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Sunday, August 16, 2009
Vacation Journal: Honloulu Farmers Market
The Honolulu Saturday Farmers' Market at Kapiolani Community College is a thing to behold. Operating from 7:30 to 11:00am, the market is packed from the very start, making our own Hollywood Market seem sparsely attended.
The market has a wondrous selection of tropical fruit, including many varieties of mango and papaya, lychee, longan, dragonfruit, local pineapple and other produce. About 50% of the stalls are prepared food, including every sort of island delight from a lovely locally made butter to butterfish to spam musubi.
I was thrilled to see these fresh abalone on the grill at the Big Island Abalone stand. The size of large oysters, these plump beauties are farmed on the Big Island and explode with juice when you bite into them. At 2 for $5, you won't find a better deal on abalone.
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Kumarajiva ko͞omär´əjĭvə [key], 344–413, Buddhist scholar and missionary, b. Kucha, in what is now Xinjiang, China. When his mother, a Kuchean princess, became a nun, he followed her into monastic life at the age of seven. He grew up in centers of Hinayana Buddhism, but he was converted to Mahayana Buddhism in his teens and became a specialist in Madhyamika philosophy. In 383, Chinese forces seized Kucha and carried Kumarajiva off to China. From 401 he was at the Ch'in court in the capital Chang'an (the modern Xi'an), where he taught and translated Buddhist scriptures into Chinese. More than 100 translations are attributed to him. Of these only about 24 can be authenticated, but they include some of the most important titles in the Chinese Buddhist canon. Kumarajiva's career had an epoch-making influence on Chinese Buddhist thought, not only because he made available important texts that were previously unknown, but also because he did much to clarify Buddhist terminology and philosophical concepts. He and his disciples established the Chinese branch of the Madhyamika, known as the San-lun, or
Three Treatisesschool.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2023, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Buddhism: Biographies

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New scrutiny of role of religion in Bush's policies
The president's rhetoric worries even some evangelicals
President Bush has never been shy about injecting his faith into the public arena - his campaign remark that Jesus Christ was his "favorite political philosopher" was an early signal. But his rising use of religious language and imagery in recent months, especially with regard to the US role in the world, has stirred concern both at home and abroad.
In this year's State of the Union address, for example, Bush quoted an evangelical hymn that refers to the power of Christ. "'There's power, wonder-working power,' in the goodness and idealism and faith of the American people," he said.
Now, some critics are wondering whether the influence of Bush's evangelical faith goes beyond public rhetoric to shape his foreign policy regarding Iraq and the Middle East.
With public speculation in full swing, the Christian Century last week insisted that "the American people have a right to know how the president's faith is informing his public policies, not least his design on Iraq."
No one presumes to know how another's personal faith plays out in public life, and the president's spokesman insists that Mr. Bush makes his decisions as a "secular leader."
Yet among those who share his evangelical Christianity, the satisfaction of having a born-again believer in the White House doesn't necessarily preclude an uneasiness with some of his rhetoric and policies.
Forty evangelical leaders, for instance, wrote the president last summer seeking an "evenhanded US policy" toward Israel and the Palestinians and rejecting "the way some have distorted biblical passages as their rationale for uncritical support" for Israel. Some evangelical groups are close allies of the Sharon government and work in the US to build support.
Still, the infusion of religious conviction into presidential speeches warms many hearts. To one of his most vocal supporters, Bush is simply using the language of American civil religion.
"George Bush is standing squarely in a tradition as old as the country," says Richard Land, head of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. "Lincoln's Second Inaugural address is like a sermon. The Declaration of Independence says we are endowed by our Creator with rights and appeals to God for the success of the Revolutionary cause."
As for the president's frequent remarks on the US leading the fight of good against evil in the world, he adds, "Saddam Hussein is evil, and compared to him we are pure and good."
Others applaud Bush's clarity in a time of national crisis. "He has reintroduced into the culture the language of morality and moral distinctions," says Richard Mouw, president of Fuller Theological Seminary, in Pasadena, Calif.
Yet Dr. Mouw worries about explicitly Christian phraseology that Jews and Muslims hear in the light of their own histories. And he sees lessons in how two other presidents communicated their convictions.
Jimmy Carter, for instance, carefully avoided using Christian language in public. Abraham Lincoln, on the other hand, regularly used the language of Scripture, yet invoked the will of God not for one side or the other in war, but to call everyone to humility, repentance, and reconciliation.
"We may have to go to war in Iraq," Mouw says, but "we are at a place internationally where, if the president does want to use the language of religion, he might do better to admit some of our mistakes. What if he actually asked forgiveness on behalf of a nation that in the past supported Saddam Hussein?"
Some express concern, too, about Bush's tendency to demonize the enemy, whether it be Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden, or the nations of the "axis of evil."
"Demonization can produce hatred, and all of a sudden, we're heading toward a battle of civilizations" when we don't have to be, says Robert Seiple, president of the Institute for Global Engagement, a think tank on religious freedom in St. Davids, Pa.
The Gospel, some evangelicals are quick to note, teaches that the line separating good and evil runs not between nations, but inside every human heart.
Although Bush consistently speaks well of Islam, some Americans worry his religious language makes it easier to connect him and US policy - in the eyes of the world's Muslims - to evangelical preachers who call Islam "an evil religion."
And more are beginning to question how the evangelicalism of Bush, key aides such as Condoleezza Rice, and his political constituency might play a role in Middle East policy.
According to evangelicals, the vast majority of them are very supportive of Israel for religious reasons. "The president certainly knows that and may be influenced by the same things," Mouw says.
But the reasons aren't those usually portrayed by the media. "The idea that evangelicals support Israel because they want to hasten the Second Coming is absolute nonsense," says Dr. Land. "No human being can do anything to hasten or retard that."
Evangelical support rests, Land explains, on God's biblical promise to give the land of Israel to the Jews forever, and on God's statement that he will "bless those who bless the Jews and curse those who curse the Jews."
That statement holds considerable power among some evangelicals. "There's a strong tendency toward uncritical support of Israel and that verse gets thrown at us whenever we are critical of some policy," says Mouw, one of the leaders to sign the letter to Bush.
"My response to that is that anyone who wants to bless Israel needs to be sure that Israel does justice - the Old Testament prophets loved Israel, but [also] said God was angry with them because they had taken other peoples' houses and land," he adds.
Dr. Seiple is disappointed, too, in Bush's failure to see the moral ambiguity and complexity in the Palestinian-Israeli question. "We went from an honest broker to one-sided emphasis," he says. "It may play well with his base politically, and he might believe it theologically ... but it's not where I would give him high marks for moral leadership."
Even the potential war with Iraq has its biblical resonances. "Iraq as Babylon - I've been hearing that a lot lately," Mouw says. "The two prominent images are the glorious city of Jerusalem and the wicked city of Babylon ... and there's no question [that] the fact Iraq is the site of ancient Babylon is a motif that influences evangelicals."
An intriguing question is the extent to which Americans share the apocalyptic views of some evangelicals that we are heading into the last days of the final battle between good and evil. Polls indicate that some 40 million do.
What's clear is that while evangelicals greatly value the renewed moral tone and religious conviction in the presidency, they, like other Americans, differ over how the president expresses that conviction and the implications for his decisionmaking. Bush has said he tends to make decisions by gut instinct. Many Americans are wondering which religious instincts might hold sway as he acts to determine the course of history.


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Tenant and members of Tenant's household shall not smoke anywhere in the Premises (this includes the interior of the apartment and any exterior porch, balcony or patio area attached to the apartment) or garage rented by Tenant, nor shall Tenant permit any guest or visitor under the control of Tenant to do so. In addition, smoking shall be prohibited in the following Common Areas of the Property: Property Leasing Office, playgrounds, swimming pools, spas, dog parks, BBQ areas, garbage enclosures, laundry rooms and mail stations. Smoking is permitted in the parking lots and other areas not mentioned above, but in all cases, smoking may not occur within 10 feet of any buildings, building entrances, exits, windows that open or ventilation intakes. E-cigarettes and vaping is permitted.Renters Insurance Policy
Residents are required to obtain a renters insurance policy with a minimum of $100,000 in liability coverage and maintain that policy for the duration of the tenancy*. You may choose an insurance carrier of your choice; however, Assurant Specialty Property offers easy enrollment, guaranteed acceptance, and customized coverage options that meet our renters insurance requirements. For additional details on the renters insurance requirement, please contact the leasing office.Assurant Specialty Property www.rentersecurity.com/ctlmgmt 1-855-846-9278 Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. - 10 p.m. and Saturday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. ET.
*Some exclusions apply to the renters insurance requirement. Insurance will not be mandated for tenants whose income is equal to or less than 50% of the median income or to tenants who are in publicly subsidized housing (except Section 8). Landlord's comparable liability insurance is available upon request.


