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Sapphique || by: C. Fisher
Author: Catherine Fisher
Pages: 462
Dessert: Ferrero Rocher- This book is bittersweet and irresistible, hard on the outside, and soft within.
Website: http://www.catherine-fisher.com/pages/books/sapphique/synopsis.asp
Official Summary: After his escape from the sentient prison, Incarceron, Finn finds that the Realm is not at all what he expected, and he does not know whether he is to be its king, how to free his imprisoned friends, or how to stop Incarceron's quest to be free of its own nature.
So what happened?: Since a combined 910 pages from both books packs a lot of punch, I'll give you the gist of what's happening in non fantasy terms: Incarceron is a prison that is "alive" in a sense. It thinks, plots, and desires just like like any human, and watches the prisoners within itself through glowing red eyes. Inside the prison, is a teenage boy named Finn who believes that he was not created by the prison. Throughout the book Incarceron, he and several of his friends, Keiro, Attia, and Gildas strive to work their way through Incarceron's ever-changing chambers. Meanwhile, in a world outside the prison, exists a princess-to-be named Claudia. She is the daughter of the Warden of Incarceron, and arranged to be married to a despicable and unmannerly prince. In order to slip out of a loveless marriage, she and her sickly tutor, Jared, devote themselves to unlocking Incarceron's secrets. Through two magic keys, both Finn and Claudia come in contact with each other. Little do they know, their worlds are closer than they seem. Eventually, Claudia discovers a way to enter the prison, but exiting is an entirely new dilemma. Once she arrives, her stay is short-lived, and even with both keys, she is only able to transport Finn and herself back to the outside world leaving Keiro and Attia behind to fend for themselves. Finn is now outside. He can see the stars and feel the warmth of the sun. But all is not well. Claudia has latched onto the idea that he is the lost prince, Giles, to whom she was first betrothed to at the young age of seven. Sapphique begins several months after Finn's arrival to the outside world. Attia is first seen performing a magic act with a crazed magician named Rix, who claims to own the enchanted glove used by Sapphique (a legendary man rumored to have escaped Incareron). Together, Keiro and Attia team up to steal the glove. But there's just one problem, Incarceron wants the glove too. Meanwhile, Finn is not much happier in the outside world than within the prison. He is overwhelmed with guilt for leaving his friends behind, and living up to the expectations of a prince are not easy. He has no recollection of his childhood, and the Queen of the kingdom wants him dead. During his coronation, an elaborate and princely figure halts the ceremony, claiming to be the real Prince Giles. He's the image of a perfect prince, and Finn and Claudia do everything in their power to convince the court that Finn is the true heir to the throne. As the story progresses numerous political plots take place, leaving the realm on the brink of civil war. Keiro and Attia fill up a few chapters with action-packed scenes and close encounters, but eventually wind up in the hands of Rix, who wants revenge. Threats are uttered, swords are raised, but in all this turmoil, Keiro's fluid speech unveils his destiny as Rix, the enchanter/illusionist/magician's apprentice. Back in the outside world, Claudia and Finn flee from the Queen's plans to execute them. Upon arriving home, both she and Finn work profusely to bring her father back from his self-imprisonment inside Incarceron. Accidentally, Claudia and Keiro switch places in both worlds, just as Incarceron is destroying itself. Finn is hopelessly lost, but with the help of Keiro, they are able to negotiate before war completely destroys them all. Inside Incarceron, the Warden, Claudia, Rix, and Attia are plotting against the prison itself. Incarceron's power grows imminent and unpredictable, thus sending waves of uncertainty and destruction to the outside world. However, Fisher has so cleverly incorporated the thread of a third story, Jared's. Claudia's loyal tutor has seen visions of Sapphique, and is convinced that with Sapphique's blessing and bestowed power, he will be able to put Incarceron back in place. All the while, Fisher expresses the theme "size is relative." It is discovered that the entire prison and it's vastness are smaller than the size of a sugar cube in the outside world. Everybody within Incarceron has been collapsed to the millionth of a nanometer. In the end, Jared realizes this, and enters Incarceron. The prisoner's believe that he is their fabled Sapphique who has come to free them. He later creates a door for Claudia and Attia to exit, but the Warden chooses to stay behind in the prison to help restore order.
My Review: Sapphique is the sequel to Catherine Fisher's Incarceron, however it's nearly impossible to understand this complex action-packed fantasy without first reading its predecessor. Fisher is nothing shy of a great fantasy writer, but if you're not patient enough to sit through a 462 page book and reread every other passage to understand the multiple twists, turns, and made-up fantasy words, Sapphique isn't going to be a breeze. Although I do like fantasy, it's quit difficult for me to understand at times, because the author has created a whole new world with unfamiliar terms and imaginative scenarios that are sometimes impossible to picture. This was the case with both Incarceron and Sapphique. I do, however, commend Fisher for her clever relations to science and mythology. I loved the incorporated physics and fairytales, even if they were only a loose rendition. Although this book isn't classified as Dystopian, I found that I was attracted to its dark and futuristic feel. Finn and Claudia's worlds are controlled by a series of rules known as "Protocol" which do not allow common folk access to technology, and they must live their lives according to the determined "Era," which in this case, is a cross between Medieval and Victorian times.This morning while finishing the book up, I wanted desperately to put it down in hopes of finishing some overdue chores. To my excitement, however, every chapter ended with an unexpected twist that manifested itself so cleverly, and I was compelled to move forward, chapter by chapter. Incarceron and Sapphique turned out to be much more brilliant on a scientific scale than I expected, and Fisher's descriptive writing style created a magical atmosphere. However, the ending felt somewhat lacking in a sense that I couldn't decide whether I was happy or sad for the characters. There was surprisingly no romance in the story, but the author portrayed fear, lust, and terror quite perfectly.
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Filed under: Photos, Plant documentation | Tags: adenostoma fasciculatum, artemisia californica, black sage, buck brush shrub, california native plants, canyon sunflower, castor bean plant, ceanothus cuneatus, cecilia garcia, chamise, coastal sagebrush, flora, foeniculum vulgare, fuchsia flowered gooseberry, herbal cigarettes, hiking, horehound, local trails, los angeles trails, marah macrocarpus, marrubium vulgare, milk thistle, mystery plants, nancy hoover pohl overlook, nicotiana glauca, oaks, plant identification, plant pictures, rhus ovata, ribes speciosum, ricinus communis, salvia mellifera, santa monica mountains, silybum marianum, sugar bush, sweet fennel, tree tobacco, u-vanu trail, venegasia carpesioides, wild cucumber
In the Santa Monica Mountains off Mulholland Drive just west of Laurel Canyon is the Nancy Hoover Pohl Overlook, one of my favorite places to hike. There are a couple different trails one can take from the overlook, one which connects to multiple other trail options in the area and one that is less than a mile long and dead-ends behind a neighborhood in the hills. The latter I believe is called the U-Vanu trail, but it's hard to find an authoritative source for that–maps I've seen aren't perfectly clear & the most confident sounding reference to it is from LAist here. Though the U-Vanu trail is short, it has a pretty diverse repertoire of flora to display, and I took all the following pictures in this lengthy post on the afternoon of February 20th, 2010. If you happen to download or post them anywhere, please credit to "D. Bene Tleilax" and a link back here would be nice. Thanks!
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Sometimes I'm not very good at distinguishing between species of a particular type of plant; I am also still very much an amateur with identification in general. If you see that I've made any errors please do me a favor and post your corrections!
First up are the mystery plants. Plants can be pretty difficult to search for when you don't know their names and I haven't had any success with these ones. Any tips would be appreciated.
This one has a somewhat similar growth habit to the Fuchsia Flowered Gooseberry (seen below) in the way its stalks protrude around its territory.
One of the most singularly prominent plants along the trail, there is only one of these creatures and it has staked out its claim on the steep hillside that descends into the canyon below. I am really curious about this particular plant. The leaves are very large and seem fuzzy, though I haven't touched them since they are growing out the side of a cliff.
These leaves look really yummie to me, but I wouldn't dare eat them without knowing what they are.
What is it?
The leaves look different in both of these pictures but I'm pretty sure they're the same species of plant, the bottom just looks younger and less jumbled to me. In the bottom photo the leaves are shaped like hearts, much like sunflowers. Note the interesting and fairly large green berries in the top photo, which also sorta look like they could be flower buds except for how large some of them are.
These spiky leaves have a really nice light green color. They look really cool and I can't wait to find out what this is.
Another mysterious young spiny herb I'm quite fond of.
These seem pretty clearly in the Asteraceae family but I'm not very familiar with flower species.
I'm not up on my grasses either…
These leaves look like seashells to me. The lighter green ones in the middle were actually that color even though it looks like it's a lighting thing.
The way the leaves all reach to the sky makes me think this is toyon (heteromeles arbutifolia), though this is a relatively new species to me and I could be mistaken.
This seems like some sort of oak, though I'm not sure.
I think this might be a coast live oak (quercus agrifolia) based on the way the leaves all curve down, but it's really hard for me to distinguish oaks right now since I haven't studied them much and many of them seem quite similar.
This appears to be a fresh patch of young milk thistle (silybum marianum) which hasn't yet put up any stalks.
At first I thought this was laurel sumac (malosma laurina) since it has leaves very obviously shaped like taco shells. Then when flipping through a library copy of Flowering Plants of the Santa Monica Mountains I happened across sugar bush (rhus ovata) and saw that the flower style is significantly different from laurel sumac, and indeed that is actually what I had found.
The top is black sage (salvia mellifera), the bottom coastal sagebrush (artemisia californica), both ubiquitous shrubs in this area. Before I knew what sagebrush was I called it the "bubblegum plant" because of its strong gum-like scent. It's one of my favorites. It's also one of the plants I like to smoke when I roll herbal cigarettes from plants I harvest myself (mixed with mugwort, which can also be found along this trail though I didn't take any pictures of it).
Speaking of smoking, this is tree tobacco (nicotiana glauca), the bottom being a handsome youngster. I've never actually tried smoking this even though I would like to, because I can't find enough reliable information on it being safe to do so. I've seen references to it being smoked normally, but also seen references to it making your head feel like it's going to explode. It's tempting, but the fact that it has definitely killed people who ingested it in other ways gives me pause.
The castor bean plant (ricinus communis) knows a bit about killing people, as its seeds are highly poisonous. As the genus name suggests, it contains the toxin known as "ricin". It kinda looks like a wicked plant, doesn't it? I think it looks really cool, and before I knew what it was it always stood out to me since it looks so strange and unique.
Another deadly but neat looking plant, the wild cucumber (marah macrocarpus) has large spiky green seed pods containing seeds that were once used by the Chumash in a tea to peacefully euthanize those who wouldn't be able to recover from some sort of accident that had befallen them, according to medicine woman Cecilia Garcia. The bottom picture displays a blurry and curly tendril grasping onto the branch of another plant, an easy way to spot this common vine.
