text:
[This originally appeared as an at the top of the site to explain the origin and reason for my comic strip, Welcome to Falling Rock National Park (2006-2012). I am reprinting it here as a post.]
My previous comic strip, The Family Monster, ran from October 2002 to May 2006. While I was writing it, I began to develop the idea for Welcome to Falling Rock National Park. I moved from Colorado to Oregon in the summer of 2006 and the timing seemed right for a change.
That's the short version. Here's the longer one.
The characters in The Family Monster were created in my senior year of college. I was finishing up my college comic strip, Atticus and Glen. Atticus was a wise old squirrel and Glen was a naive college student with a strange hat and a large dot on his shirt. Glen's unrequited love was a fellow college student named Dee.
When I graduated college, I left the characters of Atticus and Glen behind. I decided that they belonged to that world, and since my life was about to change drastically, my comics had to reflect that.
The Family Monster was the first comic strip I did after college. It ran in The Colorado Daily. I am still amazed that they took a chance on me, given the horrendous comics I gave them to review. After a few years in that paper, I was picked up by the McClatchy-Tribune Campus, a college-friendly wire service. The Family Monster could then appear in any college paper that subscribed to the MCT Campus. Welcome to Falling Rock National Park is still thankfully run by this service.
For The Family Monster, I took Dee back in time to when she was just a girl growing up in the Arizona desert. Three monsters – Monster, Dirch, and Eggman – moved in with Dee to scare her silly. They failed miserably. Nevertheless, they stayed on, living in an underground fort in Dee's backyard. The strip came to be about the interaction of the four main characters' personalities.
The Family Monster was fairly open-ended in terms of the stories I could tell because of guest characters. If I wanted to do a story about pirates, I'd have pirates visit. If I wanted to tell a scary monster story (as opposed to the decidedly unscary three main monsters), I would bring in a character called Brulock the Destroyer. Another recurring character was Monster's brother, Theo. Theo had renounced his monsterhood to become a wandering Buddhist, much to Monster's dismay.
I had a lot of fun with The Family Monster. It was a comic strip that could never be syndicated, though. The responses I got from the syndicates (who, in turn, sell the comic to daily newspapers) were: the art is too alternative and the story not accessible enough. I also grew tired of the restrictions of drawing the monsters – they were basically sticks with heads, and I wanted to draw characters more capable of expression.
When I thought to set a comic strip in a National Park, I got the same feeling I do whenever I see vast possibility in front of me. I don't know where I'll end up, but it will be a long, long ways from where I started. Just as if I was visiting an actual National Park, there are many directions I can go without sacrificing the cohesiveness of the comic strip. The landscape is very much a part of the story.
Dee is still around. This time, I'm taking her to her first job after college. She's a park ranger. She's easy to spot: she has the big goofy hat. Maybe by the end of my career I'll have told Dee's entire life story. I would like that.
I learned a lot from drawing The Family Monster, and I appreciate everyone who took the time to read it.


text:
People generally dislike clichés.
Are they tired of seeing things
be repeated each time?
"… It's ready!"
Still using my tail to stir the spring water I'd brought to a steady steam by breathing fire onto it, I raised my voice.
"You took long enough!"
"Excuse, me."
Then, from behind my back, I heard the sound of water being splashed into. Following that was the sound of someone gingerly dipping into the spring. The sounds had come from Nina and Ai respectively entering the spring. Only at times like these did I find having the sharp hearing of a dragon disagreeable.
"Aah, this feels great… the temperature is just right."
"So good…"
Contrasting the girls' relaxation, I couldn't settle down at all. The reason being that the two girls behind me had entered the spring as naked as can be.
"Hey. Why do you always look away? Turn around."
"No, that'd be a bit…"
"Don't want, to see my face…?"
"No, it's not like that. Just…"
Ai usually takes my side on things, but it turns into a trial for me whenever we do something like this.
"Tell me why you don't want to look over here!"
Nina suddenly caught a hold of my lengthy neck with her arms and yanked on it.
But I don't think that I could explain it that well at all.
I mean, these girls don't even have the notion of being ashamed by nudity.
Perhaps that notion isn't something that humans have inherently, but is rather enculturated? Like something that is learned by paying attention to parents being embarrassed by nudity.
"Well, it's because… you two aren't wearing any clothes right now?"
"Aren't you the one that told us to take them off?"
"I did, but…"
"Is it… because I don't, have scales…?"
"No no no, that's not the problem at all."
Hearing her sound like she was about to fall into despair, I shook my head.
"I'm a man, and you two are women. A man seeing a naked woman is, well… not too good of a thing."
"What? Isn't a woman seeing a naked man fine though?"
"That's also not too good of a thing, I think…"
"But aren't you always naked?"
" !! "
A sudden shock.
Now that I think about it, it is true. I hadn't minded it much since I'm a dragon, but I definitely haven't been wearing any clothing.
Which means that I've been nude this whole time.
"No, no, no, it's different! Wait, please. Look, I… I'm a dragon. So I don't need clothes."
"So then doesn't being a man or a woman have nothing to do with anything?"
Nina came right back at me with a sound argument.
She's right. Me being naked because I'm a dragon makes the logic of men not exposing their bodies to women seem like a fallacy. It's what's called a double standard.
"… Alright. I admit defeat."
I turned around… reluctantly. The spring water was crystal clear, so it didn't conceal the two girls' bodies in the least. Moreover, since they weren't exactly trying to hide themselves, I had a full view of them from top to bottom.
"Umm, Mentor… are you okay? Am I, gross?"
"No, that's not it at all."
I shook my head in response to Ai's uneasy question.
"But, then… why aren't you, looking at me?"
Because your body's developed way more than I thought!
I didn't say that out loud, though.
Both of them were in their early teens. They were still children. I'd been embarrassed, but I don't think I've ever looked at them with indecent thoughts.
"… Right, it's already been a year, hasn't it?"
"A year?"
"Yeah. It's around the same temperature as it was when you came to me, isn't it, Ai?"
This world's year is four hundred days long, a bit longer than Earth's. It's been three hundred and eighty-four days since the day I met Ai if I recall correctly, so it's been just about a year. Her appearance has undergone a great deal of change in this past year.
"Come to think of it, Ai, you got bigger than me at some point, didn't you?"
Neither mine nor Nina's physiques had changed much at all. Ai was the only one who'd grown.
She'd probably lacked nourishment. She was only about tall enough for me to see her as a ten year old, but now she's steadily surpassed Nina. Even her skin-and-bones look has started to fill out to look more womanly. Now she's looking closer to fifteen or sixteen… and her chest, how should I put it… well, it's making its presence known.
It's to the point that looking straight at her is a bit difficult.
"Mentor doesn't want to see me, because I got bigger?"
Seeing Ai look down in worry as she said that almost made me spit out fire.
That's a very dangerous topic.
"No! It's just, umm…"
I suddenly regretted having almost no experience with women in my previous life. I'm never able to think of what I should say at times like this.
"It's just that Ai has become so beautiful that simply seeing you makes me embarrassed."
When I said the only thing that came to my mind, Ai went silent and blushed.
Feeling my tail be pulled on, I turned around to face Nina.
"What about me?"
In that regard, Nina was relatively easy to look at. She definitely is a refreshing beauty, but not in a lavish, fleshy way. She's like a work of art. Or maybe I've simply just gotten used to seeing her since she prefers to sleep in the nude?
Honestly, her chest had indeed swelled a little, but it lacked that strong, gaze-inducing power like Ai's. Although it's impossible for me to stare as a gentleman, for someone as unsociable as me, it definitely holds a sense of appeal to it.
"Nina, I like you the way you are."
"… I don't get why, but it feels like you're making fun of me!"
Thankfully, the mood didn't go in a weird direction because of Nina making a fuss.
* * *
"Well then, Ai. Are you ready?"
"… Yes."
Her voice sounded stiff when she replied from the top of my head. She was probably feeling nervous.
"It's alright."
I spread out my wings, shielding her body.
"I'll protect you if anything happens."
Her response sounded even more strained this time. Did I make her feel more nervous?
Well, it's not like I can't understand why. This is the first time she'll be going there in a year. Moreover, for her, now that she'd gotten completely used to speaking, her family are people she can't communicate with at all. To be honest, even I'm a bit afraid.
However, I had a plan.
My birthplace is Japan, a land proud of its culture.
A gift for each season, a gift for each festival, and a gift for the year's end.
Summer, winter… even spring and autumn. I'd been giving Ai's family things like deer meat, fruits, and nuts as gifts. They haven't even been too afraid of me recently and, while it may be my own self-conceit, I believe that I've been able to build up good relations with them.
And then there's Ai.
She'd cleaned herself to a sparkle in the bath, had her hair combed and tied up by Nina, and had also decorated her form-fitting outfit with leaves and flowers. She had been brought to me in a similar way as a sacrifice, but she's since blossomed into true beauty with her current nutrition.
