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So there.
2006 Holiday Edition of Getting to Know Your Friends
Your Name:
1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?
Both, though I don't usually get egg nog unless I'm at someone else's house. I'm the only one who likes it here. And I just realized, damn it, I forgot to have some at my writers chapter party today.
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
Wraps, to the detriment of my back. Or the delight of the UCP people who wrap at the mall for a donation.
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
I like both. We have a computerized set of mini colored lights my husband bought when he was a junior in college. Those go on the tree. The ones outside are red, blue, white, and green, but in groups. Like, a string of all blue. My husband likes symmetry.
4. Do you hang mistletoe?
No. I like the idea of it, but more for a party where there'd be lots of singles, and then that opportunity for the person who likes the other person but never had the nerve to say it to kiss that person and blame it on the mistletoe.
5. When do you put your decorations up?
Usually the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, outside. The first or second weekend in December inside, when we get the tree.
6. What is your favorite holiday dish?
I don't really have one, though my husband (we're getting a lot of our traditions from him, I realize) has this recipe (politically incorrectly and even impossibly named Jewish Pizzas) that we always make on New Year's Eve, like his family did growing up. They are on the party rye (I prefer the pumpernickel) and it's a sausage-cheese mixture on top.
7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child:
My aunt (mother's sister) always had an open house on Christmas Eve. It was mostly my uncle's family, who I rarely saw the rest of the year, but it made up for my mother's family being so scattered (and we usually still saw them at some point in December, making the holidays stretch). We ate great food (my aunt's chicken wings! that's my favorite holiday dish!) and laughed at the stupid adults and hovered around the Christmas tree with the bubbler lights until we could pass out the presents, which was almost more fun than actually opening them.
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
I think I was about nine, and just gave in to all the pressure (from my peers insisting he wasn't real) and asked.
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
No, unless we're doing an event at someone else's house. My husband (there he is again!) never had Christmas Day at home growing up. Every year on Christmas Eve his father would forget his wallet after they were all in the car to go to church, then he'd go in and get it. They'd come home from church and Santa would have been there already, 'cause he knew they had to go to Toledo the next day for the family visits. So he's ADAMANT that we have a regular, at-home Christmas on actual Christmas Day.
10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree?
Lights and ornaments only. It's stuff we both made as kids and collected as adults mixed with stuff our kids have made and other people have made for us. My favorite ornament is a ball my mother had wen I was a baby in England. Her mother gave it to her 36 years ago.
I used to like tinsel, but then I got my own place and had to clean up after it. You know, until JUNE.
11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?
Love it, almost without exception. In central PA, there's never been a snow that I could not drive in. Probably SHOULD not, but I grew up in Western Massachusetts, where we got Snow. Here, they close schools the night before, even if there's a slim chance we'll actually get the forecasted white stuff. Drives me nuts. Anyway...I don't like shoveling it in February, but I still love to see it falling. I am ready for spring when it arrives, but I never, ever lament the winter.
12. Can you ice skate?
Some. I can rollerskate/blade very well, but haven't ice skated since I was little. I lived on a lake until I was seven, and skated then, but not after that very much until my senior year of high school. I was on my senior trip at Smuggler's Notch in Vermont, and coming out of the pool through the revolving doors, some asshole shoved the door and it ran over the ball joint of my foot. Turned purple IMMEDIATELY and was all bloody. So trying to skate in the resorts hard plastic rentals was painful.
13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
As a kid, it was my bike when I was 8, my stereo when I was 15. Jim gives me great stuff every year, and I can't pinpoint a favorite. He's gotten me printers for my birthday twice, which almost counts because that's 12/23.
14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you?
Peace. Which is kinda weird, because with the struggle to decorate and shop and wrap and cook and run from one house to another and clean up AFTER unwrapping and worrying about missing someone important on the gift list and (ocassionally) sending cards and battling crowds...well, the holidays are about anything BUT peace.
But when I drive down a street in the dark and it's lined with carefully lit houses, I'm at peace. When my kids are playing with their new presents and I'm talking to my family in Ohio or Texas on the phone, I'm at peace. When I sit in the living room by myself and watch the lights go through their programmed blinking, I'm more at peace than anywhere, any time.
15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?
Don't have one! Though I do like peppermint ice cream that's only available now. :)
16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
My kids don't follow the typical wake-Mom-and-Dad-screaming-Santa-was-here! scenario. They let us sleep until nine, or whenever they're done decorating the living room. This event has grown every year. This year they've already spent hours and hours preparing their decorations, which Number One has declared are SO much better than last year's lame snowflakes and giant cut-out Merry Christmas on the living room wall.
17. What tops your tree?
A santa hat we bought the first year we had an apartment together. On Christmas morning, whoever passes out the presents wears it.
18. Which do you prefer giving or Receiving?
I like them both equally. I love giving IF I know exactly what to give and can be excited about it. I like getting so I can make the person giving very happy by loving my gift.
19. What is your favorite Christmas Song?
Funny: The Twelve Pains of Christmas ("fine, you're so smart, YOU rig up the lights!")
Not Funny: Christmas Eve/Sarajevo by Trans-Siberian Orchestra. I missed their concert for the first time in seven years and that makes me sick to my stomach. Their music ROCKS. Literally.
20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum?
They're fine.
I tag: Anyone who wants to do it...no pressure. :)


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The Wonder Butter, Divine Blossom Body Scrub & The Healing Balm - October 24, 2015. By Theodorice: Wow, what great service! From the order process to the products at my front door in 2 days was amazing. The body butter and scrub are also amazing.
The Wonder Butter, The Wonder Scrub & The Healing Balm - June 27, 2015. By Karen: The wonder scrub is AMAZING. Feels so nice and smells even better. Not harsh or scratchy at all. Skin feels super soft afterwards. The Wonder butter is fabulous. Smells yummy. Feels great. Goes on nicely. The lip balm is really nice. Leaves my lips feeling smooth and soft. Containers are so nice too. Very pleased.
Divine Blossom Body Butter - April 10, 2015. By Daniel Katz: I gifted this to a friend's pregnant wife. When I texted him to ask what she thought of this Body Butter, this was the response: She really likes it. She's being adamant w/ me actually, which is rare for her. She says she's tried four body butters and likes this one the best and thinks Miztera should try and sell it large scale. (usually she does that BS type thing where she goes [girly-voice] "ohhhh, I LUUUUUVVV it." -- that's when I know she's lying.) So I think I'll call that a pretty sterling positive review!
Divine Blossom Body Butter - June 3, 2014. By Stephanie Stern: I love this! I am really picky about scents and this smells wonderful. It's very moisturizing but not greasy. It shipped immediately. Love it love it love it!
The Wonder Butter - March 2, 2014. By Laura Fankushen: This is a terrific product. It soothed my very dry skin instantly, arrived quickly and was packaged beautifully. Great stuff!
The Wonder Butter - January 23, 2014. By Asyah Jeavons: I love the texture and richness of this body butter. A little goes a long way. Love the packaging as well...reusable glass jars! A personal preference would be if the scent wasn't so "nutty" smelling. But that's just me and the scent fades quickly so I will still purchase again. Also, I received the product very quickly. Thanks Alice! :)
Living Pretty Naturally: (August 31, 2015 - "LPN's August Faves")
New on the green beauty scene is Miztera. Specializing in body butters and taking care of that body of ours, MIZTERA is different for another little reason: MIZTERA products do not contain water or any perservatives. Instead, they are composed of rich, nourishing vegetable, fruit and seed butters and oils. So, not only do they smell delicious & feel luxurious (the Wonder Butter is my favourite with the base of shea butter, cocoa butter, coconut oil, sweet almond oil, jojoba oil and vitamin E). Needless to say, they are deeply hydrating, good for anywhere on the body, and for all types of skin (especially sensitive ones).
Scoop out a little of the hardened product and melt it directly on your skin for some of the most beautiful and natural moisturizing you've ever had. And you'll smell pretty darn edible too! Also, since it nourishes so deeply, I would recommended for very dry skin, dry patches of skin, wrinkles, stretch marks, scars, and other skin irritations that need a little extra love.
The Green Product Junkie: (July 7, 2015 - "Green Beauty Newbies")
I love the brands we all know in Green Beauty, but it's always fun to introduce you to new brands. When Alice contacted me about Miztera, I hadn't heard of them before, but I loved the look of the ingredients and her mission. There's nothing like handcrafted, pure skin care that is good enough to eat. Hearty and healthy, Alice has got some hits on her hands (literally).
The Wonder Scrub: I used this up so fast because I loved the feel of my skin and never needing moisturizer when I got out of the shower. Why is this different? Because it has brown sugar, ground almonds, Brazil nuts and coffee grounds housed in a creamy and thick formulation of Shea butter, Cocoa butter, Coconut and Jojoba oils. So it's almost like having a scrub mixed in with a body butter. The result? Soft skin and absolutely ZERO need for a moisturizer after you get out of the shower. I'm actually missing this as I'm writing about it!
The Wonder Butter + Divine Blossom Body Butter: They're rich, they're creamy but you know the best thing about these body butters? They melt into the skin with ease. I use this all over my body, but it works wonders on dry hands, feet, elbows or wherever you need heavy-duty moisture. The Wonder Butter smells like cocoa butter and the Divine Blossom smells like a regal mix ofFrankincense, Myrrh, Neroli and Bergamot. They also have thee most perfect ingredient list, too: Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter, Coconut Oil, Almond, Sweet Oil, Jojoba Oil, Vitamin E, Essential oils.
The Healing Balm: A perfectly smooth lip balm with the purest of pure ingredients. It's unscented, so everyone can enjoy it. It has Cupuaçu butter from the Amazon, organic beeswax, Castor oil, Calendula-infused olive oil and Vitamin E. Use it on minor skin irritations, too!
Makeup by Mary B: (June 20, 2015 - "MIZTERA butters")
Miztera's handmade moisturizers are unique because they melt onto the skin quicker than your average body butter. The Wonder Butter has the most amazing cocoa butter scent, and The Divine Blossom Body Butter smells like a grassy field with flowers. I enjoy both very much! (FULL REVIEW HERE)

