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Sonesta ES Suites Columbia Baltimore
Enjoy a refreshingly different way to stay among hotels in Columbia MD. The newly re-imagined Sonesta ES Suites Columbia offers business and leisure travelers a convenient location and plenty of wide-open spaces to work, rest and play. With oversized, multiple bedroom suites, fully equipped kitchens and ample work areas, we've thought of everything to make the best of your stay.
At Sonesta ES Suites Columbia you'll find our hospitality, personal service and delightful extras unique among Columbia, MD hotels. From our central location to the friendly, approachable staff, Sonesta ES Suites Columbia offers the kind of experience that turns a good stay into an amazing one. We look forward to seeing you.
We're centrally located between Baltimore, Washington and Annapolis, and nothing's better for seeing the sights and doing some business. Whether you're looking to spend a day in our nation's capital, work or have dinner in the Inner Harbor — nothing is out of reach. Let us help you with ideas for things to do.
We go out of your way to make sure your stay is relaxed, comfortable more affordable than other Columbia, MD hotels. Special rates are available for extended-stay guests, AAA members and those over 55 years in age. Contact us today to see if we can surprise you.
Our area is filled with eating establishments of all varieties, and there's no better time — or place — from which to enjoy it. Consider a visit to the Greystone Grill or Aida Bistro — our staff would be happy to help you book a table.
Member rate from $109 per night

subset: commoncrawl


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Conditioning Hand Wash
Who would have thought that hand washing could be such an enjoyable experience? Our rich-lathering, pH-balanced Rosewater Conditioning Hand Wash is infused with skin-softening botanical extracts for gentle everyday cleansing. And between washes, it still stands out by adding a splash of eye-catching colour to your living space.
- Rosewater helps condition the skin
- Soap-free formula is less drying than traditional cleansers
- 100% naturally derived surfactant
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The story of
The rose is the symbol of love for good reason. Timeless, alluring and majestic, its heady scent and skin-beautifying properties have been celebrated for centuries. In fact, the simple fusion of rose petal fragrance and pure water is a classic English beauty tonic.
Our Rosewater collection starts with a distillation of the legendary 'hundred petal' rose. We then gently blend a delicate fragrance bouquet of violet, peony, musk and hints of dew-splashed foliage for an indulgent, aromatic twist.


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The Cloud Room
Top SongsSee All
Hey Now NowThe Cloud Room 2005
Mrs. Marquis De SadeYou Be My Heart 2013
Beautiful MessThe Cloud Room 2005
AlbumsSee All
Singles & EPsSee All
About The Cloud Room
Drawing on the cool but insistent sounds of '80s post-punk acts such as Echo & the Bunnymen, Joy Division, and Bauhaus in a style not unlike such contemporaries as Interpol, the Kaiser Chiefs, and Bloc Party, Brooklyn's the Cloud Room became a buzz band when their superb single "Hey Now Now" became a sensation on college radio and music blogs in both America and the U.K. The Cloud Room is led by guitarist and singer J, who was born in San Jose, CA, and came to New York City to work in independent filmmaking, having been promised a job working on a Hal Hartley project (it was given to an NYU student at the last minute). J continued to work on the margins of the movie business but never lost interest in his first love, music. In 2004, J suffered a health crisis and was forced to wait 18 days for the results of a HIV test. Distraught, J began working on songs, one of which was "Hey Now Now"; when he got the good news that his test came back negative, an overjoyed J decided to focus his energies on music. Unhappy with the musicians he'd been working with, J recruited bassist Jonathan Petrow and drummer Jason Pharr from a friend's band, Morris Air (later known as Public), and hired David H (guitar) and Steven Milton (keyboards) through ads on Craigslist. Names for a Prohibition-era private nightclub located near the top of a Manhattan skyscraper, the Cloud Room's demos soon attracted the attention of the New York-based independent label Gigantic Music, and in 2005 they sent the band into the studio with producer Chris Zane to record their self-titled debut album, which earned rave reviews from hipster music journals as well as mainstream publications such as Spin, Rolling Stone, and The New York Times. ~ Mark Deming
- Brooklyn, NY
- Rock
- 2003
Similar ArtistsSee All


