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The largest study ever completed of genetic factors associated with heart attacks has identified nine genetic regions - three not previously described - that appear to increase the risk for early-onset myocardial infarction. The report from the Myocardial Infarction Genetics Consortium, based on information from a total of 26,000 inviduals in 10 countries, will appear in Nature Genetics and is receiving early online release.
"For several decades, it has been known that the risk for heart attack - the leading cause of death and disability in the U.S. - clusters in families and that some of this familial clustering is due to differences in DNA sequence," says Sekar Kathiresan, MD, director of Preventive Cardiology at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and corresponding author of the Nature Genetics report. "We set out to find specific, single-letter differences in the genome, what are called single-nucleotide polomorphisms (SNPs), that may be responsible for an increased familial risk for heart attack."
Groundwork for the current study was laid more than 10 years ago when co-author Christopher O'Donnell, MD, now based at the Framingham Heart Study, began to gather data on patients treated at the MGH for early-onset heart attack - men under 50 and women under 60. Kathiresan soon joined the project, and in 2006 they formed the Myocardial Infarction Genetics Consortium along with David Altshuler, MD, PhD, of the MGH Center for Human Genetic Research and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, eventually involving six groups around the world that had collected samples on a total of about 3,000 early-onset heart attack patients and 3,000 healthy controls.
The current study took advantage of several scientific tools developed over the past decade. These include the International Haplotype Map, a comprehensive map of SNPs across the genome; genotyping arrays that allow screening of hundreds of thousands of SNPs at once; and a gene chip developed by Altshuler's team that can simulaneously screen for SNPs and for copy-number variants - deletions or duplications of gene segments, a type of change associated with several disease categories. After analysis of the consortium's samples identified SNPs that could be associated with heart attack risk, the researchers ran replication screens in three independent groups of samples, resulting in a total of 13,000 heart attack patients and 13,000 controls.
Significant associations with the risk of early-onset heart attacks were found for common SNPs in nine genetic regions. Three of those associations with heart attack risk were identified for the first time; and one of the novel regions also had been found, in a separate study by O'Donnell, to promote the buildup of atherosclerotic plaque in the coronary arteries. To analyze the effect of inheriting several risk-associated SNPs, participants were assigned a genotype score, which revealed that those with the highest number of risk-associated variants had more than twice the risk of an early-onset heart attack as those with the fewest. No risk associations were identified with copy-number variants.
Although the increased risk associated with individual SNPs is small, knowledge gained from the association could prove extremely valuable. "One of the known variants we identified is at a gene called PCSK9, which was originally identified in 2003," explains Kathiresan, an assistant professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. "Extensive study of that gene region has led to significant insight into the biology of atherosclerosis and heart attack and to efforts to develop targeted drugs. We are optimistic that investigating the mechanics of the newly mapped variants could yield similar insights. And since we already have effective ways to reduce heart-attack risk, individuals at higher genetic risk may benefit from earlier intervention, something that needs to be tested in future studies."
Primary support for the study was provided by grants from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute; the Fannie Rippel Foundation; the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, and the Donovan Family Foundation. Additional key contributors include Benjamin Voight, PhD, Kiran Musunuru, MD, PhD, and Shaun Purcell, PhD, MGH Center for Human Genetic Research; Noel Burtt, Aarti Surti, Candace Guiducci, and Stacey Gabriel, PhD, Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT; Stephen M. Schwartz, PhD, MPH, and David Siscovick, MD, MPH, University of Washington; Diego Ardissino, MD, University of Parma, Italy; Pier M. Mannucci, MD, University of Milan, Italy; Roberto Elosua, MD, Institut Municipal d'Investigacio Medica, Barcelona, Spain; Olle Melander, MD, PhD, Lund University, Sweden; Leena Peltonen, MD, PhD, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Cambridge, UK; and Veikko Salomaa, National Public Health Institute of Finland.
Massachusetts General Hospital, established in 1811, is the original and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. The MGH conducts the largest hospital-based research program in the United States, with an annual research budget of more than $500 million and major research centers in AIDS, cardiovascular research, cancer, computational and integrative biology, cutaneous biology, human genetics, medical imaging, neurodegenerative disorders, regenerative medicine, systems biology, transplantation biology and photomedicine.


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Since we have all been so busy over the summer, we had to take a break for a few months but thankfully we were able to start it up again last weekend. It was our turn to host and since it happened to be Labour day weekend (or the 'official' end of summer), I decided that it would be appropriate for the theme to be 'summer' or more accurately a menu using the last of the summer ingredients. After much consideration I came up with the following menu:
Lettuce Soup with Pea Crostini
Goats Cheese Stuffed Pork Tenderloin with Fresh Cherry Sauce on a bed of Mixed Salad Leaves with Crispy Lemon Thyme and Garlic Potatoes
Strawberry Cheesecake
The meal was a great success despite the suns lack of cooperation, and rather than sitting out to eat sipping lemon drops, we were relegated inside with a lovely vase of sunflowers providing the rays of light! All in all, the menu worked well, it was great to catch up with everyone and it was good to get the cook club started again – roll on October!
Lettuce Soup with Pea Crostini
Serves 6 - 8
For the soup:
1oz/ 30g butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely sliced
1 leek, cleaned & finely sliced
2 clove of garlic, crushed
2 potatoes, peeled & cut into cubes
1500ml/ 6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 heads of lettuce, washed & torn
4oz/ 115g/ 1 cup frozen peas
Salt & pepper
125ml/ ½ cup whipping or double cream, plus extra for garnish
For the crostini: (makes enough for 6-8 servings plus extra)
7 ¼ oz/ 200g frozen peas
1 clove of garlic, roughly chopped
6 basil leaves
Juice & zest of ½ lemon
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
Handful of freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 spring (green) onion, finely sliced
Salt & pepper
French baguette or ciabatta, thinly sliced
Start by making the soup. Melt the butter with the oil in a large pan. Add the onion and leek and sauté for roughly 5 minutes until it has softened. Add the garlic and cook for a further minute before adding the potatoes. Cover with a tight-fitting lid then leave to cook over a medium-low heat for 10 minutes so that they start to soften, stirring from time to time to make sure the potatoes aren't sticking or burning. Add the stock and season with salt and pepper, turn up the heat to medium then continue to cook for another 10 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through. Once they are ready add the lettuce and peas and allow it to just wilt before removing from the heat. Leave to cool slightly then puree with a handheld blended or liquidizer. Transfer into a clean pan and add the cream.
To make the pea crostini, cook the peas in a pan of boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain then put the peas in a bowl with ice cold water to stop them from cooking further. Add the peas, garlic, basil, lemon zest and juice, olive oil and a good pinch of salt and pepper to a food processor and blend until smooth. Put the pureed peas into a small bowl then add the parmesan cheese and the sliced green onion. Taste to check the seasoning and adjust if necessary.
Drizzle the slices of bread with some olive oil then toast on a griddler or under a grill under golden brown then top with a good spoonful of the pureed peas.
When ready to serve reheat the soup then add a swirl of cream. Place a pea crostini in the middle of each bowl and finish with a little drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
Goats Cheese Stuffed Pork Tenderloin with Fresh Cherry Sauce
Serves 6
2 Pork tenderloins
200g soft Goats cheese
Zest of ½ lemon & a squeeze of juice
2 tbsp fresh basil, finely chopped
2 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 tsp Extra Virgin Olive oil
Salt & Pepper
Butchers twine to tie the pork
For the cherry sauce:
Drizzle of olive oil
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 small clove of garlic, crushed
14oz/ 400g/ 2 cups fresh cherries
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
200ml/ 1 1/3 cup red wine
125ml/ ½ cup water
Salt & Pepper
To serve:
Mixed salad leaves (enough for 6-8 people)
½ red onion, thinly sliced
Handful of fresh cherries
Start by making the cherry sauce. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a small pan then gently sauté the shallot until softened – about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute before adding the cherries. Stir well then add the balsamic vinegar and cook until it has almost completely reduced. Add the wine, water and seasoning and leave to gently simmer, covered for roughly 30 minutes. Remove the lid and continue simmering for another 15 minutes or so before removing from the heat. Allow the sauce to cool then puree ¾ of it in a blender or using a handheld blender. Add the blended sauce back to the pan with the remaining sauce. Stir well and taste to check the seasoning then keep warm until ready to serve.
To make the filling mix the goats cheese, lemon zest, juice, basil, parsley, olive oil and a good pinch of black pepper together in a small bowl (it's easiest to use a fork to soften up the goats cheese.) Taste to check the seasoning and if needed add a little pinch of salt.
Butterfly the pork tenderloins so that they open like a book. Season with salt and pepper then spread half of the goats cheese mixture on to each tenderloin. Roll the tenderloins back together then tie with some butchers twine to secure and keep the filling inside. Season the outside of the pork with some more salt and pepper and drizzle over a little olive oil.
Preheat the oven to 400F/ 200C. When ready to cook the pork, heat a large, non-stick saucepan and add an extra drizzle of olive oil. Sear the meat for a couple of minutes on each side until golden brown then remove from the pan and put onto a baking sheet. Cook in the oven for 18 minutes then remove, cover loosely with foil and leave to rest for a good 5 minutes or so.
When ready to serve the pork arrange the mixed salad leaves on a large platter and scatter over the thinly sliced onion. Slice the pork into roughly 1 inch pieces and arrange on top of the salad leaves. Drizzle over the cherry sauce and garnish with the whole cherries. Serve at once with crispy thyme and garlic potatoes and any extra sauce.
Crispy Lemon Thyme & Garlic Potatoes
6 medium potatoes, cleaned
3 tbsp olive oil (or garlic olive oil if you have it)
1 tbsp lemon thyme leaves (or ordinary thyme)
Zest of ½ lemon
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
Salt and Pepper
Preheat the oven to 400F/200C. Cut the potatoes into small (bite sized) pieces that are all roughly the same size. Place the potatoes on a large baking sheet and drizzle with the olive oil then sprinkle over the thyme leaves and lemon zest. Season with salt and pepper then toss the potatoes well so that they are all evenly coated. Cook for approx. 40minutes, turning half way through cooking. Remove from the oven then sprinkle over the garlic. Cook for another 5 minutes or until the potatoes are nicely roasted and golden on the outside. Serve immediately.
*Cheesecake recipe to follow!