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The number of Canadian homes sold last month set a record for the month of September and the national average price soared 17.5% from last year., according to a report Thursday.
There were 45.6% more sales compared with September 2019, the Canadian Real Estate Association said. Compared with August, CREA said home sales were up 0.9% on a seasonally adjusted basis.
The actual national average home price in September was a record $604,000, up 17.5% from September 2019.
"Many Canadian housing markets are continuing to see historically strong levels of activity as we enter into the fall market of this very strange year," CREA chair Costa Poulopoulos said in a statement.
In addition to a shortage of property listings in a number of regions, there's been "fierce competition" among buyers, Poulopoulos said.
CREA senior economist Shaun Cathcart said other factors included pent-up demand due to early pandemic-related lockdowns, low interest rates, and government COVID-19 supports.
"But I think another wild card factor to consider, which has no historical precedent, is the value of one's home during this time. Home has been our workplace, our kids' schools, the gym, the park and more. Personal space is more important than ever.," Cathcart said.
Douglas Porter, chief economist for BMO Capital Markets, said September's price increase wasn't a fluke as the average gain over the first nine months of 2020 was 11.6%.
But Porter's commentary concluded by inserting doubt that the "recent sizzling strength" can persist.
"The underlying economic conditions simply do not support such a piping hot market over a sustained period," Porter wrote.
CREA said the national average price would be about $125,000 lower if sales in Greater Vancouver and the Greater Toronto Area are excluded..
But Porter noted that the MLS Home Price Index, which adjusts for different type of properties sold, has risen 10.3% in the past year.
In September, the MLS HPI was up 1.3% from August.
CREA attributed the modest month-over-month increase in the number of homes sold, compared with August, to declines in the Greater Toronto Area and Montreal.
Those were offset by gains in Ottawa, Greater Vancouver, Vancouver Island, Calgary and Hamilton-Burlington, Ont.


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This Brass and Bold piece is sent beautifully wrapped in a hand stamped eco craft pillow box.
Care for your jewellery
All raw brass will deepen in colour over time. If you would prefer to keep a bright gold-brass colour simply clean with a jewellery polishing cloth, Brasso or brighten with lemon juice.
Raw brass will darken more quickly if exposed to moisture. To keep jewellery untarnished it is advisable to remove it before swimming or showering.


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Funky Traditional Wall Clock A7 by Duane Scherer
Duane Scherer creates this artistic, Funky Traditional Wall Clock A7. Duane finds joy creating mixed media, fun, elegant, and whimsical wall clocks, made with acid-washed metals, painted wood, handmade papers, found objects, paint, and various artistic techniques.
- Handmade in the USA
- Artisan-crafted wall clocks
- Size: 11" W x 14" H
- Shipping: approximately two weeks
1. Free Ground Shipping: On most items $100.00 and over, and under 25 lbs.
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2. Ground Shipping Charges: 0 - $99.99 = $18.00 (USPS, FedEx, and UPS only)
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3. Freight Charges: Larger items, for example, furniture.
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4. International Orders: Must contact us first: firstname.lastname@example.com
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For any shipping requirement other than free ground shipping, please call (845) 679-2622, or email firstname.lastname@example.com
Due to the nature of handcrafted work, subtle variations are natural.
Duane has a bachelor of fine arts degree from Wayne State with a double major in painting and sculpture. Art has always been an integral part of his life. He worked as a commissioned muralist, began experimenting with different media, and then developed his skills creating his eclectic timepieces.


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Wedding photo album (black and white design, widescreen)
Present your wedding pictures in an album as elegant as your wedding. The template contains 17 slides with various photo layouts and formal border designs. Find matching templates in the Black and White wedding design set by clicking the See Also link above.


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Learn From The Pros — Porn Stars Teach Sex Ed With Live Demonstrations
Just the thought of a high-heeled porn star teaching sexual education courses in school is enough motivation to make most of us pretty eager to get back in the classroom.
However, when she announces that her carnal teachings will include fully nude, live demonstrations, complete with sonic vibrators and butt-plugs, the perverts and master-whackers of the world will beat the doors of the institution off its hinges with their scabbed-over meat-sticks just to get a seat.
Fortunately for the sexually-depraved citizens of San Francisco, there is now such a public educational series available. Kink.com is now conducting live, hands-on sex courses using porn star models to demonstrate the proper ways to tickle your old lady's get-me-off spots. Tonight's lecture is on oral sex - taught by adult superstar Rain Degrey.
Don't expect to come to a lecture and see a bunch of California's beautiful people pounding some flesh, though. "They have to sit through a lecture before we get to the good stuff," said DeGrey. "We do techniques, physical response and have a question and answer period before moving on to the demonstrations."
DeGrey says she has taught previous classes on the proper use of a strap-on and female dominance.
Representatives from Kink say that next week's demonstration on female ejaculation is sure to be a graphic affair. So, you might want to find a babysitter that night, folks.
UPDATE: Big shocker, the oral sex class scheduled for tonight is sold out.


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- One (1) English Pokemon Crown Zenith Booster Pack. PCTCG
- Cards vary by pack. Purchase contains only one 10-card package. .
- All packs are unweighed, untampered, new factory sealed authentic.
- All packs were taken out of ETBs
- Pack arts may vary.
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by Peace Agyare
Maua Sama features Alikiba on new musi tagged – Nioneshe
in Audios
Peace Agyare loves to write and is addicted to reading. She is a staff at Ghaflagh.com & ghafla.com/music/ A well bred journalist with a flair for entertainment, society and arts. She loves covering events and reporting personalities for the public consumption.
Email : [email protected]
Instagram @peaceagyare & Twitter ; @agyare_peace
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Greenville toll road wants state to catch cheaters
Southern Connector seeks help collecting $200K in unpaid tolls
The operator of the Southern Connector toll road in Greenville County wants the state to help collect money from those did not pay for using the road.
Transportation Secretary Robert St. Onge is worried about helping because it would involve Social Security numbers.
The Connector 2000 Association operates the road and wants to participate in a program that allows debts to be taken from tax refunds.
The association wants the transportation department to obtain violators' Social Security numbers and give the information to the Revenue Department to collect the unpaid tolls.
The association says violators owe more than $200,000.
St. Onge is worried about his department working with Social Security numbers after the problems the Revenue Department had last year in a hacking case.


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Saunas and Silence
In the countryside of Finland, solitude is a national pastime
The Finnish idea of a perfect vacation: a Mökki on the shore of a quiet lake
In the farthest corner of northern Europe, tucked between a remote finger of the Baltic Sea and Russia's frigid port of Murmansk, lies Finland. In North America, this latitude can land you in igloo territory. But when I touched down in the capital of Helsinki, Finland felt familiar—in fact, it felt a lot like Maine, where I spent my childhood summers.
Finland possesses a few features that Maine does not—for starters, a vast number of steamy wooden rooms full of naked people. But apart from the saunas, the similarities are striking: Finland has the same flat landscape, the same crisp air, the countless lakes, the fir trees and birches, and the fragrant wildflowers. Like Maine, Finland has a convoluted coastline dotted with rocky islands, and Finns even celebrate summer with lobster dinners—or rather, raucous evenings spent obliterating bucketfuls of crayfish. I was already feeling right at home when I met several Finns who revealed that they, just like my grandparents in Maine, owned a vacation cottage in the woods.
My new Finnish friends explained that staying at a cottage—called a mökki in Finnish—is basically Finland's national pastime. Nearly half a million mökki dot the countryside, and that comes to roughly one cottage in the woods for every 10 Finns.
My friends decided I should experience a mökki for myself. I assumed this would be something akin to the comfortable vacations I'd enjoyed with my grandparents, when a stay at the cottage entailed plenty of cocktail parties, meals with neighbors, and strolls to town for a daily gabfest.
I was in for something else. When I asked a young woman in Helsinki to define the essence of cottage life, she gazed dreamily into the distance. "Washing dishes without running water or electricity," she murmured. A man next to her nodded approvingly, and added, "Digging ditches." (Only later did I realize he was probably referring to going to the bathroom.) And they both said emphatically: "Not socializing with other people."
|On the shores of the Baltic Sea
On the drive to my first mökki, the roads twisted through green fields of barley and rye and stunning yellow swaths of rapeseed. Sturdy red farmhouses and barns were scattered across the countryside. We arrived at a lake, and there in the woods was a very small, very charming cabin. My friends unloaded our supply of drinking water—which, in accordance with mökki tradition, consisted primarily of beer—and built a fire to heat the sauna. Someone pointed out the rowboat at the shoreline, noting that a rowboat and a sauna were the only two pieces of equipment necessary for mökki living. I was more concerned with a third piece of equipment, but when I found it—and indeed, it was more or less just a ditch—I was pleased to discover it was covered by an equally charming outhouse.
My hosts, men and women alike, armed themselves with forestry gear and disappeared. Had I been a Finn, I would have set off with industrious intent to thin trees, net fish, forage for mushrooms and berries, putter with hammer and nail, or even hunt down a reindeer. But I remained perched on the porch, enchanted by the sudden quiet.
When the others returned, it was time to unwind. We sat in the sauna. We jumped nude into the lake. We savored some drinking water. Then we clambered back into the sauna and did it all again. And again.
Soon I was much too relaxed to bother with the rowboat, so I just swam out to the middle of the lake and floated naked in the cool water, surrounded by silence and trees. The sky was a pure, empty blue, and there wasn't a single plan for socializing in sight. It was the most carefree and restorative afternoon I'd spent in a decade.
Finland's population is aging and growing richer, so some Finns have expanded the notion of the cottage getaway. When another Finnish family invited me to their mökki, I gladly accepted, but was startled to arrive at a large new home with vaulted ceilings, a fancy kitchen, and exquisite plumbing. It was still on a lake, and had a rowboat and a sauna—a slick electrified one—but lacked any Stone Age charms.
After another day surrounded by woods and water, though, I realized that what made Finnish cottage life so uniquely refreshing—and so different from my summers of socializing in Maine—was just as apparent at this fancy mökki as it had been at the simple cabin. These Finns, too, would happily spend weeks in the forest, never seeing a single neighbor. Even with a higher standard of living, the most desirable luxury was still the simple satisfaction of solitude.