subset: commoncrawl


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Jane Felstead, Founding Editor
In about 2011 I was invited to be part of the cast on Made In Chelsea.
My youngest daughter Binky was on the show, and by fluke I filmed a couple of episodes with her and the rest of the cast. The next thing I knew I was offered a contract, and asked to be part of the show as my no nonsense, voice of reason character.
The platform this gave me on social media was significant and as a result of that I was offered an agony aunt column on the Mail online.
I had always wanted to be a counsellor, but with a hectic life and three children I somehow never found the time, so the new and 'useful' role I found myself in brought me joy and satisfaction.
It was last year when the idea of a site for other women like me dawned – active, busy and ambitious women who just happen to be older.
Firstly it was going to be just fashion, but very quickly I realised that if I were going to write anything – then it would have to have more meaning than just that.
I decided to incorporate lifestyle and wellbeing and make the whole thing truly interactive and inclusive. I felt that with these issues covered, then there really was no end to what could be discussed and discovered – and who may benefit as a result.
Kirsty Lemare-North, Co-Editor
I've been passionate about beauty and lifestyle journalism since I was extremely young and fortunate to have built a career in it.
That's why when Janey came to me and said she was sick to death of reading articles aimed at twenty year olds and wanted to create a site for smart, fashion loving older women I didn't hesitate to jump on-board.
Today's plus-forty and fifty (and even sixty, seventy and eighty) year old woman doesn't want to wear beige, sleep in rollers and get a blue rinse. She wants to travel, start businesses, look fantastic and most of all, be treated like she exists and matters.
THAT is what Beyond Fabulous is about – don't hesitate to email me firstname.lastname@example.com if you want to write for us, have a story to tell or just want to share your thoughts!
Jean Luc Lafitte, Health Expert
I have been involved in health care for over twenty years now, and I have to say, I am as passionate today about health as I was the day I took my first step on this amazing discovery towards optimum wellness.
Over the years I have had the pleasure of treating a colourful array of people from all walks of life, including Royalty and Hollywood stars.
We all share a common desire and need to stay healthy. Health is not just about exercise, but also about nutrition and an emotional state of mind in combination.
If we can achieve this perfect balance, then we can say we are healthy.
I believe that nature knows best, so I want share with our readers some remarkable and surprising answers and solutions to some of the most common health questions I have been asked over the years.
Callum Melly, Personal Trainer
I've been a fitness model and trainer for a number of years.
Introducing people to their most healthy selves, no matter what age or fitness level they are is my absolute passion and I don't believe in making yourself miserable to do it!
The problem with the health and fitness industry today is that people overcomplicate everything. It really isn't that hard to reach your health and fitness goals, but knowing how is the key. The underlying issue is people's lack of knowledge around exercise and nutrition.
My work on Beyond Fabulous is to show you that whether you are eight or eighty, you can enjoy your food, transform your body and feel like the best version of you that you can be!
I am the also the founder of the Body 8 programme, helping you acheive your fitness goals in just eight weeks.
Zoe Hind, Personal Astrologer
Zoe was introduced to Astrology by her mother at the age of 8 and has continued to learn and love this profound system ever since. It soon became a way of life.
Embracing ancient culture and beliefs and combining this knowledge with a healthy interest in the latest scientific theories, she brings the past and the future together to make sense of the present.
Perspective, empowerment, and realizing potential is the result.
Incorporating the Ancient Mystery School teachings in her readings adds esoteric depth including, tarot, numerology, geometry, mythology, and cosmology.
Zoe has created on-line Astrology and Tarot courses to share this sacred wisdom.
She provides advice to private clients and consultancy to companies worldwide and organizes events & workshops and writes regular articles for TV and magazines.
Personal Chart Readings & Business Consultancy available by Skype or in London.
Learn more about Zoe here
Miranda Godfrey, Chef and Food Writer
Inspired by my Mother & Grandmother, cooking has always part of my life.
With over 25-years in the industry, I have won many awards nationally and internationally representing the UK with The Craft Guild of Chefs culinary team.
My career has given me the opportunity to work in high-class establishments in London including The Reform club and Lanesborough Hotel.
I have dedicated my skills to designing and teaching a wide range of culinary courses at the UK's leading hospitality schools.
These include Butlers Wharf Chef School, Mosimanns, Billingsgate fish school and currently the historic Westminster Kingsway College, where I specialise in teaching private chef courses for International students.
I have taught hundreds of students including many who have extremely successful careers including Fabulous Baker Brother Henry Herbert, author and Iron chef judge Sophie Michell, Sophie Wright cookery author, Chef and food stylist plus Ed Smith of Rocket & Squash – one of London's top food bloggers.
Publications include six recipes in 'A Class of Its Own', articles for CHEF magazine, Tuco University magazine, and online magazines.
In my personal life, I'm a single Mum with a large family of four boys, daughter, granddaughter, a dog, and a cat.
Learn more about Miranda at www.MirandaGodfrey.com


