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Tell me how Eli does and I will tell you how the Giant season goes. If he can become the consistent and accurate QB that delivers the ball to his receivers in stride, then even if the secondary fails and we go 6-10 despite his efforts, it will be a successful year. Eli Manning is currently the weakest link, and he needs to be the exact opposite- the player who can win games for us even if we do not get that effort from everyone else. So what do we get this year?
From Marvelous Marv (9.3.2007): "I LOVE ELI –& sense he can be a force. It is most difficult for ANY QB to be playing from behind MOST of each & every game—It puts Eli in MUST completions & that's NOT what we need for him!! I'm very certain tho–Eli has improved his total game– The ONE area Eli must improve on—FEELING THE FOOTSTEPS — NOT getting balls he's about to throw hit–or him getting tackled!! …I feel Eli is better than most do!!"
From John Madden (NY Post 9.7.2007): "I think he's ready to be better this year than he was last year. He knows his problem has been accuracy, and he has been working on that. If they block for him and guys get open, I don't think Eli is going to be a big problem."
My view is simple. Show me. He does not deserve or get the benefit of the doubt. Just because a team drafts you number one and makes a huge investment in you does not mean you get the benefit of the doubt. QBs in the NFL take six years to deliver, yet we have seen an important study which says that most NFL QBs hit their general area of sustainable QB rating by the third year. After playing in the second half of 2004, Manning's rating was a pedestrian 75.9 in 2005 and 77 in his 3rd year in 2006. All this while having talented receivers (including a Pro Bowl TE) to throw to and a Pro Bowl running back to take the pressure off the pass. Not to mention Barber's considerable skills at picking up the blitz and being a vg checkdown option out of the backfield.
We have seen glimpses of his potential. He has had his moments of brilliance, like in San Diego, or when he changed the play on a blitz call last year and led the team to an OT victory in Philly. He has pocket poise. Until I see consistent accuracy from him he is not our answer and he is the weakest link in our chances for getting an NFL championship.


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How To Make Life Decisions
When you have to make a decision in your life that will affect you emotionally, such as what school to go to, what city to live in, what job to take, what career to pursue, who to date or marry, what to name your child, what to name your pet, or what to name your website (I didn't sleep for 2 days), there are several techniques to make the choice clearer, and I'm going to describe a few that I have found work really well.
But first, an aside. There is a concept called "Stochastic Resonance", which might at first seem totally irrelevant but isn't, according to me. "Stochastic" is a fancy word for random, and resonance is when things that are alike vibrate together. (It's a term I first read in Nassim Taleb's Antifragile, a book that has changed my life for the infinite better.) Stochastic Resonance relates to understanding signals that are buried in noise. Like if you're trying to hear a specific frequency on a radio, and it's a very weak signal, when you add white noise, randomness, you will hear the signal you're looking for more clearly.
This applies to other domains as well, where you're looking for some kind of information in a bunch of other information, and when you inject random information into the whole system, you're more likely to find what you're looking for. Here's an example. If you're looking for a needle in a haystack, rather than combing gently and finely through the mess, it might help to just shine a bright light on the whole pile and start throwing it all up in the air, hoping for the needle to catch the light on its fall back to the floor.
Does it makes sense how this relates to making emotional life decisions? There is a signal, some information you want to have in order to make the right choice, but it's hidden among all the other stuff you want, don't want, regret, crave, have heard is good, used to care about, one day might care about, can't live without, can't put your thumb on, have never tried, have only tried alone, will never admit to having tried, etc. It's hard to determine what exactly is the best choice and the best reason for it. The techniques to follow could be called "Stochastic Emotional Resonance."
First, it's all about the question.
What question is it that we're trying to answer by making this decision? Is it, "How can I make my parents happy?" "How can I enjoy life more?" "Who do I care most about?" "What's wrong with me?" "What will other people think?" "Who cares what other people think?" "Why are other people thinking so much all the damn time?"
Our questions determine what answers we will find. If we're not sure what questions we're really asking, then we won't know why we make the decisions we make. Marilee Adams has created a nice quick tool for asking questions that can clarify what problem we're really looking to solve. It's called the Choice Map. It's an illustration that helps us see the distinction between two types of mindsets we have when solving problems and the questions that create them. Briefly, the Judger Mindset is when we get stuck in judgments and judgmental questions like, "Whose fault is this?" or "What's wrong with me/them?" These reduce our ability to find new solutions by assuming that how the world is now is how it will continue to be in the future. The Learner Mindset, on the other hand, is characterized by open-ended questions which focus on our power to make choices in the moment that can change our future. Learner questions include, "What's possible right now?" "What do I want for myself and others?" and "Who do I choose to be in this moment?" By spit-balling these into our thought processes, we can more clearly detect what we want. We don't even have to come up with concrete answers to the Learner questions. Just by asking them, we ignite exploratory processes in our brains that can bring unconscious solutions to us. The open-endedness and unpredictability (randomness) from the questions leads us to clearer emotional signals.
Of course, you can then make a list of the things you discover and compare the pros and cons of each choice, etc. This will give you some information, but big decisions are usually too complex to truly understand by listing things we consciously know about them. In the end, these decisions are made in our unconscious mind/body, which is a much more powerful processing machine than we can possibly understand. Which brings me to the second technique for injecting useful randomness into the decision making process.
Once we've asked yourself a bunch of Learner questions, many of which we haven't even answered because that's not necessarily the point, we can go for a vigorous walk in town or a run or some kind of exercise that will focus our energy and attention on things totally unrelated to the decision at hand. This can make the aspects of the decision that matter most bubble up to the surface amidst the bumping and pumping sensations we get from physical exertion. The body stores a lot of information within it, much more than we can hold in our conscious minds. When we shake it up the way it wants, it offers us signals in return.
*Bonus* For smaller decisions with two options, you can try flipping a coin with one option heads and the other tails. The experience of having the decision made by fate can sometimes make it clearer which one you want more. I often do this when deciding where to eat. I flip the coin, and if I'm not too excited about the result, I choose the other option. For decisions with 6 options, you can use a 6-sided die like this. You can write down which choices correspond to which numbers and, when you roll it, if you're not happy with the outcome, cross it off the list and repeat until you hit upon the number that you feel good about.
Thank you for reading. If you found this illuminating or refreshing, please share with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or just copy and paste it somewhere on your hard drive.
Leave a Reply.
Dave Wolovsky
Aliveness Coach with the Neuroscience vision
March 2020

subset: commoncrawl


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Marijuana decriminalization was recently passed by the Santa Fe, New Mexico City Council. Rather than arrest people and jail people for marijuana possession, people will now be fined $25 for possessing personal amounts of marijuana. A similar proposal was supposed to be on the ballot in Albuquerque, New Mexico this November. The Albuquerque City Council voted to put the measure on the ballot for voters to decide the issue.
Unfortunately, the mayor of Albuquerque, Richard Berry, decided that the democratic process wasn't good enough and blocked the measure from being on the ballot. Per KOAT:
"I have carefully considered and have exercised my veto authority on R-14-91, which passed at the City Council meeting of August 18, 2014 by a vote of 5 For and 4 Against. Per the City Charter I do not have the ability to veto only portions of the resolution; therefore I have vetoed it in its entirety.
It is disappointing that I have been put into a position to have to veto an entire bill that includes a number of provisions that I support simply because certain members of the City Council voted to include last minute provisions that lack detail and/or circumvent state and federal law.
While I am supportive of the bill as originally drafted, and fully support sending many of the measures to voters for their consideration, I cannot in good conscience sign a bill that would impose a tax increase on the people of Albuquerque without any specific plan as to how the taxpayer resources would be spent or a bill that flies in the face of state and federal law as it pertains to illegal drugs."
It's pretty despicable that a mayor of any city would rather impose their own personal beliefs on their city's residents than respect the will of the voters. My first question is when is this guy up for re-election? He clearly needs to be voted out. If the voters voted 'no' on Election Day, than so be it. But to say that decriminalization needs to be blocked because of the weak, unfounded 'it is illegal federally' argument is s slap in the face to democracy.


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Felt Ball Trivet
Individual small felted wool balls come together to create a remarkable trivet that will look stunning in any kitchen. Due to their handcrafted nature, Each ball is felted by hand and strung tightly. Every trivet will have a different color pattern. Don't be afraid to use this one with hot dishes! The wool can withstand both heat and some dampness. Although the trivet is useful to protect your wood tables from getting burned by hot pans, some prefer this lovely piece as a wall decoration. We are manufacturer, exporter, wholesaler and retailer of felt products and we export them globally.
Be happy with us.


