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Hi peacemaker.
There is a group on this site called religion for atheists. They discuss Alain de Botton's book of the same name among other things. (see his ted talk for more info on him) I agree with many of the opinions they express, sort of don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. Many atheists are against the idea because religion is the thing they are trying to get away from and I can also see their point in many cases.
I like the term humanist also even though lately I'm trying out the term naturalist.
Afrikans are said to be notoriously religious...it has been analyzed again and again, by afrikans and non afrikans..!
Okot p Bitek, an Afrikan renaissance man from Uganda (anthropologist, dancer footballer, teacher, educator, lecturer, novelist, social activist) also saw to it that while we are are "religious" and yet we are atheistic at the same time..!
that our gods are in fact deities only...strong but not omnipotent, great but not omnipresent,wise but not omniscient, old but not eternal...
according to p bitek, it was the eurocentric theologians and some anthropologists who "hellenised" afrikan deities to make them look/like their own Abrahamic one..!
so from those ground, I an Afrikan freethinker feel justified to see that while i can be religious, yet i am atheistic. Adding Ludwig feuerbach that our ideas of god are in fact our mind projection of a wish, that then we come to believe as true..!
thus there are god...but created by human beings, and not other way round..!
thus an atheist who believes in god...god created by human being..!
I find it pointless to add qualifiers to atheist. Atheism is a stance on a single issue: the belief or non-belief in a God. When you add qualifiers such as "humanist" or "naturalist" etc., you are invoking other ideas that are totally unrelated to atheism. I am of the opinion that this leads to confusion when theists are forming views about atheists. They automatically associate us with these other qualifiers, even when they are not a part of atheism.
Now, I am also against religion as well because I want to have as many demonstrably true beliefs as possible. I will admit that some religions are much more benign than others, but this doesn't change the fact that their beliefs are not only not demonstrably true, but certainly false. As your beliefs inform your actions, this is not a desirable state of mind to have.
I will also add that any benefit brought forth from religion can also be obtained through purely secular means. Weather charity or a sense of community, religion is not required.
I think that one of the common terms for this is a "cultural" theist (e.g. cultural Jew, cultural Christian, cultural Muslim, etc).
There are a whole gang load of culturally religious folks out there. I just heard an interesting call-in from one on this week's "Ask An Atheist" podcast.
If we counted those folks as atheists in census data, Atheism wouldn't be the extreme (but fast growing) minority it's considered to be in the mainstream.
Oh! my goodness! I hope it is not possible to be a religious atheist! No dogma, no litany, no hymns to some power.
the definition of religion:
Atheism is not a belief in a superhuman controlling power, it is not a personal thing, it is not a belief and it is not taught; It is thought. Critical thinking brings one to the realization that we live from birth to death, that when death occurs, it is a change of form from skin, bone, blood, organs and consciousness to atoms. Change! That is what death implies and there is no notion of a mansion or seeing loved ones. Life has no meaning or purpose, therefore, what we experience, how we live, how we relate, how we reason and think critically is what it is all about. There is no god, personal or otherwise, and our bodies and senses inform us about our function as part of the living universe. Homo sapiens have a consciousness and that, too, ends upon death. What lives on are the memories of those who love and know us. That is all.
Chris Ruegg stated:
"Atheism is a stance on a single issue: the belief or non-belief in a God."
An atheist is an atheist because he is a freethinker and a rationalist. Buddhists do not believe in a creator or a personal god but they have religious rituals, they worship Buddha's idol, they have monks and monastries and a prescribed relogious code. This is quite against atheist beliefs, and is quite irrational. An atheist won't burden his brain with this kind of trash. I do not know what sort of religious language peacemaker likes. To my knowledge, all religious language is hypocritical.
I would disagree that an atheist is an atheist because they are freethinkers or rationalists. Although I do believe that being a freethinker and a rationalist naturally leads to atheism, it is not a necessary condition. Many religions do not believe in a god or gods, but do have supernatural ideas, rituals, etc.; therefore I will still oppose them as irrational. By saying "An atheist won't burden his brain with this kind of trash", I believe you are making a "no true Scotsman" fallacy. As I said earlier, it is a position on a single issue. You can not believe in a god, but hold any number of other dumb ideas as true, such as homeopathy.
peacemaker, you undoubtedly correctly state that my definition of religion is problematic. I shall happily read any other definition that others will be willing and able to share. I am not in a contest here, or a debate. I state my belief and expect others to be honest with me. I don't really care if others agree or disagree; I would like to read other ideas. Perhaps I will decide to change my mind ... I have been known to do that.
peacemaker, I like the teachings of Buddhism, and they work for me to make my life calmer and have more "equanimity". Jeeze! I still can't spell it and pronouncing it is not so easy either. Where I can't follow Buddhism's mystical, magical, supernatural aspects of the stories about him. They just don't make sense to me. Buddha may have been a great teacher, and maybe he had nothing to do with the stories that grew up about him (disciples have a way of creating magic out of nothing).
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first illustrating job with Vogue, over the past 8 months I've been rehired to illustrate at a handful of Vogue events, sketch for their partners, attend parties, make custom stationary for Vogue staffers and had countless introductions to editors, designers, and stylists. It's been incredible working with the team from Vogue this year and knowing that I have the support and encouragement of such an iconic and influential fashion powerhouse has been extraordinary.
The next highlight of this year is one actually not featured on Fabulous Doodles but instead one that it led to. Months ago after learning of everything I was working on via Fabulous Doodles an old FIT professor and friend recommended me for a highly coveted illustration position. I was called in for an interview to be in-house illustrator for Ralph Lauren Collection! Not for Polo, not Chaps, not Rugby, not Lauren, but the creme de la creme, Ralph Lauren Collection! This meeting unfortunately didn't go as well since I didn't get the job but it was such an honor to even be considered and meet with the head designers. I now truly get it when actors say "it's an honor just to be nominated," because thats exactly how I felt simply being considered and called into the Ralph Lauren Collection offices.
Sociologie Wines featuring a different stylized sketch of mine on each wine bottle has been so gratifying and I'm thrilled with the final product. The feedback from friends, family and Fabulous Doodles readers both in person and on my social media (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) was overwhelming, and its something I'm really looking forward to working on more as the line expands.
Next up is my collaboration with the fashion director of Quest Magazine, which resulted in a whopping 6 page spread of my fashion illustrations. I've had editorial features before but nothing that even compared to the 6 full pages in Quest's 2013 Spring Style issue.
