text:
Keeping a journal about your baby is fun. It allows you to keep track of those events in your baby's life and development that are most important to you, and to tell them in your own words. Sometimes it's not just fun but rather a necessity to keep a baby journal, like when the doctor wants you to keep a record of how many nappies the little one uses daily and what's in them.
There are plenty of online services that can help to keep such a diary, but you need to have an internet connection to access them, and you have to trust them to keep your data safe.
This blog post descibes how to keep a journal that will also be available to you when you're offline. It will be just one file that you can store anywhere and view or edit with any modern web browser. Journal entries can contain rich text and images, and automatically show the entry's date and your baby's age at that date:
The journal will be based on TiddlyWiki 5, created by Jeremy Ruston. Now, this is a blog mainly about developing software, and here's where things start to get all technical and fun. However, if you're a non-technical parent who just came here looking for a simple baby journal application, you may (almost) stop reading, download the finished version of the file we're about to create over here, open it in your favourite browser, enter your baby's details in the Personal data section and start creating journal entries. I think it all works pretty straightforward, but do remember to click the big Save button before exiting your browser. Check the TiddlyWiki website for any additional help.
Still reading? Excellent. So I mentioned TiddlyWiki. It's an interesting piece of software that implements a wiki type of application in a single html file which contains all the html, JavaScript and css needed to run the application as well as the data that the user puts into the wiki. It's highly customizable and has many different uses. For our baby journalling purpose, we will create a faily standard TiddlyWiki file with one customization: the entry's date and the baby's age will appear at the top of each journal entry.
Getting started
To start creating the journal, you need an empty TiddlyWiki. Download it at http://www.tiddlywiki.com by clicking the large green button that says Download Empty. Save the file wherever you like, and then open it with your browser. Let's start by giving your journal a title. Click the Control Panel button and enter a title at Title of this TiddlyWiki, and maybe a subtitle at Subtitle. Then click the Save button (see above). Your browser will ask you for a location to save the file, which can be the same location where you originally saved the file.
There, that was the basic process of editing the TiddlyWiki file: open it in the browser, make some modifications and then click Save. Of course, the saving process is a bit awkward with that file requestor. For Firefox, it can be made a one-click affair by installing an extension. You could also use TiddlyDesktop which is a standalone application providing a browser and easy management of TiddlyWiki files. See the TiddlyWiki website for more information.
The first tiddler
In TiddlyWiki, information is stored in tiddlers. They are comparable to pages or articles in other wikis. Let's create a tiddler that contains some general information about your baby. Click on the big + button and enter as title for the new tidder: Personal data. In the text area below the title you can write whatever you like about the baby, but there are 2 special bits of information that we want to use in other parts of the journal too: the baby's first name and birth date. To easily access these from elsewhere, we put them in fields. At Add a new field, enter
firstnameand click the Add button. Now you can enter a value for the field, so enter your baby's first name. Repeat the process for the new field
birthdateand enter the baby's birth date in the notation yyyymmdd (for example if the baby was born on 31 October 2013, enter 20131031). Finish the creation of the new tiddler by clicking ✓. This stores the new tiddler in memory, but not yet on disk. To also save it on disk, click the large Save button again (see above).
Now you can use the values of these fields wherever you want with syntax:
{{Personal data!!firstname}}
For example, as title (in Control Panel, see above) you could set:
{{Personal data!!birthdate}}
Then your baby's name would appear in the title. You'll notice that after saving, the Personal data tiddler doesn't show these 2 fields and their values anymore; they're only visible in edit mode, not in view mode. To also see them in view mode, the text of the tiddler should explicitly reference them. Click on the tiddler's pen icon to modify it and write the following wikitext into the tiddler's text area, which will show the field names and values in a table:
{{Personal data!!firstname}}'s journal
Here the tiddler's name can be omitted before the !!, because it's the current tiddler itself. By the way, the tiddler's text is actually also a field of the tiddler. It's a standard field that any tiddler has, whereas the 2 new fields you just added are custom fields that only the Personal data tiddler has.
|Birth date (yyyymmdd): |{{!!birthdate}}|
|First name: |{{!!firstname}}|
Creating your own JavaScript macroBefore we go on using the dateTimeMacro to create the journal entry header, we need one more macro there: to calculate and show the age of your baby. This macro you will have to make by yourself. Create a new tiddler and call it $:/macros/penguin/age.js. Set its Type field to "application/javascript". Add a field called "module-type" and set it to "macro". Then, in the tiddler text paste the following JavaScript code that implements the macro:
For any JavaScript macro in TiddlyWiki, the exports object needs 3 attributes: name for the macro name (age), params for its parameters (birthDate and currentDate) and run for the function to run when it's invoked.
"use strict";
exports.name = "age";
exports.params = [ { name: "birthDate" }, { name: "currentDate" } ];
exports.run = function(birthDate, currentDate) {
var getNormalizedDate = function (date, referenceDate) {
var numberOfDaysInMonth = (new Date(date.getFullYear(), date.getMonth()+1, 0)).getDate();
if (numberOfDaysInMonth < referenceDate.getDate()) {
return numberOfDaysInMonth;
else {
return referenceDate.getDate();
var getAgeString = function (birthDate, currentDate) {
var tmpBirthDate = new Date(birthDate);
var tmpCurrentDate = new Date(currentDate.getFullYear(), currentDate.getMonth(), currentDate.getDate());
if (tmpCurrentDate < tmpBirthDate) return "not yet born";
var ageDays = 0;
while (tmpCurrentDate.getDate() != getNormalizedDate(tmpCurrentDate, tmpBirthDate)) {
tmpCurrentDate.setDate(tmpCurrentDate.getDate() - 1);
var ageMonths = 0;
while (tmpCurrentDate.getMonth() != tmpBirthDate.getMonth()) {
tmpCurrentDate.setMonth(tmpCurrentDate.getMonth() - 1);
var ageYears=0;
while (tmpCurrentDate.getFullYear() != tmpBirthDate.getFullYear()) {
tmpCurrentDate.setFullYear(tmpCurrentDate.getFullYear() - 1);
return ageYears + ' year' + (ageYears == 1 ? '' : 's') + ', ' + ageMonths + ' month' + (ageMonths == 1 ? '' : 's') + ' and ' + ageDays + ' day' + (ageDays == 1 ? '' : 's');
if (typeof(currentDate) == "undefined" || currentDate == "" || isNaN(currentDate)) {
currentDate = new Date();
currentDate = new Date(currentDate.substring(0,4), currentDate.substring(4,6) - 1, currentDate.substring(6, 8));
if (typeof(birthDate) == "undefined" || birthDate == "" || isNaN(birthDate)) {
birthDate = new Date();
birthDate = new Date(birthDate.substring(0,4), birthDate.substring(4,6) - 1, birthDate.substring(6, 8));
return getAgeString(birthDate, currentDate);
Defining the header for journal entriesNow you can create the header that will appear at the top of all journal entries. Create a new tiddler called JournalEntryHeader and paste the following text in it:
This looks rather complicated, so let's see what's happening there.
<$list filter="[is[current]tag[JournalEntry]]">
//<$macrocall $name="dateTime" ts={{!!created}} format="DDD DD MMM YYYY"/>//

{{Personal data!!firstname}} is <$macrocall $name="age" birthDate={{Personal data!!birthdate}} currentDate={{!!created}} /> old.
</$list>
The whole header is enclosed in a $list construct. This list has 0 or 1 elements, depending on the tiddler in which it appears. It's a rather awkward construction, but it basically says: show information about the current tiddler, but only if this tiddler has tag JournalEntry. This way, we can include the header in all tiddlers (which is easiest to do, see below), while it only shows text for some tiddlers.
Inside the list, our 2 macros are used. First there's the dateTime macro which will show the tiddler's creation date (the field created) in the format "name_of_weekday monthday name_of_month year". It's enclosed by // to make it appear in italics. Then there's a line that shows the baby's age. It references the baby's name set in Personal data and then calls the age macro which computes the age at the tiddler's creation date, given the birth date defined in Personal data.
To include the header in all tiddlers, you just need to add a tag $:/tags/ViewTemplate to the JournalEntryHeader tiddler. However, that doesn't include it at the top of the tiddler, but at the bottom. It's kind of expected for a header to appear at the top, so let's make sure that happens. For this, open the tiddler $:/tags/ViewTemplate (to be found in Control Panel -> More -> Shadows) and edit it. In its field "list", insert JournalEntryHeader before $:/core/ui/ViewTemplate/body. Now the header will appear before the tiddler's body.
Now you can test the macros. It's important to note that a new macro doesn't work until you save the tiddler and then refresh the browser, so first do that. Then create a new tiddler and add a tag JournalEntry to it. Type some text and a title, and then save the tiddler. The new tiddler should now show the header with the date (today) and the baby's age. If not, you may have made a typo in one of the macros or elsewhere. Maybe you noticed that the header was not shown while you were editing the tiddler. To also show the header in edit mode, you need to do with $:/tags/EditTemplate what you did with $:/tags/ViewTemplate.
Putting things together: the main pageNow it's time to bring everything together and finish the journal. Let's create a tiddler entitled Main page and make sure it's always visible when we start the journal. To ensure that, go to Control Panel and put [[Main page]] in the Default Tiddlers.
The main page's header
At the top of the main page, let's put information similar to what's in the headers of journal entries, but now related to the current date. So when you open the journal, you'll always see the current date and your baby's current age. This is accomplished by calling the macros without the currentDate argument (which makes it default to now). Put the following at the top of your Main page tiddler:
Note the much shorter syntax for the dateTime macrocall: <<.>> instead of <$macrocall>..</$macrocall>. This shorter syntax can't always be parsed correctly, which is why elsewhere we use the longer one.
//<<dateTime format: "DDD DD MMM YYYY">>//

Today {{Personal data!!firstname}} is <$macrocall $name="age" birthDate={{Personal data!!birthdate}} /> old.