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Pan-seared oatmeal with blueberries
Admit it, oatmeal has an image problem. As tasty as it is, and I am not just talking cookies here, it's rather unattractive to look at. But with a little pan-searing, you can turn the lumpy and gooey mixture into something divine. Enjoy this recipe with a mimosa.
- 1 1/2 cups steel-cut (Irish) oats
- 2 cups coconut milk
- 2 cups water
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Honey-Poached Blueberries
- 1 small carton of blueberries
- 1 cup of honey
1. In a large saucepan, add the water, coconut milk, brown sugar, salt, and oats, and bring to a boil.
2. Reduce heat and let simmer for about 20 minutes, until thick.
3. Pour the oatmeal into baking dish and cool at room temperature for at least an hour. When the oatmeal sets, it becomes a bit cake-like and is a lot easier to sear.
4. Lightly coat your frying pan with some cooking spray and turn up the heat.
5. Cut the oatmeal into equally-sized cuts and sear each piece on each side.
6. Bring the honey to a high boil in a small sauce pan.
7. Put the washed blueberries in a small baking dish or a bowl and pour the boiling honey over the top of them. Let stand.
8. Top the pan-seared oatmeal with blueberries.
You can also enjoy it with dried fruit and nuts!
Visit the Green Wine Guide for more vegetarian recipes and wine pairings.


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Studio Tablinum: Paul Scott Malone is a successful American artist, he lives in Huston -Arizona- and, after a brilliant career as writer and journalist, he has decided to dedicate himself totally to the thing that he most love: Picture.
I call him "Paul" because he asks me so and, as you can note, this is an important element which underlines that Paul isn't only a great artist but also a great person.
I'd like to present him with this interview, I leave to you the pleasure of discovering him!
"How did you discover this passion?"
"I discovered this passion when I was a young boy. My mother, a painter of roses mainly, though she also painted landscapes and portraits, saw some hidden talent in me and took me to summer art classes when I very young at the studio of her best friend and my "god mother," you might say. It was great fun to smear oil paint all over a canvas and go home covered in paint, and for several years in my youth I was convinced I wanted to paint pictures of anything for the rest of my life. So I started out painting flowers and a few landscapes because that is what I was being taught how to do. The change to abstract came many years later."
"But you are also an established writer, right? How did you develop this your second passion? And what was the role of painting during this period?"
"As my life progressed, and especially during my college years as I read more and more of the great masters of literature, I discovered a love writing too. I let my passion for painting move to the background of my artistic life, still doing a little drawing and painting, but focusing my attention on fiction and poetry. I worked as a newspaper journalist for about five years to earn a living, but I was drawn to greater heights. So I returned to college as a graduate student and took an MFA degree in creative writing and contemporary literature from The University of Arizona in 1986. During those years I wrote and read constantly. I also edited a textbook on rhetoric while I was in graduate school. Several of the short stories I began during that time of joy and study eventually found their way into my first book but only after years of editing and re-writing as I was also making other stories and starting what would become my first novel. That first book called "In an Arid Land: Thirteen Stories of Texas" was published in 1995 and won Best book of Fiction from the Texas Institute of Letters in 1996. It also received a very favorable half-page review in The New York Times Book Review shortly after it was published. I went on to write two more books of fiction "Memorial Day and Other Stories" and my only novel to date "This House of Women" which was also honored with a very prestigious award from an organization of Western U.S. librarians called Women Writing the West. I was the first man to win this award.
But I could not keep oil painting from intruding on my writing life, and in the mid-90s it finally took over as my principal means of artistic expression –due to, also, for my mother's death-.
I embraced oil painting as my primary way life in 1997, when I painted (oil, pastel, watercolor, pencil, charcoal, anything) more than 100 works in oil and pastel, not to mention hundreds of sketches and drawings. By then, there was no turning back. The more I painted the more the passion grew. I thought about it constantly, dreamed about it, and worked 12, 14, 16 hours a day. When I sold a few pieces, I was finally taken over completely. I love everything about the works themselves and the whole process of painting. I took a few drawing classes to help me improve in that area, but by then all I wanted to do was paint pictures. In 1998 and 1999 I made more than 200 paintings, some small, some quite large. This was a love that grew from a place in my heart that I was not even aware of in those days. I visited Europe several times to see the work of every old master I could find in Italy, France, Germany, Spain, the UK . Everyplace I could get to see more and more paintings.
For many years my work teetered between relativism and the abstract. Realism never really interested me for some reason, even though I made a few realistic drawings and paintings in those years (all destroyed now) just to prove to myself that I could master realism if I chose. I chose not. By 2004-05 I discovered that I had a real talent for oil painting, a talent I could never ignore. I dropped everything else and went completely abstract. The love, the passion, only grew. Now I could not imagine my life without painting! anything, everything. Even the smell of oil paint and all the other elements that go into a painting attracted me to my studio as a butterfly is attracted to a beautiful flower. I was a painter of abstract paintings! I could not go back now if I tried, whether or not others appreciated what i did. I painted for myself first and if someone else enjoyed it well, then, all the better. Now, art is all that matters to me in my working life. I hope to die in my studio."
"So, let's start with another question! First of all, you have said that you have visited Europe so,by which artists have you been more impressed?"
"I traveled to Europe several times eager to seek out whatever of the old masters I could and anything else that might show me the way. I enjoyed all the masters just fine but it wasn't until I saw up close the work of the Impressionists, Van Gogh especially of course, that I started to see what I wanted to do with my own work. I was never a realist but Impressionism revealed a new way of seeing everything : flowers, faces, love, cruelty ; everything)and I realized that what lies before our eyes is seldom the truth in life. It may be a reality of some kind, if anything is real, but it is not the truth we find in our souls and hearts and minds, which are so often crowded with hundreds of visions and desires. I call upon anyone to show me one absolute reality (beyond earth wind and fire perhaps) and I know personally that truth comes in many more disguises. But then truth is not in our grasp. By searching we may catch glimpses; that is all.
And then there was Picasso. And Matisse. Lucien Freud. Jackson Pollack. Dozens of others. No one obscure whom I think has been overlooked, though there are plenty. Most art does not impress me in the slightest. But then there was Mark Rothko. When I was in college I spent hours sitting in the Rothko Chapel near the school gazing at his huge canvases with nothing painted on them but one color, a color that changed as the sun passed by the windows, but always returned where it began the next morning. I thought for many years that Rothko had exhausted the need for an artistic dialog; he had refined it to its barest element: color. He had shown us that to create deep thought, deep emotion, deep harmony required nothing more than color. Everything else was superfluous. And for a brief time I fell under his spell, though I never painted pictures with nothing on them but two shades of orange or purple. Still, he had shown me that the dialog of art -what does and does not constitute great art? – is so far, ranging as to be never ending, yet still quite simple. The difficulty lies in the question."
"And have they influenced your paintings?"
"To avoid any taint of imitation, I virtually stopped going to museums or galleries, reading art books, seeking out other artists to meet, art parties. In fact, to this day, I could count on one hand the number of acquaintances I have whom you might call artists. I lived then, and still do, a very secluded -almost reclusive -and quiet life, and I would have it no other way. I attended graduate school in creative writing at The University of Arizona and grew to love the desert, the remoter parts of the US, which seem still so incomplete. I live about 60 miles north of the border with Mexico and there is very little here but sand and cactus and desert animals. In this place, and for years, I searched, trying out everything on canvas or on paper and it all usually ended up destroyed."
"When did you find your method of painting?"
"In 2004, I found it quite by accident. The tool was an air gun, not an airbrush, but an air gun, the sort of thing one uses to inflate automobile tires and do other difficult jobs in factories or garages. I blew some paint around on a canvas I was entirely displeased with and -wham!- there it was. I have no idea where it all came from, but the more I tested it the more I saw. I saw images that sent me into spasms of thought, colors I had never dreamed were possible, emotions that made me weep.
Most everything I had done before was burned or hidden and I knew I had finally found my path in life. I scoured the Internet, pored over books, looked everywhere and could find no one else making paintings such as these. Some were similar, but still far from what I had discovered. With brushes and other implements I still paint, but mostly I rely on blowing paint around until I see something , whatever. Sometimes it takes one wash, sometimes twenty or thirty. Sometimes one day, sometimes four or five years. Almost always though I find the picture that had been hidden in all that paint, or something close.
So I abandon it and move on."
"So you have embraced Abstractism, have not you Paul?"
"So, yes, I have fully embraced abstraction. I paint or draw an occasional nude or portrait but I seldom include the ears (I hate ears!) and the other body parts are often distorted and in one case the face is resting on a kind of oblique scaffolding -a touch of cubism in that one, I suppose-. And most people consider my work strange or bizarre or unworldly; or just poorly done, as if I don't know my job. But there is something strange or bizarre or unworldly about all great and fine art. Look at Goya's "The Third of May, 1808." Look at Rubens's "The Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus." Look at Van Gogh's "The Starry Night." All of them: how threatening! To most people, I suppose, the unusual, the mysterious, IS threatening. But great artists have always, whether they knew it or not, delved into the human heart and soul to see what they might find, and, to reveal what they saw, portrayed sometimes the motion and sometimes the calm of what we consider reality. Thanks to them there is much wonderful art in the world.
Abstract artists do the same thing but in a more direct and, I believe, truthful way. The mind, to me, is just as vast and various as the physical universe is immense and marvelous. Whose mind is not in a state of constant disarray, constant change, even in sleep, always brimming with often-unknown ideas, music, anxieties, confusion, images, delight, mystery? Who knows what else lies within? We must go and search. Abstract art, lacking the formality of the past, is the best we've got just now to go looking into the illusive internal life for its sources and mechanisms, which the artist must then struggle to convey in a manner that can be shared with others. My work is not meant to startle; it's what I see. It asks questions that cannot be answered yet, tries out answers that may make no apparent sense because there is nothing else, except the night sky perhaps, that can offer even a glimpse of the bizarre mystery of life, no matter what religion says. While we have learned a lot over the centuries about the workings of existence, we still haven't the slightest notion of all the possibilities that lie out beyond the blue, the sun, the stars, much less what truly has evolved deep inside our minds and hearts and souls. Thus, the artistic dialog continues, leads us; and it must. History is a story of advancement into new, distant and even frightening realms, for good or ill. I think we should carry on with the story."
"Do you think that people who see your canvas understand your message or they see only blots of colours?"
If I have been asked once I've been asked a thousand times virtually the same thing when someone is viewing one of my abstract paintings: "Is there supposed to be some kind of MEANING or MESSAGE in this?" My usual answer, because I don't care to devote much of my one precious lifetime to such an absurd observation (it's not a sincere question, it's a bit of mean sarcasm in truth and because I find it usually ends the discussion) is to say simply that the picture means whatever you want it to mean. The message is whatever you want to see in, or hear from, the blots of color on the canvas. People usually shake or nod their heads and that resolves the topic.
Most would not understand my real answer, which is even more direct and very simple: Is there meaning or a message in anything but for stop signs and dark clouds? And why must art -fine art at least- express a meaning or a message anyway? Fine art does not need to draw tears from our eyes, anger us, instruct us, or even be beautiful.
Who am I to tell you what to think, in words or in paint, offer up meanings or messages for you to disagree with? These would be only my opinions and impressions of the natural world, or the often outrageous ways of humans, and I am not a prophet from heaven sent to show you the way, speak the truth, invent the wheel.
I am only an artist, a painter, as others are mechanics or CEOs, and this is what I paint because this is what my delightful imagination has revealed to my conscious mind, which in turn has shown me a path to take, to try out, whether or not I understand why or where I'm going. The destination will reveal itself when I get there.
"What do you mean with "often outrageous ways of humans"?
"Russia recently invaded Ukraine and, under threat of overwhelming force, took away Crimea from the people of Ukraine. Russia may or may not have been in the right or the wrong, but underlying it all is a big question: Will this act, this way of humans, lead to more war, more death, more destruction on the Earth? It was, to me, as a citizen of the world, an outrageous act committed by one nation, or collection of humans, against another nation, or collection of humans. Art doesn't care, or shouldn't care, whether Russia was right or wrong.
By the phrase "outrageous ways of humans" I mean only the things we do to others, or to ourselves, or that others do to us, which seem unusual or unnecessary or unethical or immoral, the sorts of things we read about in the newspapers and know about from history. Is it my place, as an artist -should it even be necessary- to make a painting, or write a story, let's say, that would obviously condemn Russia for doing what it did? Must I, as an artist, condemn murder, rape, theft, cruelty, barbarity, greed, aggression, war? They condemn themselves.
Anyone with the gentle sensibilities to appreciate fine art would find a "message" superfluous on the part of the artist. Some may even find it insulting, as I do, since anyone who has the capacity to appreciate fine art probably already knows what he or she thinks about such things without my telling them. Blots of paint on canvas are much more interesting, and certainly more fun."
"Now I would like to ask you this thing: You said that war, murder, rape, theft, cruelty, barbarity and greed condemn themselves, so you do not feel the necessity to condemn them openly. That's right?
But I have seen, in your website, that there is a serious of pictures titled "Black" and I have supposed that maybe are connected with this discussion, some of them seems atomic explosions for me!
They are really impressive, why have you decided to call "Black" this serious of pictures? What is connected to them?"
"I'm glad you see a meaning in the series, perhaps those lines and blobs and colors DO represent atomic explosions; I don't know. It's a perceptive observation, no matter what, and a great way for you to understand and classify for yourself what you are looking at. Your imagination is at work! And I'm glad you see a possible message in the title "Black," for that is certainly the mood created in me, too, when I hear of, or read about, or see a picture of, an atomic explosion. We all know what that could mean: Does nuclear war loom on our horizon? A dark deed if ever there was one.
At the same time, when I've allowed myself to look for something concrete in those paintings, I've always seen things like caterpillars and scenes of stellar peace; the quiet sky. Oddly, I do have a series of about a dozen large paintings called "Eruptions" which I myself don't understand beyond the concept of "eruption." The paintings look as if they may represent eruptions. But even Coca-Cola can erupt. A soccer ball, if over-inflated, can erupt. In addition, I made another series of paintings that is just as explosive as "Black" but I titled it "White." Why?
Let me tell you a brief story. When I first started selling my paintings about twenty years ago I always put titles on them. At that time my work was not as abstract as it is now, so the titles often came out something like this: "Flower Pot with Zinnias" or "Reclining Nude" or "Dream of the Grand Canyon." When I made the break with realism -at least in oil painting – and aligned myself more and more with the abstract I realized the difficulty in applying a name to blobs of paint on canvas. What would be the title? "Blobs of Paint on a Canvas"? That wouldn't get me very far. So I started calling most of my paintings only by their composition numbers (or serial numbers) as in "Composition 351" or "Composition A85." It was like naming them "Untitled" only it made it easier for me to remember which painting was which.
But some friends and mentors complained. They said that I should give the viewer a hint, some way to label the painting, lead the viewer in some direction no matter how vague. Finally I consented. Again oddly, it just so happens that I was finishing up most of the paintings in the very series we're discussing, so I looked at them closely, for several weeks, and I eventually realized that the only thing they had in common was the color black. Each one had at least a little black paint in it. So I titled the series "Black."
And now the last question: "What are you painting now?"
"Right now I'm finishing up a series called "Red." It's called "Red" because its most prominent color is red, as I intended it to be. All five of the paintings are beautiful and full of mystery, the source of all emotion. When I get good photos of all five I'll send them to you.
But I'm also -besides trying to earn my daily bread, which grows more difficult every day – doing some preliminary thinking and muddling about on a continuation of my series called "Canyon." I have some canvases, already stretched, with some old paintings on them that I don't care for; I disagree with the dialog they are offering; but they are all done in earth tones, which are my favorites to work with. I want to take what is already there and, with the knowledge and mastery I have gained over the years, I want to transform them so that the colors and the lines and all of that painterly stuff leaps off the canvas and grabs you by the nose and says: "Look! Look at what I am, for you have never seen me before and will never see anything like me again. Enjoy it while you can."
I love to paint; I adore painting and painting of every kind.
Since I returned to Arizona almost two years ago -the desert, real desert in all its naked beauty – from Texas (which has only a little kind of ugly desert in its western regions) I have renewed my awe of arid places and what they tell us about our past and ourselves even today. Not so much the desert sand and the cactus themselves, but the general atmosphere which the desert offers a painter is rare on the Earth. It's like a woman, ugly or beautiful, no matter, a model who has a lot of body to paint, curves and angles and strange moods hidden in her bones, soft places too, a body that reveals the tremendous depth of our real humanity. We're animals and spirituals combined! As I said before, the place appears to be only half finished, or half naked, as if too much of its slip is showing (to use an old phrase) and perhaps a breast or two, or even a sweet round belly; all of that is in the desert pose as well. The shapes and the colors and what it all says about our Earth's heritage is quite awe inspiring. In many ways, everything I do comes from the arid Southwestern United States. It is not only a gorgeous model but an excellent pallet, if you know what to do with her."
"Thank you very much Paul, it has been a really interesting interview for me. I hope that Arizona, the desert and the reality of life continue to inspire you and let you express your inwardness; you have this quality and it is not something common."


