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Monday, July 6, 2009
A Question for You
I am happy and proud to announce that I'm going to be the lead food blogger for annarbor.com, the new electronic entity that will replace the Ann Arbor News when its print edition folds on July 26th (although it will still appear in print form on Thursdays and Sundays - I know... that doesn't quite make sense, but it's all in the name of moving onward and upward).
I'm excited because I've wanted to do more exploration in the field of online media and because any gig that is professional in terms of food writing is, well, very exciting to me.
This blog, however, has always been a mix of things - food blog, yes, in some ways, but certainly also a blog that has covered writing/books topics, politics, and sometimes just plain silliness.
The best part of blogging for me? Meeting all of you.
So, I'd like to ask a couple of questions as I ponder what all this is going to mean. (BTW... annarbor.com isn't really live yet, which is why I haven't posted the link).
1. I only link the blog to the paper - I will be producing 3 - 5 pieces on food and food-related topics each week, but I only link the posts that are food related, so I could leave a2eatwrite intact. BUT...
I could also split it off - food and non-food. I've always had a mix of readers. I have folks who show up predominantly on Wednesdays, and folks who show up predominantly on other days, and folks who show up almost every post.
Is it clearer to split off the other topics, or to keep the blog whole in terms of ease of using RSS feeds, etc.?
2. 3 - 5 posts on food. I'm thinking less is more. I finally updated my blogrolls, and as you can see, I read a lot of blogs. I know that in general, I'm more tempted by fewer posts than every day posts - it gives me something to look forward to. I also, though, don't think there should be any "rules" about posting - it should be up to the individual blogger. What do YOU think about this? What are your preferences?
I guess that's it for now. I hate to impose on you, but I figured you're the experts on what you like/don't like about this blog. Please feel free to write me privately about this, if you prefer - jenshaines at gmail dot com.
I want to thank Jenn, of The Leftover Queen, who already gave me some invaluable input on these topics.
And so begins the adventure...
45 comments:
Jen, this is so exciting! I am going to be a beer/food blogger, too :)
I like the idea of splitting off into food and non-food because I like some of your non-food stuff. Just be prepared for new readers who will undoubtedly come to your blog, disagree with some of the politics, and have a shit fit. That kind of stuff drives me crazy (which is why I stay away from politics), but you can probably handle it :)
- July 6, 2009 at 9:43 AM
- Edward Vielmetti said...
Looking forward to working with you!
- July 6, 2009 at 9:49 AM
- Peter M said...
I think for simplicity and to save you time...stick to one site. Nothing wrong with attracting an array of readers to your diverse interests.
- July 6, 2009 at 9:58 AM
- thailandchani said...
One site would probably be easiest on you - and easier for the rest of us as well. :)
- July 6, 2009 at 10:03 AM
- Jen said...
Patti, I'm always prepared for folks coming on and disagreeing - that's part of the fun of (and challenge of) blogging.
Ed - me, too!
Peter - I really appreciate your advice and perspective and I think I'm leaning in this direction.
Chani, that was my gut, too. Thanks so much for giving me your input.
- July 6, 2009 at 10:14 AM
- Korie said...
And do whatever you want. I read any time you post, so I'll be around regardless.
- July 6, 2009 at 10:24 AM
- Brian Miller said...
congrats! this is an exciting opportunity for you! it would be sad to see you end this one though. especailly as i just found you recently. i think there is health in the mix between food related blogs and sloce of life pieces. it allows us to get to know the person behind the food. of course this can be done in one post as well. love to read stories and then find we have been given a "taste" of your life in a recipe as well. have to get T to make the recipes as i am not that great in the kitchen.
as far as posting...i post once a day. i realise there will be some that do not read every post and that it could get overwelming to some. i try to keep my mix of topics different so each one may hit a certain group of people. as you know they usually revolve around my family.
congrats again. look forward to continuing to read, no matter what direction you choose!
- July 6, 2009 at 10:39 AM
- Jen said...
Lilac - thanks so much!
Brian - I'll be keeping this blog - I was just trying to figure out whether or not to split it.
Patti - I forgot to say congrats to you - partly because I did on FB already and partly because I think I needed some caffeine - my apologies!
- July 6, 2009 at 10:48 AM
- Unknown said...
I agree to keep it to one site :) Congrats on your new role!
- July 6, 2009 at 10:58 AM
- Dru said...
I visit your blog whenever there is a new post and I think one site does all that you want it to do.
If someone doesn't want to read the topic for the day, they can always come back for the next topic.
Congrats on the new writing job.
- July 6, 2009 at 11:00 AM
- Jen said...
Thanks so much, City Girl!
Dru - good point. BTW... I just took Marianne's test and I ended up in Brooklyn, too - despite having grown up on the Upper West Side. Weird. I've always had an affinity for Brooklyn, though.
- July 6, 2009 at 11:02 AM
- Rosa's Yummy Yums said...
That's so great!
I don't mind reading a blog with different topics...
- July 6, 2009 at 11:16 AM
- Emily Marshall said...
Congrats. Sounds like an exciting new adventure.
- July 6, 2009 at 11:25 AM
- April said...
Congrats, Jen! Sounds like an excellent opportunity.
I tend to skip your food posts (as I'm sure you've noticed), but mostly because I'm a small person and if you're not making it for dinner for ME, then forget it!
But you do whatever is best - just keep us posted on where to find you.
- July 6, 2009 at 11:39 AM
- anno said...
This is exciting news! Congratulations!
(And like everyone else here, I'd advise/prefer one site -- Good luck!)
- July 6, 2009 at 11:46 AM
- Jen said...
Rosa - one of the things I like about your blog is the variety of topics.
Thanks, Emily!
April - I'm going to keep it set here. And that was my point - I know different folks read different things, and that's just fine.
Thanks for the input, Anno - most seem to be leaning that way.
- July 6, 2009 at 11:53 AM
- Jenn@slim-shoppin said...
What a great opportunity, to get paid for what you love to do!
Good luck with that!
- July 6, 2009 at 12:51 PM
- Jen said...
Thanks so much, Jenn!
- July 6, 2009 at 12:58 PM
- Madam Crunchypants said...
How super exciting!!
My vote is for you to keep it all together - I like reading everything you write, even though I never comment.
Also, I think the local love fridays are awesome.
- July 6, 2009 at 1:51 PM
- Jen said...
Thanks so much, Thalia's Child! I am so happy I asked everyone because the answer has certainly been clear.
- July 6, 2009 at 2:07 PM
- Goofball said...
wow, congratulations! That is such cool news!!! Yihaaa :)..The Ann Arbor News will grow!!
As of my preferences? I love this blog because of you: your food, your love of local businesses, the books, ... I love the mixture, variety of topics.
but as you said: a blog is the freedom of the writer. If the writer is bound by too many rules, it'll be too restrictive.
So just keep doing what you love, as long as we can keep in touch (how's skype by the way? still dead?)
- July 6, 2009 at 4:02 PM
- Ben said...
When you say splitting the blog into food and non-food posts, what do you mean? Having 2 blogs instead of one? I love your blog and all your posts, not only the food related ones. I have learned a lot by reading it and I would like to see it stay that way, but you do what you need to do and we'll be here still reading you :)
- July 6, 2009 at 5:30 PM
- Jen said...
Goofball, I think the consensus is to keep it as one blog. Thanks so much for your input. And yes, skype is still dead because I just have too much work. Sigh.
Ben - thanks so much for the feedback. I've really appreciated everyone's input.
- July 6, 2009 at 5:43 PM
- Luisa Perkins said...
So, so cool! I am thrilled for you! I am late to the party, so take this for what it's worth.
Do you ever look at John Scalzi's blog? "Whatever" is his main blog, but he also has a gig writing once a week for AMC. Whenever one of his AMC posts is up, he puts up a short notice on Whatever and keeps comments for that post closed. That way, anyone clicking over to AMC has only one option for commenting. It is a system that certainly works well for him.
- July 6, 2009 at 7:14 PM
There is a real concensus here and I think that you need to do what YOU want because we will all continue to follow you whatever you choose.
What a fabulous opportunity for you Jen...a real testament to how good you are in so many ways!!! Congrats.
- July 6, 2009 at 8:01 PM
- Keri Mikulski said...
Congrats! :)
- July 6, 2009 at 8:35 PM
- the twins said...
congrats! i agree, one site is easier. i like reading about different stuff, not just food. and if people don't like it, they can just skip over certain posts =)
- July 6, 2009 at 8:36 PM
- Jen said...
Luisa - what an interesting idea! The thing is, that what I'll actually be doing is uploading A2eatwrite posts, rather than "writing" for annarbor.com, so I think it will be okay, but that's certainly a possible option.
Hotmama - thanks so much for the support! Your kind words are greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Keri!
Good point, Twins (I'm not sure which of you commented) - thanks so much for your input - I greatly appreciate it.
- July 6, 2009 at 9:18 PM
- Momisodes said...
First, Congratulations! This sounds like a wonderful opportunity and one that you will certainly do well with.
I personally think that you should post whatever you like. Daily posts are really tough. I agree that fewer is better sometimes. But I'll be here regardless of whatever you decide :)
- July 6, 2009 at 9:36 PM
- Jen said...
Thanks so much, Momisodes. I won't ever be doing the daily thing - I know my limits. ;-) I appreciate your perspective, though, especially as I think you carried that off brilliantly, but I know it took a real toll on you.
- July 6, 2009 at 9:43 PM
- Brillig said...
Holy freaking cool, lady!!! That's so exciting. Congratulations.
As for advice, I have none to share. I'll be here whatever you decide. I'm SO excited for your new gig!!!
- July 7, 2009 at 12:15 AM
- Ivy said...
Congrats Jenn, how exciting!!! I would also agree that it would be much easier for you to stick to one blog.
- July 7, 2009 at 12:44 AM
- Betsy said...
How exciting! Congratulations!
- July 7, 2009 at 1:08 AM
- Jen said...
Brillig - thanks so much! And thanks for the kind words.
Ivy - again, thanks for your input - this is really helpful.
Thanks, Betsy!
- July 7, 2009 at 7:12 AM
- Charity Tahmaseb said...
Oh, this is so exciting! Congrats! I will read but, of course, not comprehend (through my own failings) anything you write about cooking. ;-)
And speaking as someone with two blogs? You seriously want only one. Trust me on this.
- July 7, 2009 at 1:38 PM
- Jen said...
Thanks, Charity - you certainly have a clear perspective on this, and your input is greatly appreciated (as it always is)!
- July 7, 2009 at 1:45 PM
- Thistlemoon said...
I started coming to your blog mainly for the food. But I keep coming back because I enjoy all of your topics! But I think it is too hard to maintain 2 blogs, so keeping this one, may be the easiest for you!
I look forward to seeing it all evolve, and it was great chatting with you the other day! :)
- July 7, 2009 at 2:27 PM
- Teresa Cordero Cordell said...
Jen, I'm so excited for you. There's nothing like the thrill of writing. Even though blogging originally started out as an online journal for most people, it's apparent that the experience has grown to greater proportions. BUT, since blogging is still a very personal way of expressing yourself, I strongly believe that anything goes, even in food writing. All experiences in our lives affect how we think about food, how we cook or bake and how we eat. So, go for it. Speak your mind, be adventurous and do let me know when you're online. Best of luck. :)
- July 7, 2009 at 2:34 PM
- Jen said...
Jenn - Again, my thanks for your help, and it was such fun to chat - I agree!
Teresa - Thank you so much for the encouragement. BTW... I found out about your blog via a link from Jenn - I love the networking of the food blogging world!
- July 7, 2009 at 4:37 PM
- Virtualsprite said...
Yay for you! That is so exciting.
Whatever you choose to write, I will want to read. I love what you do here.
- July 7, 2009 at 8:30 PM
- Maggie said...
What an exciting project! I think you should keep the mixture of topics on the same single site. I focus more on your food articles but I love when I find another post that is not food related that interests me.
- July 7, 2009 at 8:49 PM
- Jen said...
Thanks so much, Virtual - I really appreciate the kind words.
Maggie, again, thanks for the input - I definitely think that will be the choice.
- July 8, 2009 at 6:23 AM
- nyc/caribbean ragazza said...
Congrats Jen!
I will read whatever you write about. you have a way with words.
- July 8, 2009 at 1:11 PM
- Michelle | Bleeding Espresso said...
How wonderful! Congratulations!
I'm with all those who say whatever you think is fine; I've also thought about splitting mine, but for me, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to keep up with several, so I keep a mix. Works for me, but as I said, whatever you choose will be perfect :)
- July 9, 2009 at 7:03 AM
- Jen said...
Thanks for the kind words, NYC!
Michelle - I'm with you... I've been feeling much easier having made the decision. Thanks so much for your input!
- July 9, 2009 at 1:54 PM


