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by Hugh Gilmore
If my doctor told me I had but one week to live, I doubt that I'd plan that week. I like keeping my options open. I like doing things when I feel like doing them. I don't like hurrying through a park walk, for example, because we have a dinner reservation. Or hurrying through dinner because we have show tickets. And so, because my wife, Janet, and I tend to lollygag and improvise, our recent annual stay in Montreal was over before it ever really started. That's okay. We had a great time as usual.
Urban vacations are a relatively new experience for us. In the early years of our life together I usually pushed for nature vacations so I could hike and bird-watch (A nice way of saying that I ran about like a madman, or crouched in a viewing blind for hours, trying to see a new bird for my birding life list.) But in 2001 we visited Montreal for the first time together, and we've returned there nearly every year since.
My wife's role, is to plan what she'd like to see, and my role is to say "Uh hum." As they say, back on the Chestnut Hill Island, "It's all good, mon." Especially when this charming equivalent of a trip to Europe is but an eight-hour drive away.
On this visit, Janet wanted to visit Shelley Miller, the sculptor I described last week, buy one of her photographs, and view Shelley Miller's sculptural homage to the printed word – a nine-foot-tall wheel of books, called "Circulation." Janet's list also included the Fur Trapping Museum in the suburban town of Lachine, and the Museum of Laughter. And, of course, the annual wacky fest of Journée de la Lenteur (Slowness Day), celebrated always on the summer solstice, June 21 this year.
We saw Shelley Miller right away. Visited her downtown sculpture afterward. The Trapping Museum in Lachine felt too far to drive, so we didn't go. (We were wrong. Friends hired a car and driver from their hotel, said it took 20 minutes, and that the museum was small but fascinating, especially since it's part of the Historic Lachine Canal Works). Strike two: The Laughter Museum closed about two years ago. (Gotta be a punch line here somewhere.)
Can't miss what you've never had, right? For the past six years we've stayed at the Auberge de La Fontaine, a charming bed-and-breakfast with a young and delightfully helpful staff, many of whom we've gotten to know over the years. This B & B, as its name implies, is situated across the street from la Parc Fontaine, one of the most enjoyable city parks in the world. We started going here during our Montreal Jazz Festival days, but we now time our visit to avoid that festival and catch "Slowness Day."
La Journée de la Lenteur is still a small festival, takes all day to unwind, and probably draws about only a thousand people to its main events, between 5 and 10 p.m. You can walk from one to another at your own pace and whim, since they're spread out through much of the west end of the park – tightrope walkers, group hugging exercises, laughter therapy workshops, "Your fate and health read through your feet," 20,000 shish kebab skewers painted subtly different colors by one artist and arranged in a tight lawn pattern; a choral group singing Beatles songs, every flavor yoga you could ask for, free-spirited dance and movement exercise.
All very sweet, very good-vibe, filled with laughter and even some free food. People drink their own wine or beer, do cookouts, and loft enough free-floating cannabis smoke to get Lindbergh to France and back – all without a single fight, not even an angry word. Love it. this year I stayed after the crowds drifted off and listened to a group of excellent musicians who were jamming South American tunes under a park light. I stayed till near midnight. Not something I'd comfortably do back home in the City of Brotherly Love.
I know you're thinking: Get to the books part, Hugh. What did you read? Good question. I decided to be a daredevil this year. I took nothing with me. First chance I could, I walked to the Reynaud-Bray bookstore on rue Saint Denis. They have a very limited selection of English-language books, but I figured the small number of choices would make me buy from necessity a type of book I don't normally read. I chose, for its odd title: "A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian," by Marina Lewycka (2005, Penguin, a novel). Lucky me. Fascinating characters, an intricate, surprising plot and quite humorous in a wise way.
I liked that book so much I hurried back mid-week and bought another book of a kind I don't usually read: Dave Eggers' "A Hologram for the King" (Vintage, 2013, another novel). Quite enjoyable. There's a lot to be said for having limited choices. I doubt I'd ever have read those two books otherwise, and now they stay with me like memories of enjoyable meals.
And what else is to do when in Montreal, but walk? Our B & B is in the Mont Royal Plateau neighborhood. Whenever our family has down time, I excuse myself for an hour or two and walk. I pick a direction and go. "Gilmore's rule of camera toting" always applies. If I take it, it merely weighs me down. If I don't, I see the whole world as one gorgeous photo-op I'm missing out on. The neighborhoods are fascinating in this area. All row housing, mostly three-story, with metal staircases in front, some with balconies. The attractive variety that people can impose on their habitats amazes me always.
And when tired of walking: I head over to the east end of the park, where the athletic fields are, and sit to watch either beach volley ball or bocce (called "pétanque" up here). My favorite bowlers are the old men, who play with amazing accuracy on a rough, gravel surface. I don't understand a word of their Québécoise banter, but their laughter and mutual ribbing translate universally into a good time.
On our last night in town we met two friends who were visiting Montreal for the first time on our recommendation, and had dinner with them at Toqué, the highest-rated restaurant in town. Absolutely delicious, but better yet was the kick of seeing old friends in new places and comparing stories of what we'd seen and done in our favorite city.
Hugh Gilmore's best-selling book this summer has been "Scenes from a Bookshop," based on true stories from when he ran an old-and-rare bookshop on Chestnut Hill Avenue. Available on Amazon and bookshops.


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One benefit of the battle? That the sort of deal that's on the table has become public fodder, so we can get an idea of just how much public involvement private business sports operations seem to feel they deserve.
And the offers are bizarre. Would you become a partner with a business that promised you no profit sharing, asked for up to two-thirds of the cash required to build a stadium and wanted a free pass on municipal taxes?
That's not a business deal, that's a ticket on the gravy train.
But, from the big guys in NHL, right down to the junior teams that set up — and often depart — from Atlantic cities, sponsorship of sports teams is a one-way street, a special kind of give and take relationship. Taxpayers give, and franchises take.
The expectations are big: control of ticketing, shares of concession income, discounted rents, municipal tax holidays, provincial and municipal investment in rinks, and the list goes on.
But questions have to be answered, including just who the subsidies actually benefit. Among the most common beneficiaries?
The teams and owners themselves, and those among us who are well enough off to buy the tickets and pay the inflated rates for rink concession treats. The lower end of the taxpaying spectrum can't afford the tickets, but can afford, apparently, to pay their share of the subsidies.
Any municipality looking at getting into the sports racket should have a few basic ground rules – the first of which should clearly be that, if you're expected to be partners with a sports franchise, you get to see the books. Not a shorthand, back-of-the-napkin view of projected finances — no, the full and complete audited financial statements. Not just at the outset, but throughout the entire duration of the municipal involvement.
Deals should involve clear rules for profit sharing for the whole term of the arrangement.
There also has to be a clear view of what the benefits are.
When team owners start talking about all the spinoff revenues they are "creating," municipalities have to have a clear understanding of such things as the substitution effect; people who attend a game are simply choosing a particular place to spend entertainment dollars they'd spend somewhere else.
Bringing customers into a region only is a net economic driver if the people who are coming to watch are coming from so far away — Nova Scotians going to Montreal to watch the Habs, Newfoundlanders taking in a Leafs game — that their money is essentially dollars that wouldn't be spent in the region otherwise.
The whole idea of municipalities giving tax breaks to big draws is a mug's game anyway.
Should grocery stores pay less in taxes because they bring buyers into a town from nearby areas to spend money? Should a regional hospital get a subsidy for the number of families it brings into a central region while a family member is getting lengthy treatment?
I understand councillors love to be in stands, love to soak up free tickets and wave to the crowds. Pricy bread, expensive circuses.
But cities and towns across this country have to realize that we can no longer keep sports franchise in the standard to which they've become accustomed. Sports teams are businesses. Let them sink or swim on their own business merits.
Russell Wangersky's column appears in 35 SaltWire newspapers and websites in Atlantic Canada. He can be reached at email@example.com — Twitter: @wangersky.

subset: commoncrawl


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COLUMBIA, Mo. – The UC Santa Barbara women's soccer team completed its season-opening trip to America's heartland on Sunday, dropping a 2-0 decision at the University of Missouri to fall to 0-2.
The Tigers (2-0) scored the only goal they would need early in the match as Abi Raymer took a feed from Taiwo Adeshigbin and lofted a 16-yard chip shot over Gaucho goalkeeper Makenna Henry. The score came just 31 seconds into the first half.
Missouri doubled the advantage at the 14:58 mark when Alyssa Diggs took a cross from Haley Krentz and one-time a shot into the back of the net.
UCSB had its chances with 10 shots, including five on goal, but goalkeeper McKenzie Sauerwein was up to the challenge saving all five shots. Gaucho sophomore Indiana Mead was the team's most potent threat with five shots, four of which were on goal. Despite allowing a pair of goals, Henry was solid between the pipes again. For the second straight match the junior recorded eight saves.
UCSB will make its home debut on Friday, Aug. 24 when it hosts the University of Illinois in a 7:00 p.m. match at Meredith Field at Harder Stadium. For ticket information click here, call 805-893-UCSB or drop by the ticket office in the Intercollegiate Athletics Building on campus.


