brand name. Among the products bearing this label are Mr. Brittle, a macadamia nut energy bar, and Mchuzi Mix, a soup and sauce thickener made from locally-grown beans and corn. "We're competing with the big boys," says Francisca Odundo, the marketing manager for Farmer's Own. Francisca is trying to cultivate allegiance for the new brand, which now sits on shelves alongside the Cadbury and Nestlé labels.
Farmer's Own products also bear the label, "Conservation Supreme," a quasi-organic designation that permits limited use of approved biopesticides, like the insect killing "Bt" bacterium. The designation is a kind of marketing tool to help small-scale farmers make the transition to certified organic production. (Before it can pay off, the transition usually involves several years of uncertainty, in which both the farm and the farmer must adjust to the new regime.)
I got a sense for the tangible results of these efforts when Jane Tum took me to a farm to pick up produce for a Farmer's Own vegetable stand. The farm was run by Flora Mwoshi, a young mother of three. On the day I visited, she was harvesting bright green bell peppers. With a young child resting on her hip, Flora balanced a five-gallon plastic bucket of peppers on her head and bore it to our truck, where it was weighed. Several more buckets followed. Her six-year-old daughter, barefoot but wearing her best white dress because the family had heard that white people were coming to visit, watched in awe as her mother became the center of attention.
Jane paid the woman 600 Kenyan shillings, about $10. That doesn't sound like much, but that money went directly into her pocket-no middleman to pay, no bills for agrochemicals or expensive seeds. And many more veggies remained to be harvested. This simple transaction was the most inspiring moment of my trip. We, the "white people," hadn't arrived with some foreign technology of highly dubious potential. We were there as witnesses and-in a broad sense-as colleagues. What we witnessed was a local response to a local problem. And we could see that the response worked, because the produce was beautiful, and the farmer got paid.
Brian Halweil is a research associate at the Worldwatch Institute.

subset: commoncrawl


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Ever since we learned that there's a multiplayer, source-engine take on the Slenderman game in the works, I've been hoping see more of the game in action.
This video, which was shared on the Slender: Source Steam Greenlight page, gives a first look at the Slenderman in the game, as well as a hint of the effects that will happen when he closes in.
Before you jump into the comments to say "Yawn, that isn't that scary," remember that it's very early footage, and not really indicative of how the game will work (context is everything in games like this). And also remember: Slendy looked goofy as hell in the first Slenderman game and that game was still darned terrifying.
For more on Slender: Source, check out its Steam Greenlight Page.


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Thelma & Louise 2011
It's the 20th anniversary of the movie this year. Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon are supposed to be doing some kind of Vanity Fair cover to celebrate it. No word on whether or not Harvey Keitel and Brad Pitt will participate. I hope so re: Pitt. After all, it did launch his career.
So the CMT Music Awards are happening tomorrow. Shania Twain and Taylor Swift were photographed in Thompson's Station, Tennessee shooting a recreation of Thelma & Louise for the telecast. This, for some reason, cracked me up. And I'm not sure I can articulate why properly, or that I need to because...well... Shania Twain and Taylor Swift are recreating Thelma & Louise. Come on. It's hilarious.
I'm assuming Shania is Louise and Taylor is Thelma? So... picture Taylor Swift holding up a convenience store? On a serious tip and back to the movie for a minute – go back and watch it if you haven't in a while, and tell me you don't want to cry every time Susan Sarandon and Harvey Keitel talk on the phone. Someone organise a screening. I want to come.
Photos from Rick Diamond/Gettyimages.com


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Model height 6'1", waist 31" and wearing Size Large.
Product sizing may vary from brand to brand.