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Tesla unveils 300-mile range all-electric sedan
The Model S, which carries its charger onboard, can be recharged from any 120V, 240V or 480V outlet, with the latter taking only 45 minutes. By recharging their car while they stop for a meal, drivers can go from LA to New York in approximately the same time as a gasoline car. Moreover, the floor-mounted battery pack is designed to be changed out in less time than it takes to fill a gas tank, allowing for the possibility of battery-pack swap stations.
The floor-mounted powertrain also results in unparalleled cargo room and versatility, as the volume under the front hood becomes a second trunk. Combining that with a four-bar linkage hatchback rear trunk and flat folding rear seats, the Model S can accommodate a 50-inch television, mountain bike *and* surfboard simultaneously. This packaging efficiency gives the Model S more trunk space than any other sedan on the market and more than most SUVs.
Tesla expects to start Model S production in late 2011. The company believes it is close to receiving $350 million in federal loans to build the Model S assembly plant in California from the Dept of Energy's Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Program.
Building on Proven Technology
Teslas do not require routine oil changes, and they have far fewer moving (and breakable) parts than internal combustion engine vehicles. They qualify for federal and state tax credits, rebates, sales tax exemptions, free parking, commuter-lane passes and other perks. Model S costs roughly $5 to drive 230 miles – a bargain even if gasoline were $1 per gallon.
"Model S costs half as much as a Roadster, and it's a better value than much cheaper cars," Musk said. "The ownership cost of Model S, if you were to lease and then account for the much lower cost of electricity vs. gasoline at a likely future cost of $4 per gallon, is similar to a gasoline car with a sticker price of about $35,000. I'm positive this car will be the preferred choice of savvy consumers."
The standard Model S does 0-60 mph in under six seconds and will have an electronically limited top speed of 130 mph, with sport versions expected to achieve 0-60 mph acceleration well below five seconds. A single-speed gearbox delivers effortless acceleration and responsive handling. A 17-inch touchscreen with in-car 3G connectivity allows passengers to listen to Pandora Radio or consult Google Maps, or check their state of charge remotely from their iPhone or laptop.
Tesla is taking reservations online and at showrooms in California. Tesla will open a store in Chicago this spring and plans to open stores in London, New York, Miami, Seattle, Washington DC and Munich later this year.
Frequently Asked Questions
1) What is the price of Model S?
a. Model S will start at $49,900, after a $7,500 federal tax credit.
2) What is the range on one charge?
a. The range per charge will depend on which battery you have installed. The base model will have an estimated range of 160 miles per charge. There will also be batteries available that can travel approximately 230 miles and 300 miles per charge.
3) How quickly does it charge?
a. Model S can charge to 80% of capacity in as little as 45 minutes. Standard charging times will vary depending on battery capacity, ranging from approximately 3 to 5 hours.
4) How many people and how much cargo can it hold?
a. Model S can seat up to 7 people, with room for 5 adults, plus 2 child seats in the rear. There is more storage capacity than most stations wagons, and the large rear opening allows for the flexibility to carry large objects that cannot fit in the trunk opening of a traditional sedan.
5) How fast is it?
a. 0-60 mph is achieved in 5.6 seconds, but more importantly the electric powertrain provides instant torque at any speed resulting in immediate acceleration whenever it is needed. As a real world performer the Model S will have no equals.
6) What options are going to be available?
a. Final options are still being determined but following are some of the planned highlights:
i. Panoramic roof with sliding moon roof.
ii. Automatic open and close liftgate.
iii. 300-mile and 230-mile batteries
iv. Remote vehicle management, including; charging, personalization and customization, and data collection.
7) How long will the battery last?
a. Battery life is dependent on many factors, including; mileage, age, temperature extremes, and charge cycles. In general you should expect a Model S battery to have a useful life between 5 and 7 years, but proper care can result in a 10-year life.
8) Will you offer financing and/or lease options?
a. Yes. It is our intention to offer conventional financing options on Model S.
Purchase Questions
1) What is the price of Model S?
a. Model S will start at $49,900, after a $7,500 federal tax credit.
2) How do I buy a Model S?
a. Visit the Buy page and follow the steps to reserve your Model S now. The Buy page can be reached from a tab at the top of most teslamotors.com pages labeled "Buy."
3) When will Model S deliveries begin?
a. Deliveries of the Signature Series Model S will begin at the end of 2011 with deliveries of the standard model beginning in early 2012.
4) Will you be selling Model S in my country?
a. You can buy a Model S if you live in the United States, any EU-plus country, or Canada. Signature edition models will be available in the U.S. and EU-plus countries only.
5) How are Model S reservations prioritized?
a. After an initial preference has been given to existing Roadster customers, prioritization will be determined by when your completed reservation agreement and reservation funds are received by Tesla. In other words, first come, first served.
6) Will Roadster Owners be given referral spots for friends?
a. Yes. Each Roadster owner will get 5 referral spots that can be used prior to June 30, 2009. After this date Roadster friends will be prioritized with general public.
7) How do I submit my reservation payment?
a. If you visit the Buy page and begin the reservation process you will be given instructions on sending your payment to Tesla. Credit cards, wires, and checks are all accepted.
8) Is my deposit refundable?
a. Yes. If you decide to request a refund prior to selecting your final options you will be charged a $250 processing fee. If you request a refund after selecting your options you will lose a larger portion of your deposit, outlined in the reservation agreement.
9) Will production numbers be given?
a. Yes. Production numbers will be communicated after May 1, 2009, once we have sorted through the early surge of reservations.
10) Will Roadster owners be given a discount on Model S?
a. Yes. Roadster owners will be given a discount on the Signature Series of Model S. In the United States this discount will be $10,000, €8K in the EU, and £7,000 in the UK.
Feedback can be sent to firstname.lastname@example.com
Go to our forums to discuss this article

