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A single work light hung on the railing above us, illuminating the side of the ship and the misting rain that was falling around us. But it didn't seem to penetrate the cold, black water of Copenhagen's harbor, swirling underneath our small boat. We were pitching up and down alarmingly, making it difficult for me to get a purchase on the side of the hull with the power wirebrush. Every time I tried to press the sander to the hull, the boat would slide away backwards.
Marcus and I had a simple task to complete. All we had to do was sand one side of the Athena's hull, getting rid of any rust spots, and then paint the hull, first with the rust-preventing primer, then with white paint. Our deadline, or "time machine" in Sea Org parlance, was to have it done by dawn. Captain Bill was holding a special training exercise for all Sea Org staff from the AO, and the ship had to be ready. It was about two in the morning, and we had to hustle.
"This is getting nowhere," I told Marcus. I sat down on the gunwale of the small boat, my back to the Athena's hull. "Here, hold on to my legs."
With Marcus holding my legs, I bent backwards over the gunwale, with the wirebrush over my head. Coming at the hull from underneath, I could just keep enough pressure on the side of the ship. I worked away at the rust doggedly.
It was summer, 1972. Marcus and I had been on the Athena's Deck Project Force for about six weeks. I had spent a little over a year as Commanding Office of Pubs Denmark, and it had been a disaster, a nightmare of stress and pressure. I was glad to have the break, working at mindless tasks as a part of the Athena's deck force.
There was no Rehabilitation Project Force in 1972, only a Deck Project Force. Here, "failed executives" like me and Marcus would mingle with new Sea Org recruits, all of us working together and studying Scientology in the evenings in a course room below decks.
Ironically, thirty-two years later, in 2004, when I was being proposed to be Books Executive International at the Int Base, a review would be done of my record as an executive, and I would be told that my stint as Commanding Officer Pubs was considered to be a success. I would express disbelief, as I remembered it as a complete nightmare. Not so, they would inform me. I had handled the debts incurred by Doreen Casey, and had amassed decent financial reserves for the Org. I had stabilized the place, and had increased the income slowly and steadily.
Well, that may have been, but "slowly" and "steadily" were not terms that were to be applied to Flag Executive Briefing Course graduates. We were the whiz kids, the wunderkind. When we arrived on the scene, statistics were supposed to rocket up vertically and keep climbing to astronomical new levels. Anything less than that was just not acceptable. Our heroes, our role models, were people like Alex Sibirsky, Kerry Gleeson and Bill Franks. Sibirsky in fact had spoken to the FEBC students while I was there. They had "boomed Boston Org" and were heroes. Stories abounded about their "take-no-prisoners" attitude – demanding production at any cost, keeping staff up day and night to meet targets, locking public into rooms until they wrote a check for their next service. Being "unreasonable" was considered a compliment – it meant you didn't buy into any "reasons" for non-production. Executives who listened to staff "excuses" or cut them any slack were condemned as "worker-oriented" – a crime in Hubbard's playbook.
When Tina, Lance and I arrived back in the Org in June, 1971, I thought maybe I could be that kind of tough, unreasonable executive. After all, we were trained in the latest Hubbard technology and audited on the confidential "L" Rundowns. We had been transformed into super-executives. We could rocket the stats just by force of will, by running roughshod over anyone who got in our way.
Unfortunately, I wasn't wired that way. I've never been good at dominating people, or threatening them, or intimidating them. In the zeitgeist of the time, where such behavior was considered a strength, I began to think of my own inability to behave that way as a weakness. Maybe I wasn't really strong or ruthless enough to be an exec.
When we first hit the org I tried to play the part. But all it took was a lifted eyebrow or a slight smile from Tina, and I would feel like a pompous fool. That wasn't my style, that wasn't me. I decided I would just be myself and run the org in my own way, and if that wasn't good enough – well, I would have given it my best shot.
When we arrived, there were still some staff living in the "Dexion Hotel." We made sure they were getting enough pay and found them apartments to live in. Tina was great on finance lines, and put in some sensible financial policies that she administered with an iron fist. We sent two staff off on a recruitment tour to get more people on staff, and set about training the ones we had. We got the Address list cleaned up and put in order, then started sending out some sensible promotional mailings. It was nothing heroic; all just basic measures that we knew would improve the scene.
Me and Tina - happier days
But these were all measures that would take time to bear fruit. It was like helming a large ship – you give the rudder a few degrees, and then you wait and wait, and nothing seems to happen. Gradually the ship responds. And I knew the org would respond. But we were being watched. We had to report our "stats" every week, and the expectation was that the stats would begin rocketing up the minute we arrived. When that didn't happen – and weeks went by without that dramatic stat miracle - the telexes became more and more demanding. My seniors had no qualms about being "unreasonable" with me.
And it seemed I had two seniors. The Sea Org had established a European Liaison Office in Copenhagen, headed up by Bill Robertson and his wife, Joan. "Captain Bill" as he was always referred to, was already famous in Scientology. He was known as Hubbard's go-to guy whenever there was a challenging Sea Org Mission or an Org that needed a strong Commanding Officer. His mission as CO EULO was to expand Scientology into all of Europe.
Bill and I never quite meshed. We were, in many ways, polar opposites. He was a big, blustery man with close-cropped hair and a military bearing, while I was thin and long-haired. He got things done by force of personality – and he had plenty of both force and personality. Where I tended to be quiet and unassuming, he dominated the environment with his size and booming laugh.
"Captain Bill" Robertson
And yet, there was something about that laugh, that almost fanatically intense persona, that had an edge of madness in it. He loved to talk about Marcab, the Galactic Confederation, and all the rest of Scientology's "whole track" mythos. Many years later, of course, he would split off from the Church of Scientology and form his own "Ron's Orgs," heavily based on his own "whole track" visions. But that was in the future. Now he was the golden boy, and if he was mad, it was a very acceptable kind of madness in the world of Scientology, and staff hung on his every word.
He loved to tell a story about the early days of the Sea Org, when Ron himself had been teaching them celestial navigation one night on the deck of the Avon River (later to be the Athena). After the lesson, he paused, staring out at the stars, his eyes narrowing as if he could see far beyond this small planet.
"This is not the first time we have been together," he intoned.
Bill ate that sort of thing up, and so did his staff. It wasn't just a job; it was a whole track, intergalactic adventure.
As Pubs was in Copenhagen, Bill considered that we were under him. But I had been briefed by CS-2, before leaving the Apollo, that we were under her, not under EULO – as we were international. This led to rather strained relations between me and Captain Bill right from the start. Whenever he came over for an "executive inspection," which was once a week or so, we edged around each other in a polite dance. He would "make suggestions" as to things that he thought should be done and I would tell him what a good idea it was and that I would take it up with CS-2 right away. As a man used to direct action – and used to being obeyed – I am sure my attitude frustrated and annoyed him.
About this time I got to know another well-known Sea Org Officer, Ken Delderfield, or "Deld" as he was commonly called. He had been fired on a mission to Europe to "make Policy broadly available." Policy, in this case, referred to Hubbard's issues, printed in green ink, laying out all of his administrative and management "technology."
Ken, I was to learn, was a maverick, and the closest thing to an entrepreneur in the otherwise top-down, heavily authoritarian Sea Org structure. He did things his own way. He was supposed to make Policy available, so he devised a scheme whereby he would publish them in hard cover books. This would require a whole editorial, typesetting and publishing operation, so he set about establishing one. He recruited a number of staff, including his wife Rosemary, who had been the LRH Communicator Pubs. To fund this unit, he actually went around selling staff members the future books. Those who "got in on the ground floor," as he put it, would get them at a fraction of the final price. I bought a set of the volumes, as did a lot of other staff, and with these funds, he purchased IBM typesetting equipment – the kind where you had to hand-code the formatting as you typed. He set up his whole operation in the back of Pubs. He kept "The Commodore" briefed on what he was doing, and the "Old Man" was pleased as punch.
Tina and I continued our struggle to get the stats up. We were making some progress, but it was slow. There was no sudden vertical boom. One day I came into our Exec Offices and saw Tina reading the Flag "Orders of the Day." Since we were Sea Org Members on "Garrison Mission," the ship would send us the OODs, as they were called, which gave us an idea what was going on at Flag. We had to keep them confidential. All of a sudden Tina turned white and said, "Oh, my god."
"What is it?" I asked.
She showed me the item, something Hubbard had written in his "Command" section of the OODs:
"I saw that Action Bureau was about to send a mission to Pubs Denmark," he wrote, "however when I checked their stats, they were up. It's important to always check the stats before firing a mission."
I went cold – and raced to check the stats. They were, thankfully, still up. But I realized what a razor's edge we were living on – any serious dip in stats and we could find a Sea Org Mission on our doorstep. We were on a very short leash. Life became a week-to-week nightmare. Our stats – as with every Scientology Organization – were calculated every Thursday at 2pm. That was the "cutoff." The stats had to be up by then, so on Wednesday nights, we were often there late.
But outside of Wednesday nights, we didn't work the crew around the clock. We made sure they went home and got sleep, and that they had time for their training. One day, after a very good week, Tina and I let the crew have a day off. We decided to see if we could run the whole org by ourselves, just the two of us. We had a ball, starting out in the morning invoicing the orders, packing them up and getting them shipped.
The Sea Org station ship Athena had moved from Helsingør and was now docked in Copenhagen harbor. As Sea Org Members, Tina and I were sometimes invited to go on weekend cruises on the Athena, where we would do drilling with other Sea Org Members from the Advanced Org.
The AO had also moved into town, so that it could be centrally located for public coming in by air or train. They were now both and Advanced Org (delivering the OT Levels) and a Saint Hill Org (delivering the Saint Hill Special Briefing Course). They were called Advanced Organization Saint Hill Europe – or AOSHEU for short - and had taken over the upper floors of a building on Jernbanegade, just off Town Hall Square and close to Copenhagen's famous "Walking Street." When the second floor of that same building became available, we jumped at the chance to move Pubs out of its dockside warehouse and into the center of the city, close to the AO and the Athena.
Tina and I inspected our future premises, and they were a mess. The place had been a night club, and the walls were painted black, with graffiti-like squiggles in neon colors painted on them. Strange backdrops and props littered the space, looking like a bizarre circus from a drug nightmare.
We set about cleaning out the place over a weekend, leaving a skeleton crew to man the org delivery lines. We brought in two large roll-offs and stationed them in the building's central courtyard. Then we just started tearing out all the weird furniture and backdrops, breaking them up and tossing them into the roll-offs. Then when the entire place was emptied out, we painted the walls white and laid down grey carpeting throughout the space. On Monday, the landlord arrived and we showed him what we had done – he was impressed, and we had a friend and ally. We then moved all of the book stocks, desks and equipment over, and got set up for business in our new home. Deld staked out a section in the back for his Policy book operation, and we set up our exec offices in the front, near the key dissemination and sales areas.
