text:
You may have noticed that the Tea-Time Tips and Suggestions and the 101 Daily Dissertation Writing Tips ebooks are no longer available through the To Do: Dissertation website…
This is because I have transferred them to Kindle editions!
You can now buy either ebook for $2.99 each – just click here or here.
If you don't have a Kindle, you can still purchase these ebook editions and download one of the free Kindle apps from Amazon's website. With apps from Amazon, you can read Tea-Time Tips and Suggestions and/or 101 Daily Dissertation Writing Tips on your PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Blackberry, Android, or Windows phone.
There were several reasons I chose to do this:
First, I think that the multiple formats for reading a Kindle ebook means that I can make reading these texts more convenient for TD:D readers and dissertation writers.
Second, this is an easier (and cheaper) way for me to make these ebooks available to TD:D readers since I can self-publish through Amazon for free.
Third, transitioning the books to Kindle editions means that if I ever decide to close this site or have another blogger take it over, I can still offer the materials that I developed through the blog to readers under my name.
Fourth, this is a way for me to offer some of the TD:D tips and suggestions to a wider audience. The TD:D readership has definitely grown over time, but it's not quite as big as Amazon.com…
You might also be interested to know that I'm publishing these ebooks under my real name and not "Happy Dissertating" (mostly due to some pesky tax reasons). So, if you check out the Amazon websites for the Kindle edition of either of the ebooks, you'll find out my actual identity, something that I have not previously disclosed through the blog (although if you looked hard enough, you could probably figure it out). Googling my name will also allow you to connect with me through Academia.edu (to see what I'm publishing these days) or to network with me on LinkedIn.
You are welcome to come find me – I love connecting with TD:D readers and other academics from across disciplines.
Happy reading – and happy dissertating!


text:
Designer Brian Singer aka Someguy recently created a series of non-commercial soda cans inspired by next week's presidential election. With each design limited to an edition of 5, Someguy's project pairs both respective candidates as cans of Coke and Pepsi. Same taste, different packaging, yup, sounds like the next President of The United States.
[via TheDieline]

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Centre Wallon de Recherches Agronomiques (Cra-w)www.cra.wallonie.be
Full Name in the national language:
Centre Wallon de Recherches Agronomiques (Cra-w)
Company / Organization:
Walloon Agricultural Research Centre (Cra-w)
Rue de Liroux n°9, 5030 Gembloux Belgium
Member Type
Bioenergy Europe Associated Member, IBTC Member
Sector of Activity
Base Country
00 32-(0) 81626555
"Founded in 1872, the Walloon Agricultural Research Centre (CRA W) is a scientific establishment under the Regional Government of Wallonia. CRA W employs over 450 people, among them 120 scientists including doctors of agricultural science, engineers or graduates. Spread over three sites (Gembloux, Libramont and Mussy-la-Ville), the Centre occupies some 300 hectares of offices, laboratories, greenhouses, orchards and experimental fields" The various Departments of the Walloon Agricultural Research Centre offer complementary areas of expertise and together form a multidisciplinary research institution covering the main fields of interest in agriculture, horticulture and forestry as well as the food processing industries and environmental sciences. From biotechnology to plant and animal products, plant breeding and crop protection, agricultural engineering or product quality, all the Departments work in coordination to optimise products in terms of both quantity and quality by reducing inputs (creating tolerant varieties, precision farming, integrated management of fertilisation and phytosanitary protection, etc.) or by creating added value or differentiated quality products, while taking society's expectations into account. The Centre has contacts with a number of enterprises in Belgium and abroad in connection with assignments ranging from specific services (consultancy, routine analyses, etc.) to providing advice (scientific guidance over varying lengths of time) or research and development projects. CRA-W has considerable measuring and analytical capability comprising over 300 different analyses of a wide range of products. The commonest tasks involve problems connected with fertilizers and soil amendments, plant protection products, environmental protection (soil, water, plants), in vitro multiplication of temperate and tropical plants, the quality of agricultural and food products (NIRS - FTIR, development of calibration equations, quality network management, etc.), food safety (mycotoxins) and the use of biomass for energy and in industry.


text:
From Jews in Green:
Click the article link above for the full review.JIG Exclusive: Kosher MRE Taste Test
July 30, 2004
One of the most popular topics among Jews in the military is kashrut and more specifically, kosher rations. Here at Jews in Green, we regularly receive several hits a week from people searching for kosher MREs on Google. I wrote a brief article on kosher MREs as one of the first stories on Jews in Green, but I've come to realize that a much more thorough discussion was required.
So the staff here at Jews in Green (with the help of some active duty taste testers) put the two main offerings for kosher MREs to the test. Read the full article to see how they matched up, and details on how you can obtain the meals.
A great deal of work went into arranging kosher rations for the military, so I'm going to take a little time to spotlight the efforts and challenges faced in doing so. If you just want to see the taste test results, click here.
Article contents:
- About the Companies
-The Taste Test
- In Summary
- Ordering Info
- Kashrut Information


text:
Curtis Brown Creative
One of the biggest literary and talent agents in the country, Curtis Brown are attempting to redefine the slush pile process through their new online submissions portal. Curtis Brown Creative is actively looking for new writers and you no longer have to spend money on printing and posting costs. You can send manuscripts directly through their website. You can also choose a preferred reader for your work. I'm not sure how effective this will be or if other literary agents will follow suit, but it's definitely encouraging for aspiring writers if someliterary agents are willing to make themselves more accessible. For more details, click on the link below.


text:
Neil Fraser, a.k.a The Mad Professor is one of the finest dub producers in the game. Nicknamed Mad Professor as a boy due to his fascination with electronics, he was originally born in Guyana and emigrated to London aged 13. His mix of synths and dub has created his particular take on the sound. If you didn't hear the Mad Professor's podcasts for Fabric take a listen (number 24 and 25 here). He gently talks you through the link between soul and dub in the first one and then brings it all up to date with his work with Dennis Bovell in the second. So, here Dr Rob steps up to the plate to pull out his favourite Mad Professor moments. Dubwise.
You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to view this site.


text:
So, let's keep it short and sweet!
In this case, very sweet!
The recipe today, again, comes from Elana Amsterdam's Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook. These cookies are chewy, moist, and soft, but solid enough that they won't crumple in your hand. They're great for the classic 'Milk and cookies" without all the added sugar. Oh, and did I mention these are low-carb, gluten free, and vegan too!? I have some friends and relatives who are vegan/vegetarian, and I wanted to see how well a cookie would hold up without the egg or butter. Trust me, these passed the test and are delicious. But, if you'd like to go for the real deal, check out Elana's Pantry with butter, dairy free, and with grapeseed flour!
This recipe makes 30 cookies, so you'll have plenty left over (especially if there's only 2 of you, like us!) and a quick 5 second zap in the microwave will melt the chocolate and warm the cookies like the just came out of the oven. The key here is to use nice, high quality dark chocolate for the chips -- you can just chop up squares of your favourite brand of chocolate bar -- I use Lindt 90%! Makes me feel all grown up =)
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook, page 98 & Elana's Pantry
Makes 30
|Oh so good... look at that chocolate!!
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup sucralose (or granulated sweetener of choice)
1/2 cup grapeseed oil
2 tbsp to 1/4 cup water
2 oz chopped Lindt 90% chocolate (or any dark chocolate of your choice)
Place parchment paper on two large baking sheets. Preheat the oven to 350F.
Chop your chocolate so it almost looks like mini chocolate chips. Your cookies will be thin so if you're unsure, it is better to have more finely chopped chocolate than larger chunks.
Combine the dry ingredients (Almond meal, salt, baking soda, & sweetener) in a bowl. Slowly add the oil while stirring to incorporate. Your batter will be very thick at this point so slowly add water, 1 tbsp at a time to loosen-up the batter. You want it to be wet enough to form into balls but not a droopy, watery mess.
Once you've achieved a good consistency, fold in the chocolate. I only needed to do it about 2 or 3 times to get a good distribution of chocolate through the batter. Put the dough in the fridge and leave it there for 20 minutes. Don't skip letting the dough sit in the fridge -- it will be easier to handle and measure out if you give it the time!
The original recipe suggests using a heaping tablespoon to portion out the dough, but I had more luck in making cookies with a heaping half tablespoon measuring spoon.If you find dough is sticking to your hands when you're measuring the cookies out or trying to flatten them, wet your hands liberally with water every 7 - 8 cookies or so. These cookies will not spread so this step is important to ensure that all the cookies bake at an equal rate.
Bake for 10 minutes. After the 10 minutes of baking is done, leave your cookies on your baking sheet and turn the oven off. Leave them there for about 30 minutes. This will stop the cookies from being so "wet" and the edges will get a nice cookie crisp to them. I cannot stress how important this is, especially when you don't have egg or anything else to otherwise bind the cookies!
If you can resist them, these cookies will keep in the fridge for about 1 week. These were approved by J and both of my sisters, one of whom was practically born with a chocolate chip cookie in her mouth. My two sisters alone devoured 5 cookies each in one sitting. Yes, they're that good. Oh, and all three of my taste testers said they were just as good as traditional cookies, and actually couldn't tell they were vegan!


