text: demolition Shakespeare's Pizza Demolition Temporarily Postponed By Jeremy Schmetterer • Jun 10, 2015 File Photo / Ryan Famuliner The demolition of Shakespeare's Pizza has been postponed, according to Columbia Public Works. Contractor Emery Sapp and Sons was scheduled to start the process on June 10 at 8:00 AM, but public works announced Wednesday morning that it would be delayed until June 15. According to Public Works building and site development manager Shane Creech, the decision to delay the demolition was not made by the city. Business Beat: With No Moratorium, Shakespeare's Demolition is a Go By Jason Hoffman & Kara Tabor • Apr 29, 2015 Chris Yunker / Flickr Recently, one of the biggest issues on the Columbia City Council's plate has been the proposed demolition moratorium on buildings in downtown Columbia, such as Shakespeare's Pizza. KBIA's Jason Hoffman tells us why the debate still matters even though the ordinance failed. University Village Demolition to begin Monday By Abigail Keel • Jul 18, 2014 Miranda Metheny / KBIA Demolition is scheduled to begin Monday at the University Village Apartment Complex on South Providence Road in Columbia, according to the Columbia Tribune. Moberly City Council chooses contractor for demolition projects By Maureen Lewis-Stump • Oct 10, 2013 The Moberly community has slated seven condemned properties for demolition. City Council members last night voted to contract with Phil Wilson LLC for the demolition work because it had the lowest estimated cost for the work. Mayor John Kimmons says the properties are slated for demolition to open up the properties for future development and to maintain the neighborhoods as best as possible. "We identify residences that have been condemned or not kept up and so what we try and do is budget to take those down and improve the area and the neighborhood," Kimmons said. Moratorium on demolitions in downtown Columbia fails Ryan Famuliner / KBIA The Columbia Daily Tribune reports the Columbia City Council voted Tuesday night against an ordinance that would have put a created a six-month moratorium on demolition permits in downtown Columbia. Newscast for December 18, 2012 By Rehman Tungekar • Dec 18, 2012 Regional news from the KBIA Newsroom, including: Continued growth forecast for Missouri revenues Missouri unemployment rate hits 49-month low, but there's s catch City Council to consider suspending demolition permits in downtown Columbia After precautionary lockdown, CPS reports students and staff safe City Council to consider suspending demolition permits in downtown Columbia By Ryan Famuliner • Dec 18, 2012 Ryan Famuliner / KBIA The Columbia City Council is considering an ordinance that would put a temporary abeyance on demolition permits in downtown Columbia. Demolition of Joplin hospital begins By Associated Press • Jan 30, 2012 zensmom1 / Flickr Demolition has begun on a Joplin hospital that took a direct hit from a deadly May 22nd tornado. The Joplin Globe reported that about 1,000 people turned out Sunday for a ceremony at the shell of the once-bustling St. John's Mercy Hospital. Speakers talked about the history of the hospital before a wrecking ball ceremonially smacked the side of the building a few times. From there, the crowd went to a groundbreaking ceremony for the new structure. It is being built at a site three miles away.


