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Continuing his discussion on BYOD and its security implication , Panseh Tsewole looks at carrier level vulnerabilities in the BYOD ecosystem . Panseh Tsewole reckons this is an area typically not covered by Info Sec pros doing risk analysis on BYOD projects . Either at home or on the road , traffic reaching our enterprise networks travels through a provider's infrastructure . In this write-up , Panseh Tsewole discusses some of the issues we should consider .
Transport layer vulnerabilities through Man In The Middle Attack can be used against the carrier's network . MITM attack allows the attacker to sniff traffic and gain access to sensitive data . We should ensure the carrier is deploying SSL or https encryption at the transport level .
Rogue access points is a challenge . Numerous environments such as hotels, airports, coffee shops and some restaurants offer free Wi-FI . Attackers can use a variety of tools that can act as proxies and capture data that includes login credentials. SSL stripe is a tool that can be used to capture credentials from sites using https protocol. Panseh Tsewole recommends remote access policies should address these vulnerabilities. The policy should ensure all remote connections to the enterprise network should come in through secured SSL VPN connections. Panseh Tsewole has researched numerous SSL VPN solutions whereby the clients automatically initiate a connection to the enterprise network as soon as it detects internet connectivity outside of the LAN. Palo Alto's network Global Protect is one such product.
Some BYODs use GSM technology to connect to carrier's network. SIM cloning is a serious vulnerability with such devices. Cloning is basically creating a copy of the original SIM card . These tools are readily available on the internet. A service provider usually implements anti cloning technology on its network . Our job is to verify such counter measure is in place with the carriers being used by the BYODs on our networks.


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One of the most fascinating aspects of music culture is the incredible diversity that thrives within fans all over the globe. However, no matter what genre of music one finds themselves into, one unfortunate division...Read More →
Every once in a while a tour comes through our city of brotherly live that provides us with the many diverse sounds that electronic dance music has to offer. Stacked lineups featuring headlining talent from...Read More →
Seven Lions has made his undeniable mark on electronic music since he broke onto the scene at the early part of this decade. From that moment on, he's become one of our favorite DJ/producers and his...Read More →
Welcome to the next dimension, Philly: home of the powerhouse duo 'EPHWURD'. No one could have expected what was in store for District N9NE when the headliners entered the building on Saturday night, July 30, but the...Read More →
Friday June 3rd, 2016 will go down in history as one of the filthiest nights that Philadelphia has ever experienced. Our homies at EDM Entertainment and University EDM teamed with the venue District N9ne to...Read More →

subset: commoncrawl


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Asian Scallops with Snow Peas and Eggplant
1/2 cup thinly sliced Japanese Eggplant
2 Green onions - cut into bite sized pieces
1 Cup Snow Peas (i like to pluck the outside thread off)
1/2 pound fresh scallops ( I prefer sea scallops over bay scallops
for this recipe)
1 tblsp frozen orange juice concentrate
1 tbsp soy sauce or Braggs liquid aminos
1 tsp Sriracha Sauce (more if you like it spicy)
1 tsp pealed and minced ginger
2 tbsp sesame oil
Put sesame oil in pan, add eggplant and cover with lid. cook over med high heater 4 min, flip eggplant and cook over med. heat for 3 min. Add green onion and cook covered for 3 min. Add snow peas and cook uncovered for 2 min. Stir occasionally.
Divide vegetables and put onto 2 plates.
In the same pan add scallops. Cook, uncovered for about 3 min (depends on size of scallops). Flip scallops, add ginger and cook for additional 2 min. Add OJ concentrate, soy sauce and Sriracha Sauce. Stir until scallops are covered and OJ concentrate is dissolved.
Spoon scallops and sauce over vegetables. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve immediately
Serves 2


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Published anonymously by the respected Edinburgh house of Hamilton and Balfour in June of 1760, the 15 short poems or fragments of poems that made up the Fragments were presented as translations from Gaelic heroic verse. A second edition followed in September, lightly revised and with an additional poem inserted at XIII. They were the responsibility of James Macpherson, a 25 year old, classically educated school master from the Highlands of Scotland, aided and abetted by the literati of Edinburgh, one of whose number, Hugh Blair, provided an anonymous preface. Although they were presented as literal translations of extant ballads, only 2 (numbers VI and XIV) have been traced to existing poems, and while it is not …
Moore, Dafydd. "Fragments of Ancient Poetry, Collected in the Highlands of Scotland". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 06 October 2004
[https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=9045, accessed 19 November 2019.]


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About Brownsville Beerfest
Brownsville BeerFest is a 501 (c) (3), non-profit organization, created in 2013 by a group of Brownsville residents that shared a common vision and commitment to promote their beloved city by producing a quality of life event for its community and its neighboring cities in the Rio Grande Valley and northern Mexico.
Brownsville BeerFest's primary goal is to offer a unique festival experience focused around one of the most popular beverages known to man. Guests can enjoy a multitude of beer sampling from different corners of the world ranging from craft to specialty brews to traditional favorites. Coupled with great food and top live entertainment, Brownsville BeerFest has become the most prominent and biggest beer festival in south Texas. It features great attractions including the popular Beer Games and is home to the "Longest Bar in Texas", a 121 ft. rustic wooden bar considered the longest wooden bar in the entire state…and we know everything's Big in Texas!
Nestled in the beautiful confines of Dean Porter Park, the festival grounds are surrounded by the historic Town Resaca and a handful of civic buildings including the Camille Playhouse, the Ringgold Civic Pavilion, the Children's Museum and the Costumes of the Americas Museum. The park also contains Sam's Memorial Pool, and several playgrounds, a fitness trail, and several large and small picnic pavilions. With all of these features, Dean Porter Park continues to be one of the finest, well kept, and most diverse urban parks in the country. (Source: CoB Parks & Recreation)
Please note that although Brownsville BeerFest is a 21 and over only event, the Brownsville BeerFest Board of Directors strongly encourages you to visit this beautiful 25 acre park and all that it has to offer. Along with the world-renowned Gladys Porter Zoo and the Brownsville Museum of Fine Arts, there are many family-friendly events that take place throughout the year including Sombrero Fest, held during the Charro Days Fiesta; a week-long celebration of Mexican/American bi-culturalism.
Leading up to Beer Fest is Brew at The Zoo, An official Brownsville BeerFest event. This limited engagement gives the public a chance to sample select beers on the grounds of the Gladys Porter Zoo and experience it firsthand. Enjoy a "brew at the zoo" while you "Feast with the Beasts" as the area's best restaurants showcase amazing sampling of delicious food and dishes vying for the coveted People's Choice award. Now you can enjoy incredible beer sampling, great food and entertainment in a totally "wild" setting! Only a limited amount of tickets are printed for this event. Visit the Brew at the Zoo section for more details. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for information on this and other lead-up events.
Brownsville BeerFest is 100% volunteer based and supported by the Brownsville community, its business leaders and governing officials alike. 100% of the funds underwritten by the participating sponsors go directly to the on-going production of Brownsville BeerFest and Brew at the Zoo.Thank you for supporting Brownsville BeerFest. Salud!


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Currently, Prima range is available only in the tractor-trailer and tipper segments.
"In the April-June quarter, we will introduce the Prima range in 3-axle segment as well," said Ravi Pisharody, Executive Director-Commercial Vehicles, Tata Motors. "This is the biggest segment in India and it will help Prima better its sales." However, Tata does have multi-axle trucks under the PrimaLX range.
The truck will be powered by new Cummins common rail 5.9 litre electronic engine which the company started manufacturing last year. The 230 hp engine, which will be BS3 and BS4 emission norm complaint, is currently being used on the 4923S tractor-trailer.
Multi-axle trucks command nearly 65 percent of the truck sales in the country.
To cater to the new addition, Tata is also increasing the production of this engine from 500-600 engines a month to 1000 units a months. "The 49 tonne tractor trailers is growing rapidly and there is huge demand for it. Till last quarter, we were only producing 200-300 units a month, which has already gone up to 500," informed Pisharody.
Tata Motors launched Prima range in the year 2008 and today is the flagship product in the M&HCV segment. The company uses the Prima range in the T1 Prima truck racing event as well. "Today, we don't have to push the sales of Prima anymore. We have seen a positive impact of the race on the sales of Prima which now is doubling every year.
Pisharody informed that in the segments Prima is present, it has a share of 15 percent of the company's sales.
In the M&HCV goods carrier segment, Tata Motors sold 125,586 units in April 2015 to February 2016 period. This is growth of over 27 percent over the 98,626 units sold in the corresponding period of FY2015.
Talking about the recent boost given to the infrastructure segment by the government, Pisharody said that this will quicken the migration of customers to Prima as the value to the customer will go up.
Tata Motors also launched its mid-segment range 'Signa' at Auto Expo 2016 in February this year. The contemporary-looking Signa range will replace the older similar specification models of Tata Motors going forward.
Signa will also become the first range in the Tata Motors portfolio that will come standard with telematics. All Signa trucks will come with Tata Fleetman device for this service. "First we will cover all the tractor-trailers beginning with 49 tonne, then 40 and 35 tonne. We will then move on to tippers which will take another six to eight months," said Pisharody.