The next one is another biggie, something to actually cross off my childhood "bucket list." I've illustrated not one but two books this year! I worked with Capstone Publishing illustrating two fashion illustration tutorial books for the tween market: Fun Fashions You Can Sketch, Girly Girl Style and Harajuku Style. It was a long process and very challenging at times but I can now say my name appears in the Library of Congress! I've also just polished off the illustrations on a third book, which hopefully will be released later this year.
dessert bar concepts for her segments on the Today Show and Access Hollywood. I've also assisted from time to time, co-crafting, setting up and styling alongside Amy and her partner in sweets Lisa. Styling is something I used to do a great deal of in my previous position before taking on illustrating full-time and its so great to be able to go back to it from time to time, especially with such a talented duo.
Last but certainly not least of the highlights of this year is illustrating for InStyle and Gap. I've been a Gap girl for as long as I can remember and InStyle was my go to magazine for years so this was another dream job/pinch-me moment and something I was thrilled to add to my portfolio.
It has been a monumental year for my illustration career and I can hardly believe starting this fashion illustration blog four years ago has led me to such wonderful opportunities. Heres hoping year five of Fabulous Doodles will be continued success, recognition, and more pinch-me moments.
(Photos and sketches: Brooke Hagel @Brooklit)

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Holiday Dinner: A Field Guide
November 7, 2011 14 Comments
If you are like me, and disturbed by situations that seem common place to others, you are a little bit freaked out about the upcoming holidays. For example, on Thanksgiving Day, it may seem confusing to you that family members who have spent the entire year telling you not to eat carbs are now loading you down with cornbread dressing, mashed potatoes, bread rolls, and three types of pie. This is part of the bizarre nature of the holidays and you will have to learn to cope without seeming odd. Luckily, this year I am writing a field guide to get you through these types of events.
First, upon entering any dining area, you should immediately assess the number of items on the table. This will be your first clue as to the length of the meal. As a general rule, the more stuff there is on the table, the longer you will be required to linger over the meal making small talk. A good sign is to see one plate on the table per person. Also, one knife, fork, and spoon per person is a good ratio. This means that the individual in charge of planning the holiday meal has not set unreasonable expectations for the experience. You will therefore be able to eat your food and get on with the rest of your life without unreasonable delay.
However, if you enter the room and see chargers*, bowls on top of plates, multiple sizes of forks, candles, and a centerpieces of any kind, you are in for the long haul. This stuff took a long time to set up and you can't just put food on your plate and take it to the living room to go watch TV.
You will now be required to load a plate down with food to eat while talking about relatives you barely know. You should probably go ahead and figure out what to tell people when they ask how your job is going, and why are aren't planning to have any more kids. Despite the fact there are numerous hand-held devices with which people can be entertained, they have set up this table and prepared this food so that you will entertain them by talking. And, no… you are not allowed to piss them off.
|If you are not afraid to seem odd, this shirt might deflect some unwanted attention.
Despite your enormous plate of food, you will most likely get bored at some point during this process. To aid you in making it through the experience, I have provided a list of appropriate activities you may use to distract yourself during the holiday meal. These are all approved activities. When performed within the parameters documented below, these actions will not draw undue attention to the fact that you just want to ignore everyone and play Angry Birds on your phone.
Proper dinner activities include:
- Pushing food around the plate with your fork. This will work as long as you do not get carried away and create entire food sculptures or castles with gravy moats. Also, do not ask for extra cranberries for the finishing touches on your potato snow man. That is going way too far.
- Intense study of the formal centerpiece. You should note that it is important not touch or prod the centerpiece in any way as they are extremely top heavy and can tumble over without warning. I don't care if you are wondering why there is a little bird in there with a pumpkin, DO NOT touch it.
- Asking for extra ice so you can watch it melt. This activity is limited to ice placed IN the glass ONLY. Do not place melting ice in any other location.
- Drinking more wine.
This year, I will also be taking mental notes to enter into Twitter. This is going to be my first annual Twitter Event in which I bitchtweet** all through Thanksgiving day. I know I will have lots of time to type things into Twitter while pretending to watch the football game. I may even attempt to complete Twitter entries during the meal itself, I will let you know how this goes over. If anyone has any advice for concealing Twitter-related devices during a formal Thanksgiving type situation, I would be glad to hear it.
Explanation of Terms:
*Charger – A plate you put underneath another plate which is not actually used for eating but that you will be asked to wash by hand once the meal is over. Do not ask why you have to wash a plate that no one has, or will ever, eat from. You will never get a satisfactory explanation. Unless, of course, you ask The Bloggess. She will tell you: "They're those fancy plates that you put plates on. They're ridiculous. I'm not using plates for plates." I fully agree.
**Bitchtweet – To bitch about a specific topic on Twitter. Here is an example of proper usage in which BlogDramedy encourages me to join NaNoWriMo, a 50,000 word writing challenge: "Join in…you, me, Shouts. We can be writing buddies and sit around and bitchtweetabout how many words we have not written yet."


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display had been witnessed in Mexico by Humboldt and Bonpland on November 12th, 1799. H. A. Newton traced such records back to October 13th, A.D. 902. The orbital motion of a cloud or stream of small particles was indicated. The period favoured by H. A. Newton was 354% days; another suggestion was 37.5% days, and another 334 years. He noticed that the advance of the date of the shower between 902 and 1833, at the rate of one day in seventy years, meant a progression of the node of the orbit. Adams undertook to calculate what the amount would be on all the five suppositions that had been made about the period. After a laborious work, he found that none gave one day in seventy years except the 33}-year period, which did so exactly. H. A. Newton predicted a return of the shower on the night of November 13th–14th, 1866. He is now dead; but many of us are alive to recall the wonder and enthusiasm with which we saw this prediction being fulfilled by the grandest display of meteors ever seen by anyone now alive. The progression of the nodes proved the path of the meteor stream to be retrograde. The radiant had almost the exact longitude of the point towards which the earth was moving. This proved that the meteor cluster was at perihelion. The period being known, the eccentricity of the orbit was obtainable, also the orbital velocity of the meteors in perihelion; and, by comparing this with the earth's velocity, the latitude of the radiant enabled the inclination to be determined, while the longitude of the earth that night was the longitude of the node. In such a way Schiaparelli was able to find first the elements of the orbit of the August meteor shower (Perseids), and to show its identity with the orbit of Tuttle's comet 1862.iii. Then, in January, 1867, Le Verrier gave the elements of the November meteor shower (Leonids); and Peters, of Altona, identified these with Oppolzer's elements for Tempel's comet 1866 – Schiaparelli having independently attained both of these results. Subsequently Weiss, of Vienna, identified the meteor shower of April 20th (Lyrids) with comet 1861. Finally, that indefatigable worker on meteors, A. S. Herschel, added to the number, and in 1878 gave a list of seventy-six coincidences between cometary and meteoric orbits. Cometary astronomy is now largely indebted to photography, not merely for accurate delineations of shape, but actually for the discovery of most of them. The art has also been applied to the observation of comets at distances from their perihelia so great as to prevent their visual observation. Thus has Wolf, of Heidelberg, found upon old plates the position of comet 1905.v., as a star of the 15.5 magnitude, 783 days before the date of its discovery. From the point of view of the importance of finding out the divergence of a cometary orbit from a parabola, its period, and its aphelion distance, this increase of range attains the very highest value. The present Astronomer Royal, appreciating this possibility, has been searching by photography for Halley's comet since November, 1907, although its perihelion passage will not take place until April, 1910.