I'm usually more into weeds, herbs, and other plants which have definite practical usages than wildflowers, but ultimately I'm interested in learning all of the plants which grow around me. The canyon sunflower (venegasia carpesioides) is a pretty looking native and I love its large, healthy looking leaves.
Another new one for me, which I believe is the buck brush shrub (ceanothus cuneatus). It has taken me a while to see the differences between all the shrubs of the chaparral plant community; at first glance they all appear somewhat similar and non-distinct. Once I really started paying attention and focusing on their individual traits, they each became much more distinguished.
This is chamise (adenostoma fasciculatum).
The magnificent fuchsia flowered gooseberry (ribes speciosum). I love the way the stalks all protrude from the center, it looks very spidery and tentacled in a way. This really is a beautiful plant. The hanging flowers, dark, glossy leaves, and bright red or pink thorns make it quite unique and one of my favorite discoveries. Not to mention the berries that develop are edible.
Horehound (marrubium vulgare). There is lots of this weed along the trail. I like it.
Finally we have sweet fennel (foeniculum vulgare), another common weed of the area. A long time ago I ordered fennel seeds in bulk for culinary usage, and it was a while before I discovered that they came from this plant (or one of its relatives). You can break off stalks of this plant and chew them right then and there, and it will fill your mouth with a licorice taste. Careful though, as it is said to look very similar to poison hemlock, which will fill your mouth with a death taste right then and there, or at least within about 15 minutes of horrid suffering. I've seen poison hemlock many times and to me it looks pretty different, but I suppose similar enough for everyone to always warn about it when talking about fennel. By the way, that dead stalk in the bottom picture is from a past generation of the plant–they can get pretty thick and tall.
I hope this collection of plants I've spotted along the trail is useful for anyone who may be trying to identify plants they've seen, though of course it is by no means comprehensive and I am no expert. The reason I made this post is mainly because nobody else has done something like this for that particular trail or portion of the mountains. I wish somebody had, because it makes learning about the plants you see on hikes much easier if you can look up pictures someone has taken from that exact location and match them to what you saw when you were there. Perhaps I will do more of this in the future.
Filed under: Narratives | Tags: abandoned houses, adventures, cleaning up other people's trash, diary entries, exploration, finding things, foraging, herbs, hiking, local trails, nature, nopales, opuntia, recycling, wandering around, Wild Foods
May 21st, 2009:
Two sunny days ago, my companion and I embarked upon our weekly ritual of traversing the various trails of our local mountain wilderness. We arrived at a location previously unexplored by ourselves, and of the few possible paths accessible to foot-travel, we decided to take the westernmost trail. The entrance to this trail lies subtly amongst the scrub brush behind a half-circle of stone which serves as a bench for those who ascended to this point merely to look out into the canyon, a view which is admittedly quite fine. Because the trailhead could be easily overlooked by most, it in fact stood out to me as one which ought to be explored with immediate haste.
The trail followed a rather sharp decline down a northern facing slope. After perhaps a mite more than 5 minutes of steady travel, the path flattened out for merely a couple of yards, largely beneath accommodating trees with horizontal branches perfect for resting upon for a spell if one were weary on his way back up. As indicated by the ancient, fading black spray paint which decorated nearly all of the trees' surface area with now indecipherable text and the surrounding multitude of much younger bottles and cans once filled with cheap American beer, the spot had indeed been used as an out-of-the-way respite. One traveler had even left a zippable sweatshirt behind, perhaps as a gift to the tree in exchange for its temporary shelter.
At this point, my companion and I decided that the road to the canyon bottom was too steep to further descend without walking sticks. Using a black plastic bag from a liquor store conveniently left behind, we proceeded instead to gather all of the aluminum cans, as I am in the consistent habit of doing wherever I happen across significant quantities of them. Aluminum is one of my most favored metals, from a purely practical perspective. Its utility value is high, and when converted into appropriate forms of energy–a process executed with fair simplicity–it propels both my vehicle and myself with the fuel it provides.
After depositing our unexpected bounty of metal into the trunk of my motor carriage, we proceeded down the easternmost trail. Following this trail, we walked upon a path which was on one side an often precipitous drop to the canyon floor, and on the other a hill raising itself at various grades. Throughout the trail was a wide variety of herbaceous growth, most of which are common and considered weeds. Many of them I could not yet identify, having still much to learn in my studies, but I will provide a small list of those whose names I know: sweet fennel, milk thistle, mugwort, blessed thistle, sagebrush, horehound, tree tobacco, and castor oil plants.
The trail ended after less than a mile near a group of unoccupied houses, mostly obscured from view by the vine-covered growth on the close hillside. A shaded staircase made of half meter long dirt steps reinforced by wooden blocks steeply ascended into a backyard which featured a swimming pool completely greened by algae. We descended stairs on the opposite side of the pool and walked around to the front of the house which brought the others into view. A cursory glance noted that two had suffered severe structural damage, perhaps as the result of a previous earthquake or natural erosion. The two with damage were quite easily accessible, with no efforts made whatsoever to block entrance to their interiors. The more elevated of the two, however, looked as though it would be a significant physical risk to wander through. We therefore entered the less damaged one and began to walk through its rooms, examining the remains.
Magazines were strewn about each room, popular ones dealing with very surface-level fashion trends and sex advice. Drawers remained, empty and without dressers to plug into. In the kitchen, vines had covered the windows and let only a thin and greenly tinted light into the room–a very attractive effect which I would consider worthy of designing for on purpose. Many things had been left behind in the various cupboards and drawers. Among the objects we retrieved were an unused spool of white thread with needle attached, a tomato-shaped pincushion filled with pins, four cans of vegetarian-suitable baked beans, a new box of Earl Gray tea, a tin emblazoned with the British flag containing cigarette rolling papers, a ball of rope-like twine, and some fabric. There were more items worth taking, however we did not wish to burden ourselves too much for the hike back and so perhaps another visit shall be in order for the future.
Upon our return to my vehicle, I took a square of cardboard and a knife and, grasping with the cardboard in my left hand, proceeded to slice off one freshly tweening cladode from three different opuntia specimens in the area, distributing my harvest among them out of respect for their new growth. We then vacated the premises and retired to our abode. After despining and chopping the opuntia cladodes, called "nopales" in Mexican cuisine, I added them to a pot filled with the canned beans we had acquired from the deserted residence, wherein they served as a delicious and nutritious vegetable in this meal which was fully and freely provided to us by the day's adventuring.
Filed under: Narratives | Tags: adventures, bicycling, dandelions, exploration, finding things, foraging, public scoldings, wandering around, Wild Foods
June 8th, 2009:
Today I embarked upon a mission of exploration throughout the topography of nearby urbania, accompanied only by my bicycle. This particular mission lasted a total of five and three quarter hours. I brought a small bag of peanuts but no money or tools, as I was confident if I needed anything for some reason, I would find items which would help me. The universe frequently provides me with resources in unexpected ways, consistently enough to almost count on it. Other than thoroughly decorating the streets with my energetic trails and increasing my general knowledge of the local territory, this mission provided a few notable elements which I shall describe below.
First was the discovery of a small collection of accidentally discarded items which appear to have formerly been possessed by some sort of middle-aged "bum". These were lying in disarray halfway on and off a sidewalk. There were a few calling cards, a bunched up gaudy thing that used to be a cheap necklace but was now hopelessly entangled, three almost-full lighters, a ticket for drinking in public dated three days ago (indicating the ticketee as a male in his forties), and two giftcards. One was for a store I can't recall but had no interest in, the other for Starbucks– I took the latter, leaving the other as a potential gift for someone else who might find it. I suspected the cards might have some value still, because the loss of these items did not seem intentional, which I judged by the ticket and the fuel levels of the lighters. I also took the necklace bunch (I'm fond of such things), two of the lighters (the third was covered in grime), and went to the nearest payphone to check the balance of the giftcard. It had $2.75 left, and later in the day I used it to refresh myself with an iced green tea from a company I would never patronize otherwise, guilty as it is for its deplorable role in the homogenization of culture and aggressive approach to stamping out independent competition.
Much to my elation, on my way home I discovered a community of flourishing dandelions in a nice little unused patch of space short-walled off from the sidewalk and adjacent to a rundown looking motel. The green of their leaves was healthy and vibrant and they were in various states of growth, many having already gone to seed, with others soon to convert their yellow flowers into the familiar white spherical puff of pappus-equipped seeds. They were poking out of several cracks in the cement and between the paving and the side of the motel, with a few young ones growing in a weedy square patch of loose dirt. Using a nearby discarded plastic bag from 7-Eleven, I gathered leaves from many different plants, being sure to not take an amount that would cripple any given individual one of them. This is to ensure they remain viable for future gatherings. I uprooted a few of the young ones, as the dandelion's thick taproot is very valuable as well. As payment for my harvest I took several seed wands and blew them around many locations to help the dandelions establish themselves elsewhere–much, I'm sure, to many people's ignorance-induced chagrin. Were they aware of the myriad nutritional and medicinal benefits this plant provides, they would relish its presence.
As I proceeded to work my way back home, I rode through a neighborhood filled with very nice–and expensive–houses. Ambling down the street, I noticed an alley which had a wall almost completely covered in perhaps 50 brightly colored neon posterboard rectangles, each with writing on them. Thinking this must be some sort of school project from a nearby private school, or perhaps someone's fun decorations, I approached the wall to read what it had to say. Interestingly, nearly every single one said almost the exact same thing, but worded in different ways with a unique message every once in a while. All of them were accusatory declamations against the person who apparently lived in the house opposite the alley from the colorful wall of disapproval. The main topic was four cameras which were located around the person's heavily fortified property, pointing at the sidewalks and the alley. The author of the posterboards was very upset that people were being filmed against their will and in violation of their rights by the "coward" and "peeping tom" who installed them. The writings emphasized that he is purposefully focusing on children and that one of the cameras is aimed at a playground across the street, implying the man is a pedophilic pervert.
This was a very strange sight in what seemed to otherwise be a calm neighborhood populated by well-off people. I looked at the camera positioning, and while they are indeed filming public territory, they could also simply be security cameras installed by a paranoid and overprotective property owner. However, in order to receive such a virulent public rebuking, I suspect the issue goes much deeper than surface appearances. I rode on and, upon arriving home, made a delicious sandwich with the dandelion leaves I had acquired. Thus conclude the mild tales of another day's experiences, garnered while wandering almost aimlessly, going in whatever direction any fleet whim propels me.


