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David Kamp: The Serious Eats Interview, Part 2
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Editor's note: We've long been fans of David Kamp's work (author of The United States of Arugula and, now, along with Marion Rosenfeld, The Food Snob's Dictionary), so we turned loose Adam Roberts on him for a chat. What follows is the second part of a lengthy but entertaining interview. Here's Part One, if you missed it.
One of the things I found most fascinating in the book was the idea of objectivity and subjectivity and Giorgio DeLuca's discovery that food can be objectively good. How do you feel about that subject? Do you feel that good food can be objectively good or is it always a matter of taste?
People obviously have different preferences. But the idea that some food is good and some food isn't good—I kind of agree with DeLuca. It is kind of objective. I don't begrudge people their taste if they don't like Szechuan food. But the idea, or what DeLuca was saying, is that in America we're taught to be populist in a really dumb way. That there's good populism and bad populism. But to be populist in a dumb way is to say that Kraft Singles are just as good as Humboldt Fog. No, sorry, certain cheeses are much better than others. A really good chicken is much better than that dried-out Perdue stuff. It's one thing people are catching on to now is that you can actually care more about your food. There was almost a stigma to that for a while—it was an act of sedition to care too much about your food. It seemed un-American and oddly Frenchlike.
One issue that raises for me is the idea of class. If you can afford to get the best of everything, you can eat well, but if you can't afford it can you eat well?
Julia Child was someone who basically said you can just go to the supermarket and make all her recipes. And she's absolutely right that you can. You can do her recipes with cheap chicken. But that said, I think the very fact that farmers' markets are going way up in number and that your average chain supermarket, whether it's an A & P or a Wegman's, is slowly starting to resemble a Whole Foods or Dean and DeLuca in their produce and the quality of meat. It's an indication that Americans are changing. When you talk about the best of everything, I'm not talking about high-end foods like caviar or truffles. I'm talking about paying a little more for a better-quality chicken or a Niman Ranch steak instead of an agribusiness steak pumped full of hormones. That's not the best of everything, that's simply better quality. And, yes, that costs a bit more, but it cuts across class lines that people are embracing that kind of eating. That's what Michael Pollan argues. In other areas of our lives we care about quality—if we're buying a new DVD set, we'll pay $50 more because it's better quality. So why should it be that when it comes to what we're putting into our mouths and into our bodies that we'll buy the cheapest thing possible?
I think one of the things that's happening now is that the language of food from this more enlightened view is trickling down in a bad way. Like I went to buy Balsamic vinegar and I'd read you should always get Balsamic from Modena and I came home and I'd bought one that was $15 which I thought was surprisingly cheap and I took it home and it was crap. It was red wine vinegar with dark purple food coloring.
Which actually most Balsamic marketed in America is.
So my concern is that as these ideas begin to trickle down they're perverted in some way. Like the phrase "free-range chicken" isn't regulated in anyway—anybody can put it on their chicken in a store, right?
It's not a USDA regulated term, it was invented by Larry Forgione. But that said, you can just use your noggin and find out. I don't think you'll see free-range chickens in supermarkets, but if you're somewhere that's advertising free-range chicken, you can ask the farmer or the supplier what the real story is. But I think what you're talking about too is status. A lot of the things Dean and DeLuca popularized—extra virgin olive oil, Balsamic vinegar, and arugula and radicchio. In a funny way, they started out as status foods that rich yuppies bought just to name drop: "We're having an arugula and radicchio salad with balsamic," and everyone in 1983 would go: "Ooooooh." And the thing is: I don't it's necessarily the worst thing that these things start out as status symbols—we're seeing it right now with pork—I see it on Serious Eats all the time! When people are talking about jamon Iberico and people are ordering their hams in advance, getting in line for the bacon the way women jockey in line for the first $5,000 pocketbook available, there is that aspect to it. But, at the same time, a lot of good ideas start out with elitist or status-mad loonies; but once the hype settles down, they do emerge as good ideas and they do sort of disseminate into the popular culture. Starbucks started out as a more expensive coffee that was a more affordable darker roast. People talk about how dark it is or how it tastes burnt, but it's still a far superior product than the deli swill most people were drinking.
It seems like your outlook is a positive one—you have such an optimistic view in your book of where things are headed. And I'm certainly grateful that I'm living in a time when so much is available. But I still feel there's a divide—like when I go to my local grocery store across the street from where I live and a pork shoulder is $8 and then I go to the farmers' market—and this actually happened—and it was $28.
And that's a cheap cut of meat; it shouldn't be $28.
That's sort of it in a nutshell—the glory of what a great time it is to eat and the gulf that has to be bridged. Because first of all, here's where I go back to the admiration of the French chef. They could take the $8 pork shoulder and just through technique and slow cooking and patiently getting the maximum flavor of it, they can make something out of it. These chefs, even though they cook in fancy restaurants, they're the ones getting the most out of a cut of meat. And that's something most Americans can get behind. And this is what Julia Child and Jacques Pepin always preached—don't be intimidated by the idea of cooking. It doesn't have to be about shelling out bucks. It's just the sheer pleasure of cooking. As for the farmers' market pork shoulder, I do think that Judith Jones, who edited Julia Child, she and Alice Waters both said to me that one thing they noticed in Italy and France was that Europeans spent more of their general budget on food than Americans did. And I'm horribly against spending $28 on a pork shoulder—is that what you said, a pork shoulder?
Yes. I'm pretty sure it was the shoulder—it was a cheaper cut.
You can get caught up in the food snob aspect—which will bring us to the Food Snob's Dictionary in just a sec—you can get caught up into the ridiculous status obsessiveness and the holier-than-thou status race; but that said, there is some wisdom to what Judith Jones and Alice Waters say—come on, you pay for quality, we do it in other aspects of our lives whether we're buying cars or consumer electronic devices or house building materials but somehow, when it comes to food, we think it's horribly elitist to spend maybe $13 for a steak rather than $8. We're talking about a $5 difference in the cost of a meal, and that's considered "an Ivory tower take, Mr. Kamp," to spend $5 more a day for a meal. I can't stand that argument because people are still spending tons of money on iPhones and Treos and going to Best Buy. But if you spent $5 more a day on your food supply, that's considered elitist.