Passing now from our solar system, which appears to be subject to the action of the same forces as those we experience on our globe, there remains an innumerable host of fixed stars, nebulae, and nebulous clusters of stars. To these the attention of astronomers has been more earnestly directed since telescopes have been so much enlarged. Photography also has enabled a vast amount of work to be covered in a comparatively short period, and the spectroscope has given them the means, not only of studying the chemistry of the heavens, but also of detecting any motion in the line of sight from less than a mile a second and upwards in any star, however distant, provided it be bright enough.
Hn the field of telescopic discovery beyond our solar system there is no one who has enlarged our knowledge so much as Sir William Herschel, to whom we owe the greatest discovery in
dynamical astronomy among the stars – viz., that the law of gravitation extends to the most distant stars, and that many of them describe elliptic orbits about each other. W. Herschel was born at Hanover in 1738, came to England in 1758 as a trained musician, and died in 1822. He studied science when he could, and hired a telescope, until he learnt to make his own specula and telescopes. He made 430 parabolic specula in twenty-one years. He discovered 2,500 nebulae and 806 double stars, counted the stars in 3,400 gauge-fields, and compared the principal stars photometrically. Some of the things for which he is best known were results of those accidents that happen only to the indefatigable enthusiast. Such was the discovery of Uranus, which led to funds being provided for constructing his 40-foot telescope, after which, in 1786, he settled at Slough. In the same way, while trying to detect the annual parallax of the stars, he failed in that quest, but discovered binary systems of stars revolving in ellipses round each other; just as Bradley's attack on stellar parallax failed, but led to the discovery of aberration, nutation, and the true velocity of light. Parallax. — The absence of stellar parallax was the great objection to any theory of the earth's motion prior to Kepler's time. It is true that Kepler's theory itself could have been geometrically expressed equally well with the earth or any other point fixed. But in Kepler's case the obviously implied physical theory of the planetary motions, even before Newton explained the simplicity of conception involved,


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The Silverlight.net web site is apparently now gone, merged into the broader msdn.com ecosystem (where it belonged in the first place imo):
As we've known now for a long time, Silverlight is "dead". It is in support mode and will be for a decade.
Just like Windows Forms has been since 2005, and WPF is now as well (do you really think Microsoft is going to divert money from WinRT to do anything with WPF at this point??? If so I've got this beachfront property for sale…).
As an aside, ASP.NET Web Forms also "died" in 2005, but recently got a major infusion of money in .NET 4.5 – showing that even a "dead" technology can receive a big cash investment sometimes – though it still isn't clear that this will be enough to breath any new life into Web Forms for most organizations. I suspect it is more likely that this recent investment will just allow organizations with massive Web Forms sites to keep them limping along for another 5-10 years.
As an aside, ASP.NET Web Forms also "died" in 2005, but recently got a major infusion of money in .NET 4.5 – showing that even a "dead" technology can receive a big cash investment sometimes – though it still isn't clear that this will be enough to breath any new life into Web Forms for most organizations. I suspect it is more likely that this recent investment will just allow organizations with massive Web Forms sites to keep them limping along for another 5-10 years.
If a technology is defined as "dead" when its vendor stops enhancing it and starts maintaining it while they put most of their money into the future, then I must say that I've spent pretty much my entire ~25 year career working on dead technologies. And it has been fun!
Although some of us tech geeks like to jump to the next potential upcoming thing, the people who actually fund software projects rarely want to accept that kind of risk. They generally prefer to build applications on stable technology. Most stable technology is "dead" or "dying" based on this idea of "live" technology being rapidly changing and evolving.
Obviously there's a fine line here.
Target stable technology that is too old and you really are in trouble. Windows Forms is an example of this, because its underlying technology has no migration path to a WinRT future. Although a lot of organizations have massive investments in Windows Forms, I would hope that they'd shy away from starting new development on this extremely stable, but now too old, technology.
Target stable technology that is new, but old enough to be stable and life is generally pretty good. WPF and Silverlight (for smart clients, not for cross-platform RIA) are examples of this. The reason is that these technologies (especially Silverlight) have a good migration story to a WinRT future. A lot of organizations are investing in WPF, and that's good. But I'd be shocked if Microsoft invests anything in WPF going forward – its future is the one Windows Forms has enjoyed since 2005 – stable maintenance of the technology. Perfect for building critical business apps. Organizations also have large investments in Silverlight, and as long as the intent was smart client development (not cross-platform RIA) it seems to me that they are in the exact same place as everyone using WPF. Arguably better, because Silverlight is much closer to WinRT than WPF.
If you are using Silverlight for cross-platform rich web development, then I do agree that the news is not good. The current alternative appears to be HTML 5, though it is also clear that this is an expensive alternative with an unsure future. Just like every other silver bullet to write once and run anywhere, I think you have to go into such a venture expecting a lot of cost and pain. There's no widely successful example in the history of computing that indicates otherwise…
The final option is to target "live" technologies. You know, the ones where vendors are dumping huge amounts of money, and where the technology and platform are changing rapidly. Things like HTML 5 and WinRT are examples of this. As a tech geek I love it when organizations want to do this sort of thing, because the challenge is high and we all get to learn a lot of new stuff. Of course the development costs are also quite high because we're getting paid to learn this new stuff. And the overall costs for the software are high because the technology/platform isn't stable and the app probably needs to be rewritten (in whole or part) every few months to deal with platform changes.
Some organizations are willing to accept the costs and inconvenience associated with using "live" technologies. But most organizations don't have the time or money or risk tolerance, and are far better off targeting "dead" technologies like WPF and Silverlight. They just need to be careful to have strategic migration plans so they can get off those technologies before they reach the point of where Windows Forms is today.