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* Euro zone auctions early next year seen as critical
* Single currency close to 10-year low versus yen
By Nia Williams
LONDON, Dec 30 (Reuters) - The euro slipped against the dollar on Friday, ending the year on a downbeat note after breaking below key support levels, and looked set to remain under pressure in 2012 from the euro zone debt crisis.
The single currency was down 0.3 percent at $1.2916 in thin year-end trade. It recouped some losses from Thursday when it sank to a 15-month low of $1.2858 after high yields at an Italian bond auction prompted euro selling. Read More


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You can attend either in person at the Ocean of Compassion Buddhist Center or online. Details on how to join online will be provided after your REGISTRATION HERE.
Please, watch Karuna's introduction for the upcoming LIVE-STREAM CLASS "Ask the Buddhist Therapist". Buddhism is a Psychology, why wouldn't we have this discussion.
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- The new generation of storefront designs feature contemporary web design themes with over a dozen templates you can customize
- SmartStore Builder's advanced customization tools provide administration access to edit the SmartStore sites' HTML and CSS
- SmartStores use the latest responsive technologies (HTML5 and CSS3) to allow storefronts to scale smoothly from desktop to tablet and mobile devices.
DSFdesign StudioOffer templated products that can be customized such as: postcards, business cards, banners and posters.
- DSFdesign Studio™ is a web-based design tool you can use to create your own library of product templates, like business cards, flyers and banners
- "On the fly" design functionality allows customers to edit and customize print products by adding text copy, editing titles and inserting images
Variable Data ProcessingCreate highly customized data-driven VDP campaigns.
- From business cards to postcards and more, VDP software includes advanced features such as the ability to customize products based on rules-driven personalization
- Whether you are looking to integrate EFI VDP powered by DirectSmile into your current mailing workflow, or utilize the Direct Mail Automation feature powered by AccuZIP, our technology has you covered for all of your mailing needs
Visual Product BuilderCreate ad hoc products, obtain quotes and submit orders.
- With the Visual Product Builder, buyers can upload a file, select the print and binding options, add, delete and rearrange pages, obtain a quote, proof their job and submit their order all in one intuitive online interface
Online job submission and management
- Order creation: Digital StoreFront provides an end-to-end workflow solution from order creation and the checkout process through order tracking
- Order animation: Automated production to Fiery and integration to MIS for planning, scheduling, costing and production
- Order management: Buyers can create orders, check production status and reorder products in one location Shopping cart, payment methods and approvals
- Shopping cart: Digital StoreFront makes it easy for users to order products through the storefront with an intuitive checkout process
- Payment methods: Digital StoreFront provides the option to pay by Cost Center, purchase order, custom accounting codes as well as credit card transaction processing
- Approvals: You can set up workflows with multiple levels of approval at the dollar amount and product level to automatically notify the designated person of pending orders requiring approval
Hardware Requirements*
1.8+ GHz dual core processor
Hard Disk
DVD-ROM drive
External Ports
1 USB for software dongle, 1 Ethernet 10/100/1000 Base TNIC
Monitor that supports 1024 x 768 or higher resolution
*For the requirements for installing Digital StoreFront in a DMZ environment see the document IT Requirements for Running Digital StoreFront in the Digital StoreFront documentation folder on the server on which Digital StoreFront is installed.
Digital StoreFront Server
Note: Digital StoreFront should be installed and run on a dedicated separate server.
Software & Component Requirements
Operating System
Note: The server must be set up as an Application Server and not as a File Server for Digital StoreFront to install properly.
For Digital StoreFront site administration
Note: Please install the 32-bit version of Java even though you are on a 64-bit machine because the DSFdesign Studio uses Flex, which does not support 64- bit Java.
For Server Side PDF Conversion
Microsoft Office 2007, 2010, or 2013 Professional (32-bit) with .NET programmability option set to "Run from My Computer" for all applications in th Office suite.
For File Preflighting
Java Runtime Environment (JRE) 18.104.22.168
Web Browser
Internet Explorer 8, 9, 10, 11 Google Chrome 40, 42, 43
Note: HTML5 is not supported on Internet Explorer 8 and 9.
Database Server
Microsoft SQL Server Express 2014 (64-bit) is included with the installation and w be installed if no local SQL components are present on the install machine.
Important Note: Digital StoreFront 8.x requires SQL Server 2012 (64-bit) or SQL Server 2014 (64-bit). If you complete the default installation of Digital StoreFront which installs Microsoft SQL Server Express 2014, you will not later be able to configure Digital StoreFront to run with a lower version of SQL Server database cluster (e.g., a 2014 database cannot be mounted in a 2012 environment).
.NET Framework
Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5 is required
MicroPress Support Requirements
To enable MicroPress integration version 7 or higher is needed
Requirements for MIS connectivity through the PNI (PrintNet Integrator; note the Pace MIS does not use the PNI)
The computer on which you install the PNI must meet the following requirement
Outbound access to the Internet, an "always on" type of connection
† Prices and specifications subject to change without notice. Actual prices are determined by individual dealers and may vary.
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text:
Dalebrook Supplies Ltd,, designer of melamine tableware for the food services sector, has selected a range of Autostore V6 warehouse management and control solutions to handle all SKU movements at its UK hub in Witham, Essex. A single site, single client Autostore implementation, the Dalebrook WMS rollout features RF connectivity, ERP integration and will handle the company's bulk stock import and distribution operations.
Autostore is the UK's leading warehouse management solution, developed by award-winning supply chain integration specialists Central Systems & Automation Ltd. Autostore will integrate with Dalebrook's enterprise business systems to maximise the efficiency of all materials handling and related sub-systems in real-time, providing a uniform interface to - and control of - Dalebrook's warehouse operations. Containers arrive from China carrying un-palletised bulk stock that spans the Dalebrook range. Autostore will control receipt, picking, packing and shipment based on EAN barcodes and SKU storage locations plus will manage all movements of stock within the warehouse.
Jennie Knott Austin is Managing Director at Dalebrook Supplies Ltd: "Autostore is the key to connecting our Chinese manufacturing operation in Guangdong Province and our UK hub with our customers across 70 countries worldwide. It will help reduce risk, improve efficiency and accuracy while giving us the enhanced process control, space optimisation and the business future-proofing we need to drive growth and competitive edge".
Andrew McKaig is Commercial Director at Central Systems & Automation Ltd: "We're delighted to be working with a market leader like Dalebrook. We have a proven record in warehouse control and management across all environments, helping our clients optimise their businesses for leaner, more efficient operation that delivers predictable costs and superior productivity".
Established in 1945, Dalebrook Supplies Ltd was the first company to introduce melamine food display products to the UK catering industry and is a global leader in the sector. Dalebrook's product range is used in food service, retail and merchandise sectors and the company's clients range from hotels and contract caterers to supermarkets and zoos. Clients include: Asda, Tesco, Carrefour, Holiday Inn, Starbucks, Waitrose and Cafe Nero.