I have friends who'd never go to a nice restaurant but they'd spend $40 going to a bar.
I'm not even particularly a big fan of Whole Foods—but the punchline is everyone calls Whole Foods "Whole Paycheck," but no one ever calls Best Buy "Best Part of Your Paycheck." I find it ridiculous because people shell out so much money to have seven TVs in their homes, but if the average American were to spend $5 more a day on food, that'd be considered elitist or Ivory Tower. And I think lots of Americans are getting wise to that.
So, to transition to The Food Snob's Dictionary, what is a food snob? Do you mean that pejoratively?
Well there's a whole series of books. There's a Rock Snob's Dictionary, a Film Snob's Dictionary, and each book is predicated on the idea that anyone who has passion—whether rock music, film, or food—there's a certain ridiculousness to it. It is a pejorative term, but it also comes from good-natured self-loathing—my own ridiculous obsessions and occasional lapses into snobbier-than-thou attitudes in the food world. It does get ridiculous sometimes. You can take an authentic passion for food and then take it a few steps too far. Then you're the schmuck who's bragging about how he's fourteenth on the list to get a jamon Iberico shipped to him next year when they start coming through in 2008. Or, "I was eating the tri-colored arugula and radicchio salad in the 1960s before everyone else"—that propritariness of it. The Food Snob's Dictionary is having fun with the idea that it can go too far. So many food books that have come out in the last couple of years have been sort of joyless, and I'm someone who always wants to have fun with the subject. And I tip my hat to Serious Eats and Ed Levine because he has the same attitude.
How did you meet your collaborator on the book, Marion Rosenfeld?
Marion and I are old colleagues from Spy magazine, which was a great satirical New York monthly in the late '80s. Marion is somebody who's worked on a lot of food projects for TV and whatever, and she and I both had a satirical background and a food obsession, so it was a natural fit.
Is one of you more of a food snob than the other?
Marion is more of a food snob, actually. She's the one who knew about—for kitchen equipment, for example—I'm someone who'll use a GE electric-coil stove top, and she's the one who knew about the high-end refrigerators and having a Garland range. And instead of cheap knives, she'd have Japanese Global knives or Wüsthof knives.
It almost sounds like Star Wars culture—more cultish than snobbish. Just feeling passionately about something that most people would think of as small or insignificant.
It's obsessing like the Comic Book Guy on The Simpsons. And that hits the nail on the head because that guy has the perfect combination of patheticness and arrogance that some food snobs really do have. I think anyone who reads Serious Eats has a bit of food snob in them, as do I; but we can laugh about it. Because last summer, Ed Levine, when Serious Eats debuted, was writing about how much he loved thinly sliced lomo and figs, so naturally I went straight to Citarella and got thinly sliced lomo and figs. And that's kind of ridiculous, but it's also kind of wonderful. That's one kind of food snobbery. Then you have the pretend professionals who get a certain kind of refrigerator because that's what the pros do. I'm going to "mise" everything instead of doing my "kitchen prep." People who imitate the speech patterns and mannerisms of real chefs—that's what makes them like Comic Book Guy on The Simpsons.
OK, so as a last question, what did you have for dinner last night?
What I had last night was a very simple summer meal. It's not something that involved any technique whatsoever. We had lobsters—I'm in Connecticut right now, we have a weekend home—and our local Mason's lodge does a lobster boil every month to raise money for local college scholarships, so I got the lobster already boiled and split. It's not always about cooking technique. We got our corn from the 96-year-old farmer around the corner. You've ever seen those young moms with kid carriers on their chest? This 96-year-old farmer wears this chest-mounted pouch and he picks the corn and carries it in his chest. So we had the corn by the 96-year-old farmer. We had heirloom tomatoes sprinkled with some sea salt.
I'm glad I asked this question. This is right out of your dictionary.
That's what I'm saying. You can live the food snob dream without getting too ridiculous about it.
How many children do you have?
Two. They're 11 and 8.
Are they young food snobs?
They're a mixture of both. They're growing up in a world where sushi is common place and not exotica. Literally, when I was a young kid, sushi was really exotic, and croissants and scones were also exotic, and I only encountered them in big cities or a college town. So to encounter a croissant as a kid was mind-blowing, a rare treat. So my kids are exposed to so much more than to sushi and croissants. But that said, they still like a lot of kid crap, too. Part of that we try to resist, but part of that we let them have. Because part of childhood is having bad taste and growing up and growing out of your bad taste.
And socially it's hard for kids to bring heirloom tomatoes to school when other kids are eating Lunchables.
Well, we stay away from Lunchables because that's truly vile stuff, but that said, we don't put the clamps down on them, and we certainly let them eat their share of crap.
Then you're not totally a snob, then, I guess.
Like I said, you have to have bad taste as a childyou have to let them watch High School Musical, listen to teeny-bop radio, let them eat the crappy processed foodso they have something to aspire to.
Maybe your next book should be how to parent a young gourmet.
That sounds like the most pretentious thing possible.
Thanks so much for talking.
My pleasure.
This is the second of a two-part interview. Read Part One »
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Packaging Experts Serving New Mexico
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Experts in all areas of packaging including packaging engineering, marketing and distribution. Packaging experts serve as expert witnesses and forensic consultants in New Mexico legal matters, and provide expert reports and testimony for judges, attorneys, lawyers, law firms, insurance companies and government agencies in Federal and state court trials and arbitrations in New Mexico.
The listings below are of Packaging experts serving New Mexico.
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Unlike academic experts, Rob has real world expertise in developing and protecting brand trademarks and identities for global companies like P&G, Nestle, Unilever, Kraft, Target, Home Depot, Pfizer, Bacardi, Revlon and dozens of brand leaders. This 30+ years experience gives Rob unique credibility in trademark, copyright, advertising and all other areas of infringement.
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Rare combination of ADVERTISING and MARKETING expert who has substantial experience as BOTH a SENIOR EXECUTIVE and ACCOMPLISHED Ph.D ACADEMICIAN. Called guru and expert by the media. Substantial trial/deposition experience at federal level. Former Chairman of Advertising Research Foundation and member of AMA board of directors. Fast turnaround.
