text:
Friday, December 30, 2011
Weight Loss Challenge 2012: Let's Do This!
This is something I had been planning to do for *myself* for some time now. I wanted to make these healthy changes, which will (in combination with not eating junk) lead to weight loss *without* focusing heavily on the number on the scale. The real focus here is on better health and a happier life. Weight loss is a side effect, even though it is also a goal.
This will be a two-part challenge: the Superfoods Challenge and the Fitness Challenge. You can choose to take part in one or the other or both. I will be doing both!
Part 1, the Superfoods Challenge
Back in 2007, right before I started this blog, I got a book called SuperFoods Rx: Fourteen Foods That Will Change Your Life. It's a simple book, with a simple premise: focus on getting in as many of these superfoods each day as you can, and you'll be healthier and lose weight. A friend of mine had told me that when she did this, she was so busy making sure she ate the superfoods that she neglected to eat junk, sugar, fatty stuff, and other less nutritious food. She was so focused on what TO eat that she didn't really notice what she was NOT eating, and was never hungry. I tried it, too... not a DIET, not a PROGRAM, but just making a list of the 14 superfoods, posting it on my fridge, and eating them at every meal and snack. Oh, you can have other foods, too, but the superfoods are the main focus. And lest you think you'd get bored, each superfood has what the author calls "sidekicks" which are healthy alternatives. So, for example, you can eat the superfood broccoli, but if you are getting tired of broccoli you can have one of its sidekicks which have a similar nutritional profile: Brussels sprouts, cabbage, kale, turnips, cauliflower, or collard greens. Serving sizes are listed and it is really very simple. For the challenge, I will post a new Superfood each Monday that we will try to incorporate into our diets that week. All you have to do to join this challenge is commit to TRYING each Superfood (or at least one of its sidekicks) each week when it is posted. I will post preparation ideas and recipes for each one during that week. Sound easy? It is! *There will be an accommodation for low carbers like myself who may not be eating from certain food groups at this time, so don't worry :)
If you want to get started right away, you can order the book (linked above and very cheap on Amazon right now) and start reading. Otherwise, hang in there until Monday and I will post our first Superfood, explain its nutritional value and how to shop for it and prepare it, and list its sidekicks. This should be fun!
Part 2, the Fitness Challenge
This one is as hard or as easy as you make it. If you join this challenge, the goal is to become more fit in 2012. You will need to make a plan for fitness, including a schedule of when and how long you will exercise. Put it in your planner or on your calendar like an appointment and stick to it. Figure out NOW how to ease into activity if you're sedentary (clear it with your doctor first) and work up to the level that gives you optimal health. So, right now, answer these questions for yourself:
1. What kinds of activity do I enjoy? What kind of exercise WILL I do and not put off? What do I like to do? Consider lots of ideas, such as walking, biking, skating, boxing, classes, weight lifting, dancing, jogging, swimming... whatever you LIKE and will DO.
2. How much can I do without hurting myself or hating it? If you're not sure, ease in gradually. You can pick more than one activity and add them in, one per week or one per month, as you are able. You can start with 5 minutes if you need to.
Write it down now and plan a start date... today if you like, or January 1 or 2. Then DO it. We will have a post for reporting our activity and progress once a week, probably on Fridays. I will post my activity plan and ask for you to post yours in the comments (and on your blog if you like) on Tuesday. So get it ready!
That's it. Real, simple changes you can make gradually in your eating and activity. You might think it silly for a challenge to be to eat a certain food every week, but time goes by quickly and the results are cumulative. In 14 weeks we will be eating ALL of the Superfoods each day, and our bodies will thank us. Give it a try, it's easy!
For those who want even more of a challenge, there is always the Habit-A-Week Challenge archives at the top of my page, which you can start anytime and do at your own pace. Small changes yield great results.
Let me know in the comments section which challenge(s) you will be participating in! I am here to help you, and will try to answer questions left as comments on each challenge post and help with any struggles you're having. I also encourage you to check out my BlogFrog community; we can chat there on the message board, you can ask questions and discuss how things are going for you, and we can even try having a live chat sometime! Let's help each other get healthy!
30 comments:
- A said...
I am in!! I have been reading for a couple of years and growing stronger from your example. I am ready to make the changes. I love the idea of incorporating a super food each week, and focusing on what you can eat instead of what you can't eat. I am also ready to get moving!! This is going to be great!! Thanks for the challenge!
- December 30, 2011 at 12:27 PM
- spunkysuzi said...
I'm in for both challenges. Friday works out well because I've made it my weekly update day :) I'm looking forward to trying new things.
- December 30, 2011 at 12:49 PM
Thanks! I'm in for both challenges... Sara
- December 30, 2011 at 5:09 PM
- Bobbie said...
This sounds like something that I have talked to the other 3 ladies I work with about. We have committed to each other to set small doable goals and be accountable to each other. So to have another accountability partner I would like to join both challenges with you. Thanks for the help.
- December 30, 2011 at 5:45 PM
- Human in Progress said...
I will join in the fitness challenge because I have come to a complete standstill in that area.
And while I won't be doing the Superfoods Challenge exactly, I will be watching and learning with interest. I might adapt it for myself; I can see myself attempting to get all the superfoods (except soy) in each week, but not each day, for example.
Thanks for doing this!
- December 30, 2011 at 8:31 PM
- Jennneil said...
I want to be in both the Superfoods Challenge and the Fitness Challenge. I'm going to order the book off Amazon right now. I'm very excited. I had just blogged about not knowing how to get into a challenge.
Thank you!!!!
- December 30, 2011 at 8:58 PM
Well, okay. The superfood thingdoes sound like fun and the perfect accompaniment to my own "focus on health" plan I've been tinkering with for 2012.
(OK. I tinkered with it all of 2011, I just didn't consistenly DO IT. Now, to do.)
The activity It doesn't feel so much like fun, but postomg a plan AND being expected to report on how I did with it will be a good tool to keep me focused. (I tend to drift off and before I know it, I've lost a week...month...year.)
I'm in for both. My curiosity requires me to try to find out what all 14 foods are, tho, so I'm off to do a search.
- December 30, 2011 at 10:59 PM
Okay. so... We're to post our week's activity goals as a comment on your Tuesday post, then do a mid-week update on how we're doing on Friday--also in your comment section?
I assume that every Tuesday, we'd write a post on our own blog doing a full "week in review" update on how we did with the last week's goals and, then, state our goals for the next week. Or not?
And is this lasting 14 weeks?
Couldl my prize be that I lose all of the weight I regained in 2011, please? Not that I'm focusing on a number rather than health, mind you...
- December 30, 2011 at 11:11 PM
- Jaclyn said...
This is the PERFECT kind of challenge for where I'm at in my weight-loss progress right now! Count me in - and thanks for doing this. :)
- December 31, 2011 at 3:52 AM
- Karen said...
Ok. I'm in for the fitness chellenge. fitting in 2-3 light strength training sessions a week, along with my aerobic walking will be key to maintenance in 2012.
I'll follow along on the superfoods, but no formal updates.
Will there be separate blog links or tabs for each challenge? KarenP.
- December 31, 2011 at 5:19 AM
- Lyn said...
Deb & Karen~
Monday I will start the Superfood Challenge by posting about a specific food and its sidekicks, and that is the food(s) we commit to try for the week (more than once would be a bonus!) I would LOVE it if each person in the Challenge would come back and leave a comment on that post, sharing what you tried and how you prepared it, and whether you liked it or not.
For the Fitness Challenge, I am posting the start on Tuesday simply because I want to focus on it on a different day than the Superfoods, so that is the day we can all share our plan. If you have a blog I think it would be great if you post your plan there and then you could share that in my comments. Each week on Fridays we will post how we did for the week, so Friday will be the regular "how I did in my Fitness Challenge goals this week" update day. Maybe I will set up one of those Linky things so you could link to your Fitness post each week. If I can figure it out maybe we can do that for people who share Superfoods recipes as well.
If you don't have a blog or don't want to share about this on your blog, that's okay! you can still do the Challenge(s) and share your progress in the comments here on Mondays (for Superfoods) and Fridays (for Fitness).
I am thinking 14 weeks, yes, and I will put up a Superfoods tab at the top of my blog once we get rolling!
- December 31, 2011 at 7:16 AM
- Cathy said...
I am notoriously bad at challenges but I would like to try this one. I am in.
- December 31, 2011 at 7:32 AM
- lisa~sunshine said...
I am in for both.. I already eat a lot of superfoods but I also have issues with digestion of some.. so I"m happy to see the side kicks and i'm sure with all that I will figure out something.. I do try my hardest to stay away from soy so I hope there are side kicks during that which will fit me..
Fitness.. I've not done much the last week and I really feel yucky about it.. I'm happy to see this challenge
I'll be starting a blog for the New Year so I'll be ready.. THanks Lynn for doing this and inspiring us..
- December 31, 2011 at 7:51 AM
- Karen said...
Okay! Sounds good. Count me in for the superfoods challenge too. Will fit into my Medifast transition and then my modified Paleo trial in 2012. :). Thanks, Lyn.
- December 31, 2011 at 8:10 AM
- Wishful Shrinking said...
I am in. I have never done a challege so this will be something different!
- December 31, 2011 at 8:12 AM
- SG said...
i absolutely love the idea of trying a new food every week!!!! and focusing on what TO eat instead of what NOT to eat!
- December 31, 2011 at 8:52 AM
- Kat said...
I'm in for both challenges!! Thanks for putting this together!
- December 31, 2011 at 10:07 AM
Okay...so... We're posting our fitness plan for the week on Tuesday, but three days later, we're going to post how we did for the week?
- December 31, 2011 at 10:08 AM
- Lyn said...
you should be forming and writing down your fitness plan now. You can start it today if you're ready, or you can wait and start on the first or second if the holidays are getting in the way. I just picked Tuesday to post about the Fitness challenge because it's a convenient day for me to post it on my blog, so that's just the day we can all *share* our plans, even if you've started it earlier. Does that clarify a bit?
- December 31, 2011 at 10:17 AM
- Lyn said...
Also, the Tuesday
post your plan" thing is not a plan for that WEEK, but an overall plan for the whole 14 weeks (or longer if you choose). the only updates on my blog will be on Fridays, sharing how we did in the past week.
- December 31, 2011 at 10:18 AM
Ohhhhhhhh. The Fitness Challenge plan is for the whole 14 weeks! Ohhhh. Well, that makes more sense. :}
I thought that we were to adjust the plan every week--and post that on Tuesday--and then update how we did on that revised plan.
Ohhhhh. chuckle. sigh. hahaha.
Thanks, Lyn
- December 31, 2011 at 11:04 AM
- dsbride said...
I am definately in for the fitness challenge and probably for the superfood challenge as well but that one I have to learn more about. This is going to be my year of accomplishment and hopefully getting to my goal!
- December 31, 2011 at 11:21 AM
- Taryl said...
I'm afraid I can't d either challenge, my current plan is very strict on what foods can be eaten and I'm not exercising due to an injury right now, but I'm totally cheering everyone on!
- December 31, 2011 at 12:40 PM
- Lisa said...
I'm in for both too Lyn!! I am looking forward to trying the super foods and I will be exercising right along with you. Not sure what I'll do in that department yet but I will write down my goal and stick to it. Thank you for all you do to help us along in this journey! 2012 is the year I WILL get to goal!! Thank you!!!.....Lisa :)
- December 31, 2011 at 8:26 PM
- Rosalinda Fairypie said...
I'm in for both of them. I've been exercising throughout 2011 but not consistently and my eating as been terrible so this is the perfect way to start and become better :) This challenge(s) should be great!
- January 1, 2012 at 1:22 AM
- Carbaholic Mama said...
I'm in for both! So excited!
- January 1, 2012 at 6:11 AM
I'm in for both of these. I've added a lot more veggies this year but they tend to be the same ones over and over again so some new ones would be great. I think it will be really helpful to write down my baseline fitness goals so I have a way of quantifying each week how I'm doing. Looking forward to it!
- January 1, 2012 at 2:43 PM
- Tammy said...
I'm in for both!!:) I will have no problem with the fitness section. I will do my best on the superfoods part.:) I have limited money, so as long as nothing costs TOO much, I should be good.:)
- January 2, 2012 at 11:29 AM
- HaLaG said...
great idea! well done :) hope it goes well for everyone. Once my own challenge is over i might have to join in myself :)
- January 3, 2012 at 9:31 AM
- Mel's Blog said...
I am up for the fitness challenge, and I have bookmarked your community board and Habit a week.
- January 4, 2012 at 9:04 PM