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19:00 Midtylland – Nordsjaelland [ 1 ] 1.55 x
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This week, I'll be blogging about my recent Alabama Law Review article, Do Faith-Based Prisons Work? Here's the abstract:
This Article examines everything we know about the effectiveness of faith-based prisons, which is not very much.
Most studies cannot be taken seriously because they are tainted by the "self-selection problem." It is hard to determine the effect of faith-based prison programs because they are voluntary, and volunteers are more likely to be motivated to change and are therefore already less likely to commit infractions or be re-arrested. This problem is the same one that education researchers have struggled with in determining whether private schools are better than public schools.
The only credible studies done so far compare participants with non-participants who volunteered for the program but were rejected. Some studies in this category find no effect, but some do find a modest effect. But even those that find an effect are subject to additional critiques: for instance, participants may have benefited from being exposed to treatment resources that non-participants were denied.
Thus, based on current research, there is no strong reason to believe that faith-based prisons work. However, there is also no strong reason to believe that they do not work. I conclude with thoughts on how faith-based prison programs might be improved, and offer a strategy that would allow such experimentation to proceed consistent with the Constitution.
Here's the Introduction:
There are five things one should know about faith-based prisons.
- There are a lot of them out there. As of 2005, 19 states and the federal government had some sort of residential faith-based program, aimed at rehabilitating participating inmates by teaching them subjects like "ethical decision-making, anger management, victim restitution," and substance abuse in conjunction with religious principles.
- One of them—the InnerChange Freedom Initiative program in Iowa—was struck down on Establishment Clause grounds in 2006, but various faith-based prison programs still exist, including InnerChange programs in other states. InnerChange programs, which are explicitly motivated by Christian and Biblical principles, are probably more vulnerable to constitutional challenges; programs that are more interfaith and have less explicitly religious content, like Florida's Faith- and Character-Based Institutions or the federal Life Connections Program, are probably less so.
- Faith-based prisons continue to be promoted as promising avenues for reform, chiefly on the grounds that they improve prison discipline and reduce recidivism.
- However, most of the empirical studies of the effectiveness of faith-based prisons have serious methodological problems and, to the extent they find any positive effect of faith-based prisons, can't be taken at face value.
- Those few empirical studies that approach methodological validity either fail to show that faith-based prisons reduce recidivism, or provide weak evidence in favor of them.
In what follows, I explain and critically evaluate the empirical studies of the effectiveness of faith-based prisons. The reader who gets through this Article will know everything that we currently know about whether they "work," by which I mean, chiefly, whether they reduce in-prison infractions or some measure of post-release recidivism, such as time to re-arrest, probability of re-arrest, or probability of reconviction.
As the summary above indicates, we don't know much about the effectiveness of faith-based prisons. This is a shame, because the empirics of faith-based prisons are important, both to the legal community and to policymakers generally.
First, we should care about the empirics because faith-based prisons and rehabilitative services are, and will continue to be, on the cutting edge of Establishment Clause litigation, and empirics matter in the law. One might think that whether a program works shouldn't matter to whether it's consistent with the Establishment Clause cases; but in fact, there are several areas in Establishment Clause doctrine that seem to allow targeted uses of statistical evidence.
In any event, regardless of whether empirics should matter in Establishment Clause cases, reading judicial opinions suggests that they do.
In Americans United for Separation of Church & State v. Prison Fellowship Ministries, which invalidated Iowa's contract with the InnerChange Freedom Initiative, District Judge Robert Pratt, immediately before launching into his Establishment Clause analysis, concluded his description of the faith-based program with the following complaint:
More significant, however, [than the warden's personal testimony about the program's beneficial in-prison effect] is the lack of evidence presented by the Defendants about the effect of InnerChange on recidivism. Aside from anecdotes, the Defendants offered no definitive study about the actual effects the InnerChange program has on recidivism rates. [The warden's] predecessor . . . communicated his desire early on in the initial RFP process that accountability for the program be included in the contractual agreement between the parties. Specifically, he requested "at least annual program evaluations to include, but not limited to, re-incarceration rates and other measurable outcomes." But, in fact, there was no information presented at trial about whether InnerChange participants are more or less prone to recidivism than other inmates.
Of course, finding empirical language in opinions isn't definitive evidence that the empirics are relevant. Maybe judges who claim to care about the effectiveness of faith-based programs are just indulging in legally meaningless rhetoric designed to support a conclusion they already arrived at by strictly legal means. On the other hand, if judges discuss empirical data, chances are that they believe the extra rhetorical force is useful in persuading someone and thus making their opinion more influential and less subject to reversal.
Moreover, if we put our Legal Realist hats on, maybe it's the judges' views of effectiveness that are driving their legal conclusions (at least for some judges, who aren't in favor of or against faith-based prisons on ideological grounds). At the very least, if judges believe that a program is effective, they may think it's a shame if the program were to be found unconstitutional and might therefore be extra careful in their legal analysis to avoid striking it down. (If we disagree with their conclusion, we might replace the word "careful" in the previous sentence with the word "imaginative.") Conversely, if they believe a program is ineffective, they may feel no particular pressure to uphold it.
Perhaps a better piece of evidence that the empirics matter is that lawyers spend time discussing empirical studies in their briefs. Perhaps in response to Judge Pratt's concern, when the case came up to the Eighth Circuit, the Alliance Defense Fund and others submitted an amicus brief arguing that "InnerChange's faith-based rehabilitative prison programs are proven to reduce recividism." (Unfortunately, of the two studies cited favorably in their brief, one has serious methodological problems, while the other, properly interpreted, shows no beneficial effect of the program.)
Empirical data also seems important in other Establishment Clause contexts. In Zelman v. Simmons-Harris (2002), which upheld an Ohio program that allowed publicly funded vouchers to be redeemed at religious schools, Justice Souter's dissent cited statistics on the academic performance of schools to judge whether the parents' choices were "genuine." Justice O'Connor's concurrence similarly used performance statistics to rebut Justice Souter's argument.
Justice Thomas, for his part, noted that "the success of religious and private schools is in the end beside the point, because the State has a constitutional right to experiment with a variety of different programs to promote educational opportunity." But that didn't stop him from marshalling statistics to argue that "[r]eligious schools, like other private schools, achieve far better educational results than their public counterparts." "That Ohio's program includes successful schools," Justice Thomas wrote, "simply indicates that such reform can in fact provide improved education to underprivileged urban children." Here, too, seasoned appellate litigators spent several pages of their Supreme Court brief discussing the history and performance of voucher programs—and this was in a party's argument, not just an amicus brief—though this discussion was ostensibly not "to convince the Court that parental choice is proper public policy."
But perhaps more importantly, we should care about the empirics because, whether or not they should matter in the law, they obviously should matter in policy. If faith-based prisons don't reduce recidivism, the case for their funding is correspondingly weakened (though they may still be supported by other arguments). If they do reduce recidivism, or if they have other policy advantages, then even if judges are wrong to stretch the law to find them constitutional, we aren't wrong to try to find ways to allow them to function constitutionally. After all, even the non-religious have an interest in the rehabilitation of prisoners, and if religion can play a positive role in rehabilitation, this may be good news not only to the irreligious but even to those who are hostile to religion.
It is thus unfortunate that the legal literature hasn't done a good job evaluating the empirical evidence on faith-based prisons. The law reviews are devoid of any comprehensive, critical discussion of the existing studies. Most legal articles on the subject simply choose not to bother with empirical studies. Some legal articles do address the empirical evidence, but their discussions are generally quite cursory.
One article supporting faith-based prisons spends a mere paragraph reciting, on the one hand, the claim that such units "show promise in their potential to reduce recidivism" and citing, on the other hand, methodological "concerns." Another article, attacking faith-based prisons, limits its empirical analysis to critiquing the methodology of a single study. A third article argues more broadly that "[t]here is no scientific evidence . . . that faith-based rehabilitation programs are in fact effective at reducing recidivism," but the discussion is almost entirely limited to a single study and review articles that likewise only discuss an incomplete subset of the studies. The most comprehensive law-review treatment of the empirical studies discusses five different empirical studies of faith-based prison programs, but it accepts their positive conclusions largely uncritically, whereas only three of these studies approach methodological soundness. Moreover, of those three, two, properly interpreted, show no effect, and the third shows, at most, weak effects.
Outside of the legal literature, a few review articles do take a broader approach. Some even single out which articles they believe are methodologically more valid than others. But, unfortunately for other scholars, these generally have no in-depth discussion of the studies being reviewed, nor do they discuss why the studies identified as superior really are superior. The rest of us are thus left to either take them at their word (I myself disagree with some of their assessments) or track down the studies (many of which are hard to find) and read them ourselves—a daunting task for those without empirical training.
* * *
This Article fills the void. More specifically, this Article makes three distinct contributions:
First, I provide a detailed critical discussion of (to my knowledge) every existing empirical study on the effectiveness of faith-based prison programs.
The word "every" in the last sentence masks a few critical decisions. In making such a survey, I have chosen to include certain kinds of studies and exclude others. Because the relevant legal issues center around "immersion"-style faith-based prison units "that seek to immerse prisoners in an almost monastic or total experience of religiously based living," I exclude studies that explore more general issues like the effect of "religiosity" on adjustment to prison life, in-prison infractions, or recidivism. The measures of religiosity, in these studies, are either general measures of how religious an inmate feels or how many times an inmate attends religious services in prison. These studies may be valuable for some purposes, but they don't help in evaluating immersion-style faith-based units, since ordinary prison worship services are both widespread and uncontroversial.
I instead focus on studies of the effectiveness of specific faith-based interventions on variables of interest like the likelihood of recidivism. I also include studies of religious after-care for released inmates, even though these aren't technically in-prison programs.
Second, I provide a detailed discussion of the methodological issues involved in evaluating faith-based prisons generally. In statistics, methodology is everything; it's a shame that the legal community, which often relies on these empirical studies, isn't as sophisticated as it could be at telling valid studies apart from invalid ones.
Roughly speaking, the studies fall into four categories. Three of them—naïve comparisons of participants to non-participants, comparisons with some controls, and matching based on propensity scores—aren't credible because they don't account for what is, in my view, the most serious obstacle to effective assessment: the "self-selection problem." Inmates who are motivated enough to choose to participate in a rehabilitative program are already less likely to reoffend. So any study that compares voluntary participants and voluntary non-participants may just be picking up the effect of being a good person, not the effect of the program itself. (Some of these studies are subject to even further sources of bias. For instance, in addition to self-selection in the decision whether and how intensively to participate, there can be selection by the program staff in the decision of whom to admit or whom to kick out, as well as "success bias" in the consideration only of those who completed the program without dropping out.)
In my view, the only credible studies so far fall into a fourth category—those that compare (voluntary) participants in faith-based programs with people who volunteered for the program but were rejected. And even these studies are subject to the "resources problem": They compare participation in the program either with the alternative of no program at all or with the "business as usual" alternative of whatever other programs happened to be available, rather than with participation in a comparably funded secular program. Thus, even if a religious program is better than nothing at all, it could be because of the greater access to treatment resources (for instance, mentors and counselors) and not because of the religious content of the program.
Third, I set the empirical debate on faith-based prisons side by side with a parallel empirical debate: whether private schools are better than public schools. One striking aspect of the faith-based prisons research is how much it looks like the private school research. (Some of this research studies not private schools as such, but Catholic schools, since most private schools are religious, and Catholic schools are a homogeneous enough group to be susceptible to generalization.) Both faith-based prisons and private schools are subject to self-selection—any naïve comparison between, on the one hand, secular prisons or public schools and, on the other hand, faith-based prisons or private/Catholic schools is subject to the critique that the private or religious options have to be affirmatively chosen, and people who are motivated enough (or who have motivated enough parents) to make that choice are already more likely to be high-achieving students or low-recidivism inmates.
While sophisticated researchers in both areas are aware of the self-selection problem, the education literature has addressed it far more conscientiously and has progressed further than the prisons literature in advancing our empirical knowledge. Perhaps prison researchers could learn something from school researchers' example.
* * *
In the end, this Article has bad news and good news.
The bad news, as I've said above, is that most studies are low-quality, and the results of the higher-quality studies aren't promising. There seems to be little empirical reason to believe that faith-based prisons work.
The good news is that there's also no proof that they don't work. The absence of statistically valid or statistically significant findings isn't the same as the presence of negative findings. And while the self-selection problem is real and important, the resources problem may not even be a problem at all: maybe the "zero alternative" or the "business as usual" alternatives really are proper empirical baselines, since they reflect both reality and, perhaps, political feasibility. So the picture isn't uniformly bleak: there are some programs that seem to show some statistically significant effects, even if they are weak and even if we're not sure how well they compare to the hypothetical effects of a hypothetical, comparably funded, secular program.
Perhaps future research will shed light on these questions. In the meantime, clearly some groups want to have such prisons, some inmates want to attend them, and they probably do little if any harm. If some programs don't work, this is an indication to future practitioners that something needs to be changed; if some programs work, maybe they can be replicated elsewhere. Better results won't emerge unless they're allowed to emerge by a process of experimentation. As I've suggested above, it would be a shame if this process is cut off for constitutional reasons, provided there is a constitutionally valid way for them to proceed.
At the end of this Article, I suggest such a way. Faith-based prisons, as currently constituted, are probably unconstitutional under modern Establishment Clause doctrine. But they would become fully constitutional under a system of prison vouchers that would allow inmates to choose their own prisons, whether secular or religious. I develop this idea at length elsewhere, but the bottom line is that, despite the current weak evidence, some version of faith-based prisons may still work, and there is a way for that version to emerge consistent with the Constitution.
In tomorrow's post, I'll discuss some of the studies, starting with the least sophisticated ones.