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In My Time of DyingApril 15, 2012 at 9:19 PM | Posted in Fiction | 3 Comments
Tags: funerals, liife and death
This is my real entry, I suppose. No one likes poetry. Whatev. No splatter fiction, no horror, no science fiction or fantasy. Just–I don't know what you would call it. Did one of you once tell me I could write romance novels? Ugh.
To see more stories about death, hotwire a hearse and drive slowly over here:
Chuck Wendig's Flash Fiction Challenge: Death is on the Table
The spacious, well-appointed house seemed bare and quiet. The midday sun dappled on the plants through the patio window, but the curtains on the front of the house were dark and fully drawn; they formed a barrier to the outside world.
Linda sat at the dining room table. Calm, still, and red-eyed. Her cigarette burned down in her hand, and she was lost in thought.
Her thoughts bounced back and forth without meaning: the last twenty years, the last week–the last year. Alternately smiling briefly and cursing quietly to herself, she pondered.
And waited.
The children were gone, as were the grandchildren. For once, it seemed, she was alone. Finally alone. Ever since childhood, she had never been alone. Her first child came along when she herself was still one, at fourteen. Then another at fifteen. Between the babies and taking care of her parents, she was never alone.
When her first two children were teens, she got married and got pregnant again. Then again, some years later. Her youngest was now a teenager, but in fifty years of life, she had never been alone. Until now.
She hadn't felt alone this last year, after her husband had left her. Abandoned, yes, but not alone. Her oldest son and his kids moved in to fill the void. But now…Now her thoughts turned to him. I can't believe the son of a bitch is really gone.
Her thoughts turned to the bitter night that he had left, and she begged him not to go. Later, she would wish that she hadn't done that, hadn't begged. She wasn't the begging type. But she did, for him. Still he left.
Linda wondered if she had done something differently, if she had been different, better–if she could have done something, somehow, and that would have changed the events of the last week–
Was it her fault?
She swallowed hard and choked, and put out the mostly unsmoked cigarette. Glancing absentmindedly at the clock, she realized the time didn't register with her, and she had to look again. Three o'clock. She should be here soon.
The front door was open a crack; from beyond she heard a car pull up, shut off. But she didn't hear a door. Hmm. I can imagine this is hard for her. It's hard for us all. I hope she knows that.
After a long time, she finally heard a car door open and close. She had dreaded this moment for so long, but now she was numb. She heard the footsteps on the drive and then on the porch, and then a light rapping on the door. A voice called out.
Kim had dreamt of this meeting, and dreaded it. Not dreams so much as nightmares. But she always thought Bryan would be there to protect her, to keep his ex-wife away from her.
Oh, Bryan, why did you leave me?
She had thought–hoped, wished–that they would be together forever, that they would grow old together, spend twenty or more years together. The one thing that she thought would make her life worth living–she thought she would grow old with Bryan.
Tears streamed down her cheeks, uncontrollably. His life was over, but it seemed to her…that so was hers.
Before any funeral planning could happen, this meeting had to happen. She was technically just the girlfriend; legally, a fiancé meant nothing. The ex-wife held all the power. She had all the history, she had the children, she had the family connection. All that Kim had was his heart.
Fiat currency now.
Kim sat in the driveway of her fiancé's ex-wife's house. This had been his house, too. For many years. She saw many things that were reminiscent of his touch, his style. Bryan did that landscaping. Bryan laid those bricks in that pattern. What else is left of his legacy?
Oh, Lord…what am I going to do?
She couldn't bear to ponder the answer. Well, as Bryan would say, "Let's get moving. We're burning daylight here." Kim snorted a laugh and cried at the same time. Slowly, her head lowered to the steering wheel.
A few minutes later, she felt as though she was watching herself get out of the car—Bryan's car!—and walk to the front door.
Kim stood before the front door. There was no screen door. Curious. Maybe because this was a newer house? Screen doors were an option that homeowners would add later. This house was only five years old. After they bought it, that's when things began to fall apart between he and Linda. Although Bryan would say, "It may not have always been bad, but it was rarely good between us."
Kim thought of the day Bryan said that. They had recently met, and his divorce was in the bitter throes of mediation. She saw something special in him, something that he obviously didn't see in himself: he was a good man. He had a good disposition and a merry shine to his eyes that didn't hide his pain, but put it all away for another day.
She thought of his beautiful, bright blue eyes, and wished only that she could—
Put it all away for another day.
It was then Kim paid attention to her surroundings. She had spent the last 48 hours walking in a dreamland. Had it really been that long ago? Two days? Time was vindictive. The more time that passed, the more distance there seemed to be between the life she had, and this new thing, whatever it was going to be.
Back to the here and now. Here and now. Here we are, here and now. Christ, am I at her door? Kim looked at it, noticing with curiosity that it seemed to be partially opened. I can see that. I can see not caring right now if you closed the door behind you…
Kim knocked on the door quietly and it opened a little more.
Been Such a Long TimeMarch 10, 2011 at 11:39 PM | Posted in Journal | Leave a comment
Tags: family, funerals, life and death, time travel, weather
And several things may have contributed to why I haven't written in a while. There, just that one sentence–and now I am off and running. I think.
So much has happened in the last three months, and yet there is so little to tell. In December my Aunt passed away, and right before Christmas Detroit fell on the ice and broke her hip. She has been laid up for the past three months, and is only recently able to start trying to put weight on it.
I…oh, hell–it doesn't matter. I'm writing this crap for myself anyway. It was (and still is) a fucking lot to deal with. I have to do everything, including shit I'm not good at, like laundry and cleaning. I appreciate more and more what she has done now that I have to do it.
Of course I had a great line for it, because I needed one to get me through. People would ask how she's doing, and I would explain the whole ordeal, and how the doctor told her not to put any weight on her hip. "And even though he didn't tell me specifically," I would add, "I'm sure I'm not supposed to put any weight on it either." I pause innocently, waiting for my audience to catch on.
But that's what I had to endure as well: No sex. It's been very hard to go without. I have these symptoms:
*Cranky and irritable
*No desire to write or do creative work
*Did I mention cranky and irritable?
And I wasn't sure if it was because of the lack of sex or because of the increase in dosage for my ADD medication. I seem to have leveled out on the crankiness–
Either that, or–like my new sexless life–I've come to accept it as part of my life now.
But I really didn't want the medication to affect my creativity, because other than that this new dose is really working for me, I think. Maybe I was just too focused on all the other tasks at hand to write? I hope so. I never gave up the desire, it just always got pushed to the back burner. Plus, even though I wasn't getting any, I sure was looking at a large amount of porn.
The specific porn in a guy's collection sure does say something about his personality–
And let's leave it at that.
The first weekend of January, our dog picked up a stray dog. Yeah, our dog had a dog. I didn't have time and Detroit wasn't able to look for the owners, so we kept her for about three days while it was really cold. Then her son saw a sign in the neighborhood, so we returned her. They were happy to have her back, but it did make us think that another dog is what our dog needs.
We were having a meeting in the living room, the whole house–the whole family. Detroit's family. I guess they are mine, because they live in my house. But dammit, I don't want to admit or have to accept the oldest son, The Troll.
I had planned this meeting after the new year to talk about new responsibilities and what I wanted out of the boys, and also some different ways to shop for groceries and plan meals. The meeting got interupted, so I didn't get to finish and go off on them. Detroit's mom got a call. Her sister in Michigan was very ill.
She went up to stay with her for several weeks–or stay with another sister and visit the sick one in the hospital. Then she came home, and then spent three or four days with Detroit's sister while she recovered from lap-band surgery. That's the thing where they squeeze off part of your stomach when you're too much of a fat-ass and have no self-control and just keep shoveling food down your throat. They should have installed the lap band about a cubit higher, at her mouth. That would solve several problems: It would keep her from eating, and she wouldn't be able to talk, either. Fuck, she is annoying.
Shortly after that–about a week ago–Bonnie's (Detroit's mom) sister passed away. Away we trek up to Michigan.
I had high hopes of using some of my time off that I tried to accumulate to get some things done around the house. Instead, the three days I built up were used on this, and I have nothing again, until next month. I accrue 11.25 hours per month, which comes to about 17 days per year, or three weeks. This doesn't include all the holidays we are off and paid for. I have a pretty sweet gig.
We go to Michigan. They pack some bags, and I have to haul them. It's Detroit, recovering from a broken hip, and using a walker. It's her sister, recovering from her minor surgery and suffering from a severe personality disorder. And it's their mother, a short, waddly old sedentary woman with diabetes and other problems. And me, driving the gimp-mobile.
It wasn't a bad visit, as trips-for-funerals go–for me. Detroit got sick Thursday and couldn't go to the funeral (she was there for the previous evening for the wake.) She was able to leverage her illness quite cunningly, I thought. Her mother had planned–without consulting us–for us to stay there through Sunday, and leave Sunday morning, driving the ten hours back. Detroit said she would rather be sick at home, and wanted to leave.
And that was fine with me, even though I was meeting more of her family and hopefully endearing myself to them…or at least not creeping them out too much. To be fair, they are her relatives, not mine, so it's perfectly okay for me to flirt with her hot cousins.
But we didn't leave Friday, we left Saturday morning instead. Friday I got to taste the star of local cuisine: a steak sammich at Tony's. But it's not a steak sammich. It's a burger, or a hoagie. It's a large oblong burger on toasted Italian bread with cheese and pizza sauce on it. It's a pizza burger.
It was purty goddamn awesome.
I also got to see the sights of Saginaw, Michigan: Deteriorating slums, a vacant downtown, and roads that could use some putty, or crack-fill, or rock, or something. Fuck, fill the holes with spaghetti and meatballs for all I care. Just fill them.
Saturday morning we prepared to leave. Meaning, I packed our bags, Detroit's mom and sister packed theirs, and they sat there and watched me while I loaded up the van in the falling snow. Then I herded their asses out to the van, got them in it, closed the doors, and we left. It snowed all through Michigan, and somewhere in northern Indiana it turned to rain. By Indy it had stopped.
I was glad to have Sunday off and at home; the road was not kind to my body, especially my knees. I did nada but lay on the couch, then nap, then eat, then lay on the couch some more. It was a busy day.
I feel a little out of practice at writing here, and I'm wondering how I'm supposed to make this interesting or funny. Fuck it. Live isn't always interesting or funny. Sometimes it's just life.
Bobby McGeeJanuary 10, 2011 at 10:07 PM | Posted in Journal | Leave a comment
Tags: family, friends, funerals, life and death
In the middle of December, during one of Detroit's hospital stays, my Aunt Gloria passed away.
I'm not sure how much I want to go into this. It's more than just a backdrop to a story. Aunt Gloria is one of my dad's sisters, and married to Uncle Joe, the coolest of uncles.
About fifteen years ago, Aunt Gloria had got sick, and she had a kidney transplant. Her brother Junior gave her a kidney. Junior is the youngest of the group. He passed away in 2005, due to a stroke or a heart attack. They think it might have been related to medication he was on, but I don't know the whole story.
Aunt Gloria had been fine for quite a while, but sometime in 2004 she had a stroke, a big one. Uncle Joe had–just recently, I think–retired from his construction job. And now he was on to another difficult job: taking care of his invalid wife.
Aunt Gloria had been a vibrant, active, cheerful and alive woman until this, smart and sarcastic and warm and funny. And now? Now she was a shadow of what she had been.
One whole side of her body did not cooperate well, including her brain. She hallucinated and had bizarre thoughts and speech. Sometimes I swear she was just fine, and acting crazy to fuck with people. I know I would. Hell, I intend to.
Something like this completely changes your life–hers and his. Joe never complained, that I saw. He was strong and…maybe detached. Maybe that helped him deal with getting her up, getting her dressed, getting her to the bathroom, getting her cleaned and fed, and keeping her cigarettes and coffee on her right side, where she could see them.
Maybe you don't want your friends to see you like this, if it happens to you. But if you have a friend who has known you for over forty years, I don't think it matters. Maybe a visit from your closest and dearest and bestest friend in the whole fucking world might be all the difference between just existing and having a bit hope left in your life.
So when I found out–and it was just hints and allusions that I had to piece together–that her friend Diane essentially abandoned my aunt, I was kinda fucking mad. For Diane's purposes, Gloria ceased to exist. Ain't that some shit?
I got out to see Aunt Gloria when I could, and it wasn't much. When we lived down the street from them, we saw them fairly often. My daughter would go up to see her and spend time with her both before and after the stroke. My daughter is sweetheart, with a heart of gold. She really cares about people. I'm sure she didn't get it from me.
Diane had some kids, and one of them was roughly my age, named Bobby. Bobby was friends with my cousins that were about my age, before I moved here. So much so that even though I was family, since I was new in town, I was the outsider, not him. His mom and Gloria were tight–she was like an aunt, and Bobby was like a cousin.
Years go by, and of course this happens. And then Aunt Gloria died. I managed to get both Mitchell and Miranda there to pay there respects. It was a rare thing, my family seeing my son, akin to a Bigfoot sighting and drawing the same gawking looks.
I was walking around, seeing family, and reintroducing my kids to them. Whaddaya know, Diane was there. And her son, Bobby.
Despite the years, he looked the same. Almost as tall as me, with a skinny build. The years had added little to his frame. Same dirty blond hair with a bowl cut.
I had nothing against him, so I engaged him in conversation. Everything he said just bothered me. Some of it made me outright cringe. Some of it made me want to punch the mother-fucker in the face.
"Bobby. What's up, man?" We shook hands.
"Not much. Living and working."
"Cool. Married? Kids? What's the story?" I kids were right behind me.
"Divorced. Happily divorced."
He didn't ask about me or mine. This was going no where, then a thought occurred to me. "Hey, I know someone, this girl I work with you might know from back in the day–" I told him her name. It's this girl Kim–yet another Kim in my life–that I've become friends with, and at that time was giving a ride to work until she could get a car.
"Oh, *her*?" He waved his hand dismissively. "What a bitch. She's a whore." Again, my kids were right behind me.
"Dude, she's a friend of mine."
I don't remember the exact words or order that he said them. Essentially, his ex-wife is my friend Kim's sister…so he knows her more than I thought. However, being divorced from her family I'm sure hasn't tarnished his opinion. Not only that, but his "best friend" is Kim's ex-husband.
He had heard, too about her different problems–from the prism of her ex-husband, she is obviously all to blame. And he had heard that her fiance John had killed himself in August.
Bobby said, "If I was going to end up marrying her, I'd shoot myself in the face, too."
Seriously? Can you believe a mother-fucker would say something this callous? What if I knew him? What if, through her, I was acquainted with him? We were planning to get together…until that happened.
I was so mad, but I had to maintain a semblance of decorum. This is my aunt's goddamn funeral, and here was this fucker, who–honestly, I was hardly more than a passing acquaintance with–was saying the worst kind of horrible shit about someone who is a friend of mine. What the fuck is his problem?
"Dude–look, she's a friend of mine. I like her."
He didn't back off. "Well, you shouldn't be. Everything she says is a fucking lie. She's a whore."
I honestly don't know how I got out of that conversation. I think I just walked away.
Let's dissect this a little, shall we? First of all, in a divorce situation, there are always two sides. I don't know either one, actually. But what do YOU say to someone who happens to bring up in conversation someone that you don't like?