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EPIC employs three full-time nurses experienced in providing appropriate nursing care for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. A nurse will always be available to individuals participating in our programs. Individuals in our residential program receive 24 hour nursing coverage as well as a nursing assessment and care plan.
Employment | Residential | Vocational/Day | Nursing Supports


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Tom Ford in Sahara Haze is a modern mix of texture and shades, in the green family.This palette is a sultry mix of olive shades. The highlight shade is a yellowed cream, which works with the other 3 shades. The next shade in the top is a satin gray green - quite unusual. The next shade is the usual Tom Ford glitter stunner. It is a lively crisp green that brightens the palette - this shade requires fingers to apply in a patting motion. The last shade is a deep olive with pewter undertones .
This palette will work with most skin tones and hair colours. My recents 'oops' at the hairdresser has left me with decidedly auburn locks with blonde ends (ombre attempt gone bad) so these greens look really nice with my red tones-make lemonade out of lemons so they say.......This quad has a chameleon quality as it sometimes has a silver look to it once applied to my eyes - almost like the colour of wet stone. I found that pairing it with different shades of eyeliner also changes the quality of the shades. A blue liner brought out the same in the shadows.
Sahara Haze is a quad worth investing in. Of course, I am a Tom Ford fan, but seriously this one did not disappoint me at all.