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Will Alabama Supreme Court Rule Obama Ineligible?
Will Alabama Supreme Court Rule Obama Ineligible?
Over the past year, both before and since the elections, there have been a number of court cases challenging Barack Hussein Obama's eligibility. Most of the cases have been dismissed by judges for reasons that are not truly legitimate, but many feel they were dismissed to avoid the political ramifications.
Just last week I wrote about a case that was filed in Florida, that not only challenged Obama's eligibility, but stated that he was a direct threat to the safety and security of the United States. That case has yet to be heard.
Yet another case filed in Alabama may present one of the best chances of producing a ruling against Obama. In this case, Hugh McInnish and others have filed suit against Alabama Secretary of State Beth Chapman for failure to properly verify the eligibility of Barack Obama. The case points out that the state constitution requires the Secretary of State to verify a candidate's eligibility and that Chapman failed to accurately verify Obama's eligibility.
The attorney handling this case is the same attorney handling the case in Florida. Larry Klayman, founder of Judicial Watch and the Klayman Law Firm in Washington, will hopefully be arguing this case before the Alabama State Supreme Court. The reason the case is going to the state Supreme Court is that a previous judge dismissed the case. In that case the state argued:
"[An attorney general's opinion] is not case precedent binding on this court… Nevertheless, it constitutes an admission by Alabama's chief law enforcement officer on behalf of the state that if the Secretary of State has knowledge gained from an official source about a candidate's eligibility then she 'should not' certify the candidate."
Klayman argues that this admission of the state justifies the actions taken by his clients. They believe that there is sufficient evidence presented by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Department Cold Case Posse to indicate that the long form birth certificate presented by the White House on behalf of Obama is in fact a forgery and that its presentation to the people of the United States constitutes fraud. Klayman argues:
"Plaintiffs have shown, backed by sworn affidavits from an 'official source,' Sheriff Joseph M. Arpaio and his investigator, Mike Zullo, that Barack H. Obama is not a natural born citizen eligible to be president. … There is credible evidence that Mr. Obama was not born within the United States and that his birth certificate or other identifying documents are fraudulent."
"The secretary of state, having the power to certify candidates, can surely de-certify – in effect disqualify – them if they are found to be ineligible. Mr. Obama proceeded at his own risk. He defrauded the people of the state of Alabama as well as the other voters in this country, and incredibly has served an entire presidential term without once having to prove that he was indeed a natural born citizen, despite all the evidence to the contrary."
What raises hopes for the success of this case lies with the members of the Alabama state Supreme Court. In an earlier hearing on the same argument the high court denied the petition by McInnish to require that Obama produce an original copy of his birth certificate. When Alabama's High Court denied that earlier petition Justice Tom Parker filed an unpublished concurrence in the case stating that the charges of forgery were a legitimate concern.
In addition to Justice Parker, Klayman is counting on newly elected Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, Roy Moore. Chief Justice Moore is a strong advocate of constitutional law rather than ruling on the prevailing politics of the time. When Moore won re-election to the state Supreme Court he vowed that he will do his utmost to uphold the Constitution of the United States as well as the Constitution of the state of Alabama.
In speaking on constitutional law, Moore said that humans will misbehave when they are not constrained by law and that the Constitution was set up with the goal to restraining human excesses. He went on to describe his view of constitutional law as:
"The whole basis of the Constitution is the restraint strength of human power. The only way you can do that is acknowledged that morality and law does come from God. No president has the power to violate constitutional restraints of power. The members of the legislature don't and neither does the Supreme Court. The Constitution is the rule of law and my job is to uphold the rule of law."
Klayman is hoping that the skepticism of Justice Parker and the staunch stand for constitutional law by Chief Justice Moore will be enough to prove their case that Barack Hussein Obama has not provided the proper legal documentation to prove that he meets the eligibility requirements for president of the United States as set by the Constitution. This case above all others that I have seen in the past year stands the best chance of winning.
Read more: http://godfatherpolitics.com/8491/will-alabama-supreme-court-rule-obama-ineligible/#ixzz2Ladaf75t
Related articles
- Judge Roy Moore "No convincing evidence that Obama is a natural born citizen"" (theobamahustle.wordpress.com)
- Top public-interest attorney refuses to recognize Obama as president (ConservativeActionAlerts.com)
- Obama and Beyoncé: 2 frauds in a pod (veteran-patriot.com)
- Supreme Court justices deny and trash the very US Constitution which gives them their lifetime appointment livelihoods (moralmatters.org)
2 Responses
[…] Will Alabama Supreme Court Rule Obama Ineligible? (theobamahustle.wordpress.com) […]
What Judge Moore accomplishes in Alabama could be the very thing that saves America.


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The Riceville center point is about 2 miles southwest of Crittenden Memorial Hospital and 5 miles southwest of Southland Race Track.
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In November, 2015 RMF purchased CxAnalytics, a Williamsburg, Virginia based commissioning firm. The acquisition and integration of CxAnalytics has strengthened RMF's commissioning experience across the federal government, state and local government, higher education and healthcare markets, bringing the firm's collective project portfolio to more than 300 commissioning projects. RMF's engineering, commissioning, technical and design expertise, coupled with CxAnalytics' unique project experience and in-depth knowledge of mission critical and secure environments, makes us a full-service powerhouse in the field.
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High seric total protein with controlled Hiv and Chronic Hep B
Oct 14, 2012
I got my recent blood tests and total proteins were higher than normal , not by much , and the doctor didn't say anything about it.Is it somewhat normal with my conditions or should i be worried? Also my creatinine and urea level were just below normal which i find very weird in this context.
I'm in my 20's , liver function normal, according to the last vl test 6 month ago i was undetectable, good cd4 and cd4%, started whey protein supplementation for about a month.
Response from Dr. Holodniy
It is not unusual to have an elevated total protein level in the blood associated with HIV infection. This is usually the result of an elevated globulin level (in general antibodies). However, depending on the actual level of total protein elevation, and what specific components are elevated (the various components can be measured individually) would determine if this is just a nonspecific increase associated with HIV infection or something else that is going on.
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NEW LONDON, Conn. -- The Brandeis women's cross country team, ranked No. 15 in the nation in Division III, won their second meet of the season and the first with more than two teams, by capturing the Connecticut College Invitational. The Judges scored 54 points, besting 14 other schools, including runner-up RPI by 34 points.
Brandeis was led by junior Marie Lemay (Saco, Maine/Thornton Acad.) led the way by finishing in fifth place. Lemay covered the 6,000-meter course in 22:47, putting her just three seconds ahead of sophomore teammate Alyssa Pisarik (Chelmsford, Mass./Chelmsford), who finished sixth overall. Sophomore Kate Warwick (Boxborough, Mass./Acton-Boxboro Regional) was right behind the two, finishing in eighth place with a time of 23:01. Senior Ally Connolly (Concord, N.H./Concord) took 17th place in 23:28, while junior Emily Owen (Syracuse, N.Y./Westhill) was 20th with a time of 23:40, giving the Judges a spread of 53 seconds from their first to their fifth scorer.
The Judges are off next weekend before competing in the Open New England championships at Franklin Park in Boston on Oct. 10.


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April 20, 2006
This Week
Friday, April 21, 2006 at 2:00 p.m.
UC Santa Barbara Gauchos vs. UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs
at UCSB's Recreation Center Court
The Gaucho Record
UC Santa Barbara will enter its regular season finale against UC Santa Cruz with an overall record 12-10. UCSB split a pair of matches last weekend, defeating UC Irvine 4-3 to secure the top-seed at the Big West Tournament, and losing to Fresno State, 5-2.
UCSB Nets No. 1 Seed At Big West Tournament
By virtue if its 4-3 win over UC Irvine last Saturday and a perfect 3-0 record against Big West opponents this season, UCSB received the No. 1 seed at the league tournament next week. Thanks to freshman Bijan Hejazi's come-from-behind 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 at No. 2 singles against the Anteaters, the Gauchos were able to post the road win. UCI was seeded No. 2 and Pacific, which Santa Barbara trounced 7-0 on April 1, was seeded No. 3.
Seniors Say Goodbye Friday
UCSB's two seniors will play their final home match on Friday at 2:00 p.m. against UC Santa Cruz. Nick Brotman and Hagen Brody will be saluted between the conclusion of doubles play and the beginning of singles play. Brotman is a four-year member of the Gaucho team, while Brody is a two-year member. As a freshman, Brotman was a part of UCSB's last Big West Tournament Champion and NCAA Tournament team in 2003. Both have been a part of the last two Big West regular season titles that UCSB has won.
Brotman Ending Career On A High Note
Brotman will enter the regular season's final match against UCSC with an overall singles record of 19-10 and a dual match record of 13-7. He has also teamed with Anders Dalskov to post an 11-8 record at No. 1 doubles, both overall and duall. In addition, Brotman is 2-1 when teaming with freshman Scott Hohenstein. A two-time All-Big West selection, Brotman has won three of the last four Big West Player of the Week awards. He has won two straight matches and eight of his last nine, including a victory over Fresno State's Jakub Cech, the 47th-ranked player in the country, on Sunday.
Don't Forget The Kids
UCSB's seniors will play their final home match on Saturday, but the kids are just getting started. Several freshmen and sophomores are making their marks for the Gauchos this season and will be key factors in the Big West Tournament. Freshman Bijan Hejazi, whose three-set victory was the match-decider at UC Irvine on Saturday, has gone 17-6 overall, inlcuding 10-3 at No. 2, 4-3 at No. 3 and 3-0 at No. 4. Sophomore Anders Dalskov has gone 15-6 overall, 7-4 at No. 3, 4-1 at No. 4 and 4-1 at No. 5. Freshmen Carsten Thorstensen, Max Taylor, Scott Honhenstein and Grant Robertson have combined for 35 overall singles wins and 22 in dual matches. The first-year duo of Thorstensen and Hohenstein have also posted 11 doubles victories, nine in dual matches. Dalskov, meanwhile, has combined with Brotman and Elad Stern for 12 doubles wins.
Big West On The Horizon
The match against UC Santa Cruz is the Gauchos' final tuneup for the Big West Championships. The Big West Tourney will run Fri.-Sun., April 28-30 at Indian Wells, Calif. UCSB will have a first round bye and will play a second round match on Sat., April 29. Santa Barbara will play the winner of a first round match between UC Riverside and Cal Poly.