text:
You are currently browsing the tag archive for the 'Profemme' tag.
Last night friends from around the world reunited in Kigali, Rwanda to begin our week long program of learning and reflection. From our summer in Brattleboro, Vermont to the hills of Rwanda, students from Nigeria, Palestine, Sudan, Uganda, Congo, Afghanistan, India and US came together once again to study peace and reconcilliation. It seemed like a miracle, envisioning the planes flying from many continents to this small country in East Africa to bring us back together.
We began the program with a presentation by Suzanne Ruboneka, Director of the Peace Action Campaign for ProFemmes, an umbrella organization that coordinates a wide range of over 58 NGO's run by and for women in Rwanda.
It was clear from listening to Suzanne that every Rwandan could write a book about his or her story during the genocide. After the tragic events of 1994 the country was 70% women. Many were displaced, had been raped and contracted aids, and most were widows. They had many different political affiliations and did not trust one another. Women had the need to develop their own programs to show their strength and build unity amongst themselves. Profemme began work to help organizations for women develop and through their efforts advocated to change all laws of discrimination to women in Rwanda as well as reach the rural communities and lift women into positions of empowerment through microfinancing.
ProFemme mobilized women to vote and was instrumental in the development of Rwanda's quota of 30% representation of women in decision-making positions in government. Although the quote is 30% women actually hold 56% of the seats in parliament! Today Rwanda's President of Parliament, Vice President of Senate, Minister of Justice, Health and Foreign Affiars are all women.
Above, our SIT Director, Adin Thayer, presents Suzanne with a canvas shopping bag as a gift. There are no plastic bags allowed into the country for Rwanda.
The afternoon was more sombering as we entered Rwanda's Genocide Memorial Museum. Pictured above is one of the "Windows of Hope" in the museum by artist Adryn Halter, whose father was a holocaust survivor of Auschwitz. We each walked the museum at our own pace for 2 hours. The only sound I heard was the tears of my good friends. There are no words to describe the heaviness felt after this visit. Many thoughts and emotions were expressed during our peace circle practice that followed. An excercise where we all learned the importance of speaking and listening from the heart and the practice of bearing witness to things as they are "including all forms of joy and suffering in the world".
Our Coordinator Issa did a wonderful job facilitating our group through this process and left us wuith a wonderful quote….
"Our task must be to free ourselves by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty"- Albert Einstein
On a more uplifitng note… we ended the night with a fantastic dinner at the home of our SIT coordinator from last summer, Jessee Rouette and his wife, Emily who are living in Rwanda for 2 years with their adorable 2 year old son. I had my fill of cuteness playing with him and kept him occupied sorting bottle caps. Did you know that a can of bottle caps can be used to teach colors, help with counting, transform into instruments and get a child dancing? Thats what I love about Africa. We seem to find ways to entertain and interact that we may never have engaged in at home.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
When you add, ( Angle Of Attack ) to a normal un-slotted wing, the airflowtautologies wrote: ...
I've always wondered about the slots..do they actually work? Intuitively it makes little sense to me, but intuition and science is not the same
will start to separate on the upper surface, then reverse causing the
wing to stall. Kinda like the rotor on a cliff, the air reverses .
Doing the same on a Slotted flap will also add AOA, but the air on the upper
surface tends to stay Stuck to the wing thus delaying that stall and Adding Lift !!!
It works because your actually sucking the High pressure off the bottom of the
airfoil, then tossing into the Low pressure on top of the airfoil. As a result
the air hitting the wing actually Thinks the airfoil is Thicker than it really is, and
the air tends to stay stuck to the wing's skin.
It works the same way on the Leading Edge also, there called Leading Edge Slot's
from :
Sewing a 1.5 inch wide screen fabric to the skin of a LEI, and attaching it to where
the skin is sewn to the LE Bladder, SHOULD work the same way as a sloted Leading
edge ?
They actually do that to the REV ll ; has it bin done to a modern kite ?


text:
Mother & Daughter Letter Book Set
Wish Lists
Sign In
Ship To
$ 40.00
Take a moment and keep in touch through generations with this keepsake letter book. Brimming with personal prompts, this nostalgic set of 40 cards is meant to be sent and shared between grandparents and their grandchildren to create meaningful and lasting memories. Once completed, stow the letters in the secret pockets of the book so you can look back, remember your bond, and pass it down from generation to generation.
Artist Whitney Scott Biggs's life was turned upside-down when her mother died suddenly from cancer while Biggs was pregnant with her first child. Going through her mother's desk, she discovered scribbled lists, notes, and handwritten tidbits that became her treasured keepsakes. With her friends Sabra Miller and Janice Maples, she created these letter journals as a way for generations to connect and remember each other in a profound way.
Made in China
created by
"Kindness inspires me," says Whitney Biggs. It's this simple mantra that keeps the artist going. After losing her mother to cancer and surviving a bout with the disease herself, the Knoxville-based mom collaborated with Sabra Miller and Janice Maples to create Treasured Passages, a collection of personalized letter books to help loved ones learn more about each other.
"Our books are about building and remembering relationships," she says, adding that she hopes each one-of-a-kind tome lives on in the hearts of those who fill it out. "When someone gives you a present like a letter book, it represents hope for a stronger relationship. It might just stir your soul."
Still haven't found the details you're looking for? Check out our Product Q&A!
by PowerReviews
Boutique Outlet Casual Dress winter Gap I received the book as a gift from my granddaughter for my birthday. She is 13 and in the book is a birthday page that she filled out and mailed to me along with the book. It has the most amazing questions like 3 qualities I love in you...you inspire me because...what I have learned from you. It ...
The quality was very poor. I had to pay shipping both ways. It was especially not what I wanted to give a special friend as a gift.
We can't wait to gift this. We are giving it to the grandparents at our baby shower.
This is the perfect gift to keep my children and their grandparents close. With 3000 miles between them I am always looking for ways to maintain their relationship. This kit is full of thoughtful questions and is beautifully organized. Definitely a gift that will remain pertinent for many years.
This is a great resource for my kids to learn about my parents.
I ordered one of the Mother-Daughter versions of these books for my mom for Mother's Day and she loved it! I grew up as a very independent kid and when I started into my 20s my job took over my life. A few years ago I started to realize just how little I know about my family and that life is short and I'd like to know them more. This box is perfect because it helps to establish that missing connection, especially for those who don't know how to sit down and start the conversation to kick it all off. I got two of these for my grandparents and I can't wait to learn more about them!
I can't wait to give it to her for Christmas! I wrote in our names and added a picture of us to the first page and will give it like that!
This will be so much fun for my granddaughter and me. We'll be able to share our thoughts, stories and passions, and it's something she'll have long after I'm gone and can possibly share with her children so they'll "know" their great-grandmother a little better
It's a great idea. We're still waiting to see what happens with it. That's why four stars.
My mom loves the idea of building a book that will carry down through generations


text:
Home Tags Family Film Awards
You'll be automatically logged in 5 seconds.
Don't have an account? Register
Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password.
Dear visitor. Please feel free to subscribe to our newletters and be informed about latest news, events and updates.