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The latest development from PÖTTINGER, is the NOVACAT A10 mower combination which is packed with advanced technology. Clearly setting new standards in terms of service life, reliability, cost effectiveness and convenience.
The NOVACAT A10 can be used as a front/rear combination (headstock for 3.0 or 3.5 m front mower) and is extremely versatile: a side shift range of 400 mm on either side ensures ideal overlap and perfect mowing quality. The high ground clearance when raised at the headland of up to 55 cm offers hassle free operation. In addition, the new Y DRIVE driveline and the hydraulic NONSTOP LIFT collision safety device on each side are also unique to this new model.
The mower combination is available either as a plain disc mower with swath formers, with ED tine-type conditioners or alternately with RCB roller-type conditioners. Hydraulic cutter bar weight alleviation and suspension is included on all models.
The NOVACAT A10 has a rugged carrier frame with a quick-hitch compatible Cat. III or Cat. IV linkage. In combination with a 3 m front mower, overall working widths of 8.80 m to 9.56 m are possible. In this case, the central gap between the two mower units is 1.8 m to 2.6 m. Combined with a 3.5 m front mower the overall working width is 9.26 m to 10.02 m. Here the central gap between the two mower units is 2.3 to 3.1 m.
Y DRIVE – New generation driveline
The special Y DRIVE central input gearbox features output shafts on opposing sides. This has the advantage that longer standard PTO shafts can be used with less of an angle. The backlash and vibration free driveline using standard PTO shafts has been made possible by locating the slip clutches next to the gearbox and by optimising the gear ratios. A double universal jointed shaft in the inside mower disc and drum assembly provides a stress-free link between the individual mower gearboxes and the cutter bar.
The result is a smooth running system that offers a higher output, even in tough conditions and when raised in the headland position. This additionally extends service life significantly.
NONSTOP LIFT - new hydraulic collision safety device
NONSTOP LIFT is an innovative technology that protects the cutter bar in the event of striking an obstacle. Fitted to both sides, the collision safety device enables the cutter bar to avoid obstructions efficiently. The unique feature sees the mower frames mounted on gimbals and is hydraulically preloaded by a triangular support arm. The triggering pressure is displayed by a conveniently located pressure gauge and is easily adjusted. When triggered, the mower frame folds backwards on the triangular frame and is simultaneously raised at the front by the gimbals – the result a three-dimensional collision safety system. The mower avoids impact with the obstruction so that damage to the cutter bar is prevented particularly when operating at higher driving speeds.
Proven a thousand fold – the NOVACAT cutter bar
The heart of the mower combination is the NOVACAT cutter bar proven thousands of times in the field with quick-change blade system as standard. Tapered disc surfaces, optimised counter-chop zone and generous overlap of the blade paths ensure perfect crop flow, first-class cutting quality and simultaneous optimum protection of the sward.
Compact during transport, space-saver when parked
For road transport, the mower is hydraulically folded vertically and then locked securely in the transport position. Offering a transport height of 4.0 m, transport width of 2.7 or 3.15 m and a ground clearance of at least 28 cm, the NOVACAT A10 is compact during transport. Because the centre frame is at its lowest point in transport position, there is no risk of damage to any vital driveline components.
The mechanical transport interlock is released hydraulically and comes as standard and as a result no lanyard is required, ensuring maximum convenience. Parking stands are provided so that the NOVACAT A10 can be stored in the raised position to save a great deal of space.
Easy maintenance management using the control terminal
The mower combination is equipped with the SELECT CONTROL terminal as standard (requiring a double-acting remote valve). It allows preselection of the mower units, working width adjustment, control over the folding side guards, the hydraulic transport interlock as well as setting weight alleviation and suspension using shut-off valves.
The POWER CONTROL control terminal is also available as an option. This features Load Sensing compatibility, ISOBUS control of all functions, direct control via the terminal (e.g. front mower, weight alleviation, etc.) as well as control of the working width based on the ISOBUS turning angle signal from the tractor.
Both control terminals have integrated maintenance management functions.
Dependent on the operating time of the mower driveshaft, the control terminal displays which maintenance steps need to be performed on the machine.
The lubrication intervals (greasing points, cylinders, PTO shafts, etc.) are 50 hours, while the interval for oil changes (gearbox and cutter bar) is 250 hours.
First-class cutting quality, reliability, cost effectiveness and extended service life are the trademarks of the NOVACAT A10 mower combinations manufactured by PÖTTINGER.


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Equity vs. bonds in investor reaction to Dutch elections
Reactions to the recent Dutch elections suggest Europe, rather than domestic politics, remains the key issue, although the impact may vary between equity versus bond investors.
Reactions to the recent Dutch elections suggest Europe, rather than domestic politics, remains the key issue, although the impact may vary between equity versus bond investors.
The consensus view of the Dutch elections on 12 September is that it returned a more centrist and pro-Europe group of MPs. Negotiations to form the country's next government focused on the right-of-centre VVD party and its counterparty left-of-centre Labour party PvdA, as together they got 79 out of the 150 seats in Parliament. Both parties are committed to the EU as offering the best way forward for ensuring Dutch interests.
That commitment was underlined in the annual Prinsjesdag, effectively the Budget speech given by Queen Beatrix every third Thursday in September. Her speech this year took place after the election, when the country was technically in the hands of a caretaker government. Yet the speech reiterated the need to ensure a stable euro, including commitment to austerity to ensure Europe's debt is reduced and Dutch economic prospects are protected.
Threat to credit rating
However, the question facing investors is to what degree the outcome of the election ought to change their outlook on investments in Dutch equity, or exposure to the country's debt, given its membership of the eurozone and associated threats to its sovereign credit rating. Moody's lowered its outlook on the country's sovereign debt to 'negative' over the summer.
Francis Ellison, investment specialist in Threadneedle's European Equities team said the election outcome was unlikely to affect the view of the market.
"We believe cooperation between member states is required to solve the eurozone crisis. It is encouraging to see nationalist eurosceptic parties did not win a big vote. We have holdings in several companies listed in the Netherlands. They are mainly global operations rather than those with a domestic focus - for example, Unilever - and the election result has not affected our views on them."
Times are likely to be tougher for companies with a domestic focus, according to an analysis of consumer spending power by Joost Beaumont, part of the macro research team at ABN Amro's Group Economics. With the government looking to limit deficit spending even as GDP growth weakens, he wrote, the upshot will be higher taxes.
"The focus will be on increasing tax revenues, which will result in a rise in the tax burden of around €10bn; €3.75bn will be for companies and €6.25bn for households. The main income generating measures are a hike in the rate of the lowest income tax bracket as well as a 2% increase in the VAT rate [as of 1 October]. Meanwhile, the commuting allowance will no longer be tax free, while tax brackets will not be indexed for inflation. Other measures are rises in excise duty on tobacco and alcohol and in health care premiums."
Government bonds
Tradeweb data suggests there was indeed concern in the bond market around the election. On the afternoon of 13 September, when the results were announced, the bid yield on the Dutch ten-year bond closed at 1.819%. The following day, bid-yields closed on 1.940%. Thereafter followed a slight flattening of the yield, which was at an intra-day bid-yield level of 1.886% on 20 September.
The yield movement took place in the context of a further sale of ten-year debt by the Dutch State Treasury Agency (DSTA). On 11 September, the day before the election, it sold €2bn ($2.55bn) of the 2.25% July 2022 bond, at an average yield of 1.846%.
That bond was first issued via the Dutch Direct Auction (DDA) method in February 2012, with the size of the book at the time in excess of €9bn. The Tradeweb data points to a rising yield from early August through to 20 September, which suggests investors demanded increasing returns.
However, in relation to the official inflation rate across the eurozone, measured by Eurostat in August at 2.6%, the yield level suggests that in real terms investors are still prepared to pay the Dutch government for the privilege of owning the country's debt.