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Testimonials about the Book
"For those of us enmeshed in symbolic consciousness, this is just the story we need to hear, loud and clear. It helps us understand how we happened to be here, and, more important, why."
- Bill McKibben
Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet and The End of Nature
"Journey of the Universe is a fantastic book—by turns mind-blowing, awe-inspiring, and emotional. As a writer, I especially admired the writers' prose style that was at once lucid and impassioned. Journey of the Universe reminds us what a wonder the miracle of life is."
- Jason Mark
Editor in Chief, SIERRA (the national magazine of the Sierra Club)
"This is a wonderful, highly readable account of the history of the universe from the Big Bang through the present moment. ...There is blockbuster potential in Journey of the Universe, and I recommend it with great enthusiasm."
- Thomas E. Lovejoy, Ph.D.
Founder of the PBS series Nature
Professor in Environmental Science and Policy, George Mason University
"Journey of the Universe is a spiritual manifesto that becomes a Genesis for the 21st Century. Brian Swimme and Mary Evelyn Tucker have given us not only an expanded creation story of the Cosmos but an expanded look into the evolution of our own consciousness. I cannot imagine a more urgent book to read as we enter this revolutionary moment on the planet. Its message is beyond hope or even faith, it is an illuminated manuscript, a book of wonder and awe for our time."
- Terry Tempest Williams
Finding Beauty in a Broken World
"Journey of the Universe is eloquent, accessible, and powerful, and conveys a sense of wonder ranging from the cosmos to the microcosm--in itself a considerable achievement. This is one of the most compelling and inspiring works I've read in a long time."
- David W. Orr, Ph.D.
Professor of Environmental Studies and Politics, Oberlin College
"Journey of the Universe is beautifully written and makes its point superbly. In the history of our School the sweep of its vision ranks with that of Aldo Leopold – think like a mountain meets think like an atom!"
- Sir Peter Crane, Ph.D.
Former Dean of Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies
"I rarely (very, very rarely) become jealous while reading someone else's book, but that's precisely the way I feel at this moment, having just read all the way through your extraordinary Journey of the Universe. My reason for reading the entire manuscript in one sitting was simply that I was enthralled, and couldn't stop; my reasons for jealousy were the beauty of the literary style, the clarity of the lessons taught, and THE ultimate lesson toward which the book is so brilliantly and effectively directed. You have accomplished something as truly beautiful as it is true, a work that should be read by all the world.
Your book will teach so many of us, as it has me, to wonder at the universe in ways of which we had not previously conceived."
- Sherwin Nuland
How We Die: Reflections of Life's Final Chapter
"… a compelling approach to the scientific, aesthetic, and religious dimensions of our cosmic setting, inviting us to live lives that reflect the amazing creativity that has produced us."
- George W. Fisher, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus, Dept. of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Johns Hopkins University
"I have read the manuscript for Journey of the Universe with genuine admiration. What impresses me is that the story science has given to us about our place in the universe and on Earth has been told here in such precise and poetic language. The complexity, the uncertainty, the challenge of being human, all are rendered with such stellar clarity that I feel more convinced than ever that science is leading us into an epoch of deeper spirituality. The book dissolves science (the urge to know) and religion (the urge to belong to something greater than) into one beautiful solution for the future. It honors the cell's discernment and matter's propensities for expansion and attraction. The universe, the cell, human culture and desire--all one and in sympathy, arousing in us the great gift of compassion. A stirring and important work full of wisdom."
- Alison Hawthorne Deming
University of Arizona
"I think this book will be a classic…It is a 'cosmic page-turner,' a story I couldn't put down. And it will come at a perfect time, when we stand in such need of a new worldview that is not only consistent with science, but energized and empowered by the unfolding story. I want to say thank you for a story that unfolds as beautifully as a rose, layer after layer of unfolding. There are astonishments at every turn, and there is special astonishment in the science that blooms into new meaning again and again."
- Kathleen Dean Moore, Ph.D.
Professor of Philosophy, Oregon State University
"This is a stunning book. It is both prose and poetry. Reading it slowly, savoring it, I have the sense that every sentence has been crafted from the heart. There is not a word that is unnecessary. It is a labor of love, a truly sacred text. I offer my profound thanks to the authors."
- Chris Uhl, Ph.D.
Professor of Biology, Penn State University
"The story of stories telling itself in us can hardly be told: but with page-turning suspense and trusty lucidity, Swimme and Tucker do tell it. Nothing now matters more than that we come to terms, we earthlings, with our materiality, our place, our power. In this Journey we experience step by step how the universe is not outside of us, not unintelligent matter, but an eery magnificence unfolding through our very choices."
- Catherine Keller, Ph.D.
Professor of Theology, Drew University
Face of the Deep and On the Mystery
"Science has recently pointed us toward a surprising and enlivening new setting for human existence and action. This lovely and inspiring portrayal of the new cosmic story and of our own place within it deserves not only careful study but also ongoing meditation. Based on the very latest scientific findings, this powerful and penetrating account of cosmic history is an indispensable guide to human beings as they seek to define where they have come from and what they should be doing with their lives as the story of cosmic creativity moves into what could possibly be a most surprising future of creativity up ahead. Highly recommended."
- John F. Haught, Ph.D
Senior Fellow, Science & Religion, Woodstock Theological Center
"Ours is a universe pulsing with innumerable centers, worlds without end, all related to one another in deep unfolding time. It almost exceeds our capacity even for wonder. We need teachers who can make us wonder again, so I am grateful to Brian Swimme and Mary Evelyn Tucker. To work so long on such a complex subject and come away with such a lovely, uncluttered prose account of the almost-unaccountable -- this is an accomplishment of high culture."
- Willis Jenkins, Ph.D.
Yale Divinity School
"...this project will be ground-breaking."
—Christopher Key Chapple, Ph.D.
Nonviolence to Animals, Earth, and Self in Asian Traditions
"This cosmic saga offers a compelling vision of the grand adventure in which we humans are taking part."
—Scott Russell Sanders
A Conservationist Manifesto
"…a classic text that will address, educate, and delight a vast readership at all educational levels."
—Brian Edward Brown, Ph.D.
Religion, Law, and the Land
"Perhaps this is what makes the book so valuable as much as anything. There is no sense of the struggle or conflict that many see in the linking of religion and science. Instead, the book draws us toward the majesty of the whole. This makes this book a wonderful possibility for introducing students to the more detailed work of dialogue. One can hardly resist the idea that it all fits so well together and marvelously. Like the child staring at the glory of the night sky, this book has us staring at the images set in our minds. It truly takes us on a journey."
—James F. Moore, PhD
Valparaiso University
(quote taken from Zygon review)
"In addition to giving new life and focus to my Language of Poetry course, Journey of the Universe kick-started my stalled spirituality. In the spirit of their visionary mentor Thomas Berry, Swimme and Tucker show the interrelatedness of everything and everyone. They remind us that science and the arts are leading us toward the same end: harmony, wholeness, and the wisdom to alter human behavior in order to save life on earth. Greed and selfishness have left us out of touch with the world, and planet earth is suffering the consequences. This is one of those important books that change the way we perceive ourselves."
—Lucy Wilson, PhD
Professor of English, Loyola Marymount University
"I will treasure this book forever, and read it over and over."
—Mark Dowie
Conservation Refugees
Click here to read reviews on Amazon.com.


text:
MELROSE, MA -- Following the arrest of a former YMCA after-school program coordinator at the Melrose (MA) Family YMCA on multiple child rape counts, a citizen's group has called for and received the resignation of the Y's president.
Richard Whitworth, 30-year president of the Melrose Family YMCA, said he would resign, effective Sept. 1, at the request of Melrose Cares, the community group that formed in response to the scandal. The group also launched an online petition last week to have Nancy Madden, the Y's vice president, removed from the organization's board of directors, but a spokesperson told The Boston Globe she has no plans to leave her post.
James Conner, the former YMCA after-school program site coordinator, was arrested Feb. 12 and charged with two counts of rape. In April, after a second alleged victim came forward, Conner was indicted on 20 sex-related charges by a Middlesex County grand jury, including five counts of rape by force of two girls under the age of 14.
The Department of Early Education and Care investigated the Y after Conner was arrested in February. The agency later issued a report that said the Melrose Y "failed to protect children from abuse," and ordered the Y to freeze enrollment at the after-school program and improve staff training and oversight.
The investigation also revealed that the Melrose YMCA hired Conner after learning of his murky employment history with several other area YMCAs that previously fired him for inappropriate behavior.
A trial date has not yet been set in the ongoing investigation.


text:
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Using Picture Books to Explore Identity, Stereotyping, and Discrimination
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|Lesson Author
Berkeley, California
Often simple texts can be effective vehicles for complex ideas. In this lesson, three picture books depict characters that are different from others in their communities. Each book deals with questions of identity, stereotyping, and discrimination. Sixth- through eighth-grade students are challenged to analyze these concepts through class discussions and writing. In addition to filling out a chart identifying how these three concepts are dealt with in each book, students summarize each story to analyze basic elements. After students understand some of the causes of discrimination, they discuss concrete actions they can take to stop it.
Doodle Splash: Your students can use this interactive tool to illustrate and summarize their reading.
Hinton, K., & Berry, T. (2004). Literacy, literature and diversity. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 48(4), 284288.
- Teachers can have a significant positive impact on their students by exposing them to multicultural literature.
- Students can change how they see themselves by reading literature by and about people like themselves. They might also be inspired to write about their own experiences.
Carr, Kathryn S., et al. "Not Just for the Primary Grades: A Bibliography of Picture Books for Secondary Content Teachers." Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy 45.2 (October 2001): 146-153.
- Picture books can enhance content for learners of any age. They appeal to visual learners, integrate the arts, and provide background and a context to focus on a theme.
- Picture books also support English-language learners because they have less text and the illustrations carry part of the content and because they focus on a single concept in more depth than textbooks do.


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Sky-watchers this week can follow Earth's lone natural satellite as it glides across the sky and poses with some of the most well known celestial treasures.
Moon and Pisces. After nightfall on Monday, December 9, look for the first quarter moon to hang just below the "Circlet," the most easily recognizable part of the constellation Pisces, or the Fishes. Marking the head of the fish that points westward, this circular pattern of seven faint stars is barely visible with the naked eye from light-polluted city suburbs.
While the nearby moon will make for a convenient guidepost, its glare will require the use of binoculars to help track it down no matter how clear the skies. Look for the Circlet to span about 5 degrees across the sky.
Jupiter Rising. On Wednesday, December 11, look for the king of all neighboring planets, Jupiter, to rise in the east around local dinner time (6 pm). By midnight it will be riding high in the south and appearing as the brightest star-like object in the sky. Backyard telescopes can show it off as a large disk with cloud belts, along with a retinue of four large moons.
Geminids Peak. Look towards the northeast in the late evening on Friday, December 13 for the annual Geminid meteor shower to kick into high gear. The glare from the almost full moon, however, will make the meteors a bit harder to see this year, especially the fainter ones.
Best views will be from the dark countryside, far away from the city lights.
Unlike other showers, where a comet is the source for the particles that streak across the sky, in the Geminids' case it's an unusual asteroid named Phaethon. The asteroid passes closer to the sun than most, and has an orbit that more closely resembles comets.
What happens is the same, however. Earth plows into this cloud of debris that's left behind by the parent object and it happens every year like clock work around mid December.
Earth slams into the thickest part of the shower in the hours from late Friday night into early morning Saturday, and this year we're expecting anywhere from 30 to 60 shooting stars per hour. So that's lots of wishes you can make.
Moon points to Pleiades. As darkness sets in on Saturday, December 14, seek out the waxing gibbous moon rising in the east. Using binoculars to cut the lunar glare, look for a stunning, tight group of seven blue-white stars nearby. Known as the Pleiades star cluster, these young stars huddled together in space sit some 400 light years away from Earth, making them one of the closest clusters.
The pair will appear to be separated by no more than 6 degrees, a little more than the width of your fist held at arm's length.
Moon and Aldebaran. The following night, on Sunday, December 15, the moon will pose next to 65-light year distant Aldebaran, the red eye of Taurus, the bull.
This dying red giant star appears less than 3 degrees south of the moon.
Follow Andrew Fazekas, the Night Sky Guy, on Twitter and Facebook.