text:
October 12, 2017
The measure, Senate Bill 119, which was authored by Republicans and has bipartisan support from 40 Assembly and Senate lawmakers, received a public hearing on Tuesday. If the Senate committee approves the legislation, it could go to the full Senate for consideration.
State and federal law mostly prohibits the possession, manufacture, and delivery of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) found in cannabis, or marijuana, because it is a controlled substance. Marijuana and hemp are in the same plant species, but hemp contains only minute amounts of THC.
Wisconsin was once one of the top producers of hemp, a woody plant that can be used to make rope, textiles, and paper, among other things, until it was banned. A federal farm bill signed into law in 2014 permits states to legalize industrial hemp production. Thirty-one states have legalized industrial hemp since then, including Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Minnesota.
The bill would require the state to issue licenses to allow the growing and processing of industrial hemp that contains no more than three-tenths of 1 percent of THC. If a plant being grown for industrial hemp tests at a higher concentration of tetrahydrocannabinol than 1 percent, the entire crop would be seized and destroyed, according to the bill. The proposal would also allow people to possess, sell, or buy industrial hemp without a license from licensed growers in Wisconsin and elsewhere.
The measure is backed by the agriculture industry led by the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation and the Wisconsin Farmers Union. The measure is opposed by the Wisconsin Chiefs of Police Association.
Agriculture interests contributed nearly $1.4 million between January 2011 and June 2017 to current legislators. Republican lawmakers, who control the Assembly 64-35 and the Senate 20-13, accepted more than $1.2 million of those contributions.
The top recipients of agriculture industry contributions between January 2011 and June 2017 were the:
Committee to Elect a Republican Senate, about $148,800;
Republican Assembly Campaign Committee, about $145,800;
GOP Sen. Howard Marklein, of Spring Green, about $122,000;
Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, of Juneau, about $50,800;
GOP Sen. Sheila Harsdorf, of River Falls, about $49,900.
Walker, who received more than $1.9 million in campaign contributions from agriculture interests between January 2011 and June 2017, told WQOW that he was concerned about legalizing anything that could be used as a gateway drug to opioid and heroin abuse.


text:
On a warm day none of us instinctively reaches for wool. The very sound of it makes us think of wrapping up for crisp winter days.
But did you know pure wool has exceptional thermal qualities that make you feel cool when it's hot and warms you on a winter' day. Pure wool has almost magical properties for the sartorially concerned. 100% natural, it is a renewable, biodegradable and the ultimate versatile all-weather cloth.
Our Master Tailor Andrew Ramroop explains, "Wool is durable and comfortable and stretches with movement which makes it very comfortable to wear."
In fact, it is a natural insulator which also has incredible resistance to tearing, natural elasticity, and the ability to keep its shape. In the summer it's excellent odour reduction properties can come into their own, and it can absorb moisture without feeling wet.
In short, it's the ideal material for the world's best Master Tailors here on Savile Row.
"As every suit is hand-made at Maurice Sedwell," Andrew Ramroop continues, "the suit starts its life as a flat piece of cloth to be created for a human figure; We cut and mould the cloth into a three-dimensional form to look smooth and stylish. Pure wool has the qualities to be moulded successfully."
By way of inspiration, we share with you here some Maurice Sedwell designs which are highly suitable for pure wool.


text:
Defined-Benefit ALM
Register for the Course
Defined-Benefit ALM measures the market risk exposure of a pension fund, allowing for the specific detail of investment strategy, funding strategy, and pension liabilities. It empowers the investment manager to identify individual risk factors, and perform at-a-glance analysis of the specific risk exposures confronting the fund.
Understand the Impact of Key Risk Drivers on Scheme Investment and Funding Strategies
- Access consistent projections of assets and liabilities over multiple periods, using your choice of highly flexible rebalancing methods, including dynamic rebalancing options.
- Gain full access to model parameters, supported by a comprehensive suite of calibration tools and a wide range of user-selectable output variables.
- Model multiple funds across multiple economies, each with full coverage of interest rates and asset classes, including equity, property, credit, and alternatives.
- Value liabilities based on government, swap, or corporate curves; limited price indexation; different pre- and post-retirement increase types; and granular modeling of accruals at the tranche level.
- Model pooled, liability-driven investment (LDI) funds and various equity, interest rate, and inflation derivatives, including limited price index (LPI) swaps.
Produce Stochastic Modeling of Market and Longevity Risk for Pension Fund Management
- Quantitatively compare alternative asset allocation strategies and their impact on funding levels and surpluses.
- Assess how investment strategy influences deficit recovery schedules and contribution levels.
- Design and test the effectiveness of hedging strategies using a comprehensive array of derivative instruments, including LPI swaps.
- Investigate the impact of potential de-risking strategies, including dynamic rebalancing.
- Understand the impact of more frequent monitoring by projecting using monthly time steps.
Product Brochure
Multi-Asset Portfolio Management
Moody's Analytics economic scenario and asset-liability modeling offerings support investment design and risk management activities.
Pension Fund Investment and Risk Management
Moody's Analytics solution enables defined benefit pension managers to design investment strategies and investigate funding solutions to secure their objectives.


text:
Stories and Articles written for Mother to Mother...
Why not use these adorable bags?
Baby Shower Gift
Reflections of My Obstetrical Training
(My favorite story, here...)
I Could Not Breastfeed Because...
(Excuses mothers give...)
It has been beneficial for me and the Task Force to share the first letter with everyone. I decided to dig up some previous letters that I wrote to physicians regarding breastfeeding. I don't feel comfortable using pediatricians names. Hopefully the letters give you enough back ground info to follow what their purpose was.
Letter to a Pediatrician I
Letter to a Pediatrician II
Letter Addressing Pediatrician Concerns
Letter to a Local Business


text:
Ever The Self-Promoter.../
It's embarrassing to admit but I'm taking several copies of my book with me on our trip. There is no logical reason for this as packing space is already tight and it may come down to making the call between the books or a fourth pair of black shoes (the only ones that go with that skirt), which is frightening. But more frightening is that I'm taking the books because…who knows? Maybe something will pan out.
I beg shops to sell the book in America but have this notion that I will show up on the shores of England, whip out the book and hear bells toll in ancient castles as shopkeepers across the UK weep, "We've been waiting for a jolly-good cat book like this one. Thank the Queen you've arrived!" (I doubt people living in the UK say, "Thank the Queen," but I've no idea yet what they do say, so thanking the Queen it is).
What am I going to do if I find a shop that actually wants it? Spend the shipping costs to ship 2 copies of one book to England? Ha! And yet…that's exactly what I'd do. Because then I'd be an international author. Doesn't that have a nice ring to it? Yes, this needs to happen. I'll shove a cat book down some poor country storekeeper's throat if I have to…God Save The Queen.


text:
I met Phil Conserva in the middle of 2007, on the rooftop of a hotel in Los Angeles. He was a TV producer and passionate for biodiesel, and we became fast friends, working on projects together. We had many adventures over the next couple of years, but there was one afternoon in particular that stands out.
I had known Phil for a few months, and we were at a club in Hollywood, middle of the afternoon. Phil was filming an episode of CSi. I was watching the whole process with awe. There was a veteran TV director running the show. At this point, Phil had been involved in the show for years, but still hadn't directed. As we stood there, with Phil standing behind my right ear, Phil proceeded to tell me what should have been going on, what this director should have been doing. Phil's comments were incisive and interesting, and I couldn't help but thinking that HE should be directing the episode instead.
Directing eventually started happening, but after I didn't see Phil as much. Phil, who is just pretty much the coolest guy in the world, always encouraged me to write, and always bonded with me over being a reader in his Hollywood world overrun with people who could read, but didn't. As time went on, he got more into his partnership with another CSI producer and director Louis Milito, who is directing a different show almost every week. Louis, Phil told me, was another reader, a word that Phil held in high esteem. "We're all English majors in a world of business majors," he would say, always bemoaning that. "This business is about story, or should be."
Phil encouraged me to write, which I did anyway, but especially as I wrote Sabotage, I could just see Phil being involved. When The Intern was out and Sabotage was coming, I called Phil and told him all about it.
A few months later, I started telling him about a TV idea that I had, my gritty urban drama, as I liked to call it. I knew I was coming out to LA in March of 2016, and I started sending him the materials I was beginning to write with the encouragement of my agent, Italia Gandolfo. Italia's super cool old school right hand in Hollywood called it my "Heathen" project, and Phil kidded me that he had to take two showers and several medications after reading it for the first time. But they liked it. When a mistake sent it to the desk of one of the top Showtime executives (who is rumored to never like anything) and miraculously he said he LOVED it, I started thinking there might be something to this.
From that first night of meeting Phil at the Hollywood Roosevelt always-cool pool area, to a year and a half of fever dreams and delving ever-deeper into the lives and stories of these people, after a lengthy and revelatory meeting with Louis and Phil in Burbank on Monday night, we have set the stage for a week of pitches to happen in the next few weeks. You can't ever count on anything, but this show has developed from a good, strong idea into a character-driven serial with five seasons of story lines, short stories and podcasts as well as story bibles and scripts, an idea that hasn't really been seen on TV in this way. I think it has a good chance of making the jump.
I'm going to write some about the process here, and I hope it will be interesting. Can't talk about the story itself just yet, but I hope this is enough to wet your whistle.
More to come ...


text:
to page content
to site navigation
Return to Portfolio Search
Future Metals is a worldwide leader in the distribution and supply of aircraft quality metal tubing, extrusions, rolled form stringers, sheet, bar, plate and other specialty metal products. The company serves the global aerospace market.
© 2019 RiversideCompany.com. All Rights Reserved