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We are huge admirers of Felix Baumgartner and Martin Frei and their avant-garde designs for their incredible URWERK timepieces. We are also delighted to see them continue their brilliant UR-Experience, that shares the passionate testimonials by URWERK collectors.
They come from all over the world, each living according to their own rhythms, each with their particular habits and enthusiasms. But they have one thing in common: the URWERK logo on their watch.
We are delighted to be able to bring you more insights and highlights from their 'UR-Experiences'.
It was love at first sight! The design was out of this world. It made me appreciate how someone's imagination can come up with a futuristic and amazing design that has a unique way of telling the time. The first URWERK in my collection was the UR-103.08 with angular crystal — the Magneto — back in 2010." @looch
My partiality for independent brands is fuelled not only by the creativity and passion that go into the making of each watch but also by the designs that they come up with. I fell in love with URWERK right from the beginning." Khaled
You either love or hate this avant-garde approach, but it cannot leave you indifferent. As for me, I love them all. Their style is unique, making them real works of art. My URWERK watch has become the favorite of my collection. Each time I wear it I can't stop looking at the satellites turning and turning. It represents the magic of watchmaking." Alesto1966
I got the UR-105M as a gift to myself as I had just finished a business project in the investment industry. It was a big accomplishment for me as it was something I had worked hard for. I never thought I could do it but then I did and now I'm after a special EMC (Hahah!)." André the Kid (aged 18)
Others may have started with house names such as Panerai, Patek Philippe or Audemars Piguet but for me independent watchmaking was my first love. Strange as it may sound, I always think the world of haute horlogerie should be about personalisation, individuality and engagement with the creator of a watch." Charles
URWERK grew on me…I was on the look-out for a while and following new releases closely until I went for the UR-210. URWERK is certainly one of the coolest independents in the watch world. The watches grab immediate attention and interest." Sherriozz
I first got interested in watches in the late 1990's. From there I start learning about them. It was at the moment the URWERK 103 was introduced and it was so incredibly cool! Back then, it was outrageous but also extraordinary too. At that time, all of the collectors I looked up to had one, which was another plus for me." SJX
My first URWERK introduced me to the world of independent watchmaking, and I have come to truly appreciate the independent watch companies and how different they are from the mainstream brands. I now own watches from many independent brands, but none give me so much pleasure as my URWERK watches. The rotating satellites system and cutting-edge design just does it for me. So thank you URWERK!" SM
You can read more UR-Owners-Experiences here


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Graduate School
Next steps towards an advanced degree
It's never too early to consider preparing yourself for graduate school. At Unity College, we know how important the question "Where do I want to go from here?" is in defining your next steps after getting an undergraduate degree.
Proper preparation is essential to become successful graduate school candidates. Let the career center help you make plans for choosing and getting into graduate school in order to fulfill your career ambitions with tools and tips for graduate school, and take advantage of the graduate school partnerships that are available only to Unity College graduates.
You should also consider continuing your education at Unity College. We offer a unique, 100% online M.S. in Professional Science with four concentrations (tracks): Sustainable Natural Resource Management and Sustainability Science, Environmental GIScience, and Conservation Law Enforcement. The Sustainable Master's of Business Administration (MBA) is also available 100% online.
Contact Us
Contact Rachel Kahn, Associate Director of Career Services, at email@example.com or 207-509-7221 with any questions.


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Ray Leather - Rose Gold
Misfit Ray is our most minimal and versatile tracker. It's a fashion accessory in its own right, and delivers the fitness and sleep tracking you need. Receive vibration alerts for incoming calls and texts, movement reminders, and smart alarms, and connect Ray with Misfit Link to control your world — play music, take a selfie, or interact with additional connected devices. It's non-charging, made of sleek, durable aircraft-grade aluminum, and water resistant to 50 meters. Ray is designed to be always on, and to deliver more data, better insights, and more powerful motivation.
Case Size ToolTip PlaceholderDiameter: 12 mm, Length: 38mm
Case Thickness
Case Thickness ToolTip Placeholder12 mm
Warranty ToolTip Placeholder1 Year Limited
Origin ToolTip PlaceholderImported


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Like all great pubs it's the people which make the difference and Flaherty's Barcelona is simply bustling with people gathered together from all over having a great Craic!
Whether it's a special occasion, lunch with friends, the big game or just an excuse for a massive party night, look no further.
Perfectly located just off Las Ramblas, right in the heart of Barcelona, Flaherty's is a family owned pub serving homemade food with a huge selection of draught and bottled beers and showing all live sports.
"Great Stop!" February 8, 2018 – A TripAdvisor Traveler Read 1,307 reviews of Flaherty's Irish Pub
From breakfast til the wee small hours there's always something going on, we have great food deals and drinks specials throughout the week, regular entertainment and all the top sports LIVE.
You, your friends and your families of all ages are welcome whether you're on holiday, recently arrived in Barcelona or been here forever. Stop by for breakfast, lunch or dinner and you'll stay on for the craic. By the time you leave it'll feel like your home away from home.
Flaherty's – life is an excuse to celebrate


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So I have a lot of people ask what fiction I've been reading lately (… I have a bit of a reputation), so i've compiled a list of all the other books (aka fiction, fluff and fun) that I've taken to the beach with me this summer!
Monthly Archives: August 2013
life in the balance : summer reads
Dr Thomas Graboys was a cardiologist at Harvard Medical and Brigham and Women's Hospital, celebrated for his rapport with patients.
At age 49 he began with battle with Parkinson's disease and progressive Lewy Body Dementia.
This book chronicles his diagnosis, retirement and day-to-day physical, mental and emotional struggles. His story gives a voice, not only to persons diagnosed, but to family members and friends affected by this degenerative disorder. I think people affected by Parkinson's will resonate with and find courage and comfort in his inspiring words.
"extract pleasure from life … much remains, and there is a life to be lived."
He gives his own prescription for dealing with Parkinson's. Dr Graboys would tell you, if you were his patient:
- Be motivated by and accountable to family and friends
- Find a safe space (friend, therapist) to unburden your thoughts
- Accept your new reality and judge each day by the new standard set by Parkinson's
- Exercise your mind and your body… realize the world is bigger than your illness
- Do something you find comfort in (God, music, running, etc.)
- Have a plan: illness management, the things you want in life.
- Be proactive and take control over the things you can (diet, exercise, socialize, music, movies)
I really enjoyed this book. It is written with honesty and a sense of connection to the greater Parkinson's community. much love.
The great work of your life : summer reads
Stephen Cope is the director of the Kripalu Institute for Extraordinary Living (and who I had the pleasure of meeting and listening to at the NPF/Kripalu Parkinson's yoga retreat in June!). His book The Great Work of Your Life is a guide to help you on your own life's journey to find and embrace your true calling, or dharma (click on link to read more).
Each one of us has gifts and has to trust in our own gift: "it is better to fail at your own dharma than to succeed at the dharma of someone else". Bring every action into alignment with your dharma.
We have responsibility to our gift, and are responsible to give it in the way it is called for, and release all outcomes: "do your work with the welfare of others in mind".
… in the words of the one-and-only Dolly Parton, "Find out who you are, and then do it on purpose". much love.


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During his speech Tuesday at the Boao Forum, Chinese President Xi Jinping gave reassuring words to help calm tariff tensions with the US. Xi's commitment to cut tariffs and open the economy could be a first step in drawing more interest from foreign investment.
Rystad Energy estimates that US-headquartered E&P companies have 75,000 barrels a day of crude oil production and 200 million cubic feet a day of gas coming from China. This is miniscule in comparison with the overall 3.7 million barrels a day of crude oil production and 13.5 billion cubic feet a day of gas that China is projected to produce in 2018.
While most US companies are not investing in Chinese projects, ConocoPhillips and Chevron provide the largest exceptions. ConocoPhillips' current activity in the Peng Lai and Panyu projects net the company nearly 50,000 barrels a day.
Chevron's interests in the Bo Zhong, Qinhuangdao and Huizhou projects net the company over 20,000 barrels a day. Chevron also operates the Chuandongbei project which produces gas at 115 million cubic feet a day.
"While Chevron's Chinese volumes are not massive, the company still uses large investments to maintain its production. We estimate that the Chuandongbei project alone will require $205 million gross annually over the next three years to maintain the current production level. Recent positive announcements from China and their warm reception via US President Trump's Twitter account will allow Chevron to feel more confident in its 49% stake in the project," says Matthew Fitzsimmons, VP Research at Rystad energy.
Continued escalation between China and the US has crossed into the energy sector (Press Release: US oilfield services have more to lose compared to Chinese peers during current trade tensions, April 8), with China's April 4 announcement of potential tariffs on plastics, petrochemicals, petroleum products and specialty chemicals.
"It was only a matter of time until the oil and gas industry was brought into the tariff discussions. However, US operators should be encouraged by yesterday's news from the Boao Forum," says Fitzsimmons.
Recent history also tells a cautionary tale of what can happen when oil nations start imposing tariffs and sanctions. Back in 2014, US sanctions against Russia halted as much as $500 billion of ExxonMobil's investment in the Kara Sea. In February, the super-major elected to withdraw from this investment and forgo developing 12.3 billion tonnes of oil and gas condensate the region had to offer. The company announced last week that this withdrawal plan resulted in a $200 million after-tax loss.
"While the current tariffs between China and the US do not show that level of consequence, there are still millions of dollars on the line for E&P companies from both nations. They will certainly need to monitor the tensions until the two super-powers stop escalating their targeted tariffs and reach a more formal consensus than through Twitter," concludes Fitzsimmons.
Matthew Fitzimmons
VP Oilfield Service Research
Phone: +47 96 91 06 95
Julia Weiss
SVP, Head of Marketing
Phone: +47 24 00 42 00
About Rystad Energy
Rystad Energy is an independent energy research and business intelligence company providing data, tools, analytics and consultancy services to the global energy industry.
Our products and services cover energy fundamentals and the global and regional upstream, oilfield services and renewable energy industries, tailored to analysts, managers and executives alike.