And that is where our attention was increasingly focused. The stats were slowly, slowly rising, but it wasn't enough. We needed to create a boom. We needed to make more money, sell more books. My attention became increasingly riveted on the sales staff who were making daily calls to the orgs to get them to buy more books. I was always trying to figure out how to sell more books. I remember walking over to EULO, head down, not even seeing the city around me, just thinking and worrying and figuring about how could I sell more before Thursday at 2pm. Day by day I got more depressed, more desperate. My "ethics handlings" at EULO didn't seem to provide an answer; they just increased the pressure, the desperation. Tina was feeling the pressure too, and more and more we were bringing our work and our worries home with us, spending out private time together talking about the org. The stress was taking its toll on our marriage.
Finally a Flag Mission arrived. The senior Missionaire was Tina's brother Fred, an old-time Sea Org Officer. The other Missionaire was Sandy Stevens, an attractive young woman who was also an auditor. They tried to rally Tina and me and get us to take some strong actions to get the org going, but we were, by then, burned out. Both of us confessed privately to the Missionaires that we no longer wanted our posts.
The next morning, we dragged ourselves into the org to find a muster already in progress. Ken Delderfield was at the front, addressing the crew as the new Commanding Officer. We were hustled out of the org by the Missionaires and over to the Athena, where we were assigned to the Deck Project Force.
My friend Marcus Lanciai was already there, busted off of CO Stockholm. We had gone to the ship together, trained together, and now here we were, busted together. But after the constant nail-biting pressure of Pubs, being on the Athena was great. It was summer, we were working out in the sun, sanding, caulking decks, painting and varnishing. At that time, there was no RPF, it had not been invented yet. There was just the Deck Project Force, and we were all there together, failed execs and raw new recruits. It got a bit surreal at times – I was still signatory on the Pubs accounts, so once a week, I'd hear the click-click-click of heels across the deck as some Treasury staff member brought me the checks to sign, and I'd sit there on the deck, asking questions and signing checks. I'm sure the new recruits were wondering why a deckhand was signing checks!
I got tan and grew a beard. I learned how to operate the steam winch, and loaded and unloaded cargo and stores. On weekends, we took the ship out for cruises up the coast, and I learned how to helm the ship. Once on a warm summer day we dropped the anchor somewhere in the North Sea and dived overboard for a swim. The water was icy cold.
I enjoyed the present, and tried not to think about the future. I didn't want to be an exec; I felt shame at having failed as an FEBC graduate. It seemed like I had betrayed the Org, my fellow FEBC students, and the Commodore.
Another casualty was my marriage to Tina. The mutual stress had taken its toll, and Tina wanted a divorce. I was in no mood to fight it.
I was informed that I would be posted as the Flag Banking Officer of AOSH EU. They had me studying finance Policy Letters. I had no idea who had decided this, but it seemed insane. I was an artist, a designer, and here they wanted to put me in Finance? It sounded like pure torture to me, crunching numbers all day.
Deld came to the rescue. He negotiated with EULO and convinced them to return me to Pubs Org, where he put be back on my old post of Production Secretary.
"I couldn't see wasting your talents in Finance," he told me with a wink.
I moved into a dormitory in the staff house, which was about 20 minutes walk from the org, on Sankt Knuds Vej. Although we were divorced, Tina and I remained friends, and I would still see Gwennie every day. I would walk home for dinner, and when I got about half a block from the staff house, I would see Gwennie running out to meet me and give me a big hug. It was the high point of my day.
I immersed myself in my work. As Production Secretary, I ran a print shop which produced course packs and booklets. I had a printer, Tony, and a Dutch guy, Dirk, who did binding, but I learned all the machinery myself so I could do anything needed. The tape copying area was also under me, run by a tall Englishman named John Waterworth, and I was also over the Shipping Department, which was handled by a Scot, Neil Lumsden.
I handled Printer Liaison myself – "held from above" as they termed it. I liked that part of my job, because it allowed me to get out of the Org. I would go see printers all over town, traveling by bicycle. There was a freedom about cruising through the streets, the wind blowing in my hair, breathing the crisp, cold air.
One of my suppliers was Anderson Printing. Mrs. Anderson, an older Danish lady, had taken over the business when her husband died, and was having a terrible time trying to keep it afloat – she didn't know the first thing about business. That became obvious the first time she submitted a quote to me – it was way too low. I sat with her and reworked the quote, showing her how to do it. She told me years later that if it hadn't been for my patience with her, the business probably would have folded. She returned the favor –when I'd fall asleep in one of her chairs after a series of "all-nighters," she'd just let me sleep, and I'd find a hot cup of Danish coffee sitting there when I woke up.
One of my main printers was Mr. Permild. He had a very large shop and I did most of the book printing with him. He liked me to come over on Sunday and we'd sit around in his empty shop over Tuborg beer and pastry and plan out the next week's printing.
The Translations Unit moved from Tangier in late 1972 and became a part of Pubs, so that function fell under me as well. It was headed up by a young Swedish woman, Anna. We had an on-and-off secret affair over the next few years – she shared a room with another woman and whenever the other woman was gone, I'd visit Anna. In those days, affairs between unmarried staff weren't punishable by RPF assignment, as they later became. They were tolerated if you weren't too obvious about it – other staff tended to wink at it.
But I was really adrift, just carrying on, day after day. The work was challenging, I was learning a lot about printing and production, but personally I was just drifting, marking time. Where did I go from here? What did I want to do with my life? I didn't want to stay in Europe forever, and I didn't want to just dead-end in a mid-level job at Pubs. The winters were long, cold and brutal, with snowdrifts piling up on the streets and the icy wind blowing into the city from across the Sound. In midwinter, you never saw the sun – it was dark around the clock. The summers were brief and warm, and in June the sun never set – you could go out at 3 in the morning (as I often ended up doing), and the deserted streets were bright as day. The Danes enjoyed their summers with a frantic abandon, and the parks and beaches were crammed with sunbathers – the women going topless. But before long, the cold winds were blowing again, and we were in for another long, grey winter.
We continued to hear about the terrific expansion in Europe. Captain Bill was sending missions out all over Europe and establishing new organizations. These were the heady, gonzo days of "anything goes" to get the stats up. "Postulate checks" became the rage, where a registrar would get a public to write a check for their services with no money to cover the check – based on the "postulate" that they would have the money in place before the check cleared. Of course, the checks bounced, but that was someone else's problem – the executive or Registrar had already reported the "up stats" and was already a hero.
It was in this atmosphere, in early 1974, that two Missionaires arrived from Flag, with orders to boom Pubs by selling books to the rapidly expanding orgs in Europe. Frankie Freedman, the head Missionaire, was a real wheeler-dealer type, and his Second, Bruce Wilson, also seemed to be a fast-talker. They got onto the phones, and soon we were hearing about "big book deals" that were in the works, like 20,000 books or more. As Production Secretary, I was given a "heavy traffic warning" to gear up for massive book production that would have to be pulled off in record time.
I notified my printers to get ready for some large orders. They told me that paper was going to be the main problem as it could take weeks to get that much paper in. I was panicked – that kind of delay would not be tolerated. I told them to go ahead and get the needed paper in now.
The orders started to come in – 40,000 copies of The Fundamentals of Thought in German, 20,000 copies of Evolution of a Science in French and so on. I started the presses rolling. The org was in a state of frenzied excitement. I was up day and night getting the books printed and stacked on the shelves ready for the massive orders that were on their way.
And then, just as soon as it started, it was over. Frankie Freedman disappeared, back to Flag for "ethics handling." No money was coming through. The "big book deals" were mostly hot air. I was left with several tons of paper on the floor of various printers – none of it covered by purchase order. In other words, I was personally liable for it. So for the next few weeks, I became a paper salesman, getting rid of all "my" paper!
Bruce Wilson stayed. He ended up marrying Tina and he and I became good friends.
With the completion of his Policy books, now called the Organization Executive Course (OEC) Volumes, Deld had gone back to Flag, and a new Commanding Officer arrived from the ship, an old friend from the Edinburgh days, Judy Ziff. She was now divorced from David and was calling herself Judy Graham. She was a practical, no-nonsense leader who genuinely cared for the staff and the org.
With the printing I'd done for the "big book deals," we were now heavily overstocked on translated books. Judy decided to put me on as Dissem Sec, to put some steam behind our promotional and sales actions. I began producing a volume of promotion. I was a one-man band, acting as designer, copywriter, photographer, illustrator, platemaker and printer. I even supervised the Wednesday night stuffing parties to get the mail out every Thursday before the 2:00 pm "stat deadline."
I befriended a Dutch guy, Stefan, who was a photographer. I was training him up to be the Editor of the Auditor Magazine, which was also under me. On one of our days off, he and I traveled out to the country, Stefan with his camera and me with a sketch pad. We found an old farmhouse and he photographed it from many angles while I sat and did a sketch of it. Later that day I did a painting from my sketches. When I brought the painting in to the org the next day, Judy loved it and bought it from me straight away.
I still had no girlfriend. The affair with Anna was long over. A brief, torrid affair with a fetching Scottish girl, Helen, had ended badly the previous year. Stefan and I decided to remedy our mutual problem of lack of girlfriends, and went to a party for area staff hosted by the Advanced Org. There I met a Danish girl named Elin. She worked for the Guardians Office Europe. We hit it off right away, and I ended up spending the night at her apartment. A few days later, I moved out of the staff dormitory and into her flat. In those days you could still do things like that in the Sea Org.
It was an interesting relationship – neither of us could pronounce the other's name. I called her "Ellen" (she insisted it was pronounced "ay-leen"), and she called me "Yeff." Sometimes at night I would stop by the GO offices to pick her up, and I started talking to the Deputy Guardian Europe, Alan Juvonen, about possibly joining the Guardians Office. The fact was, I was bored stiff at Pubs. I wanted to do something different, go somewhere else, maybe even back to the US. Maybe the GO was my ticket out.
But that was not to be. One day in mid-1975, Judy called me into her office.
"Look at this," she said, handing me a copy of the Flag Orders of the Day and pointing to the "Command" section.
I read the entry. Hubbard talked about forming up a dissemination unit on the ship, and, at the end, specifically said to "get Hawkins from Pubs Denmark." I felt a thrill run through my body. The Old Man had called for me personally. This was the ticket out I'd been waiting for.
"Obviously, it will take some time to replace you," Judy said. I could hear the hesitation in her voice. She wanted to stall for time, try to keep me there.
"I don't think so," I said quickly, and named a possible replacement. "I can have him trained in a week." Judy grudgingly agreed to my plan.
It was hard telling Elin, but she understood. One didn't ignore a personal summons from LRH. I suggested she come to the ship too, but I could see that wasn't what she wanted to do. She was Danish, and this was her home.
A week later, I was at EULO, being briefed on my journey to the ship's confidential location.
"Will we be going through Madrid?" I asked.
"No," said the officer. "You'll be going via New York."
The ship had moved – across the Atlantic.


