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Irish Water has said that it is planning to cut 1,200 people from its workforce over the next six years.
The company expects that a voluntary redundancy scheme will be required at some point to achieve its target.
The amalgamation of the water services functions and employees of 34 local authorities left Irish Water substantially over-staffed.
It is under constant pressure to reduce costs.
It has a target of €1.1bn of savings by 2021.
This morning in a presentation to stakeholders Irish Water says that one third of those savings will come from reducing staff numbers.
The company says the 1,200 jobs to go by 2021 will be in addition to the 300 jobs that have been cut since last year.
Up to this point, the reductions have been achieved without redundancies - through natural attrition and not filling roles that have become vacant.
Irish Water says it will continue this approach but that a voluntary redundancy scheme will also be needed to reduce the numbers.
Meanwhile, the CEO of Ervia, Irish Water's parent company, has said Irish Water will improve water supplies.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Michael McNicholas said that Irish Water will be investing €5.5bn in order to improve wastewater infrastructure, eliminate all boil water notices, eliminate discharge of raw sewage into bathing water, reduce the level of leakage by 10% and significantly improve the drinking and waste water capacity across the country.
He added that it will also restructure its service delivery model and reduce staff levels.
"We're going to do that, first of all by moving from 31 local authorities down to a single national utility which creates economies of scale.
"That allows centralised functions, it allows us to regionalise things and that allows us to take some of those jobs out. We're also going to invest in technology that allows us to run our treatment plants differently.
"It allows us to retrain and re-skill people and it allows us to move to the kind of level that a modern utility will have in terms of staffing."
Mr McNicholas also said that nearly 54% of people are projected to pay the second Irish Water bill - an increase of 10% on the first billing cycle.
Sinn Féin's finance spokesperson has said it would be better if Irish Water concentrated on fixing leaks rather than cutting staffing levels.
Speaking on the same programme, Pearse Doherty said that Irish Water's priorities were wrong.
He said: "The best way to drive efficiencies is to deal with the treated water that is being lost through the system day in, day out.
"We know the type of money that is being spent by Irish Water putting pipes into the ground which is minimal compared to the costs of putting water meters outside people's homes or indeed in consultancies or other costs associated with Irish Water.
"The priorities of Irish Water are all wrong."
He added that the plan outlined by Irish Water today is not permissible under law at this time.
Original article RTE Oct 7, 2015
Buncrana Together
This is a kick in the teeth to SIPTU who represent local county council water workers. Wonder what Jack O'Conner and the SIPTU Cork conference thinks about that? The SIPTU conference is taking place at the moment in Cork City.
2021 is about the time the Service Level Agreement between County Councils and Irish Water runs out and all local water workers' jobs will be at risk.


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Make Art, Not Clowns
Dress up like a clown, go to a football game, and, voilà, you're on the cover of the Reader ("Nuts and Bolts," Cover Story, December 3). If you're an artist, forget about it. Life is not fair. GO CHARGERS!
- Dan Adams
- via email
Wig Out
I just read the review by Jeff Smith of Bonnie and Clyde at the La Jolla Playhouse (Theater Review, December 3). Well written and very astute; however, at the end of the review he lists the designers. Well, most of the designers, that is. For some reason he omitted my name. I am the wig and hair designer for that show. The wigs and hair are a very important part of the production, helping to establish the feeling of the period. I think if he lists the designers, we should all be listed or none.
- Carol Doran
- via email
They Pay And Play, We Suffer
Re "Play the Sneaky Development Game" ("City Lights," December 3). The Reader once again has provided a valuable service to the public by detailing how "pay for play" politics has driven the ill-conceived Merriam Mountains project, which would result in the development of 2700 homes north of Escondido in an area that is clearly a fire trap, endangering its residents, causing construction hassles for at least 15 years, adding an estimated 35,000 more cars to the already clogged I-15 freeway every day, and also causing megatraffic problems on local roads. And with water already in short supply, where do the developers expect to get the water to serve their new residents?
Does the San Diego County Board of Supervisors represent the public interest or the special interest of the Stonegate developers?
We shall soon find out and should keep this in mind when election time comes around.
- Elliot Becker
- via email
Reasonable Afterlife
Every week, I read cover to cover. Every week, in "Sheep and Goats," the same question is posed at the end of the interview: "What happens when we die?" What happened to the question this time (November 19)? Regardless of God versus no God, the question is valid. We should hear what the San Diego Coalition of Reason believes about the event of dying.
- Bob Ordway
- via email
A Gift For Jorge
I was reading your article on Mexico and the story of Jorge ("México," Cover Story, November 12). He is a hardworking man, and my hat goes off to him.
I would like to do something for him. I have a really nice wheelchair that is just sitting around my garage. Is there any way that you could get that to him?
Theresa Finelli
MOE Better Discounts
Here is my suggestion for "East Village Lowdown" ("City Lights," November 12), by Nathaniel Uy.
Start the "MOE Loves You" campaign. "MOE" stands for Merchants of East Village.
If people have a ticket from a concert, sports event (college or professional), play, movie, or park (SeaWorld, zoo, or Wild Animal Park) with that day's date on it, they would get a 10 percent discount on their bill.
For example, on November 11, 2009, anyone with a ticket from a concert, movie, etc., dated November 11, 2009, would receive a 10 percent discount on their bill on November 11, 2009, only.
This type of discount could be year-round. It is an effort to increase foot traffic in the East Village area for 365 days a year instead of just 82 days during baseball season.
I have experienced this type of discount at a restaurant near the Shark Tank in San Jose. In order to get the discount, I had to have that night's Sharks hockey game ticket. I hope this suggestion will help keep MOE happy.
- Chet Carney
- via email
Excellent. Now we're making progress. :)


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PortfolioThis section will acquaint you with our portfolio, with the samples of the works which were accomplished by us. We hope it will help you to familiarize with our activity and do a correct choice.
Web projects
Unique graphic web-system design which consists of system idea, specificity and direction of company activity. Web-design is divided into few types according to web-system aims.
They are classified as:
- Corporate design. Distinguished by company stylistics compliance, accuracy and original design.
- Informative design. Minimum graphics. Because its primary purpose is to give necessary information as much as quickly.
Created web-site of Ukrainian representative Dream-Multimedia Company.
Group of companies "Ukrnaftogazinvest"
Web-site operates functions, which are working with clients and help to exchange any files through the secret data area.
Hearing Screening database system
A new design and back-end interface of the statistical system of «Hearing Screening» project is created.
Stradivari parquet company
Launched a corporate web-site and back-end interface for the Stradivari parquet company, who are the leader of parquet systems sale by wholesale and retail.


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Throughout his 50 years as publisher of the Toronto Star from 1899 to 1948, Joseph E. Atkinson developed strong views on both the role of a large city newspaper and the editorial principles it should espouse.
These values and beliefs now form what are called the Atkinson Principles. For more than a century, they have provided the intellectual foundation on which the Star has operated and have given the paper its distinctive voice.
The editorial principles that Atkinson espoused were founded on his belief that a progressive newspaper should contribute to the advancement of society through pursuit of social, economic and political reforms.
The Atkinson Principles include:
These six principles provide the Toronto Star with an intellectual framework to guide editorial policy and constitute an important part of the newspaper's history.
The Atkinson Principles are confined to the operations of the Toronto Star and do not extend to Torstar's other publications or businesses.