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Women in Cardiology Update
By Cara Hendry
In a year which finds both the President of the British
Cardiovascular Society and the President-Elect of the ESC to be in the hands of
truly inspiring women, there seems no better time to demonstrate that it is
possible for women to achieve and to lead our profession into the future.
There has been significant focus of the ESC on the issue of
Women in Cardiology and in recognition of this the Society has this year
offered a staggering 8 grants for members to attend the Women Transforming
Leadership Programme. The winners of the grants this year included Vanessa
Ferreira. Congratulations Vanessa, and please share your experience with us! I
would encourage future applications to this programme.
Canadian, British, American and Pakistan Presidents meet at ESC
Also, at the ESC, the results of the EAPCI Women Committee
worldwide survey were discussed1, and given small numbers of female interventional
cardiologists (only 10% are female) this makes for some interesting reading. I
would urge all of you to take the time to read this article.
1787 respondents took part (60% women). Women were less
frequently married than males (57% v 79.8%, p<0.001) and more frequently
childless (46.6% v 20.5%, p<0.002).
The most common reason for pursuing a career in intervention
was passion and for those choosing not to reasons were lack of opportunity,
concerns about radiation exposure and preference.
652 men responded to the question of why women do not choose
intervention and they perceived that on calls and long working hours were the
most frequent reasons. 39.6% males responded that work conditions were too
challenging, stressful and not suitable for women.
Motivations for and barriers to choosing an
interventional cardiology career path: results from the EAPCI Women Committee
worldwide survey. Eurointervention 2016;12:53-59
In terms of encouraging and supporting our medical women to
pursue in cardiology, we still have a long way to go to achieve gender balance.
The British Cardiovascular Society is strongly committed to this aim and we
look forward to working with you to strengthen the networking opportunities and
support for women in cardiology. There are a number of projects I am currently
exploring to support this aim, so watch this space. I have already been
contacted by a number of individuals keen to get involved in this and am
delighted to receive such support.
If you are interested in getting involved then please do not
hesitate to contact me.
14 September 2017
Number of views: 3146


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Twelve restaurants will battle it out during London Restaurant Festival for the title of London's Best Burger at the first London Food Fight: Burger v Burger and you could be part of the action, read on to find out more!
12 Of The Biggest Names In Burgers Come Together To Battle It Out For One Night Only!
Tickets on sale at LondonFoodFight.com
12 popular burger flippers will go head to head to win the inaugural title of Best Burger in London at Burger v Burger during this year's London Restaurant Festival. London Food Fight will pit restaurants against each other at Borough Market's Jubilee Place, in front of more than 500 guests.
Elliot's Café
Mother Flipper
Patty & Bun
The Thomas Cubitt
Honest Burgers
Bleecker St. Burger
Red Dog Saloon
Village East
Opera Tavern
Wenlock and Essex
Burger v Burger kicks off at 6:30 pm on Thursday, 17 October 2013. Tickets are £36 online (£40 at the door) and include:
· Entrance To The Event
· Live Entertainment From The Watling Street Band
· One Slider Portion At Each Burger Stall
· One Locally Brewed Beer Or Glass Of Wine From Chapel Down
The crowd at Burger v Burger will have a chance to place their votes on the night, and London's Best Burger will be awarded at the end of the event. The top three burger flippers will be invited to the LRF Awards Ceremony on 21 October at Purple Door, where the winner will also be announced.
Tickets are now on sale at http://www.londonfoodfight.


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Scott Mautz is a passionate expert on unleashing peak performance,
employee engagement / motivation / inspiration, meaning, and others-oriented leadership.
He really isn't your typical business & inspirational speaker.
He leverages decades of experience at Procter & Gamble where he ran multi-billion dollar businesses and blends it with fascinating research on human motivation, heartfelt and authentic stories, humor, killer tools, and passionate delivery to keep audiences riveted the entire time. (Seriously).
He's down to earth, authentic, and easy to work with.
Scott has a "Zero Diva" policy and takes honest-to-goodness pride in:
a) simply being a good human being, and
b) being at least one thing you don't have to worry about for your big event.
Scott is results and action-oriented.
Scott's pet peeve? All style no substance. He packs each keynote with actionable insights and specific steps and tools the audience can use to change their habits. Inspiration alone isn't enough.
He loves data, is deeply involved in research on human motivation, and brings both to bear in his talks.
The decades of research that go into his award-winning books and that inform his teaching at Indiana University gets translated on stage in fascinating ways. His talks open the heart and mind.


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Got this book 😳🤔 "The Devil's Diary by Nicholas D. Satan as transcribed by Professor M.J. Weeks
In The Devil's Diaries, Monty Python meets Bridget Jones with a little more fire and a lot more brimstone. In his own words, Satan muses on key dates throughout historyreveling in his role as the mastermind behind the Fall, rock n' roll, Y2K, and, of course, global warming. The Dark One grumbles at the way some of his best work has been hijacked and credited elsewhere, and confesses his frustration that many of his efforts go unappreciated. Even Satan falls in love, goes on vacation, suffers from depression, and deserves a little sympathy from time to time.


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The recent IMPACT project was funded by the European Commission as a scientific research project. For 4 years multiple organisations worked on a broad set of technologies to "Improve Access to historical Texts".
When looking at the "natural challenges" of digitising and OCRing old documents it should be clear that there is no simple approach to dramatically improve the results.
To get the best quality for within a project all processing steps have to be optimised:
Back to: Historic OCR Overview