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The GCDC 2016 was the second second edition of the Grand Cooperative Driving Challenge. The first GCDC was held in May 2011 in Helmond, the Netherlands.
More information at: http://www.gcdc.net/
Maxime Flament, co-ordinator of VRA presented the current landscape for European and national activities on Connected and Automated Driving.
The presentation can be found here.
Email Address


text: Hello, I've just come into possesion of a bunch of 80GB ATA drives. I'd like to quickly and efficiently test each drive to see if it's free of errors and suitable for deployment in non-critical workstations. Using FreeBSD 6.x as a testing platform, what tools do people use to stress-test disk drives? I've searched ports and done some googling but nothing stands out. Thanks for your help. -- Regards, Doug


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"Hey Zalmy! So like where do you guys live?"
"Aren't you guys up in Berkeley?"
"What are you doing these days?"
So many good questions that for the most part I had no answer to.
Until now. Behold the glorious now, ever-undulating between the ancient peddle-stones of the past and the hyperbolic vidiums of the future.
Exactly. That's what people thought I said after I was through mumbling whatever answer I came up with at the time.
Let's backtrack a bit.
Exactly 633 days ago at 7:03.15 AM we received notice (out of the blue mind you) that our landlord was retiring from the Federal Government and was moving back to sunny Long Beach. We had 90 days to get all 7 of our tushes into some sort of new residence.
At this time we were living on a 1/2 acre property in Long Beach, CA (which is HUGE for the area), and we really loved our house, but we had long realized that Long Beach was but a stop on our journey. Estee and I saw the email from our landlord separately and we had the same exact reaction: "yes!!" This was the kick in the pants we needed to move on with our lives, huge estate notwithstanding.
We had been tentatively looking into the Bay Area for some time (after considering Pittsburgh, Miami, Houston, Seattle, Australia, blah blah blah). It was close enough to family, we really liked the vibe (theoretically, neither of us had spent any real time up there), and we wouldn't be considered the weirdos for homeschooling and brewing kombucha.
I think at some level we always knew it would be Berkeley, but we wanted to give the rest of the area a fair shake. We did some hefty google and wikipedia work, followed up with some phone calls to some unsavory fellows who are in the know, finalized with a weekend trip (just me) to Berkeley to see if it's anything like I thought it would be. It wasn't, not at all. For some reason I thought it would be much more spread out, big houses, big yards. Which doesn't really make much sense seeing how close it was to San Francisco and how expensive land was. But I loved the vibe, loved all the Jews, and loved the Chabad.
At this point we were planning on continuing my photography business and, on the side, to help out with the local Chabad . We had spoken to the Ferrises before considering moving and they said they would love another Chabad family up there and that they wanted us to help with the Sunday school and Summer camp.
For some reason my wife trusts me too much. So without even setting foot in the place (besides for a quick tour half her life ago) we packed up our house in a truck, put most of it in storage, and made our way up to Berkeley.
We thought we'd find a house to rent or even buy, and, maybe a tad too optimistically, we thought my photography business would pick up enough to pay for the extra cost of living up there (not too mention the fact that I quit my day job before moving).
Meanwhile the Ferrises (in their infinite kindness and maybe a bit of craziness) offered us to stay in their place until we found a place. We moved in and felt right at home, both in their house and in Berkeley. We loved it, the kids loved it, and I'd like to think that many of the locals liked us there as well. We were still homeschooling in our crazy unschooling way, and a few of the younger families loved it.
"Gosh we love what you guys are doing, you should start a school!"
Which is a weird thing to say to passionate homeschoolers, and we thought of it as such as well.
But we heard it quite a few times, still didn't pay it any attention. Even if we were into school, starting a school isn't something you do in your off-hours. We wanted to be involved inn communal work, but in a low-key way. At the end of the day we wanted our bills to be paid and to be comfortable. Photography was getting there. Starting and running a school? Not so simple.
Well, turns out real-estate in Berkeley is a bit more challenging than we bargained on. Many landlords are picky about large families, and anything affordable gets snatched up within a day or two, sometimes hours.
We went from looking to buy a house, to looking to rent one, to looking at apartments. Nothing. Nada.
Besides for one house that popped up in the most curious way. But I think we'll have to leave that for another post.
Anyways, after 5 blissful and exhausting months, we packed up all our stuff (not too much because most was still on that truck), and headed back down to Southern California to my in-laws to regroup. What we thought would be a two week stay turned into a bit over a year (and counting, and Estee's parents have been amazing allowing us to basically take over the house)). A small part of us felt like a failure, but a much larger part felt exhilaration. We had spent years looking for where we wanted to live and raise our family and we had found it. Definitely found it. There are people that never find that and we were, and are, tremendously grateful for that.
Berkeley is pretty famous, and most think they know what is, or what it stands for. I thought I did as well. For a large part of my life I was into politics and pretty darn hardcore conservative. I still am fairly conservative, but cross the line fairly often. Eight years ago I would have laughed if you would have told me that we were to live in Berkeley. I would have been arguing all day. Fast forward a few years and we have more in common with your average Berkeleyite than any city I can think of. Besides maybe Tsfat.
Just a few things we love about the place.
- For one it's over 20% Jewish. That's right. More Jewish than Brooklyn. More Jewish than Miami.
- The Jewish life there is wonderfully diverse.
- It has a remarkably well educated populace.
- People think for themselves. They really do.
- They are generally much more open to G-d and spirituality than most places I've been to.
- It has amazing parks and resources for homeschoolers.
- It's close to nature and the city.
- It's beautiful.
- The architecture is diverse and interesting.
- People care. Maybe sometimes about ridiculous (to me) things, but just the fact that they care, that's something real.
- I could go on, but I'm not trying to convince anyone to move :)
A few months after our (temporary) departure from Berkeley we got a phone call from one of the Rabbis there, it went something like this:
"Hey Zalmy! So remember we jokingly talked about starting a school? Some families here have approached me, and well, do you want to start one?"
I fumbled some answer, to the tune of "I'll talk to Estee, but I doubt it."
Well as we talked and thought about it over the next few months "I doubt it" turned into "hmmmm maybe" to "this might work" to "heck yes, this is what we were meant to do!"
We spent this time researching, studying, visiting various alternative schools, speaking to people who have started similar schools, and of course, changing diapers.
Meanwhile, ever since we got in our van and packed out of Long Beach, we have been on our own spiritual voyage. It's amazing (and ironic) how often G-d can be missing from the everyday life of a religious Jew. We pray, we learn, but when it comes to day-to-day life, from paying the bills, to taking care of kids, there is often very little talk or thought of G-d. If you'd look someone in the eye and say" I'm not sure where the money will come from but I trust that Hashem will make it happen." or "I need some time to talk to Hashem", they'd roll their eyes and think you're crazy. We often preach about a loving and personal G-d but we choose to live with a punctilious and exotic one.
We felt this the second we got off the plane coming from Israel 9 years back, but the feeling faded and faded. We knew that there was something wrong, but we didn't feel it as much anymore. It's why we had to do something. Once in Berkeley and spending some time with the Ferrises, who are truly one of the most remarkable, kind, loving, thankful, and G-dly people, we started to shift.
Something I recently heard from Tzvi Freeman, is that when the Chazzan (prayer leader) repeats the Amidah, there's a special prayer the congregation says which ends of with the words: "We thank you for letting us give thanks..."
Being grateful for the everyday happenings and miracles is not something we do for Hashem. We do it for ourselves. Working on personalizing the myriads of thanks we give in prayer every day has completely changed the way I approach life. Every morning we thank Hashem for directing our steps. And we mean it. At least now I do. We think we know where we want to be and what we want to do, but sometimes we get so thrown off that path, and if instead of scrambling to get back on the path we stopped to look around, we might find that we are exactly where we are supposed to be.
The first thing we say in the morning is "Modeh Ani", I am thankful. The first words of morning prayers is "Hodu La'Hashem", "Give thanks to Hashem". Closely followed by "bakshu fanav tamid", "Always look for His presence." Actively looking for Hashem in the day to day and the everyday has opened up our eyes to how much He is taking care of us. Things might not be happening on our timetable, but they always happen, and the timing always turns out to be perfect.
Along the way we saw something the Lubavitcher Rebbe said that really spoke to us:
"If G-d gave you these talents you must utilize them all in fulfilling your personal role and mission. This is not your personal matter, which you may treat as you wish. These talents, opportunities… if they are left unused, they are in vain."
Estee and I are not untalented (no one is) and it would be a darn shame to limit our life to taking photos and fermenting tea. And we want to make a school that allows individuals to be individual, and to change the world as only they could.
So we started a proposal to work through our ideas of what an awesome school would look like, which turned into a website which just went live last week.
The name of the school is Chanoch LaNa'ar, which comes from a verse in Proverbs, "Educate a child according to his way, so that when he grows old it will not leave him". We really want to cater to the individual learning types and levels of children, instill a meaningful connection to Hashem, and foster a lifelong love of learning.
If you are at all interested in alternative education please check out our site, you'll find it fascinating. (And if you have feedback feed it back to us!)
I'll still be shooting professionally, at least for foreseeable future. But the goal is to do this 100%.
The past two years have been crazy for us. We completely jumped out of our old lives, not knowing what would be. When we left Long Beach we never ever envisioned ourselves where we are today, and while in a way our lives are more up in the air then they have ever been, we know more with what we want to do with our lives than ever before. And we never would have found that out without this journey of ours.
Now we just have to raise some funds and get back to Berkeley. Yeehaw!
As a thank you for getting this far, here are a few family photos from 2015. Some from Berkeley, some from SoCal.


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Earlier today, learned, all-around Deadspin guy Albert Burneko wrote at length how the new Star Wars movies might not be very good. His piece, which I recommend, compared impressions from the trailer versus a general dismay with the prequels and Return of the Jedi. Along with some mostly reasonable points, there are lauds for Darth Vader as one of the great terrors in film history. This is a patent untruth.
The reality is, even confined to Episodes IV and V, Darth Vader was not a great cinematic terror. He was, in fact, a bitch.
1) His boss makes Vader call him "Master."
He even gets down on one knee to do it! Notwithstanding his job in the empire is basically to be the second most powerful person in the galaxy, he has no independence to pursue his own aims. Instead, he's shackled to the whims of a goblin-looking methane hallucination. But still, you say, Vader was powerful and carved a trail of badassery and destruction across the galaxy? This couldn't be more wrong, as it flies in the face of the fact that
2) He was terrible at his job.
This is a no-brainer. Episode IV begins with him bungling return of the Death Star plans, the Emperor's super-expensive new mega-weapon, killing some schlub in the middle of a question. Then, he can't learn the whereabouts of the rebel base, so he straight-up sends the Death Star schematics to the rebels to learn the location of the base in an ungodly for-the-ages CYA move. The general in charge of Death Star doesn't even think it's a good idea, calling it "an awful risk." Here, using totally unwarranted latitude (superseding a general, acting without consulting the Emperor, employing cavalier practices regarding trade secrets), he completely fucks the dog and gets the Death Star blown to hell. And what for? Because he couldn't own his mistake. Guhhhhh.
3) He's a Universal Recipient for Everyone's Shit
The war counsel on the Death Star bitches Vader out to his face, calling him incompetent, and all Vader can do is get violent. Admirals on Star Destroyers straight up ignore his orders. He can't find Han Solo (surprise surprise) and resorts to calling bounty hunters onto the holodeck or whatever, and they proceed to shit all over imperial decorum. Even Obi-Wan Kenobi doesn't care enough about Vader to fight him, he actually lets himself be killed rather than deal with Vader any more. "Fuck this guy," Kenobi can be heard saying from a pile of his former robes.
In conclusion, Darth Vader was not the one of the great terrors in film history. He was a bitch.