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WordPress 2.6 — I'm happy to announce that version 2.6 of WordPress.org is now available, almost a month ahead schedule. Version 2.6 "Tyner," named for jazz pianist McCoy Tyner, contains a number of new features that make WordPress a more powerful CMS: you can now track changes to every post …
Todd Zeigler / The Bivings Report: Wordpress 2.6 Looks Like a Significant Improvement
Ryan Naraine / Zero Day: WordPress 2.6 disables remote access, swats 194 bugs
Aaron Brazell / Technosailor: WordPress 2.6: Officially Launched
Scott Gilbertson / webmonkey: WordPress Update Arrives Early, Packs in New Features
Ashish / pluGGd.in to Indian Startups …: Wordpress 2.6 Released : Supports Google Gears...But where is the Big Picture?
Martin / gHacks technology news: Wordpress 2.6 — The Wordpress developers have released version 2.6 …
Amit Agarwal / Digital Inspiration: 'Press It' Bookmarklet in WordPress 2.6 Makes Tumblelogging Easy
Thord Daniel Hedengren / The Blog Herald: WordPress 2.6 Released Early
Kara Swisher / BoomTown:
MicroHoo: Can We All Get Along? Um, No. — Another day, another round of internecine battling among the main players of the Internet's longest-running soap opera. — That would be Yahoo, Microsoft and Carl Icahn. — The trio are fighting over the fate of Yahoo (YHOO) and who should control the iconic Web company.
Discussion: Data Center Knowledge, Digital Daily, paidContent.org and LiveSide
Rich Miller / Data Center Knowledge: Yahoo Eyes Omaha for Major Data Center
John Paczkowski / Digital Daily: Icahn to Yahoo: I Know You Are, But What Am I?
Staci D. Kramer / paidContent.org: Sun Valley CEOS: Microsoft's Icahn Partnership, Handling Of Yahoo 'Embarassing'
Kip Kniskern / LiveSide: Carl Icahn spins a different story on latest MSFT-YHOO deal
Henry Blodget / Silicon Alley Insider:
How Carl Icahn Screwed Up a Perfectly Good Search Deal
How Carl Icahn Screwed Up a Perfectly Good Search Deal
Frederic Lardinois / ReadWriteWeb: Microsoft-Yahoo: Setting the Record Straight Once More
David Hunter / Microsoft News Tracker: Carl Icahn and Microsoft finally respond to Yahoo characterization …
Doug Caverly / WebProNews: Microsoft, Icahn Reply To Yahoo's Rejection
John Battelle / John Battelle's Searchblog: They Said, We Said In MSFT/YHOO
Andrew Ross Sorkin / New York Times:
From the Inside, Jerry Yang Looks Out for Yahoo
From the Inside, Jerry Yang Looks Out for Yahoo
Discussion: BoomTown, PR Newswire, paidContent.org, L.A. Times Tech Blog, Forbes and Microsoft Watch
Joseph Weisenthal / paidContent.org: Yang Sends Out Latest Talking Points; Microsoft 'Sets Record Straight'
Jessica Guynn / L.A. Times Tech Blog: Yahoo, Microsoft chasing AOL — again
Wendy Tanaka / Forbes: Yahoo!-Microsoft Finger-Pointing
Joe Wilcox / Microsoft Watch: Microsoft Pooh-Poohs Yahoo
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
Google Bucket Testing New Digg-Like Search Interface — Google has experimented with search features that let users vote on search results, and/or recommend other results than those given, since late 2007. They generally bucket test these features (meaning some small percentage of users …
Discussion: The Social and Andy Beal's Marketing Pilgrim
Caroline McCarthy / The Social: Test feature shows social news may be on the way for Google
justin hileman dot info:
Google's "Edit Search results" experiment
Google's "Edit Search results" experiment
Discussion: Google Operating System, Search Engine Land and WebProNews
Ionut Alex Chitu / Google Operating System: Google's "Edit Search Results" Experiment
Barry Schwartz / Search Engine Land: Google Expands Edit My Search Results Feature?
Doug Caverly / WebProNews: Google Experimenting With Editable Search Results
The Official Google Blog:
"In their own words": political videos meet Google speech-to-text technology — In this U.S. election year, what information could be more important than the candidates' own words to describe their views, actions and platforms? — Our teams have been working to develop tools to make it easier …
Andrew Noyes / Tech Daily Dose: Google Unveils New Political Video Search Tool
Charles Cooper / Coop's Corner: YouTube gadget soon scorned on Capitol Hill?
Nathania Johnson / Search Engine Watch Blog: Google Launches Election Video Gadget with Transcribed Speech Text
Josh Catone / SitePoint Blogs: Google Offers Glimpse at Future Video Search
Ionut Alex Chitu / Google Operating System: Google Demoes Video Search with Speech Recognition
Amit Agarwal / Digital Inspiration: Speech Recognition in YouTube Lets You Search for Spoken Content
David A. Utter / WebProNews: Google Votes On Candidate Speeches
Duncan Riley / The Inquisitr: Google offering political video search based on speech recognition tech
John Leyden / The Register:
Unpatched Windows PCs own3d in less than four minutes — An unpatched PC is likely to last just four minutes on the internet before been attacked and compromised. — The time it takes for a PC to get itself owned varies by operating system and what activities a user engages in …
Thorsten Holz / honeyblog:
Survival of the Fittest — The Internet Storm Center blogged …
Survival of the Fittest — The Internet Storm Center blogged …
Discussion: Slashdot, TechBlog, SANS Internet Storm Center … and Computerworld
Dwight / TechBlog: Average time to infection: 4 minutes
Lorna Hutcheson / SANS Internet Storm Center, InfoCON: Survival Time on the Internet
Rebecca Kuo / DigiTimes:
Dell said to be planning launch of low-cost notebook in August — Dell is planning to introduce a low-cost notebook in August to join the low-cost notebook market, according to the market sources. The notebook will be manufactured by Compal Electronics, according to the sources
Discussion: Gadgetell, Mobility Site, CrunchGear, Electricpig.co.uk and Liliputing
Robert Nelson / Gadgetell: August launch speculation for the Dell E mini-laptop continues
Nicholas Deleon / CrunchGear: Dell low cost notebook set for August, $299
IDG News Service:
Intel's Quad-core Mobile Chip Coming Next Month — Intel will release it's first quad-core processor for laptops next month, rounding out a broad update to its mobile computing platform. — "We're bringing quad-core to mobile in August," said Sujan Kamran, regional marketing manager for client platforms at Intel in Singapore.
Discussion: InfoWorld, 9 to 5 Mac, greg hughes, Maximum PC all and Engadget
Cleve Nettles / 9 to 5 Mac: Next rev MacBook Pro platform launched by Intel …
Joshua Topolsky / Engadget: Intel bringing quad-core CPUs to laptops next month?
Newsosaur / Reflections of a Newsosaur:
Online ad rates slid 14% since January — The average online advertising rate dropped 14.2% in the first six months of the year, according to a new industry survey. — Demonstrating that even interactive advertising is not immune to the deterioration of the economy, PubMatic …
Discussion: Lost Remote
Cory Bergman / Lost Remote: Average CPMs down 14% since January
Barry Schwartz / Search Engine Roundtable:
Google Fridges Begin To Melt Down — Back in April of 2006, Google began sending out Google Fridges to some of their larger advertisers as a thank you. Well, I am now seeing reports via WebmasterWorld that those fridges are beginning to break. — WebmasterWorld's Hubie said:
Brian Heater / Gearlog: Google Fridges Break Down; Search Unaffected
Dave Shaw / Bloggle: Google Fridges go into meltdown

