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Wednesday, October 6, 2010
his choice
Ever since our old desk top computer quit working due to a virus, we have left it alone. We each have laptops to use and we are comfortable using the smaller computers anymore. Lately though, I have been thinking more and more of resurrecting the old desk top for the little man to use instead of my old laptop. It has a big flat screen monitor which should be better for his eyes. The husband said he will only agree to use the desktop as long as I let him order parts online so he can build a better computer he said. If he has a choice he wants rack mount PC but I do not know if we can afford the parts for it. I am thinking of a cheap computer but he said he wants the new computer to be fast and reliable especially since the little man will be using it and we both know he uses it for every thing. And he whines when the computer is taking its time to load a page. So, yeah, the husband might have a point. I just hope we have enough money (and he still knows how to put up a computer together) to build a better computer.
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Thank you for visiting my website, and hope you like my cake designs as much as I enjoy creating them!
I specialise in sugarcraft flowers, for which I have won awards, as you can see on my Awards page.
Please view the pictures in my photo gallery as I am sure you will be inspired for me to make you your own personally designed wedding cake.
If you require a christening cake, birthday cake, or for any other celebration, I can make a delicious, homemade, beautiful work of art for you.
Please view our 'Price Guide' page to see my range of cake flavours, an estimated cost as all cakes are bespoke and will be individually quoted depending on your design. All my fruit cake and all sponge flavours are made from scratch, from the finest ingredients.
Cupcakes are very fashionable at the moment, and I can do a wide range of flavours and designs. Its a very creative, modern alternative to a cake!
Please contact me for a free, no obligation quote for a cake to enhance your special day.

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Stunning views on a classic rail journey
You are viewing the 2019 itinerary
Itineraries and pricing may vary by departure year
Dramatic mountain scenery and beautiful lakes provide the setting for this magnificent tour, as we take the iconic Glacier Express through the Swiss Alps, staying in glamorous St Moritz, and Zermatt, where we enjoy breathtaking views of the Matterhorn.
Meet your group in our dedicated St Pancras Departure Office today, where we travel to Brussels on board the Eurostar. From here, we continue on to Cologne in First Class, where we overnight.
Today we depart Cologne and travel to Basel , before we start the scenic ascent through the Alps to St Moritz, set at 6,000 feet amidst majestic mountain peaks. We travel through countless tunnels and across numerous bridges, including the instantly recognisable Landwasser Viaduct, an architectural treasure. The track clings to the mountainside as we wind our way above deep ravines and past rushing waterfalls.
Looping and spiralling through the rugged landscape of the Engadine Valley, our ascent takes us through the Albula Tunnel then down to the Upper Engadine valley. On arrival in St Moritz we walk to the Hotel Schweizerhof for a three-night stay. Situated in the centre of St Moritz, this beautifully appointed 4-Star hotel benefits from a piano bar, spa and original Belle Epoque surroundings. It is the perfect base for exploring this wonderful region.
From St Moritz we join the historic narrow-gauge Bernina Express, a railway journey on the superb Bernina Line which passes mighty glaciers, rushing mountain streams and flower-filled Alpine meadows. The railway line has been rewarded with UNESCO World Heritage Status - due to the incredible civil engineering that was required to create the line, as well as for the breathtaking scenery through which it travels. The track clings to the mountainside as we wind our way above deep ravines and past rushing waterfalls.
Our ascent takes us over the Bernina Pass to an altitude of more than 7,000ft. Enjoy breathtaking views of the snowcapped peaks and turquoise glacial lakes as we travel to Tirano in Italy, traversing the spiralling Brusio Viaduct en route. You have some free time in Tirano before we return to St Moritz. Tirano is a delightful town, one of the most northern in Italy, with various squares and streets lined with cafés, shops and restaurants. Running through the town is the River Adda, flowing down from the glacial waters of the Alpine peaks.
Please note: For departures GZJ1903 Days 3 & 4 are swapped. For departures GZJ1905 & GZJ1907 the itinerary for today is reversed.
Today you are free to explore St Moritz by cable car, free of charge using your St Moritz Travel Card. Synonymous with glamour, the prestigious resort of St Moritz also claims to be one of the first towns in Europe to popularise winter sports. You may wish to ascend the Diavolezza at 9,970 ft, which boasts stunning views over the surrounding peaks. Alternatively explore the mountains further afield with 50% fares using your Swiss Travel Card. Each village, town and railway station has something to offer, whether it is an insight into how the Alpine populations live amongst these glorious surroundings, or a hidden gem in the shape of various mountain walking trails.
Please note: For departures GZJ1903 Days 3 & 4 are swapped.
Today we take the famous Glacier Express narrow-gauge train along the iconic route from St Moritz to Zermatt, enjoying the incredible views through the panoramic windows of our First Class carriage. Our journey takes us through the classic landscapes which have made Switzerland famous; from the jagged mountain peaks to the flower-filled meadows below, and from the sprawling vineyards to dense woodland dotted along the hillsides. The train benefits from large panoramic windows, so every piece of the picture-postcard surroundings is unmissable, including the beautiful Rhône Valley and the Oberalp Pass - the highest point of the line at 6,670 feet.
On leaving St Moritz we descend towards the valley floor, emerging from a rock tunnel to cross the famous Landwasser Viaduct and into the upper Rhine Valley. A two-course lunch is served at our seats during the journey, followed by tea and coffee - the perfect accompaniment to our time on board 'the slowest express train in the world', whilst you watch stunning scenery pass slowly by.
The train climbs steadily and steeply up and over the Oberalp Pass, the peak of the route, and spirals downwards past countless villages, before crossing the spectacular gorge at Brig. From Brig we ascend once more, as we wind left and right, passing small hamlet communities, rushing mountain streams, and spectacular waterfalls. The approach to Zermatt takes us across 42 bridges and through 8 tunnels, before finally we reach the grandiose scenery of this tranquil mountain town, nestled below the tilted peak of the Matterhorn. Our base here for the next four nights is the fabulous Parkhotel Beau Site.
Today we ascend via Gornergrat Mountain Railway, opened in 1898, the highest open-air cogwheel railway in Europe. The train climbs to the summit of the Gornergrat at 10,134 ft and offers spectacular views of the Matterhorn; on a clear day at the top you can see 29 snow-capped peaks of more than 4000 metres. After some time at the top to enjoy the scenery and views over the Gornergletscher, the second largest glacier in the Alps, we descend and enjoy a guided tour of beautiful Zermatt. The pretty town is a car-free zone, with timbered buildings and an English church dating back to 1870, and is known as a popular ski resort.
Today we travel by train to Domodossola in Italy, where we take a coach to Stresa, on the shore of Lake Maggiore. On arrival, we take a cruise across Lake Maggiore to the charming island of Isola Pescatore, a wonderfully atmospheric rustic fishing village boasting some fantastic restaurants and shops.
The island measures just 350 metres in length and is 100 metres wide, and only has a population of around 50 people. Take some time here to visit the beach or take a stroll along the main street against the small piers and minute harbours which jut out into Lake Maggiore. Of particular note is the pretty chapel of San Vittore. We return to Zermatt for dinner this evening.
Today is free for you to explore Zermatt. Perhaps relax and take advantage of the hotel's excellent pool and spa facilities, enjoy a walk along one of the many marked trails or climb the Kleine Matterhorn by regional cable car.
Another option is to use your First Class Swiss Travel Card to explore further afield. The card allows 50% fares on most trains, buses and lake steamers. Among the most popular options available to you is a journey 'across a hundred valleys' on the Centovalli Railway, a narrow-gauge line that winds over high bridges and past sleepy villages to the town of Locarno, located on the shores of delightful Lake Maggiore.
Today we begin our journey home. We travel via Visp to Basel, then join the onward service to Colmar, where we spend the night. On Day 10 we travel through France to Paris. Here we connect with Eurostar to London.
For this tour, we recommend arriving to, and departing from, London Gatwick or London Heathrow airport (LGW or LHR). London Gatwick is approximately 30 miles from your start and end point, and London Heathrow is approximately 19 miles from your start and end point.
It is your responsibility to check and fulfil the passport, visa, health and immigration requirements applicable to your itinerary. We do not accept any responsibility if you cannot travel, or incur any other loss because you have not complied with any passport, visa, immigration requirements or health formalities. You agree to reimburse us in relation to any fines or other losses which we incur as a result of your failure to comply with any passport, visa, immigration requirements or health formalities.
Provisional departure and return times, where available, can be found together with our dates and prices by clicking on the 'Prices & Availability' button. We write to all booked customers approximately 10 weeks prior to the start of their tour to advise the exact departure and return time for their particular group.
An escorted experience and all travel arrangements
Comfortable accommodation in your destination
Delicious meals included
Exciting excursions and free time to explore
Not Included
of travellers would recommend this tour
Tour Rating
based on 27 verified reviews
We were downgraded on the Glacier Express because of overbooking. This was not the fault of GRJ. At the last minute we were reinstated for most but not all of it. It meant we had to travel on later trains to the group. The train journey from Cologne to St Moritz was tiresome and involved changes of stations, trains etc due to the problems on German Rail. This was not the fault of GRJ. However, the journey took 13.5 hours. Our tour guide was brilliant, he did his utmost to get us there as quickly as he could. He was constantly cheerful no matter what was thrown at him. He is a credit to GRJ. Overall the tour was superb. Lovely scenery, hotels.
The tour was all that I had expected, well organised, well led and the weather allowed us to see all the views.
Everything was first class, except the London hotel
Excellent tour throughout!
The rail jurneys were the best i have been on in your great tours,plus first visit to Zermatt wonderfull
Good weather, scenery, and hotels! The situation of the hotel in St. Moritz was fantastic, with views overlooking the lake and mountains. Enjoyed the excursions and the trip on the Bernini express. The hotel in Zermatt could not have been better with views of the Matterhorn from our balcony. Enjoyed our trip up Gornagratt and on the Glacier Express and made the most of our free day by exploring the surrounding countryside. Although the weather forecast hadn't been good, we were exoecting rain, in fact we had glorious sunny days! Even had snow during the night in St Moritz! Perfect!
Your best tour in my opion
It was an excellent and well led tour
A well organised tour with a good balance of organised and free time. The hiccups were not the fault of the company and were well handled by the tour manager. Good hotels in St Moritz and Zermatt. Worth every penny!
Lots of moving the group's luggage from train to train on travel days. Not all were able to do this without assistance. Arranged porters would have been appreciated. More choice in hotel dinners would have preferred. Some hotels were not 4 star :(
Stunning views on a classic rail journey