With her previously unkempt hair glossy smooth and her previously skinny body rounded into a more womanly figure, she'd now smiled countless times.
Just by seeing her, there should be no mistaking that I have cherished her even if they can't understand my words. Even though it caused me some embarrassment, just having her take that bath has showed its results.
Moreover, rather than fly through the sky, I slowly walked to their cave in an attempt to not seem as intimidating. My intention of being friendly with them should be understood now that I've done this much.
"Come to think of it… they do have some words, don't they?"
"Yes. More like signals, than words, though."
"Then, could you translate—I mean… if they say something, whatever it is, could you tell me what it means?"
"Okay, leave it to me!"
I heard the sound of her thumping her chest from behind my head together with her response.
Well, rather than a thump… maybe it'd be better described as a boing?
I'll stop there. Let's forget about yesterday.
Around that moment, I saw three men coming out of the cave.
Ai spoke before they'd even reacted.
"Ah, just now, that was like 'I'm home'."
"I see."
It's a bit late, but I just realized that it would have been better to learn these signals in advance if they were going to be this simple.
I was even able to learn Elvish in such a short amount of time, so I don't think it would've been too hard.
Which means that my so-called perfect preparations weren't perfect at all.
The men placed the spears they were holding on the ground and knelt.
The situation looked safe, so I lowered my head and let Ai off.
One of the men saw Ai and gasped in wonder.
"Mentor, that is my dad."
Ai turned around, saying as much with a tinge of shyness.
Now that I think about it, it does feel like he was among the the ones who brought her to me.
"Well, hello. It's not much, but…"
Lowering my head in a bow, I placed the wild boar that I was carrying in front of him. Seeing that, he and the two other men cheered in joy. I call it a boar, but it's a pretty big one at about the same height as Ai.
A few more people started popping up from inside the cave after hearing the men's cheering.
And so the feast began.
I lit up some firewood, roasted the wild boar, and divided it up with my claws.
Even the children which I hadn't seen before now came out and ate the meat.
Everyone surrounded the fire, the men stamping their feet and dancing as the women sang.
I also roared along with the lyric-less tune.
There were still a few people that glanced over at me in fear, but it wasn't something that could be rushed. At the very least, they hadn't thrown any spears at me, so it feels like I was able to bring a few people around.
I should be able to get into closer contact with them and teach them language now.
It was at that moment, as I was feeling relieved.
A reverent look to them, some brought a young girl to me.
I was assaulted by a sudden wave of déjà vu, but Ai was sitting next to me. It was a different girl.
Although they weren't holding spears this time, this was exactly the same as the previous time they presented a decorated girl to me.
The men knelt and uttered the same word as that time.
"Ai, what are they…"
Ai shouted something before I could finish asking her.
[I, Wife!]
She pulled on my foreleg and shouted two short sounds.
She then pointed at the girl who'd been brought out and shouted.
The men retreated with a surprised look to them, their heads hung low.
"Hey, Ai, what did you just say?"
"Nothing at all."
Ai spoke with a smile. However, for some reason, her smile felt just a bit scary.
"No, you definitely just—"
"Nothing. At. All."
Still smiling, Ai repeated herself.
No matter how many times I asked, Ai never told me what she said that day.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Hauppauge HD-PVR
The Hauppauge HD-PVR is the first consumer-level analog HD capture device available. The HD-PVR is a USB device that captures the component video outputs and analog/optical audio outputs of any consumer device (including cable/satellite set-top-boxes, HD Disk Players, video game consoles, and various other home media devices). The HD-PVR is a highly anticipated capture device because it captures video via component output, permitting the user to capture High-Definition video from most sources and without concern for encryption. In other words, since component video is not and cannot be encrypted, previously un-capturable HD sources such as satellite and premium television will now be fully accessible in MythTV. Prior to this device, component capture devices were cost-prohibitive and were not directly supportable within Linux.
The HD PVR captures at resolutions from VGA/D1 (480i) up to 1080i, and encodes the component inputs in real time using the h.264/MPEG-4 video codec and the AAC audio codec. The streams are muxed into a slightly modified MPEG-2 Transport Stream container. Capture resolution is dependent on the source (ie 720p video with be captured as such, 1080i as 1080i, etc.) but the bitrate is user-selectable from 1 Megabit/second up to 13.5 Megabits/second. The h.264 video codec is, bit-for-bit, up to 40% more efficient than the MPEG-2 video codec commonly used in US HDTV broadcasts today. A 13.5 Mb/s h.264 stream is roughly equivalent to a full-channel-bitrate MPEG-2 recording at approximately 19 Mb/s.
The HD-PVR uses modern codecs capable of exceptional compression rates at excellent quality. The tradeoff is that decoding h.264 material is very processor-intensive. Systems which struggle or barely manage to play back US broadcast HD are likely to fail altogether when playing back recording from the HD-PVR. Hauppauge recommends a dual-core CPU as a minimum. A frequently cited minimum for medium-bitrate h.264 playback is a Core 2 Duo 1.8 Ghz processor. HD Playback Reports acts as a repository for processor requirements to play High Definition material. HD-PVR users are encouraged to contribute to the page to ascertain real-world playback requirements with MythTV.
In all HD-PVR firmwares later than 184.108.40.206, AC-3 muxing via S/PDIF is available, allowing one to mux the original 5.1 channel audio track into the captured stream. To enable this functionality, be sure to set the audio input to S/PDIF by editing the capture card definition in mythtv-setup and setting the preferred input device to S/PDIF.
Note: If you are running a firmware earlier than 1.5.6, you should update the firmware as soon as possible. Hauppauge has fixed a bug that can under certain conditions cause the HD-PVR to become inoperable.
- 1 Possible Countermeasures
- 2 Samples
- 3 HD-PVR Driver Compilation Howto
- 4 Configuring the HD-PVR in MythTV
Possible Countermeasures
Some UK television providers (notably Virgin and Freesat) have attempted to counter the HD-PVR and similar devices by selectively disabling the component outputs of their set-top-boxes. In the US, the Motion Picture Association of America has requested that the Federal Communications Commission allow providers to selectively disable the component outputs of their devices when showing recently released movies.
There is a new solution to this countermeasure. A company called HDFury makes HDCP-compliant HDMI converters. The HD-FURY2 converts HDMI input into sound and component outputs. It is available from http://www.curtpalme.com. The original HDFury converts HDMI to RGB. It is available from Monoprice or http://www.curtpalme.com. The RGB output of the HDFury can be converted to component with a second device called Box1020. A user with an HDMI-only device could use the following path to convert HDMI to component video:
HDMI Source -> HDMI to DVI cable -> HD Fury -> Box1020 -> Component Cable -> HD-PVR or using the HD Fury2 the chain could be shorted to HDMI Source -> HD Fury2 -> Component Cable -> HD-PVR
At the time of this writing, the original HDFury and Box1020 cost approximately $210 US. The HD Fury2 sells for $249 US, but it eliminates the need for the Box1020 and adds a host of picture quality and stability improvements. Some users will be put off by the high cost and circuitousness of the solution, but for an increasing number of MythTV users, it may be the only option.
To test if you machine is fast enough to play HD-PVR files short clips have been uploaded as torrents.
|13.5Mbps/13.7MBPS Max (720p)
|10Mbps/10.2MBPS Max (720p)
|7Mbps/7.2MBPS Max (720p)
HD-PVR Driver Compilation Howto
Note: As of Linux Kernel 2.6.30 the driver for the HD-PVR is now included by default. No compiling of the driver will be necessary assuming you have compiled the driver into the kernel.
The development branch of the HD-PVR Linux driver is available from the LinuxTV project.
Currently, firmware loading is unimplemented in the driver. As a result, if you have a "rev c1" unit you must install the HD-PVR at least once on a Windows machine to load the firmware into it. If you have a Revision 2 unit (including a sticker marked "rev c2" on the bottom of the unit) then it will come loaded with a firmware. Once you have done so, you will need a working build environment, Mercurial, and kernel headers installed on your system. In Debian and debian-based distros, the following command should install all necessary dependencies to build the driver.
sudo apt-get install build-essential mercurial linux-headers-`uname -r`
MythDora 10.21 with kernel 18.104.22.168-159 includes drivers for the HD-PVR, no compilation is necessary.
In rpm based distros such as Mythdora, the following command should suffice assuming proper dev tools, kernel-headers and kernel-devel have already been installed.
sudo yum install mercurial
The HD-PVR driver is now included in v4l-dvb. You can check out the v4l-dvb repository with the following command:
hg clone http://linuxtv.org/hg/v4l-dvb
In best case scenarios, the following should be enough to compile and install the driver:
cd v4l-dvb make sudo make install
If compilation and installation succeeded, it should be possible to load the HD-PVR driver with:
sudo modprobe hdpvr
If dmesg shows "wrong firmware version," and "device init failed," then you did not install the device in Windows first and the firmware has not been loaded. Install the HD-PVR on a windows machine, install the drivers, and after that the device should work fine in Linux.