subset: commoncrawl


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You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in Your bottle. You have recorded each one in Your book. – (Psalm 56:8, NLT)
You know I am very upset. You know how much I have cried. Surely You have kept account of all of my tears. – (Psalm 56:8, ERV)
Yesterday morning, my mom shared with me that the grandson of one of her dearest friends was airlifted to Children's Hospital with serious respiratory issues, and was not doing well. Right away, I recognized the severity of what was going on, as they do not simply airlift children from the local hospital to a specialized hospital for small things. I began to pray throughout the day as my heart drifted back to the sweet little boy who was struggling, and for his loving family, who could do nothing else but pray as well. In the early evening, I sent a message to my mom in hope of a positive update. About two hours later, I received the devastating news that this precious little boy had lost his life. What are we to do in such circumstances? Obviously, I will be praying for comfort for the family in their grief, but practically, despite a phenomenal faith, there is nothing that can lessen the weight of the loss of a child. I know God can and will carry them through this season, and will do immeasurably more than we could hope or imagine, yet even so, my heart aches for them, and I cannot begin to fathom the depth of their present pain. He sees our every sorrow, and tracks our every tear. His heart aches with ours, and He loves us through our losses. May we love a little harder, all those whom we've been given, and lift up those who are grieving as we give them grace to walk out their present suffering.
In seasons of loss,
In spaces of grief;
Draw near us Jesus,
Your love brings relief.
You see our sorrow,
You catch all our tears;
Comfort our mourning,
Grant strength to face fears.
Be near, precious Lord,
To those in great loss;
Hold each in Your arms,
Let no one be lost.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that You are our Comforter in times of great sorrow. Thank You that You see every tear, and nothing is not noticed by You. Thank You that Your heart grieves with ours, and that You sit beside us in our mourning. Forgive us for our floundering in the midst of suffering. Teach us to turn to You to be our comfort in times of trouble, as You have promised to never leave us. Show us how to bring comfort to those who are grieving, and to love well, those in the midst of great loss. May many come into a lasting relationship with You. Be glorified O God, as we lean on You in times of great sorrow, and depend on You to show us how to comfort those around us who are grieving. Amen.
© Shannon Elizabeth Moreno and Revelations in Writing, May 2011 – present
You comfort me in my suffering, because Your promise gives me new life. – Psalm 119:50


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Decorative and useful for food serving, hand washable and ready to be reused.
Pewter is a malleable metal alloy. Copper and Antimony act as hardeners while Lead is common in the lower grades of Pewter. It has a melting point, around 338 – 446 F ( 170 – 230 C ), depending on the exact mixture.
Handles are made with tagua (also known as vegetable ivory) this seed comes from the Phytelephas Macrocarpa palm tree found in Ecuador subtropical region. The tagua is polished and dyed with natural inks.
Weight: 0.56kg
Height: 31cm
Width: 22cm
Length: 5cm


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The Program is open to students in good standing at any law school approved by the American Bar Association, and to graduates of an approved law school. For current non-OU students, applications for admission should be accompanied by a letter from the dean of the law school at which one is presently enrolled stating that he or she is in good standing. Practicing attorneys should present evidence of having graduated from an approved law school.
The University of Oklahoma College of Law became a member of the Association of American Law Schools in 1911, and has been on the approved list of the American Bar Association since this list was first published in 1923. ABA and AALS requirements will be met. Law schools whose students have attended previous sessions have regularly approved the transfer of credits for the courses taken by their students through the OU Oxford Summer Program. Acceptance of any credit or grade for any course taken in the Program is subject to determination by the student's home school.
Applications will open on November 28, 2023. For OU students, find the application on The Courtyard. For non-OU students, please contact Becky Lucas at firstname.lastname@example.com for a link to an application.
Applications must be submitted on or before April 1, 2023 and will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Applications must be accompanied by a $500 deposit. If a student is not accepted, this deposit will be refunded. The deposit will not be refunded if the student is accepted into the Program and does not attend for any reason (unless canceled due to the worldwide pandemic). Checks should be made payable to the University of Oklahoma.
The balance of all costs (minus the $500 deposit) will be billed to each student in May 2023. Please access the OU Bursar's website for all applicable payment deadlines.
Trinity College will allocate rooms for students on June 1, 2023 (tentative). Students withdrawing from the Program after June 1, 2023 will be charged a cancelation fee of $5,000.
This Program is not subject to cancelation for insufficient enrollment or any other reason that OU can independently remedy. The program may be canceled by Trinity College or by OU due to the presence of foreign military operations impacting the United States or the United Kingdom, or terrorism events (see government guidelines), Acts of God, or a major disaster affecting the UK or the Oxford area particularly, or similar cause (for example, see world-wide pandemic during summers 2020 and 2021). See the U.S. State Department Travel Information for the refund policy in the event Oxford is declared an "Area of Instability" or becomes subject to a Travel Warning. In addition, the Program Director(s) shall use their best efforts to arrangement for each student who has enrolled to attend a similar program, if the student so desires, in case of cancelation. If the Program is canceled in advance, all money advanced by the student shall be refunded within twenty (20) days after the date of cancelation. The College of Law has never canceled its Summer Program at Oxford, except with mutual agreement with Oxford University, and as dictated by government action during the worldwide pandemic in summers 2020 and 2021.
If significant changes are made in the course offerings or other aspects of the Program, those changes will be communicated promptly to any applicant who has paid a deposit or registered for the Program, and an opportunity will be provided for that person to withdraw and obtain a full refund of all monies paid.
Please select your program of interest to learn more about the application process.
J.D. ProgramM.L.S. ProgramLL.M. ProgramLegal Assistant Education Not sure? Learn more about admissions at OU Law
J.D. ProgramM.L.S. ProgramLL.M. ProgramLegal Assistant Education Not sure? Learn more about OU Law


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A model community
Don Mills is a diverse neighborhood in the North York district of Toronto. It is bounded by York Mills Road to the north, Canadian Pacific Railway to the south, Leslie Street to the west, and Don Valley Parkway to the east.
Don Mills was arranged as a model community between 1952 and 1965. One of the five planning principles, which had not been realized in Canada before, was to break down the community into four neighborhood quadrants. Each quadrant was to be enclosing a regional shopping center.
The old shopping center has now been reconstructed into the new Shops at Don Mills where customers can enjoy an outdoor retail experience. The Town Square which features an impressive clock tower, a robotic water feature and an oval ice rink, gourmet food shops and restaurants are also part of the mix.
Bond Park, situated off Duncairn Road, is Don Mills largest park. The area has sports fields and an arena. A path inside Edwards Gardens is part of a nine kilometer paved trail that goes through the valley of the West Don River all the way to Warden Woods Park in Scarborough. Many of Don Mills smaller local parks are linked by a paved walkway that runs behind Don Mills' houses.


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We pride ourselves on giving the best quality, brands and service. So if for any reason you're not happy with your purchase; contact us and we will do our best to rectify the problem.
The all new Carbon Fibre X-Brake Vented disc cover was designed with more ventilation to help fight front brake fade.
The durable Carbon fibre construction offers unparalleled protection for your front brake rotor and caliper.
Acerbis disc cover mount is included in this kit
For use with stock hubs or stock style aftermarket hubs. Will not fit Talon hubs.
Please contact us to find out about the warranty that applies to this product.