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Sterling Anthony
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Packaging-related cases involving: defective packaging; unreasonably dangerous products; personal injury; product liability; failure-to-warn; material handling; warehouse safety; cargo loading & securement; falling cargo; falling merchandise; insurance claims involving cargo loss or damage; patent infringement; trade-dress infringement.
Dr. Box Consulting Inc.
Randy Phares
Peoria, AZ
Randy Phares is an expert in packaging, especially corrugated and folding carton packaging. He is also an expert on pallets, crating, warehousing and transporting products by semi-truck. He does forensic analysis of packaging failures that caused damage or injury. He has bought, sold operated, supervised, removed and installed packaging machinery. He has managed many warehouses and a fleet of trucks.He has run a packaging testing lab and held almost every job in a packaging operation over his 28 year career.
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Jamestown, NC
Since 2003, Gary E. Kilpatrick, PE, DFE at The Kilpatrick Group, PA has been a service provider of motor vehicle crash reconstruction to our legal and insurance clients. Gary is a board certified Forensic Engineer through the National Academy of Forensic Engineers (NAFE) and is a Diplomat Forensic Engineer (DFE). He has extensive engineering education, training and experience in motor vehicle crash reconstruction and product defect and failure analyses concerning airbags and seat belts and pretensioners and has an in-depth knowledge of the SAE J4c Seat Belt Standards; the Federal Motor Safety Standards and Regulations (FMVSS 209); 49CFR209 Seat Belt Assemblies; SAE J386_201208; Gary has a Class-A Commercial Driver's License (CDL). He has driven commercial tractor trailer trucks and has tanker, hazardous materials, triples, passenger bus and school bus endorsements and is a commercial tractor trailer expert. Gary is also a member of the North Carolina Truckers Association. He holds certifications through Northwestern University's Center For Public Safety in motor vehicle crash reconstruction and commercial tractor trailer truck crash reconstruction. Gary is also a part-time NC School Bus driver and School Bus Safety Expert. Gary travels throughout the United States to investigate motor vehicle crashes, product defect and failure claims resulting in personal injury or wrongful death.

subset: commoncrawl


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Hello all you gorgeous people! The Costume Ball event will hit the grid tomorrow and will run until November 1st. There will be exclusive items by top designers of SL making an item within the theme of "dark, but with class." That means there will not be any gore but classy items fit for your classy ball this Halloween. Rotten Defiance will have this stunning MESH gothic dress that comes in sizes XXS-L and fits very nicely. Also, Pink Fuel will have a newer version of their Siren skin with this bright red lip gloss to make you all the more beautiful for your party. Mark your calendars for tomorrow at 12 noon SL time that is when the doors will fly open for your shopping desires.
Happy Costume Shopping, Addy
Skin – PF Alyx Siren in Peach tone (Oct 24th The Costume Ball)
Shape – Dani & Co.
Eyes – Mayfly – Deep Sky Mesh Eyes (Capri Blue)
Eyelashes – ::BB:: Mesh Lashes V.01
Hair – ::Exile:: All for Love: Light Browns (My Attic)
Jewelry – DF GASTONE black set (RARE)
Dress – [*RD*]*Gothic Dress* (Oct 24th The Costume Ball)
Heels –Donna Flora ERMES shoes Black
Pose – Adorkable


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Foie Gras Jelly Doughnut at Le Pigeon, Portland, Oregon
Scott Gold of The Faster Times reports on the foie gras jelly doughnut at Le Pigeon in Portland, Oregon:
It's as though the menu had performed the Jedi mind-trick on me: "You will have the foie gras jelly donut." "I will have the foie gras jelly donut." When the server came to take our orders, I pointed at the menu and asked, simply, "Seriously?" "Oh, yes," he said. Oh well, I thought. I guess we're going to do this.
As Gold says, it's a slice of foie gras atop a house-made doughnut, with another slice of foie gras on the side. "It was fried fat topped with seared fat, plain as can be." [via Sullivan via Rory]
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S.Africa offers new farm worker wage after strikes
South Africa's labor minister has announced a new minimum wage for farm workers after violent strikes swept through portions of the country.
Minister Mildred Oliphant said in a prepared speech Monday that the new daily wage would be 105 rand (about $12) for manual laborers on the nation's farms. The minimum wage now is 69 rand ($7.80)
Oliphant said the wages would also be adjusted for inflation in coming years.
Farm workers had asked for 150 rand (nearly $17) a day. Last year, at least two people died in farm protests. Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets during a January protest.
Vineyards in the Western Cape province, where protests hit hardest, are key to South Africa's wine industry. Laborers also work on apple and other fruit farms.


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I've read three Core Specialist Wizard books to date, and of all of them this is the one that I felt was the absolute best. For starters, the book begins with a new skill: Profession (Hypnotist) that not only manages to give mundane characters a chance to experience some of the thrills of the Enchantment school, but also gives a believable and interesting skill that the Enchanter core class can use.
Ordinarily, I hate (and I mean HATE) new skills that are developed exclusively for a single class (and even with the fact that anyone can do this, Enchanters are definitely the ones who would get the most benefit from it), but this one was done very well. This particular skill isn't really necessary for the Enchanter class. Sure, you'll probably benefit from using it, and I'd expect you to want to use it...but it's completely optional, so if you'd rather spend your precious skill points elsewhere you won't be up a river without a paddle (not like the Necromancer's Knowledge (Anatomy) class, which bordered on being necessary.)
The Enchanter as a core class itself also gives some wonderful benefits that you'd expect an Enchanter to be able to do, like hypnotising someone by just locking eyes with them without the need to expend a spell or take up an unnecessary feat slot. The class is built to give you exactly what you'd expect.
The magic items are, similarly, useful in a flavor-texty kind of way. From cupid's arrows, to an entrancing stone that might look better in a craft DM's trap list, this book is almost a one-stop shop for everyone who wanted to avoid psionics but still be a master of the mind. I don't think I've wanted to play a class as much after an initial reading as I do now. Thanks, Misfit Studios!