text:
Leader in Geological Structures Analysis Gets 55x Performance Boost Using GPU Computing to find Oil and GasFor further information, contact:
Derek Perez
NVIDIA Corporation
(408) 486-2512
SEG 2008—LAS VEGAS, NV—NOVEMBER 11, 2008—Geophysicists in the oil and gas industry are seeking more accurate images of what lies beneath the earth. In order to find what's been buried for millions of years, Calgary-based OpenGeoSolutions uses a technique called "Spectral Decomposition" specifically to reveal geological information that goes beyond classic seismic resolution and detection. The quality of the data produced by this technique is improved when large regional datasets are processed, but more importantly when that data is "inverted", allowing it to be translated into real geological structures.
On a CPU-based cluster, this process could take anywhere from 2 hours to several days. In an effort to improve this, the team acquired a workstation equipped with an NVIDIA® Tesla™ C1060 GPU Computing processor, based on the NVIDIA CUDA™ parallel computing architecture. In six weeks the OpenGeoSolutions team converted a key portion of their application to CUDA and, as a result, witnessed an order of magnitude increase in performance.
"We are measuring speedups from 2 hours to 2 minutes using CUDA and the Tesla C1060," said James Allison, president of OpenGeoSolutions, Inc. "This kind of performance increase is totally unprecedented and in a market where there is great economic value in being able to determine these fine sub-surface details, this is a game changer."
"More importantly, the Tesla products essentially give us all a personal supercomputer," Mr. Allison added. "Just one Tesla C1060 delivers the same performance as our 64 CPU cluster, and this was a resource we had to share. This is a huge cost and time saving that has transformed our workflow and boosted our productivity."
OpenGeoSolutions provides spectral decomposition and inversion services along with commercial support for an open source seismic processing system called FreeUSP. Several major, independent and national oil companies use FreeUSP software to refine their geological models and locate valuable hydrocarbon reserves.
For more information on NVIDIA Tesla computing solutions C1060 please visit: www.nvidia.com/object/tesla_c1060
For more information on OpenGeoSolutions, please visit www.opengeosolutions.com.
About NVIDIA
NVIDIA is the world leader in visual computing technologies and the inventor of the GPU, a high-performance processor which generates breathtaking, interactive graphics on workstations, personal computers, game consoles, and mobile devices. NVIDIA serves the entertainment and consumer market with its GeForce® graphics products, the professional design and visualization market with its Quadro® graphics products, and the high-performance computing market with its Tesla™ computing solutions products. NVIDIA is headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif. and has offices throughout Asia, Europe, and the Americas. For more information, visit www.nvidia.com.
Certain statements in this press release including, but not limited to, statements as to the impact of the NVIDIA Tesla C1060 GPU computing processors and the NVIDIA CUDA parallel computing architecture on OpenGeoSolution's Spectral Decomposition technique are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause results to be materially different than expectations. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include: development of more efficient or faster technology; adoption of the CPU for parallel processing; design, manufacturing or software defects; the impact of technological development and competition; changes in consumer preferences and demands; customer adoption of different standards or our competitor's products; changes in industry standards and interfaces; unexpected loss of performance of our products or technologies when integrated into systems as well as other factors detailed from time to time in the reports NVIDIA files with the Securities and Exchange Commission including its Form 10-Q for the fiscal period ended July 27, 2008. Copies of reports filed with the SEC are posted on our website and are available from NVIDIA without charge. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and speak only as of the date hereof, and, except as required by law, NVIDIA disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect future events or circumstances.
Copyright © 2008 NVIDIA Corporation. All rights reserved. NVIDIA, the NVIDIA logo, Tesla, CUDA, GeForce, and a Quadro are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of NVIDIA Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. Other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.
Copyright© 2016 NVIDIA Corporation. All rights reserved. All company and/or product names may be trade names, trademarks, and/or registered trademarks of the respective owners with which they are associated. Features, pricing, availability, and specifications are subject to change without notice.
Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on NVIDIA, please visit the NVIDIA Press Room at http://www.nvidia.com/page/press_room.html


text:
Physicists have engineered a significantly more stable laser, an advance which could lead to better atomic clocks for equipment, such as GPS satellites, and physics experiments.
Researchers at the JILA, a joint institute of the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the University of Colorado, have built a prototype of a superradiant laser using 1 million rubidium atoms. Their work was described in a paper published in Nature yesterday.
Using a different structure than traditional lasers, the researchers believe they can build a laser which is 100 to 1,000 times more stable. These lasers could be used in passive atomic clocks to more accurately track atoms' exact frequency.
This would make devices that use atomic clocks, including GPS satellites, optical communications, and astronomy, more accurate. More stable atomic clocks could also be used in experimental physics, the researchers said.
In a normal laser, atoms are excited with energy so they emit photons of light. A laser keeps these photons in a cavity with two mirrors, causing the photons to fly off, reflect off the mirrors, and induce more photons to be emitted from other atoms at the same frequency. These synchronized waves leak out of the cavity in a beam of light.
In the superradiant laser built by JILA/NIST physicist James Thompson and colleagues, photons don't ricochet in the laser's cavity very long. As a result, photons are released from the cavity and don't cause disruptions in the laser's wave. This makes the laser's output very stable, according to a description from JILA/NIST.
Thompson's construction technique also means that the light is far dimmer than traditional lasers. "This superradiant laser is really, really dim--about a million times weaker than a laser pointer," Thompson said in a statement. "But it is much brighter than one would expect from the ordinary uncoordinated emissions from individual atoms."
Even with the dimmer light, Thompson believes the super-stable laser can be controlled for useful purposes, such as atomic clocks and experiments.
Using CRISPR to resurrect the woolly mammoth: Bringing extinct species back from the dead is now on the table thanks to the gene-editing technology.
Building a rocket in a garage to take on SpaceX and Blue Origin: Gilmour Space Technologies is a plucky startup in the new space race.


text:
The Explore series is part of three progressive collections of contemporary string quartet repertoire from leading composers to encourage and facilitate the development of ensemble playing. Compiled and edited by Liz Partridge, each volume contains graded works commissioned especially for this series designed for quartets formed of players of similar ability. Featuring a mixture of musical styles and genres, each piece contains different elements and techniques to consolidate and enhance the players' skills as soloists and as ensemble members.
An accompanying CD provides demonstration recordings of all included pieces. Minus-one tracks are available to download online to allow for individual practice between rehearsals.
Explore Series:
Contemporary string quartet repertoire for flourishing ensembles. Music for players of grade 4-5 standard with some ensemble playing experience. Featuring expanded key selections, more complex rhythms and simple introductions to extended techniques.


text:
If every single day one U.S. soldier after another were being shot dead while deployed overseas, surely the American people wouldn�t stand for it.
The situation is worse than that. Unofficial Pentagon figures, reported first by The Associated Press and published in the Times-News on Tuesday, show that, 349 active-duty service members took their own lives in 2012.
The military rate is lower than in the general population, but that�s no consolation. Troop suicides, the most in 11 years of tracking, exceeded military deaths last year: 310 in Afghanistan and one in Iraq, Time magazine military writer Mark Thompson reported Tuesday.
The suicides are each unique but with common threads, he wrote: �The post-9/11 stress of military life is real, even if some of those in uniform have never been in a war zone.�
Casual observers only have to read stories emerging from military bases in North Carolina to witness the recurring cycle of preparing for deployment or going on deployment in the war on terror that started in 2001. Marines and sailors at Camp Lejeune or soldiers from Fort Bragg have deployed four, five or even six times to first Iraq and now Afghanistan. The strain on the troops is palpable. On families back home it�s tortuous.
Post-traumatic stress, depression and behavioral issues can damage personal relationships. Active-duty personnel might fear the uncertainty awaiting them in civilian life. Those in the field might not want to reveal their problems, and a strained counseling system might not adequately help them cope.
In early January, the Pentagon issued its study of 2011 military suicides, and it contained telling information, such as that 60 percent of the deaths involved firearms; 74 percent of those who took their lives didn�t let others know they might harm themselves; 55 percent didn�t have a known behavioral disorder; 24 percent were known to have substance abuse issues; and less than half had deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan. Relationships and jobs also were stressors.
Former Army psychiatrist Elspeth Ritchie said military leaders should use the latest data to help devise more ways of reducing suicide in the ranks.
Veterans need more attention, too. By some estimates, 18 veterans commit suicide each day, and Veterans Affairs facilities treat close to 1,000 ex-service members a month who�ve tried to kill themselves. But the strains on VA services are well-known.
A nation that allows a relatively small number of volunteers to put their lives at risk in war must also provide the resources to protect those lives, even from self-inflicted harm.


text:
E15 made its official debut in Minnesota's Twin Cities this week at Penn Minnoco in south Minneapolis. It is cause for celebration by the Minnesota Corn Growers Association, the Minnesota Biofuels Association, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, Growth Energy, the American Lung Association in Minnesota and a growing number of independent fuel retailers.
Originally a Mobil, the Minneapolis fuel station is working with other independent fuel retailers to form Minnoco, a new oil company owned and controlled by station owners…not the big oil companies that have been largely dissuading them from offering higher ethanol blends. The Minnesota Star Tribune reported that at least four stations plan to rebrand under the Minnoco name and offer choices like E15, E85 and E30.
More stations may follow suit which could get E15 into more vehicles – a lot more vehicles. The Twin Cities metro area has a population of 3.7 million people. As it becomes more available in an area this highly populated, more consumers will simply learn more about E15. This is good on several levels.
From human health and environmental standpoints, for example, ethanol blends reduce a number of air pollutants compared to regular unleaded gasoline (for a list, please visit www.cleanairchoice.org/air/pollutants.cfm). Kelly Marczak, director of environmental programs, American Lung Association in Minnesota, explains that this is why the organization has long supported E85 use in flexible fuel vehicles.
In fact, the American Lung Association in Minnesota is administering the grants being offered to fuel retailers to install "flex" pumps that can dispense ethanol blends, such as E85, E15 and mid-level blends. The Minnesota Corn Growers Association has contributed $2 million and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture is offering another $1 million over the next two years to boost the number of flex pumps.
Depending on a particular fuel station's configuration, flex pump system installation costs can vary widely from less than $10,000 to a $100,000 or more, says Tim Gerlach, executive director and CEO, Minnesota Corn Growers Association. The American Lung Association in Minnesota is coordinating application materials and reviewing applications, Marczak says.
E15 will also be beneficial from an economic standpoint. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture reported last year that Minnesota's ethanol industry has contributed more than $5 billion annually to the state's economy, and supports more than 12,000 jobs. Gerlach says that the state's ethanol plants are capable of producing more than 1.1 billion gallons each year. Between the E10 and E85 that have been available for years, Minnesota drivers use approximately 270 million gallons of ethanol annually, while the remainder is exported out of state.
Gerlach expects that over the next two years, many more stations will participate in the grant program, possibly as many as 50. There are nearly three thousand fuel stations in Minnesota, many selling under a major company brand. However, more retailers are also taking a look at going independent (like the retailers who are forming Minnoco). More also would support retailer bills of rights that would provide them some protection against restrictive contract terms limiting their ability to offer consumers more fuel choices.
Like what you're reading? Subscribe to Farm Industry News Now e-newsletterto get the latest news and more straight to your inbox twice weekly.


