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Friday, May 21, 2010
Dear Disney...(Thank you to the Families)
We are part of an international Cochlear Implant Community of families who every single day work on raising our kids' voices, and in doing so, we have learned the importance of raising our own collective voice.
The problem is that we are so good at what we do and our kids are so amazing, that there comes a time when they begin raising their voices.
Why Cal Ripken Jr.?
Just like Cal, we go to work every day...as do our children and when we are sick, depressed and mentally exhausted...we work harder.
Please keep leaving comments...it isn't about the book- it's about the journey.
Love and thank you so much to all of the families who continue to support spreading awareness...by educating a larger community every single day.
Jodi and Steve
Christian and Lily's Mommy said...
When my son Christian was diagnosed with profound bilateral hearing loss at 9 months of age, my heart broke into a million pieces. Would he EVER hear me tell him that I loved him? Would we ever hear his sweet voice? My husband and I were devastated, and we searched for support. We found Jodi and her blog, and she quickly became a source of inspiration and hope, just as Rally Caps is for our kids. Although we've never "met" in person, she is true and trusted resource and friend.
Christian received his Cochlear Implant at 14 months of age, and now 2 years later, our home is anything but silent. Christian talks and sings just like any other 3 year old, if not BETTER! We are thankful for the miracle of the Cochlear Implant, and the gift of hearing.
May 18, 2010 5:40 PM
Julia said...
Where do you want comments for Disney? Here? Cause I'll go wherever and leave whatever -- they have GOT to make that book into a movie. It's perfect for that. What a great opportunity!
May 18, 2010 6:01 PM
K.L. said...
My daughter loved the book and loved seeing another child with an implant in the story. We donated a copy of the book to her elementary school library.
When she lost her hearing as a baby, I thought I'd never get to hear her say the words "I love you mom". How naive of me. Within 3 years after her implant, she was ahead of hearing kids in reading and language. Both receptive and expressive. She now has 2 implants, is just finishing 6th grade and has the reading level of a 12th grader. Yes, she speaks and hears just fine, thank you very much. She also signs and loves beind deaf and loves having implants.
Just in case Disney wants to meet her, come on up to the Seattle area, and meet the new face of deaf kids.
Jodi, you and your dad did an awesome job on that book and it would be a perfect Disney story.
May 18, 2010 7:24 PM
bearblog said...
Go, Disney!!!
(You know, the Cochlear Celebration is held in Disneyland/World....)
My son had his first CI when he was almost 13 months old, his second one (bilateral) in kindergarten, and he is now 9 and he THRIVES: he is in the neighborhood school, he loves reading (reads a million words every month), math (is grades ahead), flying trapeze, bike riding, computer games, and is an all-around delightful guy.
Having the book turned into a movie would be terrific--here's to hoping!
May 18, 2010 7:33 PM
Drew's Mom said...
My son Drew was born with profound hearing loss and was implanted bilaterally at 8 months of age - one of the youngest in the country! At 3 1/2 years of age now he talks just as well as his peers, and amazes us everyday with the things he can hear!
We actually just returned from a trip to Disney World - it was an amazing and magical time. Drew loved every minute of it! He has talked for the last month about Goofy's Rollercoaster, the tea cup ride, Hollywood Studios and how he wants to go back to celebrate his 5th birthday. What a wonderful time we had, and Drew enjoyed all of the sights and SOUNDS!
Good luck Jodi!
May 18, 2010 8:30 PM
Kel said...
Wow, Jodi, amazing!! My son, Danny, is barely 2 with bilateral cochlear implants, and while he's got other issues he's battling, he's starting to really grasp and understand language and try to talk. It's a miracle, one that I doubt I ever would have been brave enough to pursue without the support and stories from blogs and books like these! I've read Rally Caps and can't wait to share it with him when he's older, and think it would be an amazing movie.
May 18, 2010 9:57 PM
Paula Rosenthal said...
My 14 year old daughter, Julie, and I both have two sets of cochlear implants, devices that have taken us from profound deafness to being able to function with just a mild hearing loss. Our lives would be dramatically different without them. Because of her amazing ability to hear, Julie's speech is as clear and perfect as any child's with normal hearing. She socializes easily, sings along to music and is an excellent student in school. Julie is just one of many children around the world benefiting from her cochlear implants. Parents and children everywhere need to see more deaf children with cochlear implants who both speak and hear in movies and literature.
Julie and I have the unusual privilege of having a portion of our cochlear implant stories played in the Innoventions building at EPCOT. We are two of the four people profiled in a special version of, "Back to the Hearing World," an informational video about cochlear implants and their impact on people's lives. We thank Disney for their support and we hope that they will continue showing their support of this amazing technology by considering making "Rally Caps" into a major motion picture. Imagine the impact a family movie like this will have on adults and children alike. Imagine, Disney.
May 18, 2010 10:03 PM
Rhonda said...
Jodi! This would be worlds colliding (in a good way) for Neal since Rally Caps, hearing with cochlear implants, and Disney are some of his favorite things. I'll post the address for his book review blog here in case Disney wants to get the opinion of a 10 year old with cochlear implants on Rally Caps. http://savagereads.blogspot.com/
I hope they would take note that your book rated higher for him than The Hobbit. That's got to give it some clout right?
I told Neal about Disney reading Rally Caps and his biggest concern was how they would come up with a realistic cochlear implant prop. haha I said I was sure Disney could find someone who has one or two of them in real life to play the part of Luca : )
Good luck with this. I can totally see a buddy/baseball movie with a character with a cochlear implant coming from Disney, and it would be so great for our kids to see someone representing themselves on the big screen!
May 18, 2010 10:25 PM
Debbie said...
Dear Disney,
My daughter has CP...her challenges are different than the kids here, but anything that shows a different "normal" is a wonderful thing! You would be lucky to make this well crafted and heartfelt story.
Thank you for your time,
P.S. Jodi -- I'll keep my fingers crossed for your much deserved success. xoxo
May 18, 2010 10:43 PM
Debbi said...
Jodi, my son has determined that he wants to play baseball next year. He is 16, has Asperger's Syndrome and a Cochlear Implant. He has never been interested in baseball - but he is now! Yay Rally Caps!!!
May 18, 2010 11:00 PM
Joybell74 said...
Hi, I'm a SAHM of 7 kids. We went to Disney (FL) A couple years ago...an interesting experience for a large family, tho we were expecting #6...so only had 5 at the time.
Now our youngest was just diagnosed w/ profound hearing loss 2 months ago. He gets hearing aids this week, to see if that helps, but he will probably need implants. Our story is at joybell74.blogspot.com
May 18, 2010 11:29 PM
Megan said...
My daughter Keira received her first CI at age 17 months and her second at age 3 years. By the time she was 3 years and 4 months old she had surpassed her hearing peers in receptive and expressive test scores. Everyday she says something, repeats something or over hears things I do not expect her to hear. Our journey with cochlear implants has exceeded my dreams and expectations. Disney is all about DREAMS, isn't it?!?
May 18, 2010 11:33 PM
Michelle Benavides said...