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Lair of the Evildoer
July 22, 2011 4 Comments
I've always wondered about the evolution of becoming an evil criminal mastermind. In order to be profitable, you need to start early in life. Get encouragement from your evil parents (it helps if they have evil names like Adolf or Ethel), go to an evil college (I'm thinking Dartmouth), get an evil degree (something like Marine Biology), set up shop in an evil city (anyplace in Florida will do), hire evil henchmen (usually found on Craigslist), come up with an evil scheme (phone hacking seems in these days), get an evil lair (and the prices on those are simply outrageous these days)…
Fuck, if it was me I would barely have enough motivation left after all that to be mischievous, let alone evil.
So I can sympathize with the villain from Lair of the Evildoer. He goes through all the trouble of becoming evil, getting a lair, and coming up with a scheme and I foiled the whole thing in about three hours. And to rub salt the wounds, I had a great time doing it.
Lair of the Evildoer is a top-down shooter where you play as some kind of mutant egg-man thingy out to exterminate all the zombies created in this evil office building, complete with evil wood paneling and blue shag carpet. There's twenty randomly-generated levels full of assorted baddies. There's a mind-blowing twenty-five weapons that can be picked up along the way, with each weapon type having variable stats similar to Diablo or Borderlands.
You move with the left stick and aim with the right one, a set up that works fairly well. I did die several times while playing Evildoer, which my boyfriend felt might have had something to do with choosing the wrong experience upgrades. Early on I poured all my level-up points into dexterity, which increases your aiming accuracy. Once I had a 100% rating in that, I spent most of my points on health upgrading. Then came the enemies who could only be killed using melee attacks. With practically no points spent on that, fights with them resembled something out of a MMORPG , with each of us taking turns to thwap each-other until one of us wasn't thwaping anymore. But even when I started to accumulate points in melee strength the battles still dragged like a dog with worms and it constantly broke up the flow of the game. This is one of my only design complaints.
The graphics are of the "looks like it was done on MS Paint" variety. Clearly in the top-tier of such games, but they have that look none the less. The sound effects are a bit lacking as well, but the music is cool and trippy. The whole experience reminded me of Zombies Ate My Neighbors, which was a childhood favorite of mine. Some people had the raw nerve to call Dead Rising the spiritual modern equivalent to ZAMN. Such people are mentally ill. Lair of the Evildoer is as close to Zombies Ate My Neighbors as any game in the last decade has come, and it's nearly as good. It's incredibly imaginative, humorous, and well designed. And, without wishing to spoil anything, the final boss fight will go down in the annals of gaming as one of the most epic this side of Ocarina of Time. Make sure you have a bathroom break beforehand.
As for me, being a true top-of-the-heap evildoer is too much work. I'll just do my part by continuing to invest in Google.
Lair of the Evildoer was developed by Going Loud Studios
80 Microsoft Points didn't really think Dartmouth is evil in the making of this review. Now Yale on the other hand...


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I recently keynoted the annual Future Music Forum in Barcelona. These are some highlights of the keynote. If you would like the full slide deck please email me at mark AT midia research DOT COM.
Streaming is turning years of music business accepted wisdom on its head but did not arrive unannounced, it is just one chapter in the evolution of digital music. Each of the four phases of digital music have been shaped by technologies that solved problems. Now we are entering the fourth phase, bringing meaning to the 30 million tracks Spotify et al gave us access to. This might look like a simple honing of the model but it is every bit as important as the previous three stages. 30 million tracks is a meaningless quantity of music. It would take three lifetimes to listen to every track once. There is so much choice that there is effectively no choice at all. This is the Tyranny of Choice.
But the for all the evolution, today's digital music marketplace is an unbalanced one. We have more than 500 music services across the globe but too many of them are chasing after the same customers with weakly differentiated offerings. This wouldn't matter so much is if the competition was focused on where the consumer scale is, but this is anything but the case. The majority of paid music services are targeting the engaged, high spending Music Aficionados who represent just 17% of all consumers.
The consequences of the imbalance in digital music strategy are also easy to see in total revenues. The last decade has been one of persistent decline in recorded music revenue and by 2018 the most likely scenario is one of stabilization rather than growth. This is because of a) the CD and b) the download.
No one has taken the demise of the CD seriously enough. It still accounts for more than half of global revenue and more than three quarters of revenue in two of the world's biggest music markets. Yet far too many CD buyers are being left to simply stop buying entirely because they see no natural entry point into the digital services market. No one appears to be putting up a serious fight for them. Meanwhile the streaming services that have been chasing those same aficionados that Apple engaged are now busy turning that download spending into streaming spending, which ends up being, at best, revenue transition rather than growth. Consequently CDs and downloads will end up declining at almost the same rate over the next five years.
Nonetheless the imbalance remains. Part of the reason we got into this state of affairs is the music industry's obsession with revenue metrics: chart positions, market share and ARPU. Compare and contrast with the TV industry's focus on audiences. It is time for the music industry to start thinking in audience terms too.
When we do so we see a very different picture. Here we have the US digital music market plotted by revenue and by audience size. Subscriptions pack a big revenue punch but reach only a tiny segment of the market while YouTube has vast reach but delivers remarkably little in terms of direct revenue. Meanwhile downloads, for all their doomed future, are still by far the best combination of scale and revenue.
The issue of free services stealing the oxygen from paid ones is a perennial one and is effectively a digital rerun of the never-to-be-resolved radio driving or reducing music sales debate. But it has far more impact in digital. With services like YouTube and Pandora the discovery journey is indistinguishable from the consumption destination. When they don't lead to sales can they really be called discovery anymore?
Free is of course the language of the web. The contagion of free is legion. And free is where the audience growth is. This is the circle the music industry must square.
For 15+ years the music industry has been running to catch up, never quite able to get ahead of the game, an unavoidable feature of the process of digital disruption. But although the consumer behaviour shift is inevitable the future direction of the music business is not and it will be shaped most by three key factors:
- The continued evolution of consumer behaviour
- Technology company strategy
- Income distribution
Consumer behaviour. The most important consumer behaviour trends are not the steady transition of the Aficionados or even the Forgotten Fans but of the next generation of music consumers, the Digital Natives. Free and mobile are the two defining elements of their music behaviour. Of course younger people always have less disposable income, but there is a very real chance that we are beginning to see demographic trends locking in as cohort trends that will stay with these consumers as they age. For a generation weaned on free, the more free you give them, the more they will crave it. Whatever course is plotted, success will depend upon deeply understanding the needs of Digital Natives and not simply trying to shoe horn them into the products we have now that are built for the older transition generation.
Technology companies: Apple, Amazon and Google each in their own ways dominate digital music. But most importantly they all want very different things from it. For each of them music is a means to an end. All are willing to some degree to loss lead on music to achieve ulterior business objectives. All of which is great for labels and publishers as they get their royalties, advances and equity stakes. But for the pure play start up it means competing on an uneven footing with giant companies who don't even need music to generate a revenue return for them.
Revenue distribution: Artists and songwriters found their voices in recent years. Partly because of the rise in social media but also because so many are now paying much more attention to the business side of their careers. The fact they are watching download dollars being replaced by streaming cents only intensifies matters, as does the fact that the top 1% of creators get a disproportionately large share of revenue. It has always been thus but the signs are that the disparity is becoming even more pronounced in the streaming age, with the effects felt all the more keenly because unless you have vast scale streaming can too easily look like chicken feed to an artist compared to download income.
But artist and songwriter discontent alone is not going to change the world. Their voices are just not powerful enough, nor do most fans care enough. Also labels and publishers remain the most viable route to market for most artists. Matters aren't helped by the fact that artists who demand an audit of their accounts to work out where their streaming revenue has gone swiftly accept their label's hefty silence payment and the accompanying NDA. Artist discontent while not decisive in impact is beginning to apply important pressure to the supply end of the music business.
So those are the three big challenges, now here are three sets of solutions. And I should warn you in advance that I am going to use the P word. Yes, 'Product'.
I get why product sounds like an ugly word. It's a term you use for baked beans, for fridges for phones. Not a cultural creation like music right? True enough, when we're talking about the song itself, or the performance of it, product is irrelevant. But as soon as we're talking about trying to make money out of it as a CD, download, stream or however, then we're firmly in the territory of product. It is both naïve and archaic to think otherwise. When artists got megabucks advances and never had to worry about the sustainability of their careers and everything revolved around the simplicity of CD sales you could perhaps be forgiven for turning a blind eye. But now there is no excuse.
So with that little diatribe out of the way, on to the first solution.
Music product: The harsh reality is that music as a product has hardly evolved in the digital realm. A lot has been done around retailer and business model innovation, but the underlying product is the same static audio file that we found in the CD. Meanwhile the devices we are spending every growing shares of our media consumption have high definition touch screens, graphics accelerators, accelerometers…audio hardly scratches the surface of what tablets and smartphones do.
Music is always going to be about the song, but it is also about the artist and their story. That's what a quarter of consumers think, and 45% of aficionados and a third of digital natives. Video, lyrics, photos, reviews, interviews, acoustic sets, art, these are all ways in which the artist can tell their story and they all need to be part of the product. Most of this stuff is already created by labels, artists and managers but it is labelled marketing. Putting this together into a curated, context aware whole is what will constitute a 21st century music product.
Fans: Artists and fans are closer than ever but this journey is only getting going and artists need to get smarter about how to monetize their fan bases. Artists need to find their popcorn. What do I mean by this? Well when the cinema industry started out it was a loss making business. To try to fix this cinemas started by experimenting with the product, putting on double bills but that wasn't enough. Then came innovation in the format by adding sound. Then the experience itself by co-opting the new technology of air conditioning from the meat packing industry. Still no profit. Finally cinemas found the solution: popcorn. With a 97% operating margin, popcorn along with soda and sweets quickly became how cinemas become profitable entities. Artists need to find their popcorn. To find out what other value they can deliver their fans to subsidize releasing music. It's what newspapers are doing with wine clubs and travel clubs, and in some instances even with Spotify bundles!
Labels: Finally we have agencies or what you might call labels, but I'm going to call them agencies, because that is what they need to become. The label model is already going under dramatic transformation with the advent of label services companies like Kobalt and Essential and of fan funding platforms like Pledge and Kick Starter. All of these are parts of the story of the 21st century label, where the relationship between label and artist is progressively transformed from contracted employee to that of an agency-client model. Labels that follow this model will be the success stories. And these labels will also have to stop thinking within the old world constraints of what constitutes the work of a label versus a publisher versus a creative agency versus a dev company. In the multimedia digital era a 21st century labels needs to do all of this and be able to work in partnership with the creator to exploit all those rights by having them together under one roof.
And finally, the grand unifying concept to pull all this together: experience. Experience is the product. The internet did away with content scarcity. Now the challenge that must be met is to create scarce, sought after experiences that give people reasons to spend money on the artists and music they love.