text:
sudo aptitude install gsynapticsand then type:
Everything else I've tested, including audio and webcam, work just fine. Even the function volume keys work.
Things I haven't tested:
audio over HDMI
sudo aptitude install gsynapticsand then type:
Thanks for posting this stuff about the x120e. I'm am Ubuntu user that's been looking forward to using it on this system, but a lot of the stuff is too complicated for me.
Could you explain this:
"What fixed me up, though, was using the alternate install image, which uses an ncurses-based installer rather than the fancy Ubiquity installer."
Where could we go about downloading this image?
Hi Jon R, you can get it from here: http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/daily/current/
I used this one, specifically: http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/daily/current/natty-alternate-amd64.iso
It's a little less user-friendly than the normal installer (especially the partitioning phase), but everything is essentially the same.
If you run into any problems, let me know and I'll try to help.
Thanks for the link. I had some issues with install, when I rebooted it gave me the Unknown GRUB error (couldn't do anything on startup) so I reinstalled 10.10.
The 11.04 partition is tiny now, but works. I was able to get wifi working, but the graphics card still isn't being recognized. When I go into additional drivers it only shows the broadcom wifi driver.
Also, what do you think about the new layout? I can't seem to add new panels or change the enormous panel on the left side. I definitely preferred the interface of 10.04 and earlier.
sucks about the GRUB thing, but at least you have it working now. As for your graphics, the open source driver that it enables automatically will give you enough 3D acceleration to run Compiz and Unity (the new interface). The proprietary fglrx driver will eventually be available to provide better performance and hardware accelerated video decoding, but it doesn't support the new X Server yet (which is why it doesn't show up as a compatible driver).
I hated Unity when I first tried it with Maverick, but it's grown on me since then. I still don't *love* it, but it's tolerable for me. I just hope they bring back some sort of applet interface (I've grown rather dependent on the cpu frequency and weather applets).
Hi there,
I'm having trouble using the alternative-amd64.iso (alpha3) - it complains about not detecting a cdrom drive and won't let me continue. I've found this https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation/FromUSBStick and followed it's advice about using different tools to create the USB stick, but no avail - has anybody else had this problem?
I've fixed my problem - I formatted my pen drive and used usb-installer.
Beta's just released so I tried both. I still had to use the alternative installer, as the normal one didn't work!
But the alternative installer worked like a charm, I'll provide a list of missing features later off the top of my head I noticed the multi touch track pad wasn't enabled.
Hi Pete, glad you got everything installed! :)
I updated the post with some trackpad stuff, so let me know if it works for you.
Thank you so much for this post, and for updating it frequently. Perhaps not many IBM users install Ubuntu. Do you have compiz with 3d effects running? Effects I select do not work.
Yeah, Compiz is working fine on my machine. Have you installed compizconfig-settings-manager (ccsm)? Since Maverick, Compiz went through a major rewrite and many of the old plugins are gone. However, you can still enable wobbly windows and the desktop cube (my personal favorites) via ccsm.
Thanks for all the info of this post. I ran into some issues, it might help some people. I have installed the modified bios with whitelist disabled (to use an intel wifi ultimate 6300 mini pcie).
I have tried to install Ubuntu Natty from a usb stick, but it did not work (tried Uefi & legacy, desktop & alternate AMD 64 bit).
What worked for me was burning the Ubuntu alternate iso on a disc (Uefi bios on) and using a USB dvd for the installation (U3 usb stick with cdrom emulation might work, not tested).
It works well so far, installed gsynaptic (multitouch works way better than under windows, btw). Bluetooth, wifi (Realtek), webcam, sound works out of the box but bad sound quality in skype (installed apt package 64 bits).
I tried to install fglrx ati driver, finished the installation but Ubuntu crashed after that so I deactivated it.
When I tried to install Natty Beta 2 from USB stick, I ended up with a non-booting system which was giving me this from Grub:
"error: invalid arch independent ELF magic"
I've posted to the Grub mailing list for help and am waiting for a reply:
So everything seems to be working fine for me with 11.04 except my headphone jack. If I throw my headphones in my x120e just ignores them and continues to play through the internals..
Any ideas?
hmm. I'm not having that problem. Do you have a Windows partition where you can check to make sure the hardware is functioning properly?
You might also check alsamixer and see if your headphones are recognized properly/unmuted/etc.
You might also consider compiling an updated ALSA driver from source if nothing else helps.
I've tried a couple times unsuccessfully to install Natty as a dual boot with W7 on the x120e, using the alternate installer on a USB key. I am using the manual partitioner and setting up separate partitions for /, /home and swap. I am using Easy BCD to write a file to the MBR to control the boot process. The Windows boot menu allows me to boot into Windows when I select it, but when I select Ubuntu nothing happens.
I didn't set the boot flag on any of the Ubuntu partitions, is that the problem? If I try to set the boot flag on the / partition though, I get an error about that partition not being a primary one. (With W7 taking up three partitions (bootloader?, Windows main, Windows rescue), I don't think I can set up another primary partition.
Any suggestions very much appreciated.
Hi Casey,
Have you tried using regular ol' GRUB? It works fine for dual-booting on my machine.
I'm open to just using grub. In fact, I was thinking that the Ubuntu installation would have overwritten the Easy BCD file on the MBR, but it doesn't look like it worked. Could you tell me specifically how you partitioned your drive for dual boot install, including any specific grub installation instructions? Thanks.
I have a single logical partition after the Windows7_OS partition and before the Lenovo_Recovery partition. This logical partition (/dev/sda4) contains my /, /home and swap partitions (sda5, 6 and 7, respectively).
The Vista bootloader, which is being used currently on your system, can't boot logical partitions, IIRC, so it'll have to go if you want a partition scheme like mine. You should be able to install grub2 without doing a full reinstall of ubuntu by following these directions:
For further reading on grub2, this is a great resource:
Good luck and let me know if you run into problems.
Hi Hunter,
Thanks for your posts on this topic and for the links above. I *mostly* have a W7/Natty dual boot working on my x120e now. I created a bootable usb key of the alternate installer and reinstalled Ubuntu just to be safe. Still had problems booting into Ubuntu, so I booted into the recovery option of ubuntu and updated the grub config, then restarted. Then I could boot into either Ubuntu or W7. (Booting into Ubuntu is very slow, however, with a quirk I note below.)
Now when the laptop boots I get a grub boot screen offering choices of which system to boot into. Ubuntu is listed first, of course. If I choose the first W7 option (on the first (MBR?) partition) I'm sent back to the grub boot menu. If I choose the second option on the Windows root partition, I am sent to the Windows boot manager screen. I then choose Windows and W7 boots. This suggests to me grub did not overwrite the MBR completely, as the Windows boot manager menu was a result of Easy BCD writing to the MBR during my previous installation attempts.
I also get a strange behavior that is irritating. If I restart the laptop from W7, I am sent to the grub boot manager screen. Choosing Ubuntu results in a black screen and the computer never boots. Then if I do a hard shutdown and restart, booting into Ubuntu works. If I shutdown normally from W7, then bootup, I can also boot into Ubuntu. I can live with this quirk, but it doesn't lend confidence that my boot process is very robust. It would be nice to clean things up.
So I have a couple questions remaining.
Is there any way to write grub to the root partition of Ubuntu? When tried to make the Ubuntu root partition bootable during the installation, I received an error message about not being able to make a logical partition bootable. If I could do this, I could use Easy BCD to write a clean MBR for booting into either W7 or Ubuntu. (Right now Easy BCD cannot write a file that allows booting into Ubuntu. If I choose Ubuntu on the Windows Boot Loader screen, I'm just sent back to the grub screen. Choosing Ubuntu at that point results in a black screen.)
Alternatively, is there I way I can reinstall grub to wipe away all other boot instructions on the MBR? This way I could use grub exclusively to choose between OSs. I think it would speed up boot time, eliminate that restart quirk and make everything more robust.
Thanks again for your help.
Hey Casey, glad you got it working. Unfortunately, the issues you described are actually present on my machine, as well.
The GRUB-lists-2-Win7-partitions thing has to do with the way Win7 does bootloaders now and I don't think it can really be avoided, since Win7 seems to require it (the new layout actually broke a bunch of things I use at work, like using PartImage in deployments, so it's not an isolated issue). If having the 2 entries for Win7 bothers you, you can remove the bunk one from the list (without actually deleting it) by changing your GRUB configuration (though I forget how, exactly... maybe in one of those links I posted before).
As for the first-boot-fails-second-works-fine problem, I have no idea what's going on, so if you find anything out, plz let me know so I can fix it on my machine, too :P
If you set GRUB to boot Ubuntu with the 'verbose' flag, it should hopefully tell you what's hanging things up.
Hi Hunter,
Have you noticed any issues with the right trackpoint button (immediately above the trackpad) being flaky, i.e. not working consistently? Turning off the trackpad seems to help somewhat, but the responsiveness of the right button is still nowhere where it should be on my x120e. Thanks,
Hi Casey,
No, mine seems fine. That sounds like a hardware issue to me. Luckily, our X120es are well within their warranty :)
Do you have a Windows partition you can compare it with? If not, maybe try a live CD from a non-Debian distro and see if it still acts up.


text:
Service Description
Full Factory Unlocking of Orange Spain iPhone Permanently
We accept CLEAN or BLOCKED IMEIs in this method for unlocking. As you successfully place an order with us, we submit your iPhone's 15 digit IMEI to Apple's Official Unlock Server. As soon as it is factory unlocked, you will receive a confirmation e-mail from us with a greeting message & simple unlock instructions. This will make your iPhone 100% Official & Permanent Factory Unlocked, allowing you to use your iPhone on any GSM carrier worldwide.
|Delivery Time:
|1 – 24 working hours or less
|Supported Models:
|iPhone 3Gs, iPhone 4, iPhone 4s, iPhone 5, iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c
Frequently Asked Questions:
|How it works?
|Process is very simple: Submit your IMEI > Make payment > Wait for confirmation e-mail > Connect to iTunes > Get your iPhone unlocked!
|Is this the same as a "Factory Unlocked" iPhone service?
|Yes, it permanently unlocks your phone to work anywhere in the world on any carrier.
|Will this affect my warranty?
|No, because it's a factory unlock solution, no jail-breaking or software hack is used to unlock your phone.
|Can I update my iPhone through iTunes without loosing unlock?
|Yes, your iPhone will NEVER lock again, and can always be updated through iTunes.
|I found few cheaper services than your's offering similar unlock, why?
|Sadly, you can meet hundreds of such scam sites who claim to unlock iPhone by software or hardware solutions cheaply but do nothing once they receive money from you. You need to find a trusted company that offers factory iPhone unlock with IMEI number for a fair price.
|Yes! This factory unlock service is 100% GUARANTEED or your money back.