I cried at just the thought of DISNEY making this into a movie. No one has even heard of cochlear implants unless you are touched by someone you know that has them or talks about them! When my son was diagnosed with bilateral severe-to-profound hearing loss I too cried and had my heart crushed that I would never hear my son say "mama" or "I love you" or know the sound of his mother's voice and hear me say "I love you" to him. He started off with bilateral hearing aids as most kids do but they were not giving him access to all the sounds in the English language. When he was 3.5 he was bilaterally implanted and in just the first months (weeks really) he just exploded with progress in both his hearing ability and distant hearing but also his language and vocabulary. He just barely turned 4, and oh the possibilities that lie ahead of us. I myself had no clue what a cochlear implant was and it took me months to remember what they were called. I have yet to meet a person that knows what they are or that has ever heard of them. I educate them, believe me, my co-workers are all minor experts on cochlear implants! I am extremely excited to attend the AG Bell Bi-Annual Convention that is at DISNEY WORLD June 2010. Disney movie producers should visit us, as there will be many kids of all ages with cochlear implants there. Disney movies are extremely popular GLOBALLY and if children knew what cochlear implants were (and their parents) and understood what amazing gift they give hearing impaired children… OH THE POSSIBLITIES! Knowledge is more powerful than anything. Things that are new, different and unknown are scary to people. In recent years the deaf culture has been transforming to now include deaf members who are hearing and speaking. Better awareness about cochlear implants may help bridge those who resist the acceptance of cochlear implants and unite the members in the deaf community, both signing and hearing. Maybe Joey McIntyre from New Kids on the Block would want to do the theme song since he too has a hearing impaired child! And for the record, my son now "moms" me to death and we most definitely say "I love you" on a daily basis. Music to my ears and joy to my heart.
May 19, 2010 12:16 AM
tammy said...
Our son Aiden was born with profound hearing loss in both ears. We knew noone with hearing loss, had never even heard of "cochlear implants", and were devastated thinking we would never hear our son's voice or him hear our "I love yous". We felt lost, hopeless, SCARED. Then we found Jodi and other CI parents, who provided us with FAITH and HOPE through their child's stories and videos showing us how MAGICAL the journey to hear through cochlear implants truly is.
Aiden was bilaterally implanted at 10 1/2 months and has been hearing with his new "ears" for 14 months now. He HEARS our voices. He SPEAKS his voice. He is catching up to his hearing peers through the miracle of cochlear implants.
I have shared Rally Caps with our family, like Aiden's brother, sister, and cousins, to help them understand Aiden's world better. What a perfect story to help educate the world on the miracle of cochlear implants! Not only has Jodi provided me hope through Jordan's story, she has been an inspiration to me as an advocate and a mom to my deaf son.
BTW, our family is heading to Disney this summer to celebrate our son's journey and reward all our hard work put into helping Aiden hear and speak. How wonderful for him that he'll HEAR the fun all around and how wonderful for us we'll HEAR his laughter and the excitement in his voice.
May 19, 2010 7:43 AM
Kimberly said...
My son Max passed his newborn hearing screen but at 17 mos. he was diagnosed as profoundly deaf. We were devastated at the time. However, since that time he had received two cochlear implants and now hears and speaks and is a walking miracle. We have been so fortunate to get to see the miracle everyday of being able to hear. Although we live in a small community everyone knows of my son. It would be great if Disney could turn Rally Caps into a movie. I'm thinking the Blindside would have to move over.
May 19, 2010 10:17 AM
Anonymous said...
Jodi, are CIs manufacturers informed? If not, please do, ALL OF THEM. They can certainly find ways of conveying to Disney the important messages beyond your book! Ferdi
PS: think about the Cochlear Celebration @ Disneyworld
May 19, 2010 10:18 AM
Tara said...
My daughter, Tyler, passed her newborn hearing screen and was not diagnosed until the age of two. I scoured the internet and libraries and this was the first story I ever found about a child with an implant; everything out there is about deaf kids but not deaf kids who use aids or implants. It was a great help to me and also my school age nieces and nephews to help them understand how their cousin would one day hear. I have passed on my two copies to the public school library and the bookshelf at Texas Children's Hospital and I tell everyone about this blog! I love to read it everyday and reading about all of the adventures Jordan and Sofia put you through makes me smile! Tara
May 19, 2010 10:35 AM
Tiffany C. said...
My son Brayden is now 6 and is a bilaterial cochlear implant user. We face other challenges along with his deafness. He loves baseball and we used Rally Caps to inspire him to go after his dreams. He loves the book and is an excellent first baseman. I would love to see this turned into a movie! That would be awesome!
May 19, 2010 3:41 PM
Stephen said...
I can't believe all the great stories and support from Jodi's "followers!" Thank you so much....keep them coming - I will make sure my Disney contact reads them all. Thanks again! Steve
May 19, 2010 4:00 PM
Paula Rosenthal said...
Hi Steve, As you already know, your daughter Jodi is an amazing woman who has done so much for the community of families dealing with significant hearing loss. I think I can speak for many when I say that we would do just about anything to support her in her spectacular efforts to tell and show the world how cochlear implants can change a child's life. I'm so glad you wrote this book with her and that you're moving forward promoting it on an international level.
May 19, 2010 7:47 PM
Connie L. said...
Our 11 year old daughter with bilateral cochlear implants LOVED "Rally Caps". We also bought a copy for her school library where not only did the girls love it, but the boys did too. We live in the Tampa Bay area where baseball is almost year round. Who doesn't love a good baseball story that has comedy, hope and acceptance. This would be a perfect fit for a Disney film.
May 19, 2010 10:30 PM
Val said...
We loved Rally Caps because he wore his ci just as he does his clothes everyday...just part of his everyday 'uniform'...kinda like my two deaf children who wear cochlear implants. The kids at school see them as their equal, even pitching in to help change batteries every now and then so my kids can hurry up and hear again when their batteries go dead...because we know everything 6 and 9 year olds say is of most importance! (lol) And a big lesson here is, sometimes we all need a pep talk, and it could come from an ulikely source. Go Rally Caps!
May 20, 2010 12:15 PM
Julia said...
Dear Disney folks, please make Rally Caps into a movie. Cochlear implants are wonderful, and they're also terribly misunderstood. My son got a cochlear implant before he was a year old, and now at two and a half he recites long passages from books, makes up his own stories, and can sing just about any Beatles song you name. This is pretty darned good for any kid, but especially so for one with severe/profound deafness. Cochlear implants are indeed changing the landscape of deafness. Some people fear such change, and they cling to old myths about the risks and ineffectiveness of CIs. By making Rally Caps into a movie, you can help dispel these myths and paint a more accurate, positive portrait of this amazing technology. And make some money, too, because it's a great story.
May 20, 2010 2:39 PM
anniez-k said...
Your blog and posts on CI circle have been such a great inspiration since we found out that our gorgeous preemie was deaf. In the 3.5 year since we started on this journey, I think about all the things that your son does that I want my son to do - play sports, speak several lanaguages (including sign), be successful at school.
Your humor and good sense have helped so much. I do hope you get the chance to share your story with a bigger world.
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Self-driving cars are not science fiction anymore. The technology becomes better and better every day, so we expect fully autonomous cars in some 5 years from today. Tesla's autopilot proved that this is possible, but this is "just" Level 2 technology, so it still needs certain help from the driver. The similar partially driving technology will be offered from FCA. The company plans to introduce the 2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee Level 2.
The semi-autonomous technology will be paired with the current generation model, so don't expect too many styling changes when the 2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee Level 2 arrives. Instead, the slightly updated SUV will be coupled with sensors, cameras, and lidar systems which will provide enough information for the SUV to be able to brake, accelerate, steer, and change lanes on long highway drives without any problem. The automaker claims that Level 2 enables lane change without driver output. Though, it's good to hear that the driver can take control in every moment. Basically, the system is quite similar to Tesla's Autopilot.
FCA claims that Level 3 cars will be ready until the end of 2021. According to them, the self-driving system will be almost independent, but the carmaker will leave the option for the driver to take over the commands in some situations.
They also promised Level 4 sometime later. The main problem with the system is pretty expensive equipment. The hardware includes 30 sensors, lidars, cameras, and radars, which would currently cost over $30,000. The automaker will reportedly try to cut costs of the equipment to $10,000 before Level 4 and 5 become available.