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Horror Movie?
Did somebody fight through the cobwebs and go into the necropolis to do incantations over the old Xenix/Data Server/Sybase codebases?
Yes, I am really that old >>===============>
Microsoft's long, gentle embrace of Linux continues with the first release candidate of SQL Server 2017. Microsoft said the early release would land in the middle of this year. Arguably, since this is only the RC1-level release, Microsoft's SQL-Server-on-Linux is running late. There's not much detail on what's in the box, …
"You didn't seriously expect SQL Server to be written against WinRT/UWP, did you?"
maybe not initially, but... they seem to have a "one windows-track" mentality in Redmond. Assuming, of course, that THIS person has influence over SQL Server, too:
I wouldn't be surprised in the LEAST to see "the METRO" and "UWP" and ".Not Core" take over, and be implemented on the Linux side to compensate. Bad ideas have a habit of REPLICATING when the one who CAME UP WITH THEM IN THE FIRST PLACE is in THAT influential of a position within the company.
SQL/Server heavily uses scatter/collect async IO that does not have a consistent API across Linux filesystems.. just because they've documented Drawbridge does mean Oracle does not have an equivalent.. they do.
The reason for the Linux release is for Docker containerisation, not specifically for Linux servers. Expect to see Drawbridge used with other Microsoft Server software.. before it is open-sourced when Windows Server Hyper-V is ready for containerisation prime-time
I've been playing with it since its first release on Linux and it's not bad. However I just get the feeling that Microsoft is creating a solution for a problem that only exists for Microsoft, not the consumers. Anyone with good SQL Server skills is a generally a reasonable Windows tech too, they're not going to want to learn a whole new operating system especially one like UNIX ( cut the crap, Linux is UNIX!) which is not always the easiest to work with. I came from Oracle on Unix in the 80's, then Oracle on Windows and up through SQL Server on Windows, so I've had to learn to be a "jack of all trades" to survive, however my personal experience of SQL Server only admins I've met is that they're happy on Windows and they like it that way. The only people likely to want to use this are accomplished UNIX admins with solid DBA skills in lots of different DBs who have to support apps that only install on SQL Server an nothing else. I can't see many Windows admins and/or SQL Server admins jumping on this. This is just a project that proves MS knows Windows is slowly being hit in the server rooms, both on-prem and especially in the cloud, where every single inch of rack space needs to earn its keep.
@Amorous C - I sort of agree that SQL Server on Linux is solution looking for a problem. There enough good relational databases that run natively on Linux that another is a yawn, SQL Server seems to be a pretty good relational database. So the question is why is it being released to Linux. And reading the tea leaves right now is frustrating exercise.
Short of an SMB, I'm trying to figure out who has a homogeneous Linux datacenter. Heterogeneity is a fact of life these days. The last and only time I had gigs using the same operating system, database, or compiler was in college. Budget, requirements, determine available tooling, solution. Same for everyone of my engineering disciplines.
Still, nice to have the option and Lord knows, it's a database my tools know well.
"The last and only time I had gigs using the same operating system, database, or compiler was in college"
In my case, that was when I worked at Apple Computer. Our University had very diverse computing resources; it even built it's own micros before the invasion of the IBM PC.
If MS does a serious attempt to make SQL server to run on Linux, but also related api's needed to deploy existing windows applications in combination with SQL server on Linux, then it is a very viable platform. There is a lot of space between free MariaDB and the $ 10,000,- / CPU punch you in the face from arrogance Oracle products.
For people developing serious web application needing a database and transactional integrity, it could be a good alternative.
There is a lot of space between free MariaDB and the $ 10,000,- / CPU punch you in the face from arrogance Oracle products.
And PostgreSQL fills that space very nicely.
Not sure anyone who has used any other database would want to touch SQL Server. OK, maybe some people still have memories/nightmares of db4 or their only previous experience of an open source db is LibreOffice Base. If that is you, rest assured, SQL Server is NOT the way to go.
As has been said already - the reason for this is some people have to use SQL server, like it or not, and the writing is on the wall for Windows.
"Not sure anyone who has used any other database would want to touch SQL Server."
TCO, performance, ease of use, scalability, features, integration and security? For instance SQL Server on Windows Server has had the fewest vulnerabilities of any enterprise DB + OS stack every year for the last decade.
"There is a lot of space between free MariaDB and the $ 10,000,- / CPU punch you in the face from arrogance Oracle products.
For people developing serious web application needing a database and transactional integrity, it could be a good alternative."
To be fair, SQL Server sits much close to Oracle than the free end, being only slightly less worse in terms of license wrangling.
As middle ground we have PostgreSQL which is a very solid solution, and enterprise support is available for that for those with fat wallets.
It's aimed at the cloud market. Almost all the new cloud software stacks today run on Linux first and foremost, with Windows only as an afterthought, if at all. Note the additional announcements of analytics using Python and R. With Python in particular, people use it because there are loads of third party libraries to do nearly everything you can imagine, and many of them aren't supported on Windows. You have to think not only of the database, but also what else will be used with the database.
If Microsoft limited MS SQL Server to Windows only, it would be a sentence of a slow death for it. This would be like if Oracle limited Oracle DB to running only on Solaris. By porting it to Linux, it gives it a chance at continuing relevance in the future.
On premises versions in the small to medium size market are probably intended to remain running on Windows for the foreseeable future. However, Microsoft's focus for now is on the cloud.
" Almost all the new cloud software stacks today run on Linux first and foremost, with Windows only as an afterthought, if at all"
Azure doubled in sales last quarter alone and that runs on Windows. Current annual cloud run rate at Microsoft is $15 billion. That means it just overtook AWS!
I think you will find despite throwing millions of dollars at lawyers, The SCO Group could not prove that Linux was Unix. You are very welcome to try, but bear in mind that TSG went bankrupt because they dedicated their entire business to this false premise and had nothing left when the rest of the world caught on that they were lying.
Linux aims for Posix compliance. The compliance is sufficiently good that a great deal of software is source code compatible with other Posix compliant operating systems (with minimal porting effort).
I am sorry that you find Linux difficult to work with. Various educational resources understood by young children can be found here. If that is still too difficult for you, McDonalds are hiring.
A bit too close to home?
I wish you'd use the same argument with some of the clever young things hereabouts who think AIX is Unix, and get very bent out of shape when it isn't so much.
And my child was working with Windows before she could write. Learned basic arithmetic by playing with it on a windows machine.
Finally, anyone claiming a child could understand the man pages is pushing it, a bit. The one I like to cite as being willfully dense is the one on ln butbthere are many othrs.
I think that you need to say why you don't regard AIX as UNIX.
If you take Unix certification, AIX is very much UNIX, being certified as conformant to the Unix 03 standard.
If you take Solaris as UNIX, then AIX is not Solaris, although Solaris is UNIX (as is macOS 10.12, HP/UX 11i Release 3 and Huawei EulerOS 2.0 and one or two others).
Interestingly, if you look at the UNIX 98 certified systems, then z/OS V2.1 was at that time certified as UNIX, even though there was no UNIX kernel involved (this is also the case with macOS).
Unfortunately, Linux is not UNIX, whatever way you look at it. It may have some form of Posix compliance, but nowadays, that does not give you UNIX branding, or even much in the way of confidence that you can port applications around.
Where I have problems is when Linux application writers have difficulty porting to a UNIX platform, because there is so much in modern Linux distributions that goes beyond what a UNIX provides. Examples include DBus, KMS, SystemFS etc. all of which are useful, but which are not in any UNIX system.
"I think that you need to say why you don't regard AIX as UNIX."
Then I will.
Lets start with the logs. If you really know about AIX I need say no more other than to cough "binary format".
Then there are the processes (like volume management) that are much easier if you use smitty, which will show you the scripts it generates that look only superficially what my clever young things want to code because real Unixmen don't do menus. Or something.
I should point out that I work in an environment with Solaris, AIX and Red Hat Linux and am often confronted by naive coding stupids:
a) scripts that assume Linux versions of utilities that have been wildly expanded in capability and are therefore "broken" good and proper when they propagate out into the enterprise
2) scripts that fail to take into account differences in default behavior of said utilities on different *nixes and are therefore "broken" a bit more creatively - df scripts will sometimes feed back a number after being stroked by awk or cut, but since df has different columns under AIX than solaris the numbers aren't what the script-laddie thinks they are and comedy ensues. The sort of comedy that wakes people up at night a few weeks after script deployment.
@) more of the same.
One can approach (most of) AIX like it was BSD or SVR4, but life is a lot easier if one comprehends that IBM wants their "Unix" to look like a mainframe O/S and the jobs are quicker and safer to complete if one does it their way instead of the generic Unix way. One also has to understand that even if AIX has a "This Is A Real Unix" sticker on it, the utilities don't always behave the same way they would on the spark computer running an O/S directly derived from SVR4.
Given the differences between BSD family and SVR3 family Unixes, one might be on safe ground to say "Unix isn't Unix". It certainly would make for better preconceptions of engagement in the Bright Young Things hereabouts, who use the "Unix is Unix" mindset and send all output to /dev/null by default so figuring out what went wrong with their brilliant script and when the wheels fell off is a crapshoot.
@ Stevie:
Having grown up across VAX, PDP, DOS, S36, *cough* windows, BSD, HPUX, Solaris, AIX, IRIX, Linux, MVS, VMS, and a couple of others, your problems are not with *NIX (my preferred reference), but with BYT that have not run into a wall or three yet. We all have to earn our bruises to learn our uses.
( Yes boss, the script is 12,000 lines long. No. It is NOT 12,000 lines of code. Its 4,500 lines of code. Yes, the rest is commentary. NO YOU MAY NOT REMOVE THEM)
So, your idea of a UNIX system is that it needs to be configured using flat files, and using CLI commands? And log files need to be in plain text?
Short of the AIX error system used by errpt, most log files are plain text. Errpt is not part of standard UNIX, although I seem to remember that the Bell Labs/AT&T 3B2, 3B10, 3B15 and 3B20 UNIXes also had a binary error log. It seems to be RedHat Linux has no hardware log at all. Which is better, a binary log with utilities to read and export errors, or no hardware logging at all!
AIX runs syslog, so if you want the same sort of logging from BSD utilities, turn on and configure syslog! You can even get the binary errors from the error logger written into syslog if you want.
I have been using UNIX for many, many years (in fact, you will struggle to find anybody who has made a career out of UNIX for nearly 40 years in the way I have), and have used UNIXes from Bell Labs, AT&T, Sun, HP, Data General, Perkin Elmer, Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), ICL, IBM, Pyramid, Sequoia, SCO (the original one, Xenix), SCO (the new one - UnixWare) and these are just the ones I remember!. I was also offered a job at Unix System Laboratories, although the money and location taken together was just not right.
The one thing I will say is that ALL of them have had some form of menu driven assist, be it Sysadm, SAM, Smit/smitty, or even Admintool on SunOS. In fact, the one that has probably been most prevalent is Sysadm, which was in AT&T SVR2, and was often taken to the other SVR2, 3 and 4 derived ports. Smitty is more of the same.
Often, the script that smit/smitty generates only looks complicated because of the way the parameters are broken out of the menu. Everything run from smit can also be done from the command line, and more often than not, by one or two commands with quite sensible parameters.
The individual commands may look unfamiliar, but then many of the Solaris or HP/UX commands are similarly unfamilier (and not standardized). Most AIX admins I know normally use smit/smitty to work out what command needs to be run, and then work out the parameters from the man pages, and then use them from the command line forever more.
From my (very extensive) experience, I would say that there is absolutely no standard way of administering a UNIX system from the command line. They're all different. Even down to the way that the System V rc scripts are implemented.
What I think you are doing is leaping to the assumption that SunOS/Solaris is the standard UNIX, and everything else is not. This is really not the case, and if you wanted a standard for a true UNIX, I suggest that you unpack a version of UnixWare, which I believe still uses sysadm.
You missed out possibly the biggest criticism of AIX. The ODM in AIX is a binary database of configuration information, but you can actually treat it much as you would stanza driven flat files, because in reality, that is what it is. You would not believe how much scorn even the internal IBMers had for the ODM when it first appeared, which is why it never got more complicated than it is.
AIX is derived from SVR2, with some SVR3 additions. the SVID up to issue 2 is based on SVR3, as is POSIX 1003.1. UNIX 03 is based on the SVID issue 3, and AIX has had those changes incorporated into it to remain compliant. But nowhere in these standards does it say anything about core OS administration.
I would actually have loved SVR4 to become the main porting base. I was working for AT&T at the time, and attended the SVR4 Developer Conference (1988?). I also ran the internal AT&T version R&D UNIX 4.03, which was based on SunOS 4 - (SVR4) on Sun 3/280 and 3/60 systems. I liked the look of SVR4, but to claim that only systems that are like SVR4 are UNIX is almost as stupid as me claiming that BSD is not UNIX (although in truth, that is something I might actually say).
Remember, neither RedHat (or any other Linux), nor HP/UX, the other UNIX you mention, are SVR4 based, so using SVR4 as your definition also excludes the other OSs you administer.
Anyone claiming anything a child does on a computer needs them to read the man pages is lying through their teeth. And suggesting or implying that "Windows Help" had ever helped anyone is not going to help their case either.
Once the GUI is up and running, then pretty much everything is easier on most OSS GUIs than Windows, and your learning a better long term investment too, since OSS GUIs are not in the habit of dying - hell you can even get CDE on almost every Linux or BSD if you really want to*.
Your OS was installed by an adult (or possibly teenager) - children do not install OSes, and even if they did, Linux only requires you to know what country you live in, what keyboard you use (try it if any doubt), and what your name is. Windows, needs to know a whole heap more - probably requiring knowledge and understanding of buzzwords like "product activation key" and "EULA", a working Internet connection, and a phone call which puts you on hold for hours.
* And for the utterly desperate, there is always fvwm95 - although I admit you would probably have to compile it yourself. If you are a child, you probably don't remember Windows95 anyway.
I agree that Linux != Unix, but I disagree that the SCO Group (which I will shorten to SCO, even though this is a bit of a misnomer) thought that it was.
What they were trying to prove was that Linux incorporated code from the Unix code base, and that as such, there was copyright and possibly patent infringement happening in every Linux instance. They also made noises about revoking certain Unix providers (particularly IBM) source code licenses, because they believed that IBM et. al. were guilty of contaminating the Linux code base. Because the Unix source licenses were granted in perpetuity, SCO had no right to claim this. It was all FUD.
Their business model was that they were trying to convince large Linux users that to remain out-of-court, they needed to purchase Unix licenses if they wanted to continue to run Linux, with a side line of attempting to do the same for AIX customers, because in their view, IBM no longer had a license allowing them to provide Unix derived works to their customers.
Some organizations were taken in and did purchase licenses, just to be safe. In the mean time, IBM thumbed their nose at SCO and told them to take them to court.
After much arguing, and with full sight of the AIX source code, SCO failed to persuade any of the judges of their claims. They were unable to point to any common code between AIX and Linux other than some ancient code that came from Unix Edition 7, which SCO themselves had put under a fair-use license.
Worse than that, they awoke Novell, who waded in to the fray to point out that SCO did not actually own the Unix IP but had purchased the rights to use the Unix source code, and collect the license fees. part of which SCO should have, but had not, been paying to Novell. Once ownership was established, Novell issued an indemnity to Unix licensees, which effectively pulled the rug out from under SCOs feet.
Somehow or other, SCO managed to draw the process out, and it's only in the last 18 months or so that the last of their claims that had any potential monetary value was thrown out, leaving only a couple claims to appeal against the courts judgments. Effectively The SCO Group Inc. is finally dead.
In the meantime, I cannot see who now owns the Unix IP, as Novell have been sold, and some of their assets divested to companies like Microsoft and Attachmate/MicroFocus and maybe HP?
If anybody actually has any real idea about who owns the core Unix IP, I would be very interested in their thoughts.
> the SCO Group (which I will shorten to SCO, even though this is a bit of a misnomer)
The usual TLA is TSG.
> If anybody actually has any real idea about who owns the core Unix IP
It is unlikely that there are any protectable copyrights in Unix source code. The Novell-TSG case concluded that no IP had transferred from Novell to SCO. While they did phrase it as 'Novell owns the IP' there are many barriers to this actually being true: early Unix versions were not registered when it was a requirement; some versions were put into public domain; agreements between Unix Labs and the Regents of Berkley; many third party contributions that did not assign their copyrights.
For these reasons, and others, Novell did not attempt to collect together copyrights in order to sell them to SCO and instead simply stated in the Bill of Sale that they didn't get them.
The listing on the NASDAQ was SCOX, but as it is no longer listed, that tag is not used.
I prefer to avoid TSG, because of the number of other organizations that I've personally come across that uses that abbreviation.
As I understand it, the original SCO, when they were trying to negotiate the deal for UNIX IP, could not raise enough money to buy the rights wholesale. Novell offered them the right to use the source code, and collect license fees, and left open the possibility that the full rights could be purchased at a later date.
It would appear that some within SCO did not read the agreement fully, and never offered the extra money for the complete rights, so they remained with Novell. I'm sure Darl McBride probably regards this as the worst oversight that happened in the whole mess.
What The SCO Group got was a right to use the source code, and develop and sell derivative works although they would have to go to X/Open or the Open Group to get any derivative works that deviated from what they had licensed called UNIX. They also got the job and mode of the money for selling licenses.