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New home construction got off to a strong start for the year, with housing starts and building permits rising in January on a monthly and annual basis.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- New home construction got off to a strong start for the year, with housing starts and building permits rising in January on a monthly and annual basis -- another sign that the U.S. housing market and broader economy are headed in the right direction.
The Census Bureau reported that housing starts rose to an annual rate of 699,000, up 1.5% from December. Compared to a year ago, housing starts were almost 10% higher.
Building permits, which are less affected by weather than starts, came in at a 676,000 annual rate in January, up 0.7% from the prior month and 19% from a year earlier.
Results were also better than industry expectations. A consensus of industry experts from Briefing.com had forecast starts of 671,000 and permits of 675,000.
Housing completions fell to an annual rate of 530,000 in January, however, a drop of 12% compared to December, but up more than 4% from a year earlier.
"Along with the overall positive tides seen recently in the economy, it looks as if residential building is starting to follow suit," said Mike Lubansky, senior financial analyst at Sageworks. "Although residential building still has a steep hill to climb in order to achieve a full recovery to pre-2007 levels, it does look to be on the right trajectory."
For a full-blown recovery, experts say good news needs to continue out of the job market. So far, the unemployment rate has dropped for five straight months, and now stands at 8.3%, the lowest since February 2009.
Initial claims for unemployment benefits have also been falling. On Thursday, a government report showed that the number of Americans filing for jobless claims plunged to the lowest level in nearly four years.
"Today's data are further proof that the recovery solidified in late 2011, and that momentum has carried forward into 2012," said Gus Faucher, senior economist at PNC Financial Services Group. "More importantly, the likelihood of an even stronger recovery is growing."
He added that a continued pick-up in job growth this year could support faster consumer spending growth and a stronger rebound in housing. But, he added, the financial crisis in Europe remains the largest downside risk.
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A spacious Puunui home
Other than the fact that today's featured home is huge, it's not unique or remarkable. However, any time something becomes available in the Maemae Elementary School district, I feel compelled to let you know about it as a public service.
It's kind of a McMansion compared with older homes in the area, tucked into the back corner of Puunui. Built in 2004, the 3,994-square-foot, two-story residence takes up most of the 5,000-square-foot lot; there's also a huge, three-car garage. What little area there is for a yard is covered in concrete, so it's a nice, low-maintenance property for busy people. (Click here for details.)
Upstairs, you'll find three of the bedrooms and two of the bathrooms, a huge family room and a wet bar. The first floor has two bedrooms, one bathroom, an entertainment room and the kitchen and dining room. It's "ohana eligible," so you would have to apply for permission to split the home, but at least you have the option to do so.
There's porcelain tile flooring, split air conditioning, and—my favorite part—hard-wired ethernet cables all over to keep you connected to the internet and minimize dropped signals.
Most likely, interested buyers for this home don't care too much about the features; most will want to get their kids into Maemae School. For those unfamiliar, Maemae has long been known as one of the best elementary schools in Hawaii's public school system, and district exceptions are almost impossible to come by. Many of the reviews say that Maemae provides private school-quality education, since the students, like some real estate bloggers you know, turn out high test scores.
This home will be open from 2 to 5 p.m. this Sunday.
Money talk: $1,180,000 fee simple
Contact: Kenneth Lum, Loyal Realty, 808-478-9807, firstname.lastname@example.com


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Did you catch our inaugural First Book Blogger Book Club? We asked some of our favorite book bloggers to read 'Slam' by Nick Hornby, and tell us what they thought. It's a great way to let more people know about the young adult titles we carry on the First Book Marketplace, and get people talking about some of the books we love.
And now we want you! You've always wanted to join a book club, right? Book bloggers in particular, but anyone with a blog or a website, or even just a Facebook page is welcome to participate. Read the book, think it over, and tell us what you think! We'll be spotlighting everyone's posts and reviews on April 19, and then we can discuss the book here on the First Book blog.
This month's selection is: Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, by E. Lockhart.
Follow Frankie from her 14 year old geeky, shy self to her 16 year old criminal masterminded self her wont take no for an answer, not even from her boyfriend and his secret all-male club. This is the story of how she got that way.
So pick up a copy of the book at your favorite bookstore or library, share your thoughts on April 19th (or a few days before, if you like), and send us the link to your post.
Questions? Just ask them in the comments section of this post, and we'll get back to you right away.