There've been a variety of articles and blog posts about the Microsoft Surface, with people expressing pleasure or disappointment as they've played with the device.
I thought I'd share my experience with the Surface RT, having now used it for a few weeks.
First though, it is important to understand that I've been running Windows 8 full time for months on my laptop and on my Intel-based tablet. When I started running Win8 I consciously chose not to run any of those apps to make Win8 act more like Win7. I never tried to make WinXP look like Win98, or Win7 look like WinXP, so why would I try to make Win8 look like an obsolete OS? Embrace the new, that's my view!
Also, it is important to understand that I had an iPad at the beginning. That was comparable to the Surface, in that there were basically no iPad apps – just the ability to run iPhone apps on the iPad, which was a really lame experience. So my iPad experience was that the device was reasonable for web browsing and limited entertainment, but had no practical value at all – because it had no Office, or Lync, or other useful apps. I fully appreciate that now, years later, the iPad does have useful apps and can be useful for something other than entertainment and games. But it is important (I think) to appreciate that my iPad experience is directly analogous to my Surface experience – I used both at the start of their existence. (as an aside, I gave my iPad to my wife, because I saw no reason to lug around another entertainment device as I travel)
Given that background, I'll start by saying that I use my Surface RT every day. A lot. And I like it. I do also find it frustrating at times.
I find it useful for web browsing, entertainment, and productivity.
From an entertainment perspective, it has a bunch of games, it has Netflix and Hulu and Xbox music/video. And it browses the web, which is also entertainment. The only thing I'm missing is Amazon streaming video, which is Amazon's loss in terms of competing with Netflix/Hulu, so they better get a WinRT app out ASAP or they'll probably lose me as a Prime customer. Not a customer totally though, because I'm a Kindle addict and occasionally use the Kindle app on the Surface. I still prefer my Kindle Touch though, because eInk is way superior to the shiny-screened Surface or iPad.
From a productive web browsing perspective I find IE10 to be just fine. I am able to use all the sites I need for work, including msdn.com, SharePoint, yammer, skydrive, Google drive, etc. The browsing experience is generally fast enough to be pleasant, with the exception of yammer's text editing where they run really intensive js scripts for every keystroke. I haven't tried their site on the iPad, but I suspect it is laggy there too due to this intense use of scripting.
In terms of pure productivity, the Surface is pretty good. I use Word and Excel pretty much daily, reading and editing documents from SkyDrive and collaborating with colleagues on projects. Lync and Skype both work well for telecom (which is important because Magenic's entire "phone system" is Lync). I've used PowerPoint a little, but generally find editing presentations to be easier when using a full-size keyboard/mouse and my big monitors on my main computer. Using Word and Excel on the Surface (with its keyboard) is perfectly fine though, and I use those apps a lot.
I also use OneNote a lot. Much of my life exists in Outlook and OneNote. As a result the Surface provides me with access to much of my life through OneNote. I use the WinRT app, and I'm not sure I've even run the OneNote app from Office on my Surface.
The apps I have running on every one of my Win8 devices include:
What is missing, and this is a big hole for me, is Outlook. The email client in Win8 is pretty lame. Perhaps adequate for casual email use, but not remotely adequate for productivity users. It has poor calendar integration, no Lync integration, no flagging of emails. It just isn't even close to Outlook. Similarly the Calendar app on Win8 is lame. Well, it is worse than lame – it is really hard to read or use. Again, it also has no Lync integration and is largely useless for 'real work'. Although I do use both the email and calendar apps, the experience is frustrating at best.
Similarly, the WinRT Lync app doesn't compare to the real Lync client on an Intel machine. It is a limited subset of functionality. Fine for making and receiving calls, but extremely poor for collaboration scenarios where you need to share your screen.
I do wish that the SkyDrive app supported interaction with shared folders. When I'm collaborating with people on projects we often use shared folders in SkyDrive, but the SkyDrive app for WinRT doesn't understand that concept, forcing me to drop into the browser to access those documents.
Finally, there is a general lack of apps in the Microsoft Store. This is directly comparable to my iPad experience (remember, at the start of the iPad's existence) – with the notable exception that Surface comes with Office, so the single biggest set of apps I need are available right now on the Surface, unlike with the iPad (even today there's no actual Office there, nor the amazingly smooth integration with SkyDrive).
For me, the big missing apps in WinRT include:
In short, at this comparable point in time with the iPad I gave the device away because it was just more weight to carry for little value. But I find my Surface RT continually valuable and have no plan to stop using it. The fact that it has Office and that it smoothly integrates into the SkyDrive ecosystem along with my desktop, laptop, and phone (WP8) makes it incredibly useful. I move seamlessly between my various devices, able to view and edit my documents regardless of where I am or what size screen I'm using.
So yes, I really like my Surface RT. There's some frustration, but not nearly as much as when I was a month into using the iPad.
I have high hopes for Windows 8, WinRT, and Surface (and similar devices).
At a .NET Rocks event a few weeks ago an attendee asked if there would be some add-on to Windows 7 that allowed running WinRT apps.
My answer: Yes! It is called Windows 8 :)
Stephen Sinofsky's departure from Microsoft was rather unexpected, but not unpleasant news, at least from my perspective as a business developer.
Before I explain that, let me say that I really love Windows 7, and feel that it is the best version of Windows ever released. I also really like Windows 8, and have high hopes for its future. These successes are to Sinofsky's credit to be sure.
As a business developer however, I have been extremely disappointed in Microsoft over the past couple years as Sinofsky 'flexed his muscles' within the organization.
Enterprises require predictability and some reasonable level of transparency. Microsoft provided neither of these over the past couple of years. The complete 'blanket of silence' surrounding anything to do with Windows 8 was stifling. As a result people at Microsoft were unable to talk about anything useful at all for an extremely long time. The future of .NET, Visual Studio, Blend, and many other key developer technologies became completely opaque.
As a result, many organizations developed strategies to move their business development away from dependencies on Microsoft, at least in terms of any client software development.
If there was any ray of hope over the past couple years, it was in the server and cloud space. This is where all the best known developer advocates inside Microsoft moved to, if they stayed at Microsoft at all. As a result, many organizations felt comfortable using ASP.NET and other server-side technologies, but generally started assuming Windows would no longer be a viable target for client-side software.
Obviously this is horrible for Microsoft, and yet it is a direct result of Sinofsky's influence on the company.