text:
House sitting is a very simple concept: homeowners (and often pet owners as well) invite somebody to live in their home and look after it while they're away.
In the past, most house sitting was done by 'house sitting agencies' which charge a daily fee for looking after houses with additional fees for any other responsibilities such as look after pets. The internet has changed how house sitting is done and these days most people who house sit do it in exchange for free accommodation, allowing them to live in another part of the world for a week, a month or a year at very little cost to themselves.
Typical Assignments
Looking at the latest housesits on TrustedHousesitters.com gives a good indication of what a typical house sit involves.
Most house sits last for 2-3 weeks while the home owners are away on holidays. The vast majority involve some pet minding work, such as dog walking or cat feeding and perhaps looking after some household plants.
Most people take on a house sitter because they don't want to put their pets in a kennel or cattery. This isn't just because they feel that kind of lifestyle won't give them enough exercise, but they want someone to look after their pets who will give them a lot of one-on-one attention. As such, if you decide to take on a house sit with pets, you should expect to spend a lot of time playing with them and you should expect these pet to want a lot of attention of you. If you're not a serious pet lover, then perhaps this lifestyle isn't for you.
Medium to longer term house sits often don't involve pet care, the owners are simply concerned about leaving their house vacant for such a long period of time and want somebody to look after it. Most home insurance policies are also void if the house is left unoccupied for more than 30 days and having a house sitter in the home helps to keep them valid.
House Sitting VS WWOOF-ing, Home Exchanges, Couchsurfing Etc
House sitting is often compared to WWOOFing and home exchanges, however while each of these types of travel are based around the idea of free accommodation, house sitting is slightly different.
- House Sitting VS WWOOFing: With WWOOFing, the volunteer works on an organic farm for several hours per day in return for their board. With house sitting the sitter is left to mind the house by themselves. Responsibilities vary, but usually don't take more than an hour or so per day.
- House Sitting VS Home Exchanges: With home exchanges two home owners swap homes. With house sitting the sitter doesn't swap anything except for their time and commitment to looking after the home owner's house and pets.
- House Sitting VS Couchsurfing: With couchsurfing, a 'couchsurfer' stays on someone else's couch whereas with house sitting, the sitter gets to look after the entire property while the owner is away.
Getting Started
House sitting is all about trust and most of the work involved in getting started as a house sitter and landing that first house sit, involves building up your profile and making sure you are trustworthy.
A few tips for making this happen:
- Fill out your profile as thoroughly as possible.
- A picture is a thousand words, so be sure to add a few of those as well.
- Get a police background check. These cost around $10 USD in most countries and is nothing more than a piece of paper that says you've no criminal convictions but it gives home owners that extra piece of mind when choosing you.
- Build up your references. You may not have taken on any house sits yet but you can still add character references and references from previous employers. If you have any friends or family members that have pets offer to house sit for them – it could land you your first housesit and more importantly, your first house sitting reference as well.
James has house sat all over France, Spain, Portugal and the UK looking after more than fifty animals including dogs, cats, turtles, ducks and alpacas! Follow him on Twitter here.


text:
An electric bike, created by the Palo Alto, Calif., design consultancy Ideo and Santa Cruz, Calif., bike maker Rock Lobster Custom Cycles, has won the competition for creating the best urban utility bike in the Oregon Manifest creative collaboration challenge.
The bike, which combines classic styling with an electric motor, beat out the creations of the pairing of Portland, Ore., design firm Ziba with bike builder Signal Cycles, and the tandem of San Francisco design consultancy Fuseproject with Santa Rosa, Calif., SyCip Designs.
On its Web site, Oregon Manifest posted reviews of each bike from four independent critics. Then, it let people vote for their favorite. The group declined to break down the voting, but said the Ideo-Rock Lobster creation won more of the 319 votes than the other bikes.
CNET has followed the competition--pairing global design firms with small, handcrafted bike builders--since July, reporting on the initial efforts of the teams to create the ultimate ride for hauling stuff around town. And we rode the three bikes during the field test last month, noting that the Ideo-Rock Lobster creation, dubbed the Faraday, was the most daring.
That's because it used a motor to help power the pedals when cyclists need a bit of boost, up hills, for example. To cycling purists, that's anathema. But getting more people on bikes is a central goal to the Oregon Manifest competition. And that tiny motor, which only helps a bit, and even then only works when a cyclist is doing some pedaling, seemed to catch voters' fancy.
"The IDEO/Rock Lobster bike in particular has created a new benchmark for ebikes: one that melds true, and familiar, beauty of form with clever innovations and the sort of new technologies that soon become indispensable," said Oregon Manifest board director Shannon Holt, who organized the competition.
The ultimate utility bike? Maybe it's an e-bike
Photos: The ultimate utility bike competition
Designing the ultimate utility bike
The bike, which cost about $5,000 in parts to make, features a 24-volt, 250-watt motor. To boost power, riders can push a thumb-controlled toggle on the left-handlebar grip to switch on the pedal-assist. Cleverly, the lithium-ion batteries are stashed inside twin top tubes, allowing the bike to retain classic looks, rather than taking on the appearance of a moped.
The reviewers universally loved the Faraday, named after 19th century scientist Michael Faraday, whose inventions are the foundation of electric motors. One, Jeremy Spencer, a former senior editor at Outside magazine who still reviews bikes for the publication, said he wrestled with his "Puritanical belief that a bicycle's engine is by definition its human."
"Otherwise, it's a motorcycle, right?" Spencer wrote. "Well, dammit, this isn't a motorcycle. It's a brilliant update of the French porteur with a little lightning up its butt, and I love it."
Ideo's Adam Vollmer said he and Rock Lobster's Paul Sadoff have received a few queries about ordering the bike.
"It's great to see that people loved the bike," Vollmer said.
But it's not a production model. And it's not clear that it ever will be one. The idea was to create a utility bike that would inspire others in the industry to rethink their approach to urban cycling.
The bike, along with the other design collaboration creations and the winners of the main Oregon Manifest competition among independent bike builders, is on display through October 29 at the Museum of Contemporary Craft in Portland.


text:
Flag-bearer curse is 'pure bunk'
This topic is so overly hyped and stupid that I'm typing with reservation.
I'm inclined to hold the backspace key down until the title line is erased in the hope that the whole conversation capitulates along with every word I've typed.
But that's not going to happen, is it?
So despite my better judgement I'll carry on with my blog assignment, tilting at the windmill that is this idiotic assertion that one of the highest honours an Olympic athlete can receive carries with it a mystical blight of underperformance.
Firstly, there is a precedent to bearing the Maple Leaf at the opening ceremony.
Typically, an athlete who won a gold medal at a previous Olympic games is selected. Winning gold at the Olympics is really hard; harder still is defending that gold four years later. Catriona Le May Doan is the only Canadian to ever defend an Olympic title in an individual event. She also carried our flag at the closing ceremonies in Nagano and opening of Salt Lake City. She is the poster child for the campaign to dispense with this curse rhetoric.
Beyond sorcery and abracadabra, there have been some tangible theories of how the act of carrying a flag around might impact performance. I'll highlight a few of these gems for the sake of thoroughness.
- Fatigue. Whether it's from walking for a few kilometres, standing up for a few hours, or waving a flag high and hard, this argument fails to consider one critical factor: We are talking about OLYMPIANS. Not to suggest that pedestrian activities don't sometimes make a high-performance athlete's body sore (my coach said a game of darts once kept him off the water for two days). But these folks know their bodies better than a millennial knows their smart phone. An athlete's competition schedule and how the demands that the privilege could impact preparation and performance are always taken into consideration by the COC, the coach and the athlete. If there are any concerns, there is no shame or dishonour in turning the offer down. Unless Don Cherry finds out, then you are in deep with Grapes.
- Added pressure. Every athlete knows when a water bottle is totally full, you cannot put any more water into it. It's physics. Full is full. Athletes use pressure like koalas use eucalyptus, or sled dogs use, well, dog food I guess. They use pressure like fuel, that's what I'm trying to get at. I used a Billie Jean King quote in my previous blog so I can't use it again, but you catch my drift. There is full pressure, extrinsic and intrinsic. There isn't any room for more and that's a good thing, so if you could add more (which you can't) it would be a good thing.
- The mortal fear of tripping while on television. Whether you are on your way to accept a Golden Globe, walking behind the weather guy in front of the CBC building, or the next contestant on the Price is Right, the terror of this possibility affects everyone, except Olympians. Olympians don't have fear.
So that's it. I got the last word on the dumb flag-bearer curse discussion. Case closed, no more talking about it. Let's be positive folks!
And to our flag-bearer here in Sochi, three-time Olympic Champion, one-time silver medallist, and five-time Olympian (she played softball for Canada in Sydney! Whaaat?), Hayley Wickenheiser, wave that thing high and hard cause we are all going to be screaming at the TV!
Just don't trip.