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There's an old Emo Philips joke about trusting advice from the government: "I pleaded guilty on advice of counsel. Which is the last time I listen to a prosecuting attorney." Amazon, Lakemaid Brewery, and FlowerDeliveryExpress.com should listen to his warning. Just because the FAA says it has the authority to regulate drones doesn't mean it actually does.
Currently, the Federal Aviation Administration maintains that anyone operating a drone in the United States must obtain an experimental aircraft permit, which severely limits the number of active drones and the parties permitted to fly them. However, a closer look at the statutory and regulatory laws governing the FAA suggests that the administration may not actually have the authority to require those permits or limit drone usage. If I had a company that wanted to deliver beer by unmanned aerial vehicle (and I wish I did), there are three points I'd raise in my defense against fines levied by the FAA for unlicensed drone delivery.
1) U.S. code and regulations that give the FAA its authority do not define unmanned aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, or aerial drones. (Let's call them all "UAVs.")
The definitions for the portion of U.S. code that governs air commerce and safety, found in 49 USC § 40102, do not define UAVs. The definitions for the regulations that govern aeronautics and space, found in 14 CFR 1.1, do not define UAVs, either. If the law creating the FAA's governing authority does not even address UAVs, the FAA's authority to regulate UAVs is highly suspect.
In an email, Les Dorr of the FAA states that "the FAA is responsible for the safety of the National Airspace System (NAS). This includes all NAS users, including those operating unmanned aircraft systems." However, he also admits that "we are currently using regulations for manned aircraft in approving [UAV] operations." There is a legitimate question as to whether the FAA can use regulations that were intended for manned aircraft to regulate UAVs, particularly when those regulations do not define, address, or consider UAVs. It's a potentially dangerous precedent to permit the government to police one form of technology using a law that was not written to address that technology. It's akin to using telegraph laws to regulate the Internet.
2) Even if it has the authority to regulate UAVs, the FAA has not taken the necessary steps to do so. In fact, it's published other documents suggesting that UAVs are permissible.
Admittedly, Dorr has a point and language in the U.S. code appears to grant the FAA broad authority that may encompass UAVs (and anything else that flies, like paper airplanes and spitballs—watch out, third-graders). For example, 49 USC § 40103(b)(1) states, "The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall develop plans and policy for the use of the navigable airspace and assign by regulation or order the use of the airspace necessary to ensure the safety of aircraft and the efficient use of airspace." That's pretty broad, and arguably the FAA could rely on that to issue regulations and orders that directly govern UAVs.
But it hasn't. Instead of creating a regulatory system specifically designed to govern UAVs, it has relied primarily on policy interpretation documents, notices, and guidance documents. These are very different from statutory and regulatory law, which must face public scrutiny. Guidance documents in particular have received pointed congressional and judicial criticism. In 2000, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform worried that federal agencies could use guidance documents to avoid public comment procedures that "protect citizens from arbitrary decisions and enable citizens to participate effectively in the [rulemaking] process." In its decision in Appalachian Power Co. v. EPA, the D.C. Circuit Court wrote:
Congress passes a broadly worded statute. The agency follows with regulations containing broad language, open-ended phrases, ambiguous standards and the like. Then as years pass, the agency issues circulars or guidance or memoranda, explaining, interpreting, defining and often expanding the commands in regulations. One guidance document may yield another and then another and so on. Several words in a regulation may spawn hundreds of pages of text as the agency offers more and more detail regarding what its regulations demand of regulated entities. Law is made, without notice and comment, without public participation, and without publication in the Federal Register or the Code of Federal Regulations.
That's essentially what the FAA is doing here. Until the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, Congress never addressed UAVs. (More on that law in a minute.) Yet, according to Dorr, the FAA has regulated them since 1990. Although Dorr notes that a rulemaking process for "small" UAVs preceded the 2012 act, for more than 20 years the FAA has tried to regulate all UAVs without the necessary procedures that would permit public scrutiny of proposed policy decisions.
In some instances, the FAA has attempted to regulate UAVs by relying on existing regulations that are stretched and distorted. For instance, it uses regulations governing experimental aircraft and the flight crews of experimental aircraft to justify the current permitting system, which is consistent with Dorr's acknowledgment that the FAA uses regulations governing manned aircraft to regulate UAVs. Of course the whole point of an unmanned aerial vehicle is that there is no flight crew, but no one seems to have pointed that out to the FAA.
In fact, one could argue that it's voluntary to listen to the FAA about drones. In its literature discussing its governance of UAVs, the FAA often refers to Advisory Circular 91-57, which addresses model airplanes. However, AC 91-57 merely "outlines, and encourages voluntary compliance with" the model airplane standards it states (so I guess paper airplane–slinging third-graders are safe). I think "voluntary" is probably a more honest representation of FAA authority over UAVs as well, absent congressional approval or at least publicly vetted regulations.
Similarly, there is reason to think that if you keep your beer-delivery drone flying low, you'll be in the clear. In its documentation addressing a redesign of the national airspace in the Northeast, the FAA provides a useful outline of the NAS, including Class G airspace, which goes from the ground up to at least 700 feet in the eastern United States. The document notes that the FAA's air traffic control (ATC) system "does not have the authority or responsibility to manage … air traffic within this space." That seems to state outright what the lack of specific statutory and regulatory authority already suggests: The FAA can't regulate UAVs, at least within that Class G space.
Dorr disputes this, pointing out that "Class G is often defined as uncontrolled (no ATC services). However, uncontrolled does not mean unregulated." This is somewhat inconsistent with the NAS outline, which clearly states that ATC does not have the "authority" to regulate air traffic in Class G air space. As most delivery drones would only need to operate in Class G, if the FAA does not have the authority to manage that area of the skies, the FAA does not have the authority to manage most delivery drones.
3) Congress did nothing to confirm the FAA's current authority to regulate UAVs when it passed the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012.
In passing the 2012 act, Congress finally defined "unmanned aircraft" and ordered the FAA to create a regulatory system to permit UAVs. Those regulations should be in place around September 2015. The FAA has said it expects to release proposed rules addressing smaller UAVs later this year, but so far the administration has run behind in meeting preliminary deadlines established by the act. The act also requires that the secretary of transportation develop a comprehensive plan to "safely accelerate the integration of civil unmanned aircraft systems into the national airspace system." That plan was released (late) on Nov. 6, 2013.
However, while the act grants authority to the FAA to regulate UAVs, nowhere in it did Congress state that the FAA already has authority to govern UAVs and that Congress would like the FAA to regulate them differently. Congress only called for the FAA to "integrate" UAVs into the NAS. There's no reason to believe that UAVs are currently prohibited from the NAS based on the language Congress used. Rather, it looks like Congress wanted to give explicit authority to the FAA to regulate UAVs to integrate them into the fabric of the NAS with traditional airplanes and aircraft. Until 2015, or some later date, when we see the FAA's rules, this legislation doesn't give the FAA any more authority to govern UAVs than before the president signed it.
Admittedly, there is no obvious provision in federal law prohibiting the FAA from regulating UAVs, and Les Dorr and the FAA in general are adamant about the FAA's authority to ensure safety in the NAS. However, there are plenty of weaknesses and gaps in the foundation of the FAA's legal authority to govern drones. Until the 2015 regulations put this issue to rest, there is a legitimate question about the legality of flower-, beer-, and Kindle-bearing airborne robots. I'd like to see someone challenge the current permitting system now and jump-start the new drone economy.
This article is part of Future Tense, a collaboration among Arizona State University, the New America Foundation, and Slate. Future Tense explores the ways emerging technologies affect society, policy, and culture. To read more, visit the Future Tense blog and the Future Tense home page. You can also follow us on Twitter.


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Scenes from Sherryfest
Two weeks ago, before the hurricane, there was Sherryfest. The main event, if you will, was a Grand Tasting held at Liberty Hall in the Ace Hotel. I think it's fair to say that the only human being in the room that day who was not in the least bit surprised was Peter Liem. He knew it would be a grand event, he knew that there would be way more people who wanted to be at the tasting than the space could accommodate, he knew that all of the producers would be there and pull out the great bottles, he knew that everyone would be blown away by the opportunity to speak with all of the producers and to taste all of the amazing wines.
Everyone else was at least a little bit blown away. You could see it on all of the faces - the childlike glee. It was dark in Liberty Hall and I had trouble getting good photos with my mobile phone. I want to share a few images anyway.
Many other producers participated too, from Valdespino to El Maestro Sierra to Lustau to César Floridio. This was truly the greatest Sherry event ever on US soil, and I hope it was the first of many.


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Thunder Dolphin Looks Like Urban Coaster Goodness!
I've always been a fan of terrain coasters as they utilize the unique layout of the land that they sit on. A roller coaster like Thunder Dolphin uses the man-made terrain of Tokyo as riding along the top of buildings and diving down through a cut-out in one, and then flying through the hub of a Ferris wheel.
As I've argued in the past, every major city should have a signature roller coaster right in the heart of the town. Tokyo's got there's. Well, RCDB shows Thunder Dolphin as SBNO (standing but not operating), but let's hope that it'll be back up and running soon.
While Robb doesn't sound too impressed in the video. Maybe the ride's atmosphere adds a lot too it. Maybe it doesn't. I think Thunder Dolphin looks cool. Besides it's the closest thing we have to this fictional coaster weaving it's away across a city in: "The Best Roller Coaster Commercial Ever"
Here's a POV video of Thunder Dolphin:
What's your take? Leave a comment below. Also see: Top 3 Urban Roller Coasters
Image 1 via cc Flickr user – Freakazoid!, Image 2 via cc Flickr user – sweet_redbird


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Michelle Reynolds
We have enjoyed working with Marcy for several years. My family of 7 has traveled to Africa, China, and Australia using Black Pearl Services. Everyone of these vacations have been exceptional!! The accomodations and excursions that have been planned for us were a dream come true!! My children will continually reflect back on these trips as amazing 'trips of a lifetime.' We will continue to use Marcy for all of our travels throughout the world! I truly can depend on my expectations being over exceeded!!