subset: commoncrawl


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Tim Faucett, who owns APlus Mobile which makes mobile computer units that manage robots and unmanned aircraft vehicles for the U.S. Navy and Lockheed Martin, believes we'll need to protect ourselves from drones, and not just the ones being piloted by the military and government.
"There are going to be private drones, there's going to be commercial drones," he told Co.Exist's Zak Stone. "Everybody's going to have access to a drone. And people are going to have good intentions with them, and people are going to have bad intentions with them."
PHOTOS: Stealth Clothing Averts Government Snoopers
Don't think Faucett is some kind paranoid conspiracy theorist — his claims are credible. Drones are being employed domestically for surveillance and law enforcement.
However, Faucett thinks we should be concerned about those with "bad intentions." That's why his startup Domestic Drone Countermeasures recently filed the first of nine patents for, as Stone put it, "a system that will detect and disable drones before they have the chance to film their targets."
Faucett was hesitant to reveal too many details about the system, but he did say it would be able to identify UAVs by their electromagnetic signature, alert the system owner and "neutralize the drone's capability to see you with its camera."
To debunk chatter circulating on the Internet that his system is some sort of weapon, Faucett was blunt.
BLOG: Eagle-Claw Drone Grabs Objects In Mid-Flight
"We don't interfere with the drones navigation in any way. We don't jam anything. We don't intercept anything… . This is non-combative. That's really important," he said. "We've taken great pains to design systems that aren't going to get shut down or be outlawed or become illegal."
In fact, he even has a sense of humor about his system's video interference capabilities. "The camera just won't be able to look at you. Actually, at some point, we can show the operator at the other end a little movie or something," he said, according to Stone, with a laugh.
NEWS: Drone Pilots May Need Distractions
Assuming the system operator would be able to choose the video, the possibilities are endless and beg the questions: What video would you choose to show intrusive drone pilots? Though it doesn't have to be a music video, I might go En Vogue's "My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It). Or maybe a video of the NBA's All-Time Greatest blocked shots.
Faucett says his team may be able to get the system on the market in a matter months. Until then, keep your eyes peeled.


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Reminder: Texas Stamping Fee Rate to Increase Effective January 1, 2016, to 0.15%
|Policy date
|Stamping Fee Rate
|New or renewal policies with effective date on or after January 1, 2016
|New rate 0.15% (.0015)
|Policy date extensions, if effective on or after January 1, 2016
|New rate 0.15% (.0015)
|Policies effective on or before December 31, 2015, will run to expiration, cancellation, or next anniversary date (for multi-year policies). This includes subsequent endorsements, audits, cancellations, reinstatements, installments, and monthly or quarterly reports.
|Old rate 0.06% (.0006)


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Artist Jordan Molina (known on YouTube as TutoDraw) has posted dozens of videos to his channel, showing an audience of millions how they, too, can be artists.
But in this particular video, he takes his art a step further.
This time, "art" becomes an illusion on the palm of his hand.
He uses shadowing to make the entire visual seem 3-Dimensional.
It really does look like he could lift up that scale.
Watch the full video and try to make this on your own hand.


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Venue: Continental Divide (Inn at Virginia Tech), Blacksburg
Organizations: Bobby Parker
Date: Thursday, April 25, 2019
Time: 5:00 - 7:00 PM
Event Types: Music, Food, Drink Specials
Price depends on items purchased.
The Continental Divide, located within The Inn at Virginia Tech, presents Thirsty Thursday with Music from Bobby Parker and Sid Bingley on Thursday, April 25, 2019.
Acoustic musician Bobby Parker is a singer and guitarist playing cozy folk music, blues and ragtime on 6- and 12-string guitar.
Link: https://www.facebook.com/bobbyparkermusic
Get Together at the Divide. Appetizers, Beer, Wine and Cocktails ranging in price from $3/$5/$7 every Thursday.
Enjoy our complimentary "Make-Your-Own" Food Station featuring classics and new favorites.
We provide the perfect place to relax and visit with friends after work! For more information, please call: 540-231-0130.
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Click here to Sign-up for our Email Newsletter.
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An insider threat happens when someone who is close to an organization, and who has authorized access, misuses that access to negatively impact the organization's critical information or systems.
69% say their organizations have experienced an attempted or successful threat or corruption of data in the last 12 months (Source: Accenture). 25% of all security incidents involve insiders (Source: Verizon DBIR 2017).
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My first Buffet Crampon
The new Prodige student oboe features important technical, aesthetic and acoustic improvements that will allow beginners and experienced enthusiasts to progress quickly.
Instrument technicians in the workshops of Buffet Crampon have completed an intense period of Research and Development to create an instrument with easy-to-play, accurate low notes that allow mastery of the most difficult range. Transition from one octave to another is smooth. The mechanics are extremely precise.
Mastering sound output and the controlling airflow, which are so important in the first years of study, are greatly facilitated.
Oboists will be seduced by the perfect acoustic homogeneity of this oboe.
Prodige's sound, very rich and full, comes very close to sounding like a professional instrument.
Manufactured in the Buffet Crampon workshops in Germany, Prodige is not only reasonably priced but is also, quite simply, the ideal instrument for learning to play.
New Instruments come with a 2 Year Leonards Music Warranty - Covers all maintenance and adjustments. Does not cover damage.