The reason why I am asking is that I would very much like to see the source code for SVR4 released under an open or at least a permissive license. I don't even know who you would apply to to get a commercial source code license any more. I know that The UNIX Historical Society have the full source code for some ancient and niche UNIXes, and even some partial source code for System III and System V, but I would like to see something a little more recent, and would love an actual buildable system.
I want the more recent code preserved before the last systems and tapes containing the source are dropped in a dumpster!
> They also got the job and mode of the money for selling licenses.
My understanding, based on following Groklaw and reading the APA, was that SCO would collect the annual licence fees, pass them to Novell and Novell would then return a 5% collection fee. Novell never received any of this, SCO kept it all. The court case ruled that Novell was entitled to these royalties.
cut the crap, Linux is UNIX?
It would seem that at least one version of GNU/Linux is UNIX.
I think you will find despite throwing millions of dollars at lawyers, The SCO Group could not prove that Linux was Unix.
They couldn't prove it wasn't derived from the System V sources, but it turned out Novell owned them anyway so it was a non issue. (An expensive non issue mind!)
I'm not willing to start throwing things over the semantics of 'UNIX' 'POSIX' and 'Linux'. Yeah, admittedly, you're right, BUT.. from a user perspective, NOT from the actual software, kernel, or standards compliance, running applications on a UNIX system, a BSD system, a Linux system, etc. is all very similar [until you get to systemd and then all hell breaks loose]
/me operates on FreeBSD most of the time.
The solution has found its problem - at least here.
Do not underestimate the number of legacy applications written in .NET (or even ASP classic) , many of them running on nothing newer than WIndows Server 2003 with an urgent need to move to a more sane and scalable foundation.
The biggest hurdle here is that they are quite often heavily tied into SQL server - and for many customers SQL Server is quite acceptable, while Windows is not.
Fwiw, Microsoft don't believe Windows is where the $$ will be in the future. The desktop market is being reduced year on year, some leaking to Windows laptops but a lot is going iOS/Android/Chromebook too. Their foray into mobile failed, and web search, well yeah. They have moved on and don't see Google/Apple as their primary competitors. Their primary competitor is Amazon. That is where they are trying to carve out their next ecosystem.
Look at some of their acquisitions like Xamarin, and their .net core work that sits besides this to see how serious they are taking this. Even Android gets office apps. Don't hear me wrong, they still want you to buy Windows, but in this brave new world of containers and serverless architectures, they are much more interested in staying relevant than locking you in at every point. It really is quite a contrast from a decade ago.
"Look at some of their acquisitions like Xamarin, and their .net core work that sits besides this to see how serious they are taking this. Even Android gets office apps. Don't hear me wrong, they still want you to buy Windows, but in this brave new world of containers and serverless architectures, they are much more interested in staying relevant than locking you in at every point. It really is quite a contrast from a decade ago".
^ I'd agree with all of the above. The hardline fundamentalism of Gates and Ballmer has given way to pragmatism of Satya Nadella and long may that stance continue.
Why not opt for that dependable workhorse, the old AS/400, err System i, where the Operating System and the database are integrated into an easy-to-manage system, just like Windows Longhorn?
Now we are curious about the performance of MS SQL on W2016, MS SQL onLinux, MariaDB, Postgres, Oracle on Linux, Oracle on Solaris, IBM on System/Z.
I see this as a good thing, and actually have a use for it.
My long term goal is to get Windows completely out of our enterprise. Getting all of our desktops on Linux isn't completely viable yet. We are getting close, but I can't quite make it happen. Windows 10 Spyware Edition has accelerated this move, however.
Where we can get rid of Windows is in the data center. We've been able to get most of our servers over to Linux. We do however have some legacy systems that require SQL Server for their back end. With SQL Server available for Linux, we can get almost all of our Windows servers migrated.
Microsoft is a rather heterogenious company. My guess is that the department making the SQL-Server sees Windows as a lost case as it's more and more aimed at mobile systems and the consumer, despite of recent developments like the Terminal window supporting colour and more than 80 columns. (whoo hoo)
Now there are many IT departments which try to get away from Windows when ever possible. Usually that means buying newer web-based applications running on Linux, typically with MySQL.
It's a bit like in the 1980s when minicomputer manufacturers realized that the future would be in microcomputers and they all released versions of their minicomputers in microchip form. Suddenly you could have a PDP-11 that's just a single board (plus RAM).
In both cases we have companies trying their products to stay relevant for longer. In both cases the problem ultimately was that their products had no user relevant advantages over cheaper competitors.
If Ken Olsen had not believed "Unix is snake oil" and had sold VMS for a more reasonable price (With a version for the 486 when it came into being|) DEC would be alive today, and Windows probably would have been strangled at birth. Or maybe DEC would be in a position like Apple today - with the market share of the more discerning user.
Two things happened at once: (a) there were fantastically cheap machines on the market which could do some of what the bigger ones could, and (b) the price drop meant there was a market 1,000 times bigger within a year. That meant 999 out of every 1,000 users had no previous computer experience, and did not have the expectation of a machine which was only down for minutes in the month, rather than needing reboots several time an hour, or software that generally worked, and when it didn't, gave enough information to figure out if the problem was with the hardware, software or user.
Olsen and DEC should have known and understood this: it was the exact same situation they created when the PDP8 came out in the face of mainframes!
DEC could and should have aggressively sought to compete, rather than saying "This stuff is a pile of shite" and expecting the users to know the difference.
People were simply not able to compare the PDP11 with the PC, and realise that it was worth more, and it was never going to be perceived as worth the "more" that Olsen claimed once the volume brought in the cash to fix the bugs (a bit). Few PC users ever saw a DEC machine or used VMS (or Unix).
> Two things happened at once: (a) there were fantastically cheap machines on the market which could do some of what the bigger ones could, and (b) the price drop meant there was a market 1,000 times bigger within a year.
What you have claimed to be 'at once' and 'within a year' were actually over a couple of decades.
Micro computers started to be available from the mid 70s. The initial IBM PC was just another micro that cost more than your car and was very limited compared to others already in the market (no hard drive, no networking, poor performance). It was only in the mid 80s that clones started making the pricing much cheaper and the market expanded.
> DEC could and should have aggressively sought to compete, rather than saying "This stuff is a pile of shite" and expecting the users to know the difference.
You obviously weren't around in the early 80s when DEC were selling their Rainbow PC systems.
I accept that it took a bit more than a year or two to pan out fully, but
I am not talking about home users - that was a whole generation later, as you say, and a second round of revolution.
In 1976, I was building both DEC and Intel systems - and maintaining software on PDP11's in a well known London software house. (And learning Unix).
I cannot state the exact year, but when we knew there was going to be an IBM PC, almost the entire company was told not to start any new project, as, regardless of what is was performance wise, it was going to be IBM and a PC. And in those days, no one was every fired for buying IBM.
We sat doing not much for almost a year before it was released. (Actually, I was using 8080's to replace PDP11/10s as comms multiplexors for a French client).
Psychologically, the PC was a "Business Machine" and not a toy - to the PHB. And its the PHBs that control the money. The users I am talking about were medium sized businesses, not home users.
The day we got the specs, everyone in the company who could write code was porting our business software from the PDP11 and/or ICL mainframe to it. Whatever it cost, it was way less than a PDP11/60 - which one of our customers bought for more than my mum paid for a 5 bedroom house in Islington. Companies with a staff of under 20 could run their own payroll on a machine that cost less than a contract to run it on someone else's ICL1900 and still have the machine to do other things for the rest of the week.
DEC could have gone in hard, much earlier than they did, and with more vigour. They did not. A single board PDP8 would have been cheaper than PC when the PC came out - if DEC had decided to go that way. The PDP8 is way simpler than the 8088 (I think it has less transistors than an 8080), and there was a ton of DECUS software fully debugged - what was there on the original PC? People around me were proposing a single chip PDP8 in 1972 - before the 8008 was even released. As an embedded processor, the PDP8 would have been viable in situations where the 8008 was not - mainly because of the vast amount of well tried software. (I was in a team which decided not to use an 8008 in 1974).
I admit the VMS vs Unix battle was a much later round of the same battle - roughly the mid 80's as you say. It was not til the 486 that Intel had a proper MMU that could run a proper OS. At that time, there was no other established OS that could have been (a) ported to the 486, and (b) was widely used in Industry. DOS was not exactly great! And PC hardware crashed daily - hourly for the cheaper machines.
However, this was also a time when the market expanded by a factor of 1,000 - for a second time.
Yes I knew about the Rainbow - and the Heathkit PDP11 - I could not afford them either.
> It was not til the 486 that Intel had a proper MMU that could run a proper OS. At that time, there was no other established OS that could have been (a) ported to the 486, and (b) was widely used in Industry.
You may have a particular definition of 'proper OS', but I was running multiuser/multitasking MP/M on 8085 and Z80s with bank switching quite effectively in the very late 70s. Later I switched to DRI's Concurrent on 8088/8086 with EEMS (eg AST RAMPage) and derivatives, such as DR-Multiuser-DOS (386/486). These and DRI's other range FlexOS were quite widely used in industry.
I was making decisions about this stuff then. The perception was, at the time, that Unix was not as secure, stable or as capable as VMS, and the "UNIX Wars" Had started, so Ken had a point. One of the things that derailed the company was the unappealing DEC Rainbow, which could run DOS, but often needed a special version of vendor software like Lotus 123, it could also run CP/M software and had VT100+ terminal emulation. They were expensive, and it's idiosyncrasies probably forced people into a PC environment. We also had the PDP-11/23 based DEC Professional for engineers/scientists and DECMates for clerical support workers. There was some similarity in software between the models, like they could all run varieties of the WPS word processor and linked to the functional but basic ALL-IN-1 suite.
I thought at the time that a better approach for DEC to sell to their mini customers, might have been to avoid the PC which was still in its infancy and sell MicroVAX Servers with standardized software. Clerical staff could be given terminals - Small office workgroup users were generally doing low level clerical tasks. Networking was easy with DECNet, and the relatively few "high level" engineers/scientists/data crunchers could be given their own networked MicroVAX.
In the end we went with NetWare and 286/386 PCs which could run terminal emulation software into our MicroVAX/PDP/DataGeneral minis, and later tried to replace proprietary mini OSs with Unix, but by that time a lot of our specialist software could run on PCs.
There were very practical reasons why DEC did not do a 486 port of VMS, most of them architectural. VMS made good use of a number of VAX specific instructions, including IIRC some arbitrary length string and number instructions, and others with implied loops in the instruction itself. As I understand it, the re-write that had to happen to allow VMS to transition to the Alpha, even though this had some instructions to ease this work, was significant, as was the following one to Itanium (under HPs stewardship).
Now there is an Intel port, my guess is that the x86_64 port will be much easier.
In the '80s, one of DECs aims was to try to produce lower priced systems that could run VMS, starting with the MicroVAX II (the first MicroVAX had significant restrictions that made it difficult to do anything with), and continuing with a number of small MicroVAX systems including desktop VAXStations (not to be confused with the MIPS based DECStations which ran BSD/Ultirix/Digital UNIX).
These were actually quite good value, but were priced in the same sort of bands as equivalent Sun, or Apollo workstations and servers.
What DEC did, which was unforgivable in marketing terms, was to announce the Alpha based VAXes a long time before they were ready. This literally killed about three quarters worth of VAX sales, as customers decided to wait to buy new systems until the Alpha based systems were available. Unsurprisingly, this gave DEC cash flow problems, which IMHO, they never recovered from, leaving them vulnerable to takeover offers at a later time.
I never really understood the rational behind Compaq buying DEC. but I suppose Windows NT on Alpha was probably one of them.
I find your commend about PDP11 strange. The PDP11 never ran VMS (VAXes were called things like VAX 11/780), The closest thing to VMS that PDP11s ran was RSX/11m, which is widely regarded as the direct ancestor of VMS, and was managed by one Dave Cutler, later of VMS and Windows NT fame.
The PDP11, although being a classic architecture IMHO, was a system of it's time. It was a purely 16 bit ISA, although to make it more useful, there were some addressing extensions bolted on to larger and later systems. No PDP11 was able to address more than 4MB of memory, and the process address space was strictly 16 bit, with an instruction and data separation feature on larger and later systems that extended this to 112K or maybe 120KB, as the top 8KB was reserved for memory mapped I/O devices ( I can't remember if the I/O page was in both the I&D spaces, or just the Data space).
Even when PDP11 was a common architecture, the 56KB process limit on the non-separate I&D systems was a severe limitation, which lead to large applications having to use memory resident overlays and also split the applications into multiple processes using IPC to communicate to do anything serious. I ran Ingres on a PDP11/34e with 22 bit addressing ('34s did not normally have 22-bit addressing - it was a SYSTIME kludge) under UNIX edition 7 for some time, and the data manager had to be split into something like 7 different processes to allow it to work.
There were micro PDP11 implementations, some of which made it into desktop systems (the F11 and J11 micro PDP11s), but these were really just offered for continuity for customers who would or could not transition to VAX. The main reason for people staying with PDP11 was for it's I/O system, which made it exceptionally suitable for lab instrumentation, process control and real time implementations, and for operating systems not similar to VMS, like RSTS/e.
I would still be interested in buying a desktop 11/83 at the right price, even though I would probably use a PC more powerful than it as it's console.
"It will certainly have better security, it likely has better I/O response, but that is unknown without testing."
We'd like to thinks so, but then there's "that layer" again. I suspect it's been tweeked to prevent WIndows servers from looking bad when compared to Linux.
Simply "not optimized correctly" would do the job, actually... basically all of the reasons why I/O on Linux and BSD operating systems is _SO_ superior to what it's like on comparable windows machines, in every way I've tested, from disk I/O to networking, it's obvious to me that Linux and BSD perform more efficiently.
And so I'd want SQL Server to get a boost from ZFS or EXT4 or that uber-efficient use of disk cache by the OS, something Windows generally fails at.
Call me cynical, but that choice of name concerns me. Right now we may be in the Linux "embrace" phase, but if "extinguish" does indeed follow then that would be the act of "raising the drawbridge". Suck people into running MSSQL in the cloud then leave them no option but to upgrade to Win10...
But for now it does scratch the itch at my SMB - only Linux servers here, and someone is requesting an application that only supports MSSQL. That might work for us...
All the talk from Microsoft and comments here at TheRegister do not address - in real world, factual technical terms - performance issues in comparison of running SQL Server on Windows versus running the product on Redhat Enterprise Linux or Suse Enterprise Linux as examples.
In the end, the proof of the pudding is in the eating!, and Microsoft products have shown a "fail" result in that regard.
I saw a presentation several months ago that said that performance on Red Hat was slightly below Windows in most or their automated tests, although it beat Windows in at least a couple. This was prior to optimisation, so the speaker thought that it may well be faster in general on Red Hat by the time of release.
I'd wait for some independent benchmarking before making any decisions however.
"I saw a presentation several months ago that said that performance on Red Hat was slightly below Windows in most or their automated tests, although it beat Windows in at least a couple. "
Recent tests of KVM vs Hyper-V under Cloudstack shows Windows to be faster too.
So, you've not heard about the SAMBA project then, its only been out for 25 years. :-)
Its not a full 100% compatible replacement, but most of what you care about is in there. See the Samba Main Page and Wikipedia article
SMB client support - Check
File server support - Check
Print Server support - Check
Domain member support - Check
Domain controller support - Check
If you check your repo, you will find it already in there.
"Now please port Active Directory to Linux "
even if it's a seat-based licensed application, I think IT departments would welcome abandoning the REST of the nightmare associated with maintaining/patching/disinfecting windows servers.
"Oh, CRAP, the junior accountant got another e-mail with a spreadsheet in it!"
"Scan the network for viruses"
[every windows server is infected, some demanding ransoms]
@Bombastic Bob
If thats the case you got some really shitty security and permissions going on. Having good backups and minimum required access mitigates this problem majorly. Restoring a few encrypted files from backup is inconvenient but not as bas as being totally hosed cos you couldn't use security properly
This has always been their long term plan, ever since they funded SCO to try and destroy "free linux"
Clearly the plan was to get hold of the valuable Kernel and limit the "free" usage.
That plan failed, with the redirection of how computers are used ,cloud, services etc
they are now ready to start moving their products over to a system where the majority of maintenance and work is done for them, they no longer make most of their money from the OS.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Advising Bowleven on its $500 million strategic alliance with Petrofac in respect of the Etinde Permit, offshore Cameroon.
Advising Bowleven on equity placings with an aggregate value of $375 million to raise finance for exploration and acquisitions.
Advising Bowleven on its farm-out to Vitol of interests in the Etinde Permit offshore Cameroon for $225 million.
Advising Bowleven on its recommended all share offer for First Africa Oil for a value of $58 million.
For the past five years Shepherd and Wedderburn have been our first port of call for all our legal services. We have found the quality of advice and the level of service across the firm to be outstanding. We especially value and derive a real benefit from their understanding and interest in the oil and gas sector and I genuinely believe their proactive approach really makes a difference to our business.