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Like the "Big Dipper" the "Little Dipper" is actually an asterism.
An asterism is a picture formed by stars within an official constellation or parts of different constellations.
Remember that a constellation is one of the 88 sections of sky used in astronomy to make finding things easier, like a map of the sky.
The constellation is Ursa Minor the "lesser" bear.
The Dipper is 7 stars within Ursa Minor.
The end star at the handle of the dipper is Polaris, the North star.
Viewing Polaris will always let you know which way is north. Slaves escaping from the south in America were told to "follow the drinking gourd", and keep heading for the bright star.
The "drinking gourd" was an old name for the "Big Dipper".
You use the Big Dipper to find the North star by following the two stars at the front of the dipper. Traveling about 5 times the distance between these two stars you will find Polaris.
At the north celestial pole, Polaris will be almost directly overhead so it's also known as the Pole star.
Because of precession Polaris will not be the pole star in about 14,000 years. At that time the North star will become Vega in the constellation Lyra.
Right Ascension: 15 hours
Declination: 70 degrees
Visible between latitudes +90 and -10 degrees
Best seen in June at 9:00 PM local time
Named Stars: POLARIS (Alpha Ursae Minoris) KOCAB (Beta Ursae Minoris) Pherkad (Gamma Ursae Minoris) Yildun (Delta Ursae Minoris) Pherkad Minor (11 Ursae Minoris)
Unfortunately Ursa Minor is not filled with many interesting deep-sky objects.
The Ursa Minor dwarf galaxy is easily visible in binoculars.
The "engagement ring" asterism is located near Polaris. It's a circle of stars visible in binoculars and telescopes.
Ursa Minor contains no nebulae or star clusters.
Not a lot to view in Ursa Minor but the dipper plays a stargazing role. The backyard stargazer can gauge visibility by the four stars in the dipper. These stars are of 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th magnitude so they can help you figure out what you might be able to see.
This could be an invaluable aid to people dealing with light pollution.
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Damaged but not yet broken after an ordeal in Tasmania's wilderness, park ranger Taylor Bridges believes his ghosts are in the past until a raging forest fire in an isolated canyon of Eldritch Falls lays bare the remains of a young woman…and a secret killing ground.
After the police enlist Taylor in their investigation, the evidence bizarrely points to Jacob Muller, a deranged preacher, who reigned over The Falls a century ago. But when a crucial witness disappears, it's clear there is more to the dark history of The Falls.
Watch our live interview with B. Michael Radburn


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I am going to prepare PDF presentation, with some basic animations, using LaTeX. A classic example can be found here.
I am able to view animations only when I view the PDF from my PC. No animations are showing while the viewing the PDF in Android. Is it a problem of my device (i.e., LG Optimus L5 with Ice Cream Sandwich) or does Android itself not support this? (e.g., some restrictions like opening a .zip attachment).
I am using Adobe Reader version 10.3.2, build 67615; it shows the images but not animations, while other readers like Polaris Office and Kindle Reader are unable to show the images also.
Could someone explain why this is? Am I missing something? How can I view these animations?


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The Robert Guthrie Biochemical & Molecular Genetics Laboratory performs over 5,000 specialized diagnostic checks yearly for inborn errors of metabolism with a specific emphasis on the metabolic myopathies and mitochondrial illness. The organic world consists of different domains of phenomena and each domain is best explained at a specific degree of theoretical discourse. Although Kitcher argues that classical genetics offers the best explanation in an goal sense, some anti-reductionists (e.g., Rosenberg 1985, 1994) consider that the obstacles to reduction are merely practical.
The motivating query concerned whether classical genetics, the science of T. H. Morgan and his collaborators, was being decreased to molecular genetics. Molecular Genetics and Genomics (MGG) publishes peer-reviewed articles protecting all areas of genetics and genomics.
The gene is read and the RNA takes the message or blueprint to the ribosomes the place melanin, the protein that tans your pores and skin, is made. Lacking the fundamental understanding of heredity, Mendel noticed numerous organisms and first utilized genetic analysis to seek out that traits were inherited from mother and father and people traits may fluctuate between youngsters.
In line with this simple account, a gene is a sequence of nucleotides in DNA that is transcribed into a …


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Every issue our award-winning editorial team features an in-depth cover interview with a top leader from the industry. The Airline Business well-earned reputation gives us unrivalled access to leading figures. We regularly deal with management issues, including corporate strategy, alliances, marketing, cost control, yields, financial performance and labour.
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For most men and boys-soon-to-be-men, long gone are the days when milking a cow was a chore as common as doing the dishes. Now mostly done by high-tech machines at commercial dairies, the task of milking a cow by hand once brought farmers and their families into close bonds with the animals that helped to feed them every day. If you're a city dweller, it's unlikely you'll come across a situation that demands you milk a cow, save for some post-apocalyptic future where healthy, milk-producing dairy cows are readily available and you're in desperate need of some ice cream. But that's not the point. The point is, milking a cow by hand is a tradition deep-rooted in the blood of our agricultural ancestors and learning how to do it is as much about preserving that knowledge as it is about practicing it.
Like this illustrated guide? Then you're going to love our book The Illustrated Art of Manliness! Pick up a copy on Amazon.


