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Tuesday, August 11, 2009
It's A Wrap
I haven't run tempo runs in past training. For the last 6 weeks I've been running a 10 mile tempo run which began at a 815 minute mile average 6 weeks ago and ended at a 748 minute mile average last week. I like that! My heart rate average began at 173 during each session and ended at an average of 168.
For hills I went to Powder Ridge as there was road construction heading East into the Twin Cities over the weekend, I didn't want to bother with that. I was able to run 8 hours of the ski hill and the tubing hill for variation. As I was leaving I was told by the caretaker that I was welcome to come and run the hills any time during the summer. I haven't seen a caretaker out there at all when I have run hills in the past. I was happy he wasn't there to tell me I was trespassing. I was glad to have finished my workout before the thunder and lightening storm hit as I was driving home.
Sunday was my final long run. I slept in, not reaching the trail until 630. With the later start I knew Topaz would become too warm to get in a full 40 miles so I decided to run 20 with him on trail and finish up on my own later. With the recent rains a few of the ponds where he likes to lay had adequate water for him to drink and soak. We ran 20 miles and then headed for home.
I changed out of my Inov 8s into my Ascis road shoes, mixed up some Heed, grabbed some gels and left him at the door. He screamed in agony as I went running down the driveway. Poor pup. He just couldn't understand that he would become too warm running 40 miles at 80F.
The road run went very well. I left my iPod at home, wanting to visualize/meditate as I ran, practicing some of the Running Within techniques I have been studying. I ran the 6 miles into Big Lake, stopping at Cobornes to refill, off around the lake 2 times, back to Cobornes and then home. Total for road run = 23 miles, trail run = 20 miles. Not a bad day!
As I was nearing home I was wondering what I would do first: eat the steel cut oats that I had in the crock pot or jump into the pool. I didn't realize I had made a decision until I was stripping out of my ishy running clothes and jumping into the refreshing pool. Ah, how wonderful! The oats post swim tasted pretty wonderful, too.
Today Topaz and I went for our final summer vacation morning trail run. My 8 weeks of summer vacation has come to an end. Tomorrow I head back to work. It's been a wonderful summer but summer vacation can't last forever. It will be nice to have a pay check again :)
Now I need to formulate my new workout schedule between the boys fall sports, school and working. The first few weeks are always take a bit of getting used to.
5 comments:
- SteveQ said...
My feeling good about my Saturday hill workout just ended with hearing what you've accomplished. Those tempo runs are really going to come in handy at Lean Horse!
- Helen said...
The next time someone calls me a machine I am directing them here!!
Nice training lady. Now enjoy the taper. See you in SD - it will be fun :)
- John W. Taylor said...
Enjoyed reading your blog.
Sounds like you're going to have a great LeanHorse!!! Have FUN!!!
John Taylor
- Cheryl said...
Hi Julie,
I just wanted to let you know that I used your foot potion during the Half-Wit Half Marathon today. I have to say that it was the hardest trail race I've EVER done. Heck it was the hardest race I've ever done period!!!
I really thought I was getting blisters because of the rough terrain but when I took off my socks, I had some sore spots but no blisters! Thanks for having such a great product!
Cheryl Jack
- Julie B said...
Congratulations, Cheryl!! I'm glad the Foot Potion did its job :)

subset: commoncrawl


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Because if there's one thing a longtime Whig like Lincoln couldn't stand, it was capitalism, right?
Religious right broadcaster Kevin Swanson agreed with one of his guests that Abraham Lincoln imposed socialism on the United States during the "war against the South" – more commonly known as the Civil War.
Swanson hosted neo-Confederate author Walter Kennedy last month on his radio program, reported Right Wing Watch, where the pair argued the Republican Party had been founded by "radical socialists and communists."
"The Democrats, both Northern and Southerners, believed in limited government, and the Marxists hated that concept," Kennedy said. "They wanted to do away with states' rights and limited government so that they'd have one big all-powerful indivisible government that could force its will upon the American people."
The broadcaster – who has argued the Disney hit movie "Frozen" was a satanic tool for indoctrinating girls to become lesbians — agreed with his guest, saying Lincoln and Mark Twain helped ruin the U.S. by replacing Southern slavery with socialist slavery.…
The author told Swanson that Lincoln had given a "big boost" to communism by winning the Civil War and then created a federal government that began an "incessant attack on religious values in America."
"What Marxist dictator could ask for less?" Kennedy said. "All of these communists that have wormed their way into power, into powerful positions, they began to influence other people to pursue this objective of a big, indivisible government, and government supplants God as being sovereign."


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2012 Toyota Vellfire L Edition
Pure luxury
Listing #: 2636182333
North Shore, Auckland, NZ
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- 66,000km
- Grey, 5 door, Station Wagon
- 5
- Petrol
- 6 cylinder, 3456cc
- Automatic
- 3 owners, Imported
- Sep 2020
- Expired
- L Edition
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PRINCESS ANNE, MD-The University of Maryland Eastern Shore women's bowling team will team up this month with the WeeHawk Kid's Club to offer the UMES WeeHawks Bowling Camp June 24 in the Sharon D. Brummell Lanes in the Student Services Center on campus.
The one-day camp will offer school age children entering grades three through nine the chance to learn bowling instruction from the UMES Lady Hawk Bowlers and head coach and former College Bowler of the Year, Kayla Bandy. They will also have outdoor activities, take look at how a bowling center works, make a bowling craft and have lunch and a snack.
"I'm really excited to offer this chance to the children of our faculty, staff and community," said Bandy. "It encourages education in the sport of bowling, will be a lot of fun and it benefits the university."
The cost is $15 for current WeeHawks and $35 for non-members. The latter price includes a 12-month membership in the WeeHawks Kid's Club.
Enrollment is limited to the first 30 paid registrants.
Call UMES Athletics at 410-651-6496 or visit umeshawks.com for moer information.
G. Stan Bradley, associate director of athletics for external affairs, UMES Intercollegiate Athletics, 410-651-6499


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Programming note: For all the day's sports news, tune in to SportsNet Central tonight and every night at 6, 10:30 p.m. and midnight on Comcast SportsNet Bay Area
RENTON, Wash. -- The Seattle Seahawks released defensive end Chris Clemons on Wednesday, a move that saves significant salary cap room but takes away one of their top pass rushers the past four seasons.
The move, first reported by NFL.com and confirmed by Clemons' representatives, was not unexpected as Seattle tries to clear the right amount of financial space to make moves in free agency while also trying to work on extensions for safety Earl Thomas and cornerback Richard Sherman.
Clemons was set to make $7.5 million in base salary in 2014, the final year of an extension he signed with the Seahawks before the start of the 2012 season.
Clemons turned around his career when he arrived in Seattle via trade before the 2010 season and will be regarded as one of the top moves made by general manager John Schneider. After failing to find success in Oakland and Philadelphia, Clemons thrived in Seattle.
Placed into the LEO position on the defensive line, Clemons became Seattle's top pass rusher for his first three seasons with the Seahawks with a combined 33 1/2 sacks from 2010 to 2012 and at least 11 sacks in each of those seasons.
Last season, Clemons had only 4 1/2 sacks as the emergence of Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett and a deeper rotation on the defensive line took away some of Clemons' opportunities. Clemons suffered a torn ACL in the 2012 playoffs but worked his way back to where he was on the field by Week 3 of the regular season.
He had 3 1/2 sacks his first five games, but had just one sack the final nine games of the regular season. Clemons did have Seattle's only sack of Peyton Manning in its Super Bowl blowout victory.
With Seattle's re-signing of Bennett earlier this week, it seemed only a matter of time before Clemons was released.
Clemons, 32, is the fourth defensive player to either be released by the Seahawks or sign with another club in free agency. Fellow defensive end Red Bryant was released last week and signed with Jacksonville. Free agentClinton McDonald signed with Tampa Bay on Tuesday and reserve safety Chris Maragos agreed to a deal with Philadelphia on Wednesday morning.


