text:
People often ask me how frequently we change the menu at the restaurant.
I don't have a formula for how I go about it, and am likely to make changes simply when I tire of something. However, more often than not, it is the availability of an ingredient that will inevitably force a change. In France, cooking according to what is available in season is relatively easy as I find the seasonality of ingredients plus ou moin respected. However, instantly falling in love as a vegetable explodes into its annual abundance only for it to (sometimes, just as quickly) slip out of season, takes a little getting used to.
In this particular case, it was the lovely little zucchini that I had become so accustomed to receiving that were suddenly no longer available. In their place, a wooden crate of organic sweet potatoes made their debut. The resulting recipe dresses them up a bit – like the jacket potatoes I enjoyed so fondly as a kid. Go ahead and reach for that full-fat sour cream. (I only wish creme fraiche could be its equal).
Servings: 4
Sweet potatoes
4 medium-sized sweet potatoes
Fleur de sel
2 medium-sized leeks
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons water (or more)
Fleur de sel
Shiitake Rayu
1 cup canola oil
3 small shallots, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, microplaned
6 pieces dried shiitake, rehydrated in water, then diced
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
½ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon coriander seed powder
¼ teaspoon cinnamon powder
2 teaspoons gochugaru (Korean chili powder)
2 teaspoons cassonade
½ teaspoon fleur de sel
1 tablespoon light soya sauce
¼ olive oil
2 tablespoons preserved
Chinese black beans
4 pieces green onions, sliced into very fine rounds
Espelette powder
Sour cream (or creme fraiche if you prefer)
Sweet potatoes
Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Wrap each sweet potato individually in tinfoil. Include a few sprigs of fresh thyme and a good pinch of fleur de sel in each parcel.
Place potatoes on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for approximately 60 minutes, or until cooked. The flesh of the sweet potato should be soft and easily pierced all the way through with a knife.
Slice leeks in half lengthwise and wash thoroughly in between the layers ensuring to remove any dirt.
Cut into ½-inch half-moon slices.
Shiitake Rayu
Add oil, shallots, garlic and shitake to a small pot and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally and allowing all the water to evaporate. You will know this is cooked when there is no longer an excessive amount of bubbles rising to the surface of the oil and the garlic and shallot are just starting to brown. The whole mixture should smell toasted and fragrant.
Remove it from the heat and add paprika, cumin, pepper, coriander, cinnamon, gochugaru, cassonade and fleur de sel.
Stir over low heat for 1 minute.
Remove from heat and add soya sauce, olive oil and black beans.
Allow to cool (it can be made up to a month in advance and kept in the refrigerator until needed).
If necessary, reheat sweet potatoes in their foil on a tray in the oven at 350 F. Place a spoonful of sour cream on each plate. Unwrap the sweet potatoes and carefully slice each one in half, placing one half on each plate, skin-side down in the sour cream. Gently warm the leeks over medium heat, being careful not to brown them. Spoon the leeks over each of the potatoes. Place the second half of each potato on top and spoon some of the shiitake oil over the whole thing, making sure to stir up the goodness that has most likely settled to the bottom. Garnish with sliced green onions and a sprinkle of espelette powder. Serve immediately.


text:
In 2012, California Community Colleges launched Doing What MATTERS™ for Jobs and the Economy (DWM), a framework that aims to supply employers with a trained workforce and prepare California's students for 21st-century careers.
The 112 California community colleges have a vested interest in collecting, documenting and sharing the ideas and programs that drive student success and boost workforce outcomes as a result of DWM. As such, the California Community Colleges have launched an online tool to share the system's success stories in workforce development called Practices With Promise: Workforce Outcomes eShowcase.
Leaders from colleges across the state have contributed examples of the innovative ways they are addressing workforce development issues in industry engagement, data driven decisions, contextualized content, student outcomes and career awareness, and regional collaboration.
The eShowcase provides valuable program details and data to help community colleges duplicate or customize what's worked at other California colleges and to encourage rapid adoption of best practices to meet student completion and workforce development goals.
Click here for examples.

subset: commoncrawl


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text:
- Do you want to be a part of the adaptive music revolution?
- Are you passionate about new technology, gaming and music?
- Do you want to contribute, influence and shape tomorrow's gaming experience?
- Are you a composer and/or a game developer?
Being part of the Elias Affiliate Program, you will get free access to updates of our software and plugins before they're released, play games with adaptive game music created with Elias for your audience and be part of a great community. We also offer our affiliates free seminars, tailor made courses and education in adaptive game music.
When deciding if an influencer is a good match for the Elias Affiliate Program, we have a few things we are looking for: The amount of subscribers or followers is not the most essential thing, but rather the relevance of your target group, how you engage with your community and your expertise in game music composing and/or game development.
And maybe one of the most rewarding things about working together with Elias in the gaming industry is the possibility to share your passion and at the same time influencing the future of game music.
Things you need to apply:
- You are currently active within game music, game development and/or composing.
- You are passionate about what you do, interested in the gaming sector.
- You lead a great and active community where the members share a passion for the games they play and new technology.
- You have social media subscribers/followers of a minimum of 10 000 in a relevant target group.
- Your main language of communication is English.
Interested? APPLY NOW!


text:
Storing a CD
Place the CD into the disc tray, with the label facing up.
"" to interrupt storing activity at any time, open the disc tray.
"" Remove the disc.
Repeat steps 1 through 4 for other CDs. Up to 10 CDs can be stored in one session. The storing process takes about five minutes per disc.
storing suggestions
- after storing cds, turn the system off (do not disconnect power). the encoding process, performed with the system off, takes about one hour per disc. the system makes a clicking sound during the encoding process. the clicking continues until the encoding process is finished
- if you are not sure if someone has stored cds recently, turn the system off (do not unplug it) and see if it makes that clicking sound that indicates encoding in process
- """" this could happen by turning off a wall switch that controls a power outlet. unplugging or disconnecting the system from power interrupts the processing. """"


text:
Q+A with Frieze Art Fair Founder Amanda SharpREAD NEXT STORY
OK, he didn't really go to jail, as the video below implies, but look what he did to poor Chateau Marmont!
See you downstairs this Thursday.
What is Chez André? The wildest karaoke club in history...Click and Learn.
Come and go as you please by choosing your ideal check in and out times.Learn More
Our brothers and sisters in hospitality with hotels in Austin, Marfa, San Antonio, San Francisco, and Todos Santos.Learn More
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Liars: "No. 1 Against the Rush"
This is the first track from WIXIW, the upcoming album from Brooklyn's thunderous art-rock band. It has a slightly poppy electronic sheen—along the lines of early Human League or Suicide—not usually present in their sound. Still, a more melodic direction from these guys hardly brings them into iTunes commercial territory, so experimental music purists need not fret. [Soundcloud]
De La Soul: "We Made It"
You should probably listen to this new track from the D.A.I.S.Y. Age rappers right now. If you're sad, this is your cure. If you're already happy, well, you still aren't as enraptured as you will be if you press play on this whirl of soul, hip hop and funk.
Lil B: #1 Bitch
Social networking maestro Lil B has a new mixtape. Listen to it while reading our interview with him about his upcoming lecture at NYU. No, really. He's speaking at NYU. [The Fader]
Childish Gambino: "Eat Your Vegetables"
Danny Glover's son Donald (Troy on Community) avoids beef, urging you to "Eat Your Vegetables" on his latest track. [CoS]
Suckers: "Chinese Braille"
Suckers indulge in a little bit of Americana—with whistling,' horns and soulful organ playin'—on this enticing track that sounds a touch like fellow indie rockers Born Ruffians. [Pitchfork]


text:
Mental support application for precarious and unemployed workers
People who are underemployed or unemployed experience heightened stress due to lack of job security, financial concerns, unpredictable work hours, and resulting personal and family pressures. These stressors negatively impact people's job performance, their efforts to find secure employment, their physical and mental health, and their ability to manage practical aspects of their lives, including basic necessities such as food, housing, and child care. These burdens make it difficult to focus on personal mental health. DTC (Destress and Take Control) is an email-based application for electronic devices (smartphone, laptop, tablet, BlackBerry) to help underemployed and unemployed people reduce stress and manage daily life. The app will consist of three components: (1) stress-reduction activities; (2) a daily email prompting users to choose a stress-relieving activity and to take action on a specific stressor; and (3) links to services available in Toronto related to specific stressors (mental health counselling, employment counselling, food and housing supports, financial supports).


text:
City of LauderhillHome Sitemap Contact
Comedy Club
- Date: 01/22/2019 8:00 PM - 10:00 PM
- Location: Lauderhill Performing Arts Center
3800 NW 11th Place
Lauderhill, Florida 33311
SHOW BIRZHA presents a concert tour of the most entertaining show COMEDY CLUB! The finest members of the Comedy Club will present a completely new program! TIMUR BATRUTDINOV, DEMIS KARIBIDIS, ANDREY SKOROKHOD, AND MUSICAL COMEDY - MARINA KRAVETS, ANDREY AVERIN, ZURAB MATUA AND DMITRY SOROKIN. The tour of COMEDY CLUB is always great humor on current issues, including musical numbers and various experiments on stage. Masters of humor will communicate with the audience and improvise. They always come up with something new, mercilessly destroying any boundaries. The members of the Comedy Club have no forbidden topics, and their sharp jokes always cause laughter in the auditorium, so a two-hour non-stop laugh is guaranteed! We can say that this show taught people to laugh at themselves. Each performance is unique, so you will not see or hear anything like this anywhere else. This is exclusive only in your city!


text:
A study in 10 sub-Saharan #African 🌍 countries found heart-breaking 💔 data about #fakemeds bit.ly/FTFforWHD
Sproxil recognised by Schwab Foundation
Sproxil |
Fight the Fakes congratulates Ashifi Gogo, Founder of Partner Sproxil, in being awarded Schwab Foundation's Social Entrepreneur of the Year award.
Fake medicines present a real threat to patients and to public health as a whole. Empowering patients with the ability to distinguish life-saving medicines from live-threating counterfeits is one example of mHealth solutions to global health challenges.
Sproxil's Mobile Product Authentication (MPA™), allows patient to verify whether their medicines are genuine or counterfeit with a simple text message, free of charge.
Read Gogo's World Economic Forum blog post to learn more about the problem of fake medicines in low and middle income countries, and what organisations like Sproxil are doing to help.