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Would English
This blog exist in order to collect and share Reflections about the changes ongoing in our ever ongoing Industrial life. Some call it "Industrial marketing management". Or "Business delevopment and Entrepreneurship". Others have called it "Industrial Consequences of Changing in a Global world of Markets and Technology". I am searching for patterns in change, ways to handle them, and future roads to success.
Al the possible headlines/titles above are ok to me – as long as it does not exclude stuff that happen to be of importance for industry (not always coming from pure industry). Good titles are difficult to create. The title of the blog is suggested when people have read the content here for a while and told what it actually is about. So I myself did not create it. In English it would be called something like "Leading or being lead? – When business environment change".
I try to run the blog on daily basis, meaning most often posting at least One-Reflection-Per-Day. It is challenging trying to find an important "idea" per day and honestly speaking: I dont manage it. But the idea of it keeps me/us on my/our feet (and head). And when there is nothing more to say: I prefer to be quiet for a moment instead.
But the day I/we do not have any important ideas comming – I think I/we would be in big trouble. And definitely me personally since most parts of My working life is about developing, and utilizing, knowledge in this field. So blogging is actually also a possible tool to push/force myself/us thinking a little bit further. Posts are presented in the form of "u" – as my interesting US-collegue ass prof Terrence Brown describes it.
The posts on the blog are mainly triggered by the daily flow of things happening around us, and stuff I/we serendipity upon, mainly with the help of an academic trying to be an academic but simoultaneously also working hands-on in the field of "industrial management and particularly market oriented stuff". Others claim me keeping the blog open being a marketing oriented guy. Myself have some difficulties sticking to heavy into "titles" since I often find them narrowing issues of possible interest. But yes: I am a graduated MSc Engineer and have a PhD in Industrial Management with specialization in Marketing. I also happen to have been brought up in the field of Entrepreneurship and always been interested in what is happening around us – particularly politics. So in many cases I guess peoples opinion on me, and headlines suggested, seem to be rather correct. At least my friend Industrial Marketing professor Esmail Salehi-Sangari say so.
In many cases the postings is about gathering, collecting, creating and sharing "second-opinions" on stuff that often seem "final". In some cases based on questions I, or a collegue of mine,, or maybe you, have been asked to answer. In other cases fruitful ground for new kind of reflections, actions, speeches, lectures, consultancy, research-projects, business ideas or what ever – for anyone to utilise for free. This is a "Bank-Of-Thoughts" created in an open-source-environment, if clinging to a buzz-word of today. And who knows what can happen with ideas in future.
Until recently I was rather occupied as head of an academic institution called "Department for Industrial Economics and Management", INDEK, at the Royal Institute of Technology, KTH, Stockholm, Sweden – a frutiful ground for collecting and developing these kinds of reflections. Now I spend my time between research, teaching, consulting, entrepreneurship etc – still at the Department.
Sorry to bring forward however: For being a native Swede I would say my English is fairly ok. Anyhow: my russian collegue Vladimir Kutcherov claim so. But. I am not that "quick" in written English that I myself would like, even though I am heavy training on it. Meaning: If I would be using English for this blog I would not be able to keep up in speed the way I think ought to be done for a useful blog with the embedded intentions here (My Tweets however are). But if you like to add comments in English: feel free doing so. The day My english is better the blog will be converted. And as I see it: in the global times we live in that would be resonable.
In midtime: please use the translator-service on the side of the blog. It is actually not that bad.
There is an anomaly to be noticed by that however. The blog happen to be extremely interested in what is happening globally. It is also claimed that one of the big drivers for actually creating this blog is to increase our interest in global action (other reasons are issues like "let us consider markets", "follow technology", "we should try to go for creative thinking when it comes to management" and "lets test hands-on-observations" – just to mention a few). All this, at least I myself, have to be rememeberd upon from time to time.
So in that sense the blog as such actually should be in English. The only excuse for sticking to Swedish here, at least so far, is that I am working on it.
My name is Henrik Blomgren, and at KTH an English versions of my CV, Bio etc is possible to find. And you can also find a consultancy profile at LinkedIn. The adress is firstname.lastname@example.com. My personal website can be found at henrikblomgren.com.
Welcome to join.


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Product 2/7
When the 10th Doctor regenerated into the 11th, he also bequeathed his trusty sonic screwdriver. Last seen in the Season 5 opener, the sonic screwdriver used by the 10th Doctor underwent some subtle changes before being destroyed whilst fighting the Atraxi.
Identical to the Ultimate Edition Season 3-5 sonic screwdriver, this sonic screwdriver replica is strict limited edition of 40 that dresses the prop to appear exactly as it does in its final on screen outing. There is an addition of a single (non-functional) screw on the front of the body and the paint is given a blue wash to replicate the unique colour seen on screen.
CNC milled out of aerospace aluminium, brass and nylon, this is a fully strippable, no holds barred recreation of an iconic prop, hand painted in an 18 hour process in 6 layers using the exact screen used paint, meticulously weathered to a natural antique patina then sealed with baked automotive lacquer for durability to feel and sound just like you've taken it straight from The Doctor himself. This is without doubt the most accurate replica of this particular sonic screwdriver ever made. Recreated from and referenced directly from a hero filming prop we had access to, with every dimension and detail reproduced in exacting and painstaking detail.
For 2012 we have redesigned the internals from the ground up and have created a brand new custom soundchip, smaller and more power efficient than the previous models with 300% more volume, a whole new sound sample and improved serviceability. It also features a unique 'Doppler' feature where the sound moves and increases in volume as you extend the head.
This is a strictly limited edition piece that is numbered and shipped in a special high density foam padded case just like the original prop and will be sure to sell out extremely quickly. Only one run of this sonic will ever be made and once these are gone, the only way to get hold of one will be by going back in time in a TARDIS.
Special note regarding the finish: These are hand made, hand painted, hand assembled and hand finished props, just like the originals. Whilst dimensionally they are identical to each other, the finish makes each one unique and they all exhibit unique characteristics that do not detract from accuracy or quality. They are not mass produced, homogeneously identical replicas and should not be expected to be such. In order to achieve the highest levels of accuracy, the finish of these replicas has been treated and weathered to simulate a patina consistent with light on-set usage. This finish is as inherently characteristic to the look of the replica as the design is. Therefore each sonic has applied simulated 'dirt', worn sections and slight unevenness in colour and crackle formation, small chips in the clearcoat to recreate the experience of owning the actual prop, straight off the set. These characteristics are not defects but meticulously recreated to instill a familiarity that has never been achieved before in a replica. Please click here to read a review from one of my customers in order to gain some insight into what I am trying to achieve with this replica
Current Reviews: 8
This product was added to our catalog on Friday 25 November, 2011.