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Stumbling randomly onto real estate landscapes and edible landscapes I have become sensitized to commercial use of landscape motifs and their (not so) hidden meanings. Two recent finds:
When shopping at the C1000 supermarket you can save for a 10 euro Happy Fuel Card from Total. Notice the beautiful shopping cart in the standard Dutch landscape. I need not explain the irony using pure nature (without highways and modern technology) to market car fuel. This is pure, brutal marketing, but relatively honest.
Le Couvent des Minimes is a brand of "natural" cosmetics. According to the brochure it is based on recipes of Franciscan Sisters who have a long tradition (since 1862) of care and wellness using natural plants.
Some of the ingredients are: rose oil, grapeseed oil, mimosa, chamomile, rosemary, verbena, calendula, marsmallow, mint, lemon, sage, nettle, bur, lavender and violet. Indeed a nice collection of medieval medicinal plants. 1% of sales is donated to charitable works in India.
- A quick search on the internet shows that this place is now a Hotel and Spa where a room costs 300 to 500 euros. The Franciscan Sisters (Francis of Paola not Francis of Assisi) have been expelled long ago, during the French revolution.
A well spun marketing story!


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These unusual, golden little gram flour fritters are crispy and light. They give way to spongy paneer, sweet corn and the light tang of sundried tomatoes. Sit back, relax, watch it rain and devour steaming hot, crisp and fluffy pakora. The paneer adds great texture, depth and succulence. I have used Savera paneer which is the closest out there to homemade paneer…best for this kind of recipe as you wont get a rough chewy texture, but instead you will get an awesome light and pillowy feel. Pillowy…sleep…now that sounds like a great plan doesnt it?
How do you eat yours? I am a tamarind chutney kind of girl and my husband uses ketchup or siracha sauce. I reccomend the later or a coriander and chilli chutney. Oof, comfort food. And guess what, it is easy peasy. It
Alas, no time for sleep right now (boo) but I will be taking these indian vegetarian snacks with a twist to our next picnic (setting is at the zoo). My toddler eats them as do his friends, which, as you will understand if you read my posts regularly is a really, really big deal. I am using some of the gram flour as a face pack. I need it. Have you seen me recently? Shocking.
Serves 10-12 as a snack
Cost per serving: 60p
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
225g paneer, cut into bite sized cubes
250g gram flour
250ml water
1 large red onion, diced
100g sweet corn
120g sundried tomatoes, sliced (the ones that are preserved in oil)
Salt to taste
½ tsp. Turmeric powder
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1 tsp. fennel seeds
1 tsp. minced ginger
2 cloves of garlic, minced
¾ tsp. garam masala
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1-2 green chillies, finely chopped
Oil for deep frying
- Heat the oil on a medium to low flame whilst you prepare the batter
- In a wide bowl, collect the corn, paneer chunks and sundried tomatoes. Sprinkle in the salt, fennel, chillies, cumin, turmeric, garlic, ginger, garam masala and onion and combine all the ingredients well.
- Stir in the lemon juice and toss the mixture together well.
- Introduce the gram flour, stir the mixture thoroughly before pouring in the water and then form a thick batter.
- Drop a little gram flour batter into the oil to test the oil. If the oil is hot enough the batter will rise to the surface of the oil and sizzle.
- Form small and equal sized balls of batter and aim to include paneer, corn and sundried tomato within each ball. They should be smaller than a golf ball.
- Fry them until golden brown and then remove them with a slotted spoon onto some kitchen paper in order to drain them.
This is a sponsored post but any views expressed are my own.


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come before
Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus.
Related to come before: in favor of, set out
come before (someone or something)
1. To happen or exist before someone or something else. We have to thank the generations that came before us for their hard work in establishing this organization. I can never remember which verse comes before the bridge.
2. To formally present oneself to another person or group. Due to your inappropriate actions, you will have to come before a disciplinary committee.
3. To be more important than something else; to be prioritized over something else. I'm constantly reminding my kids that schoolwork comes before any social events.
4. To be a topic of discussion or deliberation for a person or group. When will my petition finally come before the local officials?
come before someone or something
1. [of persons or things in an order or a line] to be in front of or in advance of someone or something. This one comes before that one. She comes before me.
2. [for one] to present oneself in the presence of someone or a group. Thank you for coming before this committee with your testimony. The judge said I would have to come before her again next month.
3. [for an issue] to be raised before someone, a board, committee, etc.; [for an issue] to appear on the agenda of someone or a deliberative body. The matter of the broken windows came before the school board at last. The question came before the business manager.
come before
1. To occur sooner or earlier in a sequence than something: Easter comes before April this year. The letter B comes before the letter C.
2. To be more important than something: Playing fairly comes before winning the game.
3. To present oneself to some group: They came before the court on Wednesday, and the trial was finished by the end of the week.


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Just saw a news report that trails in the Whitewater Preserve are closed, because rangers found a mauled calf (there are wild cows in the vicinity) and because three hikers on the PCT witnessed three pit bulls mauling a cow. The Whitewater area near the preserve has some very shady houses, including some drug houses, and it's likely that some of these folks had pit bulls they let run wild and who have taken up residence in the Whitewater preserve--where, unfortunately, the cows will provide them with plenty of food and accustom them to the idea of attacking large prey--like, say, humans.
Closing a trail due to wild dogs seems almost humorous, but it's worth remembering (I certainly do) that feral dogs actually killed a jogger who was running on a desert road near here in Thousand Palms. It was needless to say a horrible death. It would be far preferable to be killed by a mountain lion. I myself have seen feral dog packs roaming in these urban-wilderness areas. They are dangerous because they are hungry and unpredictable.
So, if you were planning on hiking in this area, make new plans until they find these dogs. And always keep in mind that if you are hiking at all near civilization, running into feral dogs is an unpleasant possibility. Plan accordingly.


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Primaries get ugly; it is why parties should try to avoid them at all costs. You always hear the politically safe jargon that primaries get the electorate informed and they prepare candidates for the general election. Those things can happen without the political polarization and money that comes with a primary.
The race between Councilman Eric Ulrich and Juan Reyes for the GOP nomination in the 15th Senate District is heating up right before this Thursday's primary. It is a tough race to report on comparatively since Ulrich's record is public and Reyes has made his career in the private sector as a successful attorney.
Last week, the Reyes camp made an issue about a joke that Ulrich tweeted about Sen. Bob Dole's endorsement of Reyes, noting the last thing Dole endorsed was Viagra, referring to a recent ad campaign for the drug featuring Dole.
Count me among those who feel that the WWII generation does not get enough respect. I was volunteer number 1,072 in the Dole for President campaign in 1996. I have nothing but admiration for the man, but when you purposely go very public about endorsing products like Viagra, you have to allow for a little humor.
If some people do not get this, Dole himself does get it. When Dole ran for president, famed liberal scribe Gore Vidal said that Dole couldn't be president because he had too much of a sense of humor.
Bob Dole deserves us defending him, but mentioning that he endorsed the drug Viagra is not a very big deal. Reyes wants you to know that he was more than volunteer number 1,072. He was with the man, advising him when he ran for president, which is understandable.
What is important, however, is that there is a whole generation that should (and does not) know Dole's contributions to the country, but Ulrich cannot be faulted for that. The upshot is that most people who use Twitter think our first president was Ronald Reagan anyway, so patriotic Dole supporters should rest easy.
The electronic media allows us to say a lot things that seem funny at first, and are not as funny later on. You would not believe how funny this column is before I edit it down. I would also have included a photo of me with Mrs. Dole from 1996, but on review I realized I was a little too far north of 200 pounds.
The Government Payroll
Check any of the websites for major city agencies, and you will see numerous jobs posted as available. The good thing about government jobs is that you get the salary range posted and most of the responsibilities listed as well.
These positions often sit unfilled often for a long time. Why? Nobody knows. Is there a shortage of talented applicants in New York City? That is doubtful. The issue is that cities all over the country are wary about hiring people.
In all sectors that are growing slowly, the government sector is in a holding pattern. We want the government to spend less, but if there are spots that need to be filled – services that need to be provided – waiting might be a bad idea.
The U.S. Department of Labor recently released a report that claims local governments dropped over 80,000 employees since August 2011. You might be thinking that it is about time government trimmed its payroll, but remember that our city workers are spread thin. Before August of 2011, there were already scores of layoffs.
A few weeks ago I wrote about how there is a legitimate argument being made by some (City Councilman Peter Vallone, Jr. and candidate for Mayor Tom Allon, in particular) for amping up the ranks of the NYPD. While most government employees do not like being lumped in with other government employees, this is a good example of how we can wait to hire people, and regret it later.
If a government waits too long to hire talent, it risks being stuck with what is left. Skilled employees may be drawn to the private sector, especially as the economy gets better.