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Treat yourself to the resort-like atmosphere and convenient location of a Long Beach Hotel near top attractions. Featuring modern accommodations and event space, this hotel in Long Beach, California offers luxurious Marriott Revive bedding, flat screen HDTVs, and sleek new décor just minutes from major sports teams, breathtaking beaches, and top corporations. Guests will delight in the unmatched airport convenience of this hotel near Long Beach, offering complimentary airport shuttle and free self-parking. Highlighted by striking indoor and outdoor event space, this hotel in Long Beach, CA provides an ideal backdrop for an endless variety of weddings, meetings, or social gatherings. Business travelers take pleasure in the proximity to esteemed corporations, including Boeing and Toyota, while adventure-seekers cherish the short drive to Disneyland, CSU Long Beach, and Stub Hub Stadium. For an ideally-located hotel in Long Beach that satisfies a variety of interests, choose Long Beach Marriott.Show More
Explore a resort-like hotel near Long Beach Airport offering complimentary airport shuttle and complimentary parking in a secure suburban location
Providing ideal freeway access to top attractions, this Long Beach Airport hotel is near major sports venues, Disneyland, and Aquarium of the Pacific
Relax in one of the most convenient hotels near Long Beach, CA Airport near major companies such as Boeing, Gulfstream, and Mercedes Benz
Marriott Hotels celebrates creativity, collaboration and ingenuity. Travel Brilliantly seeks to not just celebrate and reward, but to foster your imagination and expand your mind through stories that motivate and inspire.READ OUR DIGITAL MAGAZINE
At Marriott Hotels we seek to offer moments of inspiration for our guests. That's why we have partnered with TED to create experiences that fuel your curiosity and spark your imagination.Explore


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Kira Del Mar is an artist and teacher living and working in Oslo, Norway (formerly of Oakland, CA)
Largely self-taught as an artist, Kira holds a BA in History from Pomona College and an MPhil in Early Modern History from Cambridge University, where she studied the History of Science and 17th century British alchemical illustration. The daughter of two chemists, her artistic practice has grown organically from a dual interest in the close observation of nature and the historian's desire for human connection and understanding.
When she isn't making or teaching, Kira spends her time reading, sewing, gardening, and writing novels each November.
In all my work, I make room for the quiet, inner life to find its resonance, separated and distilled from a supersaturated world. My work is not an escape or a denial, however, but an act of conservation. It is an intentional upholding of the magic that we build in our lives: the magic of everyday things, the magic of the stories we tell and retell to imbue our experience with meaning, and above all the magic of understanding each other through the intimacy of the image, though we inhabit separate bodies and solitary minds.


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The North Devon Beer Festival celebrates all the good things about North Devon – that's why everything is produced right here in North Devon! It's a festival with a friendly atmosphere, great food and entertainment and a fantastic day out for families and friends in the centre of historic Barnstaple.
Entrance to the Pannier Market is free so everyone can come in and look around but if you are staying for a beer or two there is a licencing requirement with a small charge.
£2.00 provides you with a wrist band allowing you to sample the beers and ciders on both days.
Also, the bar operates a token system which helps our staff serve you faster when things get busy.
The festival will play host not just to a mouthwatering array of ales and ciders but there will also be fabulous food available and brilliant live entertainment throughout.
Dates & Opening Times
Sunday 26th May 2019 - 12 noon til 22.00
Monday 27th May 2019 - 12 noon til 20.00
Entry Fee
Free to enter and look around
£2 licence (wristband) for alcohol consumption
Barnstaple Pannier Market, Barnstaple, North Devon.


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Assemble Block A
1. Sew together a black dot 1-1⁄2x42" strip and a black dotted line print 1-1⁄2x42" strip to make a strip set. Press seams toward black dotted line print strip. Repeat to make four strip sets. Cut strip sets into four 12-1⁄2"-wide segments and four 20-1⁄2"-wide segments (Diagram 1).
2. Add 12-1⁄2"-wide segments to short edges of a T-shirt 12-1⁄2x16-1⁄2" rectangle. Press seams toward pieced segments (Diagram 2). Join 20-1⁄2"-wide segments to remaining edges to make Block A. Press seams toward pieced segments. Block A should be 16-1⁄2x20-1⁄2" including seam allowances. Repeat to make a second Block A, reversing which black print is next to T-shirt rectangle.


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The meeting of technology and the lucrative stock market industry has allowed investors to buy and sell stocks online. This means that the stock broker who acted as the middleman in the stock market trading process is more or less absent thus leaving the investor to navigate alone. More and more people are increasingly looking for the best online stock trading options due to various reasons the most immediate being that this is a great stream of income flow. The growing popularity of stay-at-home jobs has made online stock trading a feasible option for making money from the comfort of the home. Additionally, the costs that were incurred in hiring the services of a stock broker are also substantially eliminated..
These benefits can be enjoyed fully when investors choose the right online stock trading platform. As much as there are so many companies that broker trading options there are also many trading companies that offer accounts that enable one to trade in stocks. Although these companies have the same objective in mind they differ from each other substantially.
The first consideration to make when choosing the best online stock trading company is the reputation of this company. There are several ways that you can ensure that a company is most capable of handling your money. Use online portals that rank the popularity and legitimacy of the company. It is also good to inquire from fellow investors about the companies that they are using to trade their stocks online.
The best online stock trading company is the one that offers relatively low commission costs for an account. Remember that the whole idea of embarking in online trading is that it is cheaper; it eliminates the stock broker commission costs. Trading companies have their way of making money from the online business, and one of those is through the interest rates that are generated by your account balance. However, it is important to note that the online trading firms that have bigger well established brand names may have higher commission costs than their counterparts.
Online stock trading is both simple and complex depending on the navigation tools that a company issues its traders. There are many software programs and solutions, and it can be quite difficult to use the tools in some of these sites. Choose the best online stock trading company that will allow you to use their website in an easy and functional way. Unless you are savvy about internet technology, avoid the trading platforms that are too complex. Simplicity is always best.
Finally a good stock trading company is one that hosts a myriad of companies whose stock shares the trader can buy and sell. See that you are not restricted in the options of stocks that you can trade on, after all this is the advantage of online trading- it lets you expand your scope to maximize your return.


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If I can figure out the new Blogger, that is. lol Everything has changed way too much for this foggy brain.
We are done for the summer as far as feeding the Mission Kids. I know I needed a break. A bit too much on my plate, will try not to overload from now on.
My niece and her boyfriend are moving back to her hometown. They pulled in to gas up their "convoy". My sister called and asked if I could come and see her for a few minutes. You bet, it's been over 2 years and I miss her like all get out. She had her big smile on and my heart just melted to get to see her for a few. I will be making a trip back there as soon as I can. She is a CNA and had her first interview just a couple of days after they got home. You can't tell that I am just thrilled can you? LOL
I finally found a simple way to clean my gourds. I had heard that many folks just put them in a trash bag with soap and water for a few hours in the sun. I took a short cut and used hot water and it worked perfectly. So I'll get to crafting on these in a couple of days. I'm really excited.
I've finally got a lawyer willing to work with me on a certain matter that is way overdue. I am thrilled. After you get beat on by your spouse, it is just time for the big D.
My great grandkids are growing up too darn fast. I enjoy it so much when I get to spend time with them. Abel is 9 months old and Shayda is 2 years. They are so precious.
Ok, enough blabbering. Now to see how it looks when I hit Publish. Enjoy June......it starts in just a few hours.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
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Lead Based Paint
Lead paint disclosure is a requirement for sellers or lessors of real property built prior to 1978. The Federal Residential Lead-based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992 was enacted to create awareness and communicate warnings regarding the risks associated with lead based patient exposure.
The act stipulates that –prior to any contract becoming binding- a seller/lessor/broker must:
- Disclose to the buyer/renter any known lead based paint hazards
- Provide the buyer/renter with the federally approved pamphlet "Protect Your Family from lead in Your Home"
- Permit the buyer/renter ten days to conduct a risk assessment pertaining to lead in the home.
The act requires that the buyer/renter sign statements that they have been provided the above information and were properly informed.