Unless the person bringing it up is a close friend, I'm going to just casually dust over it with a "Yeah, I don't really know them," and change the subject. What I'm not going to do, because I HAVE FUCKING MANNERS, is trash talk someone right to the face of a friend of theirs. In addition to having manners, I'm also not stupid. What if the other person decides to take a swing at me because of it?
Because I almost did. If we weren't at a funeral, for fuck's sake, I would have.
Seriously, what does he expect? I'm friends with her and I work with her–hell, I give her a ride to work–and this is the first time I've seen his ridiculous ass in over 15 years. On his word I should shun all contact with her? And then what? Become his BFF?
Not bloody likely.
And my friend Kim does have a checkered past–she's been around. She's talked about it to me, and perhaps that's something she shouldn't do is be so open about her past with EVERYONE–but she is honest about it. And she is trying to change. She had changed, for her fiance, until his death put her life into the shitter. I felt that she needed a friend, and I even told her that: "You could use a friend that isn't trying to get into your pants."
I was just a friend to her–am just a friend–someone she can vent to, cry on once in a while, and joke and share emails. And I try to guide her in the right direction, help her make better decisions. I've seen her work through some problems and slowly try to get her life in order. Just think of me as a freelance social worker.
Later at the funeral, after my kids and I had made the rounds and ended up in the basement where the food was, we began the process of saying our goodbyes and heading out. Bobby was still there, standing with some other people that I said goodbye to.
I tried to avoid him, but ended up halfheartedly shaking hands with him as he gave me a parting shot. Something about, "Next time bring some pizza for the rest of us; you seem to have had enough."
Oh, so a jab at me about my career as well as a fat joke. You're a fucking prize, asshole.
And I can't help but wonder–what kind of mother raises an asshole like that? Oh, the same kind of mother that abandons her life-long best friend in her time of need. That's what kind of mother raises an asshole like that.
The Year Of Living DangerouslyDecember 20, 2010 at 9:45 PM | Posted in Journal | Leave a comment
Tags: cars, family, finances, friends, funerals, holidays, life and death, money
2010 has a been a rough, rough year on us here at the homestead. I'm not complaining, I'm just going to enumerate them. I'm not blaming anyone–whose fault would it be? And I'm not looking for sympathy, either. Not for this devil, anyway.
We started off in January–New Year's weekend, in fact. That was when our beloved dog Mac died. That was hard. The first dog I ever really liked, the one that showed me what it was to have a dog.
Shortly after that–and this ran all the way through the spring–Kim was having a problem with her shoulder. She went to physical therapy, which didn't work. So she had shoulder surgery, and then more physical therapy after that.
I'd like to say it was an uneventful summer…oh, except I got my car repossessed.
One of my good friends had a death–her fiance committed suicide. Worse for her, I know. But it was a tragedy, and it continues to touch our lives, as I help her cope, give her a ride to work, and hear people talk behind her back about what a whore she is.
In the fall, we were going to go to a memorial service for one of her uncles up in Michigan. However, that was Kim's first Crohn's flare-up and her first time in the hospital.
A few weeks later, she was in the hospital again. This time it seemed worse, the flare-up. This was all September-October.
In November, Kim's boss died in a car accident.
In December, the same night she went into the hospital again, my Aunt Gloria died.
And now this.
Kim fell on the ice yesterday and broker her hip. She had surgery, and she'll be off her legs for 6-8 weeks.
Of course some little things–I started a part time job and quit, and started another one. Always a little stress there. My oldest granddaughter moved to Texas. At first she thought she was pregnant, but she's not. She's still getting married. My oldest grandson is in drug rehab. Another grandson broke his jaw in September.
My daughter was having anxiety problems, and chipped a couple of teeth–we just got those fixed at the dentist.
I have some financial problems and some tax problems–the usual– Hell, I had to make the decision to let the car get repo'd in order to keep the house. I'm trying to get some answers for my sister about a judgment against her and filing for bankruptcy. Et cetera, ad nauseaum, ad infinitum…
On the one hand, there's not much else that can go wrong this year. On the other hand, there's still time left…
Old MoneyApril 30, 2010 at 4:34 PM | Posted in Journal | 1 Comment
Tags: 2010s, family, friends, funerals
Following the map directions, I managed to get out of my own neighborhood okay. How did we ever manage before MapQuest? I get on the inner-belt–that's 170 for you out-of-towners–and we are immediately in a traffic backup.
It's early enough on a Tuesday morning–just after the morning rush hour–and it's raining or drizzling lightly. We're going a direction that shouldn't be backed up right now. Detroit has that look on her face because she thinks I should have listened to her and went straight down Lindbergh to the Southwest corner of Fuck-All, but I know I'm right here.
There is an accident up ahead, and it actually affects both the north- and south-bound lanes. When we got up to it, it looked like two cars from either side slid down the grassy median and into each other. That was my impression, and I'm sure it's wrong.
But before we get to that point–that glorious point in the traffic where it opens back up and the stallions can once again run free–we are inching along on our two lanes, all of us together.
Except for the occasional asshole that comes barreling down the shoulder to get around it, because they are special. A couple of cars come down the shoulder, and they get by. A third car comes down, and a big SUV about three cars in front of us pulls out onto the shoulder in front of him.
And stops. And stays there.
The car can't go around him because next to the shoulder is a rail because we're on a long viaduct/overpass. After that, there is a steep drop off.
The car honks his horn. The SUV just sits there, inching along with everyone else.
We did notice an Obama bumper sticker on the car, and we laughed. The guy is a typical liberal dipshit fucknut, and this is a perfect metaphor for the liberal elite philosophy: The rules and the lanes are for the masses, they must be kept in line. But I am a special case, so these rules don't apply to me–
–like the libs in Hollywood who drive around in their Hummers and private jets talking about how we the little people should all conserve energy and save the planet.
–ditto Al Gore
–Obama appointees and other libs in Congress who think we should all pay more taxes but haven't filed themselves in a few years.
–any other hypocrisy you can think of.
So it was funny to see him get thwarted. The guy in the SUV had nothing to fear, because this Obama supporter is not going to have a concealed-carry–he's not packing heat. If the SUV had had a Bush-Cheney bumper sticker, that would have been perfect, and awesome. And even more hilarious.
Eventually the grassy side leveled out, and the car got around. In another hundred yards, we were through the accident and we could all get through, so Har-har on him. I know others, like us, wanted to cheer the guy in the SUV.
Later, we arrive at the church for the mass. We're about the first ones there, and Detroit said that some were at the funeral home this morning, bringing the party here for the mass next, and then on to the cemetery after that, and then everyone goes to someone's house to eat and drink. A funeral is like an overly somber pub crawl.
When we arrived at the church there was an old couple in front of us. The woman looked thin, but not frail–but on the verge of it–with a classic strength. The man was smiling and friendly, and looked liked he had had a stroke. He slurred his speech and favored one side.
After they talked to the priest for a moment, we introduced ourselves. They are the Donius's.
If you recall, the former CEO of the bank I work at is a Donius. That is their son. The old man–Walter–was CEO before that. I told them that it's just not the same without their son around. The culture that Walter created and his son enhanced has made it one of the best places in St Louis to work.
Mrs D–I never did catch her name, and perhaps it was best to be formal with her–thanked me. Detroit had just said that we were friends of Sue's. Mrs D said she has known Sue since she was this high–and held her hand about two and a half feet above the floor.
We gradually drifted away, having nothing more to talk about. I'm sure they were nice enough people. Walter certainly is. I have trouble hearing, and it's hard to focus on someone who slurs, especially if I didn't take my medicine that morning. So, I know–the problem was mine, not his.
Detroit noticed (as women do) the size of the rock on Mrs D's finger. Well, yeah. These people were money. The bank has been in the family for nigh on 90 years or more, and these people have a tradition of money. The aura of Mrs D said, with understated class, "Old Money."
We took our seats, and the ritual thus began. I'm not Catholic, so following a Catholic Mass is somewhat foreign to me. I recognize some of the words, but that was it. But for Detroit, who is a…
Christ, I'm not sure what she is. Some kinda pagan/heathen/Earth Mother worshipper or something. I'm going to miss her when she goes to Hell.
Anyway, it had to seem odd to her as well, I imagine. But as stylized and ritualized and…odd as it was, there was some comfort in it. Comfort for me in the fact that everyone is grasping at straws as if they think they know the Mind of God and all these odd things are what God wants.
The rituals have a purpose: they give you time to contemplate and a soothing atmosphere and comfort in repetition, and aid with the closure. These things are not for God, and not for the deceased, but for the living.
We tried, Detroit and I, to keep up with the mythos, but it seemed that everyone but us knew the hymns by heart (Where were they? In the hymn book? What numbers? Don't you even want us to try?–I guess not), and when to stand and when to sit, and when to get a cracker and take a sip of wine and backwash.
She and I agreed that we shouldn't take the communion, probably for different reasons. She, because she's not a Christian; and me, because I'm not a Catholic. It's not as subtle of a difference as you think. For her it was escaping an inconvenience; for me it was avoiding sacrilege.
During one of our up-and-downs, I happened to glance back a few rows, and caught a glimpse of Mrs D. She had a far-away look behind her red eyes, and her face seemed over-whelmed by grief.
I had time to contemplate all of this, and some realizations slowly crept over me.
Mrs D said she had known Sue "since she was this big." Sue is…let's just say roughly my age. Mrs D and Sue's mom have been friends for over forty years, then, by a conservative estimate. In the parlance of our times, they were BFF.
And how is it, then, that she is sitting behind me, when she should have been in front row–with the family?
I thought of my friend Bunny, whom I have known for 20 years. I want her to be…right there in the front, with family. She is family to me. Yeah, Detroit can be there too.
But all of that made me think of how important Bunny is too me, and I felt real empathy for Mrs D.
We drove to Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, and there is the final service. We don't go to the burial site there, but instead to a small stone pavilion; the deceased get buried later. They probably don't want anyone watching when they screw them into the ground vertically. It's a large place, but space is tight.
After the brief service, we were all clearing out, and I caught up to Mr and Mrs D. I felt compelled, I guess, to let her know.
"Mrs D? I just wanted to tell you–"
"Well, it took me a while, but I put it all together. Like when you said you've known Sue since she was this tall, right? You've known Sue's mom a long time–you've been friends forever, haven't you?
A single tear. "Yes."
I choked up a bit too, but forged ahead. "Seeing you reminded me of my good friend I've known for 20 years, and how important she is to me. I just can't imagine it. I can't imagine how hard it is. So I wanted to say to you, I'm sorry for your loss."
She smiled somberly through her red eyes and gave me a hug. "Thank you. So much. So many–"
And then someone interrupted to talk to her, and she was whisked away. But we had a brief moment. The only evidence was the faint smell of perfume and Old Money lingering in the air.
Happy Birfday To MeFebruary 20, 2007 at 4:49 PM | Posted in Personal | 3 Comments
Tags: 2000s, funerals, mom, my childhood
I think my attitude towards my birthday is best described in this one word:
I'd really like to feel bitter and cynical about growing old, but I can't muster that emotion. Don't get me wrong: growing old and dying scares the living piss out me. But I feel pretty good. And today–today is just another day. And age–age is just a number. That determines whether or not you can be
arrested for statutory.
I may, in fact, feel better about my birthday this year than I have in some years; despite the impending divorce and all the signs and portents of looming tragedy, I feel pretty good. I'm happy, I'm in love, I'm in fair health,
and I feel I have a direction to go creatively. Not bad.
Even though–
Even though my mom died last week.
Okay, not really "last week," but three years ago last week. It occurred to me around Valentine's Day that I wasn't really sure of the date. In fact, a few months after she passed I wasn't sure. All I know is that it was between my dad's birthday (the 6th) and mine (the 20th.)
I still remember the events leading up to her death fairly well: the sickness, the relapse, the operations, the return to the hospital. Talking with my brother and learning things about my family that I had never known. The nightly visits, going to see my dad and take him something to eat–otherwise he wouldn't. He stayed, dutifully, by her side.
And then she was going to come home for in home hospice care. I was there at the house, waiting for them to come home to help set everything up, when we got the call. . .
And then the funeral, if you can call it that. My mom was unapologetically a heathen, and there was no service, no body to view (cremated), and I even missed the scattering of the ashes, because my brother called me while I was at work–when I couldn't leave–to tell me they were going to scatter them in the bayou near the casino.
I was left with a horrible, aching gap, a supreme lack of closure. Later I had the chance to. . .get over it. Of course, the burning pain I feel in my chest right now reminds me that I'm not over it, not really.
I'm a little surprised at how much I still miss her, especially in view of the fact that we weren't very close. Her choice or mine? I don't know. She was a little distant and hard to get close to.
Detroit has met my father, and things I am "just like him."
But she has never met my mother, so she wouldn't know. . .but I have alot of her in me. Mom was a reader. Voracious. Me too. I think she wanted to be
a writer when she was younger, but never pursued it. Work and family took too much time–
She worked hard at work, but found it easy to not do to much around the house. Housekeeping was that thing that other people do. She never communicated much, but when she did, she meant it. I guess that
part isn't so much like me. She had opinions–about life, the universe, and everything. God, the heavens, the afterlife. Strongly held opinions, I found out, but she had the quiet wisdom to not share them with people she knew wouldn't understand.
Mostly, she was quiet, and kept to herself. I didn't know what "introvert" meant as a child.
So. . .I don't know the exact date. I'm sure I could look it up, but I don't want to. Like the day my granddaughter died: I think I know the exact date, but don't want to give it too much. I know approximately when it is, because we spent our wedding anniversary in a funeral home. Life, that's the important part. I don't want to celebrate or remember the day they died.
I catch myself doing something my mom used to do, which I never understood as a child, but now I do. We would be driving together, or she
would be puttering around the kitchen, or whatever. But she would be quiet, lost in thought, with a smile on her face. She was completely gone, in her head. Her imagination was in control, and there was no telling what was going one. You may as well have hung a sign on her that said, "Be Right Back."
I do that. I do that alot. Even just briefly, I can completely leave. I can't explain where I've been. I can't describe what I was thinking, I can't remember what I was feeling.
But it was good.
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text: Vancouver's Downtown Business Improvement Association has radically changed their stance on bike lane installation. An early opponent of AAA bike lane installation, the DVBIA has now become a platinum sponsor of HUB Cycling and. DVBIA president Charles Gauthier spoke out in 2011, stating that despite the environmental benefits of bike lanes, they had negative ramifications for adjacent businesses. This was backed by a study prepared for the City of Vancouver, the Vancouver Board of Trade, and the DVBIA by Stantec Consulting and the Mustel Group, which found that the losses for nearby businesses would be valued at around $2.4 million. The study also examined "hot spots" in which certain businesses might suffer more than others. At that time, Mayor Gregor Robertson expressed concern for negative economic impacts upon smaller businesses.