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Prom-asaurus is the nineteenth episode of Glee's third season and the sixty-third episode overall. It premiered on May 8, 2012.
After Rachel chokes during her audition for NYADA, she is certain that her Broadway dreams are dead while Finn runs with Quinn for Prom Queen and King, causing Rachel to be even more devastated. Brittany is told that she has accomplished nothing as Senior Class President and is advised to use Prom as her comeback. Once again, the New Directions are asked to perform at Prom while Blaine, Kurt, Rachel, Puck, and Becky decide to have an Anti-Prom Party and ditch Prom instead, but those plans eventually alter. Quinn begins to gain her first steps after ending up in a wheelchair, but after Finn finds out, he is infuriated at the way she uses her disability to buys votes. Quinn and Santana decide to make a difference as they count the Prom Queen and King votes together.
The episode was directed by Eric Stoltz and written by Ryan Murphy.
After her disastrous audition for the New York Academy of Dramatic Arts, Rachel believes that her dream of Broadway stardom is at an end. To cope, she decides to dazzle at prom and focus on what she has going on with Finn. She feels okay with it all until Becky steamrolls over her with her own ambitious plan: to be named prom queen.
Principal Figgins explains to Brittany that during her reign as senior class president she has accomplished nothing: she's made the post so inconsequential that he's considering abolishing it. He also points out that given her failing grades the title is the only thing that might get her into a college. After wasting her year exploiting her "fluid teen sexuality and getting caught up in Lord Tubbington's Ponzi schemes," Brittany vows to make her term relevant by delivering a prom theme to remember.
Brittany meets with the three-member prom committee for the first time, despite the fact that they formed months ago and have been routinely sending her memos. She immediately vetoes their prom theme suggestions, explaining that "Castles in Clouds" won't work because castles are too heavy and dangerous to be held aloft by clouds, while "Stairway to Heaven" is inappropriate because the disabled students wouldn't have escalator access. Declaring that the committee is incompetent - or perhaps a terrorist cell - Brittany fires them all and announces her own prom theme: dinosaurs (which she believes coexisted peacefully with cavemen for millions of years).Next, Sue makes a P.A. announcement to reveal the candidates for the senior prom court: nominated for king are Finn, thuggish hockey player Rick Nelson, and, oddly, Brittany. Nominated for prom queen are Santana, Quinn, and Missy Gunderson. Believing that she was robbed of a nomination, Becky immediately throws a hissy fit and trashes Sue's music-cue xylophone.
As Rachel shares with Finn her plans for a perfect prom night with her fiance, Will tells the glee club that Figgins has asked New Directions to perform at prom once again. Then Brittany announces her choice of prom theme, prompting some skepticism from everyone but Santana. Brittany also details her impractical prehistoric menu and announces a ban on hair gel, along with her decree that Quinn and Santana will be tallying the prom court votes to keep each other honest.
When Rachel sees a poster touting the prom candidacies of Finn and Quinn, she angrily confronts him. Finn admits that Quinn asked him to lend her support and he agreed as a friend. Given that Quinn nearly died on her way to their aborted wedding, he didn't suspect that it would upset Rachel. But Rachel is angry at the thought that on her big prom night Finn may be dancing with Quinn - even though Quinn, confined to her wheelchair, may not actually be able to dance. However, Quinn is making progress in her physical therapy with constant help from Joe, and she is able to take a few steps before tumbling to the mat. Joe wants to tell everyone, but Quinn is determined to keep it between them until she's able to walk unassisted into the choir room - or better yet, into prom.
Meanwhile, Becky's high-class inner monologue kicks in as she struggles with her disappointment about not being nominated for prom queen,and it didn't help that her poster said "veto" which means forbid instead "vote". She grows increasingly moody, bitter, and difficult. Sue tries to assure her that Quinn had split any sympathy vote she might have garnered and that Becky's better off being a bitch. Sue says she will take her to prom as deputy in charge of guarding the punch bowl.Onstage, Rachel, Kurt, and Blaine sing together on Fergie's Big Girls Don't Cry, but Blaine suggests that it's too much of a downer to sing at prom. Rachel admits that she's down herself about Quinn and Finn's potentially shared reign.
Kurt agrees that prom sucks, recalling that the school's write-in vote tradition led to his humiliating stint as prom queen the year before. Meanwhile, Blaine frets over the hair gel ban and being seen in his natural state. Kurt suggests that if they're all going to be miserable maybe they should skip prom.
Rachel ups the ante: she announces to the glee club that she'll be throwing an "anti-prom party" for those feeling uncomfortable with the celebration. Rachel has already secured a hotel room and invited the underclassmen (a bored Becky informs her that "I'll think about it"). Puck agrees to come, frustrated by his continued failure in the classroom and ready to quit the tradition of trying to spike Sue's punch, much to Artie's chagrin.
Santana tries to deter Rachel from her plan by insisting that she face the truth: she's upset and disappointed, but she's also acting petty, potentially ruining one of the last nights they'll all have to spend together before graduation.
As Finn and Quinn hang posters and discuss Rachel's downward spiral, a student tells Quinn how brave she is for running for prom queen. Quinn delivers a very touching - yet also thought-out and practiced - speech designed to effectively evoke voter sympathy. Finn is a little creeped out by the tactic. Quinn asks him if he wants to win or not.
On prom night, the students are impressed by the results of Brittany's dinosaur theme, while Brittany herself kicks off the party by performing Ke$ha's Dinosaur in a cave girl costume with Cheerios in dinosaur masks. Sue proudly declares her prom punch to be her best batch yet.
Finn searches for Quinn and is stunned to find her standing on her feet in the ladies room. Finn's also shocked that she's been lying to everyone, but she insists that she's still healing and just wanted to take her first steps to claim her prom queen crown. As she tells him how badly she wants to win, Finn realizes that he stood by Quinn when it was Rachel who really needed him. He feels stupid and betrayed, believing that Quinn has learned nothing from all of her setbacks during the year and remains as selfish as ever. Quinn practically begs Finn to stay for the nominees' one mandatory dance.
Rachel, Kurt, Blaine, Puck, and Becky get their anti-prom bash underway. They agree that they're glad they're not at prom. Becky's a little too enthusiastic - not to mention obnoxious - but when Rachel advises her to chill out, Becky dismisses her and vetoes most of the suggestions for a fun time, declaring the party "the worst anti-prom ever."
Santana entertains the prom crowd by singing Selena Gomez's Love You Like a Love Song, with Brittany and Tina as backup while Sam and Mercedes dance. Mercedes shares a friendly wave with her ex, Shane, who dances with a date of his own. In the midst of their obligatory dance, Finn demands that Quinn stand and show the other students that she can really walk.
Joe tries to step in and calm Finn down. They nearly come to blows before Sue breaks it up and reminds Finn that she ejected him from prom the year before, and Finn storms away.
As the anti-prom party grows increasingly lame, Kurt suggests that if Blaine wanted to go to prom he'd be willing to go with him. Blaine, however, doesn't want to give in to Brittany's hair gel ban - and he especially doesn't want Kurt to see him without hair product.
Finn arrives just in time for Rachel to step out of the bathroom to model the prom dress she'd bought. He tells her that he loves her and that "prom sucks without you." In fact, he thinks prom sucks without all of them, and he persuades them to join him back at the prom, although Becky and Puck stay behind - a decision Puck may find himself regretting when Becky again suggests a round of strip poker.