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Braised beef with red wine & cranberry
Nutrition and extra info
- Freezable
Nutrition: per serving
- kcal481
- fat15g
- saturates6g
- carbs19g
- sugars4g
- fibre1g
- protein57g
- salt0.92g
Cut the meat into large slices, about 8cm square. Tip 2 tbsp flour with some salt and pepper into a large food bag, add the beef and shake to coat the pieces. Thinly slice the onions.
Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large heavy-based pan. Add the beef and fry on all sides until evenly browned. You may need to do this in two batches. Remove to a plate.
Heat 1tbsp oil in the pan if you need it, then add the onions and fry quickly for 5 minutes until tinged brown. Return the beef to the pan and add the wine and stock. Bring to the boil, stirring to scrape up the juices. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Reduce the heat, cover tightly with a lid and cook at a gentle simmer for 11⁄2 hours until the beef is tender. Stir in the cranberry sauce, taste and add more seasoning if necessary. Simmer for a further 5 minutes and serve with mash, and a scattering of flatleaf parsely.


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I am an aspiring DBA. I got the BS in computer science and finished with no experience in any specific field. I am interested in specializing in database work, more specifically DBA. Now for the tricky part of obtaining the experience in database field when i have not found any employer to take me under their wing with no experience. I was looking for a kind of fellowship, a mentor.
So i have pondered about starting my own database driven website. Developing the database and administrating it my self gaining experience along the way.
What are your thoughts about this? More especially, as i spend lots of money on this enterprise, and my current job would not financially support this hobby indefinitely... do you think an employer looking for a DBA would deem this self-enterprising person to finally be qualified for employment?


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Arch Canyon (east rim), San Juan County, Utah, USA. This image was taken directly above Cathedral Arch (which isn't visible in this picture). The convergence of Texas Canyon with Arch Canyon can be seen. Image taken July 6, 2012.
Utah is a state located in the westcentral region of the United States of America. Utah is the 13th largest state by area, ranks 34th by population and 10th by population density of the 50 United States. Utah was the 45th state to be admitted into the Union, on January 4, 1896. Utah is landlocked, being bordered by the states of Idaho to the north, Wyoming to the northeast, Nevada on the west, Colorado on the east and Arizona to the south. Utah is very mountainous and is a popular outing destination of the outdoorsman. The state population is about 2.82M with 95% being Caucasian, 2.4% Asian, 1.7% Native American and 1.3% Black. The state capital and largest city is Salt Lake City.Source: wikipedia


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Introduction to Zend Framework
Learning Zend Framework
Zend Framework Reference
Table of Contents
The CLI, or command line tool (internally known as the console tool),
is currently the primary interface for dispatching
requests. With the CLI tool, developers can issue tooling requests
inside the "command line window", also commonly known as a "terminal" window. This
environment is predominant in the *nix environment, but also has a common implementation
in windows with the
cmd.exe, console2 and also with the Cygwin project.
First download Zend Framework. This can be done by going to framework.zend.com and downloading the latest release. After you've downloaded the package and placed it on your system. The next step is to make the zf command available to your system. The easiest way to do this, is to copy the proper files from the bin/ directory of the download, and place these files within the same directory as the location of the PHP cli binary.
To install via PEAR, you must use the 3rd party zfcampus.org site to retrieve the latest Zend Framework PEAR package. These packages are typically built within a day of an official Zend Framework release. The benefit of installing via the PEAR package manager is that during the install process, the ZF library will end up on the include_path, and the zf.php and zf scripts will end up in a place on your system that will allow you to run them without any additional setup.
pear channel-discover pear.zfcampus.org
pear install zfcampus/zf
That is it. After the initial install, you should be able to continue on by running the zf command. Go good way to check to see if it't there is to run zf --help
Installing by hand refers to the process of forcing the zf.php and Zend Framework library to work together when they are placed in non-convential places, or at least, in a place that your system cannot dispatch from easily (typical of programs in your system PATH).
If you are on a *nix or mac system, you can also create a link from somewhere in your path to the zf.sh file. If you do this, you do not need to worry about having Zend Framework's library on your include_path, as the zf.php and zf.sh files will be able to access the library relative to where they are (meaning the ./bin/ files are ../library/ relative to the Zend Framework library).
There are a number of other options available for setting up the zf.php and library on your system. These options revolve around setting specific environment variables. These are described in the later section on "customizing the CLI environement". The environment variables for setting the zf.php include_path, ZEND_TOOL_INCLUDE_PATH and ZF_TOOL_INCLUDE_PATH_PREPEND, are the ones of most interest.
This will show the current version number of the copy of Zend Framework the zf.php tool is using.
zf show version
The built-in help system is the primary place where you can get up-to-date information on what your system is capable of doing. The help system is dynamic in that as providers are added to your system, they are automatically dispatchable, and as such, the parameters required to run them will be in the help screen. The easiest way to retrieve the help screen is the following:
zf --help
This will give you an overview of the various capabilities of the system. Sometimes, there are more finite commands than can be run, and to gain more information about these, you might have to run a more specialized help command. For specialized help, simply replace any of the elements of the command with a "?". This will tell the help system that you want more information about what commands can go in place of the question mark. For example:
zf ? controller
The above means "show me all 'actions' for the provider 'controller'"; while the following:
zf show ?
means "show me all providers that support the 'show' action". This works for drilling down into options as well as you can see in the following examples:
zf show version.? (show any specialties)
zf show version ? (show any options)
The project provider is the first command you might want to run. This will setup the basic structure of your application. This is required before any of the other providers can be executed.
zf create project MyProjectName
This will create a project in a directory called ./MyProjectName. From this point on, it is important to note that any subsequent commands on the command line must be issued from within the project directory you had just created. So, after creation, changing into that directory is required.
The module provider allows for the easy creation of a Zend Framework module. A module follows the hMVC pattern loosely. When creating modules, it will take the same structure used at the application/ level, and duplicate it inside of the chosen name for your module, inside of the "modules" directory of the application/ directory without duplicating the modules directory itself. For example:
zf create module Blog
This will create a module named Blog at application/modules/Blog, and all of the artifacts that a module will need.
The controller provider is responsible for creating (mostly) empty controllers as well as their corresponding view script directories and files. To utilize it to create an 'Auth' controlller, for example, execute:
zf create controller Auth
This will create a controller named Auth, specifically it will create a file at application/controllers/AuthController.php with the AuthController inside. If you wish to create a controller for a module, use any of the following:
zf create controller Post 1 Blog
zf create controller Post -m Blog
zf create controller Post --module=Blog
Note: In the first command, 1 is the value for the "includeIndexAction" flag.
To create an action within an existing controller:
zf create action login Auth
zf create action login -c Auth
zf create action login --controller-name=Auth
To create a view outside of the normal controller/action creation, you would use one of the following:
zf create view Auth my-script-name
zf create view -c Auth -a my-script-name
This will create a view script in the controller folder of Auth.
The model provider is only responsible for creating the proper model files, with the proper name inside the application folder. For example
zf create model User
If you wish to create a model within a specific module:
zf create model Post -m Blog
The above will create a 'Post' model inside of the 'Blog' module.
The form provider is only responsible for creating the proper form file and init() method, with the proper name inside the application folder. For example:
zf create form Auth
If you wish to create a model within a specific module:
zf create form Comment -m Blog
The above will create a 'Comment' form inside of the 'Blog' module.
To configure a DbAdapter, you will need to provide the information as a url encoded string. This string needs to be in quotes on the command line.
For example, to enter the following information:
adapter: Pdo_Mysql
username: test
password: test
dbname: test
The following will have to be run on the command line:
zf configure dbadapter "adapter=Pdo_Mysql&username=test&password=test&dbname=test"
This assumes you wish to store this information inside of the 'production' space of the application configuration file. The following will demonstrate an sqlite configuration, in the 'development' section of the application config file.
zf configure dbadapter "adapter=Pdo_Sqlite&dbname=../data/test.db" development
zf configure dbadapter "adapter=Pdo_Sqlite&dbname=../data/test.db" -s development
The DbTable provider is responsible for creating
Zend_Db_Table model/data access files for your application to
consume, with the proper class name, and in the proper location in the application.
The two important pieces of information are the DbTable name,
and the actual database table name. For example:
zf create dbtable User user
zf create dbtable User -a user
// also accepts a force option to overwrite existing files
zf create dbtable User user -f
zf create dbtable User user --force-overwrite
The DbTable provider is also capable of creating the proper files by scanning the database configured with the above DbAdapter provider.
zf create dbtable.from-database
When executing the above, it might make sense to use the pretend / "-p" flag first so that you can see what would be done, and what tables can be found in the database.
zf -p create dbtable.from-database
The storage directory is important so that providers may have a place to find custom user generated logic that might change the way they behave. One example can be found below is the placement of a custom project profile file.
zf --setup storage-directory
This will create the proper zf.ini file. This should be run after zf --setup storage-directory. If it is not, it will be located inside the users home directory. If it is, it will be located inside the users storage directory.
zf --setup config-file
These should be set if you wish to override the default places where zf will attempt to read their values.
the directory this tool will look for a home directory
directory must exist
search order:
ZF_HOME environment variable
HOME environment variable
then HOMEPATH environment variable
where this tool will look for a storage directory
directory must exist
search order:
ZF_STORAGE_DIRECTORY environment variable
$homeDirectory/.zf/ directory
where this tool will look for a configuration file
search order:
ZF_CONFIG_FILE environment variable
$homeDirectory/.zf.ini file if it exists
$storageDirectory/zf.ini file if it exists
set the include_path for this tool to use this value
original behavior:
use PHP's include_path to find ZF
use the ZEND_TOOL_INCLUDE_PATH environment variable
use the path ../library (relative to zf.php) to find ZF
prepend the current php.ini include_path with this value