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Bcc'ed to -project, -legal and -private; followups to -vote please. It's been six months since the social contract changes that forbid non-free documentation went into effect [0], and we're still distributing GFDLed stuff in unstable [1]. I think we should get serious about fixing that, and as part of that that we should release the following statement (or one like it) on the GFDL: --- Why the GNU Free Documentation License is not suitable for Debian main ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (0) Summary Within the Debian community there has been a significant amount of concern about the GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL), and whether it is, in fact, a "free" license. This document attempts to explain why Debian's answer is "no". It should be noted that this does not imply any hostility towards the Free Software Foundation, and does not mean that GFDL documentation should not be considered "free enough" by others, and Debian itself will continue distributing GFDL documentation in its "non-free" section. (1) What is the GFDL? The GFDL is a license written by the Free Software Foundation, who use it as a license for their own documentation, and promote it to others. It is also used as Wikipedia's license. To quote the GFDL's Preamble: The purpose of this License is to make a manual, textbook, or other functional and useful document "free" in the sense of freedom: to assure everyone the effective freedom to copy and redistribute it, with or without modifying it, either commercially or noncommercially. Secondarily, this License preserves for the author and publisher a way to get credit for their work, while not being considered responsible for modifications made by others. This License is a kind of "copyleft", which means that derivative works of the document must themselves be free in the same sense. It complements the GNU General Public License, which is a copyleft license designed for free software. (2) How does it fail to meet Debian's standards for Free Software? The GFDL conflicts with traditional requirements for free software in a variety of ways, some of which are expanded upon below. As a copyleft license, one of the consequences of this is that it is not possible to include content from a documention directly into free software under the GFDL. The major conflicts are: (2.1) Invariant Sections The most troublesome conflict concerns the class of invariant sections that, once included, may not be modified or removed from the documentation in future. Modifiability is, however, a fundamental requirement of the DFSG, which states: 3. Derived Works The license must allow modifications and derived works, and must allow them to be distributed under the same terms as the license of the original software. Invariant sections create particular problems in reusing small portions of the work (since any invariant sections must be included also, however large), and in making sure the documentation remains accurate and relevant. (2.2) Transparent Copies The second conflict is related to the GFDL's requirements for "transparent copies" of documentation (that is, a copy of the documentation in a form suitable for editing). In particular, Section 3 of the GFDL requires that a transparent copy of the documentation be included with every opaque copy distributed, or that a transparent copy is made available for a year after the opaque copies are no longer being distributed. For free software works, Debian expects that simply providing the source (or transparent copy) alongside derivative works will be sufficient, but this does not satisfy either clause of the GFDL's requirements. (2.3) Digital Rights Management The third conflict with the GFDL arises from the measures in Section 2 that attempt to overcome Digital Rights Management (DRM) technologies. In particular, the GFDL states that "You may not use technical measures to obstruct or control the reading or further copying of the copies you make or distribute". This inhibits freedom in three ways: it limits use of the documentation as well as distribution, by covering all copies made, as well as copies distributed; it rules out distributing copies on DRM-protected media, even if done in such a way as to give users full access to a transparent copy of the work; and, as written, it also potentially disallows encrypting the documentation, or even storing it on a filesystem that supports permissions. (3) Why does documentation need to be Free Software? There are a number of obvious differences between programs and documentation that often inspire people to ask "why not simply have different standards for the two?" For example, books are often written by individuals, while programs are written by teams, so proper credit for a book might be more important than proper credit for a program. On the other hand, free software is often written by a single person, and free software documentation is often written by a larger group of contributors. And the line between what is documentation and what is a program is not always so clear either, as content from one is often needed in the other (to provide online help, to provide screenshots or interactive tutorials, to provide a more detailed explanation by quoting some of the source code). Similarly, while not all programs demonstrate creativity or could be considered "works of art", some can, and trying to determine which is the case for all the software in Debian would be a distraction from our goals. In practice, then, documentation simply isn't different enough to warrant different standards: we still wish to provide source code in the same manner as for programs, we still wish to be able to modify and reuse documentation in other documentation and programs as conveniently as possible, and we wish to be able to provide our users with exactly the documentation they want, without extraneous materials. (4) How can this be fixed? What, then, can documentation authors and others do about this? An easy first step is to not include the optional invariant sections in your documentation, since they are not required by the license, but are simply an option open to authors. Unfortunately this alone is not enough, as other clauses of the GFDL render all GFDL documentation non-free. As a consequence, other licenses should be investigated; generally it is probably simplest to choose either the GNU General Public License (for a copyleft license) or the BSD or MIT licenses (for a non-copyleft license). As most GFDL documentation is made available under "the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation", the Free Software Foundation is able to remedy these problems by changing the license. The problems discussed above require relatively minor changes to the GFDL -- allowing invariant sections to be removed, allowing transparent copies to be made available concurrently, and moderating the restrictions on technical measures. Unfortunately, while members of the Debian Project have been in contact with the FSF about these concerns for the past four years, these negotiations have not come to any conclusion to date. --- It's based on Manoj's draft position statement [2] with some notable changes (an explicit "why not just say docs != software" section, a "how can this be fixed" section, a "what is the GFDL?" section, and reordering the major problems). I've put the above draft on the wiki [3] so people can tweak it. Cheers, aj [0] http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel-announce/2005/06/msg00019.html [1] http://bugs.debian.org/usertag:email@example.com:gfdl [2] http://people.debian.org/~srivasta/Position_Statement.html [3] http://wiki.debian.org/GFDLPositionStatement
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In 9 days (March 31, 2012) The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will hold their next Semi-Annual General Conference.
In order to better prepare for the upcoming Conference, I suggest that we review excerpts of messages from our previous General Conference.
Highlights of The October 2011 LDS General Conference
"May the spirit we have felt here be and abide with us as we go about those things which occupy us each day. May we show increased kindness one toward another. May we ever be found doing the work of the Lord. May heaven's blessings be with you. May your homes be filled with harmony and love. May you constantly nourish your testimonies, that they might be a protection for you against the adversary. . . I say farewell to you until we meet again in six months' time."
– Pres. Thomas S. Monson, Until We Meet Again, Oct. 2011
You're Invited! Please Don't Miss Conference! Get info HERE!
Related articles
- General Conference Challenge! (myfavoritetalks.wordpress.com)
- We Listen To A Prophet's Voice (mormonsoprano.com)
- Pres. Monson makes list of top 10 most admired men (KSL News)