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ORLANDO, Fla. – Florida Gov. Rick Scott and the state legislature gave the go-ahead to new toll lanes on Interstate 4 on Friday, which is expected help pay for a massive overhaul of the interstate.
The "I-4 Ultimate Project" calls for improvements to 21 miles of the interstate, stretching from west of Kirkman Road near Universal Orlando through downtown Orlando, Maitland, and into Seminole County east of State Road 434 near Longwood.
The project is expected to cost about $2 billion with four new toll lanes right down the center of the interstate to help cover the cost.
All of the current free lanes will remain intact, but the four so-called "express lanes" would offer variable pricing. This means during peak times prices go up. In some cases, it would cost over $13 bucks for a round-trip commute.
The state estimates it could cost someone driving from 434 near Longwood to downtown Orlando up to $7.70 during morning rush. A trip home: $5.60. That's $13.30 a day.
"That's ridiculous. I think it's ridiculous," said Melisa Arriaga, who drives I-4 every day.
"Like a couple bucks I'm fine with, but $13 is a bit much," said driver Laura Ferguson. "I mean sometimes you just have to do what you got to do, but yeah, $13 is a lot."
Meantime, drivers going from Kirkman Road near Universal--- to downtown Orlando would pay as much as $4.60 in the morning, $4.30 in the evening for a total of $8.90 a day.
"I guess if we have the option to use them then that's fine as long as they don't make us pay to use the regular highway," said Arriaga.
The optional toll lanes should help generate some of the $2 billion needed for all the other planned improvements on I-4, including re-constructing all of the existing free lanes and straightening out the Fairbanks curve.
Fifteen interchanges, including I-4 and 408, will be revamped and there will be 56 new bridges, including a new pedestrian crossing at Maitland Boulevard along with dozens of other bridge improvements.
For drivers we spoke with who describe I-4 as a "parking lot," any improvements -- even if they take tolls -- are welcome.
"Yes, but like I said, I don't think many people will use those lanes," said Arriaga.
Construction is scheduled to start in fall of 2014. It's expected to take six years to complete.
If the state tried to do this work without adding the tolls, officials estimate the work would take 20 years to complete.
To help ease some of the congestion caused by the construction, state officials say Phase 1 of the Sunrail system is expected to be open, which runs from DeBary to Sand Lake Road.
For more information on the I-4 Ultimate Project, visit www.moving-4-ward.com


text:
Celebrity Rehabber Rachel Uchitel visited Ground Zero with Dr. Drew and TV cameras for closure, not publicity, she insisted.
The Las Vegas party hostess, who was linked to Tiger Woods in the aftermath of his breakup with his wife, came to the site of the 9/11 attacks last week to shoot scenes for her upcoming appearance on VH1's "Celebrity Rehab."
Uchitel, 35, lost her fiancee in the attacks and was featured on the cover of the New York Post at the time, plaintively pleading for information on his well-being. She raised her profile in the years after the attacks, working as a party promoter in New York and Vegas.
U.S. & World
Uchitel bristled at the suggestion the trip to hallowed ground was in bad taste.
"Who the f--- are people to be talking about me?" Uchitel told the New York Post. "Until they go through what I went through, living with a guy and being engaged to him and having that person dead an hour after waking up next to him."
Uchitel said she visited the site to "get closure on some stuff I've been dealing with . . . and I don't know why people would take that the wrong way.
"If people think I'm milking something for the benefit of getting on TV or getting more well-known, I'm already well-known," she said.
Joining Uchitel on the upcoming season of "Celebrity Rehab" are actor Eric Roberts, "The Hills" star Jason Wahler, original supermodel Janice Dickinson, 1970s teen heartthrob Leif Garrett, troubled actor Jeremy London, socialite Jason Davis and Keyshia Cole's mother Frankie Lons.
London has denied reports that he and Uchitel have been more than friendly during the taping of the reality show.
In 2004, Uchitel wed a Wall Street trader, but the marriage lasted just four months. She moved on to "party girl" status and reportedly dated stars including Woods and "Bones" actor David Boreanaz.
Selected Reading: New York Post, VH1, Radaronline.


text:
Ever since the Lagaan Special Anniversary Edition 3-disc DVD set was released last year, fans of Lagaan have been meaning to get it. It is a limited edition set, which makes it difficult for those of us away from India, especially since the official website shipped to Indian addresses only. Getting it shipped from a friend in India was an option, but if you're like me, the shopping experience holds some value in addition to the product (the journey being as important as the destination).
When I visited Bollywood stores asking of the set (across American states and European countries), I was surprised to discover that most were not even aware of it. Several suggested it is difficult to find even the basic DVD of the film, let alone the set (I know that's true). Others confidently said the set didn't exist. My attitude to these video store owners mirrored Captain Russell's: "The old hats will teach me how to run the show. They've lost their sense of adventure. What's wrong with some fun along with the lagaan?" :o)
Then, during Lagaan week, I revisited the online store at LagaanDVD.com and was pleasantly surprised to discover that they shipped here! The package arrived last week. It really is more impressive than advertised, and more incredible than promised.
It came in this beautiful wooden case, the Lagaan XI engraved:
The film is split onto two DVDs, and rightfully so. The quality is brilliant. The first even contains a song that was recorded but not included in the film, called 'Chhutey Lagaan'.
Here is the cinemascope filmstrip from the original. The quality of the presentation is excellent. Fittingly, the frames in my set are of Bhuvan (learned quite a bit from him) in the greatest cricket match ever played:
The Lagaan coin is beautiful too, and comes with a note by Aamir Khan:
The cumulative effect is zabardast (awesome). This picture is from LagaanDVD.com:
The set also gave me a chance to debut my new home theater this past weekend with disc three of three from the set, a documentary (the first ever released in Indian theaters) on the making of the film, titled Chale Chalo...the Lunacy of Film-making. It is a narration by Satyajit Bhatkal, a lawyer who left his practice to join the Lagaan crew. I had read his book titled The Spirit of Lagaan (here is my book review), and this documentary brought its pages to life!
The documentary was spectacular, one that completely involved the viewer. It offered footage on everything from the inception of the plot to auditions, the selection of Kutch as the venue for Champaner, the apartment building in which the cast and crew lived for months, the challenges faced during the shoot, the injuries sustained by the cast, the scope creep that the film project underwent, and a whole lot more. The footage from the sets was amazing. And the bits in which the cast were shown collectively singing to Ghanan Ghanan was so well done, I started singing along with them!
What I really liked about it was that it spoke volumes of the individuals involved in the project. They gave their hearts and lives to the film, being away from their homes for an extended period (at one stretch), in the middle of a desert where communications technology was not readily available. They had to shoot in the desert heat, and often without footwear, given the script demanded it. Some sustained injuries as serious as a slip disc or a dislocated shoulder, and still kept going. Chale Chalo indeed.
The roles of the people of Kutch was well documented in The Spirit of Lagaan. The documentary did further justice to their roles, and solidified Aamir Khan's stance that without the people of Kutch, the Lagaan dream would not have materialized.
If you liked the film, you must try and watch this. If you loved the film, this is a must. And if you like movies in general (not only Bollywood movies), you will still find plenty to appreciate in Chale Chalo. The narration is brilliant, and individuals such as Satyajit Bhatkal, Ashutosh Gowariker, Aamir Khan, Gracy Singh, Paul Blackthorn, Rachel Shelley, Reena Dutta (Aamir's first wife), Javed Akhtar, A. R. Rahman, and several others, truly take us through a fantastic account of the film. Bonus features include over 100 Lagaan stills, and a 30-minute piece on the music of the film, including comments by Udit Narayan and Alka Yagnik.
Rating: 5/5 (spectacular)
Be prepared to embark on an amazing journey through the Lagaan timeline! Here are some highlights:
Watch more at the Lagaan DVD channel on YouTube.