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Intro for December 4, 2012
Dear Gossips,
No one expected the New York Film Critics Circle to vote for a musical. It's just not their flavour. Their flavour though is Kathryn Bigelow over Ben Affleck. In past years, the NYFCC's selection was considered a good prognosticator for Oscar but this award season is so competitive, the best their list could do yesterday was shape what the nominations might look like, as the race is really too tight to call. Right now, momentum favours Zero Dark Thirty. By the end of the week though, when the National Board of Review (Dec 5) and the LA Film Critics (Dec 9) make their announcements, it could be another. Like Lincoln. And Argo could come back strong. And Les Miserables should do better in the guild community. Those four -- Zero Dark Thirty, Lincoln, Argo, and Les Miserables -- should hold, but if there's one contender that's been sliding, it's Silver Linings Playbook. Coming out of TIFF it seemed unstoppable. Did the Weinsteins miscalculate? Or will it make a charge in the next 10 days? God I love this time of year. When it's this close it's even more fun. But WHY does it always have to be lumped together? If just one of these could have challenged earlier against The Artist last year...
More on the NYFCC winners later and I'll warn you now that there's some gloating on the way from our own Cinesnark Sarah who was calling it for it, for McConaughey, way, way, WAY before anyone smelled anything.
As for the Princess's pregnancy - do we need an update on her IV drip, and on who's coming in and out of hospital to see her? I just want to know how much detail you're looking for, and whether or not you're as nervously superstitious as I am about the whole thing. And does that make me a total loser for even caring that much. I think so, yes.
Yours in gossip,


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Being the president of the upcoming ICON Conference, I had the amazing opportunity to art direct the ICON7 poster design. The theme of the conference is collaboration and the power of community, as represented by headline... Drawn Together. (Credit to board member Mark Todd for that beautiful piece of copy writing!) So, I wanted to create a poster that represented a collaboration: A two-sided poster that was an unusual collision between a design-ustrator and illu-signer. Ideally, I wanted each of the artists to influence the work of the other, if not co-create some of the elements.
My first choices were Jessica Hische and Chris Buzelli- total dream team... but perhaps unlikely pairs for something like this. One phone call and they were on board!
Here was my big idea in sketch form that I sent to the artists. Thankfully, at this point, I'm really in the backseat of the process of making these images. (Just like any good art director, right?) So grateful to these amazing artists donating their time to a great organization that promotes the illustration community. They took a silly scrap of an idea and made it way better than anything I could come up with alone.
I'll leave it to Chris and Jessica to post more images from the process, but I do want to show the best part of the collaborative design and illustration process, in my mind.
I would not be prouder of this poster even if I had made the image myself. I see why art directors really love their job. What fun to set great pieces on the board and let the game play on!
Hey, you SHOULD GO TO ICON! REGISTER TODAY!


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- Professor
- Holder of the GPSA Professorship
- Phone: 979-845-3375
- Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
- Office: 240 CHEN
- Website: Research Website
Educational Background
- Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin, 1996
- M.S.E., University of Pennsylvania, 1983
- B.S., Universidad Tecnológica Nacional, Argentina, 1973
Shoes Unisex Skool Vans Classic Old Skate Green Research Interests
- Catalysis on metal nanoparticles for fuel cell electrocatalysts
- Catalyzed growth of single-walled carbon nanotubes
- Gas separation and storage in metal organic frameworks
- Solid-electrolyte interphase layer nucleation and growth in Si and carbon anodes of Li-ion batteries
- Materials for photocatalysis: Oxygen evolution in doped oxides
- Materials for solar cells and hydrogen production: Hydrogen evolution on coated semiconductors covered by co-catalysts
- Shoes Skate Skool Green Unisex Classic Vans Old Shale gas thermodynamics: Phase behavior of hydrocarbon + water mixtures in confined media
Awards & Honors
- NSF/POWRE award, 1997
- NSF/CAREER award, 1999
- GPSA Professorship, 2005
- AAAS Fellow, 2013
- TEES Senior Fellow, 2013
Selected Publications
- Daniel Rossi, Luis E. Camacho-Forero, Guadalupe Ramos-Sánchez, Jae Hyo Han, Jinwoo Cheon, Perla B. Balbuena and Dong Hee Son, "Anisotropic Electron-phonon Coupling in Colloidal Layered TiS2 Nanodiscs Observed via Coherent Acoustic Phonon," J. Phys. Chem. C., 119, (13), 7436-7442, (2015).
- Julibeth M. Martinez de la Hoz, Fernando A. Soto, and Perla B. Balbuena, "Effect of the Electrolyte Composition on SEI Reactions at Si Anodes of Li-Ion Batteries," J. Phys. Chem. C, 119, 7060-7068, (2015).
- Z. Liu, D. Hubble, P. B. Balbuena, and P. P. Mukherjee, "Adsorption of Insoluble Polysulfides Li2Sx (x = 1, 2) on Li2S Surfaces," Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 17, 9032-9039, (2015).
- Julibeth M. Martinez de la Hoz and Perla B. Balbuena, "Small-Molecule Activation driven by Confinement Effects," ACS Catalysis, 1, 215-224, (2015).
- Jiamei Yu and Perla B. Balbuena, "How impurities affect CO2 capture in metal-organic frameworks modified with different functional groups," ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering, 3 (1), 117-124, (2015).
- M. Picher, P. A. Linn, J. L. Gomez-Ballesteros, P. B. Balbuena, and R. Sharma, "Nucleation of Graphene and its Conversion to Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes," Nano Lett., 14, 6104-6108, (2014), dx.doi.org/10.1021/nl501977b.


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I am working on a piston valve with o-rings at the moment. I just went to Home Depot and Lowes, and neither of them have o-rings large enough.
What I need is one that will seal between the ID of 2" PVC Pipe(sch. 40) and about halfway between a 1 1/4" End Cap and the OD of some 1 1/4" PVC Pipe(sch. 40).
Any ideas on what size I would need and where I could get them:?:
Yes I know where to get the ID and OD of pipe although I do not know if you need to add anything to get the o-ring size, because it needs to seal.


text:
Monday, April 12, 2010
No comments:
Post a Comment
Folks , I have enabled the setting for comments from anyone , so you don't need to have to be a registered user etc.
If however the site starts to receive spam or abuse from the usual spam suspects out there on the web , well...then I will turn the need to register back on .
Hope it all goes well .
thank you.
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text:
Algie Top back size S - M£40.10
Algie Top woman on back piece size S-M
Algie back brace that soothes the pain. An innovative solution with natural active principles micro-encapsulated in a cloth loaded zirconia.
top with microcapsules in the dos created by Algie. The microcapsules affixed the fabric contain active principles, original 100% natural :
- essential oil of Wintergreen,
- essential oil of pepper,
- 98% natural analgesic,
- anti-inflammatory . extracts of arnica to power
action of the capsules:
A u contact with the skin, the capsules contained in the dos release by friction of the active principles with analgesic properties. Their concentrations equivalent to 7 millions of microcapsules on the equivalent of the surface of a postage stamp.
the fabric covering the back of the top is woven with a fiber loaded in zirconia. The Zirconia formula Zr02 causes a thermal barrier effect. The design and the thermal quality of the fabric enable a thermal and mechanical proprioception for immediate soothing action.
efficiency tests were performed at the clinique St Jean de Montpellier.
the top cluster can be worn as long as needed, day and night. for an optimal effect, make sure not to use the top plus 20 washes. After these 20 washes, you have the possibility to recharge your brace in active principles with specific charging Algie. wash at 40 C. Drying on clothes hanger. Keep away from sources of heat. Can be stored as any other clothing without loss of efficiency.
sports activity:
during a sporting activity, the top can be worn before, during and after activity or an intense effort.
the top can also be used as a splint of capital, for a period of re-education or resumption of physical activity.
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text:
Taylor Swift's 2012 Plans May Include an Acting Gig
Taylor Swift's 2012 dance card keeps filling up, and 2011 still has two-and-a-half months left! The singer has been busy penning songs for the follow-up album to 'Speak Now,' which is due out next year. She will undoubtedly be promoting her debut fragrance Wonderstruck through the end of this year and beyond, as it's a long-term promotional commitment. But Swift recently dropped another hint as to what she'll be up to: She may have an acting gig in her future.
In a recent chat with MTV during her whirlwind Wonderstuck promo tour last week, Swift revealed that
she is working on "some surprise projects that may or may not happen, and possibly some acting." Acting? We'd love to see Swift on the big screen, but it would not be her first foray into that field. She actually appeared as Felicia Miller in the ensemble romantic comedy 'Valentine's Day' in 2010. She starred opposite her boyfriend at the time, Taylor Lautner. They played lovebirds in the flick. It was life imitating art, or vice versa.
But we're wondering if Swift might actually take a small screen role. She makes no secret of her love for 'Law and Order,' so maybe there's a guest spot in her future?
Swift also could not contain her excitement over the writing process for her upcoming album, gushing,
"I've just been so excited about what's gonna happen in the next year. I'm also really excited about [the next album]. I've been writing all the time. I've been writing so much for the new record. I can't believe I'm saying that already: It comes out in a year, but I'm already excited about it."
Before you know it, we'll be deep into 2012 and Taylor's new album will be upon us, full of confessional songs of love and heartbreak, no doubt.
But before we go high tailing it into the future, Swift also said that she is beyond stoked about the upcoming holiday season. Her 22nd birthday falls in December, so the final month of 2011 should be a busy and festive one for Swift, and hopefully bottles of Wonderstruck fly off the shelf during the holiday shopping season.
She spoke about her enjoyment of the holidays, saying, "I love Christmas. I love the whole buildup to Christmas and the way that everything is exciting and wintergreen-ish and Christmas tree-ish."
Perhaps her fans will smell all sorts of Wonderstruck-ish during the holidays.
Watch Taylor Swift's MTV Interview