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MSR SimmerLite
The SimmerLite has been discontinued. It was replaced by the MSR DragonFly.
For a small, light, liquid fuel stove I am very happy with this piece of camp equipment.
It is
- Most compact of many brands I was considering.
- Near lightest of many brands I was considering.
- Easy to light but of course it needs some technique. Practice at home before leaving on your trip.
- Easy to clean and somewhat self cleaning.
- Temperature/flame adjustable with care. The first 1/8 turn will control near 75% of flame increase. It is sensitive but with a careful gentle turn it simmers well. Use the wind and base guards as they helps a lot. Max flame is a lot of flame and I never used max even for boiling water with wind guard and large pot.
- Wind guard and base guard work well. The wind guard fits almost perfect (probably Perfect) for my MSR large pot from my MSR Gourmet Cookset.
***** Remember - It is not your gas stove at home. Think about where and how you use it as this can make a large difference on flame output and of course yours and the forests safety. Fuel spills, with this or any liquid fuel stove can be catastrophic, especially if they light. So you will understand, test (maybe) lighting one egg cup of fuel spilt on the ground (dirt), it is dangerous and flames up a lot.
Service and delivery comments:
Had a couple of issues,
- The fuel valve (plastic parts) had been damaged before use. Found this before trip.
- The Top Screw fell out while on the first hike, so I whittled a stick as a screw for every use until returning from 5 night MX Adventure trip.
In both cases of needed service both REI and Cascade Designs were exceptional with service and immediate parts replacement. The fuel valve was a pain in the neck and I found out through MSR Service that they had a bad run, which I would have thought they would have recalled all units for replacement. Nevertheless I checked it before camping and it works great. Losing the screw was mostly my mistake and somewhat humorous on the trip.
(note - check fasteners and use stove stove and then check screws again, before departure)
Yes, I do recommend and would buy again from REI.
Not 5 of 5 stars as it is not a multi-fuel stove and because of the original difficulties.
Update: February 3, 2012
Does not work well over 10k ft at 0degF. Hardly worked at all and could not boil water on it. Lowered down to 600ft and worked great.
May have needed a little cleaning but the higher elevation and cold was not a friend to this unit. It seems to be a good below 8000ft and above 32deg stove.
Price Paid: $99.95
If you are still able to acquire one of these stoves (they are discontinued) I would recommend it.
- Lightweight
- No longer available
First off, this stove is no longer available (it has been discontinued). However it is still available used, or even NEW, on various sites on the web. If you are looking for a decent first time white gas stove, then I would recommend this stove. It was the first backpacking stove I have bought and still use.
It took me a while to learn how to prime the stove in order to get the liquid vaporized. It's a pain to do sometimes, and time consuming when you are hungry, and your available light is quickly disappearing because you kept hiking to find that "perfect spot."
The gas canister is easy to pressurize and the stove has been very efficient with the fuel. I had an issue this past summer with the stove's flame sputtering and burning weird, but the gas I had was old and once I changed to a newer source of fuel everything was fine.
Maintenance, if you ever need to do so, is a breeze. Make sure to check all your seals, and O rings before any trip. I carry the maintenance kit and an extra pump with me just in case anything should happen. So far nothing has.
Make sure to use the wind screen and heat reflector as they help immensely with the heating and flame stability in windy conditions.
The simmer function, although not perfect, is acceptable. I have made pancakes, quesadillas, pasta packs, pan fried meats, sauté veggies, and a whole host of other meal plans in addition to boiling water. You just need to adjust the valve on the side of the pump. I have also notice that pump pressure affects how intense the flame is. So if you need a lower flame do not pressurize it too much. If performance is not great you can just pump a few times and start again.
I also suggest the trillium base for the stove (it also works for other MSR stoves). It adds an extra method of stabilizing the stove. Both that and the stove pack very small and can fit into your cookware.
Source: bought it new
Price Paid: $100
A long discontinued stove, that I believe to be misunderstood, is still providing fantastic service.
- Simmers really well
- Lightweight
- Reliable
- Efficient
- Not available anymore
I bought this as new old stock about 6 years ago here In Tasmania. I had the Whisperlite International and used it for about 25 years. Unfortunately, the fuel feeder line disintegrated leaving a very dangerous situation. I wanted to buy the then-new Universal model, but it wasn't approved for use in Australia back then—I'm unaware whether it's since been approved or not. So, I did my research and found an unused Simmerlite here in Hobart.
I had read that the one thing a Simmerlite was supposed to do was to simmer—but it generally didn't. I played with it a bit on a walk and found that by under-pressurising the fuel canister I could get the stove to simmer really well.
Given the weight of this thing, and the fact it does what the marketing folk said it did, I feel it has to have been the bargain of the decade. There probably are lighter liquid fuel stoves out there now, but having used MSR stoves for well over 30 years now I can't see myself changing them out of my gear. MSR stoves are reliable workhorses, and the Simmerlite has been my go-to now for a number of years.
Beautifully built, robust, simple, and reliable. What more could a hungry hiker ask?
30 years with MSR stoves, 6 years with the Simmerlite.
Source: bought it new
Price Paid: AU$130
I have had this stove about 3 years. Unlike most of the other reviews I read personally I have cooked a bit more then just boiling water.
Having owning it for about a year we thought about trying to have a camping trip with "real food". It was going to be two 3-day trips a week apart.
On the first trip we brought frozen and salted steaks and cooked them up, the "simmer" feature worked very well to not scorch the meat. It worked also for frying potatoes in some olive oil.
On the second trip we had eggs for breakfast, and scrambled worked OK but over easy was not so easy, and we had made some sauces for pasta that turned out fine.
So, the reason to get the Simmerlight vs. other white gas stoves is to have just enough control to not scorch normal food. It works like a champ for basic camping cooking, with a little more leeway then other stoves.
For a liquid fuel stove I like this one.
- Very light
- Lights easy enough
- Holds smaller cup/pot
- Produces a little soot
- Won't go down to a low simmer
I have had this stove for 7-8 years. I use it 8-10 times a year. Used it 18 days straight a few years back out West on a motorcycle trip and cooked two meals a day. Full meals, not just boiling water. It has always worked flawless.
The weight is not as low as a pop can, but it's a lot more durable. It's light for this kind of stove. It's very easy to light once you practice with it.
One of the things I like best about it is I can set a cup on it without having to bridge the gap with something. My riding buddy got the MSR Whisperlite International and has to carry a metal disk to sit on top just to boil a cup of water.
There is a little soot if I get in a hurry in lighting it or shutting it down. If I take my time in priming it and just cut it down low as possible then blow it out I don't have soot.
It doesn't simmer as low as I would like but it can be used to simmer by spacing the pot higher with anything that will raise it up. If I know I need to simmer I have a ring made flashing I take with me.
Fuel consumption is low. For a weekend I take the 11oz bottle and bring 3-4 ounces home.
Assembly is quick. Boil time is quick. Stove is very stable. Wind screen comes with it and I recomend its use if there's any wind blowing as wind will affect any stove.
Source: bought it new
Price Paid: $99
Good stove.
- Works very well
- Easy to set up
- Only one flame control
Had this stove a long time, about 8 to 10 years. Very easy to set up quickly, tank of white gas seem to last the whole weekend.
You can put your pan on it with no fear of it tipping over, very stable. And just about the time it takes you to get out your coffee press, coffee, cream and sugar you have 20 oz of boiling water.
Flame control is a bit tricky. I know the name says Simmer, well it doesn't. You can turn it just about off. That will give you some or not pumping it up so much.
Once you get the hang of it it's really nice to have a little stove that packs away in a neat little bag and can put out the kind of heat one burner of the kitchen gas stove does.
Source: bought it new
Price Paid: $98
Very durable stove.
- Dependable
- Lightweight
- Sooty/Dirty
I've had this stove for years (since 2006). Boiled lots of water, cooked many a meal. Never has it failed me. That says A LOT! I always take a rebuild kit with me on trips, just in case, but have never used it.
The stove does kind of simmer, but it really finicky and you have to turn it down to near shutting it off before the flame lowers enough to simmer. Can't tell you how many times I've tried to turn it to a simmer and shut it off, then had to re-light it. For me it's rare to go with a fancy meal on the trail though. Usually boil water for a freeze dried or dehydrated meal.
You can get a Whisperlite for a little cheaper, but I do like the option. It does get quite sooty on start up, but cleans up fairly easy and a quick shake cleans the jet.
Great little stove.
Source: bought it new
Price Paid: $99
Powerful and reliable.
- Efficient
- Effective
- Sooty
I got this stove for winter camping to melt snow. I was previously using a Jetboil Group Cooking System, which worked, albeit slowly, and with much effort devoted to keeping the canisters warm.
This stove works great, is easy to maintain and really gets melts snow fast. It's been a game changer. I chose the Simmerlite because the pot supports are this enough to fit in between the flux ring grooves under my Jetboil pot. It was nice not to have to buy another pot for this stove.
My one complaint is that there is a fair amount of carbon black that collects under the burner during use. It's not a big deal, but you do have to clean it off after every trip.
Source: bought it new
Yes, I like it although it is not really a simmerer. I have used it on a couple of weekend trips and I am looking forward to a 4-week cycle trip. That should give plenty of opportunity to learn to know it better.
Compared to the Whisperlite it is a little lighter, it looks desperately modern and I have a feeling that it's more stable with a pot on top. It is not convertible to kerosine, which may be unpractical in countries where the white gas is on the heavy side (as in Scotland). There you will have to use car fuel or look at yellow flames.
Lighting this stove is just a little easier. It is also very quiet and I like that very much... ten years ago I owned a Dragonfly and I gave it away because of the thundering noise it made. However, if you want a really low flame that would be the stove you are looking for.
I have been amusing myself lately making pop can stoves that run on methanol, maybe I will take one with me just for simmering. For quietness and gentle heat, these are the ones to beat.
Price Paid: EUR 100
I bought a white gas stove because the weight of fuel is more important for me than the weight of the stove. Canister stoves are great for short trips, but on a long trip in colder weather when carrying fuel is more taxing than carrying a stove, this little guy rocks. Maybe that's a narrow demographic, but for what it is, it works great.
I would give it 5 stars but I see what everyone means about the simmering thing. I suppose I really don't care too much because I didn't buy it for simmering (I mostly boil water for dehydrated food and melt snow.).
Price Paid: $70
Although not as light as some this stove's great. Error proof and unlike other reviews I think it does produce lower flame than the Whisperlite. I'm unsure why you would buy the Whisperlite, it's similar but heavier and not as wind resistant. I go with someone with the Whisperlite and I'm always eating first.
I only boil water on it but the fuel has been in it for 10 trips and it's still going. I think if you fry eggs on it then you get what you deserve, a mess.
Price Paid: $100
I'm a 50-year-old guy and just getting to the stage in my career that I have decent time off to start hiking and camping regularly again. Because I'm older (and hopefully a bit wiser) I'm really trying to watch the weight of my gear (unlike in my twenties when I lugged around 70 lbs of gear and took everything except the kitchen sink!). Compactness and weight are considerations then in choosing gear.
I bought this stove because I wanted to return to white gas to get away from the waste canisters produce, (although I do love the light weight and simmer capabilities of my Brunton canister stove!). I was willing to sacrifice weight and space to be a bit more "green". But I still wanted a stove that was fairly compact but had simmering capabilities. I bought the Simmerlite on a whim in the store after reading the box. I wish I would have done a bit more research first.
This stove is a great stove if you just want to boil stuff. It sets up very well and is easy to light but as far as simmering...forget it. Admittedly I have only played with it once since buying it but I tried for ages to adjust the flame to a simmer but could not.
One of the reviews here said that it simmers better once broken in. I'll try it out next week on a 2 week trip to Ft Mcmurray and Jasper in northern Alberta to see if it it does "break in" but if it doesn't it is going back for an MSR Dragon Fly which I do know simmers well. I'll update this review then.
Update: August 24, 2008
This review is an update to my previous one. I am going to eat a bit of crow here.
As I mentioned I was going to try it out on a camping trip to Jasper National Park in Alberta.
I found that this stove worked very well for my purposes...making a hot meal and drink. Ok, so you can't get a true simmer on it (like I was going to make a cream sauce in the Rocky Mountains!). I did find that I could get some decent flame control from it after I got used to it and what that did was prevent things from boiling over.
The stove also fits into my small pot with a lid and so gets good marks for compactability.
I have therefore upped my rating to 4.5 stars.
Price Paid: $87
Just returned from a three-day trip with a new SimmerLite. It works fairly well -- heats quickly, doesn't seem to use much fuel, and is fairly quiet. However, it doesn't really simmer. I miss my old Coleman Apex, but when I went to replace it couldn't find one. It seems that Coleman isn't as hip a name as MSR, even if their product is better.
Price Paid: $80
I'm getting one soon mainly because I'm getting it cheap - I'm here cause I was trying to find out if the one I'm getting is an older model. If it is then it's quite clever the wording used in all the o/l sites I've visited that they mention the new stove and how light it is without mentioning the old one (hope it's not to give the folks selling on their old stock a boost).
Anyhow, in working for a guided hikes company (I'm an Aussie and it's walking still here) I cooked for groups with the basic model (Whisperlite) for around two years (worth of nights in the 'bush'). You can even simmer with that - it just takes weeks of practice. the trick is to turn the stove off and as the flame is about to die nudge it back just enough - soon you get the hang of just how far - it really is, very little and takes practice. Great reliable stoves. I'm going to try the SimmerLite just to see if it may have a slightly larger 'miniscule' range of simmer 9 (and it's one third of the price it is here in Oz.) We'll see.
It works fine, but it doesn't simmer!! I really don't see why MSR made this stove. It's pretty much the same as the WhisperLite. I used the WhisperLite for years and I really can't tell the difference between the two stoves. The SimmerLite is a little lighter, and looks more modern. They should have just got rid of the WhisperLite, and replaced it with this stove.
Price Paid: $40 ebay
For years I used an alcohol stove, but recently I wanted something with more power. I tried a Fyrestorm but that went back due to defect and high cost. Then came the Simmerlite which seemed to be a winner. I found quality, design, weight, compactness and low noise are top features but flame control is not. The name and mfg claims are very misleading when it comes to flame control. There is some change but far from a simmer. I could not turn down enough to prevent boil on red beans and rice and ended up burning. My old Trangia could be dampered enough to simmer and required little stirring. The Simmerlite required constant stirring and still it burned food.
After I got home I read tips on how to simmer with Wisperlite and applied to Simmerlite. It helped but not much. If I wanted a stove that required special tricks to simmer I would had purchased a Wisperlite and save a few bucks. If you want very low output for simmering this is not the stove. While it does provide some flame control it's not enough to factor in when considering. Glad stores I deal with have great return policies since I'm going to make another purchase.
Price Paid: $99.95
I used this stove on my 2004 thru-hike of the A.T. and loved it. It was 4 1/4 months of problem free cooking. Some people think that because of the name of the stove, you would be able to get a perfect simmer out of it. You do have too work with it a little bit and once the stove is broken in it will simmer better than when new. The stove is quick and easy to set up with a little practice and if you prime it right it's easy to lite and cook with. It's a great stove and a great improvement over the tried and true MSR Whisperlite. Great job, MSR.
The primary advantage of this stove is that it is quiet, and that it is light and compact. It has very little capacity for simmering, at least compared to a stove like the DragonFly, which I used to own (but alas it broke). I think the name of the stove is very misleading considering its capabilities.
Price Paid: $120
I'm a long-term two-stove backpacker. I like having a second stove to run my backpack oven (though I usually get a buddy to carry the second stove). I purchased this stove to replace my Coleman Apex I stove which had finally died. It is a second stove to my main stove, a MSR Dragonfly.
In comparison to the Dragonfly, the SimmerLite has been a disappointment. Priming usually comes with a fireball and scorched earth underneath. Although much quieter than the Dragonfly, it doesn't simmer nearly as well. In fact, I haven't dared to try baking with the SimmerLite--I still only trust the Dragonfly for that perfect simmer required to bake. When you include the fuel and bottle, the weight savings of the SimmerLite over the Dragonfly is marginal. If you're choosing between the two, pick the Dragonfly.
Price Paid: $90
This is the first white gas stove I have owned since I had a Svea 123 many years ago, so keep in mind I am not real familiar with recent white gas stoves as a comparison. I read a review somewhere saying a person could simmer delicate sauces with this stove--this is not true. The flame is adjustible only to a minor extent, certainly not enough to simmer anything. For example, when I boil water with this stove I cannot prevent a roiling boil no matter how low I turn it down.
Also priming the stove with the burner as in the MSR instuctions is problematic, it creates a fairly large fireball before the stove settles down. I have been priming it with alcohol from the overflow cup, which works better for me. Other than that, I like it. It burns hot and steady and fits in my .9 liter Evernew Titanium pot.
Price Paid: $69 (REI Fall Sale)
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San Francisco (CNN) - Seeking to move his domestic agenda away from the disappointments of health care reform, President Obama made another pitch for an immigration overhaul Monday, calling on lawmakers to restart an effort that stalled over the summer.
But even as he made his pitch at a recreation center serving mainly Chinese-Americans in San Francisco, Obama was loudly interrupted by a group who says the President's not doing enough to end deportations of undocumented immigrants.
Ju Hong, a 24-year-old student at San Francisco State, told Obama his family couldn't see each other because of the nation's immigration laws - and that Obama wasn't doing enough by himself to change the rules.
"You have the power to stop deportation," Ju said as a chant of "stop deportation" grew behind where the President was standing.
Later, Ju told reporters he was "disappointed" in the blame the President placed on Republicans, instead saying Obama could help reunite his family by executive order.
Obama, who told Secret Service agents to allow the protesters to remain inside the event area, took sharp aim at Congressional Republicans during his remarks for what he said was an unwillingness to "catch up with the rest of the country" on immigration changes.
After waving off the Secret Service, Obama said, "I respect the passion of these young people because they feel deeply about the concerns for their families.
"Now what you need to know, when I'm speaking as President of the United States and I come to this community. If in fact I could solve all these problems without passing laws in Congress, then I would do so."
"But we're also a nation of laws. That's part of our tradition," Obama continued.
"And so the easy way out is to try to yell and pretend like I can do something by violating our laws. And what I'm proposing is the harder path, which is to use our democratic processes to achieve the same goal that you want to achieve. But it won't be as easy as just shouting. It requires us lobbying and getting it done."
Obama rebutted the protesters' claims he could end deportation alone, saying he needed Congress on board to fully repair a flawed system. In 2012, Obama did end deportations for certain young immigrants who were brought to the United States by their parents.
Immigration reform is "within our grasp, if we can convince folks in Washington to just do what needs to be done," Obama said, pointing to a measure passed by the Senate earlier this year that garnered bipartisan support.
That Senate measure, passed by a large majority in June, included an eventual pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants that hinged upon strict new border security provisions. The bill, the work of a Senate gang of four Democrats and four Republicans, earned strong backing from the White House but wasn't taken up in the House, where some conservatives allege the citizenship clause amounts to amnesty for immigrants in the U.S. illegally.
Republican leaders in the House have said they'll take up individual immigration measures instead of the comprehensive legislation the White House says it prefers. Obama last week told a group of business chiefs he would be open to some piecemeal measures, as long as they change the aspects of the nation's immigration system that he's pushing for.
"It's not smart," Obama said of the current laws. "It's not fair. It doesn't make sense. And we have kicked this can down the road long enough."
In political terms, immigration reform is generally regarded as an issue that can help bolster a candidate or party among the growing U.S. Latino population; Republicans' interest in the issue of late is seen as a response to the GOP's disastrous showing among Latinos in the 2012 presidential election.
But in areas of the West Coast like San Francisco and Seattle, Asian Americans form a larger demographic bloc. The site of Obama's speech Monday, the Betty Ong Chinese Recreation Center, serves the city's historic Chinatown - the oldest such concentration of Chinese immigrants in North America. The building is named for a flight attendant who lost her life on 9/11.
Comprehensive immigration reform would be a major legislative win for the president, who has struggled to see his top agenda items passed by a divided legislature. The signature law of his first term, the Affordable Care Act, passed on party lines when the House of Representatives was still controlled by Democrats. Today that law is mired in technological problems with its exchange website, HealthCare.gov, as well as a constant barrage of criticism from Republicans on its policy details.
The President's immigration message came amid a three-day fundraising blitz for Obama, which took him to Seattle on Sunday, San Francisco on Monday and Los Angeles on Tuesday. Immigration reform is widely popular among Democrats, as well as some of Obama's Silicon Valley donors, who have long lamented federal rules that bar them from hiring top talent trained in the United States but without the ability to work here. To underscore that point, the President was introduced Monday by Geetha Vallabhaneni, who after waiting twelve years for a green card went on to found Luminix, a software firm.
I'm for a legal path to citizenship for immigrants in this country and immigration reform in general, but after the debacle, I can't trust this government to implement it properly. Yes, both Democrats and Republicans would botch it.
How about enforcing the laws currently on the books. Ju Young you can see your family anytime, just pack your bags and go back to your country and take some illegals with you.
Obama can point all day at everyone else but the world and Nation sees through the liar e has proven himself to be. Americans are now feeling the pain of his overbearing government in higher living expenses, more people on government assistance, our health care system being destroyed, families insurance protection being cancelled. No, Obama was not and is not good for this Nation. Obama is a hurt from which we are all now suffering.
Stupid immigration reform should be defeated. We do not accept amnesty for illegal. I'm sure more than 80% Americans do not accept. They want immigration law to be enforced. We do not need more unskilled, poor people. There are 48 millions of Hispanic in this country because of Reagan's Amnesty. Send them back to their country. They will reunite to their family in their homeland. Do not blame us, we do not invite you to come here as illegally.
The Republicons only have ONE "Magic Solution" for Everything!!
" Continue and Extend even MORE record Tax Cuts and Profits for Insurers, Banks, Defense Contractors and Corporations"!!!
Obama continues to "beat the drum" to legalize illegal aliens so he can then push for them to become additional dependents of the Democratic Party.
Obama.....the laughing stock of the world. What an embarrassment to all Americans
"We are a nation of laws" which means just that; why didn't this leader stand and say that according to those laws the people are here illegally and are breaking that law. Typical politician with no backbone to enforce the laws on the books.
Yet again, our "great leader" bad mouthing the very team that he needs to negotiate right after his extended team (the senate) changes the rules in congress slapping every republican in the face. I have never seen such a poor example of leadership. My way or the highway and when I don't perform, it's somebody else's fault, is the legacy of this president. We desperately need a CHANGE.
Do suppose the guy was a plant, so B0 could explain why he hasn't done something?