text:
Ghana Getaway
Ghana Getaway
This article originally appeared in Escape Artist magazine.
Ghana hardly tops most people's list of ideal holiday destinations. It's a stew pot for every disease going; vaccinations for yellow fever, tetanus, diptheria, polio, typhoid, Hepatitus A and B and rabies are a must – not to mention taking your malarial tablets.
Every time you eat out, you're playing Russian Roulette with your digestive health and every car journey is a dice with death. Moreover, being almost equatorial, it's hot and humid all year round – the only variations being in January, when the Harmattan Wind blows Saharan dust overhead, and in July and August, when it rains everyday.
Petty crime is probably less common than it is in New York or London but armed car-jackings and robberies are something of which all visitors need to be aware.
Taking a walk around the capital is also problematic, as there are no pavements. Keep one eye open for cars that will happily mow you down and one open for the storm drains (wherein lurk all things unmentionable).
Despite the above, you won't regret a visit to Ghana. Its vibrancy is unforgettable. The streets hum with colour and noise and the Ghanaians are the most fun loving people on the planet; nobody can party like they can. They certainly aren't shy when it comes to getting down on the dance floor.
Of course, when they aren't shaking their booties, teasing each other naughtily or cackling helplessly with laughter, they are content to just chill. Goats, chickens and children roam about freely, regardless of passing traffic, adding to the general sense that nothing is worth getting too bothered about. The best way to enjoy your stay is to adopt a similar nonchalance; relax and smell the pineapples! Just be ready to leap into action if someone puts on a Highlife record.
Sometimes, even the buildings don't seem to know if they're in the process of being built or of being pulled down. Corrugated iron perched on top of a pile of rubble and wooden planks might look unseemly to us but it could well be someone's home. Local people tend to prefer their homes to have an open feel, not bothering with fences; the advantage to this is that you can sit outside in the evening and watch the world go by.
A walk around downtown Accra after 7pm is a revelation. The bright glare of daytime gives way to flickering lamps in the darkness. Every is subdued once night has fallen (which happens pretty consistently at around 6pm). Teenage girls stir pots of soup cooking over charcoal fires while toddlers lie sleepily in their laps.
Young boys scuffle about in the gloom playing games. Meanwhile, the men folk put up their feet with a bottle of Guinness Malta (a non-alcoholic version of the famous drink), tell stories and jokes and put the world to rights.
Your stay in Ghana will certainly result in you making huge numbers of new friends: if you offer a smile to those around you, everyone from the lady looking after your nearby vegetable stall to those selling toilet brushes, dog collars and beach balls along the side of the road will be ready to start up a conversation and treat you to a dazzlingly broad grin in return.
The only downside to this friendliness is that everyone is so eager to please you that they'll say anything to keep you happy. This becomes apparent when asking for advice; be ready to hear what people think you want to hear rather than what's actually true. This means telling you that you're only five minutes from the beach (when it's another 40 minutes drive), that your meal will be with you imminently (when the chef hasn't even looked at your order yet) or that your car will be serviced by 5pm (you won't see it again for at least a few days).
Besides getting to know the locals, you'll also have thorough knowledge of indigenous wildlife by the time you leave. I've had a praying mantis in my hair, beetles in my food, geko lizards in the bathroom, cockroaches in the kitchen drawers and armies of ants trooping through our bed and across the sofa.
When you're tired of the bustle of city life, a trip to the beach might seem like a good idea. Choose carefully. Those along the seafront in Accra double as outdoor toilet facilities, relying on the tide to redistribute the day's deposits. Needless to say, swimming isn't advised – you could bump into anything out there. Even if you drive east to Pram Pram (only 45 minutes away), you're likely to find a few unpleasant surprises. The sea breezes are refreshing but the state of the beach after the tide has ebbed is miserable. Every piece of plastic and junk imaginable (and plenty of things you wouldn't really want to imagine) are cast up on the sand. You're guaranteed to find several shoes – but never two that match – disembodied doll heads and used syringes.
The other alternative is to head west to a resort called White Sands; this can take anything from 90 minutes to 6 hours depending on the Kasoa traffic. This busy market town is the main route linking East to West so its traffic jams are legendary. If a lorry breaks down or there's a pile up, you can be trapped interminably (needing a wee after about the first 10 minutes). Having spent time crawling along its main street on many occasions, I can testify to there always being plenty to look at while you wait but the mounds of rotting vegetation and the pungency of the open storm drains produce a foul stench – keep those windows rolled up. In fact, if you do otherwise, you'll arrive at your destination covered in red dust (from the laterite roads); your hair will be stiff with sweat, muck and salty sea air and relying on running water awaiting you at your guesthouse can be foolhardy. Electricity and water can't be taken for granted outside of Accra's largest hotels, which have their own water tanks and generators.
Coconut Grove Beach Resort is another pleasant retreat, with roomy huts right on the shore. Sit on your veranda, looking out over the sea, and allow yourself to be lulled to sleep by the waves. Although its generator has an alarming habit of running out of fuel and its water tanks likewise often run dry, its beautiful location more than makes up for these annoyances. Just bring a few torches and plenty of your own bottled water.
It even has a its own 9 hole golf course (with crocodiles living in the water hazard – collect stray balls at your peril) and a reasonably clean pool; this is a welcome treat as the strong currents make swimming a no-no.
Its restaurant won't set the world on fire – since it often only has chicken to offer; the fishermen don't deliver daily so it's pot luck what's in store. You can always fall back on jollof rice, mind you – a tasty local speciality. For a real culinary treat, pay a visit to Busua Beach – just another 20 minutes down the coast. Nothing compares to succulent crayfish and Red Red (like spicy baked beans). Towards dusk, speakers the size of small houses are set up and locals gather to party the night away.
Worth a visit is Elmina's Slave Castle – built by the Portuguese in 1482 and used as a fort. It's now a World Heritage Site, telling the history of the millions who passed through on their way to the New World in enslavement. It's a popular attraction – especially for African-Americans who return to retrace their ancestors' footsteps. Ghana began trading slaves about 500 years ago. It's thought that, between 1650 and 1900, up to 28 million Africans were taken away (with many more perishing during slaving raids or while in captivity awaiting shipment).
Slavery was already firmly established before the Europeans arrived – as those captured in local warfare would become servants to their captors – but the Portuguese (who were the first to arrive in 1471) quickly saw the benefits of purchasing these slaves from local chiefs. Other European powers soon followed and Britain jumped on the bandwagon in the mid 16th century. In the early 19th century, Ashanti territory covered nearly all of present-day Ghana, including the coast, where they could trade directly with the British. In exchange for guns and other European goods, they sold gold and slaves (either captured in battle or given as tribute from conquered peoples). They also supplied slaves to Muslim traders in the north.
Elmina's slave dungeons certainly have a chilling atmosphere. Housing up to a thousand people, the cramped and malodorous conditions took many to their maker. Several other forts still stand along the coast, the one at Cape Coast being the best restored (and featuring an extensive museum). The 'gates of no return' – through which slaves passed as they boarded the boats – still look out at the ocean.
Another memorable experience is the Kakum Canopy Walk. Arrive promptly, when it opens, at 8am. You can avoid the crowds and be duly rewarded with having the 350m of walkways to yourself. There are six suspended rope bridges (built by the Canadians and with a pristine safety record …apparently) from which you can view the forest canopy from 30m above the ground. You cross each one alone – to avoid them bouncing too ferociously; this is little comfort if you have a companion intentionally shaking the ropes from one end to make them wobble; my husband thought this a great form of entertainment.
Every now and then, you hear a distant shriek – not a wild animal but a fellow visitor elsewhere on the trail. Steel yourself because, once you start out, there's no going back. Between each bridge, you can have a few moments to rest on a 'tree-house' style platform. Don't lean against the tree trunks or, like me, you might find yourself with a family of ants trooping off the tree into your blouse. Afterwards, you can take
a guided walk back through the forest. There are supposed to be over five hundred kinds of butterflies and around three hundred types of birdlife but I only noticed rather a lot of leaf mould. The monkeys and other interesting furry creatures come out at night. We did see a Kuntan tree however, whose sap is so sweet smelling that the local ladies use it as perfume.
On leaving the park, you can stop at Hans' Boatel for a drink or an early lunch. This cafe is built quite ingeniously over a pond and has several piers and seating areas set over the water, making it a delightful place to sit slurping your groundnut soup (very tasty – like liquidized peanut butter). The long-suffering crocodiles are kept well fed so that they don't rampage into the dining room. You can also watch a large group of weaver birds, which nest close by, darting in and out of their little round homes.
If you feel like going further afield, the drive up to Kumasi (the wealthy Ashanti capital) is another option. The lush rolling hills and rocky outcrops are quite different from the flat coastline. Ghana doesn't abound in wildlife, since most of it has long been eaten, but you might spot a chameleon, eyes swiveling simultaneously in opposite directions. One sat resolutely in the middle of the road for us – disguised rather unconvincingly as dust. A few small buck deer bounced through the bushes.
Although smaller than Accra, Kumasi has the same busy atmosphere, with traffic and people milling in every direction. There was a huge jam in the centre of town as we tried to make our way through, with drivers resting their elbows on their horns and shouting at each other across the lanes. Other Ghanaians tend to roll their eyes when speaking of the Ashanti, believing them
smug and overly ambitious but this may stem from jealousy at their prosperity, since they happen to sit on huge gold reserves. They certainly seem to make good businessmen. Their ruthlessness is summed up by their adage: 'If power is for sale, sell your mother to obtain it. Once you have the power, there are several ways of getting her back.'
A trip on Lake Volta (the largest man made lake in the world) might also appeal. You can catch a ferry from Yeji in the upper half of the country across the lake in any direction or, even, all the way down to Akosombo Dam in the south. The town itself is quite attractive in its own tumble down fashion – with the usual cafes and roadside stalls hustling for your attention.
The ferries are rather dilapidated though and tend to be overcrowded. Every few years, one sinks with dire results. This year's tragedy saw only 30 survivors after 150 people were crowded onto a ferry designed for 75. We were spared the experience, as we arrived just as the last crossing of the day departed. An eight hour detour commenced to reach our intended destination: the miner's camp on the other side. Bumping along at 20km per hour on dusty tracks in complete darkness (there's obviously nothing resembling a street lamp for hundreds of miles), we could have been driving round in circles without being any the wiser. At 2am, we fell out of the car in an advanced state of rigor mortis.
Driving through the countryside, it makes sense to pay a visit to one of the villages. To make a good impression, you should first pay your respects to the chief. Ask for the okyeame (his spokesman); he'll inform you of whether the chief is available and, if an audience is granted, he'll be your interpreter. Regardless of how well the chief speaks English, he always converses through his okyeame. On entering the chief's hut, you should remove your shoes, sunglasses and headwear and stand until asked to sit. Don't cross your arms or legs, and wait for the chief to extend his hand before offering yours. Shake with your right hand and use your left to cover your hosts'. It's also a good idea to have a gift with you: some schnapps or cola nuts are both ideal (the latter taste very bitter but are high in calories and symbolise good health).
In 2001, we visited the King of the Dagbon tribe – the Ya Naa – in Yendi. To explain, every village has its own chief who reports to a sub-regional chief who, in turn, is under the authority of the supreme chieftain (or King) of the region. His hut was a traditional, round mud affair with a thatched roof and, surprisingly, a wall mounted TV; a nature programme with the sound turned down played during our twenty minute stay. We were offered a drink, which must be accepted (although you can just take a few sips), and my husband conversed on worldly matters – through the spokesman – while I sat demurely, as was expected.
Our gifts were accepted with a smile and we were delighted to be presented with some locally made outfits; still hanging in our wardrobe today. It's polite to ask permission to leave and we were taken on a short tour of the village before being escorted back to our car. Rather shockingly, not long afterwards, the Ya Naa and 30 of his courtiers were murdered in a raid conducted by the rival Abudu tribe. His decapitated head was paraded around on a spear while his severed hand was made into a necklace (with his wristwatch left in place). The assailants then looted and burnt down the royal compound, taking the King's head and hand with them – the ultimate insult, as a man's soul is thought to be unable to travel on unless his corpse is buried in its entirety. The massacre was the result of an age-old chieftaincy dispute in the Dagbon Region. Ghana may have mobile phones, TV and computers but it's still a different world.
You can't fight the tide of the unexpected but perhaps the best advice is to leave behind your inhibitions and expectations (along with your winter clothes, stilettos and make-up). Patience and humour are essential, as are an open mind and an appreciation of the genuine kindness and friendship that you'll find. For every new thing you learn, you'll uncovered at least two more that you can't begin to understand. Ghana is dusty and lush, stifling and liberating, enchantingly charming and brutally unforgiving. The only way to know the place is to get down and dirty with it: smell everything, eat it, drink it and step in (or preferably over) it. Chat to everyone you meet – whether they be offering you a prostrate rodent on a stick, filling a pot hole in the back of beyond (by digging another hole nearby) or driving you in a vehicle that you might easily be giving a push start a few minutes into your journey.
As the Ghanaians would say: Only when you have crossed the river can you say the crocodile has a lump on his snout.
Link to original online