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Recognizing the threatened status of high-quality longleaf pine flatwoods savannahs in Louisiana and the many unique native species the habitat supports, the Department acquired this 796 acres in 1992. The WMA is located in St. Tammany Parish about 7 miles northwest of Covington, and is accessible from Lake Ramsey Road west of LA HWY. 25. In recent years the Nature Conservancy has purchased additional lands along the Lake Ramsey and Horse Branch Roads that have enlarged the area now under conservation management.
The area is frequently burned to perpetuate the wide variety of ground cover plant species that occurs in a longleaf pine savannah. At least 18 rare plant species have been identified on the site which makes it one of the most significant savannahs remaining in eastern Louisiana. This unique open longleaf savannah has evolved historically only through the regular occurrence of fire. Prescribed fires will be critical in the continued future maintenance of his rare habitat.
In addition to the longleaf pine savannah, the area supports other valuable natural plant communities including: bayhead forest, small river floodplains forest, and an upland sandy stream (Tchefuncte River).
While a primary objective of the area is to conserve the unique habitats and native species, many consumptive and non-consumptive uses are permissible such as hiking, hunting (archery, small game, and waterfowl only), photography, fishing, trapping, wildlife viewing, research, and education. The area is walk-in-only. A Nature Trail is located on the south end of the WMA that originates on Nature Conservancy land. This trail is a favorite of bird watchers and school classes.
Additional information can be obtained from the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Wildlife Division, P.O. Box 98000, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70898-9000. Phone (225) 765-2360.


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Elements of destruction
By Lady Liberty
"The two most common elements in the universe are hydrogen and stupidity." Button seen at a science fiction convention
Last week, I endured a particularly frustrating telephone call. Because it was business-related, I held my tongue and my temper. I politely repeated myself numerous times. I answered the same questions over and over again. Despite this, the end result involved a decision in which I was directed to take a totally unrelated action that had nothing to do with the subject matter at hand and which never would.
After I hung up the phone, I sighed to a co-worker, "Are people everywhere getting stupider, or is it just me?" Without missing a beat, he responded, "It's not you. People are stupider."
Coincidentally, a new television game show has premiered on the Fox television network. It's called Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? Contestants are given questions right out of a grade school text book, and the more questions they can answer correctly, the more money they win. Five fifth graders are also on the show, and they answer every question alongside the contestant. If the contestant gets stuck, he's permitted to "cheat." He can copy or peek at a student's answer.
I hadn't really planned on watching the show, but I happened to leave the TV on and the channel as is after I'd watched something else. The next thing I knew, I was listening to host Jeff Foxworthy (of the infamous "you might be a redneck if" routines) asking the questions. It didn't surprise me that there were a couple of questions that were tougher than you might think (particularly if math wasn't your strong suit in school to begin with). It did, however, shock me to the core to see just how much not smarter even than a first grader those contestants were!
One contestant in particular was a truly appalling example of sheer ignorance and — dare I say it? — outright stupidity. One of the questions he was to answer was to determine how many times the letter "e" appeared in the phrase "Pledge of Allegiance" (that's a first grade level question, by the way). Counting on his fingers, the guy promptly said, "Let's see...there's two in the word 'pledge.' There's one more in the word 'the.' And then..." At that point, Mr. Foxworthy interrupted to say, "How many times does the letter 'e' appear in the phrase 'Pledge OF Allegiance?'" The contestant started over. "Two in the word 'pledge,' one in the word 'the'..."
There is, of course, a case to be made here that the contestant was merely inattentive. Okay. But a couple of rounds later, he was asked an elementary level question in the category of weights and measures. Although he was wrong about how many teaspoons are in a tablespoon, that's immaterial to what happened next. He said, "Okay, two teaspoons in a tablespoon. So, five tablespoons would be...let's see. Five times two is...uh..."
The fifth graders on the stage were laughing hysterically. So was the audience. In crisp white letters underneath the contestant's screwed up "I'm-thinking-really-hard-now" facial expression, we were informed that he'd had a better than 3.0 grade point average in college. Meanwhile, he was still thinking, the audience was still laughing, and the look on Mr. Foxworthy's face was priceless.
Believe it or not, this guy actually answered a couple of questions correctly. Eventually. An earlier contestant needed help from the kids with every question (no, they weren't particularly difficult questions), and then promptly took the money and ran when he ran out of allowable "cheats." Throughout each contestant's appearance, the audience dutifully laughs. So do the kids, but I think they've got more the right of it than the audience does. The audience is amused. The kids, on the other hand, are incredulous. Me? I think it's tragic both that adults are so hopelessly ignorant of even the simplest things, and even more so that other adults would find such appalling ignorance be funny.
The man on the phone and the man on the TV likely had one other thing in common. I'm willing to bet that both of them vote at least some of the time. That's even less funny than listening to them struggle to grasp the most basic of concepts.
After all, it's just a little bit disconcerting to think that a man who can't process the simplest of math problems in his head is also in the voting booth helping to determine whether — and by how much — our property taxes will rise for this, that, or the other reason (I'm actually good at math and have enough trouble with mill levies sometimes myself, although that might be because I'm against them all in principle as opposed to how easy the figures are to calculate).
It's also not too pleasant to contemplate a guy who can't (or won't) understand simple answers to simple questions voting for candidates I'm betting he knows nothing about (other than, of course, the party affiliation so conveniently printed on the ballot for him and people like him). There are many folks, myself included, who urge people to vote for the person, not the party. That kind of thing is quite a bit tougher when the voter in question doesn't know, and doesn't care to know, anything before he pulls the lever, punches the card, or touches the screen!
There are those who suggest that voting should be made easier — people should be able to register when they get driver's licenses, for example; they ought to be able to vote absentee more easily; or they should be able to cast their ballot in person before election day (all of these proposals either currently exist in some states, or are proposed in others). A differing school of thought (typically not well received by Democrats) says that eligible voters ought to have to prove that they're eligible with a driver's license or state ID card.
Personally, I think it should be easy for those who want to vote to do so, but I also think that only eligible voters should be able to cast their ballots (in this day and age, there are still dead people voting as well as those who liked it so much the first time, they go ahead and vote again). But in addition to making balloting more convenient and more secure, I'd also mandate that voters be tested. I don't think they have to be geniuses by any stretch, but I do think they should at least be able to read well enough to understand the issues printed on the ballot. I also think they should have some modicum of common sense.
My notion of what requirements people ought to have to meet to vote is, of course, entirely valid. Just ask me, and I'll be happy to tell you! But here's the thing: Imposing my requirements on other people would be just about as wrong as I'm personally pretty sure some of their votes are going to be. I can do what I like to try to educate people, and I can work however I wish to sway their votes my way. But what I think of their opinions, or more to the point, what I think of their ability to reach their opinions, is immaterial.
Unfortunately, the government isn't quite as nice (albeit sometimes reluctantly) as I am. It uses its perception that we're all stupid (or helpless or otherwise incompetent) against us all the time. Calling this aspect of government the "nanny state" actually gives us more credit than the government itself does. Suggesting the government is nannying us implies we're childlike, innocent, or naive. The reality is that the government thinks I'm the guy on the phone, or the man on TV. The government thinks I'm stupid. In fact, it thinks we're all stupid.
Because the government thinks I'm too dumb to know my chances in a car crash are better with a seatbelt than without one, it's gone ahead and made a law that says I have no choice but to wear one. Since the government thinks I'm too stupid or irresponsible to be a parent, it's made all sorts of laws that make healthcare decisions for my children for me. The government, in fact, thinks I'm so stupid that it's starting to hold other people liable for my stupidity. (Think I'm exaggerating? What else would you call it when bartenders are held liable for serving somebody who drinks too much and then gets behind the wheel of their car?)
In fairness to the government (you know, it actually kind of hurt to say that), it's not the only entity that feels that way. Anti-gun groups don't trust anybody with a gun. Conservative groups don't trust anybody with an uncensored television or Internet connection. And thanks to everybody who knows what's good for you better than you do, some of our most basic freedoms are being taken from us like treats from misbehaving children. Of course, once those things are taken from us, they're gone, effectively destroyed and difficult if not all but impossible to restore.
Do you want to know an ugly truth? There are some people I don't trust with children, guns, or the Internet, either. But that fact doesn't in any way legitimize the idea of preemptively preventing them from having children, guns, or computers. I've got no problem whatsoever with punishing people who do bad things with firearms or kids, and I don't know too many people who do. If I started punishing people before they did anything wrong, though, I'll bet you'd be just about as upset with me as if you had to take an IQ test next time you headed to your neighborhood polling place!
So here's the real question: Why are you letting the government do to you what you wouldn't in a million years put up with from me or anybody else? Why are you docilely going along with the authorities every time they mandate you do or don't do something when you'd be offended if I told you I was making precisely the same rules for you to follow? Here's an even better question: Why aren't you doing everything you can to make them stop treating us all like we're stupid? You're not. Are you?
Lady Liberty, a senior writer for ESR, is a graphic designer and pro-freedom activist currently residing in the Midwest. More of her writings and other political and educational information is available on her web site, Lady Liberty's Constitution Clearing House, at http://www.ladylibrty.com. E-mail Lady Liberty at email@example.com.