Even today the story around deployment of business applications to the WinRT platform is at best incomplete, and I think is more accurately described as non-existent. Sinofsky's apparently dismissive attitude toward anything outside the consumer space has left Microsoft increasingly irrelevant to anyone considering building smart client applications.
In short, the one true stronghold where Windows is currently dominant has been largely abandoned by Microsoft, effectively pushing us all toward building HTML 5 cross-platform apps that don't rely on Windows at all.
Clearly this is one of the primary areas that Sinofsky's successor must address and correct – unless Microsoft really does intend to abdicate the business client to commodity browser-based devices (can you say Chromebook?).
Personally, and based on no knowledge of the new people in charge, I am hopeful that they will restore some level of predictability and transparency to the Windows platform and the related development platform. This will help restore some confidence around the idea of building applications for Windows in the small, medium, and enterprise spaces. And I am hopeful that they'll develop a real strategy and mechanism for deploying business applications to the WinRT platform so Windows 8 can become relevant to more than just the consumer space.
All that said, and for all my criticisms of Sinofsky's brutal blanket of silence and alienation of the developer community inside and outside Microsoft, he really did something that had to be done – reimagine Windows to bring it into the future. Windows 8 and WinRT really might be the future of smart client development for most organizations.
The foundation is there, and it is now up to his successors to make it viable.
I am of the opinion that classmates.com is a criminal organization.
In 2008 my wife decided to give them a try with their paid service. Every year since then she has tried to cancel the paid service. Every year they renew it anyway, and continue to increase the price each time.
This year we tried disputing the credit card charge. They sent the credit card company (Discover) a bunch of screen shots of the ancient transaction from 2008, but none of the subsequent requests for cancelation. I strongly suspect they've "lost" all our requests to cancel their service (which we never found remotely useful in the first place).
Discover sided with classmates.com and insists that the transaction is legal.
As a merchant, I find that the credit card companies never side with me. <scarcasm>Apparently I need to create better screen shots to send in the case of disputes, because that seems to be the trick to screwing over your customers.</sarcasm>
At this point I think we'll end up canceling the credit card completely. Not only because Discover is assisting what seems like criminal theft of our money, but also because 12 months from now when classmates.com tries to steal some more money, they won't be able to complete the transaction against a long-canceled credit card.
What recourse do I have as an individual in this case? In terms of raw cost, it'll take thousands of dollars to sue classmates.com to get my $40/year from them, so it makes more financial sense to allow their continued theft of my money. Certainly there's no way to get back the latest $40 theft…
At the .NET Rocks Road Trip event in Charlotte, NC this week an attendee asked if there'd be a way to run the new Windows Store apps on Windows 7.
These are apps running on the new Windows Runtime (WinRT) platform.
Basically the question was whether Microsoft would issue an update so WinRT apps can run on Windows 7.
My answer, which got a great laugh, but is actually serious, is that Windows 8 is the update to Windows 7 that allows it to run WinRT apps.
I acknowledge that this answer is loaded with humor. But I am also serious in my answer.
I've been running Windows 8 full time for a few months now, and haven't run into any issues with Windows 7 apps not working on Windows 8 (except for a couple odd-ball Steam games that I suspect break some Win32 programming rules). All my work software, all my business software, and my important games (Battlefield 3, XCOM, Supreme Commander, L4D2) all work fine on Windows 8.
Windows 8 turns out to be a slightly faster version of Windows 7, that can also run WinRT apps. Hence, Windows 8 is the upgrade to Windows 7 that allows you to run Windows Store apps.
I am pleased to announce the final release of CSLA 4 version 4.5 with support for the following platforms:
The new release is available via nuget and the CSLA download page.
This release includes a number of important features and changes, including:
The entire CSLA .NET dev team has put a lot of work into this release, and we hope you enjoy it and find it useful!
CSLA 4 version 4.5 release candidate 1 is now online via installer and nuget.
This is a relatively minor update from the previous beta, with a small number of bug fixes. The big thing is that Tiago and Jonny put a lot of work into making sure the samples are all working with CSLA .NET 4.5.
My plan is to release version 4.5 by the middle of next week.
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It is my professional duty to care about Justin Bieber. And he's Canadian which means the caring is multiplied by 5 to satisfy Canadian Content requirements. Michelle assures me this will only last another year. Is that longer or shorter than Jersey Shore? Please let it be over.
Also debated during our live blog – when can we expect a Bieber growth spurt? Bieber is almost 16. Duana, our resident teen expert, believes that the growing should have already happened. I always thought it was somewhere around 18. This then led us to throw up a prediction poll about how tall he'll end up. Like 5 ft 10 Clooney styles? Or average? Or 5 ft 6 on a good day Tom Cruise?
A majority of respondents picked Tom Cruise.
Bieber presented with a mortified Ke$ha who towered over him and seemed bitter that she was stuck at the kids' table.
Also needing an apple box last night – Kristen Bell with Josh Duhamel to promote the trite and dismally reviewed When in Rome. Conveniently she also announced her engagement to Dax Shepherd as reported by Us Weekly. How very Drew Barrymore of you. Except you're not Drew Barrymore.
By the way, did you see her on Letterman not impressing Letterman? And too much tryharding. Also, while Julia Roberts can cuss on Letterman, Kristen Bell should never been cussing on Letterman.
Photos from Kevin Winter/Gettyimages.com and Wenn.com and Bauergriffinonline.com and Splashnewsonline.com


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Divisional round was a weekend to remember in NFL
- Tight finishes were the common thread of a wild divisional playoff round.
- Ravens%27 double-overtime upset of Broncos%2C the No. 1 AFC seed%2C set the tone.
- Ray Lewis and Tony Gonzalez%27s careers continue despite close calls.
Peyton Manning was supposed to play a Super Bowl in his hometown to complete a comeback season. Aaron Rodgers was supposed to prove Colin Kaepernick was an intriguing quarterback but not the win-in-the-postseason kind. And the Atlanta Falcons were supposed to choke again.
At least the Houston Texans lost as they were supposed to, right?
The weekend many believe to be the best of the NFL each year delivered: The Baltimore Ravens' double-overtime upset of Manning and the Denver Broncos; Kaepernick's 181-yard rushing display at Candlestick Park; the Atlanta Falcons' gutsy comeback against a just-as-gutsy Seattle Seahawks squad and the New England Patriots overcoming the reinjury to Rob Gronkowski's arm to win as easily as expected.
And what a scene on the Atlanta sideline when Tony Gonzalez gripped a team employee in a headlock through tears and a smile. It was the first playoff win in a spectacular career, although it didn't come easily and required 41 yards on two plays in 12 seconds to set up Matt Bryant's 49-yard winning field goal.