In Ubuntu, the module may fail to load and refer you to the dmesg command. If this happens, reboot and see if the error resolves itself. It is also possible that Ubuntu is prioritizing another, older copy of the v4l-dvb modules above the one you just installed, and the hdpvr will fail because the two versions do not match. Try a command like:
locate cx88-dvb.ko |grep `uname -r`
This will search for the cx88-dvb kernel module, which is provided in the Hg tree you just built, and also in default Ubuntu installs. If you see more than one copy of this file, you may need to move the older versions out of the way. In at least one case, alternate versions of all the modules were located in "/opt/ltsp/amd64/lib/modules/kernel version number/ubuntu/". The symbol mismatch was solved by moving the "/opt/ltsp/amd64/lib/modules/kernel version number/ubuntu/media" directory into a backup directory in the user's home, then rebooting.
Testing the Driver
Once the module has loaded successfully, you can check dmesg for output and to determine which /dev/video node it has created. You can then test the device as with any hardware encoder:
cat /dev/video1 > test.ts
Press Ctrl-C to stop the capture, and play it back with any compatible media player (ie mplayer, xine, MythTV).
Bitrate and Picture Controls
The HD-PVR driver is compatible with the v4l2-ctl command line utility included in ivtv-tools. To see a list of adjustable controls, use the following command:
v4l2-ctl --device=/dev/video0 -l
Substitute the correct video# in the example above. The following controls are presently supported in the driver:
|Control Name
|0 to 255
|Brightness picture control over recordings.
|0 to 255
|Contrast picture control over recordings.
|0 to 255
|Saturation picture control over recordings.
|0 to 255
|Hue picture control over recordings.
|0 to 255
|Sharpness picture control over recordings.
|3 to 4
|Control for Audio Encoding. 3=AAC, 4=AC3.
|Non-adjustable control for Video Encoding (H.264).
|0 to 1
|Control for VBR versus CBR. 0=VBR, 1=CBR.
|1000000 to 13500000
|Bitrate control over recordings in bits, from 1 Mbit/s to 13.5 Mbit/s.
|1100000 to 20200000
|Peak bitrate control in bits, from 1.1 Mbit/s to 20.2 Mbit/s.
You can adjust any of these values with a command like:
v4l2-ctl --device=/dev/video0 --set-ctrl=controlname=value
Or, for example:
v4l2-ctl --device=/dev/video0 --set-ctrl=video_bitrate=13500000
This command will set the bitrate to the maximum of 13.5 Mbit/s for the HD-PVR at /dev/video0.
The audio_encoding selection only works for PCM input. If the HD-PVR is fed AC3, then AC3 will always be muxed into the H.264.
Miscellaneous Kernel Module Options
Several options exist that may be of assistance when troubleshooting or for certain use cases. If the audio output is too low, you can boost the audio signal by adding the following module option for the hdpvr module:
If you wish to see more verbose dmesg output, you can use the following module option:
Where # = an integer between 1 and 7, increasing in level of verbosity.
Sets the device node to /dev/video#
default video input: 0=Component, 1=S-Video, 2=Composite
default audio input: 0=RCA back, 1=RCA front, 2=S/PDIF. For firmware 0xf, this must apparently be set to 2 to enable 5.1ch AC3 recording, otherwise it records stereo only.
Configuring the HD-PVR in MythTV
MythTV SVN Trunk now includes support for the HD-PVR. While it is still strongly recommended that the average user not switch to the Myth development branch, advanced users of Myth and Linux are invited to participate in development and bug squashing of the HD-PVR driver and its support in MythTV. With a few caveats, the HD-PVR can now be expected to work reliably for scheduled recordings.
Once the tuner has been added as an encoder in MythTV, it is vital that the user not access the tuner in outside programs such as cat, VLC, and mplayer. This can lead to MythTV's connection with the driver becoming unstable, and subsequent recordings failing until the driver is reloaded and power is cycled on the HD-PVR.
The last sync with libavcodec did greatly improve stability when playing material from the HD-PVR. If you still get playback crashes, try compiling myth with --disable-ssse3.
For Motorola STBs, it is also important to set the "4:3 Override" option to Off or Stretch. For some Motorola STBs, both the aspect ratio settings and output resolution controls can be found by powering down the STB and then pressing the Menu button.
Myth can become non-responsive due to run-away "mythbackend --generate-preview" processes. If you check your mythbackend logs and see it being flooded with ac3 or faac errors, it is likely the "generate-preview" process doing it. A "pkill -f generate-preview" will return your myth system to a usable state. You may even want to add that pkill to a cronjob.
The HD-PVR previously had problems gracefully dealing with resolution changes but those issues have been fixed. You can now allow your receiver to float between 480i, 480p, 720p and 1080i without causing the HD-PVR or MythTV to hang.
Tracking Progress
The HD-PVR is completely usable when using Myth trunk, just make sure you are using the latest HD-PVR firmware.
As of changeset #19989, recordings are much more stable. LiveTV is now usable, however it can take awhile to change channels, and will still occasionally "bail out".
As of September 1, 2009 IR blasting and receiving is tentatively working. Jarod Wilson has created patches for the lirc and hdpvr drivers. He's in the process of having his patches approved and committed.
Two HD-PVR related patches are still pending review before being committed to trunk:
- #6611 adds a "signal monitor" for the HD-PVR, which should improve LiveTV. The latest version of #6611 requires #6719 to be applied first.
- #6602 resets the parsing on a buffer changed, which should improve LiveTV
While none of these patches are necessary to use the HD-PVR, they are all recommended. Please report if these patches either improve or cause problems with your installation.
Steps to Add the HD-PVR as a Capture Device in MythTV
- Compile the driver and test it for proper operation as described above. If you are compiling trunk versions prior to r20617, you may also optionally patch MythTV with DeviceReadBuffer-polltimeout.2.patch in #5604. If you experience issues with a "hung" mythbackend after (or during) the first recording, trying this patch should be your first troubleshooting step.
- Run mythtv-setup, and enter option 2, Capture Cards.
- Add a new capture card. When prompted, select "H.264 Encoder Card (HD-PVR)" as the card type. Set the /dev/video node to the number of your HD-PVR. Finish adding the new capture card. You can also set the audio input on this screen.
- Enter option 3, "Video Sources." Set up a video source for your HD-PVR's tuner as described in User_Manual:Detailed_configuration_Backend.
- Enter option 4, "Input Connections." Connect the video source to the appropriate input on the HD-PVR. Important Note: You must set a channel change script for the HD-PVR to work properly. If you don't care about channel changes, you can set it to /bin/true, but there absolutely must be a channel change script defined. Important Note 2: You must leave Preset tuner to channel empty or LiveTV and channel changes will not work.
Assuming you followed the directions carefully, you should now be able to record with the HD-PVR. If you get "Select Timeout" errors, these can sometimes be overcome by stopping the backend, removing the hdpvr module, cycling the power on the HD-PVR, modprobing the hdpvr module, and restarting the backend.
You can set the bitrate for the HD-PVR by going into Recording Profiles, and editing the profiles associated with HD-PVR encoders. These recording profiles have bitrate settings for low (480i/p), medium (720p), and high (1080i) resolution material, allowing you to set appropriate bitrates based upon the resolution of the material. If the max bitrate is set lower than the average bitrate, the result is CBR (Constant Bit Rate) at the rate specified by the average slider. If you want VBR (Variable Bit Rate), set the max slider to maximum, and then use the average slider to achieve the desired bitrate.
If you have patched the driver or myth for any further functionality, or if you have a specific problem associated with the HD-PVR driver, you can join #hdpvr on Freenode. Under no circumstances will support in compiling mythtv be provided, nor will there be any walking through of the steps outlined above. If you are not comfortable with compilation, applying patches, or any other step of this process, just hang in there! Better, stable support is coming soon.
Please do not compile trunk simply to use the HD-PVR. The support load caused by everyday users who are not prepared to follow the dev and commit lists, and who ask the same questions that have been covered there, is *noticeably delaying* the stabilization of support and the subsequent release of .22. .22 will become stable in the very near future, and any backports (which break database upgrades) should be avoided at all costs. The HD-PVR will be in a stable version of myth soon, so please exercise patience.


text:
Welcome to episode 160 (oops! Should be 161!) of the Organic Gardener Podcast! Today I am excited to introduce a returning guest from episode 70, so almost 100 episodes ago, he dropped golden seed after golden seed, so I know listeners are going to hear from David Wolverton from Arlee, Montana!