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I was in the pub the other day with my mate Simon. It's surprising just how many of my posts have their genesis in such a setting. For the benefit of any prospective employers ( and my Mum), I put this down to the company and the mental stimulation of working out just exactly how you collect your winnings from the Quiz Machine.
For anyone who does not have first-hand experience of English Pub Quiz machines, the trick is either to a) get the barman to pay you from the till or b) have about your person a rather large hammer.
Fortunately, the hammer wasn't required on this particular occasion, which is just as well as neither of us had brought one ( it's not really that kind of pub). The reason for our lack of success eventually became apparent. After a conversational odyssey through the Bedfordshire countryside (the vicissitudes of Luton Town) via Table Mountain (England's prospects for the World Cup), Simon – definitely the brains of the operation in Quiz Machine terms – confessed to wrestling with one of those perennial problems that are an occupational hazard of the Database Specialist's art.
Yes, as well as being a bit of a whizz on the Science and Nature stuff, Simon is a long-time Teradata expert.
The problem that he was grappling with was how to exchange data between a unix shell script and the database.
Unfortunately for Simon, I don't know much about Teradata other than how to spell it. However, there are, as ever, a number of incredibly useful unix features which, when combined with SQL*Plus, make this sort of thing possible in the Oracle world without all that mucking around with precompilers.
So, leaving the pub, the remainder of this post will be how to :
- Invoke sqlplus from a shell script and do something in the database
- Get a value out of the database for use in a shell variable
- Pass a shell variable in for use in a SQL statement
- Pass a filename in on the command line for SQL*Plus to execute
- Use WHENEVER SQLERROR to return an exit code to the script
Note – I've written and tested all of these examples on Ubuntu (using the bash shell) against Oracle XE. They should all work in other unix shells ( korn, bourne, csh, look – just pick your favourite) and against other versions of Oracle.
Oh, and I've used different syntax to do the same thing in the different scripts just to illustrate the various ways of doing the same thing.
To connect to oracle from the $ prompt, you'd normally type :
or even
sqlplus uid/pwd@db
if you want to connect without being prompted for a username and password.
There are a couple of further arguments we can provide to sqlplus which are especially useful in this context – the silent switch, which suppresses the banner you normally get when you connect to the database…
sqlplus -s
and the name of a script file to be executed on login :
sqlplus uid/pwd@db @scriptfilename.sql
Invoking SQL*Plus in a Shell Script
Time to make like Doris Stokes and see if we can receive messages from the Other Side ( other side, OS, geddit ?)
Let's start by creating a table :
CREATE TABLE other_side_messages( message VARCHAR2(4000), message_ts TIMESTAMP) /
Now let's write a script which does something in the OS, connects to the database and runs some SQL, before returning control back to the shell script.
#!/bin/sh # # connect to the database and insert a record into a table # echo 'Doing stuff.....' echo 'doing more stuff....' echo 'connecting to database' sqlplus -s username/password@database <<- END_SCRIPT INSERT INTO other_side_messages( message, message_ts) VALUES( 'Greetings from the OS', SYSDATE); COMMIT; exit 0; END_SCRIPT echo 'Doing more OS stuff...' echo 'Done.'
Where username/password@database is your username password and database.
This script uses a shell construct called Here Document. The <<- followed by the label delimits the commands that SQL*Plus is going to run. The matching label at the end tells the script where the SQL*Plus commands end.
NOTE – the ending label needs to be on a separate line and NOT have spaces before or after it.
As unix has a habit of never saving files with execute permissions, we need to set this ourselves before running it :
mikes@mikes-laptop:~$ chmod 744 hd1.sh mikes@mikes-laptop:~$ . ./hd1.sh Doing stuff..... doing more stuff.... connecting to database 1 row created. Commit complete. Doing more OS stuff... Done.
Now if we check the table :
SELECT * FROM other_side_messages / MESSAGE MESSAGE_TS ------------------------- -------------------------------- Greetings from the OS 14-JUN-10 22.30.39.000000 SQL>
Not bad I suppose, but it could be a bit more secure. We don't really want to hard-code a uid/pwd string if we can help it. Also, what if we want to go to the database and get a value to use in the shell script ?
Returning the result of a Query into a shell variable
Look, it's a post about shell scripting, at some point you're going to have to use some obscure character on the top row of your keyboard :
#!/bin/sh # # Shell script to get a value from a database query and then display it # Script takes a uid/pwd@connect_str as an argument # if [ $# -lt 1 ]; then echo 'Usage is hd2.sh uid/password@connnect_string' exit 1 fi echo 'Calling Database.' msg=`sqlplus -s $1 <<- END_SCRIPT set heading off SELECT message FROM other_side_messages; quit END_SCRIPT` echo $msg exit 0
The ` character is the key next to the 1 on the top row ( on a standard UK keyboard anyway).
Well that's a bit more like it. We can get information out of the database to use in the shell script. Let's run it…
mikes@mikes-laptop:~/dbscripts/here_doc$ . ./hd2.sh user/pwd@db Calling Database. Greetings from the OS
Next up :
Passing a shell variable into a SQL statement
At this point I got a bit bored with the whole medium analogy and decided to have a random side-swipe at any passing SQL IDE. In case you're not a regular visitor to this blog (hello Mum…again), you can see a thoroughly scientific and in-depth comparison between SQL Developer and TOAD here.
#!/bin/sh # # Script to use a shell script variable in a SQL statement # if [ $# == 0 ]; then echo 'Usage is hd3.sh uid/pwd@connect_str' exit 1 fi msg='I laugh at your puny IDE' echo 'Calling Database' sqlplus -s $1 <<- INSERT_SCRIPT INSERT INTO other_side_messages( message, message_ts) VALUES( '$msg', SYSDATE); COMMIT; exit; INSERT_SCRIPT echo 'That told them.'
It doesn't have to be a SQL statement, you can do anything that you can normally do in SQL*Plus. Of course you don't have to use here document…
Passing a filename to execute
First off, here's the script we're going to pass in
INSERT INTO other_side_messages( message, message_ts) VALUES( 'Is that Derek Acorah ?', SYSDATE); COMMIT; exit 0;
In this example, we've saved the script in the same directory as the script, but you can call it from anywhere, as long as you specify the path in the call
#!bin/sh # run a script file by passing the name in the call to sqlplus # if [ $# == 0 ]; then echo 'Usage : hd4.sh uid/pwd@connect_str' exit 1 fi sqlplus -s $1 @ins_message.sql echo 'Done'
That's all well and good. But what if something goes horribly wrong ? After all, any self-respecting program you call from a shell script will have the good taste and manners to provide an exit value. Well, SQL*Plus can do the same.
First off, here's a script which isn't going to work…unless you have a rather unusual table naming convention
set heading off set termout off WHENEVER SQLERROR EXIT FAILURE SELECT * FROM my_silly_table; exit 0;
and now, the shell script :
#!bin/sh # this looks a lot like the last script except this calls silly.sql # if [ $# == 0 ]; then echo 'Usage : hd5.sh uid/pwd@connect_str' exit 1 fi sqlplus -s $1 @silly.sql if [ $? == 0 ]; then echo 'Script ran OK' exit 0 else echo 'Script has passed over to the Other Side' exit $? fi
If we now run the shell script and we get an error back from SQL*Plus…
mikes@mikes-laptop:~/dbscripts/here_doc$ . ./hd5.sh uid/password@db Script has passed over to the Other Side
All of which goes to show, it's amazing what you can learn in the pub.