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Elegant science from the lowly roundworm
Ignore the ick factor, for a moment, and consider the lowly roundworm.
Also known by its more formal name, Caenorhabditis elegans, the 1 millimeter-long nematode has helped scientists all over the world uncover new insights about biology and genetics since the 1960s.
In fact, it was 1963 when biologist Sydney Brenner, then doing research in England, turned to the worm in his study of the development of the nervous system. Brenner shared the 2002 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with H. Robert Horvitz and John E. Sulston for their discoveries concerning genetic regulation of organ development and programmed cell death. In his Nobel lecture, Brenner paid homage to C. elegans and told the story of its journey from "joke organism" to a powerful, living experimental system. "Without a doubt," he said, "the fourth winner of the Nobel Prize this year is Caenorhabditis elegans; it deserves all of the honor but, of course, it will not be able to share the monetary award."
In part, that's because his tiny "colleagues" in the lab didn't live long enough to cash the check. But that short lifespan – C. elegans lives about two weeks – makes the organism an ideal choice for scientists studying developmental biology, genetics, neurobiology, and aging. The worms are easy to grow in bulk – each worm produces about 300 progeny during a life cycle. In 1998, the worm's complete genome was sequenced – a first for a multicellular organism.
Broad Associate Members Fred Ausubel, Gary Ruvkun, and Fatih Yanik are continually probing a variety of biological questions that require using whole animals rather than isolated cells. C. elegans, which can live in a glass dish, feasting on bacteria, can be handled in large numbers by robotic arms in the lab. Scientists then use robotic microscopes, computers, and computational techniques known as algorithms to scan digital pictures of the little worms and identify those that responded appropriately to experimental conditions. Anne Carpenter and her colleagues in the Imaging Platform at the Broad are creating these algorithms, which can identify C. elegans that are resistant to obesity or infection by pathogens., which could someday lead to drugs for these conditions.
Simple as it is, the worm has wriggled into the limelight again. As recently as last week, in fact, researchers at Princeton University suggested that C. elegans may provide insights into human fertility.
A hallmark of aging in women, of course, is menopause, the loss of fertility that happens between age 45 and 55, on average. As women age, their egg cells decline in quality, and the risk of infertility, birth defects, and miscarriage increase. But little is known about what mechanisms regulate the quality of human egg cells.
Writing in Cell, Coleen T. Murphy, a molecular biologist and Princeton, and colleagues found that "C. elegans and humans share many aspects of reproductive aging." As the nematode's short-lived biological clock ticks, its oocytes, or unfertilized eggs, begin to break down. Researchers associate this decline with increased secretion of a protein called TGF-ß, or transforming growth factor beta. The same protein is found in humans, although its interactions are more complex and the protein performs many different functions.
Although much work needs to be done – the protein may not play the same role in women – C. elegans research may ultimately open the door to new knowledge about how to extend female fertility.
"Both human and C. elegans females reproduce about one-third to one-half of their lives, and thus undergo significant reproductive aging on proportional time scales," the authors write, "implying that genetic mechanisms may link reproduction to longevity in both..."


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The Year of the Pickle
It's a famous Jewish tradition: Chinese food and a movie on Christmas. Who knows how it all got started? Years ago, some enterprising Jewish family must have ventured out into the empty streets–with all the stores shuttered- on Christmas Day and discovered a light glowing in the distance. Hurrying closer, that Jewish family stood under the light and saw that it said "Sakura." After stuffing their faces, the family headed out into the empty street and saw another light. "Cineplex" it said.
Thus a tradition was born (reversing the order is optional) and my family has certainly partaken of that tradition. But my love of Chinese food isn't limited to Christmas alone. During any season, but especially during cooler weather, my family has been known to happily decamp to our favorite Chinese restaurants in Connecticut and New York and enjoy all of the savory delights. While shoveling in all this delicious food, I've noticed and been fascinated by the Chinese Zodiac imprinted on the placemat. You know–Year of the Dragon, Year of The Rat, etc. I've thought: Why not a Jewish tradition like it?
Imagine, then, my excitement, when I came across some wonderful new products that playfully combine Jewish food and Chinese culture–Seth Front's The Jewish Zodiac.
Of course it's not "The Year of the Ox" but "The Year of The Lox" I'm talking about! I love anyone who can make me laugh–and Seth's products are just hilarious.
Here at Challah Connection, we're proud to offer these fun, new products like The Year of the Pickle t-shirts and Year of The Black & White t-shirt. (My husband is sporting one now, but has yet to fess up to whether he is on the black side of the cookie or the white). I chatted with Seth at the recent Kosherfest where I asked him which of the amazingly creative shirts is the most popular. It's the Year of the Pickle–that must be a new way to refer to our current economic problem. (Maybe I'll send a shirt to President Obama and his speechwriters.)
While I love the shirts, since I am really kitchen person, I also love the Jewish Zodiac Placemats.
Last night, we set the table with these fun placemats and I could have sworn that my salad pizza had a distinct taste of broccolli with garlic sauce.
Instead of being born in the Year of the Rat or Year of the Sheep, find your Jewish zodiac sign. Were you born under the Year of the Egg Cream, Year of Pastrami, or Year of the Schmear?
Happy Shopping!