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基於我們的顧客大多期待着新生命的來臨,我特意轉貼了一個關於Priscilla Dunstan 在The Oprah Show的分享給大家。Priscilla Dunstan是個厲害的人物!她懂得跟1-3個月大的嬰兒溝通,並了解他們的語言。她能很快地教懂你他們在說什麼!初為人父人母的你,請到下列的連結瀏覽整個故事吧!
Since most of our clients are expecting babies, I am reprinting the post about Priscilla Dunstan, who was on The Oprah Show. This lady is amazing; she has disciphered the language of 1-3 month old infants. She can quickly teach you what they are saying. New moms and dads, please go to the link below and read the whole story.
Amazing Medical Breakthroughs: Priscilla Dunstan's Gift
"Priscilla Dunstan hears babies' words.
For millions of sleep-deprived mothers around the world, this woman's findings could be a miracle! Priscilla Dunstan, a mom from Australia with a special gift, says she's unlocked the secret language of babies."
"When Priscilla was a toddler, her parents discovered she
had a photographic memory for sound. At age 4, she could hear a Mozart
concert on the piano and play it back note for note.
Priscilla says her gift has helped her hear a special "second
language" beyond English, allowing her to detect moods and even
diagnose illnesses! "Other people might hear a note but I sort of get
the whole symphony," Priscilla says. "So when someone's speaking, I get
all this information that other people might not pick up."
That mysterious second language took on an astounding new meaning
when Priscilla became a mother to her baby, Tom. "Because of my gift
for sound, I was able to pick out certain patterns in his cries and
then remember what those patterns were later on when he cried again,"
Priscilla says. "I realized that other babies were saying the same