text:
Told ya so. I said earlier that Newt Gingrich had pretty much written the script for at least one Democratic television spot, with his double-barreled attack on Mitt Romney's vulture capitalist career at the helm of Bain Capital. I just didn't think I'd be saying "I told ya so," this soon.
Yet, here we are. The attack that launched a number of similar attacks from the rest of the GOP field — not to mention an awful lot of analysis of the nature of private equity firms and questions about whether the contribute any real value to society or the economy — has now launched an Obama campaign attack ad and website: RomneyEconomics.Com.
The 2-minute ad is now running in Iowa, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Colorado, and Virginia. The 6-minute version is viewable at RomneyEconomics.com.
Told ya so.
How well will this play for the Obama campaign? It's a legitimate question. First off, this ground has been covered (scorched, even) by Gingrich and other Republican candidates. Second, as Howard Kurtz asks, "How relevant an attack on Romney's Bain background going to be in 2012?" Not so much, says Kurtz. But then he makes a point that undermines his overall take on the ad.
Romney's business acumen is at the heart of his candidacy. His job was to take over distressed companies in ways that created wealth for Bain, regardless of the collateral damage. If Obama operatives can paint him as a heartless businessman, they will have badly damaged his brand—unless, of course, it turns out that voters are more focused on who can create jobs in the next four years than on the war stories of the past.
Certainly, coming on the heels of the WaPo article on an eighteen-year-old Romney's bullying of a non-conforming (and closeted gay, at the time) classmate, does seem to build upon the impression of Romney bullying prep-school senior who grew up to be a "heartless businessman." It does what charts and statistics can't do. It puts a face on the suffering vulture capitalism leaves in its wake, similar to the way the popular documentary Bully puts a human face on the the consequences of bullying. And it does resonate on that level, for other reasons I hope to get to in another post.
It's hardly a secret that Romney has a huge likability problem.
Very few votes are going to be cast on the basis of what Mitt Romney did or didn't do to John Lauber in 1965. So that, per se, isn't Romney's problem. But this is: The story lands as another brick on pile of evidence amassing that he's just a disagreeable human being. A few days ago I wrote about Barack Obama's biggest problem, which is that despite all the many areas in which Americans rate him higher than Romney, the one on which they give Romney the edge happens to be pretty important: handling the economy. Now we get to Romney's biggest problem. The likability factor. He ain't got it. And he ain't got much of a way to get it.
Indeed, according to Gallup Obama has a huge likeability edge over Romney — this Obama's at 60%, compared to Romney's 31% — which is why the Romney campaign is touting what Kurtz calls his "business acumen," which is really another word for competence. Kurtz says that voters will dismiss ads about "the war stories of the past" and focus instead on "who can create jobs in the next four years." It echoes what conservatives had to say after President Obama went public with his support for marriage equality for same-sex couples. "Obama," the refrain went, "wants to talk about anything but the economy."
There's a problem with Kurtz's analysis, and Jamelle Bouie makes it plain: the attack on Romney's career at Bain is a direct attack on his competence.
Here's why this is crucial. If President Obama has built his" brand" around honesty and likeability, then Mitt Romney is trying to center his on competence; you may not like the former Massachusetts governor—you may not even trust him—but you know that he can fix the United States, and turn around the ship. It's why he focuses so heavily on his career in venture capitalism, and why—as Politico describes—this morning, the Romney campaign is devoted to "steadily building up Romney as a safe and competent alternative to President Barack Obama."
Indeed, the idea that Romney is competent is key to building a perception of moderation for the GOP nominee. In American politics—or at least, the coverage thereof—"moderation" is tied to affect. In truth, Howard Dean was a left-leaning centrist, but his loud opposition to George W. Bush made him an "extremist." On the other end, Wisconsin Representative Paul Ryan wants to drastically reshape government with low taxes on the wealthy, and deep cuts to programs for the poor, sick, and infirm. But because of his affable, wonkish persona, he's perceived as a mainstream figure, despite how radical his agenda is. Romney is on the Paul Ryan side of the ledger, with a budget plan that would shred the social safety net. He needs voters to see him as a reasonable and competent steward of their affairs, and not as a stalking horse for the right-wing.
The Obama ad (and it's corresponding website,Romneyeconomics.com) is a direct attack on Romney's competence. In much the same way as Karl Rove, the campaign is trying to turn Romney's strength—his private-sector experience—into a weakness. "Yes, Governor Romney was a skilled generator of wealth, but he did so at the cost of families like yours. Just imagine what he'll do in the White House." The Romney campaign has been trying to do the same to the president—and may well succeed—but for now, it's a half-step when compared to this effort.
It doesn't get any plainer than that. Essentially, the Obama campaign does with this video what Gingrich, other Republican contenders, and the GOP itself could not do after Newt's 27-minute-epic.
The problem for Newt and the rest of the Republicans is that they can't blame the fact that more Americans see economic inequality as a problem at president Obama's feet. The Occupy movement can be credited with pushing the issue to the forefront of our national politics, but happened largely because of economic conditions that add up the three decades of stagnant wages and increased costs of living for middle- and working-class Americans, just barely covered by cheap credit that allowed families to simulate increased living standards, until the economic crisis brought the whole house of cards tumbling down.
That's what makes it "impossible" for Republicans to talk about the kind economic inequality that Bain and other vulture capital firms leave in their wake, as a part of just doing business.
Newt has, basically, created the perfect storm for Republicans going into the South Carolina primaries, with Mitt Romney — the Man from Bain, who still smells like a Wall Street boardroom, and probably now looks more than ever to South Carolina primary voters "like the guy who laid you off." Newt has forced the Republicans into a conversation they can't hold, and aren't even remotely prepared for.
The funny part is that Newt every thought they could avoid it, and that Republicans still think they can avoid it.
The video picks up the conversation about the state of the economy, where conservatives left off.
Even now, the Romney campaign is backtracking on the number of jobs he created at Bain, downgrading a number from 100,000 to "thousands." As I wrote earlier, that claim was always short on evidence. (It doesn't help that most of the jobs Romney boasts of creating at Bain are low wage jobs, that don't offer a path to middle-class status.) That's what the Bain ad is attacking.
Given the probability that Romney will be the Republican nominee and Newt won't, Gingrich probably doesn't much care that he's given President Obama a great line of attack against Romney. After all, even in the midst of an economic downturn, President Obama can at least take credit for having a hand in adding more than 1.4 million jobs to the economy, compared to Romney's shaky claim of creating 100,000 jobs while at the helm of Bain. For that matter, Obama can claim to have helped create more jobs in Massachusetts than Romney did during his term as governor — 64,000 green jobs in two years, compared to 45,800 during Romney's four years as governor.
I can almost hear president Obama quoting Gingrich on Romney's "Wall Street model," and comparing his record on job creation to Romney's. Then he'll probably look right into the camera and say something like this: "Americans reject that model. I don't believe Americans are looking for a president to do for our economy what Bain did — under Mr. Romney's leadership — to the companies in its portfolio, or the workers who lost their jobs, health insurance, retirement accounts, livelihoods, and perhaps even a little of their faith in the American Dream."
I can definitely picture millions of Americans nodding in agreement with that simple truth.
It's about the economy, not likeability. At Bain, the fates of the companies it bought and the workers they employed, took a back seat to creating wealth for Bain's already wealthy investors. Creating jobs wasn't the point. As Kurtz stated, the point was "to take over distressed companies in ways that created wealth for Bain, regardless of the collateral damage."
The problem is that the agenda Mitt Romney has laid out is essentially the same as Bain's mission, but on a bigger scale: to take over a distressed economy in such a way as to create wealth for the already wealthy, regardless of the collateral damage.
Romney showed us his priorities with a budget that includes a 20% "across-the-board" tax cut that essentially requires across-the-board cuts to programs that serve and support the poor, as well as the working- and middle-classes. Romney showed us his priorities with a budget that preserves his 15% tax rate on capital gains and dividends, eliminate taxes on investment income for those earning more than $200,000 per year, and lower the corporate tax rate from 35% to 25%.
Romney showed us what and whom he is willing to sacrifice, with a budget that would require cutting non-defense programs by $637 billion in 2016 alone, and $6.5 trillion between 2014 and 2021. Romney showed us who and what he is willing to sacrifice with a budget that would shred the safety net, throwing 10 million off the benefit rolls for food stamps, and leave 30 million without health care coverage provided by the Affordable Care Act.
Romney showed us what and whom he is willing to sacrifice with his embrace of Paul Ryan's budget. Romney showed us what and whom he is willing to sacrifice with his support of a budget that would end Medicare as we know it, and render America itself unrecognizable.
The Obama campaign is betting that voters will ask themselves if they want a president who will do for the economy what Mitt Romney did for the companies in Bain's portfolio, not to mention the people who worked for those companies; people much like themselves, who were the "collateral damage" of Bain's business of building wealth for the already-wealthy.
The bad news for Romney, Bouie notes, is that so far this looks like a winning bet for Obama, as it was for Ted Kennedy.
The bad news, however, is that Obama has space for his message; according to NBC News and the Wall Street Journal, 71 percent say that they would be more likely to vote for a candidate who says "America is better off when everyone gets a fair shot, does their fair share, and plays by the same rules," and 76 percent say that they are more likely to vote for someone who promises to "fight for balance and fairness and encourage the investments needed to grow our economy and strengthen the middle class." This is the core of Obama's message, and one of the themes highlighted in his attack on Bain Capital.
It looks like the Man from Bain is back. The truth is, he never left. Obama and the Democrats have every reason to make sure he sticks around for the duration of the campaign.