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Archive for February, 2012
Family Day in the city
Today is Family Day in a variety of places across Canada. Who can argue with a holiday in February? (yet another reason, my good American friends, you should want to be Canadian!)
And since the holiday is about family, here's something for all my family and friends who might think me stark-raving mad for moving to the city with young kids in tow (full disclosure – this would include myself at times). Whenever you do something that runs against the grain, like raising a family in the city, you look for any affirmation and encouragement. The piece below is written by Kathy Keller (here's the link to the original post – thanks Alex for the link) who moved to New York City with her husband Tim to start a new church in NYC in the 1980's.
And for all my new friends at Knox, here is a good rationale for you to stay in the city whenever you might start a family (or to move back into the city)!
Of course, there's no best place to raise a family. So happy Family Day to you all, wherever you're taking on the challenge of raising a family.
Why the City Is a Wonderful Place to Raise Children
In 1988 when Tim first mentioned the idea of us going to Manhattan to plant a church, I reacted by laughing. Take our three wild boys (the victims of below-average parenting, as well as indwelling sin) to the center of a big city? Expose them to varieties of sin that I hoped they wouldn't hear about until, say, their mid-30s? My list of answers to "What is wrong with this picture?" was a long, long one.
We now are coming up on 23 years as residents of New York City. Our sons have grown up here, been educated in the New York City public school system (as well as private and Christian schools), married, and—to the surprise of my 1988 self—expressed the desire to never live anywhere else. Two have already bought fixer-upper apartments, and the third is doing everything in his power to move back as soon as he graduates with his MBA. Our granddaughter is a New Yorker bred and born, and already knows her way around the playgrounds and museums of New York, as well as how to charm a free flower from the man at the corner flower stall.
I learned in those intervening decades that the city is a wonderful place to raise children, a place where families flourish in a way that they may not in the suburbs or the small towns. (See the list at the end of this article that Redeemer elder Glen Kleinknecht put together [with a few additions from me] for staff considering moving their families here.)
As a summary I would say that the two main advantages of raising your children in the city are also its two main characteristics—its darkness and its light.
The darkness of the city is easy to see. In the first few years we lived here my sons saw, from the vantage point of the back of our van where they were waiting for us to come out of the evening service, a robbery suspect chased down the sidewalk, caught, and spread-eagled, handcuffed, and Mirandized on the hood of the car parked behind us. We drove past hookers in silver lame bikinis and stilettos, watched over by their pimp, on our way home. We watched one man knock another one out in a fistfight at a street fair; and, memorably, a well-dressed man in the financial district drunkenly fall to his knees, vomit all over himself, and then stagger off.
Naturally, these incidents were the subject of lengthy family conversation and discussion. That sin should be so visible, and appear in its true, ugly colors, is of inestimable value in a culture that glamorizes depraved behavior, laughing off drunkenness and promiscuity as "partying" and mocking those who don't participate. I never had to give one lecture on the evils of drunkenness to boys who had seen them live, in living color, for themselves.
In the city your kids see sin and its consequences while you are still with them and can help them process it. Eventually they're going to encounter it for themselves, usually when they leave the protected environment of home for the big wide world—just when you are no longer around to discuss things.
I have had parents counter this suggestion by saying that, as valuable as processing the ugliness of this broken world with your children might be, there is such a thing as seeing too much, too soon. Possibly so, but my daughter in law (with degrees in education from Vanderbilt and Harvard in both primary and secondary education, and experience in teaching both) pointed something out to me—if children are really that young, too young for some sights, they simply won't see them, or understand what they're seeing. Children find a great deal of the world inexplicable to them, so the very young are not usually in danger of being damaged by fleeting glimpses of the sordid world. By the time they are old enough to notice what they're seeing, it's time for parents to be talking to them about it, anyway. And it's usually way younger than you thought!
The other characteristic of the city that makes it a great place to raise your family is itslight. Just as the city showcases the worst of the human heart, it also lifts up the best that human culture has achieved. Art and music, drama, architecture, sports, all are the best that they can be. And when you are attending a church full of younger-than-yourself Christians in these professions, your children have role models they can actually embrace. I have often said that the best thing you can do for your teenage children is not to have them in a great big youth group (of other teens as clueless and confused as themselves), but to have lots of young adult, cool, ardently believing friends.
Two incidents in our family illustrate this. It has been our custom at Thanksgiving to gather those who have nowhere else to go. One year several students from Juilliard School of Music came to our Thanksgiving dinner, and afterwards brought out a violin and a viola for an impromptu recital. Our boys loved music, but it had somehow never dawned on them that music was made by people. Their jaws hung open as they watched these two young women pull magical sounds out of pieces of wood.
More seriously, the time came in the life of one of the boys when the club culture cast its allure, especially a fabled den of iniquity known as the Limelight. Begging to be allowed to go fell on deaf ears. Sneaking off to try to talk his way in resulted in being caught and grounded for decades. We were bemoaning this seemingly intractable desire to walk on the wild side to a 30-something friend. He was a talent agent who represented very well-known people, and my sons thought he was the coolest person they'd ever met. When the son in question walked up, Steve turned to him and said, "I hear you want to visit the Limelight. If you want to go, I'll take you. I went there many times before I became a Christian, and I never want to go back. But if you want to see it for yourself, I'll take you." We never heard another word about it. Steve had been there, done that, and found Christ better. His words had a power that our lectures never could have.
My sons loved the city growing up, and love it even more now, not just New York, but all cities. London, Hong Kong, Berlin, Singapore all excite them, whereas a quiet, empty suburb bores them to tears. They love the density of people, the diversity of culture, even the sounds and bustle. While they have an appreciation for mountains and the sea, for camping and hiking, they always want to return to the city, with its needs (one son is a pastor) and its possibilities (one is an urban planner). Having them nearby is just a bonus.
Reasons to Love City Living
Money Savers
- no car purchase + insurance + parking + gas + repairs
- many free cultural events (e.g., Shakespeare, Philharmonic in the Park), not just amateur performers
- avoid the many hidden costs of house ownership
Savings of Time and Money
- subway
- no house repairs
- no lawn and garden care
- no auto maintenance
Lifestyle Benefits
- simplicity more possible—you collect less stuff in small apartments
- immediate family is closer physically, harder for kids to isolate themselves; meals together more likely
- apt cleaning/care is easier, less time-consuming than a house
- you don't spend all your free time on house/yard chores
- no scraping off your car in icy weather—enjoy walking in the snow instead
- no school snow days—the subway is always working
- sense of community, bonding, in your immediate neighborhood
- for new parents, especially stay-at-home moms, you don't experience the isolation and despair of being stuck at home all day, unable to go out or even see another adult person—just a trip to the laundry room gives you someone to talk to, and a stroll outside brings you to the world
- many large American cities have something like Fresh Direct: order your groceries online and have them delivered the next day, boxed, to your kitchen; great if you are sick or time pressured
- fresh fruit and cheap flowers at corner stands rival expensive shops elsewhere
- great food in every restaurant—no bad meals
- less peer pressure; great diversity of interests and skills in every school cancels the need to fit into a mold
- diversity of friends and classmates makes them comfortable anywhere in the world later on
- babysitters within walking distance or travel on own—no driving them home late at night
- babysitting less expensive with neighborhood co-op
- kids' friends often within walking distance, or meet at playground; no carpooling
- easy access to cultural enrichment activities (music, art, drama, parks)
- you do things with your kids, rather than sending them out to play in the yard
- teens don't need a car
- teens aren't riding with other teens who may be reckless, drunk, or newly minted drivers
- navigating the city makes them resourceful—not going to be unnerved anywhere else
- kids as young as 9 years old can take themselves to their own dental and allergist appointments, music lessons, playdates
- if you pray and talk frankly in front of your children about your fears and challenges regarding church planting, and your kids see you deriving the strength to go on with it from God, you will be a hero to your children, one who practices what he preaches
- you are able to process the sinfulness of the world, which is up close and visible in the city, with your children; they aren't shielded from it until just as they are leaving home and you are no longer as much an influence in their lives.
- BEST REASON TO RAISE KIDS IN THE CITY: they see young, hip, cool urban Christians in the church, new believers who have been there and done that and find Christ better than all of it; these young believers are role models that parents can never be—no kid wants to grow up to be their parents; but the artists, musicians, politicians, and others they find in the urban church are a huge aid to making Christianity plausible to kids
- sin is more visible and salvation more plausible in the city
- airline prices are cheaper to/from larger cities; fewer transfers
- closer to ministry opportunities, especially diverse groups, the poor, ethnic communities (instead of traveling many miles to reach a people group); virtually all people groups are in the city, especially Africans, Russians, and South Americans
- less expensive for getaways; can travel by subway to a new neighborhood or a cultural enclave for a change of pace; so many unique experiences close at hand
- wealthy people in cities are always happy to lend their vacation homes to ministry families for weekends and getaways, as long as you are flexible; since ministry happens on weekends, mid-week getaways don't generally conflict with the owners' desire to use it on weekends
- easier to reach the suburbs from the city center than to reach the city center from the suburbs
- accessibility to the best of the best in: professional sports, cultural interests (museums, lectures), entertainment (theatre, music, improv), educational opportunities/options, shopping, influencers in every field, restaurants, medical care
Friday photos
A few photos from the place I now call home. And the street sign is, in fact, the theologically dangerous street we're living on.
Will my smartphone make me stupid?
Posted by phil in Spirituality, Technology on February 9, 2012
Hello again – I've been absent for a while, dealing with a major life transition (same wife and kids – thank God – but new job, new location, and what feels like a new life). But enough dust has settled and boxes unpacked to make writing possible. So here we go:
I'm moving into the world of smart phones and will get my very own shiny little handheld tomorrow. I'm feeling this strange mix of giddy attraction and dread – I've played with one before and what they can do is dazzling and dizzying. But then there's this sense of foreboding – what am I invoking in this smartphone? Will this phone become more than just a phone? (actually, it's not called a phone but a device. What's behind that language?) What place in my life do I want to give this thing?
I could be making this a bigger deal than it need be but then I should tell you about my Pac-Man problem during university. Besides, the manufacturer of this phone claims it will change everything (sort of like the ad above claiming a phone will save us). As of tomorrow, my life will never be the same again, transformed because of my phone … er, device.
And according to a growing body of research, those claims are not that far off the mark. I will be changed indeed, just not in ways I might hope. Here are a few canaries I've spotted lately flying out of the technology coal mine:
Professor Sheryl Turkle, in her book Alone Together, outlines the effects of technology on our intimacies. "Technology promises to let us do anything from anywhere with anyone. But it also drains us as we try to do everything everywhere. We begin to feel overwhelmed and depleted by the lives technology makes possible. We may be free to work from anywhere, but we are also prone to being lonely everywhere. In a surprising twist, relentless connection leads to a new solitude. We turn to new technology to fill the void, but as technology ramps up, our emotional lives ramp down."
Then in a sobering "this is your brain on technology" piece, a New York Times article chronicles how our devices change the way we relate, the way we think, our capacity to respond, the very shape of our brain. A blog piece at ThinkChristian reflects on the whether our copious time before screens leads to objectification of people.
And recently I was listening to Q a while back (a fine arts and culture radio show on CBC). It spring-boarded off of an incident you might recall, where a concert at New York's Fisher Hall was stopped by the conductor because of a smart-phone ringing. The host of Q, Jian Gomeshi, wonders about the limits of our phones and whether we need to (gasp!) turn off the ringers and alarms because they're distracting us from art. I'd go much further and wonder if they distract us from much of living.
Gomeshi asks: "Maybe we've become a weaker species with the advent of mobile devices. If we can't relinquish our connectedness for Moller, Kronenberg or even for a child's recital, what have we become? Here's to being brave and missing a text or two."
How about the courage to think hard about the role and place of technology. Enter Albert Borgmann, one of the finer thinkers on technology. He notes that technology is less a neutral tool and more "an inducement, and it's so strong that for the most part people find themselves unable to refuse it. To proclaim it to be a neutral tool flies in the face of how people behave." I've seen too many gatherings of people with everyone staring at some form of screen or another to argue with him.
While technology promises to make life easier, Borgmann wonders if there are certain burdens we should not want to get rid of. It seems so contrarian, but are there things in life we should not relinquish because they are difficult or inconvenient? Perhaps the quest for convenience actually deforms us?
I'll be honest, sometimes I'm glad to get a voice mail instead of a real person. I can quickly pass on a message or avoid a longer conversation and get on with things. But just maybe there's a difficulty here that would be more important for me to embrace than convenience or efficiency? What if the burden of depending on someone else and asking for directions is better for me, more community building, than downloading directions? Perhaps the inconvenience of attending a worship service with average worship and preaching is more life-giving than listening to a podcast in my pajamas? Maybe the challenge of revealing too much in a face-to-face conversation through my tone, body language and presence is more enlivening than a 140 character tweet or Facebook update?
Borgmann reminds us that technological devices, like a smart phone, are not the enemy. Rather we must ask "How do we gather technological devices together into the good life? Nothing by itself makes for a better life." That's why I'm feeling mixed about my smart phone – it is not the enemy but it's not a neutral thing either. How can I allow this device in to make for a better life? How can I be street-smart about my smartphone before it turns me foolish?
One of the ways to think and talk about the place and role of technology, Borgmann writes, is the need to place "reasonable bounds on their use … how we sit with technological devices in our home is morally significant."
So here's a few commitments I'm making as I gather this device into my life:
- If I'm meeting you for lunch or coffee, I will keep my phone off the table, generally out of sight.
- I will honour the person who is giving me the gift of their presence instead of an incoming call, text or email that might barge into that conversation or meeting.
- I will keep a weekly technological sabbath, a day of unplugged living as a practice to remind myself that I am a created, embodied being not a virtual one.
Again, hear me well Facebook fans and Apple cult members. I'm not a Luddite or calling for an Amish renewal, I'm not at all saying technology is evil, the internet is the great Satan, and my new cell number the mark of the beast. I'm simply wondering about the proper place and role of technology, and how we might guard that place and role.
How do you place reasonable bounds on technology in your life?