Finn, Rachel, Kurt, and Blaine arrive at the prom, welcomed in by Brittany - but she still insists Blaine can only attend gel-less - while Joe, Sam, Artie, Mike, and Rory perform One Direction's What Makes You Beautiful, working the crowd into a frenzy.Meanwhile, Becky's poker skills have left Puck stripped down to his skivvies. When he asks for mercy, she admits that she's having a hard time holding back because she's angry that she didn't get a prom queen nomination. When he realizes how much it means to her, Puck suggests that they haven't crowned a king and queen of the anti-prom, and he cuts a cardboard beer carrier into crowns for them. Seeing herself in the mirror, Becky is finally happy.
Rachel apologizes to Quinn for freaking out about her campaign with Finn. Having not been aware of the drama, Quinn shrugs it off. Rachel realizes that Quinn doesn't understand what exactly she means to Rachel. When they met, Quinn was everything Rachel wanted to be, and Rachel continues to see her that way - she hasn't been seeing the still-beautiful but humbled Quinn. She wants Quinn to know how happy she is that they finally became friends and admits that she voted for her because she thinks Quinn deserves to win. But Rachel's praise leaves Quinn questioning her own methods.
Becky and Puck make a grand entrance at the prom, the guests applauding their arrival. As Sue is pleased to see her, Becky provides the perfect distraction that allows Puck to at long last spike the punch. When they head to the dance floor, Puck thanks Becky for making his own dream come true.
As Santana and Quinn tally the prom court votes, Santana is surprised at how few votes Brittany scored for king, and Santana admits that she doesn't want to be queen if Brittany isn't king.Then Quinn reveals the final results for queen: she won by one vote. Quinn realizes that although she got everything she wanted, she doesn't feel any better. She suggests to Santana that they've had dream runs in high school and that they now have a chance to make a difference for someone else.
Blaine finally enters prom without hair gel, a look that prompts Brittany to immediately lift her ban - but before Blaine can leave to reapply his product, Kurt insists that he stay. He says that he loves Blaine no matter what his hair looks like.
Figgins take the stage to reveal the prom court voting results and invites former prom queen Kurt to help unveil the winners: Finn has been named prom king, and in a surprise twist, write-in candidate Rachel takes the crown, thanks to Quinn and Santana.
As Quinn and Santana sings Berlin's Take My Breath Away, Finn and Rachel share their king-and-queen dance. Rachel worries that her win is a joke and is expecting a hideous follow-up, but Finn reminds her that she's beautiful, sexy, and an inspiration to the other students.
Tina cries on Mike's shoulder, saying that she wishes the whole experience would never end. Then Quinn stuns everyone as, in the midst of the song, she stands and leans on Santana to finish. "It's a prom miracle!" says Sam.
Rachel remains stunned, telling Finn, "Never in a million years would I have thought I'd be named prom queen, but if my friends believe in me this much maybe anything's possible."
|Song Title
|Original Artist
|Big Girls Don't Cry
|Blaine Anderson, Kurt Hummel,
and Rachel Berry
|Brittany Pierce with the Cheerios
|Love You Like a Love Song
|Selena Gomez & The Scene
|Santana Lopez with Brittany Pierce
and Tina Cohen-Chang
|What Makes You Beautiful
|One Direction
|New Directions Boys
|Take My Breath Away
|Quinn Fabray and Santana Lopez
Background Songs
- Airmale by Yoko Ono/The Plastic Ono Band - Plays while Rachel discovers Quinn and Finn's campaign poster.
- Walk the Dinosaur by Was (Not Was) - Plays while Puck and Becky spike the punch
Guest Cast
Guest Stars
- Iqbal Theba as Principal Figgins
- Chord Overstreet as Sam Evans
- Lauren Potter as Becky Jackson
- Samuel Larsen as Joe Hart
- Damian McGinty as Rory Flanagan
- LaMarcus Tinker as Shane Tinsley
- B.K. Cannon as a Prom Committee Member
- Rock Anthony as Rick Nelson
- Jimmy Bellnger as Clark Hummings
- In the first take of Take My Breath Away, Naya cried real tears, nothing scripted. Source
- This episode also features a scene from Funny Girl where Rachel sits in the auditorium wearing the same outfit Barbra did in the movie's beginning.
- Airmale also plays when Quinn runs to tear down the Lucy Caboosey poster in Born This Way.
- Big Girls Don't Cry has different arrangements in the TV and Studio Versions, especially in the chorus where Kurt sings the first part and instead of Blaine having one solo in it and Rachel having the other, they both sang the parts together. However, most songs featured on the show are like this.
- The whole Santana helping Quinn stand thing was all Naya's idea. After the first take that she did that, Eric Stoltz said, "Naya I really liked that you held her up. Keep doing that." Source
- When the episode aired in the UK, during the scene where Santana and Quinn are counting votes, part of Santana's line ..."being a crip and all" was cut.
- In the scenes at Figgins' office, Brittany says that she "stopped talking for a while." This may be a reference to the fact that she had little to no lines from Hold on to Sixteen to Heart.
- In the promo for this episode, Puck says, "Fan-friggin'-tastic." When the episode aired, he simply says, "Fantastic."
- Becky playing the xylophone for the announcements is a reference to the musical Grease.
- It is possible that Becky's strong poker playing skills in this episode are inspired by Lauren Potter's life. As a board member of Best Buddies, a non-profit organization, Lauren has attended many charity events including poker tournaments and has been jokingly referred to as a "card shark" on her Twitter.
- In the episode, both Finn and Blaine are wearing parts of clothing which they wore again in The Break-Up. Blaine wore his black vest, and Finn wore his blue striped shirt.
- This is the second time Finn wore his blue striped shirt in a Prom Episode, the first time in Prom Queen.
- Quinn and Puck are the only seniors who don't have their photos taken.
Cultural references
- Sue Sylvester calls Joe "Jar Jar Binks," which is a reference to Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace.
- Sue also mentioned Mad Men, an American dramatic television series created and produced by Matthew Weiner.
- Rachel says, after she has been named Prom Queen, "Is someone gonna throw pigs blood on me next like in Carrie?", referencing the popular Stephen King novel-turned-movie. Ironically, this later happens to Tina when she is named Prom Queen in the episode Tina in the Sky with Diamonds, although with red slushies rather than pigs blood.
- Blaine and Kurt act as if nobody had ever seen Blaine without hairgel before the prom. However, he has been seen without it on several occasions before, like during I Can't Go For That/You Make My Dreams and during The Rachel Berry House Party Train Wreck Extravaganza, though it is possible that they had been exaggerating, had simply forgotten, or could have been a wig, like Puck's hair.
- At the Anti-Prom Party, the table that Rachel is standing in front of has nothing on it but the Room Service menus. But, after Becky calls Kurt gay, Puck says "I second that" and a black purse is seen on the table.
- Brittany didn't let Blaine enter with hairgel, yet many other students in the crowd had gel in their hair, breaking Brittany's rule.
- In the choir room when Finn and Rachel are about to kiss, you can see Tina and Mike sitting, but when the camera turns to Will they hadn't reached their seats yet.
- The start of the episode before Will enters the scene is like bloopers; Joe and Rory spinning in chairs, Santana hitting her butt then touching Mercedes's face, Sam standing on a chair in the background.
- When Becky is narrating about Queens, she looks at Finn and Quinn's poster. When the camera zooms out, their poster is completely different.
- Rachel can be seen in a few scenes without bangs, but in the rest of the episode, she has bangs.
Is this some kind of joke or something? I mean, like Kurt last year? Is someone gonna throw pigs blood on me next like in Carrie?
Well, you know it would be boring if we weren't so awesome.
Rachel: What are you doing here?
What are you looking at, Jar-Jar Binks?
I thought going through all that terrible stuff earlier this year made you cooler, but no, you're still the same old Quinn. All that matters is you.