Of the three books I've read in the "Core Specialist Wizard" series, I'm sad to report that I think I got the least amount out of this one. Maybe I was just blown away by the fact that the Enchanter and Diviner books were done really well, or maybe I'm predisposed to be a harsh critic whenever it comes to Necromancer material, but I was hoping for a bit more out of this.
Having gotten that out of the way: this book isn't too bad, especially for a two dollar price tag. It offers a variation of the Necromancer specialist class as presented in the player's handbook, and gives it some of the capabilities of dealing with the undead that are normally reserved for wielders of Divine magic.
Here's the catch: it manages to do it all with an "arcane magic" feeling, as opposed to most other attempts at this which basically say "Here we'll handwave the fact that you, for whatever reason, are apparently wielding divine magic." The Necromancer truly is standing all on its own in its proper arcane shoes.
As with the other two entries in this series that I've read, this book begins with a new skill use: Knowledge (Anatomy). I wasn't as impressed with this as I was with the Con-Job approach to running a Fortune Teller Scam as seen in the Diviner book, and I wasn't really wowed with it like I was with the Profession (Hypnotist) skill shown in the Enchanter book. In fact, I was a bit put off by how mandatory the skill seemed in relation to some of the other feats, class abilities and such. It's not a bad idea, really, I just have high standards for new rule systems in my game that are necessary for the class itself but only really seem to have a focus within that class. Apart from providing a Heal check bonus, I don't think there was much that this skill would allow you to do if you weren't already a Necromancer.
One aspect of this book that I must give glowing praise to, however: the grafts. Most of the time when books try to show me a system where a player character grafts parts of other monsters onto them, I roll my eyes and skim past that part to the other stuff. This time, however? It all works. It makes sense. The grafts as portrayed here arrive as class features (that's right, not feats you need to waste a slot on, not magic items that cost a fortune to pay for, actual class features) that your character just gets as a way of showing that they are advancing through their knowledge of the necromantic arts. And really, that's what being a specialist wizard is supposed to be about, right? Studying one aspect of magic so closely that you begin learning the arcane knowledge that is lost to other people. The hypnotic eye of a vampire or paralytic hand of a ghoul is exactly what that demands (anyone else think that liches are a tad overused/overrated when it comes to arcane mastery of necromantic magic? No? Just me? Ah, well.)
I do recommend buying this book, but only (and I insist, only) if you're actively considering playing a Necromancer but don't quite want to take the version shown in the PH.
This book is free, and like the other titles in the 101 series it gives you just what it promises: a list of names that can be used as inspirations or story hooks (or word game clues) for GMs as they need them.
Ordinarily, considering that the only thing I have to give up to read it is the time it takes to download it and then go to the trouble of reading the words, I'd give it a five right away. However, in this case, I felt it was a bit lackluster. Unlike (for example) their list of potions, a location is something that a GM is likely going to have to reorganize (at minimum) a night's worth of gaming to include. Similarly, while some of the names were quite interesting, others seemed a bit generic. "Pantry of the Grail" is, when you think about it, the same as saying "Kitchen of the Drinking Glass" or "Dining Room of the Cup." I'm not saying it's bad, but compared to my expectations for this franchise, it's a bit lacking.
Another complaint is that we don't go all the way through the alphabet with these titles. The last five letters of the alphabet are missing. As a bonus to the readers of this review, I will add: Vestibule of the Ancients, Window of the Watchers, Xerxes' Planetarium, the Yestertime Marketplace and the Zoo Of Ooze. Okay, maybe those letters are a bit tricky to come up with names for.
Also: as an unashamed lover of puzzles, mazes and the likes, it borders on the inexcusable that the entries under the letter M don't include any mazes. I give them bonus points for including a labyrinth, though.
In the end, you can't get over the fact that it's still completely free, and it still gives you exactly what it promises. If you need an imaginative name for a place, then it really couldn't hurt you to take a look at this. For all my complaints, it's still earning a 4 out of 5 in my book.
For a free product, this is actually quite informative. Since it's just a free preview you won't, of course, be getting 101 2nd level spells. What you will be getting is enough spells to let you know that these people are serious.
A few of these are natural extrapolations of other things ("Cat's Curse" seems a bit overpowered when compared to "Cat's Grace", in my opinion), and others are their own unique thing.
If you've got a d20 or Pathfinder character who might need a few more 2nd level spells, then I highly recommend giving this a read. Who knows? It might convince you to get the full product.
The good news: it's completely free and delivers exactly what it promises. The bad news: it leaves the heavy lifting to you. What I mean by this is that the product is, effectively, a list. This list provides you with 101 names for Potions, Elixirs, Beverages, and the like, and if you're an imaginative person then that is all you'll need. If by casually perusing this list you see a name that gives you an idea, then fantastic.
Another possible use for this would be if you're a GM who creates puzzles, particularly word puzzles, for your players to use. It's an odd fantasy setting that puts a crossword puzzle into an epic quest, but if that's how you roll then this might just be your cup of Tea (and if Tea is your cup of Tea, then I notice that under T, the list includes three Ts.)
Also: if you're the type of person who feels that the Brew Potion feat in d20 games is a bit underdeveloped, then I'd recommend taking the names from this list and seeing what new inventions your mad alchemist can brew up. Have fun. Sincerely.
The Diviner: The Core Specialist Wizard provides a few useful examples of what I call "flavor rules" for playing one of the Specialist Wizards that the players handbook briefly discusses. Ultimately, Diviners aren't normally anything more than "Wizards" with a special knack at scrying or predicting. These Diviners, however, act more like you would expect a diviner in a movie to act.
For instance, you know in movies when a fortune teller tells a main character "There is a great evil watching you, be careful." Or in a book where a mystic says "This room is wrong...there, something is hidden over there!" In D&D, I would expect Diviners to be able to do that, but since there are no rules expressly stating that they can, many GMs won't be keen on just handing that information out to the players. This product gives you some flavorful rules for Diviners so that you have something concrete, on paper, to point at.
It has some other fun elements that make the $2.00 price tag worthwhile, in my opinion. I have a rogue who I know will begin pulling the "Fortune Teller Scam" that they list here. And the magical deck of cards in their magical items section manages to bring the air of whimsy and chance to the game that the Deck of Many Things brings, while at the same time leaving out the horrible consequences to the game should players draw cards that throw the entire story out of balance.