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On Synthesizers: Low-Pass Filters
Continuing our celebration of 40 years of Keyboard, we are presenting Bob Moog's orginal "On Synthesizers" columns in their entirety.
Filters are barriers that allow some things to pass while inhibiting the flow of others. Homely examples are the coffee filter, which holds the grounds back while permitting the flow of brewed coffee, and tinted glass, which impedes the harsher components of sunlight without completely stopping the light.
Filters are common in electronics. They single out telephone conversations, tune stations in TV sets, separate the lows from the highs in speaker systems, and, of course, give synthesizers an incredible palette of tone colors. In all of these cases, the filters perform the same basic functions: they pass one part of the frequency spectrum of a signal and suppress the other part. Thus, filters are spectrum shapers. And that's all they are! Devices to remove noise, distortion, or wrong notes are not generally called filters.
An "ideal" electronic filter would pass the desired frequencies with no attenuation, noise, or distortion, and would completely stop unwanted frequencies. However, even if it were possible to construct an ideal filter (which it isn't), it wouldn't be as suitable for musical purposes as many of the simple "real" filters that are frequently used. In practice, synthesizer designers wind up doing the same thing with filters that they do with oscillator waveforms: they select simple characteristics that are musically useful, easy to control, and inexpensive to build. The whole idea of a mathematically perfect filter in an electronic musical instrument makes about as much sense as a musician striving to play "perfect" music—music without any fluctuation in pitch, rhythm, or loudness. Our ears and minds are geared to detect, analyze, and appreciate departures from mathematical perfection, in filters as in music itself.
The behavior of a filter is best described by its response curve, which is a graph showing how well the filter passes frequencies in different parts of the spectrum. As an example, here is the response curve of a low-pass filter.
The vertical axis shows the amount of attenuation, while the horizontal axis gives the frequency. As you can see, a low-pass filter allows the lower portion of the frequency spectrum to pass without significant attenuation, but attenuates the upper portion. The frequency above which the amount of attenuation increases rapidly is called the cutoff frequency, while the characteristic rate at which the attenuation increases as the signal frequency goes above cutoff is called the cutoff slope.
The response curve above shows a filter with a cutoff frequency of 2kHz (2,000 vibrations per second) and a cutoff slope of 12 decibels per octave of frequency change. (When the level of a sound is increased by 3db, its energy doubles.) If a 1kHz sawtooth wave (about two octaves above middle C) were passed through the filter, its second harmonic would be slightly attenuated, and the higher harmonics would be attenuated to a much greater extent. The filtered wave would thus have reduced harmonic content, and sound less bright and edgy than the raw sawtooth. As the pitch of the sawtooth wave is lowered, more and more harmonics are allowed through by the filter. What happens to the tone color? The answer is that it seems to remain fairly constant! The action of the filter on the sawtooth wave, and not the strengths of the harmonics per se, determines the timbre. In other words, a filter often has a "sound" of its own, even though it is a sound modifier. This is analogous to stained glass (an optical filter), which has a distinct color that seems to remain fairly constant even if the color of the light shining through it changes.
Low-pass filters most frequently have slopes of 6, 12, or 24 decibels per octave. Each has its own sound, and I am not going to try to describe them. The tone controls on a stereo set or guitar amplifier are 6 decibels per octave, whereas most high-quality synthesizers employ a 24 decibels-per-octave low-pass filter.
It happens to be easy, as well as musically powerful, for the musician to change the shape of the response curve from low-pass to resonant. A low-pass filter with emphasis (or resonance) control can be adjusted to have a response curve like this.
Now the filter emphasizes a narrow band of frequencies, slightly attenuates those below resonance, and sharply attenuates those above resonance. The sound is completely different from that of a regular low-pass filter.
Depending on the sharpness and position of the resonant response peak, the sound can be vocal, nasal, or oboe-like, or can have a distinctive but completely new quality.
The two panel controls generally associated with a synthesizer low-pass filter (cutoff frequency and emphasis) are of great importance to synthesizer musicians, for they, more than any other controls, determine the instrument's timbre. In addition, the fact that they can be varied during performance means that the performer can shape tone color in ways that are basically different from those available to acoustic-instrument performers. On many synthesizers, the cutoff frequency and emphasis controls are labeled (see scan) respectively, to remind performers that these controls are direct handles on the low-pass filter response characteristic.
Synthesizer tone oscillators are generally voltage-controlled. That is, their pitch changes in response to electrical signal variations. This is how synthesizers produce pitch swoops, glides, note patterns, vibrato, and other "electronic" patterns. Voltage-controlled filters (VCFs) have the same musical versatility. A filter that is voltage-controlled by a slow sine wave will impart tremolo to a tone. A control signal that rises abruptly and falls gradually will cause a low-pass filter to allow more harmonics to pass at the beginning of a sound than at the end, thus imparting a strong percussive texture to the sound. Voltage-controlled filters thus offer the musician the means for imparting wide-range, rapid, and precise variations on the spectra of musical sound, for yet another new musical resource. Most synthesizer sounds that we hear rely heavily on voltage-controlled filtering.


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Crony capitalism receives more prominent attention via the Atlantic's October issue. Gregg Easterbrook takes aim at one of the grandest corporate thieves, the tax-free NFL and its legions of public welfare needy owners.
Considering the public fiascoes in Miami over the Marlins stadium, Minnesota's nearly half a billion dollar gift to the Vikings and other continued flagrant violations of public interest, I will not hold my breath for any actual progress.
I do love this proposal though:
The NFL's nonprofit status should be revoked. And lawmakers—ideally in Congress, to level the national playing field, as it were—should require that television images created in publicly funded sports facilities cannot be privatized. The devil would be in the details of any such action. But Congress regulates health care, airspace, and other far-more-complex aspects of contemporary life; it can crack the whip on the NFL.
If football images created in places funded by taxpayers became public domain, the league would respond by paying the true cost of future stadiums—while negotiating to repay construction subsidies already received. To do otherwise would mean the loss of billions in television-rights fees. Pro football would remain just as exciting and popular, but would no longer take advantage of average people.
The 'next big thing' obsession of municipalities and regions is often central to these public treasury abuses, as they seek the next big thing that can restore, revamp or just further entrench their status among counterparts in America and the world. Nor rarely can the 'white elephant' complex be far behind as governments chase the highly improbable.
Not for the last time, may I add that civic spirit does not exist in modern America?
Meanwhile in my new home of Raleigh, we have a classic one-sided "woe be the inner urban poor" story.
So it's clear to Johnson and her neighbors that someone wants them out – their apartments knocked down and replaced by something more profitable.
The potential sale of 245 apartments for lower-income people has reignited long-simmering fears that downtown Raleigh's rebirth will crowd out poorer neighbors to the south and east, swallowing up blocks suddenly turned valuable.
For most communities, the obsession by some on the Left for housing equality access taking precedence over infill development is terribly misplaced.
Raleigh's struggles to overcome its own underutilized urban core are only intensified by these theatrics which accomplish little and undermine much.
Maximizing the productivity of core areas with excellent development potential is an act of social justice in itself, improving countless vital metrics across the board from tax revenues to public service provisions (transit, policing, schools). Concerns that people will be pushed out are valid but ultimately far less consequential than the benefits that accrue from that process.
The brutal truth is that we are in a time where the government (federal, state or local) does not have the means nor the will to subsidize people to live in prime urban real estate at a great discount and at the expense of long-term societal improvement via revitalizing downtown cores in suburbs, cities and towns.
The valid concerns about this process can be addressed by (not a conclusive list):
- improving transit service (including adding more flexibility into the system) in suburban areas,
- reforming discriminatory zoning codes in suburban areas that tilt multi-family development away from broad appeal and greater income accessibility,
- revitalizing and in some cases creating new foundations of non-profit support of the working poor and the fixed-income elderly
Certainly, I have much more to say about this, especially regarding that above list. That is for another time…


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Green Hypnotic – Motivation/Last Supper [Video]
The Alaiz crew have been serving up huge portions of work lately, and if you haven't tasted any of the marvelous shit they've been cooking you must be sleeping under a rock in Uzbekistan.
Member of Coast Records, along with fellow rappers Chibi, C'nee and producer High-Klassified, Prince Green gives us a double-dip of flavor with this new two-for-one music video, both produced by Da-P.
The first serving comes in the form of an ambitious ode to the grind and hustle, aptly titled Motivation. He has definitely mastered this chamber and his work ethic shines clear through this inspiring jewel of a track. I can personally attest that if you are in need of some drive and determination, stick this on repeat and I guarantee you will get through your hard day's work!
And once it pays off, what better than a Last Supper with the fam to remind you that love and loyalty is the real reward in life. In perfect juxtaposition with the previous track, Green gives us an honest and heartfelt prose in gratitude to those that helped him come up in the game. When you got a real team like that with you, ya gotta break bread with those that matter, word life.
Another fantastic addition to the 5 star menu that our local scene has been putting out. This year is gonna be big for Green Hypnotic, be sure to follow him on Facebook so you dont miss any of the action!