subset: commoncrawl


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Posts tagged with "debugging" and "osx"
March 11, 09
Geek Tool loves Flash trace logs![Geektool trace();](/files/images/geektool.png "Geektool trace();") Have you ever used
trace(...) to debug your Flash files? Somewhat it might be very limiting (comparing to some professional debugging tools around) and you'd get condemned by many Flash devs in your town. Well, they'd be right there – there's a few cons not to use
trace(...) method at all, i.e., it only allows to view logs in Flash IDE (slowing down the performance of your SWF when loads of traces are dumped out), but hey! - it may become your racing horse as well. Here's how.
If you develop on Mac (and I hope you do so), there's a neat free app called [GeekTool](http://projects.tynsoe.org/en/geektool/download.php "GeekTool download") – all what it does is displaying contents of a file (files) directly onto your desktop wallpaper – check out [example screenshots](http://projects.tynsoe.org/en/geektool/ecrans.php "Geektool example screenshots"). As you already might know (especially if you were using Firefox FlashTracer plugin by Sepiroth before), all
trace(...) messages are added to a global log file which (on Mac) is stored in the following location:
Check it out, if it's not there, you might need to create a **mm.cfg** file in your home directory (
/Library/Preferences/Macromedia/Flash Player/Logs/flashlog.txt
/Users/) containing the following:
Geektool itself is trivial to configure, just add a group (by clicking the **New Entry button**), rename it to **Flash** (or whatever name it feels appropriate for you) and paste the Flash log path into the **Path** field. Make sure the **Enable GeekTool** option is checked and there you go, contents of your Flash log should appear directly on your desktop wallpaper.
Play around with fonts and colours, be careful with shadows though – that's somehow not perfectly working (at least with GeekTool 2.1.2). You may also want your log to be displayed always on top of everything (i.e., when you're using additional monitor).
In order to view your logs generated by Flash Player in a browser, you need a [debug version of Flash Player](http://www.adobe.com/support/flashplayer/downloads.html#fp10 "Flash Player 10 Debugger").
And finally – make sure you only use
/Library/Preferences/Macromedia/Flash Player/Logs/flashlog.txt
trace(...) in production/development mode and disable it for release builds (by unchecking **Omit trace actions** in Flash IDE: *Publish settings...* > *Flash tab*), unless you want to [entertain other Flash developers](http://www.deitte.com/archives/2007/02/youtubes_hidden.htm "Hidden YouTube's logs").
If you are having problems with getting your logs out, Mark Walters describes ways of [outputting Flash trace logs on various operating systems](http://yourpalmark.com/2005/07/01/trace-from-the-browser-using-standard-trace "outputting Flash trace in the browser"). Actually, I've found a comment there by [Marc-André Lavoie](http://www.pixelnickel.com) pointing to the geek tool as well.
Tags: as3, debugging, osx


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This tutorial will teach you how to make your very own fragrance advertisements, and even though we chose to use Monica Beluci in this tutorial, you can turn any ordinary home-made picture into a fragrance advertisement billboard. So first of all you need a picture of a girl (or boy you are doing to use. Pictures of people against black or dark backgrounds are better, since we will try to create an illusion of nocturnal sky.
Once you opened a new canvas with the desired dimensions of your billboard, create a new layer and fill it with any dark blue or dark purple hue, we used #210a3a. Make sure that your 'background' colour is set to white, and go to Filter >> Render >> Clouds. This will will your upper layer with nice foggy fibber texture. Set the overlay settings of this clouds layer to "Linear Light" (see illustration).
Our aim is to create a nicely high contrasted photo with a pit of fog and glow effect as well as make the background look like a night sky. SO, what we are going to do it, duplicate the photo of the girl, drag it (in the layer's panel) on top of other 2 layers, and set this layer's settings to "Overlay"
Next step is filling the bottom of the billboard with grass. This is the easiest part although I noticed that many get stuck here. We will be using the brush tool, with a default Photoshop CS2 brush called "brush dune". You should have it. Set your foreground color to green (any hue, up to you, as long as it gives a natural look) and fill the bottom of the screen more or less like you see on the picture. The default settings for this brush are set to "scattering" so you don't need to do much work except for just not overdoing the grass over the photo.
Next step is adding twirly shape.
If you don't have any nice and twirly shape, you can download mine in PSD format HERE.
So you will either select a custom shape tool and draw any twirly shape of your choice, or take mine from the PSD file, drag and drop it to your canvas. Place the shame Between the girl's layer and the grass (see below). Next, duplicate the shape later, transform it horizontally (or vertically, depending on your shape) and place it more or less as you can see on the illustration below.


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Howdy, Y'all!
I'm Pat Rosenheim, a.k.a. the PandA Trader.
I use Google spreadsheets for my holdings and to record dividends. They are as up-to-date as I can manage, but will lag by a day or so due to delays in the cost basis reporting from the brokerages. The share prices should update close to real-time, however, with a possible slight delay (~20 minutes) from Google. Also, there now appears to be a very real existential threat to these spreadsheets; Google has "updated" the Finance portion of their website, and all financial functions ceased functioning on the Google sheets recently. It has since started functioning again. I may stop using these sheets altogether, but they are still there. For now…
Here's an update: The pricing updates for QQQX (and some others) has failed again in other areas of the spreadsheets. Thanks, Google! NOT!!!
Here's another update: The pricing for SMHB is not working. I have contacted Google, and the response was that it was implemented, but of course it hasn't been. So, there will be no reporting for shares of SMHB that I own in my Roth IRA. Also, Yahoo! does not support the symbol, either, so there's no kludge that I can use. Thanks, Google! NOT!!!
Here's another update: The pricing for SMHB (and now BGH as well!) is now working thanks to an add-on from Sheets Market Data. Thanks, Sheets Market Data!
Here's another update: The pricing for everything stopped working on February 4th so I switched to the Sheets Market Data add-on. Thanks, Google! NOT!!!
Oh, Jeez! Here's yet another update: The pricing for everything stopped working on April 4th so I switched from the Sheets Market Data add-on back to Google Finance.
NOTE: (Google will soon discontinue some parts of Google Finance, so there is an existential threat to my Google spreadsheets. They have given no warning, only that some of it will stop working "to enhance the user experience". Assholes!)
From the Silver Lining Dept.: Since I use the TDM dividend and Investment Tracking Software, I don't worry about Google's asinine decisions anymore. This TDM software pulls all the dates and dividend amounts into the program automatically so all I need to do is input any buys and sells and the dividends are calculated automatically for me! I can pull up the ex-dividend list and it even shows ones in the past month I may have missed on my sheets and calendar. Mostly, though, I just use it now to forecast a week ahead for the ex-dividend dates, and subsequently the dividend amounts. The program will forecast several months into the future, based on historical amounts, but I'm only concerned with what I have earned (ex-dividend dates and amounts) and what I will receive (dividend projections) for the next 7 days (or 14 days, or 21 days, or 28 days, etc.) Also, I can select only what has been declared and omit the historical guess that the program makes, even though they're pretty damned accurate.
It should be noted that the sources Dustin uses to get dividend information has changed a few times recently but he has quickly responded with updates.
On my Google spreadsheets, you can find portfolio holdings, dividend amounts, dates (dividend pay dates, record dates, declaration dates, dividend amounts, ex-dividend dates, etc.). I have moved the cash and withdrawal amounts to the Google spreadsheets as well as the dividends spreadsheet. I will still post screenshots on the Dividends Received page. I have recently added most of the CEF NAV values that I could find, and a column to show amount of premium/discount.
I only post for my holdings, but they're as accurate as I can make them. The symbols are; ABR, AGD, ARCC, AWP, BFK, BGH, BSD, BST, BXMX, CSQ, DIAX, DNP, ECC, FLC, FTF, GAIN, GOF, HTD, IGN, IYLD, JLS, JQC, LDP, LGI, LOR, MAIN, MHD, NEWT, NRO, NVG, NZF, OIA, OXLC, PCI, PDI, PDT, PFO, PHK, PHT, PMF, PML, PSF, RFI, RNP, SACH, TPZ, UTF, UTG, & VPV. Quite a list, eh? (49 total issues held; 6 common stocks, 2 ETFs, and 41 CEFs, of which 9 are tax-free muni CEFs.) Most pay monthly! Only ABR, ARCC, BXMX, DIAX, IGN, NEWT, & SACH pay quarterly.
This series of blog posts is issued `weekly, but since the majority of our holdings pay dividends near the end and/or beginning of the month it may not always warrant a publishing blitz. There are usually 6 posts in the series when posted. The withdrawal update is issued monthly. I think you should try to catch all 6, plus the monthly withdrawal update if you're so inclined. Occasionally I'll throw something else up for ridicule or admiration like my recent final posting about "Profiting from Preferreds", so feel free to be entertained!
Of course, if something major happens I might be tempted to throw something up about that. Or not. Like the recession, depression, World War III, or whatever…
Anyway, let's continue with a look at the dates;
The most up-to-date method to view our holdings and expected dividends is to click here (will open in a new window).
Here's a look at the dates spreadsheet, showing the ex-dividend and pay dates of each dividend (also shown on the calendar). I sometimes use info like this to time purchases or sales after a stock goes ex-dividend, due to the anticipated drop in stock price, or to make sure I own a stock before the ex-dividend date to ensure I am entitled to the dividend. I mainly use it to keep track of the dates and amounts of the dividend. YMMV!
Click here for the dates sheet.
Look on the right side and you'll see a chart (table) sorted by last declared ex-dividend dates.
This is that table;
But, as always, "Don't be hasty" as Treebeard would say. 😉
I'm not telling anyone to buy anything or giving anyone any advice, because that's illegal. You see, I have no letters after my name, like RIA, CFA, etc. I SIMPLY DO NOT GIVE ADVICE. I only tell (and show!) what I do. You, like me, are all alone in this.
And remember, always do your own due diligence!
Pat Rosenheim


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'Meet the Press' Segment on NRA Spurs Police Investigation
The D.C. Metropolitan Police Department says it is currently investigating NBC's David Gregory and his network after the "Meet the Press" host apparently held up when he called a "magazine for ammunition that carries thirty bullets" during a televised segment with National Rifle association CEO Wayne LaPierre. Gregory held up the prop as he tried to make the argument that reducing the amount of bullets a magazine can hold could possibly reduce the death toll in incidents like the massacre in Newtown, Conn. Araz Alali, a spokesperson for the The Metropolitan Police Department, told the Wall Street Journal, "NBC contacted the Metropolitan Police Department inquiring if they could utilize a high capacity magazine for their segment. NBC was informed that possession of a high capacity magazine is not permissible and the request was denied. The request is currently being investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department." Alali declined to give further details. A spokesperson for NBC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.