text:
'Eye-of-newt' rules may not help, consultant says
Readers continue to flood us with suggestions for creating and remembering strong passwords, as our challenge continues. However, at least one reader believes the conventional wisdom on passwords is wrong.
Blogger William Cheswick, in his own report on the password theft that prompted our original article, noted the three commonly accepted rules of a good password:
"I call these eye-of-newt password rules, because the recipes are reminiscent of magical potions," Cheswick wrote.
Another common rule – to never write passwords down – seems to be fading, he added. "Previous admonitions against writing down passwords contemplated local attacks – people reading your Post-it notes on your terminal in the office for example," he wrote. "Most attacks come from distant malefactors, and they will never see your terminal. But do beware of leaks to family members, like curious teenagers or a divorcing spouse."
However, Cheswick said, the rules against using words, or requiring mixing of character types, are also a lot less relevant in today's security climate.
"Dictionary attacks are no longer a common threat to most Internet users. Passwords are usually obtained by keyboard sniffing software or phishing Web sites. Under these threat models, all the eye-of-newt rules are what many users suspected: annoying, tedious bureaucratic rules that don't actually help security!" he wrote.
For example, the 32 million passwords that security firm Imperva analyzed (reported in our earlier stories) were stolen, not guessed. "It didn't matter what kind of password the 32 million people chose: the bad guys got all of them, strong and weak, for reasons beyond the users' control," Cheswick said. "It was the site administrators who screwed up."
Cheswick offers two ideas to improve security without using eye-of-newt:
1. One-time passwords: These require tokens – which may be hardware or software – to generate the passwords. However, they're valid for only one log-in, so if someone steals the password, it will be useless. "This has been tried, but it hasn't caught on. It seems to me that it is time to try again," Cheswick said.
2. The "don't be a moron" rule: Create systems that lock an account after a small number of incorrect tries to log in. The users are then responsible to not be morons, Cheswick said. Feel free to use a common word as a password, but not one that's obviously connected to you – no names of pets or spouses, no passwords that match the name of the site they're for, no sequences of numbers.
The combination of putting a little thought into the password and having accounts that will lock after a few wrong guesses allows users to create simple and memorable passwords, while minimizing the risk of unauthorized access.
Meanwhile, your password ideas continued to flow in.
Some readers suggested technological aids, devices that can securely store passwords, to be retrieved when needed.
"A truly strong password is only used on a single system and not reused," wrote one anonymous commenter. "It is impossible to do that consistently across the hundreds of accounts that I personally have. My solution to this is to only have easily memorable passwords for often (daily) used accounts. For all other accounts I use a password generator and storage utility called KeePass. This utility securely generates and stores very complex nonsensical passwords for most of my accounts. When I need it, I open the store with a very secure memorable password and then retrieve the password for use."
Jay Daughtry, from Potomac Falls, Va., said the method that a coach signals the next play to a batter is useful in creating passwords. "The coach could make all kinds of gestures, but until he hit the 'key,' none of it mattered," Daughtry wrote. "The key is the sign that says the next sign is really what is to be done (steal, bunt, etc.). So, how does this relate to the creation of passwords? Start all of your passwords with the same combination of characters and use at least two to three of the requirements (lower case letters, upper case letters, numbers, special signs). What follows this key can be a simple word and/or number that is easy to memorize."
John in San Diego takes a Borscht Belt approach: "I use the initial letters of punchlines to corny old jokes and numbers from one of my 39 'permanent' street addresses. 'That was no lady, that was my wife' becomes Twnltwmw_1725."
Sandy Ingrassia, from Buckley Air Force Base in Colorado, offered a simple algorithm: "My idea is to take a phone number you have memorized (not your own), to include area code. Then you could start with the number, then on the phone pick a letter of the next number and use that as a capital, then go to the keyboard and add a special character for another number and so on. Just make sure that you keep a rhythm (i.e. number, capital, symbol, lower case, repeat) so you remember the order."
Keep your comments coming, and let us know if you agree or disagree with Cheswick's thoughts as well. We'll hold the contest open until May 24, and the submitter of the best password idea – as judged by the Government Computer News editors – wins a T-shirt.
About the Author
Technology journalist Michael Hardy is a former FCW editor.
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The biggest problem is caused by everyone thinking that the application they create is the only one in the world that requires a password - at work, I have a list of 14 applications (all web based), that all require their own password, and each app has its own set of rules. The worst ones are the ones that require EXACTLY 16 characters, 2 uppercase, 2 numbers, 2 special characters... and not a single one of these systems accepts spaces, quotes or (back)slashes.
I remember one specific app that had those requirements, PLUS a profanity filter added for good measure.
Seems to me like the people thinking up password rules make a couple of very obvious mistakes, the first one of which is actually saving the password as is, no hashing, no encrypting, the second one being that they don't realize that if you make the rules easier to follow, you can increase security, as opposed to the current system of adding more and more stupid little caveats that just add a layer of frustration (resulting in written down passwords, or easy to guess ones).
Allow me to come up with a full *phrase* using letters, numbers, spaces and phonetics (like "I'm 4 l177l3 t3ap@, Sh0r7 + Stout"), then save its SH1, MD5 or even AES256 hash ONLY, and security on the user-side is pretty much nailed shut - except for (as is already mentioned) key-logging and theft of password lists.
I look at it this way: any programmer who doesn't know to make his app deal with spaces, slashes and quotes, or one that actually saves unhashed passwords (the only reason I can think of adding a word-filter on passwords), shouldn't be implementing a security system to begin with. :)
I use a made-up word that makes sense to me and nobody else, and then substitute certain letters with numbers or special characters, i.e. e=3, a=@, etc. This makes it easy to remember but hard to guess since it's a made-up word. The substitution also makes the password meet the strong password rules.
Basic Security 101, there are only 3 ways to provide authentication 1) with something you know e.g. passwords w/without all the silly rules, 2) with something you have, e.g., a FOB that produces a single use password, 3) with something you are, e.g. biometrics. Any one of these is easily defeated. Any combination of two of these reduces the probability of defeat to an acceptable low level for most common applications
PKI-enabled smart card token and PIN.
Using simple masks as I presented earlier provides the typical user a series of passwords that can be unique for each site. Users with more than 10 sites generally fall into the trap of reusing passwords because they cannot remember them all. Yet, the use of a KeePass either means you need to carry it with you all the time, or use only one computer. The mask allows the user to go anywhere and use any computer with some assurance that the password is strong and protects them. Most sites now take the four types of characters for a password, and the user can use a mask to generate passwords as often and as many characters as needed. A user should consider the mask presented and try it and see if it does not give them an easier and much stronger way to generate secure passwords.
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With my group in the do. Good Stitches officially done, my only November bee commitment was for Bee Tweet. Jen (aka bettycrockerass, my favorite Twitter handle ever!) sent us all a kind of super awesome holiday assortment that wasn't red and green and traditional, but very hip and retro cool. Here's what I came up with:
- Free Bee -- led by the always fabulous Lynne from Lily's Quilts, this group is filled with an eclectic bunch of modern quilters with an emphasis on free piecing.
- The Bee Bee -- I'm very excited about the row robin bee, where we'll all be sewing with one of my most favorite fabric lines: Melody Miller's Ruby Star Spring. (Note: The Bee Bee got its name from that fabulous large cross-stitched bee print!)
- The Traveling Quilts -- I've teamed up with my PIC (partner-in-crime) Heather to start this new group, which is kind of a new concept in virtual quilting bees. I think it's going to be GREAT (and with the likes of Jacquie, Ashley, Alissa, Monica, Amber, Elizabeth, Faith, Penny, and Kerri taking part, how can it not be??) I'm sure I'll be posting more about the Traveling Quilts in an upcoming post.


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From her Nigerian accent to her eclectic style there is so much to like about Nneka Egbuna. Here she is doing what she does best and bringing the fire with her new single Soul Is Heavy.
This will also be the title of her new album, If you didn't get to listen to her second album No Longer At Ease (Chinua Achebe shout out), which was an amazing body of work, check out the remix of the whole album by J Period a multi-cultural cross between Lagos and New York by way of Germany.
We are still hoping to get our hands on the first album, Victim of Truth.


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Figure 1: Constitutive phosphorylation of NPM-ALK in Karpas299 cells lysed in the presence of phosphatase inhibitors (phospho-lysate) can be detected by PathScan® Phospho-ALK (Tyr1604) Sandwich ELISA Kit #7324. In contrast, only a low level of phospho-NPM-ALK protein is detected in Karpas299 cells lysed without addition of phosphatase inhibitors to the lysis buffer (nonphospho-lysate). However, similar levels of total NPM-ALK protein from either nonphospho or phospho-lysates can be detected by PathScan® Total ALK Sandwich ELISA Kit #7322. Absorbance at 450 nm is shown in the top figure, while the corresponding Western blots using Phospho-ALK (Tyr1604) Antibody #3341 (right panel) or a total ALK Rabbit mAb #3333 (left panel), are shown in the bottom figure.
Figure 2: The relationship between protein concentration of phospho or non-phospho lysates and the absorbance at 450 nm is shown. Unstarved Karpas299 cells were cultured (106 cells/ml) and lysed with or without addition of phosphatase inhibitor to the lysis buffer (phospho or non-phospho lysate).
|Product #
|1 Kit (96 assays)
|Product Includes
|Solution Color
|Phospho-ALK (Tyr1604) Rabbit Ab Coated Microwells
|96 tests
|ALK Mouse Detection mAb
|1 ea
|Green (Lyophilized)
|Anti-mouse IgG, HRP-linked Antibody (ELISA Formulated)
|1 ea
|Red (Lyophilized)
|Detection Antibody Diluent
|11 ml
|HRP Diluent
|11 ml
|TMB Substrate 7004
|11 ml
|STOP Solution 7002
|11 ml
|Sealing Tape
|2 ea
|ELISA Wash Buffer (20X) 9801
|25 ml
|ELISA Sample Diluent
|25 ml
|Cell Lysis Buffer (10X) 9803
|15 ml
Product Information
CST's PathScan® Phospho-ALK (Tyr1604) Sandwich ELISA Kit is a solid phase sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) that detects endogenous levels of phospho-ALK (Tyr1604) or phospho-NPM-ALK fusion protein. A Phospho-ALK (Tyr1604) Antibody has been coated onto the microwells. After incubation with cell lysates, only phospho-ALK or phospho-NPM-ALK proteins are captured by the coated antibody. Following extensive washing, an ALK Mouse mAb is added to detect the captured phospho-ALK or phospho-NPM-ALK fusion protein. Anti-mouse IgG, HRP-linked Antibody is then used to recognize the bound detection antibody. HRP substrate, TMB, is added to develop color. The magnitude of absorbance for this developed color is proportional to the quantity of phospho-ALK (Tyr1604) or phospho-NPM-ALK proteins.
Antibodies in kit are custom formulations specific to kit.
NOTE: Prepare solutions with purified water.
*NOTE: Some PathScan® ELISA Kits may include HRP-Linked Streptavidin in place of HRP-Linked Antibody.
NOTE: Initial color of positive reaction is blue, which changes to yellow upon addition of STOP Solution.
posted November 2013
Protocol Id: 204
CST's PathScan® Phospho-ALK (Tyr1604) Sandwich ELISA Kit #7324 detects endogenous levels of phospho-ALK (Tyr1604) protein or phospho-NPM-ALK fusion protein. As shown in Figure 1, a high level of phosphorylated ALK (Tyr1604) protein or phospho-NPM-ALK fusion protein is detected in Karpas299 cells where ALK or NPM-ALK is constitutively phosphorylated. These high levels are abolished in Karpas299 cells lysed without addition of phosphatase inhibitors* to the lysis buffer. The levels of total ALK protein (phospho and nonphospho) detected by PathScan® Total ALK Sandwich ELISA Kit #7322 remain unchanged. This kit detects proteins from the indicated species, as determined through in-house testing, but may also detect homologous proteins from other species.
* Phosphatase inhibitors includes sodium pyrophosphate, β-glycerophosphate and Na3VO4.
Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) is a tyrosine kinase receptor for pleiotrophin (PTN), a growth factor involved in embryonic brain development (1-3). In ALK-expressing cells, PTN induces phosphorylation of both ALK and the downstream effectors IRS-1, Shc, PLCγ, and PI3 kinase (1). ALK was originally discovered as a nucleophosmin (NPM)-ALK fusion protein produced by a translocation (4). Investigators have found that the NPM-ALK fusion protein is a constitutively active, oncogenic tyrosine kinase associated with anaplastic lymphoma (4). Research literature suggests that activation of PLCγ by NPM-ALK may be a crucial step for its mitogenic activity and involved in the pathogenesis of anaplastic lymphomas (5).
A distinct ALK oncogenic fusion protein involving ALK and echinoderm microtubule-associated protein like 4 (EML4) has been described in the research literature from a non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell line, with corresponding fusion transcripts present in some cases of lung adenocarcinoma. The short, amino-terminal region of the microtubule-associated protein EML4 is fused to the kinase domain of ALK (6-8).
Explore pathways + proteins related to this product.
UniProt ID: Q9UM73
Entrez-Gene Id: 238
Cell Signaling Technology is a trademark of Cell Signaling Technology, Inc.
PathScan is a trademark of Cell Signaling Technology, Inc.


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This year, we're joining our fellow chapters in collecting volunteer hours online.
Go to our chapter website, http://mcmba.org and choose the "Report Volunteer Hours" from the "Get Involved" menu, or go directly to the form:
http://mcmba.org/index.php/get-involved ... teer-hours
Note that we're not only collecting FAFL qualifying trail work hours, but we also would like to capture all volunteer activities in support of the chapter or our trails. If you attend a city council meeting discussing trails, report it. If you meet with a land manager, report it. If you spend time working on a new trail map, report it. Organizing a fund raiser? Report it!