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Follow the history of Camp Dixie from its birth in the 1940's in Wilmington, NC through the relocation to Fayetteville in 1967 and on to the present day ministry. Presented at Harvest Day, October 14, 2017 as part of a celebration of 50 Years of Camping Ministry In Fayetteville, NC.
Click on the picture or here to watch a video of our history as presented at Harvest Day 2017!


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Next weekend just so happens to be one of my very favorite weekends of the year.
It's GENERAL CONFERENCE weekend!
It's always nice to encourage others to share in the joy of this weekend {the messages spoken are always just what I need to hear}!
I like to create a little handout to attach to something each time Conference rolls around - - to deliver to my friends, visiting teachers, etc. to motivate them to watch General Conference.
{To see another one of my handouts click HERE}.
I LOVE this year's handout because I can pair it up with one of my very favorite treats on the planet - - DONUTS!
I plan to deliver my milk and donuts the night before General Conference begins.
These really could be given out though any time between now and General Conference weekend.
{It's in one more week!}
These tags would also be fun attached to those flavored milk straws - - like for primary kids or young women? - -
These can be purchased at any major grocery store.
I of course, will be getting fresh donuts to deliver my milk with. One for them - - two for me! {Kidding, not kidding}.
To download my FREE General Conference tags
Click HERE.
{There are 4 to a page!}
P.S. If you haven't done your Visiting Teaching for the month yet - make sure and download my FREE tags to go with you HERE!
As always - if you plan to download any of my tags - I
just ask that you PLEASE make sure to become
an official follower of my blog
{right hand side under 'Join Site'}.
You can also follow me on
my social media sites
*Ideas are posted daily!*
Also - - I am MORE than flattered when others
'replicate' my ideas and come up with their
'own' tags. I just
PLEASE ask that you give credit where credit
is due when posting, and please link back to
this original post. xoxo