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The Gate City Street Railroad Company (variously 1881 or 1884) ran from near Five Points downtown to Ponce de Leon Springs. Opera house owner Laurent de Give was an investor. Pages 6 and 7 of Martin's Mule to MARTA, Volume 1, show photos of the line's car(s). Little else is known about this line, which later became the Union Street Railroad.
Archive for December, 2015
Gate City Street Railroad Company
Posted in Uncategorized on December 29, 2015| 1 Comment »
Lithia Springs Railway
Posted in Uncategorized on December 28, 2015| 1 Comment »
I have included the Lithia Springs Railway in this list, but I am reluctant to do so. Several sources cite the existence of this car line, but there is little to support it. It is not the Bowden Lithia Springs Shortline Railroad.
In my research, I have only come across one entry (using Google Books):
Listed as "6 miles of railroad, 5 cars", originating at the Post Office, sharing track with Atlanta Consolidated for some distance. Headed westward toward the Chattahoochee River.
As I mentioned initially, the railway journal listings from the 1800's need to be taken with a grain of salt since: "These journals would report transit activities in Atlanta, but need to be considered with a minor degree of skepticism since they also reported on the hopes and dreams of various promoters."
West End & Atlanta Street Railroad (1872)
Posted in Atlanta Streetcars, Streetcar Rosters on December 26, 2015| 1 Comment »
The West End & Atlanta Street Railroad (1872) was a horse car line which ran between downtown Atlanta, West End and Westview Cemetery. By 1883, the line had electrified, with these later cars shown in the Harold E. Cox list of cars manufactured by Brill:
- 4 closed, two-axle cars, Order number 3266, 12/1890
- 1 open, two-axle car, Order number 3267, 12/1890
The "two axle car" of that era was very similar to the horsecar designs, with an open platform at each end and a heavier frame to support the electrical equipment.
The line was merged into the Atlanta Consolidated Railway, owned by Joel Hurt, in 1891.
Atlanta Street Railway Company – 1871
Posted in Atlanta Streetcars, Streetcar Rosters, Uncategorized on December 25, 2015| 1 Comment »
Atlanta Street Railway – Founded 1872 (Adair & Peters)
Atlanta's first streetcar line used animal drawn cars, similar to this:
This line initially operated between Five Points downtown and West End. Three additional lines were added in 1873 and 1874. According to the Atlanta Street Railway's Wikipedia entry, in 1889: "….the line owned 15 miles (24 km) of track, fifty streetcars and 200 horses and mules."
Two years later, in 1891, the Atlanta Street Railway was absorbed into the Atlanta Consolidated Railway. Presumably the mules and their horse cars were retired, with the routes continuing as improved electric car lines.
Animal drawn cars had the operational advantages of steel wheel on steel rail, along with low start up costs. Typically, the horse cars were built by stagecoach builders and the like. The car bodies themselves were wood with metal wheels.
The animals represented significant operating overhead, along with the commensurate waste left in the streets. The horse car lines had also been decimated by the Great Epizootic of 1872, when hundreds of horses succumbed to Equine Influenza. The horse car lines had a considerable investment in their animals, and as passenger traffic on the horse car lines grew, popular concern about the welfare of the animals became a greater concern. As horse drawn vehicles slowly were phased out, the horse car lines switch to electric traction.
Little is known of the Atlanta Street Railway car roster, but Atlanta Transit / MARTA had a rubber-tired promotional car that captured the spirit:
Atlanta Streetcar Rosters – Early Systems
Posted in Atlanta Streetcars on December 25, 2015| 4 Comments »
There are two definitive books about the Atlanta streetcar systems:
- Mule to MARTA, Vol 1 and Vol 2. Written by Jean Martin and published by the Atlanta Historical Society, these two volumes cover the transit scene in Atlanta. There was supposed to have been a third volume which would have covered the equipment used by the various streetcar companies, but it never made it to print.
- The Trolley Titans. Written by O. E. Carson and published by Interurban Press, this book also covers the Atlanta streetcar scene. And again the streetcar equipment roster remains unreported.
Additionally, there are at least two web pages that also cover the subject of Atlanta streetcars:
This blog section is meant to serve as a supplemental reference for these books and webpages. While there has been coverage about Atlanta's streetcar systems, there has been scant coverage as to the equipment which these systems used.
Many of Atlanta's early streetcar lines were operated with cars that were pulled by either horses or mules. At that point, circa 1870, that was all that they had available. Steel wheel on steel rail was an established technology, thanks to the steam powered railroads, but the motive power was like most other vehicles on the streets in that era. Horses.
The first successful electric powered streetcar line was Frank Sprague's Richmond, Virginia system. That was 1888, and as pointed out in the Wikipedia article about Sprague, there had been over 7o attempts at electric powered streetcars up to that point. The Atlanta and Edgewood Street Railroad first operated in 1889, three years after the formation of the company and one year after Richmond began operations. The electric trolley industry was born.
Below is probably the most popular image used to illustrate the early days of streetcars in Atlanta. It is the Inman Park car barn of the A&E, and through the grace of God and the efforts of countless civic minded preservationists, it still stands. A rare quantity for modernity-driven Atlanta.
While the carbarn itself still stands, who manufactured the streetcar, and how many of them were there? What is missing from the books and articles is a list of what equipment each of the individual systems used to transport passengers around Atlanta.
Not that there hasn't been talk about it. And not that it is an easy matter. Like other historical subjects, there often is no corporate sentimentality about preserving company records for the benefit of posterity. Things changed, and there was little or no need to save outdated records. And so, into the trash.
I have my own theory as to why Jean Martin's Mule to MARTA stopped dead in its tracks, but I did have an interesting telephone conversation with Mr. Carson. He has thoroughly researched the various equipment rosters, but it's like a lot of other things in life, things get done in their own time. Or not. Mr. Carson had been active for many years with the Shoreline Trolley Museum, located in Connecticut. This museum holds the one active Atlanta streetcar, No. 948:
Gene Carson was responsible for the preservation of 948. And he has thoroughly researched the streetcar rosters of Atlanta, both the predecessor companies and Georgia Railway and Power's (later Atlanta Transit). But there is the minor matter of his publisher, Interurban Press, going out of business.
And it is hard to get a train book published in the United States. Not impossible, but still hard. Not to mention the time and energy needed for such a project. Mr. Carson is retired and has moved to the Wine County of California to live with his daughter and granddaughter. I say that that is fair enough. The Shoreline has his research materials, and perhaps, in due time, his efforts will see print.
But, for the moment, all you've got is me. I'll do my best. This section of my blog will cover the equipment rosters of the individual companies that led up to the consolidation in the form of the Georgia Railway & Power Company.
Much of my research on the Atlanta equipment rosters is sourced from the Martin books and the Carson book. In addition, the late Harold E. Cox, of Virginia, compiled substantial information about streetcars manufactured by a variety of companies such as Cincinnati, Brill, Laconia and others. So, it was possible to search the manufactured car list for the various Atlanta car lines. There was also significant help from the miracle of Google Books, a trove of old railway journals and the like. These journals would report transit activities in Atlanta, but need to be considered with a minor degree of skepticism since they also reported on the hopes and dreams of various promoters.
There's a nice timeline, located here.
- Atlanta Street Railway Company (1871)
- West End & Atlanta Street Railroad (1872)
- Lithia Springs Railway (?)
- Gate City Street Railroad Company (1881)
- Metropolitan Street Railroad (1882)
- Fulton County Street Railroad (1883)
- Atlanta & Edgewood Street Railroad Company (1886)
- Atlanta Consolidated (1892)
- Atlanta & Chattahoochee (1893)
This timeline is a little simplistic since there were a number of mergers that eventually led to the Atlanta Consolidated system, which led to "The Second Battle of Atlanta", where two great financial forces in the City fought it out for control.
There are also a number of "shell" companies that were formed. This was typically the first step in accumulating capital to start a transit operation; sometimes insufficient capital was available and these proposed companies would quietly disappear. To my knowledge, these existed on paper only:
- Southside Street Railroad Company – 1882
- Capital Street Railroad Company – 1884
- Baltimore Place & Peters Park Railroad Company – 1885
- Atlanta City & Suburban Streetcar Company – 1887
- Marietta Street Railroad Company – 1888
- West Atlanta Street Railroad Company – 1888


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Vote for the song you think is better. Every day or so I will change the poll, the poll will be of 2 songs I think are very close in greatness, you vote for the better song of the 2.
Questions? Post below.
Round 1 - Crack A Bottle Vs. Encore
Both songs feature Dre and 50, which song is better? Find out soon and VOTE!
Encore Wins!
Round 2 - Role Model Vs. Til I Collapse


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Product Marketing Manager - Global Services at Rapid7
Rapid7's Product Marketing team is responsible for leading go-to-market strategy and execution for our portfolio of products and services. This specific role will oversee the Rapid7 Services portfolio, which is comprised of penetration testing, advisory services, incident response, and training services. The Product Marketing Manager serves as the business owner and acts as the expert in communicating the value of our professional services to both internal stakeholders and customers. Serving as a cross-functional leader, this person works with Sales, Services, Marketing, Finance, Operations, and Customer Success teams to develop ongoing initiatives for driving revenue and overall Rapid7 growth.
Here's what you'll be up to...
- Work with teams across the organization to research, plan and implement go-to-market tactics that drive demand, customer adoption, and revenue.
- Lead and take accountability for business results market share growth and dominance within the market.
- Form, align, and lead cross-functional teams to deliver on go-to-market initiatives.
- Be an evangelist and spokesperson for your Rapid7 Services, communicating and educating internal and external stakeholders (customers, channel partners, press, industry analysts).
- Develop and help refine marketing content including sales collateral, thought-leadership presentations, speaking engagement abstracts, website content, videos, blogs, press releases, by-lined articles, webcasts, whitepapers and more.
- Position our sales channels to win through effective sales enablement initiatives (and participate in sales calls when needed).
- Represent and influence go-to-market activities in product strategy discussions.
- Know our customers, their pain points and their success stories. Drive customer fluency throughout the organization.
- Thoroughly understand and stay abreast of the customer and competitive landscape, Rapid7's products, and industry news to best influence our marketing strategy.
- Champion the effort to continuously experiment with different go-to-market strategies, applying learnings along the way.
Here's what you have...
- 5+ years product marketing experience.
- Marketing experience within technology, security, data analytics, professional services is preferred.
- Outstanding verbal communications and skilled in creating content and delivering presentations to support sales and marketing initiatives.
- Strong writer and collaborator who understands how to communicate with a wide variety of audiences.
- Ability to translate technical concepts into business value for internal and external stakeholders.
- Proven ability to handle multiple projects at once, with multiple stakeholders, and to get products/features launched on-time.
- Collaborative and team-oriented, with an ability to build strong working relationships across levels, departments, and geographically dispersed office locations.
- Available for occasional travel to industry conferences and events.
About us...
Rapid7 (NASDAQ: RPD) is a team of highly motivated individuals dedicated to making the world a safer place through innovative cybersecurity solutions. With over 7,200 customers (including half of the Fortune 100) across 120 countries, Rapid7 aims to give Security, IT, and Development teams the tools needed to dramatically improve their security operations. Consistently named one of the best places to work by the Boston Business Journal, Rapid7 views its people as its most important asset and invests heavily in employee career development and company culture.


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Twitter Link Facebook link
Unlock Democracy is promoting a social media campaign to raise awareness of police and crime commissioner elections. Others will ignore them.
"To go into the voting booth and vote for either Wall-Street-backed candidate, that is the definition of throwing away your vote." So claims Jill Stein, the US Green Party's candidate for the presidential election on 6 November 2012.
Green MP Caroline Lucas has criticised the appointment of Conservative climate sceptic Peter Lilley to a key environmental scrutiny role.
Stop Climate Chaos has held a demonstration in Westminster today, aimed to show that 'Green is Working', in contrast to many current policies.
Hundreds of protesters converged on the proposed site of two new nuclear 'mega-reactors' at Hinkley Point in Somerset over the weekend.
'Economic Democracy' is likely to be the watchword for the 2012 Green Party of England and Wales conference, which begins on 7 September.
The Green Party in England and Wales has called for the British railway system to be come back into public ownership, following further price hikes.
New legislation is needed to ensure that England's public woods and forests are safe from future attempts at a Government sell off.
Caroline Lucas, leader of the Green Party in England and Wales, says she will not seek re-election in order to "broaden opportunities for others" in her party.
A report on fracking for shale gas commissioned by the DECC, recommending that the drilling method be allowed to continue, has been criticised.
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Detention Action has launched fresh legal action against the Government over its immigration detention practices during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Oh Lordy, so many people repeating so many easily disproved chestnuts.
Global cooling was predicted in the 70's ! (It was a minor theory, without any real support.)
The climate has changed in the past. (Yeah, and water levels have fluctuated in the past. But if someone builds a dam downstream and my yard starts to flood, I'm not going to just shrug and call it a natural phenomena.)
And so on.
And then there was one guy who claimed that the role of CFCs in ozone depletion had been thoroughly debunked.