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Hard Ass: Jeep Cherokee JCR Corner GuardsPosted in How To on August 1, 2010
We've run a ton of trails with 2 inches of lift and 30-inch tires in our '98 Cherokee. Our belly skid and gas tank skid tell the tale of numerous encounters with rocks. Our stock trailer hitch got us caught up more than anything else. But by and large we were sick of picking up plastic pieces after knocking them off on some obstacle or another. Add to that all the sheetmetal hanging out behind the rear axle that we hadn't cut off and it was time to do something to protect our Cherokee's soft butt.
We contacted JCR Offroad for a set of corner guards. The corner guards are available in three configurations. They can be optioned to work with the stock tail lights, to extend over and protect the stock tail lights, or with built-in tail light boxes to eliminate the stock lights altogether. Since we were on our second set of hard-to-find late-model lights, and one of them was barely hanging on, we went with the stock light replacement option. The LEDs that JCR offers with the kit should be the last set of tail lights this Jeep needs.
At the same time, we contacted M.O.R.E. for the company's new rear bumper and tire carrier combination. We like how the bumper is designed to work with the stock lines of the Jeep body, the two-stage bear claw latch, and how the swing arm is recessed into the bumper. It also includes a trailer hitch, and while it is not rated for towing, the design of the supporting brackets is stouter than the stock trailer hitch ever was.
Here are the ins and outs of how the armor installed and how we actually gained ground clearance at the same time.
(269) 353-1184


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You know you've spent too much time and money at Home Depot when the folks on the pro desk greet you by name and then hug you. Over the past seven years, it's been a fence. A deck. Insulating and drywalling the garage.
And from March 2010 to April 2011, it was The Basement.
So yes, I've spent enough time at my local HD that I can even navigate the plumbing aisle without help.
But that last reno? It's fair to say that blood, sweat and tears were all involved. I learned enough along the way to share a few lessons to — hopefully — spare you too much of all three.
No. 1: Know why you're renovating
Successful renos depend most of all on planning: research and planning and understanding what you want to achieve. I wanted to create additional living space that would provide a separate and welcoming space for visiting family and friends in my 1,100-square-foot, two-bedroom, 1 1/2-bathroom starter home. An additional, legally recognized bedroom was a must. So was another full bath. And storage space. Given the house and its location, overspending on finishes, legal secondary suites, wine cellars and media rooms didn't make sense. But comfort and safety did.
Planning also minimizes the need to make major changes during the reno; changes are always expensive.
No. 2: Get the permits (even though it's a pain)
First, the kudos: the City of Calgary's building inspectors were fabulous. Electrical, plumbing, structural — they showed up either mornings or afternoons as planned, they looked at everything carefully, they asked questions and seemed genuinely interested in the process.
But the permit approvals office? What should have been a straightforward half-day approval stretched into weeks, delaying the reno and causing a huge degree of unnecessary stress. I planned, I researched and I got blindsided by a rule change that wasn't listed on the city's website. I fixed that, only to have them find a missing measurement — not in the basement but on the deck on the site plan — that they should have identified when I was there the first time. After that?
They wanted the custom window specs from the manufacturer, never mind that they were the same as I'd put on the plan.
Permits and inspections are a good thing. Get them. They protect your investment (you can prove the reno is a legal one when you sell the house) and you (if it's not built to code, it likely isn't safe).
But be prepared for the permit approval process to be a hassle. And if the City of Calgary is listening? By all means, do your job; just please do it efficiently.
No. 3: There's always a way (but it might cost you)
For basement living spaces, especially bedrooms, you need two available exits, so that if one (e.g., the stairs) is blocked, the other (usually a window) offers a route out. Safety codes dictate the minimum window opening for safe "egress" and the window types allowed.
Instead of a sliding window that would look out on dirt, I wanted an inward swinging window that would meet code while minimizing the concrete that needed to be cut. Half a dozen window suppliers told me it couldn't be done, but I'd seen these windows in Europe and knew it had to be possible.
I finally found a local custom window manufacturer who made it easy.
It was way beyond what I'd budgeted for, but it's perfect.
No. 4: Enlist expert help
If you're doing parts of the reno yourself — possibly to save money — choose the DIY tasks carefully and leave others to the experts. Essentially, anything that can jeopardize the safety of the home (electrical) or be very expensive to fix if you get it wrong (rough-in plumbing) should be left to the pros.
This reno came with a long list of tasks I'd never done before. Along with the building store's pro desk, Internet videos and books, I turned primarily to my parents, who've pretty much renovated or built every house they've ever lived in. They've taught me drywalling, building stud walls, plumbing, planning and plenty more. I couldn't have done it without them.
No. 5: Get it in writing
When you can't do it yourself, you need a contractor. When you work with a contractor, you need written quotes, contracts and estimates.
I worked with both large and small contractors. Large contractors send out an estimating person who isn't the one who'll do the work. Smaller contractors tend to have the same person doing the work as estimating. I ended up preferring the latter, but smaller can come with less recourse if something goes wrong.
Note that all contractors complain about the contractor who worked in the space before they did.
No. 6: Tackle problems on the spot
If you — or a contractor — find or cause a problem (like the plumber's apprentice who shot a nail through coax cable, knocking out TV and phone service, or the spray insulation company that flooded the basement storage area), start working on a solution immediately.
In the case of a large contractor, I would (having learned the hard way) call the estimator, supervisor or quality control person when the problem occurs. Even while the workers are trying (or not trying, as the case might be) to clean it up.
Bottom line: if a job starts going sideways, jump on it. It's your money. It's your house.
No. 7: Know when to walk away (and when to run)
With apologies to Kenny Rogers and The Gambler, there comes a point in any renovation when you're done. Overwhelmed. Possibly even hysterical. For me, it was near the end: I just had a few more small jobs to do, including cutting holes in the ceiling tiles for the heat register to fit into the ductwork. Easy, right?
Maybe not so much. I was tired. I was frustrated that the joints in the moulding weren't looking tight and I might have to redo the whole job. The bathroom door wasn't closing properly and I didn't know how to fix it. So I tackled the tiles. But no matter how carefully I measured, the hole in the tile just wouldn't line up properly with the heat vent. I cursed. I cut again. I cursed some more.
Three hours later, I threw a ceiling tile across the basement, stepped off the ladder, sat on the floor and sobbed. Had I finally lost it? No, I'd just reached renovation overload. I dried my tears, climbed out of the basement and shut the door.
No. 8: Ask for help (and accept it when it's offered)
Reno overload was quickly followed by a call to my parents. They rode to my rescue armed with a DAP compound that filled the gaps in the moulding, and the know-how to fix both door and ceiling tiles. (Dad's verdict? I was attempting to install the register in a way that was both logical and doomed to failure. As always, he had a trick — he had both registers done within 20 minutes.)
No. 9: Unintended consequences happen; prepare to adapt
Planning only takes you so far. It wasn't until the spring that I realized the heating contractor hadn't considered the effect of the large west-facing windows on the main floors. The passive solar heating warms those floors, shutting down the thermostat — and leaving the basement without a source of heat.
With the walls up and finished, it was too late to put the basement forced air heating on its own thermostat. Portable electric heaters now solve the problem in spring and fall; in winter, when the main floor heat is kicking in, everything's toasty without the extra help.
People keep asking me what my next project is. For the record: I don't have one. I'm taking a break from major DIY projects for a while. Maybe a long while.
Although, you know, the fresh new basement's making the main floor look a little tired . . .