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As far as integration goes, we could just leave it up to whomever wants to do the work or make it easily configurable with the default being not to use it at all.
I don't know why the tests keep failing, though, it works locally.
I took a look and found fixes for the unit tests. Before I got into that debugging though, I noticed some problems with the JSON library that I'm not sure what to do with. It turns out those are unrelated to the test failures.
I left details about these in comments on the closed pull request, which might not have been the best place: https://github.com/arclanguage/anarki/pull/102
And in hindsight the problem with the (body) macro should probably have been obvious, considering HTML tables are built using (tab) and not (table). I'm starting to think everything other than (tag) should be done away with to avoid the issue in principle, but that would be a major undertaking and probably mostly just bikeshedding.


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Open House
Just a reminder our Open House will be next Wednesday at 4:30. We look forward to seeing you then.
Gabbs Teachers rocking the presentation.
We had a great day learning about our Edgenuity training and listening to our fearless leaders giving us inspiration for the upcoming year.
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South Beach Diet Phase One Recipes Round-up for March 2008 (Low-Glycemic Recipes)
Kalyn's favorite Phase One Recipe this month was
Roasted Asparagus with Creamy Tahini-Peanut Dipping Sauce
So here's the first phase one recipe round-up, with links to all the phase one recipes I've posted during March, plus tasty-sounding phase one recipes I've found on other food blogs. Of course, phase one recipes are things you can eat for any phase of the diet, and even if you're not dieting I'm betting you'll find some tasty-sounding recipes here.
Phase One Appetizers:
Tuna and Goat Cheese Tartare from Bon Appegeek
Smoked Salmon and Wasabi Rolls from Nami Nami
Phase One Soups, Stews, and Chilis:
Four Tomato and Red Pepper Soup from Tinned Tomatoes
Roasted Cauliflower and Red Pepper Soup from Closet Cooking (skip the heavy cream)
Chicken Soup with Roasted Asparagus, Mushrooms, and Shallots from French Kitchen in America
Wednesday Night Chili from Marisa at Slashfood
Roasted Italian Sausage Soup with Garbanzos, Lentils, and Roasted Tomatoes from Kalyn's Kitchen (don't serve with pita bread for phase one)
Beef and Bean Chile Verde from Sidewalk Shoes
Smoky, Sweet, and Spicy Red Pepper Soup with Feta and Mint from Food Stories
Cream of Artichoke Soup with Garlic, Onions, and Garbanzo Beans from Farmgirl Fare (skip the heavy cream)
Phase One Salads and Salad Dressings:
Cabbage and Blue Cheese Salad with Sunflower Seeds from Kalyn's Kitchen
Creamy Cojita Cilantro Chile Dressing from The Feast Within (make a taco salad without the chips)
Poached Salmon Salad with Creamy Pesto Dressing from Fig and Cherry (skip the potatoes)
Black Bean and Lentil Salad with Red Bell Pepper, Cumin, and Cilantro from Kalyn's Kitchen
Zucchini and Red Pepper Salad with Spinach "Pesto" from Green Lite Bites
Pinto Bean Salad with Avocado, Tomato, Red Onion, and Cilantro from Kalyn's Kitchen
Taco Salad from Kalyn's Kitchen
Phase One Vegetables:
Parsley, Garlic, and Parmigiano Stuffed Artichokes from We Are Never Full
Twice Baked Cauliflower from Kalyn's Kitchen
Provencal Vegetables from I Like to Cook
Sauteed Swiss Chard and Spinach from The Inadvertent Gardener
Army of Baked Vegetables from Kalofagas (skip the breadcrumbs)
Roasted Asparagus with Creamy Tahini-Peanut Dipping Sauce from Kalyn's Kitchen (use Splenda for sauce)
Sauteed Curly Kale with Wholegrain Mustard from Cook Sister
Cauliflower Steak from Albion Cooks
Phase One Entrees:
Wok-Seared Chicken with Asparagus and Pistachios from Cookie Madness (skip the rice)
Milk-Braised Pork Roast from Kitchen Parade (don't use bacon fat or flour and trim the fat on the roast)
Seared Jumbo Scallops with Cauliflower Puree and Grilled Asparagus (pictured) from Kirsten's Home Cooking
Roasted Chicken with Tomatoes and Olives from French Kitchen in America (skip the potatoes)
Cilantro Chicken from Tasting Spoons (substitute Splenda for honey)
Chicken Malai Tikka from Malabar Spices
Olive Chicken Stew from Canela & Comino
Balsamic Chicken and Mushrooms from Jerry's Thoughts, Rants, and Musings
Greek Meatballs from Kalyn's Kitchen
Phase One Breakfasts:
Greek Feta and Olive Frittata from Lisa's Kitchen
Italian Asparagus, Mushroom, and Parmesan Frittata from Food Blogga
Asparagus, Mushroom, and Parmesan Frittata from Cheap Healthy Good


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2222 Natural Sciences I
University of California Irvine
Irvine, CA 92697
Tel: (949) 824-3159
Fax: (949) 824-4709
Email: email@example.com
Website: Lab Homepage
Laser tweezers; Regulation of molecular motors – My research is quite cross-disciplinary. The majority of biological studies have focused on biochemical or genetic understanding of biological processes, however understanding the relevant physical processes is also important. Proteins physically do things, and to understand the biology, we must start to think about proteins as machines, as well as considering their biochemical properties and genetic regulation. We will soon know the Human Genome, we already know the Drosophila and the C. Elegans Genomes, and yet are very far from understanding how proteins work, and how the exquisitely ordered structures we observe in cells, embryos, and developed organisms come about. Cytoskeletal processes such as transport are important in the creation of this order, and my lab is attempting to develop and apply physical tools to quantify transport as it occurs in living cells.