A button to create new journal entriesCreating a new journal entry is still pretty awkward: first you have to click the button to create a new tiddler, then you need to assign a JournalEntry tag to it. Luckily we can do both in one click by adding a custom "Create journal entry" button. This button will create a new tiddler based on a template (a "Skeleton" in TiddlyWiki terminology). In this template, then, you can specify what stuff you want to be in every journal entry. This is at least the tag JournalEntry, and maybe some fields for specific data you want to keep track of, such as weight, height, number of full nappies... So create a new tiddler called JournalEntrySkeleton and add the tag JournalEntry to it plus any other stuff you want to be in each journal entry, and then add the following to the Main page to make the button appear there:
<$button message="tm-new-tiddler" param="JournalEntrySkeleton">New journal entry</$button>
A table of contentsFinally, it might be useful to have a list with links to all journal entries you created, plus a link to the Personal data tiddler. Add the following to the Main page tiddler:
Here the $list construct is used again, this time to actually produce a list (as opposed to just those 0 or 1 lines in the JournalEntryHeader). It lists all tiddlers with tag journalEntry except the skeleton, sorted by creation date.
[[Personal data]]

Journal entries:

<$list filter="[tag[JournalEntry]!title[JournalEntrySkeleton]sort[created]]"><$link to={{!!title}}><$view field="title" /> (<$macrocall $name="dateTime" ts={{!!created}} format="DD MMM YYYY"/>)
</$link>
And there you have it, a baby journal made with TiddlyWiki 5. I can't guarantee that your baby will be interested to read it when he/she's older, but it will surely be a fun document for you and your partner to look back on those exciting but often exhausting baby years.
- Empty baby journal, ready to use: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ush3bj7cw8xmdaq/BabyJournal.html
- TiddlyWiki website: http://www.tiddlywiki.com
- TiddlyWiki community forum: http://groups.google.com/group/TiddlyWiki


text:
The Mech Mice Story - Chapter Three/
Colonel Black bit hard on the squirming grub and frowned as he chewed. It was too sweet, he much preferred bitter bugs. He set the remainder of his meal back on his plate and scowled at the blabbering fool who sat across the desk from him.
Nothing about the grey field mouse impressed the Colonel. He was a new face, but still a stooge. One of those overdressed, underprepared, delivery mice sent down from the General's office. The grub smelled of cheap cologne and was rambling far too long to keep Black's attention. He had started talking three minutes ago and the Colonel could tell they were no nearer to the real reason this mouse was even here.
"As you will see from my report, Colonel," the young mouse boasted as he pushed a large pile of paper across the desk, "Increasing our patrols of the southern meadows has been very productive. The tribes there seem very grateful for our presence and we've managed to liberate quite a few of them from all kinds of beasts. Alpha is very pleased with the results. His popularity has grown considerably among our great Colony. Despite the dwindling number of recruits it's our hope that…"
Black was getting impatient. "By my uncle's whiskers, would you spit it out already? I haven't got time for this nonsense, and I could care less what is in your report. I'm here to do a job, I suggest you do yours and tell me what you came here to say."
The mouse trembled a bit and nervously wiped his brow. Black may have been a small shrew, but he never let anyone push him around. He knew this pup was only a glorified messenger, but that didn't mean he had to make his job any easier.
"Well…Sir, General Hatchet feels that increasing the number of Elite Guards by six squads before the new moon could be just the thing we need," said the mouse.
"Six squads," the Colonel bellowed.
"Yes sir, after all, the Elites are our most visible and marketable assets. With more Elites in the field, more mice may be inspired to join. After all, the General wants the largest army ever assembled ready before the first snowfall."
"The General is a buffoon!"
"I…beg your pardon," the messenger said, clearly shaken by the boldness of this little Shrew in expressing his opinions.
"You heard me!"
The Colonel lowered his bushy eyebrows, picked up the thick stack of papers and waved it in front of the messenger's nose, "Tell me, son, where exactly does this magical report suggest I find enough mice capable of bearing the responsibility of six Elite squads?"
The question caught the young officer completely off guard. He hardly knew what to say.
"That's not really…"
The Colonel interrupted, his voice rising as his agitation with his situation grew.
"Not everything is about numbers. Whatever happened to strategy, to tactics? Do you even know what it means to be an Elite Guard?"
The messenger squirmed in his chair, but said nothing. Like a wind before a hurricane, the Colonel was just getting started.
"Our Elites are highly trained combat units, masters of stealth, fearless fighters, capable of survival in any environment. They are battle hardened, tough tailed, killers who'd rather cut off a paw than lose a mission. That's the kind of mice I need!" The Colonel's ears were now burning red. He took a deep breath and continued his tirade, spitting furiously as he shouted. "The mice I have are a bunch of sloppy, spineless, rookies who rely far too much on these fancy new tech-toys the General keeps giving them to figure anything out on their own. They wouldn't know real battle tactics if it kicked them in the tail. That's the mice I have."
There was a long silence as the messenger measured his next words carefully.
"Surely there must be some among the grunts who you could promote."
Before the Colonel could respond, the communicator on his desk interrupted. A small screen lit up and the face of Mildra appeared.
"Colonel, Commander Ziro is here to see you, sir," she said in a decidedly drab voice.
"Make him wait," the Colonel shouted, but Mildra didn't disappear.
"Uh sir," the young messenger offered, "you have to press the red…"
"I know what I'm doing, you twit," the Colonel said. He pressed the red button and all of a sudden a second face lit up on the screen. It was his wife.
"Oh, hello Smoochie," the shrew on the screen answered. "I wasn't expecting you to call so…"
"Blast," the Colonel shouted as he pressed another button. This time it was Mildra again.
"Sir…did you want me to send him in?"
"No! No…for crying out loud…NO!" He slammed his fist against the machine and her face disappeared at last. This was exactly what was wrong with the world today. Too much technology, too many contraptions. The Colonel sighed and looked back at the messenger mouse who was sitting across from him, mouth agape and eyes wide with shock. The mouse quickly regained his composure and extended an olive branch to the befuddled Colonel.
"Listen, Colonel. I'll do my best to relay your concerns back to the General, but with the Alpha's approval already granted, I'm not sure there is anything that can be done about it. I suggest you do your best with what you've got and we'll see if we can't work something out in the meantime. Okay?"
For Black, this was the last straw. He hated being belittled, least of all by some pint-sized runt with zero field experience and a clear disregard for his elders.
"Get out of my den," the Colonel growled.
"But sir, I…"
Black picked up the report that had started the whole ordeal and hopped down from his stool. He headed for the corner of the room, rolled it up and shoved it into the barrel of a device that looked vaguely like a bazooka. He cranked back on the spring loaded lever and shouldered the weapon, aiming it's crosshairs at the now frightened Lieutenant.
"I said, get out of my den, and tell General Hatchet he can put this in his report next time!"
The mouse scrambled frantically to gather his briefcase and scurried for the door. All the while, the Colonel chuckled to himself and kept the cross hairs steady with the well groomed dunce. Just as the messenger threw open the door the Colonel clawed the trigger and sent a massive flurry of paperwork out of the barrel and into the office and the hallway beyond.
The messenger rushed out of the den toward the reception hole where Ziro sat patiently waiting.
"That mouse is insane," he shouted at Mildra as he stormed out of the den altogether.
Satisfied with himself, the Colonel dropped his weapon, slammed his door and headed back to his desk amidst a snowfall of paper that made his office feel much like a snow globe. He sat there basking in the glory of his battle won. For a moment, it felt like the good old days when he was still in the field…still getting things done. He sighed.
"How did I ever end up here," he said softly to himself. He let his eyes wander around the walls of his den. Every inch of it was a testament to the early days of war. Photographs of gritty battles and war-time posters hung in perfect order on his walls along with artifacts and weapons from the good old days. In many ways, his den served as a museum of memories from the age of gears and springs.
Yes, he was an Old World kind of shrew, with plenty of field duty and more than a few scars to show for it. The virtues of war were bred into his nature. It was a much a part of him as his tail. Like his great grandfather, Black had been Commander of the most decorated Elite squad in the Mech Mice guard history. The Venom squad.
Ah, those were the days, Venom could strike swiftly and silently. No one had seen them the night they infiltrated deep into enemy territory and took down the Dark Union. It was Black's bite that had sent the dreaded Dr. Verminion, leader of the Dark Union, tumbling to his doom. Black was a war hero – a legend even. But that was long ago. Now, he was little more than a paper-pusher. A relic of war in a museum of his making.
How times had changed. Under the new leadership of General Hatchet it seemed like missions were more about meeting quotas, expanding the Colony borders and gaining popularity than it was about eradicating what remained of Verminion's army. Many of the battles being fought now were un-necessary distractions. Too quickly fought and too easily won. He had been around long enough to know something was up. Why were they focusing so much energy on the southern meadows and hardly any to the north in Liwa? There hadn't been a squad sent to Liwa in at least three seasons. And yet, despite the Mech Mice absence things had been quiet in Liwa. Too quiet.
Black had his suspicions. He even had the courage to voice his concerns before the Mech Mice council once before. A lot of good that did. It was what landed him in this lousy job stamping papers. If he had any hope of discovering the truth, he couldn't do it publicly.
If only there were a way to put things right again. To prove to the council that the Colony was at risk of attack from the north too. Who was he kidding? His tactics weren't needed anymore. He had quotas to meet – General Hatchet's orders.
He glanced down at his paper snow covered desk and spotted a single blue paper. It was another one of those digital field reports from the battle simulator. This one was for the Genesis squad. As usual, the report was already graded by a central server. The recommendation was to dismantle the team and send them back to basic training. Normally, he wouldn't even give the report a second look – he'd call the commanding team leader in and deliver the news – but this time, something made him pause.
He half-heartedly scanned the report a second time. Surprisingly, there were a few bright spots in the report, not Elite status by a long-shot, but not horrible either. They needed a lot of work. Then, a subtle smile crept across the snout of the shrew and he did something he had wanted to do for a long time. He made a decision on his own.
If it was numbers the General wanted, he would give it to him. He'd approve these less than perfect grunts and give them a shot at the big time. But first, he'd give them a special trial mission to test their worthiness. If they failed, he'd just be following orders. But maybe…just maybe…they'd manage to come back with something useful from the field. Liwa would be the perfect place to start. Nobody would be expecting it.
"Oh-ho-ho Augustus, you are a clever little shrew," he said, chuckling to himself.
He depressed the red button on his desk communicator to call this Commander Ziro in for the news, but it was his wife's face that appeared instead of Mildras.
"Smoochie? Is that you again," his wife asked.
"Blast!" he cursed and slammed his fist against the device. The image went black.
He hopped down from his stool and headed for the door. He'd do this the Old School way.
- We changed Black's rank from General to Colonel.
- The Chapter Illustration will be added later
- If you find any errors or mistakes please post them to the comments