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It's a benefit bivalve banquet: come to the annual clambake and auction to raise money for the Vineyard Nursing Association, the Island's only home health care agency, on Wednesday, July 23, at 6 p.m. at The Field Gallery in West Tisbury.
The Vineyard Nursing Association vigorously raises funds to compensate for the difference in cost of professional medical services provided in the home and the rate of reimbursement from Medicare and private insurers. This year, after taking over the entire patient load from the Vineyard Nursing Service which closed its doors on June 30, 2008, the need for support from the Island is even greater.
The traditional summer feast will be prepared by the Martha's Vineyard Clambake Company with libations compliments of Our Market.
This year, bluegrass music from Train Wreck and a cappella by Vineyard Sound will fill The Field Gallery. Kenny Goldberg and Friends will provide entertainment and oversee the live and silent auctions. Auction items include art and jewelry from renowned Island artists, round trip tickets to New York, rounds of golf at all the Island's golf courses, a dinner party for eight by V. Jamie Hamlin, 100 gallons of fuel, and much more.
Tickets are $125 per person or $900 per reserved table of eight. For tickets or other information on this event, call the Vineyard Nursing Association at 508-696-0785 or purchase tickets online at TicketsMV.com. Advanced reservations are suggested as this event sells out every year.


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It's been roughly two years since BP's (NYSE:BP) Deepwater Horizon disaster. The resulting explosion in 2010 not only killed 11 workers and created arguably the worst oil spill in history, but seriously set back drilling activity in the region. For six months, the moratorium on drilling and new permits by the Obama administration kept the Gulf of Mexico fallow.
What a difference a few years makes. While BP's legal hangups continue and its vaunted Russian joint venture appears threatened, activity in the Gulf has surged to new highs as the ban on drilling has ended. New permits have been issued, and exploration and production (E&P) firms are once again extracting hydrocarbons. As a critical component to America's future energy independence, drilling in the Gulf of Mexico will remain robust for years to come.
Just how robust is evident by the rising day rates E&P firms need to pay to rent an advanced drilling rig to probe the Gulf's deep waters for new deposits. Recently, those rates hit a record high.
For investors, the rising activity and rates could mean it's finally time to bet on deepwater drillers, and one in particular, Noble (NYSE:NE).
A Drill Rig Loaded With the Latest
As demand for drilling rigs in the Gulf of Mexico continues to grow, the day rates for these rigs keep climbing. Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE:APC) recently signed a three-year drilling contract with Nobel for the company's new Bob Douglas ultra-deepwater drilling vessel. The cost to rent this state-of-the-art rig: a staggering $618,000 a day.
The Bob Douglas is designed to tackle the new discoveries found in the Gulf's ultra-deep waters. The bulk of new discoveries have been made in a geological formation known as the Lower Tertiary, where petroleum analysts estimate that the Gulf contains an extra 15 billion barrels of crude oil.
The new rig, which is still under construction in South Korea and will be online in 2013, seems capable of the task. It will be able to drill in waters up to 12,000 feet deep and can accommodate up to 210 workers on board.
The vessel will also come equipped with a 165-ton crane that will enable it to move subsea production equipment with ease. Noble has said the giant crane, which isn't standard equipment on most rigs, will "provide another level of efficiency during field development programs."
Perhaps more important, the Bob Douglas will feature the latest safety equipment, including a two-pronged blowout preventer system. In an effort to avoid another BP-style disaster, the newly reconfigured Bureau of Ocean Energy Management & Regulatory Enforcement (BOEMRE) and the U.S. Interior Department have begun increasing the regulations required for blowout preventers. The rig already meets future standards.
A Win For Noble and Investors
Most contract drillers, like Diamond Offshore Drilling (NYSE:DO), have been able to roughly double day rates as renewed interest in the Gulf has taken hold. Noble is no different, but its new ultra deepwater position makes it quite attractive for investors.
With the Bob Douglas now under lease, Noble has two of its four ultra-deepwater drilling rigs now being built in South Korea under contract. The remaining two are scheduled to be delivered in 2014. With activity in the Lower Tertiary rising, it's only a matter of time before those rigs get rented as well. Once they do, it'll mean some big bucks for Noble.
That $618,000 a day price tag for the Bob Douglas equates to approximately $677 million in revenue for the drilling firm. That doesn't even include cost escalation provisions. Analysts at Global Hunter Securities rate the rental price for the rig's three-year contract as "very good."
That additional revenue will help fuel Noble's continued performance. Over the last few quarters, solid demand across its wide range of rigs and vessels — with deepwater gear leading the way — has boosted earnings.
This trend continues. In Noble's latest earnings report, issued today, quarterly profits more than tripled, as net profit surged to $160 million, or 63 cents per share. That's up from just $54 million, or 21 cents per share, a year ago when the drilling moratorium was in place. Noble's revenue grew 43% in the quarter.
CEO David Williams credited the driller's strong performance last quarter to the addition of new rigs like the Bob Douglas as well as to less unpaid downtime across the fleet, thanks to the return of Gulf drilling.
So far Noble shares are up about 17% in 2012, similar to competitors like Transocean (NYSE:RIG). However, the kicker for Noble and its investors is that only about 77% of floating rig days and 75% of jackup rig days are committed in 2012. That'll leave plenty of room for Noble to benefit from rising day rates. It also makes Noble's forward P/E of 8.25 quite inviting, besting even Transocean's 9.25 forward multiple.
Clearly, the addition of Noble's new ultra deepwater offerings to its stable of "regular" rigs is creating a recipe for long-term success in the Gulf of Mexico.
As of this writing, Aaron Levitt doesn't own any securities mentioned here.


text:
- About Linde Engineering
- Executive Leadership Team
- Linde Engineering Dresden
- Linde Engineering Schalchen Plant
- Selas-Linde GmbH
- Linde Kryotechnik AG
- Cryo AB
- Cryostar SAS
- Linde CryoPlants Ltd.
- Moscow Representative Office
- Linde Engineering Rus, OOO
- Linde Engineering North America Inc. - Tulsa, Oklahoma
- Selas Linde North America
- Linde Engineering North America Inc. - Houston Office
- Hydro-Chem, a division of Linde Engineering North America.
- Linde Engineering India Pvt. Ltd.
- Linde Engineering (Hangzhou) Co., Ltd.
- Linde Engineering (Dalian) Co., Ltd.
- Linde Arabian Contracting Co. Ltd.
- Linde Engineering Middle East LLC
- Linde Engineering Korea Ltd.
- Linde Engineering South Africa (Pty) Ltd.
- Quality, Health, Safety & Environment (QHSE)
- Success Stories
Based in Pullach, Germany, Selas-Linde is part of the Linde Engineering Division. With an annual turnover of around EUR 100 million and a workforce of 85 highly skilled experts, we plan and supply custom-built turnkey plants and plant components for customers in the petrochemical, refining, gas processing, steel, and pharmaceutical industries.
Our experienced specialists deliver a broad range of engineering services, deploying cutting-edge planning tools and process design systems to ensure optimal operational results, reliable long-term behaviour, maximum energy efficiency, and environmental compatibility at all our plants. In close cooperation with qualified suppliers and partners, we procure materials and equipment worldwide.
We comply with all current international standards, norms and regulations and are certified to DIN ISO 9001 and OHSAS 18001. We also have a continuous quality assurance policy.
To synergise competencies and experience, we work closely with our T-Thermal Division located in Great Britain and with Selas-Linde North America the USA.
Core competencies:


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Plastic is amazing.
It's true. Really. Consider all the wonderful things that are made from, or partially from plastic, like medical equipment, computers, and outdoor gear. That's right, Boulder — most of your outdoor gear is plastic, because nylon is plastic. You love nylon; tents, climbing harnesses, backpacks etc. Get the picture?
So let's face it, plastic has its place in society and it allows us to do an infinite number of things that would otherwise be impossible or far less efficient. I'm fine with admitting that, and I'm fine with singing the praises of plastic, because in some instances, like those I just mentioned, plastic provides superior performance relative to other fabrics or materials, serves a valuable purpose and is reused repeatedly.
Single use plastic bags meet none of those criteria. In fact, neither do paper ones.
The Oct. 16 vote on Boulder's proposed 20-cent bag fee represents more than just a choice about single-use bags, it is on some level a fundamental choice about how we elect to use our resources and the example we want to set as a community.
Me? Well, I say that contributing to the estimated 100 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags used annually (yes, there are literally too many to count) isn't the best way to allocate our increasingly limited resources. Rather, it strikes me as an absurdly bad choice.
Not everyone in Boulder favors the proposed fee and some thoughtful concerns have been raised. Namely, the potential economic stresses placed on those who cannot easily afford reusable bags and the cost to merchants as they reprogram cash registers and retrain employees. I'm glad these concerns were voiced and I think they're valid and important considerations. Ones which I want to see addressed.
The beauty of the proposed 20-cent fee lies in its ability to address all these concerns in what I see as a fair and straightforward manner. By charging ourselves a small price at the register (when we screw up and leave our bags at home), we can retrain ourselves to remember our reusable bags, fund the minor adjustments required by merchants, and help purchase reusable bags for those struggling to make ends meet.
Cleverly, the proposed fee, unlike an outright plastic bag ban, also prevents us from relying more heavily upon paper bags, which are estimated by the EPA to require more energy and create more air and water pollution during production than the plastic kind.
On a personal level, making the switch to reusable bags is remarkably simple. I did it years ago, and trust me, remembering those bags isn't so hard, and this really isn't that much of an inconvenience. Sure, there will be times where you pay an extra 40-cents because you left your bags at home, but the occasional 40-cents, or even dollar, is a small price to help keep our community a progressive steward of society's resources.
Other cities all over the world have already addressed the unnecessary consumption of single use plastics, whether it be through outright bans or bag-fees. Given the way Boulder's proposed ordinance is structured, there's really no good reason we shouldn't be next.
So, to the students of Fairview High School who brought this to the forefront, and specifically Dustin Michels who was quoted in the Daily Camera as saying "A bag ban is exciting, and this ordinance is disappointing." I say, take a bow, because while it may not be exactly what you set out to do, I think you've created something everyone can be proud of.
Well done. I hope.
Mike SanClements is a scientist at the National Ecological Observatory Network and Affiliate of the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research at CU Boulder. His book, "Plastic Purge" is forthcoming from St. Martin's Press in 2013. He can be found on Twitter at @msanclem