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Iondesign Iondesign Gmbh-Smartdigital Office Space Interior Design
At Design Interviews
(Excerpt) Interview with IONDESIGN IONDESIGN GmbH : Frank Scott: What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?. IONDESIGN IONDESIGN GmbH : We intended to create an open space office where we would like to work on a daily basis - this motivated us to design the ideal office for our client. .Frank Scott: What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?. IONDESIGN IONDESIGN GmbH : A large part of the building was already used by the Wall AG, but not the space on the ground level. Therefore, our fist task was to connect the new office to the rest of the company headquarters. The entrance from the street to the SmartDigital Office was closed and a staircase was opened again in order to access the new office space from the first floor. Due to its position on street level, the office is an external representation of the company and a workplace at the same time. The Interior Design should fulfil this double function by giving an insight of the work atmosphere and providing a necessary degree of privacy for the employees. This is equally important for the close and the long distance perception: it is the face of the company in Berlin's urban environment. .Frank Scott: What are your future plans for this award winning design?. IONDESIGN IONDESIGN GmbH : We hope that it will be in use for a very long time. Our design allows changes so that the interior can change and grow together with the company. .Frank Scott: Why did you design this particular concept? Was this design commissioned or did you decide to pursuit an inspiration?. IONDESIGN IONDESIGN GmbH : We designed the office space for our client, the Wall AG. The company works in outdoor advertisement and street furniture. The office on street level was a challenge and a blessing at the same time. The busy road junction makes strong noise insulation necessary, but it is the perfect environment for the employees who work on advertisement in the urban environment. We used the floor of the SmartDigital office as a quote from the cityscape: near the window, the floor is made of rubber which looks like asphalt. Yellow road markings provide an ideal test track for close and long-distance perception of the content on the Digital City Light Display which is placed in the lounge area. The overall idea was to create the opposite of an anonymous Cubicle – and to present our client in the best possible light. .Frank Scott: What sets this design apart from other similar or resembling concepts?. IONDESIGN IONDESIGN GmbH : In this particular project, there were many similarities between a public and an office project because the space is situated on street level. Usually, a public project aims at a strong visual effect. An office space on the other hand needs to provide the ideal lighting situation for the employees. In the SmartDigital office we combined these two elements and created an open plan office which is attractive from the outside and ideally lit as a workplace from the inside. .Frank Scott: What is the most unique aspect of your design?. IONDESIGN IONDESIGN GmbH : IONDESIGN aims at the utility of the product or space - not the formalistic style. Every design task is different and therefore the solutions differ as well. Our goal is to design for today and tomorrow, this requires timelessness and high quality. This objective can be found in every detail of the SmartDigital Office. The flexible floor plan of the space offers the possibility to adapt the office to changes in the future. For example the desk area can be extended with additional tables and seating, without having to adapt the light fixtures. In every project it is crucial for us to come up with the ideal solution for the people who use the space or the object. .Frank Scott: What is the role of technology in this particular design?. IONDESIGN IONDESIGN GmbH : We pretty much achieved the vision we had in mind. Thanks to the great 3D-visualization tools we use, we can see what the space will look like quite early in the design process. It is always a long way until the design is agreed upon but once that is done, we can visualize it very accurately. .Frank Scott: What are some of the challenges you faced during the design/realization of your concept?. IONDESIGN IONDESIGN GmbH : Of course, every project has some surprises which come up unexpectedly, no matter how well you plan it. With the lighting, though, we were quite lucky – the only challenge, if you want to call it tha.[ End of Excerpt: Read complete interview with IONDESIGN IONDESIGN GmbH on Smartdigital Office Space Interior Design at design-interviews.com ]
Iondesign Iondesign Gmbh-Smartdigital Office Space Interior Design Images:
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President Barack Obama used the first weekly radio address of his second term Saturday to vow that he would stick to an election promise to raise tax contributions from the richest Americans to tackle the "fiscal cliff".
Obama's first order of business following Tuesday's victory at the polls is to tackle a series of tax hikes and spending cuts that will be triggered in the new year if there is no wide-ranging deal with Congress on a deficit-trimming budget.
If such a deal fails, many experts are predicting the US economy could fall back into recession. But the Republican-controlled House of Representatives has said it will not countenance any tax rises as part of the agreement.
In his new address, Obama said that was not acceptable: "I refuse to accept any approach that isn't balanced. I will not ask students or seniors or middle-class families to pay down the entire deficit while people making over $250,000 aren't asked to pay a dime more in taxes."
The president added that he believed this election victory over the Republican challenger Mitt Romney had given him a mandate to carry out his promise. "This was a central question in the election. And on Tuesday, we found out that the majority of Americans agree with my approach," he said.
So far both sides – while sticking to their positions – have also tried to indicate that they are open to negotiations and compromise. Obama continued that line on Saturday by holding out the prospect of wide-ranging talks with his Republican opponents.
"We know there will be differences and disagreements in the months to come. That's part of what makes our political system work," he said. "Instead, you want cooperation. You want action. That's what I plan to deliver in my second term, and I expect to find leaders from both parties willing to join me."
Next week Obama will be meeting with top Republicans and Democratic leaders to begin the process of thrashing out a possible deal. He is also set to consult with business leaders and officials from organised labour.
Many business leaders have argued that the prospect of going over the fiscal cliff represents a nightmare scenario for America's economic prospects.
Some have called for tax hikes to be part of any settlement. Before the election, 80 American business leaders, including Microsoft's Steve Ballmer and JP Morgan's Jamie Dimon, signed a letter calling for a balanced approach to tackling the budget deficit, including tax hikes and spending cuts.
On Friday, United Continental airline boss Jeff Smisek told CNBC that the fiscal cliff could have a potentially more disastrous impact on his business than superstorm Sandy. "It makes it difficult for us to operate," Smisek said.
However, a political deal is far from guaranteed. The election left House Majority leader John Boehner firmly in control of the House of Representatives, along with its Tea Party-infused Republican caucus.
Many of those politicians are implacably opposed to any form of tax hike, and Boehner has also struck a strong tone, claiming that the election results that left his party in charge of the House also represent a mandate from the people.


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Rye bread
Thinly cut cooked corned beef
Shredded Cabbage
Renard's Caraway
Brick Cheese
Dijon mustard
2 tbsp butter
Heat a cast iron skillet to a medium heat. Add one tablespoon of butter to each slice rye bread. Add one slice of the bread, butter side down, onto the skillet. Spread a thin layer of Dijon mustard on the bread. Add a slice of the Caraway Brick cheese. Add a nice layer of the onions & cabbage on top of the cheese, then the slices of corned beef, top with another slice of Renard's Caraway Brick Cheese and the final layer of bread, butter side up.
Cook for about 4 minutes on one side until you get a nice golden brown. Carefully flip over, and continue to cook for an additional 4 minutes. Feel free to lay something heavy on the cooked top to apply a bit of pressure, to make this a nice melt.
Once both side are nice and golden and the cheese is melted, you are good to go


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(Reuters) - Hostess Brands Inc, the bankrupt maker of Twinkies snack cakes, received court permission to wind down its 82-year-old business on Thursday but revealed "furious" interest in its iconic brands from potential buyers.
New York Bankruptcy Court Judge Robert Drain approved the final orders that cleared the way for the company to begin selling its assets, everything from brands such as Ding Dongs and Twinkies to baking equipment and real estate.
"It's undisputed they will be worth more moving down this path," Drain said of the wind-down plan.
Around 110 potential bidders have contacted the company about bidding for at least part of its business, and 70 had enough interest to sign confidentiality agreements, Hostess' banker told the hearing in White Plains, New York.
Joshua Scherer of Perella Weinberg, who was hired by Hostess to sell its assets, said that six potential bidders have hired large investment banks to help them.
"It's very significant because it indicates to me that not only are these buyers serious, but they are expecting to spend substantial sums," said Scherer. He said the liquidation could raise $1 billion.
Scherer described the level of incoming calls from potential bidders as "fast and furious." Interested parties include large national retailers and overseas buyers that wanted to bring Hostess brands to India, he said.
By early January, the company expects to have initial bids for its various brands, which will then be put to auction.
Money raised from the sale of assets will help Hostess repay its creditors. It has about $900 million of secured debt and faces up to about $150 million of administrative claims.
Scherer said last week that Hostess could be worth $2.3 billion to $2.4 billion in a normal bankruptcy, an amount equal to its annual revenue.
Hostess abandoned its initial plan to reorganize as an ongoing business and decided to liquidate on November 16, saying it was losing about $1 million per day after the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco and Grain Millers Union, representing close to one-third of its workers, went on strike a week earlier.
Drain expressed frustration with the bakers' union earlier this month for striking. The union walked out after Drain authorized Hostess to impose pay and benefit cuts, which the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Hostess' largest union, had accepted.
His frustration burst into the open again on Thursday and he briefly shouted at the bakers' attorney, Ancela Nastasi, after he questioned her approach in questioning witnesses.
"I have to wonder, again ... what your clients' basis is for whatever they are doing here. I just don't get it," he said.
The case is In re: Hostess Brands Inc et al, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York, No. 12-22052.
Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; Editing by Tim Dobbyn and Dan Grebler