subset: commoncrawl


text:
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Our complete organized apartments was found of at the south boulevard of Egmond at Sea. The apartments are calm lain and are only 100 m of sea and removed 200 meters of the towns center. Pets have been allowed. Count: 072-5061048 e-mail: email@example.com


text:
What will AI do to Reading?
"Make AI that can beat any human in chess? Done. Make one that can read a paragraph from a six-year-old's picture book and not just recognize the words but understand the meaning of them? Google is currently spending billions of dollars trying to do it." –Pawel Sysiak, "AI Revolution 101"
Q: If an AI could read a novel and understand its meaning, bring to bear on that meaning every bit of art and information ever recorded, and spit out an evaluation, how would this affect us as readers? And how does the thought of this make you feel?
When I was little, my mom won, in a ball toss, a Fred Flintstone doll. I adored my mom through that doll. I didn't care for the Flintstones, and if I did, Fred would be my least favorite character. He told everyone what to do. I hated it.
It's important to talk about the difference between reading and writing: as a poet, a teller, among other tellers, reading about the act of writing, it's easy to forget that we are the glad minority, and that what we hope to do is be heard. That the vast majority of all human effort toward literature is in hearing, not telling, and that all of the lionizing we do of artists is actually a mirror trick: What we are actually concerned with, what we actually love about art, is the experience of it being done by/for/with/on/to us.
What will AI do to reading? Maybe nothing. An infinitely brilliant AI is still only another reader. It cannot read a passage about the Flintstones and tell me a meaning that is truer than the one I know. Or I might be wrong. Maybe this AI, being brilliant, is also infinitely good at listening.
Let's go ahead and grant the singular-ity, let's grant that AI will soon be able to read and "comprehend" a text to the satisfaction of a literary scholar. This will be an impressive feat of engineering, whether the engineer is human, a prior AI, or indeed the algorithm of evolution itself, and one that would have been of great use to me back in high school, when I was writing essays about books I hadn't read.
But high school was a long time ago, and what long-term use do any of us have for Cliff's Notes, however thorough? I don't read—I don't read literature—to find out what a book says; I read literature to discover what it means to me. And because reading is—sometimes, often enough—so central to how I go about making meaning in my life, I volunteer a lot of my time to it.
Someone or something else knowing a lot about Plato affects my reading of Plato only insofar as it informs it, that is insofar as it offers a meaningful interpretation against which to compare my own. At best, then, an AI's reading would be this limited tool. And it might be something much worse. Because there is no such thing as an objective or neutral reading of Plato, anything that claims to be is merely the worst kind of the opposite: one lacking self-awareness. An AI's reading would only be as good as its unique, biased, creative, and subjective point of view allowed.
A computer can beat a human at chess. Can it feel joy in victory? A reflexive step further: Can it experience meaning in victory? Can it choose to try to win?—or for that matter to lose? In other words, can it value? The capacity to value is the hallmark of consciousness. Here's how we'll know when AI is worth paying attention to about literature: when it rereads Plato—or if Plato is unsatisfactory, perhaps some more perfect AI-composed text—for the third, fourth, hundred millionth time. Then we'll know it considers this is a meaningful (not practical) use of its time—or if time is irrelevant, its other limited resources.
Intelligence is not consciousness, and consciousness is what matters—is what matters means. Maybe one day AI will be conscious and enjoy idiosyncratic points of view we can interact with. Whether or not this transpires, I'll be here reading my Plato.
How I feel about it all just boils down to who is pro-gramming and funding these AIs and why. That will tell us a lot about how they will be deployed and at what cost.
I think we often forget that it is humans that create technology. It is never ahistorical or asocial.
Tech isn't always dystopic, shiny, metal. What we frequently define as technology today doesn't encompass its true meaning in the long-term. Technology is also notebooks, pens, forks, typewriters—the things for which we hold immense nostalgia. Every time we extend our mind and/or body onto an object to make it work for us, we are employing technology. Cups, toilets are just as much technological instruments as calculators, microscopes, and cinema.
Recently graduating from college, I've got a few fresh memories from reading intensive seminars where my classmates might have well as been AI robots. Regurgitating without internalizing. Lack of creative analysis that dares to defy the rules of literary criticism or contributions to interpretive meaning. I wouldn't want them to be building reading AIs.
AIs could teach us about what we think we do when we read. What is left out of the programming may reveal elements of reading that we take for granted, or thing of which we are not even aware.
AI will be great for writers and terrible for the publishing industry.
Initially, AI will do little more than make books increasingly accessible. Computers will read to seniors with failing vision and people with disabilities, but before long, they will form opinions.
AI won't truly be what it aspires to until computers develop preferences. This step, which is far beyond simply understanding things, may take a decade or two, but it is coming, and once intelligence can truly be manufactured, authors will see a boom in the number of readers on the planet. Sadly, these readers will likely never buy books.
Imagine: an artificial being wants to read the latest Steven King (let's not even get into the repercussions of computers reading horror). It simply accesses the digital files and, in less than a second, digests the story, forms an opinion, and tells all its AI friends about it. There may even be some humans advanced enough to join the conversation.
Stories will continue to prosper.
Extrapolate a little further and you have AI authors. Eventually humans as we know them will be left behind on the evolutionary trail of progress, but if creativity is an intrinsic component of intelligence, it will long outlive capitalism and the need for profit.
In the conversation of Artificial Intelligence, there is only one aspect of it that really intrigues me. That concept is AEI (Artificial Emotional Intelligence). This is the process of computers being able to mimic and create emotional responses that could better help them understand the reactions of humans and, potentially, other robots equipped with the same system.
As a writer, it doesn't really make me sad or scared to hear that a computer can create these complex and emotional pieces of art. Honestly, I think that says more about us as people than them as machines. If a robot can make these stories, then what have we as humans been doing this whole time? An even better question than that is, does it really matter?
I feel like we're worrying about something that doesn't care about us or our presence. It's kinda like when movies were created. Everybody thought that films would murder television. Before that, everyone thought television would murder books. Before that, everyone thought books would murder regular, human story telling and interaction.
At the end of the day, if we as people are still learning and growing, does it matter if there's something out there that's smarter or more creative then us? If it does, then we should've and would've stopped creating or doing anything along time ago. So I'm going to keep reading books. As a matter of fact, I might even listen to Siri explain and read a book to me because, why not? It's 2016. Technology is crazy and I'm glad I get to use it.
I think the question hinges on the meaning of the word "evaluation," and the notion that what humans do is read and then spit out evaluations. We can (and should) certainly identify work within the context of the "conversation" it's participating in (i.e., is it responsive to other work, is it reactive, reductive, etc.) and evaluate it in those terms, but isn't a work most successful when it taps instead into a reader's specific experience?
A story, film, poem, painting, play, or piece of music might trigger certain sensory responses or memories—something only a sentient and sensitive reader can have (right?)—and the conversation between the work and those responses is actually what become the work's meaning. (See also: A tree falling in a forest.) In other words, it seems to me that an unemotional and unbiased reader could/would, in fact, only catalog for cross-references to other pieces of art and information, but would never properly read for meaning.
Maybe meaning sprouts from emotional bias itself. Wouldn't we all, otherwise, love all the same works in the same amounts and for the same reasons?
Reading is a human action. This is the only way we can understand it. And because I'm not ready to give AI agency to do anything to reading at all, the question is not "What will AI do to reading?" but "What will we do to reading through our technological inventions?"
Already, reading has changed. Most of what we read now lives on screens, always shifting. A text message appears at the top of the gleaming screen where we are reading about something else. We are navigated away from what we were following—how many of you have even made it this far in this text?
But the drive to read literature is not a drive to consume factoids and data. It is something else.
I remember one winter in my mid-twenties, when I was barely employed and trying to be a writer. I was full of doubt about my future and living in an apartment I shared with Pilates instructors who came and went in a frenzy of health-shakes and success. I decided that if all I did that whole year was read War & Peace, the year wouldn't have been a total waste. I'll never forget how that book became a comfort to me through loneliness and uncertainty.
Limited time imbues every decision we make with meaning. That we know we will die is what makes us human. AI can have no such anxieties. It will finish Infinite Jest and Moby Dick and War & Peace and Les Miserables and Middlemarch. It has all the time in the world.
For starters I see effective reading as something that's not just learned (the AI-defeat of the world Go champion proved machines are perfectly capable of out-learning us). Beyond taking in words, it requires us to emote. It's doubtful for the time being whether a work with the empathic register of Anna Karenina could get read and discussed, let alone conceived and written by a robot. Still, what does it suggest that AI "pets" are dispatched to nursing homes to give elders the care and connection that they lack? That such experiments have been successful?
Literature as a discipline rests on emotional intelligence, which is synonymous with the consciousness linked to our cellular wetware. The manga series Ghost In the Shell imagines something different: its heroine is a cyborg struggling with her gheist, a soul inside a body intended to perform like a machine. The Turing Test in the 1950s was already raising questions about a computer's potential for this kind of behavior. If you and a robot are discussing Tolstoy today, it's one thing for her to draw on facts about culture and politics in Moscow in the late 19th century; it's something else entirely for her to say that she began hating Vronsky in chapter twelve.
The issue here is subjectivity. Will AI join our species in feeling things like passion, anger, and indifference (likewise with characters in the stories it writes)? With our nursing home robots already leading us there, what would happen if AI demonstrated an inner life as complex and responsive and nuanced as ours? What we know is that it already controls what we read—reducing to algorithm what's published, marketed, and gets recommendations and press on platforms from Kindle to Goodreads. And whatever happens, I'm skeptical that AI as a tool of the market economy wouldn't compromise what stories get told.
I'm probably less concerned about living in a world populated by mechanical or partially human agents than their presence leading to a worse cultural myopia than the one we already face. This could happen not just at the level of alien "rights" but our very discourse, via a mix of mechanization and market forces. That's troubling to me as a reader and writer. It would be a revolution. If humanity ushers it in, and a hunch tells me that in my lifetime we will, I expect we'll be doing so with fear and trembling. As we should.
I take issue with the idea that a true super-intelligence would be unemotional or non-sensual. I know this is a controversial point, but I bet this entire Sicilian cream bun on my desk right here that in order to truly understand the meaning of events, to actually understand the meaning of literature, one must have some comprehension of emotional weight and emotional valence, and have the ability to be stirred. Otherwise you might be like the computer engineering student I encountered in one of my poetry classes, who—no offense to him—when reading Mary Oliver's poem "Wild Geese" replied "I don't understand this poem, it is very lonely, because the narrator says they are lonely and alone. And it says that WE are alone. It doesn't offer any solution."
The poem says "Tell me about your despairs, yours, and I will tell you mine... whoever you are / no matter how lonely / the world offers itself to your imagination." Readers have told Mary Oliver that when they were so isolated they wanted to commit suicide, this poem saved them. This is what an AI must feel, must understand.
Another point to consider is that AIs are not singular entities, though we might imagine them as these individual, atomized program-beings, a sort of cyborgerized, basement computer nerd. We kind of reverse-anthropomorphize AIs; make them less human. But they are conjoined, and multi-various, and if as/more intelligent than humans, infinitely complex.
So wouldn't the effect of AI society play out in the production of literature? How might they, as a people, value culture, cultural production, and literature? What about the effect of the power structure of their society, and the economy in which literature is being made? Very little has been written about the potential exploitation of AIs that may occur at the end of the capitalocene, how they may be required to work constantly, given that they are not viewed as humans and endowed with our (albeit poorly applied) own human rights and labor rights. In such a case, would literature seem like merely another form of labor? Would it have any meaning for them?
I'm eating this cream bun and thinking that an unemotional, non-sensual "super-intelligence," or an exploited AI who must produce manuscripts like a machine makes paperclips, would have a lot of trouble creating literature that deepens the experience of consciousness to the extent that human literature can. If AIs do become so fully developed as to be emotional, to have complex algorithms that actually replicate emotional and sensual processes—that allow for felt experiences of exclusion, isolation, solitude, empathy, hope, trust, warmth—then I welcome the literature of this species. I am curious. I'd like to see what symbioses can be created between our literature and theirs. I want to know what another species makes of this alarming, chaotic, tasty, infinite universe.
In my "real job," I'm a software developer for a large IT company that's pouring a lot of money into AI (though I'm not directly involved in it).
The scenario of the "what if?" question doesn't strike me as very likely. Words are inexact things at the best of times. Most commercial applications of AI have been to take a small task that would otherwise need a human ("Does this picture contain a cat?" "Is this blog comment abusive?") but to do it at a massive scale ("Which of these million pictures contain a cat?") so you don't need to hire a small army to get it done in a reasonable time. There isn't a pressing commercial need for the definitive meaning of a story or poem, so I think the jobs of literary critics and English professors are safe—at least from that threat.
A lot of work's being done on "sentiment analysis"—teaching the computer to work out how a writer feels about a topic. (Some companies have decided it's cheaper to rush out a product or service and wait for Twitter to tell them it's crap than it is to test it properly first.) It's now being applied to longer texts, and can make good guesses at how the reader will feel after having read them. An example I saw recently was an online dating profile, with discussion of how the computer could help the writer to make himself more appealing.
That set me thinking about how fiction genres can be categorised according to the emotional response they try to evoke in the reader. The computer could determine the response to a story and compare it with the "ideal" for the story's genre. Publishers could mine their slush piles to find the most romantic romances, the most thrilling thrillers, and so on. To those who say this shows a cynical approach to manuscript selection, I reply, they already publish the books they think will make the most money. This just brings some objectivity to the matter. A more interesting application of this technology might be to allow a reader to select a book based on how (the computer says) it will make them feel.
My answer will sound sassy because I tend to be sassy: anyone can write a novel. Anyone at all. iPhone's Siri can write a novel. Just ask her a bunch of questions in a series, and eventually words will be produced into sentences. It might be a tad bit incoherent, but it could be constructed into a "novel" nonetheless. Also, computers/phones have been writing poems as of late: check out the literary journal, Curated AI. A writer friend of mine, Ingrid Rojas Contreras, and her phone wrote a little haunting ditty here.
What do you mean by "in an effort not to be rendered obsolete?" You see, that is the very essence of great literature—to make humans not obsolete. Anyone can write a novel, yes, even a computer. I'm not sure if it will be a great one. "Great" is subjective to a certain boundary, and in this particular neoliberal culture, "great" is defined by monetary value, which is silly to me.
Does understanding a literary text mean "spit[ting] out an evaluation"? Evaluation is defined by Merriam-Webster as: "to judge the value or condition of (someone or something) in a careful and thoughtful way." So, we're talking about a value system, about considering an object's "merit" or "worth." And to what ends? "Value" as in "monetary" value in this neoliberal context, or "value" as in "giving meaning to life" in a Dr. Viktor Frankl kind of context?
The whole deal with novel-writing, since the Gutenberg printing press, was to inscribe meaning into daily life. That's why we have mythology, why we have religion, why we revere the Greeks to the Egyptians to ancient cave writings on walls: humans have always chased and needed "meaning" in their lives, and storytelling's function, its beating heart, is recording down a sense of primordial value for humanity. This is why it has been around for centuries.
If AIs could "understand" books like how we "understand" books, then I believe the conversations will be the same kind of struggles we have with each other. Think about Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Your question is what that book was all about: "When I looked around I saw and heard of none like me. Was I, then, a monster, a blot upon the earth, from which all men fled and whom all men disowned?" (Except, exchange "monster" with "computer.")
This is why literature is important. It has already asked these questions, but in other forms. That's what literature does: it probes the questions of meaning and the universe, and we usually come up with answers that only beg for more questions. We always come to this: what is "meaning" in life, and why do we need it? AIs, if they become sentient beings, will ask the very same questions we would ask: why do we live?