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CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard women's swimming and diving begins its quest for a second straight Ivy League championship this week when it opens the campaign in Ithaca, N.Y., for an Ivy League tri-meet at Cornell and vs. Dartmouth. The Crimson diving squad will compete at 5:30 p.m. on Friday with the swimmers set to take center stage on Saturday at 11 a.m.
How to Follow
Twitter: @HarvardSwim
What to Know
- Harvard enters the 2018-19 season as the reigning Ivy League champions after it captured its third conference title in the last five years back in February.
- The Crimson has gone undefeated the last four seasons on its first day of competition, sweeping Cornell and Dartmouth to open 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17, before downing Columbia in the 2017-18 lidlifter.
- Under Stephanie Wriede Morawski, The Costin Family Head Coach for Harvard Women's Swimming and Diving, Harvard has faced Cornell and Dartmouth in a triple-dual meet on 20 different occasions, resulting in sweeps each time.
- Harvard has won 33 consecutive meets vs. Cornell and is 33-1 all-time.
- The Crimson will carry a 38-3 all-time record vs. Dartmouth into the two-day meet. Harvard has won 36 straight meets vs. the Big Green.
At The Helm
Stephanie Wriede Morawski '92 is back for her 22nd season as The Costin Family Head Coach for Harvard Women's Swimming and Diving. The 2017-18 Ivy League Coach of the Year returns eight student-athletes who earned all-league accolades a season ago, including Ivy League High Point Swimmer of the Meet Miki Dahlke '20.
Next Up
Harvard returns to action on Friday, Nov. 16, when it plays host to Columbia at 11 a.m. for an Ivy League meet. The conference clash is set to air on ESPN+.