Last time we talked about tomatoes, and grafting them and growing them in cold areas, and also the Farmer's Market, when you decided to go back to the Farmer's Market after taking a break to take care of you parents, you asked what do you need? I think that's a great tip to listeners, ask what does your market need, don't just say I want to grow mushrooms, or eggplants, like ask what does the market need, and they told you tomatoes, and also they said do something about the price.
I met you because I saw someone with tomatoes and said how are you getting tomatoes in June and they said they got them from you… and you were starting them in December, and so I am reaching out to you know because it's December to see what you are up to…
Tell us a little about yourself.
I'm retired, as you mentioned I took care of my parents, that pulled me out of the workforce, but then I wanted something to do, and I asked what would be a nice contribution to the community as well as keep me entertained? The farmers market was what I was doing so I thought that would be good. And as you mentioned, what am I doing, well I am just getting organized …
Today I start tomatoes again, I start for this upcoming season, it seems kind of early but I grow for my own greenhouse plus I graft of other people, who raise tomatoes in green houses….
Not Hydroponic
I need to add immediately, these are not hydroponic… I do not do hydroponic for greenhouses, nor do these other people, we grow in dirt, real honest to goodness dirt, we think that is key to having a much better flavored tomatoes.
Hydroponics have their place in the winter nothing better then a hydroponically grown Missoula, but when the season exists it's better to have them growing in the natural way with the soil… so that's what we do, the grafting as well as the hoop houses we use allows for a much more expanded season… So the target this year is to have tomatoes at the market in May, I didn't pull it off last year, but I actually had one grower, he did…. he had fresh homegrown tomatoes in May for the farmer's market.
Wait so are you growing these from seeds, or growing them from grafts?
Grafting Vegetable History
Certainly the grafting of vegetables is a take off something people have done for thousands of years, the bible even mentions grafting olives and other fruit trees in the Mediterranean back 2000 years and earlier… so it's accepted method… when it came fro annual vegetables, people said what's the point they only live one year….
Well in the 1920s the Japanese started experimenting with grafting tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, melons and cucumbers… Their soils are heavily used, it's a very highly populated country with a limited amount of land, the build up of diseases was problematic, they also needed to maximize production. So these ingenious people in the 20s they developed the grafting of tomato that I now employ.
In Europe and Asia the majority of tomatoes and eggplants are grafted. In the US, it's a much more of a novel concept. We have more space, more land where we can rotate the crops we can move around so the soil disease buildup isn't as problematic as it is in a more crowded country.
Grafted Tomato Vine Advantages
…. Vegetables there are Never-less some advantages.
One of the advantages is, the grafted tomato vine lasts much longer…. in hydroponic they do use grafted plants…. that doesn't make sense because in a greenhouse keep perfect temp but they still use grafts because it enhances longevity of the vine, they get a lot more production, they don't have to replace in such a rapid cycle as they would normally.
For those of us that just grow seasonally the advantages are a grafted tomatoes plant is they have better cold resistance, they aren't frost resistant… cooler soils aren't nearly the problem
- better cold resistance
- productivity is higher
- vines last longer
- overall benefit is tremendous
Those who I have grown grafted plants don't want to grow the ungifted plants now, they do prefer grafted plants as I have discovered…
Grow 2 Sets of Seedlings
Grafting is not that exotic or strange, you do grow 2 sets of seedlings… you do grow the rootstock which is special, it's a hybrid of the standard tomato plant with the exotic relative of South America … It has a much greater rigor…
tomato resistance to soil microbes that might infect and kill the plant… and then one uses regular tomatoes for the top part… if you like the Big d or one of the heirlooms, you can slice it and put it on top of the rootstock, then when it joins you have sort of a frankenstein tomato but it's a vigorous plant that has the best of both worlds…
The rootstocks don't produce a tomato that is worth anything… like I say it's a hybrid that is kind of wild, but the vigor of the roots is impressive and that passes on to the top part that produces the quality fruit.
When it comes to growing the more difficult greater like the varieties that tend to produce less, when grafted onto the rootstock, they can behave almost like a hybrid, they are still an heirloom, and still taste delicious, they last longer, are more disease resistant, and productivity is higher, and I think the flavor is better.
So they:
- last longer
- more disease resistant
- and productivity is higher
- better flavor
That's because if the tomato vine is stressed, if the soil is too cool, if it can't get the nutrients uptake it needs it affects the flavor, you have a less taste tomato. But if you have rootstock who can scrounge through the ground and get the micro nutrients it needs and the water needs, and also at a more steady level, so the plant is healthier but the fruit tastes better so the advantages go on and on….
That has been an overall theme of my soil… that the healthier your soil, the better your plants are gonna be, andRuss Metge from Simply Trees talked about the same thing in Episode 130 about fruit trees that the healthier your tree the less bugs and diseases your gonna have problems with, the better your fruit and vegetables are gonna be….
What do you want to talk about next?
Fertilizers and flavor
Well, especially novice gardeners especially when it comes fertilizer, different plants require different amounts. The old saying more is better is simply not true, more is better, more is deadly. You have to have to have right amounts and tomatoes are an example.
If you have too much nitrogen, the plants grow heirlooms vigorously but the fruit tends to have less flavor. So if one maintains a balance in the nutrients, one has a slightly less vigorous plant but the fruit is tastier.
What I mentioned with the grafted plants is if there is some problem with the fertilizer that is not as immediately apparent then they help iron that. One still needs to pay attention to soil health
organic nutrients and organic methods are better, and keep the plant more alive, healthier transfers to a healthier root system, which makes a healthier plant with more nutritious fruit and more tasty.
One thing I would mention, with the rootstocks, ignore totally does't want to use fertilizers, particular the high nitrogen, specific tomato formulas, organic and otherwise and those are the ones you should use …
Is there are time that is the best time to fertilize?
If I was more ambitious I would fertilize in the fall. I use organics… I use fishmeal, bone meal and kelp meal, a mineral supplement that has a high magnesium, and sulfur and potassium level …
Sul-Po-Mag is one of them…. Those four are the basics I use…
- fishmeal
- bone meal
- kelp meal
- a mineral supplement that has a high magnesium, and sulfur and potassium
I let them get into the soil, start feeding soil.
Basic premises of organics… feed soil then soil will feed your plants
better then mainlining your plants with direct fertilizations like chemical fertilizers tend to do…
So the soil starts breaking down the compounds…
I'm not disciplined to get it done in the fall, perhaps in Feb or March get fertilizers worked in, and I can get the plants in and it's already starting to act.
One hybrid, you want to say between a natural and a chemical is liquid fish, it is organic, it is natural, but in the liquid form does tend to feed the plant more quickly, That's great when one is greater, it gives little plants a boost right way, while they are living off that can get roots into the nice naturally enriched soil that has other ingredients that are already breaking down as the nutrients become available…
So, are you starting your plants, you start them in your house right? And did you say this already, are you doing seeds or are you just grafting?
I do the seeds even for the grafts… the reason is, it's true you can carry the tomatoes from year to year, they tend to accumulate viruses… If one starts with seed, from a good seed source, you have fresh plants.
So I start seedlings both rootstock and top plant, and once they get to a proper size, I slice the top off the rootstock and then attache the top part of the choice variety. Then I put them in a little chamber that I set up because they need 100% humidity for a few days because obviously the top part has lost it's roots, so while they are healing and grafting they can not allowed to dry out, I keep them misted and moist. That way they are able to come together. But they do start out both as seeded seedlings…
Some people do see if they can keep a tomato alive for a while. It's nice to experiment, but I don't recommend it, because you're borrowing last years trouble and importing it into this year…
So how did things go last year?
Overall a good year, as far as the weather, and so forth, it was usual. WE have such a see saw in Western Montana, but having the plastic covered hoop houses helps so much. There was a hail storm that knocked out the tomatoes in Missoula, and the tomatoes were just demolished by the hail!
I was immune to that, didn't really have hail in Arlee but the plastic
makes sure your delicate tomato plants don't get demolished… once again if it's frosty, makes gardening so much easier, I am getting much less enthused about gardening out in the open and more thrilled with gardening under a hoop house… and not having to worry about the weather so much…
I finally got Mike some row cover to start experimenting with it, just basically this fall, but I think next Spring he's gonna go full on… and hes' really gonna grow some things. .this is gonna be our big year, this spring where he's really gonna put 100% into it!
Hoop House Love
Here's what's amazing, instead of having one big greenhouse, I have these smaller hoop houses. One can get a big hoop-house, but the way I grow for my needs, I have gone with smaller, multiple units, that way I can start one earlier and save on energy instead of having to heat a greenhouse or hoop house… Then I expand..