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After the 1846 occupation and annexation, New Mexico was brought under the civil law of the United States (Kearny Code), and government officials for New Mexico were immediately appointed by Gen. Kearny. Thereafter, New Mexico was governed by civil and military officials who received their appointments from Washington.
Thus began New Mexico's territorial period, which lasted 66 years, until our old and venerable Nuevo Mexico, long a Spanish and Mexican province, was admitted to the Union as the 47th state in 1912.
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… Jo Bhi tere dar aaya, Jhukne jo sar aaya;
Mastiya piye sabko, Jhoomta nazar aaya,
Pyaas leke aaya tha, Dariya who bhar laya;
Noor ki baarish mein, Bheegta sa tar aaya...
These famous lines of a popular Hindi film reverberate with the trust and conviction of thousands of people thronging the Dargah Sharif of Ajmer to offer their prayers…
Situated about 11 kms from Pushkar and 145 kms from Jaipur, The Dargah Sharif is the final resting place of the great Sufi saint - Hazrat Khwaja Syed Muhammad Muinuddin Chishti.
Also known as Gharib Nawaz, or 'Benefactor of the Poor', the Khwaja was one of the greatest saintly liberators of human sufferings, a vast oasis of peace and harmony, moral strength and divine enlightenment. He still is, in spirit, through His blessings and love which one can sense when one is here. No wonder then, it is believed that no one returns empty handed from His divine abode.
Going back in time, the great Mughal Emperor Akbar once came to the Dargah Sharif in the 16th century to offer prayers for an heir and later his prayer was answered. It was his belief that had brought him there. And even today, it's this belief that brings not only the common man but also popular personalities, of all faiths and from all fields, to this living cenotaph all round the year to pay homage to the great saint. During the Urs, which is held in honor of the death anniversary of the Saint, it is said that, this Muslim mosque is totally a different place swarmed with lakhs of pilgrims from all over the world.
You will have to leave your cars a good distance away from the main shrine as after this point, entry of vehicles are restricted (I had left my camera too as our driver told us that electronic gadgets are not allowed inside the dargah). Walking on foot, this is the time when you will be able to see the different colors of Ajmer. The narrow lanes are lively, bustling with colorful bazaars selling a variety of stuff from chaddars and scarves to clothes and food. I walk past beggars asking for alms, other pilgrims hurrying past and shopkeepers who urge you to remove footwear in their shops and buy something instead. Soon, the smell of fresh rose and jasmine flowers, sandalwood paste, perfumes and incense sticks floating in the air indicate that I am just about to reach. In a moment, I spot the huge gates. Remove your footwear, cover your head, two things must be done before entering.
I entered the main dargah, where the saint lies buried. Every corner inside is done up in gold which furnishes the whole aura in grandeur and divinity. Tried to get near his crypt but it was getting too difficult to stand in the place filled to the brim, with everybody trying to do the same. It is surrounded by a silver railing with a cleric sitting besides it. He takes the offerings, puts them on the tomb and taps your head with a feather fan before directing you towards the exit gate. I wish I could have spent some more time here.
[ The resting place of the saint, Khwaja Syed Muhammad Muinuddin Chishti
(courtesy photo.webindia123.com) ]
Outside, in the premises, there is a humble baoli or water reservoir whose waters are said to cure all diseases. There are people roaming around here carrying water-filled sacks who will insist you buy one of this. This essentially means that, you will then get to empty the water from the sack in the pond which, in turn, is said to bring good luck and prosperity.
Just a little ahead are two enormous cauldrons filled with rice, lentils, dry fruits and condiments donated by the pilgrims. This is daily cooked and distributed free among the poor.
As I headed towards the exit, I spotted the professional singers called 'qawwals' sitting in groups, singing qawwallis (Sufi hymns) in the praises of the saint in a distinguishing voice penetrating not only through the walls but also your soul. Every time I have heard Sufi songs live, especially in dargahs, be it at the Haji Ali dargah in Mumbai or here, the experience has truly been a magical one… the magic of the music merging with the soul… It was a wonderful feeling that stayed on with me as I made my way towards the city!