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Plasterer bee
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27 responses
Susan Littlefield added a link (26 Jul 2011):
Lanis Rossi gave props (26 Jul 2011):
Patty Gross (Deleted) gave props (26 Jul 2011):
Dynamite!!! You just gotta love his rubber boots!!! Very interesting info, Susan!
Litz Go gave props (26 Jul 2011):
hey, can I hire him to bee my plasterer? they do have fantastic boots!
Ronnie Ginnever gave props (26 Jul 2011):
So cool - love the boots!
John Linton gave props (26 Jul 2011):
Workin' JPG's Theme Park (most excellently)
Michaela K. gave props (26 Jul 2011):
love the boots!
elfriede fulda (Deleted) gave props (26 Jul 2011):
Wonder if he belongs to a union ,,LOL,,this is great !
Debrah Leonard (Deleted) gave props (26 Jul 2011):
!!! great!
Andrea Petersen gave props (26 Jul 2011):
Love it...and all of your bees...such a talent you have in your creativety.
Donald Garrett gave props (26 Jul 2011):
Who needs Wikipedia when you have Susan Littlefield? LOL This is great.
Regenia Brabham gave props (26 Jul 2011):
How cool and thanks so much for the link! I never knew there were so many different kinds of bees. I love your entry and your image.
Shirley Valencia said (26 Jul 2011):
Super!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I captured you a bee and was scared to death...He is in a jar. Then he folded up in a fetal position when he , um , you know. I didn't know if you could straighten him out.... He is still in a jar on my patio...... shiver!
Leslie Hunziker gave props (26 Jul 2011):
cool! i'd like to see a "plastered" bee!
stuart s gave props (26 Jul 2011):
Not only creativity and playful humour, but a knowledge resource as well. You are the Queen Bee.
Heather Mellon gave props (26 Jul 2011):
He's got the right boots for this kind of job. I was thinking the same as Leslie.. but alas I think I've seen the odd one get a little juiced on dandelion wine..lol. Great entry for the theme!!
Judy and Wayne Wanamaker gave props (27 Jul 2011):
So there he is! I think he is the one that did our ceiling! Another great one, Susan! LOL!!!
Donna Mullins (Deleted) gave props (27 Jul 2011):
glad this bee has on his work boots.keep him busy Susan,looks like he's doing a good job! :-)
Zapata Juan P gave props (28 Jul 2011):
LOL great work
Ann Reece gave props (28 Jul 2011):
Who knew that there was a plasterer bee!!! That's it ... SUSAN knew and created another fabulous bee in the series!!!
Ioana Caravan gave props (28 Jul 2011):
Great entry!
misha otaared gave props (29 Jul 2011):
so there are digger bees, mason bees, plasterer bees... if they find plumber bees and electrician bees, they can forget about hives and build some proper condos. :) (love the boots this hardworking do-bee has on, btw))
Oregon Curly (Deleted) gave props (29 Jul 2011):
..and after work, out with the boys, is he a plastered bee? Love the boots!
Nancy Richard gave props (29 Jul 2011):
I've heard of bee-ing plastered, but doing the plastering? Another gem!
je suis moi gave props (29 Jul 2011):
Who knew. Thanks for the link about them.
Deborah Downes gave props (31 Jul 2011):
Super take on this theme. Thanks so much for the link. Fascinating.
Joerg Schlagheck gave props (31 Jul 2011):
Bwewesd arwe harsd weorking... Darn keyboard is bad.. sdorry!
Also by Susan Littlefield
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text:
My Content
Membership has its privileges! Sign up or sign in to gain full access to both All About Jazz and Jazz Near You. Learn more.
Track Listing: Let's Live it Up; Steadfast, Loyal, and True; Jumpin' in Chi-Town; She Died From a Broken Heart; Betty Sue; Another Sleepless Night; Peace Train; Been Good To You; I Want to Know; Enlighten Me; Daggers & Spears; Don't Cry For Me; I Got Some News Today; Until We Meet Again.
Personnel: Pierre Lacocque: harmonica; Inetta Visor: vocals; Rhonda Preston: vocals; John Primer: guitar, vocals; Carl Weathersby: guitar; Giles Corey: guitar; Chris "Hambone" Cameron: organ, piano, clavinet; Stephen Howard: bass; Kenny Smith: drums; Andrew "Blaze" Thomas: drums; Ruben Alvarez: percussion; Kay Reed: background vocals; Mae Koen: background vocals; Vanessa Holmes: background vocals; Kenny Anderson: trumpet; Hank Ford: tenor saxophone; Bill McFarland; Sam Burkhardt: alto saxophone.
Title: Let's Live it Up! | Year Released: 2010 | Record Label: Delmark Records
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text: Tom Brady (centre) has denied any involvement in an alleged scheme to deflate footballs [EPA] New England Patriots football star Tom Brady has taken the fight over his National Football League "Deflategate" suspension to the US federal court. The NFL Players' Association on Wednesday asked the court to overturn Brady's four-game suspension - or at least put it on hold - until the case could be heard by a federal judge. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on Tuesday had upheld a four-game suspension of the quarterback for his part in an alleged scheme to deflate footballs below league standards in the game that put the Patriots in the 2015 Super Bowl. A ball inflated below NFL standards could make it easier to grip, especially in cold weather games. "I am very disappointed by the NFL's decision to uphold the four-game suspension against me," Brady said in a statement posted on his Facebook page. "I did nothing wrong, and no one in the Patriots organisation did either." Brady also denied that he had destroyed his mobile phone to avoid giving it to NFL investigators, saying the flap was "manufactured" to distract from "zero evidence" against him in the scandal. Patriots euphoric despite 'Deflategate' row Patriots owner Robert Kraft threw his support behind his player, considered one of the NFL's all-time greats. "I was wrong to put my faith in the league," Kraft said in blasting Goodell for upholding the suspension. "I continue to believe and unequivocally support Tom Brady." Superbowl Sunday to end scandal-plagued NFL season Goodell on Tuesday said Brady, one of the league's most popular and highest-paid players, admitted during an appeal hearing last month that he directed an assistant to destroy his cell phone around March 6. That was the day he was due to meet with league investigators. The commissioner said Brady's conduct suggested he was attempting to conceal evidence. However, the four-time Super Bowl champion denied his phone, which the NFL said held some 10,000 text messages, contained any damning evidence. "I have never written, texted, emailed to anybody at anytime, anything related to football air pressure before this issue was raised at the AFC Championship game in January," Brady wrote, referring to the American Football Conference game won by the Patriots. The union said the decision to take Brady's case to the federal court "gives the back of the hand to fundamental arbitral principles concerning procedural fairness and arbitrator bias". The decision should be reversed as Goodell denied Brady access to evidence and witnesses, and deprived him of a fair hearing, the union said. Goodell initially levelled the penalty on Brady after a 243-page report from lawyer Ted Wells, whom the NFL hired to investigate the matter. Wells said the scheme to deflate the footballs was carried out by two Patriots employees. Under NFL rules at the time, the home team took possession of game balls before kickoff. The investigators said he determined that Brady probably knew about the alleged scheme largely on the basis of text messages between the employees that implied the quarterback was aware of the plan to deflate the footballs. SOURCE: Reuters And AP US & Canada NFL American football Sport


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5/20/08 11:39 pm - For fans of elizibethan canons and Firefly
All, you know, two of you.
Firefly Canon
ttto "Hey Ho, to the Greenwood", by William Byrd, 1543-1623
Take us out to the black, in joy and pain
The sky to gain
And there shall we find Wash, Mal and Jayne
The sky to gain
Inara, Book and River who's insane
The sky to gain
For the tune, well, you could websearch, but why do that when I did it for you?
Scan of the sheet music from Ravenscroft: http://home.uchicago.edu/~atterlep/Music/Songs/heyhotothegreenwood.htm
Or there's a midi file here: http://www.bcpl.net/~cbladey/guy/html/midis.html
And both midi and sheet music agree -- my decade+ old memory of the song's rhythm is Totally Off! So I'm going to have to relearn it!


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International flavour to Barbarians line-up
April 3, 2008
The Barbarians have invited players from nine nations to represent the Club in the match to celebrate the 150th anniversary season of Edinburgh Academicals at Raeburn Place on next Wednesday.
Among the eight capped players in the squad of 22 are Scotland's Gordon Bulloch and his fellow 2001 Lion, Tyrone Howe. The Club has also invited rising stars from the recent Six Nations under-20 tournament including England's Rob Miller and Dan Norton and Scotland's Ross Samson.
Club president Micky Steele-Bodger said, "As a club we are proud to have been invited by Edinburgh Academicals and we are delighted to be able to accept the honour. It is a great achievement to have reached this milestone of 150 years of rugby and congratulations to the Accies on having done so."
He added, "We will be bringing a Barbarians' squad which reflects our own commitment to balancing established players with youngsters who have a great future in front of them."
Accies' captain Dan Teague said, "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for the players and for the club to play against the Barbarians. They are a team all rugby fans and players can associate with; we've grown up watching their matches and admiring the great names that have played for them and in the exciting style in which they play."
The Barbarians will be coached by one of Scotland's all-time greats, John Jeffrey, who played for the Baa-Baas on eight occasions and is now a Club committee man.
The match, which will be all-ticket, is being played at one of the most evocative and historic grounds of rugby union world-wide, Raeburn Place, where the first ever international, between Scotland and England, was played in 1871.
Barbarians team:
Stuart Moffat (Viadana & Scotland); Tyrone Howe (Banbridge & Ireland)), Matt Allen (Bedford Blues), Nick Macleod (Cardiff Blues), Craig Morgan (Bristol Rugby & Wales); *Rob Miller (Newcastle Falcons), *Nick Runciman (Worcester Warriors); Dorian Williams (London Welsh), *Gordon Bulloch (West of Scotland & Scotland), Nigel Hall (Nottingham), Jon Phillips (Bedford Blues), *Peter Sidoli (Newport Gwent Dragons), *Tammas McVie (Heriot's), Gavin Quinnell (Worcester Warriors), *Genaro Fessia (Sale Sharks & Argentina)
Replacements: *Andrea Moretti (Viadana & Italy), Ngalu Tau (Doncaster Knights & Tonga), Craig Hammond (Nottingham), Ledua Jope (Army & Fiji), *Ross Samson (Newcastle Falcons), *Ross Blake (Cambridge University), Dan Norton (Gloucester Rugby)
[* - denotes new Barbarian]
© Scrum.com
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Sales numbers in the Saskatoon real estate market have dipped within the past few weeks, however things are still moving higher than usual for this time of year. Last week there were 54 single family homes and 23 condominiums for a grand total of just over 77 sales. There were 81 sales two weeks ago in the Saskatoon real estate market.
Over the past month there have been 226 single family sales with an average price of $390,112, while the average house sells for $9,127 under asking price. In 2013 during the same month period there were only 158 single family sales at an average price of $391,892 selling for $9,184 under asking price. We have seen prices basically stay the same year over year as inventory remains quite high, it's tougher to get a premium price for a listing. However sales volume is a lot higher in 2014.
During the past month in the condo market there have been 82 sales at an average price of $276,797. The average condo currently sells for an average of $6,173 under asking price. In 2013 during the identical month period, there were 95 sales with an average price of $271,959, while the average listing sold for $9,814 under asking price. Prices have gone up year over year, while sales have dipped slightly in the condo market. This year in Saskatoon, the condominium market has produced comparable numbers to the 2013 figures.
Listing inventory is quite high (over 225 more listings than the same time period last year), however it is drastically declining every day as new listings are becoming quite scarce of late. Ultimately the market is in its seasonal slow-down, however we're still witnessing sales numbers higher than we've ever seen in recent history almost reaching 2007 levels of sales numbers. This year is the second highest number of homes sold in Saskatoon history at 4384 on Monday morning, while there were only 4215 houses sold last year. This is due in part favourable buying conditions (very low interest rates, lots of listings to choose from) and the fact that the city is growing steadily. Now is a good time to find a deal in the market as the people selling are likely very interested in moving their properties and there is good selection.
If you're thinking of buying/selling or if you have any specific real estate questions contact us here.