There are one or two problems with the text. A few printing errors here and there, and one of the feats was printed twice in a row for some reason. I also felt that some of the things in the Oracle prestige class would have really been good in the main Diviner class. If not for tiny complaints like that, I would've easily rated this as a four.
In the end, it's a good, solid piece of optional rule variants for you to look over for a reasonable price. Enjoy it, and add some much-needed flavor to your game.
Ordinarily when a company gives away something for free, you don't expect it to be complete. In this, however, I think that the World of Darkness people gave more than enough for an introductory game. A Nightmare on Hill Manor acts under the assumption that you'll be playing with some pre-made characters (theoretically you could limit skills and such to the skills of those characters) and lets the game master play through a scenario involving those people as they try to escape from a building.
The book offers useful insight and helpful tips for running both this story, and other stories in general. If you'd like to look at World of Darkness and see what it's all about, this is on of the best ways to do it.
This music is certainly evocative of the emotions that it is meant to convey. Having said that, though, the number of tracks you get makes the music a bit limited in scope. You'd either need to use it exactly for certain situations, or imaginatively come up with some method of using it elsewhere.
I bought it when it was free, and I'm relatively happy with it as mood music, though I've not had a gaming situation yet where I've actively been able to use it. Hopefully in time, though, I'll be able to.
Considering that this is entirely promotional material infused with a few tantalizing facts, this Sneak Peek does a good job of conveying just what the series is about. It tells you about the history of H. P. Lovecraft's stories, and how they relate to the themes and emotional tones that their upcoming games will present.
Honestly, considering that it's perfectly free, there really isn't a reason to avoid getting it. "Buy" it, download it, read it, and decide if Macabre Tales will be your cup of tea. I know that I'm personally interested.
I've never played anyone from Aegis Kai Doru, but I've always wanted to. Tying in werewolves with minotaurs is just my kind of story hook, and playing a member of an organization that hunts down artifacts for use in an organization rocks.
Having said that, I kind of wanted more options from this book. This provided more story hooks for GMs to use than anything else. There are a few Relics for players (or, again, for GMs to give to players) and a lot of material about the history of the organization and the way you join it...but not much else.
That said, you're paying less than a dollar for it. This is definitely worth the cost, especially if you can catch it when it's on sale.
This is a good book and, if like me, you're playing as a Network Zero agent it can give you some handy tools to make use of, plus it provides a good amount of flavor text about the organization (not to mention story hooks) that a good GM could easily use.
My one complaint about it? I wanted more. I know you're only paying less than a dollar for it, and for that particular buck you're certainly getting your "money's worth." But I was hoping for some more easily applicable stuff when Network Zero becomes a conspiracy instead of just a compact.
In the end, however, it gives you more stories, and it gives you some nice weapons to use against the agents of darkness in the world. Use them wisely.
Bride of Portable Hole is a fun little magazine, so long as you understand from the beginning that it's meant to be humorous rather than effective. It contains a large number of articles that give you everything from prestige classes to stats for the legendary Gazebo (which is apparently quite a tough monster now). It's theoretically possible that you could gain some usage from the gaming options in here, but in reality you're better suited just reading it for the laughs (of which there are a fair number.) I have dabbled with the idea of the "magic user" class (a class that allows you to use and manipulate a far greater number of magic items than normal), but even they admit that that's not a very playable class (though they do have a few playable classes that, if you take them seriously, might be worthwhile.)
Ultimately, the best use of this book at the game table is as a creative stimulant which could help you to think outside of the box for your own game. And you never know, maybe you'll find an overlooked monster or spell in here that, under the right circumstances, will be exactly what you need...
One of the difficulties with superheroes as a genre is just how very open-ended it is. This middle chapter in the Aeon Universe Timeline manages to pull it off, however, by simultaneously providing a huge number of options for your by-the-book players/GMs while also granting a large number of jumping off points for players who want to craft their own hero to be their way.
I actually bought this as a supplement to my Adventure! game, and if you're buying it for that purpose then it's possible that you may be disappointed. The super-science feature, for instance, is no different (it is just as easy to invent a stat-enhancing drug in the early 2000s as it is in the mid 1920s, apparently.) While the book doesn't offer much in terms of base classes that Adventure! has, it does offer three prestige classes not found in Adventure!. Strangely, while the Vigilante and Crusader class left me a little wanting (I kind of wish that the Crusader's Trademark Attack gave you more than a +1 bonus), the class I found the most interesting was the Gladiator prestige class. Rather than an example of the broadest possible archetypes for heroes, the Gladiator is a more focused story idea.
Taken on its own merits, however, this book is astonishing, and allows you to do everything from subtle martial arts experts with a knack for using gadgets to planet-smashing tanks mutated well beyond the point of humanity. A definite buy that I wish had some more follow-up material than what already exists.


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The House boasts four floors of iconic designs on display, from Warner Bros. Wizarding World to a series of illustrated classic fairy tale books.
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Quiz 665: Miscellaneous GK for All Examinations
1. The Australia group was established to control the spread of which of the following?
2. Which of the following is NOT related to the World Trade Organization (WTO)?
3. The Berne convention was pioneer convention in the field of __?
4. India's efforts to provide education to millions of Africans using internet technology will come under which of the following?
5. Bikini Day is observed in which of the following countries?
6. The shortest war recorded in history between two sovereign powers was between__?
7. Who was the first Indian in independent India to have won a medal in an individual Olympic event ?
8. Who defined democracy as a "Government of the people, by the people and for the people"?
9. Which of the following is the official language in Argentina?
10. The dispute over Shatt-al-Arab region gave way to which of the following wars in modern world history?


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John F. Kennedy's sister remains at a Massachusetts hospital with her family by her side.
Eunice Kennedy Shriver has suffered a series of strokes and was in critical condition at Cape Cod Hospital in Barnstable.
Her children and family have traveled to be with her, including her son-in-law, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. He traveled to the Cape with his wife Maria Shriver.