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We know that the new gasoline-burning BlueMotion Passat is digging deep into VW's BlueMotion rucksack of tricks to get a very impressive 42 MPG without any electric motors, diesel fuel, or black, black magic. Without black magic, the only color here is blue, which to VW, means green. Got it?
What strikes me as especially interesting is that the 1.4 L 150 HP four-cylinder engine is using cylinder de-activation, which should be a first for a production four-cylinder engine (in the US, at least — Euro Polos and Golfs have had it). Well, intentional cylinder deactivation, at least. I had a girlfriend with a Cavalier that used to deactivate cylinders all the time.
VW's cylinder deactivation turns the everyday four into a plucky young twin under low-load conditions, saving lots of gas from being wasted shamefully and needlessly. The gasoline is directly injected, mainlined, even. The 7-speed DSG transmission will decouple from the wheels as needed to allow for carefree, low-resistance coasting, and the engine employs a stop-start system as well. Essentially, it's everything they can possibly do to keep that engine from enjoying all that sweet, delicious fuel.
Overall, it's impressive. 150 HP is not skull-crushingly powerful, but it's easily capable of almost everything this car would ever likely be used for. Up close, it looks like the American market Passat we all know and ignore, and it's handsome enough in its own way, if not head-turning.
For a lot of people, diesel access still isn't as easy as getting gasoline, and while I'd love to believe Americans are finally getting over their 80s diesel nightmares, I'm sure there's still some diesel-fearing troglodytes out there for whom this sort of mileage in a gasoline car will be a godsend.
In person, the Passat BlueMotion looks, feels, and smells pretty much like a normal Passat. It's the least concepty concept I've ever seen, though it does have nice white seats.


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In technology, and unlike Hollywood movies, a sequel is expected to be significantly better than the former. Rumours ran rampant online in the weeks leading up to the official Galaxy S III (GS3) announcement, but does it have what it takes to be king of the Androids?
The GS3 is one of the rare smartphone handsets that actually look better in person than it does in the pictures. It's "hyperglaze" finish earns the most groan-worthy marketing term of the year, so far, but it looks and feels fantastic. Our Marble White review unit is stunning, even after hours of sweaty hands all over it and despite the fact that it looks like a giant Tic-Tac.
Yes, it looks like a Tic-Tac, but it feels great in the hand.
(Credit: CBSi)
The 4.8-inch Super AMOLED display is similarly superb, with more than enough pixels on offer to display crisp text and vivid images. There has been some conjecture online about Samsung using a PenTile sub-pixel array in this screen, unlike many of its other products, but we challenge anyone to spot the difference from a comfortable reading distance. If you don't know what a PenTile sub-pixel array is, don't let this bother you. This argument is a non-event.
The GS3 is only slightly larger than last year's Galaxy S2 (and 0.1mm thicker), so to accommodate the physical controls on the handset, Samsung has squashed them up a bit. The mechanical Home button is more or a sliver than a circle, and it can be tricky to use without touching the surrounding touch-sensitive areas. There is a volume rocker on the left of the phone and a Power button on the right, but no HDMI port, like you might find on some of the competition. The GS3 can connect to a TV via a micro-HDMI cable, though you'll need to fork out for a Mobile HD Link cable at a cost of about AU$40.
16- and 32GB variants of the GS3 will be available at launch, with both featuring micro-SD card slots to expand this memory further. The slot is located under the back cover, next to a micro-SIM slot and an enormous 2100mAh battery.
Compared to
|Samsung Galaxy S3
|HTC One XL
|Nokia Lumia 900
|Apple iPhone 4S
Super AMOLED
Super LCD
Retina LCD
Quad-core 1.4GHz
Dual-core 1.5GHz
|Apple A5
Dual-core 1GHz
|Android 4.0.3
|Android 4.0.3
|Windows Phone 7.5
|iOS 5.1
|16, 32GB storage
MicroSD slot
|32GB storage
|16GB storage
|16, 32, 64GB storage
User experience and performance
Samsung's TouchWiz UI hasn't been well loved in previous releases. At best, some users are ambivalent; at worst, they outright hate it. This latest iteration is a big step forward in our opinion. It maintains a lot of the usability tweaks of the previous version, like quick Home page switching by swiping along the pagination icons, but it is also a lot more polished. The icons seem familiar, but have a sharper, higher-resolution design; the notification now has an extended settings shortcut bar; and you can now launch applications directly from the lockscreen. But perhaps more importantly, there is still plenty of Google's Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) design present here too. Samsung has skinned ICS, but not so much that it obscures what we love about it.
There are a number of cool new tweaks to note, too, including some cool gesture controls. To take a screenshot, for example, you can swipe across the screen with your palm or the side of a finger. When you are in the Messaging app, you can lift the phone to your ear to start a call with the contact whose message you've been reading. Not ground-breaking features, but very handy enhancements. We were disappointed to discover that the GS3 doesn't include a Swype keyboard though; the first Samsung phone not to have Swype for a long time.
The GS3 is the first phone to feature Samsung's new quad-core Exynos processor, and boy is it a beauty. In the performance benchmarks we ran across all Android phones, the GS3 has steamed ahead, scoring top marks in web standards execution, 3D graphics rendering and basic number crunching. We don't tend to put much faith in these tests, but the results are fairly conclusive — this is one fast phone.
More importantly, it is a fast phone with decent battery life. Last year's Galaxy S II was held back by poorer battery performance, and we're glad to see Samsung pay special attention to this all-important consideration. It's 2100mAh battery may not sound like a huge improvement on the 1800mAh battery in many other phones, like the HTC One X, but it certainly adds up to several hours of extra use each day.
Battery life (time)
- Wi-Fi browsing
- 720p video playback
- 5h 45m7h 8m
- Samsung Galaxy S3
- 3h 43m4h 6m
- HTC One XL
- 3h 21m3h 47m
- HTC One X
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
More impressive though: the GS3 has excellent standby battery life. For example, we noticed that the phone lasted an entire weekend — Saturday morning to Sunday evening — without being recharged, even with Wi-Fi on and Account syncing occurring automatically in the background. When we took a closer look at this battery use in standby, we saw that it takes six or more hours to discharge the battery 10%. This is a huge improvement on last year's release and sets the S3 well ahead of its nearest competitors.
Samsung's latest smartphone camera matches the HTC One X on paper, with a similar array of features and speed. The camera on the GS3 launches in under a second and can fire a photo in the same time. It also has a burst photo mode, letting you shoot up to eight images and then select the "best shot" to keep.