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Archive for the 'Baseball' Category
Pretend baseball time
I stocked up on Coke Zero, figs, and rye matzah yesterday and spent the afternoon in a conference room at the TSN Radio 690 for the annual Irrational League draft and bitchfest.
I took an unusual tack with my keepers this year in two respects. I kept no pitchers. Any pitchers I would have kept would have been barely equal in value to my hitter keepers. Since hitters are more reliable than pitchers, it's an easy decision to keep the bats and cut the arms loose, even if it is Mat Latos.
The second thing I did differently was to pay at least a little attention to positional scarcity. My decision on my last two keepers came down to three choices: Starling Marte; Aaron Hill; and Yadier Molina. I kept the infielder and catcher even though Marte has a higher ceiling.
Ultimately, I kept Matt Kemp, Matt Holliday, David Wright, Jay Bruce, Hill, and Molina. I went into the draft hoping to grab the first drafted pitcher with my #3 pick. That's how I ended up with Roy Halladay. It's a calculated risk.
This is a transition years for NL-only leagues, since we lost two teams. Yes, two. The Astros are in the AL now and so are nearly all the decent Marlins. It was deep into the draft before any of us drafted a Marlin besides Giancarlo Stanton and Steve Cishek. The loss of the Astros takes 5400 AB out of the league, or roughly 6% of the available total. I'm not sure enough teams compensated for that in the draft.
I'm happy with my picks, although I have no real first-baseman for a few months. My roster and predictions:
C: Yadier Molina: .285, 15 HR, 70 R, 75 RBI, 5 SB
C: Devin Mesoraco: .245, 10 HR, 30 R, 30 RBI
1B: Logan Morrison: .255, 15 HR, 55 R, 55 RBI
2B: Aaron Hill: .270, 20 HR, 80 R, 65 RBI, 10 SB
SS: Chris Pennington: .255, 5 HR, 40 R, 40 RBI, 10 SB
3B: David Wright: .280, 20 HR, 75 R, 75 RBI, 10 SB
CI: John Mayberry: .250, 15 HR, 50 R, 60 RBI, 5 SB
MI: Darwin Barney: .270, 5 HR, 60 R, 55 RBI, 5 SB
OF: Matt Holliday: .290, 25 HR, 95 R, 95 RBI, 5 SB
OF: Matt Kemp: .285, 30 HR, 90 R, 100 RBI, 15 SB
OF: Jay Bruce: .260, 35 HR, 85 R, 100 RBI, 5 SB
OF: John Jay: .290, 10 HR, 70 R, 60 RBI, 10 SB
OF: David DeJesus: .265, 10 HR, 80 R, 50 RBI, 5 SB
UT: Denard Span: .270, 5 HR, 75 R, 45 RBI, 15 SB
UT: Collin Cowgill: .255, 10 HR, 45 R, 45 RBI, 10 SB
I have Jerry Hairston filling a roster spot while Logan Morrison mends. Yes, that's the Astros effect. Other than that and John Mayberry, everyone else at least starts with a full-time job.
Last year, I predicted totals of .270, 225 HR, 910 R, 900 RBI, and 140 SB. I wound up with .280, 228 HR, 908 R, 865 RBI, and 130 SB. I earned 37 points instead of the predicted 46, which I thought was optimistic – but Matt Kemp missed a third of the year with injuries.
This year, I'm looking forward to .270, 230 HR, 985 R, 950 RBI, and 110 SB. My projections tell me that's good for clear first-place finishes in runs and RBI, strong second-place finishes in average and home runs, and a middle of the pack finish in stolen bases. I'm going to be conservative and estimate 42 points.
Despite going into the draft with no pitchers, I came out with a fairly strong pitching staff. I have solid starters and nobody too terrible to ruin the year, which is a big problem on some other teams. I snagged some familiar names. Latos, Estrada, and Fiers finished the year with me last year.
SP: Mat Latos: 13 W, 165 K, 3.80 ERA; 1.25 WHIP
SP: Roy Halladay: 13 W, 145 K, 3.45 ERA, 1.16 WHIP
SP: Marco Estrada: 12 W, 150 K, 3.65 ERA; 1.20 WHIP
SP: Mike Fiers: 12 W, 145 K, 4.00 ERA, 1.30 WHIP
P: Edwin Jackson: 13 W, 160 K, 3.95 ERA, 1.30 WHIP
P: Juan Nicasio: 10 W, 120 K, 4.25 ERA, 1.30 WHIP
RP: Chris Capuano: 6 W, 70 K, 3.60 ERA, 1.20 WHIP
RP: J.J. Putz: 30 Sv, 4 W, 65 K, 3.00 ERA, 1.15 WHIP
RP: Jason Motte: 25 Sv, 4 W, 65 K, 2.80 ERA, 1.15 WHIP
RP: Mark Melancon: 5 Sv, 3 W, 55 K, 2.90 ERA, 1.15 WHIP
Waiting for injuries to heal are Francisco Liriano and my man-crush, Corey Luebke. I also have Taylor Skaggs (another Angel refugee from last year) for those who believe in pitching prospects. I only believe in them when the option is Jason Marquis.
Liriano when healthy will replace Nicasio, I suspect, unless there's an injury.
My projections give me good but not great WHIP and ERA in the second to fourth-place range. Let's call that two third-place finishes for 16 points. I should expect 90 wins, 60 saves, and 1,140 Ks. Normally that's middle of the pack in saves and upper third in wins and strikeouts. This year, the cumulative stats will be harder to come by, so I may finish slightly better than that. Call it fifth, second, and third respectively. Pitching points total to 39.
Hmmm, 39 and 42 points sum to a league championship, as long as I only suffer the standard injury losses. We'll see.
Bonus cleaning tip:
Ever burn sugar or milk in a pot so badly that you think of throwing the pot away? I was reducing some balsamic vinegar when it turned on me and carbonized, welding itself to the inside of a saucepan. ONline hints told me to try Tide or bleach. Neither worked and neither did generic CLR. I had an idea, though, and that worked: use spray-on oven cleaner! Let the pot soak in for a few hours and the mess wipes up easily.
Loose ends
It hasn't been a great two weeks, overall.
- Old man without driver's licence opens the door of the cab he's riding in. The cab is in the left lane and Nibbler (with me) is in the right, waiting to make a right turn. Nibbler's driver door has a small but perceptible dent and scrape. While waiting for the cops to show up to make a report to force the old man to pay for the damage, I hold my wallet and iPhone in the same hand and the wallet's money clip gouges a scratch in the iPhone screen. Two hours later, the nice police officer convinces me not to write a report and wait for the cabbie to come back.
- I receive a vinyl badge I ordered for Nibbler's flank. The postman bends the envelope to put it in my mail slot despite the large "DO NOT BEND" warning on the mailing label. I now have an irreparably creased vinyl sticker. Canada Post may or may not reimburse me.
- Someone broke into Nibbler and rifled through the car's contents. My sunglasses and softball bat are missing.
- A blue minivan with Ontario plates BMLN 401 (or close to that) drifts into my inside lane on Cote-Saint-Luc Rd. just before Wilson. I avoid being hit by the van, but my passenger side window explodes into a dozen fragments as it connects with a parked car. The parked car suffers nothing but a few scratches on its mirror. The van drives away. I leave a note on the parked car.
- My Irrational League baseball team finishes in sixth place. I estimated .275, 225 HR, 910 R, 900 RBI, and 140 SB for 46 points. I finished with .280, 228 HR, 908 R, 865 RBI, and 130 SB but that was only worth 37 points. Another 40 RBI would have gained me only one point. The big blow in hitting was Jason Bartlett, who I thought would get me 20 SB but got me none. While my ERA and WHIP were as good as predicted, losing six starters was too big a hole to climb out of with respect to wins and strikeouts.
- I had forgotten my softball bat at a game. It wasn't stolen from the car. I have it back.
The fantasy baseball roller coaster
I was flying high three weeks ago, touching third place. Then my pitching took a vacation for a week, losing seven points and sending me plummeting to ninth.
On the bright side, I almost got to pick up Adrian Gonzalez. I had second pick, though, and opted for yet another pitcher, Tyler Skaggs. That was fortunate as I lost another starter this week when Pittsburgh dumped Erik Bedard. All is not quite lost, though, as I've regained four of those lost points in the last four days.
I have a headache. Please excuse me for not posting the list of stats. I'm sure one or two of you are disappointed.
Elvi and the girls are on the road to Chicago where they will attend Chicon 7, the 70th Worldcon. The boys are staying home to go to high school, sit around in underwear, and pee in the dining room.
My hand is healing nicely. The infection is down to resembling a pimple about a centimetre in diameter. The wound is still there but healing. I should be OK for the flag-football championship game tonight if my knees hold up. I've lost four pounds this summer, whcih is a nice change from the year on the gimpy ACL.
I've been meaning to put up a post of all the animals I took photos of in Maine. Unfortunately, I didn't think to take a pic of the squid or mackerel.
Bonus name-dropping:
Students to whom I lectured about Wikipedia may remember this story (scroll down to the changes in 2007).
The "in the final turn" baseball post
I'm a week late on this, but things have been happening (see previous post) and Elvi and I spent three days in Boston so that she could attend an Amanda Palmer concert. Subsequently, we toured Beacon Hill, Harvard Square, and met my old WarBirds crony Tone to take the Rangefinder Challenge.
Currently, I'm on a porch on Lake Winnipesaukee while a Christian faith retreat goes on around me. I suspect I am the only atheist Jew here.
A week late on what? On a fantasy baseball update. Don't you read headlines?
One week ago, I had fallen to eighth place, which sounds worse than it is. The spread between third and tenth is less than ten points, and the standings are dynamic day to day. I was able to grab young phenom Starling Marte with my pic. I don't care what batting average he puts up so long as he keeps playing and adding to the counting stats.
I'm in a good position to move up if my team merely does what it should. We'll see.
.286 batting average (in first by 0.11)
160 HR (3rd and nine out of 2nd)
622 runs (3rd, two out of 2nd)
605 RBI (3rd by nine)
86 SB (8th by two, five out of 7th)
3.78 ERA (6th, 0.10 out of 4th)
1.27 WHIP (8th, 0.16 out of 6th)
679 K (10th, 28 out of 9th)
46 wins (tied in 7th, four out of 6th)
12 saves (8th)
I'm in fifth, only four points out of the money with two months to go.
Bonus whine:
Why, when I'm retreating and hiding around Wi-Fi-enabled corners, do people keep seeking me out to chat?
Midpoint mayhem
THe beginning of July marks the middle of the MLB and fantasy baseball seasons.
Although I hadn't noted it, I was in seventh place at the beginning of June, and I stayed there most of the month. Last week, pick-up Travis Wood and a more typical Mat Latos propelled me from despair to hopefulness. They combined for four wins over 32.2 innings with 14 hits, 3 walks, 2 earned runs, and 30 strikeouts. My pick-ups this year have all been pitchers and they have all contributed, and will continue to do so as Marco Estrada is back from the disabled list and I added Michael Fiers this weekend.
Fiers is a weird egg. He has had superb minor league stats but he seems not to have registered on many prospect lists. So far, he's been lights out. He's a bit old for a rookie, but I think he's for real – real enough that I chose him over old favourite Chris Young (the pitcher).
My hitting is holding up, and that's without Matt Kemp. I'll get more counting stats from Jim Thome now that he has a real job as a DH. Third place is definitely in my sights, although it is within many teams' sights. There are five teams no more than 2.5 points back of third.
.284 batting average (1st by .01)
117 HR (3rd, four back of 2nd )
468 runs (2nd, eight back of 1st)
446 RBI (3rd)
61 SB (9th, five back of 6th)
3.83 ERA (5th, a gain of four points!)
1.28 WHIP (7th)
465 K (10th)
30 wins (9th, six back of 6th)
10 saves (8th)
I have 53 points, tied for fifth.
Pitching a fit
This is the time of month when I list the accomplishments of my fantasy baseball team.
These were my starters at the beginning of the year, and I added Marco Estrada whom I picked up at the start of May:
Mat Latos
Ted Lilly
Jordan Zimmermann
Jhoulys Chacin
Erik Bedard
Chris Narveson
Corey Luebke
Chris Carpenter
Marco Estrada
These were my healthy starters Sunday night:
Mat Latos
Erik Bedard
Jordan Zimmermann
Narveson and Luebke are out for the year. Chacin and Carpenter are still not throwing. Lilly and Estrada are expected to miss weeks, possibly months.
I added Travis Wood on Monday but there's no recovering from this disaster.
It doesn't help that my power has disappeared.
.281 batting average (barely 2nd)
71 HR (tied for 2nd)
295 runs (2nd)
272 RBI (4th)
46 SB (7th)
4.04 ERA (9th)
1.32 WHIP (9th)
306 K (10th)
21 wins (7th)
9 saves (tied for 7th but not for long)
Angels with smokin' hot bats
So far, it's a pitcher's year in major-league baseball. Not on my team, however.
I pass the first monthly milestone with massive advantages in hitting, due in part to Matt Kemp, who leads the National League in batting average, home runs, RBIs, runs, and hits. David Wright, with the second best batting average, and Jay Bruce, with the second most homers, are a capable supporting cast.
My pitchers are also bucking the trend somewhat, unfortunately. Mat Latos has been almost as bad as Matt Kemp is good. My relievers have had some bad outings and I've lost for the year a back-end starter, Chris Narveson.
Yet I find myself in third place at the end of April. I dropped Narveson and picked up Marco Estrada, his replacement on the Milwaukee Brewers. Estrada will get more strikeouts.
.284 batting average (1st by .013)
46 HR (1st by 16!)
146 runs (1st by 2)
145 RBI (1st by 13)
20 SB (5th in the middle of a pack)
3.68 ERA (7th)
1.28 WHIP (6th)
145 K (9th, ten out of 7th)
10 wins (tied for 6th but two out of 4th)
6 saves (tied for 6th)
Remember how I estimated 46 points of hitting? Right now, I have 46 points of hitting. I estimated totals of .275, 225 HR, 910 R, 900 RBI, and 140 SB. On a pro-rated basis, I have .284, 276 HR, 876 R, 870 RBI, and 120 SB. Of all my estimates, I'm only really off in wins and strikeouts, and with seven active starters (Chris Luebke and Estrada qualify as relief pitchers, and if Chris Carpenter starts, he would make it eight), those numbers should start to climb.
Here we go again…
Over the past year, I've added several fellow managers in the Irrational League to my Facebook friends list. Doing this little monthly updates may expose my position, but so what.
We held our draft last Saturday. As a reminder, we're in a ten-team NL-only 5×5 league with 25-man rosters and four reserves apiece. We start with six keepers (new) and over five hours scrape every last dreg out of the pot.
This year, I had some choices to make. I had eight protectable players: Matt Kemp, David Wright, Matt Holliday, Lance Berkman, Jay Bruce, Mat Latos, Corey Luebke, Chris Carpenter.
Chris Carpenter's neck injury quickly whittled the list down to seven, and as much as I love fellow Rice alum Lance Berkman, he was the oldest of the bunch. Bye, Lance.
I went conservative this year. Last year I finished in the money by the hair of my chinny chin chin, with Chris Carpenter's masterpiece edging me in. A lot went wrong with the draft, as several of my hitters fell off the face of the Earth. This year, I went with more reliable choices… I think. We'll see. I did take a chance on Chris Carpenter, but that was a late pick and he's deep in my reserves. And my only first basemen are both question marks, but how hard is it to find a first baseman?
My 2012 hitters and projections:
C: Yadier Molina: .290, 10 HR, 50 R, 55 RBI, 5 SB
C: Miguel Montero: .285, 15 HR, 60 R, 70 RBI
1B: Bryan LaHair: .270, 15 HR, 45 R, 50 RBI
2B: Aaron Hill: .245, 20 HR, 70 R, 70 RBI, 15 SB
SS: Jason Bartlett: .255, 5 HR, 55 R, 45 RBI, 20 SB
3B: David Wright: .285, 20 HR, 80 R, 80 RBI, 15 SB
CI: Justin Turner: .260, 5 HR, 45 R, 45 RBI, 5 SB
MI: Omar Infante: .290, 5 HR, 55 R, 55 RBI, 5 SB
OF: Matt Holliday: .300, 25 HR, 75 R, 80 RBI, 5 SB
OF: Matt Kemp: .290, 30 HR, 100 R, 100 RBI, 30 SB
OF: Jay Bruce: .255, 30 HR, 85 R, 90 RBI, 5 SB
OF: Nyjer Morgan: .280, 5 HR, 55 R, 40 RBI, 20 SB
OF: Chris Heisey: .260, 20 HR, 55 R, 60 RBI, 5 SB
UT: Jim Thome: .240, 15 HR, 35 R, 35 RBI
UT: Gerardo Parra: .290, 5 HR, 45 R, 35 RBI, 5 SB
Adam Kennedy and Josh Hamilton have bench spots. Hey, if the Rangers tank, Hamilton will be on the move.
I estimate totals of .275, 225 HR, 910 R, 900 RBI, and 140 SB. That's less than I normally draft, but I think that's a function of last year's overall reduction in hitting. By last year's stats, those numbers are good for first in average, home runs, and RBI while well above average in the other two categories. Let's call it third. That's 46 points, which is amazing, but I think it's an exaggeration.
I like my pitching, especially Luebke, who still qualifies as a reliever. There are very few decent starters who qualify as relievers this year. I can think of one, and I have him. There are others, but I don't like their chances.
SP: Mat Latos: 14 W, 175 K, 3.45 ERA; 1.20 WHIP
SP: Ted Lilly: 12 W, 145 K, 4.15 ERA, 1.25 WHIP
SP: Jordan Zimmermann: 12 W, 140 K, 3.60 ERA; 1.25 WHIP
SP: Jhoulys Chacin: 12 W, 145 K, 3.70 ERA, 1.40 WHIP
P: Erik Bedard: 9 W, 135 K, 3.90 ERA, 1.35 WHIP
P: Chris Narveson: 11 W, 130 K, 4.50 ERA, 1.45 WHIP
RP: Corey Luebke: 12 W, 145 K, 3.50 ERA, 1.20 WHIP
RP: Sean Marshall: 30 Sv, 4 W, 70 K, 2.60 ERA, 1.15 WHIP
RP: Eric O'Flaherty: 5 W, 60 K, 2.20 ERA, 1.10 WHIP
RP: Bill Bray: 3 W, 55 K, 2.90 ERA, 1.15 WHIP
Chris Narveson is the only guy I can't stomach, but he's only holding a place for Chris Carpenter. I also have Francisco Rodriguez on the bench for emergencies, or if John Axford goes toes up.
I figure I'll get 30 saves (good for sixth), 94 wins (second), 1195 K (third), an ERA of 3.65 (fifth), and a WHIP of 1.27 (sixth). That's 33 points in total, which is weak on its own. Combined with the 46 hitting points, though, the total of 79 points should be enough to win. It should take 76 (I had 70 last year).
Carpenter produces miracle
Chris Carpenter saved his best start of the year for the last day of the year. His two-hit, one-walk complete game capped a spectacular month of pitching by the hurlers on my fantasy team and gained me two points in WHIP. Those two points moved me from fifth to sole possession of third place. I finish in the money.
My final stats:
.2686 batting average (3rd, up one place in the month)
230 HR (1st, post to post)
930 runs (2nd)
936 RBI (1st, post to post)
126 SB (4th, down one place in the month)
3.74 ERA (8th)
1.2628 WHIP (5th by 0.0001 – literally the difference of one hit or walk over the entire season – up from 7th)
1279 K (2nd, up from a tie in 3rd)
90 wins (2nd up from 4th)
5 saves (10th)
In September, my pitchers threw 287 2/3 innings and produced 259 Ks and 341 hits and walks, a WHIP of 1.185. Latos and Carpenter were as untouchable this September as they were decrepit a year ago.
That's all I have to say about this for now. Sorry, Liz.
And into the stretch
There's a month left in baseball's regular season and when it ends, so does the Irrational League.
I'm still in fifth place, but inching inexorably toward the money. My pitching is finally approximating what it should and as go its fortunes, so go mine. Paul Maholm got hurt in time for me to ride Randy Wells's hot right arm. Time is still my enemy, but all the trends are pointing in the right direction. The additions of Hiroki Kuroda (4 wins, 27 K,2.16 ERA, 1.14 WHIP) and Jose Altuve (.292, 3 SB) have helped. Compare these stats with last month's.
.267 batting average (4th but only .0009 out of third)
199 HR (still 1st by 23)
782 runs (in 2nd 36 out of 1st and 23 ahead of 3rd)
793 RBI (1st by 55)
108 SB (4th but four out of 3rd and four ahead of 5th)
3.82 ERA (8th but now only 0.02 out of 7th)
1.28 WHIP (7th)
1012 K (tied for 3rd, rising from 7th in a month)
73 wins (4th but two out of 2nd)
5 saves (10th)
That's 65.5 points, but I'll only need four to show. It's been worse. My last pick-up of the year was Kevin Kouzmanoff. I'm hoping for a batting average north of .275 in Colorado.