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Monday, August 31, 2009
Victims of State "care"
In 2004 there was a senate report in to the "Forgotten Generation", which called for a national fund to be set up for victims of abuse in state care. Bravo, finally!, but that was in 2004, five years ago. So what's happened since then?
How many of people who suffered at the hands of government appointed "carers", have actually received any monetary compensation?(as if that would suffice!) and how many perpetrators of the mental, physical and sexual abuses, have actually been convicted and sentenced for their crimes? ...........
I don't know and it appears no one does. Whilst there has been a lot said and reported about the so called "Stolen Generation" , I ask again, where is the media and public uproar over this and just what has this and previous governments really done the right the wrongs?
Many questions remain and I can only hope that in the near future, whilst there are still victims of this dark period in our history, still with us and able to tell their story, that there will be more than the pitiful $300,000.00 being so graciously donated (TIC) by the current Federal Government to two organisations over the next two years.
That's right and also the Federal Government refuses to really take any responsibility as Family Minister Jenny Macklin says "that compensation was a matter for the states." I guess she must have missed Kevin Rudd's election promise memo about stopping the buck passing !?!
This is, in my opinion, a far more genuine cause than last years symbolic farce and is certainly a reason for the Police, Federal and State to act now, whilst these victims are still alive. It is my opinion that Rudd has set up a new precedent for getting government out of the responsibility of it's errors by simply saying " We're Sorry" a few decades after the event. I wonder what it will be like in twenty years from now when the Prime Minister of Australia stands on a public stage and says SORRY for signing Kyoto or turning this great wealthy nation of ours into a third world sweat shop ? I guess rhetoric will never go out of style as long as we allow the current generation of politicians to rule our lives.
Posted by JR at 11:29 AM 0 comments Links to this post
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Like shooting fish in a barrel
You know it's almost becoming boring to have a shot at this current debacle of a New South Wales State Government. I guess it's a little refreshing to actually hear their own leader state, just six days ago... "To be honest, I've been disappointed with my performance on a number of fronts," Mr Rees said.
But is that really honesty or just a plain stupid and desperate way to avoid any more questions about the continuing incompetency of this Labour State Government?
I'd say it is the latter, and after making such a self deprecating public statement, is it a surprise to anybody that this Premier's job is now coveted by many in his flock. With colleagues like Senator Mark Arbib circling like a vulture over a rotting carcass and the constant speculation of another leadership spill, (almost a monthly event since he started in the job) I am surprised that the Premier hasn't taken a few months off, rather than the week long holiday that he is on now !
Last week Nathan Rees has apparently made comments in a letter to the Australian National Flag Association ahead of anniversary celebrations next month, stating that is is time to dump our beautiful Australian flag for a new design.
Some of the commentariat have said that this was just a another poor subversive tactic to divert attention from the Rees governments current woes.... Maybe?
However I am more inclined to see it as a gaffe from a man who is out of touch with the Australian ethos and clearly is allowing some inner hatred for England or the Monarchy or maybe it's his socialist bent getting the better of him? Is that what Nathan Rees wants to be historically remembered for, the man who changed the Aussie Flag?
Who really knows why he would bring up this old chestnut, that has been
bandied around for years and never gets approval, even from Republicans who have removed the idea of an independent government (which we are anyway) from the notion that we should throw away our national symbol and historic roots.
It is of course my opinion that one of our better Liberal politicians, Dr Brendan Nelson, who has just announced his retirement from political life, is one of the true Conservative men in the Federal Liberal Party.
Who could blame Dr Nelson for wanting to leave a sinking ship anyway, a ship that is listing so far to the left it might as well become apart of the Federal ALP fleet today. True Conservatives are actually looking outside of the current Federal Liberal party, for men and woman who represent their values and beliefs, and with Nelson out of the picture I believe that the pickings are very thin indeed.
In summary we have a Federal opposition with very left leaning ideas, a Federal Government who is pretending to be Conservative but is as Socialist as ever and a failed NSW State Government with severe confidence issues at the level of the Premier's office.
For an editorial cartoonist it's like shooting fish in a barrel..... but where's the fun in that?
Posted by JR at 4:39 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Saturday, August 22, 2009
I was trying to think of a time when Australia and China have ever called themselves great friends and to this day I can't recall or trace that period, even before the rise of Communism. Sure every Labour Prime Minister has a go at getting closer and a few Libs too (Malcolm Fraser comes to mind) . Whether that be for diplomatic reasons relating to trade and commerce or simply that the two ideologies of Socialism (ALP) and Communism (CHINA) are not that far removed, it still cannot be said that our two countries and cultures have ever really mixed in harmony and brotherhood.
How can a country such as Australia, that believes in freedom and democracy and runs it's economy with a capitalist system ever aligned with the what is basically the extreme opposite to all that we are ?
It is purely for security reasons that we maintain the current diplomatic ties. Face it, if the Chinese want to conquer this country, I doubt that ever our kinship with the United States would stop them. The US has it's own interests in Australia but a nuclear exchange or even a conventional war with China wouldn't be worth risking and let's not forget the very important part that the US plays in the economic rise of China also: Put simply, they are China's' biggest customer. The Chinese will eventually take this country and I am sure, that through immigration and the inactions of future PM's, this will be done without a drop of blood being spilt. I don't want to see it and I doubt I will be around when it happens but maybe my great grandchildren will experience such a demographic and social change.
There is nothing you and I can do about it, as it is simply a matter of numbers and military/economic wealth, the two fundamental ingredients for world domination that China has and we do not. The Bamboo curtain has been slightly raised for the last decade or so and that was purely to obtain more trade relations for this Maoist nation with affluent the West> They needed more wealth and by goodness they have it. The country also has a monetary system that can remain independent of the US Dollar, internally speaking, as the Chinese Renminbi is non-exchangeable for any other currency. How's that for smart Commies!
Whilst Rudd panders and pretends to be some great personal friend of the Chinese rulers, all that he continues to do is show himself for the fraud that he is. Unless there is a people's revolution to overturn the communist government of China -- and I wouldn't expect that to happen ever -- then we shall spend our last days selling them our manufacturing industries/jobs and buying back our raw materials in the guise of cheap white goods, electronics and clothing.
The real point of this cartoon and the comments above is to understand that you should never underestimate your government's resolve to sugarcoat the truth. The totalitarian regime of the Socialist Republic of China is and has always been at odds with our view of humanity and its governance. Tourism and trade will never change any of that, and that is all we are prepared to do about it. This country is helping our natural Nemesis to become richer and hence stronger than us and our allies. There goes your inheritance kids !
Posted by JR at 11:29 AM 3 comments Links to this post
Friday, August 21, 2009
We read: "Squalid operating theatres and decaying equipment are plaguing doctors and nurses at Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital. "
...........OK and that's just one of hundreds of public hospitals in News South Wales that have been allowed to run down, to what is nothing less than another page in the book of disgrace and mismanagement of the Carr/Iemma/Rees period. If there is just one thing that the government of any country has to get right and maintain to the highest standard possible, it's public health!
This is yet another glowing example, as if we need any more, of just why this state ALP government is unelectable in 2011. Although I did hear quite a few people say that back in 2007 so I guess they are still in with a chance?
I also remember not too long ago , our illustrious leader, K. Rudd, waxing lyrical about how the Federal Government was going to take over the responsibility of public health. Funny I can't see or hear him on this now. Too late PM, it will take more than two terms in office to fix the last 13 years of rape and ruin that this state's hospitals are in. Don't get me wrong, it's not the nurses or the doctors to blame here, they are still the best in the world.
I do not envy the task ahead for Opposition Leader Barry O'Farrell. I'd bet London to a brick that the health Minister, John Della Bosca and his lovely Belinda wouldn't step into a public hospital anywhere if they needed help. It would be straight to the private hospital and who would blame them. It's enough to make you sick !
Posted by JR at 1:36 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Thursday, August 13, 2009
I really don't have a lot to say with regards to this one ......yes you can get off the floor now. The cartoon speaks clearly enough but I will ask you to read the inspiring letter that was recently published in the Australian Financial Review. The response was sent by the good people at AUSBUY. A wonderful organisation that I suggest we should all start to pay serious attention too........ before it's too late! Below is their Media Release:
The decisions, jobs and profits must stay here
(Response to Peter Ruehl's article "Unions have got their knickers in a
twist, AFR, Thursday 23 July, 2009)
AUSBUY disagrees with recent discussion by Peter Ruehl, an AFR journalist who had some "boxer twisting" comments about his Davenports and the Unions wanting to protect Australian jobs. Citing the textile industry is a limited view. AUSBUY's concern is that we are losing skilled jobs to foreign imports in strategic industries especially in engineering and food. If the decisions are not made here, the profits do not stay here and the jobs are not assured. If we do not own our businesses, who will pay off our burgeoning
Predatory foreign companies are now buying strategic industries at fire sale prices, creating long term debt for the country. Australians built these businesses and took the risks. Foreign companies will pay home office dividends before tax and ensure they get a healthy return on investment. We think exports are our salvation, but how many of our exports our owned by foreign owned companies because we have sold them the source and the whole supply chain?
We have stopped talking about productivity and value adding yet this is the way we will get out of this mess. We sell our resources and buy them back thousand fold in finished products. We sign Free Trade Agreements which are often to our disadvantage. We are foolish to think we can lead the world in tariff reduction. Anyone who has endeavoured to export knows that it is not a level playing field in anyone's imagination than ours.
Mr Obama has said he is the President of the USA not president of the world and government money will be spent on USA businesses. Even USA banks are paying back their debt quickly to their government because of the high interest rates. At least the money is staying in their country. Our cash splash was borrowed from the USA wholesale market from whatever source that was. Our payback time will come. And how many new jobs did we create?
AUSBUY are not talking about protectionism. We are simply saying we want a fair go, and need to secure our strategic industries and keep controlling interest. Our unique attributes need to be protected. Our Clean Green agriculture, our innovations in science and medicine are recognised as significant. We have always performed above our weight. It is about time we recognised this ourselves. Short term thinking is limiting our future prosperity. We do not want to become tenants in our own country.
Mr Ruehl's final spectre of a back lash from our export markets is a fallacy. Our exports are largely traded on the world markets. We have the commodities others want, and the quality and it would hurt their bottom line to shut their doors to us.
AUSBUY is a not-for-profit organisation which represents only Australian owned companies which make and supply goods and services here and overseas. The AUSBUY Guide Version 26 is in stores nationally in August for all Australians to find out how to support our own.
To find our more about Australian owned visit www.ausbuy.com.au
Posted by JR at 9:17 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Thursday, August 6, 2009
No military guards on Australian military bases!
it sounds like a bloody cliche but here it is in all of its truth ...."The Australian Government will not take an Islamist Terrorist attack in Australia seriously until it actually happens and people are killed ". News story here.
All legal points of entry into this country - and as many are now aware, military establishments, - are currently being guarded by civilian security officers. These officers, who are only trained in the basics understanding of their legal obligations under the LEPRA act 2007, are NOT ARMED nor are they generally skilled in unarmed combat.
Just try to get into a European, American or British military based with nothing less than a medicare card or a drivers licence, backed up with some bullshit story about delivering a pizza and you will find yourself answering some very personal questions, physically searched and more than likely arrested as soon as the Military Police or Soldiers or Special Forces Police, armed with sub machine guns, realise that you may be a threat.
Do it here and you will probably get past without a single phone call being made and just a promise that you drop off a few slices of pizza for the security guard on the way out.
Rudd wants us to not panic and he will not raise the threat level above medium (does anyone really know what that means?) in order to keep the public calm. Sorry PM, but it is just more spin and rhetoric from you, and your team of con men, when you try to convince the Australian people that there is no real immediate danger to their lives from a terrorist attack even though ASIO and ASIS and the Federal and State Police have luckily foiled four (that I know of) genuine home land attacks since 11 September, 2001.
If you want Green Jobs(?) and a strong economy, then my suggestion to you, PM, is to give the people of Australia back their sense of security by removing private security from all government and critical infrastructure and replace them with the hardest and toughest and most heavily armed government officers and soldiers that we have.
The spooks are obviously doing a great job but they can and will miss the oddball who one day decides to walk into a domestic airport and start spraying bullets ............hmmmm, I guess not bullets were fired but that was no consolation to the man that was recently bashed to death in full public view at Sydney Airport. Imagine what a religious fanatic with a 7th century warped world view, with a bomb strapped to his body, would do. More food for thought.
Posted by JR at 12:42 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Monday, August 3, 2009
VILE and TACKY O
Kyle Sandilands sacked from Australian Idol
Kyle Sandilands has been dumped as a judge on Australian Idol, while the future of his radio job remains uncertain after an on-air stunt went wrong.
Network Ten programming boss David Mott announced on Monday that the station had sacked Sandilands as a judge on the TV talent show, which he has been working on since 2005.
It follows outrage over Sandilands' 2Day FM breakfast program last week when a 14-year-old girl was strapped to a lie detector and asked on air about her sexual history.
She then revealed she had been raped when she was 12.
Mr Mott said the network made the decision in light of the radio incident.
Really, if you think about it and know anything about the cheap stunts that this show puts to air regularly for it's less than average audience, then it was just a matter of time before they really did let their self delusion get the better of them.
Not being a big FM guy myself I really haven't given much attention to the Kyle and Jackie O Show but I have heard enough about them and seen enough of KyleSandilands' smart arse work to know that there is zero personal appeal for me. Interestingly though the stunt didn't seem to publicly raise much concern with ACMA (the Australian Communications and Broadcasting Authority) although that is not to say that there hasn't been private communication with Austereo (the stations broadcast group)
Kyle and Jackie have demonstrated an enormous amount of bad judgement and taste for agreeing to put a 14 year old on a "Lie Detector" (at all let alone without at least seven seconds of broadcast delay) and being the public faces of the show, they have faced the greatest amount of public outrage but it should really be said that the show's producers are the real instigators of this shameful segment -- and the number one villain in this sordid affair was and will always be the (step) mother of the poor girl in question. I am sure the Pink concert will now not hold such a prized expectation as she so obviously thought they would but I bet London to a Brick that this child (the mother) will still go to it.
Sandilands has through his management stated that he was "not fit to broadcast at this time" (cowardly ? maybe) and the station has of course canned the show indefinitely along with the announcement today that Kyle's position as a co-host on Australian Idol is no longer his.....hmmmmmm !?!
Call me cynical , and most do, but I believe there could be a little Machiavellian play at hand here and that this sudden fall from grace could actually be a lot more about raising a sympathy vote, which I am sure that the show and its presenters already have from their strong audience of pre-teens and morons who still find the whole thing a bit of a joke.
There is also a deeper lesson that can be learnt with a simple look at history, say the fall of the decadent Roman and French empires, when societies moral compass spun so out of control that eventually a return to a more civil and -- yes I'll say it -- "conservative" set of values and mores would return to readjust the balance of things.
What I think we are witnessing is that very swing back of the standards pendulum to the right and thus a push away from the mental disorder that is unchecked liberalism. Still we do have a lot of mess to fix up since the sixties and the progressives will not give up with out a fight.
Posted by JR at 11:57 PM 1 comments Links to this post
(Fred Nile is a prominent Christian critic of homosexual behaviour)
Maybe if you were siting in the audience of the Labor party conference, held last Friday, then you may have wanted to be spared the tedious back slapping and boring party speeches by actually stepping outside and becoming an audience to another ridiculous yet far more interesting show.
The Gay Marriage lobby ("gay marriage" is an oxymoron by the way as the true definition of the word "Marriage" means a union between man and woman) put on a large and very loud protest, calling on the Prime Minister to change laws to allow homosexual men and woman to be married and your Mum and Dad were.
Thankfully Rudd didn't believe the very questionable poll that claims that 60 percent of Australians support gay marriage (they must have taken the poll in Oxford Street, Sydney) and has for the first time in my understanding of the man and his politics actually supported the more truthful public belief that very few would support the watering down of the sanctity of marriage, regardless of one's religious convictions. Report of his stance here
In fact religion has very little to do with the whole issue. What is consistent though is that Rudd has once again disappointed a huge part of his traditional voter base by flatly refusing to adjust these age old laws. And although he is to the centre left of his political party, I believe that even the far left of the ALP would never commit to such a fundamental change in our societiy's basic foundation stones of civilisation.
I have now and never have had an issue with gay partnerships or unions being recognised in law and giving same sex couples all of the the same common law rights of ownership, etc that all married and de facto heterosexual couples experience today and to the PM's credit so does he.
My strong conservative compass will never change on this point and I doubt that any Australian political party member, with the exception of a few Greens, would ever cross the floor on this issue.
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Now is your chance to go on the record as supporting trusted, factual information by joining PolitiFact's Truth Squad. Contributions or gifts to PolitiFact, which is part of the 501(c)(3) nonprofit Poynter Institute, are tax deductible.
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ABC News billed Saturday night's dual debates as "Two Parties, One Night," which conjures images of friendly get-togethers with cocktails and hors d'oeuvres. But they were more like raucous family dinners where the kids can't stop heaving insults at each other.
At the Republican debate, John McCain and Mike Huckabee took turns making wisecracks about Mitt Romney's flip-flops. (McCain sarcastically called Romney "the candidate of change.")
At the Democratic debate, Barack Obama and John Edwards teamed up against Hillary Clinton, who in turn called Obama a flip-flopper.
We fact-checked many of their claims:
* Romney earned our Pants-On-Fire rating for his ridiculous claim that his TV ads do not accuse McCain of supporting amnesty for illegal immigrants. Perhaps Romney should look at his own ads, which say McCain "wrote the amnesty bill." Or the Romney for president news release that says "Senator McCain has ... supported amnesty."
* Romney was also way off with his claim that Obama "wants the government to take over health care." That's a distortion of Obama's plan, which keeps the free-market health care system intact. We gave Romney a Barely True.
* We give Mike Huckabee a False for claiming that Romney was late to support the surge of troops in Iraq. We find Romney and Huckabee both supported it from the start.
* Rudy Giuliani continues to blame Bill Clinton for shrinking the military even though PolitiFact and our colleagues at FactCheck.org and the Washington Post have repeatedly said it is a distortion by he and Romney, who made the same claim. In fact, the defense cuts under the "peace dividend" had bipartisan support. So once again, we rate this claim Half True.
* We found Giuliani was on more solid ground with his claim that President Reagan backed amnesty for illegal immigrants. We gave that claim a True.
* Clinton had her numbers right when she said 7,000 kids in New Hampshire have benefited from the children's health insurance program. We previously determined that her boasts about the plan inflated her role, but she qualified them this time by indicating she "helped to create" the program. So we rated the statement True.
* Clinton was also right that Obama's New Hampshire chairman is a lobbyist. We gave that a True.
* Bill Richardson was correct when he said he created a reserve for home heating oil when he was energy secretary. We gave his claim a True .
* Clinton offered a misleading account of Obama's vote on the Patriot Act. We gave that claim a Half True.