Local news from across Southern California
Shriver and Schwarzenegger were seen leaving the hospital Saturday.
The 88-year-old Shriver is the fifth of the nine Kennedy children. She's perhaps best known for her work to establish the Special Olympics.
That work was inspired, in part, by the struggles of her mentally disabled sister, Rosemary.
Maria Shriver's father, Sargent Shrive, suffers from Alzheimer's Disease.


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The King of Fighters XIII/Kula
Kula Diamond
In a nutshell
Quite the fan favorite, Kula makes her return in the latest installment of KOF. Originally designed as the anti-K' in KOF 2000, Kula shares several "sister" moves and normals to her counterpart K'. She's a very strong character to have on point due to her fast meter building and that she doesn't rely on HD combos for large damage output. Her corner carry combos and easy hit-confirms make her strong in any place on your team. Kula's game plan revolves around a mixture of rushdown and smartly spaced pokes, as her poke-game is extremely good.
aka sweet icy love
Video Walkthrough
Move List
Normal Moves
Unique Attacks
Special Moves
Desperation Moves
Console Changes
- Standing B moves forward more, so it has more reach than in Arcade.
- Slider Shoot (df+B) has faster recovery.
- EX Ray Spin (qcb+BD) no longer has invincibility.
- EX Ray Spin > Sit (qcb+BD > f+D) has faster recovery.
- EX Diamond Edge (qcf qcf+AC) has faster startup.
- Freeze Execution (hcb hcb+AC) has an improved hitbox and faster startup.
- EX Counter Shell (qcb+AC) has a larger hitbox.
Normal Moves
- Standing Light Punch () - Standard quick jab that isn't too useful compared to Standing Light Kick anti-airs hops better, reaches further, and hits crouchers.
- Standing Light Kick () - Fast poke with far range that cancels into specials. Kula's hitbox is angled high enough to anti-air short hops while also being able to connect against crouching opponents. The player can walk forward while pressing to pin down the opponent with the threat of canceling into Diamond Breath ( + ) to punish counterpokes, or bait a sweep which can be hyper hopped over and punished with Kula's great Jumping Heavy Punch. Highly abusable.
- Standing Heavy Punch () - Much less useful than in previous games. Kula punches with a long, frozen pike that can be canceled into specials, but the startup is very slow and the attack moves Kula forward before becoming active, furthering the chance of being hit out of the attack. The range is long, but Standing Light Kick is an overall safer and better move in comparison to this.
- Close Heavy Punch (Close ) - Kula's fastest grounded normal. Hits twice, although the second hit deals a small amount of damage. Players can instead cancel the first hit into One Inch ( + ) for better damage while having the same combo potential. Fills the role as combo starter, punish commencer, and blockstring creator.
- Standing Heavy Kick () - Reaches somewhat far, but isn't very well suited as an anti-air despite its looks.
- Close Heavy Kick (Close ) - Twice-hitting high kick outclassed by Close Heavy Punch's quick speed. Close Heavy Kick could be used as a vertical anti-air, or when intentionally creating more gaps in blockstrings, as otherwise Close Heavy Punch is more reliable.
- Crouching Light Punch ( + ) - Silly upward kick with almost no use as Kula has better anti-airs (including Crouching Light Kick) and this attack can't be chain canceled.
- Crouching Light Kick ( + ) - Fast low kick that confirms well and creates the basis of Kula's high/low mixups along with Jumping Heavy Punch. Chains into itself and Standing Light Kick, both of which are cancelable. One of the best Crouching Light Kicks in the game.
- Crouching Heavy Punch ( + ) - Kula stabs diagonally upward with solidified hair, though the horizontal hitbox does not extend nearly as far as it appears to. The bulk of the reach is vertical, so treat this move like a crouching uppercut when anti-airing.
- Crouching Heavy Kick ( + ) - Basic cancelable sweep. Reaches further than Crouching Light Kick and causes heavier blockstun which will in turn create tighter blockstrings when canceling. Less damaging tripguard anti-air, but a solid one nonetheless.
- Blowback Attack ( + ) - Kula sticks out a giant ice ball from her hand which can anti-air, although setting up the correct spacing while reacting fast enough is difficult. Not too great in comparison to her other normal options, though this could find use in the occasional blockstring.
- Jumping Light Punch (Air ) - A smaller Jumping Heavy Punch. Alright for when trying to mix up blockstun from a jump-in, but harder to combo off of.
- Jumping Light Kick (Air ) - Horizontal air-to-air kick with agile startup. Kula's fastest and most reliable air-to-air attack, similar to Iori's Jumping Light Kick. Wont connect against crouching characters and can be punished by a low attack if whiffed.
- Jumping Heavy Punch (Air ) - Kula's main air-to-ground attack for opening up the opponent from a close range. The hitbox is deeply vertical, which allows this attack to hit on the way up on a hop, like a slower instant overhead, while allowing the player to recover possibly at neutral or with the advantage depending on the timing. This can hit very early from jump-ins, from angles where most jumping attacks can't yet hit the grounded opponent, and the attack causes heavy hitstun which allows the player to go wild between Jumping Heavy Punch and Crouching Light Kick for fast high/low mixups.
- Jumping Heavy Kick (Air ) - A more horizontal air-to-ground attack that reaches out further than Jumping Heavy Punch. Best for approaching the opponent from spacings where Jumping Heavy Punch lacks the added range to hit the opponent. However, since the hitbox doesn't reach as vertically deep, this attack is susceptible to tripguard and run-under anti-airs.
- Jumping Blowback Attack (Air + ) - Although this attack is a fully wheeling kick, the active hitbox only exists horizontally in front of Kula and downward. This can be used as an air-to-air if the player has enough time to get the attack out, plus it works as an air-to-ground approach. Since this is a Blowback Attack, it can be blocked when crouching which limits this move's use when trying to overwhelm the opponent with immediate high and low mixups, instead resulting in more frame advantage to set up better frametrap followups.
Unique Attacks
- One Inch ( + ) - When done alone, the startup time is longer than when canceled into. Crumples the opponent on hit which can easily be visually confirmed. A very delayed frametrap option that pays off quite well if it hits.