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I saw a story on a local news channel recently about a missing teenage girl,she had run away apparently.
To get to the point the reporter was talking to a family friend who had "recovered" the contents of AOL chats she had with "middle-aged men" that he described as disgusting.
My point being,how did he do this?
My experience is with Yahoo and I have found that it keeps a log of all the people you chat with and at what time/date the chat was,also it keeps a copy of all files you transfer over it.
But keeping a log of all content of chats?
Unless the parents had a keystroke logger or some nanny-ware I don't see how this was done.


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I am happy to announce the launch of my Digital Delray Days – a series of one-day, fast-paced and fun-filled digital photograph workshops in beautiful Delray Beach, Florida.
• Dates: January 30, January 31 and February 2, 2012. (These sessions will be held after my Florida Photo Caravan.)
• I'll be giving a free lecture on the evening of January 30th. Place and time TBD.
• Each session is one day long: 8 AM to Noon and 1 to 5 PM. The same workshop will be given each day. (Hang out after the workshops for happy hour!)
• I'll be your photography and Photoshop instructor.
• The groups are limited to 8 – for up-close and personal shooting and training with me.
• I'll teach HDR, model, street, outdoor, flash, reflector/diffusers, and beach photography. Yes. You will leave the workshop with a very good understanding of your flash.
• In December, I will review your portfolio on line and give you feedback. I'll need a link.
• We'll have a digital darkroom session, so you'll see how to enhance your images. I will offer some tips, tricks and techniques.
• Cost is $149 and includes: Workshop fee and a copy of two of my books: Exploring the Light and Field Guide to Digital Photography.
• All meals, hotel and transportation are on your own.
• We'll be based at the Colony Hotel in Delray.
• Skill level: All... but you must know how to find your pictures on your laptop.
You'll need:
• Your camera, lenses and flash.
• Tripod.
• Laptop with card reader.
• Loaded on your laptop (in addition to Lightroom, Photoshop or Photoshop Elements): Photomatix or HDR Efex Pro. Also: Topaz Adjust. For a discount on Photomatix and HDR Efex Pro, see my Creative Plug-ins page.
To learn about HDR photography, check out my iHDR iPad app.
I hope you can join the photo fun in Delray.
If you have any questions, shoot me an email.
For an application, email Susan Sammon.
Explore the light,
P.S. Here is a behind-the-scenes shot taken in the room where I took the opening pictures for this post. Ahhhhh, the wonders of HDR photography!