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June 25 – June 30, 2018
Loyola University – Lakeshore*
Chicago, Illinois
The Church Music Association of America is proud to invite you to celebrate with us as we hold our 28th Colloquium in 2018, to be held at the Loyola University* Lakeshore Campus in Chicago, Illinois. The CMAA's Sacred Music Colloquium continues to be the largest and most in-depth teaching conference and retreat on sacred music in the world. Our 2018 program offers new and expanded opportunities for learning, singing, listening, and interacting with some of the best minds and musicians in the Catholic world today! Liturgies will be held at the beautiful chapel at Loyola University, Madonna della Strada.
The CMAA Colloquium is primarily focused on instruction and experience in chant and the Catholic sacred music tradition, participation in chant choirs, lectures and performances and daily liturgies. During the week, you'll be able to participate in ordinary and extraordinary form Masses, in Latin, Latin/Spanish and English, as well as morning Lauds and sung night prayer.
As a participant, you are an integral part of the beautiful music from the Roman Catholic tradition. Experience not only the traditional Gregorian chant and Renaissance polyphony of the church's musical treasure, but also new compositions of English propers and ordinaries by various composers, as well as modern motets. For the first time, the Sacred Music Colloquium will also offer Mass in Spanish, with Spanish propers and a Latin Ordinary for our Wednesday liturgy.
Who should attend?
Colloquium Highlights
General registration information
Check or credit card payment must accompany registration. Mailed registration forms must be postmarked on or before March 1 (Early Bird) or May 9 (Regular). Registrations postmarked after May 9 will be charged a $50 late fee. You may register online at the CMAA Shop website: ONLINE REGISTRATION. Mailed registrations must be received at the CMAA Office (by mail or email) by the close of business, June 7. After June 7, registration is only available by telephone by calling our office at (505) 263-6298 on a space-available basis.
Dormitory housing will be available on the Loyola University campus. Faculty will be housed on-campus as well.
The conference hotel for Colloquium 2018 is the Hampton Inn, located at 1209 W. Albion Avenue, Chicago, IL 60626, 1-312-265-5800, in easy walking distance to the campus. A special conference rate of $169/night (plus taxes) at the conference hotel is available until May 25, 2018. MAKE HOTEL RESERVATIONS
* The CMAA is not affiliated with Loyola University and the Sacred Music Colloquium is not sponsored by Loyola University.