text:
26 become citizens on USS Constitution in Charlestown
Special naturalization ceremony held on Independence Day
On America's birthday, more than two dozen people became United States citizens on the world's oldest commissioned warship.
The special naturalization ceremony was held aboard the USS Constitution on Thursday while docked at its pier at the Charlestown Navy Yard.
The ceremony was part of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service's annual celebration of Independence Day. From July 1 to July 5, more than 7,800 candidates were scheduled to take part at more than 100 special ceremonies across the country.
The Honorable William G. Young, United States District Judge, administered the Oath of Allegiance to 26 local citizens who originate from 18 countries: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Cape Verde, Cuba, Ethiopia, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Israel, Jamaica, Mexico, Morocco, People's Republic of China, Thailand, Ukraine, and United Kingdom.
The candidates currently reside in Boston, Brockton, Brookline, Cambridge, Dorchester, East Boston, Mattapan, Medford, Melrose, Needham, Newton, Randolph, Revere, Sagamore, Salem, Somerville, Quincy and Winthrop.
Pimhatai Koslowsky came to the U.S. from Thailand in 2006.
"I'm so glad I got to do it in Boston and on the USS Constitution. It means a lot, like a lot of history," she said.
Ercio Furquim came from Brazil 10 years ago in search of the American dream.
"Over here you can do whatever you want, you can be whatever you want," Furquim said. "Just go ahead and try hard and that's it."
The ceremony was held after the USS Constitution made its annual turnaround cruise in Boston Harbor.