text:
National Security
Controversial 'Osprey' makes combat debut in Afghanistan
CAMP LEATHERNECK, AFGHANISTAN — When a couple of VM-22 Osprey tilt rotors joined a fleet of CH-53 helicopters, dropping out of the predawn darkness Friday in the northern end of the Now Zad valley in Helmand Province to deliver the first of more than 1,000 NATO and Afghan troops, it marked not only the first large assault since President Obama's announcement that the U.S. would be sending more troops here, it also was the first major combat operation for the Osprey.
The Marines are hoping that the operation — a sweep to begin to secure the area around the city of Now Zad dubbed Cobra's Anger — will become a key step toward resuscitating the image of the Osprey, which can take off and land like a helicopter, but in the air can tilt its motors forward to fly like a fixed-wing plane.
"It certainly passed its first big test here with flying colors," said Maj. William Pelletier, a spokesman at the Marine Corp's main base in Afghanistan and Helmand Province, Camp Leatherneck.
The Osprey suffered through a star-crossed development period that took more than 20 years and included several fatal crashes and huge cost overruns. Then, after production models entered service, on its only other combat deployment so far, in Iraq's Anbar Province in 2007 through 2009, the complicated aircraft was panned by the Government Accounting Office and critics in Congress because of various maintenance problems and questions about its performance.
In a report released June 23, the GAO essentially said that it wasn't worth the cost and that its ability to fly at high altitudes and to carry the number of troops it was supposed to with their gear was questionable.
At a hearing on the day the report was released, Rep. Edolphus Towns, a New York Democrat, said: "It has problems in hot weather, it has problems in cold weather, it has problems with sand, it has problems with high altitude, and it has restricted maneuverability. The list of what the Osprey can't do is longer than the list of what it can do."
He then said that the Pentagon should quit buying them, and the GAO urged the Pentagon to look into other options. It declined.
The Marines countered that the aircraft can do extraordinary things because of its speed and range, and that it does better at higher altitudes than critics say.
Afghanistan, with its great distances and challenging terrain — and more likelihood that the aircraft will face combat — could start to make it clear whether the Marines are right and the VM-22 is worth the cost, now more than $120 million each.
"I don't think the Marines have satisfactorily answered that yet," said Richard Whittle, author of the upcoming book 'The Dream Machine: The Untold History of the Notorious V-22 Osprey.' "It's expensive to operate and it's going to take more time and more missions to answer that question, but this deployment will start to fill in some of the blanks on whether it's worth it.
"If it saves lives or somehow wins a battle, maybe people will say that it is," Whittle said. "But I think that to some degree that will always be in the eye of the beholder."
The 10 Ospreys arrived about a month ago and are being flown by Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 261 (VMM-261) of Marine Corps Air Station New River in North Carolina. At first, the crews mainly flew around Helmand to get familiar with the turf. They officially went operational this week, beginning to fly troops and supplies around the province.
If this deployment goes well, it could start to repair the Osprey's tarnished image. The aircraft hasn't suffered a fatal crash since 2000, and the Marines think they're starting to get a handle on the maintenance problems, which in many cases involved shortages of relatively minor parts such as connectors and wiring insulation that had been expected to last longer, and therefore weren't stockpiled.
"The normal reliability and maintainability issues that you see early in ... an aircraft's life cycle, we are seeing right now" said Lt. Col. Rob Freeland, a Pentagon-based officer who deals with supply-chain issues for the Osprey, and is himself an experienced Osprey pilot.
"What makes things get better in naval aviation?" Freeland said. "Time and money and a lot of engineering effort, and we're pulling all three right now, and we have every reason to expect, looking at all the forecasts, that we're going to push through this in the next three to five years.
'By that point we expect that the readiness of the aircraft, which is reliability, maintainability and supply and support, we expect the readiness of the aircraft to match its magical effectiveness, but that comes with time," he said. "It's very natural and that's what we're moving through right now."
Fixes are under way for the problems with parts shortages discovered in the Iraq deployment, he said.
The Marines in Afghanistan charged with keeping them in the air agree.
"With the right parts, these planes will be as reliable as anything out there," said Gunnery Sgt. Jake Korkian, 36, of Fort Worth, Texas, who has worked with the Osprey program since 1996 and is in charge of the squadron's maintenance for the airframe, hydraulics, and other systems.
Among the parts that have to be replaced more often than expected are certain hydraulic lines — which on the Osprey are built of light but expensive and brittle titanium — and clamps for them.
"It's just nuisance stuff, like bushings," he said. "It's nothing major, it's just that these guys don't know what to stock, so you either waste money and build up a stock of stuff you don't need, or you let the supply system learn what it needs, and that's what it's doing right now."
"The next unit that comes out here won't have as many problems as us, and the unit that comes after that won't have as many problems as them," said Korkian
The Osprey squadron mainly has been moving troops and supplies between various bases. In Iraq, this duty led some critics to belittle it as no more than a fabulously expensive flying bus.
The squadron's commander, Lt. Col. Anthony Bianca of Huntsville, Ala., 42, laughed at that, saying it made no sense to criticize the Osprey for taking on its designated role.
"Yes, we're moving people and yes, we're moving supplies, that's what medium lift does," he said.
In Afghanistan, though, where distances can be much greater than Iraq, the additional speed and range it offers will boost what the Marines and other units can do.
For one thing, it will allow them to react to information about the enemy much quicker.
The aircraft is so fast, in fact, that it can sometimes make two trips back and forth in the time it takes a helicopter to make one trip.
That capability came into play Friday in the Now Zad operation, as the aircraft made several trips to deliver troops, Pelletier said.
When planning started on the Osprey's Iraq mission flying out of a base in Anbar Province, that area was the most deadly for U.S. troops. By the time it arrived, though, things had calmed down substantially as the Marines' efforts to form alliances with local sheiks against al Qaida began working. Quickly the area went from being a hot combat zone to one of the safer parts of Iraq.
This time, though, the Osprey is arriving in the hottest combat zone in a war that has been getting tougher rather than easier.
That will be an important difference between the Osprey's two deployments, said Whittle.
"This time, I think it's a little tougher place to operate and the enemy is certainly more active and, I think, more capable than what they faced in Anbar," he said.
Luckily, the Ospreys are getting significantly more armament for this deployment. One of the criticisms of the Osprey early on was that it couldn't defend itself well, as it was equipped with only a light machine gun on the rear ramp and had no defenses that could face forward. At Leatherneck, though, they are being retrofitted with a belly-mounted robotic machine gun and sophisticated targeting optics, all of which retracts into the aircraft before landings.
Also, the 7.62 mm machine gun on the back has been replaced with a much heavier .50-caliber gun.
Other issues that the Osprey has struggled with — its high-altitude performance and issues with de-icing equipment — may not be a challenge this time, as the Marines' turf doesn't include the high mountains, and is mainly desert. The aircraft are expected to perform some special missions in other parts of the country, but mainly will stay in the south.
Rotary-wing aircraft struggle with altitude and heat, and Helmand gets shockingly hot in summer, but Leatherneck sits at about 3,000 feet, and much of the area isn't significantly higher.
Still, the deployment should give a better sense of the Osprey's capabilities, Whittle said.
"The Marines have said after Iraq that they wanted to crawl with the Osprey first, then walk, then run," he said. "Well, maybe in Iraq they crawled with it, and now we'll see in Afghanistan if it's able to walk."
(Price reports for The News & Observer in Raleigh.)
Military will strain to get more troops to Afghanistan quickly
Afghans, Pakistanis voice doubts about U.S. strategy
Analysis: Focus on withdrawal could jeopardize Afghan mission