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Subscribe by September 30th to win one of ten Hein blankets!
Ten lucky winners will receive an exceptionally soft blanket with their favorite company's logo embroidered on it—the perfect companion for reading a good book or a great blog.
All you have to do is subscribe to our blog by September 30th; we will contact you by email if you are chosen as a winner!


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Business & Real Estate
Sales of Sacramento small businesses up in third quarter
The median asking price of small- and medium-size businesses for sale in the Sacramento area during this year's third quarter was $225,000, according to San Francisco-based BizBuySell.com.
That was up from $217,000 in this year's second quarter and a significant improvement over $200,000 in the year-ago third quarter of 2013.
Third-quarter calculations were based on 196 Sacramento-area businesses listed on BizBuySell.com, an online marketplace of for-sale companies. The Sacramento statistics are based on listing data, not on completed sales.
BizBuySell officials call the current market a good one for sellers. They also pointed to the improved performance of for-sale businesses: Firms listed for sale in the third quarter had a median revenue of $429,517, up nearly 20 percent from $360,000 in the year-ago period.
In a statement, BizBuySell General Manager Bob House said, "There remains a strong supply of quality small businesses on the market. As the economy and financing options continue to improve, buyers remain very interested in acquiring small businesses."
Nationally, there were 1,987 transactions on BizBuySell.com in the third quarter, up nearly 18 percent from last year and the highest number of third-quarter sales since BizBuySell began tracking data in 2007.
Call The Bee's Mark Glover, (916) 321-1184.


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The storm flickered and flashed on the horizon and the boy watched its nebulous fingers crawl toward him from inside his bottle. The dark sheen of night was punctured, violated by each flash of the lightning and it sparked across the outside of the glass. The boy placed his hand against the inside, slightly worn by his contact over the years and he was surprised he could feel no heat, so bright was the storms spark. The bottle was on the table, outside on the balcony, a small well carved into the table's surface within which the base of the bottle could be placed. The boy squatted inside, a centimetre of space between his skin and the glass about him and looked out at the coastline that lay beneath the balcony. The rumble of thunder shook the world around him and the sky began to fill with the body of the storm.
Where normally there would be the sound of birds and the tide crashing against the beach there was silence, all hushed by the coming of a purer form of nature and the boy felt a tinge of excitement, a flash of what the storm itself promised. He felt imbued with electricity himself, as if the storm only existed to mirror an essence of those below. Did nature mirror him or did he mirror nature? He did not know, but as he placed his fingers to his lips he felt a spark leap from his skin onto his tongue.
Once, a dragonfly had perched upon the outside of his bottle and had spent many an hour travelling its surfaces, wallowing in its geography as the boy watched it with as much curiosity as it watched him. It was inconceivable, the form of that dragonfly, its body and movement alien and untranslatable to what the boy knew. How could something so different share the same state of life as he? How could two such disparate species share the same existence? Eventually, the boy's caretaker wandered out onto the balcony and shooed the dragonfly away and it never returned, perhaps scared by the caretakers action or perhaps satiated in its study of the boy. Either way, the caretaker left no doubt as to his appreciation of nature.
He was inside at the moment, the caretaker, watching television and breathing in the chemical airs that he always did of an evening, unaware of the rolling thunder that roared and bellowed across the sky towards them. Mostly he was unaware of anything and would occasionally fulfil his duties by polishing the glass of the boy's bottle and releasing the stale air from within through the nozzle attached. Other than that he was careless with his time and did nothing that interested the boy's position of confined witness. He had hoped for a more engaging caretaker, someone more flamboyant and full of colour who could stimulate his sense more and allow him a vista of personage rather than the random showings of nature itself. The boy wished for human scenery, a landscape of moods and expressions that could fill the emptiness of his own inexperience. Yet all he had was a vegetable in a uniform and the whims of his surroundings. Tonight though it was enough and it provided a good showing of itself, as wild and unkempt as the boy's own ragged feelings wished to be.
It hung above the balcony now, the storm and it stretched itself out fully, convulsing in its own light and sound and pissing its rains down upon the earth. It blew its icy breath hard and whipped the leaves from the trees and the trees from their roots and threw the waters of the ocean below until they ran pure white. The bottle rattled in its holding and the boy felt his pallid, sweating skin slap against the glass that confined him until red welts rose up upon his surface and he felt excited and scared all at once, realising that there was no difference between the two. He lurched to one side then the other as the bottle tipped and shuddered, helpless against the whirling tide of wind and the boy, prompted by the happening, threw his whole weight to one side. The bottle held for a second, balanced on one edge before it toppled over and the boy's whole world lurched and heaved sideways. He felt himself crash against the inside of the glass and swayed back and forth as the great glass bottle slowly began to roll toward the edge of the table. Then it fell, seemingly held in mid air for a moment before crashing to the floor of the balcony and shattering into a great crowd of shards. The boy felt them scatter all about him and his deformed, twisted body stretched and arced as the winds rolled their breath about him and the rain baptised his skin. The lightning lit him up as if heralding his escape and the thunder blew trumpets, great cacophonous drones that heralded his arrival. A great sound of his own rose up within him, a huge yawping cry that bellowed as much in triumph as it did in pain and his muscles moved of their own volition as if it was the first time. Tears streaked his face, mixing with those of the storm and realising that it was only a matter of time before the sounds of breaking glass worked their way through the caretakers drug addled stupor and into his ear, the boy began to crawl. There was no thought as to where, just the instinct of his new found movement and the ache of limbs clamoring for the horizon.
He heaved his useless form to the edge and looked to the swirling foam of the waters below, his body drenched and his heart swelling out of his chest. With little thought to consequence he gripped his fingers to the side of the balcony and threw himself over its edge, flailing and bellowing as he fell into the waters and disappeared deep into their depths.
When the storm passed all that was left of it was the stain of its downpour, the tearing of the trees and the broken glass of the balcony. The waters calmed, the trees again swayed in sweet relief and the birds returned to their branches. No dragonfly's returned to the balcony and when the glass was finally swept from its surface there was no trace that the boy or the bottle had ever been there.


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Crime & Courts
Police: Lake Wylie restaurant employee tackles homeless man after dine-and-dash
An employee of a Lake Wylie restaurant chased and tackled a homeless man after he ate a $60 meal and had two drinks then ran out on the tab, according to police.
Joshua Richards, 25, had $81.01 worth of food and alcohol at the Cherry Bar & Grill on Charlotte Highway on May 4, then fled after a credit card was declined, according to a York County Sheriff's Office report.
A hostess, waitress and other employees ran after him and one of the employees tackled Richards nearby, according to the report, then held Richards until deputies arrived. Richards was intoxicated and yelling and cursing, according to the report, then he admitted he was homeless and ran out on the tab.
Richards was charged with public disorderly conduct and defrauding a restaurant and remains in the York County jail under a $732.50 bond, according to jail records show.