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Final Countdown to the Playoffs: Game 3: The Phillies' bat and Blanton's pitching would help the Phillies defeat the Nats, 8-4. The Marlins' defeat of the Mets would help shrink the Phils' magic number down to 1.
The Phillies' offense early innings offensive, and Blanton's excellent pitching, would lead the Phillies to easily defeat the Nationals, 8-4. A Mets' lost to the Marlins would help drop the Phillies' magic number to win the Eastern Division down to one. The Phillies would take a quick lead in the first, as, with runners on the corners and one man out, Ryan Howard would hit a three-run home run, his forty-eighth home run of the year, scoring Jayson Werth, who has earlier singled and has moved to third on Chase Utley's single, and Utley, who has singled earlier, to give the Phillies a quick 3-0 lead. The Nationals would get a run back in the second, as, with a runner on third and two outs, Luke Montz would hit a RBI single, knocking in Elijah Dukes who has earlier walked, went to second on a pass ball, moved to third on Kory Casto's ground out, 4-3, to make it a 3-1 Phillies' lead. The Phillies would blow the game wide open in their half of the second, as, with the bases loaded via a double (Greg Dobbs), a walk (Jimmy Rollins) and an infield single (Werth) and two outs, Utley would clear the bases by hitting a three-run RBI double, scoring Dobbs, Rollins and Werth, giving the Phillies a 6-1 lead. Howard would then follow with a RBI double, knocking in Utley, making it 7-1 Phils. The Nationals would cut the Phillies' lead down in the fifth, as, with two men on and one out, Emilio Bonifacio would hit a sacrifice fly, scoring Pete Orr, who would reach first on Howard's fielding error and would move to third on Roger Bernadina's double, to make it a 7-2 Phillies' lead. One batter later, Bernadina would score on a Cristian Guzman's single, cutting the Phillies' lead down to 7-3. In the sixth, the Nationals would cut the lead down further to 7-4 Phillies as, with two outs, Casto would hit a solo home run, his second home run of the year, after the umpires have reviewed the play and dismissed Charlie Manuel's argument that a fan has pulled the ball into the right field stands. The Phillies would get that run back in the seventh as, with runners on second and third and two men outs, Utley, who has earlier singled, stole second and would reached third on Shane Victorino's force out, which would wipe out Pat Burrell, who has earlier walked, would crossed the plate on a pass ball, while Victorino, who has earlier stole second, would move on to third, making it 8-4 Phillies. Brad Lidge would then be given the ball in the ninth and would pitch a 1-2-3 inning.
Joe Blanton would get the win as he pitches six very strong innings, giving up four runs, only one of which was earned, on five hits. His record is now 9-12, 4-0 as a Phil, with an ERA of 4.69. Scott Eyre would pitch a scoreless inning, giving up no hits while striking out two. Ryan Madson would pitch two-thirds of an inning, giving up no runs on one hit. J.C. Romero would pitch a third of an inning, giving up no runs or hits. Brad Lidge would pitch a 1-2-3 ninth, striking out two. Collin Balester would take the lost, as he only went an inning and a third, giving up seven earned runs on seven hits. Jason Bergmann would pitch two and one third innings, giving up no runs on one hit. Charlie Manning would pitch a scoreless inning, giving up no hits. Garrett Mock would also pitch a scoreless inning, giving up no hits. Mike Hinckley would pitch two thirds of an inning, giving up an unearned run on one hit. Jesus Colome would pitch an inning and a third, giving up no runs on no hits.
The Phillies' offense would bust the game open early in the first two innings, via a three-run home run by Ryan Howard and a three-run double by Chase Utley. With this big runs support, Joe Blanton would be able to mow down the Nationals, getting most of them out via a large number of ground ball outs. The score is closer than it actually should have been, as one National run would come in thanks in part to a Carlos Ruiz pass ball on a Blanton pitch, and their second and third runs would cross the plate because of Ryan Howard's fielding error on a ball that was hit straight to him. Whatever Charlie Manuel has told his men during their afternoon meeting must've worked as they would score several very early runs.
The Phillies (90-70) will continue their final three games home stand of the regular season with the Nationals (59-100) with a game this afternoon, which will be nationally televised by Fox Sports. The game will be played at Citizens Bank Park and will start at 3:55 pm Eastern. The Phillies' starter will be the 45 years old veteran Jamie Moyer (15-7, 3.78), who is coming off a win against the Marlins on September 21, where he went six innings, giving up only one earned run on six scattered hits, in the Phillies' 5-2 win. In his last start against the Nats on August 21, he would receive a no-decision as he went six and one third innings, giving up just an earned run on five hits, in the Phillies' 4-3 lost. He will be trying for both his team leading sixteenth victory and to clinch the Phillies into the playoffs, if the Marlins don't defeat the Mets earlier in the day. The Nationals will send to the mound John Lannan (9-14, 3.86), who is coming off a lost to the Padres on September 20, when he went seven innings, giving up four runs, only one of which was earned, on four hits, in the Nationals' 6-1 lost. In his last two starts against the Phillies, his record is 0-2, where he pitched a combined total of eleven and two-thirds innings, giving up eight earned runs on fourteen hits. He will be trying to get his tenth victory while trying to see if he can stop the Phillies' clinching celebration for one more day.
The Phillies are now ahead of the Mets in the East by two games after their lost to the Marlins, leaving the Phillies' magic number to win the division at one. In the Wild Card race, the Brewers are now leading the Mets by one game as they defeated the Cubs, with their magic number to clinch the Wild Card now at two. The Phillies could clnch the East Saturday afternoon, with the clinching party being seen on national television, if the Mets haven't already lost to the Marlins by then. Whatever happens, the Phillies need to take care of their own buisness and defeat the Nationals. GO PHILLIES!!!!


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Yet another week of Searching for GIGABYTE's #1 Biggest Fan has gone by and the search has not yet come to an end. We have several awesome motherboards still waiting to give away, so make sure to keep pace with us and invite your friends to be a GIGABYTE Motherboard Fan. As for last week's winner, congratulations to Steve Ng from the Lion City – Singapore. Congrats Steve, you have won a brand new GIGABYTE H55N-USB3 motherboard!
The question for Week 6 was: Which GIGABYTE motherboard you have used before for overclocking? What are your best techniques you've used for overclocking by "air-cooling", and what will be the new overclocking features that you will like to see next on GIGABYTE motherboards?
It was a tough call for us to decide the winner for this week, as you all have lots of brilliant ideas to cool off the CPU by "air-cooling". We have received lots of great comments from you all, thanks everyone!
So, let's take a look at our winner Steve's best techniques for overclocking.
I had the Gigabyte GA-X48T-DQ6 for the past 2 years and it is still serving me very well - i meant OC'ed state.
That was the time when Intel X48 chipset was introduced and what caught me in the eye was the colourful GA-X48T-DQ6. Can you imagine having a motherboard with pink and lime green DDR-3 dual-channel? I DO!!
I bought the Intel C2Q9450 and packed it with 8GB (4x2GB) DDR-3 from OCZ. The fun began when I put everything together, considering every details, to be OverClocked!!
- Good Chassis with 500W 80PLUS PSU
- Arctic Silver 3 Heatsink-CPU Compound spread thinly and evenly on the C2Q
- Intel-branded Air-Cooler
- A handful of high-performance low-noise 80-mm FANs to suck in cool air and gush out the hot air
- Ensuring as little clutter as possible surrounding the board, CPU and RAM
The best part is the trial and error is pushing the system to the limit without breaking.... first OC the CPU, then Memory, then GPU... then again the same cycle... lots of experimenting for the best application performance.
It's like a delicate operation.... when it hang, my heart also missed a beat.... so exciting in achieving the extra MHz out of my investments.
When Win XP boots up nice and next comes the stress tests to ensure that it is stable and rock solid.... almost a weekend effort to achieve this incredible stun.
If I get a new Gigabyte Motherboard, I'll be spending another weekend doing what I once did 2+ years ago.
Oh yes, new features..... hmmm... I like the 2-oz Copper Board - much needed for stability, over-clocking, reliability, better power-efficiency, etc, and also software like Smart-6 which makes overclocking and testing much easier and convenient.
Go Gigabyte - You are the BEST !!!
We are sure that you will be spending several weekends enjoying this new H55N-UB3 motherboard, Steve.
If you did not win this week's H55N-USB3 or have just learned about our Search for GIGABYTE's #1 Biggest Fan event don't worry, we still have a lot of boards to give away including 3 GIGABYTE X58 motherboards, as well as the grand prize of a trip to Taiwan for GO OC 2010. So, keep coming back each week for the win! Visit facebook.com/GIGABYTEmotherboards to enter!


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TNPihl wrote:The episode airs:
Thursday February 23 on NBC
The "TGS" Gang celebrates Leap Day. Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) learns that Leap Day is more than just an extra day to do business while Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) spends her first intercalary holiday helping Jenna (Jane Krakowski) seduce an Internet billionaire. Tracy (Tracy Morgan) rallies the writers to help him use a nearly expired Benihana gift card worth so much that it will take a Leap Day miracle to spend.
Check new stills:
http://www.jimcarreyonline.com/images/t ... ?album=650
Haha I just seen the episode advertise on tv a couple minutes ago can't wait till thursday


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The old saying goes that when you're in Rome, you should do as the Romans. Well, when you're in Paris going to a Miu Miu show, you should probably do as the Miuccia fangirls do and get decked out in Prada, right? It seems as though that's the line of thinking that actress and fellow Amanda Amanda Seyfried followed when getting ready to take her front-row seat at the Miu Miu Spring 2013 show (look for our coverage of the collection on Monday!) earlier this week.
Before evaluating this outfit, including Amanda's Prada Jacquard Satchel, consider the venue. Seyfried wasn't attending a splashy premiere or wandering down the street to get coffee; she was attending a fashion event, and I think she very much looks the part of a fashion person. The proportions of the suit are awkward, but they were designed to be awkward and challenging to the eye. If anyone (besides a model) can pull of the look, it's a young movie star. Check out more pictures of Amanda's Paris Fashion Week getup (plus shoe and bag close-ups!) after the jump or snap up a similar Prada bag for $1650 via Neiman Marcus.