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The Associated Press
Tuesday, 12 March 2013 03:57 PM
The price of oil rose for a fourth straight day Tuesday as traders awaited the latest reports on U.S. oil supplies and retail sales.
Benchmark oil for April delivery gained 48 cents to finish at $92.54 per barrel in New York. .
Oil has now risen nearly 3 percent in the last four trading sessions. Whether it maintains that momentum could depend on this week's reports on U.S. oil supplies.
Many traders believe the large supply of oil in the U.S. has kept a lid on prices. Last week the Energy Department said that the nation's supply of crude is 10.3 percent above year-ago levels. And U.S. oil production, at more than 7 million barrels a day, is at the highest level since the late 1990s.
The American Petroleum Institute will release its report on oil stocks later Tuesday, while the report from the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration — the market benchmark — will be out on Wednesday.
Data for the week ending March 8 is expected to show a build of 2.3 million barrels in crude oil stocks and a draw of 1.5 million barrels in gasoline stocks, according to a survey of analysts by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.
Also on Wednesday, the government releases its latest monthly tally for retail sales. Analysts estimate that retail sales rose 0.3 percent in February, excluding gasoline and car sales.
U.S. gas pump prices have leveled off at $3.70 a gallon, according to AAA, Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express. That's down 8 cents since the start of March and 10 cents cheaper than a year ago. The government said Tuesday that it expects gas to average close to $3.67 a gallon over the next few months.
Brent crude, used to price many kinds of oil imported by U.S. refineries, slipped 46 cents to end at $109.23 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.
In other energy futures trading on the Nymex:
— Wholesale gasoline finished unchanged at $3.15 a gallon.
— Heating oil fell 2 cents to end at $2.95 a gallon.
— Natural gas was unchanged at $3.65 per 1,000 cubic feet.
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The Kitchen Denver in Lodo (Girl Walks Into a Bar)
We have a new bar column here at The Denver Post that we'd like to introduce you to: A Kathleen St. John-penned column called Girl Walks Into a Bar. It's about cocktails, beautiful rooms, hot patios, bar food and camaraderie. It's about making friends with the group next to you. It's about small plates, big drinks and good times. It's about the good people and bright bars in Denver and Boulder and beyond. We'll feature one snippet a day for the next few weeks from columns that have already run in print — with links to read more, of course. (Print readers can take in the column every Friday in the Entertainment section.) Enjoy! — Ricardo Baca, entertainment editor
If there's one word to describe The Kitchen Denver, a recent import from Boulder, it's "clean."
Clean design, clean flavors, clean vibes: Popping in for happy hour or a quick drink just makes you feel refreshed and sustained. Even the booze seem wholesome.
Wait a minute — make that "Community Hour," not happy hour. The Kitchen is all about the way food creates community, from using local farmers for ingredients to gathering friends around a table. Or, in the case of the bar scene, the camaraderie created by well-mixed cocktails and perfectly paired snacks.


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VIDEO: Freedom to Marry launches national TV ad featuring Republican Sen. Simpson
April 08, 2014
Today, just days before the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals kicks off a wave of hearings and rulings on the freedom to marry at the appellate level, Freedom to Marry released a national television ad featuring former U.S. Senator Alan Simpson of Wyoming. In the 30-second spot, Simpson, a Republican, makes the conservative case for marriage for same-sex couples and cites his own decades-long marriage to his wife.
In the ad, Sen. Simpson says, "I'm a Republican, and the party's basic core is government out of your life and the right to be left alone. Whether you're gay or lesbian or straight, if you love someone, and you want to marry them - marry them ... Live and let live. It is very simple.
The ad begins airing today, April 8, on national cable, network Sunday political shows in Washington, D.C., and in the TV markets for Colorado, Oklahoma, and Wyoming. Watch the ad:
Sen. Simpson's comments are especially moving this week, since on Thursday, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments in a federal lawsuit seeking the freedom to marry in Utah. Next Thursday, April 17, an appeal in a similar case seeking the freedom to marry in Oklahoma will be heard. The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals encompasses six states - Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wyoming - and the ruling in this case could affect all six states.
Freedom to Marry founder and president Evan Wolfson commented on the video launch today. He said:
We look forward to engaging in the conversation in the Mountain West as momentum for marriage builds. We could not have asked for a better, more iconic, and respected champion to make the conservative case for the freedom to marry. Sen. Simpson represents what many fellow Western Republicans - and a majority of residents in the West - believe in: Individual liberty and a live-and-let-live ethos.
Previously, Sen. Simpson joined 20 other prominent Western Republicans in signing an amicus brief in the Utah case (Kitchen v. Herbert) and Oklahoma case (Bishop v. Smith). The brief explained that "marriage is strengthened" and that "the social stability of the family unit are promoted" when same-sex couples are free to marry.
Learn more about the freedom to marry at the 10th Circuit at 10thCircuit.org.


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My review of the Deuter Speed Lite Backpack. I Love It!
I've been keeping this post in store for some time now. It's a review of a Deuter Speed Lite 20 Liter backpack that I purchased some three months ago. I held on to this review to have time to put this pack through the wringer. Well, not really :), I didn't put it to a lot of stress; I've used it on a few hikes but mostly around town. I use it for groceries and it comes in handy, and I also use it on the bike, and to carry my Macbook and books.
I discovered it by reading reviews at http://gearpatrol.com/2014/04/17/best-daypacks-for-any-adventure/2/. Also a good source on hiking daypacks is http://www.rangermade.us/best-daypack-for-hiking/.
To be honest, I couldn't be happier with a bag. It's ultra lightweight and very technical. I have the 20 liter version, although this pack is offered in a 10 liter variant as well, but I found that too small for my purposes. After a few months of use, I am completely satisfied: a large net on the front pocket where I can put any tooling to repair my bike (keys, pump, patches, gloves, bags…), a large central closed Pocket where I can put my spare clothes, my books, rain cover (yes, there is enough space!) and a separate rear pocket where I can put my wallet. Two mesh pockets on the sides where I put the daily baguette, and a water bottle.
There is also the possibility to put a water bladder inside, because the backpack comes with a hydration compartment with an opening designed for the tube.
The bag is durable, comfortable, breathable and above all very light. It's also a very strong, very practical and ergonomic backpack. And nice looking, I might add. It's a solid design suitable for comfort and speed. A small problem I detected is that there is no rain cover included to protect the bag in case of rain. This is not such a big problem in the city, but you got to have a rain fly while hiking, unless you want the pack to get wet. No matter how waterproof a pack claims to be, there's always only so much rain it can take before it allows water in.
A great purchase that I don't regret at all! Therefore, if you're looking for a hiking pack or a day-to-day one, take my advice and get yourself the Deuter Speed Lite. It's well useful for cycling, skiing or hiking… and even the city You won't regret it.


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thanks to all those who are contributing. it seems some would rather debate the right and wrong of screw verses cap. if that could be put in another tread that would be great. although you will all do what you will.
Am vey interested in finding out more about the cap on cap. or seal. will look into it.
also would like to make it very clear that i did not start this tread as a means to a comercial enterprise! so if you could avoid that too.
(sounds very demanding dosen't it)
Thanks again for letting me gather info from here.


text: In the Shop: The Hole Story November 12, 2011 07:52 AM Tweet TAGS: Marketing, Overseas December 18, 2014 By Dan Anderson Farm Journal Columnist Email Drill bits in farm shops lead a tough life. In many shops, dull drill bits outnumber sharp drill bits two to one. But it doesn't have to be that way. Careful selection of the type and style of drill bit, along with correct drill speed and lubrication, can keep drill bits sharp through dozens of uses. There are three basic types of drill bits: carbon steel, high-speed steel and cobalt. Carbon steel drill bits are the lowest-cost drill bits and work well for drilling wood, plastic and soft metals. They are not recommended for drilling stainless steel or hardened steel alloys. High-speed steel drill bits come in several grades and have "HSS" stamped on their shank. HSS drill bits are more durable, stay sharp longer and cost more than carbon steel drill bits. They work well in many steel alloys but aren't recommended for use in stainless steel. Cobalt drill bits resist dulling better than carbon steel and HSS drill bits but are more brittle and also more expensive. Cobalt drill bits are preferred for stainless steel and other tough drilling jobs. Bit coatings reduce friction. To complicate matters, all three types of drill bits come with optional coatings: black oxide or titanium nitride. Coatings don't improve cutting ability, but they do reduce friction, which improves feeding and reduces heating, which in turn might increase longevity. Black oxide coatings give drill bits a dull black finish that reduces friction, not only against the sides of the hole but in removing chips and metal spirals created by the cutting edges. Tests show that black oxide coatings can increase drill bit life by 50% compared with uncoated HSS drill bits. Titanium nitride drill bits have a golden finish that reduces friction even more than black oxide. In tests, titanium nitride drill bits drilled holes 75% faster with 25% less effort and lasted up to 600% longer than uncoated HSS drill bits. Two more considerations when selecting drill bits are tip angles: While there are oddball tip angles available for specialty drilling, the most common drill tip angles available to consumers are 118° and 135°. The 180° drill bits are designed for use in drill presses. The 135° drill bits are for portable hand-held drills and often come with additional "split-tip" machining to "self-start" holes. The life span of a drill bit is directly related to how it is used. Drill speed, feed rate and cooling/lubrication are critical to drill bit performance and longevity. In the drill press owner's manual, there is a table that lists specific drilling speeds for different-sized drill bits in different metals. In general, the smaller the diameter of a drill bit, the faster the recommended speed. For example, a ¼" drill bit in a drill press, drilling mild steel with appropriate lubrication, should spin at around 1,500 rpm. A ¼" bit in a portable hand drill, drilling mild steel without lubrication, should run at only 760 rpm. Unfortunately, most holes drilled in metal in farm shops are created using portable hand drills. It's up to the user to "guesstimate" the speed and feed rate to optimize performance. To do so, check the speed range on the drill's label, then adjust the drill's speed "by ear" to an approximate speed. The feed rate of a hand-held drill is … a guess at best. However, an engineer with a drill bit manufacturer once told me it's nearly impossible for an average-sized man to exert enough pressure to overfeed a drill bit larger than ¼". His rule of thumb was, "If you're getting a steady stream of chips or a nice spiral of metal out of the hole, your feed rate and drill speed are probably OK." He suggested WD-40 or JB-80 to lubricate and cool drill bits and discouraged locking a drill at full speed. "Speed builds heat, and heat is the enemy of drill bits," he said. "A drill bit with a blued tip was spun too fast, probably without enough lubrication." Cool Tool of the Month Buyers either love or hate drill bit sharpeners such as the Drill Doctor. The secret is to precisely follow the instructions included with the machine to transform dull abused drill bits into sharp, well-centered, hole-drilling demons. Price: Less than $100 for a consumer-grade Drill Doctor, more than $150 for a professional-duty unit. Back to news