They're 12' x 25', that's the dimensions of my little hoop houses
That allows to plant 50 tomatoes (transplanting 48)
Last year as I tallied the production I was able to get a good 20 lbs of tomatoes per plant, so in this little 12×25 foot area if one does the math, that's about 1000 lbs, that's about 1/2 ton of tomatoes in just a small area… it's the way to go enhances production and ensures productions… it lets you keep the worst of the weather off, let the light in… put a heater and really enhances production…
- enhances production
- keeps worst weather out
- lets' light in
- enables heat
Richard Wiswall talks about that too, in episode 102 most effective most efficient… He wrote a book called the Organic Farmer's Business Handbook ….he's retired now, but he just coaches people so they can be more effective and make a bigger profit, or just make a profit and be able to do it for a living!
That's true, I don't live off of this. But if I was to put a huge amount of resource in and get very little back eventually it becomes too expensive hobby, so I do want to figure out what kind of wage I want for myself, and I've modified things and changed things enough where I can pull off actually making enough money , so I can keep going and keep purchasing for innovations as they come along and experimenting but also to provide a much needed nutritious crop for the public. I also experiment extensively with varieties so I can provide the best food for people who come to my table!
That's so true we definitely more nutritious food that is accessible to everyone!
Is there something you would do different next year or want to try/new?
As far growing from seed, the other fellow for who I have grown most of the plants, he and I have been trading off on some experiments, in the last year, between he and me, we planted approximately 52 different tomato varieties. We still had our main crops, the ones that have done well in the past but we would grow anywhere from 1-4 experimental plants.
So I am excited about one! I went to Spain the year before, I try to get to Europe at least every fall if I can, in Oct or November. I scrounge to see what is growing in the markets, northern Euro closing down… but in Spain, the climate permits that, they are still going full born with locally grown:
What are they growing?
What kind of tomatoes?
How did they taste?
What are they bringing to market?
Valencia and Barcelona
In each city that I was spending much time in, in Valencia and Barcelona, I made sure I got an apartment that was just a block from their big fresh markets. So in la Boqueria, Barcelona and El Mercat Central in Valencia.
I went to see What are they growing and what are they bringing (to the market)?
Last year, I had brought back a tomato from the Central Market in Valencia. This family said we have been growing this for years, it's our own seed, it's our own variety, so they kindly gave it with me. I left it with a friend in Spain, who did the extraction of the seeds, the thing about tomatoes is tomatoes have to ferment a bit before the seed becomes viable. Then the seed has to be extracted and then washed and cleaned before it's shipped anywhere. I was able to grow a huge Valenciano tomatoes that was huge and delicious! It wasn't the only one there were others from various seeds and sources.
Well, this year I grew another type called Tres Cantos. This Tres Cantos tomato, absolutely blew me away. I had just one plant all the space I had was for the one plant! This is now going to be my main large vine tomato for next year, flavor is just outstanding! It has done so well in Arlee! I hope to share, with with everybody who comes to my table. I mixed it with several others, and I was like Wow! what's this?!
I had to wait for everything to ripen to focus on what was producing, I had this extraordinary tomato and I went back to Valencia and they weren't there. So I was a little disappointed! So I went to Barcelona in front of my apartment was this booth and shops, and wouldn't you know it they had the Tres Cantos variety! So I bought him out which will keep me inTres Cantos for several years… The other things is it is not a hybrid, so I can save the seed and start growing a large amount of plants. Then focus on the best ones and developing my own version of Tres Cantos!
How exciting I finally got to go to Paris this year! What an extraordinary story! I almost went to Spain, but I never made it, I lucked out and got a good deal on Expedia.
Those can be good… I have had contacts going back several decades to spain, I what I do is start shopping for my ticket, months ahead of time, I'm also an opera buff, look at what's playing… and then I have friends I want to see… logistics are a little daunting and I pull it off. If I can go earlier, I think France and England
barely get away as early as I do… if I want to go to England and France
mid oct- mid nov
prepare ahead of time
look at customer reviews
maps to see where they are
place in Valencia have used it 2xs
try to be the best kind of lodger
get better fares because
Paris too
ways to work this
people work hard to provide apartments always have a welcome when you go back…
one little purse advice
tourist buses
get on get off, as you
hop off,
then when the bus shows up
highly recommended
wants to see everything…
if you find someone, had bad days, less then polite…
Tell me about something that didn't work so well this season.
most beautiful
big plants and purple flowers
spider mites endemic this year
tried growing eggplants under cover
couldn't keep spider mites
ordered predatory mites
eggplants such mite candy…
eggplant munching mites at bay
if I am going to grow eggplants
open garden
start early
cover them
if there is any kind of cover over time…
tried to winter over in house
dominate no matter what I did
tomatoes and peppers
might see some spider mite
strong not unpleasant odor
quite effective
different variations
intersting spider mites and aphids
not a superior chemical advantage
even commercial growers
use soap spray
scary anti-mite
mix in the soil
whole plant becomes toxic
doesn't work for edibles
not option…
in the garden
most of the time it works
I have had other people in this area who grow eggplants
just one little are this has been going on
Questions for people starting out
be patient to grow things is such a miracle
don't look at disasters as a sign to stop
bit heartbreaking
A pleasure
all sorts of posting
most tomato markets
there are 3 markets
downtown Missoula a particular wonderful
all three interesting and unique
TUESDAY market evening… much smaller.. . Missoula interesting rather intense
people getting off.
say it's very lucrative
enjoy it sell a lot… can make it…
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Scribbles - New challenge - inspired by a song!
Hello! It's time for a new challenge over at Scribbles Designs Challenge and this time around we want to see something inspired by a song!!!
For my make I was inspired by the song You are beautiful from James Blunt.
For my make I was inspired by the song You are beautiful from James Blunt.
The image that I use is You are beautiful. I had so much fun coloring this with my polychromos pencils and my gell pen.
and here is the back of the little postcard. I glued the top part on a cereal box recycled cardboard.
I hope that you have liked my little inspiration for you.
I'm entering this little postcard in the following challenges:
- Crafters cafe blog challenge - Inspired by a song
- Stamping sensations - Flower power
- My time to craft challenge - Flower
That's it for me for today!!! Wow busy day :) Hope you have liked what you saw. Don't forget to enter in the giveaway here. 13 fabulous prizes to be given out!!!!


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Denise Myers Joins 1st Source
South Bend, IN – 1st Source Bank announces the addition of Denise Myers as a Private Banker. In this capacity, she will assist clients one-on-one with their financial and banking needs.
Myers has more than 36 years of experience in banking, most recently as a Vice President and Private Banker with Wells Fargo Bank. She attended Indiana University South Bend and holds Series 7 and Series 66 NASD securities licenses and life, accident and health insurance licenses.
Myers is active in the community, currently serving as a Board Member for the Alzheimer's & Dementia Services of Northern Indiana and as an Advisory Board Member of the United Way of St. Joseph County.
1st Source Corporation, parent company of 1st Source Bank, has assets of $4.45 billion and is the largest locally controlled financial institution headquartered in the northern Indiana-southwestern Michigan area. The Corporation includes over 75 banking centers in 17 counties, 22 1st Source Bank Specialty Finance Group locations nationwide, seven Trust and Wealth Management locations and seven 1st Source Insurance offices.
1st Source common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under "SRCE" and appears in the National Market System tables in many daily newspapers under the code name "1st Src." Since 1863, 1st Source has been committed to the success of the communities it serves. For more information, visit www.1stsource.com.
Media Contact: Angie Dvorak, (574) 235-2000


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It's just too easy to go off on people these days.
- Your spouse pisses you off with attitude.
- A friend gives you the eye.
- Your co-worker makes a sly comment about you that passes within earshot.
In any case, you get all fired up for what I believe is all the wrong reasons…
For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. ~ Ephesians 6:12
Jesus said some radical things like "turn the other cheek" and "give them your shirt too." Of course this is right after they were smacked on the other side of their face and had their coat stolen moments before. Seems harsh, but I think Jesus is getting at something really big here that quite frankly, none of us like to take a hard look at. The truth of that matter is that sometimes really hurtful things happen to us and our natural reaction is to spew the same poison that we were just splattered with.
But the real issue isn't the issue, it's what's behind the issue.
Have you ever stopped to think why the person did what they did? Has there been any real thought as to the motivation behind their attack? The Word of God tells us pretty clearly that our enemy isn't who we think it is, our enemy is a dark and evil power commonly known as the devil, Satan, the great deceiver and many, many other "wonderful" names. He is the real problem, not what you "think" is the problem. And we certainly do have to attack back, but it's how we attack and who we attack that might be different.
The bible teaches us to pray for our enemies, love those that aren't really lovable, and even reach a hand out to those that just hurt you. Yes, it's radical, but Jesus was radical. He never asks us to do something that won't produce great results.