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Thank you everyone who supported our 2019 C.A.T. Walk & Fun Run! This year we raised a total of $70,000 for a Cancer Care Fund.
Thank you to our Sponsors!
2019 Sponsors
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Now that we're safely past the election season, maybe we can have a reasonable discussion about taxes. If you say taxes are high in the Heights, heads nod. But what does "taxes are high" mean?
To find out, let's compare some real estate listings from Cleveland Heights, a "taxes are high" place and Solon, a "taxes are low" place. Zillow.com makes this easy by listing the asking price of the house, its square footage, the year it was built, a mortgage payment estimate, and the annual tax bill. And it usually includes a picture so you can get a sense of how attractive the property is, and a map and satellite view so you know its neighborhood setting. Trulia.com and other "data-cruncher" sites do the same kind of thing, but we'll stick with Zillow for this purpose.
To compare the two, visit these Zillow links:
Listings change all the time; the examples below are from November 2015.
Mortgage and property tax
Toward the high end we have a new home in Solon, 3,092 square feet, listing for $598,000 ($194/square foot), with an estimated monthly mortgage of $2,225. Assuming it eventually sells for full price, the annual taxes would be $14,232. That, added to the annual mortgage cost of $26,700, would come to an annual cost of $40,932.
A comparable house in Cleveland Heights is a 3,081-square foot 1930 Tudor on Coventry Road listing for $324,900 ($105/sf). The annual tax bill on that house would be $12,329 and the estimated mortgage if it sells for full price would be $14,520, for a yearly total of $26,849.
Cleveland Heights also has some considerably bigger homes in that same ballpark as the Solon house of annual mortgage-plus-taxes cost of around $35,000 to $40,000: a 4,568 square foot brick home on Fairmount Boulevard, a 5,440 sf house on Guilford, and a 7,075 sf house on East Overlook, all for sale in the $500,000–$600,000 range, all around $85 to $100/sf. (And you can safely assume the heating costs on a big old house like that will be pretty frightening.)
The winner in Cleveland Heights for square footage is an 8,445 sf stone mansion on Coventry for $825,000, and for price, a 5,004 sf home on North Park for $999,000. Solon has three properties for sale over $1 million, topping out with a 102-acre estate built in 1995 listing at $3.1 million.
In homes of more moderate scale we have good range of prices for 2,000-square-foot houses in Cleveland Heights: Edgehill Road (2,050 sf; monthly mortgage estimate of $1,107 plus taxes of $6,699=$19,983 in annual cost), Hampshire Road (2,052 sf; annual cost $14,621), Ormond Road (1,918 sf; $12,463).
In Solon there's also quite a range: Clearwater Court (1,980 sf new construction, $22,848), Longview Drive (2,038 sf; $15,782), Liberty Road (2,050 sf; $11,019).
Wait a minute. How come the high-tax place and the low-tax place cost about the same? Simple: because they cost about the same.
Perhaps a more useful way to think about this, rather than being fixated on the amount you pay as a percentage of what your house is worth, is that the city and schools provide services that cost a certain amount per year and the cost of providing those services is divided among the taxpayers of that city.
That cost per household is pretty similar in Cleveland Heights and Solon. Cities could deal with that by just sending a bill for $6,000 to each household every year to pay for schools and city services (and abolishing all property and income taxes), but a $6,000 bill could mean malnutrition for someone who makes $20,000, while it's loose change in the couch cushions for someone who makes $250,000.
In the United States we have generally tried to be more progressive so that those with less means pay a bit less and those who are wealthier pay more. Generating those funds as a percentage of property value or of income achieves some of that progressiveness.
But simple ideas are never that simple. Mostly because housing in Solon is generally quite a bit newer; the average valuation per square foot is $116, there according to Zillow, while in Cleveland Heights it is $73. Both of these numbers have changed in the past year as the regional real-estate market has continued to rebound, but the proportional difference has been similar.
The tax rate in Solon is 2.38%, while in Cleveland Heights it is 3.8%. 116 x 2.38 = 276 and 73 x 3.8 = 277. In other words, in Solon according to the most recent Zillow data you'll pay on average about $2.76 per square foot of house in annual property tax, while in Cleveland Heights you'll pay $2.77 per square foot. There are a couple of reasons one would expect it to be a bit higher in Cleveland Heights: one, the CH-UH schools spend more per pupil, probably because they have more special-needs students, who are more expensive to educate; and two, Solon has more commercial and industrial property kicking into the funding pool.
The other factor evident in the square-foot valuation is the cost of the house in the first place: in Solon, on average, you'll pay $43 more for every square foot of house, which is to say an additional $86,000 for a 2,000-square foot home (and you would expect eventually to end up with more equity after paying more). Even those averages are deceptive, though. Cleveland Heights currently has quite a few foreclosed homes and extremely low-priced properties that drag that average per-square-foot value down considerably (some are below $30/sf). Solon has foreclosed homes as well, but it also has numerous new-construction properties that are well over $200/sf, distorting the average in the other direction.
Even without going to the bargain-basement or a foreclosure, one could buy a charming and well-built home in Cleveland Heights for around $60,000, while in Solon there are no listings at all under $100,000 except for vacant lots. Cleveland Heights also has a lot of relatively inexpensive rental options.
Income tax and the wealth effect
This affordability opens up Cleveland Heights to lower-income residents for whom Solon would be out of reach. And no surprise, just as Cleveland Heights has a somewhat higher percentage property tax rate to balance its somewhat lower property assessments, it also has a slightly higher income tax rate (as of November 2015) to go along with its lower-earning residents (though in this case it doesn't nearly make up the difference).
Solon's median income is $96,965; in Cleveland Heights it's $51,142. Multiplying out by those cities' income tax rates, the annual yield for the median household is $1,939 for Solon (at 2%) and $1,279 for Cleveland Heights (after the recently voted increase to 2.25% kicks in).
It seems as if sustainable equilibrium could be achieved at more than one balance point, but the different balance points come with different challenges. For one thing, there are some obvious bottom-line advantages for cities and school districts if the property assessments are higher.
Not only can you collect the needed dollars from a smaller percentage tax, but that same higher property cost effectively excludes low-income residents, which means that incomes are higher. That not only bolsters income tax collection, it also fuels the local retail and restaurant economy, and it means the schools have an easier time getting high ratings because there are fewer poor kids (it has been widely documented nationwide that the income of the student's family is closely correlated with student performance). Higher school ratings make communities more attractive to young families, which pushes up demand, which pushes up prices, which pushes up tax yields.
For anyone who's interested in how the Cleveland area might or might not exemplify that phenomenon, just go to Wikipedia and look up the wealthiest cities in Ohio. Pick out the top 20 wealthiest places in the greater Cleveland area:
- Hunting Valley
- Kirtland Hills
- Gates Mills
- Bratenahl
- Bentleyville
- Moreland Hills
- Pepper Pike
- Waite Hill
- Orange
- Chagrin Falls
- Shaker Heights
- South Russell
- Beachwood
- Bainbridge
- Brecksville
- Westlake
- Mayfield
- Solon
- Bay Village
- Rocky River
Now look up the 10 highest-scoring Cleveland-area school districts according to the state report cards:
- Solon
- Rocky River
- Beachwood
- Chagrin Falls
- Independence
- Bay Village
- Brecksville-Broadview Heights
- Orange
- Kenston
Those ten school districts represent all but two of the 20 wealthiest places. The other two are Bratenahl, which has virtually no school children, and Shaker Heights, a wealthy place with a relatively high population of disadvantaged students.
Because the greater Cleveland area is made up of these independent municipalities that for the most part don't share in any costs or revenues, it's common that adjacent or nearby towns have dramatically different finances. In this case, the citizens of Cleveland Heights are doing a lot more heavy lifting than Solon residents when it comes to supporting lower-income folks in city services and education.
The people doing this heavy lifting aren't just the white families who didn't take off for the outer 'burbs. It's also African-Americans who moved into the Heights in recent decades and continue to pull mightily to make this place better. And it's people of many backgrounds — often employed by universities, hospitals, museums, and other organizations in University Circle or by small local businesses — who choose to live in Cleveland Heights for a variety of reasons.
Less an issue of cost than personal preference
This kind of fits with the egalitarian, progressive image of Cleveland Heights — many people are proud of the role their commitment to living in Cleveland Heights might play in helping provide opportunity to a broad community. But it's not all altruism: the fact is, living in Cleveland Heights is overall a good deal if you value things like short commute times, proximity to the incredible richness of University Circle, the informal leafy graciousness of the neighborhoods, and the irreproducible craftsmanship of homes built before WWII.
And thus we get to the real issue: What do you want? If your family makes enough income to comfortably afford a 2,000-square-foot house, your annual taxes in Cleveland Heights and Solon are likely to be pretty similar and your mortgage in Cleveland Heights probably lower. So what else goes into the decision?
The obvious reasons to choose Cleveland Heights are proximity to University Circle, great arts and culture, the particular variety of skin colors, mature trees, lovely parks, early 20th-century homes of architectural distinction at a very wide range of price and size, walkability and bikeability, and plenty of good dining and entertainment options.
A less obvious plus would be the school system, which is loudly disparaged in some circles. Be a little bit skeptical, both of hearsay and of the scientific validity of the state report cards, and take the time to talk to some actual CH-UH parents. You'll find Cleveland Orchestra members, art museum staff, university professors, and Cleveland Clinic physicians who send and have sent their kids to the CH-UH schools, and they would never do so if the academics and extracurriculars didn't excel.
It's not so much a question of academics, but who else is in the school building – lots of other kids who are demographically identical to your own, or kids from a wider variety of incomes and skin hues. Again, that same question: What do you want? Exclusivity has its advantages, and so does inclusivity.
Looking ahead
One difference is that in Solon you would probably end up with more equity in your house because you paid more for it. However, one would expect the gap in per-square-foot values to tighten up (and Solon tax rates to go up) over the decades as Solon homes age — and indeed such a trend is apparent right now on Zillow.com: many of the homes built before 1980 in Solon are now worth below $100/sf. Basically, once a house gets to be a certain age, the maintenance costs are pretty similar whether it's 40 years old or 60 or 100: repaint every 10 years, new water heater every 15 years, new roof every 25, new furnace every 30, new sewer lines if you're unlucky.
The difference in value at that point is defined by issues of personal preference rather than dollars and cents. Cleveland Heights pulls ahead for people who value architectural distinction, quality of craftsmanship, neighborhood charm, and location near enough to the city to be able to get places by public transport, bike lanes, and so on.
Lots in Solon are typically half an acre or more, so the land itself is a higher portion of the property value and the structure is worth less. The larger lots in Solon are both a plus and a minus: the bigger investment costs more but it's also worth more; it feels more spacious and offers more room to garden, add a pool, or restore antique powerboats, but the lot size also means the space between houses is greater and you give up neighborhood walkability and have only one decent way to get around: by car. This inefficient use of space not only eats up a lot of free time by making travel distances longer, it could also end up spelling big trouble for outer suburbs if fuel and transportation costs ever rise significantly.
The trends in Solon offer lessons for Cleveland Heights and vice-versa. Cleveland Heights was the outskirts 100 years ago and all the factors of newness and distance from poverty that fuel development in Solon now drove the development of the Heights area back then. But things don't stay new forever, so Solon should be planning for what to do when those sprawled-out residential areas become more of a liability than the cash cow they are now.
They aren't going to age as gracefully as those old Solon farmhouses or the Cleveland Heights homes of the 1920s; sheetrock and particleboard and vinyl siding just aren't the same as hardwood and plaster and structural brick. It's not hard to imagine in the not-too-distant future a scenario where a lot of unexceptional homes built between the 1950s and 1990s are torn down and their lots rezoned and subdivided for more units per acre so they can make "new urbanist" villages out there.
Cleveland Heights, meanwhile, is the authentic model for new urbanism, and it should count itself lucky that much of its housing stock has significant inherent value in terms of design, craftsmanship, and convenience to the city. Cleveland Heights also represents an unusual kind of town nationally — a place where people of wide-ranging incomes live in the same neighborhood. This kind of mix is a key element in the recipe for social and economic mobility, and it's increasingly rare as more and more people in our nation live in geographically isolated enclaves (gated communities on one extreme, slums on the other).
So we have an important job to do in places like Cleveland Heights.
This is where the American Dream can actually happen. But to be able to pull that off, we need to sustain a stable mix of incomes — neither going too much to the low end, nor pricing too many people out.
Let's postulate that a property tax rate in the 3% to 4% range and income tax between 2% and 2.5% are sustainable in the long run for a mature, built-out community with a lot of high-quality housing stock and a wide range of incomes.
What do we need to do to put ourselves on a trajectory for steady, predictable property appreciation and a moderate increase in average income that will keep Cleveland Heights attractive to the kinds of people whose values align with what Cleveland Heights can offer?