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All credit to Boom! for figuring out a way to squeeze the most out of its last two "classic Disney" comics releases. The second part of Romano Scarpa's adventure "The Treasure of Marco Topo" (1984) wasn't originally supposed to be in WDC&S #720, but the company wisely bumped a previously announced feature so as to slip Scarpa's entire story under the wire before the guillotine fell. (Those metaphors aren't mixed, they're positively tangled!). The last-minute switch actually wound up making a whole lot of sense, as Scarpa's tale, with its clever and entertaining crossover of the Duck and Mouse "universes," frankly deserved to appear in WDC&S, the omnibus comics title par excellence. "Here's to the greatest bunch of characters I know!" Mickey declares at the end of "Topo." If this is, in fact, fated to be the last original line of dialogue ever delivered in WDC&S, then it would be hard to come up with a more fitting one.
These last two issues' return to the "first principles" of Disney comics -- create funny and memorable characters, let 'em bounce off of one another, and watch what happens -- stand in marked contrast to Boom!'s original plans for these titles. WDC&S and MICKEY MOUSE both began life at Boom! as wholly unrecognizable entities -- WDC&S as the home of the Ultraheroes, MM as the home of WIZARDS OF MICKEY. Both "New Directions" were actually somewhat faithful to the spirits of the titles that housed them, just in completely off-the-wall ways. Once ULTRAHEROES and WOM split off to go their merry way (assuming that full-scale power-dives into the Earth's surface qualify even tangentially as "merry"), Boom! caught lightning in a bottle with Casty in WDC&S and kept MICKEY readable with a generally good mixture of new and old material. It wasn't enough to save the day, but "Topo" allows Boom! to cede its control of these titles with a considerable amount of grace.
The story of Mickey's search for a golden gondola ornament hidden in Venice by his ancestor Marco Topo contains surprisingly little "real" action -- at least, less than originally seems to be promised by a European treasure jaunt involving Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Scrooge, Brigitta MacBridge, Pete, Trudy Van Tubb, and The Phantom Blot. (Where are Donald and his Nephews, you ask? Let co-scripter Joe Torcivia enlighten you on that point himself.) A good portion of Part One is taken up by Mickey's wordsmithing neighbor's translation of Marco Topo's diary, and, once the gang gets to Venice, all of the action takes place in a single square in the city's Getto Novo district. Scarpa does pay good attention to local color in setting the action during the Carnival of Venice and using a real podium in the square as a key marker in the search for the ornament, but I rather wish that "The Maestro" had made use of a few more locations in his native city. What makes the story work are the believable interactions between the characters -- and here, Joe and David Gerstein shine. Everyone gets something to do (though The Blot spends most of his time skulking around in the background and muttering to himself before making one big push for the McGuffin near the end), and everyone is written perfectly in character. It "feels" very much like a modern-day version of the Gold Key PHANTOM BLOT comic, in which the writers effortlessly mixed and matched various characters to extremely good effect.
There are a couple of weak spots in the plot that Joe and David, try as they might, can't quite manage to paper over. If the spirit of Marco Topo is doomed to hang around the square until some descendant finds his ornament, then shouldn't Marco have made double-extra sure that his descendants would be able to find the instructions for locating the ornament a bit more easily? Even Mickey would have had a hard time finding Topo's diary had Pete not crushed The Mouse's newly-inherited "18th-century cupboard" with a steamroller and revealed the precious parchments "hidden in the paneling." At least Topo doesn't appear to particularly regret his foolishness, even getting into the spirit of the Carnival revelers who enjoy playing pranks on Mickey and his friends. A more serious (and frankly annoying) issue arises when the Carnival-goers greet Mickey's gang as...
... stars of a reality series back home. Oog! Here, Joe and David were trying to make sense of the obvious fact that the Venetians clearly recognize Mickey and his gang as "celebrities" of some sort. However, I would have tried to tie the explanation into previously established Disney material, as opposed to riffing on The Jersey Shore. How about regarding the House of Mouse short cartoons as "reality TV" of a sort... or DuckTales as "The Further Adventures of the Famous Scrooge McDuck with a Camera Along"? We could then explain the presence of Trudy and Brigitta by positing that they appeared in "later seasons" of HOM and/or DT -- seasons that we unlucky denizens of "Earth Prime" never got to see but the inhabitants of "Earth-Disney" did. Anything is preferable to trying to figure out which of the cast members of Calisota Shore corresponds to "Snooki."
Picked nits aside, this was a most delightful way to conclude Boom!'s tenure on the "classic Disney" titles. Uh... over to you, Stan? (And I don't mean Blather.)


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Lyn Hejinian
Lyn Hejinian was born in the San Francisco Bay Area on May 17, 1941. Poet, essayist, and translator, she is also the author and coauthor of several books of poetry, including The Book of a Thousand Eyes (Omnidawn Publishing, 2012), Saga/Circus (2008), The Fatalist (2003), My Life in the Nineties (Shark, 2003), and A Border Comedy (2001).
Other collections include The Beginner (2000), Happily (2000), Sight (with Leslie Scalapino, 1999), The Cold of Poetry (1994), The Cell (1992), My Life (1980), Writing Is an Aid to Memory (1978), and A Thought Is the Bride of What Thinking (1976). She is also the author of The Language of Inquiry (University of California Press, 2000), a collection of essays.
From 1976 to 1984, Hejinian was editor of Tuumba Press, and since 1981 she has been the co-editor of Poetics Journal. She is also the co-director of Atelos, a literary project commissioning and publishing cross-genre work by poets.
About Hejinian's book The Fatalist, the poet Juliana Spahr has written, "Hejinian's work often demonstrates how poetry is a way of thinking, a way of encountering and constructing the world, one endless utopian moment even as it is full of failures."
Her honors include a Writing Fellowship from the California Arts Council, a grant from the Poetry Fund, and a Translation Fellowship (for her Russian translations) from the National Endowment of the Arts. She received the 2000 Academy Fellowship from the Academy of American Poets for distinguished poetic achievement. In 2006 she was elected a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets. She lives in Berkeley, California.


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text:
Lynx Win Second WNBA Title In Three Years
The Minnesota Lynx easily handled the Atlanta Dream for a third straight game and earned an 86-77 win Thursday night to win the WNBA Finals. The Lynx also won the title in 2011.
Atlanta led for under two minutes during the entire three game series. On Thursday the Lynx led by just three points at the half but pulled away with a 26-point third quarter.
All five Lynx starters scored in double figures. In fact, the Lynx got only nine total points off the bench, all courtesy of Monica Wright. Maya Moore led the team with 23 points and Janel McCarville provided the highlight of the night with a between-the-legs pass.
Moore was named finals MVP following the game after averaging 20 points per game in the series.


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In this compelling collection of talks, interviews, and letters, Toni Packer provides a comprehensive overview of the path of meditative inquiry—a nondenominational approach to spiritual growth that emphasizes the direct experience of the present moment. "The immense challenge for each one of us," Packer writes, "is can we live our lives, at least for moments at a time, in the wonder of presence that is the creative source of everything?" She shows how we can transform fear, anger, guilt, and attachment to our self-image through simple, direct awareness. Having recently lost her husband of fifty years, Packer also speaks with candor and tenderness about the convulsions of a grieving heart and the peace that undivided awareness can bring.
Toni Packer began studying Zen in 1967 with Roshi Philip Kapleau (author of The Three Pillars of Zen ) at the Rochester Zen Center and was eventually named his successor. Seeing the potentially destructive effects of relying too much on tradition, however, she did not accept the position. Packer is strongly influenced by the teachings of Krishnamurti and has turned away from the traditional forms and hierarchies that are prevalent in many Buddhist schools. Her approach is appealing to many Westerners who find institutionalized practices such as chanting, bowing, and burning incense to be alien and unnecessary.
"This refreshingly iconoclastic collection of dharma talks encourages readers to de-emphasize issues such as posture, the 'stages' of enlightenment or the proper meditation techniques in favor of 'effortless being.' Packer's emphasis on awareness and 'the wonder of presence'—combined with her rare ability to make abstract concepts seem simple, even obvious—makes this a welcome addition." —Publishers Weekly