text:
Thu, 29 July 2010
Wanna know how treaties can amend the US Bill of Rights in the US Constitution? James Hirsen can tell you...cuz he predicted it. Congressman Steve King reacts to the Arizona judge on immigration law, and blows the lid off the USDA Pigford scam and the Shirley Sherrod connection. Don Racheter documents Iowa's Privileged Class: State Government Employees. Nathan Tucker blows the whistle on the politicization of Iowa's judicial selection. Vigorous stuff.
Direct download: mickelson-2010-07-29.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 7:31am CDT


text:
New Site Logs iPhone App Store Rejections
Last week I wrote a column for PCMag discussing the state of Apple's iPhone vetting process. In the piece, I stated, "No one but Apple knows precisely how many apps have been rejected." The creator of App Rejections responded this week, saying, "[My site] can't answer that question--but it can go a long way towards answering the other questions that developers have."
Fair enough.
App Rejections aggregates those apps that have been weeded out by Apple's notoriously tight grip on App Store content. The blog features the name of the rejected app, Apple's justification for rejection, and then an editorial comment.
The site seems designed to serve as a cautionary tale for prospective App Store developers. It's also a interesting look at the sometimes seemingly arbitrary rules that govern Apple's process.


text:
Sign in to your registry with
your Williams Sonoma account.
Our Stores
How to Grill Like a Pro
Give the perfect gift. Any occasion, any time.
Perfect Pastries Delivered
Williams Sonoma Coffee Capsules
The World of Williams Sonoma Thoughtfully Designed. Thoroughly Tested. Made with Care.
Beautiful, affordable, everyday essentials starting at $4
A Bright Welcome


text:
DURHAM — As the backup goalie for the University of New Hampshire hockey team, Jeff Wyer has to be ready for anything.
But the way starter Casey DeSmith was playing, it didn't look like the junior was going to see game action any time soon.
When his chance finally came, Wyer stepped into the breach last Saturday night after DeSmith was pulled midway through the first period with the Wildcats trailing 3-0.
Making his first appearance in more than a year, Wyer stopped 18 of 19 shots as the Wildcats rallied for a 6-4 win at then No. 2 Denver.
"At that point you just want to make the next save and give the team a little confidence in you," Wyer said. "They really get a little jump-start when there's a goaltending change because it's a whole team effort. When we go down 3-0 and there's a change it's on the skaters too so they get a good jump. I just wanted to keep them in the game, and I know they're going to pick it up too."
Grayson Downing started the comeback with a shorthanded goal early in the second period. He then made it 3-2 with a four-on-four tally and UNH was back in business.
Trailing 4-2 after two periods, the Wildcats outscored the Pioneers 4-0 in the third to extend their unbeaten streak to six games (5-0-1).
"Obviously it's a little demoralizing when they jump on you quick like that," said freshman forward Maxim Gaudreault, who assisted on the tying goal with 6:36 left in the third period. "We knew if we stuck to the good habits we've been creating throughout the year in practice and in games that would lead us back in the right direction. Once we popped one they started to tighten up a little bit and we were able to feed off that."
The shorthanded goal was the Wildcats' third of the season and second for Downing. They've allowed only two power-play goals in 42 chances this year.
"The penalty kill created momentum for us," said coach Dick Umile, "and demoralized them."
Downing and Goumas both finished with hat tricks. Goumas scored a natural hat trick with all three of his goals coming consecutively in the third period.
He netted the game winner with 3:20 left and added an empty-netter with 23 seconds remaining.
"We have a lot of good leaders on the team," said senior forward Austin Block, "and not just the ones with letters. We stayed positive in the locker room. Our mindset was let's get one goal back at a time."
Goumas has five goals and 13 points in the last five games and leads the team with 14 assists and 20 points in 12 games.
UNH has outscored the opposition 14-3 in the third period this season.
"I think we showed how the team can fight back from adversity," Block said. "We were down three goals, but we bounced back."
"The guys really battled back," Umile said. "We knew we needed to get the next goal and we did. I think we developed some real character on that trip, no doubt."
And Wyer made an impact in his first appearance after a long layoff.
"I thought I did well," he said. "I kept the team in the game. The guys in front of me picked it up at that point. We were in a hole. They limited the chances Denver had which helped me. All I had to do was my job and we got back in the game real quick."
"He did his job," Umile said. "He was ready to go when asked to."
Now the focus returns to Hockey East and UMass-Lowell. The No. 2 Wildcats (9-1-2, 6-1-1 HE) and River Hawks (4-5-1, 2-4-1 HE) have a home-and-home series beginning tonight at the Whittemore Center (7:30, WBIN).
"We know it's a huge weekend," Gaudreault said. "We've got to play our game like we've been doing and keep our foot on the pedal going into break. We want to carry as much momentum into break as we can."
The teams will meet again Saturday night (7) at the Tsongas Center in Lowell, Mass., where UNH won 3-0 on Nov. 16 for its fourth shutout in five games.
The Wildcats finished a stretch in which they played seven of eight games on the road with a 5-1-2 record.
"We knew how difficult and yet important November was going to be," Umile said.
This Jeff's a high-Wyer act
DURHAM — As the backup goalie for the University of New Hampshire hockey team, Jeff Wyer has to be ready for anything.


text:
$ 42.00
Keep your papers in order and add a jewel to your desk with these illustrated and personalized glass paperweights. They can be personalized with a name, date, event, or favorite phrase to create a one-of-a-kind gift for yourself, clients, or loved ones!
4 x 2.75 x .75 inches
Premium glass paperweight with felt backing
Illustration printed on Fine Art paper
Nestled in straw and placed in a gift box
Handmade in the USA


text:
A Moon Base Made From Lunar Dust: Zothecula writes "The race to build a manned research station on the moon has been slowly picking up steam in recent years, with several developed nations actively studying a variety of construction methods. In just the past few months, the European Space Agency revealed a design involving 3D-printed structures and the Russian Federal Space Agency announced plans for a moon base by 2037. Now international design agency, Architecture Et Cetera (A-ETC), has thrown its hat into the ring with a proposal for SinterHab, a moon base consisting of bubble-like compartments coated in a protective layer of melted lunar dust."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Monday, March 18, 2013
A Moon Base Made From Lunar Dust
Posted by Busted1942 at 3:18 PM
No comments:
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text:
Rate has increased for second straight month
(AP) � North Carolina's unemployment rate ticked up to 9.7 percent in August with 5,952 more people reported as jobless than the previous month, the state Commerce Department said Friday.
It was the second straight month the state's unemployment rate rose slightly, leaving North Carolina with the fifth-highest jobless rate in the country. The national unemployment rate was 8.1 percent in August, down from 8.3 percent the previous month
The jobless data shows almost 452,000 people in North Carolina who want to work but don't have jobs.
The jobs picture has improved significantly over the past year, with nearly 40,635 more people drawing paychecks and 47,538 fewer North Carolinians unemployed since August 2011. The state's unemployment rate is 1 percentage point lower than a year ago.
But the report also shows a reversal in what had appeared to be improvements earlier this year. August's unemployment rate climbed back up to the level last seen in March, before it dropped to 9.4 percent for three straight months this spring.
"The unfortunate news is that the unemployment rate is creeping back up," said Stanley Black, an economist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "Compared to a year ago, we're still ahead of where we were, but we're not improving at this current moment."
Black pins much of the blame on stalemate in Washington, leaving businesses to hold off hiring until they know the results of the November elections. The inability of Republicans in Congress and Democrat President Barack Obama's administration to agree on taxing and spending has led businesses to wait to see which of their parties' very different priorities will win out in the public's decisions for president, North Carolina governor, and control of Congress and the legislature, Black said.
Businesses are "being a little slow because they just aren't quite sure in what's going to happen," he said.
Businesses that make things like aren't ramping up hiring, a problem since almost 22 percent of the state's economy was based on manufacturing before the Great Recession hit in December 2007 compared to the national average of 13 percent, according to a recent report by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Global Research Institute.
"Certainly that has factored into the political campaign somewhat � the question of whether or not our manufacturing sector nationally can be revived. If it is to some extent, that will help us" in North Carolina, Black said. "But if it isn't, we're pretty vulnerable there."
Construction lost 3,400 jobs in August over the previous month and manufacturing companies shed 2,300 jobs. That reverses a previous trend that shows manufacturing companies added 4,200 since August 2011.
Government had the largest job gains in August, adding 8,400 jobs as teachers were hired for schools coming back into session. The state Commerce Department said the industry employment estimates are subject to large seasonal patterns making the month-to-month comparisons less reliable than the year-over-year data. Governments have cut 3,800 jobs in the past year, the agency reported.
Emery Dalesio can be reached at http://twitter.com/emerydalesio


text:
Jury Reprimanded for Laughing at Alleged Sheep Fucker Rejected by Cow
A jury broke out into laughter on Monday after prosecutors described how a cow rejected the advances of an alleged sheep fucker.
Last September, a couple having a picnic reportedly witnessed 61-year-old Paul Lovell attempting to have sex with a sheep just minutes after he tried—and failed—to have sex with a cow in a field near London. Lovell, who was 250 yards from the couple, was reportedly "laying on the floor, taking his shorts off" before the attempted animal sex acts.
When the cow rejected his advances, prosecutors told jurors the man decided "try his luck with some sheep," At that point, understandably, the jury burst into laughter. The judge, however, was less amused and chided the jurors for laughing, according to the International Business Times.
One charge of indecent exposure was dropped against Lovell due to lack of evidence, though a second charge of outraging public indecency was amended to make sure it stuck: The charge now reads outraging public indecency with "fellatio on a cow."


text:
Bulova® Watches
The authentic story continues with classic, confident designs. Since 1875, Bulova® has been renowned for artistry and innovation and acclaimed for superb craftsmanship and advanced technology. A dynamic force in contemporary timekeeping, Bulova® is a recognized leader in diamond and high-performance sport timekeeping, with a wide range of watches including the ultra-accurate Precisionist and an extensive selection of styles for dress, sport and casual wear.


text:
GeorgiaFiles necesitaba un nuevo diseño de impreso o envases y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 48 diseños de 5 diseñadores freelance.
Private Company
We are a small avionics company specializing in the manufacturing of in-flight entertainment products. Our niche is the retrofit market and our priority is customer service and satisfaction. We customize our products to satisfy our customer's needs.
We are gearing this sales sheet towards the end user; the person who actually owns their aircraft and is looking for the latest and greatest electronic gizmos!
•••Keep in mind as you develop your design that the final mech will need to be provided as an Adobe Illustrator file, in high-res for printing.
We have developed several cable options for customer's to have use of their iPod/iPhone/iPads while on board their aircraft.
We are looking for a creative way to represent these products while in flight. Think "outside-the-box"! Maybe that means the iPod has wingtips or they are floating on clouds...open to illustrations/drawings as well as images. This will serve as a tool to better generate sales and encourage inquiries for these new accessories.
8.5"x11" - one side only
4-color, more photos, less copy
Convey a clean, cut-above style
We like white space (see sample)
Possible images: iPod, iPhone, our logo, attached cabin image. I have added a few more images for reference purposes, of a few of the type of aircraft in our target market - the Falcon and the Gulfstream.
Headline: In-Flight iPod Accessories
Sub-Head: Share Music and Movies During the Flight!
• Get the accessories you need to take your iPod in the air
• Works with iPod, iPhone, and iPad
• Arrive with device charged rather than drained
• Removable cable connects to aircraft and device
Thank you for your interest and good luck!