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Airline Pilot, Founding Member
Martin Bromiley is "Dad" to a young family. Professionally he is an airline pilot with a background specialising in human factors. Prior to flying he had a successful career as a Training Consultant working in a range of industries. He focussed on decision making, communication and leadership skills development. In 2005 his late wife and 'Mummy' to Victoria and Adam, died during a routine hospital procedure. As a result of his experiences he has been one of the founder members of the Clinical Human Factors Group, a non profit making charitable trust which aims to advise and promote best practice around human factors.
Human factors are a vital component of patient safety with lessons being well known in other industries to learn from. This includes the spectrum of decision making, leadership, communication, situational awareness, being able to speak up and being receptive to comment from one's colleagues. It's also about routinely planning for things that can go wrong.


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Save more in supplies than you pay in dues.
Missouri Dental Association (MDA) is always looking for ways to deliver members more value, including support to be more competitive and efficient in the business side of practice. Through its endorsement of Association Gloves & Supplies, MDA members have enjoyed significant savings on exam gloves and supplies.
Now, MDA and Association Gloves & Supplies have formed an alliance with The Dentists Supply Company (TDSC) to provide those savings on a wider selection of supplies through one easy-to-shop site.
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Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky – Quartet No. 3 in E-flat minor
Béla Bartók – Quartet No. 3
Antonín DvoRák – Quartet in A-flat major, Op. 105
The Dover Quartet catapulted to international stardom following a stunning sweep of the 2013 Banff Competition. Recently named the Cleveland Quartet Award winner, and awarded the coveted Avery Fisher Career Grant, the Dover has become one of the most in-demand ensembles in the world.The Quartet serves as the quartet-in-residence for the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University, Illinois. The Dover Quartet is dedicated to sharing its music with under-served communities and is actively involved with Music for Food, an initiative enabling musicians to raise resources and awareness in the fight against hunger.
Tchaikovsky is known for his symphonies, ballets and operas, but his three string quartets are each superbly crafted works and an important contribution to the Romantic chamber music tradition. Bartók's third quartet, his furthest adventure into modernity, unfolds in one concentrated movement, incorporating motifs derived from Hungarian folk music worked through with Bach's contrapuntal style. Dvorák's final string quartet and his last composition of 'pure'
(non-programmatic) music, is infused with the folk music of Bohemia and the composer's own joy upon returning home after a long sojourn in the United States.
Photograph: Carlin Ma
JOEL LINK, Violin
BRYAN LEE, Violin
MILENA PAJARO-VAN DE STADT, Viola
CAMDEN SHAW, Cello


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Pursuant to the mandate conferred upon President Maithripala Sirisena at the recently held Presidential election and recognizing that the process of reconciliation in Sri Lanka requires a full acknowledgement of the tragedy of the conflict and a collective act of contrition, the Government of Sri Lanka, at an official ceremony held on 4th February 2015 to mark the 67th Independence Day, made the following "Declaration of Peace".
Today, our beloved nation faces a moment of unprecedented opportunity. Terrorism and violence have ended. The time and space required for healing and building sustainable peace and security for all is upon us. It is now for us to seize this opportunity to ensure that the fruits of democracy and citizenship can be equitably enjoyed by all.
As we commemorate the 67th Independence Day of our nation today, we pay our respects to all the citizens of this country, of all ethnicities and religions, who lost their lives due to the tragic conflict that afflicted this land for over three decades and to all the victims of violence since Independence.
On this solemn occasion, we pledge to adopt consensual approaches through democratic means, to advance national interest, national reconciliation, justice and equality for all citizens. We shall do this in a spirit of tolerance, accommodation and compromise and uphold the unity and territorial integrity of the nation for the progress and development of our pluralistic society. We pledge to protect freedom and democracy, promote amity and cooperation between diverse communities in this country, and at all times strive to walk the path of peace.
We pledge our collective commitment to ensure that never again will we allow for this land to be traumatized by the shedding of blood of her citizens.


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Pretty easy to print the pictures out onto card stock, trim and then fold.
Add envelopes and tie with a string (yes, I tried ribbon but it obscured the "Hello").
Packing them up for teacher gifts.
We used my straight edge paper trimmer which I really like to use with kids so they can easily cut straight edges or trim a stack of paper to a specific size (specifically Thank you notes).


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This is a Camaro nose con brace which runs at the hood release down to the bottom of the core support. Exact year of donor car not known. Unit has been blasted and painted and is ready to install.
See picture.
As always FREE SHIPPING inside the USA
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Factory Shop
Please pop in our beautiful and unique factory shop and transport yourself to Mexico.
If you are just buying for personal use to satisfy that 'Mexican craving' or planning a Mexican meal for your friends and family; our staff are happy to assist you with any queries you may have regarding our vast selection of products.
A worthwhile trip to Midrand!
Unit H
709 Richards Dr.
(Across from the Shell garage)
Operating Hours:
Monday to Friday 8h00 – 16h30
Closed on weekends and public holidays.
*Credit Cards Welcome!*


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Carmelo Anthony put on a show at Madison Square Garden on Friday night when he scored a New York Knicks record and career-high 62 points in a 125-96 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats.
Anthony shot 23-for-35 from the floor, 6-for-11 from beyond the arc and 10-for-10 at the free throw line in 39 minutes. As his shot chart shows, there weren't many spots on the floor he wasn't able to score from.
[tweet https://twitter.com/nbastats/status/426906453106896896 align="center"]
The Knicks forward broke Bernard King's previous franchise record of 60 points early in the fourth quarter, and when New York opened up a huge lead with about six minutes remaining in regulation, head coach Mike Woodson decided to end his superstar's night early.
Anthony has joined Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant as the only active players who've scored 60 or more points in one game. The former Syracuse star also added 13 rebounds to his impressive stat line.
[tweet https://twitter.com/ESPNStatsInfo/status/426903135362105346 align="center"]
Anthony now holds the record for the most points ever scored at MSG. Bryant and the Lakers visit New York on Sunday.
[tweet https://twitter.com/ESPNNBA/status/426907911638380544 align="center"]
The win improved the Knicks' record to 16-26, which puts them in 11th place in the Eastern Conference and two games behind the Bobcats for the final playoff spot.