text:
Misc Clip Of The Week: Who Said N.Y. Got The Worse Cops? Russian Cops Don't Need Tasers!
This is definitely messed up, Watch towards the end when guy tries to show ID and got knocked out.
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If you prefer to order by
mail (check or money order) please click here for
(or by phone 386-446-8139, 9-5 p.m. EST)
See also below to make a donation
click here for: healing books, here for afterlife, here for spiritual warfare
Michael Brown's books autographed [click here]
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five to 12 business days for 'media' mail, 4 to 5 for 'Priority'
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With the release of Stephen Spielberg's "Tintin" still more than a year away, the long, slow drip of sneak previews has begun with the release of the first official images from the film.
Spielberg and producer Peter Jackson bequeathed the honor of first look to Empire magazine, who has Tintin and his trusty dog, Snowy, on their cover, as well as two more pics from the 3D, motion-capture film.
"With live action, you're going to have actors pretending to be Captain Haddock and Tintin," Jackson told Empire. "You'd be casting people to look like them. It's not really going to feel like the Tintin Hergé drew. It's going to be somewhat different. With CGI we can bring Hergé's world to life, keep the stylized caricatured faces, keep everything looking like Hergé's artwork, but make it photo-real."
The art by "Tintin" creator Hergé is certainly worth recreating as truthfully as possible. And his stores were fantastic adventures, if occasionally tainted by the prevailing racial sentiments of their time.
The cover shot is maddeningly shadowy, with Tintin, (played by Jamie Bell) and Snowy getting hit by a spotlight while on the run. Of course it's not proper a mo-cap production without Andy Serkis, who provides the movements for the hard-drinking, quick-tempered Captian Haddock, who can be seen in the other two pics.
The film also stars the likes of Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Daniel Craig, Cary Elwes and Tobey Jones.
"The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn" comes out Dec. 28, 2011.


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The house was filled with the sweet scent of cake and lemon and coconut the morning I baked these - there's no air freshener that can sweeten up a home like something freshly baked, cooling on the counter. All those buttercream ruffles were almost too pretty to eat. Almost.
The soft, white coconut cake was sweet and delicate, filled with tart lemon curd, and then topped with a fluffy lemon buttercream. I decorated a few with buttercream ruffles, and then gave a plain swipe of buttercream to the ones I topped with sweet coconut.
I sat on the couch with my friend Katie and her pretty baby girl Macy, talking about photography, and we each sampled a cupcake with our cups of coffee, just to make sure they were good. I had baked them for Jamie, but he wouldn't be coming home until the next evening.
Katie had asked me to assist her with photographing an upcoming wedding, so we were spending the day talking about the schedule for the day, the different types of lenses and the settings on her camera, which I was going to be borrowing. With no professional photography experience, and no experience at all with using a DSLR camera, changing lenses and using a camera on its manual settings, I had so much to learn before the big day.
The morning of the wedding was warm and sunny, and we were up early to set everything up at the Brown Palace Hotel in downtown Denver. And then the next eight hours were filled with photo shoots of the bride and bridesmaids getting ready, family portraits, the ceremony, guests, the cake cutting and dancing. It was work, but also a lot of fun, and interesting to see a wedding through the lens of a camera instead of as a guest.
And although I didn't even know the bride and groom, I found myself tearing up more than once during the toasts at the reception. The family was warm and welcoming, with so much energy on the dance floor.
Back home, I was so tired that I fell asleep on the couch for 2 1/2 hours, waking to the aroma of the pot roast Jamie had started cooking for dinner. How wonderful is it to be with someone who starts dinner while I take a long nap, and then rubs my aching feet?
I haven't seen any of the photos from the wedding yet, but once they're ready, Katie will post a sampling on her blog, Kathleen Rose Photography.
Maybe it was all the wedding talk on my mind, but when I started decorating the cupcakes, I decided to cover them with ruffles of buttercream. I thought that even the cupcakes looked bridal.
Lemon Coconut Cream Cupcakes
printable recipe
- 1 box white cake mix
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 can (14 ounces) full-fat, unsweetened coconut milk
- 3 whole eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon coconut extract
- 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3 tablespoons lemon curd
- zest of two small lemons
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons meringue powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
- 3 tablespoons milk
filling and garnish:
- 1 cup lemon curd
- sweetened coconut flakes
Bake the Cupcakes:
Preheat the oven to 350. Line muffin tins with 24 paper liners.
In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine all of the cake ingredients. Mix on low to combine, then mix on medium speed for 3 minutes, scraping the bowl once. Divide the batter between the muffin cups, filling them 2/3 full.
Bake for 15 minutes, until pale golden and a toothpick comes out clean. Remove cupcakes from the pan and set on a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the Buttercream:
In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, mix the butter, lemon curd and lemon zest for one minute. In a separate bowl, combine the powdered sugar and meringue powder (meringue powder should not directly touch any liquid); add to the mixing bowl and mix on low to combine. Add the vanilla and milk, then increase speed to medium high, whipping for 4-5 minutes until very light and fluffy.
Fill the Cupcakes:
If you have a cupcake corer, great; if not, do what I do and poke the blunt end of a chopstick into the center of each cupcake, stopping halfway down, and swirl it around to create a half-inch hole. Pipe about a teaspoon of lemon curd into the holes.
Frost the Cupcakes:
Pipe or spread the buttercream onto the cupcakes. To achieve the ruffled look above, use the Wilton #104 rose petal tip fitted to a piping bag. Hold the bag so the tip is vertical, narrow end up and wide end down, against the cupcake. Starting at the middle, squeeze the bag with one hand while you turn the cupcake with the other (I'm right-handed, so I held the piping bag with my right hand and turned the cupcake counter-clockwise with my left). Wiggle your hand a little (the one holding the bag) to create ruffles, and pipe in a circular pattern from the middle to the outside. For the last ruffle on the outer edge, angle the tip at a 45 degree angle, with the narrow end pointing away from the cupcake.
Sprinkle cupcakes with the coconut, if you don't mind covering up the pretty ruffles. Toast the coconut first, if desired.
Yields 24 cupcakes.
Recipe from Curly Girl Kitchen