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Attention Canadians! If you're using a Canadian credit card you'll need to change the country at the top of the checkout page to Canada. That will reformat the form for your card. Thanks for the business!
Questions email: firstname.lastname@example.com or call 480-982-3087


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Home health products & technology
There are certain ways you can make sure your loved one is safe even if you or a home health care provider aren't around. Our SafetyChoice line of devices can, like caregivers, can help your loved one keep their independence.
Personal Emergency Response Systems (PERS) are a simple and efficient way to call for help in case of an emergency. They come in the form of a bracelet or a necklace. By just pushing a button on the device, your loved one will be connected with our Centralized Monitoring Station. There is always someone there to take their calls and send help when needed.
It's important that your loved one takes their medication as prescribed. Your parent can easily miss a dose or take an incorrect dose. When a home health care provider is there, they can make sure your loved one took their medicine. But what about when they are alone? SafetyChoice offers a solution. Our pill dispenser will remind your loved one when it is time for a dose. It also organizes medications and tracks the delivery of prescription medications. Another option is a TabSafe system. If your loved one misses a dose, it makes an automated call to their contact list. If no one answers, an alert is sent to the Centralized Monitoring Station which makes a call to your loved one or their home health care provider. The third solution is a wireless pillbox. It locks to keep medications safe. When your loved one has skipped a dose, the device sends a text or email notification to your parent or their home health care provider.
Home monitoring systems are another way of keeping your loved one safe when no one besides them is home. Door and window sensors can send a signal to Centralized Monitoring Station when they are opened. They are especially useful if your loved one suffers from dementia and tends to wander off. Personnel in the Station will contact people on a designated responder list. The sensors can be turned off during the day.
Bedside pressure mats and motion detectors function similarly as the sensors. Pressure on them triggers the alarm in the home and notification to the Station is sent. If the alarm system is not reset, Centralized Monitoring Station personnel will follow instructions established by you, your loved one or their home health care provider. Like the window and door alarms, the motion detector can also be turned off during the day.
Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors will give you and your loved one a peace of mind. In the case of a fire, smoke detector will activate the alarm and notify Monitoring Station to dispatch the local fire department. In case of a furnace or water heater releasing deadly gas, Carbon Monoxide Detector will alert Centralized Monitoring Station and personnel will immediately send help.
Contact Comfort Keepers at (303) 722-3242 today to arrange a no-obligation estimate and demonstration.


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Green Dog Collar
By Reg&Bob
Reg&Bob have developed a range of collars and leads for dogs that want to be dogs!
Whether playing with pals, tearing through woodland, splashing in puddles or dashing into the sea - Reg&Bob collars and leads are hardwearing and washable. The colours are vibrant, fun and intense. Not only do dogs look great wearing them but owners look good too.
Made from durable polypropylene webbing with robust black plastic clip, D ring and Reg&Bob unique sewn in label.
Machine washable at 30º
Matching lead available.
Size Guide:
S/M 28cm-43cm length 2cm width
M/L 40cm-64cm length 2.5cm width
Product code: RAB-00004
- UK Delivery (Mainland) - UK Standard Delivery - £2.99 (Free for orders over £35.00) - Delivery Time: 2 to 3 days
This item will be dispatched to you direct by our partner seller Reg&Bob who follows the general PetsPyjamas returns policy:
Please check your items on delivery. If you wish to return an item, it should be returned to our partner seller directly and not to PetsPyjamas. If you wish to organise a return, exchange or refund of any item, please go to the returns page on our website at www.petspyjamas.com/returns. For standard items, you have 7 days, from receipt of goods, to notify our partner and you must return goods at your own cost within 14 days of receiving the item.
For damaged/faulty items, you must contact us within 48 hours at firstname.lastname@example.com. To help speed up the returns process, we recommend you send us photographic evidence of the relevant item. You will then be issued with return guidance from us.
You must return items unused, in a saleable condition, with any labels still attached and in the original packaging that you received them in. Any items that do not comply with these guidelines, we hold the right to not refund. You should use a 'signed for' delivery method and obtain proof of postage.
Please note any exemptions and exceptions to the standard returns procedure, where the following items are likely to be non-returnable and non-refundable: personalised/customised items, perishable products (such as food), grooming products, large items of furniture which are often custom made and custom homewares. Please make sure you understand the relevant partner sellers' policies whenever you buy.
Please see www.petspyjamas.com/petspyjamas-returns/ for full PetsPyjamas general returns information.
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Special Reports
Alumni see changes, but more of the same
UNIVERSITY PARK — Binge drinking. Party-school status. Town and gown tensions. These are not new issues in Happy Valley.
And as much as people talk about them, there is no single answer to a solution. Over the years, has it changed? Is it worse? It depends on who you ask.
"Actually, I think right now there's probably less partying than there was when I was here," said Jeff Lewis, a 1985 mechanical engineering graduate. "We had kegs all over the place."
Lewis, who lives in Reading and has season football tickets, came to the Blue-White scrimmage Saturday with his parents. In the background, they smiled and nodded, yes — they remember it being more rowdy then, too.
Lewis says it appears the added attention to the drinking issue comes from "a bigger effort to crack down," and solutions, in his mind, need to start before people get to college.
"I think it starts with the parents in the home, to be honest," he said. "Schools are not the right place to provide that kind of education."
Young parents Chuck and Sara Kimble plan on doing just that. Chuck Kimble was the Nittany Lion mascot in 2000 and 2002, and later married Sara, who was Miss Penn State 2001. They have two kids, 8 months and 3 years. In town with their Nittany Lion family, the Kimbles have already begun thinking about what they'll tell their young ones about college drinking.
"I'm just going to be truthful with them and give them the facts, tell the stories that I've heard," Sara Kimble said. She and her husband both say they have plenty of stories to tell.
"I know that (University Park Allocation Committee) spends a decent amount of money every year to bring in political figures," Chuck Kimble said. "Is it really important to spend up all the allocation committee's fund on politics, when most of the kids honestly don't vote anyway? Or would it make more sense to spend that money, which the parents are paying anyway, to something that applies a little bit more to the actual student, such as drinking. I think there is definitely enough students that have had very negative experiences that have to do with drinking."
As the Kimbles talked, students playing wiffleball with a beer can nearly smashed into a nearby parked car.
"See, now, all the education in the world isn't going to do much with certain people, until one of his friends is affected," Chuck Kimble said, pointing to a stumbling drunk.
"I think the biggest thing that disheartens me is when we come back and we see a select group that get really drunk," he said. "One of the most damaging things to the university is when we see a group of students that are really out of control. The alumni look at that and think, 'Wow these kids are obnoxious.' "
Of course, the best example isn't always set at the tailgate scene.
Mark Brackenbury got his graduate degree from Penn State and now lives in Killingworth, Conn.
"I honestly don't know how to go about it," he said, of making changes to the culture. "I mean we all come back here and tailgate and drink, so we're not probably sending the best message either."
Steve Kipp, a 1978 graduate, traveled from Yardley for the game. Maybe more people should make the trip for reasons besides football, he suggested.
"Alumni can maybe get involved with things on campus, like workshops, or whatever the case may be, and if they're inclined to get directly involved with students that may also help," he said. "I think binge drinking is a problem, certainly, but it's nothing new. It's been around for a long time. When I was here, which, believe it or not, that was after alcohol was invented, it was a problem."
But the further back in time you go, feelings change.
Alcohol was a talked-about problem when Myron Medwid graduated in 1964 with an engineering degree.
"You had some of it then, but I think it was fairly moderate at that time," Medwid said. "I can only tell you what I've read, but from what I understand it's a party school now. It's a little discouraging to hear that, but then again, I heard some of that in '64 too."
Around the same time, Ben Bronstein was a student here. Now a Ferguson Township resident, the 1961 graduate said he actually lived in the same fraternity house where allegations of hazing recently made headlines.
"First of all, when I was here, you couldn't buy booze in State College bars," he said. "There was no state store in town. You had to go to Bellefonte to get booze — and we did. We had what we called 'milk run Friday' to get booze. Bumper to bumper traffic to get stuff to bring in."
But the culture was different, he said. People didn't drink to get drunk. Bingeing was unheard of, he said.
"You didn't set out to get blitzed," he said. "It was either an accident, or rare that you intentionally tried to do it. ... Plus we didn't have the money to spend, we didn't have credit cards."
As a resident now, Bronstein says he's been impressed with the efforts that are being made to curb excessive drinking.
Even though State Patty's Day this year was record-breaking for police, Bronstein was happy with how the bars and fraternities acted.
More of that would be nice, he said.
"I don't understand why they have these half-priced happys," he said. "If the bars just charged the regular price, people would be drinking half of what they drink."
Bonnie Keister was in school here in 1992, when she remembers a crackdown on fraternity parties.
"But I don't think the drinking problem is any different now, and I don't think it's any different from anywhere else," said the Bloomsburg resident.
"They just had their big block party weekend and the town tried to enact all these laws, rules and regulations, and people had to get permits to have the parties," she said of her hometown. "We were out that night, and it didn't really seem to deter anything."
Brackenbury has had three decades of perspective on the issue.
"There was a lot of drinking here when I went, but it seemed to pick up over the years," said the 1982 graduate. "Our daughter went here also, she graduated in '98, and we saw as we came here through the years that things seemed to get wilder and wilder as time went by, even within that timespan from 1994 to 1998."
But with all the opinions, there seems to be one consensus: Education. That is the reason students come to Penn State. Right?
"I'm amazed that we have kids this smart — I couldn't get in here today, I don't think," Bronstein said. "So, we have kids this smart, who are dumb enough to go out and get blitzed like that."
Sara Ganim can be reached at 231-4616. Amanda Sokolski is a Penn State journalism student.