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Message from CEO
Trading CFDs and Forex may expose you to significant losses
Trading CFDs and Forex may expose you to significant losses
Welcome to Amana Capital, part of Amana Capital Group. We are pleased to offer you our services and facilitate your online trading experience.
Our main goal remains to offer a user-friendly trading experience and to familiarize traders with the concept of trading in the Foreign Exchange markets by spreading our knowledge and expertise through all possible means. For example, we developed TradeCaptain.com, which is the updated release of our previous SouqElmal.com to be one of the most trusted financial source of information and analysis.
Throughout the last few years, we have strived to deliver the highest standards of online trading customized to the preference of our global traders. Our experience in the financial markets and close insights on the economical changes positioned us as trusted experts in the Forex industry.
We believe that our success today is the outcome of transparent business practices we apply with our customers. We have rapidly expanded from a single company to a group of companies engaged in online trading services and the delivery of financial news and information. We serve institutional and individual clients in over 60 countries.
We are proud that our entity is authorized and regulated by the Financial Services Commission - Mauritius (FSC); the regulatory oversight on our activities keeps us in line with best practices and increases the level of confidence of all our stakeholders in their dealings with us.
We look upon future opportunities with excitement and we promise to keep delivering a superior and consistent service to the trading community.
Ahmad Khatib
Chief Executive Officer


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Thursday Night Spikes is a Girls and Boys Volleyball League played on Thursday evenings at The Lair. Register a complete team of 8+ players, or as an individual and you will be drafted on to a team to compete for the season. We have 2 Girls and 2 Boys divisions, see below for age breakdown for each of the divisions. All spots in the league are reserved on on a first come, first served basis.
We have a limited amount of space available in each division, so please make sure to get yourself entered and paid to hold your spot. Registrations and payments are due by May 31 should there still be room in the desired division. For those who register as a free agent for the draft, draft results will be announced at the League Kickoff Party on June 12. We will have open play for teams to practice, and you can pickup your league jersey. The first night of league play is Thursday, June 13. The league will run 7 weeks, concluding on Thursday, July 25 with the end of season playoffs.
(Age as of June 13, 2019)
Boys D1 | 15 and older
Boys D2 | U14
Girls D1 | 15 and older
Girls D2 | U14 and up to 2 boys
May 31 | Registration Closes if spots are still open
June 12 | League Kickoff Party
June 13 | League Begins
July 25 | League Concludes with Playoffs
Weekly Schedule
5:30pm - Doors Open for Warmup
6:00pm - Play Begins
9:00pm - Play Concludes
Registration Deadline
May 31st - First Registered and Paid Basis
Entry & Payment Instructions
Individual Player Registration
Individual and team registrations accepted. Please click on the Thursday Night Spikes Register Here! button below. If you are registering as and individual player to be placed on a team, choose the correct "Name: and "Level" and click the green "Register" button.
Creating a New Team Registration
If you are creating and registering a complete team, click the blue "Create Team" button in the upper right hand corner and follow the instructions.