text:
Our Company / Our History
Second Time Around Watch Company specializes in the sale, purchase, repair, and appraisal of vintage watches, antique watches, and modern wrist and pocket watches. Our current watch inventory includes hundreds of collectible and rare, vintage watches from over 50+ brands, including vintage Rolex, Patek Philippe, and Cartier watches to list just a few. Our owner, Jon Goldfarb, has been an avid watch collector and enthusiast for many years. We are dedicated to ensuring that all Second Time Around Watch Company customers are 100% satisfied.
Our Experience
Today, after 40 years in business, our company's goal is the same as it was when we first opened our doors -- to find the most exceptional and rare watches for our customers to wear and enjoy. We are experts in the field and have been called on as appraisers for the Antiques Roadshow, Bonham's Auction House, Sotheby's Auction House, Tiffany & Co., and GEARYS. Our watchmakers who inspect and service every timepiece we sell have previous experience as technicians for watch manufacturers, including such prestigious luxury brands as Rolex and Omega. Every watch we sell is carefully restored by these master craftsmen with the following objectives in mind:
- Maintaining the integrity and originality of the timepiece.
- Ensuring that the watch's time keeping is as accurate as possible.
- Remaining true to our responsibilities as craftsmen.
Our Commitment
Second Time Around Watch Company is recognized as a premier source for vintage watches and modern watches for collectors, dealers, and enthusiasts worldwide. We are dedicated to offering watches that can be worn for generations to come. A full two year warranty is provided on all watches, and all of our watches are guaranteed 100% genuine and authentic. The high resolution images of our watches are completely undoctored and without manipulation -- all flaws and patina are visible without photographic enhancement -- what you see is what you get!
Our Location
Now located in Beverly Hills, California, in the South Beverly Drive Shopping District, we have served the Los Angeles area since 1976. Our address is 160 S. Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills, California 90212, one block south of Wilshire Boulevard, and just a few doors north of Charleville Boulevard, at the intersection commonly known as the Four Corners.
Metered Parking is available on Beverly Drive. In additon there are two nearby public parking garage structures which offer the first two hours free. One public parking garage is within less than one block south of us, and the other public parking garage is one block north of us on Beverly Drive, just north of Wilshire Boulevard. There is also one hour parking on residential streets both to the east and to the west of our retail store.
If you are not in the Southern California area please call us at 310-271-6615 or toll free at 800-977-7615 or email us at firstname.lastname@example.com. It's likely that we have the watch you are looking for or know how to find it. We ship fully insured via UPS Overnight Next Day Delivery within the United States and UPS Worldwide Express to most countries.
Our Associations
We are proud to be associated with the following respected organizations:
- NAWCC (National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors)
- IWJG (International Watch & Jewelry Guild)
- The National Association of Watch Dealers
- Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce
- Better Business Bureau (BBB)
Hours: Monday - Saturday, 10am - 5:30pm
Main: 1 (310) 271 - 6615
Toll Free: 1 (800) 977 - 7615
For inquiries, email us at email@example.com
Address: 160 S. Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90212
The history of Second Time Around Watch Company is also the history of Los Angeles. Sigmund Shonholtz (1882-1946), as the story goes, in his youth, enjoyed betting on the horses at the local race track, and one day he did particularly well. He returned home to his family and announced he would be moving to America. He immigrated to the United States from Austria in the late 1890's and moved to Philadelphia, where he founded his own jewelry store along the city's famed Broad Street. By 1910, he had become a naturalized citizen, and began to think about moving to Los Angeles with his new family. He finally took the plunge, and settled with his wife, two daughters, and three sons, in East Los Angeles in the middle of the 1910's. Sigmund founded S. Shonholtz & Sons as a watch and jewelry store in 1921, in the neighborhood of Boyle Heights, just east of the Los Angeles River. The store became a fixture of Los Angeles' Brooklyn Avenue, and Sigmund's three sons, Louis, Sidney, and David, each joined the family business, which continued to grow with the rapidly expanding city.
(At left, war bonds purchased on behalf of S. Shonholtz & Sons. Right, youngest son David Shonholtz's Bar Mitzvah is featured in the paper above a report on the Dillinger gang.)
Sadly, Sigmund passed away in 1946, and in response, his three sons regrouped their efforts, and, as announced on the front page of the September 8th, 1948 edition of the Eastside Journal, the brothers hosted a grand reopening in a new and modernized storefront location on Brooklyn Avenue.
(At left, the Shonholtz sons are featured on the front page of the local paper. At right, S. Shonholtz & Sons grand reopening on September 9th, 1948.)
During the 1950s, the bustling store thrived and eventually expanded to other locations, including a storefront in Los Angeles' "Miracle Mile".
(At left, pictured center, eldest son Louis Shonholtz riding on a parade float in east Los Angeles. At right, the three brothers in their store.)
S. Shonholtz and Sons continued strong through the 1960's, but in the 1970's, changing tastes and the Swiss "Quartz Crisis" greatly impacted the watch trade. People became enamored with inexpensive, non-Swiss, quartz or battery wristwatches, and the market for fine mechanical timepieces rapidly declined.
(At left, David Shonholtz holding court in S. Shonholtz & Sons in the 1970s. At right, the team of watchmakers and staff in the 1970's Boyle Heights location.)
David Shonholtz, Sigmund's youngest son, closed his store in 1984 after 63 years in business.
(At left, an S. Shonholtz & Sons ad for quartz wristwatches from a local paper. Center, "David Shonholtz says goodbye to his clients...". Right, vintage S. Shonholtz & Sons business card holder stating "Since 1921... Oldest Established Jewelers in East L.A.".)
David's son, 'Sig' Shonholtz, now a third-generation watchmaker, founded Second Time Around Watch Company in 1976 as a full watch and jewelry restoration center, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. Sig had, what was at the time something unheard of: the visionary idea of selling restored "vintage wristwatches". People laughed at him — serious collectors of the day were only interested in clocks and pocket watches. In fact, while it was challenging to get people interested in vintage timepieces, it was nearly as hard to find people selling them -- no one thought they were worth anything! Through partnerships in supplying Ralph Lauren, Neiman Marcus, Saks, and Tourneau, he developed a strong business and clientele. In 1983, Second Time Around Watch Company moved in with the grand opening of the "Antiquarius Center" building, a luxury emporium of antiques and vintage jewelry located at 8840 Beverly Blvd in West Hollywood (a year before the city's incorporation). The business thrived there as a resource for lovers of fine vintage and antique timepieces.
(At left, our old location in the original Antiquarius Center Building, destroyed in the 2008 fire. At right, our old transitional location on Rosewood Avenue.)
Jon Goldfarb, a 23-year veteran of the automotive warranty business, who had worked for two major manufacturers/importers, purchased Second Time Around in 2006 from Sig Shonholtz, and continues to run operations to this day. In 2008, a fire destroyed the Antiquarius Center and Second Time Around was forced to temporarily move to nearby Rosewood Avenue, just off Robertson Boulevard. As of 2013, Second Time Around Watch Company has been located at 160 S. Beverly Drive in Beverly Hills, California, just one block south of Wilshire and one block east of Rodeo. We are happy to continue to provide the Los Angeles area (and thanks to the internet, the world) with restoration services and a curated selection of fine vintage timepieces, fully serviced by us and available in our store or by overnight delivery.


text:
Best Values
Related Items
Meet: The EVERYTHING (fits) BAG
Color: Peach
This super lightweight tote is our favorite go-to carry-all, she literally fits EVERYTHING.
Features built in seam at base for easy folding and storage (AS IF you will EVER store away!)
- Luxurious Snake Carryall
- Detailed in black Italian calf leather on base, handles and trim.
- Signature Damask Lining
- Features: Inside zipper pocket with a brass chain puller
- Black Leather cellphone/passport pocket
- Built in leather creditcard slots and secret pocket for bills
- Magnetic Snap Closure
- Includes Matching Removable Angelina Organizer, (attaches to interior leather strap)
Made (for you) in Florence, Italy.
The hardest part is choosing a color.
24" x 14" x 8" inches
61 x 35 x 20 cm
Travel Better, Everyday
Colors Available: Peach, Chocolate Brown, Elephant Grey
Reviews (0) Write a Review
No Reviews. Write a Review


text:
Tag: Db2
Jun 3, 2019 |
What's an AI database? If you were to ask IBM executives, they would point you to Db2, the 36-year-old database that's used by tens of thousands of companies around the world to power transactional and analytical workloads alike. Read more…
September 17, 2019
- Percona Announces New Distribution of PostgreSQL
- Schlumberger, Chevron and Microsoft Announce Collaboration to Accelerate Digital Transformation
- Import.io Taps Veteran Data Expert Doug Laney to Join Advisory Board
- DataRobot Launches MLOps Solution
- DataRobot Announces $206M Series E Funding Round
- Pure Storage Unveils Technology Alliance Partner Program
- New Cloudera Study Shows Current Enterprise Data Strategies Ineffective
- Oracle Introduces Exadata X8M
- Oracle, Intel Collaborate on Persistent Memory Performance Breakthroughs in Next Generation Oracle Exadata X8M
September 16, 2019
- Brodmann17 Launches the Next Stage in the Evolution of AI: An Automated Deep Learning Training Platform for ADAS/AD
- CognitiveScale Announces Cortex Certifai to Tackle Trust as a Barrier to Enterprise AI Adoption
- Introducing Streamlio Cloud Preview
- Extreme Networks Makes Investment to Develop Next-Generation Cloud and AI-based Network Solutions in Ireland
- Spireon Announces Big Data Partnership with Snowflake
September 13, 2019
- Duality Technologies Named a "Cool Vendor" by Gartner for Privacy Preservation in Analytics
- Valen Analytics Announces InsureRight Manage 2.0
- HPCwire and EnterpriseAI to Cover Silicon & Systems for Deep Learning at AI Hardware Summit as Headline Media Partners
September 12, 2019
- Odaseva Announces Growth with One Trillion Documents Supported and Over 10 Million Users
- IBM and ŠKODA AUTO University Collaborate on new Digital Skills for Students
- Trifacta Raises $100M to Support Explosive Growth of Data Wrangling for AI and the Cloud
Most Read Features
- Can We Stop Doing ETL Yet?
- Big Data File Formats Demystified
- Is Python Strangling R to Death?
- Seeing the Big Picture on Big Data Market Shift
- How to Build a Better Machine Learning Pipeline
- Is Hadoop Officially Dead?
- 10 Big Data Trends to Watch in 2019
- AutoML Tools Emerge as Data Science Difference Makers
- Re-Imagining Big Data in a Post-Hadoop World
- Why Knowledge Graphs Are Foundational to Artificial Intelligence
- More Features…
Most Read News In Brief
- HPE Acquires MapR
- R Backers Tout Funding Milestone, Seek Comeback
- H2O.ai Tops Off Funding to Accelerate AI Adoption
- Startup Rockset Adds SQL to DynamoDB
- AI, Analytics Help to Propel Wind Power
- MapR Says It's Close to Deal to Sell Company
- War Unfolding for Control of Elasticsearch
- StreamSets Eases Spark-ETL Pipeline Development
- How IBM Is Turning Db2 into an 'AI Database'
- California's New Data Privacy Law Takes Effect in 2020
- More News In Brief…
Most Read This Just In
- Cloudera Agrees to Acquire Arcadia Data
- Ascend Introduces Queryable Dataflows for Faster Pipeline Development and Overall Time to Big Data Success
- Illumina to Share their Data Virtualization Journey at Gartner Catalyst Conference
- Databricks Offers Automation Throughout the End-to-End Data and Machine Learning Lifecycle
- ThoughtSpot Raises $248M to Transform Enterprises with Search & AI-Driven Analytics
- H2O.ai Releases its Automatic Machine Learning Platform
- StreamSets Announces Beta of StreamSets Cloud
- Hazelcast Enhances Real-Time Capabilities for Financial Services Industry
- Trifacta Raises $100M to Support Explosive Growth of Data Wrangling for AI and the Cloud
- VMware Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire Pivotal Software
- More This Just In…
Sponsored Whitepapers
Sponsored Multimedia
Alex Woodie
Editor in Chief
George Leopold
Contributing Editor
Steve Conway
Hyperion Research
Tiffany Trader
Contributing Editor
Featured Events
Strata Data Conference New York 2019September 23 - September 26New York United States
CDAO Exchange for Financial Services & Insurance | Charlotte, NCOctober 20 - October 22Charlotte NC United States
Data Leaders Summit Europe 2019October 23 - October 24Berlin Germany