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Maybe he's trying to make a comeback. Blow me down! We needsk hem!
Monthly Archives: March 2014
What Did FDR Know? – Part 1
Good day, everyone.
The more frequent readers of this blog, "Masako and Spam Musubi", likely see that my main focus is on World War II and my family's involvement on both sides of the Pacific. Although I definitely am not a historian by any means, stories here are based on family records supplemented by tidbits of historical "facts".
And some of these historical facts are public knowledge…while some are kept or suppressed from public knowledge.
Some were destroyed.
The White House also has perhaps the most insurmountable power over what is written – or how events are presented to or withheld from the public. At times, this leads to the distrust of the very government the people have elected into power. This distrust continues today and arguably, the worst its been in our country's history.
This is a knotty topic without a doubt…about FDR's involvement – or even orchestration – in what happened during these critical years. But these factual conflicts have perplexed me for years. Conflicts between what we were taught versus what wasn't.
I wish to express some facts here and in the next couple of stories about the Pacific war and allow you to come to your own conclusions about FDR. They will center around Pearl Harbor and the interment of my dad's family in "war relocation centers". Please note that entire books and research papers have been written on this general topic so my blog will do as best possible to reveal the facts involving FDR – before Pearl Harbor, immediately after and up to his death late in the war.
So… What did FDR know?
Let's get into it, shall we?
FDR was our only president to be elected to four terms in office. He passed away while serving his fourth term on April 12, 1945, just weeks before the surrender of Nazi Germany. The nation was distracted from the war for that moment. They mourned his passing. Indeed, there was great stress being President of the United States in time of World War. Some general background before I get into it:
- He was a politician.
- FDR was liked by a significant majority of Americans as proven by his being elected to a fourth term.
- He made a statement to America during his 1940 re-election campaign, "I have said this before, but I shall say it again and again and again: Your boys are not going to be sent into any foreign war." (1)
- A pre-war Gallup poll disclosed 88% of those Americans polled opposed US involvement in the European war. Britain was fighting for her life. FDR supported isolationism publicly.
- Perhaps the best kept secret prior to Pearl Harbor and up to immediately after World War II ended was that an elite cryptology group (members of the US Army Signal Intelligence Service, or SIS) had broken the Japanese diplomatic code in early 1939. Any intelligence that was gathered was kept secret and under the cover name of "MAGIC". (One huge single diplomatic source of detailed enemy information was Baron Hiroshi Oshima, Japan's ambassador to Nazi Germany. Nearly all of Oshima's messages from Berlin to Tokyo were intercepted and deciphered.) (2)
- Beginning in 1940 and then continuing, FDR and the League of Nations placed an economic embargo on Japan in reaction to their attacks in Asia. Items were added weekly to the embargo list – except for oil.
- In 1940, Tyler Kent, a 29 year old code clerk at the U.S. embassy in London, discovered secret dispatches between Roosevelt and Churchill. These revealed that FDR — despite contrary campaign promises — was determined to engage America in the war. Kent smuggled some of the documents out of the embassy, hoping to alert the American public — but was caught. With U.S. government approval, he was tried in a secret British court and confined to a British prison until the war's end. FDR approved to carefully associate the term "German spy" to his name in a further coverup. (3)
- FDR authorized British and American military staff members to meet during January through March 1941; the purpose was to plan ahead military strategy in the event the U.S. entered war against Germany. They determined that Germany was to be first defeated, while the U.S. would stand on the defensive toward Japan in the Pacific.
- The Lend-Lease Bill was passed in March 1941, a major shift in FDR's foreign policy.
- At the Nov. 25, 1941 White House conference, just weeks before Pearl Harbor, Secretary Stimson reported that FDR had said "The President said the Japanese were notorious for making an attack without warning and stated that we might be attacked, say next Monday, for example." FDR knew historically that on three different occasions since 1894, Japan had made surprise attacks coinciding with breaks in diplomatic relations. (4)
- On November 29th, Secretary of State Cordell Hull secretly met with newspaper reporter Joseph Leib. Hull knew him and felt he was a news man he could trust. The Secretary of State handed him secret MAGIC copies concerning Pearl Harbor. Hull told him the Japanese were planning to strike Pearl Harbor and that FDR planned to let it happen. Due to the incredibility, only one newspaper published the story.
- On December 2, 1941, days before Pearl Harbor, Captain Johann Ranneft, a Dutch naval attaché in Washington, visited the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI). Two junior ONI officers pointed to a wall map and said, "This is the Japanese Task Force proceeding East." (He was referring to Admiral Nagumo's carrier strike force heading towards Pearl Harbor.) The officer had pointed to a spot midway between Japan and Hawaii. On December 6th, Ranneft returned and asked where the Japanese carriers were. He was shown a position on the map about 300-400 miles northwest of Pearl Harbor personally by Admiral Wilkinson, ONI chief. (5)
- The key battles and events during World War II post-Pearl Harbor from the American perspective were (NOTE: I had to center the bullet points below as WordPress does not allow you to use tab stops):
♦ The Battle of Coral Sea
♦ The Battle of Midway
♦ The Solomon Islands Campaign
♦ Battles for Pelileu, Iwo Jima and Okinawa
♦ The shootdown of Admiral Yamamoto.
(Flights to and from the shootdown point occurred before and
continued afterwards, solely to conceal the fact we broke their code.)
The above tries to give you an at altitude look down on what was happening prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor. In the ensuing stories, I hope to present "things to think about"… Things like secret codes, espionage, internment and even D-Day in a roundabout way. Things that FDR knew then orchestrated actions as a politician should.
I hope you will stay tuned… then come to your own conclusions as to what FDR knew.
To be continued… Part 2 is here.
(1) However, the following comment was not part of his speech: Of course, we'll fight if we're attacked. If someone attacks us, then it isn't a foreign war. – Yale University
(2) There were several codes being used by the Japanese Army and Navy in addition to the diplomatic code mentioned above. All were broken by US cryptologists. The Japanese also had their cryptologists but were nowhere's near as successful in breaking US or British codes.
(3) It is important to note that CHAMBERLAIN was the Prime Minister of England, not Churchill. Yet, FDR and Churchill were secretly making promises unbeknownst to Chamberlain.
(4) Source: Henry Lewis Stimson diaries.
(5) "Military Intelligence Blunders and Cover-Ups: New Revised Edition"
Natural Blending
Today's camera phones are just as amazing as nature's camouflage.
It's Ojai Pixie Tangerine season, folks!
Chef Cathy Thomas (from whom some of my recipes come from) turned me onto these delightfully yummy tangerines. They are grown in Ojai, California; we are right after the start of the season which may run into late May or early June.
These savory Pixies are:
• Easy to peel
• Sweet
• Juicy – did I say JUICY?
• Seedless
• And my kids love them
Chefs use them in their salads when it calls for tangerines. They are that good.
I obtain mine from Melissa's Produce, four pounds for about $18. They can be shipped anywhere and will arrive fresh.
They are highly recommended!
Hamburgers and a '63 Merc
Nearly all Americans would agree that hamburgers are the All-American icon. A simple grilled ground beef patty, salted and peppered, slathered with mayo, mustard and ketchup then sandwiched in a plain bun.
At least that's how I know them. Oh, hold the pickles, please.
Now, us kids that grew up watching "Bewitched" and "I Dream of Jeannie" have given birth to a generation that has taken a simple thing and made them into $15 gourmet, fancied-up, mushroom-covered (expensive) cuisine. Do you think I like Elizabeth Montgomery and Barbara Eden? Drool…
But I don't know if I like the "change".
Back to this in a minute, folks.
The fancy hamburgers – not the drool.
Dad had always owned Fords when he could finally afford getting a car. I guess that's where I get my Ford passion from.
After leaving Japan for the last time in the late '50's after the Occupation ended, my pop bought his first new car stateside in 1963 – he was 44 years old. It was a two door Cascade Blue 1963 Mercury Meteor custom hardtop; a king of obscurity to say the least, but to a kid of about ten, it was Flash Gordon's rocket ship. Unlike Hillary, it was easy to love this car.
Don't get me wrong. It wouldn't get a choice spot if valet parked. I say wouldn't as my old man couldn't afford valet, let alone a family dinner out. But to me, the rocket ship had a chrome finish AM push-button radio – turn the dial on the right, find a station, pull out a button, then push it back in to set it. Trouble is I did it a dozen times each time I got into the car. But all I cared about was KFI 640 AM, the Dodgers' station. The golden voice of Vin Scully… and Fairly, Gilliam, Wills and I forget who played third. They were World Series champs that year.
Six adults could get into this rocket ship with room to spare – eight of us little Japanese folks and a dog. The cargo hold in back swallowed up my Sears JC Higgins bike in one gulp with enough space leftover for Frank Howard. (I saw him hit the scoreboard in right field with a home run.)
Unless my aging grey matter is dissolving at warp speed (maybe it is), there were ash trays with shiny covers in each armrest…and this was for the back seats. It was a favorite depository for my Bazooka chewing gum but I kept the wax covered cartoon that came with it.
Pop kept it for quite some time. I passed my driver's license test in it on my 16th birthday. I got a 96 only because she claimed I never looked in the rear view mirror. Poppy cock. I always look in the rear view mirror for cops. Even back then.
And as it was the only car we had back then, I also drove my date to one of my senior proms in it (I went to two.). And the answer is, "No," if anyone was wondering…but I'm sure she was disappointed. Well, maybe not.
The four-wheel drum brakes were spectacular…not. Instead of rubber meets the road, it was like rubber met the world's supply of Vaseline while fighting the pull to the left… and this was at 25 mph. Steering? An oil tanker's captain would do well. Turn the wheel a lot; see the slight change in direction a few seconds later. Pat Brady and Nellybelle turned better – and that was out in the desert on sand.
I overhauled the epoch 164 hp 260 cid V8 sometime around 1976 in our garage. At 13 years of age, she had become an old girl. She had become a V6, meaning it had lost compression in two cylinders. I remember setting zero lash, then three-quarters turn of the ratchet for the hydraulic lifters during the overhaul. The distributor was the biggest headache, of all things. It was like extracting an impacted molar and only after using copious amounts of Liquid Wrench in place of laughing gas did it finally come out. "Older" Blue Oval guys know what I'm describing.
Back to today's elegant hamburgers and change.
Instead of the push-pull AM radio, my youngest son – who was seven when I bought it – similarly discovered my '08 Mustang GT had a "My Color" dashboard light feature. Now I know how my pop felt as my son forced me to experience every color of the rainbow while driving at night – every time. It was like being at an all-night disco club.
Bazooka bubble gum and ashtrays are no more but treasure hunters will be pleased after exploring the map pockets. No disappointments there. I promise… especially after my little Cake Boss had sat in the back. Latex gloves are highly recommended before exploring.
Overhaul it? After all, my GT's got a 281 V8, only twenty-one more cubes than my pop's…but it pumps out a magnificent 505 hp thanks to her Roush supercharger and Carmen pulley. Hell, I'm afraid to change spark plugs. Who would imagine in 1963 there would be a TSB on just how to R&R spark plugs?
And unlike my pop's '63 Merc which ran on simple mechanical principles (but threw physics principles out the window for the so-called braking), the computing power in my Mustang would cause Einstein to strike a pose like Captain Morgan.
And today's stunning braking power is the true reason for seat belts – it compassionately keeps your head from being continually used to redesign the windshield. The aftermarket Wilwood six-piston disc brakes I installed with slotted and cross-drilled rotors exacerbates the stop-on-a-dime tendencies… which is a good thing.
So it appears the delicious, basic hamburger of the 1960's has been brought into the 21st Century. Kids that watched Elizabeth Montgomery and Barbara Eden fooled with the wonderfully simple ground beef and bread formula to give us today's foodie gourmet burger…and we can still listen to Vinny's golden voice, to boot. Glorious.
And well, with 505 hp at the crank instead of 164 hp, it's hard to complain. Neither do my kids when they hear the whine of my Roush supercharger. They like to scream. But it's a shame my pop's '63 Mercury Meteor won't be swept into anyone's museum.
I guess technology has its benefits.
I'll take a gourmet burger in the end after all.
Pass the Heinz ketchup, please.
At least that hasn't changed.
Busy Baker
For the first time, this former mechanic and amateur baker attempted TWO desserts within a four hour window.
Well, at least everyone who ate them are still alive and kicking…so far.
Triple-Chocolate Espresso Brownies
Long name, huh, for brownies?
Well, my little Cake Boss asked for me, her servant, to make her some brownies. And since I had all the ingredients at the house, I decided to do it from scratch…again.
Wasn't someone supposed to tell me to stop this non-sense?
Per my yes-yes beacon, Cook's Illustrated, the classic brownie should be moist, not "goopy" or dry. The chocolate flavor should most of all be decadent – especially for my little Cake Boss. Gotta raise her right, you know.
Like avoiding the supermarket pre-mixed who-the-heck-knows-what's-in-it stuff.
Well… it's really 'cuz I wanted to avoid the uncomfortable situation experienced after baking the little Cake Boss a classic white double-layer birthday cake. The little Cake Boss almost fired me because I didn't do as she told me to.
Some of the easy steps:
After cooling for two hours, lift out the brownies with the foil liner and pig out!
Actually, this first batch of homemade "triple-chocolate espresso brownies" came out REAL good as the little Cake Boss came back for a second piece.
She must've been pleased.
I guess I'm still employed at the house.