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Time To Move On From the GOP?
Today is a monumentally important day that is being treated as a fait accompli by the Beltway ruling class and its partners, the legacy media. This morning, the Congress is scheduled to select its leaders for the coming session. If all goes according to plan, Republicans will double down on stupid – ignoring the conservatives who gave them control of the House and reappointing the same leadership team that turned the triumph of 2010 into the disaster of 2012.
In the historic 2010 midterm elections, conservatives gave Republicans a chance to prove that they'd repented of their huge-spending nanny-state ways. It was not that conservatives were won over by a Republican establishment that, during the Bush years, had run up an astounding $5 trillion of debt while creating new entitlements and launching an ill-conceived experiment in sharia-democracy building. Instead, it was that we needed to stop Obama's doubly expensive gallop to the left, to a post-American rejection of our liberty culture. In the short term, Republicans were the only game in town.
Over the long haul, however, there were two alternatives: Either (a) the Republican Party would prove that it had become an effective vehicle for advocating and using its power to begin putting into effect the dramatic change necessary to reverse – not just halt, reverse – the debt abyss and the metastasis of the central government; or (b) the Republican Party would prove that it was not up to this challenge, would substitute lame excuses ("We only control one-half of one-third of the government") for steely spines, and would therefore demonstrate that conservatives would be better off abandoning the GOP and establishing a new vehicle.
We've now seen enough to draw a conclusion: the Republican Party says what it believes must be said to entice conservative votes at election time, but it is not remotely serious about implementing limited government policies or dealing with the two central challenges of our age, existentially threatening deficit spending and Islamic supremacism.
Under the leadership of progressive-lite House Speaker John Boehner and his fellow professional Washington moderates in the GOP Senate leadership, congressional Republicans agreed to budgeting that internalized into its baselines Obama's exorbitant stimulus spending. They signed off on a reckless extension of the government's line of credit to an astounding $16.4 trillion, then cynically insulted our intelligence by attempting to obscure and deny their approval of it – and presently, they are laying the groundwork to raise this "debt ceiling" to a mind-boggling $19 trillion, the next stop on the road to $22 trillion and beyond. As Mark Steyn observes, the federal government now borrows a staggering $188
billion million per hour, adding $1 trillion to the debt every nine months. Contrary to what the GOP tells you, none of this could happen without the approval of the Republican-controlled House.
To get some perspective, it took over 200 years for the country to run up $5 trillion in debt. Under current Republican leadership, $5 trillion was added in just the eight years of the Bush administration. Another $5-plus trillion has been added in just four years under Obama. With over a trillion dollars in purportedly "extraordinary" stimulus spending now baked in the ordinary budget cake, Leviathan's spending now doubles the $1.9 trillion stratosphere it hit just eleven years ago. In the Bush years, the GOP zoomed it to $3 trillion before the economy tanked in 2007-08, largely thanks to the bipartisan insanity of financing mortgages for people who couldn't afford them. On the current trajectory pushed by Obama with Republican acquiescence – and without accounting for catastrophes both foreseeable (e.g., a rise in interest rates, war, the real costs of Obamacare) and unforeseen – expenditures will top $4.5 trillion at the end of Obama's second term.
Yes, Obama is driving this suicide train, but he has lots of company up front. The vaunted Ryan budget plan – over which Republicans thump their chests – would escalate spending to $4.9 trillion by 2022. It claims what Republicans always claim: they're going to get serious … tomorrow … or maybe the next day – or the next decade. Indeed, Congressman Ryan would balance the federal budget by … wait for it … 2040. That is, in some future decade, long after many of us die fat and happy on the stolen prosperity of our children and grandchildren, the skies will open and the mythical disciplined political class will descend to impose responsible governance. Until then, Party on dudes! And never you mind that as Ryan and Boehner and McConnell and the rest well know, today's session of Congress cannot bind future Congresses. The guys who can't even control 2013 never have any trouble telling you how well they've arranged things to run in 2040.


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Sunday, April 17, 2016
Book Review: The Ribbon Trap by Shine Syamaladevi
7 comments:
Editing is often weak with Indian books. I have started ignoring the editing part... only when it becomes very irritating, I mention how I was bothered with the editing.ReplyDelete
Don't you think Indian romance novels are more about good and exciting blurbs and then disappointing the reader in the end? It has happened with too often.
Was there something new in this book?Replies
Hi Ms. Booktuber, the book doesn't fall in Romance genre. And there some new things, which you have never heard of, certainly. Of course, there are editing issues. Still, my baby is beautiful (obviously, I would say that, it's MY baby after all) :)Delete
The review rating is based fully upon the reviewers perception and understanding. There are reviews which gave this book 4+ rating (you may check The Tales Pensieve's review for ex:-).
You may try the book once.
Hello Mr. Author,Delete
As I am a reader of this blog, I truly agree by Nimi's opinions. Her words are enough for me to make the decision.
Also, if the book isn't of romance genre, what made it so necessary to clear out in the prologue that "It's not just a SIMPLE love story"?
Thank you for reading the review. I think a book is a joint product of the writer and the publishing house. So its negatives ultimately reflect upon the publisher. I would say if you can ignore the editing part you can go ahead and read this book. As for me working with great editors who are precise to the point in selecting and modifying a book to the way it can be presented best, I have difficulties in accepting anything that had a lot of scope. This story does have interesting subplots which I would have loved if the author developed further. I can see the writers imagination to be really good but in writing a perfect presentation can only do justice. If the book came to me before publication I would have suggested these changes and may be they can be worked upon if the writer prints the next edition and for his next set of books ofcourse. Nobody is perfect but a publishing team is.
As far as Indian books go, I think now very good writers are coming up from the nation with amazing , unique writing styles and I am sure we are going to soon be in the Tagore era of being recognized for the same.
Sorry Ms. Booktuber, feel I have offended you. Apologies for that. The sentence you quoted "It's not a SIMPLE love story" is not from this book. Perhaps, you have read it somewhere else.ReplyDelete
Of course there is love, but it's not a love story at all.Replies


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Dunne on Wine
Crew Wine Co. seeks to kick up its lineup
Crew Wine Co. is still devoted to high-value wines representative mostly of one grape, but the Giguiere family is kicking up the lineup with releases that speak more to pedigree, complexity and refinement.
The Dunnigan Hills provide grapes for most of the Crew wines, but the Giguiere family is tapping other regions with track records for doing especially well by particular grape varieties – the Russian River Valley for chardonnay and pinot noir, Chalk Hill in Sonoma County for cabernet sauvignon. Fruit from those appellations is pricey, so some wines under the winery's Mossback label top out at $25 per bottle.
What's more, John Giguiere has directed Crew winemaker Dan Cederquist to "ramp up" the richness, density and breadth of their wines, but without pushing grapes to be so ripe that the wines also intensify in alcohol. Cederquist is getting new tools to play with, such as racks with rollers that allow barrels to be rotated as the red wine inside ferments, a relatively rare practice in California.
The first wines to represent the rebooting are the initial releases of The Arsonist under the Matchbook brand. Two are chardonnays, a rich, citric and luscious 2012 released last year but still available ($22), and the about-to-be-released 2013, which is even denser, heavier, more deeply colored and creamier in mouth feel ($22).
The version of The Arsonist that most excites John Giguiere is the dry, juicy, plummy and finely structured 2012 Red Blend, an oddity for California in that 52 percent of its makeup is petit verdot, followed by substantial lots of cabernet sauvignon and merlot. The petit verdot is from the family estate, while the cabernet sauvignon was grown at Chalk Hill and the merlot in Lake County.
"Petit verdot might be the best grape out here in terms of wines for the American market. It has plenty of tannin and color and is broad and rich on the palate," says John Giguiere.
Crew Wine Co. tasting room, 12300 County Road 92B, Zamora; 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m. daily. The Giguieres schedule a food truck on the grounds two weekends each month. www.crewwines.com.
Mike Dunne