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Farhan Lalji wrote:Blob Mckenzie wrote:Schneider has been the Canucks best goalie this season. Period. He has played against good teams in big games and he has much better numbers than Luongo. It isn't being anti Luongo by not starting him. Cory is the better goalie at this time and he has been all year. He gives the Canucks the best chance to win.
Luongo has played decent so far but in each game he let in a questionable goal. The Canucks need more than decent right now - they need someone to stand on his head.
As an asside, I don't understand as to why Luongo is such a focal point. Luongo hasn't been tremendous, but he's still been one of our best players.....if not, THE best.
Actually I feel like this time its nothing to do with Luongo as a lightning rod for criticism, its just that we got a ringer of a goalie sitting on the bench and is time to put him in while there's still a chance for him to make a difference.
Put it this way, if they go with luongo tonight and we lose, putting in Schneider in game four to avoid a sweep is like changing goalies down 5-0 in the third, whats the point?. The reality is if they don't go to Schneider now and they lose this series and trade Schneider on the draft floor with Kesler for your 40 goal scoring centre. Not only will RD forever have a case to beat to death about woulda coulda shoulda... but he will be right in that we never actually saw what Schneider could do before we gifted him to next Stanley Cup contender.


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Throughout 2020, PEAT is exploring the role that technology can play in breaking down barriers to employment and ensuring accessibility, equality, and opportunity for all. Please join us!
As of February 2020, the Department of Justice (DOJ) entered into 175 settlement agreements addressing how the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies to ICT accessibility. Through these agreements, employers and other covered entities can understand DOJ priorities related to website and ICT accessibility and how to proactively comply with existing rules and guidance.
The Center for Leadership in Disability at Georgia State University is conducting a survey to examine considerations for workplace technology use by people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The deadline is June 30, 2019.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently released a significant statement clarifying that digital accessibility is covered by the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Salimah LaForce explains how people with disabilities can help make wireless technologies more accessible by participating in the latest release of the Wireless RERC's Survey of User Needs (SUN). First launched in 2001, this cornerstone survey provides essential data to engineers, designers, the wireless industry, and government regulators to help make wireless technology more accessible.
PEAT's 2017 Think Tank meeting explored key issues related to accessible workplace technology through working groups and rich facilitated discussions. The event generated several tangible recommendations for closing the accessible technology skills gap, expanding government apprenticeship and workforce programs for people with disabilities, and encouraging the development of accessible products.
Bobby Silverstein discusses the implications of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other laws related to accessible technology with respect to shifts to a gig or project-based workforce.
For those who follow the world of web accessibility, this year brought a big development—the first public draft of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1.
AJCs can use this handy one-pager to reference ICT accessibility best practices related to websites, online systems, and other tools.
This fact sheet offers AJCs an "at-a-glance" overview of the tech-related implications of WIOA, and where to find assistance in meeting accessible ICT responsibilities.
The 2014 WIOA Act requires American Job Centers to use technologies that are accessible to individuals with disabilities—and PEAT is here to help in these efforts.
People with cognitive disabilities have an equal right to technology and information access. Learn more about this official statement by a coalition of disability organizations and individuals, and how interested parties can sign on to endorse it.
This guide helps American Job Centers ensure that their websites, online systems and courses, and applications are accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities, as required by the 2014 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA).
In January 2017, the U.S. Access Board published updates to two important regulations: Section 508 and Section 255.
Here's what you need to know about the U.S. Access Board's long-awaited update to the federal regulations covering the accessibility of ICT and telecommunications products and services.


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Bob Riley's automotive company has built every Rolex 24 winner since 2005.
DAYTONA BEACH -- Unless you're a serious gear head, you probably don't know who he is. You could walk by him in the paddock every day and never give him a second look. Talk to him a while and you don't necessarily feel the presence of greatness.
But few people have contributed as much to auto racing as Bob Riley, who left the house Saturday morning knowing he has a pretty good shot to win the Rolex 24. In fact, take away the names Earnhardt and Petty, and no other name seems to populate the Daytona record book quite like "Riley." Those things happen when you build most of the cars in the race's marquee class.
History might've changed dramatically if Bob Riley had decided to keep racing cars instead of building them back in the middle of the last century.
"When I was in the ninth grade, we built a little three-window Ford coupe and raced on dirt tracks around southern Louisiana," says Riley, a Lafayette native now in his 82nd year.
Riley, never accused of being non-observant, came to a rather quick conclusion regarding his driving ability: He wasn't very good.
"No!" he answers quickly with a laugh. "I wasn't even above average."
Thus he began displaying his love for cars by gripping a tool box instead of a steering wheel. Soon thereafter, he further narrowed his expertise.
"It came to a point where you either had to be an engine builder or a chassis builder. I went with car building," he says.
And 60-plus years later, Riley is possibly on the verge of a ninth straight Rolex 24 win. Bob Riley -- and son Bill, who carries the bulk of the load these days for Riley Technologies in Mooresville, N.C. -- are the "Riley" you see on the entry list alongside the other information for the Daytona Prototypes.
Over the past eight years, a Riley chassis and body has been paired with horsepower from Pontiac, Lexus, Porsche, BMW and Ford to win Daytona's 24-hour event. When the teams take delivery of a Riley chassis or body, they know that decades of expertise went into its blend of science, function and art.
"One of my heroes," says Gary Nelson, who has worked with Bob Riley on NASCAR stock cars and, in recent years, Grand-Am's sports cars. When asked to describe Riley's contributions to auto racing, Nelson just shakes his head and says, "Immeasurable."
"I worked with him for the first time in the early-'80s," says Nelson. "He taught me so much. It wasn't so much about the cars, but I learned a wisdom and an approach that he used. Back then, everybody was going to computer-aided design. But when you went in his office, he had a full-size blueprint of his next car on his wall. I asked him, 'You don't do CAD?' He said, 'No, I gotta see it."
Even today, at a time when even grandparents are working on iPads, Riley clings to his pencil.
"We have three engineers and they do the computer-aided design, but I still have my drawing board," says Riley, who doesn't let that board get dusty. "If I'm in town, I'm there about every day. When I go home, I think about the race cars. As soon as I go home and don't think about the race cars, then I'll retire."
Later this year, Riley will be inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in Detroit, where every form of racing is recognized -- whether powered by V8 engines, propellers or outboards, two wheels or four.
Such a diverse hall and museum is a fitting landing spot for Riley, who left LSU in the late-'50s and went to work in Chrysler's old missile division, which developed the Redstone missile that launched NASA's hopes and dreams.
From there it was a job with Ford, where he was part of the company's lead engineering team. Eventually his lifelong love of auto racing was put to good use, and his first big-time racing glory came at Indianapolis, where he combined his engineering eye with A.J. Foyt's famous right foot -- Riley designed the Coyote that carried A.J. to his fourth Indy 500 win in 1977.
But as IndyCars began losing their individual identities, Riley changed gears.
"There's a lot to those cars, but they're basically 'kit cars' from a design point of view," he says. "I always liked sports cars a lot. And there weren't many designers around."
Today, there are a variety of designers, but only one true giant, whose automotive history dates back to a time when such genius was built with great hands, eyes, imagination and a drawing board. And an unquenchable passion.
Saturday afternoon, about 10 minutes after the Rolex 24 went green, Riley slowly climbed the steps to the Fan Deck atop the Daytona garages. He wanted to see how his cars were working on the east banking. At 81 and getting around with a limp and a cane, he still cares that much, and that might be his greatest accomplishment.


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Item #0011
65 days. Tonda di Parigi is Italian for "Round of Paris" and is also called "Paris Market." It is deep orange, sweet and tender, and the round shape is a unique feature among carrots. Shallow roots mean you can grow it in a shallower bed or even in a container! Fun snack-size.
This packet sows up to 42 ft.
Seedling Image
Days to Emerge:
Seed Depth:
Seed Spacing:
Row Spacing:
When to sow outside: RECOMMENDED. 2 to 4 weeks before average last frost, and when soil temperature is at least 45°F, ideally 60°-85°F. Successive Sowings: Every 3 weeks until 60 days before first fall frost. In very warm climates, carrots are grown primarily in fall, winter, and spring.
When to start inside: Not recommended; root disturbance stunts growth.
Harvesting: For best flavor and texture, harvest carrots before they get larger than their optimal size. Peak harvest period lasts about 3 weeks, longer in the fall. Late summer-sown carrots are sweetened after having been kissed by light frost; however, harvest before soil freezes, which might destroy the crop. In USDA zone 5 or warmer, carrots can be left in the ground for storage provided they are heavily mulched; harvest as needed on days the ground is not frozen.
Artist: Pat Fostvedt
Item #0011
1.00 grams
What is Soil?
Soil is a diverse mix of substances, teeming with life and composed of minerals, decayed plant and animal matter, water, and air. It…More…
Small on space but big on gardening? A lot can happen in a small space. With some creativity and the right varieties, a small space can offer a big…More…


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Cameron Diaz and Snoop Dogg go way back, apparently.
The "Green Hornet" star said on "Lopez Tonight" Wednesday not only did both attend the same rough and tumble high school in Long Beach, Calif., but they had a working relationship of sorts.
"He was very tall and skinny, wore lots of ponytails in his head," Diaz said of the future "Gin and Juice" rapper, who was a year older than her (via NY Daily News).
U.S. & World
"And I'm pretty sure I bought weed from him," Diaz said. "Yeah. I had to have."
Lopez joked that meant Diaz, who drives a Toyota Prius, has been "green" since her schoolgirl days.
"Absolutely," she shot back. "You asked me when I got into the whole green thing."
Selected Reading: Daily News, Lopez Tonight, E!