text: Looking at variations in membrane composition is of interest to structural biologists. However, investigating lateral variations caused by interactions of membrane components — which are believed to play a crucial role in a range of cellular events — has proved challenging, as achieving the necessary length scales of tens to hundreds of nanometers can be difficult with the technologies currently used for such probes. These lengths of interest are well below the diffraction limit of light microscopy. Researchers often use fluorescence microscopy to explore labeled components, but the labeling process can alter significantly the physical properties of molecules (especially those of small molecules, such as lipids, that interact weakly). And although atomic force microscopy can provide much higher resolution, it does not shed any light on the chemical composition of the membranes. The lateral variations posed a problem to a group at Stanford University in California: How do you image and acquire compositional information about these variations with a higher spatial resolution than is available with conventional light microscopy, with high sensitivity and in a nonperturbative way? This led the researchers to various kinds of imaging mass spectrometers and, specifically, to secondary ion mass spectrometry, principal investigator Steven G. Boxer said. The scientists reported their use of the latter technique to analyze phase separation of lipid membranes in the Sept. 29 issue of Science. Secondary ion mass spectrometry could help shed light on a variety of questions; e.g., whether reorganization of membrane components associated with one another occurs collectively. In addition,researchers at Stanford University hope to improve the sensitivity of the technique to investigate membrane-anchored proteins and, perhaps, to detect lateral variations of individual labeled proteins in real cell membranes trapped on substrate surfaces. With secondary ion mass spectrometry, a focused primary ion beam is rastered across a sample. Sputtering produces secondary ions. These are collected, and the respective charge-to-mass ratios are analyzed. Users can acquire secondary ion images characteristic of individual membrane components by incorporating distinctive stable isotopes into them. From these they can derive a component-specific compositional map of the sample. The technique was developed — and is typically used — for the study of hard materials such as minerals (as opposed to soft materials such as cellular membranes). Generally, it uses a number of types of beams — often pulsed ones, as are used for time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry. For this study, the researchers used a NanoSims 50 secondary ion mass spectrometry system made by Cameca Instruments of Courbevoie, France. "The NanoSims is quite special," Boxer said, "as it uses a continuous ion beam made of cesium ions that can be very tightly focused." This provides very high spatial resolution and enables rather complete destruction of the molecules on the surface of the sample because of the energy and nature of the beam. Conversion to secondary ions with high yield enables high sensitivity. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, Calif., maintains the secondary ion mass spectrometry system, which is used by a variety of labs for study of dust collected from comets, among other applications. Fortunately, Boxer said, some scientists who otherwise focus on hard materials were willing to take a gamble with respect to collaborations on investigations of soft materials and biology, setting the stage for broad application of the existing technology to a whole new class of problems. They used the spectrometry system to measure the chemical composition of a phase-separated lipid bilayer, relying on isotopic labels to identify each molecular species. The bilayer contained gel and fluid phases, made up primarily of 13C18-DSPC (a phospholipid with long stiff chains) and 15N-DLPC (a phospholipid with shorter chains), respectively. They used 13C1H— and 12C15N— secondary ion signals to determine the distribution of each of these, enabling construction of a component-specific compositional map of the bilayer, which showed that it was not homogeneous. To validate their findings, they characterized the lipid bilayer with atomic force microscopy prior to analysis with secondary ion mass spectrometry. Comparison of the images revealed that the geometries were almost the same. In fact, the secondary ion images included phase-separated domains with complex structures and domains, on the order of approximately 100 nm in diameter according to the atomic force microscopy images. Beyond this, the study showed that the scientists could quantify the lipid composition within small areas of the bilayer — helping to determine whether the variations in 15N-DLPC distribution, for example, were statistically significant. Having demonstrated the feasibility of measuring lateral variations in membrane composition with secondary ion mass spectrometry, the researchers plan to return to the question that led them to the technique: whether membrane components that are associated with one another — in lipid rafts, for example — reorganize collectively. "We're sort of looking up the ladder of complexity to see how far we can push the sensitivity issue," Boxer said. They plan to look at membrane-anchored proteins next. "But, conceivably, we could detect down to the single protein level with appropriate labeling and move on to real cell membranes and interfaces trapped on our surfaces," he added.


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A small RE-1 Valley Board of Education met at Campbell Elementary for a workshop Monday, where they briefly discussed who their newest board member will be.
BJ Ball, Cindy Horner and Joyce Lively were all absent from the meeting.
During a business meeting last month the board interviewed Bruce Frederiksen and Chris Connor, the two applicants seeking to fill the District 1 seat, declared vacant in August after Lora Grippin resigned. The board had planned to appoint one of them at that meeting, but with two board members absent, they decided to wait until the Oct. 17 meeting.
During discussion at Monday's workshop, the board members present agreed that it will be a hard decision to make, as each applicant brings their own strengths.
"I think it's a really hard choice; they'd both be good board members," Myra Westfall said.
"They're completely different personality types so it's hard," added Marty Smock.
It was mentioned that Connor was responsible for setting up a Yeson3L Facebook page, seeking to generate support for the mill levy override the district is asking voters to approve in the November election. He and several other community members are managing the page as administrators.
Superintendent Dr. Jan DeLay made it clear to the board that the district is being very careful about not violating campaign rules, only posting the ballot language and news stories on the override on school websites, not asking voters to vote yes.
In related business, DeLay encouraged the board members to visit the Colorado Association of School Boards website, www.casb.org, and explore the Mission: Possible link, created by CASB and Great Education Colorado. Through this link the public is able to learn more about the state budget, including what's provided for education, and asked to show how they would balance the budget.
"It really does give you a lot of good information about budgeting in our state and what can and can't be done," Westfall said.
DeLay noted that several superintendents in the area are using this tool in different public meetings to help educate people.
In other business, the board received a facility plan update, showing what the $500,000 mill levy override that was passed by voters in 2005 is spent on. DeLay pointed out that in 2014-15, the district spent $342,749.56 in override funds and $11,948.70 out of the general fund on textbook adoption and in 2015-16 they spent $261,920.95 in override funds and $10,310.29 out the general fund.
For the 2016-17 school year, approximately $185,000 has been budgeted for the social studies textbook adoption as well as replacements needed in all subject areas. So, far the district has expended $90,000, which has taken care of the kindergarten through fourth grade social studies textbook.
Assistant Superintendent Ron Marostica told the board he is hoping to come in at $145,000 in expenditures for social studies textbooks and textbook replacements. He said the reason for the savings is because teachers did so much work last year finding online resources and other less expensive resources.
Other anticipated mill levy expenditures for this school year include $125,000 for technology; $75,000 for the district's energy performance contract; $115,000 for buses and maintenance; $120,00 (from the mill levy and general fund) for the Caliche football pressbox replacement and $10,000 (from the mill levy and general fund) for the Caliche baseball storage shed replacement; and expenditures for the Caliche water/waste water project. Part of the project is being funded through BEST (Building Excellent Schools Today) grants the district has received for $429,000 and $781,000, as well as a $354,890 supplemental grant.
DeLay noted that while the district has $500,000 in mill levy funds, Deb County, district finance officer, never budgets that full amount; she always budgets under to be safe.
Callie Jones: (970) 526-9286; firstname.lastname@example.com


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Futurism, future cars, future aviation, flying cars, watercrafts, future concepts
Amphi-X Amphibious Vehicle for Dubai 2030 Concept by Beichen Nan is futuristic concept amphibious vehicle, made for Dubai in 2030. This kind of project was inspired by articles that Beichen Nan, the designer, read on the Top Gear magazine. It discussed concerning amphibious vehicle designs and how we could really employ the alternative route regarding traveling instead of using busy congested roads especially in big cities. According to this article, Amphi-X has been designed to answer the challenge on designing a good amphibious vehicle that doesn't use a large hull underneath its body or any water propeller sticking out from the back in the car. So, this kind of futuristic transportation design blends a boat and a car in to one aesthetically appealing amphibious vehicle.
…Click here to read more
Allochroous Yacht Concept by Ezgi Aksan & Ambra Ceronetti is the winner of 2012 Millenium Yacht Design Award (MYDA) in Dream Boat Category. Designed by Ezgi Aksan, Turkish designer, as well as Ambra Ceronetti, Italian designer, Allochroous Yacht an adjective in English which indicates "changing color" which these two designers believe as the best name to represent their yacht design. Allochroous Yacht features transformable body and color by way of its innovative technology. You will see various form of yacht in the morning and also in the night.
…Click here to read more


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An article in the Wall Street Journal's recent Wealth Report covers investing in the so-called "sin stocks," i.e. shares of companies in the alcohol, tobacco, gambling and weapons industries. The article features the USA Mutuals Barrier Fund (with an apt ticker VICEX; Investor Class shares), which specializes in such investments. This $200 million fund has a 1.44% expense ratio and 78% turnover. According to the article
The fund saw a total return of minus 5.7% for the year ended Jan. 25 […] compared with a decline of 6.5% for S&P 500 Total Return Index. Over the past five years, the index is up about 10%, while VICEX has grown by around 11%.
The prospectus benchmark for the fund is the S&P 500® Index. One of the long-lived and low-cost implementations of this index is the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV). Alpholio™'s calculations show that since inception the fund returned more than the ETF in about 65% of all rolling 36-month periods, 71% of 24-month periods and 66% of 12-month periods. The median 36-month (non-annualized) outperformance was 6.4%.
While the comparison of periodic returns is instructive, it does not take the fund's risk into account. To accomplish the latter, let's employ Alpholio™ patented methodology. One variant of this methodology constructs a reference portfolio of ETFs with fixed membership but variable weights. This allows the portfolio to more closely track the fund's return than if the weights were constant. Here is the resulting chart of cumulative RealAlpha™ for the USA Mutuals Barrier Fund from late 2004 through 2015:
The fund produced 0.45% of the regular and minus 0.06% of the lag annualized discounted RealAlpha™ (to learn more about this performance measure, please visit our FAQ). In 2015, the lag cumulative RealAlpha™ curve was below the regular one, which indicates that not all new investment ideas in the fund performed as well as expected. At 15.1%, the fund's standard deviation, a measure of volatility of returns, was about 2.4% higher than that of the reference ETF portfolio. The fund's RealBeta™ was 0.84. The median rolling 36-month correlation of the fund's returns to those of IVV was approximately 0.9.
The following chart illustrates changes of ETF weights in the reference portfolio for the fund over the same analysis period:
The fund had major equivalent positions in the Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF (VDC; average weight of 32.2%), Vanguard Consumer Discretionary ETF (VCR; 9.7%), iShares Select Dividend ETF (DVY; 9.2%), iShares MSCI Hong Kong ETF (EWH; 7.7%), iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF (EWU; 7.6%), and PowerShares Dynamic Market Portfolio (PWC; 6.2%). The Other component in the chart collectively represents additional six ETFs with smaller average weights.
Overall, the USA Mutuals Barrier Fund added little value on a truly risk-adjusted basis. From the cumulative RealAlpha™ chart, it follows that, despite the "defensive" nature of its holdings, the fund may not always outperform during market downturns, such as in 2008-09. In addition, its significant exposure to particular industries can lead to a substantial underperformance, as was the case with gambling in Macau in 2014. Despite a relatively high turnover, in recent years the fund did not produce any capital gains, which made is suitable even for taxable accounts.
To learn more about the USA Mutuals Barrier and other mutual funds, please register on our website.