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More than 1,500 GM, Chrysler dealers challenge closings
Published in: Detriot News
Date: 1/26/2010
By: David Shepardson
Washington — More than half of General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC's dealers that were ordered closed by the company appealed ahead of a midnight deadline set by Congress.
India Johnson, a senior vice president at the American Arbitration Association said that as of this afternoon, it had received between 1,550 and 1,560 appeals out of nearly 3,000 dealers.
But Johnson said appeals are still arriving by mail — and will be accepted if postmarked before the midnight deadline. A final tally won't be in place until Friday, she said.
The AAA is also eliminating duplicate filings and at least one dealer already has withdrawn an appeal.
The dealers filed for arbitration under a law approved by Congress in December that gives closed or closing dealers the right to challenge the decisions. Johnson could not estimate the final figures.
The law also allows dealers to file with the 22 local American Arbitration offices around the country, which could lift the final tally significantly.
GM Chairman and CEO Edward Whitacre Jr. said Monday that 500-600 GM dealers have appealed. He said any decisions to reinstate dealers wouldn't hurt the company.
GM and Chrysler ordered the dealership closings as part of their bankruptcy restructuring. They said their dealer networks were too large and expensive.
Whitacre said this month that GM is likely to reinstate "hundreds of dealers," but then backpedaled and said it could be as few as 100. He has taken a more conciliatory approach to the dealer issue, acknowledging GM likely made some mistakes in its dealer closings.
A senior member of Congress urged Chrysler to say whether it will challenge the law. Chrysler has said only that it is complying with the law, but has not publicly ruled out a legal challenge.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., praised GM for agreeing to live with the law.
"With this decision, GM Chairman and CEO Ed Whitacre has demonstrated GM's commitment to having the strongest possible dealer network. It is also a recognition that GM must solidify that network as soon as possible so it can return to profitability and keep Americans on the job. It is my hope that Chrysler will follow GM's lead," Hoyer said.
In December, Congress passed a provision signed into law by President Barack Obama that grants dealers on the automakers' closing lists a chance to appeal and receive a decision within six months.
The provision was strenuously fought by automakers during a six-month battle in Congress that cost them considerable political capital — largely because dealers have significant clout and often are campaign contributors.
GM said this month that 2,000 dealers it ordered to close are eligible for arbitration, if they choose to fight to remain open. That figure includes 1,300 to close outright by October 2010 and 700 losing at least one GM brand.
The legislation also applies to 789 dealers that Auburn Hills-based Chrysler closed in June, or one-quarter of its network.
Dealerships that sell only one of the four brands that GM is shedding — Saturn, Saab, Hummer or Pontiac — are ineligible for the appeal process.
Under the law, decisions generally are to be made by June 14.
Each arbitration case will be separate, and dealers must pay their share of costs of the process that could top $100,000.
GM already has reversed its decisions on about 80 dealers. It set aside $600 million to pay closing dealers and gave them until October of this year, which is more than a year to wind down.
By contrast, Chrysler heard no appeals and offered dealers no cash compensation and gave them just a month to close their doors.
From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20100126/AUTO01/1260423/1148/AUTO01/More-than-1-500-GM–Chrysler-dealers-challenge-closings#ixzz0dwBzuTja


text: Is Android Good For Consumers? Tim Murphy, January 1, 0001 This Christmas our household got its first Android devices. They were a couple of off-brand tablets and I have come to hate them. We bought them because they were cheaper. In this post I will be looking ... Is Android Good For Consumers? 0 0 4