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Transistor-lasers could enable on-chip optics by providing both an electrical and an optical output, but the old-school textbooks will have to be rewritten to accomodate the new device. Look for transistor lasers in commercial chips within five years. R.C.J.
The EE inventors of the transistor-laser (TL) —a transistor with both optical and electrical outputs—claim it fits perfectly within the semiconductor migration path to integrated optics. Unfortunately, all the electronics textbooks will have to be rewritten to use TLs in circuits, inventors say, because the transistor-laser breaks the time-worn concept of conservation of charge—Kirchhoff's Law, which has to be rewritten to accommodate the transistor laser developed by Milton Feng and Nick Holonyak Jr. at the University of Illinois. The researchers have created an equivalent circuit to their quantum-well-based transistor-laser that accurately models the charging and discharging mechanisms in the transistor-laser's base, where lasing occurs. As a consequence, TL circuits can now be studied in computer simulations that analyze both frequency and time-domain performance. The researchers have verified their algorithm on a prototype transistor-laser cast in III-V materials. The emitting layer was composed of indium gallium arsenide quantum wells sandwiched inside a p-type base. An emitting cavity of 2.2 microns wide and 0.85 millimeter long emitted at 1.0 micron wavelength, had a threshold current of 40mA and enabled direct modulation of the laser at 3 GHz...
Full Text: http://bit.ly/NextGenLog-cgg7
Friday, May 14, 2010
Transistor-laser breaks Kirchhoff's Law, rewrites textbooks #Semiconductor #Laser #Microchip
Posted by NextGenLog at 8:42 AM


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The National Museum of Civil War Medicine in Frederick, MD just opened an exhibit on PTSD among Civil War soldiers.
The Mariners' Museum in Newport News, VA isn't letting any wall space go to waste. All their public restrooms now feature cartoon panels about the history of using the toilet at sea, mounted so that you can read the text right there while doing your business. I kid you not.


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So I am new to SP Dev, and completely new to the idea of developing Silverlight applications, and the use of Expression. But I am trying to understand how Expression gets used with Visual Studio in order to develop an app (Sandbox Solution at that) for Sharepoint 2010.
From what I read it seems that the basic idea is that I can us Expression to Build UI elements for something like a form, then take that to Visual Studio to add functionality, create the package and upload to solution gallery. Is that correct (nutshell I realize)? What actually goes from Expression to Visual Studio, just the XAML?
Any help with understanding/context is greatly appreciate; for that matter all help I get here is always greatly appreciated!! Thanks


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I am James Jerald Klein. I go by James or Jerry.
I live in Gastonia, NC.
I have been involved in a few forums over the past few years and have left them on my own accord. For the most part, I felt I was not part of the forum. I came in after they started and had not been there long enough to be taken seriously. After a few dozen snippets about me not being around long and subjects already have been discussed so no need to talk about them again, I felt no need to continue trying to discuss topics which have been around for a long time but are still, IMPO, viable topics to discuss. Oh, I don't mind if people don't join a discussion but I consider it rude to be told by someone that to bring up a topic has no value.
I promise to keep my posts to the subject and not post long boring thoughts. I will be kind but will be more than happy to swap snowballs with anyone who chooses to throw the first one.
I don't expect to agree with everyone but will respect your positions, as your positions. I will probably tell you, as kind as I can, why I disagree but really am not in this to battle, maybe a short sparring match but that's about it.
J Klein


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A new era appears to be emerging in golf, and it isn't arriving a moment too soon.
If I'm reading the tea leaves correctly, we might have crossed a threshold in the game, a place and time where longer, harder, bigger, and more dramatic golf courses, built as part of an arms race with club and ball manufacturers, are finally, mercifully, going the way of Cold War bomb shelters and Devo albums.
After 30 years of architects doing their best to one-up each other with the most picturesque vistas and outrageous features, a time when flash bunkers looked like they might require rapelling gear and crampons; greens had all the subtlety of a roller coaster; boulder outcroppings split double fairways and carries were forced over everything from crocodile pits to the Rio Grande River, the boom finally ended, not because the artists and designers got tired of pushing the envelope, but because players finally rose up and said, "Enough!"
And it's not just weekend duffers who were sick of losing a dozen balls and a pound of pride every round. The best players in the world have taken to the microphones about the need to throttle back the madness. The game's greats are finally putting their feet down and saying long doesn't necessarily mean good.
As we close out 2012 and look toward a 2013 where short, strategic Merion is back in the major championship rotation and every organization in the sport is promoting shorter courses for greater fun, the game and those who shape it might have finally shifted back to the side of sanity.
Take the comments last week from Kingston Heath for example.
Before teeing off in the Australian Masters, Ian Poulter tweeted, "Kingston Heath is totally awesome. Someone please tell modern day architects we don't need 8,000-yard tracks. They're not enjoyable. Best yet."
Far from a monster, the 87-year-old club in the east suburbs of Melbourne tips out at just over 6,900 yards, yet it is consistently rated as the one of the top two or three best courses in Australia and one of the top 25 in the world.
"It's a fantastic golf course, just a real advertisement for how a golf course doesn't need length to be tricky and tough," Graeme McDowell said before this year's tournament. "It reminds me a little of the west coast of England there with your Birkdales and your Hillsides and that little stretch of phenomenal golf courses.
"I played here on Sunday and I played in a northerly wind, then I played nine holes yesterday afternoon (Monday) in a very strong southerly wind and (that) completely changed the dynami," he explained. "If I ever design a golf course, it would certainly have a lot of elements that Kingston Heath has to it. I love a golf course that asks you to position the ball off the tee with many clubs as opposed to the modern-day course which is bombs away."
Most architects have come around to this way of thinking, not because they wanted to, but because the market demanded it.
"We have to get away from the big and dramatic, especially since that has, at least in recent years, translated into courses that are too difficult and too expensive," the noted designer Denis Griffith recently told me. "There aren't enough golfers willing to pay to play those sorts of courses anymore."
"These green complexes are just fantastic; they're subtle without overkill," McDowell said, continuing to heap accolades on Kingston Heath. "The bunkers are the most beautiful sand you'll ever see, the firm faces: the ball runs back into the middle of them. If you control your ball, you'll score; if you don't control your ball, it'll beat you up. I love it."
You will rarely hear that sort of effusive praise for 7,900-yard par-70 courses built in the 1990s by architects who go by one name. Not even the longest hitters in history enjoy playing them.
Today, the world's best are recognizing that shorter is better. Even courses like Bel Air Country Club, Siwanoy Country Club, Philadelphia Country Club and Myopia Hunt Club -- tracks with rich, storied histories that will never make it onto television because there is no room for galleries or tented retail pavilions -- are getting a new fresh look from young players who never knew what they were missing.
What they are discovering is something we should have known all along: elegance is subtle. It always has been. And, in the end, it is the only thing that lasts.
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According to Author Salon's Writers Who Benefit page, they're looking for writers with thick skins, writers who can take a tough love sloshing for the sake of developing a publishable manuscript. But is it all that tough or does it depend on the writer's attitude and receptivity? Author Salon says it does. Below, Connie Chenowith, one of the admins at Author Salon, talks to us about tough love, giving offense, getting published and other things.
WE: You gals and guys at Author Salon say you're out to offend writers. Are you succeeding?
AS: Most definitely. We've managed to offend about a half dozen so far and we're just getting started. We believe that by the end of 2012 we will have angered hundreds.
WE: Do you have a goal in mind? Any dream number you would like to achieve?
AS: Yes, ten thousand by 2020. It's a rallying cry around the office, so to speak.
WE: What is the point of trying to be a Tasmanian devil?
AS: [Connie laughs] Actually, giving offense isn't intentional, it's just a matter of course with certain types of writers, the thin skinners. If you squirm angrily or feel attacked when a fellow writer or a professional tells you something about your writing or story you don't wish to hear, then you are certainly offended. If you react with rage and seek to smear or punish, then you have what we call Offended Writer Syndrome, or OWS for short. But our critique is based on specific rules and we keep it sane and polite. Critique from professionals can be firm, of course, but it's fair and well informed. Not everyone can handle that.
WE: Has anyone had an attack of OWS since you're opened your doors?
AS: Oh, yes. One went out with a vow to wreck havoc. Bring us down, so to speak. She assumed various pseudos and began rage posting, making us out to be a pack of moronic hateful lions roving the boards and looking for blood ... oh, and we also we sent her unprofessional mails loaded with typos and grammatical mistakes, you know, whatever she could think of, and so forth. Classic OWS, classic! [Connie laughs] How did Kipling put it? If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools? ... Her first diatribe was posted directly on the site following a good critique she despised. One of the mods removed it and asked her to please refrain from posting inflammatory and inappropriate rants in a member's crit topic, then of course, deprived of that catharsis, she went on to greater ballistic achievements. And naturally, since we deleted her mouth from the forum, that turned into a theatrical howl on the evils of censorship. After all, the poor baby was only trying to give us good advice ... and then it went viral. Ahhhhh, it never ends.
WE: Wow, that's ... wow. It makes my head mushy. It's like watching a horror movie. I'd call it, THIN SKINNER, make it into a series. A psychotic thin skinner kidnaps editors and locks them in a basement, and they regain consciousness on a bed of sharp pencils.
AS: [Connie laughs] But we accept this kind of nonsense and move on because for every one case of OWS we have 50 writers working hard to hone their skills and projects. We have a very large percentage of talented writers with high concept projects, and the act of detailed and methodical critique makes them behave like picky editors, and that helps them grow also.
WE: So Author Salon is out to set writers up with publishers and agents? How is that going so far? Well enough to justify the horrors of OWS?
AS: Yes, well enough! We're still in beta test at this moment, but we already have three projects under development with a film production company in Los Angeles, a number of projects in various genres already requested by major agents and New York publishers, and we're planning a Literary Showcase Week soon. We'll display to a select group of editors and agents a number of high concept projects by good writers in all genres.
WE: But do really busy agents and editors have time to hunt around Author Salon for the gold?
AS: With the exception of young and hungry agents actively looking for clients, they don't for the most part, so we go to them.
WE: How so?
AS: We create the Literary Showcase pages and direct them to that, and we also keep them looped on projects via email. We do have several roaming the site. As Author Salon grows and gains more rep, more will come.
WE: Alright then, Connie, thanks for this interview. The Writer's Edge wishes you and Author Salon the best. The site looks fantastic and some of the craft advice, like the six act novel structure, appears original.
AS: Right, we're a think tank also. We're always mulling over the possibility of new tools to provide our writers. We love our writers.
WE: Thank you so much, Connie!
AS: Thank you.
The Author Salon video:


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Shop Concept by Alessandro Luciani
Alessandro Luciani Shows The Alessandro Luciani Designer Shop Concept
Alessandro Luciani, the architect of the highlighted work Award Winning Alessandro Luciani Designer SHOP CONCEPT spells out, The inspiring principles of the project consist in transforming the prospective clients' approach towards their tire-dealers and directly involving them in the choice/purchase process. We tried to add new tools which can provide new experiences. Feeling through feelings. Perceiving through the 5 senses. Visual Merchandising. Communication. Products. Environment. Finding a new way of communication, more effective than the simple gadgets which invade the tyres sector, but leaving, however, its technical characteristics and charm unchanged. .
Shop Concept by Alessandro Luciani Images:
End of the article, click here to go back to previous page, or alternatively go back to Homeware Design homepage.