text:
This year I agreed to teach social studies instead of language arts. In return, I asked to teach civics and economics in multiage classrooms rather than to split preps – or plan lessons – for multiple social studies courses.
As a result, I'm re-learning familiar lessons in an unfamiliar place – the "content" classroom. In public schools we tend to view social studies and science classes as "content" classes because students get tested on factual standards. We view language arts and math classes as skills classes because students in these classes get tested on – well, they get tested on vocabulary, but there's a lot of alpha-numeric window-dressing around it. (And we view arts, languages, and vocational classes as "electives," which is grounds for another hundred posts). These disciplines do have fantastic habits of mind, and most states do have standards that deal with thinking like a historian and/or scientist (and/or artist, author, mathematician, or other craftsperson or explorer). However, if you look at state testing blueprints – which dictate the nature and topics of the items on standardized tests – they typically drop skills-based standards from content-class tests. For example, in Virginia, the first social studies standard for most middle school courses goes like this:
Although you could run a school system in pursuit of this single standard, it is excluded from testing.
Teaching "content" is profoundly weird to me. Not only do we in education tend to view content classes as different from skills classes, but we put them on semester-long schedules so that we free up one period a day for intervention classes meant to get more students passing the language arts and math tests because language arts and math are always used to calculate Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), whereas social studies and science courses can be excluded from AYP calculations. Schools are indeed required to use a third measure for AYP, but something like attendance can be used in place of history or science scores.
Of course, we still test social studies and science annually. We call them content classes, we schedule them to make more time for the "skills-based" subjects, and we judge the classes' teachers by their test scores – even though the scores don't necessarily play into AYP calculations. It should be noted, however, that states do use scores from content classes to accredit schools. Why? I don't know. For the same reasons we consider portfolios of student work to be inadequate evidence of student work.
How does this play out in my room? I don't know.
I am fortunate to work in a public school with small class sizes and enough flexibility to schedule year-long social studies and science courses. I have made the decisions that brought me to this place, but I recognize it as a fairly unique place, especially in Virginia.
I still fear my test scores. I fear consequence. I pine after my superiors' approval. I feel the pull of educational instincts honed by years of achievement as a student and teacher.
I try to push off of my fear, hunger, and instincts towards a more joyful, democratic, and inquiry-driven classroom. My teaching stands on the foundation of my anxieties. My work to transform public education is my fight against the gravity of my long indoctrination to the culture of public education in the United States.
In my content classroom, it's scarier for me to take the risks I take in promoting student-directed learning than it was for me to champion student-led work in a language arts classroom. I am less patient with students. I am less patient with myself. I am less accommodating of silence and resistance. I am less willing to wait them out, but I have to figure out ways to do so.
I often miss the sweet spot of engagement with the work I design; I often fail to communicate how much I believe in my kids; I often hurry myself for no good reason, which means I often hurry my kids.
And then all my instincts tell me: plan the lesson; coerce the attention; give the quiz that shows you were right.
But those are the wrong things to do.
When I coerce a student out of silence – when I squelch resistance – I rob that student of his or her self-determination. I rely on a traditional teacher-student relationship rather than on the one we're building as people. I ignore the information the student is giving me about his or her comfort and happiness with learning and focus only on the information he or she is giving me about his or her compliance with my expectations.
There is a better way. I know it. It took me years to find it. I can't let go of it, no matter how much I want to.
I have to wait. I have to say it's okay to wait. I have to help students make sense of my classroom and then the world and then (maybe) the content.
Kids own learning; we share our relationships. There is a difference between compliance and engagement – as well as between a student's willingness to follow a liked teacher and a student's own path.
So, I am thankful to be inadequate, to have a long weekend, to have another chance to get learning right despite all the divisions amongst this and that in the teaching I have been asked to do.
It wouldn't be a bad thing, this year, despite all the pacing guides, to never get past the first standard.
I can go back to that first standard. I can identify the problems in what I do, weigh the expected costs and benefits and possible consequences of challenging the status quo of public education, and recommend solutions based on great learning instead of great teaching.
And so the problem I identify is this: while content isn't obsolete, the way we teach it in school – as driven by our assessments and scheduling – is. Whereas learning opens the books of our lives to new chapters, schooling is increasingly about neatly ending those books and insisting that we review their contents ad nauseum. Those of us participating in narratives of privilege inscribe those stories on our hearts and forever look inward away from the world. Those of us participating in narratives of struggle inscribe those stories on our hearts and forever look for ways out. We are captivated by those who somehow go from one extreme to another, but we remain – as a whole – disinterested in the sacrifices necessary to share a sustainable narrative somewhere in between the American dream of ascension and prosperity and its complementary nightmare of downfall and loss.
Taking control of our lives and writing – or programming – the next chapter of our society requires of us the political and social will and compassion to end the beginning of our learning by beginning the end of our schools.
I think school will end. I think parents and students will leave for more authentic opportunities that may be called "schools," but look more like apprenticeships, play, studios, and service. I think that the students left in schools will face increasingly crushing levels of adult expectation that the system transfers on to them. I think school will lose its claim on our imaginations as a rite of passage. Instead, it will become an institution from which we aggressively withhold meaning inhabited by generations who will keenly feel the sharp gift of our disregard. "You still go to school?" will be just another way we say all the things we've said to keep each other down.
We need to end school and to make its end humane for those of us who go down with it.
In the time that we have left in school – in the time that I have left as a teacher – in the time we have to figure out what comes next – I hope we can do these things:
- Share authority in the classroom with kids: This doesn't look like chaos; it looks like inquiry, and it builds trust and enable students to become authorities on learning that matters to them. It looks like students posing questions, solving problems, and creating products we could never anticipate on our own.
- Share school governance with kids: Put kids in charge of tenure and renewal. Let them set the tone for school culture and decide what happens when classmates violate their norms. Provide adult guidance rather than sentencing. Involve kids in sourcing their own food and materials.
- Cede control of scheduling to kids: We should change how we manage staffing, scheduling, and technology so that students at school can "check out" their work and bring it to the kids and adults with whom they work best. Use the best relationships we can offer students throughout the entire day.
- Insist on performance assessment: Whether we evaluate students by a portfolio of work addressing discrete standards or one year-long project addressing a holistic rubric, we should help kids acculturate themselves to project- and problem-based learning. We're leaving them our society, not a multiple-choice test.
- Be patient with one another: Even while we feel an urgency for change, we should cultivate a patience with one another. It takes time to shift from a traditional classroom to an inquiry-driven one. It takes time to trust kids' decisions as much as we trust our own. It takes time to disentangle ourselves from tradition and from the pieces of our work that are about us, rather than about our kids. We face the future together; together we serve kids. We will all need the silence; we will all need to resist and be resisted; we will all need one another when the quiet is done and the conflict goes on.
I hope this post speaks to something in you. I hope it strikes a chord or hits a nerve. I hope you will say what you have to say and perhaps stop by our community here more often or join us at EduCon for a conversation about creating spaces of permission to speak about education. I hope you will think and talk about content classes, democracy, and the end of school.
There are many directions to go in together. Perhaps the best way to fight corporate privatization is to invest ourselves in students' democratization.
Regardless, we must name the issues we face as a public school system to begin creating a better one. We have authority and permission to speak; we need to convince our kids that they have their own.


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