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Can you believe I made five layouts this week? Five! That may be the norm for some of you all, but for me, that's a ton in one week lol. And it was SO much fun! I played along at the Spring Fling crop for the Noel Mignon kit club (gorgeous kits, btw!), and there was a new challenge posted every day.
The challenge for this layout was to create homemade flowers:
And the challenge for this layout was to create a layout with the following journaling prompt - "you know it's spring when":
Will be back soon with more to share. Hope you all have had a great week, and for those of you that celebrate Easter, I hope you're having a great holiday!
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Heidi Swapp love
So, after years of being a Heidi Swapp fan, i've been in heaven with some of her products now being available at Michaels (especially now that we're down to one LSS after the closest one to me recently closed), and i've been in a creative frenzy! Haven't been blogging so much still, but I have been scrapping. Anyway, here's a recent layout I did (I threw in some other goodies, as well, like that Jenni Bowlin stencil I adore!) - for my textured background, I first sanded over a lego (lord knows we have enough of them in this house ;) and then used mist over a stencil:
I also made a mini-album for a contest Heidi Swapp is having - haven't done one in a couple of years, so it's been long overdue! I've always loved making them but they do take me awhile - but this was soo much fun to make and well worth the time. I used several different HS wood albums by combining the different sizes and types, and I had a ton of fun with her Color Shine, papers, and embellishments. And I even sewed on several of the pages - who would have thought you could sew on wood?! Now to find the perfect spot to display it :)
For my cover, I played with molding paste for the first time - so much fun! The pink ric rac looking trim is actually the HS zig zag trim that I sprayed with Color Shine and then cut out the triangles to match my molding paste zig zags (and I recycled the cut out triangles as arrows next to the title). I love dangling things from my mini's, so I added some chipboard hearts to the seam binding for some extra texture. I used only wood pages for this album - I didn't use any of the paper inserts. You can see how thick it is - I packed a lot into this bad boy ;)
Here are a few of the inside pages:
There you have it, everyone, thanks for putting up with my photo overload! Happy weekend, friends!
Here are a few of the inside pages:
There you have it, everyone, thanks for putting up with my photo overload! Happy weekend, friends!
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Sunday Funday
Oh, that crazy girl of mine. This is one of my favorite pics of her that I captured, spur of the moment, on my iphone. She was dancing around, being goofy and making funny faces. She has such a silly side, and I love that about her. This pic was taken awhile ago now, so it was about time that I did something with it, don't you think? ;-)
Here is another recent project I did - I attached a bunch of Fancy Pants chipboard frames to make this wall hanging for our front door... nice to brighten up the blank back of the door :)
So, we had gooorgeous weather this weekend! It was SO nice to get outside and play! Today we threw our bikes in the mommy van (it's good for something!) and headed to one of our favorite nearby parks that has a pretty lake and lots of bike/running trails (it's actually where I did the Iron Girl tri this summer). We biked around for a bit and then hit the playground to play. Here's my favorite photo from the day:
Hope you all were also able to get out and enjoy your weekend... i'm so happy that spring is on it's way!
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Glitter and paint and stencils... oh my!
Had so much fun getting messy with a fun new stencil I bought. I used some gold paint, added some gold glitter and then some gold leaves (see a theme here? :-) and voila - a fun little embellishment. I was inspired to go gold with my paper choice - I just can't get enough of the Dear Lizzy gold polka dot vellum - so pretty! And, of course, i've jumped on the washi bandwagon and love the extra layer the tape adds.
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"The Floral Waterfall collection is inspired by embracing the colors and movement of flowers from dawn to dusk. From light airy colors to rich dark backgrounds, each pattern ties together a story of beauty and discovery. While creating this collection, I visualized the journey of florals from seed to wild groves and petals blowing in the breeze. The idea of flowers cascading down a waterfall unites the elements of water and nature thus enabling this collection to grow. The patterns are versatile ranging from detailed paintings to loose and modern designs. Each different colorway is easily interchangeable with one another offering many opportunities to create a wide assortment of beautiful sewing projects."
Vendor SKU: PWSN005.8OLIV


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Ghost Tweeting Frequently Asked Social Media Marketing Questions (and answers!)
On this page, we answer the most common questions about using our unique social media marketing services. If you find that you still have unanswered questions, please contact us, and we'll be happy to speak with you.
How Does the Social Media Done For You program work?
Our simple, effective process begins with your intake questionnaire. Your answers serve as our roadmap in planning and executing your social media strategy. Our team learns about your brand, preferences, and goals, and then creates a custom social media strategy. You are assigned a personal account manager who professionally implements and manages your social media campaign. Depending upon the program you select, services may include writing compelling content (in your voice), scheduling daily posts, and engaging with your community. In our upgraded programs, we send you detailed monthly reports so you can gauge your progress and measure your ROI.
What social media networks do you manage?
We have exciting standalone and integrated programs on many social media networks including Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Google+, and Tumblr. We also write and manage blog articles and email newsletters. We will be happy to customize a program that suits your specific social media needs, goals, and budget.
Take a look at our packages and pricing, or call us with any questions: 732-462-0972
How do I know the content will be in my voice?
Our social media programs are designed to promote and echo your brand, not invent it.
Through an intake form, we learn about your brand, voice, target audience, preferences, and goals. Our writers use this intake form as their road map when creating social media posts on your behalf. Much of your content will actually be YOUR VOICE because it is taken from things you have written yourself (and tweaked to be social media-friendly).
Our clients appreciate how accurately we capture their voice and ideas.
I just registered! How long will it take to get started?
When you first register, you are emailed an intake questionnaire automatically. Your first month's service will begin within two weeks of sending us back a completed questionnaire. During that time, our team reviews your website(s), blog articles, programs, products, services, and existing social media content to learn about you and your brand. We then compose content in your voice and style. You will be notified by email the day your program is launched.
How important is the intake questionnaire? Can I change my answers down the road?
The questionnaire is very important because it is how we get to know you and your brand. Also, it gives you an opportunity to shape your campaign with your preferences. The completed questionnaire is used by our writers and account managers as the road map in creating and executing your social media strategy.
We begin working on your account immediately upon receipt of your completed questionnaire. Any additions or alterations can be incorporated in subsequent account updates.
What types of content will you post?
We use a powerful blend of your words (direct quotes from your blog, website, social media sites, and published works), along with links to your blog articles, service/product offerings, social media pages, and other relevant sites. We keep your audience up to date on your industry's news and trends. We also post quotes from inspirational and famous people who align with your brand and style.
To summarize, the content we post for you consists of:
- your tips and quotes
- links to your blog articles
- links to your service / product offerings
- links to your other social media pages
- relevant and complementary content from other sources (news, trends, resources)
- inspirational quotes from people who align with your brand and goals
Am I still able to post on my account?
Absolutely! Anything you post on your own pages will not affect your campaign. We maintain a steady presence for you and post the content that needs to be published on a consistent basis. Feel free to post your own updates on the fly, engage your followers, and share others' posts. It's fun!
For those of you in the Master- or Leader-level programs, please remember that we will be acknowledging your followers who engage with you. If you do the same, we may be duplicating efforts. This can easily be synchronized through communication with your account manger.
How does the billing work?
Ghost Tweeting is a monthly subscription service. When you register for the service, your credit card is charged for your first month's service (and one-time setup fee). From that point on, your card is charged every month for as long a you choose to remain with the service. The billing is automated, so your card will be charged even if it is a weekend or holiday.
Your service begins within 2 weeks of receipt of your intake form (which is why you want to get that back to us in a timely manner). Your full month of service runs from the day we launch your program.
How long do I have to stay with the service?
This is a month-to-month service. If you do not wish to continue, simply send us an email before your next billing cycle, and we will terminate your program. There is no consequence for leaving the program (other than we will miss you!). It is important that that you notify us prior to the next billing cycle because that is when our writers start to create your new content for the month.
Do you have any upgraded programs?
We sure do! Please see our packages page to learn all about our service offerings.
I want to recommend your services to my clients / newsletter list / colleagues. Can I earn commissions?
We are a marketing agency / business coaching practice. Do you have a Private Label service we can offer to our clients?
We do! We can serve as the social media arm of your company. We do all the work, but your clients think that your company is providing the service. Get all the information on becoming a Ghost Tweeting Private Label Partner here.
What if I just want you to write and post great content?
That works for us! Many of our clients hire us because they simply do not have the time to research, write, and post quality content for their social media pages; but they enjoy logging on and engaging their communities on their own. If this sounds like you, then our Buzz-level programs are perfect. We make sure your social media campaigns sizzle with engaging content throughout the day, every day.
Do you have programs that also engage my followers?
Yes: Our Master and Leader programs include daily engagement with your communities. We communicate directly with your followers to expand your visibility, spark conversations, and get you noticed by the people who matter to you.
(Get all the details on our 3 levels of services: Buzz, Master, Leader)
How often do I need to communicate with you or your team?
It is important that you fill out the initial questionnaire so we can learn about your brand and social media objectives. Beyond that, we are able to completely manage your campaign. And while we encourage you to provide feedback as your campaign progresses. your account manager monitors your social media program and visits your site regularly to search for new content, programs, and products.
Do you have package pricing if I want to do more than one program (i.e. Twitter & Facebook)?
Yes, we do. You can get a great idea of package pricing from our pricing page, but feel free to contact us for a no-obligation consultation, and we can help you decide what package is best for you (or create a custom package).
Schedule a time to chat, today, and learn how Ghost Tweeting can help you achieve celebrity social media status with our social media marketing services.