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Set In A Kingdom Where Danger Lurks Beneath The Sea, Mermaids Seek Vengeance With Song, And Magic Is A Choice, Adalyn Grace S All The Stars And Teeth Is A Thrilling Fantasy For Fans Of Stephanie Garber S Caraval And Sarah J Maas S Throne Of Glass SeriesShe Will ReignAs Princess Of The Island Kingdom Visidia, Amora Montara Has Spent Her Entire Life Training To Be High Animancer The Master Of Souls The Rest Of The Realm Can Choose Their Magic, But For Amora, It S Never Been A Choice To Secure Her Place As Heir To The Throne, She Must Prove Her Mastery Of The Monarchy S Dangerous Soul MagicWhen Her Demonstration Goes Awry, Amora Is Forced To Flee She Strikes A Deal With Bastian, A Mysterious Pirate He Ll Help Her Prove She S Fit To Rule, If She Ll Help Him Reclaim His Stolen MagicBut Sailing The Kingdom Holds Wonder And Peril Than Amora Anticipated A Destructive New Magic Is On The Rise, And If Amora Is To Conquer It, She Ll Need To Face Legendary Monsters, Cross Paths With Vengeful Mermaids, And Deal With A Stow Away She Never Expected Or Risk The Fate Of Visidia And Lose The Crown Forever I Am The Right Choice The Only Choice And I Will Protect My Kingdom
10 thoughts on "All the Stars and Teeth"
THIS BOOK YOU GUYSI was lucky enough to read an early draft of this book because the and i LOVED ITPicture Furiosa from Mad Max Fury Road leading her own Pirates Of The Carribean ShipThis epic sea adventure empowering as hell, exciting, bloody, and it takes no prisoners It s also powerful there are parts of this books that gave me goosebumps.I can t WAIT to read the final draft and then I can t wait for everyone else to read it so we can geek out about it together
I love pirates, but have been let down with a lot of the pirate type books However, here is one that totally changed my mind I ll also add that the cover is one of my favorites of the year Amora was pretty freaking awesome I easily connected with her and what she was going through and had to face Then there were the boys I loved Bastian and Ferrick, especially Bastion, though And Vataea has my heart She was vicious and lovable at the same time The bond between the crew was one that I would want to truly be a part of.All I want in my life right now is to set sail on Keel Haul that s the ship, by the way The author put a whole unique spin on the pirate life with wonderful and vivid descriptions that had me captivated from one Now, give me all the bones and all the magic, and I m seriously excited for book 2
July 25th Edit WE HAVE A COVER And I m absolutely obsessed with it It s also available for pre order There will be a pre order campaign, with details to be announced soon CONTENT WARNINGS Now that ARCs are beginning to circulate, I also wanted to hop on here and talk about some of the content warnings in this book Skip now, if you don t want to read them Violence and Death There are 7 main forms of magic in this book One of the most commonly used ones is violent in nature, requiring blood skin bones, or other parts of the body The methods to obtain these are often violent and sometimes torturous in nature There s a blanket statement on this book for on page graphic violence, blood, and murder There are several character deaths throughout the novel One of these deaths is death by suicide.There is self injury fingernails digging into the palms to the point of blood in chapter 31There is a brief moment of animal abuse no animal death in chapter 29 Sexual Assault A character mentions past attempted sexual assault in chapter 19 Abusive Relationship There is a severely toxic relationship that portrays emotional and physical abuse gripping too tightly fingers digging into skin in chapter 29.Drinking There is on page drinking as well of mentions of alcohol throughout the novel Please read only the material you re comfortable with 3 I wrote this, so I m definitely going to go ahead and mark this as read for my goodreads challenge.I m a little biased, but this book is pretty cool and I think you ll like it More to come, soon
The cover is totally giving me Hazel Wood vibes and I can t evennn Caraval Pirates everything i ve ever wantedwell, the maths never lie
I received this complimentary ARC from the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.
Adalyn Grace has delivered a phenomenal debut, filled with unexpected magic and a fiery female protagonist Readers will fall hard for this high seas adventure
Fierce princess pirates Well, I guess I ll just keep riding this train until it runs out of gas lol
Aaaaand this marks the beginning of my 2020 Goodreads shelf.
So I loved this bloody book the main character is Scarlett O Hara incarnate Amora is fierce and able to take care of herself, and her magic is extraordinary ALL THE STARS AND TEETH is a sweeping, magical tale filled with pirates, a whip smart mermaid, a princess thirsting to prove herself and protect her kingdom, and a soft cinnamon roll boy who captured my heart Everyone is fleshed out, with engaging personalities and distinct voices And the magic It s different and bloody and extraordinary I flew through this story, desperately wanting the sequel I can t recommend this book enough
Why do I want to read this THIS, this is why Picture Furiosa from Mad Max Fury Road leading her own Pirates Of The Carribean Ship Tomi AdeyemiWhy yes, yes I will picture that and now I am utterly excited


text: The infamous kidult twins Dee & Ricky just released their newest limited edition Lego piece – the Chanel lipstick. These are not for wearing – not on your lips anyway. The duo has found fame by making Lego accessories ranging from hearts, music notes, crosses and even cigarettes. I must say this is my favorite by far! Limited to only 50 pieces, you can get yours by emailing the twins at email@example.com.