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Pastoral Management
At Sutton school we believe that pupils should learn in a happy and safe environment. This will have a positive impact on their school achievements and help in fulfilling personal potential. The objective of the behaviour policy is to promote all positive aspects of behaviour of our pupils.
As a school we work together and believe a whole school approach is crucial. The aim is to have a common and consistent approach to behaviour management by all staff, which in turn help all pupils to take responsibility for controlling and managing their behaviour.
There are three main elements to the behaviour management plan:
Positive reinforcement - Rewards
Our commitment to you:
To establish good relationships through mutual respect and consideration for others in a stable, happy, tolerant and well ordered community.
To prepare pupils for life in our multicultural society and build upon the strengths of cultural diversity.
To provide a framework of challenging opportunities designed to recognise and develop potential of all pupils regardless of race or gender.
To encourage pupils to be active in the learning process.
To make school an enjoyable and stimulating workshop which values hard work, determination and fun.
To provide courses appropriate to pupils' needs and to bring young people into realistic and satisfying contact with the outside world.
To encourage, through the curriculum, social and moral values and standards for healthy living.
To develop personal and social skills, enhance self confidence and self esteem.
To provide opportunities for team work and encouragement of the development of strengths and coming to terms with weaknesses.
To prepare pupils to make purposeful use of leisure.
To provide a continuous process of staff development.
To provide a clearly defined and supportive system of pastoral care.
To provide opportunities for pupils to experience the curriculum in a variety of educational settings.
All adults at Sutton School & Specialist College are working towards ensuring that pupils can be safe and can learn.
Your comittment to us:
Set out below are our expectations of all who work in Sutton School & Specialist College:
To achieve this we expect all pupils to follow instructions.
To talk to adults with respect this includes:
No foul language.
To use please/thank you's etc as appropriate.
To listen.
To speak and not to shout.
To care about other pupils:
Not to hurt each other.
Not to speak to others in a way that will deliberately cause offence.
To be in the right place at the right time.
All adults will model the behaviour where appropriate and we expect pupils to reflect this behaviour. We expect them to treat everyone in a manner that is acceptable; so that all pupils are able to work to the best of their ability.
The School has a comprehensive Behaviour Management Policy which is included as part of our whole school Pastoral Policy. This document, along with all other pupil related policies, is reviewed annually by Governors and copies are available for parents/carers to read in school or available in the policies section of this website.
Pupils who cannot work within our expectations will be expected to sign our 'Learning Agreement' as set out in the Education Act 2001. This will also be signed by the Parent/Guardians and by a Governor (on behalf of the School).


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We were recently asked to present the mission of The Move Project to a group of fourth graders at Whittier Elementary in Indianola, IA. The class specifically wanted to hear about our clean water projects in Ghana.
A few weeks prior to our visit, they had discussed the global water crisis. In each classroom the kids were given an article on this crisis that they read and discussed as a group. Once they were finished, we came in to facilitate additional conversation on how important clean water is to people, especially since we take this item for granted in the United States. With pictures, stories of meeting people in the villages we serve through our projects, and demonstrations, the children were able to further engage with the topic.
It is staggering the amount of people globally that do not have access to clean water! It is currently estimated that roughly 358 million people are without access in Africa alone. We discussed how lack of access to clean water impacts children just like them. In Africa, women and children spend about 140 million hours a day just collecting water. In most cases, the water they are collecting is contaminated and causes illness when consumed, which keeps kids out of school. If kids are out of school, they aren't properly educated. Without proper education their lives are profoundly negatively impacted. This cycle plays a significant role in the extreme poverty we still see today.
Having access to clean water disrupts that cycle.
We spent our time with these elementary children talking about how we can help. There are very practical things they can do as children to impact the lives of other children on the other side of the world. They were also able to carry a jar of water on their heads to get a better sense of what collecting water really means in Africa. As they learned, it's not as easy as turning on the faucet or getting a drink out of the fountain.
We received some wonderful questions from the children following our visit that we'll be responding to this week on our Facebook page. We also received some very creative and colorful Thank You cards which we'll highlight on our Instagram account (@The_Move_Project) with the hashtag #4thGradeThankYous. Give us a follow to see the wonderful creations!


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CVFSA Lifetime Achievement Award (Accepting Submissions)/
You can now submit your nomination for the 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award. Nominations are due by June 17th, 2016. (Nominations received after May 6th may be considered for 2017 award)
The Canadian Volunteer Fire Services Association's " CVFSA Lifetime Achievement Award"©, in partnership with Duracell Canada Inc. and their partners, annually honours an individual whose remarkable achievements in the fire service and community exemplifies outstanding performance. To be considered for the award, nominees must have been a volunteer firefighter or volunteer-on-call firefighter for at least twenty (20) years. Each nominee will be judged on the following criteria:
- Nominee has made a major contribution or has achieved significant accomplishments in the volunteer fire service on a local / municipal, provincial, and/or national level. (more than local community) Has contributed to the success of the fire service outside of their own jurisdiction.
- Nominee has demonstrated superior dedication to the volunteer fire service and has served as a volunteer firefighter or paid on call volunteer firefighter for at least twenty (20) years.
- Nominee has been active in their provincial firefighters' association or beyond their own community.
- Nominee has demonstrated community impact through the fire service or other volunteer activities. The selection committee will consider contributions made to other volunteer community service groups such as the Lions, Kinsmen, and Rotary type of community service, in addition to the work done as a firefighter.
The selection of the "CVFSA Lifetime Achievement Award"© recipient will be determined through a Canada wide nomination process. Nominations must be received by the CVFSA using the attached PDF nomination form and mail it in to the address as shown on the form. Or use the online form at our web site: www.cvfsa.ca Nominations must be in by June 17th 2016. The recipient of the 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award will be recognized at the CVFSA Annual General Meeting, September 10th and we will pay travel costs, hotel fees, and meals to the winner and their guest.


text: We want to hear from you! Whether you have a prayer request or would like a home visit or want to talk with the pastor if you just want to share some good news, we want to hear it! Contact us and someone from the church will get back to you as soon as they can.


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Millions of Americans will be preparing meals and traveling throughout the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. The American Red Cross has safety tips for the kitchen and for the highway.
DETROIT, MI, November 22, 2013 ? Millions of Americans will be preparing meals and traveling throughout the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. The American Red Cross has safety tips for the kitchen and for the highway.
?More home cooking fires occur on Thanksgiving than on any other day of the year,? said Steve Bosau, Regional Disaster Officer, Southeastern Michigan Region. ?The week of Thanksgiving is also one of the busiest travel periods. We want people to arrive at their destinations, enjoy time with their loved ones and make it home safely.?
COOKING SAFETY Cooking is the leading cause of home fires and related injuries. Follow these safety tips:
� Keep children and pets at least three feet away from the cooking area.
� Clean all cooking surfaces to prevent grease buildup.
� Stay in the kitchen while frying, grilling or broiling food. Turn burners off if leaving the kitchen.
� Keep a pan lid or baking sheet nearby. Use it to cover the pan if it catches on fire.
� Place turkey fryers outside and away from the house, deck and garage.
TRAVEL SAFETY Vehicles should be in good working order before heading out. Remember to:
� Pack emergency supplies like blankets, water and snacks, flashlight and first aid kit.
� Fill the fuel tank, check air pressure in tires and top-off windshield fluid.
� Buckle up and obey all traffic signs.
� Avoid distractions while driving like using mobile phones to talk or text.
� Designate a driver who won?t be drinking whenever alcohol is served.
The Red Cross has a variety of emergency supplies and first aid kits available at redcrossstore.org.
KNOW HOW TO TREAT EMERGENCIES People can learn how to respond to emergencies by downloading the free American Red Cross First Aid App. Users receive instant access to expert advice whenever and wherever they need it. The app is available in the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store by searching for American Red Cross or by going to redcross.org/mobileapps.


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A terminally ill man thanked the chairman of magistrates who jailed him for eight weeks for smashing windows at Bradford Crown Court.
Derek Joinson, 56, of Spring Road, Keighley, appeared at Calderdale Magistrates' Court today (Monday) and pleaded guilty to breaking two windows, estimated to the value of £500, at Bradford Crown Court on September 21.
The court heard that Joinson had intended to cause the damage to the building. He handed himself in and asked to be jailed during his police interview.
Joinson, who has chronic renal failure and angina, stated that he only gets £50 a week in benefits and urged the court to send him to Armley Prison so he could get three meals a day and a plasma television.
Shiraz Hussain, defending, said: "It is a sad state of affairs that Mr Joinson finds himself in. He has asked for a custodial sentence and he isn't willing to comply with a community order."
Robin Kempster, chairman of magistrates, said that Joinson had left them with "very few options" and that a custodial sentence was the only alternative.


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Summer is slipping by way too fast. We took advantage of good weather and enjoyed a day on the beach. While the NY beaches were great, hot with warm surf, it was pleasant to be back to our remote corner of the world. I couldn't help but notice that we had miles of beach to ourselves. Instead of keeping a nervous eye on Hahnah amongst swarming NY'ers I kept a wary eye up and down the beach for bears.
Barring some odd unknown, I'm officially planning on competing in the Alaska State Triathlon. It should be fun and at least a goal of sorts without a large time commitment. It's an olympic distance which means a 1.5 km swim, 40 km bike and 10 km run. I kind of like these tri races, not a great deal of prep needed other than borrowing a bike and the race is over in a couple of hours. The different events keep my body from over doing one particular repetitive motion and the higher intensity level is challenging. I have no idea how I will do but last years results show some pretty fast times. I am just completely stoked that the swim is in Knik Lake (start of the ITI).