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BlackBerry Z10 greeted with caution; stock drops 8%
UPDATE: Despite its high-profile launch in New York and a TV advertising blitz during March Madness for the company's new smartphone, BlackBerry's shares tumbled 8%, to $14.91, Friday. The dip came amid some reports of lackluster consumer reaction at retail stores to the new phone.
Think having physical buttons on your smartphone isn't a big deal? Ask any longtime supporter of BlackBerry.
With Friday's launch of the Z10 for AT&T (and Verizon and T-Mobile next week), the smartphone manufacturer marks a major shift in design, swapping its signature keyboard for a full touch-screen.
For some current BlackBerry owners such as Stacey Sanner of Seattle, the lack of buttons is a deal-breaker. "If I'm gonna go buttonless, I might as well go iPhone," says Sanner, who works as a writer and photographer. "I use a Mac and an iPad so it's time they all talked to each other! This way, I can sync contacts and calendar, things people have been doing for years."
Mike Wilson, founder of a film and game production company in Austin, expressed interest in some of the Z10's features such as the upgraded camera, but remains hesitant.
"I think they did themselves in for good by going to touch-screen only," says Wilson. "Tactile buttons are absolutely, undeniably better for e-mail and text, and I think they could have kept a lot of their corporate army by just keeping that one thing."
BlackBerry has not abandoned the physical keyboard completely. The company is expected to launch its Q10 smartphone later this spring, incorporating both a touch-screen and keyboard.
Not every BlackBerry owner is turned off by a future of tapping and swiping screens. Social worker Jamie Hersh-White checked out the new phones at a BlackBerry Experience event in Chicago, and loves them. "I'm thinking of camping outside my Verizon store just so I can feel the excitement."
Grace Niu of Santa Monica, Calif., is sticking with her BlackBerry Bold but plans to look at the Z10 down the road, even though it has ditched the keyboard. "I am a BlackBerry user and I love my BlackBerry. I don't know why there is such an intolerance for it. It does what it's designed to do."
For many BlackBerry loyalists, this is their iPhone moment. At an AT&T store in Emeryville, Harvey Gee, 47, was purchasing a BlackBerry Z10 for his wife, who was stuck at work. Gee, who works near the AT&T store but lives in Castro Valley, said his wife was worried there would be "a run on them" and thought she should get one right away.
"She's a BlackBerry fanatic, so she didn't even consider an iPhone," say Gee.
The AT&T store, just down the street from an Apple store, had just the one customer, Gee, who said he just walked right up. "No wait," says Gee. The Apple store nearby was meanwhile buzzing with activity as people tested out iPhones, iPads, iPods and Macbooks.
Contributing: Mike Snider in Northern Virginia and Scott Martin in Emeryville, Calif.