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In an interview from 1972 with the film historian Leonid Kozlov, Andrei Tarkovsky listed his ten favorite films.
I remember that wet, grey day in April 1972 very well. We were sitting by an open window and talking about various things when the conversation turned to Otar Ioseliani's film Once Upon a Time There Lived a Singing Blackbird.
"It's a good film," said Tarkovsky and immediately added, drawing out his words, "though it's, well, a little bit too… too…" He fell silent with the sentence half finished, his eyes screwed up. After a moment of intense reflection, he bit his fingernails and continued decisively, "No! No, it's a very good film!"
It was at this point that I asked Tarkovsky if he would compile a list of his favorite ten or so films. He took my proposition very seriously and for a few minutes sat deep in thought with his head bent over a piece of paper. Then he began to write down a list of directors' names – Buñuel, Mizoguchi, Bergman, Bresson, Kurosawa, Antonioni, Vigo. One more, Dreyer, followed after a pause. Next he made a list of films and put them carefully in a numbered order. The list, it seemed, was ready, but suddenly and unexpectedly Tarkovsky added another title – City Lights.
— Leonid Kozlov
Ordet by Carl Theodor Dreyer (1954) was #6 in the first draft.
1. Diary of a Country Priest by Robert Bresson (1951)
2. Winter Light by Ingmar Bergman (1962)
3. Nazarin by Luis Buñuel (1959)
4. Wild Strawberries by Ingmar Bergman (1957)
5. City Lights by Charlie Chaplin (1931)
6. Ugetsu by Kenji Mizoguchi (1953)
7. Seven Samurai by Akira Kurosawa (1954)
8. Persona by Ingmar Bergman (1966)
9. Mouchette by Robert Bresson (1967)
10. Woman in the Dunes by Hiroshi Teshigahara (1964)


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Alaska Railroad Travel
The Alaska Railroad stretches 470 miles from Seward on the south-central Kenai Peninsula, to the northern "golden heart" city of Fairbanks. Along the way, the train travels through some of the most scenic and rugged territory in Alaska, including Denali National Park, Denali State Park, and Chugach National Forest. The Alaska Railroad runs two primary passenger services during the summer season. On the rail north of Anchorage, the Denali Star operates daily between Fairbanks, Denali, Talkeetna and Anchorage. To the south, the Coastal Classic operates daily between Anchorage and Seward.
In addition, for passengers departing Whittier by cruise ship we also offer Alaska Railroad service from Anchorage to Whittier. This trip has a convenient 10:00am departure time and will drop you off right at the cruise ship terminal in Whittier. Park Connection bus service from Anchorage to Whittier and Whittier to Anchorage is also available for cruise passengers.
Alaska Railroad trains feature large picture windows, comfortable seating, a cafe offering 'grab and go' menu items , restrooms, and luggage cars. Two pieces of luggage per person are permitted, with extra luggage subject to a fee. The Alaska Railroad is accessible to wheelchairs, with special ramps at the depots and provisions on the train cars for occupied wheel chairs.
On the Denali Star train which runs between Anchorage and Fairbanks you can choose from three different levels of service. In addition to the standard Alaska Railroad train cars know as Adventure Class, you can select either a private dome railcar or the Alaska Railroad GoldStar dome service. The Alaska Railroad also offers Adventure Class and GoldStar service between Anchorage and Seward. For a complete description of each rail service, please see our Alaska train finder page.
It is helpful to note that the Alaska Park Connection motorcoach service also travels between the same destinations as the Alaska Railroad. However, the Parks and Seward highways travel different routes than the rail. Many people travel one direction by the railroad and the other by bus to see two different scenic routes. The motorcoach schedule also offers the ability to travel between Denali Park and Seward (or vice versa) in one day, while an overnight in Anchorage is required to travel the route by train. Park Connection motorcoach service to Whittier is also available.
Alaska Railroad Schedule and Rates
Complete schedule and rate information is available on our Alaska Railroad Schedule and Rates page. If you would like to get more information on a particular Alaska Railroad run, please select the event from our Alaska Transportation page.
Alaska Railroad Day Tours
If you are limited on time consider a day trip on the Alaska Railroad to Seward, Talkeetna, Spencer Glacier or Grandview Valley.
Alaska Railroad Photo Gallery and Videos
You can follow these links to see our Alaska Railroad photo album, slide show and Alaska Railroad video.
For reservations on the Alaska Railroad please call 800-208-0200, contact us online, submit a general reservation request or use our MyAlaska Trip Planner.