text: Lining up his putt your friend takes one last glance over to brag about the golf match. But when he sees the LSU insignia worn proudly on your Cutter and Buck DryTec polo he sends the ball soaring past the cup. Of course that?€™s what he gets for supporting a rival team isn?€™t it? Whether riling up your opponents or simply stating your devotion you will certainly draw attention to your LSU Tiger fanaticism in style with this DryTec moisture-wicking polo.


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Hotel Transylvania to Open Again With 2015 Sequel
Sony Pictures Animation will release a sequel to sleeper Hotel Transylvania, said an unnamed spokesman for the studio. Set for release in 2015, the movie is tentatively titled Hotel Transylvania 2.
No director is currently attached to the sequel. Genndy Tartakovsky, director of the original film, will be in charge of SPA's Popeye.
Hotel Transylvania has grossed more than $250 million worldwide so far. It opened to $42.5 million in North America and $50.6 overseas, setting a new record for a September opening.
In the original film, Adam Sandler voiced Dracula, owner of the five-star resort of the movie's title. Other monsters included Murray the Mummy (Cee Lo Green), Frankenstein's Monster (Kevin James) and Griffin the Invisible Man (David Spade). Dracula's daughter Mavis was voiced by Selena Gomez.


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I saw the parade signs in the morning as I drove out of the neighborhood. I figured we wouldn't make it in time this year. I wasn't going to be able to leave work early since I was going into the office late after A's therapy session. Yet, we lucked out again this year. Driving into the neighborhood in the evening I saw people lining up and realized we hadn't yet missed the celebration. I grabbed my camera, and hollered for Jason to get in the car with Anders and I. We were off to the same spot we watched the parade last year.
This year my little guy really understood there were treats we be had. I think he suckered me into THREE suckers while we are at the parade.
Homecoming Parade
Wednesday, September 21, 2016
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My kids aren't the neatest creatures on the face of the earth. Okay, that's not exactly a shocker – after all, whose kids are neat?
Still, that is little solace to my wife, who gets irritated every time she walks into a room and finds a pile of discarded clothes, a leftover lunch that was sloppily consumed and abandoned – presumably for woodland creatures to find later that night – or a post-eruption volcano of Legos underfoot. Unfailingly, she curses the mess and the scoundrels who caused it and spares no one her… um… passion.
Meanwhile, whether she realizes it or not, my wife is exemplifying the same sort of advanced analysis that sales and marketing operations professionals should apply when digging into data issues (save perhaps for the yelling). How's that for a silky-smooth transition?
Here's the thing: Behind every data problem, there's a process problem. And behind every process problem, there's likely a people problem.
Every contact in your marketing automation platform (MAP) who is no longer at that company, every duplicate account that's floating around your sales force administration (SFA) system, every opportunity record that's missing the connection to its marketing touches – it all comes down to process issues. At the end of the day, it's either people who execute those processes directly, or people who set up the systems that perform those activities automatically.
Therefore, when you're unpacking the multitude of data issues facing your organization, think first about the processes in place to bring data into your systems and manipulate it once it's been captured:
With those identified, think next about who performs those activities:
These lists are just examples of what you might find, but this mapping is the beginning of a more rigorous root-cause analysis you can perform to figure out where data goes bad and why.
So, the next time you recoil in agony from stepping barefoot on yet another misplaced Lego brick, let yourself count to 10 and cool down, and then remember: There's a better way of understanding how that brick got there – and how you can be sure that next time it's put back properly into its bin.