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Bill James put together his list of the top 100 pitching duels of 2011, using four general criteria: "low-scoring game, quality pitchers on the mound, pitchers pitch well, and something is at stake." The White Sox made the list just once, with Philip Humber's July 2 duel with Matt Garza coming in at No. 55.
Of course, because the White Sox scuffled through 2011, most of their games didn't have something at stake. There's one game I think James missed, being Jake Peavy's 1-0 showdown against Justin Masterson May 18 in his first home start since July of 2010.
But with the lack of Sox games on the list in mind, here are the best pitching duels involving the Sox from 2011, using James' general criteria minus the "something at stake" stipulation.
1. May 18, White Sox vs. Indians: Jake Peavy vs. Justin Masterson (1-0)
The Sox struck early against Masterson, as Adam Dunn hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Juan Pierre in the first inning. That lone run proved to be enough for Peavy, who allowed just three hits and no walks with eight strikeouts in a complete game effort. Masterson settled down -- with the aid of two strike-him-out-throw-him-out double plays -- and went the distance, allowing five hits and two walks with eight strikeouts. That Peavy threw a complete game was a little worrisome at the time, as 111 pitches in sub-50-degree weather didn't seem like a good idea for a pitcher coming off a unique injury. But, in the short-term, Peavy wasn't worse off for it.
2. July 2, White Sox @ Cubs: Philip Humber vs. Matt Garza (1-0)
Garza retired 14 White Sox in a row between walking Brent Morel in the first and Gordon Beckham in the sixth, but Humber matched him by keeping the Cubs off the board thanks to inducing three double plays. But that sixth-inning walk to Beckham led to the lone run of the game scoring, as Beckham advanced to second on a bunt by Humber, third on a wild pitch by Garza and scored on a Juan Pierre single. Humber staved off a Cubs rally in the sixth and finished the seventh before giving way to Matt Thornton for a six-out save.
3. May 3, White Sox vs. Twins: Edwin Jackson vs. Fransico Liriano (1-0)
Yeah, this is the no-hitter game. Liriano actually pitched pretty poorly in it, walking six with only two strikeouts. But it gets placed on the No. 3 spot because of the effort given by Jackson, who threw eight innings, allowing one run on six hits with two strikeouts and one walk. The lone run came on a Jason Kubel (who else) homer. Jackson deserves a lot of credit for battling to keep the hapless Sox in the game, even if Minnesota trotted out a poor lineup that day.
4. July 20, White Sox @ Royals: John Danks vs. Bruce Chen (2-1, 11)
Few White Sox pitchers were able to match the pitching dynamo that was Bruce Chen last season, but in this game, Danks did. Chen threw eight innings of run-run ball, while Danks tossed seven shutout innings before being pulled in favor of Matt Thornton and Jesse Crain in the eighth, who combined to let in the game-tying run. But the real battle was taken into extra innings by Chris Sale, who threw two scoreless innings against Joakim Soria and Aaron Crow before running out of gas in the 11th and turning the ball over to Sergio Santos, who let in the game-winning run (which was charged to Sale).
5. June 16, White Sox @ Twins: Mark Buehrle vs. Nick Blackburn (1-0)
Like many of these games, this was one in which Buehrle made one mistake -- a second-inning homer to Michael Cuddyer -- while the Sox offense flailed away at a pitcher of questionable talent. Nick Blackburn allowed seven hits and one walk with one strikeout, but the Sox couldn't push a run home despite having a few opportunities with runners in scoring position.
Afterthought: In quite a few instances, the White Sox offense just didn't show up (or was stuck in Charlotte), so trying to rank these games wasn't too easy. Leave any qualms or suggestions in the comments.


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LASIK & Cataract Surgeons serving Gurnee, River Forest & Chicago
You could say that ophthalmology runs in the Kirk family!
For more than 50 years, Kirk Eye Center has provided quality eye care to the greater Chicago area. Dr. Harold Kirk was the founder of the practice, which began in Oak Park before moving to its current location in River Forest.
In 1986, his sons, Doctors Scott and Kent Kirk, became the second generation of Kirk ophthalmologists when they joined their father in the opening of Kirk Eye Center's River Forest location. In addition to a larger clinic, they built their free-standing ambulatory surgical center (ASC), one of the first licensed in the State of Illinois. In 2017 they purchased Dr. Walter Fried's practice in Gurnee, IL.
While he doesn't have the "Kirk" last name, Dr. Dean Bauer is still a member of the Kirk Eye Center family! For more than 20 years, Dr. Bauer has helped our patients with their contact lens fittings and worked closely pre- and post-operatively with refractive patients.
Together, Dr. Scott Kirk, Dr. Kent Kirk, MD, and Dr. Dean Bauer are committed to offering every patient the best possible care. To learn more about each doctor, please take a look at their bios in the section below.


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News & reviews for the fiction lover in us all!
Sparks in Spearfish (Seven Brides of South Dakota #5)
HISTORICAL: Lula Arnsby never wants to be useless, and her dream of becoming a teacher is within reach. Her time at the Spearfish Normal School has been one disaster after another, thanks to the endless pranks Barton Oleson plays on her. Finally, she thinks, she will be free of her tormentor — until he becomes the teacher's assistant! Barton desperately wanted to be noticed by the curly haired Lula. As her student, he was willing to do anything to keep her attention. He never intended to make her cry. With only one more term until Lula graduates and is forever out of his reach, Barton has to prove to her he has changed — but relationships are not allowed and married women aren't hired as teachers. Can Barton make up for his mistakes and win Lula's heart, or will her reluctance to marry prevent them both from finding happiness?
The fifth addition to the Seven Brides of South Dakota series, "Sparks in Spearfish" is a historical romance with an interesting premise. The hero of the tale begins as a bully, and the heroine sees matrimony as something to avoid. The vibrant characters leap from the pages. "Sparks" features characters and storylines from previous books in the series and will charm readers who have followed from the beginning. Unfortunately, the flow of the story is often disrupted by Lula's sudden change in feelings toward Barton. Many significant conversations or actions occur off-screen, and certain issues are never resolved. Still, the happy ending is one western romance lovers will enjoy.
Sarah E Bradley