But Jon, how can I love someone that's just hurt me? How can I "turn the other cheek" so to speak? That doesn't even make sense. I totally get what you're saying and what I'm NOT saying is to be a door matt or a punching bag. Being in an abusive relationship is not healthy for anyone, but that's not my focus here. There are day to day relational issues that are really painful that Jesus wants us to take a back seat to. He tells us that if we show greater love than the hatred we've endured, that love has a much better chance of winning in the long run. It's love that changes people, not returned hatred.
Want to be radical? Want to be different than just about everyone you know? Then love people, even when they don't deserve it. Allow yourself to be humbled and to not always try to get even. Get to prayin! Take a knee. Make the person who's hurt you the object of your affection. This will cause the real enemy to flee your situation. Your love will push the devil right out of your dilemma. The most amazing thing? It will change you into a deeper and more loving follower of Jesus! #sandalschurch #ROGO #loveoverhatred #turntheothercheek


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In the early '60s, classically trained pianist Luiz Eca and his band, the Tamba Trio, drew heavily upon bossa nova and samba, mixing them with piano perforations (sometimes reminiscent of Bill Evans), flute and wafting vocal harmonies, to create a Brazilian music as radical then as it is stereotypical now. No doubt, we have the Trio to thank for much of the light, cocktail "jazz" that gave rise to the infamous Getz/Gilberto LP and the craze for bossa nova that subsequently happened stateside. Yet, the Tamba Trio, who played in one form or another for some 20 years, doesn't necessarily get mentioned in the same breath as that aforementioned giant LP. Perhaps they should.
This 26-track collection, which spans four albums released between '62 and '66, begins with the group's latest, and most advanced music, before venturing backwards to the non-threatening breeze of their debut, and finally landing on a collection of tracks from 1963's Avanco. In fact, it's those '63 sessions that finds them at their most varied, hammering out percussive jazz, string-fueled sambas (included "Garota de Ipanama") and dabbling in tempo shifts full of subtle virtuosity. For example, disc closer "Tristeza de Nos Dois" starts out as a frantic bossa nova, Eca pounding out chords over Helcio Milito's percussion, before dropping into a soft samba. Over the track's three minutes, however, the band, and especially Eca, shift moods several times, forcing the listener to dig past the tune's surface in order to find its brilliance.
Fortunately, the collection includes the eight-minute version of "Consolacion," recorded in Mexico in '66. In this single track, one gets a sense of how the Trio's hushed innovations expanded out beyond the pop they could've otherwise been confined to. The emphasis on rhythm with occasional breaks for harp-like, sweeping piano conjures Sun Ra's work on the Visits Planet Earth version of "Eve." There are simply too many sub-sections here to count.
The problem with this compilation is obvious, though. After, "Consolacion," it's back to the band's earlier work, which, thanks in no small part to Otavio Bailly's flute, becomes wallpaper, something that happens slowly but surely, as the Trio's debut becomes the focal point. This collection is no doubt a welcome reminder of how innovative Brazilian music has been over the last 50 years, but some things have simply weathered better than others. Examples of both can be found in spades here.
By Bruce Miller


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Zeiss' incredible new ZX1 digital camera is coming soon, so get your wallets ready. This new camera packs a ton of incredible features that make it a perfect accessory for any outing, especially car shows. First, it features a 37-megapixel full-frame sensor, Zeiss 35mm f/2 lens, electric viewfinder, built-in wifi and Bluetooth, and an incredible 4.34-inch touchscreen LCD display. It's here on the display where the true magic of the ZX1 takes place. Running on a version of Android, the ZX1's touchscreen runs Adobe Lightroom, meaning you can edit your photos right there on the camera's display. What's more, these edited images can be shared from the camera itself, thanks to the previously mentioned wifi and Bluetooth capabilities. It can also store those images on the 512GB of onboard storage. An exact release date has yet to be revealed, but you can signup to be notified when it's available on BHPhotoVideo.com. What we do know is that it will carry a $6,000 price tag.
The post Zeiss ZX1 Android Camera is Coming Soon appeared first on duPont REGISTRY Daily.


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9/23/19 - 6 minute read
By: Alicia Rinaldi
They say Argentina is the Italy of South America, which explains a lot about the values and traditions of the Graziano family. In 1962 Mario & Maria Graziano set up a butcher shop in Buenos Aires, Argentina. 30 years later they came to America and opened up their first Argentine market on Coral Way. The rest is history — Grazianos is now a well-known restaurant in Miami with multiple locations around the city. They also have markets (some attached to their restaurants) where you can buy freshly baked empanadas and a variety of other snacks.
We're giving away a Miami Spice dinner for 2 at Graziano's. Enter on our IG post below:
Graziano's Miami Spice Menu
Let's get to why we're really here—the Miami Spice menu. I love the food at Graziano's, and living 10 steps away does not make it any easier to resist eating there every day! But there's no time like Miami Spice to give Graziano's a try. $39 is a steal for the generous portion sizes they offer, and for only $15 extra you can try a wine pairing with every course (yes, that's 3 glasses of wine for $5 each…in MIAMI!!) 🍷🍷🍷
We ordered the Burrata and the Quebracho Grill Octopus as our appetizer. It comes paired with a white wine called Las Perdices Torrontes, which has flowery aromas and subtle citrus and peach notes. It's recommended to pair with seafood.
Don't let the anchovies in the burrata scare you—they're not the salty devils you're used to. These white fish taste more like tuna and perfectly compliment the rest of the mediterranean flavors in the dish like the sundried tomatoes and kalamata olives.
If you've been keeping track, I've ordered octopus for Miami Spice every time it was on the menu… it's my favorite! Quebracho is an extra hard wood indigenous to Latin America that is used to grill the octopus at Graziano's. Because of its density, it burns hotter and longer which makes it the coveted charcoal for searing, roasting, and smoking. It's served in a risotto sauce made with 'aji panca,' a Peruvian pepper that gives the dish a sweet kick - it almost tastes like chili.
GRILLED SWEETBREADS: heirloom tomatoes, red onions, grilled lemons.
BURRATA: burrata, white anchovies, semi dried tomatoes, black olives, crostini
QUEBRACHO GRILL OCTOPUS: marinated in aji panca, fingerling potatoes.
The main course was served with La Hermandad Malbec, a bold Argentine red wine paired best with beef and venison.
For our entree, we got the bone-in rib eye steak and the Bucatini pasta. Would you look at that steak! It's a flawless medium-rare with perfect looking grill marks. Who doesn't love an IG-ready steak? And of course it's prime quality. As if the steak isn't already HUGE, it also comes with an over-easy egg (with a runny yolk!) and fingerling potatoes
Bucatini comes from the Italian word "buca" meaning "hole;" it's like a straw made of spaghetti! Mixed in the red sauce is guanciale, which is a meat that tastes similar to pancetta (pork belly) but comes from the cheek of the pic. It is known to have a richer flavor and softer texture, and it's very popular around Central Italy.
HAND CUT CERTIFIED ANGUS BEEF BONE-IN RIB EYE "COWGIRL": criolla sauce, roasted fingerling potatoes with a fried egg.
PECHUGA DE POLLO DE GRANJA A LA MATONE: tampa farm free-range chicken breast grilled and pressed with a brick, olive tapenade and homemade mashed potatoes.
BUCATINI AMATRICIANA: bucatini pasta, red sauce and guanciale.
The 3rd wine is Las Perdices Late Harvest Viognier. It's a desert wine that comes from Argentina and is suggested to be served with fruit-based desserts.
The paired dessert is a crepe with sautéed apples. It's perfect for fall because it reminds me of the caramel apples that were so popular every fall at the county fair (shoutout to the other New England natives reading this!). The soft crepe is stuffed with sautéed apples, and the sugar on the outside is caramelized with a torch to add a crunch.
Panqueque de Manna, Flambeado Con Rum: Crepes with sautéed apples flambé with rum
Hungry Yet?
What's Happening at Graziano's?
Each month Graziano's circulates a newspaper-style news letter! September is almost over, so head to Graziano's to see what they have planned for the month of October
Thank you to Graziano's for the delicious meal and to Eric & the staff for excellent & friendly service.
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Waterfront property is the most highly valued investment at the Lake. The recent MLS listing at 147 Short Leaf Drive in Sunrise Beach is an excellent waterfront property investment for Lake of the Ozarks real estate. This is a beautiful lakefront home with a view that you will love!
Call 573-348-2781 or 1-800-314-LAKE to learn more or view this property.
147 Short Leaf Drive
Sunrise Beach, MO 65079
MLS # 3508126 - Residential Real Estate
Desired Location With Expansive Main Channel View In Captain Rons No Wake Cove. You Have Front Row Seat To The Shootout Boat Races And Fireworks Display. Spacious & Open Living Room/dining/kitchen, Lots Of Kitchen Cabinets, Lake View Dining Room And Wood Burning Fireplace. Also, On Main Level Is The Master Bedroom With Half Bath, Two Other Bedrooms & Full Bath. Lower Level Has Large Family Room With Extra Sleeping Area For All Your Guests,...