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Alzheimer's Reading Room
|Max Wallack
I am interested to know what the readers of the Alzheimer's Reading Room think about this.
Hi Max,
I have witnessed some frightening observations amongst 2 doctors recently, and have been pondering the question: When should doctors be "removed" from practicing if they are exhibiting signs of AD?
Here are 2 examples:
My daughter needed a "well visit and check up @ 2 years old. I brought her to MY pediatric group (a practice containing 6 MDs - 3 of whom are the original doctors when I was a child, they are ~ 70-85 years old.) I was very aware of the vaccination schedule and I had copies of her records with me. I was also aware that the 2 year old "well check up" requires NO vaccinations. My wonderful pediatrician examined my daughter and said "Oh she is 2 years old now, she is lucky, today she'll not receive any shots :-). He then checked her heart, and said, "how old is she now?" When I told him, he said, oh she'll get away w/o shots today. After he palpated her belly, and examined her gait, he then said, "I am going to prepare a pneumonia vaccine for her." I mentioned she received her pneumonia vaccine @ 9 months."
(The sad part, is that he was such a sweet, compassionate doctor, whom I saw for 18 years, but clearly something "was up".) Is this a red flag? My husband said that something was definitely wrong with him...)
The other example involves our vet. The doctor has been in practice for 45 years. Again, an amazing vet, however, he made several grave errors that could have been very dangerous. Our cat has lymphoma, diabetes and pancreatitis. It would be too lengthy to go into detail, however, he forgot multiple important items including the fact that he just administered insulin to the cat. He mentioned that he will give Blackie 2 units of Lantus insulin, whereas I needed to "remind" him that he already gave it to him!
Could it be that the doctors were just having an "off" day? I know there are millions of octogenarians etc, that are very sharp and lucid who are still practicing. I actually prefer "old timers" who are seasoned with years of experience!
I know your next question would be: Has this happened many times? In regards to H's doctor, I truthfully, used different doctors since that incident. Blackie's vet, I still use, but he hasn't made errors of that magnitude again, but is still unaware of his gender, and repeats questions which were already answered.
PUZZLES TO REMEMBER. PTR is a project that provides puzzles to nursing homes and veterans institutions that care for Alzheimer's and dementia patients.
More Insight and Advice from the Alzheimer's Reading Room
- How Alzheimer's Spreads Throughout the Brain
- Test Your Memory for Alzheimer's (5 Best Self Assessment Tests)
- What is Alzheimer's Disease?
- What is Dementia?
- What's the Difference Between Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia
- Communicating in Alzheimer's World
- How the Loss of Memory Works in Alzheimer's Disease, and How Understanding This Could Help You
- Learning How to Communicate with Someone Suffering From Alzheimer's Disease
- Alzheimer's World -- Trying to Reconnect with Someone Suffering from Alzheimer's Disease
- Does the Combination of Aricept and Namenda Help Slow the Rate of Decline in Alzheimer's Patients
- Driving with Alzheimer's Can Mean Death
- About the Alzheimer's Reading Room
Original content Max Wallack, the Alzheimer's Reading Room


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|Big Little Lions — Alive and Well (Feb. 23, 2018)
Big Little Lions — Alive and Well (Feb. 23, 2018) •★• Canadian Folk Music Award Winners, Big Little Lions are folk pop duo. The thousands of fans they've gathered since agree, Austin and Otten have stumbled on a powerful musical chemistry. Big Little Lions have played renowned festivals, including Shelter Valley, Islands Folk Fest, Mariposa, Summerfolk, the Alianait Arts Festival, the Paper City Music Festival, and the Vancouver Island Music Fest. Their songs have also been featured across Canada on CBC and in the United States. The Alive and Well tour will see the Lions perform across the Canadian prairies, around the Great Lakes, and beyond, dotting a final line of concerts from Ohio all the way to Florida.
•★• Watching Big Little Lions on the stage, audiences will understand what the closing lyrics of Alive and Well proclaim so clearly: when people gather to share music, "love is all there is."Location: Comox Valley, BC, Canada & Cincinnati Ohio, US
Album release: February 23, 2018
Record Label: Far Flung Records
01 Find Your Tribe 3:45
02 Alive and Well 3:34
03 Against The Wall 3:46
04 Static 3:26
05 Come This Far 3:44
06 Our Turn 2:51
0 Broken 3:07
08 Disguise 3:27
09 Unicorn 3:18
10 Big Mistake 3:28
11 Pieces Of Me 3:16
12 Kind 3:26
13 Do Better 3:07
℗ 2018 Far Flung Records, under exclusive license to Blaster Records, Ltd.
Members: Helen Austin & Paul Otten
•★• "The conviviality and charm that are palpable in these 12 tunes sound like the product of two people working closely and side~by~side. But, then again, the natural pairing of Austin and Otten is an indication that distance is just a number, one that can't hold back real musical camaraderie. Big Little Lions' A Little Frayed, A Little Torn is a jubilant collection of folk~pop song craft." — Popmatters
•★• "The music of Big Little Lions — the duo of Helen Austin and Paul Otten — is a blissful marriage of new folk and sophisticated pop. The award~winning songwriters have voices that blend like magic and whenever they make music together it's the cue for a heady mixture of soul, spirit and fun." — Mariposa Folk Festival
•★• "The duo's sound mixes the new school folk of Mumford and Sons with a dance rhythm that keeps the music sounding light and upbeat. It also doesn't hurt that their songs are very catchy and aided by how well Austin and Otten's voices complement each other." — The ExaminerReview
Carson Rowsell
•★• With bands like Of Monsters & Men & The Lumineers making mainstream success, it opens new doors for more and more unique sounding bands to jump into the eyes and ears of many new listeners to music they've never known they liked.
•★• Enter Big Little Lions, comprised of Helen Austin & Paul Otten. The duo is a sight to see, as they play multiple instruments at a time during live performances. The duo are releasing their newest album Alive and Well on February 23 and I got the awesome experience to hear it early and boy, was I impressed.
•★• Every song has a different sound to it, making each song a different experience. Each song was inspired by individual things. "Static" for example is inspired by the Netflix series "Stranger Things" while "Come This Far" was inspired by Goyte, most notable for their hit, "Somebody I Used to Know".
•★• One of the more interesting facts I learned from this album was that Austin & Otten wrote and produced the album through emails, as they reside in completely opposite sides of North America. It's amazing how they could produce such a great album without ever recording in one place together.
•★• I can promise you that you will have a favourite on this album, while someone else will have a completely different one. I personally enjoyed "Unicorn" the most. It starts off slow but picks up super fast. I found myself going back to that song during my multiple listens to the album.
•★• I can see big things on the horizon from Big Little Lions. I can see how their name can predict their future, as right now they are a little duo but moving on to bigger things. I may be looking too deeply into that but I'm positive that they will have great success, especially if this is just the start for them. •★• http://canadianbeats.ca/
Alive and Well Tour Bio
•★• Big Little Lions turn helpless apprehensions into hopeless optimism with their latest album Alive and Well — a collection of songs that manage to capture this moment in time in a way only a songwriter can.
•★• The pairing of two individually successful songwriters — Helen Austin and Paul Otten, Big Little Lions have continuously been recognized for their writing. Including 1st place in the International Songwriting Competition, Song of the Year in the John Lennon Songwriting Competition and Ensemble of the Year at the Canadian Folk Music Award. Alive and Well is their natural progression and comes at a time when the role of the songwriter seems as important as ever.
•★• With Austin based on Vancouver Island, BC and Otten based in Cincinnati, OH the duo proves that borders do not divide us and that art can bring us together.
•★• Alive and Well will be released Feb 23, 2018 followed by a North American tour.
Full Bio
•★• Big Little Lions are the award winning band from Cincinnati, OH and BC, Canada born out of a collaboration that won them a JUNO Award in 2014. Ever since they have been cranking out infectious folk pop songs that are jam~packed with emotion along with tight harmonies that sound like the product of two people working closely and side~by~side instead of living in different countries.
•★• "The conviviality and charm that are palpable in these 12 tunes sound like the product of two people working closely and side~by~side. But, then again, the natural pairing of Austin and Otten is an indication that distance is just a number, one that can't hold back real musical camaraderie. Big Little Lions' A Little Frayed, A Little Torn is a jubilant collection of folk~pop songcraft." — PopMatters.com
•★• After winning Ensemble of the Year at the Canadian Folk Music Awards for their 2015 debut album they released their sophomore album, Just Keep Moving, which has garnered attention from many CBC and College radio stations as well as blogs and magazines. The album was nominated for two WCMA's for Roots Group and Recording of the Year and two 2016 Canadian Folk Music Awards — Contemporary Album and Vocal Group of the Year.
•★• "It's the cohesiveness, too, of Frayed that buoys the album as one of the finest and most organic releases of 2015." — Popdust.com
•★• Both of them are hugely prolific songwriters and between them they have had hundreds of TV, movie and ad placements. Their music has been on CBC Radio 2 Top 20 for many weeks and they are often featured on CBC radio shows including The Vinyl Cafe and Q.
•★• "The duo's sound mixes the new school folk of Mumford and Sons with a dance rhythm that keeps the music sounding light and upbeat. It also doesn't hurt that their songs are very catchy and aided by how well Austin and Otten's voices complement each other." — Examiner
•★• Their live show is quite the spectacle with both Paul and Helen using every limb and then some to create a full band experience.
•★• "The Way Home is one of those songs that you'll think you've heard before the first time you hear it. It's just so infectious that it sinks into your consciousness from the first listen." — Guitar World
Website: https://biglittlelions.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/biglittlelions
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/biglittlelions
|Big Little Lions — Alive and Well (Feb. 23, 2018)
The Who — WHO [Deluxe Edition]
Philip B. Price — Bone Almanac
Hallelujah the Hills — I'm You
Avey Tare — Eucalyptus
Jack Peñate — After You
WaqWaq Kingdom — Essaka Hoisa
Strachovská 520, Pelhřimov, CZE