text:
Conservation easements throughout the Lowcountry reflect an expanded, watershed-based focus for the Beaufort County Open Land Trust.
The trust protected 4,600 acres from development in 2011, Executive Director Patty Kennedy said last week at the organization's annual meeting.
Recent preservation efforts in the Bluffton area include 170 acres of the New River headwaters and
2 acres on the Okatie River at Pinckney Colony.
Development rights on the New River property were acquired by the trust from landowners Joyce Crosby and Zeke Jordan; the easement off Pinckney Point Road was donated by Agnes F. Pinckney.
Kennedy said the trust has focused on the May and Okatie rivers in recent years. "We hold a handful of easements, about 100 acres, along the banks of the May River and it's our aim to get all of them eventually," she said. "We have numerous easements along the Okatie river as well."
The Open Land Trust began more than 40 years ago as an effort to preserve scenic vistas in Beaufort, but it has expanded its mission to include all of Beaufort County and beyond. It has become a regional clearinghouse and title-holding company for owners who want to retain ownership but donate perpetual conservation easements.
"We're expanding our scope outside Beaufort County to preserve land that directly affects those of us who live here," Kennedy said. Some of the recent land trust acquisitions show a broader recognition of water quality issues in the Port Royal and St. Helena sounds that bookend Beaufort County, she said.
Regional acquisitions in 2011 include conservation easements on 795 acres in Barnwell County donated by Harry Haslam; 350 acres on the Edisto River in Colleton County donated by Dr. Bryan Green; and 336 acres at Cypress Bay in Hampton County donated by Dr. Skeet and Gale Burris.
In Beaufort County, the trust acquired easements on 800-acre Orange Grove Plantation, a 92-acre farm near Penn Center and 231 acres at Lands End Plantation, all on St. Helena Island; 1,529-acre Coosaw Plantation and 318 acres at Clarendon Plantation, both in northern Beaufort County; and 12 acres on the Beaufort River and 10 acres on Factory Creek, both on Lady's Island.
Kennedy emphasized Open Land Trust partnerships with the federal departments of Agriculture and Defense in preserving rural farmland and preventing encroachment on the flight path around the Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, respectively.
"Our effort to strategically buffer the Air Station is considered one of the most successful in the Department of Defense," she said. "We can preserve land and they can keep jets in the air."
The executive director also mentioned the trust's partnership role as an administrative consultant to the Beaufort County Rural and Critical Lands Preservation Program, which has preserved more than 20,000 acres since 2006.


text:
Fighting this disease called Myasthenia Gravis (MG) with a little humor, some good friends, and a lot of help from Above.
Monday, March 15, 2010
What is Failure?
Sometimes I catch myself...."I feel like such a failure."
Usually it's when Jacob needs something I can't give him (physically), or my house is a mess and I just don't have the energy to clean it (like now!) Since we've been home from Florida, it's been a nightmare. The night we got home, Doug got sick. He was down for a week. So after taking care of my very sick Jacob for the last week of vacation, Doug gets a bug. So I'm already exhausted from Jacob, thinking I can get a break now because he's healthy and he'll want Doug more. Oooooh no. Doug is down and out, so not only do I have Jacob 100%, I have Doug to try to take care of. Then I get a cold. No surprise there, I suppose. Coughing then pops a rib out of place. Now THAT'S pain, my friends.
All I can say is (1). Thank GOD we weren't all sick at once. Seriously. Can you imagine????
(2) Thank GOD for Dr. Lu (my chiropractor), (3) Thank GOD for dear friends and family who helped Doug and I out with Jacob when my back went out, and (4) Thank GOD He gave me a fighting spririt.
When I read that quote this morning, it really encouraged me! I thought, well, I guess I can never really fail then, because I just don't have it in me to "stay down". God gave me spunk, that's for sure. So that same tenable spirit that enabled me to fight when I was physically dying is the same one that's keeping me going now.
That same obnoxious, bumptious attitude I had when I was younger that really annoyed some of my teachers and probably my parents, is the same fortitude with which I now fight my battles.
So I can say this to you my friends. I will not fail. If failure means lying down and giving in, I promise you that will never happen. I just don't have it in me. And I have God to thank for that, because that's the way He made me. He knew I would have this battle to fight later in life, and He gave me all that I needed to fight it from the moment I was conceived.
I could NOT do it alone, however. I need His strength to resupply that tenacity when I'm running low. I need my husband and son to encourage and love me through the hard times. And I need YOU, dear friends, to continue to spur me on, to pray, and to just be there. Thank you for that.
So I say to this day, to this week, to this life: BRING IT!
49 comments:
- Young Wife said...
Love the new background! Keep fighting, girl! I'm sorry you've all been sick. You're in my prayers.
- March 15, 2010 at 12:36 PM
- Pam said...
wow, you got it right on! Keep fighting Kerri, I know it is not easy, but Praise God for your fighting Spirit!
I am very thankful that He blessed me with you, so that you can understand where I am and I you, we need each other to pick up one another...
pray for one another...
Blessings and lots of hugs and love!
- March 15, 2010 at 5:54 PM
- singedwingangel said...
Coming by from Sits and am going to peruse your blog... Keep that chin up God ain't anywhere close to done with you...praying for the surrounding of warring angels to surround you and your house and fight off the attack...
- March 15, 2010 at 8:16 PM
- Ashley said...
How amazing are you? Really, you. One, thank you for posting that quote at the beginning because it's really something I needed to read. Two, being a mom/wife is amazing. Every time I fall ill after taking care of my husband or son from being sick, you can really tell. The house goes to sh!t, that's how. Ha ha. Keep that fighting spirit :)
- March 15, 2010 at 8:17 PM
- Nicole Renee said...
Happy SITS day to you! Enjoy it! Great blog!
- March 15, 2010 at 8:21 PM
- Sarah With Scissors said...
Stopping by from SITS. I love that quote and will remember it often.
- March 15, 2010 at 8:23 PM
I whine every time I have a sniffle, so seriously -- you're amazing!
- March 15, 2010 at 8:31 PM
- AmyD @halfbakedcafe.blogspot.com said...
Have a very cool SITS day! I'l be back after work to check this out!! Very cool!
- March 15, 2010 at 8:32 PM
- Christine Macdonald said...
Hang in there. Keep on Keepin' on, SITSer. xxoo
- March 15, 2010 at 8:33 PM
- Leiah said...
Happy SITS day to you! Heading out to peruse your blog for a while. Enjoy your day!
- March 15, 2010 at 8:38 PM
- Jenn said...
Stopping in from SITS...you are an amazing woman of faith! Enjoyed reading your blog!
- March 15, 2010 at 8:39 PM
- Aidan Donnelley Rowley said...
"Bring it!" I love the enthusiasm, and gumption, and strength stitched in these words.
(Visiting from SITS. Congrats on being featured!)
- March 15, 2010 at 8:41 PM
- Jeannie, Jane, Angel, Mommy, etc.. said...
Visiting from SITS! Such a cute blog! Now I am off to read some more!
- March 15, 2010 at 8:47 PM
- Katherine said...
Stopping by from SITS. What an absolutely inspirational post. It actually really gave me a boost after a hard day. Thanks!
- March 15, 2010 at 8:51 PM
- Joyful in hope said...
Don't give up! U are in my prayers!
Lots of hugs!
- March 15, 2010 at 8:56 PM
- Lacie @ Creative Attempts said...
Happy sits day I am so excited to get to know you!
- March 15, 2010 at 8:56 PM
- FlowFusion Factor® said...
You are an inspiration even though you may not feel like it right now. Someone reads your blog and thinks, "if she can..." that might seem burdensome but this fighting spirit you have just might be contagious.
- March 15, 2010 at 9:17 PM
- Natalie | The Bobby Pin said...
This is seriously such an inspiring post -- I'm stopping by from SITS and am so impressed by you!
- March 15, 2010 at 9:27 PM
- Joy said...
Awesome attitude and outlook!
Congrats on your SITS day!
- March 15, 2010 at 9:29 PM
- Unknown Mami said...
Keep getting up!
Have a wonderful SITs day!
- March 15, 2010 at 9:32 PM
- Babes Mami said...
Happy SITS Day!
Love the design of your blog.
And keep fighting the good fight!
- March 15, 2010 at 9:43 PM
- Tiffany said...
Stopping by from SITS. You are such a strong person! Bless you. Your attitude is so inspirational!
- March 15, 2010 at 9:46 PM
- I'm a full-time mummy said...
Congrats on your SITS day! Stay strong and have faith in God!
- March 15, 2010 at 9:46 PM
- Christian Mommy Writer said...
Happy SITS day!
You definitely have the right spirit. Praying for God's strength to sustain you and give you grace to finish the race.
Have a blessed day!
- March 15, 2010 at 9:50 PM
- DysFUNctional Mom said...
I came by from SITS. I admire your strength! I am so glad that you all weren't sick at the same time.
I'm following now & will be back! =)
- March 15, 2010 at 9:52 PM
- The Blog Stylist said...
Coming from SITS and wishing you all the best Kerri x
- March 15, 2010 at 9:58 PM
- Jessica said...
Happy SITS day, Kerri!
- March 15, 2010 at 10:25 PM
- Melissa Papaj Photography said...
Happy SITS day!
- March 15, 2010 at 10:35 PM
- Christy said...
You have an awesome, beautiful warrior-spirit. I thank God for people like you. I remind myself often that God has equipped me to handle what he has allowed to come my way. It isn't always easy (my 2.5 year old has a rare kidney disease and is on dialysis, etc) but He always gets me through. You rock, Mama! Stopping by from SITS :)
- March 15, 2010 at 10:36 PM
- Sharlene T. said...
Stopping by from SITS. You are a perfect example of the old adage, "It's not how well we summer with someone but how well we winter with them that speaks of our character." You are definitely not a summertime soldier. Happy SITS day! Come visit when you can.
- March 15, 2010 at 10:40 PM
- sarah said...
You are quite an inspiration darlin' I'll be readin!
Happy SITS day!!!!
- March 15, 2010 at 10:57 PM
- Crystal said...
Hey! Stopping in from SITS. I also live with chronic illness & have wayyyy too many moments of feeling like a failure. I'm in a journey to rely more on Him & my topic tonight is actually the Pursuit of God, but I didn't get into the meat of the matter it's all backstory so far. Love your blog. I will be back!!
- March 15, 2010 at 11:05 PM
- Cheryl said...
Over from Sits - you are amazing!Thank you for that quote.
- March 15, 2010 at 11:10 PM
- Mary at Deep South Dish said...
Stopping by from SITS. God bless and Happy Feature Day!!
- March 15, 2010 at 11:29 PM
- Acting Balanced Mom said...
Hope your week gets better and your cold goes away fast! Stopping by to wish you well on your SITS Day...
- March 15, 2010 at 11:31 PM
- Just One Week said...
It's amazing how much a messy house can make us feel like a failure, and yet we can so easily forget how caring for a loving son and husband make us a success.
We need to always remind ourselves what is truly important.
Enjoy your SITS day!!!
- March 16, 2010 at 12:26 AM
- Mesina said...
Congrats on your SITS Day! Oh what an inspiration you are lady! I admire your strength and your family is very blessed to have such a wonderful role model as you. Keep fighting, stay strong and never let that smile go xxx
- March 16, 2010 at 4:28 AM
- Laurie said...
Stopping in from SITS. Keep up the fight! My sister has chronic pain due to some old injuries. She keeps walking through her pain, and she ha a cheerful, joyful attitude about life. Thanks for the reminder that many among us have mighty battles that we cannot always see. Blessings!
- March 16, 2010 at 6:19 AM
- Rebekah Costello said...
Mama, you are a shining light, indeed! Thanks for sharing your lovely blog with us SITSas!
- March 16, 2010 at 6:51 AM
- Amber said...
What a great blog! Enjoy your special day...you deserve it!
Visiting from SITS.
- March 16, 2010 at 7:12 AM
- K A B L O O E Y said...
Hey, girl. I'm a SITSsta and so was fortunately directed over to your blog, where I've been bouncing around and enjoying myself. And getting inspired. And a bit shamed about any and all whining that I do, well most of it. Your blog is terrific, your attitude is better (ok, a toss up -- both 4 stars) and your kid defies cuteness laws. Conservation of Cuteness? He's so cute there must be a playground full of gremlins somewhere if the laws of nature still hold.
- March 16, 2010 at 7:51 AM
- Hand In Hand said...
Visiting you as a fellow SITSer! You sound like such a strong woman. Dealing with a chronic illness I'm sure in hard enough but you manager to be a wife and mother at the same time! You are purely inspirational.
- March 16, 2010 at 9:13 AM
- Kristina said...
AWESOME. It's like a pep talk from a coach before a game. I'm bookmarking it!
- March 16, 2010 at 11:43 AM
- Theresa said...
How VERY encouraging! This is my first trip to your blog (came from SITS), but I will be back! I can't wait to read more. You are a fighter and I love that! Keep your chin up and I hope that everyone in your family is feeling better soon!
God Bless,
- March 16, 2010 at 11:57 AM
- Kristi at Spend Less and Save More said...
I am so glad that you are blogging about your condition. My MIL had MG & it is such a dibilitating condition that very few know about. It is so often misunderstood & misdiagnosed. Happy SITS day & know I am praying for you!
- March 16, 2010 at 12:19 PM
- Penny (CJsMonnie) said...
What an awesome attitude! I think we could all benefit from your example. I discovered you through the Sitsahood but subscribed because of you. The person you are shines through in your posts.
Happy SITS Day! =)
- March 16, 2010 at 4:17 PM
- Shayna said...
Stopping by from SITS - I'm totally impressed byyour willingness to wite about something so personal, and the grace with which you do so ---
- March 16, 2010 at 4:40 PM
- Richella said...
So nice to meet you! I hope your day in the spotlight at SITS is wonderful. Three of the five people in my household battle chronic illness (a genetic condition), so I know it can be really hard. . . I'm so inspired by you! Praise God for the wonderful life you're living. I'm so glad He preserved your life and blessed you in such great measure.
Every blessing to you!
- March 16, 2010 at 6:42 PM
- I LOVE YOU said...
- April 3, 2010 at 11:36 AM
WAIT..... What?!?!?
photo courtesy of losarciniegas Have you ever thought of how strange it is that you can have a conversation without really saying anyth...
I'm sitting here trying to think of something nice and encouraging to say...some briliiant, uplifting sentiment to the down-trodden...an...
My 500th post. I can hardly believe it! I am so thrilled with that! I'm humbled and honored that people care at all about what I have to say...
Oh my friends. I'm not really whining today; I'm just really, really sure of this fact: Life as we know it, is simply not fair...