text: Mary currently lives in La Jolla, CA with her fiancé and their two dogs. She has a BFA from the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design and an MFA from the NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Please don't hesitate to contact her with questions, job inquiries or just to say hello!


text:
HOW CAN I use Wizkers.io?
Depending on your needs, there are multiple options for working with Wizkers.io:
- You can use Wizkers.io under its MIT open source license to develop your own apps.
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- We also develop embedded systems that run Wizkers.io as a server using a variety of single-board computers (Raspberry Pi, Beaglebone, others), to connect sensors to networks.
- You can also visit our Products page for a list of off-the-shelf Wizkers apps as well as our existing OEM apps developed with our partners.
We can also provide Wizkers.io as a service for network-enabled sensors, running on cloud services providers.
Our developer documentation contains everything you need to help you get started.
Bespoke app development
Contact us to discuss your needs. The MIT license of Wizkers.io lets us develop solutions in a very flexible manner. We have developed apps that are available on the Google Play store, the Chrome store, the Amazon app store as well as the Apple Mac app store.
Some of our solutions were also developed on embedded devices such as the Raspberry PI.
Our services include not only design and development, but also maintenance, support and app analytics. You can refer to the Showcase section for a list of some of our projects.
I want to try it now!
You can try out our existing apps described in the Products section.


text:
I just wanted to share a bit about my trip to Korea with my youth group here in Okinawa. Gina, one of the other youth leaders, and I set out on this trip with 11 kids from our group ranging from ages 11-17...such a young group. We were headed to Korea to go to a youth camp called Centrifuge. Traveling was fun. The kids were so well behaved. They only had to be a told a few times to keep up or pay attention. :)
The whole trip was wonderful! The week at camp was full of laughing, crying, and tons o' fun! I mean, I played tennis for the first time in my life and I played tag, which I hadn't played since elementary school. I felt alive again for the first time in a long time...I felt free and like a kid. It was great! And then we got to sightsee for a few days, which was AWESOME!
Anyway, here are some of the key points that I thought stood out to me this past week at camp. We started the first night talking about kairos moments or defining moments. We were challenged to look back on our lives and recognize the defining moments that brought us to where we are today. Then throughout the week we talked about different bible characters and their kairos moments.
First was Jonah and love. One of the points that stood out to me, when talking about Jonah, was this, "after 3 days and 3 nights away from what Jonah normally did, he decided it was time to love..." The challenge that I find in this is that, its so easy to get caught up in life and the way we normally do things, or the way we think things ought to be done, but there is a time to sacrifice and love people more than we love ourselves. And our love for God propels us to love others.
The next day we talked about obedience. In this lesson we were shown how we can't do things on our own. We have to live each day in the power of the resurrected Christ. And our relationship with Him should affect the way we live.
Wed. we talked about sacrifice. This message, by the way, was awesome! Just a snipit though... One of the analogies given was about Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz. I don't know if you've realized this(I hadn't), but throughout the whole story Dorothy just wants to get home. She makes new friends and encounters strange people. In the end though, she is told by the good witch that she had the tool to get her home this whole time...the shoes... The point of the story was that, "we don't want to get to the end of our lives and realize we've missed the most important thing..." Love... 1 Cor. 12:31b- the most excellent way... My other favorite analogy that was given was on this night. The preacher likened us(Christians) to a cup of coffee, bitter and bold. We, like coffee, need sweetness to come transform us into something yummy...we need the love, grace, and forgiveness of Jesus to make us sweet and transform our lives. I love that!
Thurs.- talking about integrity. This isn't a word we use all of the time, and I'm pretty sure we don't know many people who actually have this characteristic. What it means: be who you are all the time, and be all of who you are. There is also a sense of not quitting and staying committed to the things we start. Something I like from this day is this, " great stories start with ordinary, messed up, simple people who are part of a larger picture. " As Christians, this is us. Sometimes we think that we are the coolest cat on the block, we aren't. Jesus takes the initiative, cleanses us, and then uses us(broken, sinful people) to accomplish His work in this world...AMAZING!
Anyway. I hope something of what I was reminded of this past week has touched your heart and made you think about the way you are living you life. I pray you are changed by His Holy Spirit working in your life.
Some pics from the trip.
Bible Study. I helped lead it:)
Some of our kids on the subway.
I was an RA for the trip...we won the cabin challenge. Go 2nd floor!
Have no fear. There will be more about what Jesus spoke to me personally during this trip another day. For now, good night!


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{ bare with me.. }
I'm all for baring a sexy shoulder this summer. It's classy, feminine, and flirty. In the summer heat, I constantly struggle to force myself to keep my hair down. The best part about these off the shoulder looks are that they're almost better with a low bun or braid. Expert move: pair with a fun skirt for a bold night out.


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Queensland V8 Supercars: Nissan/Volvo collision hands Whincup win
|Saturday, August 2nd 2014, 07:30 GMT
Jamie Whincup claimed his second win of the V8 Supercars weekend at Ipswich's Queensland Raceway after erstwhile race leader Scott McLaughlin was shoved off-track by Michael Caruso
You have viewed over 15 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.


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Army Glasses.
Sometime during the second week of Army basic training at Fort Dix in 1968, the First Sergeant directed all the men in the company who wore eyeglasses to march to the place on the base where the Army would see to it that we all received Army eyeglasses. After having already relieved everyone of their civilian hair, and civilian clothing, taking away our civilian eyeglasses would effectively remove the only remaining vestige of our former civilian lives. This de-individualization was critical to the process of turning each of us into a "Gorilla Stompin' Mean Fightin' Machine."
We knew the Army glasses were on their way because a few days earlier, the sixty or so of us who wore glasses were marched to the same location where we were filled out forms and temporarily surrendered our civilian glasses for about an hour so that an optician (probably a former truck driver in civilian life) could put our glasses on that widget that allows matching lenses to be made.
Now the sixty of us were back in the same large room sitting on the floor waiting to be "issued" our Army glasses. (As I noted before, the Army never "gives" you things; it issues you things). A sergeant and two corporals entered the room. It was plain to see that "issuing" the glasses was going to be a three-man operation. Corporal Number One held a stack of eyeglasses. The sergeant had an alphabetical list of names that matched up with each of the pairs of glasses. I wondered what Corporal Number Two's job was, but I soon found out.
Here's how it went. The sergeant started at the top of the list, "Aardvark, Anthony A. Front and center! On the double. Remove your civilian glasses and stand at attention." Pvt. Aardvark would move quickly from the floor to the front of the room, where he would stand at attention. Corporal Two would take a pair of Army glasses from Corporal One, and in one motion quickly push them onto the face of Pvt. Aardvark. (Ah ha! I realized then that Corporal Two was the eyeglasses "putter on'r") Once that was done, the Sergeant would say, "Move out," at which time, Pvt. Aardvark would execute an about-face and walk briskly out of the room and back to our regular barracks.
This was proceeding through the alphabet without a hitch. Indeed a certain fluid rhythm began to emerge. Sergeant calls the name, and the guy goes to the front. Glasses are pushed onto his face. He is told to "Move out." He does and about face and walks out of the room wearing Army glasses. No problems.
Then it was my turn.
The sergeant barked, "[Irish last name], James A. Front and Center!"
I scrambled from the floor to the designated spot and stood at attention. The eyeglass-putter-on'r pushed the glasses on my face. I was stunned for a moment and then blurted out, "I CAN'T SEE!" Keep in mind that, until that time, the sergeant's voice had been the only one heard in the room.
Sgt.: "WHAT DID YOU SAY?"
Me: "I CAN'T SEE!"
Sgt.: (looking momentarily puzzled, then looking down at his list and then back up at me) "ARE YOU [Irish last name], James A.?"
Me: Yes, sergeant."
Sgt.: "You CAN SEE. MOVE OUT!" I swear that is exactly what he said.
I made my way to the door and walked back to the barracks, not without some difficulty and a fulminating headache. I truly could not see worth a damn with the Army glasses. I decided that I would risk the wrath of the Army by continuing to wear my civilian glasses, lest I injure myself or others because I could not see what I was doing while wearing Army glasses. I assumed that I was "issued" someone else's glasses. Sure, I knew that I was [Irish last name], James A., but I knew equally as well that I could not see with those Army specs.
About a week later, we were scheduled for an inspection, which was no ordinary inspection (not that any Army inspection can reasonably be considered "ordinary"). This particular inspection would be conducted by the Company Commander – an eyeglasses wearing Captain.
During these inspections, one stands at attention at the foot of one's bunk while the Captain and the Drill Sergeant inspect every inch of the barracks, every locker, and every, single detail of one's attire. EVERYTHING had to be perfect.
When the Captain and the Drill Sergeant came to me, the Captain looked at my boots (spit shined) my trousers (recently starched, and meticulously bloused at the top of my boots), my belt (perfectly shined and centered), my shirt line (a perfect vertical line from the top of my shirt to the bottom of the fly in my trousers), the lower part of my face (cleanly shaven), and then he came to my eyes.
Captain: "You're not wearing Army glasses!"
Me: "No sir." (I had learned that one does not take opportunities like this to open a dialog, rather one just answers the question posed – even though, technically, the Captain had made a statement rather than having asked a question.)
Captain: "Do you HAVE Army glasses?"
Me: "Yes sir."
Captain: "But you're not WEARING Army glasses."
Me: "No sir."
Captain: "Well, where ARE your Army glasses?"
Me: "They are in my locker, sir."
Captain: "Well, why aren't you wearing them?"
Me: "Because I cannot see with them on, sir."
Captain: "WHAT?"
Me: ""I cannot see with them on, sir."
Captain: "You cannot see with them on?"
Me: "No sir."
At that point, the Captain turned to the Drill Sergeant, and said, "Make sure that this man sees a doctor." The Drill Sergeant said, "Yes sir," and the two of them moved on to the next guy. Meanwhile I was thinking, You dopey bastard. Don't you think there just might be something wrong with the f****** glasses and not with my f****** eyes? This is Bizarro Land.
The next day I found myself at the Army Hospital waiting to see an ophthalmologist. An ophthalmologist??? I could not believe that I had been ordered to see an ophthalmologist. These guys treat serious eye conditions and even do surgery on eyes.
The doctor entered the room and said, "What seems to be the problem?"
Me: "I cannot see with my Army glasses."
Doc: "Can you see OK with your regular glasses?" BINGO!! He was the first person who thought to ask me that question!
Me: "I see fine with my regular glasses."
Doc. "Why did they send you to see me?"
Me: "I have no idea why they did that, sir. I was ordered to come here."
Doc: "O.K. Well then, let's take a look at those Army glasses."
He took a quick look at my prescription and looked at the glasses.
Doc: (chuckling, sighing, shaking his head, and shrugging his shoulders) "I see the problem here. They put the left lens where the right one should be and the right lens where the left one should be. You have a pretty bad left eye. No wonder you couldn't see. We'll fix them right now."
A few minutes later, I walked out of the hospital wearing my gray, translucent-framed Army glasses and wondering how I would survive the next two years in Bizarro Land.