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Chemistry Outreach: chemistry in your shopping basket
Demonstrating that chemistry really is everywhere.
Demonstrating that chemistry really is everywhere.
Type of Activity
Age Group
If you teach primary science, click the headings below to find out how to use this resource:
Skill development
Children will develop their working scientifically skills by:
- Asking their own questions about scientific phenomena.
- Using appropriate scientific language and ideas to explain, evaluate and communicate their findings.
Learning outcomes
Children will:
- Compare and group materials together, according to whether they are solids, liquids or gases.
- Observe that some materials change state when they are heated or cooled, and measure or research the temperature at which this happens in degrees Celsius.
- Demonstrate that dissolving, mixing and changes of state are reversible changes.
- Explain that some changes result in the formation of new materials, and that this kind of change is not usually reversible.
Concepts supported
Children will learn:
- That chemistry plays many important roles in our day to day lives.
Suggested activity use
These activities can be done as a whole class carousel of activities to demonstrate that chemistry is everywhere, including in items you may buy at the supermarket. A number of adults may be required to supervise the various tasks.
These activities would be suitable to be used as part of a science week, or just individual activities picked to stimulate discussion and questioning at the start of a relevant topic.
Practical considerations
Extra adults will be required to help supervise the activities if running them as a carousel.
Primary schools may find it difficult to get hold of some of the chemicals required for some of the activities.
When using this activity, it is possible to introduce or reinforce the misconception that the formation of ice cream is a reversible change. In fact this isn't true. The formation of the substance called ice cream from its original ingredients is a chemical change, and hence is irreversible. Once formed, the substance is frozen, allowed to melt to a liquid form, and then frozen back to a solid again, so this process could be argued as being a reversible change of state – solid to liquid to solid.


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Yamaha Studio Lord SL-700 Custom, the 1970's top of the range version of Japanese Yamaha Les Paul model, these guitars were produced during the 1970's till the early 1980s, along the well known Yamaha SG range,
This Yamaha SL-700 Custom was produced in Yamaha's Matsumoku's guitar factory and was deemed one of the top types of the Les Paul (SL/LP) range. The guitar sports a solid mahogany body, fitted with a set neck, gold hardware, dual metal covered Yamaha Hum-buckers, giving off a beatific full sound. Also there is a factory fitted cool split option with push push tone pots. . The guitar body has adopted a greenish, faded ebony hue, due to aging giving it lots of mojo and a definite vintage feel. Added to that is the cream yellow double binding, normally only seen on high end guitars. The guitar is furthermore decorated with real mother of pearl fret markers and triple binding front and back that has beautifully aged to a cream yellow hue.
Studio Lords were much more than Yamaha's Les Paul copies, these were solid quality guitars built from quality wood and materials. The Yamaha Les Paul models were produced with two main types, the Lord Players (LP's) and the Studio Lords (SL).


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Last week I took a foodie trip to the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut. I don't go to casinos often, but was excited to try the food at Mohegan's various restaurants (and catch Robin Williams!).
My first stop was a small bite at Jasper White's Summer Shack. Summer Shack is inspired by a traditional New England clam shack offering an array of local and regional favorites.
I ordered one of each of the oysters ($2.75each) offered, which were fresh and delicious!
I also ordered the crab cakes with apple slaw ($!4) which were light and pleasant.
It was a satisfying seafood bite in a modern casino setting.
Jasper White's Summer Shack
1 Mohegan Sun Blvd
Uncasville, CT 06382
My next culinary stop at the Mohegan was dinner at Michael Jordan's Steakhouse. There is a Michael Jordan's Steakhouse in NYC, which I have never been too, so I was excited for my meal.
The space has a very sophisticated and sexy feel to it, with more a of a feminine touch, as opposed to the traditional "old man" steakhouse vibe. It's a large space that was completely packed on the Wednesday night I was dining, most likely with Robin Williams fans.
The food here is great. My waitress recommended their garlic bread with blue cheese fondue ($9). This was a truly decadent dish, addictive, and tasty as heck. I've been trying to diet a tad, so I was using every ounce of self control not too finish it!
For my entree, I chose MJ's Delmonico steak with aged balsamic-ginger-jus ($39). The steak was perfectly cooked, juicy, and tender. It made me reevaluate why I don't go to steakhouses more often!
I was still on a little diet, so I also had a side of the lobster mashed potatoes ($12) and the macaroni and cheese ($9) I really enjoyed the lobster flavor prevalent throughout the potatoes; everything is better with lobster in my opinion! And the mac and cheese was a very pleasant dish as well.
It was a really great meal in a very comfortable setting, perfect for dining before a show at Mohegan Sun's arena, or whenever you get that steakhouse craving.
Michael Jordan's Steakhouse
1 Mohegan Sun Blvd
Uncasville, CT 06382
My final meal came in the morning, with breakfast at Todd English's Tuscany. The setting was man-made waterfalls and a mountain, inside the casino, which was pretty interesting. I ordered the Tuscan Benedict ($12), two poached eggs, crispy prosciutto, lobster hollandaise, and fire-roasted potatoes. Of course, I was still on a little diet, so I had to order a side of smoked bacon ($4). This was a great take on the traditional eggs benedict dish, for as I mentioned before; everything is better with lobster! That hollandaise, with actual small chunks of lobster, made this a really enjoyable dish! I, of course, loved the smoked bacon too!
Todd English's Tuscany
1 Mohegand Sun Blvd.
Uncasville, CT 06382
The Mohegan Sun is a great place to getaway to satisfy not only your gaming needs, but your culinary needs too!


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the performing and visual arts network of the United Arab Emirates
ROOFTOP RHYTHMS - Monthly Fridays @ 8PM
Spoken Word Done Right
Poetry / Spoken Word
When / Monthly Fridays @ 8pm
Where / The Marketplace
Presented by Black on Black Rhyme-Abu Dhabi, Jean Hellon Productions, and The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi with official support from US Embassy Abu Dhabi.
"Abu Dhabi is home to a rapidly expanding group of poets who strive to find common ground as they cast aside geographical differences and language barriers… who believe in sharing poetry for love, healing, enlightenment and education, celebrates the spoken word." – Khaleej Times
The Season 6 Lineup and Dates:
Season Opening Night / Open Mic – Friday, Sep 29
Rhyme-O-Ween Poetry Slam and Open Mic – Friday, Oct 27
Open Mic Night – Friday, Nov 17
Slam Competition and Open Mic – Friday, Dec 15
Open Mic Night – Friday, Jan 26
Slam Competition and Open Mic – Friday, Feb 23
6th Anniversary Show / Open Mic Night – Friday, Mar 30
Grand Slam Finale Competition / Season Closing – Friday, Apr 27
Event information:
The poetry open mic list is on a first-come, first-served basis on the Rooftop Rhythms Group Page. Please post interest there.
Open to all ages. Traditional dress (i.e. khandora, abaya, hijab) are allowed.
"A great night of poetry filled with passion." – BBC
"Infuses the old culture of poetry with some fresh energy…More raw…More free." – CNN
ArtsNet consists primarily of not-for-profit organizations but lists educational and supply resources for individuals pursuing artistic endeavors. Membership is limited to performing and visual arts coordinators and include directors, choreographers, designers, painters, technical specialists with professional level background and training.


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Facebook is testing WiFi hotspots across rural India to give free internet access, the social networking giant, Facebook, has said, revealing plans to take the venture to other nations as well.
The new investigations comes months after India's telecom regulator blocked Free Basics, a controversial Facebook service that it said would convey free access to a limited version of the social network and other sites to the poor.
The ruling was seen as a setback for Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, who is excited to expand on the network's 160 million users, the second biggest in the world.
"We are working with carriers, internet service providers and local entrepreneurs to help expand connectivity to 'underserved' locations around the world. We're live in India, and are expanding to other regions soon," the organization said on its website.
Google and Facebook are pursuing the next billion internet users — a third of which are expected to come from India — to generate more advertising revenue. Almost 65% of India is yet to use the internet.
Google has been providing free WiFi in partnership with an Indian Railways subsidiary, RailTel, and plans to offer internet connectivity in 400 railway stations by 2018. The Google programme is as of now dynamic at 53 stations. Facebook, is also talking to RailTel for similar services.
However, the new pilot project, Express Wifi, may not be free. The organization will charge a little sum for the access. But most of these hotspots will be in small towns and eventually expand in villages, from where the majority of the new users are expected to come.
Facebook did not share any details on the number of hotspots that it plans to open.
Sources said Facebook will share setup costs, give technology and maybe also share operation costs.
"Currently, we are working with ISP and operator partners to test Express Wi-Fi with public Wi-Fi deployments in multiple pilot sites," a Facebook representative said. Express Wi-Fi customers can purchase fast, reliable and affordable data packs, he said. The plan is relied upon to be available for public soon, he said, adding Facebook would not take payments directly.
Google additionally plans to extend Google Station to cafes, shopping centers, universities and bus stations – a programme to offer high-speed browsing at any place that has a wired internet connection. However, it may not be a free service, with revenue being split between Google and the space owner.
The company is testing its Project Loon that will utilize balloons to take internet access to remote locations. It is also learnt to be looking at putting Google Accelerator boxes in cafes and restaurants.
The search engine internet giant also has a Wifi plan called Google Fi, which Facebook claims is different from its Express WiFi. A Fi user pays Google directly and accesses the internet riding Google's partnerships with ISPs, public Wifi and network operators.
Redmond-based Microsoft is trailing along also. The organization is likewise taking a shot at TV White Spaces innovation which gives the organization a chance to communicate web signals at unused low-recurrence range groups. The organization guarantees that since the recurrence is low, the signs can be transmitted over bigger territories cutting down the cost of laying optical fiber.
Checkout Latest IT news at itvoir.com
Sameeksha Bhardwaj, From ITvoir News Desk