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Sophia recently had pictures taken for her theatre/dance team. One of the requirements for the pictures was that she wear a flower crown. I knew I could buy a flower crown. I looked on Amazon. I wasn't thrilled. I wanted the look of a simple crown with fresh flowers. I've always had the mindset that it's not that hard to make the things you envision; such as a flower crown. I envisioned a simple green leaf crown with some flowers on the side. Here is the recipe for a DIY flower crown. Step 1 Materials; either floral tape or floral wire, scissors or clippers, some sort of vine, your favorite flowers Step 2 Measure the person's head who will be wearing the crown with the piece of vine Step 3 Use the floral wire or floral tape to connect the ends together Step 4 Cut the stems of 3 of your favorite flowers. Wrap the floral tape around the ends. Step 5 Attach your flowers to the side of the crown with the floral wire or tape. It's that easy. More pictures of the finished DIY flower crown. DIY Flower Crown DIY Flower Crown Here's how it turned out on Sophia for her pictures DIY Floral Crown Another picture of Sophia with her beautiful flower crown DIY … [Read more...]
DIY Flower Crown
My mother is extremely creative, especially when it comes to flower arrangements and setting up dining tables and making them look simple yet pretty. She figures unusual things out too - like the secret to lasting hydrangea arrangements. She's like a Martha Stewart. I'm lucky she has taught me how to do many of the creative things she's good at. I'm not sure how she figured this one out but the way you make hydrangea arrangements last longer is by filling your vase with ice rather than water. I'm going to show you in a series of pictures how I made two arrangements with hydrangeas & ivy taken from the yard with bouquets of Alstroemerias and baby roses from Trader Joes. I also used some rocks for extra appeal and to cover the stems. Step 1: Unpackage your flowers and lay them out. Gather greens from the yard. They are great to use as filler. Get your vases together. I used 2 square vases from Target. You also need good clippers for cutting the stems and leaves. Step 2: Cut down the stems and remove all the leaves from the stems otherwise it looks messy. Removing the leaves, gives the arrangement a much cleaner look. Step 3: Answer to the secret to lasting … [Read more...]
I don't know about other parents out there but one task I struggle with is getting my daughter to get her toothbrush out and brush her teeth. No way around it, using her toothbrush is a challenge morning and night. Dentists have come to her school to educate her class on the importance of using their toothbrushes and the consequences of not brushing. Maybe this education motivates some of the kids to keep their pearly whites clean. I know my daughter likes the little goody bag they give her to take home but when it's time to take out her toothbrush, it's a challenge. There's a second issue. Getting her toothbrush out is the first and then there is the actual brushing that's a second hoop to jump through. She's stubborn. She's not going to let me do the brushing either. Plus she's six years old which is a little old for me to be brushing her teeth. I get so frustrated when she sticks her toothbrush in her mouth, pulls it out 3 seconds later and says, "I'm done!" You hear my exhaustion with this whole process. There's a reason for explaining my frustration with this twice a day not so fun task. I have a solution for any parents out there who can relate. I was browsing around … [Read more...]
DIY Monogram Pillows Featured on Shutterfly
A couple months ago I was browsing through my gmail and came across a message from a Shutterfly marketing representative who asked permission for my DIY monogram pillows to be featured on Shutterfly. She said they would be featured on their monthly Shutterfly/ Tinyprints DIY Project Websites. "Of course," I responded. She wasn't sure what month it would be featured. Anyway, recently I decided to re-commit myself to my blog. It takes time on the back end to clean things up. I was going through comments and there it was; DIY monogram pillows featured on Shutterfly; https://www.shutterfly.com/ideas/diy-home-decor/ It was a proud moment. Having a blog and committing to it is a lot of work. Most of the time it's rewarding & fun. However, there are times it feels discouraging. You have days you question what the heck you are doing. Being acknowledged by anyone let alone a huge company like Shutterfly gave me the inspiration I've needed to get back in the swing of things. Simple to Make Monogram Pillows Monogramming pillows with paint turned out to be a simple project. Actually, I did it in bed last night before going to sleep. It was that easy. I had already covered two … [Read more...]
A Great Parenting Article: Please Don't Help My Kids
This is a great article that talks about the disservice you do to your children by doing things for them. It uses helping them climb up the ladder to get to the top of the slide as an example. It talks about the importance of kids learning to take the little steps and or falls to learn how to climb and uses this as a metaphor for life. If we just lift them up, they will never learn the effort, the challenge, the falls, the pick myself back up, the reward, etc involved in overcoming what it takes to get through the obstacles in life. A great article from Kate Bassford Baker's Blog Please Don't Help My Kids I am not sitting here, 15 whole feet away from my kids, because I am too lazy to get up and help them climb the ladder. I brought them here so they could learn to climb it themselves. Dear Other Parents At The Park: Please do not lift my daughters to the top of the ladder, especially after you've just heard me tell them I wasn't going to do it for them and encourage them to try it themselves. I am not sitting here, 15 whole feet away from my kids, because I am too lazy to get up. I am sitting here because I didn't bring them to the park so they could learn how to … [Read more...]
Repurposed Book End into Seashell Door Stop
Have you ever thought to repurpose a book end into a seashell door stop? Probably not. Maybe you have - I did. I love seashells. I live by the beach and have a huge collection. We have a heavy dutch door that won't stay open when I want it to. Rather than a door stopper, the following is a simple, easy to do project that doesn't take a whole lot of time, comes out looking really cute and is effective. What You Will Need plain bookend 2. white paint 3. paint brush, 4. glue gun 5. seashells I painted the brown wood colored bookend white so any open space or crack between shells wouldn't stand out.As you can see, I did a quick paint job. It doesn't need to be perfect. Just give the end a quick coverage of white paint if your book end is a dark color.Use your glue gun to cover the end with shells.Here is how it came out. You don't have to use it as a door stopper. You can do two ends and use them for books.I like the book end used as a door stopper. It works very well.It would make a nice gift. It's fun to make things with shells. I have two other shell projects on the blog you can make if you like; a seashell wreath and driftwood crosses. Both projects are simple to make … [Read more...]
Sea Shell Wreaths
Seashell wreaths are another simple DIY project. I have a large collection of seashells from when I lived at the beach that I thought I would use to make seashell wreaths. I bought a couple of these wreaths at the dollar tree and simply hot glued seashells to it. I made one for my mom and one for a friend. They both live at the beach so seashell wreaths will be appropriate for their homes. Step 1 First you will need to gather your materials. You need seashells. If you can collect the shells, great. If not, Amazon has a pretty good source; 200 piece seashell mix. You need a wreath or wreaths. I haven't found the wreaths I bought at the Dollar store in ages. Plus they weren't that great. I saw these wreaths on my favorite spot Amazon, 10" Grapevine Wreaths (3 pack) for $11.99. I love the darker brown color. I also used sea glass that can also be purchased on Amazon here. You will need a hot glue gun to glue the seashells and sea glass to the wreath. Obviously you do not have to purchase anything from Amazon. They will sell all these things at craft stores. Step 2 Secondly, attach some sort of ribbon through one of the branches of the wreath for hanging … [Read more...]
Driftwood Crosses
Last time I was at the beach I collected a bunch of driftwood. I was thinking about framing a mirror with layered pieces of driftwood. I didn't have enough to do this though. Maybe I'll make one in the future. Anyway, I like simple so I came up with driftwood crosses decorated with sea shells. These are very simple to make. I feel like I say that with almost every project I post on here. It's true most of my projects are simple and these crosses definitely fall into that category. What You Will NeedDriftwood, Seashells, Rope or Twine, Glue Gun There isn't much to this. Just cross two pieces of driftwood and tie the rope around the middle to hold the 2 pieces of driftwood together. Tie a knot in the back or create a loop for hanging purposes. Use a glue gun to attach shells to the center. You can use store bought shells and coral as seen in this one above. You can use a bunch of shells and layer them or just lay a few shells across the front. I think they came out pretty and would make a nice gift. What do you think? … [Read more...]
Garden Style Flower Arrangements
If you like the look of unfussy garden arrangements, try mixing greenery from your yard with store bought flowers. In this example, I used flowers I bought from Trader Joe's and mixed in flowers and greenery from the yard. I gathered the flowers and greenery and cut the stems down short. I put a rubber band around the stems and placed in thrift store silver bowls. Gather Greenery and Flowers From Your Yard Flower Bouquets From Grocery Store Mix your Greenery and Flowers Together Cut Stems and Place in Bowls Display on Table I'm linking up with: … [Read more...]


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Pauline Silverwood
I absolutely love trying my hand at anything creative. As a window dresser designing and making displays and then a secondary school teacher of Textiles, Art and Graphics I have been lucky enough to be able to try out lots of new techniques and materials over the years. All of which came in very handy when my three daughters got married in the last few years!