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October 16, 2017
Tis the season of tomatoes. Botanically speaking tomatoes are fruit even though they are often referred to as vegetable. The tomato's nutrient content is more similar to a vegetable than a fruit, as it contains fewer calories and sugars than other fruits. Tomatoes are an excellent source of vitamin A and C and also a good source of potassium. Tomatoes are also high in carotenoids, lutein and lycopene. Lycopene is what gives tomatoes it's beautiful color but it is also fat soluble. Meaning it is best to eat tomatoes with a fat source like olive oil or avocado. This will help increase the absorption. Now that we know all the wonderful nutritional benefits let's take a look at these treasures and all the various types.
Heirloom- I think most of us are familiar with the heirloom tomato. Very flavorful and unique looking. The heirloom tomato comes in various shapes and sizes.
Cherry- another favorite. The cherry tomato is round and bite-sized. Available in many colors including red, yellow, orange, and black.
Roma- also known as the plum tomato, Roma's are used for canning and pasta sauces. They are popular for these processes due to their low water content and firm texture.
Yellow Pear- the tomato is one of the oldest varieties in the U.S. It dates back to the 1800s. The yellow pear tomato is bite-sized heirlooms with mild flavor.
Brandywine - commonly found at farmers markets it is a large beefsteak.
Campari- this globe shaped tomato is larger than a cherry tomato but smaller than tomatoes on the vine or cluster tomatoes. This tomato is known for it's sweetness and pairs well with cheeses and meats.
San Marzano- this is one that I am not very familiar with. It is apparently named for the volcanic region south of Milan. The San Marzano has a long shape and meaty texture. They are best used for sauces because they are easy to peel.
One of my most favorite ways to eat tomatoes is making a roasted tomato tartine. I use any type of tomato but the roma is definitely a winner with this dish.
4 Roma Tomato
Couple Drizzles Olive oil
1/2 TSP Balsamic Vinegar
Pinch Kosher Salt
Pinch Black Pepper
1 Garlic clove
2 Slices 100% Whole Wheat Bread
1 TSBP Ricotta Cheese (per slices of bread)
1/4 TSP Dijon Mustard
Fresh Basil for topping
Fresh Chives for topping
Preheat oven to 450 f degrees.
Slice tomatoes into halves or quarters, depending on the size of the tomato.
Toss the tomatoes in the oil, vinegar, salt and pepper and half of the amount of minced garlic. Spread on sheet pans and roast in oven for 25 minutes.
Toast the bread. Spread with 1/2 teaspoon mustard on each slice. Then spread each piece with 1 tablespoon of ricotta.
Add 1.75 oz. roasted tomato slices and garnish with basil and chives.


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We hope you will find the following information helpful when planning your journey to Fulford School
North Yorkshire Transport for 093s, 094s, and 095s can be contacted on: 01609 533693 or visit the website: North Yorkshire School Transport
York Pullman for F21, F22, F23, F24, F25, F26 and F27 can be contacted on: 01904 622992 or visit the website.
Information on other methods of transport including service buses, cycle and pedestrian routes can be found here: iTravel
|Period 1
|0850 - 0950
|Period 2
|0950 - 1050
|1050 - 1110
|Period 3
|1110 - 1210
|Period 4
|1210 - 1310
|1310 - 1405
|1405 - 1425
|Period 5
|1425 - 1525
We have designed our school uniform to be sensible, practical and comfortable.
Uniform (Years 7 to 11)
|White polo with school logo in House colours
|White polo with school logo in House colours
|Sweatshirt with school logo (Years 7-8 Navy Blue) (Years 9-11 Black)
|Sweatshirt with school logo (Years 7-8 - Navy Blue) (Years 9-11 - Black)
|Black school trousers (complete with Fulford School embroidery)
|Black Fulford Skirt/School trousers (complete with Fulford School embroidery)
|Dark shoes
|Skirts should be of knee length
|Tights (plain black/natural coloured)
|Dark shoes (not stiletto or high heels)
All Students
- The only items of jewellery that may be worn are a signet ring and ONE plain pair of metal stud earrings.
- Wear dark trainer-style shoes are worn, they should not carry obvious sports brand names, e.g. Adidas.
- Baseball caps are not allowed and coats and hats are not allowed to be worn inside the building. Students must wear their full uniform on the way to and from school, as well as throughout the school day.
- A plain, dark belt may be worn if necessary.
- Extremes of fashion in hair styles and make-up are not permitted.
- It is sensible for students to wear coats/jackets to and from school.
- Leather coats are not permitted.
- Hoodies, and other pull over style tops are not permitted unless these are Fulford School branded.
|Boys' PE/Games Kit
|Girls' PE/Games Kit
|White polo Shirt/T Shirt
|Royal blue polo shirt (available from PE Dept only)
|Navy blue shorts
|Navy blue shorts
|White socks
|White socks
|Training shoes with non marking soles
|Training shoes with non marking soles
|Soccer boots
|Soccer boots
|Shin pads (gum shield/mouth protector advised)
|Shin pads (gum shield/mouth protector advised)
|White long games socks
|School sweatshirt (available from PE Dept only)
|Reversible games top (available from PE Dept only)
- Under an LA guideline, for safety reasons no jewellery may be worn during PE lessons.
- N.B Gum shield must be worn for competitive Hockey fixtures


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Third in a series of overgeneralizations (installment one, two). So fun, I just can't stop.
Principals get human nature wrong. Despite what you assumed as a child, teachers don't retire to the coat closet in their classroom at the end of the day only to miraculously reappear the next morning. Teachers are human beings, meaning every one, to some degree, is insecure. In part, that's why the best principals are impartial. Especially when it comes to public praise.
That's why Centennial Elementary principal, Alice Drummer's quote in this morning's Olympian, made me cringe. Drummer, referring to Laura Currie, a Centennial teacher in her 45th year of teaching, said:
In my 38 years as an educator, I have worked with many teachers and can say without reservation that Laura Currie stands out as the best and most distinguished teacher kids could ever have.
Then, later that night at dinner, she announced to everyone at the table that her middle child had always been her favorite.
In fairness to Drummer, she communicated that in a "Teacher of the Year" letter she wrote on Currie's behalf. Then again, Drummer willfully shared the letter with The Olympian.
Almost every teacher works hard in the hope that their students, their students' parents, and their principal will think that they are the best teacher kids could ever have. Take that possibility away, the way Drummer's public proclamation does, and a little bit of motivation may be lost.
There are two types of faculty cultures—one where professional success is a zero-sum game and one where everyone's professional success is sincerely celebrated. Most are zero-sum, meaning if you're flourishing in your classroom—the kids love you, parents extol your virtues all over town, and the principal says you're the best and most distinguished teacher of all time forever and ever amen—I'm inclined to feel worse about mine. It doesn't matter if it's unflattering, it just is. Call it the "chopped liver" syndrome.
The most enlightened principals know most every teacher wants to be "the best and most distinguished" teacher possible and so they are mindful of how they parcel out praise and tend to highlight faculty team accomplishments.
More importantly, it's high time teachers recognize "Teacher of the Year" awards as the scam that they unfortunately are. Here's how the scam works. Instead of reinventing the profession more generally, by which I mostly mean improving compensation, throw some crumbs of recognition to a few teachers. I'm still waiting for a "Teacher of the Year" to reject their award on the premise that it's a poor substitute for strengthening the profession.
Easy for me to write since I've never won a teaching award*. If I do some day, here's how I'll start my acceptance speech.
Thanks, but no thanks. I refuse to be a token. Until our work is a respected profession with much improved compensation, I'd rather not be singled out for the hard and excellent work most of my colleagues do day in and day out (exits the stage to either stunned silence or appreciative applause).
There's one exception to my teacher award cynicism. Anyone with 45 years in the classroom deserves a Lifetime Achievement Award so you go Mrs. Currie.
* In actuality, I did win the World's Greatest Educator award once in 1999 when I taught a social studies lesson in my daughter's second grade Centennial Elementary classroom. It was a slide show discussion based upon a trip I took to China. I asked her how she thought it went. "Dad," she said, "it was perfect."