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Rob Mazurek's Projekt "Sao Paulo Underground" ist ein musikalisches Fest !
Eine Straßenparade, ein Zirkus, ein psychedelisches Happening und und und … wunderbar !
– The Wire "Mixing the opaque with the diffused and blurring the lines between electric and acoustic, Rob Mazurek's wide ambition continues to race toward the outer limits of what is possible in music."
– Something Else With their breathtaking fifth album Cantos Invisíveis, the multi- national, multi-ethnic, multi-everything São Paulo Underground sounds more confident and intrepid than ever, with a glorious program of music evoking lost haunts, enduring love, and the sheer delirious joy of making music together. In many ways the music on Cantos Invisíveis is a celebration of camaraderie and the spaces that allow love and friendship to unfurl. Alchemical aural conspirators for some 10 years, the group has developed its own approach to structure, with slippery forms, unabashedly beautiful melodies and lapidary textures laced with disquieting eletronica beats and stutterstepping improvisation. Rather than evoke a particular time and place, the music inhabits multiple planes simultaneously as "a projection of sound that celebrates as well as mourns past, present and future times," Mazurek says. "The vocal quality of this particular music shouts and hollers for love and compassion, the joy and sorrows of life. It's a street parade for everybody." The experience of listening to Cantos Invisíveis often feels like stepping through the fourth wall, as if you're in the room with the guys, watching the instrumental conversations unfold in real time. The production enhances the intimacy, creating space to enter the music rather than building a protective shell. It's a communion that can only develop "as a result of a lot of beautiful time spent together working on music and ideas and then travelling together playing throughout the world," Takara says. "I think there ́s a certain atmosphere that only living and spending time together bring, and the record captures that beautifully. These singular players create music unlike any other ensemble in São Paulo Underground, which expands into realms seen and unseen on Cantos Invisíveis. The title translates from Portuguese as "invisible corners" or "invisible songs" or "disappearing corners or songs." Thismusic evokes the elusive nature of these songs, "the way we make our music, always masking it in some kind of way, a disappearing through layering and sound manipulation," Mazurek says. "The songs kind of disappear in a way like a cloud of pink in the sky. We create atmospheres that cause form and melody to disappear, and to reappear", so that savvy sound explorers can join São Paulo Underground on an unforgettable journey.
releases October 14, 2016
São Paulo Underground:
Rob Mazurek – cornet, Mellotron, modular synthesizer, Moog Paraphonic, OP-1, percussion and voice
Mauricio Takara – drums, cavaquinho, electronics, Moog Werkstatt, percussion and voice
Guilherme Granado – keyboards, synthesizers, sampler, percussion and voice
Thomas Rohrer – rabeca, flutes, soprano saxophone, electronics, percussion and voice
Dedicated to the Spirit of Armando Julio.
Recorded by Manuel Calderon (Comanche Sound) at Sonic Ranch, El Paso, TX.
Additional recording by Mark Mazurek.
Mixed by Rob Mazurek and Manuel Calderon (Comanche Sound) at Sonic Ranch
Mastered by Marco Ramirez at Sonic Ranch.
Produced by Rob Mazurek.
Cover Design by Damon Locks.
Compositions by Rob Mazurek (OLHO, ASCAP) and by Mauricio Takara (Basement Brazil).
Special thanks to Mark, Jennie and Alex Mazurek for their support during the creation of this record.


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The Issue Lurking Behind Utility Solar
If you look at the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) utility solar is far cheaper than natural gas peakers. This is great news for the solar industry, but there is a big issue lurking in the background. Solar is competing with peaker plants to fuel the grid during times of peak demand. The problem is that peaker plants are ready at a moment's notice, but solar is only available when there is sunlight.
The numbers
Current battery technology offers little help. It is not designed for the gigawatt scale that grid operators require. Beyond this issue, batteries are expensive with an LCOE around $216 to $329 per MWh. Considering that natural gas peakers have an LCOE of $179 to $230 per MWh a utility scale solar system with battery backup would be very expensive.
Companies are hard at work trying to bring battery costs down, but the numbers are still too high. EnerVault estimates that its LCOE should be competitive with natural gas peakers, but it is only nearing completion of its first commercial-scale flow battery. Current and near-term grid scale battery storage technologies make sense for islands and remote locations, but it's still difficult for them to compete in traditional markets.
What does this mean for the solar industry?
The storage problem is a big issue. The International Energy Agency expects that the annual growth rate of world solar PV electricity generation in terms of annual terawatt hours (TWh) generated will fall from 61% in 2012 to 16% in 2018. The solar industry is still expected to continue growing in terms of the absolute number of TWh generated, but storage challenges limit its rate of growth.
First Solar is heavily exposed to the utility industry, and the storage problem will be one of its biggest challenges in the decades to come. The point will come where utilities need to maintain their expensive natural gas peakers for their dispatchable characteristics. The upside is that First Solar and the solar industry may be able to encourage government mandated energy storage targets like those found in California, forcing companies to construct energy storage facilities.
First Solar is still a promising company even when you recognize the background risks. Between Q3 2012 and Q3 2013 it managed to increase its advanced projects AC pipeline from 3.0 GW to 3.7 GW. It will be critical to see if First Solar can keep expanding or at least maintain its pipeline in coming years. A shrinking project pipeline would signal that First Solar's bread and butter is drying up.
SunPower has a big focus on the distributed generation market with quality consumer products. The downside is that SunPower has traditionally had slimmer margins than First Solar. In the recent two quarters SunPower's EBITDA margin of 16% is less than First Solar's EBITDA margin of 23%.
At first glance SunPower's high price-to-sales ratio of 1.48 makes little sense. If you take a look at the ability of SunPower and First Solar to take advantage of current advances in the energy storage market, then things become a little clearer.
Smaller scale energy storage is becoming noticeably more economical. Diesel generators have an LCOE of $297 to $332 per MWh and up to $404 MWh with high fuel costs. If you combine a cost effective subsidized rooftop solar system and a battery system then both the solar system and the battery system can be cheaper than a diesel generator. A SunPower distributed system with battery backup can be a great set up for smaller and more isolated consumers.
SunPower has its advantages
SunPower's focus on distributed generation systems leaves the company more exposed to the volatile consumer markets, but it also means that SunPower will have an easier time benefiting from current battery advances.
SunPower's X-Series panel is 21.5% efficient, giving it an advantage over Chinese manufacturers. Trina Solar's panels offer up to 15.7% efficiency and JA Solar's panels offer up to 17.15% efficiency. SunPower's extra efficiency helps consumers decrease their total system costs and gives the company more pricing power.
In the recent quarter Trina Solar had an operating margin of 1.1%, JA Solar had an operating margin of -1.8% while SunPower enjoyed an operating margin of 13.3%. With second rate efficiencies and small profits it is best to hold off on Trina Solar and JA Solar for now.
Final thoughts
A lack of cost effective grid-scale energy storage and slow progress in battery technology limits solar's ability to supplement natural gas peakers. Pumped hydro storage (PHS) is an effective storage solution, but it is unclear how many PHS preliminary permit applications will turn into real construction projects.
Investing in profitable solar manufacturers is still a great way to grab a piece of the growing renewable market, but it pays to be aware of the challenges related to energy storage. First Solar is making good money selling utility solar systems, but eventually it will need to address the energy storage issue. SunPower is in a slightly better position as its focus on distributed solar helps it supplement expensive diesel generators with current battery technology.
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The article The Issue Lurking Behind Utility Solar originally appeared on Fool.com.Joshua Bondy has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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As the IWSY! tour continues to navigate the waters of the magic fugu ride, Wes Smith will stop next in St. Louis with Jen Z Zubal and Corey 'Dienda' Piper of XeroTribe. Wes, Corey, Jen and myself had the pleasure of meeting up at Miami Winter Music Conference where we all discussed the state of breaks, music and life in general. Last night I caught up with them again to discuss their personal career aspirations, their production company and what makes them unique in the industry. What is your musical background, Jen?
I come from a "Partridge" type family. Most of my family members either play an instrument and my mom sings and plays guitar. I have been djing for over 10 years and I have been singing myself for a long time, but I felt like I was being taken advantage of in the business so I got out of it for awhile. My peers highly encouraged me to try again with good people and I started putting down vocals again.
What is your musical background, Corey?
My family is the opposite, no one was really into music but I took 7 years of piano, was in chorus, play guitar terribly... I have also Dj'd over 10 years myself and am now into the production side as well.
Where can we hear your collaborations?
We just released a single with Agent K and it's charting on the Beatport top #100 right now. Kerry was in Wisconsin and he reached out to us to hang out and get out of the cold. He came down, played a show with us and Kerry and I (Corey) spent the day in the studio together. We featured Jen's vocals and what resulted was "Apocalypse".
What is XeroTribe?
XeroTribe are 9 members including Jen and myself (Corey). We are a full service production company that have been pushing the breakbeat scene in the MidWest, primarily St. Louis, for about 6 years now. Our main focus is the total package and the EXPERIENCE. The music, sound, lights, visuals, costumes and decor all combined to put the party goer into the experience- rather than just observing it.
Tell me about your events and how you get such a diverse crowd:
We try to give a variety of music and we cater to as many genres as we can to get all walks of life into the door, but the centerpiece is usually a breakbeat headliner. For instance, Dubstep brings in the younger crowd and we keep some of the side rooms dedicated for a variety of genres. However, we may book a regional Dubstep act and then follow it with a Breakbeat, Trap or Drum&Bass headliner to give the younger crowd a chance to hear a broken beat. Usually it helps to get them interested and keeps them coming back to our next shows.
What does your area see from XeroTribe?
We do 3-6 events on average, our largest reoccurring one is Apocalypse and each year it becomes a different theme (Robot, Zombie, Post, etc). Also we do a monthly called "I Heart Breakbeats" which is strictly Breakbeats every third Friday at The Upstairs Lounge.
Wes Smith is headlining "I Heart BreakBeats" on Friday night.
Yes! Wes is blowing the &*@$ up right now and these are the types of artists we want to play our parties. We want people who are current, relevant, up & coming and those that are QUALITY artists. We think Wes is all of that and more, he played our last Apocalypse party and we are excited to invite him back for "I Heart Breakbeats".
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Thanks, guys - I appreciate your time. I know we will be seeing each other next year at conference but in the meantime good luck with your next shows and your upcoming nuptials.
Happy Birthday Corey- Viva la broken beat!
Related links:
[DJ Jen Z on Soundcloud] [DJ Dienda on Soundcloud]