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I have also been sewing. I know that I said I would limit my swaps, BUT....
I made these for the 3x6 Swap on flickr. They are 12.5 inch blocks. I hand stitched all the hexies and then machine appliqued them onto the background blocks. I really love the way the rainbows look against the black. And am now smitten with the other color choices too.
And these for the Bitty Block Committee Pirate Swap on flickr. These are 3.5 inch blocks. I am pretty pleased with them. But I have a bit of a warped sense of humor. This was done in a couple of stages. I used a fusible stabilizer to help me keep all of those tiny pieces in place while I stitched them down (machine). The numbers were added in PSE so the other swappers could pick their pet Kraken. You should see the other Pirate blocks these talented swappers have made. Seriously. GO HERE. There are generally two themes every month. So you'll find all sorts of little treasures.
And these for the Scrapbuster's Wonky Bento Swap also on flickr. These are 8x8 blocks. Made in the Log Cabin style out of 16 inch blocks cut into quarters. I sent off 24 blocks to swap. I kept one quarter of each of the larger blocks I made. I LOVE the way these quilts look and am really looking forward to making mine.
I am still making hexies. Those little cuties are addictive. Just thought I would warn you in case you are contemplating delving into that sewing arena.
I managed to decrapulate a bit more. I feel better about some of my scrapbook papers going to help the special education kids my SIL teaches. But I still have a long way to go. I am having a hard time getting rid of some of my scrapping things. I have decided to go digital so I shouldn't think twice, but I really LOVE my die cut machine. I blame my love of gadgets in general.
I have only cooked a handful of meals. I am not counting the frozen things shoved into the oven. Those aren't really me cooking. I just don't enjoy cooking like I used to. It's a challenge when no one can agree on anything. Ever. AND they won't eat leftovers. What kinda crap is that!!! Dorks.
I have been reading that terribly addictive series GAME OF THRONES. I am on the 4th book (I think) A FEAST FOR CROWS. I love the twists and turns and the ruthless politics. It's so foreign to me. I don't think that way so this fascinates me. I also love that the characters are evolving and growing by their experiences. They evoke very stong emotions. Yeah, it's one of those series.
I suppose this is enough for now. Just wanted to catch you all up. And I think I have.
Thanks for sticking with me to this point. I know that you are a true friend.
Oh, yeah. Remember the decrapulating I have been doing? Well, I have put together a couple of boxes of scrapbooking/mixed media items. I am going to have a giveaway sometime in the next couple of weeks. So check back.
See you soon. Friend.


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John Bull And His Three Little Brothers part 08
Composer: Dunn, J W
Medium: Lithograph, coloured
Date: 1887
'John Bull' was an imaginary character who represented England. He is portrayed as an honest, farmer figure, often accompanied by a bulldog. He was depicted as having an inconsistent temperament, apt to quarrelling with his 'best friends', representing countries such as France or in this case his 'younger brothers', who symbolised Ireland, Scotland and Wales. His character became so widely used to represent England that his name appeared in books, plays, periodicals and even political campaigns.


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December 9, 2015: Dell today announced the release of Dell Recovery Manager for Active Directory and Recovery Manager for Active Directory Forest Edition 8.7, which allow organizations running hybrid Active Directory environments with Azure AD Connect the ability to back up, view and restore changes to AD objects in real time on-premises and in the cloud. This announcement reinforces our commitment to helping organizations gain control of cloud deployments and future readiness while crushing cloud-adoption barriers that often include implementation costs and risk, disaster recovery and security. In fact, Dell is first to market with a complete suite of AD backup and recovery solutions that support item-level recovery, comparison reports, and attribute rollback capabilities that give IT the comprehensive control required for successful hybrid AD management. RMAD also give organizations the ability to perform on-premises automated forest-level recovery and create of a fully functional virtual lab environment, further reinforcing Dell's complete hybrid AD management offerings.
Tackling the biggest challenges to managing AD environments
Dell knows its customers view cloud as strategic to their IT capability. The Dell Global Technology Adoption Index 2015 shows that 82 percent of mid-sized businesses now use cloud and 55 percent of organizations globally are using more than one type of cloud, so, Dell continues to design for the future with cloud in mind.
While cloud adoption is on the rise, most organizations are taking a hybrid approach. To support this model, Dell has developed a single, cost-effective and easy-to-use AD backup and recovery solution for both on-premise and Azure deployments.
Use RMAD to accelerate security investigations and recover from disasters and corruptions
Offering complete backup and recovery to take control of your entire hybrid AD environment
Dell Recovery Manager's support for Azure with AD Connect includes item-level recovery, comparison reports, and attribute rollback. The solution's on-premises AD support includes restoring DNS and Group Policy object restores. Also included are forest-level recovery, virtual lab creation, health checks, and AD management.
These capabilities reinforce Dell's leadership position in providing a comprehensive suite of Active Directory backup and recovery solutions that manage item level restores to a full recovery from an on-premises forest-level disaster. More than 33 million users leverage Dell Recovery Manager solutions, including 47 percent of the Fortune 100 and 29 percent of the Fortune 500 industries that depend on it to add value to the business by minimizing downtime, safeguarding against data loss and reducing costs.
Supporting Quote:
Brett Roscoe, vice president, product management, Dell Systems and Information Management
Supporting Resources:
About Dell