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Export 129 results:Author Title [ Type] Year
Filters: Author is Chris Marnay [Clear All Filters]
Conference Paper
"The Added Economic and Environmental Value of Solar Thermal Systems in Microgrids with Combined Heat and Power." 3rd International Conference on Solar Air-Conditioning, September 30 – October 2, 2009. University Palermo, Sicily, Italy, 2009. 11. LBNL-2629E..
"Added Value of Reliability to a Microgrid: Simulations of Three California Buildings." Cigré Integration of Wide-Scale Renewable Resources into the Power Delivery System, July 29-31, 2009. Calgary, Canada, 2009. 9. LBNL-1853E..
"Aktuelle Trends in der dezentralen KWK Technologie Integration – Das kalifornische Fördermodell und dessen Implikation für die Endenergieeffizienzrichtlinie." Internationale Energiewirtschaftstagung an der TU Wien, February 14-16, 2007. Vienna, 2007. LBNL-62314..
"Analysis of electric interconnection with commercial building." Electric Vehicle Integration Into the Smart Grid of the Future - G2V & V2G Forum, April 6, 2011. UCLA, 2011. LBNL-4559E..
"Analysis of electric vehicle interconnection with commercial building microgrids." UCLA Smart Grid Thought Leadership Forum April 6, 2011. Los Angeles, CA: LBNL, 2011. LBNL-4559E..
"Application of the Software as a Service Model to the Control of Complex Building Systems." ECEEE Summer Study, June 6-11, 2011. Belambra Presqu'île de Giens, France: LBNL, 2011. LBNL-4860E..
"Applications of Optimal Building Energy System Selection and Operation." Microgen'II: Second International Conference of Microgeneration and Related Technologies, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland, 4-6 Apr 2011. Glasgow, Scotland 4-6 Apr 2011: LBNL, 2011. LBNL-4764E..
"Auswirkungen einer CO2-Steuer auf Dezentrale Energieversorgungsunternehmen mit Kraft-Wärme-Kopplung und deren Interaktion mit dem Verteilnetz, analysiert am Beispiel eines städtischen Mikronetzes." Energiegespräche, September 24, 2002. Technischen Museum, Vienna, 2002..
"The CERTS Microgrid and the Future of the Macrogrid." ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings. Berkeley: LBNL, 2004. 14. LBNL-55281..
"Control of Carbon Emissions in Zero-Net-Energy Buildings by Optimal Technology Investments in Smart Energy Systems and Demand-Side-Management." 32nd IAEE International Conference, Energy, Economy, Environment: The Global View. June 21-24, 2009. Grand Hyatt Hotel, San Francisco, 2009..
"Customer Adoption of Small-Scale On-Site Power Generation." European Council for an Energy Efficient Economy Summer Study 2001. Mandelieu, France: LBNL, 2001. LBNL-47896..
"Distributed Energy Resources On-Site Optimization for Commercial Buildings with Electric and Thermal Storage Technologies." 2008 ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings, Scaling Up: Building Tomorrow's Solutions, August 17-22, 2008. Pacific Grove, CA: LBNL, 2008. LBNL-293E..
"Evaluation of evolving residential electricity tariffs." ECEEE Summer Study, June 6-11, 2011. Belambra Presqu'île de Giens, France: LBNL, 2011. LBNL-4496E..
"A Framework for the Evaluation of the Cost and Benefits of Microgrids." CIGRÉ International Symposium, The electric power system of the future - Integrating supergrids and microgrids. Bologna, Italy : LBNL, 2011. LBNL-5025E..
"Future Roles of Milli-, Micro-, and Nano- Grids." CIGRÉ International Symposium The electric power system of the future - Integrating supergrids and microgrids. Bologna, Italy: LBNL, 2011..
"A Green Prison: Santa Rita Jail Creeps Towards Zero Net Energy (ZNE)." ECEEE Summer Study, June 6-11, 2011. Belambra Presqu'île de Giens, France, 2011. LBNL-4497E..
"Greenhouse Gas Abatement with Distributed Generation in California's Commerical Buildings." 10th IAEE European Conference, Energy, Policies and Technologies for Sustainable Economies. Hofburg, Vienna, Austria, 2009. LBNL-2693E..
"Integrated building energy systems design considering storage technologies." ECEEE 2009 Summer Study, June 1-6, 2009. La Colle sur Loup, Cote d'Azur, France, 2009. LBNL-1752E..
"Integrated Energy System Dispatch Optimization." 4th International IEEE Conference on Industrial Informatics, Singapore, August 16-18, 2006. Singapore: LBNL, 2006. LBNL-60591..
"Integration & Operation of a Microgrid at Santa Rita Jail." Jeju 2011 Symposium on Microgrids, Jeju Island, Korea, May 27 - 28, 2011. Jeju, Korea: LBNL, 2011. LBNL-4850E..
"Microgrid Selection and Operation for Commercial Buildings in California and New York States." 4th European PV-Hybrid and Mini-Grid Conference, May 29-30, 2008 . Glyfada, Athens, Greece: LBNL, 2008. 12. LBNL-313E..
"Microgrids: An emerging paradigm for meeting building electricity and heat requirements efficiently and with appropriate energy quality." European Council for an Energy Efficient Economy 2007 Summer Study, 4-9 June 2007. La Colle sur Loup, France,: LBNL, 2007. LBNL-62572..
"Microgrids and Heterogeneous Security, Quality, Reliability, and Availability." 2007 Power Conversion Conference, April 4, 2007. Nagoya, Japan : LBNL, 2007. LBNL-62460..
"Microgrids for Commercial Building Combined Heat and Power and Power and Heterogeneous Power Quality and Reliability." IEEC 2007 Conference on Active Networks and Sustainable Energy Consumption, Nov. 14-15, 2007. Bilbao, Spain : LBNL, 2007. LBNL-63520..
"Modeling Electric Vehicle Benefits Connected to Smart Grids." 7th IEEE Vehicle Power and Propulsion Conference. Chicago, IL : LBNL, 2011. LBNL-4929E..


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| 10.9°C Dublin
Chris Robshaw has demanded England must eliminate the sort of suicidal start that once again left them swimming against the tide against France on Saturday.
It took just 31 seconds for Les Bleus to score their opening try in a 26-24 defeat in Paris that means Stuart Lancaster's side must win all their remaining games to stay in RBS 6 Nations title contention.
Yoann Huget, aided by a kind bounce, touched down following a blunder at the kick-off and added a second after Tom Wood was stripped of the ball to help establish a 16-3 lead.
A similar scenario unfolded against New Zealand last autumn when Julian Savea breached the whitewash after just 105 seconds as the All Blacks powered into a 17-3 lead.
On both occasions England displayed character to put themselves in winning positions, only to slip to shattering late defeats that Robshaw views as unacceptable.
"We can't give teams a big lead like that and this is something we must address," the Harlequins openside said.
"You put so much energy into getting yourself back in front that it knackers you out a bit. It takes quite a lot to get back in front.
"We can't give teams so many points, we need to be the team that imposes ourselves. There can't be any more lessons - we are in a championship."
England's fightback was founded on tries from Mike Brown, who somehow outmuscled three blue shirts to wriggle over, and impressive debutant Luther Burrell.
Seemingly destined for a deserved victory, they were instead stunned by a brilliant 77th-minute try from elusive substitute Gael Fickou that was converted by Maxime Machenaud.
England were otherwise able to reflect on an encouraging 80 minutes that saw rookie Jack Nowell grow in stature after a shaky start and produced an improved attacking performance.
"The bounce of the ball went against us and it's tough to take. Credit goes to the guys for getting back in it," Robshaw said.
"You never know what you will get with the French and that is what we found out at the end. They took the try well.
"The way we looked after the ball at times was much better than in the autumn.
"Our attack was much improved on the last time we were all together, but unfortunately the final thing didn't quite work for us.
"We did cough the ball up a little bit too easily and that takes a lot out of the legs."
Wing Jonny May could miss Saturday's clash with Scotland because of a broken nose and a doubt hangs over lock Courtney Lawes, who departed with a head injury in the second half.
Robshaw knows any further slip-ups will result in the end of England's title aspirations, but takes comfort in Wales losing their Six Nations opener last year and yet winning the tournament.
"We have got to draw inspiration now from what Wales did last year," he said.
"Of course we are in a very tough situation. We know the challenge and the uphill battle we face. It can be done.
"The dream of winning every game is not there any more but we showed great potential against France.
"It's not about learning now, it's about kicking on. We came with one mission and unfortunately we didn't get it."
Online Editors


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When you troubleshoot issues with a Lightning cable, there are some quick tests that you can complete to rule out potential problems. You can test to make sure that the following components are working correctly and are not the source of the issue:
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Use the mobile device, USB controller card, and Lightning cable in another setup to see if the problem is with the components or the setup.
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Remember when we told you about that big peanut butter recall at Trader Joe's? And then we told you that the recall had, ahem, spread larger than that? Well, it's the damnedest thing, the peanut butter recall has expanded yet again. New Nut Butter Recall: Now With Other Nuts!
It started with Trader Joe's Creamy Salted Valencia peanut butter, but now Sunland Inc., the company that produces that and many other nut butters, is recalling cashew butters, tahini (made with sesame seeds), and blanched and roasted peanut products sold at several different major grocery store chains. In all, the recall is for 101 different products. I repeat: 101 nut butter products recalled. Here's what you need to know.
So far 30 salmonella cases in 19 states have been reported. The recall now includes Whole Foods Market, Target (Archer Farms), Safeway (Open Nature), Fresh & Easy, Harry and David, Sprouts, Meinen's, Stop & Shop Supermarket Company, Giant Food of Landover, MD, and several others. But your best bet for protecting yourself and your family is to check the FDA's full list of recalled nut butter products and Sunland's newly updated press release.
I'm sorry to report that the recall includes organic brands, including Newman's Own. So no matter what kind of peanut butter you buy, definitely check those lists of recalled peanut butters. Don't assume you're safe because you use organic.
More from The Stir: New Ground Beef Recall Will Make You Rethink What's for Dinner
Phew, anyone else here feeling a little paranoid about what may be lurking in their cupboards and refrigerators? I know I have a jar of peanut butter and two containers of tahini I'll be inspecting as soon as I get home. Please, just tell me Sunland doesn't make Nutella-type products. Just promise me that my chocolate-hazelnut spread is still safe ...
Do you buy any of the listed recalled brands of nut butters?
Image via Mrsdkrebs/Flickr