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How phishing scams show the need to evolve with technology
Just as we may talk about the dangers of future technologies when they are put to some negative uses we can talk about the internet as a present and still largely evolving technology and dangers its negative uses pose to other people.
Just as there are movies depicting a future world of highly sophisticated intelligent robots that rebelled against humanity, genetically engineered super humans bringing down tyranny against their inferiors, biological warfare via highly effective engineered viruses and so on there could have been movies in the past depicting a "future" in which internet is used by sophisticated tech-savvy tricksters to get access to people's bank accounts and expensive private data.
That future, of course, is here and we call this practice as "phishing scams":
In the field of computer security, phishing is the criminally fraudulent process of attempting to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication.
Just in my email inbox alone I've been getting a lot of pretty tricky messages claiming to be from such sites as paypal, ebay, google adsense and so on. Not only do phishing scammers make the destination site look exactly the same, but they sometimes make even the URL look so similar that unless you take a careful look at it you may easily be fooled to think it's the real deal. They will register a domain name with an obscure extension, something like paypal.cc or they will arrange a subdomain that will make the URL look like it comes from PayPal where you literally have to know where the dot should be to know it's not a legitimate URL.
For example I could set up a subdomain that looks like this: www.paypal.com.libervis.com and put an exact copy of the PayPal site and login form there so it looks completely legit. I could perhaps even get an SSL certificate so as to make the page "secure" (therefore putting the lock in the user's browser). The receiver of my email would see that the address starts with www.paypal.com and unless he reads any further (to spot the dot and realize the actual top level domain is libervis.com) he would click the link thinking it's really from PayPal, thus giving me his real PayPal username and password and access to all money he holds in it.
Five million people in US lost an average of $351 to phishing scams, which is 1.75 billion dollars, and scammers are getting better at it. (Source: SC Magazine (quoting Gartner)). Fortunately, people are finally catching on and as you can read in the linked article there is some reason for optimism.
The reason I talk about phishing scams is to illustrate a larger point pertaining to our relationship with technology. As new technologies come by they typically bring with them enormous potential in both positive and negative terms. The power of technology can be used for both good and bad. How it is going to be used and how effectively is going to directly depend on the prevalent mentality and habits of the individuals.
This means that new - and as the case of phishing scams illustrates - existing technologies essentially require the human individuals to evolve at the same pace as the technology they use evolves. Otherwise there is going to be trouble.
In order to truly defeat phishing scams, for instance, what is necessary is for them to become completely ineffective. For this to happen these five million people (in US alone) need to become completely resilient against them. Specifically, when it comes to phishing, what is fundamentally required is for individuals to be more critical of what they are reading, more investigative and less trusting. They need to learn to be more responsible with their use of email and the web sites whose users are the target of phishing scams.
This may seem utopian, but imagine if people weren't so easily fooled to begin with. Imagine if they fostered the mentality of hightened responsibility and critical examination of other people's claims before internet became as widespread to begin with. It's reasonable to assume that phishing would be far less of a problem.
That said, it may seem that I'm using a rather trivial example to back up such a high expectation and you might be right, especially if you consider the losses due to phishing scams "trivial". But I chose this example because it is so close to home. Pretty much everyone who uses email has encountered phishing scams and had to go through this little "evolution" process in order to be resilient to them. As time goes by it's possible phishing will become completely ineffective as people essentially become immune to such low brow attempts to scam them out of their money.
However once we've established the basic problem at this level we could up the ante and talk about something like nuclear technology and the apparent failure of humanity to NOT foster the kind of attitude that led to its destructive use on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and to NOT foster the kind of mentality that led to the cold war and nuclear armaments build up. It is again the problem of technology coming into the hands of the users who aren't quite evolved enough to use it in non-destructive ways.
This problem is one of the most basic subjects that we explore on this site and there is a lot to be said on it, as will be, in future articles.


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Advances in technology have allowed us to control our food supply in more ways than ever. It also allowed us to modify and create new food. There was a time when if you tried a food, and something had a cherry flavor, it most likely was a cherry. A time where salmon wasn't covered in artificial dyes to make it more appealing to consumers. Those times are quickly being forgotten and quality food products are quickly being replaced with cheap imitations. But what exactly does it mean when your food product contains artificial flavors? Is it really that much different than natural flavors?
Natural vs "Natural"
To make it a bit more confusing, before we begin, you need to make an important distinction. The term "natural flavor" is vaguely defined as:
a natural flavor is the essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein hydrolysate, distillate, or any product of roasting, heating or enzymolysis, which contains the flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof, whose significant function in food is flavoring rather than nutritional.
This means these natural flavors are basically a combination any of the above to trick your body and brain into thinking what you are tasting is actually what you are eating. Using this vague definition and purpose of natural flavoring, food companies use loopholes to deceive consumers into thinking that what they are eating is actually natural. However, more than 2000 chemicals are combined on average to make just 500 natural flavors. It takes about 70-80 tries to perfect the formula and trick the taste buds. They trigger all the pleasure sensors within your body, to keep you craving these foods in the future and feeling satisfied. This is what we mean by "natural". Yes, it is natural in the sense of the formal definition, however, it is not truly natural.
So what exactly is natural nowadays? Not much. The majority of the food is genetically modified and processed, the flavors that we taste are simply imitations, and the colors that we see are fake. But this does leave the small portion of food that is truly flavored naturally. Everything comes down to reading the ingredients on the label. That is your only true and best friend. For example, these protein bars, have simple to understand ingredients and they use quality ingredients without any additives. They use the actual ingredients in their recipes to flavor their food rather than lab-combined natural flavors. It is still possible to flavor food in a natural way. But until we have strict labeling laws and continue allow companies to take advantage of loopholes, it's important to only buy products that we know we can trust and to always read the labels. Otherwise, those fruit imitations in your house may be your next meal without you knowing it.
Artificial Flavors
It says it right there on the label "ARTIFICIAL flavors". Artificial meaning fake, not natural and a cheap human imitation. A
third fourth cousin of something that was actually natural and healthy. So why are people still not put off by this in their food? Have our bodies and our brains grew used to these knockoffs and has this food become the norm for us? I don't think so. While it is nearly impossible to distinguish certain tastes for our brains from natural and their lab-produced counterparts due to technology, our bodies can tell the difference. Why are health related issues on the rise, such as thyroid problems, if our technologies and medicine have advanced so much? The answer lies in the lack of exercise, introduction of new technologies, air pollution and most importantly – artificial food. Our nature has been polluted with genetically modified plants, chemicals, pesticides and so have our bodies.
Health Risks of Artifical Flavors
We wanted to call these side-effects but they are just effects or risks that you are taking when consuming them. While there are hundreds and hundreds of health risks involved with these chemicals, here are a few to name:
- brain tumors
- cancer
- dizziness
- nausea
- mental confusion
- seizures
- depression
- DNA damage
- allergies
- fatigue
- anxiety attacks
- kidney problems
- high blood pressure
The Distinction
When it comes to food labels, avoid any product that has artificial flavors in it. However, the only real difference between natural and artificial flavorings is the origin of the chemicals. Natural flavors (typically) are created from anything that is edible, while artificial flavors come from ingredients that are not edible (i.e petroleum). Although natural flavors sound better, they can still be processed in labs and other chemicals can be combined to imitate real flavors. Currently, "natural" is too vague of a definition and is not closely monitored in the food industry. Don't rely on the term natural on your packets, use common sense when buying your food, avoid processed foods, read the label and buy products with ingredients that you recognize. Avoid any kind of flavoring, but if you must choose between the two, choose natural.
Also Read: 11 Disgusting "Natural" Ingredients in Your Food