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One of 15 Stamford by Alvin Leung's signature dishes, this succulent and deconstructed version of an iconic local favourite features juicy and prime pork ribs that are slow-cooked to perfection at 85 degrees Celsius for over 12 hours. It comes complete with compressed watermelon and angelica barbecue sauce.
About 15 Stamford by Alvin Leung
At 15 Stamford, two Michelin-starred Chef Alvin Leung has taken inspiration from his years of walking through Asia to pay humble tribute to Asian cuisine. From our local signature Satays to Yakitori in Japan and grilled skewered meats along the streets of Thailand and Vietnam, Chef Leung has translated his love for Asian street food to a dedicated Wood-grill section on the menu.
Above-stated price is in Singapore Dollars and GST-inclusive.
For a limited time only, enjoy free island-wide delivery* with a minimum food order of $120. Free delivery service applies to one location per order and is not applicable on Festive items.
*Not available from 3 to 9 April 2023. Delivery charges for this period are:
- S$30 per location from 3 to 8 April 2023
- S$50 per location on 9 April 2023
Self pick-up is available at the following location:
The Boutique at 15 Stamford
15 Stamford Road
Singapore, 178906
Festive items cannot be combined with other regular menu items in one order, and deliveries for festive and regular menu items need to be booked and paid for separately.
Delivery slots are subject to availability.


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A Pierson teen has been arrested and charges are being sought against another for the break-in at the Pierson Trading Post on August 13.
According to the Montcalm County Sheriff Office, investigators worked with the Michigan State Police and followed up on tips that came in from the community. On Monday, August 26, they arrested Jheramyah Harold Fridline, 17, of Pierson.
He was arraigned the following day on charges of breaking and entering, alcohol possession, and tobacco possession. At press time, Fridline was in custody and held on a $1,000.00 bond.
The second suspect is a 15-year-old Pierson youth. Reports are being forwarded to the Prosecutor's Office requesting charges for the youth through Probate Court.
Investigators found a small amount of property and evidence tying the two teens to the crime. The case remains under investigation.


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Despite all my blowback from Zach's death, I really hadn't thought about my reactions in anything like the terms usually used to describe PTSD. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is most commonly referenced, in my experience, to soldiers after having been in a shooting war. Nowadays, Iraq and Afghanistan are the poster children, but many people came home from Vietnam with it. No doubt many came home from Korea and World War II with it as well, although the syndrome wasn't recognized in the same way then.
Some of these countries have ongoing trauma, but out of the remaining ones, I'm sure German, Japanese, Russian soldiers came home with PTSD. Vietnamese and Koreans never had to leave home to get it.
So I don't want to equate my feelings with those of soldiers – of any nation – who have spent months or years in war zones, killing people, seeing their friends killed, and nearly being killed themselves. But the other day, as I was driving on a two lane road at dusk with oncoming traffic going 50 or 60 miles an hour, as I was, I had a little twitch. And that image of Zach's broken body flashed before my eyes again and I for some reason thought,' PTSD.'
I haven't been to a therapy session since last spring. I haven't been to a good therapy session since Dr Perry left in January. I had a phone session with Linda S that was not satisfying and inconclusive. See my posts on 'Goals'. I don't think I will start up again with either although I have had ideas of trying to contact Dr Perry and do some kind of long distance therapy. So far, no action on that.
During the last month, as I was often going to work during regular rush hour, there were times when I felt myself getting extra twitchy while driving, while watching other people do really stupid things on the road. Except for the other day, all the driving I've done here in Washington has been fear free. I picked up my rental car today and drove up to a music store about an hour north of Duvall, then came home on a state highway that was mostly two lane. Perhaps I was distracted by having a new car to drive, or by the scenery, but I had no flashbacks. I do often take note when I am driving at 50 – 55 miles an hour of how fast the trees are going by. Sometimes I think of someone hitting my car at that speed.
I think the day will come when I will go back to Baton Rouge and stand along that road and time the cars leaving that intersection. Jake sold the house and lives in Las Vegas now. Micah and Julie are still down there so I will no doubt ask them about it again. The second anniversary of that awful night is next week but I've already decided that I will only celebrate Zach's birthday any more, not his death day.


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Little Ladies for Jesus - glenwood springs baptist church
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Learning from the Pros
Carpenter Field-Charleviox, MI: This weekend the boys and I headed south to Charlevoix so Trevor could participate in a baseball clinic hosted by the MLBPAA Alumni and Little League Baseball. A good number of former Major Leaguers were on hand to teach kids ages 6-16. Some of the players on hand were Doug Mirabelli (Red Sox), Roger Mason (Tigers, Mets, Giants), Dennis Rasmussen (Yankees), Bruce Look (Twins), and Rob Ellis (Brewers). The alumni did a great job of giving the kids instruction in a positive manner, and they were all very patient with the younger kids. Trevor had a great time, and really learned from it. They were also talked to about respect and hard work, whether you're playing baseball or doing anything else in life. My only regret, actually, is not fudging Brian's age and letting him join the fun. He would have done very well, also. After the clinic the kids were given hot dogs, hamburgers, and chips for lunch, and the MLB Alumni signed autographs for them. The weather was beautiful, and it was a great day for us all around! I highly recommend it for anyone who wants their child to succeed.
Promotion courtesy of the MLBPAA
Photos property of Minoring In Baseball


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Source: Bravewords.com
Tobias Sammet's project AVANTASIA are the latest act confirmed for Sweden Rock Festival 2013.
Sammet promises an even more celebrity-filled show, which says a lot since previous performances have included such names as Kai Hansen, Michael Kiske, Jørn Lande and Bob Catley. This will be Avantasia's only show in Sweden for the summer of 2013.
Sweden Rock Festival 2013 will take place June 5th – 8th in Sölvesborg, Sweden.
Confirmed acts now include: ACCEPT, AMARANTHE, AMON AMARTH, AUDREY HORNE, AVANTASIA, AXXIS, BULLET, CANDLEMASS, CIVIL WAR, CRAZY LIXX, DEMON, DORO, JON ENGLISH, FIREWIND, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, HUNTRESS, HYPOCRISY, IHSAHN, KISS, KREATOR, KROKUS, MORGANA LEFAY, LENINGRAD COWBOYS, LEPROUS, MANILLA ROAD, MARTIN PRAHL'S SKELTER WHEEL, NAGLFAR, NINE BELOW ZERO, PARADISE LOST, RAUBTIER, RUSH, SATAN, SAXON, THE SCAMS, SISTER SIN, SONATA ARCTICA, STATUS QUO, TANKARD, THRESHOLD, UFO, VADER, WITCHCRAFT.
Sweden Rock Festival is a four-day festival with a total of 80 bands performing on five outdoor stages. More info can be found at Swedenrock.com.