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The Rhondda Valley is a truly special place, as the many fine poems and stories written of its flourishing society and culture testify. The working men's institutes, built from individual subscriptions, had the finest libraries and reading rooms. My father read the Edinburgh Review in Ystrad Libary, and debated aspects of philosophy in chapel discussion groups.
I was born into that valley in the 1950s, so I saw the vibrancy beginning to decay, but the Grand Theatre in Tonypandy was still a magnificent venue to see a Rogers and Hammerstein musical, and the chapels still rang to the sound of hymns sung in four-part harmony. (I sang tenor.)
What changed? Money and jobs.
It is employment that nourishes a society, and without it we are lost. As that great sage of American life George Washington Plunkett used to say: "How do you make someone a good citizen? Do you give them a copy of the Bill of Rights? No, you get them a job!"
There are, of course, other aspects of the decay of a society, but don't ever be tricked into thinking you can rebuild a society with hymns and aspiration alone. Schools and universities can help, but not without a job in the offing.
And I have not forgotten that you may have to leave the Valley to get a job. That is what my father did. He didn't go so far, just across the mountain to Gilfach Goch, then I went further to England and beyond. I had a fine education in South Wales and then went on to a university career, but much of my family stayed in the Valley and lived through its problems.
The assumption that everyone around you has a job, women included as this was no middle-class soft spot, is simply fundamental. Without it there is decay of all aspects of life. To think that this can be reinjected by school or university is folly.
So why don't we just make the people move to where there are jobs? This would be an option if there were lots of jobs for poor working-class boys elsewhere. Where is that? No, we have to see that we are wasting their talents and build a new industrial base around where they live.
My father taught me well, so I know that to have a flourishing society you have to make things. The valleys tried to substitute the decline in coal mining by light engineering and garment manufacturing. These both took a hammering as emerging economies made things at prices with which we could not compete.
You are probably now thoroughly depressed, so let me cheer you up. I'll tell about the way my own university is getting jobs for the supposedly impossible-to-reach poor white boys (and others) as well as boosting our manufacturing exports.
Manufacturing is now mostly done in a capital intensive environment, where low pay is no longer an advantage. The global competitive advantage comes from being high-tech, from innovation in the value chain. When companies combine with university research in state-of-the-art R&D facilities such as the two Advanced Manufacturing Catapults based on a former mining site, we learn together to beat the rest of the world again. Companies get orders. They want to expand and inward investment moves in needing – guess what – high-tech skills that match their ambitions.
In Sheffield, we are using the ideas generated in our engineering research to make the factories of the future – indeed, the world's first fully reconfigurable factory is now built and filling with machines. But forget any images of foundries or oily rags. This building is circular, made of glass, engineers working with no separation from the futuristic factory floor in which machines can be relocated by a programmed autonomous vehicle or a remote control you hold in just one hand.
And beside it, an apprentice training centre in which 600 of those mainly poor white boys from areas in which education often ends at 16 are studying a top-of-the-range apprenticeship sponsored by their employers (they all have jobs). They are learning what is relevant, the skills of the future. And they are earning. They have no debt.
The companies know that these people are the real secret to future success. They will need the poor young white boys with the skills of the future. And just to be clear, others want this too. It is not the colour of your skin that is the barrier to social mobility. The Somali boys we support in another part of Sheffield are also keen to visit and apply for a route to training and work that does not entail debt.
And what next? Are we offering a second-class ticket to the future? No way. We are developing a manufacturing engineering degree on the same basis. Still sponsored by companies. And looking at other tracks, too. Law. Management. Medical engineering.
We are giving young people the chance to train and operate the robots and do the engineering design needed for future products that only people, trained from the ground up, can do. They will infuse the local small companies and suppliers. And that will rebuild society.
Suddenly everyone from the prime minister down is talking about social mobility. But real people need more than talk, more than thinktanks.
Some of our apprentices are the only people in their family in work. They are smart. They are ambitious. They have no intention of staying poor.
Sir Keith Burnett is vice-chancellor of the University of Sheffield.
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Geisha - Original/Tradtional design
|OK so my plans of having a nice traditional geisha look kinda went out the window as I ran out of time. So to the outside world it looks ok, but to anyone that knows anything about geisha they will stop the inaccuracies immediately! But hey, it's just for the ball, and I was making it up as I go along!
I like it anyway!!
You will make a beautiful Geisha!!
Wow great progress hun this looks FANTASTIC!!!
this looks really great gunstar, keep up the great work and cosplay progress ^_^
Such pretty fabric! You'll look wonderful :)
I cant wait to see you at the Ball In this!!! looks so cute ^-^ plus very......fun :D
looks great so far!! one thing that's bugging me is that your Obi is too low. it needs to be higher,the bottom is supposed to stop just below you belly button and smush your boobs in. >w< it's gotta be a complete tube. and has to give you a cylidrical shape... ^_^ other than that it looks pretty awesome! ^^
yeah I know, i just couldn't be arsed to pin it in the right place at the time! it's just a roll of fabric atm!
What sleeve length are you going for? It's just that I own a furisode and the sleeves do almost touch the ground, and I have a tomosode who's sleeves are still longer than the ones you have, and you said it was going to be a furisode in the description. (sorry, could be camera angle, ignore if I'm being stupid) -Tab
I was, now it's more of a tomesode, for practicality reasons! also as I'm to old to wear miako length sleeves! Must update my description, thanks for pointing that out!! Also tomesode have variable sleeve lengths, usually around waist height though, (which mine are, the obi is in the wrong place which is why they look strange!!!)
Eh-heh. two japan nerd comments there. XD i've just re-read Memoirs of a Geisha which is why i'm being picky....... and i dun wanna say it but you've got men's Geta!!!! >w< I'm Sorry!! i'll shut up! it really does looks awesome!!! *runs away*
lol yes I know, but they don't make off the shelf geta for women with my size feet! technically these are unisex, as the corners are rounded, and not square like mens! (we are such nerds lol!!!)
It looks beautiful so far, your gonna look gorgeous ^^
*nerds* it looks so awesome so far! i should start work on my cosplay ball thing now but i still don't know if i can even go! T_T maybe you can file the corners more? *shrug* still looks great! ^^
You know what Hexi, I hadn't even thought of that! (srsly I am so blonde sometimes) *hurries of to find where she put the sandpaper...
Isn't walking in Geta fun!? /sarcasm LOL Geta are awesome, but awkward LOL You look great hun! Makeup test soon?
More Japan nerd comments!! The geta are unisex..ish (you should wear them with tabi and not barefoot!), but they are more masculine than feminine of course (I deliberately wore these with my Akito Sohma costume because they were masculine)! Also, they don't fit you properly (your heel is supposed to slide a little off the back) The fabric is a Chinese design, as far as I know Geisha don't wear pink collars, Geisha don't have pink under their eyebrows, the pink blush is reserved for Maiko, as is, usually, the oshiroi (white powder paste) and red lips. Similarly, Maiko would not be wearing such an informal kimono style with their stage makeup... BUT you knew all of that anyway XD You still look fabulous and I bet you stunned everyone at the ball ^___^ (Haha, I just had to join in with the nerding... it happened with Georgi too XD ) It's really nice looking and the colour is nice, so screw accuracy XD (I did for my Dream Maiko costume XD)
I fear my comment will be lacking the knowledge of japanse geisha (not my cup of tea as intrests go, when i was old enough to actually know what they were for) im afraid my knowledge lie with the samurai (cliche I know) but I will say that I really like the design and I think you wear it stunningly well, I look forward to more :)
Total cost: £0.00
Finished the hair ornaments last night, they are not very authentic, but due to time constraints I kinda gave up on authenticity! Yay done and packed!
make up trial
ok so things I learnt: 1 - white foundation does not like being applied with a sponge, leaves funny smudges, fingers are the best plan 2 - filled in lips too much also lip gloss was a bad idea over liner 3 - way too much pink under the eyebrows 4 - need to use pencil to draw eyebrow lines in first before going over in liquid so they are even still not bad for a first attempt
so close I can almost taste it
seams bias bound, dont have time to make proper tabi, so have bought some white socks (yes I know the horror! have run out of time so unfortunately authenticity have been shoved aside) Just a quick sew and snip and they are done, and them some hair ornament jiggery tonight and thats done! woo!
so very nearly there
obi and obi pillow done, have worked out how to tie a drum obi (well ok it will look like a drum obi anyway, might not be 100% authentic tying) just need two koshimo and date jime (tbh just going to use off cuts as they don't get seen anyway) and make the hair ornaments and I'm good to go!
kimono finished!
after just under another hours work, the kimono is done! Also gave in and bought some liquid eyeliner to give me a better finish
huge progress
OK so after 3 hours of sewing the kimono is nearly done, just need to add the collar and hem the bottom edge. It was surprisingly simple actually, despite brocade being evil! Also found white foundation today, which was the only make up I needed to buy!
bought some lovely matching silk flowers for my hair ornaments today. Also a really cool large matching flower which I will make into an ornament itself.
So I bought my material this morning. Have gone for a brocade with flowers in a wine colour, and a light matching cream for the under collar and obi, and a contrasting pink for the obi pillow, and a white for the obi cord. Now all I have to do is make the thing!!


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Welcome to the research guide for Early Christianity and Patristics! Here you will find resources to aid your research for the period covering the New Testament period to approximately 750 A.D. This guide is divided into five resource categories, listed in the tabs above:
This is a work in progress; Please feel free to send us your questions, comments or suggestions!
Use the phrase "Fathers of the Church" instead of "church fathers" or "patristics." Narrower terms and subject headings in the LCSH include:
See also:
Call number ranges:
The James P. Boyce Centennial Library would like to thank Suzanne Estelle-Holmer, a librarian of Yale University, and Juliet Crawford Schwab, a library science student at Syracuse University, who contributed much of the original content that was adapted for this libguide.