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1. Coffee Bike
Vangelis Koukidis: Good coffee and friendly staff!
2. Blue Fish
Vangelis Koukidis: High end fish restaurant just by the water, if it's windy you could get wet! Fish and seafood of very good quality, the service could be quicker. Not for a light wallet, choose this on a special day.
3. Σαντορινιός
Vangelis Koukidis: Very low cost tavern, takes you on a mental trip to some cycladic yard. The food is pretty decent, much better than the very low prices let you expect. Worth a try, and a second one as well.
4. Ciné Paris
Vangelis Koukidis: Movies and an Acropolis view to die for? Yes, please! Legendary open air cinema in Athens, right in the tourist center. Come early to find a good seat or don't come at all!
5. Solymar
Vangelis Koukidis: This one is a Mykonos legend. Right on the beach (what a beach, God!), they serve high quality international recipes and they charge the Mykonos premium for it. Not for every day, but worth a visit.
6. Alegro
Vangelis Koukidis: Pretty good breakfast and coffee right in the center or Mykonos town, right by the sea. Quick service and decent prices (for Mykonos standards).
7. Sea Satin Market
Vangelis Koukidis: Top choice. Perfect location with Little Venice as it's main view, right by the water. High quality materials, this is a (sea)food experience you will not regret having.
8. Eleni's Village Suites
Vangelis Koukidis: Nice big rooms, good breakfast buffet. Easy parking, close to lots of places and comfortably accessible. Also very clean. Budget accommodation for Mykonos' standards, a good choice.
9. Elia Beach
Vangelis Koukidis: Beautiful, long beach, with crystal clear waters and lots of water sports capabilities. 5 or 6 big hotels are here but they fit into the surroundings. Easy parking.
10. Agrari Beach
Vangelis Koukidis: Great beach, loved by locals. Small and not very easy to drive to, its waters are amazing (very similar to the nearby Elia beach) and here you can relax, unlike many Mykonos beaches.
11. Electra Village Mykonos
Vangelis Koukidis: As budget living on Mykonos goes, this is a very good choice. Clean, modern design, a nice swimming pool, very friendly people and an easy location (no sea view but hey, you don't pay for it either).
12. Liberty
Vangelis Koukidis: Awesome breakfast place. Great coffee, delicious brunch options, very professional service and a lovely view make the Mykonos pricing feel less bad. Easy parking!
13. Fragma Cafe
Vangelis Koukidis: Perfect location for a coffee. Enjoy the lake view, relax, forget about the city. Lots of space for everyone, quick service.
14. Hoxton
Vangelis Koukidis: Old favorite in Gazi area, Hoxton still knows how to rock and roll. The beer is cold, the music is awesome, the very good times have passed, but who cares? Catch a live show here.
15. Afrikana Jazz Bar
Vangelis Koukidis: Great live jazz bar, with an island feel about it. The drinks are good and the service not bad. I like that it's not trashy like all places in Gazi area, this one has a quality about it.
16. Einstein Kaffee
Vangelis Koukidis: It's an Einstein Kaffee in the Central Station, so it's easy and convenient. There are wall outlets below the couch seats on the right, hard to find.
17. Συμπόσιο
Vangelis Koukidis: It's really touristy and you know it won't ever be on your top list, not even near it, but the food is better than expected. The very friendly service helps a lot, plus the decent prices.
18. Πλάτανος
Vangelis Koukidis: Enjoy some cold coffee or a hot chocolate under the huge tree on the biggest one of Tsangarada's squares. The service is friendly and slow enough to remind you to relax. And the scenery is dreamy!
19. Liostasi
Vangelis Koukidis: Tgis is supposed to be the best taverna around Milies. And then you taste their food, and it is. Plus, they are VERY friendly and their prices are very decent.
20. Άννα, να ένα μήλο
Vangelis Koukidis: Nice coffee, drinks and desserts place in Milies. The service could be friendlier, the sweets are HUGE and yummy. Plus, the music ain't bad.
21. Meli
Vangelis Koukidis: Nice place in the nature for a coffee or a snack. You can take a hike alomgside the little stream that goes by. Relax, enjoy the fresh air, forget about everything.
22. Rainbow
Vangelis Koukidis: Fast food 101. You know it ain't healthy. You know it really could taste better. You know it most possibly ain't that clean. But: who cares? You LOVE it. Everything else can go to hell.
23. The Clumsies
Vangelis Koukidis: Now this really is a good bar. The place looks amazing (very urban-y), the service is great, the cocktails are unique and very well "planned". Ask for the one in the clay mug (umami or something)!
24. Black Duck Garden
Vangelis Koukidis: Awesome oasis in the heart of Athens. The garden is a dream, the food is high quality, the service is great amd the prices are right. This is a true jewel, I pray that it remains like that.
25. Nakama Casual Sushi Bar
Vangelis Koukidis: Pretty decent sushi restaurant. In between other options in the area, where KOI is garbage and super cheap and KENKO is delicious and someehat pricy. This one is rather cheap but it tastes good!
26. BoBo - Boheme Bourgeois
Vangelis Koukidis: Nice wine list and decent pricing. We did not eat but the menu looks interesting. The service is very friendly but also very slow. Nice outdoors space.
27. Elvis
Vangelis Koukidis: Good old school souvlaki joint, no tricks here. Open throughout the night on weekends, perfect choice for a pit-stop.
28. Lost 'n' Found
Vangelis Koukidis: Nice rock-oldies bar, has some cool live bands as well. Everyone here is very polite and the drinks are clean, so two thumbs up!
29. Saorsa
Vangelis Koukidis: Good music, nice cocktails. The outside space looks awesome for some totally relaxed coffee or drinks.
30. Bed & Bath
Vangelis Koukidis: Good prices, decent quality products. The service is ok.
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text:
A memorable Goodwood weekend has drawn to a close with Jaguar remaining the focus of the Festival as 50 years of the E-type were celebrated.
An estimated 180,000 people attended over the four days of the event, breaking previous records for the Festival – now in its 19th year.
Familiar faces from the world of athletics, motorsport and television joined Jaguar in its celebrations.
Friday saw former F1 driver and current BBC commentator Martin Brundle take to the Goodwood Hill in the XJR-9. On Saturday, American talk show host, avid car enthusiast and collector, Jay Leno, drove the new, 550PS XKR-S as well as the thundering Group 44 E-type race car while on Sunday, British Olympic hopeful and Jaguar Academy of Sport Ambassador Jessica Ennis took on the Hill as she rode in the XKR-S.
The 28-metre E-type sculpture continued to wow the crowds at the Festival along with the spectacular range of vehicles both in action and on static display.
The event allows spectators unprecedented access to vehicles and exhibits on display, with enthusiasts of all ages being able to get up close to priceless cars from the past including the beautiful XJ13 as well as from the future, in the form of the C-X75.
If you missed it this year, then set a reminder in your diary for 2012.