View the Full Details of this Home for Sale in Sunrise Beach
Call 573-348-2781
View the Full Details of this Home for Sale in Sunrise Beach
Call 573-348-2781 to find out more about this listing.
Search the Sunrise Beach MLS ~ Start your Sunrise Beach search here!
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text: Join us in Mongolia: Days 2-4, The Road to Gobi Gallery | Posted on July 21, 2013 by alicia we chose to run in the middle of the day in the desert, which was relaxing but HOT! for days we drove and saw more animals than humans. Animal traffic crossings are like cross walks in Mongolia. and the sky suddenly turns to perilous shades! But we run anyway. we're running right toward an inviting rain and hail storm! asking for directions and driving conditions ahead seems to be a Mongolian pastime. When another storm rolled through, we got a chance to learn about the Mongolian culture of interdepency. Without any hesitation, a local family hosted us for shelter and tea, before 9am. Check out the set-up, this is a common type of home for Mongolians living in the countryside. Mongolians have an amazing education system and very high literacy rate, teenagers from the remote areas attend boarding schools in larger towns. Giraa, a teen we met in the Northern Gobi, even had Facebook! Share this if you want:PinterestMoreFacebookEmailTwitterLike this:Like Loading... Related


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28 items
- Men's Ulysse Nardin Executive Ref 243-00-3/42 White Gold Black Citizen Watch CloneSpecial Price $181.87 was $337.52
28 items
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text:
Division of Dockets Management (HFA-305)
Food and Drug Administration
5630 Fishers Lane, Room 1061
Rockville, MD 20852
Re: Produce Standards Rule: FDA-2011-N-0921, and RIN 0910-AG35
Dear FDA:
The undersigned organizations represent farmers, food businesses, and consumers across the United States. We jointly submit these comments on the proposed rule for Standards for Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption.
I. Restrictions on traditional farming methods.
FDA's proposed rules have some fundamental problems that underlie multiple substantive requirements.
The FDA repeatedly places the burden on the farmers to prove that their methods are safe. The agency has failed to provide a sound scientific basis for many of the requirements, choosing instead to take an extremely risk-averse approach. Farmers are allowed to establish alternatives, but only after going through the expense of conducting or finding research and testing. In other words, in many cases, the farmers must do the FDA's job in order to continue using farming methods that have been used for decades or even centuries.
The FDA's approach to traditional farming methods, such as diversified livestock-crop farms, the use of working animals, and the use of biological soil amendments, is fundamentally flawed.
We urge the agency to remove the restrictions on sustainable methods of farming, absent data showing an actual, verified increased rate of foodborne illness; the simple fact that these methods include diverse microbiological communities is not a sound scientific basis for restricting them.
II. The proposed rule would effectively prevent most farmers from using important soil amendments such as manure and compost tea
The proposed regulation on biological soil amendments poses a significant problem for sustainable producers, threatening their ability to farm without the use of chemicals. The use of a wide range of biological soil amendments, from manure to different types of compost, is integral to raising produce with chemical-free methods. While producers in some parts of the county have reasonable access to vegetation-based composts (which will not be strictly regulated under the proposed rules), animal-product-based composts are the primary option for sustainable producers in large parts of the country.
In the preamble to the proposed rule, the agency recognizes that the risk of pathogens may be different in a diversified system with competitive microflora (Refs. 171, 186, 187); the agency's proposed regulation, however, entirely fails to take this fact into account.
Manure is a proven low-risk fertilizer on organic farms. USDA's regulations for certified organic producers allow farms to use raw manure for fertilizer if it is applied three to four months prior to crop harvest. The FDA's proposed rule increases manure withdrawal period to nine months, making the application of manure extremely limited, if not useless. See proposed §112.56. Only if the soil amendment will not contact covered produce during or after application can the minimum application interval be waived; given the wide discretion provided to inspectors, it is unclear what must be shown to prove the lack of contact even after application.
In addition, FDA's proposed rule treats all of the following soil amendments as if they were raw manure:
- Compost made without specific heating periods (farmers often refer to this as "static composting," although the proposed regulations define that term differently);
- Vermicompost or "worm castings";
- Compost teas with any additives, even simple molasses or kelp meal
- Any compost that does not meet the precise methods and testing requirements specified in the proposed rule.
The practical effect of the proposed rule is to allow toxic chemicals to be easily used, while making the use of biological soil amendments difficult or even impossible for many farmers.
The FDA's proposal does not take into account the fact the increased microbial diversity limits the ability of pathogens to survive and multiply. For example, a 2010 study found that the use of soil fumigants results in higher survival of E. coli O157:H7 in sandy soil, as compared to clay soil, which correlated to the greater effect of the soil fumigants on sandy soil; in other words, where the fumigants were more successful in killing soil microbiology, the pathogens flourished. (See Ibekwe et al., "Influence of fumigants on soil microbial diversity and survival of E. coli" 157:H7, Journal of Environmental Science and Health, Part B: Pesticides, Food Contaminants, and Agricultural Wastes, 45:5 (2010).)
A 2013 study "demonstrated that highly diverse soil microbial communities act as a biological barrier against L. monocytogenes invasion." (See Vivant et al., "Microbial diversity and structure are drivers of the biological barrier effect against Listeria monocytogenes in soil," PLOS One, www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0076991 (Oct. 2013).1 As the authors stated, "This suggests that erosion of diversity may have damaging effects regarding circulation of pathogenic microorganisms in the environment." In other words, FDA's unfounded bias against soil amendments such as compost, compost teas, and manures could have the effect of increasing the spread of pathogens in our environment and food supply, rather than the reverse.
We urge the FDA to:
- Allow the application of compost with no waiting period between application and harvest;
- Allow the application of manure and partially composted materials with a 120-day waiting period between application and harvest;
- Treat compost teas with additives, vermicompost, and other biological inoculants the same as heat-cured composts.
III. The proposed rule creates unreasonable standards and testing requirements for agricultural water
The proposed rule provides that "all agricultural water must be safe and of adequate sanitary quality for its intended use." §112.41. The requirement that all water must be "safe" is, in practical terms, an impossible absolute.
The proposed rules require extensive testing if the farmer uses water that is not from a public water supply. If surface water is used, the farmer must test the water every 7 days during the growing season. For areas such as Texas and the south, the growing season can extend throughout the year, requiring 52 water tests. Since the testing must be done at an approved lab, the cost of the test would be increased by the expense and inconvenience of shipping the samples or driving significant distances each week to take the samples to the nearest accredited lab. The cost of such testing would be several thousand dollars per year.
It would be logical to allow the frequency of testing to be reduced if the water source consistently meets the standards during some initial period of time. Yet the proposed rules make no such provision, requiring weekly testing forever, with no end.
The proposed rules require that the farmer "immediately discontinue" the use of a source of water for certain uses – including washing produce, handwashing, or making compost teas — if there is any detectable generic E. coli. While generic E. coli may be the appropriate test to use for screening purposes, it does not reflect the presence of pathogens. Given the difficulty farmers are likely to have in finding an alternative water source, the requirement to immediately discontinue use based on the generic E. coli test is neither scientifically nor economically sound. Indeed, the FDA recognizes that it is very unlikely that any untreated surface water could meet this standard, forcing farmers to either treat the water or find another source. See RIA at p.141.
We urge the FDA to amend the water testing requirements to:
- Require testing no more than three times per growing season; or
- If monthly testing is required, to reduce the frequency of testing after a farmer has established the safety of their water source through three consecutive negative tests.
- Provide farmers with the option to test for pathogens if a water source has exceeded the standards for generic E. coli, rather than having to treat or stop using the water.
IV. The proposed rule creates significant ambiguity as to what farmers will have to do with both domestic animals and wildlife
Subpart I, the standards for domestic and wild animals, provides extreme discretion to FDA inspectors and officials. There are no clear or explicit provisions at all.
For example, if there is a reasonable probability that domesticated animals that graze in fields will contaminate covered produce, then the proposed standards require an "adequate waiting period" between grazing and harvest. The regulations do not specify a length of time that FDA considers an adequate waiting period, but the preamble to the regulations states that FDA "would not expect" the waiting period to exceed nine months2; this is the same interval that FDA proposes between the application of raw manure and harvest, and it effectively forces a farmer to abandon using that section of his property for the growing season.
Similarly, if there is a reasonable probability that working animals will contaminate covered produce, then FDA requires a farmer to take "measures" to prevent the introduction of foreseeable hazards such as animal feces, but the agency does not specify what those measures are.