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Tuesday, January 6, 2009
The Non-Aggression Principle and the Pauline Principle
One deontic cousin of the NAP is the Pauline Principle, which occupies a central place in natural law theory.
The Pauline Principle (I believe we owe the label to Alan Donagan in The Theory of Morality) gets its name from St. Paul's characterization as justly damnable those who maintain that it is morally acceptable to do evil that good may come. Rejecting the possibility of doing evil to bring about good is sometimes understood to mean declining to violate a range of prohibitions, not necessarily connected but understood as absolute. But the new classical natural law (NCNL) theorists, who have done the best and most extensive contemporary work on this principle, have argued for a more general understanding, on which I will focus here.
The NCNL version of the Principle amounts to something like, "Do not cause harm purposefully." On the view that doing something for the purpose of achieving some other end unavoidably involves identifying with one's chosen means, so that an instrumental harm is a purposeful harm ("Whoever wills the end wills the means"), the NCNL theorists suggest that the Principle also includes the requirement: "Do not cause harm instrumentally." (The NCNL theorists treat the Golden Rule's requirement of fairness a a distinguishable norm which would surely preclude imposing risks of harm on others which one wouldn't want imposed on oneself or one's loved ones. So accepting the Golden Rule means accepting a further constraint, not itself part of the Principle but closely linked with it, which might be summarized as, "Do not cause harm recklessly.")
There are interesting questions about the derivation and justification of the Pauline Principle, but I will not focus on them here. (Cp. Mark C. Murphy, Natural Law and Practical Rationality, and John M. Finnis, Fundamentals of Ethics.)
"Harm," for the NCNL theorists, has a quite specific meaning. Something causes harm if it impedes, frustrates, inhibits, attacks, etc., someone's participation in a basic aspect of human welfare. There are alternative lists of these basic aspects of welfare; they include life and bodily well being, speculative knowledge, practical reasonableness, friendship, æsthetic experience, and play. (Other items on some lists include religion, parenthood and family relationships, and self-integration.) These basic aspects of well being are non-fungible (so that one instance of friendship, say, isn't strictly substitutable for another) and incommensurable (so that there's no common scale on which whole categories of well being—or individual instances—can be measured and compared). Non-fungibility and incommensurability rule out consequentialism and related views in principle, since these views require something like maximizing or optimizing the overall good in the universe (or some more limited context), and, since the various aspects of well being aren't reducible to some common substrate, the notion of "the overall good" turns out to be meaningless, vacuous, nonsensical.
It's important to see what the Pauline Principle doesn't preclude. By ruling out purposeful and instrumental attacks on basic aspects of well being, it does not rule out the use of force in defense of oneself or others. For, say the NCNL theorists, one can use force, including, if necessary, lethal force, defensively while intending only to stop an aggressor (or quasi-aggressor: the moral culpability of the person being stopped isn't an issue, so the Principle wouldn't preclude using force if necessary against, say, a sleepwalker with a gun), not, per se, to kill or harm the aggressor. The harm to the aggressor done by a defensive act isn't purposeful: one's goal isn't, as such, to harm; but it's not instrumental, either: one's purpose isn't to stop-by-harming. Rather, the harm is a foreseen but unintended by-produce or side-effect of one's stopping the aggressor.
There are all sorts of interesting things to be said about the Pauline Principle, its justification, consequentialism, etc. But I want to focus myself, and to focus our conversation, on the ways in which this norm, carefully explicated and rigorously defended, might be thought to overlap with and differ from the NAP.
One crucial distinction: many versions of the NAP understand "the initiation of force" to include the initiation of force against property. Since a person's property is not among the basic aspects of well being recognized by NCNL theory, the Pauline Principle, ruling out attacks on these dimensions of human welfare, does not, per se, preclude attacks on or violations of people's property.
This does not mean, of course, that NCNL theory does not take property seriously. Most importantly, the NCNL theorists see the Golden Rule's requirement of fairness (that one ought not to make arbitrary distinctions between persons and that one ought to treat others as one would want to be treated oneself, or would want one's loved ones to be treated)—taken together with various general facts about human beings and their circumstances—as grounding the basic principle that there ought to be property rights; and this same requirement would obviously constrain interference with other people's property rights. But the requirement of fairness, though real and substantial, does not provide support for a prohibition on all purposeful or instrumental interference with anyone's property.
This seeming disagreement regarding property is important, but perhaps not as important as it might seem. For some versions of the NAP, including the one contained in the LP pledge, make no specific reference to property. And it would not be clear just how much even a version that did refer simply to property generated different conclusions from the Pauline Principle. To know just how much conflict there was between the Pauline Principle and the hypothetical version of the NAP, it would be necessary to know just what definition of property was presupposed by or explicitly incorporated in the version of the NAP in question. There are, after all, vastly many accounts of property rights, and simply to refer to "property" is not to answer the question which of these theories should be endorsed.
Still, it is clear that many versions of the NAP would lead to more extensive moral restrictions on actions affecting the property of others than would the Pauline Principle as understood by the NCNL theorists. That's one key difference.
John Finnis maintains that the Pauline Principle rules out slavery in principle. But it's not altogether clear how. Nor is it obvious how the Principle excludes confinement and other restrictions on personal liberty.
That doesn't mean, of course, that the NCNL theory lacks resources for dealing with such restrictions. To the extent that one wouldn't like being subjected to them oneself, one has good reason, in accordance with the Golden Rule, to avoid imposing them on others. But the wrongness of slavery seems more unequivocal than this: someone who wouldn't mind being enslaved still does wrong by enslaving. It is clear, by contrast, how the NAP rules out slavery (I ignore the issue of voluntary slave contracts here).
The NAP and the Pauline Principle lead in practice to many of the same outcomes. But the implications of the Pauline Principle as a safeguard for liberty remain unclear and deserve more study.
4 comments:
- quasibill said...
Even though I'm not much of Rand fan (Long and Sciabarra deserve a lot of credit for me being able to mention in any sort of positive light), I'm kind of partial to the following formulation of the NAP:
No person is entitled to use another person merely as a means to her own ends.
With a Randian understanding of what "own ends" means.
- January 12, 2009 at 3:33 PM
- Gary Chartier said...
A lot of these principles live relatively proximity in what (in an attempt to sound clever and learned) I'll call normative space. How would you understand this formulation to be similar to and different from the second version of Kant's categorical imperative? (The translation in the Wikipedia article on the CI reads: "Act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, always at the same time as an end and never merely as a means to an end.")
The NCNL theorists certainly understand the Pauline Principle as expressing an insight very similar to Kant's (for them, the biggest problem with Kant's view is his failure [as they would see it] to acknowledge the diversity and incommensurability of the various aspects of human well being). I'd be interested in knowing not only what you take to be Rand's understanding of "own ends" but how the version you've articulated might differ in its implications from Kant's.
- January 12, 2009 at 3:44 PM
- quasibill said...
I take Rand's understanding of "own ends" to be very inclusive. For example it does not exclude formulations that are purely altruistic. This helps avoid the "burned the village to save it" problems that otherwise crop up.
I'm not real deep in philosophical realms, so I can't say that I know what possible implications arise from my formulation versus the CI (this is probably the first time I've ever encountered it - I don't remember if I did in undergrad). I do think that the "merely" in my formulation is necessary, because we always use each other to some extent as means; the problem is when you use another only as a means and don't respect them as their own end in themselves.
I recognize that it's far from perfect (if there was a perfect, pithy formulation, someone far smarter than I would have probably come up with it already!), but it seems to me to be a very good way to start a conversation on the NAP without goring any sacred cows from the get-go. After a few minutes discussion, most people accept it wholeheartedly in the abstract. The implications, on the other hand...
- January 14, 2009 at 1:29 PM
- Gary Chartier said...
My guess is that Kant and the NCNL theorists would both agree with you that "merely" was important. I take it that Kant includes it in his formulation for the same reason, in general, that you do.
And I quite agree that it matters not only what the content of my ends is but also that they are mine and not yours.
I think what seems most obviously different between the NCNL formulation on the one hand and, on the other, both your proposal and the second version of the CI is perhaps that the NCNL theorists would rule out causing harm to someone as a means to some end, as well as causing harm to someone purposefully, but don't seem per se to include reducing someone's zone of autonomy as a cognizable harm. Harm, on their view, means attacking a basic good, and the basic goods are quite diverse—life, knowledge, practical reasonableness, play, friendship, æsthetic experience, etc. But autonomy isn't, as such, a fundamental aspect of well being; on their view, it's derivative. In many cases, there would be no difference: your view, Kant's view, and their view would all rule out purposeful killing, and their view, as they understand it, would, like Kant's, rule out purposeful deception. But it still feels to me (and this is something I find frustrating about their view) as if there's an insufficient appreciation for the value of freedom as such on their part.
- January 14, 2009 at 1:59 PM