text:
Tin Shed prides itself on providing fresh, wholesome products, including free-range, organic and local items. The food highlights the ingredients and the menu pulls from a wide range of international influences, including quesadillas, sandwiches, soups, pasta, burgers and more. Also featuring a kid menu and doggie menu.
Location - 1438 N.E. Alberta St., Portland, OR 97211
Neighborhood - Alberta Arts District, NE Portland
Categories - American/New American
Features - Breakfast/Brunch, Farm to Table


text:
QD's Investigations & Research is female owned and operated and is based in Springfield, MO but serving the entire state. Additional services include adoption and absent parent searches and genealogy. However, please know that other forms of investigation are performed as needed. Just call and ask. This company is here to help you uncover the answers to your concerns and give you peace of mind.
Debi Lawson~Owner/Investigator
QD's Investigations & Research LLC
MO License # 2012014796
(417) 848-8449
Tarot card readings in person, for parties and via email. I have read for people all over the world. Please see my website to find out what is in the cards for you. There is a reading for every budget!
Hypnotherapist, life and spiritual coach - holistic healer working with positive energy via meditations for distance healings, and recently a published author. I am a ULC Minister, and Peace Ambassador through Monks without borders. I read Tarot for people all over the world. Link to website ~> http://readerpam.wix.com/reader-pam


text:
Lavvu and culture
Experience the storytelling and traditional fare around the campfire in the lavvu at Kronebutikken.
How to get there:
Høeghvollen in Sørkjosen.
March–October, by arrangement.
Contact Kronebutikken Eiendom AS
Phone: +47 450 35 435
E-mail: email@example.com
what do you get:
Meal of bidos, dessert and coffee around the campfire, information about local ingredients and traditional cuisine.
Price: 690 NOK
20-70 people
The main dish, bidos, is a Sami celebratory stew made from reindeer and vegetables. It is served with syrup bread. Dessert of Arctic berries.
Water and coffee around the campfire included.
Mineral water, beer and wine are available. Local cultural features, ask for price.
Toilet facilities.
Clothing: Preferably hiking gear.


text:
- Shortcuts
- Media
- Pupils
- Career
- Data
- Internal pages
GEOMAR I Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
Dr. Timm Schoening
Research Devision 2: Marine Biogeochemistry
Research Unit Marine Geosystems
Working Group DeepSea Monitoring
Room: 8A-210
Phone: +49 431 600-2320
Email: tschoening(at)geomar.de
Wischhofstraße 1-3
D-24148 Kiel
2015 Ph.D. in Computer Science:
"Automated detection in benthic images for megafauna classification and marine resource exploration: supervised and unsupervised methods for classification and regression tasks in benthic images with efficient integration of expert knowledge" (Bielefeld University)
2010 M.Sc. in Computer Science in the Natural Sciences:
"Towards Improved Epilepsia Diagnosis by Unsupervised Segmentation of Neuropathology Tissue Sections using Ripley's-L Features" (Bielefeld University)
2008 B.Sc. in Computer Science in the Natural Sciences:
"Web 2.0 techniques for exploratory image database analysis" (Bielefeld University)
Research interests
My work aims to monitor the deep-sea with methods of pattern recognition and image processing. The focus lies on the exploration of large archives of 2D and 3D images of benthic and pelagic images.
Monitoring poly-metallic nodule abundance
In cooperation with the JPIO Partners, BGR and Saltation Marine IT, the amount, size and finally mass of polymetallic nodules lying on the seafloor is to be estimated. To monitor the minerals as well as the diverse biology in this sensitive habitat, precise measurements are required. This includes detections of the nodules as well as the biology.
The first part of this project was targeted to derive the percentage of the seafloor covered in nodules. Subsequently more detailed segmentation yielded single nodule sizes, and, combined with automatically detected laser markers, the relative size of the nodules in cm.
Automated detection of benthic mega fauna
One of the major projects, is the automated detection of mega fauna (as well as flora and Lebensspuren created by those animals). Images are provided by collaboration partners at the Alfred Wegener Institute and NOC Southampton. One result is an automated detection system (called iSIS, intelligent screening of image series) that incorporates the expertise of the biologists while keeping their input as small as possible. Parameters for different steps of the system are derived from a fully-annotated workshop transect. As the central part, supervised machine-learning is applied by Support Vector Machines.
Manual image annotation
A basis for the application of supervised and semi-supervised machine learning algorithms is a training set of reference samples. To obtain such a reference set, image annotation is required which was facilitated in different ways. Initially, whole images can be annotated using BIIGLE. More features and efficiency is currently implemented for the successor DIAS (Discol Image Annotation System) being developed for the JPIO Mining Impact project.
Web based visualization tools
A wide range of research focused visualizations tools has been implemented. These mostly facilitate link and brush interfaces to fuse representations of complex feature based descriptions with images or plots.
Selected Publications
DELPHI—fast and adaptive computational laser point detection and visual footprint quantification for arbitrary underwater image collections
Timm schoening, Thomas Kuhn, Melanie Bergmann, Tim W. Nattkemper
Frontiers in Marine Science, 2015
Seabed classification using a bag-of-prototypes feature representation
Timm Schoening, Thomas Kuhn, Tim W. Nattkemper
Ultra-fast segmentation and quantification of poly-metallic nodule coverage in high resolution digital images
Timm Schoening, Björn Steinbrink, Daniel Brün, Thomas Kuhn, Tim W. Nattkemper
The impact of human expert knowledge on automated object detection in benthic images
Timm Schoening, Melanie Bergmann, Tim W. Nattkemper
Investigation of hidden parameters influencing the automated object detection in images from the deep seafloor of the HAUSGARTEN observatory
Timm Schoening, Melanie Bergmann, Anthe Boetius, Tim W. Nattkemper OCEANS 2012
Semi-Automated Image Analysis for the Assessment of Megafaunal Densities at the Arctic Deep-Sea Observatory HAUSGARTEN
Timm Schoening, Melanie Bergmann, Jörg Ontrup, James Taylor, Jennifer Dannheim, et al. (2012)
Biigle Tools - A Web 2.0 approach for Visual Bioimage Database Mining
Timm Schoening, Nils Ehnert, Jörg Ontrup, Tim W. Nattkemper


text:
Dress Well: Holiday Peplum
I know we're well past the holidays at this point, but I'm going to have to ask you to bear with me for one more set of pictures with a Christmas bonanza in the background (also known as my parents' house). I brought this outfit to Houston with one specific event in mind: my family's yearly pre-Christmas dinner at Pappa's Steakhouse. Since the outing is always a feeding frenzy, I needed an outfit that was both holiday appropriate and stretchy. This outfit turned out to be perfect (minus the belt - never wear a belt to a steakhouse).
Also, if I am ever out taking pictures for the blog and you walk by the photo session, this is what my face will look like. "Noooooooooo someone's coming down the street - I feel awkwarddddddd" - direct quote from me right before this picture was taken. Happy Thursday, everyone!


text:
AV Equipment Dealers near Amesbury, Massachusetts
Looking for AV Equipment Financing?Get INSTANT Online Quotes from the leading AV Equipment Lenders. Fast, Free and NO SALES REPS!
Local AV Equipment Dealers
near Amesbury, Massachusetts
Adder Corporation
350R Merrimac St. Newburyport , MA 01950
Richard D. Kimball Engineers
200 Brickstone Sq Andover , MA 01810
Verrex Corporation
220 Ballardvale St. Wilmington , MA 01887
Osram Sylvania
100 Endicott St. Danvers , MA 01923
MTS Services
13 Delta Dr Londonderry , NH 03053
AVI-Pro Inc.
2 Lowell St Unit 6 Wilmington , MA 01887
DGI Technologies
101 Billerica Ave. No. Billerica , MA 01862
Shanahan Sound & Electronics, Inc.
489 Westford St Lowell , MA 01851
George Wiley Consulting Group
29 Commerce Drive Bedford , NH 03110
Broadcast Pix
3 Federal St Billerica , MA 01821
Luminus Devices Inc
1100 Technology Park Dr Billerica , MA 01821
400 Valley Rd Ste 304 Mount Arlington , NJ 07856
Immediate Connections, Inc.
50 Terminal St Ste 2 Boston , MA 02129
Cambridge Sound Management
27 Moulton St Cambridge , MA 02138
25 1st St Ste 301 Cambridge , MA 02141
Presentations and Displays have never been sexier in Amesbury, Massachusetts thanks to the latest AV Equipment Dealers.
Today not only does Audio Visual (AV) Equipment save your company money and time by eliminating printing, shipping, travel and other costs but it has never been more affordable or easier to use. Whether you are in Sales, Marketing, Training, or Product Development your local AV Equipment Dealer is ready to help you choose the best AV technology solution to meet your needs.