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Product Promotion Brochure TemplateThis brochure template is perfectly suitable for:
• Promoting retail products
• Promoting packs, bundles, promos
• Promoting electronic devices or appliances
Item Description:
• 2 Files (Orange & Cyan)
• Layered content
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• Size: US Letter (8.5×11)
• Color profile: CMYK
• Resolution: 300 DPI
All fonts used are free. Download link is provided in read-me file.
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Sample images are not included with this file. If you like them, please support their respective author buying them here:
• Recompensa – Stock Logo: GraphicRiver
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• Smartphone mockup by Liwen Guo: www.livven.me
If you need any further assistance please contact me through my Profile Page and thanks for buying


text:
Bilingual thoughts on life, language, learning, and all things Latina.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Overwhelmed and ocupadísima
It is comforting, in a way, to know I'm not the only one with an over-heaped plate. That doesn't help me with my to-do list, though. Someone mentioned "mapping out" what one has to do, before setting out to do it all. That's exactly the habit I need to develop. I'm known for signing up for more work - chairing committees, organizing events, writing articles, presenting workshops, starting up new projects - only to become flustered when I can't get to everything properly.
Before the piles of paper get too high, before the projects become too numerous to keep track of, before I fall behind in my work and start making mistakes, and before I lose sight of the fact that I am a wife and mother first - I have to sit down and take a look at everything I've committed myself to. I'm not one to drop what I can't do. I just have to do a better job of managing everything.
So, I want my readers to know - I'm still here, bear with me please. I'll soon get everything under control and will get back to blogging regularly.
4 comments:
Now notice that in your list of what you need to remember (mom, wife) you didn't say 'blogger'. I really did miss you, but you take care of yourself and the people who really matter!!
- September 28, 2009 at 9:34 PM
- John Spencer said...
Glad to see you're still here. I'll look forward to new posts. :)
- September 29, 2009 at 2:15 PM
Hola, I'm looking for other Hispanics too! We found each other!
Rosalinda Vargas
Loma Linda, CA
- September 29, 2009 at 9:35 PM
- WideEyedWonder said...
That's exactly how I feel! Though I will say that I took a much longer break than I planned to. I would like to apologize SO MUCH for not getting back to you about being pen pals. I just saw that you wrote me quite a while ago about that and with the start of my new job I've been so negligent about checking on things over here.
If the offer is still good, however, I know my students would LOVE it. I don't know the details, but if you'd like to contact me at widieyedwonder @ gmail.com with more information I'd love to get our students involved with writing to each other (I currently have 12 students). That would be a great experience for them!
Thanks for thinking of us and again, I'm so sorry for the late reply!!!
- October 6, 2009 at 11:58 PM


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I've found that ShapeFusion does sound export, but I can't find anything not tied to MacOS Classic that can import sounds. I don't know what I myself might be able to do. I'd need some soundfile-reading libraries, though I might be able to do the rest with ShapeFusion's source code. I'd also have to do a user interface for importing sounds.
I've half-thought of doing new female-Bob sounds, but I've wanted to do that with text-to-speech software. Although it's easy to find text-to-speech readers, there are some problems:
* Laughter. I can't figure out how do it in TTS systems.
* Legal problems. Some TTS voices have "personal" pricing that only permits use on one's machines, without "broadcast rights". That's also apparently true of Apple's voices. Some others have "personal" pricing that is more ambiguous about that, saying "persona" use only, as opposed to "commercial" use. I'd want distribution over the Internet with generating only on my home machine, and free distribution at that.


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Colleen Coover
Colleen Coover is a comic book artist based in Portland, Oregon. Her comics include the adult title Small Favors and the all-ages Banana Sunday. She has been published by Dark Horse, Top Shelf, Marvel, and many others. She works with her husband, writer Paul Tobin, on the Eisner Award-winning series Bandette.


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Good afternoon, Citizens!
Just the briefest of updates today.
Implausible Deniability is getting the last polishing right now (will keep you updated on that) but we have a little bit of news that may be of interest:
Some of you may recall previous editions of Paranoia - well, these titles are now available in ebook format (and a few available in print!) once again on Drivethru, starting with our own Paranoia XP/Service Pack 1, and 25th Anniversary editions.
You can grab them all here:
http://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/ ... te_id=7242
While these books use a different rules set to the Paranoia box set now in your hands, there is oodles of information and ideas contained within their pages that you will still find most relevant to your own games, from simple (ha!) missions to the deviously masterful High Programmers RPG.
But what about the even older and classicer Paranoia books from the West End Games days? Stay tuned, loyal Troubleshooter, stay tuned...
Mongoose News - Classic Paranoia Returns!
General chat about Mongoose Publishing and its releases
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Mongoose News - Classic Paranoia Returns!
Matthew Sprange
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Pumpkin pie frosting is not frosting that is kinda sorta like pumpkin pie. It's not a buttercream with some pumpkin mixed in, or a cream cheese frosting with a dash of pumpkin pie spice. Pumpkin pie frosting is honest-to-goodness pumpkin pie (minus the crust – although you could add that too if you wanted) piped onto cupcakes.
It turns out that pumpkin pie is perfectly pipe-able. Try out this pumpkin pie frosting as the ideal complement for any Fall cupcake flavor.
It's amazing on apple cupcakes.
You also can't go wrong with it on ultimate vanilla cupcakes.
For other Fall cupcake inspiration, check out my top ten Fall cupcake recipes.
How To Make Pumpkin Pie Frosting
Pumpkin Pie Frosting
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 2 large eggs
- 15 ounces canned pumpkin pure pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling
- 12 ounces evaporated milk
- Preheat oven to 425 F.
- In a large bowl, beat eggs.
- Stir in sugar, salt, and pumpkin pie spice.
- Mix in pumpkin.
- Mix in evaporated milk.
- Pour into 9" pie plate (no crust needed).
- Bake for 15 minutes.
- Reduce heat to 350 F and bake for another 40-50 minutes, until a toothpick comes out dry.
- Remove from oven and leave on counter for two hours before use.
- Put the crustless pie in a large mixing bowl and beat it for about thirty seconds to evenly distribute any moisture.
- Load pumpkin pie "frosting" into a piping bag and spread or pipe onto cooled cupcakes or cakes.