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We saw the scriptto the TV adaptation of Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming's comic Powers, but when will we see the actual show? Sadly, it sounds like Powers is stuck in development purgatory.
The comic, which is written by Bendis and illustrated by Oeming, follows detectives who've been assigned to the "Powers" beat — this means they spend their days investigating crimes revolving around flying folks with capes. In a recent interview with Collider, FX President and General Manager John Landgraf gave a somewhat pessimistic update on the future of the series:
We didn't pick the pilot of Powers up. We went back and Chuck Eglee, who had written that, did a fairly substantial rewrite that would require pretty extensive re-shoots of the pilot. Right now, we're in the process of deciding whether to pull the trigger on that re-shoot. I'll say that I really adore the underlying material. Also, Brian Bendis, who's been a fantastic partner on the project, has been with it, from the beginning.
This is as difficult an adaptation as I've ever worked on. But, I worked on Karen Sisco. I was an executive producer of it. That was a failed Elmore Leonard show. And then, we went right back around and made an Elmore Leonard show with Justified. That, to me, is my penance to Elmore Leonard for not getting Karen Sisco quite right. So, difficult adaptations interest me, but this is a really hard one.
When you think about a 10 o'clock drama, like The Sopranos, or any sort of serious drama, there's never been either a theatrical feature film or a television series that's taken the superhero genre into that type of tonality. It's never been done, and it's just really a struggle. But, until Game of Thrones, I don't think anybody had ever taken the fantasy genre into a 10 o'clock drama territory either. I have enormous respect for HBO, and for David Benioff and everybody who was involved in that show because they managed to pull it off. So, it can be done. It's just proving really difficult.
The outlook's not good. How much are you willing to bet FX is now tinkering around with their answer to Game of Thrones?
Top image from Comics Cavern.


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Please pop over to Sweet and Simple Bakes (from the 2nd December) to view more brownie entries! If you would like to be part of our monthly bakes, we would be delighted to have you join in and bake with us – everyone is welcome! Visit our site for further details about joining.
Tuesday, 1 December 2009
Sweet and Simple Bakes Monthly Bake ~ Snow-Flecked Brownies
Please pop over to Sweet and Simple Bakes (from the 2nd December) to view more brownie entries! If you would like to be part of our monthly bakes, we would be delighted to have you join in and bake with us – everyone is welcome! Visit our site for further details about joining.
25 comments:
- Lisa said...
Yours look wonderful Maria! This is now my favourite brownie recipe too and I can't wait to make another batch! x
- 1 December 2009 at 11:55
- Finla said...
Wow they just look so so moist , i can imagine biting into them. Drool ;-)
- 1 December 2009 at 12:39
- natalia said...
Ciao Maria ! Thanks for this wonderful recipe ! Yours look divine !!!
- 1 December 2009 at 12:55
- Sasha said...
Oh, what beautiful brownies! They look so dense, and I love the white chocolate peeping through : )
- 1 December 2009 at 14:02
- Anna's kitchen table said...
I've made these a few times now, I was just saying to KJ, I usually half the recipe as they make such a huge amount- they look yummy!
- 1 December 2009 at 14:59
- Lucie said...
Maria, these are now my favourite ever brownies - they were almost truffle like the texture was so decadent - thank you! Lucie X
- 1 December 2009 at 18:36
- Chele said...
Oh this recipe is so being made again and again! Thank you for picking it for this months challenge ;0)
- 1 December 2009 at 20:55
- MaryBeth said...
WOW..these are so adorable and delish looking. They look really moist .
- 2 December 2009 at 01:38
- The Girl said...
Another great recipe - thank you so much!!
Going to be making these for a little office Christmas Eve party we're having - everybody's looking forward to them!
- 2 December 2009 at 10:29
Your brownies look wonderfully fudgey! And thanks so much for the work you put in to SweetAndSimple- you star!
Rosie of BooksAndBakes
- 2 December 2009 at 12:04
- Joanne said...
Best pick yet! I loved the simplicity of this recipe and the great texture and taste. Perfect!
- 2 December 2009 at 15:44
- ♥Sugar♥Plum♥Fairy♥ said...
Your gorgeous perfectly gooey brownies were mine & everybodys inspiration for baking this month-i can gorge on these every single day!
Thank u Maria-u rock!
- 2 December 2009 at 19:18
- Tessa said...
Thanks for coordinating the group! Your brownies look great!
- 2 December 2009 at 23:18
- Julie said...
Great choice! I loved this recipe, it's my new favorite brownie recipe. Thanks for hosting this group!
- 3 December 2009 at 01:30
- Colleen said...
Brownies are a favorite of mine! I occassionally do the snow flecked top, but not too often.
Now just if we could get snow to stay finally!
- 4 December 2009 at 19:06
- Jacqueline Meldrum said...
Chocolate brownies, yum! What's not to like?
- 4 December 2009 at 20:02
- Heather said...
These look so good! I wanted to make them but was just baked out over Thanksgiving. I would love to try them soon.
- 5 December 2009 at 12:35
- Choclette said...
Your brownies look so scrumptious. Thank you for this recipe - mine just got better and better with each passing day.
- 5 December 2009 at 17:23
- Pity said...
these look so yummy Maria, well done! cheers,
- 6 December 2009 at 23:22
- Buttaz said...
Those look fabulously moist in the middle. That's what I'll have to aim for next time...
- 7 December 2009 at 13:55
- Maggie said...
The brownies look wonderful Maria.
- 11 December 2009 at 09:34
- Sarah said...
Wow, so decadently delicious, my mouth is watering already!
Love the blog.x
- 25 December 2009 at 23:54
- Lucie said...
Happy New Year Maria,
I've just been given an award for my blog and am now passing it on to you as one of my favourite blogs. To collect the award go to my blog
It does take a while to do this, so please don't feel obligated :)
Love Lucie x
- 5 January 2010 at 20:34
- Bea Roque said...
¿Cómo estás Maria?, espero que todo vaya bien por ahí, y que solo tengas un "bajón" de blog!!!!
Un beso muy fuerte y Feliz Año Nuevo!!!
- 13 January 2010 at 21:27
- Heather said...
These brownies are unbelievably rich and delicious, and the recipe makes a lot of them. Definitely my best brownie recipe so far. I got quite a kick of telling people at my Church reception that they were English brownies and better than American!
- 18 January 2010 at 13:25