"I was like, 'I guess this is it, I'm going to go out with a heartbreaking loss getting such a big lead,'" said Gonzalez, who caught a 19-yard pass before the field goal. "I was thinking in my mind, 'It's not fair.'"
It might not seem fair to many that Gonzalez, Ray Lewis or neither will win a title on their way out of the NFL. But both got at least one more emotional on-field celebration.
There should be a few more of those before it's all done. Just as the postseason is supposed to be.
After they felt they gave away last year's NFC championship game to the New York Giants, the 49ers have the rare opportunity to get it back the following season, this time on the road in Atlanta. The fast track in the Georgia Dome should help the 49ers offensively, as it should only speed up the threat Colin Kaepernick's legs bring.
Defensively, San Francisco might be the team best equipped to handle the Falcons' trio of standout wide receivers. The 49ers' secondary is loaded with talent and played well Saturday to contain the Green Bay Packers' passing game. Defensive tackle Justin Smith is battling elbow and triceps injuries but is and trying to be his usual self, creating havoc up front. He's not quite himself but still has enough to make it tougher for the Falcons. Same with those linebackers behind him.
There 49ers are a well-coached, angry team. The same can be said of their opponent. This is a strap-it-up kind of game if ever there were one. From a purely physical standpoint, the edge has to go to the 49ers.
The QB factor: He's not your father's quarterback; Kaepernick is more like your great-grandfather's, with as much as he runs. But he is extremely effective and turns what should be nice little runs into home runs. There no longer are questions about whether coach Jim Harbaugh made the right choice in going with Kaepernick over Alex Smith, right?
The biggest issue in facing the Atlanta Falcons was evident on the first of two plays to set up the game-winning field goal to beat the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. There you are as a defense worried about Falcons receivers Roddy White, Julio Jones and Tony Gonzalez, and here comes Harry Douglas for 22 yards on a deep out.
The Falcons have a much better offense than in previous years, and Jacquizz Rodgers' bulling 45-yard run in the first quarter shows they have another weapon in the backfield, as well. And for the first time under coach Mike Smith, they have a playoff win under their belts.
Sunday was their moment to choke again, and they certainly tried to make it happen. Now that they have slipped past that point, they could be dangerously confident. Credit cornerback Asante Samuel for helping generate that swagger on defense and throughout the team. The former Philadelphia Eagles cornerback has never been short on confidence and the defense is playing that way now, too.
A healthy John Abraham would help the pass rush and firm up the edges against Colin Kaepernick. His ankle and how it responds Sunday will be a huge factor.
The QB factor: Shhh, if you listen carefully, you can still hear the Matt Ryan haters. They're the ones talking about that fourth-quarter interception that allowed the Seahawks back in the game. But Ryan played much better Sunday than he did in the Falcons' loss last year.
If there were ever a debate, it's pretty clear by now that Ray Lewis announcing his retirement was much more a motivational element than a distraction for the Baltimore Ravens. They want to send their defensive leader out on a high note, and they're playing like it.
But that's not the real story.
What's happening on the other side of the ball is where the action is. Quarterback Joe Flacco has some pretty darn good chemistry going with wide receivers Torrey Smith and Anquan Boldin and tight end Dennis Pitta. Is running back Ray Rice still underused? Sure. But those receivers aren't, and they're winning one-on-one matchups against some of the game's top cornerbacks.
A suggestion: getting Rice involved Sunday against the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game. That's what happened early in a victory at Gillette Stadium three years ago when Rice went 83 yards for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage. He couldn't get it going in last year's AFC title game (67 yards on 21 carries), and the Ravens had to play from behind for much of the game.
Still, don't expect the Ravens to be intimidated by heading to Foxborough, Mass., on Sunday. Not after last year. Not after they were a Lee Evans drop from heading to the Super Bowl. Not with their passion to win a couple more for Lewis.
The QB factor: What late-season slump? Flacco is well over that, and his offensive line is part of the reason why. When he struggled during the regular season, it was because he was getting pressured constantly. With more time to throw, Flacco has been relaxed and on point.
Last year, the Patriots played Super Bowl XLVI with a banged-up Rob Gronkowski. It didn't go so well, a 21-17 loss to the New York Giants. If healthy that day, maybe they win.
This time, it's worse. Gronkowski is out for the rest of the playoffs after re-breaking his left forearm in Sunday's win against the Houston Texans, according to a person informed of the diagnosis doctors made Sunday. The person, who spoke to USA TODAY Sports on condition of anonymity because the Patriots hadn't yet announced the extent of the injury, said Gronkowski would require another surgery to repair the bone.
That's a huge loss, but they have shown they have the depth to overcome it. Aaron Hernandez can get some of the same things done and more. Wes Welker is putting the finishing touches on his pitch for a big payday in free agency. Shane Vereen is pushing to be the next running back in the ever-spinning backfield turnstile. And that defense is playing better than it's getting credit for, especially as the Pats' up-tempo style on offense increases the number of plays run in a game and, therefore, the amount of work to do.
Oh yeah, Tom Brady made a couple of perfect throws Sunday, namely to Vereen and Welker up the left sideline.
The QB factor: Brady, whose 40 postseason touchdown passes puts him five behind leader Joe Montana, is the last quarterback in the postseason to have won a championship. That's an enormous advantage for New England. He hasn't always been perfect, but there have been plenty of spot-on passes when needed. Expect that to continue.


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Man trying to save turtle struck by school bus in Waukesha County
The Waukesha County Sheriff's Department said a 70-year-old man was struck on a highway while trying assist a turtle crossing the road
The collision occurred on Highway 59 near Antique Lane.
Representatives with the Sheriff's Department said the collision occurred around 10:15 a.m.
WISN 12 News reporter Nick Bohr learned that the bus struck a man who had exited his car to assist a turtle crossing the highway. Authorities said the man did not see the bus and walked out in front of it.
The bus was not traveling more than 15 mph when it struck the man, according to the Waukesha County Sheriff's Department.
The Sheriff's Department told WISN 12 News the bus driver did what he could to avoid the man and braked hard prior to impact.
WISN 12 News learned that the bus was from Lincoln Avenue School in Milwaukee. Forty-nine students on board the bus, along with three teachers and two parents, were headed to a field trip in Palmyra. No students were injured in the accident.
"The teachers did very well. They made sure first of all that the children were fine, and asked them to stay calm, they started going row by row, asking them how are they feeling," Lincoln Avenue School Principal Miguel Sanchez said.