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Chécy, Friends of the vine
(Translation in progress)
The official website of the association CAVE guaranteed without coloring or preservatives…
To wit
News of Saturday December, 7th
Chécy, Orleans and the Loire Valley
Vineyard, wine, grapes and many other things
Hello & welcome
In this 17
day of frimaire and day of cypress in the year 228 on the French Republican calendar, we welcome you on this website dedicated to news of the vine and viticulture in Chécy in the Loiret region, but also on the cacienne cultural and social life.
Otherwise, vendredi 13 décembre, it's Concert musical de Coup de Cœur Eglise de Chécy, for more information, click on thumbnails below.
We are in December, the month of dormancy, the vines are resting and we are certainly not going to awaken them.
In order to develop, the vines require a winter dormancy so as to find themselves full of vitality in the following spring.
Meanwhile, the operations of the wine making process before bottling are following their course at the wine cooperative of St Romain sur Cher.
In Chécy
At the Museum
On my comic bookcase
On photo album
Our members
In the world
Weather in Chécy
Facebook page
Jusqu'au ven. 20 décembre - Espace G. Sand
Bulle Derouette
14 future events
When Joan' trumpets announce the arrival of winter…
It happened in December
Summer's game
Our archives
It happened in Chécy a seventh of December
À la saint Ambroise
l'hiver avance d'une case
Today's fortune
Chat alors
Chécy town
Chécy is a commune of the Loire Valley, near Orleans. It is part of the perimeter registered under Unesco world heritage. Situated in a bend of Loire river and located at a former crossing of Roman roads, the town is endowed with remarkable landscapes and ecological environments, as well as a typical heritage character to be found around the canal and the old town The first vines were planted there by the Romans next to the Loire and this activity lasted until the 20
century when, due to the phylloxera epidemic…
St. Peter's Church, of Gothic style, was built between the 12
and 16
century and officially recorded as historical monument in 1908.
The bell tower - one of the most massive in the region - is the oldest element of the building and would be the only remnant of an earlier Roman building, now disappeared. The nave composed of four bays with aisles and a transept with two chapels contains some works classified as remarkable objects while important…
Housed in a former wine farm, in townheart, the cooperage museum presents the different stages of barrelmaking, as well as tools relating to cooperage and wine growing, winemaking and wine storage.
From May to October, during every season, temporary exhibitions and animations are hosted by the museum,such as St. Vincent festivities, Heritage Days, Museum Night,Joan of Arc celebrations, appointed Heritage visits and workshops…
Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc, during her historic journey, was constantly reminding the divine origin of her mission: To raise the siege of Orleans and lead Charles VII to Rheims for coronation. Her attested passage at Chécy in 1429 comes within the framework of such mission on her way at the head of an army and a supply convoy in order to break the siege of Orleans.
The City Council in 1856 established that on every last Sunday of April commemorative festivities…
The canal of Orleans is a former navigable waterway flowing entirely within the department of Loiret. With a length of just under 80 km, this canal connects the Loire to Loing and Briare canals, and by so, is able to provide continuous waterway between Orleans and Paris to the North and to Briare and center- France canals to the South. A first section was excavated by Robert Mahieu between Vieilles-Maisons-sur-Joudry and Buges from 1676 to 1687 and opened to wood and coal transportation.
Drilling canal operations up to river Loire were undertaken from 1681 to 1687 with inauguration taking place in 1692. From 1692 to 1793 the channel activity was booming with, every year, some 1500 to 2000 boats sailing upstream from Nantes to reach Paris City. In 1793 the channel became National property. From 1807 to 1860, the two lines of water were…
As a town founded in ancient times, Orleans was a Gallic stronghold and one of the main cities of the Carnutes tribe, whose annual gathering of the Druids remains famous.
As docks of Loire-boatmen corporation, it was destroyed by Caesar in 52 BC. and then rebuilt the Roman way. The town has always been a strategic point of passage on the Loire as it is located the furthest to the North, thus closer to Paris; at the border of the plains of Beauce and Sologne forests…
Loire valley
Initiated 2000 years ago at Nantes by the Romans, the vineyards of Loire could pread in the 4
century under the impulse of St.Martin and his followers. Today, it represents a large production area involving four winegrowing regions (Pays Nantais, Anjou, Touraine & Centre)
Producer of dry or semi-dry, sweet or even syrupy Whites, Reds & Rosés, sparkling wines, the Loire vineyard covers 70,000 ha with an output of 4 million hl per year…
of Orleans
The Orleans wine is produced in the three colours over 13 cities of Orleans urban area.
In the 6
century, the monks of Micy abbey were already producing wine. In late middle ages, the vineyard was part of the royal domain and knew an important extension ranging from Châteauneuf/Loire up to Beaugency, by way of a quasi-monoculture developed in order to supply Paris with wine, in large quantities indeed, but let's admit, of a rather low quality…
Wine of Chécy
Late 18
century, the cacien vineyard had become quite important covering some 60% of the territory.
Orléans region became renowned for its Gris-Meunier (Grey Miller)… and more so by the wine produced towards east of Orléans!
But development of the railway in the 1840s allowing wines from South of France to reach Paris more easily, followed by the arrival of fungal diseases in the second half of the 19
century, added to the Loire devastating floods of 1846, 1856 and 1866 and of course the great phylloxera crisis that raged from 1876 to 1891 added up to cause decline of the vineyard until its virtual disappearance…
Space for rent
Space for rent
Let's admit, for the moment we're a bit short on subjects to explore.
If you've got any idea for a story, let me know it is with joy that I 'll jump at it.
Thanks in advance…
Space for rent
When I said
I was out
of ideas… here is a last one…
Harvest in September 2015
Story of the vine
The vine is one of the oldest plants on earth. Indeed, traces of its existence, dated even before the appearance of man have been found in many parts of the world.
Fossilized wild vines were so discovered in Iceland, Greenland or Japan, but also in France (Montpellier and Champagne region).
The vine as we know it would probably be originated from Asia Minor…
Vine & wine
Enjoying the
is normal because, truly, this wine is not banal!
The plugs
Cork plugs are used to close wine, cider, beer or (yes !) oil bottles… The greek amphoae of Antiquity were already sealed with plaster…
The plugs
The labels
The first labels appeared in the 18
century with the development of industrial made bottles.
Initially, they were drawn on ordinary papers, sometimes handwritten, similar to business cards. With invention of lithography in 1796, they became more and more complex with adjonction of graphics and colours, all of this, at a reasonable prices…
The labels
Difficult to imagine today that an aphid less than half a mm long would destroy millions of hectares of vineyards, upsetting the traditional vineyard cultivation and, mobilizing hundreds of scholars, while inflicting economic damage to whole wine regions all over of the world, forcing thousands of vine growers into bankruptcy and abandonment…
Let's drink well & drink cacien in… moderation!