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A Caring Home
RSI's Bray Board and Lodge, located in Biwabik, Minn., is home to up to 21 clients with mental health diagnoses, traumatic brain injury or related conditions. In addition to lodging and meals, services include supervision and minimal assistance with independent living skills. Staff can also assist clients in accessing Adult Rehabilitative Mental Health Services.
This home is ideal for people who can safely access the community, yet require consistent housing, meal service, and medication and appointment management. Clients are provided with transportation to medical appointments and local bus passes for recreational purposes.
Bray Board and Lodge is located in a peaceful setting close to numerous outdoor recreational opportunities. Before it was converted to a board and lodge, this historic home was the Biwabik Hospital and home to the Charles Bray family.
Funding is through Group Residential Housing or private pay. Check for openings or contact us.


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Debra Lamar-Igein of Bushkill is suing AAA of Northeast Pennsylvania and its representative for denying her a towing service contract, claiming they did so because she's black and a woman. Lamar-Igein says she was told, among other things, that she had to meet certain criteria, which white male contractors apparently didn't have to meet.
SCRANTON — A Bushkill woman is suing AAA of Northeast Pennsylvania and its representative for discrimination, claiming the agency denied her a contract to provide towing service because she's black and a woman.
And she gathered some of the evidence for her lawsuit through her own "sting" operation, by having her husband take a job with another company that applied for and got a AAA contract.
Debra Lamar-Igein, who filed the lawsuit May 9 in federal court in Scranton — with no attorney — says AAA area coordinator Arnie Lotz turned her down when she expressed interest in applying for a contract in November 2005.
Lamar-Igein says Lotz told her she had to meet certain criteria and that C H C Motors of Marshalls Creek is the only towing service in Monroe and Pike counties that has had and will ever have a AAA contract. When contacted Wednesday, C H C employees said other area towing companies have AAA contracts.
Lamar-Igein says she investigated for more than a year afterward and found towing services run by white men have received AAA contracts without being required to meet the criteria she was told she had to meet.
Lamar-Igein's suit identifies Pocono Shell Repair/Pocono Friendly Towing, owned by a white man with the last name Mestecky, and located at 5243 Milford Road in East Stroudsburg (the Bushkill area, not the borough). No such business is listed in the 2006-2007 Monroe/Pike County phone directory.
A Frank Mestecky of Milford is listed in the phone book, but was not home Wednesday. It's not known if this is the same Mestecky who owns Pocono Shell Repair/Pocono Friendly Towing.
The rest of the suit alleges the following occurred:
In December 2006, Lamar-Igein's husband, Abudu John Igein applied for and got a job at Pocono Shell Repair as a repair mechanic technician, earning $100 a week.
Mestecky was awarded a AAA contract without having to meet any requirements or even a face-to-face with anyone from AAA. The agency didn't even investigate to learn why his previous contract had been canceled. This contradicted what Lotz had told Lamar-Igein about AAA awarding contracts to no one other than CHC.
After getting the new contract, Mestecky trained Abudu Igein as a tow truck driver, after which Igein's weekly pay rose from $100 to $350. In January 2007, New Jersey state police stopped and cited Igein for tow truck violations such as having no mud guard.
"This shows Mr. Lotz never checked the Pocono Friendly Towing truck for the requirements he asked the plaintiff to have," the suit states.
Sometime after he was cited (the suit doesn't say exactly when), Abudu Igein had his sister, a Maryland resident, apply for a towing service contract in that state.
She requested and was given a contract application form, proving "Mr. Lotz knowingly fails to follow directions and maliciously gave the plaintiff information contrary to AAA rules and regulations."
Lotz did not return a phone call seeking comment Wednesday.
"AAA denies the allegation and has turned it over to (legal) counsel," agency spokesman Craig Smith of the Scranton office said Wednesday.
Court records at this time show Lamar-Igein has not hired an attorney.
In a prepared statement e-mailed to The Pocono Record, Abudu Igein said, "This is not only about color discrimination. It addresses discrimination against all women. The Poconos should embrace changes. This is the 21st century for crying out loud."


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And here is the Alexandra Mor ring I wore with a Gemfields 26.16ct emerald cut in an elevated sugarloaf cabochon shape.
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Systems Engineer, Pre-sales - IL/WI
Sales | Chicago, IL | Full Time
Come and be a part of something great! CloudGenix is a high-growth startup in an incredibility hot market called Software-Defined WAN (SD-WAN). We are looking for high-energy, smart, fearless and talented people to join our growing team.
CloudGenix has a differentiated SD-WAN solution that gives our customers an entirely new way to build their WAN - one that is defined by applications and business priorities instead of packets and protocols. By focusing on end-user experience our customers achieve more than twice the performance at less than half the cost and can leave the legacy technologies and costs of supporting them behind.
CloudGenix App-Fabric is designed to meet the needs of modern applications, including SaaS-and cloud-based apps such as Office365, AWS, Azure, Unified Communications and VoIP. Network managers can leverage CloudGenix AppFabric to set up business rules and app-SLAs instead of complex networking protocols and rules, simplifying network configurations by up to 90 percent. Customers can now manage their WAN using policies based on business intent for applications and sites encompassing performance, compliance and security. With CloudGenix ION, the network acts as a centralized database storing 100 percent of network and app flows, reducing fragmentation across devices, and providing access to actionable application and network insights.
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CloudGenix and RoundTower Technologies Partner
More from analysts and press at cloudgenix.com
Select Systems Engineer
Pre-sales | IL/WI | Full Time
The Opportunity:
The Select Systems Engineer represents the CloudGenix SD-WAN Solution to customers. You will serve as the tip of spear in sales process and will play a crucial role in the success of your region.
The primary responsibilities for this position will be:
- Serve as an integral part of the Sales team
- Build relationships with customers, earn trusted advisor status
- Work with customers to understand their technology and business challenges
- Lead white board sessions
- Present in person and remotely
- Design Solutions to solve technology and business challenges
- Own the Proof-of-Concept Process
- Gather Requirements and Success Criteria
- Build the Project-Plan with timelines
- Execute the plan
- Present results and findings to customers
- Manage the transition from pre-sales to post-sales
- Deliver training to customers and channel partners
- Participate in frequent internal education
- Provide input on improvements including new features and/or products
- 3+ years of Pre-sales Systems Engineering Experience
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or Electrical Engineering
- 5+ year experience supporting enterprise customers with complex LAN/WAN environments.
- Advanced knowledge of LAN/WAN technologies, expertise with general routing/switching, Routing protocols (e.g BGP, OSPF, EIGRP), Campus and DataCenter Architectures.
- Deep understanding of TCP. Experience with supporting Firewalls, Load Balancers and WAN Optimization that deal with flows and applications are helpful.
- Experience with APIs and Programmability
- Coding and Scripting (Python, Java, JavaScript, C#)
- Operational understanding of Enterprise Apps and Enterprise Security (IPSEC, PKI, traditional overlay VPN technologies).
- Experience with SaaS, IaaS (AWS, GCP, Azure), virtualization and hypervisors including VMware vSphere, MS HyperV, KVM.
- Advanced Troubleshooting skills across L1-L7, including the use of packet sniffers, on platform diagnostics.
While attractive compensation and standard benefits packages take care of your day-day life, we think you will love the atmosphere, engaging fun, sheer energy, and camaraderie once you are onboard.