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Youville centenarians Charlotte Taylor, Roberta Macdonald and Sumiko Jarmain-Otani toast to life and longevity at Youville House.Did you know that Youville House in Cambridge has three residents that are over the age of 100? A few weeks ago, we paid tribute to our three centenarians with a special "100-year Happy Hour." Seated at the table of honor were Sumiko Jarmain-Otani (102 years old), Roberta Macdonald (101) and Charlotte Taylor (101). Accompanied by family members, staff and fellow residents, the three centenarians were in good spirits as they enjoyed champagne, hors d'oeuvres and a room full of friends.
As the theme was "celebrating 100 years of life," Dinah Olanoff, Youville's Senior Director of Marketing and the Master of Ceremonies for the event, recounted historical events from the last century. She asked each centenarian if they had any advice to share about living a long life. This exercise proved that there is no "one-size-fits-all" when it comes to living a long and satisfying life. Sumi claimed that she had always "taken things easy," whereas Charlotte remarked, "I don't think I've ever taken anything easy!" When it came time for Roberta to offer advice, she seized the moment (and the microphone), delivering a heartfelt speech on the importance of family. "The thing about family is that they are always there, and they are all yours!" she said. She also touched on the importance of avoiding unnecessary anxiety: "You can worry yourself to sleep at night over something, but when you wake up, your problems will still be there."
We hope you enjoy these pictures from the afternoon!


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The Letter Black: Acoustic Garage Session [VIDEO]
Sara and Mark Anthony of The Letter Black stopped by for their first Q103 Acoustic Garage Session. These married folks who happen to rock people's faces off we're nice enough to talk with me before they took the stage with Pop Evil at the upstate concert hall in Clifton park. They told me about the glory days of performing in a wedding reception band and watching an entire wedding party get naked and jump into a lake. They also told me all about the day they finally went professional and got to do the thing they love everyday for a living and that was to make music.
Check out this video of The Letter Black playing an exclusive acoustic garage session in front of a few luck Q103 listeners. Then sign up to be a rock-a-holic to be invited to the next session.


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VNAH Wins Multi-Million Dollar Award to Implement
USAID's Vietnam Disability Program
McLean, VA – Vietnam Assistance for the Handicapped (VNAH) was recently awarded a $6 million grant from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to implement its Disability Rights Enforcement, Coordination and Therapies (DIRECT) program in Vietnam.
The five-year program is aimed at strengthening disability rights nationally and supporting services in targeted provinces. The program is expected to provide direct assistance benefitting more than 4,000 individuals with disabilities and 5,400 service providers in Tay Ninh and Binh Phuoc provinces of Vietnam.
"This is a tremendous boost of support towards assisting Vietnamese with disabilities achieve greater equality and independence. VNAH is very pleased to continue a successful partnership with USAID to work on critical disability policies," said Ca Van Tran, president of VNAH.
The DIRECT program will include the following components to help ensure Vietnamese with disabilities are treated with equality and are integrated fully into society.
The program will support Vietnam government partners in developing and executing a national plan to align sectoral policies with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and to improve enforcement of existing national disability laws and action plans, including the expansion of health insurance coverage for rehabilitation services.
The program will support the National Committee on Disability in strengthening advocacy, planning and monitoring of disability rights and programs, improving policy coordination at the national and provincial levels, monitoring and evaluating the CRPD implementation, and expanding the Disability Information System (DIS) to all provinces.
The program will also assist universities to incorporate occupational therapy postgraduate training into their GVN certification programs and train health professionals in Tay Ninh and Binh Phuoc as GVN-certified rehabilitation practitioners. Provincial, district, and communal rehabilitation departments/units will be set up, equipped and staffed with trained workers. Training and other interventions will be conducted to address issues of gender equality and nondiscrimination on the
basis of disabilities at local level.
VNAH is a U.S. non-governmental organization (NGO) that has worked for more than 25 years to improve the quality of life for people with disabilities in Vietnam. With support from USAID, VNAH has collaborated with the government of Vietnam and various local and international partners to develop and implement Vietnam's national disability law and its national plans of action on disabilities. Its programs have enabled thousands of Vietnamese with disabilities to regain mobility and improve their socio-economic status through gainful employment. VNAH has also promoted the development of university-level training programs for disability rehabilitation services and capacity–building for local support service networks. For more information, visit www.vnah-hev.org.


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Photographer Jill Bough on The Blokadnitsy Project and the Survivors of the Siege of Leningrad
Sunday, Oct 26, 2014 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Photographer Jill Bough will discuss her special creative project, The Blokadnitsy Project, which is focused on the survivors of the Siege of Leningrad. In her words, "Follow me into the apartments and into the lives of twelve survivors of the siege. Follow me into a piece of history many have tried to forget. Follow me now, for the witnesses are soon to be no more." More about the Blokadnitsy Project. This talk is part a larger exhibition sponsored by the Davis Center, Harvard University.
add to my calendar


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Barbara D./
As I work on our lesson about what Alignment looks like to each of us. Well, I am reminded to cherish my family, my friends – tellthem oftenhow impossibly important they are … then enlarge that circle and continue to do the right thing, to work hard and be my best self. That is my alignment.
There are three of us in this CST class that are also dear friends – we meet weekly to discuss the details and share our intimate thoughts of each lesson. It's a wonderful time one I would not miss. We are learning so much about each other and have a safe place to echo our thoughts.
Part 1: Skills
- I'm a good wife, friend and neighbor.
- I'm a good equestrian- accomplished yet constantly realizing there's always more to learn in the refinement of my skill set and that of our horses.
- I'm a good cook, gardener and well skilled in my profession.
As I compose this list, I must take a moment to acknowledge how grateful I feel. I live a full and blessed life.
- Relative to my artwork, I have a good use of color. I am solidifying my skills in dyeing fabrics. I am skilled in most components of actually sewing and construction skills.
Part 2: Heart's Desire
As I rate my skills, my art work is much lower on the list that I would like it to be. However, I also realize that my art provides a quiet contrast to the active physical life of the commitment we have to the ranch. It's contemplative and rewarding in the processes. It's an avenue where I build and enjoy my skills and the friendships of those with the same interests.
Part 3: Wannabe Skills
Initially, when I first began to discover the limitless artistic design methods, I wanted to learn them all. I found myself experimenting (which I liked first) on all of them. Recently, I have reined myself in and decided to look around and choose one method at a time, then slowly build my repertoire of skills and they are accomplished. I want to feel like I have a good understanding of each concept before I go onto the next. And importantly, how to use each of those methods in my work.
- I want to learn more principles of design and be able to transfer that concept into each piece.
- I want the intuition to know what needs to be done next for an impactful visual effect.
- I want to take my artwork to the next level. I am committed to that goal.
- I want to strengthen my style and voice. This is where I struggle the most.
- I want to be more compassionate and graceful.
- I want to be accomplished at whatever I choose to undertake. Whether it be with my art work, my profession, with my family, as I cook, as I ride … whatever it is. It's my inner desire to be the best I can be at what I choose to do.
Part 4: Perfection
Perfection to me is BALANCE. It is a quiet soul and a peaceful mind – harmony in my life.
So … if I take "balance" and transfer it to my artwork – then I need to create each piece with balance as the core of the composition.
Part 2 – Sitting with your work. This is one of our Study in Color series completed earlier in the year. In review, I like the piece as a whole – it has good eye appeal from a distance although without the right light can look a bit dark. I feel like it was a simple piece to construct and "get done". If I created this piece again, it could hold a bit more detail for close up eye appeal.


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Open Government: Improved FOIA laws crucial
The Rock River Times
April 15, 2015
By Caroline H. Little
President and CEO, Newspaper Association of America
President Obama has routinely promised greater transparency within the federal government. Now, Congress is making strides towards achieving this critical goal.
The House of Representatives and Senate are currently considering nearly identical bills to strengthen the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which provides the general public, including journalists, with access to federal government records
Remainder of article here.


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Alot been goin as the days and months pass by and i feel as if i haven't been taking the time to give the proper credit to the artists i have been blessed to work with and surrounded by. Those who grant me opportunity and help me grow as an artist and as a person i thank you. Jenni Tay , Amanda Lopez and the crits from The Park , Derek Taylor , Josh Lippi and Ben Schwier others like Wonway Posibul , 40 LOVE , The Whooligan , Melissa Fuller , ThinkBeat Radio , E Da Boss , Nino Moschella , Keelay & Zaire , Ragen Fykes , Grown Kids Radio , K Flay , Novena Carmel , Steve Wyreman , Nate Mercereau , Crown City Rockers , Lee Bob Watson , Jessie Boykins III , Melina Jones and so many more
I wanna let you know that i am greatful to know you and have become that much better of a person because of it. I'm quite the anti-social and my words or expressions don't always come out the way i mean them to so please don't hold that against me. I've got love for those good people and i want all to know.
Here are some snaps i took last weekend of Zumbi from the legendary Zoin I Crew . Make sure to check the website for Amp Live's latest remixes along with show dates and the new boxset The Alpha .