text:
An Introduction to Metaphilosophy
Part of Cambridge Introductions to Philosophy
- Authors:
- Søren Overgaard, University of Copenhagen
- Paul Gilbert, University of Hull
- Stephen Burwood, University of Hull
- Date Published: March 2013
- availability: Available
- format: Paperback
- isbn: 9780521175982
What is philosophy? How should we do it? Why should we bother to? These are the kinds of questions addressed by metaphilosophy - the philosophical study of the nature of philosophy itself. Students of philosophy today are faced with a confusing and daunting array of philosophical methods, approaches and styles and also deep divisions such as the notorious rift between analytic and Continental philosophy. This book takes readers through a full range of approaches - analytic versus Continental, scientistic versus humanistic, 'pure' versus applied - enabling them to locate and understand these different ways of doing philosophy. Clearly and accessibly written, it will stimulate reflection on philosophical practice and will be invaluable for students of philosophy and other philosophically inclined readers.Read more
- Examines a wide range of metaphilosophical theories
- Stimulates reflection on philosophical practice
- Engages the reader in the practice of philosophy while reading
Customer reviews
Not yet reviewed
Be the first to review
Review was not posted due to profanity×
Product details
- Date Published: March 2013
- format: Paperback
- isbn: 9780521175982
- length: 250 pages
- dimensions: 244 x 173 x 13 mm
- weight: 0.5kg
- availability: Available
Table of Contents
1. Introduction: what good is metaphilosophy?
2. What is philosophy?
3. Philosophy, science and the humanities
4. The data of philosophy
5. Analytic and continental philosophy
6. Philosophy and the pursuit of truth
7. What is good philosophy?
8. What good is philosophy?
Sign In
Please sign in to access your account
Not already registered? Create an account now. ×
Sorry, this resource is locked
Please register or sign in to request access. If you are having problems accessing these resources please email email@example.com Sign in
» Proceed
You are now leaving the Cambridge University Press website. Your eBook purchase and download will be completed by our partner www.ebooks.com. Please see the permission section of the www.ebooks.com catalogue page for details of the print & copy limits on our eBooks.Continue ×


text:
In business, there are different categories of assets and each item that is purchased for the business falls under any of these categories, a vehicle would be under the fixed assets and this article will give step by step instructions on how to record a vehicle purchase in QuickBooks.
Steps on how to record purchase of a vehicle in QuickBooks:
- Open the QuickBooks and then the company under which you want to record the asset.
- Go to the section Home, press Ctrl-A to open the chart of accounts and then for a new account press ctrl-N.
- Once that is done a new window will open with the title 'add new account'
- Beside the Account Type select 'Fixed Account'.
- For the Account Name give name of the vehicle you bought.
- Next click on 'Save & Close'.
- This will open another window with 'Chart of Accounts'.
- Press Ctrl-N once again so that the liability account can be opened for loan and choose the loan type.
- Once again the Add Account window will open select the type of loan, e.g. 'Short Term Liability' or 'Long Term Liability' from the drop down menu.
- Next type the name of the loan, e.g. Vehicle Loan beside the 'Account Name'.
- Next click on 'Save & Close'
- Furthermore, it is possible for you to add two additional accounts, such as a sub account for depreciation of the asset and another sub account that is for the loan interest.
Two ways to record your purchase:
- The easiest is doing a journal entry, mainly if financing is there. Debits and the credits can be entered into the journal manually.
- Many people might not be comfortable with doing the manual input of debits and credits then to do the accounting you can use the forms that are available in QuickBooks. However you might not want to use it in case it is being financed and funded simultaneously with the purchase and online banking is being used. As there will be transaction that might not reflect on the bank statement.
Journal Entry to Record the Vehicle Purchase
- Open the company page tab and from the menu select 'Make General Journal Entries'
- Under the Account add the vehicle name and write under the memo as Vehicle purchase.
- Under the Account once again type 'Vehicle Loan' if required and type under the Memo section again.
- Next under the Account, write the name of the bank to record the down payment.
- Next under the Debit section write the purchase price of the vehicle
- Next under the Credit section write the amount that has been loaned by you beside the vehicle loan category.
- Put the down payment amount for the Bank under the credit section beside the name of the bank.
- Then save & close.
- Next you can generate the balance sheet from clicking on the Reports Menu and select 'Company & Finance' and then click on Balance Sheet Standard.
- This will then open a new window showing the purchase details.
Entry Through Forms
- Open the QuickBooks Company page, and click on record Deposits.
- A new vendor needs to be added and then put the name for which the loan and then the memo and the loan amount. Then Click and Save
- To Purchase the vehicle, click and open "write a cheque". Add a vendor, name the vehicle under the Account and the purchase price. Then save it.
- Generate the Balance Sheet again and it will show the record of the purchase.
AskforAccounting Helpdesk:
Get in touch with us at 1800-865-4183.
If you come across any issue regarding a vehicle purchase in QuickBooks, then feel free to get in touch with the AskforAccounting QuickBooks payroll support providers at their tollfree number.
how to record a fixed asset purchase in quickbooks, how to record a vehicle purchase in quickbooks online, how to record equipment purchase in quickbooks, how to record equipment purchase in quickbooks online, how to record the purchase of a business in quickbooks, how to set up a new vehicle in quickbooks, journal entry to record fixed asset purchase, setting up a car loan in quickbooks


text:
Martha and William Sears
Nobody yet has scientifically tested and perfected a parenting system that guarantees children will turn out okay. Much research focuses on what goes wrong and psychologists have often laid the blame on mothers. Mothers often feel that the stakes are high on everything they do, and the job of parenting seems frightening. Here, some reassurance from Martha Sears -- excerpted from her book, 25 Things Every New Mother Should Know.Mothering in the twentieth century has become a tricky business. We can take our babies' survival pretty much for granted, and in this way we differ from all the mothers who have come before us. Instead we worry about whether our babies will grow up to be happy and productive, a more complicated issue.
Nobody yet has scientifically tested and perfected a parenting system that guarantees children will turn out okay. Much of the research focuses on what goes wrong, rather than what goes right, and psychologists from Freud onward have often laid the blame on mothers. This creates a lot of anxiety, as mothers struggle to raise psychologically healthy children. Mothers often feel that the stakes are high on everything they do, and the possibility of making serious mistakes makes the job of parenting seem frightening.
Do mothers matter?
In reaction to Freud, there's another school of thought that suggests that mothers aren't all that critical to their children's psyches. Children need dependable caregivers, yes, but these are more or less interchangeable, and group care not only is satisfactory, it also makes children independent at an earlier age. Babies do prefer their parents, but they really don't need all that one-on-one attention that goes along with traditional mothering. It's interesting that these theories have evolved at a time when more and more mothers of young children are in the workforce.
So where do you fit in? How important are you, a responsive, nurturing, trustworthy mother, to your baby's development? How do you know if you're making a difference?
In the parenting business, science often fails us. It's hard to study behavior that is as complicated as mother-and-infant interactions, much less relate these interactions to how children behave and feel years later. "Experts" speculate, spinning advice out of tiny threads of evidence, but who really knows?
Parents have the answers
I believe that experienced parents -- parents of children who are turning out well --- have the answers. Bill and I have talked to thousands of wise and seasoned mothers over the years, and while we don't pretend that this is a scientific sample, we do feel confident about relaying what we've learned from all these families. We believe that how you mother your children makes a difference in the kind of people they become.
The mothering advice we give reflects a style that we call attachment parenting. For babies, attachment parenting includes closeness right from birth, responding sensitively to cries, babywearing, sharing sleep, and breastfeeding. The involvement of the father, both directly with the baby and in support of the mother, is also important. These practices together make up a very nurturing style of baby care, one that yields a wonderful sensitivity between mother and child. The mother understands what the baby is thinking, most of the time, and the baby responds well to the mother's care.
Babies who experience attachment parenting rarely need to cry to get their needs met (though they may cry plenty when something hurts or bothers them), because they can communicate in other, more subtle ways. Mothers who nurture in this style feel confident that they are doing the right things for their children, because they feel they can perceive their babies' needs, and because their babies are happiest when they are most responsive. Even high-need babies can be mellowed by this style of parenting into children who are fun to be with.
Respect and sensitivity
There are long-range benefits to attachment parenting. As a baby cared for this way turns into a toddler, he is easy to manage. His mother has a pretty good idea of what he is trying to do or say, so the young explorer is less likely to get terribly frustrated. Since he trusts his mother and wants very much to stay in her good graces, a word of warning or some creative redirection from her is often all that's needed to head off problem behavior.
As children of attached parents grow older, the benefits continue. These kids internalize their parents' sensitivity toward them. They have an inner sense of what is right and are bothered when situations violate their values. They know themselves well and can remain true to their own character in the midst of a crowd going in another direction. They are compassionate and understanding with other people. Having learned intimacy from their early closeness with their parents, they go on to establish and maintain healthy relationships with other people. They bring their parents joy and pride.
Developing harmony
So, are you important to your baby? Yes, you are. You as his mother know him best and are the person he trusts most and will look to for guidance in the months and years to come. You are his window to the world and his faithful interpreter of what is going on inside him. Your relationship is built on a long history of knowing each other, a history that begins even before birth. Because this relationship is grounded in love and trust and many small interactions, it can tolerate mistakes and misunderstandings. No single moment is critically important. What counts is the harmony that is developing between you.
So relax and enjoy your baby. This is a special time in your life, and while it's full of worries and adjustments, it is also full of wonder. You have much to look forward to. Being a mother can enrich every corner of your life. Get ready for a marvelous journey.
A note from Dr. William Sears
When you bring home a new baby, remember you are modeling parenting for your older children. Also, you are bringing up someone else's future husband or wife, father or mother. The parenting styles children learn are the ones they are most likely to follow when they become parents.
Here is an example of how modeling affects children: A mother brought her newborn, Erin, and her two-and-a-half-year-old, Tiffany, into my office for checkups. During her examination, Erin began to cry. Tiffany rushed to her mother, pulled at her mother's skirt, and exclaimed, "Mommy, Erin cry; pick up, rock-rock, nurse!" This little child had just described responsive parenting according to her mother's model. When Tiffany becomes a mother and her baby cries, what do you imagine she will do? She won't consult a book or call her doctor. She will intuitively pick up, rock-rock, and nurse.


text:
Never miss a deal, always be up to date -
get the most important deals, events and
product news with our E-Mail Newsletter!
free of charge for orders over 99 £ (within United Kingdom)
Neon is the second in DR's SuperStrings series. Super bright in day light, and with stage lighting. DR's Neon strings are so bright in appearance "they look like they are on fire." DR's Neon strings shine brightly under stage lights, and are 100% black light active so they glow strongly under UV lighting. And DR's Neon sound as good as they look.
Features: K3 Coating Luminescent HiDef Neon Red Heavy Roundwound Hexagonal Core .011", .014", .018", .028", .038", .050" Made in U.S.A.