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Client: Nike
Agency: Happily
Project: Nike US Football x HUDL
HUDL, a robust app developed to "help coaches and athletes win," is a staple for high school football players. With over 100,000 football teams and millions of players utilizing the app, Nike Football is integrating premium content. Between late November 2015 and January 2016, we filmed in Miami, Buffalo, St. Louis, Nashville, and Pittsburgh with NFL players Antonio Brown, Todd Gurley, Ndamukong Suh, and Tyrod Taylor as well as ESPN host Kirk Herbstreit. The 22 videos that we delivered provide guidance and tips on how to improve as a football player and get noticed by college scouts.
Director: Joey Szela
Director of Photography: Galin Foley
Camera Operator: James Pereira
Miami, FL Crew
Sound: Andrew Percival
Key Grip: Rico Osorio
Production Assistants: Aline Navas
Photographer: Peter Cirilli
Model: Darnell Kirkwood
Talent: Ndamukong Suh
St. Louis, MO Crew
Sound: Tim Donsbach
Key Grip: Ben Burke
Production Assistants: Andrew Percival & Forest Wharton
Model: Darnell Kirkwood
Talent: Todd Gurley
Nashville, TN Crew
Sound: Greg Simmons
Key Grip: Carl Heinemann
Talent: Kirk Herbstreit
Buffalo, NY Crew
Director of Photography: Andrew Percival
Sound: Ben Juda
Key Grips: Chuck Moran & Tim Limner
Talent: Tyrod Taylor
Pittsburgh, PA Crew
Sound: Bob Buncher
Key Grip: Glenn Syska
Production Assistant: Marco Giordani
Talent: Antonio Brown
Post Production
Editing: Galin Foley, Joey Szela, Andrew Percival
Animation: Oxbow


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Who's John Egerton? Elizabeth Simms lets us know who this man was & Robert Gipe tells a FUNNY story of his days working in a pickle factory, and Fred Sauceman shares a pickle recipe from Jack Daniel's great, great, gran niece. Amy recorded Elizabeth & Robert at the Appalachian Food Summit in September. To donate to the Appalachian Food, I have set up a donate button on the Tennessee Farm Table Page. To find more information on this group, connect with them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Appalachianfoodsummit/
Connect with these guests here:
Elizabeth Simms https://www.facebook.com/elsims
Robert Gipe https://www.facebook.com/robert.gipe.5?fref=ts
Fred Sauceman https://www.facebook.com/fred.sauceman?fref=ts


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Latinas 4 Latino Literature (L4LL), is our 2013 Best Latin@ Education Blog for their use of social media to promote literacy in our community through the first, online, nationwide Latino children's summer reading program while supporting Hispanic authors and illustrators!
You may know L4LL co-founders Viviana Hurtado, Ph.D. and Monica Olivera from their respective blogs, The Wise Latina Club and Mommy Maestra (pictured below at left and right, respectively). These influential Latinas developed L4LL to provide something distinctly lacking on national book lists and recommended titles: a Latino voice.
Their current initiative "L4LL Read for the Holidays" questions the omission of Latino authors and illustrators from notable literature lists. They also provide titles to help guide editors and Hispanic families alike towards identifying the growing body of works and reading resources.
Indeed, Latino voices lack recognition in the literary world. Latino content remains isolated in separate search categories without ever seeing the pages of national book lists of recommended titles. You would have to search under a separate "Multicultural" category to find it!
Viviana and Monica developed L4LL with a mission in mind: "[to raise] literacy rates and educational achievement among Hispanic students through pedagogically sound and culturally relevant content."
We are proud to award them as our 2013 Best Latin@ Education Blog for the success they've had with fulfilling their mission!
Visit L4LL's YouTube Channel to view video book reports from 2013's Summer Reading Program and for Google Hangout on Air interviews with authors, a filmmaker, and a Congressman!
Visit L4LL's Pinterest Page for a large and growing collection of titles. If you are still looking for holiday stocking stuffer for your little one, consider buying one of their reading kits.
Viviana Hurtado, Ph.D. is a bilingual media, communications, and Hispanic market strategist. Dr. Hurtado is an authority on media, communications, and the Hispanic demographic growth's impact on business and politics, and has appeared on MSNBC and NPR. Connect with her on Google+, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Monica Olivera is the founder and creator of Mommy Maestra. She is a freelance writer and education advocate for Latino families, as well as a regular contributor to NBC Latino, Mamiverse and Latinamom.me. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter or see more of her work at MommyMaestra.com.
Together they make the perfect pair of Latinas for Latino Lit.
Special Note: Join us TODAY at 12pm Eastern Time for a special Google Hangout with Duncan Tonatiuh & Graciela Tiscareno-Sato. RSVP here.
Follow L4LL on Twitter, Facebook, G+, Pinterest and of course, check their site for regular updates. Congratulations L4LL for bringing the best Latino Literature to our homes from all of us at LATISM!


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Fear no more the heat o' the sun, Nor the furious winter's rages; Thou thy worldly task hast done, Home art gone, and ta'en thy wages: Golden lads and girls all must, As chimney-sweepers, come to dust
—- William Shakespeare (The Tragedy of Cymbeline )
Just like what these words suggest, the more we know about the nature, we tend to thing that all of this is 'Pointless'. Knowing more about the nature has not given us a motive or a purpose to live our lives happily, but actually it has given us a reason to introspect more closely why it is immaterial to think in that way.
The illusion of an organized lie (often known as a belief or mass hysteria) is so infectious among us that it is almost impossible to run away from it – Religion. Yet, everyone has experienced 'indifferent nature of the Nature'. Sometimes it gets on our nerves when someone try to touch upon our beliefs by questioning them, like one may be invading our privacy without our consent. It is so personal, its pristine for everyone. Whatever may be the reason, the different belief systems are there in different parts of the world, with twenty odd prominent ones. None of them make sense if you test them rationally. Yet, everyone try to defend their own by enlisting the positive influences of it. Its like a weird obsession but with an acceptable social conduct.
Not so long ago, Shakespeare was just an another poet for me who lived a long time ago and probably it will not matter whether I should be knowing about him or not. Instead, there was a sense of urgency to know more about what this journey of understanding the universe is. There is no better way to pursue it other than opting for the tools of science. Things start to fall in places, stupid things start to get ignored. Then, comes a sense of righteousness. But also, it comes with an awe of observing something more than what one has experienced. Calling it a creation is going further than you can understand and making it a simple and cyclic conundrum (For example, if there is an architect, then is he thinking about his own existence ? and so on) calling it an accident is ignoring the coherent events involving this journey perhaps belittling that fact for a purpose or to avoid the other conclusion. There is no satisfying answer to that, yet. This particular feeling is a tragic stroke in the canvass of life. Shakespeare's sonnets are a get away drug to satisfy that curiosity and sometimes knowing different shades of a 'tragedy' in real life.
When I visited Austin, TX in 2010, there was a banner at the entrance of convention center at the capitol, saying 'Curiosity is the authentic Happiness'. It seems that 'Curiosity' is the half the truth. Satisfaction which comes from knowing something profound is the other half of it. Its not weird that the phrase 'pursuit of happiness' exist rather than just 'happiness'. But, How long will this journey last ? Certainly, not in my lifetime ! Perhaps not for many generations to come, or Perhaps, never ? Saying 'never' has a very unsatisfying/ unsettling experience to have. But, nonetheless a good possibility to consider. This is something similar to what Spinoza's "Deus sive Natura" or in other words, 'indifferent Nature' says.
Everyone has their personal journey to complete and everyone want it to make it special or worth remembering. But, the mere indifference of the Nature does not seem to bother us. This humongous ego with which we carry ourselves during the journey often betrays the reality in many ways. Still, the journey is worth enjoying. I have tried and failed to maintain the curiosity driven attitude towards this journey. Yet, 'something' makes me want to pursue it often than not. And I want to know what that 'something' is !
"Corona Australis" Courtesy : APOD


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Keith Jack Jewelry Celtic Cradle of Life Pendant $134.00
The Celtic Cradle of Life Pendant reminds us that our lives are forever intertwined with the lives of those we love. These threads that bind us to one another help to weave our own destinies – past, present and future. Features a 10k gold trinity knot surrounded by a sterling silver cradle.
Comes on an 18 inch sterling silver chain.
It measures 1 X 1 inches.
Each piece comes in an attractive gift box with a polishing cloth included.


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Supplier Homepage Product Roof Tile Asp Steel Roof Sheet New Roofing Material
Asp Steel Roof Sheet New Roofing Material
|FOB Price:
|US $5-8 / Square Meter
|Min. Order:
|1,000 Square Meters
|Min. Order
|FOB Price
|1,000 Square Meters
|US $5-8/ Square Meter
|Qingdao, China
|Production Capacity:
|Payment Terms:
|L/C, T/T, D/P, Western Union, Paypal, Money Gram, O/A
Request a custom order and have something just for you!Send Customized Request
Basic Info
- Model NO.: ASP Trapezoidal 880
- Type: Bent Tiles
- Size: W: 940mm, L: Customized
- Customized: Customized
- Thickness: From 0.6mm to 1.2mm
- Application: Factory, Warehouse, Carport, etc.
- Middle Layer: Gi Steel
- Trademark: JIELI Brand(OEM)
- Specification: Efficient width: 880mm
- HS Code: 72107010
- Material: ASA+Gi Steel+PVC
- Shape: Trapezoidal
- Color: Customized
- Purlin Distance: Less Than 1500mm
- Life Time: 50 Years
- Surfave Layer: ASA
- Bottom Layer: PVC
- Transport Package: PE Bags or Pallet
- Origin: Shandong, China
Product Description
Customer Question & Answer
Ask something for more details
Ask something for more details
ASP steel roof sheet new roofing material
3-Layers of ASP Roof Sheet:
Installation Guide:
-Easy to install, similar to steel roofing sheet.
-Clients can get installation Video when order purchased.
-Provide full course of follow up service.
Packaging & Shipping:
-Length shorter than 2190mm can be packed with pallet,
-Length longer than 2190mm can be packed with PE bags.
1. Safety Pallet packaing, it's tight and keeps the ASP roof sheet in good condition, easy to load and upload
2. PE Bags Packaging: Roughly 5 pcs ASP roof sheet per bag, keep the ASP roof sheet in safety bag and no scratch, with metal supporting structure in the container, the ASP roof sheet are steady and never fall during transportation.
Company Information:
-Founded in1992 with 20 production lines and 300 workers.
-The production capacity is 12,000,000 square meter per year.
-We are the government authorized supplier of 2008 Beijing Olympic Game and 2010 World Exposition Shanghai.
Our roofing tiles are currently exported worldwide, in particular to Latin America, Europe, Middle East, Africa, West and South-east Asia and Australia.
-Canton Fair; BIG 5 Dubai; India ACE; FEICON; MOSBUILD exhibition…
-Exporting to more than 135 countries, such as Latin America, Europe, Middle East, Africa, West and South-east Asia and Australia.
Our Services:
1. Product & Technology Support:
Providing Production Report and test report.
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Complete after-sales service.
New Shape & Color design and Quantity budget according to your drawing.
2. Sample Support:
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Provide Sample Inspection & Analysis
Complete choice of shape & color
Contact Info:
Any questions, feel free to contact.
Sales Engineer: Alex Jiang
Phone: 0086 130 5453 6193