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NEW YORK – Fox Soccer Channel broadcaster Brian Dunseth has some concerns about FC Dallas as he prepares to broadcast the Hoops' Western Conference semifinals series against Real Salt Lake on Saturday at Pizza Hut Park.
"When you have been good for so long and take two consecutive losses [vs. RSL and LA in regular season] and you're dealing with injuries, what type of team is going to show up on Saturday?" Dunseth said. "Lots of question marks for Schellas [Hyndman] right now and for the team, and we'll see where the confidence is at."
Hyndman's biggest decision is whether to give veteran goalkeeper Kevin Hartman his first start since Sept. 16. He has intimated that Daniel Hernandez will return to the starting XI and that Milton Rodriguez and Jeff Cunningham could play together up top.
Real Salt Lake, meanwhile, are coming off a last-gasp draw against Colorado in the season finale last weekend at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. The result came after a crowded last stretch of the season in which RSL balanced MLS play with a taxing schedule in the CONCACAF Champions League.
"I think we'd be crazy to think that they [RSL] are at 100 percent right now," Dunseth said. "It's just not a realistic expectation. Jason Kreis has selection issues with some players playing well and big players not as sharp as they individually would hope to be in this part of the season."
One player Dunseth expects to see on the pitch is RSL midfielder Will Johnson, who has been hampered with a hamstring injury and was pulled out of practice earlier this week.
"That guy never, ever wants to be off the field, whether it's a scrimmage at BYU or in MLS Cup, when he took the field with food poisoning," Dunseth said.
Regardless of who takes the field for RSL, Dunseth feels that the defending champs have acquired a mentality of figuring out a way to get results even when they're not at their best.
They will be challenged by an FC Dallas team which Dunseth says can dominate when they are able to keep possession and force the other team to chase. They also have an ability to cause defensive breakdowns by drawing opposing defenders out of position and attack the spaces they leave behind.
But with all of the tactical considerations, Dunseth, who played for both clubs in his MLS career, will be especially focused on the attitude that Hyndman's team brings to Saturday's match at Pizza Hut Park.
"Dallas is a cornered team," he said. "They haven't played well after being undefeated. Now the question is: are they going to come out like a cornered cat or come out and say they're good enough to compete against the champs?"
Ready to Launch: MLS Matchday 2010, The new official MLS iPhone app. It's FREE! Download it here!


text: JT's New Song Pays Homage to Alexander Wang: Justin Timberlake's new single "Suit & Tie" was released last night. In addition to the song's fashion-influenced title, its lyrics behold another sartorially inclined nugget. A rap verse, maestroed by Jay Z, includes a prominent name check to Alexander Wang, officially making Wang's past six months his best on record. [YouTube]Rita Ora and Cara Delevingne's Racy Shoot: New BFF's Rita Ora and Cara Delevingne have cemented their friendship with a sultry shoot, photographed by Rankin. The pair shares an almost-smooch in a sneak preview that Ora tweeted over the weekend: "No words. From one bad bitch to another. Thank you RANKIN…more comin hehehe." [Grazia UK]Swatch Buys Harry Winston: In an unlikely union, Swatch Group Ltd. (yes, Swatch watches) has purchased famed American jeweler Harry Winston. The conglomerate paid $750 million for their new acquisition, with the agreement to pay off up to $250 million of its debt. Swatch's purchase includes Harry Winston's Geneva manufacturing hub, and "all the activities related to jewelry and watches," but does not encompass the firm's diamond mining operations. [WWD]Lancôme Teams With Alber Elbaz: Lanvin designer Alber Elbaz is teaming up with Lancôme on a limited-edition range of cosmetics. The line's contents, launching June 15, are still being shrouded in secrecy but judging from the 25-second teaser video Lancôme released this morning all of its packaging is sure to include Elbaz's inimitable sketches. [ELLE UK]Quenzhané Wallis Won't Wear Long to the Oscars: Up for something cute? Vogue's André Leon Talley sat down with the world's youngest Oscar nominee Quenzhané Wallis to talk awards season for a short video on Vogue.com. The animated actress bops to Frank Ocean and Rihanna, acting remarkably coy when Talley inquires into her Oscars dress. However one thing's for sure—she won't be wearing a long skirt. "I might step on it and trip on it and I don't want to humiliate myself," Wallis reasoned. [Vogue]


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Available space
High-precision applications generally call for bearings with a low cross-sectional height due to limited space and high requirements for rigidity and running accuracy. Bearings with a low cross-sectional height are able to accommodate relatively large-diameter shafts to provide the necessary rigidity within a relatively small bearing envelope.
Angular contact ball bearings, cylindrical roller bearings and angular contact thrust ball bearings commonly used in machine tool applications are almost exclusively bearings in the ISO 9 and 0 diameter series (fig. 1).
Angular contact ball bearings in the 2 diameter series are rarely used in new designs, but are still common in existing applications. When a compact cross section is a key requirement, angular contact ball bearings in the 8 diameter series are the preferred solution.
By selecting bearings in the 9 or 0 diameter series, it is possible to achieve an optimal bearing arrangement regarding rigidity and load carrying capacity for a particular application within the same radial space.
Angular contact thrust ball bearings for screw drives have larger cross-sectional heights. Diameter series 2 or 3 is common for these bearings. The available space is typically not a major concern, but load carrying capacity is extremely important.


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There is currently a scare or anticipation of the implementation of alternate access methods into technology software, devices and chipsets.
A backdoor can be defined as an access method that bypasses the traditional authentication means typically known and used by the system.
A recent news story depicts a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) chip that is said to have been made by Actel now Microsemi, a Chinese firm, having a detected backdoor.
This can immediately set fire to public concern of cyber aggressive nation-states and makes us all feel a little bit uneasy with any electronic device or system used.
There is more speculation than solid facts to go on at this point, and some can speculate along the lines of following author who is more curious about the inexpensive hardware used to find it:
Chinese Cyber warriors in your Chips
I really don't care if these things can be found with pocketknife and a penny picked up off the street!
Any "whistleblower's" findings should be followed up on, especially if the components are widely found in US military and commercial applications, in a sensible world.
The FBI Content Monitoring Backdoors and Going Dark
There is additional speculation of purposeful implementations for communications monitoring on and off the Internet by the US government in the name of national security but this is not a new mindset.
Are they the same?
The easy answer is yes and no. According to the reports, the FPGA's had another, yet semi-secured avenue to wipe or reprogram the chip. It would be mostly be in a closed-system and this may not be accessible.
I don't believe I am an offender to be found by monitoring the communication by the US government but it really depends on the government.
I could probably offend whole sections of the world if they know what I feel about them and their qualities, approach or culture.
If there is the ability through any technical design for a government to monitor communication, how can we be assured that another government is not using the same means but for different purpose when designed to be able to do so?