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What does imps mean?
imps means impatiens
Particularly in game Abbreviations
What is the abbreviation for impatiens?
Comments having imps
FT: Chester 2-5 #Imps - another superb effort on the road by City sees them move up to second in the table...
90+6' GOAL!!! #Imps 3-3 Shots - late drama as Farman pumps the ball forward, the ball bounces loose & MATT RHEAD hooks home
83' GOAL!!! Chester 2-5 #Imps - Rhead again involved as a sublime touch sees him release HARRY ANDERSON who slots past the advancing Lynch
3/ Immediate means NOW. Give money, take goods. If you make me wait, you wait. Cheques, NEFT wait. IMPS/UPI ok. Cash passes the test.
6/ Exact: I ask you for 100, you don't give me 90. Cash is exact. IMPS is too as is NEFT/Cheque. Cards are not: I pay trx fee.
47' GOAL!!! Chester 2-3 #Imps - clever free-kick sees Arnold curl the ball in & when the ball falls to MATT RHEAD he nets with a cool finish
FT in the @EmiratesFACup : #Imps 2-1 Altrincham
4/ Easy means simplicity. IMPS/UPI are crazy. I gotta enter your "address"? if I get it wrong, what then? etc. Cash passes that test.
45+3' GOAL!!! Chester 2-2 #Imps - Arnold corner headed across by Rhead and there to nod home is SEAN RAGGETT. Game on... again!!
The #Imps through to the Second Round of the @EmiratesFACup - all eyes on ball number 35!More Comments with imps...
81' GOAL!!! Chester 2-4 #Imps - excellent one-two between JACK MULDOON and Matt Rhead sees the former fire home superbly
41' GOAL!!! Chester 1-1 #Imps - deep Habergham corner is met at the far post by MATT RHEAD who deservedly heads City level
60' GOAL!!! #Imps 2-0 Altrincham - Arnold intercepts a poor Cyrus clearance and plays in ALAN POWER who slots neatly past Dawber
72' GOAL!!! #Imps 2-0 Boreham Wood - Habergham cross superbly brought down by MATT RHEAD who duly chips over Smith to double the lead
21' GOAL!!! #Imps 1-0 Altrincham - Habergham corner, SEAN RAGGETT header
4A BSOC FINAL: Cary 5, Pine Forest 0. Imps are 3rd-round-bound, could be going to New Hanover on Thursday. #rduscores
HT: #Imps 1-0 Altrincham in the @EmiratesFACup
Tonight's teamsheet. The #Imps unchanged.
HT: #Imps 1-0 Boreham WoodLess...
Most popular questions people look for before coming to this page
What does imps stand for?
imps stands for "impatiens".
How to abbreviate "impatiens"?
"impatiens" can be abbreviated as imps.
What is the meaning of imps abbreviation?
The meaning of imps abbreviation is "impatiens".
What is imps abbreviation?
One of the definitions of imps is "impatiens".
What does imps mean?
imps as abbreviation means "impatiens".
What is shorthand of impatiens?
The most common shorthand of "impatiens" is imps.


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I was very lucky to participate in 3 different 5-day drawing classes July/August at the Vancouver Island School of Art (VISA) with Wendy Welch. Wendy is the director of the school as well as a gifted teacher who gives so much. She has the most creative ideas for the classes that she teaches.
Ornament and Decoration:
"Often more associated with design and craft, ornament and decoration is increasingly part of the vocabulary used by many contemporary artists and illustrators. This workshop focuses on how the decorative can be both surface and content. A range of imaginative approaches to creating designs from doodles, making patterns based on geometry as well as free-form organic designs are covered. Materials used include pencils, ink, watercolours and gouache". (VISA)
These are the artists work we looked at during the slideshow.
William Morris, Gustav Klimt, Terence LaNoue, Dijanne Cevaal, Dtienne Zack, Gene Davis, Joyce Kozloff, Judy Pfaff, Robert Kushner, Robert Zakanitch, Dan Bennett, Sandra Cinto, Laura Ownes, Sigmar Polke, Lecia Dole-Recio, Valerie Jaudon, Agnes Martin, Eva Hesse, Jennifer Bartlett, Terry Winters, Random graph paper art, Lorenzo Duran.
Jill Ehlert
Language of Mapping:
"Maps are a visual representation of specific places. Early maps were made by artists who often had no hands-on experience with the location depicted in the map; they were made through the testimonials of others and the imagination of the artists. This workshop uses the language of mapmaking to explore other terrains such as the imagination, memory and space". (VISA)
Artists work we looked at:
Landon McKenzie, Nancy Graves. Hirokazu Kosaya, Jeff Woodbury, John Hurrell, Kristin Bly, Adolf Wolfi, Clodagh Emoe, Dannielle Tegeder, tilbor kalman, Howard Horowitz, Irwin Morgan, Mark Bradford, Simon Evans, Susan Hiller, Susan STock well, val Britton, Jasper Johns, Guillermo Kuitca, Sara Fanelli, Nina Katchadourian, Kelvin Wilson, Harry Allen, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Paula Scher, Kim Dingle, William Wegman, Chris Kenny, Joyce Kozloff, Julia Ricketts, Quentin Blake, Mark Bennett, Julie Mehretu


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About the Scale
The Pyramid of Self-Awareness Scale (PSAS) 2.0 for individuals is 152 item test designed to measure four key dimensions of who you "are": Personal Values, Thinking (Content and Style), Connection Style and Leadership Character.
Personal values are measured and reported in eight key dimensions: moral, humanistic, social, mastery-seeking, ideological, materialistic, judgment-sensitive and self-efficacy-oriented.
Thinking Content is assessed in three axes: object of thinking (how much one thinks about self, someone else or general matters), Temporal focus of thinking (past, present, future), and polarity of thinking (positive vs. negative thoughts).
Thinking Style is evaluated in two axes: topography of thinking (i.e. what parts of our brain is mostly activated when we are thinking) and granularity of thinking (i.e. simple or big picture vs. complex or detail-oriented).
Character, which is basically the behavioral manifestation of who we are and how we lead, is sub-categorized into 4×2 dimensions: positive and negative intellectual traits, positive and negative social traits, positive and negative operational traits, finally positive and negative moral traits.
The last sub-scale is Connection Style, which in itself is divided into four channels that we utilize to connect with people that we meet or interact with: visual, audio-lexical, sensory-motor and emotional-visceral.
Who is it for?
The following categories represent the majority of individuals who can use this tool:
- Individuals with an interest in self-improvement activities informed by gaining more self-awareness. If you belong to this category, please take the test on your own and contact us to schedule a session to discuss your profiles and their implications.
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You may access and complete PSAS 2.0 for free. However, you have the option of purchasing a personalized report that will be processed and sent to you after taking the test. The report consists of 5 profiles that shows where you are in each dimension in absolute terms and in comparison to a reference US population. Each profile is preceded by a description of the sub-scale and its dimensions or axes. Please contact us using the contact page if you would like to purchase your report.
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- If you take the test, your data may be de-identified and used for promotional, educational and research purposes.


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sweet bread dessert
Dough ingredients:
2 1 oz. packages of yeast
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 cup warm water
5 lbs. flour
7 sticks of butter
2 cans evaporated milk
1 pint regular milk
1 tbls. salt
8 eggs
Place the contents of the 2 packages of yeast in a cup. Add 1 tsp. sugar and 1/4 cup warm water. Let stand for 5 minutes.
Place flour in a bowl. In a separate pot, melt butter, remove from heat. Add milk, yeast and 1 tbls. salt. Beat eggs well and add to the mixture. Blend well and add the mixture to the flour. Knead the dough and place it in a warm place for at least two hours to allow it to rise.
10 sticks of butter
3 1/2 lbs. of flour
Melt butter in a pot, remove from heat. Add flour and mix. Place onto tray (not too flat, yet not too deep either) and place in oven at 300 degrees for half an hour or until golden.
Separate dough into 12 "buns". Wait 10-15 minutes for it to rise again and then roll out with rolling pin. Add 1 cup of the filling for each of the buns and roll out flat and then fold over and pinch the sides. Brush the top with a well beaten egg and place in oven at 375 degrees until top is nice and golden in color.
Here is another variety of Chadee:
The bread:
1/4 cup warm water
1/4 ounce package active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
4 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon aniseed
1 tablespoon black sesame seed
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup melted butter or margarine
warm water
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 egg beaten with 1 teaspoon sugar
The stuffing:
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 cups water
1 cup butter (two sticks)
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 cup flour
Bread preparation:
In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup warm water, dry active yeast, and the 1 teaspoon sugar. Mix well then place in a warm place to proof.
In a large bowl, mix flour, aniseed, black seed and salt. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture.
Pour the melted butter or margarine in the well.
With your fingertips, mix the margarine into the flour. Rub the mixture between your palms until the dough becomes flaky.
Pour the yeast mixture on the flour and knead well.
Keep adding warm water 1/4 cup at a time with continuous kneading until a soft uniform dough is formed.
Form the dough into the shape of a sphere. Coat with the oil, cover and place in a warm place for about 30 minutes to rise.
After the 30 minutes have lapsed, knead the dough for few minutes. Cover and place in a warm place for 30 more minutes.
While the dough is rising, prepare the stuffing as described below.
Stuffing preparation:
In a 2 quart pan, combine the sugar, lemon juice, and water. Cook on medium heat until thick like syrup. Set aside
In a 3 quart pan, melt the better. Add the flour then the cardamom to the butter, mix well on medium heat until brown in color.
Combine the sugar mixture with the flour mixture. Stir over medium heat until the becomes homogeneous and thick. Set aside.
Assembly directions:
After dough has risen, divide it into four equal parts to make two final patties. Cover three of the parts while you work on the fourth.
Shape each of the four parts into a sphere. Then roll it with a rolling pin until it becomes a disk of about 1/2 inch thick. Place it on one side of a well oiled baking sheet that is at least twice the area of the rolled disk.
Spread half of the stuffing mixture on the center of the disk taking care not to cover the outer 1/2 inch diameter of the disk.
Prepare the second disk as directed above and place it on top of the stuffing of the first disk. Match the edges and press together to seal and make the first patty.
Repeat the steps above to prepare the second patty and place next to the first one on the same baking sheet.
Brush both patties with the egg and sugar mixture.
Let the patties stand for about 30 minutes.
Bake in a 375 degree over for about one hour, or until lightly brown.
Let cool, then cut into wedges and serve with tea.