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European Commission
Press release
Brussels, 8 July 2013
Commission awards funding to 18 European sustainable mobility initiatives
As part of its three-year Sustainable Urban Mobility campaign "Do The Right Mix", the European Commission has today released the names of another 18 campaigner-led actions to be awarded funding. Each action will receive up to EUR 7000, which can be used to strengthen activities promoting sustainable urban mobility, from cycling courses, to car-sharing, fun activities for children and more.
European Commission Vice-President Siim Kallas, responsible for transport said, 'Creating a sustainable urban mobility culture is a challenge. But after the success of the first call for funding in 2012, we know that there are countless Europeans ready to take up that challenge. We want to support as many of them as we can, helping them to make positive grassroots changes.'
Since the launch of the campaign in 2012, nearly 380 sustainable urban mobility actions have been registered on the central www.dotherightmix.eu website. The ongoing and upcoming actions are displayed on the innovative Mobility Map, which provides Europe-wide visibility for campaigners. The second call for funding saw 74 applications from 18 eligible countries.. The third and final call for sustainable mobility funding will open in March 2014.
Similarly to last year, groups of individuals as well as non-commercial entities (schools, NGOs, public administrations, etc) were eligible to apply. Campaigners in Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Romania and the UK were, however, not invited to apply as these countries already receive targeted support for setting up national campaigns. Successful applicants were selected by a panel of expert judges, all experienced in the field of sustainable mobility
The European Commission's Sustainable Urban Mobility campaign is linked to the European Mobility Week, which runs from 16 to 22 September every year and culminates in the 'In Town Without My Car!' day. The campaign is funded through the Intelligent Energy Europe Programme – the EU's support programme for non-technological actions in the field of energy efficiency and renewable energy sources.
More information:
"Do The Right Mix" on Twitter and on Facebook
Follow Vice-President Kallas on Twitter
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50 Wordpress Blogs Installed w/Content and Headers Project #A739
Budget $30-250 USD
This project will require the installation of 50 wordpress blogs. Please make sure you understand what is required before bidding.
This is fairly simple and should only take a few minutes per install.
Each blog will already be assigned webspace and you will be provided with cpanel login. Each wordpress blog can be installed via fantastico. You will then need to upload and install a theme we provide and several plugins. You will also need to set the permalinks.
You will be required to create a generic header for each blog matching the theme.
We need 7 articles from article directories added to the blog as posts. You will need to search for topic related articles and add them. We need different articles and different photos for the header for each site.
These are a couple of examples of what needs to be done.
[url removed, login to view]
[url removed, login to view]
[url removed, login to view]
We expect each project to be completed within 5 to 10 business days.
If you can do this in a cost effective and timely manner we will most likely have other projects that you will be able to bid on almost immediately.


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Governor William Dorsey Jelks founds Protective Life Insurance Company, as Theodore Roosevelt begins his seventh year as U.S. President.
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Protective Life celebrates its silver anniversary with more than $65 million of insurance in-force.
Protective Life celebrates 50 years with insurance in-force approaching $1 billion.
Protective Life acquires Protective Life and Annuity Insurance Company.
West Coast Life is acquired, solidifying Protective's national presence.
John D. Johns becomes CEO of Protective Life.
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Protective Life celebrates its 100th Anniversary with insurance in-force surpassing $252 billion.
Protective achieves record consolidated statutory capital level in a historically challenging financial environment.
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Life is complex. Our business shouldn't be. Tear down the walls of complexity, relentlessly. Use common sense. Communicate clearly. Streamline, clarify and simplify everything we do.