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Friday, January 9, 2009
Big News!!!
Hi everyone! It's time for my big scrappy news....drumroll please.....I got picked to be on the Cuttlebug Challenge Design Team, EEK!!! Check out the blog here. I'm so excited. The blog is already packed with talented ladies who adore their Cuttlebugs and scrapping and you have to check out the new talent they've added! The upcoming challenges are GREAT and there are some big plans for Valentine's Day. The Cuttlebug Challenge blog is still looking for sponsors, so if you have any ideas just leave me a comment! And all of my blog buddies who don't have a Cuttlebug, now you have to go out and buy one so you can take part in the challenges:) See, an excuse to shop! So wish me luck on this new creative journey, my first Design Team!
Posted by Amber at Friday, January 09, 2009
5 comments:
- Unknown said...
WAY TO GO AMBER!!! Just do what you do best...be creative. Enjoy the experience, the people you meet, the friendships you make and the journey. One never knows what's around the next bend. My #1 new scrap item to buy will definitely be "The Cuttlebug."
- January 9, 2009 at 9:30 PM
- Tammie said...
Congrats! You go girl! I can't wait to see what you do with this challenge...and I already want a cuttlebug...birthday hint for hubby :)
- January 9, 2009 at 9:37 PM
- Mary said...
The Cuttlebug is wonderful & congrats!
- January 9, 2009 at 11:12 PM
- Annette said...
YAY!!! Congrats Amber, I am so happy for you! Can't wait to see all your beautiful creations!
- January 11, 2009 at 6:44 AM
- Unknown said...
Oh, yay!! Congratulations Amber!
(-: Heidi
- January 12, 2009 at 11:53 AM
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Here's the first literal English translation of the lyrics, with an explanation of what they mean.
The publicity outside Russia surrounding the Pussy Riot trial has focused on the band members' kinetic, sock-it-to 'em dance style and mocking prostrations before the altar of Moscow's Christ the Savior Cathedral, the colorful balaclavas they wore to perform their "punk prayer," their erudite, eloquent statements in court, and the sentencing of three of them, in August, to two years in a penal colony for "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred." (One sentence has since been overturned on appeal and a band member freed.) That the punk prayer began with the choral refrain that translates as "Birth-giver of God, drive away Putin!" has also been reported, of course, which words would seem to explain their conviction, if we assume their real offence was not "hooliganism" of one sort or another, but a brazen act of lèse majesté -- of insulting the ruler -- against Russian president Vladimir Putin.
The lèse majesté argument seems to hold sway outside Russia, but, rightly or wrongly, a plurality of Russians in the country itself disagree. According to polls conducted by the respected Levada Center, 42 percent of Russians consider the punk prayer an attack on the Russian Orthodox Church. Only 19 percent saw it as a protest against Putin. The difference may have a simple explanation: Unlike most in the West, the Levada poll respondents had probably heard the whole song before forming an opinion about it. In fact, the rest of the punk prayer's lyrics amount to an iconoclastic cri de coeur deriding popular Russian subservience to a clergy many regard as corrupt, denouncing (widespread, in Russia) conservative attitudes toward gays, assailing the increasingly tight relationship between church and the (constitutionally secular) state, as well ridiculing the age-old perception in Russia that rulers exercise power through a mandate from God (or, in the Soviet era, though a mandate from history, the Marxist version of which posited the death of capitalism and the triumph of communism). Putin, accordingly, was not Pussy Riot's only target. The band was challenging the entirety of the social and political order he has fostered since coming to power almost 13 years ago.
Virgin birth-giver of God, drive away Putin!
Drive away Putin, drive away Putin!
Black frock, golden epaulettes
Parishioners crawl bowing [toward the priest, during the Eucharist]
Freedom's ghost [has gone to] heaven
A gay-pride parade [has been] sent to Siberia in shackles
Their chief saint is the head of the KGB
He leads a convoy of protestors to jail
So as not to insult the Holiest One
Woman should bear children and love
Shit, shit, the Lord's shit!
Shit, shit, the Lord's shit!
The "golden epaulettes" call to mind KGB officers and military dress uniforms, and the juxtaposition with "black frock" is no accident. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, many Russian Orthodox priests were denounced as having collaborated with country's most feared spy agency. In fact, the current Patriarch Kirill I stands accused by journalists, the Helsinki Group (a prominent Russian human rights organization), and, of course, Pussy Riot, of working with the KGB. (In her court statement, now free band member Yekaterina Samutsevich referred to him as Putin's "former colleague.") The group chose the cathedral as their locus of protest because, again according to Samutsevich, it had been "used openly as a flashy backdrop for the politics of the security forces."
Of gay parades: Moscow municipal authorities have routinely denied permits for gay pride marches, though certainly none have been "sent to Siberia in irons." Putin is surely "the chief saint" in line 7, but "the Holiest One" would be Patriarch Kirill, whose traditionalist stance on women's roles must not be offended. Since its inception in 2011, Pussy Riot, through its songs, has propagated an aggressive philosophy of feminism in a country where the word "feminist" carries a foul, overtly Western connotation.
All of which makes the Church, in Pussy Riot's spiteful parlance, little better than a pile of "the Lord's shit."
A second self-explanatory choral refrain then follows:
Virgin birth-giver of God, become a feminist!
Become a feminist, become a feminist!
Which segues back into lines about politics and corruption:
The Church praises rotten leaders
The march of the cross consists of black limousines
A preacher is on his way to your school
Go to class and give him money!
Patriarch Kirill has moved the Church ever closer to the Kremlin and, ahead of presidential elections last March, openly called on Russians to vote for Putin. The "march of the cross" refers to the ceremony (krestnyi khod, in Russian), enacted during Easter celebrations, in which parishioners form processions and carry crosses from local churches around town. Intended as a sincere expression of faith, the march has been corrupted, Pussy Riot implies, both by the Church's proximity to political power and by the Yeltsin-era privilege it once enjoyed (by presidential decree) to import luxury cars (as well as tobacco) duty-free. Hence the reference to "black limousines."
Patriarch Gundyay believes in Putin
Would be better, the bastard, if he believed in God!
The Virgin's belt won't replace political gatherings
The eternal Virgin Mary is with us in our protests!
Virgin birth-Giver of God, drive away Putin!
Drive away Putin, drive away Putin!
Patriarch Kirill's secular surname is Gundyayev. The Patriarch called Putin "a miracle from God" in his endorsement, thus making clear his faith in him. The Russian word used for my "bastard" was suka (bitch), which can't apply to a male subject, so I've made the corresponding change. The "Virgin's belt" seems to refer to the holy relic, the "Belt of the Blessed Birthgiver of God" brought from Mount Athos in Greece to the Cathedral some months before Pussy Riot's performance there. Thousands lined up in fierce cold to pay it homage, many in the hope that the sash purportedly worn by the Virgin while she was carrying Jesus might cure their ailments. Pussy Riot was, thus, saying "Don't look to God for help, you've got to get out on the streets and demand change!" The import of the next line is clear: The Virgin Mary, who is purported to stand with the downtrodden (and not, presumably, with institutions allied with authoritarian regimes), must, in Pussy Riot's view, support them in their fight for justice.
The punk prayer's lyrics have done much to highlight, even exacerbate, deep-rooted divisions in Russian society over faith, the exercise of personal freedoms, and the concept of justice. Acts of desecration and vandalism of church property began multiplying shortly after the band members' sentencing, with the result that the State Duma, with the Church's support, is pushing for legislation that would criminalize blasphemy. A mounting sense of conflict may be just what Pussy Riot intended. The band is, after all, an outgrowth of an earlier protest group called Voina -- War.


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One thing most ladies have been missing this year is hot hockey players. Stupid NHL lockout. But we here at Ladies… would like to fix that with a little hockey hotties action. As a hockey-crazed lady, I've really missed my live hockey, but tonight I will finally see my first live hockey action of the season starring this man: Braden Holtby
During the lockout, Holts has been playing for the Hershey Bears, the Washington Capitals AHL affiliate. Funny Holtby story real quick: I went to Caps rookie camp prior to the season he really started seeing ice time. I was sitting on a bench outside the team store waiting for some friends, and he was in the store picking up a custom jersey order: his own. It was kinda adorable.
There aren't many photos of Holtby without his pads, but there's not much to complain about. See!!
Here's one sans uniform (or just really close up)
Enjoy! And may Santa bring us hockey for Christmas! (It's at the top of my list!)


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Boy who died after Christmas zip line accident in Easton laid to rest
By: Fred Hanson, Patriot Ledger
Hockey players formed an archway of raised sticks and residents lined a section of Hanover Street holding signs of support as the community paid a final tribute to Matthew Cox, our news partners at the Patriot Ledger reported.
Cox, 10, was laid to rest Thursday following a funeral Mass that brought an overflow crowd of mourners to St. Mary of the Sacred Heart Church.
The tribute was organized by Lori Coughlin and school committee member Libby Corbo.
"I think this is something we needed to do as a community to heal and show our support for Ann and Bill and Molly and Kaitlyn," said Corbo, referring to Cox's parents and two sisters.
Members of the Hanover High School girls hockey team held signs that spelled out "We love the Cox family" and "Play for Matt."
Cox was actively involved in local athletics before his family moved to Maine last year. Corbo's husband, Gregg, had been Cox's baseball coach.
Cox died last Friday from injuries he sustained in a zip-line accident the day after Christmas at his uncle's home in Easton.