text:
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|Position ID
|Leadership - Physician
|Medical Management
Kern Medical announces an exceptional opportunity for an accomplished surgeon to serve as Chair for the Department of Surgery. The Chair will provide strategic leadership, direction and coordination of administrative, clinical, education and research endeavors to the department's 21 employed and aligned surgeons while enhancing collaboration with the medical center's academic affiliate. Kern Medical, a 222-bed acute care teaching hospital and the only Level II Trauma program between Fresno and Los Angeles, has more than 3,000 trauma activations each year.
Founded in 1867 in central California's San Joaquin Valley, Kern Medical offers a range of primary, specialty, and multi-specialty services including high-risk pregnancy care, inpatient psychiatric services integrated with county mental health programs, and a growing network of outpatient clinics providing personalized patient-centered wellness care. Providing care for 15,500 inpatients and 125,000 clinic patients a year, Kern Medical is a leading voice for health, healing and wellness in the Central Valley. In 2016, Kern Medical transitioned from being owned and operated by the County of Kern to a Hospital Authority, enabling the hospital to better serve patients as a safety net provider, academic training center, and leader in trauma and specialty services.
Reporting to the Chief Medical Officer, the Department Chair will advance clinical quality, safety and operational efficiency while cultivating a collegial and multidisciplinary team-based culture to ensure a high functioning department. This position will provide mentorship and leadership to Division Chiefs and Medical Directors within the Department of Surgery. The Chair will build the surgery expertise of Kern Medical and establish high quality, evidence-based surgery practices; recruit high performing surgeons; develop and enhance educational programs for medical students and residents; expand patient care programs and resources; and expand research activities.
Successful candidates for the Chair, Department of Surgery will be respected surgeons with excellent clinical, teaching and research track records in an advanced trauma center. Candidates must have demonstrated effective leadership abilities and experience in an academic medical center or community-based teaching hospital. The Chair will play a major role in the strategic direction and vision of this critical department. This position requires excellent leadership and communication skills. Successful candidates will have completed an ACGME accredited residency in surgery, maintain board certification by the American Board of Surgery and subspecialty certification by the American Board of Medical Specialties as appropriate, and be eligible for an unrestricted California Physician's and Surgeon's license.
For confidential consideration or to nominate a colleague, please contact:
Joyce Tucker
Executive Vice President, Managing Principal
800-209-8143 x 64518


text:
I realized yesterday that I failed to convey how I went about judging these stories. Some of you disagree with my rankings after only two stories, so I think I should explain how I ranked them so you have a little better of an idea. The first criteria I used was simply how well-written the story was. I'm not my 5th grade English teacher who gave kids a Stone Cold Stunner for every misuse of a comma, but I was looking for some sort of natural flow to the story. Secondly, I looked at the content of the story itself. Rather than publish seven stories about sitting the bench in high school basketball, I rewarded the people who had unique stories to share. Finally, and most importantly, I judged the stories based on how hard and how frequently I laughed while reading them.
In reality, the rankings certainly are arbitrary but are also entirely irrelevant. The winner of the contest, and thus the winner of a free t-shirt, was completely obvious to me which means those who were ranked 2-7 really don't matter all that much since they are all getting the same consolation prize of being published. Whatever the case, the following is what I perceived to be the fifth best benchwarming story that was submitted for Fan Appreciation Week. If you don't like it, don't worry because there's a better one coming tomorrow. If you do like it, be excited that there's an even better one coming tomorrow. Either way, here's a look into Seth Tommeraasen's life as a benchwarmer.
I've always loved playing sports, just never been any good at them. This fact is compounded once the sports are taken out of my, or friends', front yards or driveways and placed in an organized setting. It's a bit of a reality check to find that attempting sky hooks from anywhere on the court is frowned upon when on a school team. I mean, if Kareem could do it, why can't I?
I could go on about how humiliated I was at every single practice over the span of four years, but that'd just be depressing. Let's just surmise it with the fact that over four seasons, I amassed a career total of four points (one basket in sixth grade and one in seventh). I even had a breakaway layup once that I missed horrendously. Not a boost to a kid's self-esteem.
At one particular practice in junior high, our coach went so far as to yell at me and my friends (who were better than I at basketball, but that's not saying much), saying "I don't even WANT you guys on my team!" Seriously, if you're yelling that at 12 year olds on a team you coach, there's a good chance you might be taking junior high basketball a bit too seriously. For all I know she was actually Pete Rose and had money on the game.
My inefficiency on the hardwood resulted in my spending most games on the hard wood of the bench. Even at that early level, our coaches still wouldn't play several players if it was a close game. So that's where a 12 year old Seth and a 21 year old Mark share some similarity.
Since we never got to play and even when we did we knew we'd never be given an opportunity to score, my friend Curtis and I decided that fouls were more fun than points anyhow, so any game we both got into, we would try to out-foul each other before our coach inevitably took us out and yelled at us. Hey, we had fun though. I even got to hit some other kids in the face. I think I kicked someone in the stomach once trying to mimic a Dennis Rodman-style rebound. There wasn't a foul, though, as he was on my team.
So as far as luck with the ladies goes, I didn't have the athletic skills to lure them in. Factor in that I was the skinny tall awkward kid with huge wire-framed glasses and an enormous head (it's about a size 7 7/8 or an 8) and a former rocker of the mullet, I really had nothing going for me with the 8th grade honeys in our school.
Sidenote on mullets. Growing up in Baltic, SD (you're not the only one who has witnessed a party where the country music is being provided by a pickup with massive CB antennas. Note I said witness, I was never invited to the hicks' parties), we didn't know what a mullet was. We knew them as safety cuts. I have no idea where this expression came from nor how it relates to the mullet, but to me, they're safety cuts. Mine was a tri-fecta of safety. Not only did my luscious locks naturally curl upon my shoulders, but I topped this off with gel-spiked hair on top AND the ol' cat scratches/bolts/stripes/whatever you want to call them shaved into the side of my massive cranium. If you'd like, I can scan a family pic to send your way.
But anyways, I digress. We were talking about my poor basketball skills (despite my love for the game) and my lesser luck with the ladies. It should be noted also that my senior class was only 30 total students (including myself), many of whom I had gone to kindergarten with. So all the ladies at the school I had known for pushing 10 years by the time we hit high school, therefore it wasn't like they were going to suddenly forget what a horrendous dork I had been my whole life even after I finally got contacts in place of glasses, a decent haircut, and maybe some handsome looks. Sitting at home playing Dragon Warrior on the NES probably didn't help either. But someone had to save the Princess Gwaelin and defeat the Dragonlord after all.
So I did what any logical guy would do. I gave up on athletics and joined the Future Homemakers of America (FHA), which is now known as Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America, or something to that effect. I went so far as to become our chapter's president my junior year. To this day I remain the only male president of the organization at my school (this is purely assumption that no guy has ran for the office since I graduated). The results of this were twofold: 1) all the hicks at my school that always assumed I was gay seemed to think this verified it (please note that all the accusing hicks were members of the Future Farmers of America, which is/was comprised of mostly males and actually have an event where they judge horses' butts); and 2) I became a hit with tons of ladies that didn't attend my school. Seriously, joining FHA was amazing for my self-esteem in regards to my sexual appeal to members of the opposite sex. At a typical statewide meeting, there would be about 2000 female students to about 100 males students. A 20:1 ratio of ladies to guys is a world that I can live with.
So there you have it, I have always sucked at athletics despite my love of them, so instead I became a Future Homemaker of America and became a hit with all the out of town ladies. Though most of the girls from my high school did the typical small town thing and put on weight, cranked out the babies and never left town, so I'm not too distraught that we never hooked up. Except for Michelle. We would have been a great couple.
Your awesome YouTube was sent in to me by James M. There's your shout-out, James. And here's your video.
Your Friend and My Favorite,
Mark Titus
Club Trillion Founder