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I've been back from Maine a sad many months now, so I suppose it's well past time for me to discuss the books I read while sitting on the beach for a week — I mean, I still have to tell you about the books I read in Spain, and Spain itself, and Thanksgiving… But first: I told you I'd get to these books, so here we go, in the order I read them.
I've seen Blade Runner more times than I can count, and yet I'd never read the book it was adapted from, Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Now, if you like science fiction, be it in book or film form, I really think you should put this at the top of your library queue — assuming you're like me and haven't already read it.
As in Blade Runner, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is set in a dystopian near-future in which protagonist Rick Deckard is an android hunter. As with most novel-to-film adaptations, a lot of the original thematic elements were jettisoned and never appeared on the big screen; while I do love me some Blade Runner, these elements are what make the novel so interesting. Deckard ponders religion, struggles with his humanity, questions what I can only classify as substance addiction and has an extramarital affair. All of that is fascinating stuff, and when Mr. Dick includes commentary on status, materialism and Life Itself, it's like whoa*.
I really wanted to love The Gastronomy of a Marriage: A Memoir of Food and Love by Michelle Maisto. I mean, it's about food and love; it says so right in the title, and I happen to enjoy food and am in love… Seems like a perfect fit, no? So why did I feel like it was more about food and, well — the phrase that comes to mind is passive-aggressiveness…
Here's the premise: Ms. Maisto and her fiancé Rich are getting married. She's a pescatarian Italian who loves rich meals; he's a meat-eating Chinese who favors more delicate flavors. She's casual about food. He's fastidious. She likes her peanut butter chunky. He likes his smooth. They must compromise.
I'm lucky to live with someone who doesn't care where I keep the ketchup (in the fridge, though Rich prefers the pantry), but that doesn't mean compromise isn't part of my daily life. It is, of course. But is it worthy of a memoir? Yes, there is more to this book that just compromise, but only barely, and not enough to give any sort of readerly satisfaction at its conclusion. Not to mention Ms. Maisto's description of Rich isn't the most flattering — he comes across as condescending and belittling, especially when it comes to preparing dinner — and while I doubt that was her intent, I wasn't able to look past it.
I do like the cover, though.
It's been a while since I've read a debut novel as cinematic as Daryl Gregory's Pandemonium. I'll get to the storyline in a bit; I just want to take a moment to reiterate how visual the writing is, and how clearly Mr. Gregory paints the proverbial picture.
Del Pierce lives in a world where demons exist. There's the Artist, who uses whatever materials there are at hand to depict the same country scene. There's the Truth, hunting malfeasants with his .45s and fedora. There's also the Hellion, who likes to possess young boys, and who last surfaced about fifteen years ago in a young blond boy…
Did I mention Del is blond?
To say Mr. Gregory is an ambitious storyteller is the most incredible understatement. To say that he's a writer with a dark sense of humor is an oversimplification. He's all of these things, undeniably, but he is, most importantly, clever — which is why this novel stays entertaining to the very end.
I don't know how I ended up borrowing Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs from the library, I really don't. Certainly no one I know recommended it to me. Perhaps it sounded a bit more interesting than it was? I honestly can't remember. What I do remember, unfortunately, is the plot; since I wouldn't suggest this book to anyone ever, I'm going to basically ruin the entire storyline for you here:
A single mother who is jaw-droppingly beautiful but doesn't know it runs a yarn shop on the Upper West Side. She has an unrealistically and irritatingly precocious preteen and a lot of friends. They all knit. Her babydaddy reappears, having had an epiphany and realizing that he can't live without her or his bastard child. They fall back in love. Her life finally feels complete. Then she suddenly contracts cancer and dies. Everyone is sad. The end.
I wish I could say I made that all up, but alas. Do not read this book under any circumstances, including duress. You will never get that time back.
I so enjoyed Pandemonium, which was from Keith's pile of books, that I picked up The Devil's Alphabet as soon as he put it down.
In his second novel, Mr. Gregory's protagonist is the seemingly-normal Pax, who lives and works in Chicago at a restaurant job he's not too psyched on. When he receives word that his childhood best friend has committed suicide, Pax returns to the hometown he fled at fifteen. His is not the everyday small-town-boy-running-away-to-the-big-city story, of course; Mr. Gregory is far too creative for that. No, turns out Pax left the backwoods of Tennessee because, one strange day, almost all of his town's inhabitants were struck by a strange disease which caused them to change. Some became impossibly-huge "Argos," some hairless magenta-skinned "Betas," some incredibly obese "Charlies." Pax, on the other hand, became a rare "skip," one of the few townspeople who were unchanged and soon skipped town.
What could've simply been a unique spin on a you-can't-go-home-again story changes (ha ha) into a mash-up of genres sci-fi, mystery and political thriller, to name a few. Mr. Gregory doesn't stop there, throwing in some commentary on religious zealots, drug use and the father-son relationship. It all sounds crazy, I know, but what's really crazy is that it all works.
While Marcella's been trying to get me to read Dan Chaon for what seems like years, I never remembered to check any of his books out of the library until recently. Let me warn you of something, before you too go out and borrow Await Your Reply: this is a bleak story. Do not read it if you are in search of something uplifting, or happy, or have trouble being depressed. If you are one of those people, this book is not for you.
If you're not… go for it.
(Oh, I should add that if you have an aversion to violence, try another novel. The first few pages of this one heavily features a severed hand, and the young man it belongs to.)
Await Your Reply is the story of three stories. One follows a high school senior who leaves town with her enigmatic history teacher. Another follows a loser of a guy in search of his mentally-ill twin brother (who may or may not have killed their mother and her husband). The third, of course, follows the owner of the severed hand.
If these three plotlines seem incredibly disparate, it's because they are. You can try to sort out how they interconnect, but if you do, forget about things like continuity and time periods; Chaon jumps all over the place. What's kind of amazing, though, is that it all makes sense in the end, and that the three stories tie together in a way that's almost ingenious. Depressing, but ingenious.
I actually got a little tired of being depressed — who'd'a thunk it? — so to lighten things up, I turned to some adolescent fiction with The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly. It's actually a really cute story, one which could've easily been a run of the mill girl-doesn't-fit-in-with-her-family-and/or-town plotline. Instead, Ms. Kelly threw in some historical and science-related twists into her novel; these details are what made Calpurnia and her story interesting.
Callie — who got stuck with the trickier name, Calpurnia in 1890s Texas, or me in 1980s/1990s New York suburbia? — has a hard time living with her prim-and-proper mother as the only other female in a house full of boys. One of eight children, she'd rather spend her time with her naturalist grandfather than cooking, doing needlework and practicing other genteel arts. When Callie and her grandfather make a discovery, she gets the feeling that her life is going to change… but does it?
I like cops, I like thieves, I like con artists, I like people who pull heists, and as weird as it sounds I like serial killers. I hope to never have to interact with anyone from the criminal world, cops included — I've never even gotten a speeding ticket and I plan on keeping it that way — but give me an interesting, well-written story about them and I'm hooked. Which leads me to John Heidenry's Zero at the Bone: The Playboy, the Prostitute, and the Murder of Bobby Greenlease. The book follows the 1953 kidnapping of six-year-old Bobby Greenlease, the son of an extremely wealthy Midwestern family and whose $600,000 ransom was the highest paid in American history up to that point. Mr. Heidenry tells the story in a very straightforward, journalistic manner; it would have been so easy to pulp it up — grifters, mobsters, femme fetales… so noir — but Zero at the Bone is so dark and bleak that relying upon stylistic crutches would have cheapened it entirely.
I'm a huge fan of the multi-character narrative, so I really appreciated that Liza Ketchum incorporated it into Where the Great Hawk Flies, a adult novel that takes place in 1780s Vermont.
In the book's recent past, a British-fueled Indian** attack sent Hiram Coombs and his family running for safety and eventual resettlement in Connecticut, while Daniel Tucker and his family hid in a nearby cave; after the raid, they returned to rebuild their home. After the Coombs decide to move back to Vermont, Hiram soon clashes with Daniel. The root of the problem is heritage — Daniel, and his sister, are half Indian. It doesn't matter that the Tucker children are part-Pequot, considering that the ransacking tribespeople were Caughnawagas; Hiram and his mother openly fear and disdain the Tuckers regardless.
As someone who's half-this and half-that, I like reading stories (fiction and non-fiction) about people dealing with determining their cultural identities a bit more than most. What I found incredibly interesting is that Where the Great Hawk Flies comes across a new story, and one that hasn't been told, which is a pretty neat trick.
This summer I took a pretty fantastic Grub Street class with the excellent Christopher Boginski called "Six Weeks, Six Essays." Not only did we write an essay a week, we also read a selection of essays whose themes we responded to in our work. One of those essays was the truly amazing "Weekend" by Amy Hempel — if you can find a copy, you must read it — compelled me to pick up At the Gates of the Animal Kingdom, an anthology of her works. Some of these pieces can be called stories, others essays, and others yet I'd classify as musings. Regardless, what Ms. Hempel can do with words is unfathomable. "In the Animal Shelter," barely a page, will break your heart.
In case it hasn't been made ridiculously clear by my "What I've Read" lists over on the sidebar, I like adolescent fiction. I also like fantasy, so it makes sense that I would like The Lost Conspiracy by Frances Hardinge.
Ms. Hardinge accomplishes something with this book that I truly admire: she creates not only an entirely new world, but one that has its own complex set of rules. On that world is the island of Gullstruck, where a tribe of people are keeping a dangerous secret behind inscrutable smiles. This tribe is the Lace, and what they're hiding is a girl. She's said to be a Lost, an oracle, and her young sister Hathin is her fiercest protector. The tricky thing is, and there must be a tricky thing, that this oracle is a fake prophet, one the tribe has invented as a form of protection. When this sham is put to the test, Hathin has to fight to save herself, her sister and her tribe.
It's pretty intense stuff.
On the day before Lulu's tenth birthday, her father shoots her mother, stabs her sister Merry and tries to kill himself. Their father imprisoned, the girls are sent to live with one family member to the other until an aunt, tired of the sisters, deposits them in a group home for orphans. The sisters eventually come to live in a foster home, but their lives don't get any easier. Lulu does all she can to separate herself from her murderer father, refusing to visit him or acknowledge the fact that he lived; as an adult, she doesn't even tell her own daughters that he's alive. Merry, on the other hand, does all she can to make her father's life easier, visiting whenever she can and trying to persuade Lulu to do the same.
Randy Susan Meyers's The Murderer's Daughters sounds like a huge downer of a novel, but there are interesting and even uplifting parts. The narrative switches between the sisters, something I personally enjoy but know irritates some readers (Keith), but it really works here. The alternating narration gives insight as to how each young sister grew into the women they are, which I think is interesting regardless of whether such evolution is fictional or real.
So there you have it, the twelve books I read in seven August days. Of course, now it's December, and I've read something like twenty-five additional books since then, some of which I'll be telling you about soon. So please check back in later.
Coming up… my trip to Spain, and what I did there.


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The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association will host training sessions in Gainesville beginning Thursday for church pastors and leaders as part of a nationwide outreach to step up evangelism.
The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association will host training sessions in Gainesville beginning Thursday for church pastors and leaders as part of a nationwide outreach to step up evangelism.
The movement, called My Hope with Billy Graham, aims to boost the number of practicing Christians across North America, said Elsie Wilson, with the regional office of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
"So many people are in trouble, and our goal is to reach out to as many people as possible and help them develop a relationship with Christ," Wilson said.
The sessions are designed for pastors and church leaders to show members how to share the Gospel with those around them.
Jim Guth, the regional coordinator for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, will lead the sessions that begin Thursday at the Oak Park Baptist Church.
"I could tell people about what (having faith) has done for me," Guth said, "but if they don't know me, my story doesn't do anything for them. When they hear from someone they trust, they want to make a change."
Guth said the training sessions are only for pastors and church staff because the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association wants pastors to be the ones who encourage churchgoers to introduce their friends to the religion, Guth said.
Guth said that the word-of-mouth approach the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association will test here has been successful in 57 countries, including Russia and India, over a 10-year period. More than 10 million people have embraced Christianity, said Guth, citing association figures.
According to the Pew Research Center, there were more than 266 million Christians in North America as of 2010. A Pew study released last October shows that one-fifth of Americans and one-third of adults under 30 claim no religious affiliation.
Monika Ardelt, an associate professor in sociology at the University of Florida who focuses on the link between purpose in life and religion, said some people attend church because they "live their religion and use religion for the greater good," whereas others attend when they're searching for a place of solace or community.
Younger generations, like Millennials, tend to focus more on practicing spirituality outside of church, focusing instead on a sense of purpose and meaning that's not necessarily tied to adopting a religion, Ardelt said.
"Whether attending church helps," she said, "depends on the person. A growing number believe they can achieve spirituality outside of the church."


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09-15-2011, 22:41
I've had my Trek Lite double for a little over a year now and slept in it for about a month last summer and loved every night in it. I've been wondering ever since I got it if it's really strong enough for two adults to sleep in. Their site says it is and I'm not doubting it but I would surely hate to find out the hard way :scared: I would love to snuggle up with my honey in it but would hate to end up on the ground. I had that happen once with a different hammock and still have back problems from it. Anybody with a good answer I would love to hear from you. Thanks in advance everybody.


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From 1894 to 1949 Chinese reformers, radicals, political theorists and party leaders [including Liang Qichao, left] pushed for the creation of a constitutional order in China. To that end, they borrowed (and often modified) constitutional principles, doctrines, and even history from other countries, using those tools first to craft different models of constitutions and then to persuade others to support their goals. The result was a complex, and international, exchange, one that involved the development of ideas and the deployment of social movements. My current research explores that history with the intent of tracing out the intellectual and social exchanges that occurred while the Chinese around the world debated their constitutional order. As I unpack China's rich constitutional history, I hope to add to our general understanding of how constitutional movements arise and function. This paper is an initial sketch of the project and my methodology.Image credit
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Dale on a Chinese Constitutional Movement
Elizabeth Dale, University of Florida College of Law, has posted Constitutional Movements: An Example from China, 1894-1924. Here is the abstract:
1 comment:
- Chris Grainger said...
As a final year student at the University of Edinburgh writing a dissertation on the evolution of constitutionalism in India and Japan in roughly the same period (using the formation of the INC and the Meiji Constitution on one end, and the two current constitutions on the other, so roughly 1885-1949), this is an incredibly useful post, so thanks! It astounds me how few historians focus on the legal history of places other than Europe and North America. I'd love to see more on that topic!
- October 31, 2009 at 5:26:00 AM EDT
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