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Jewish World Review March 17, 2014 / 15 Adar II, 5774
Now it's LBJ's turn: The battle over Lyndon Johnson's place in history is joined
By David M. Shribman
JewishWorldReview.com | Was he a romantic with a vision of an America free of poverty and ignorance? Was he a craven war leader, sacrificing tens of thousands to his fear of losing a small country in battle — or the presidency in impeachment? Did he create a nation that celebrated and elevated fairness and justice? Or did his policies perpetuate social pathology and sow dependence? Did he possess the fatal flaw of hubris? Or is it a flaw at all to think big, plan big, dream big?
An unusual battle for history is now underway, pitting American memory against the historical legacy of an American president.
There hasn't been an intellectual struggle like this for years. But the battle over how to regard Lyndon Baines Johnson almost certainly will be more emotional, more tendentious and more significant than the last struggle of this kind, over how history should rate Harry S Truman.
The Truman battle over war (Korea), race (desegregating the armed forces) and style (the down-home manner of Independence, Mo.) was but a miniature version of the Johnson legacy of war (Vietnam), race (two civil-rights bills, bloody marches and urban unrest) and style (not so much the humanity of the Pendernales Valley as the brutality of the political perdition Johnson threatened to the reluctant and the rebellious).
The Truman battle was settled, probably permanently, by one book, David McCullough's 1992 biography, which sold more than a million copies. The Johnson battle, stoked by scores of books, especially Robert Caro's multi-volume biography, is far from over. Indeed, this clash gives new meaning to Johnson's remark that "yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose."
In this battle are Johnson loyalists, particularly his daughters and some surviving former aides; Johnson rivals, especially those who will never forgive him for Vietnam; Johnson revisionists, who opposed him in life but came to recognize his vision and virtues after he died; Johnson folklorists, who exaggerate physical characteristics and a personal character that once were so overpowering that they seemed immune to exaggeration; and Johnson ingenues, who never knew Johnson or didn't live in the Johnson years but who view him as a distant figure, much like William Howard Taft or Grover Cleveland.
All this because the gentle watercolor wash of half-century retrospectives, so warm and kind to his martyred predecessor, John F. Kennedy, makes a new series of 50th-anniversary reassessments — on the War on Poverty this winter, on the famous Great Society speech at the University of Michigan in May, with the Civil Rights Bill in July and the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in August and more to follow — irresistible and perhaps even necessary.
Ordinarily a half-century's passage is enough to quell the chants and cheers of events long ago, and the rule in Great Britain for almost six decades has been that public records and Cabinet papers are open for inspection after 30 years. But the events of 1963-1969 are so central to our national identity — and increased longevity so dramatic that many of the participants of the principal events of that period are still alive — that the passions of the Johnson period have not dimmed.
George W. Bush, speaking in Johnson's home state recently, showed no preoccupation with how he will be regarded in the future. "History," he said, "will ultimately judge whether I made the right decisions or not." But for Lyndon Johnson — who had no nonchalance for the verdict of anybody, including Clio, the muse of history — the time of judgment is nigh.
And at this juncture of judgment all of the many faces of Johnson are colliding: the visionary and the reactionary, the idealist and the ideologue, the wily negotiator and the stubborn autocrat, above all the strongman and the broken man.
In the Kennedy retrospectives last year, Johnson was an afterthought in Old Spice aftershave — bored, ridiculed, peripheral. In this year's retrospectives, he will be engaged, feared, central.
Johnson has been dead nearly as long as Kennedy was alive. The Johnson years are as distant to us today as the World War I armistice was to Johnson when he took office. Johnson's Civil Rights Act of 1964 is separated from the second term of Barack Obama by the same amount of time separating the landmark White House bill-signing ceremony from the White House screening, for Woodrow Wilson, of the racist film "Birth of a Nation."
Presidents who make history also understand the history they made is constantly changing. The nation that in 1953 was mild about Harry was, 60 years later, almost wild about Truman, and this September's 40-year retrospectives of Gerald R. Ford's decision to pardon Richard Nixon will vividly underline how perspectives change with time.
In the case of Johnson — battered and blamed for city riots, student protests, family permissiveness and street violence by the time he left office in January 1969 to the strains of "Stormy Weather," one of his favorite songs — the revisionism began with the new century.
Around the beginning of 2000, two major critics of the president, Harvard economist John Kenneth Galbraith (a principal in the effort to dump Johnson from the 1968 ticket) and 1972 Democratic presidential nominee George S. McGovern (a leader in the anti-war movement in the Vietnam era), proclaimed publicly their admiration for LBJ. McGovern, who served in Congress when Johnson roamed the Capitol halls as a colossus, went so far as to argue that, aside from Wilson and the two Roosevelts, "Lyndon Johnson was the greatest president since Abraham, Lincoln."
Now the debate is raging again, and not only because half-century reassessments are so seductive.
In the White House today is a legatee of the Johnson years, a black man who acknowledges he was the beneficiary of LBJ initiatives and whose health-care plan has antecedents in the Great Society. Yet Mr. Obama repeatedly is criticized for not being more like Johnson — for not herding vast amounts of legislation through Congress, for not bending lawmakers to his will, for not frightening his opponents, for not seducing his putative supporters into submission over Cutty Sark and sweet talk.
The 36th president lingers in the American consciousness by virtue of the triumphs and the tragedies that filled his era. This year and the years that follow will be filled with historical re-runs. Johnson as president didn't get everything right. But now it's important for us to get Johnson right.
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David Shribman, a Pulitzer Prize winner in journalism, is executive editor of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
© 2014, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Distributed by Universal Uclick, as agent for UFS.


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When everything went wrong, six men had the courage to do what was right.
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