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The Federal Reserve is further slowing the pace of its bond purchases because it thinks an improving U.S. economy needs less help. But it's offering no clearer hint of when it will start raising its benchmark short-term interest rate.
The Fed on Wednesday reiterated its plan to keep short-term rates low "for a considerable time" after its bond purchases end. Most economists think a rate increase is about a year away despite a strengthening economy. The government estimated Wednesday that the economy grew at a fast 4 percent annual rate last quarter.
In a statement after a two-day policy meeting, the Fed revised the wording of its previous statement to acknowledge that while the unemployment rate has fallen steadily, the job market remains subpar in other ways. The Fed didn't specify what it meant. But Chair Janet Yellen expressed concern to Congress this month about stagnant wage growth, a high number of part-time workers who can't find full-time jobs and the proportion of the unemployed who have been out of work for more than six months.
The Fed also tweaked its statement to say inflation had risen closer to its 2 percent target. The statement said concerns that inflation would persistently run below the Fed's 2 percent target had "diminished somewhat." But it expressed no concerns about the slight acceleration in prices.
The Fed announced, as expected, that it's paring its monthly purchases by another $10 billion to $25 billion. The bond purchases have been intended to keep long-term borrowing rates low and are set to end in October.
The Fed's decision was approved on a 9-1 vote with Charles Plosser, president of the Fed's Philadelphia regional bank, dissenting. The statement said Plosser objected to continuing to include language that the Fed's key short-term interest rate was likely to remain at record low near zero "for a considerable time" after the end of its bond purchases. Plosser felt that language did not "reflect the considerable economic progress that has been made."


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"The Department of English Literature encourages you to explore the pleasures of reading and studying literature in a community of outstanding scholars and students."Dr Deborah Longworth, Head of English Literature
English at Birmingham has been ranked top ten in the UK in three major league tables


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BOSTON, May 6 (UPI) -- Ex-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona, shooting spree survivor-turned-advocate for reducing gun violence, earned the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award.
The award, presented by the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, was given to Giffords Sunday by foundation President Caroline Kennedy, the Boston Globe reported.
"It's been a hard two years for me, but I want to make the world a better place," Giffords said in receiving the award at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.
In 2011, a gunman opened fire at a congressional meet-and-greet in Tucson, killing six people and wounding 13, including Giffords.
The former congresswoman's appearance came three weeks after two bombs killed three people and wounded more than 260 near the finish line of the Boston Marathon.
Before Sunday's ceremony, Giffords and her husband, retired astronaut and Navy Capt. Mark Kelly, visited victims of the bombings at a rehabilitation center, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Giffords and Kelly established Americans for Responsible Solutions, a political action committee that campaigns for, among other things, universal background checks on gun purchases.
Kennedy, daughter of President John F. Kennedy, praised Giffords during the presentation, saying the Kennedy family "is still suffering from the heartbreak of gun violence" and that Giffords "has turned a personal nightmare into a movement for change."
"When others would have withdrawn from public life, she's challenged us all to re-engage in the political process," Kennedy said.
John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, and his brother, Robert, was assassinated in 1968, just after he'd won the California Democratic presidential primary.


text: Welcome to our new website! The Fremont Public Library Youth Services is now bringing another amazing feature to our department. We hope you enjoy the easy navigation, more information based on your needs, and a portal to the plentitude of services we offer to you and our community. This particular page will highlight program photos, contest winners, book reviews, and more! K-2 Crickets program during Summer 2012 Tags: youth blog Read more about Welcome to our new website!