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Effective customer service skills make the difference between a merely satisfactory service experience and an extraordinary one, inevitably resulting in a more loyal customer base. Especially in a market where the product or service you offer may be somewhat commonplace, you need to do everything you can to differentiate yourself from your competitors.
So, what can you do to improve your customer service skills?
TIP #1: Put yourself in their position!
From your customer's perspective, the empathy you display is very comforting. It helps that person feel like you're making every effort to personally understand and address their specific concerns. On occasion, they can make quite confusing or seemingly impossible requests but, rather than immediately dismissing them, it helps to step into their shoes for a moment to figure out why they are making this request. This is likely to help you come up with valuable solutions that suits their needs.
The requests a customer makes may seem trivial at times, but there is always a reason behind them – and that reason is clearly important to them. Taking the time necessary to understand what they are asking and how that fits into their long-term and day-to-day goals will let them know they are being heard. You may not be able to fix every problem, but they are more likely to respect the fact that you tried to do what you could for them.
TIP #2: Decide who gets your help first!
If empathy is essential, prioritization is crucial. You need to have an effective "triage" system in place. If multiple clients are clamoring for your attention, you may want to take a step back and evaluate all of the factors that dictate who should be helped first. Naturally, everyone thinks that their own issue deserves your immediate attention and should take priority over another, but you need to be the one who makes the decision based on what is best for both you and your clients. Choose wisely.
Obviously, if several are experiencing the same issues, you want to address those as quickly as possible. Don't delay dealing with one big issue by focusing on fixing multiple smaller ones. Your to-do checklist may appear to show more progress with a lot of smaller issues being resolved, hence giving you a sense of greater accomplishment. However, one big unresolved problem may end up cascading into several others or – worst case scenario – result in "irreconcilable differences" with a big client. Always keep in mind the fact that, all things being equal, losing a high value client is likely to be far more costly to you in the long run than losing a smaller one that can be more easily replaced.
TIP #3: Be sure to make yourself available!
While it's always desirable to respond to every client's needs in the moment, you can't always take the time to do so. Even if you do not always have the time to immediately address each request, you should at least make sure you have the resources available to listen to them. If you can't do this yourself, you probably need to hire a competent staff to assist you. The better your team, the better your service! Knowing when your clients are upset or have concerns is important, so it is best give them the means to voice their displeasure if their service is inadequate. It' never fun to field a complaint, but it's an absolute necessity to the long-term health of your relationship with that client.
Manage your client relationships for the long-term!
Following these guidelines when interacting with your clients in a customer service role will do wonders for keeping them satisfied and content. Rare is the satisfied client who goes looking for alternatives, so keep as many as you can as happy as you can. Your goal is to build solid, long-term client relationships and manage them properly. It may seem like extra work, but great customer service can only help your brand and result in greater profits in the long run.


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Health Conditions
Health Conditions and Naturopathic Medicine
The body systems are interconnected as one WHOLE system. When one system is out of balance, other systems will begin to swing out of balance. Symptoms are signals that something is out of balance in the body. I do not wish to suppress them but follow them to the source of illness. Symptoms are your body's ability to 'send out' a call for help. The healthier you are, the LOUDER the call. When we ignore the symptoms, the call for help, soon the fire wanes and the signal is barely audible. This is when chronic disease sets in. We have ACUTE ( loud symptoms), SUB-ACUTE (when we begin to just 'accept' our symptoms as natural aging process), and we have CHRONIC ( where we begin to debilitate and succumb to the imbalance). We have many names for this 'CONDITION', but they all boil down to one, Dis-ease.
Standard medicine is now divided into systems. We have 'specialists' that look at just one system who prescribes drugs to 'fix' that system but may cause another system to become out of balance. We then are sent to another specialist that gives more drugs… and the story continues until we are a toxic mess and not feeling any better than before.
I observe the body in its wholeness. I work with the mind, body and spirit using natural medicine, diet and lifestyle adjustments. Natural medicine is symbiotic with our body. It works to harmonize, balance and aid the WHOLE body in healing. I use natural medicine to bring the body back to its natural balance to the best of its ability. The longer one waits to address symptoms, the longer it takes to restore the body.
If you or a loved one is experiencing or is diagnosed with one or more of the following conditions, let me help with your health and healing.
Let's get started, Today.
|Genetic/Epigenetic Mutations :
Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Crohn's Disease
Ulcerative Colitis
Candida, Bacterial and
Parasitic Infections
Clostridium difficile Infection
Celiac Disease
Gall bladder Disease
Food Allergies
Auto-Immune Disorders
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Women's Health
InfertilityPMSHeavy/Prolonged BleedingMenopause symptomsLo/No LibidoPolycystic Ovaries
Bone Loss
Neurological Conditions
Dr. Bella K. Icenhower, ND
Specializing in Women's Health
Longevity and Preventive Medicine
Dr. Bella K. Icenhower, sharing her Passion, Knowledge and Wisdom of Naturopathic Medicine for over 14 years.
My Passionate Mission is:
- Helping women learn how to care for themselves through the demands of life. I have found in my 12 years of practice that many women by the age of 50 are spent, tired, exhausted, depleted… My desire is to catch women in their 20's, 30′s and 40′s who may be headed down this spiraling path and redirect them, gently. With women in their 50′s and on, I help to Restore, Rejuvenate and Replenish their health and vitality. The body is amazing in its desire to heal and be well.
- Guiding families to be a Whole Family. Many of us start to raise our families as we were taught which often are not the best of habits. Re-patterning can be easy and fun. With a little guidance here and there, soon your family becomes well and whole. I work with each child and/or parent as needed to identify patterns through the diet, environment, mental, emotional and physical aspects that cause imbalance and ill health. Maybe your two year old suffers with allergies, your 9 year old is diagnosed with ADHD, your teenager has acne, weight problems, or menstrual pain. Maybe you have fatigue and/or sleep problems and your husband snores and/or has back pain? I work with any and all acute and chronic illness. I am most happy to help create habits before children come into the picture which may make parenting much easier.
- Being available Globally, Virtually. With today's universal access to the World Wide Web, I have made a Virtual Practice. People are on the go and need easy access to naturopathic medicine that is tailored specifically and uniquely to them. I work within the United States and around the world via Facetime, Skype, phone, and email. I order blood work as need be through your primary care or Ob/Gyn, or my order which you can take to any lab. Once our relationship is established, I will answer your quick questions and make recommendations accordingly. For example, I may be working with you to resolve a chronic health issue (s), AND you are about to fly out of the country… what should you take to maintain healthy immunity?
I am at your beck and call; I am your personal,
ND On The Go, and Go To ND, Naturopathic Doctor.