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Career Development
As a graduate of the Department of Communication and Rhetorical Studies, you will acquire skills and knowledge that managers increasingly value as a top priority.
The ability to communicate clearly, effectively, critically, and persuasively transcends job titles, positioning you well for any number of careers and giving you added flexibility as your career choices evolve and new opportunities emerge. Our graduates work as public relations directors, advertising executives, real estate developers, journalists, public policymakers, lawyers, educators, and corporate managers, among many other professions. And CRS alumni and other visiting speakers regularly visit campus to share their experiences and advice with students and assist with internship opportunities.
Syracuse University's Career Services will also play an important role in preparing you for your job search by helping you identify your strengths, offering workshops on critical job-hunting skills, and providing one-on-one counseling and strategy sessions. The center also has an internship program that can help place you with a local or national business or organization in a position relevant to your interests.
Each area of interest listed below demonstrates how your CRS degree can be tailored to prepare you for a particular career or profession. Dual majors and related minors at SU are also suggested.
Career and Internship Resources
The development of your personal career plan takes time and energy, and the Department of Communication and Rhetorical Studies offers programming opportunities and resources that assist you in understanding your skill assets and where those qualities fit within different career paths.
Please note: if you would like to take an internship for credit, you will need to secure a faculty sponsor and complete the Internship Proposal Agreement form [PDF]. Please refer to the Career Services website for specific directions on how to register your internship for credit.
Watch for career and professional development opportunities posted on the CRS student email listserv and the CRS Facebook group.
Career Resources For Further Investigation:
NCA Career Center (The Academic Job Market/Job Searching 101/Career-Related Publications)
The Occupational Outlook Handbook (informative publications of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics providing work settings, growth patterns, and expected salaries)
Masters in Communication (website with a collection of masters in communication across the country and online)
If You're Interested In...
Education in virtually any context and setting—schools, universities, corporations—calls for clear and compelling communication skills. Whether you plan to work in a classroom, in university administration, fund-raising and development, or corporate training, you'll gain vital skills through such courses as Rhetorical Criticism, Empirical Methods of Communication Research, and Applied Communication Research. Dual majors and related minors that you could pursue include education and English and textual studies. Possible career fields include teaching/scholarship, university administration, corporate education, and development (fund-raising).
Business and Industry
Communication careers in private business and industry demand an intimate understanding of organizational and group dynamics as well as sophisticated presentation and leadership skills. With CRS, your coursework could include Small Group Communication, Leadership, Managing Diversity, Nonverbal Communication, Communications in Organizations, and Presentational Speaking, among others. Dual majors and related minors that you could pursue include management, marketing, and information management. Possible career fields include advertising, diversity management, corporate-wide communications, event planning/coordination, and meeting management.
Political Communication
The art of political communication calls for advanced persuasion and argumentation skills and the ability to communicate complex information in a way that is both accessible and respectful. If you're interested in pursuing public office or working as a political staff member, speech writer, analyst, activist, or consultant, you might choose courses in Political Communication, Managing Diversity, Rhetoric and the Public Sphere, Speechwriting, American Public Address, Women's Political Discourse, and Persuasion. Dual majors and related minors that you could pursue include political science, policy studies, sociology, or public communications. Possible career fields include legislation, political campaign management, speechwriting, political activism, political staff management, issues advocacy, and political analyzing or consulting.
Media and Entertainment Production
Careers in creative fields require a mastery of both interpersonal and group communication. Your CRS courses might include Performance Studies, Small Group and Organizational Communication, and Rhetoric of Film. Dual majors and related minors that you could pursue include music industry, English and textual studies, and various offerings through the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. Possible career fields include creative production or promotion of media entertainment, management of creative talent, music/concert promotion, talent agency specialization, and talk radio/television.
Public Affairs and Advocacy
Excellent communication skills are fundamental in positions involving representation. You'll likely be crafting official messages for businesses and organizations or working for and/or with communities, families, or individuals. Just a few related CRS courses include Communication and Community, Managing Diversity, Rhetoric and the Public Sphere, and Leadership/Stewardship Communication, which can help you in pursuing this direction. Each focuses on preparing you to craft persuasive arguments and statements and will also facilitate your ability to work effectively on behalf of people and causes. Possible career fields include public or government relations, fund-raising, issues advocacy, consumer affairs, social/human services, and grant-making/writing.
The capacity to grasp complex information, speak persuasively, and harness the power of speech is essential to those hoping to enter the field of law or work as an issues advocate. As a student interested in these fields, your academic work in CRS could include courses in Public Advocacy, Presentational Speaking, Nonverbal Communication, Argumentation, Advanced Argumentation, Rhetoric and the Public Sphere, Persuasion, and a seminar in legal communication. Dual majors and related minors that you could pursue include political science, policy studies, and English and textual studies. Possible career fields include a legal career (pre-law focus), jury selection consulting, and issues advocacy.


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Pepsi Redesigns Plastic Soda Bottle
Pepsi says redesigned PET bottle is the first bottle redesign in 16 years.
The first redesign of a Pepsi bottle in 16 years is hitting shelves this summer. Pepsi says the redesign of the 20-oz. PET bottle, the most widely sold single-serve package, is part of an effort to create a more cohesive look for the brand. The logo, which was redesigned in 2008, will not change. It could take a year or two to replace all the current bottles in the system.


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Boys Like to Read, Too! My Top Five Children's Books for Boys
I love books and my father used to say that I, like Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird, "taught myself" to read. Of course, when I had kids I couldn't wait to read to them! It was such a treat to take the boys to the library and pick out a stack of the latest picture books as well as finding copies of my old favorites to share.
They are older now and still like books and going to the library. My older son is proud of his geek cred and prefers graphic novels and reference books about things he likes (which is currently a resurgence in interest in Transformers!). But, give him a book that is in his sweet spot and he won't put it down. Both my husband and I loved Ready Player One when it came out a few years ago and we figured at age 13 he was old enough to like it, too. He read it in three days and now has an overwhelming interest in all things 80s!
My younger son is more like me and will read just about anything -- he tore through the whole Harry Potter series in just two weeks and is rereading them now after our recent vacation to Universal Studios.
Something we all still enjoy is when I read out loud to them (they claim that I could do that for a living if this doula thing doesn't work out) and some of our recent favorites have included Tom Sawyer, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, and No More Dead Dogs.
But, as little guys, these books stick out as our favorites (so much so that they remain in the bookshelf for young visitors):
Simple board books can be trying if the writing isn't fun to read, and the cadence of the words in both My Truck Is Stuck and Here Are My Hands making reading aloud over and over fun to do.
Leo Lionni books with their gorgeous illustrations are a favorite, and best of all is Frederick, starring a mouse poet who "gathers colors … for winter is gray."
The Velveteen Rabbit, winner of the the 1971 Lewis Carroll Shelf Award, is a treasured book from my own childhood that still makes magic.
And, of course, what list is complete without Goodnight Moon? The following words that end the book still make me tear up with their beautiful simplicity:
Goodnight stars
Goodnight air
Goodnight noises everywhere
What are your favorite books for reading aloud?
PS Support your local booksellers! All books listed above are linked to independent and/or brick-and-mortar stores.


text: trump takes europe trump takes europe Edit Trump, obsessed with gold and power, unsurprisingly loves the British royalty July 13, 2018 BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images While President Trump has had few nice things to say about anybody on his tumultuous trip through Europe, he was bubbling over with praise ahead of his meeting with 92-year-old Queen Elizabeth II. "If you think of it, for so many years she has represented her country, she has really never made a mistake," Trump told British tabloid The Sun. "You don't see, like, anything embarrassing. She is just an incredible woman." Trump has a long history of being obsessed with the royal family, The Boston Globe reports. "Anything that says 'fancy' really appeals to him," explained Trump biographer Michael D'Antonio. "And I think a lot of the environment that the royals find themselves in would be gilded and he loves gilding, he loves anything that is just the color of gold. If he could have a crown, he would love it." Trump revealed to The Sun that his mother, who was from Scotland, was the root of his interest in the queen: "My mother loved the queen. Any time the queen was on television, my mother wanted to watch it." But Trump's interest in the royal family doesn't end there — he also famously tried and failed to seduce Princess Diana. Prince Charles and Prince Andrew were also invited to his wedding to Melania Trump, but turned down the invitation. "Trump is always very impressed by monarchy and dictatorships," said Rice University history professor Doug Brinkley. "He likes that idea of a permanent power and something that has glamour and celebrity wrapped around it — and nothing screams that more than the British royal family." Jeva Lange


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Writing about Highly Sensitive Persons and promoting "HSP awareness" is not my job, and has almost nothing to do with how I earn a living. This is purely a "labor of love" I undertake because I am (as many HSPs are!) an idealist who believes that the more people are aware of the trait, the better off we all are.
Sadly operating these web sites and blogs is NOT free. Whereas the thousands of hours I spend with the global HSP community are free, things like server space, domain hosting, ad-free forum memberships and related expenses are not... all told, it costs about $500 a year to "keep the lights turned on," here at HSP Notes.
If you found your visit here to be of sufficient value or interest that you feel moved to make a small contribution ($5.00) towards helping me pay for the underlying overhead expenses, it would be greatly appreciated... it's completely voluntary, and "only if it moves you."
HSPs generally loathe "self promoting" and "asking for money," and I am no exception. This request is not an attempt to "make money," just a way to help defray operational cost. That's also why I have set the suggested contribution at a fixed $5.00... or about the price of a latte from Starbucks or your local coffee shop. I am a big believer in the emerging "crowdsourcing" system, but my idealistic self is uncomfortable with the idea that someone might give an "uncomfortably large" amount (however well-intentioned) that would cause me to feel "strangely indebted" to any one individual. Hence the small fixed amount.
Thank you for reading, and for your consideration!
Administrative note: Contributions are securely processed through PayPal. You do NOT need to have a PayPal account in order to contribute, just a credit card, bank debit card or even an electronic check.
Please note that the payment page will come up as "Scandinavian Stamps, Etc." That's the name of my business (aka "my day job"), which owns my PayPal account. That's also the name that will show up on your credit card/bank statement. Just wanted to clarify that.