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Conservation and Environment in Peru: Monthly Updates
TARICAYA RESEARCH CENTRE: January 2012
With the start of a new year there comes a sense of anticipation and 2012 promises to be very exciting here in the Amazon rainforest. With volunteer participation increasing every year I am sure that we shall welcome record breaking numbers this year. That is fantastic news for the program and enables me to set challenging goals and optimistic new projects for the upcoming months. However, before we get too carried away, we must first endure the wet season and the chaos the heavy storms can cause in the forest.
You have never experienced rain until you have been caught in a tropical storm where sheets of water reduce visibility and in just seconds everything you are wearing becomes soaked. These deluges breathe life back into the ecosystem and trees thirstily pump up water to the canopy where new shoots and fruits provide food for the jungle's hungry residents. As the rainy season enters its second month the depressions around the reserve are starting to fill up and this makes moving through the forest ever more adventurous. Nonetheless January saw us start up our mammal surveys again. As volunteers and staff simultaneously walk five different transect routes through the reserve, we hope to gain an overall picture of mammal diversity and abundance. By walking various different trails at the same time we can conclusively say that any groups of mammals we see are not the same ones just moving through the forest. Whilst moving along the trails becomes more difficult in the wet season as mud and temporary swamps make it hard going there is an advantage in that it is easier to find animal tracks. In the dry season the hard forest floor makes it impossible for animals to leave any noteworthy spoors but the rains make every trail a potential mould and our first mammal walks of the year lead us to jaguar and tapir tracks dotted around the reserve.
Apart from the exciting tracks we saw also several different primate species, peccaries, agoutis and squirrels. When mammals are spotted we count how many are in the group or note that it is just a single individual. Then we register behaviour and mark the tree/area where the animal has been spotted with a plastic tape. This marker allows us to continue the transect at a uniform rate and on the return journey we can stop to collect more data such as GPS location and tree species. I look forward to reporting on more exciting sightings next month.
I am very pleased to report that our wild troop of spider monkeys is doing very well and the four remaining members of the group are healthy and strong. We continue to monitor their movements at least twice a week and with every passing month it seems more likely that the group will accept Taricaya and the bordering Tambopata-Candamo Park as their new home range. This is great news and our success with this release program and our hard work in the rescue centre has led to yet another precedent for Taricaya. After an inspection from SENARP the government agency responsible for the national parks of Peru and long conversations we, at Taricaya, have been granted access to the adjoining national park to continue our existing research and continue monitoring our animal releases. This is a huge breakthrough for all our projects not least the animal rescue centre. This new permit means we can request the release of animals back into the huge national park not just Taricaya. This is a relief because eventually the reserve would reach its limit of how many animals it could sustain and what would we do then? In short, this new permit has renewed our confidence and faith in what we are trying to achieve as we continue to push down barriers and change laws to enable our good work to continue and improve. Needless to say we are the first organisation in Peru with such a free rein to work within the highly protected national parks and once again I must thank everyone for all their hard work both on the ground and behind the scenes. A great start to the year!
Elsewhere at Taricaya it was time to knuckle down and battle on with the maintenance of the pilot farm and the inevitable battle with quick growing weeds that heavy rains and scorching suns produce. This work is hard but it can be very rewarding when you look around you after a long morning and see the area you have cleared. I am proud to say that Taricaya volunteers are made of tough stock and every time we face a physical challenge they rise to the occasion. This will be put to the test next month as we start to lay gravel along all the trails within the rescue centre. The heavy rains are turning the heavily transited routes into mud baths and it makes the relatively straightforward task of feeding the animals difficult and messy. Keeping the cages clean is important for the health of our residents and so next month we shall tackle the Herculean task of collecting gravel from the river banks and lining the hundreds of metres of trail.
With the return of many staff after well deserved vacations I look forward to next month when we shall continue our mammal transects, open our mist nets, continue our maintenance of the rescue centre and so much more....until then
Stuart Timson
Conservation Director
Projects Abroad
10th February 2012


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Big Mouth Toys is a US manufacturer, designer, and wholesaler of creative products and novelty items. Founded by Steve Wampold in 2000, the company offers a wide range of all-original, high-quality items that are sure to bring smiles and some nice, clean fun to people of all ages – although there surely is no lack of "naughty" choices for those who enjoy teasing around. Big Mouth Toys designs and produces all its products, most of which make their way to "mom & pop" type stores all over the US.
The company has low minimums (with no minimums per item) and is committed to providing impeccable customer service at all times. Doing business with Big Mouth Toys is guaranteed to be a pleasure. The store has everything from humorous novelty gift items, to simple yet unbelievably practical inventions, to props that will help you pull off your next biggest prank.
Everything even comes in colorful point of sale packaging to maximize the selling potential of unique wholesale merchandise by Big Mouth Toys. It's no wonder that customers keep coming back for more. Bestsellers include wholesale funny mugs and wholesale shot glass sets, including the insanely popular toilet mug and the toilet shot glass set:
This toxic waste shot glass set is a great way to break the ice:
The Ninja Mug and Retro Raygun Rocket Mug are too adorable too resist:
Big Mouth Toys also features a unique and interesting collection of more-than-your-average garden gnomes. You'll find each of these wholesale gnomes quite a character, and apparently customers love having them around:
Other product categories include:
- Funny mugs
- Fun drink coolers
- Shot glass sets
- Salt & pepper shakers
- Sound machines
- Quirky toys
- Toilet paper
- Gadgets & gizmos
- Inflatables
- Political items
- Drinking stuff
- Crime scene tapes
- Countdown timers
- …etc.
Big Mouth Toys has also recently expanded its wholesale inventory with the acquisition of DesignSense, as well as Magique Novelties. Both companies feature age-related and "over-the-hill"products which buyers can now see and order online via BigMouthToys.com.
TopTenWholesale asked Big Mouth Toys what sets it apart from competition. "The variety of products we have to offer… creativity. Big Mouth Toys is the creative force behind all of its products," said Steve Wampold, company president. "Our products are clever and original. Also, low minimum order makes it easy for our customer's to place orders," he adds.
There are plenty of online retailers that carry Big Mouth Toys products, including Amazon.com. You may also watch out for them in various toy fairs and US trade shows. For more information, visit BigMouthToys.com or see contact details below:
Big Mouth Toys
655 Winding Brook Drive
Suite 205, Glastonbury, CT 06033
Telephone & Fax:
Toll Free: 1-800-592-0293
Local: 1-860-659-8304
Fax: 1-800-717-8963
M-F 8:30am-5:30pm EST
Email: email@example.com
Website: http://bigmouthtoys.com
Contact person:
Lynn Polaski (Sales and Marketing)
Steve Wampold (President)


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Monday, August 23, 2010
History in the interstices of law
By the end of the Property course, students have learned a bit of Anglo-American legal history -- history secreted in the interstices of law, to paraphrase Maine. But I wish it were more. I wish that they would all take enough coursework to become familiar with the rich history of the common law. Can we really be graduating lawyers for whom Blackstone, Coke, and Mansfield -- let alone Henry II -- are largely unknown?
And what about the rich heritage of legal history outside the common law? The history of Roman and civil law, and canon law, are important components of the development of the law(s) of Europe. And we must not forget to include the history of law in other regions of our increasingly inter-connected globe.
All of this would be part of the schooling of a well-educated lawyer, were I the czar of the curriculum. But as it is, I manage to secrete history into the interstices of law. And with luck, some of the students will be inspired to learn more....
2 comments:
You can graduate practitioners who lack any real knowledge of the legal past very easily, at least when considering the legal past that is not still relevant to today. After all, if we accept the idea that much of what Coke et al thought about legal history was wrong, they managed!
Whether such practitioners are well-rounded lawyers is a different question, and I would agree that they are not. It's a difficult thing to remember, but contrary to most professors, most law students go on to do relatively humdrum work and rarely need historical, philosophical or other knowledge to do their jobs.
- August 23, 2010 at 12:17:00 PM EDT
- Dan Ernst said...
Let me suggest one way of making history a bit less interstitial in a property course.
One of the challenges of the first year is to introduce students to the legal practices and conventions that produce a body of law without exaggerating its fixity or suggesting it was the product of (to borrow from Bob Gordon) some immanent, functionalist logic. My corrective is to emphasize those moments in property course when seemingly fixed law changed, such as the landlord-tenant revolution, the remaking of servitude law to accommodate the residential subdivision, and the conservative legal foundation's campaign to resuscitate the regulatory takings doctrine. I don't consider these classes as detours from the teaching of doctrine but as the best way to explain, as John Langbein used to say, "how we got into this big mess" (or, I'll add, how we got to this, the best of all possible worlds, as the case may be).
Although these parables of stasis and change don't make a dent in the vast canon of Anglo-American legal history, they do seem to sell the students on the value of a historical approach, more generally considered.
Good luck tomorrow. My date with 113 students and a certain fox is next week.
- August 23, 2010 at 4:11:00 PM EDT


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Collaboration beer brewed to celebrate a new era.
Chattahoochee Brewing Company
Posted: 1/24/2015
Derrell Winowich
Yesterday marked a new and significant accomplishment for the business of craft beer in Alabama. Commercial brewery and brewpub members of the Aalabama Brewers Guild formulated a collaborative effort into a commerative beer for statewide release in March of this year.
The effort marked the first time so many breweries in Alabama have come together on a collaboration and in doing so, have set a new standard of cooperation in the new Alabama craft beer scene.
Good people Brewing in Birmingham, AL hosted the brewday and provided everyone the opportunity to participate.
The brew, set to be released in March as part of a statewide effort to expand the education of Alabamians into what the industry of craft beer production has to offer, will be a hearty stout. Coming in around 7% ABV and utilizing malt and yeast produced here in Alabama, it should prove to be a hit.
St Stephens stout will debut at Eat Drink Birmingham.
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