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Hope everyone is enjoying the long holiday weekend.
We couldn't find much online down here about any happenings like parades and such. Maybe they don't do parades around here. Oh well. We did hit Magic Kingdom last nite after Ric got done at the library and got to see the special fireworks display for the 4th of July. Awesome -- even being behind the castle -- they were great. Tonite we hope to catch the Sanford fireworks. We'll venture out later today to scope things out and try to figure out where things are happening at around here. Ric found something else online that said it was from 5-10p. This is all I found online about it: A July 4th family-oriented extravaganza full of live entertainment, games, family activities and concessions, the Festival on the Fourth culminates with one of the largest fireworks shows in Central Florida. The festivities take place along the city's brand-new RiverWalk overlooking Lake Monroe in historic downtown Sanford.
After seeing the fireworks for the Cherry Festival in Traverse City so many times, I compare all others to that. So, it will be interesting to see "one of the largest fireworks shows in Central FL" and compare it to Cherry Festival's and DisneyWorld's.
Happy 4th of July to everyone in this great country!
Monday, July 04, 2011
1 comment:
- Debbie said...
Or maybe we won't get down to Sanford....tired from yesterday and the rain started about 5p ish and more in the forecast. There is always next year!
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Technical sportswear brand Helly Hansen, and adventure race organisers TrailPlus, are adding a third dimension to their hugely successful Adventure Challenge Series with the Helly Hansen Adventure-X at Lakeside YMCA National Centre, in Cumbria. The first adventure decathlon, it's a ground-breaking multi-activity race on land and water. Expected to attract some of the UK's leading adventure athletes, Adventure-X is limited to 30 teams (three per team) and has the added appeal of over £4,000 in prize money!
The unique format, described as a two day adventure decathlon, takes place on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 March 2009. Saturday will consist of nine exhilarating disciplines designed to get the heart pounding and the head spinning. They include rock climbing, assault course, adventure biathlon, mountain bike challenge, fell race, ropes challenge, sailing, canoeing, and night time navigation. The 10th event, and final test, is on the Sunday, when the Adventure-X teams compete with up to 200 other teams in the Helly Hansen Adventure Challenge Series.
The three person teams (male, female and mixed) must stay together, as their skill, endurance and resolve are tested on land and water. Notoriously difficult to focus on a target with a raised heart rate, the adventure biathlon is likely to feature a cardio sport, such as biking or running, followed by a target event such as archery. Those meanies.
The £4,000 prize fund will be split as £2,500 to the first overall team; £1,000 to the second; and £500 to the third. Plus, 4th-6th placed teams, the first overall mixed team and the first overall female team will each receive Helly Hansen technical gear.
Registration is now open! To apply for an entry pack, {encode="[email protected]" title="email the team"} or telephone 01457 855425. The team entry fee is £350 and includes two night's camping at the venue and all equipment (excluding mountain bike and helmet).


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This is the second article about my cruise.
This is my second cruise. I say that with a sense of wonder and awe, because I never dreamed I'd EVER go on a cruise. I don't come from a cruising family. I don't even come from a vacationing family. Just during this visit with my parents being at my home, my dad shared that he's never been on a vacation. Sure, as a kid we'd take trips to see my grandparents from wherever we were living at the time, but never a vacation to a destination that didn't include a home of relatives.
Both of these cruises were paid for by Wonder Voyage, the company for whom my husband works. Both were working vacations for the Board Members or the Voyage Directors – but for me, they were simply vacations.
Both have come at such a crucial time in our marriage and in my personal life. I know that I would've continued on without these times away, but also recognize that they were an intimate gift from God to help. To help me. To remind me. To heal me. To reconnect me.
What I love about cruising:
Being served. Completely, with a smile, endlessly. There is a huge crew that is here to meet my every need. Room service, bed turndown service, drinks delivered poolside, cleaning up after me, cute towel animals.
(Our dinner waiters performing a song for us.)
I receive love by acts of service. If you want to show me love, serve me. Maybe it is because I serve my little people so incessantly, but I think that, even before I had kids, I received love by acts of service. I don't need touch. I don't need love notes. I don't need lots of time spent in intense dialogue to feel loved. I just need the simple acts of service. On a cruise, that's what happens.
No schedule. No expectations. Now of course, there are typical times that people eat (although most people just eat all day on a cruise), there are shows with showtimes, and there are certain hours the casinos and clubs are opened and closed; however, there are not people waiting to be disappointed if I decide not to attend. What a refreshing feeling! If I want to sleep in, I sleep. If I want to walk the deck, I walk. If I want to get super dressed up and eat at a fancy dining room, I eat with my cute black dress and high heels on.
The food. I suppose that is what I heard most about a cruise before I actually cruised. But for good reason. The food is endless. Constant. Delicious. My sweet husband is addicted to the constant offering of soft serve ice cream. Before the ship even departed, he'd had a couple. Besides the taste of the stuff, I think it is the ready access and the constant "of course you can" that becons him.
Nothing in life has this much excess attached to it. In most real life scenarios, if you want extra, you pay for extra. Here, if you ordered steak and loved it, but there is also an entree of lobster, you can order that as well. They'll, without judgement or complaint, clean up your well-eaten steak plate, and simply replace it with a lobster tail plate. You want two desserts? You got it. You want that dessert, but with 3 scoops of ice cream instead of one? You got it. It never ends.
The destinations. I have been able to see Grand Turk island, St. Thomas of the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and now Cozumel, Mexico and Key West, Florida. (The following pics are from our rainy/overcast day in Cozumel.)
The relaxation. Maybe I alluded to this in the other reasons I love cruises, but it is such a major part of the journey that I have to single it out. There is a Zac Brown Band song, called Knee Deep, that has become our theme song for this trip. There is one line that says,
"Blue sky breezes blowing wind through my hair,
The only worry in the world is the tide going to reach my chair."
And while we haven't seen much reason to sit in a beach chair worrying about the tide (it has been overcast most of the time), the sentiment is there. There is no communication with the business of our world. No pressure or worries.
– I don't have to worry about communicating with the rude lady on the other end of the phone as I try to renegotiate the terms of our mortgage.
– I don't have to have a grasp on my family's schedule so that I can plan meals accordingly and, subsequently, purchase groceries.
– I don't have to keep the kids' activities in the front of my mind so that I make sure that we don't miss some commitment.
Is that tide reaching my chair? Hmmm…guess I'd better move a little.


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Four time IBMA Songwriter of the Year nominee Donna Ulisse has set the initial 2016 schedule and locations for her Songwriting Escape instrument and songwriting workshops. She and her team will return to all three locations they taught in last year. The 2016 schedule is further down in this article.
This year the workshops are being offered in three hour blocks, a la carte. Ulisse felt this would be more accomodating for people who are not able to attend the whole weekend and to also offer something affordable to everyone at each level. Workshops are being offered in banjo, acoustic guitar, upright bass, mandolin, vocal harmony, basic demo recording as well as co-writing, the nuts and bolts of songwriting and re-writing and editing songs.
Donna Ulisse has recorded nine albums of mostly original material for the Hadley Music Group label. Her current release Hard Cry Moon was recently #1 on the Roots Music Report album chart and #3 on the Euro-Americana chart. She authored the book The Songwriter in Me: Snapshots of My Creative Process. Her songs have also been recorded by Claire Lynch, Darin & Brooke Aldridge, Nu-Blu, Larry Stephenson Band, Diana Jones & Louise Mosrie to name a few. The song Butler Brothers, which she co-wrote with Jerry Salley, was on the 2014 Grammy winning album Streets of Baltimore by Del McCoury Band and she and her husband Rick Stanley (and partner/teacher in the Songwriting Escape workshops) co-wrote the song "Wilma Walker" which is on the current Grammy nominated album In Session by Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver.
The three locations last year will repeat this year with this schedule:
Additional workshops being discussed will be added to the schedule as soon as all details are confirmed.
For more information on Songwriting Escape workshops, visit www.SongwritingEscape.com and for more information on Donna Ulisse visit www.donnaulisse.com
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Trenton City Hall: 2800 Third St. Trenton, MI 48183 | Phone: (734) 675-6500 Fax: (734) 675-4088
Immediate openings for physically demanding entry level positions performing refuse collection and labor intensive work in grounds & forestry, water & sewer, facilities and other general areas of public works. Requires CDL-B and good driving record. Related public works experience strongly desired. Current starting rate $16.79/hour, plus excellent fringe benefits effective on date of hire. Apply in Human Resources Office, 2nd floor of Trenton City Hall, 2800 Third Street at West Road. EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
Click here for application