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New Treatment To Combat Deadliest Infection In Chronic Kidney Disease Patients, But Is It Too Disgusting?/
Chronic Kidney Disease patients have an increased risk of acquiring Clostridium Difficile (C. diff) through unknown mechanisms. The germ causes nausea, cramping and diarrhea so bad it is often disabling. Transplanting fecal matter has been one of the best remedies at treating this tough bacterial infection. However, "Fecal Transplants" (giving people that are infected stool from a healthy donor) are currently given through invasive procedures like colonoscopies or throat tubes. Doctors also have tried giving the stool through enemas but the treatment does not always take hold. Now scientists have found a method to give all the benefits of previous treatments in an easily tolerable tiny pill.
Recommended Reading: C. diff is a Life Threatening Bacteria for those with ESRD
This new pill method is a "less yucky" way to conduct Fecal Transplants and Canadian researchers relayed that 27 patients who tried this treatment were all cured after strong antibiotics failed to help. It is a gross topic but a serious problem, as 500,000 Americans get C diff. infections each year, and about 14,000 die. A very potent and pricey antibiotic can kill C. diff but also destroys good bacteria that live in the gut, leaving it more susceptible to future infections.
Recommended Reading: Easy Ways to Remember to Take your Medication
Recently, studies have shown that fecal transplants -- giving infected people stool from a healthy donor -- can restore that balance. A New England Journal of Medicine study revealed that "poop transplants were better than antibiotics during a clinical trial." Another study presented at the Infectious Diseases Society of America meeting in October 2012 said that 43 out of 49 patients in Detroit who received fecal transplants recovered quickly and had no complications three months later.
Recommended Reading: Chronic Kidney Disease Patients Can Be Denied A Transplant For Use of Medical Marijuana
Dr. Thomas Louie, Infectious Disease Specialist at the University of Calgary, devised a one-time treatment that is custom-made for each individual patient that is infected with C. diff. In his method, donor stool from a relative is processed in the lab to take out food, extract bacteria and clean it. It is packed into triple-coated gel capsules so they will not dissolve until they reach the intestines. "There's no stool left - just stool bugs. These people are not eating poop," and there are no smelly burps because the contents aren't released until they're well past the stomach, Louie said.
Recommended Reading: Dialysis Patients should Insist that Staff follow protocols to Reduce Acquired Infections
It takes 24 to 34 capsules for a single treatment, and patients swallow them in one sitting. The pills make their way to the colon and seed it with the normal variety of bacteria. Margaret Corbin, 69, a retired nurse's aide from Calgary, told of the misery of C diff. "It lasted for two years. It was horrible. I thought I was dying. I couldn't eat. Every time I ate anything or drank water I was into the bathroom," she said. "I never went anywhere, I stayed home all the time." With her daughter as the donor, she took pills made by Louie two years ago, and "I've been perfectly fine since," Corbin said.
Recommended Reading: Life Threatening Infections Decreasing In One Group of Chronic Kidney Disease Patients But Not Other
Dr. Curtis Donskey of the Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, who has done fecal transplants through colonoscopies, praised the work. "The approach that Dr. Louie has is completely novel - no one else has done this," he said. "I am optimistic that this type of preparation will make these procedures much easier for patients and for physicians."
Recommended Reading: CKD Patients Putting Themselves At Increased Risk Of Hospitalization Because Of Their Medicine
The treatment now must be made fresh for each patient so the pills do not start to dissolve at room temperature, because their water content would break down the gel coating. Minnesota doctors are testing freezing stool, which doesn't kill the bacteria, so it could be stored and shipped anywhere a patient needed it. Louie sees potential for the poop pills for other people with out-of-whack gut bacteria, such as hospitalized patients vulnerable to antibiotic-resistant germs. "This approach, to me, has wide application in medicine," he said. "So it's not just about C diff." KidneyBuzz.com encourages CKD patients to discuss this new treatment to combat C. diff with their Nephrologist, should you contract the virus.
Like Us on our Facebook Page for more Daily News and Information about life with CKD and ESRD:
Most Popular Stories:
"Poop Pill May Treat Stubborn, Deadly C. Diff Bacteria." CBSNews. CBS Interactive
"Chronic Kidney Disease as a Risk Factor for Clostridium Difficile Infection." US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health.
"Duodenal Infusion of Donor Feces for Recurrent Clostridium Difficile." New England Journal of Medicine.


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Cameron Fraser
Cameron Fraser immigrated to Antigua & Barbuda in 1967, attending school in Antigua & Scotland.
Cameron has been involved with the expansion and development of Redcliffe Quay, the development and expansion of cruise tourism in Antigua & Barbuda when he was the Managing Director of Antigua Pier Group Ltd. From 2000 to 2006. From 2004 to date Cameron has been involved in the development and management of Nonsuch Bay Resort as a Shareholder.
Cameron is also a Director of Antigua Pier Group Ltd, a Director and Shareholder of Coconut Beach Club, a Director of Key Properties Ltd. And the Vice President of the Cruise Tourism Association. Cameron is married and has two adult sons.


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Passing through Material Jetting additive manufacturing technology,
we'll highlight benefits and drawbacks of Binder Jetting and
Metal Injection Moulding.
Is it better to rely on an already mature technology rather than investing in the
innovative three-dimensional printing?
I think you'll be surprised by some of the information I'm going
to reveal, read on.
...read all the article.
Advanced ceramics are experiencing a boom. After attending ICACC19, an expo for researchers and industry professionals dedicated to the topic, we offer a peek inside the fascinating world of transparent and translucent ceramic composites.
Unlike conventional ceramics that we encounter in our daily lives, advanced ceramic materials are characterized by high purity, low porosity, and exceptionally small grain sizes.
Thanks to these properties, these materials find wide industrial and commercial application, from large machinery to highly resistant windows, to orthodontic brackets.
Vacuum sintering at extremely low pressures is the key to giving transparent ceramics their strength and translucence. Vacuum furnace sintering proves to be essential to that process.
Read more about this affordable, reliable, and exciting material and see if one of its many applications can transform your own production processes!
MIM is a mature technology used for the large scale production of small and complex components with high precision and that not require subsequent processing.
What's the downside of Metal Injection Molding?
Are there any alternatives?
Let's take a look at a cheaper and more versatile technology, 3D Binder Jetting, analyzing pros and cons.
What are Nickel-based superalloys?
What advantages do they provide in high-performance industrial applications?
Let's see how they are used in production processes through additive manufacturing technology and what are the advantages offered by special furnaces for vacuum heat treatment, regarding the components made with 3D printing.
Powder metallurgy is a cost effective way to create customised, strong and durable metal components for a huge range of industrial uses.
Learn about how powder metallurgy works and choose the right metal manufacturing solution for any industrial challenge.
This article provides a brief introduction to the various powder metallurgy techniques, including vacuum sintering and additive manufacturing. It suggests a few of the major benefits of implementing powder metallurgy, as well as some contemporary uses of the technique which could provide inspiration for future applications.
Last published
Most popular
Let's keep in touch.We will send you interesting posts that we collect around the web, to stay up to date on vacuum furnace technologies and applications.
If you have an idea for an article or just have a question for us, we will be pleased to listen.
Are you visiting us from North America?
Furnacare Inc. is our local partner that provides vacuum furnaces sales, technical support and maintenance services.


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South Bay Party Bus
Join our party bus from Manhattan Beach to Santa Rita Hills Wine Center.
Reserve your seat by prepaying $100, redeemable towards complimentary tastings at:
Kessler Haak, Zotovich, AVE, Chanin, and Kita
Package includes:
(4) Tasting Room Passes
(4) $25 Wine purchase vouchers for each tasting room
(1) $15 food voucher
Total value: $215!
Block party wrist bands are included. Space is limited. Reserve your seat today.
If there is enough positive interest prior to Feb. 20th we would love to add a bus for Irvine and North Hollywood.
Purchase tickets
Tickets: $100 if bought by 2/22/16 or $115 2/23/16 - 3/3/16


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Crude oil prices may have rallied from their recent lows, but it's still a painful environment for producers.
Since bottoming near $26 per barrel in February, West Texas Intermediate crude oil, the US benchmark, has gained nearly 70%.
However, prices are still below what's needed for many oil producers to breakeven.
The chart below via Citi, published in a note last week, shows the weighted averages of breakeven costs for production across major shale-oil plays.
On Monday, WTI futures traded near $44 per barrel. And so, with the exception of the Wolfcamp formation, these players are still losing money by pumping oil. The chart is a reminder that the industry is not yet out of its turmoil, even as optimism rises. As of last week Friday, the active-oil-rig count had gained in 11 out of the last 12 weeks, the longest stretch since early 2014, which was before the oil crash.
Citi noted that Brent crude oil, the international benchmark of prices, has recently traded in a tight $45-$55 per barrel range. Oil remained stable even after the International Energy Agency said it expects the market to remain oversupplied for longer than it had thought.
"In any case, compared to say a year ago, the supply overhang has come in a lot, and thus we still feel that sustained price undershoots are unlikely from here, wrote Citi's Jeremy Hale and his team.
"On the flip side, large price overshoots will be limited by shale producers coming back online on higher prices. The $40-55/bbl oil range looks likely to hold in other words."


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We are a dedicated team of artisans, with a combined 60+ years of experience specializing in bronze casting, through the Lost Wax Process. We are skilled in providing our clients with quality castings, on time, with the highest level of craftsmanship.
Take a look around and feel free to contact us with any questions that you might have.