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Nine-year-old Jessa lives in a tiny, dark hovel situated within a crowded squatter community in metro Manila. Jessa's home, unlike the typical homes in most squatter communities, is a concrete house.
While this shelter could keep the family safe during typhoons, on other days of the year it is very hot and humid inside their one-room house.
Jessa wakes up at 4 a.m. Monday through Friday. It is still dark at this time of day, but inside the family's bedroom it is dark at every time of the day. They do not have a window.
During the rainy season, sleeping in their cramped bedroom is cozy, but on most days of the year, it is hot and humid. Jessa, her father, Jesus, her mother, Naty, and sister, Joyce Ann, sleep together on a tattered double-size mattress inside a 6' x 6' room.
The family sleeps cross-wise on the mattress with their feet touching the floor.
At 4:30 a.m. Jessa smells the freshly steamed rice "Nanay" (her mother, Naty) is cooking below; not "downstairs" but "below" since they do not have a staircase. The family bedroom is on a sort of mezzanine-type floor.
Jessa gingerly steps down onto the kitchen sink and to a wooden plank before she touches the linoleum- covered concrete floor. She tries not to startle her uncle who is sleeping on a wooden mat in the living room.
Jessa takes a quick breakfast – a plate of steamed white rice and locally canned meatloaf – and a quick morning bath.
It is so humid in the Philippines during both the dry and wet seasons that Filipinos cannot truly start their day without taking a quick shower. Jessa doesn't have a shower. She scoops water from a pail using a plastic dipper inside their dimly lit bathroom. On cooler days during the winter, Naty heats a kettle of water for her daughters.
The Philippines does not have what many people would consider winter. It never gets that cold. There are only two seasons here – dry, when it can still get really sticky, and wet, when typhoons, cyclones, floods and flood-related diseases arrive.
Jessa's family doesn't really have a living room. It is just a dark, tiny living space with her uncle's wooden bed that doubles as a couch when the family watches TV. Uncle owns the second-hand TV but it does not connect to any of the local channels; they use it only to watch DVD movies. Jessa's uncle sells cheap, pirated DVDs.
At 5:30 a.m. Jessa is ready to walk to school. The Bayanihan Elementary School is only a few meters away. Jessa's favorite subject is math, but she doesn't enjoy science. Today she is competing in a journalism contest in which she already won the first round.
But Jessa doesn't want to be a journalist or mathematician when she grows up; she hopes to be a nurse. She tells us,
"I want to be a nurse someday so that I can help other people."
School goes until noon, then Jessa returns home for lunch. The house is better lit at this time of day, but the living room is still mostly in shadows. Jessa's uncle has left to sell more of his DVDs.
Jessa helps herself to lunch. Her mother and little sister, Joyce Ann, join her. They are having leftover cold rice and canned meatloaf. Jessa's father, Jesus, is working as a tricycle-taxi driver, riding through the crowded back alleys of Baler community where they live.
The tricycle-taxi, the most common form of transport in back alleys and minor Philippine roads, is a 100-cc motorcycle with a lavishly designed metal sidecar. It normally rides three passengers but can carry six when necessary. Basic fare is P8.00 (US $.19). Jessa's father earns an average of P150 (US $3.57) a day.
After finishing her school assignments, Jessa spends the rest of the afternoon playing outside. Naty allows her to watch local TV at their neighbors' house for an hour.
Jessa and her little sister come home at 6:30 p.m. — just before its gets dark outside (and darker inside their home) and before their neighbors start drinking bottles and bottles of beer and getting boisterous and violent.
Nearly all male adults in this crowded community spend their evenings hanging out and getting drunk; Jessa's father is one of the few exceptions.
Almost all female adults hang out all day gossiping and gambling, except for Jessa's mother and a few others.
For dinner, the entire family eats cold rice and canned meatloaf — more leftovers. By 9 p.m. the entire family is back in their tiny mezzanine bedroom.
This is Jessa's typical day. But her routine changes dramatically on Saturdays, when she goes to her nearby Compassion-assisted child development center to play with friends, sing and dance, listen to Bible stories, memorize verses, learn, and eat nutritious meals and snacks.
"I really enjoy going to the student center because I learn many things; I also get school tutorials, and I also enjoy memorizing verses."
Jessa's mother shares,
"Jessa loves to study. She is intelligent, respectful, kind and diligent. She does her homework on her own."
Naty hopes and prays that Jessa will go to college someday and achieve her dreams in life – something Naty and her husband dreamed of as they grew up but never had the chance to fulfill.
Naty grew up in the same community. She saw, felt, smelled, tasted and experienced all that her daughter is going through right now, but there is a big difference — Jessa is a sponsored child through Compassion International.
Jessa receives regular medical and dental checkups, school tutorials, spiritual discipleship, and one-on-one attention and care, as do all of the 160 children registered at the CCWI (Church of Christ Worldwide Inc.) Student Center.
Jessa's family is also comforted to know that local Compassion staff will help take care of them if their house ever gets struck down by a strong flood or other calamity or if Jessa becomes seriously ill — tragedies that are not uncommon in Philippine squatter communities.
As her mother says,
"Jessa's sponsorship is a big help to us. We have very little in life. She is learning many things at the student center and church. Our family is very grateful."


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Want to know what was happening on the corner of your street a hundred years ago? Now a new online project will let you 'pin' historic photos to images on Google Streetview giving you a snapshot of that particular location throughout history.
The HistoryPin website encourages web users to upload their archive photos and 'geo-tag' the modern-day locations onto their modern Streetview locations. The site allows users to share images from their personal photo albums and wants them to include the stories and history behind them.
What a great project for school students to get involved with! Combine history, culture, and geography in one fell swoop!
Read more at: A snapshot through time: The website that lets you 'pin' historic photos onto Streetview


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This is a draft from a book chapter on data journalism (part 1 looks at finding data; part 2 at interrogating data; part 3 at visualisation, and 4 at visualisation tools). I'd really appreciate any additions or comments you can make – particularly around tips and tools.
UPDATE: It has now been published in The Online Journalism Handbook.
Mashing data
Wikipedia defines a mashup particularly succinctly, as "a web page or application that uses or combines data or functionality from two or many more external sources to create a new service." Those sources may be online spreadsheets or tables; maps; RSS feeds (which could be anything from Twitter tweets, blog posts or news articles to images, video, audio or search results); or anything else which is structured enough to 'match' against another source.
This 'match' is typically what makes a mashup. It might be matching a city mentioned in a news article against the same city in a map; or it may be matching the name of an author with that same name in the tags of a photo; or matching the search results for 'earthquake' from a number of different sources. The results can be useful to you as a journalist, to the user, or both.
Why make a mashup?
Mashups can be particularly useful in providing live coverage of a particular event or ongoing issue – mashing images from a protest march, for example, against a map. Creating a mashup online is not too dissimilar from how, in broadcast journalism, you might set up cameras at key points around a physical location in anticipation of an event from which you will later 'pull' live feeds: in a mashup you are effectively doing exactly the same thing – only in a virtual space rather than a physical one. So, instead of setting up a feed at the corner of an important junction, you might decide to pull a feed from Flickr of any images that are tagged with the words 'protest' and 'anti-fascist'. Continue reading


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This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The Senate unanimously approved legislation that would allow the state forester to restrict target shooting when fire risks are unacceptably high.
SB120 met resistance early in the session, to the point that Sen. Margaret Dayton, R-Orem, wasn't sure the bill would pass.
But changes were made that require the forester to consult with the local sheriff before restricting target shooting and for the two to review the restriction every 14 days.
Ultimately, Dayton said she struck a balance between gun owners and public safety.
"Carrying [a weapon] is a right; target shooting is not," she said.
The ability to restrict target shooting became an issue during the past summer, when widespread bans on explosive targets and target shooting were imposed.
In June, a fire sparked by two target shooters in dry grass near a landfill in Saratoga Springs burned 5,507 acres and cost $2.1 million to fight.
The bill now goes to the House for consideration.
Robert Gehrke


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As a financial advisor, I have never approached my role as just a job. I always sought to be more than a money-mover for my clients. But after eight years of hearing the stories of nearly two thousand clients, an idea began to take shape in my mind, a new way of looking at my job. Really, a new way of looking at everything I do. And then two unique personalities made it all come together.
The first individual had a net worth of almost $20 million. As I drove to my scheduled meeting with him, I imagined what he would be like. Here was a man who by most people's standards had truly "made it." But when I met him, I was stunned. The man who sat with me – this person who had achieved every single financial goal he'd ever set for himself – was not only miserable and lonely, but also unhealthy.
Shortly thereafter I met another individual whose net worth was far less but his attitude and demeanor were totally opposite. This middle-aged man met me at the door, and I could already hear the happy voices that filled the house. There was a different tone and feeling in this second home. I stayed for dinner and heard the family story not just from this potential client and his wife, but from their adult children and several grandchildren, who all took turns jumping in on the story, laughing as they shared the memories they'd all made together.
This was the point in my life when the concepts of my role as a financial advisor began to formulate in my heart and mind. From that moment on I asked everyone I met, "What are the three things in your life that truly give it meaning?" Everyone's answers are different, but one thing is very common – most people don't know those answers off their top of their head.
I then saw that that could become part of my role in life – helping clients by guiding them toward those answers. If I approached my job in a certain way, I could encourage and support my clients to live a life full of joy and meaning.
When I started approaching my work that way, I realized I was doing more than serving clients. I was definitely serving them, but I also became friends with these people, a trusted friend. I mean, how much better is it to have a job where you're building relationships with people as opposed to being the person who simply minds their mutual funds?
Now not only was I introducing this unique way of living life to others, but I was living that rich and fulfilling life too! I had the best of both worlds!


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In his latest post Piotr Pasich shares some handy tips (and tools) to help you use Composer to do some of the common tasks you might use Ant or Phing for.
I decided to start with something uncomplicated – a simple solution that could help me solve a prosaic, but annoying issue. For instance, XML format. No, I won't fight with it. I see it as great and practical, however mostly I don't need so sophisticated code to cover my needs – the yaml usually fits the purpose. [...] Yet, do I really need this flexibility [of XML configuration] when I use vagrant or docker to maintain the same environment as on the production? For 90% of PHP projects probably I won't use all of the features of the virtualization tools. I only want to install necessary libraries, check the code quality before committing or introduce fixtures. Most of those points are easily feasible in composer.
He then shows how to execute these checks through the functionality included with Composer to run custom scripts. His example measures the quality of the code based on the results first from a single run of the PHP Mess Detector (phpmd) command. He then extends this with the open source contribution he mentions earlier with his CodeQualityThreshold library allowing not only for more checks (phpmd, phpcs, phpcpd, etc) but also allows you to configure the thresholds for each class if desired. He includes an example of it in action and screenshots of the results.