- One Inch (canceled-into) ( + ) - When canceled into, Kula's One Inch punch combos from Heavy attacks and can be canceled into specials. While her Close Heavy normals hit twice, their second hits deals less damage so comboing into ( + ) nets higher damage.
- Fills the basic role as a combo extender from Heavy attacks.
- Slider Shoot ( + ) - A.K.A. 'Stardust Shooter', Kula rides a frozen Slip n' Slide that hits low while moving her forward halfscreen with a reduced vulnerable hitbox. The slide's startup allows it to combo from Light attacks to score a consistent midscreen knockdown, as ( + ) can fail to cause a knockdown against crouching characters.
- Unsafe if blocked. A deep slide can be punished by a Heavy normal while a distanced slide may only be punishable by near-instant attacks.
- Can go underneath some air projectiles.
Special Moves
- Crow Bites ( + ) - The frozen sibling of K's molten 'DP'. First off, the version isn't invulnerable though it can be used to anti-air if activated early. Her strong version has slight startup invulnerability and carries her further horizontally on the ground before flying upward. However, first hit can sometimes fail to connect against crouching players which results in the attack being unsafe on hit, so Kula players generally use Slider Shoot ( + ) to end simple grounded combos.
- Diamond Breath ( + ) - Kula brings her hand up to her mouth and breathes a frigid dust. This is generally safe and powerful tool to end blockstrings and lock the opponent down, and it can be confirmed on hit into additional damage. Attacking Kula out of the startup can be difficult, especially from the max range of her ice breath. However, breath blockstrings are punishable by Guard Cancel Rolling the canceled normal so one must avoid being too predictable with this move.
- + starts faster and can be comboed into from Heavy normals or canceled into from a Light Kick to form a more tight blockstring, while leaving a large enough gap for the opponent to try to press a button. This version sends the opponent airborne on hit which is easily confirmable into a Ray Spin followup. On block, both players are left at neutral.
- + has a much slower startup and wont combo from Kula's normals. Instead, it will stagger the opponent on hit which allows the Kula player to hyper hop in for a combo, and when blocked this leaves Kula with a large frame advantage. While advantageous on block or hit and longer-range than the light version, the longer startup creates a gap that allows the opponent to more easily escape or punish Kula during the startup.
- Diamond Breath ( + + ) - Combos from Heavy attacks and causes a crumple on hit. If blocked, the player is at a greater advantage than with the breath, and it has a slightly longer reach.
- Counter Shell ( + ) - A tool of multiple functions.
- Counters projectiles and shoots back an ice chunk identical to her Stand ( + ) Ray Spin followup.
- Kula's hand has an active hitbox that causes a hard knockdown. This can be used instead of + to end a juggle combo to achieve a better advantage while losing some damage in comparison.
- Recovers fast enough to be used from fullscreen to quickly build meter on occasions.
- Counter Shell ( + + ) - The physical slash does more damage while a reflected projectile does increased damage on hit.
- Ray Spin ( + ) - Kula's infamous spinning kick, the stuff combo nightmares are made of. When to use a followup or not depends on the situation, though all three possibilities are potentially punishable.
- + travels low to the ground, hits once, and will connect against crouching hitboxes, making it better for starting grounded combos. It combos from directly from Heavy normals and her One Inch punch, though this can also be comboed into from many juggle situations. This is an alternative blockstring ending tool to using Diamond Breath, but Ray Spin leaves Kula at a frame disadvantage which can always be punished by instant grabs, even if canceled into a followup.
- + travels high into the air while having two hits. This can be used to approach the opponent as an air-to-ground attack, though Kula is vulnerable to air-to-airs from this setup. Another weakness is that the opponent can crouch under the first hit, so using this up close is not suggested outside of combos.
- Ray Spin ( + + ) - Combos from Light attacks and is neutral on block. Easy to confirm into to start a corner combo, and isn't punishable by command grabs if blocked. The spinning arc behaves slightly differently which affects when it should be used in juggles.
- Stand (Ray Spin, then + ) - Projectile followup that wont combo against a grounded player though it leaves Kula neutral on block. There's a gap between a Ray Spin and her Stand followup which can be punished with command grabs or invulnerable moves, though otherwise it creates a solid frametrap.
- Combos against airborne opponents and allows the player to continue hitting the opponent afterward.
- Sit (Ray Spin, then + ) - Kula follows up with a slide that launches the opponent on hit. This makes the slide the better combo choice against grounded players. Just as with Slider Shoot, this hits low and is unsafe on block.
Desperation Moves
- Diamond Edge ( + ) - Frigid Power Geyser. The pillar of ice can anti-air, though the DM startup is lengthy and ( + + ) would be more reliable. Most combos into this DM use a Super Cancel eke out a little more damage at the end.
- Freeze Execution ( + + - Diana flies out of Kula and travels horizontally across the screen. On hit, she launches the opponent and Kula will spew out a screen-filling ice storm. Unlike EX Freeze Execution, this DM can fully connect from anywhere on the screen although the startup isn't as fast.
- Neo Freeze Execution ( + + - Similar hit detection as Freeze Execution, only Kula really makes it rain. Overall, this an improved Freeze Execution that can anti-air or punish from fullscreen.
Tips and Tricks
Kula's combos involving involving hitconfirming from cr.B's may be easier to do with less cr.Bs or opting out the st.B, but with the recent change to the longer range of her st.B, the most optimal damage combos are listed. However, if you aren't spaced correctly, you will not be able to land all of the hits, so be aware of when and when you shouldn't use the maximum amount of pokes before hitconfirming.
0% Drive
0 Bar
- cr.B cr.B cr.B st.B xx dp+C - (203, 20)
Basic combos reminiscent of her 2002 combo. It may be safer to opt to only do 1 or 2 cr.B's and disregard the st.b if you aren't spaced close to enough to land all of them.
- cl.C f.A xx qcb+B f+D, dp+C - (266, 34)
Can be combo'd from a jump attack as well, but the f.a may whiff when done midscreen and spaced incorrectly.