The kids had to remain on the bus there for more than an hour as rescuers treated the man and cleared the scene.
The man was taken to a Waukesha hospital and was expected to recover from his injuries.
Officials with the company that owned the bus, Illinois Central Truck Leasing, said they had responded to the scene but had no further comments.
The turtle survived the incident, the Sheriff's Department said.


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Working on some character VFX for the Star Wars film - here's some of my progress on Supreme Leader Snoke so far :
In the video, it's only Snoke's head, but I've modeled & rigged the body since then. I've also modeled and textured the throne room. I'm probably going to be shooting some animation reference today or tomorrow.
@DIY_Film_Guy That's serious modeling there! Good job!! You are so many light years ahead of my capabilities it isn't even fathomable.
That's looking pretty damn good.
Option 1.
Option 1
I say Option 1 as well
I guess it's unanimous!
Here's a full body breakdown of Supreme Leader Snoke!
Another 13th of my Star Wars film has also been finished, but I'm not going to put it up on youtube yet, since I finished Scene 5. I'm going to wait until they are in chronological order to release.
I was working on re-doing the first Fall of the Resistance scene, and I stumbled upon a neat technique for lens dirt in Hitfilm Express. (I believe that lens dirt occurs in the brighter spots of an image - correct me if I'm wrong).
If I'm right, than here is a neat tip: First, find a good lens dirt image online. Drag that into the very top of your comp and put it in a blending mode. Right below it, add a grade layer. Put the Set Matte effect onto the lens dirt image, and set the source layer to the grade layer. Select luminance in the "Matte Source" dropdown. Now, the lens dirt should only be showing in the bright spots of the image.
Exactly how Lens Dirt is supposed to work!
Yes, you're right, Lens Dirt will use a grayscale image as a dirt map. See Essential Hitfilm 08 again. Realizing for yourself how the Source Layer works in Lens Dirt is a "Eureka" moment, and I think you'll get more out of that episode now. Pay attention to the lecture on Maps, because that will apply to any effect with a "Source Layer."
Still workin' on FOTR - here's a fun VFX shot that took a surprising amount of time:
The trailer should be out pretty soon - I've still got a lot of editing to do for it though.
I'll bite. How long?
@Triem23 - Maybe 25 minutes for the final shot, mostly due to lag from the 3d extrusion and lighting.
More FOTR work - here's a still render of a space shot I'm working on:
Any suggestions or ideas on how to make this shot better?
I finished redoing the first scene of Fall of the Resistance. Here it is:
The crawl is much smaller, with changes to the words as well. There are some other minor changes as well, like new planets as it pans down.
A very good job over all for a small budget. Did you intend for the screen to go to black around 2:42 after Kylo Ren delivers his line? It could be something with my rig, I suppose. I hear the audio but no visual.
My screen goes blank at the same place.
@tddavis and @BobDiMarzio - Yeah, that's the end of the scene. I forgot to put in an end card, I'll do that right now.
I have a new logo! My sister designed and sketched it, and I digitized it.
It's supposed to be a mix between a slate, a camera, and a reel of film. Let me know what you think!
@DIY_Film_Guy Looks nice. Brought me back to the late 80s and a logo design I created for business cards when I was transfering 8mm film to video tape for people. So I like it! Not the same at all, but just reminiscent enough to remind me. Don't know what ever happened to all those extra cards and that logo???
I like! Took me a minute to see the camera part of the shape. Nicely done, sis!
@DIY_Film_Guy nice like it, but hope you don't regret using the Canon brand, you know what these lawyers are like.
Yeah, I was working on another version of the logo, and I was thinking about taking it out for that reason. I only had it in to make the camera part more obvious, but I think I'll take it out and just leave it blank.
Here's a short shot from FOTR. This is an establishing shot of the lava planet in the film.
This took a lot of compositing work. What do you guys think? Is there anything I should add?
@DIY_Film_Guy This is just me, but I think you should change up the color scheme on your background planet and sky to add more separation between the background and your mountain edges. They kind of blend together too much for my thinking, but your lava looks really good!


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Majorana zero-modes - a type of localized quasiparticle - hold great promise for topological quantum computing. Tunnelling spectroscopy in electrical transport is the primary tool for identifying the presence of Majorana zero-modes, for instance as a zero-bias peak in differential conductance. The height of the Majorana zero-bias peak is...journal article 2018


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Logan Stones is an abstract game for 2 players.Game info on BoardGameAtlas.comGame info on BoardGameGeek.com
Game info on BoardGameAtlas.com
Game info on BoardGameGeek.com
This form will move this price for this item to a new item. Search for the item you want to move to below, then submit.
You can find a BGG ID for a game by visiting it's game page on BGG's website. Then copy/paste the ID found in the URL. Below is a screenshot of where to find the ID.
A cooperative, strategic, and highly asymmetric board game of survival aboard the International Space Station.
$217,772 / $24,000
Ends in 45 hours
The war for the floor has begun once more. Catapult Kingdoms is a game about building castles and knocking them down - with a working catapult and rubber boulders. The Siege Expansion lets you add a Balista to your arsenal. Use your tactics cards wisely. Last person standin...
Intrepid: Disaster Aboard the International Space Station>
Mystery Dice, the Kickstarter from Gate Keeper Games>
Jaws of the Lion and Giveaway & Other Board Game News>
Top 10 Board Games of All Time - 2020 Edition>
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The Wolman brand includes water-repellent coatings, stains and removers for the restoration and protection of outdoor wood finishes, including decks, furniture and décor, fences, play sets and siding. Among its products are DuraStain stains, RainCoat sealers and DeckBrite cleaners.
Headquarters: Vernon Hills, Illinois Phone: (800) 901-0411 Website: www.rustoleum.com/product-catalog/consumer-brands/wolman
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MWC 15 Special
Have you uploaded all your music into Google's Play Music cloud to enjoy your music from wherever you are, from any device? In this case, make sure you are not using more than 10 different devices - per year (which is a pretty tough limit for reviewers and gadget addicts). As Phil Nickinson from Android Central posted yesterday on Google Plus, Google has introduced a new deauthrization limit which allows users to get rid-off unused devices. In general, the Google Play Music library is accessible from any computer and up to ten devices and at this time only two Google accounts per computer can be used to add music with the Google Play Music Manager.
So far so good but what happens if you are going to use your 11th device? You have to unauthorize one of the first 10 devices to get free space to authorize the 11th. However, Google has recently changed the terms and conditions and is now allowing to revoke access of four devices per year only.