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Recommended byKirkus, Publishers Weekly, Guardian, The Bookbag, KidsReads
Winner of the Newbery Medal and the National Book Award! This #1 New York Times bestselling, modern classic in which boys are forced to dig holes day in and day out is now available with a splashy new look.
Stanley Yelnats is under a curse. A curse that began with his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather and has since followed generations of Yelnatses. Now Stanley has been unjustly sent to a boys' detention center, Camp Green Lake, where the boys build character by spending all day, every day digging holes exactly five feet wide and five feet deep. There is no lake at Camp Green Lake. But there are an awful lot of holes.
It doesn't take long for Stanley to realize there's more than character improvement going on at Camp Green Lake. The boys are digging holes because the warden is looking for something. But what could be buried under a dried-up lake? Stanley tries to dig up the truth in this inventive and darkly humorous tale of crime and punishment—and redemption.
Includes a double bonus: an excerpt from Small Steps, the follow-up to Holes, as well as an excerpt from Louis Sachar's new middle-grade novel, Fuzzy Mud.
"A smart jigsaw puzzle of a novel." --The New York Times
About Louis SacharSee more books from this Author
Good Guys and Bad get just deserts in the end, and Stanley gets plenty of opportunities to display pluck and valor in this rugged, engrossing adventure.Read Full Review of Holes | See more reviews from Kirkus
Readers (especially boys) will likely delight in the larger-than-life (truly Texas-style) manner in which Sachar fills in all the holes, as he ties together seemingly disparate story threads to dispel ghosts from the past and give everyone their just deserts.Read Full Review of Holes | See more reviews from Publishers Weekly
This book is inspiring to myself and hopefully many others, because it teaches you about loyalty, true friendship and not judging others by their looks - or their unfortunate mistakes in life... couldn't put this book down, it has a great personality (if any a book might have one!).Read Full Review of Holes | See more reviews from Guardian
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The characters are extremely well drawn and it reads like an adventure with folk tale twists and mysteries to detect. It really keeps the reader on their toes and is hard to put down, yet sometimes its impact is so strong that you want to stop for breath as you take in all that is unfolding.Read Full Review of Holes | See more reviews from Guardian
This book is about a boy who goes to a correction school for something he actually didn't do. There he has to dig holes every day to find a treasure. It's in a desert where this boy doesn't get a lot of water a day. I like this book because it is full of adventure (and lizards!).Read Full Review of Holes | See more reviews from Guardian
I would give this book 9/10 and strongly recommend it for anyone who's looking for something a little different. It's full of adventure and questions and had me up reading for most of the night, desperate to find out what happens. So please, please read this book!Read Full Review of Holes | See more reviews from Guardian
The more cynical of adults may perhaps be left very slightly unfulfilled by the unashamed happy ending, but those of us who like to be touched will join with the children - who always like to see justice served - and not mind at all. It's a joyous two hundred and thirty three pages, and you should read it.Read Full Review of Holes
You can't help but get sucked into this inventive and compelling novel --- it is at once extremely serious and outrageously funny.Read Full Review of Holes
So whether you believe in only reading books or only seeing the movies about those books, read "Holes." You will not be disappointed.Read Full Review of Holes
A folktale about Kissin'Kate Barlow and the town of Green Lake is masterfully threaded throughout this novel. This is a novel that you can't put down, one with a fun plot, engaging characters, and a happy ending.Read Full Review of Holes
If you have not read this book yet, I suggest you drop whatever you're doing and pick up this book because I guarantee that you will not regret any second of it.Read Full Review of Holes
It is one of my favorite books because of its creative writing, humor, and adventure. I would recommend this book for young teenagers. Personally, I think boys would prefer it more than girls because of its small bits of action and humor.Read Full Review of Holes
My opinion is that it is a great book and who ever you are you will enjoy this. It is full of suspense and also laughter that you will not be able to put down.Read Full Review of Holes
This book is wonderfully bizarre. The plot and setting are strange, but then the author throws a barrel of peculiar characters into the mix.Read Full Review of Holes
Holes will take you on a roller-coaster adventure with its amazingly complex plot...I dare you to start Holes and see if you can put it down.Read Full Review of Holes
This book is one of my favorite books. I have read it multiple times and I enjoy it book each and every time I read it. Overall I think that this book should be read by everybody at least once. That's how good it is.Read Full Review of Holes
The book holes has a terrify ending because at the end of something happens to Stanley's family. And in the book Stanley's has to have courage to climb the mountainRead Full Review of Holes
The dual yet parallel plots from the past to the future and back again involve ancestors of Stanley Yelnats, the Warden, Mr. Sir and Zero Zeroni. Sachar writes a masterpiece and when all the pieces come together, the reader says "Wow."Read Full Review of Holes
I enjoyed this Disney movie, but the book just doesn't cut it in comparison. I found this book to be a little slow and was looking for something interesting to happen. That being said the characters were very well done, and the storyline was just interesting enough to keep you reading...Read Full Review of Holes
It's no wonder that Holes has been embraced by kids and adults alike. It's smart, funny, thrilling and moving – a treat for all ages.Read Full Review of Holes
...I didn't like it all that much. If there's anything sillier than the idea that existence consists of mere drudgery...it would be that the drudgery is followed, arbitrarily, by a balancing of the cosmic scales.Read Full Review of Holes
It is clever, heart-warming, full of good messages, and definitely worth all the accolades. It will delight middle graders on up. Despite its serious themes, it is full of fun, and features a sort of loser-ish kid who turns into a hero, just by being himself.Read Full Review of Holes
Holes is a great book for boys and girls. Even though the book had mostly boy characters, I am a girl and all my friends and I LOVED the book.Read Full Review of Holes
The characters are very likable, especially to a younger audience, and the story moves along very quickly. I think this book would be especially good for non-readers, boys in particular, because it is very entertaining for all ages.Read Full Review of Holes
The combination of kid-friendly storytelling that children go gaga for and writing so good that it makes adult critics practically pant is rare.Read Full Review of Holes
Though Holes is written for children, it is a great read for adults and kids alike. Stanley Yelnats is a tremendously likeable and relatable character, and the reader cannot help but to hope for the best for him.Read Full Review of Holes
It's a story about camaraderie and not judging people by the colour of their skin. The characters have great development and it's hard not to cheer for Stanley and his pals in the end.Read Full Review of Holes
Louis Sachar threads together high adventure, eccentric characters—both from the past and in the present—and coming-of-age themes that will keep your youngsters riveted.Read Full Review of Holes
I think you will really enjoy this book. It's an adventure and a mystery, with moments of high suspense, all neatly tied-off with a happy ending.Read Full Review of Holes
This was a cute story for kids...What they find might surprise you. All round cute story that was darkly humorous.Read Full Review of Holes
There is a tragic tale of forbidden love and vengeance, and there is a terrific ending. Holes will go down as one of our favorite read-aloud experiences.Read Full Review of Holes
Expectations are therefore high, and yet Sachar manages to fulfil them through the story of the possibly the unluckiest literary hero in history.Read Full Review of Holes
Definitely recommended for the mid-grade readers in your life, and as a fun diversion for grown-ups as well.Read Full Review of Holes
Sachar takes what could potentially be a bleak, mirthless story and instead delivers a darkly funny, intensely exciting one.Read Full Review of Holes
Holes is an unusually sweet book considering the content, but that's probably because Stanley's kind and simple personally shines through.Read Full Review of Holes
The story leaves me uplifted as Stanley, and ultimately the reader, learn about friendship, kindness (and its effect, not only on those we show it to, but on us as we show it), and perseverance. On the flip side, we see the effects of greed and hatred.Read Full Review of Holes
...it's funny as well as clever. It doesn't just try to be funny. It doesn't just think it's funny. It is funny.Read Full Review of Holes
An aggregated and normalized score based on 4054 user ratings from iDreamBooks & iTunes


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Friday, March 04, 2005
Vegas Poker Rooms?Posted by Shelly at 3/04/2005 02:56:00 PM
I just finished reading Helixx's tale of his February Vegas trip. It has me so riled up that I want to go NOW! Patience, young grasshopper.... seven days to wait.
In exactly one week and four minutes from now, Randy and I will be taxiing towards the airstrip for takeoff out of Chicago to glorious Las Vegas.
So - I'm hoping that some of you Vegas Veterans can help me out. I'm in the process of scouring Google for reviews of Vegas card rooms, but I'd love to hear any suggestions you might have. I'm looking for small stakes tournaments and cash games. To give you an idea of my stakes... I'm bringing $1,000 with me, and it has to last me 4 days.
We're staying Friday through Monday (March 11-14) at the Westin just off the strip. Mid-strip from what I'm told - near Bally's.
Food suggestions welcomed as well! (Mmmm food, good...)
5 Comments:
- DieDown said...Friday, March 04, 2005 8:24:00 PMhttp://www.allvegaspoker.com/
This is the best source I've found on LV poker.
Good luck!
- Anonymous said...Saturday, March 05, 2005 9:07:00 AMI visit the above site, and take a printout from the following site, prior to Vegas poker binges:
Lists a bunch of the low-limit rooms up front, then does an A-Z on each room's specs.
Safe journey and large luck!
- Gary said...Saturday, March 05, 2005 2:02:00 PMYou didn't say where you were staying, which makes a difference in recommending rooms, both for cash games and tourneys. Also, from what you wrote I'd assume you'll be arriving Friday and leaving Monday.
Stardust has a nice, $40 freezout at 10 a.m. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, but if you're leaving Monday that's not much help. I like the Stardust poker room for $3-$6 hold'em and a good mix of locals (to test your mettle) and tourists (to give chips away).
For $60 (plus $10 plus 1 $40 rebuy), the Plaza downtown has tournaments at noon, 4 p.m., 8 p.m. and midnight. Orleans has two tourneys a day, including some limit hold'em and omaha 8, check their website for schedule. If you're on the Strip, you can catch a shuttle from Barbary Coast to get a free ride to Orleans.
Also downtown, Binion's tourneys are great, 3 a day (including 2 a.m.).
Hope this helps.
- Shelly said...Saturday, March 05, 2005 2:07:00 PMWe're staying just off the strip at the Westin - front entrance of Westin is across the street from the side entrance of Ballys. So, mid-strip.
- Gary said...Saturday, March 05, 2005 7:24:00 PMThat's perfect for catching the shuttle at Barbary Coast for Orleans (don't think there's a set schedule, they just keep coming and going). Tourneys are noon and 7 p.m. You might have to copy/paste the link into your browser, but this link might just take you to the schedule of different games and buy-ins: http://www.orleanscasino.com/gaming/poker-tourn-schedule.html
Bally's has a small poker room now, too. No tournaments, to my knowledge. Alladin is within walking distance and may have some tournaments. Have fun.


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