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Precision Ceramic Insulators
We produce ceramic parts in Steatite, Cordierite, Porcelain, Magnesium Oxide, Alumina, Mullite and Forsterite. Du-Co Ceramics Company's processes are dry pressing, extrusion, secondary machining, glazing, and both centerless and flat grinding. We have the finest equipment, enabling us to produce high quality ceramics at competitive prices, in the quantities you may require. Du-Co Ceramics Company offers its engineering abilities to help you with your design and material selection for your unique application.
Our Capabilities | Standard Ceramic Products | Request a Quote


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U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission
Female Grocery Store Employees Were Sexually Harassed, Some Forced to Quit, Federal Agency Charges
PITTSBURGH – A full-service grocery store and produce market in Brownsville, Pa., knowingly tolerated the egregious sexual harassment of a class of female workers by a supervisor in violation of federal law, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it announced today.
In its federal court complaint, the EEOC charges that since at least July 2008, Country Fresh Market, LLP and Fredericktown Produce, Inc., condoned ongoing, severe sexual harassment of a class of women working in the meat department at their Brownsville store. According to the EEOC's suit, a male meat department manager repeatedly engaged in unwelcome and offensive physical touching of female workers and persistently made offensive sexual advances, comments and gestures.
According to the EEOC's suit, female workers who were harassed, as well as other employees, reported the sexual harassment to company management and the store owner. The EEOC charges that the company not only failed to take appropriate corrective measures to stop the sexual harassment, but also that a company official threatened complaining employees with termination. The harassment was so intolerable that two women were forced to quit their jobs, the EEOC said.
Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits sexual harassment. Title VII also prohibits employers from retaliating against an employee who opposes sexual harassment or discrimination. The EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania after first attempting to reach a voluntary settlement through its conciliation process. In its lawsuit, the EEOC seeks injunctive relief prohibiting sexual harassment and retaliation, as well as lost wages, compensatory and punitive damages, and other affirmative relief for female workers who were subjected to the misconduct.
"Sadly, more than 45 years after the passage of Title VII, sexual harassment remains a serious problem for workers," said EEOC District Director Spencer H. Lewis, Jr., of the EEOC's Philadelphia District Office, which oversees Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia and parts of New Jersey and Ohio. "No employee should be forced to endure a pattern of unwelcome and offensive sexual harassment in order to earn a living."
EEOC Regional Attorney Debra Lawrence added, "When employees complain about harassment, a smart company should be proactive, take advantage of that advance notice and act to stop the harassment. In this case, unfortunately, the company compounded the problem by threatening the employees who complained. The EEOC will take appropriate action to protect workers from egregious sexual harassment if an employer fails to do so."
The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about the EEOC is available on its web site at www.eeoc.gov.


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In addition to being the newest cast member (copywriter Ed Gifford) of AMC's "Mad Men," emerging triple-threat, Kit Williamson, writes, directs, and stars in the critically acclaimed VIACOM/LOGO web series "EastSiders" now airing online and can also be seen in the leading role on the hit rom-com web series "Hipsterhood," returning for a second season this summer on Blip.Tv, as well as viral videos for Funny or Die and Daywalt Fear Factory. Kit's indie film work includes a supporting role in the Slamdance favorite apocalyptic road trip comedy "Best Friends Forever" from director Brea Grant, which is slated for distribution by Gravitas.
This southern charmer left his home state of Mississippi to attend the prestigious theatre program at Interlochen Arts Acadamey then attended college at Manhattan's Fordham University, Lincoln Center, where he performed in many main stage shows. During his sophomore year of college Kit auditioned and landed the role of Jacques Roux in an experimental production of Marat/Sade Off-Off Broadway. His revered performance got the attention of Broadway, and shortly after he was cast in the Broadway revival of Eric Bogosian's Talk Radio, starring Liev Schreiber and directed by Tony-award winner Robert Falls. He played the role of Spike, a member of Barry Champlain's onstage crew, and understudied the role of Kent. The production was nominated for the Tony award for best revival.
Other film and TV credits include "Numb3rs" (CBS), "Death Valley" (MTV), "2010 Moby Dick" from The Asylum, "The Untimely Concurrence" from Matemotja Productions (AOF International Film Fest winner, best LGBT short, Movieville Fest), "Para-Normal" from Lauren Timmons (Screamfest LA), "Panacea" from Kent Hastings (Sacramento
Horror Fest), "Last Halloween" from Steele Films (Rhode Island Horror Fest), "The Many Doors of Albert Whale" from Daywalt Fear Factory (Viscera Fest, Bleed Fest, Mississippi Pulp Con), "The Brute Killer" from Tom Etlinger (Las Vegas International Film Fest winner, Silver Ace Award, Hollyshorts, Chicago Latino Film Fest), and the feature films "Opious" from World's Last Hero Productions and "Truth or Dare" from BDHR Entertainment.
New York theatre credits include the tony-nominated revival of "Talk Radio" on Broadway, "A Midsummer Night's Dream" with Sonnet Rep, "Marat/Sade" with Push Productions and numerous credits with At Play Productions. His performance as a disaffected skinhead in "Made in Poland" Off Broadway at 59E59 with The Play Company garnered him outstanding reviews, with Variety raving "Kit Williamson's hilariously serious performance as an angst-filled wannabe revolutionary strikes exactly the right notes... Bogus' interactions are almost always funny and occasionally deeply touching."
Also an accomplished playwright, Kit's play "The Gin Dialogues" won the Playwrights First Award from The National Arts Club and was selected for the Playlab at the Great Plains Theater Conference in Omaha. His short play "Shot for Shot" was produced by Theater Masters in Aspen and again Off Broadway at Theater Row as part of the National MFA Playwriting Festival. His work has also been produced by Fordham University, UCLA and Iowa State University.