The FDA is clearly trying to avoid the criticisms that have been leveled at the Leafy Green Marketing Agreement. In the preamble, the agency states that it does "not intend for proposed §112.11 to suggest that you would need to take measures to exclude animals from outdoor growing areas, to destroy animal habitats near your outdoor growing areas, to clear farm borders around outdoor growing areas or drainages, or to take any action that would violate applicable environmental laws or regulations."3 Yet nowhere does FDA explain what measures the farmers should take to meet the vague standards in the proposed rule, and it would be difficult to comply with a strict interpretation of those standards without taking at least some such measures.
The rules fail to recognize a critical distinction between machine harvesting crops and hand harvesting them. A machine cannot discriminate between a live animal, animal feces, and a vegetable plant; as a result, the presence of livestock or wildlife on large-scale farms that use machine harvesting poses a significantly different level of risk than on a small-scale farm that uses hand labor.
Combined with the proposed rule on animal-based soil amendments, this section poses significant problems particularly for diversified farms that integrate produce and animal production, a key part of which is adding animal excreta to the soil. These diversified farms are efficient, both biologically and economically, yet would be hard-pressed to comply with the proposed rules; even ignoring expense, many of their methods simply could not be brought into compliance. These farms have not been shown to pose a high risk of foodborne illnesses in practice, and are being penalized based on fear-based assumptions rather than data.
We urge the FDA to clarify the provisions on wildlife and domestic livestock to protect farmers who use biologically diverse farming from field inspectors using their discretion to require measures such as fencing or destruction of habitat. We further urge the agency to provide for less stringent measures on farms using hand harvesting.
V. The FDA significantly overestimates the benefits of the proposed rule
FDA estimated that the benefits from the produce safety rule would be over $1 billion. See Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA) at p.52. However, to reach this figure, FDA made several unjustified leaps of logic.
First, the FDA significantly overestimated the number of foodborne illnesses attributed to produce. The FDA relies heavily on a single study by Scallan et al, which looked at the number of foodborne illnesses that are reported and developed a multiplier to try to account for the illnesses that are not reported.
The FDA took Scallan's multiplier and applied it to the number of foodborne illnesses from identified causes in raw agricultural commodities other than sprouts. The FDA then also used the multiplier on the number of foodborne illnesses from unidentified causes in raw agricultural commodities. See RIA at p.62. Yet FDA acknowledges that Scallan's own estimates of the number of foodborne illnesses from unidentified causes was significantly lower. See RIA at p.63. In other words, the FDA chose to use one study to estimate the number of illnesses and, without any justification, expand on its results to significantly increase its estimates.
This single, unjustified step has significant consequences. Using Scallan's methodology in a consistent manner leads to an estimated 996,390 illnesses from raw agricultural products, less than one third the FDA's estimate. See RIA at p.63.
It is important to recognize how speculative all of these multipliers are in the first place. In the time period examined by FDA, there were only 4,293 illnesses actually reported from raw agricultural commodities other than sprouts. See RIA at p.59. FDA's series of assumptions led to an estimate of 2,314,715 illnesses from such products; ion other words, FDA estimated that there were more than five hundred times as many unreported illnesses as there are reported. Even using Scallan's estimates would still lead to the conclusion that there are over two hundred times as many unreported illnesses as there are reported.
Second, the FDA's estimate that the proposed rule would prevent about 65% of these illnesses from happening (p.51) was based on a shaky survey. The effectiveness of the proposed rule was based on interviews with "industry experts", based solely on the leafy green and tomato industries and based on practices used more than three years ago. See RIA at p.75. Particularly since tomatoes and leafy greens have been linked to by far the greatest number of outbreaks (p.60), even if the industry experts' responses were accurate, it would be difficult to justify extrapolating those results to all produce.
The combination of unjustified assumptions about the number of illnesses that occur and about the number of illnesses that would be prevented means that FDA's estimate of the benefits of the rule are unjustified and likely overstated by a significant amount.
We therefore urge the FDA to re-analyze the alleged benefits of the rule.
VI. The costs of the proposed rule would be crippling to many farms
In contrast to the speculative and overstated benefits from the proposed rule, FDA's estimates of the costs are extremely conservative.
According to FDA's own analysis, the annual costs of compliance would be:
- $4,697 for very small farms (average annual food sales under $250,000)
- $12, 972 for small farms (average annual food sales under $500,000)
- $30,566 for large farms (average annual food sales over $500,000)
The actual costs are likely to be much greater, particularly with respect to farmers' ability to source biological soil amendments that meet FDA's standards and the costs associated with water testing.
The FDA disguises the first-year costs of the regulations by annualizing them over 7 years for depreciation. See RIA at p.8. This ignores the issue of whether the farmer has the money to comply in the first year to begin with, as well as the fact that many small farmers do not have sufficient income to make depreciation cycles relevant.
The FDA severely underestimates the costs of the rule by assuming that small and very small farms (under $500,000 per year) only operate for 3 months per year, and only harvest, pack, or hold produce for 45 days out of the year; the agency estimates that large farms (over $500,000 per year) operate only 6 months per year and harvest, pack, or hold produce only 90 days. See RIA at p.10 & 163. While that may be true for monoculture farms that grow only one or two crops per year, it is absolutely false for diversified farms. For example, in Texas, many diversified produce farms operate for at least 9 months each year, with some growing produce year-round, with harvesting, packing, or holding activities occurring multiple days every single week.
With respect to the costs of the new limitations on the use of manure, compost teas, and composts, the FDA assumes that the cost is nothing more than switching to purchasing treated compost, since that is the "minimum cost alternative." See RIA at p.189. Yet what if the treated compost that is available in the area is of poor quality? What if the farmer uses compost teas for foliar applications, which is impossible to do with compost? The costs that are imposed by these new requirements are far more complex and far-reaching than is reflected by FDA's analysis.
In estimating the costs of the 9-month rule, FDA uses the rental value per acre of the property, estimating that it is $359 for a full year. See RIA at p.185. But small farms raising produce make far more than that per acre. Indeed, consider the implications of FDA's numbers: if an acre is only worth $359 in production per year, it would take almost 700 acres to produce a gross income of only $250,000, which is FDA's cut-off for very small farms. This is absurd. Obviously, use of the acreage is far more valuable than just $359 per year – and thus the costs of leaving such acreage unused for 9 months of the year is orders of magnitude greater than FDA's estimate.
In fact, these numbers contradict FDA's own estimates. The FDA assumes that "the midpoint of the acreage" for 112.5 acres for very small farms. See RIA at p.203. Even that is a gross overestimate of the likely acreage of such farms, and it still would mean an average production of over $2,000 per acre.
With respect to the provisions for agricultural water, the FDA's cost estimates appear to be based on wishful thinking. The agency states that "there are currently no EPA-approved water treatments that are available to consumers." See RIA at p.152. In other words, it would be impossible for farmers to treat their irrigation water currently in a way that complies with the regulations. The FDA is simply assuming that there will be safe treatment options developed and approved by EPA before the rules go into effect. If not, the FDA acknowledges that farmers who rely on water that does not meet the standards will have to stop irrigating or buy water from public water supplies, although the agency's cost estimates do not address the high cost of these outcomes. See RIA at p.153. Remember that the water might fail the standards even if it contains no pathogens.
FDA's over-estimate of the benefits and under-estimate of the costs of the proposed rules means that the costs of the rule will exceed any benefits. Moreover, there will be indirect costs, in the form of discouraging new farmers, as well as favoring chemical methods of agriculture over sustainable methods. The costs attributable to these effects need to be addressed before FDA moves forward with regulations under FSMA.
We therefore urge the FDA to re-analyze the alleged costs of the rule.
VII. Conclusion and request for second comment period
The undersigned organizations urge FDA to address the comments above, along with the many other comments that have been submitted by individuals and organizations, and to then publish a revised proposed rule.
Given the complexity of the proposed rule and the need for extensive, substantive changes, it is vital to allow time for a second public review. Rushing to implementation could have irreversible negative consequences.
Judith McGeary
Executive Director
Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance
John-Mark Hack
Executive Director
Local Foods Association
A. Richard Bonnanno, Ph.D
Massachusetts Farm Bureau Federation, Inc.
Kathy Ozer
Executive Director
National Family Farm Coalition
Sally Fallon
Weston A. Price Foundation
Mabel Dobbs
Chair of Ag and Food Campaign Team
Western Organization of Resource Councils
Dakota Resource Council (ND)
Dakota Rural Action (SD)
Idaho Organization of Resource Councils
Northern Plains Resource Council (MT)
Oregon Rural Action
Powder River Basin Resource Council (WY)
Western Colorado Congress
North Carolina Association of Black Lawyers Land Loss Prevention Project
Community Farm Alliance (KY)
Ashtabula, Geauga, Lake Counties Farmers Union (OH)