text:
Hotel Review: Mandarin Oriental, Taipei
The Mandarin Oriental, Taipei is the most luxurious hotel in Taipei. After having stayed at the Mandarin Oriental, Singapore multiple times, I have fallen in love with the brand that epitomises the legendary service that is well-known for. The Mandarin Oriental, Taipei is located within Taipei's most established business district (Dunhua North Road) and it is famous for the lush canopy of trees in the vicinity.
The first thing you will notice as you arrive at this property is the beautiful European-style architecture. The exquisite design brings about a blend of classical influences with contemporary luxury that is coupled with the Mandarin Oriental's established service levels. The next thing you will notice as you walk through the front doors of this hotel is the gigantic chandelier (1,400 kilograms) that hangs above you. With a diameter of 4 metres, the monumental piece is a combination of 50,000 crystal beads pieces that took over nine months to design and assemble.
During my trip to Taipei this year, I stayed in a Club Deluxe Room at the Mandarin Oriental, Taipei. The Club Deluxe Room (which comes with Oriental Club privileges - more on this later) is approximately 55sqm - this is a lot larger than what most hotel rooms typically are in Taipei. I was also fortunate enough to be placed on one of the special floors where the ceiling is apparently a lot higher, creating a ever great sense of space and opulence.
When I first stepped into the room, the lights faded in on its own and the curtains opened automatically. No matter how cliché it may seem, there was truly a little bit of magic in that. This room can sleep 2 adults and 1 child very comfortably and a rollaway bed can be added without causing any obstruction to the room at all (if required).
Apart from the luscious décor and the incredibly fluffy bed (reminiscent of the ones at the Mandarin Oriental, Singapore), you will also find a control panel by the bed where you are able to control the lighting (including the dimness), curtains as well other privacy controls. As mentioned, the bed itself is amazing and it comes with a goose and feather down duvet with pillows that I wish I could take home with me.
I also found a welcome fruit platter on the table and to be very honest, I thought this was pretty underwhelming. Being such an extravagant hotel, I would have expected a little bit more on the plate (like the ridiculously big one I got while staying at the Crowne Plaza Changi Airport's Pool Suite).
For those in need of entertainment and music, the Club Deluxe Room at the Mandarin Oriental, Taipei comes furnished with a huge 46" LED TV with digital content and it is also connected to an in-room entertainment system which allows integration of iPod or MP3. There is also a huge work desk should you require to get some work done and a state-of-the-art IP Phone by the side where you can call for room service and request for any help easily. If you have devices that are internet-deprived and power-hungry like me, you will be pleased to find a number of universal power sockets (with USB charging) by the table. The high-speed wireless internet connection also allows you to connect up to six devices.
Tea in the Club Deluxe Room is provided by Cha Cha Thé (采采食茶文化), a luxury boutique tea company that is well known for their range of artisanal teas and desserts at the physical store. The packaging features a contemporary design with traces of Asian-design - I'm fully sold! If you are a coffee drinker, the room also comes with an illy coffee machine that makes delicious espressos.
Finally, my favourite part of the bathroom in my Club Deluxe Room at the Mandarin Oriental, Taipei - the large and incredibly luxurious marble bathroom. If this does not make you feel special, I am not sure what else would.
The bathroom features a massive (and separate) bathtub with a walk-in rainforest shower on the side. In fact, there are three different shower heads that you can utilise depending on which one you favour the most. Also, despite having such a big tub, it did not actually take too long to fill so you don't have to worry about waiting. Also, should you forget your bath salts/bubble bars, the Mandarin Oriental, Taipei provides three different scented bath salts on the side. If you run out of them just call your friendly housekeeper to send some up! Decent-sized bath amenities are also provided and if you are wondering what brand of amenities it is, check out the photo below!
That's right! Bath Amenities at the Mandarin Oriental, Taipei are provided by the legendary French perfume company, Diptyque. They come in handsome 75ml bottles so there's plenty for you to make a bubble bath for your tub - remember you are on a holiday after all! Also remember that these are replenished during the evening turndowns and morning refreshes so you will have plenty to indulge in!
Staying in the Club Deluxe Room at the Mandarin Oriental, Taipei has its perks and the Oriental Club benefits include the following:
- Daily breakfast, afternoon tea, all day refreshments, evening cocktails and hors d'oeuvres at the Oriental Lounge
- Complimentary pressing of 3 garments per stay
- Complimentary wireless high speed internet in-room and at Oriental Lounge
- Complimentary use of meeting room and facilities for 1 hour per stay
- In-room check-in
- Shoe shining service
- Dedicated concierge services
- Late check-out at 6pm upon availability
I checked out the Oriental Club while it was serving Afternoon Tea and I was delighted to find out that I was able to choose between a sit outside or indoors. Since it was a pleasant (and cooling) afternoon, I decided to grab a seat outside while soaking in the sights of the European architecture.
While the Evening Cocktails are generally my favourite time of the day, Afternoon Tea at the Mandarin Oriental, Taipei was actually my personal favourite. It was such a lavish event with delicious tea, canapés and sweets. In fact, this was where I declared that I had the best ever tasting scones in my life. There was a fine selection of sweet and savoury snacks (that were all really well executed), a fine selection of tea and coffee as well as a carefully curated range of reading materials.
The use of caviar in many of the dishes offered during Afternoon Tea just added to the lavishness of the whole experience at the Mandarin Oriental, Taipei. Every single dish that was served in the Oriental Club also looks picture-perfect and almost too pretty to consume.
In the evening, cocktails and canapés are also served at the Oriental Club (if you are a club guest). Since it was raining outside in the evening, I settled for a table indoors. Surprisingly, there were not many hotel guests while I was there and therefore, this was one of the least crowded hotel lounges I have ever been to. Evening cocktails are usually the busiest time of the day for most hotels since no one can ever say no to free-flowing cocktails.
Forget your usual Moët & Chandon, the Mandarin Oriental, Taipei serves one of the best Champagne from the oldest established Champagne house in the world - Ruinart.
If you are a fan of the harder and stronger stuff, indulge in quality tequila from Patron (my personal favourite!) or ask for a recommendation from one of the friendly Oriental Club staff.
While the drinks are pretty impressive in the evening at the Oriental Club, I have to say that I was a tad disappointed with the quality and variety of food offered. Having been to the Oriental Club at the Mandarin Oriental, Singapore where I was blown away, I had my hopes up for this property. Apart from serving some nuts, chips and pickles, there was also a small selection of cheese, desserts and one hot food item. Since it was pouring outside, I was actually hoping that the food in the lounge would suffice for a small dinner but unfortunately that was not the case.
After returning to my room hungry and being extremely unmotivated to head out because of the rain (and alcohol), I decided to stay in and order some room service instead. I ordered the (from the left) Wok-fried Rice (NT$500++), Taiwanese Beef Noodles Soup (NT$550++) and Ya Ge Crispy Chicken (NT$850++) which came up to approximately S$110 after taxes. Not exactly the most affordable dinner in Taipei (especially since food from outside were a fraction of the cost) but boy was that Ya Ge Crispy Chicken good! The Wok-fried Rice was delicious but the prawns were overcooked. The beef noodles were great (and the soup was comforting especially while watching the heavy downpour) and the beef was especially tender. What stood out the most however was that plate of (half) Ye Ge Crispy Chicken. They were not kidding about the crispiness of that skin and the moist meat underneath that was packed with flavours. That dish alone is a good enough reason for you to order some room service (or simply head down to Ya Ge).
As an Oriental Club guest, you will be given an option to either have breakfast in the exclusive Oriental Club or enjoy a wider variety of food options in Café Un Deux Trois (630am to 1030am). I personally preferred the latter and decided to head down to enjoy breakfast instead (especially since I expected the occupancy during my stay to be on the lower side). Do note that there is a dress code at the Mandarin Oriental, Taipei so don't go wandering down in your shorts and slippers (which we Singaporeans are often so guilty of).
Featuring design that is reminiscent of a traditional brasserie, Café Un Deux Trois is also open for lunch and dinner. In the morning, you will find delicious French pastries and bread here - trust me, I've had one of the best chocolate croissants I have ever had in my life here. At this point I was already thinking to myself that the Mandarin Oriental, Taipei has possibly the best pastries and tarts in town.
There was a healthy selection of buffet items that were on offer. If you are not satisfied with it, you can always order more from the a la carte menu (inclusive in the buffet breakfast price). I tried the Congee with Chicken (NT$350++) and was pleasantly surprised by the thick consistency and flavourful spoonfuls of congee. I also managed to try the Classic Eggs Benedict (NT$350++) which did not disappoint - a running golden center with a beautiful hollandaise. Finally of course, I had to have my Taiwanese Pancake (NT$400++) fix which is made from free-range eggs with a tuna center.
On a sunny day, check out the iconic outdoor swimming pool at the Mandarin Oriental, Taipei while you take in the sights of the beautiful architecture while working on a tan. Tanning lotions and sunscreen is also provided by the pool if you forgot to bring yours.
The Mandarin Oriental, Taipei is by far the most luxurious hotel that I have stayed in Taipei. While the location of the hotel isn't particularly good if you would like to commute on foot, many of the attractions are still easily accessible via the train. Honestly though, for the price you are paying at this property, you should be spending more time within the hotel in order to fully utilise the facilities.
Mandarin Oriental, Taipei
158 Dunhua North Road, Taipei 10548, Taiwan
Website | Email


text: Because I've been listening to Christmas music for about three weeks now, I figured it's only appropriate to share one of those songs with you all. :) My absolute favorite Christmas album is The Hotel Cafe presents Winter Songs. It includes tons of my favorite female artists doing original and covered Christmas songs. I shared this one with you last year. Today it's Silent Night by Priscilla Ahn. This girl is sooo good (so good I've already shared some of her stuff!). Her voice is crystal clear and so sweet. I absolutely love this rendition of one of my favorite Christmas songs. If you haven't downloaded the entire album, do it now! Colbie Caillat, Lenka, KT Tunstall and Brandi Carlile also make the list.


text:
Worship // Let's Talk Church Episode 4
Special Guest Greg Willson joins us today as we discuss worship & music in the church world. You can find Greg at www.gregwillson.com or on Twitter @gregoriousdubs. Thanks for joining us! You can listen to the podcast right here be clicking the Play button below. You can also find the iTunes Podcast link, MP3 download and RSS feed below. Let us know what you think by leaving a comment on the post! If you would like to be on future episodes of the podcast, or know a Pastor, worship leader or other church staff member who would like to be part, you can tweet at us or email: firstname.lastname@example.com. Thanks for listening!
Twitter: Greg Willson (Special Guest) Stephen Robles Evan Fairey Let's Talk Church Podcast
Links: iTunes Podcast MP3 Download RSS Feed


text:
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