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Live Blog:
11:58 a.m. - Zuckerberg wrapping things up. "Timeline" in beta now, rolling out in next few weeks.
Open Graph will let developers start on apps now .. Music, movies, etc., launches now.
11:51 a.m. - Hmmmm. Netflix continues to be well-meaning, but sheesh. CEO Reed Hastings says Netflix will integrate into FB, so you can "like" and "share" movies. Problem? It won't be available to US users, because of copyright law. Dang.
U.S. & World
News from around the country and around the globe
11:49 a.m. - Now talking about info graphics. You know, those summaries we love so much. They're now coming to Facebook. The idea, they say, is to summarize one person, in an info graphic. What did you do in life? That's what timeline seems to be about. FB says it will gradually roll out to it's users over the next couple of weeks.
11:22 a.m. - FB really turning the focus to apps. CTO now talking about "open graph," a way to put apps on Facebook. Also, how Timeline might seem small at first (status updates and photos), but will gradually grow as you add to it.
11:21 a.m. - Remember Color? Phase two will be as a Facebook app. Also, Spotify added on for social music sharing. This is what Spotify was known for so this seems to be a good marriage. It'll be interesting to see if this can make inroads on the iTunes model.
10:50 a.m. - Zuck just showed a Timeline video. We should all be so fast and efficient on Facebook. The page looks busier, but the app integration makes sense.
10:45 a.m. - Also more photo integration. You can top your Timeline with a photo .. Also, go back in "time," and hover over a photo to bring forward. I.e., an important photo of a new girlfriend .. You can also hide photos of old girlfriends. "Lost" would appreciate this type of time travel.
10:42 a.m. - Another FB add: "Reports.". Another way to let people know what you're doing, what you've cooked, etc. Because of Timeline, this is all chronological. Think of it as your life passing in front of you .. But you're not dying. FB also talking "apps," that you can add to timeline .. Integration of apps & FB.
10:33 a.m. - Zuckerberg: This is the first thing to share. "Timeline." all your stories, all your apps .. A new way to show who you are. To be honest, Zuckerberg is doing his best Steve Jobs impersonation. Jobs is even on a photo in Zuck's profile. Lots of new things on your FB page. Scroll, and your photos, places, and comments - all layer out in front of you.
10:26 a.m. - Zuckerberg: in one day, half a billion people use Facebook.
10:24 a.m. - Zuckerberg and Samberg onstage together. Decent but nerdy back and forth. The crowd - decidedly nerdy - loves it. Big applause for Samberg as he leaves. Now, Zuckerberg talking features.
10:23 a.m. - This is cool .. Even as things start, a surprise guest .. Andy Samberg, doing a Zuckerberg impersonation. Crowd loves it.
Conference Preview:
The Facebook developer conference, hiply called F8, is underway.
Alongside the buzz about Meg Whitman reportedly snagging the HP CEO gig -- a surreal topic to hear about at a 2011 Facebook event -- is lots of talk about music, the new Facebook design, and, of course, music.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg just took the stage to begin the keynote, and the place is overflowing with people.
All signs point to this being a huge year of growth for Facebook, what with the recent Skype integration, multiple acquisitions and a hiring spree to make the rest of the country say, "I'll have what they're having."
Yes, the stock market is flailing, the world economy is treading water, and jobs are scarce, but Zuckerberg's plan to give people a place to hang out and chat is proving to be an economic and social giant.
Now, will it also take over the music business?
Scott's updates can be followed on this blog and on Twitter: @scottbudman


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The Hotel rooms are divided into six main types, consisting of 28 Superior Rooms, 25 Superior Pool View, 24 Deluxe Balcony, 6 Suite Rooms, 6 Family Suite Rooms with Triple Beds and 14 Executive Suite Rooms combining subtle - simple & elegance touches in modern contemporary comfort, perfectly exude a sense of understanding style. Our conference and business facilities with one grand ballroom to a capacity of 30 to 300 persons. Enjoy a one of a kind experience: the best service and facilities on Fine dining at the hotel on international and signature specialties at our Dewi Sri Restaurant and Enjoy with cozy atmosphere at our The Lerina Lounge.
The 5th floor Hotel has 102 well-appointed guestrooms featured in four stars comfort & 1 SPA, include meetings rooms, swimming pool, high speed WIFI in entire hotel premises plus restaurant, lounge & bar as well 360* panoramic roof top venue where the stunning of Benoa gulf & Toll Road visibly enjoyed, where everything is designed to offer peaceful and comfortable rest presented for your complete perfect stay.
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Telp: 0361 - 773490 | Fax: 0361 - 773510


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The San Diego Chargers' four-man search committee is traveling to the East Coast on Thursday to conduct a handful of interviews to complete its general manager search, according to a team source.
Lombardi: Firings aren't a cure-all
All the firings in the NFL could be a waste of time if teams don't learn the right lessons, Michael Lombardi writes. More ...
Jimmy Raye, the Chargers' director of player personnel, is the only candidate to have been interviewed for the GM job thus far.
Also in the running are New York Giants director of college scouting Marc Ross, Indianapolis Colts vice president of football opperations Tom Telesco, San Francisco 49ers director of player personnel Tom Gamble, Atlanta Falcons director of player personnel David Caldwell and Arizona Cardinals vice president of player personnel Steve Keim.
The Chargers' goal is to name a new GM sometime by the middle of next week. Then they want the new GM to jump in on the coaching search with chairman Dean Spanos, director of college scouting John Spanos, assistant GM Ed McGuire and consultant Ron Wolf.
The Chargers haven't interviewed any coaching candidates, but they might talk to "a couple" while they're on the East Coast, a team source said.


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It's easy to overlook in the kerfuffle over the education ministry's decision to stop paying for some upgrading classes for high school graduates and to change the way it pays for others, but the move contains a potentially significant step in a new direction.
As noted in the front-page report by my colleague Janet Steffenhagen earlier this week, schools that offer any courses still funded by the province — that is, the most popular subjects that could improve students' job opportunities — will be paid, at least in part, on the basis of performance.
Instead of a per-student grant paid up front, the ministry will initially hold back 25 per cent and eventually 50 per cent until the student successfully completes the course. In other words, a smaller reward for recruiting students and pressure to ensure they stick with it.
I don't want to overstate the value of this one small step, but I do see it as an interesting attempt to deal with a real policy dilemma. On one hand, as the ministry notes, these courses, which let adult graduates shoot for higher grades and/or brush up on what they were supposed to learn in high school, have been characterized by high dropout rates, well over 50 per cent in many cases. On the other hand, as critics of the cutbacks point out, courses that improve the ability of adults to succeed on the job are a sound societal investment. And many who feel the need to upgrade their high school marks can't afford the cost.
Being paid for performance isn't usual for public education in B.C. I asked, and neither the Ministry of Education, which pays for these upgrading courses, nor the Ministry of Advanced Education, which handles most other aspects of adult education, could cite any other instance where this principle is in play.
And I know from personal experience how easy it is to succumb to moral hazard when the money a school gets depends on nothing more than a head count.
I taught for a few years at a community college in Eastern Canada, and from time to time I found myself with a student who had little interest and wasn't doing much work.
It was recognized that they had little chance to succeed, but I was under explicit pressure to try to hang onto them for at least a couple of months — until the magic date for the head count on which the college's annual grant was based.
I don't pretend to know if every institution responds to that kind of funding arrangement in that way. But the model creates the moral hazard, and the temptation will always be there.
Frankly, I think B.C.'s tentative step toward pay-for-performance holds another moral hazard. If the bar for getting paid the full amount is successful completion by each student, the temptation will be to lower the standard for what constitutes success. So I'd prefer to see a more complex and a more meaningful bar to be cleared.
The best illustration I've seen of what I mean is a program called Opportunities for Employment in Winnipeg that I wrote about 12 years ago. It was, at that time, restricted to able-bodied adults on welfare, and its goal was to prepare them for employment.
It was government-funded, but for the school to get its money — $4,000 per student at the time — the student had to not only graduate, but also to find a job and hold it for six months. Thus, by the time the Manitoba government cut a cheque, it had already saved more in welfare costs than it spent for the training.
That model changed a bit in 2007 — although the funding is still based on a formula that relies heavily on employment outcomes. But the program ran for 11 years on that strict pay-for-performance principle, and it grew from 500 students a year to 2,300.
It's unquestionably more difficult to measure workplace impact in a program that includes not just the unemployed but also the under-employed, as the B.C. upgrading classes do. But I'd like to see the province go as far as it can down this road, and I'm pleased to see it make a small start.
firstname.lastname@example.com: vancouversun.com/economy