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City living keeping obesity in check
A new study says Canadians who live in big cities like Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver tend to weigh less than their rural counterparts.
The report, "Regional differences in obesity," is based on actual measurements of height and weight from the 2004 Canadian Community Health Survey. The study, published in the latest issue of Health Reports, examined obesity and overweight individuals inside and outside census metropolitan areas.
In 2004, 20 percent of Canadians living in urban areas were obese, compared to 29 percent of those who lived outside a metropolitan area.
The larger the city, the smaller the likelihood of being obese. In Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, only 17 percent of adults were obese, the study found.
Copyright 2006 by United Press International
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As gardeners in Colorado may well know, our climate and altitude make for challenging growing conditions. This doesn't mean we are completely immune from invasive exotic plants making an unwelcome home here. We do not have the burden that gardeners in wetter and warmer states may have at stopping the spread of invasive plants, but there are a few species you should be aware of so you can help stop these unwanted guests from gaining a foothold in our landscapes.
Why be concerned about invasive plants? They crowd out native plants, propagate uncontrollably, and may reduce forage for wildlife. Some may have a negative impact on your garden plants. And research suggests that some invasive species may pose dangers to humans through the increased risk of flooding due to damaged waterways, or increased fire danger.
The two worst invasive woody plants for Colorado and the surrounding region are the Russian Olive and the Tamarisk. Russian Olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia), is native to western and central Asia. It was introduced into North America in the latter part of the 1800's. It is not related to true olive plants (Olea europaea) but its fruit is edible but not very palatable for human consumption. It out competes native plants because its seeds are irresistible to birds which spread the seeds far and wide. The seeds have a low mortality rate, germinate readily in poor soil (it can fix its own nitrogen in its roots), reach maturity quickly and thus outcompete native plants. In Colorado, they often begin setting a foothold in riparian areas, and then spread from there.
Tamarisk (Tamarix ramosissima), which is more of a shrub than a tree, similarly starts its spread in the riparian areas of the Colorado and other southwestern states. It has been such a successful invader of wet areas, that it has overtaken huge sections of the rivers of the southwest. However, it is not as tolerant of cold temperatures as is Russian Olive, which restricts its spread to the warmer, lower elevations of the southwest. Tamarisk is tolerant of many soil types, and thrives in full sun. One of the concerns about Tamarisk's effect on native landscapes is how they out compete native vegetation, altering the nutrient cycles of riparian areas. They also consume large amounts of water, and secrete large amounts of salt, both items further slowing the success of nearby native plants. A massive amount of resources and manpower are being directed at the fight to stop the spread of this plant through the wildlands of the desert southwest.
…the Siberian Elm is "one of, if not the, world's worst trees…a poor ornamental that does not deserve to be planted anywhere".
Closer to Denver and the urban areas of Colorado's front range, there are two trees that are common pests. These are the Siberian Elm (Ulmus pumila), and the Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima). Both of these trees release a profuse amount of seeds, and these seeds are very adept at sprouting in disturbed areas. They proliferate along transportation corridors and abandoned lots. Both trees prefer full sun, but Ailanthus can tolerate some shade allowing it to invade some mature native forests.
Although not directly related, Ailanthus trees (a.k.a. Tree of Heaven) are often mistaken as sumacs. In springtime they produce many flowers that have a foul odor which some say is similar to cat urine. It rapidly out competes other tree species, releasing an allelopathic chemical which inhibits the growth of other plants. Some researchers have extracted this chemical from Ailanthus trees, successfully using it as an herbicide. Not only is this tree toxic to other plants, there have been anecdotal reports of it being slightly toxic to humans and livestock. Ailanthus trees can grow quite rapidly, leading to weak, unstable branches.
Siberian Elms also have structural problems, with many weak or dead branches that can break off in heavy wind. Siberian elms have a short dormancy period which leads to early flowering in spring, and late leaf drop in fall. In Colorado that means they can become dangerously loaded with wet snow in our common heavy spring snowstorms, or the occasional fall snowstorm, leading to heavy branches falling on roofs and vehicles. In addition to the dangers of breaking limbs, the trees do not have a very favorable appearance, with an awkward branching pattern. One doesn't need to search too long before you find many Siberian elm seedlings sprouting up in unwanted spots in the urban landscape. The sprouts show up in shrub beds where they are difficult to remove by hand and hard to spray with herbicides without damaging neighboring desired plant materials. Siberian elms are susceptible to damage from elm leaf beetles which leave the leaves looking skeletonized, but it doesn't seem to kill the trees. Notable horticulturalist Michael Dirr says the Siberian Elm is "one of, if not the, world's worst trees…a poor ornamental that does not deserve to be planted anywhere".
To be fair, I should mention that some people look favorably upon these four tree species, and say that in Colorado's high desert climate (that is naturally and predominantly tree-less east of the Rocky Mountains), an invasive tree is better than no tree, especially in urban areas. I would beg to differ, noting that these trees are too difficult to control and remove, to the detriment of native flora and fauna. Please become aware of these invasive trees and be considerate about whether you want to allow these in your landscape.
This is the official blog of Outdoor Design Group, Colorado Landscape Architects. For more information about our business and our services, click here.


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Main Building
15. 3. 2017 – 4. 6. 2017
The curators of the City of Prague Museum and the Prague City Archives have been preparing the exhibition Prague Vedute of the 18th Century for several years. The exhibition presents 18th century prints of Prague which are deposited in Czech institutions. The unique array of originals from the fundamental collections of the City of Prague Museum presents the changes of the city and situate the vedute phenomenon in a historical context.
During the 18th century, Prague witnessed significant historical events, coronations, sieges, military occupations, and natural disasters which determine both the character and the content of the vedute on display which are thus rather varied. Presenting nearly 200 of prints, the exhibition is designed both as a tour of Prague and as a witness of events.
The prints are not only historical sources but also works of art. Therefore, visitors can also admire the artistic dimension of the vedute on display.
Along with the exhibition, a Czech-English publication is released which becomes a basic compendium of the Prague graphics of the 18th century for both institutions and the public.


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Every year I head to the Indiana State Fair at least once. It's just down the road from me, and it's super easy to bike down for a few hours. This is what I wore on my third and final trip to the fair. Not pictured? The little bike shorts I had on under the dress to keep from flashing everyone on the trail as I rode down to the fairgrounds! Also not pictured are the gobs of glaze that are crusted into this dress after an encounter with a messy elephant ear shortly before these pics were snapped!
Dress|xhiliration Sandals|Merona Belt|Scot's Bag|Old Navy
Glasses|Bestey Johnson


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It's amazing this album is even out. Supergroups never usually get anywhere, let alone a simple collaboration album. T-Wayne hasn't amounted to much except for a t-shirt, and the Wayne/Juelz album isn't coming out anytime soon, that's for sure. Slaughterhouse takes a complete 180 with this, recording their self titled album in only six days. You may think they're sacrificing quality, which isn't very apparent, and if they are, then a little more time and they could have one of the greatest albums ever. Onto the review.
Sound Off
9.5/10 – This is the craziest into track I've heard in a long time. They all spit over a beat composed of blaring horns and just go off. Joell goes off on this track and takes the title of best verse easily. The only flaw is that Joe Budden can't seem to keep up with the rest of the groups rapid-fire flow on this, but he holds his own.
Lyrical Murderers
9/10 – It's just what it sounds like. The members of Slaughterhouse spit over a sinister sounding beat to prove their namesake, and it works. Crooked I takes the crown on this track, opening with lines "Lyrical murderer, blame Rakim/I'ma sniper, shoot my way into your lame top ten/pistol to your head if I ain't next to Eminem/and I'ma bust it in your face like I'm fucking Lil Kim"
9/10 – Similar to Lyrical Murderers, Slaughterhouse shows what they do with that microphone. The beat is more minimalistic that the others, consisting of a simple piano loop, but it fits the track, and each artist spits a dope verse. Joe Budden shines on this one, despite being considered the worst of the group.
Not Tonight
9.5/10 – A change of pace and production from the first three tracks. This one has a more mainstream sound, using the same sample as Joe Budden's own Now I Lay off of Padded Room. That should have been an interesting recording process for him, but he definitely felt comfortable on a beat he's already been on, taking the cake for best verse on the song.
The One
8.5/10 – The first single off of the album and still a banger. The artists spit over the guitar laced beat sampled from Lenny Kravitz's Fly Away. I'm not a fan of the hook, but they spit dope verses over the track. Noticing a pattern yet? Crooked I is crowned best verse on this one.
8/10 – There's definitely a love/hate relationship going on with this one on the internet. I wasn't a fan at first, but it grew on me. This is a punchline filled track proving how "Cuckoo" each artist is, and they don't need a hook to show you. You'll hate it or love it, but I became a fan, so you never know. Royce opens the song with the best verse.
Onslaught 2
9.5/10 – The sequel to the original Onslaught. This track is crazy. Dope production, and dope verses all around, but you should expect that by now. Crooked I has the best verse on this one.
9/10 – Pharoahe Monch joins the part for this one, but he assigned hook duty. The beat is nice and laid back. Joe Budden opens this track, unlike the rest which seem to all open with Royce. Their flow matches the beat, dropping the high energy seen on the rest of the tracks for a more laid back flow. Joell spits the best verse on this one.
Pray (It's A Shame)
9.5/10 – It's a shame that Joe Budden is reduced to hook duty on this one. That's right, he doesn't have a verse on this one, instead spitting the hook: "Lord can you please shine that light on my sons/they done sent you a million prayers, you ain't answered near one". It's a shame too, because this is the kind of track that Budden would shine on. Here, Slaughterhouse is showing that they're not all punchlines, spitting some reflective verses here. Crooked I has the best verse here.
Cut You Loose
9/10 – Like Not Tonight, this one has a more mainstream sound, and an overall similar feel to that song. The beat can get kind of repetitive, repeating the same sample over and over again: "You're no good, I have to cut you loose". Other than that, it's a dope track, like everything else on the album. Joell has the best verse here.
Rain Drops
10/10 – I love this track. It's the best track on the album and one of my favorite tracks this year so far. From the amazing hook to the dope production to the emotion-filled verses spit by each artist, this track is amazing. Like Pray, Slaughterhouse is showing that they're more than punchlines. Crooked I in particular spits one of the best verses on the album, with emotion like he was possessed by 2Pac: "Every day it makes me sad, angry, mad/how you were sent to heaven's sacred path/duct taped and gagged plus raped and stabbed/body draped in blood, what a fate to have". Amazing song.
8.5/10 – Slaughterhouse breaks from the heartfelt stuff and goes back to the punchlines. A track with the same kind of concept as Lyrical Murderers, they close the album well with a raw track where they all go hard. Crooked I steals the show here on this. While I felt that the intro could have been stronger, it's a good track, it just feels like it should have been somewhere in the middle of the album.
Overall, this is easily one of the top albums to come out this year so far, and will probably remain up there. The album could have done with more tracks like Rain Drops and Pray, but it's a small complaint in an otherwise excellent album.