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A well-kept secret
Imagine a stay in the intimacy, luxury and incomparable ambience of a 1920 Art Deco apartment preserved in all it's original splendor. Located in a safe residential neighborhood, just minutes from downtown. The accommodation of choice among visiting university professors. Best value in Montreal.
Le Rockledge has a 3 stars classification from Tourisme Québec as Tourist home.


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Barryscourt Castle
Contact Details
Address: Carrigtwohill, Co.Cork.
Tel. / Fax No: +353 21 488 2218
Email: email@example.com
Opening Hours
Please note that this site is closed to the public until further notice, the OPW regret any inconvenience caused.
Admission Fees
Exhibition, toilets, car park.
Please note that the Tearooms are closed at present
Restaurant/Tearooms: Yes
Tel: +353 21 488 3864
(Managed in Conjunction with Barryscourt Trust)
Barryscourt castle is the 16th century seat of the Barry family. The present castle, with its largely intact bawn wall and corner towers, is a fine example of an Irish tower house. Both the First floor Main Hall and the Second Floor Great Hall have been extensively restored with fittings and furnishings reinstated. The Orchard has been restored to an original 16th century design and an herb garden has been reinstated in the bawn. This project by the Trust was aided by ECAD.
Location: Near Carrigtwohill off the Cork-Youghal Road (N25).
Bus Routes: Contact Bus Eireann, Travel Centre +353 1 8366111.
Guided Tours:
Max No: 15
Duration: 50 min.
Access by guided tour only. All groups of 15 must be pre-booked.
Leaflet/Guide book: English.
Seasonal Events: Please check in advance using contact details listed above.
Photography / Video allowed: Yes, but permit required for commercial purposes
Additional Information: Restricted access for visitors with disabilities.


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Randolph-Macon Academy, located in Front Royal, Virginia, is the oldest Air Force co-ed boarding school in the nation. It has a growing national reputation as a leading college preparatory institution.
Yet the Academy had not experienced success in prior capital campaigns and had serious reservations and concerns about the viability of its fundraising capacity. Many academy alumni had only attended R-MA for a few years. Many alumni from earlier years had been forced to attend. The 1970's saw considerable discord at all military academies that affected its alumni from that era.
R-MA, given its uncertainties, was proposing two sequential campaigns — the first, a start-up campaign for $2 million to meet immediate needs and to build confidence and a track record of success and the second, a $20 million campaign for capital projects, endowment and debt reduction.
In 2005-2006, The Sheridan Group designed a Feasibility Study to fully explore R-MA's potential by incorporating data mining into its selection of interviewees. The Study consisted of 20 interviews with current, well known prospects and then included interviews with 20 new prospects selected through a wealth screening of all alumni and parents by Wealthengine.com.
We determined that:
- R-MA constituents had a strong rank and file belief in the leadership and vision of its President, General Henry Hobgood;
- there existed a core group of leaders and donors ready to give R-MA their top priority;
- there existed a significant but undetermined potential in outlying prospects that could be engaged through a concerted, organized effort at relationship building; and
- that the present campaign potential of the Academy was between $3.5 and $5.1 million.
Accordingly, we recommended that R-MA focus its energies on a single campaign, and not set a goal until it progressed through the campaign's early stages.
Board members stepped forward. One in particular provided an unanticipated, significant, lead, seven figure contribution. A thorough, well-led Leadership Gifts Phase allowed the Academy to formally launch the Celebration of Learning and Leadership Campaign in the fall, 2007, with a total of $8.7 committed, toward a $10 million goal. The Campaign concluded in October, 2008, with a total of $11.1 million, making it by far the largest and most successful campaign in R-MA's 115-year history.
The Sheridan Group's custom designed Feasibility Study, successfully incorporating data mining into the process, not only identified significant new potential but also broadened the prospect pool. The Sheridan Group further assisted R-MA by emphasizing that the right person making the ask, staying focused on standard cultivation, development, and fundraising practices. Finally, our counsel to R-MA allowed the school to understand its best course for a successful capital campaign and allowed leadership to understand that it could successfully engage its constituents in its mission and goals for the future.


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The Best Thing We Ate for Under $10 This Week: New York Bakery's $9 Chicken Enchiladas Verdes
Welcome to Cheap Eats NYC, where every week, we'll be highlighting an incredible NYC meal for less than $10. Know of a great all-you-can eat Indian buffet, under-the-radar burger, or other cheap eat in the five boroughs? Let us know in the comments!
For the past 12 years, the tiny New York Bakery at 51 W 29th St. in NoMad has been serving up some of the best Mexican street food in Manhattan -- a somewhat unusual specialty for Korean-born operators Jwa Hoon Kim (aka "Harrison") and his wife, Young Shin Han Kim, who handles the cooking. The couple started making Mexican fare, in addition to Korean dishes, to better cater to the large segment of Latinos who work in the neighborhood. Nowadays, everyone who works in the neighborhood comes in for tacos (especially the fish) and other daily specials, including the chicken mole (Thursdays and Fridays) and super-hot salsa de arbol (Tuesdays). But perhaps the best option on any given day is the chicken enchiladas verdes -- a generous helping of three tortillas stuffed with tender meat bathed in fiery green sauce, topped with avocado, lettuce, and tomato, and sprinkled with cotija cheese. Newbies may be shocked by the spice level, which far exceeds that of the typical Mexican fare in NYC and leaves your whole mouth tingling for the next half-hour. (Kim says it's just jalapeño, but it must be a lot of jalapeño.)
Now for the bad news: Kim's lease expired back in May, and he's been operating on a month-to-month basis ever since, while developers seek permits to demolish the building and put up condos. And he has no immediate plan to open elsewhere. Last call could come as soon as next month.
In other words: If you're looking to try some of the city's spiciest, cheapest, and most satisfying enchiladas, you'd better act fast.
Sign up here for our daily NYC email and be the first to get all the food/drink/fun New York has to offer.


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Children make up a significant proportion of Africa's population, constituting approximately 48% of the overall population. As the future of the region, the assurance of their well-being is vital to the continent's sustainable development and to the achievement of poverty alleviation, peaceful societies and economic growth. Increasingly governments in the region are acknowledging the importance of child well-being and some instruments are used across the continent to measure progress in this area.
The indicators of the MDGs have been applied throughout the continent, enabling the tracking of progress in some fundamental areas of child well-being. Their ongoing application has revealed positive advancements in some areas over the last decade. In Angola, Cape Verde, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Niger and South Africa immunisation coverage increased from 40 to 75% between 2005-2008. Under five mortality rates reduced by one third between 1990-2009, especially in countries recovering from conflict and infant mortality rates reduced by between 40-70 points in Botswana, Sierra Leone, Namibia, Swaziland and Liberia.
Nevertheless, progress made is not enough to ensure the continent meets the MDG targets by 2015, and there is some discrepancy in overall outcomes. For example, whilst increasing primary school enrolment rates have not been matched by a proportionate rise in school completion rates and whilst gender parity has improved at secondary and tertiary education levels, in some countries the trend is now adversely biased towards boys.
In the context of a post 2015 agenda, it has been stated that the consolidation of progress made and the assurance of its sustainability is a priority and one that requires commitment from governments. The African Child Policy Forum (ACPF) is a leading organisation in this area and has produced two key indexes, the 'Child Friendliness Index' and the' Performance Index for Budgeting for Children' which measure and compare governments' commitment to the advancement of child rights and well-being throughout the continent.
The Child Friendliness Index is a composite index which quantitatively scores and ranks the performance of governments in regard to the realisation of child rights and child well-being. Emanating from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC), the term child-friendliness is based on three central pillars of child rights and child well-being: protection, provision and participation, and summarises governments' obligations to 'respect, protect and fulfil children's rights'.
These three pillars are translated into three areas of government responsibility and action: the legal and policy frameworks implemented, government budgetary commitments and the efforts made to assure the participation of children in the making of decisions that affect their well-being. Due to the complexity of these three pillars, the measurement of child-friendliness takes a multidimensional approach.
The Performance Index for Budgeting for Children is also composite index which uses national budgets as an indication of true government commitment to the improvement of child rights and well-being and analyses spending on health, education, early childhood development and social protection in 52 African countries up until 2008.
Results have been published in the 2008 and 2011 reports titled The African Report on Child Wellbeing 2008: How child-friendly are African governments? and, The African Report on Child Wellbeing 2011: Budgeting for Children.
The African Child Policy Forum (2011), The African Report on Child Well-Being – Budgeting for Children, Available at: http://www.africanchildforum.org/africanreport/attachements/article/47/AfricanReport2011_english.pdf
The African Child Policy Forum (2008), The African Report on Child Well-Being – How Friendly are African Governments?, Available at: http://www.africanchildforum.org/site/index.php?option=com_docman&Itemid=96&limit=10&limitstart=10
Hannah Chadwick
Wikichild Consultant


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OMG! Grace…
I knew from the moment I came across the Grace Loves Lace website that I'd be wearing one of these amazing dresses. I never wanted a traditional wedding dress and after meeting Megan, the designer, who lives locally and checking out the amazing collection, it was love at first site. The dresses are made from imported silk and lace – they flow and move, and are the ultimate in bohemian bridal.
I had my fitting last week and left knowing I'll be wearing my dream dress.
The latest Grace Loves Lace collection has just landed and my picks are:
Images: Grace Loves Lace
CommentsOne Response to "OMG! Grace…"
you are going to look so gorgeous sarah! cant wait to see some pics after the wedding!!!


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Hey I just wanted to post a quick update and apologize for the lack of new material lately. I have been super busy with school and finals and as a result I haven't had much time to get on wordpress and read all of your awesome blogs! But I will be done with my last final on Tuesday and I will then resume this blog and reading all your blogs with full haste.
I will also be resuming my book too! And again sorry for being so inactive!