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The moment you get off work, you'll find a whole new world awaiting exploration. Your weekends have never been this exciting.
We've selected our destination cities for all that they have to offer: Amazing nightlife, fantastic food, and natural highlights that include everything from Andean peaks to world-class waves. You'll enjoy four full weekends in each spot, which will give you time to choose your own adventure – or, chill at home with Netflix and takeout, because even in paradise, sometimes you need a little down time.
Stay in town and start your weekend with happy hour at a new place, hanging out with colleagues or hitting the gym. From there, simply dial up an al la carte agenda of your choice from everything your city has to offer: Hiking, brunch, beach, wine tours, museums, shopping, markets, scuba diving, whitewater rafting, pre-Columbian ruins, surf lessons, a big night out, a quiet night in and so much more. Or, catch a bus and head out of town for a whole new menu.
You'll be within hours of some of the world's most beautiful and fascinating destinations. Go out on your own, or we'll help arrange your trek. Perhaps you'd enjoy the cultural riches of Oaxaca, the perfect beaches of the Pearl Islands, or the mists of amazing Iguazu waterfall. That's just a taste of all that's on offer during your yearlong tale of two continents.


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Social media has affected the world's digital culture so much that it's hard to imagine the Internet without it. It's a platform that has seen a phenomenal amount of success, and in so doing has changed the world of marketing forever. After all, having your voice echoed throughout the world of social media means that marketing is amplified in ways that other media platforms such as television and the like can only dream of achieving.
This raises the question however, of how exactly social media marketing should work. It seems rather obvious that traditional marketing tactics still apply, only amplified by the reach of the social media platform. This means that overly aggressive marketing campaigns where the company that yells the loudest wins, still seems to work to an extent. The fact that it only manages to achieve a certain amount of success means that there is definitely a better way to go about social media marketing.
Does a gentler voice mean a more effective campaign?
While some might definitely argue about the validity posed by that question, there's little room for doubt when you see how effective subtle marketing and web design can be. It's a fact that most people dislike having advertisements constantly screaming for their attention. It might catch the attention of some, but that isn't good enough in the world of social media marketing. Why web design in particular? It's because of the fact that good web design is what's going to get people to actually avail of the services you claim to offer in social media marketing.
Allowing your consumers to flock to you instead of constantly vying for their attention
People have been force-fed adverts for so many years that many barely pay it any mind at all at this point. For some, this means that the campaign needs to be even more aggressive, but it's completely counterproductive. Continuing to desensitise the masses through loud advertising definitely is not the way to go. A subtler approach is perhaps the better way at this point, because in this day and age people are looking for quality, not quantity. In order to be successful in social media marketing, it's important not to fall into old habits and instead concentrate on creating content that people will actually pay attention to.
Of course, to succeed in this is much easier said than done. After all, we're so used to loud social media adverts that most of us tend to think that this is the only way to go. People with a great deal of experience however, such as those in a proper social media marketing agency will tell you that loud advertising is a thing of the past. A successful campaign is all about being subtle and making sure your message is understood – not just heard.
Image: freedigitalphotos.net/ Stuart Miles


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TYO Gala: President Clinton praises TYO as a promising solution
Last week, Tomorrow's Youth Organization came out in Washington, DC with a series of events including our first ever Gala on October 21, 2010. We celebrated our successes from the last three years in Nablus and announced exciting expansion plans as we honored our valued supporters including President Bill Clinton, former UK First Lady Cherie Blair and music legend Quincy Jones. We are grateful that event co-chairs, Ambassador Yousef al Otaiba, Samia Farouki and Terry McAuliffe also played a huge role in the week's proceedings. The TYO Gala reflected our distinctive mix of engagement, passion, innovation and high-quality including a performance by the Dupont Park Children's Choir of Washington, DC who sang the song that Quincy Jones has donated to TYO, Tomorrow, after a moving introduction from Mr. Jones himself. The event highlighted the urgent need for innovative programming for children and women in the West Bank and the broader Middle East. Another inspiring theme of the week and the Gala presentation was the extraordinary potential of Middle Eastern women as a lever for social change.
The success of our Gala was due in part to the presence of our distinguished honorees: President Bill Clinton, Cherie Blair and Quincy Jones. Their remarks stirred the 400+ guests, who were also inspired by the promise they saw in our participants through stunning large-scale audiovisual presentations throughout the evening (like this short video), as well as past and present TYO team members in attendance at the Gala.
Former President Clinton praised TYO's work as a promising solution for the formidable challenges we face in the Middle East. He said that TYO "empower[s] women… increases[s] educational opportunities and frankly involve[s] more social empowerment without which you can't have a balanced society."
TYO was also thrilled to honor Cherie Blair, founder of TYO ally Cherie Blair Foundation for Women (CBFW) with whom we have enjoyed enormous success through our collaboration Fostering Women Entrepreneurs in Nablus. Mrs. Blair acknowledged the power of our cooperation: "Together we're enabling women to develop and build on their business talents, and thus, to help themselves, their families, and wider society…" And, she urged the audience to support our efforts, "every dollar you spend on [our work] is returned a thousand fold…Come to the Middle East and see the potential is there."
Gala emcee and co-chair, Terry McAuliffe, echoed President Clinton and Mrs. Blair's remarks: "If we truly want peace in the Middle East, it is about helping people have a better future. We have got to give these children an education. We have got to help women better themselves."
We shared, we listened, we celebrated; but most of all, we raised awareness about the open hearts and tremendous possibility of children and women in the Middle East. It was incredible! A huge thanks to those of you who attended, had some role in the Gala, or are part of the TYO community in another way. And ahlan wa sahlan – come get involved – to those of you who aren't yet.
TYO humbly thanks its generous sponsors that supported this event, including the PalTel Group Foundation, Mohamed S. Farsi Foundation, Abercrombie & Kent, FedEx, Dewey and LeBoeuf, William Haughey, Raj Fernando, Christophe Jungels-Winkler, A. Huda and Samia Farouki, Terry and Dorothy McAuliffe and Capital Corporation.


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Creating webpages with Excel Web App mashups
Further reading
To get this all working I used information from the following sources:
MSDN: Using the Excel Services JavaScript API to Work with Embedded Excel Workbooks
All comments about this page:
Comment by: Chandoo (15-12-2011 21:12:37)
Comment by: Jan Karel Pieterse (16-12-2011 03:47:33)
Comment by: Mike Webster (23-4-2014 04:42:58)
This has been incredibly helpful. Thank you. One thing I can't seem to find a way to do is hide a row using javascript. Is this possible?
Comment by: Jan Karel Pieterse (28-4-2014 10:15:27)
That cannot be done using JavaScript (yet).
Comment by: Gan Kok Wee (7-11-2017 04:57:01)
On OneDrive, I've an Excel file linked to a form. The form contains a set of multiple-choice questions. When a user submits a respond, I would like to compute a score based on the user's input and inform the user via email about the score. I would appreciate any advice on how to achieve this.
FYI, with Google Drive, this is simple as I can use add-ons such as copyDown and formMule on a Google sheet. But for Microsoft 365 on OneDrive, I've been stuck.
Any helps will be much appreciated
Comment by: Jan Karel Pieterse (7-11-2017 17:43:57)
I'm afraid Excel on-line does not offer such options.
Have a question, comment or suggestion? Then please use this form.
If your question is not directly related to this web page, but rather a more general "How do I do this" Excel question, then I advise you to ask your question here: www.eileenslounge.com.


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