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Are you just starting out? Has your business changed its name, updated its direction, added a new service or product? Or has your business just become stale?
How you see the world isn't always the same way as others see you. As they say "perception is reality". Improved perception improves brand performance and inturn improves profitability. If others understand you easily, they will buy and recommend you easily.
Your brand must deliver your promise, your vision, have meaning, be different, be sustainable and have longevity, be easy to understand and give you and your clients value. You must be able to register your brand, names, domains & ideas.
Branding and the reason to invest:
- Makes it easier for your customer to buy
- Makes it easier to generate sales and leads
- Makes it easier for your sales team to sell
- Makes it easier to build value in your business
- Makes your message easier to communicate
- Increases the profitability of your business
- Helps create integrated systems of consistency
- Helps in any merging exercises
- Can help you get a better sale price for your business
For a brand or rebrand to be successful, you must know who you are, who you deal with and who you are up against. We help identify some of the characteristics, personality traits, pain points and opportunities then simplify it into a unified and clear message.
Branding successfully has a process:
- Research
- Strategy
- Identity design
- Design execution
- Management
Rebranding your business
Rebranding or changing the name of your business can be an expensive exercise if not done right. There are many reasons for the need to change; keep up with new market trends, new ownership, your business might be growing, you have go old and stale - what worked 10 years ago is not working now, etc.
We are experienced at helping businesses manage their rebrand. We help you assess your need for change, help and advise you through the process.
Let us help you with:
- The naming process
- Logo redesign
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- Signage and vehicles
- Uniforms


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Switching Off: My Trip To Osea Island With HP
Have you heard of a magical place called Osea Island? Let me tell you all about it.
As you might have seen (it is everywhere!), I'm in the new Microsoft advert, using it to create many different pieces of content on-the-go using the HP Spectre x360. I do everything on my laptop and it's many different formats (laptop, tablet, tent mode) help me achieve all the different moving parts of my work.
So I was very excited to be invited to a fun Island Records music event by HP to blog about the trip. It was hosted on Osea Island, which I hadn't heard of before. Have you? I Googled it, thinking maybe it was somewhere abroad, but no, it's actually technically in Essex, an island on the Blackwater Estuary, surprisingly close to Central London. My Island experience felt like a new adventure, but it wasn't even that far away from home….
1. Getting onto the Island…
Osea Island is described as a "luxury holiday and event island" and the whole experience was so fun – it's quite the adventure even getting there. It's a short train journey from London and a twenty minute taxi ride to get there but you drive along a path that is only visible when the tide is out, and there's only a few times in the day when you can physically get on and off the island. This definitely adds to the mystery and excitement of staying there. On arrival you feel so completely removed from the hustle and bustle of London life. The views, the sea, the nature, the history (lots of famous musicians have reportedly wrote albums on the island, Amy Winehouse included) – there's a real sense of magic on the island.
2. Relaxed sport and all the food…
The pool area was the main hub area where people gathered to sit on inflatables and listen to DJs. The weather was incredible and food was amazing (lobster and deep-fried oysters – yum) and the beer was flowing all day. I really enjoyed watching people play rounders (it's such a hilariously dramatic game!) and also got quite addicted to a game of table tennis. It was really enjoyable to do some gentle exercise in a non-competitive and really fun atmosphere. I normally avoid any sort of sporting activity with the fear that it would turn into something too serious, I'm not very good at competitive games! But it turns out cycling around, playing tennis or getting involved in a game of rounders doesn't have to be stressful when you're on a party island. There was always something to do on the island, but equally, you could also just sit on the warm grass and look out at the water and blue skies. It was the most relaxing place I've been to in quite some time.
3. Going back to basics….
I didn't go on my phone the whole day, and it felt good. It is a blessing that on this magical island the signal is quite patchy so everyone was forced to unwind and switch off from texting and tweeting. It was like going back to basics, there are bikes all over the island, so it's your number one way of getting around. I stayed in a yurt with no electricity which I haven't done since I was a kid (although the bed was way more comfortable than a sleeping bag) and I realised just how much I missed watching live music. I discovered the wonders of Sigrid, her amazing vocal range and the small intimate crowd meant you could see everything going on the stage up close and personal. I also enjoyed Oh Wonder! who would do a little storytelling session between each song. I loved the story of how they wrote their song "Getting High On Humans", it was about one of the singers overhearing and then joining in with a conversation on a train when two girls where discussing their favourite food. The song is about strangers bonding on public transport, one of the biggest London taboos.
Thank you HP & Island Records for this very fun mid-week party!
Watch the video I did in partnership with HP below all about my Island adventure. It is a sponsored piece of content, but all thoughts my own.
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After 3 Hours of Testimony, Support for Bill Sputters Out
by Mike Smith • May 2, 2018
The Assembly Education Committee took up the hearing of Assembly Bill 2756 at 1:30 p.m. Pacific time in the Capitol building in Sacramento, California. The bill had been watered down by the time of the hearing, but it would have added data collection from homeschoolers designed to clearly identify who the homeschoolers were and make their identity public.
Two hours into the hearing, witnesses opposing the bill were still waiting in a long line to testify. At that time, only four witnesses had testified for the bill and hundreds against it. HSLDA, Family Protection Ministries, other statewide homeschool organizations, support group leaders, co-op leaders, homeschooling moms, homeschooling dads, homeschooled children, homeschooled graduates, granddads and grandmothers, and non-homeschool folks told the legislators they opposed the bill and asked them to vote "no" when the bill was proposed for passage.
In addition to the estimated 1,000 who testified, around 3,000 people turned out in opposition to the legislation. Homeschoolers came from all parts of California and bordering states to express their concern about the legislation. For several months prior to the hearing, homeschoolers had bombarded the legislators, committee members, and the authors with personal visits, phone calls, letters, and emails. It was like a war plan that might be drawn up to take an enemy's territory. You first bomb the area to be taken, then the infantry comes in after to occupy the land. The difference was the homeschoolers took the role of both the artillery and infantry.
No Motion
After three hours, the committee chairman declared an end to the testimony. At that time there were not enough legislators to form a quorum, so no motion was made to advance the bill. This was about 4:30 p.m. The committee then took up the other matters on the calendar. At about 8 p.m., the chairman revisited AB 2756, and called for a motion to advance the bill out of committee. But, there was a deafening silence. The committee of seven, composed of two Republicans and five Democrats remained silent.
The two Republican members had already indicated their opposition to the bill, but the other members had made no commitment either way. After several minutes of silence, the chairman indicated the bill would fail for lack of a motion. Because of the delay in the voting, few homeschoolers were left at the meeting. But Nathan Pierce, legislative liaison for Family Protection Ministries never left. Within minutes, he got the word out and the homeschooling community began celebrating the greatest legislative victory for homeschoolers in California history. A miracle had occurred in Sacramento!
Now, I want to share my opinion on what produced this monumental victory. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE VICTORY. I must admit, I was very pessimistic about our chances of stopping this bill in the Education Committee, if at all. The make-up of the committee indicated easy passage. But here are thoughts on some specifics that turned the tide.
You responded to requests from us, FPM (our partner for California legislative issues), CHEA, and many other organizations to voice your opposition to this effort to regulate homeschooling. You wrote letters to newspapers, you did interviews (many times with hostile reporters), you contacted your friends, you wrote letters to the authors of the bill and committee members, you sent emails, made phone calls, and many of you visited legislators with your families, and you came to Sacramento on April 25. And you stood in line for hours just to get your 10 seconds of opposition on the record.
Passionate for Freedom
But with all of your efforts, we could still have come up short. What made the difference? Your attitude through it all. You were firm, passionate, and committed, but you were not rude and overbearing. This was especially demonstrated at the hearing. You testified firmly to your opposition to the bill, but with respect for the system which gives us the right to redress our grievances. This outpouring of opposition with huge numbers, intelligent yet firm opposition to the bill, and your respectful demeanor positively impacted the committee members. They did not want to go on record as being against such an organized and powerful movement—homeschoolers.
As a byproduct of your activism, you used this experience as a teaching opportunity, and many of you taught valuable civics lesson firsthand by coming to Sacramento to demonstrate your opposition. The bottom line is your commitment, passion, vigilance, and demeanor made the difference in preserving the freedom homeschoolers have in California today—thank you!
We would be remiss if we didn't mention the role God played in this effort. There were enough out-of-the-ordinary events along the way to describe the result as miraculous. Many of you have signed up as an HSLDA prayer partner and you prayed for victory for homeschooling freedom and for protection for the homeschool movement in California—thank you!
The battle is not over, however. Although these two bills will likely not resurface this legislative season, there is a trend across the states to tighten up on the regulation of homeschoolers, especially in states like California where the legal environment is good for homeschooling. And the battle to preserve freedom is long-term and will require eternal vigilance. However, this was a critical battle in that process, and you brought home the victory; feel free to celebrate!


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perth and fremantle wedding photographer
adventure. joy. passion.
If your idea of a perfect wedding is a relaxed, fun day celebrating with those you love the most; if you're adventurous and happy; if you want timeless, natural images that you'll still be excited about decades from now, we'll probably be a great fit!
I take on a maximum of 25 weddings a year (in Perth, throughout Australia and even internationally), to ensure clients are well looked after. You can always email, text or call if you need any questions answered.
This is my 12th year as a wedding and portrait photographer in Perth, Australia, with family portraits, elopements, intimate weddings, big traditional weddings, same-sex weddings and engagement sessions/couples portraits under my belt.
All wedding collections include the high resolution files and with your personal usage license, you can print to your heart's content, which I strongly encourage!
I offer stunning wedding albums produced by the best album manufacturers in the world and designed by yours truly. I have won awards for my album designs. Over 90% of my clients choose to have this beautiful keepsake of their wedding day.
I'd love to hear from you - tell me as much about yourselves and your special day as you can in the contact form, I love to hear your stories :)