text:
The Grand Jury is responsible for, but not limited to, watching over other departments of County government. This includes the District Attorney's Office and the Sheriff. They also periodically file public reports with the court describing the results of their various investigations.
Any kind of felony case can be brought before the Criminal Grand Jury, but only the more serious cases are typically reviewed by them. Since its inception, the Criminal Grand Jury has investigated hundreds of felony cases in Contra Costa County.


text:
The Names of 10 Fireworks Effects
To me, their names always were, "The Ones That Do That Shooty Thing," "The Ones That Scream" and "The Ones That Kind of Sparkle Out." Very technical. If you're like me, here's a mini-lesson—try to spot them at whatever fireworks display you attend this Fourth of July.
This one is apparently the most common, so your chances of spotting it in the skies this weekend are pretty good. It's "a spherical break of colored stars."
This is a variation of the Peony—the difference is that the stars leave a visible trail of sparks. To me, this looks like a fiber optic ball or those balls that you put your hand on to attract the current at science museums and the like.
I love this one! It's a lot like the Peony and its variations (the Chrysanthemum and the Dahlia), but it leaves trails of silver or gold stars that produce a weeping willow-ish outline.
It's a compact little burst that falls down, well, like a horsetail. You might also hear this one referred to as a Waterfall Shell.
The shell bursts and then you see little squiggles of light squirming away from the main burst. The effect looks like fish swimming away. Or sperm. Whatever.
This one is fast-burning and bursts very hard, which makes the stars shoot out straight and flat. Basically, they look like lots of spider legs.
This one produces an effect that looks like a palm tree when it bursts (go figure). Some even have a thick tail that looks like a trunk.
Take lots of tic-tac-toe boards and cross them over each other haphazardly. That's kind of what the crossette looks like. It's usually accompanied by a loud crackling noise.
9. Kamuro
Named after a Japanese hairstyle, this one has a dense burst that leaves a glittery trail.
I like these because they can be arranged to look like atoms, which is very mental_floss-y. But typically you see rings within rings, like the ones in the picture.
This post originally appeared in 2009.


text:
They were successful in finding nine geologists, 6 males and three females, between 25 and 50 years of age, and they quickly set up the first challenge; researching an active volcano in the Phillipines. The geologists and camera crew set up camp near the bottom of the volcano. The camera crew filmed the nine geologists bonding. The geologists were supplied with alchohol (a common strategy to loosen up the cast in reality TV), but the camera crew was surprised to notice that even after drinking gallons of the liquid, the geologists did not change their behavior, and continued talking in an obscure jargonized language about 'bombs', 'breccia,' and 'lahars,' none of which made for good reality TV.
Does the above sound at all familiar? I'm reminded of certain Death-Defying Geologists and their lava photos! The reality-TV-type testing goes on, with the geologists just not being able to leave or be voted off the show.
Finally, few of the scientists [geologists] seemed to understand the concept of 'voting off' another member. After consulting a nearby university, the crew finally explained that the geologists were 'competing for a GSA research grant.' This didn't go well either, as the geologists pointed out that they didn't have the time to write a research paper. Finally, they were simply told to get rid of someone on some sort of criteria. After a council, the geologists decided that whoever had the worst aim with a rock hammer would be told to leave.
Congratulations to certain geoblogosherians who have recently completed such research-type papers (and sorry if I've left some of us out!). As you can see above, geologists are simply not well suited to reality TV, since they (we) have their own way of doing things. The second event that is designed to get rid of some geologists takes place in Alaska.
The second event, landing in a bush plane in upper Alaska, was a complete failure. None of the geologists were nervous at the idea, which destroyed the drama the crew was hoping for, and worse yet, no-one in the production crew was willing to accompany the geologists to the site, out of sheer terror. The result was that small cameras were given to two of the geologists to film themselves. When the footage and geologists returned, the editors found tapes filled with footage and commentary about mountains and 'glacial erratics'. Only ten percent of the footage featured humans, and most of that footage was simply the petrologist standing by outcrops for scale.
By the time the production reached Hawaii, most of the camera-crew had quit (because of the steady diet of chili and the dangerous situations), and only five of the geologists were left; not because they had been voted off, but because they had been over-excited by rock formations at various locations and had refused to leave. Moreover, paying for an almost-constant supply of beer and transportation of the geologists' luggage (which mainly consisted of rock samples and unmentionably dilapidated field clothing), had almost exhausted the budget. CBS finally pulled the plug on the project in January of 2008, despite their fear that they might be sued for withdrawing the promise of a prize; however, none of the geologists sued, as they were still under the impression that they needed to publish a research paper to receive the money.
As you can see, geologists are simply not suited for reality shows, living as they (we) do in their (our) own reality. The rest of the article entitled "Geologist" is also interesting (although some parts are more humorous than other parts), and it includes a section about "Geologists in the Movies." Sound familiar? And more:
How to spot a Geologist
To spot a geologist in the wild, look for:
- Hand-lens, compass, pen-knife, handcuffs etc. tied round neck with string. ...
- When helping someone move and you ask "is this box full of rocks?" They answer "yes, be careful."
If you remain unsure, ask the subject to draw an annotated diagram of a trilobite. A true geologist will immediately reach for their waterproof notebook - this is your opportunity for escape.And so it goes...
UPDATE: This part of the Unclyclopedia article on geologists has apparently now made it into hard print - see Highly Allochthonous for links.