While Google says it identifies devices by the computer's MAC address or device identifiers such as IMEI or MEID for mobile devices, the limit of only 4 devices per year is pretty strict. Imagine you have to replace your LAN or card on your computer, the same computer becomes a second device and changing the computer after is a third device. While it seems that reflashed devices are not affected at all, because Google is using the device's unique IMEI number, it happens that the same device appears a second or even a third time after it was flashed. Doesn't matter if it was flashed with custom ROMs or with stock ROMs.
So far it seems that there's no workaround available and even Google's second level support is unable to help users with more than 10 devices but being allowed to unauthorize 4 devices per year only means it needs 2.5 years to get rid of all previously used devices. Google has definitely to find another way to protect rights owners interests.
In the meantime, it might be a good idea to create a second Google Play Music account and mirroring your music collection there or using mSpot instead, which also comes with restrictions but at least allows to deauthorize any device, anytime.
UPDATE 17.07.12: Looks like Google got some negative comments and therefore went back to the previous status - for now: "Yesterday we made a change to our device policy for music on Google Play, [...] and you may do this up to four times per year.We limit the number of times you can swap out new devices at the request of some of our music partners in an effort to limit abuse. We understand this has caused some issues for users who often deauthorize and reauthorize the same device, and we are currently re-implementing the solution in a way that works for our users and music partners.We apologize for any inconvenience and will update this page as new changes are made."
So any Google Music user might better hurry up and deauthorize as much as possible devices from the account since it looks like this won't last for too long. But don't deauthorize your main PC from where you upload your tracks to the cloud.
Cheers ~ Arne
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RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - The Obama administration scrambled on Wednesday to rescue faltering Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations after what it called "unhelpful, unilateral actions" by both sides.
A surprise decision by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday to sign more than a dozen international conventions that could give Palestinians greater leverage against Israel left the United States searching for a way to keep the talks going past an April 29 deadline.
"We are disappointed by the unhelpful, unilateral actions that both parties have taken in recent days," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters aboard Air Force One, as President Barack Obama headed to Michigan.
He said Secretary of State John Kerry was "in close touch with our negotiating team, which remains on the ground in the region to continue discussions with the parties". Israeli and Palestinian negotiators planned to meet on Wednesday night with U.S. envoy Martin Indyk, sources familiar with the talks said.
In its first comment on the crisis, Israel said it was up to Abbas to resolve the standoff, which has imperilled Kerry's eight-month-old peace effort.
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Israel had done "all it could to try to reach a settlement with the Palestinians, and now the ball is in their court."
The Palestinians have handed over to a U.N. representative and other diplomats applications to join 15 international conventions. They include the Geneva Conventions, the key text of international law on the conduct of war and occupation.
A senior Palestinian official, voicing frustration exacerbated by Israel's failure to carry out a pledged release of several dozen Palestinian prisoners, said on Wednesday that the talks had become merely "negotiating about negotiating".
Palestinian officials said Israel's failure to free the prisoners meant Abbas was no longer bound to a commitment not to confront it at the United Nations and other international bodies.
The developments further complicated efforts by Kerry to piece together a three-way deal to push the negotiations into 2015. He launched his initiative in July amid deep scepticism that he would fare any better than Obama, who undertook a failed Middle East peace bid in his first term.
"We're in predictable crisis mode," said Jon Alterman, a Middle East expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "The question is whether this is a serious hiccup that gets us to something significant or this is a serious hiccup that says the whole thing was a farce all along."
The talks were already in trouble over the issues of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, land captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East War, and Palestinian opposition to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's demand to recognise Israel as a Jewish state.
Israel had said it first wanted a Palestinian commitment to negotiate past the original target date for a deal before freeing the last of the 104 prisoners it promised to release as part of U.S. efforts to restart the negotiations in July.
Kerry cancelled a planned visit to the West Bank city of Ramallah on Wednesday to meet Abbas, saying it was important to keep the peace process moving but "in the end, it is up to the parties".
A senior U.S. official sought to play down the idea that the peace process was falling apart, and said both sides had told Washington they were willing to keep negotiating ahead of the April 29 deadline.
Palestinians hope Abbas's move will give them a stronger basis to appeal to the International Criminal Court and eventually lodge formal complaints against Israel for its continued occupation of territory seized in 1967, lands they see as vital to an independent state. Most countries deem the Israeli settlements illegal.
But Abbas's decision could backfire on him in the U.S. Congress, where pro-Israel sentiment runs high. Several lawmakers warned on Wednesday that a Palestinian resort to international agencies could trigger a cutoff of U.S. aid.
"It is counterproductive and doesn't move them closer to any final resolution," New York Representative Nita Lowey, the top Democrat on the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee, told a congressional hearing.
Yasser Abed Rabbo, deputy head of the PLO, cautioned on Wednesday against simply returning to an "empty routine" at the negotiating table. He reaffirmed that Palestinians wanted talks to focus on setting the future borders of their state.
"We can't return to the empty routine, a search for a framework for talks - this empty routine which is negotiating about negotiating," he told reporters.
Continuing the talks beyond the end of this month, he said, "must proceed from and depend on one main point, and this is looking into the issue of borders."
The conventions signed by Abbas were mostly sets of international standards on social and rights issues, such as conventions against discrimination against women and for the rights of disabled people as well as the Geneva Conventions.
Law professor Robbie Sabel, a former legal adviser to the Israeli Foreign Ministry, described Abbas's signature on the conventions as "merely symbolic". He noted Abbas had stopped short of applying for membership in international organisations.
Kerry made an unscheduled visit to Jerusalem on Monday seeking to extend the negotiations by putting together a proposal that included the possible release of Jonathan Pollard, an Israeli spy jailed in the United States since the 1980s.
The package, officials close to the talks said, included an additional Israeli release of hundreds of jailed Palestinians and a possible partial freeze on the settlements.
Pollard, a U.S. citizen and former navy analyst, is serving a life term for spying for Israel. His freedom would be a political triumph for Netanyahu, making it easier for him to sell a wider release of jailed Palestinians to cabinet members and a sceptical Israeli public.
Additional reporting by Ali Sawafta in Ramallah, Lesley Wroughton in Brussels, Jeff Mason aboard Air Force One, Maayan Lubell and Allyn Fisher-Ilan in Jerusalem, Patricia Zengerle and Matt Spetalnick in Washington; Editing by Jeffrey Heller, Angus MacSwan, Toni Reinhold and Mohammad Zargham