2 Bars
- cl.C f.A xx qcb+b f.D, dp+C [SC] qcfx2 A/C - (371, 30)
Simple midscreen super cancel combo


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CrowdLoc : Wireless jammer localization with crowdsourcing measurements
UBICROWD 2011, 2nd International Workshop on Ubiquitous Crowdsouring, to be held in conjunction with 13th ACM International Conference on Ubiquitous Computing, September, 18-22, 2011, Beijing, China
Jamming attacks can severely affect the performance of wireless networks due to the broadcast nature. The most reliable solution to reduce the impact of such attacks is to detect and localize the jammer. In this paper, we propose our research into participatory sensing based scheme, named as CrowdLoc, for the collection of measurements to collaboratively localize a jammer in wireless ubiquitous environments which are suffering from jamming attacks. CrowdLoc mainly contains three phases: 1) Crowds as Sensor. The sensor nodes at the boundary of jammer region are weakly impacted by the jamming attack, and conduct the sensing functions to record the information related to the jammer, such as received signal strength (RSS); 2) Crowds as Network. These boundary nodes cooperate with each other to share the recorded measurements of the jammer; and 3) Crowds as Estimator. Based on the crowdsourcing measurements of the jammer, we propose a novel localization scheme to estimate the position of the jammer: Range-based Jammer Localization (RJL). As opposed to existing solutions, RJL is independent of the propagation parameters, which are difficult to obtain in hostile jamming circumstance. The experimental results indicate that the localization accuracy of RJL is close to the Cramer-Rao Bound (CRB) for the RSS-based Localization in most area.
|CrowdLoc : Wireless jammer localization with crowdsourcing measurements
|Mots Clés:
|Wireless network, jamming attack, jammer localization, crowdsourcing, RSS, linearization
|Septembre 2011
|Sécurité numérique
|Eurecom ref:
|© ACM, 2011. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of ACM for your personal use. Not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in UBICROWD 2011, 2nd International Workshop on Ubiquitous Crowdsouring, to be held in conjunction with 13th ACM International Conference on Ubiquitous Computing, September, 18-22, 2011, Beijing, China http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/2030100.2030111
|@inproceedings{EURECOM+3541, doi = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/2030100.2030111}, year = {2011}, title = {{C}rowd{L}oc : {W}ireless jammer localization with crowdsourcing measurements}, author = {{S}un, {Y}anqiang and {W}ang, {X}iaodong and {\"{O}}nen, {M}elek and {M}olva, {R}efik}, booktitle = {{UBICROWD} 2011, 2nd {I}nternational {W}orkshop on {U}biquitous {C}rowdsouring, to be held in conjunction with 13th {ACM} {I}nternational {C}onference on {U}biquitous {C}omputing, {S}eptember, 18-22, 2011, {B}eijing, {C}hina}, address = {{B}eijing, {CHINE}}, month = {09}, url = {http://www.eurecom.fr/publication/3541} }
|Voir aussi:
Permalink: http://www.eurecom.fr/publication/3541


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The Dipsea stands behind only the Boston Marathon among American footraces in longevity and lore, and alone atop trail races.
The Dipsea Race was born from a bet in 1904 between two members of San Francisco's Olympic Club: Who could be swiftest from the train depot in Mill Valley, gateway to Mt. Tamalpais trails, to the newly opened Dipsea Inn on the Pacific Ocean at Stinson Beach? A group of Club members then organized themselves as the Dipsea Indians and staged the first Dipsea Race on November 19, 1905.
The Dipsea has since survived many challenges--two years missed during the 1930's Depression, four more during World War II when much of Mt. Tam was closed by the military, postponement and near cancellation during a permit battle in 1977, and numerous tough permit issues after--but the Race has endured. Why?
There is the spectacular course. While there are now many races through stunning sites, the Dipsea was the pioneer. Originally all on private property, the seven-mile route is now part of Mt. Tamalpais State Park, Muir Woods National Monument, and the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The names of course sections--the Steps, Windy Gap, Suicide, Dynamite, the Hogsback, the Rainforest, Cardiac, the Swoop, Steep Ravine, the Moors, the Grotto--say it all. In the spirit of the Race's origin, runners have traditionally been free to follow any route they wish.
This course--precipitously steep, narrow, slippery, root-covered, crowded--is also dangerous, and injuries are commonplace. In 2002, for example, two champions, with five total victories among them, ended up in adjacent hospital rooms, and evacuation helicopters landed on the beach after the local ambulance fleet was depleted.
The Race has also always been handicapped, with slower runners assigned head start minutes. This has made champions of unknowns, and an eight-year old girl and a 64-year-old woman, a boy of 10 and a man of 70. Indeed, the Dipsea has played an historic role in women's running. Decades before they were officially allowed into any other distance races in the United States, women raced over the Dipsea Trail.
Visit this site's Dipsea Blog page for a sampling of Dipsea lore, along with current news, runner profiles, statistical tables, photographs, and more. The official and comprehensive Dipsea Race website, which includes the latest information on applying for entry, is www.dipsea.org.


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By Bernice Uresti
With so many students out of school for the holidays, this is a good time of the year for families to sit down together and look into the many higher education scholarship opportunities available.
One of the best places to start is the San Antonio Area Foundation, which offers 80 different scholarship funds.
In 2012, the Area Foundation awarded 288 new scholarships totaling nearly $1.4 million. It was a diverse group of students from throughout South Texas.
But they had one thing in common: they took the time to apply.
An additional 138 scholarship recipients from previous years received funding for the 2012-13 academic year.
Students are encouraged to apply for every fund for which they meet the eligibility requirements.
While many of the scholarships are offered to the population in general, some are tailored for specific groups, such as children of employees of a specific company, or those who attended a specific high school, or who plan to major in a specific type of profession, for example.
Here are some important things to remember:
- Begin early.
- 50 of the Area Foundation scholarships have a deadline of Feb. 13, 2013, to apply.
- It is important to read instructions and follow directions.
- You need to meet all deadlines. If it says the transcript has to be there by a certain deadline, don't mail it on the deadline.
- Answer all of the questions being asked.
- Use spell check, proofread and have someone look at your application.
- Make a copy of your application.
- Request and mail supplemental documents, such as transcripts, early and send them to the correct address.
It doesn't cost anything to apply, and there is much to gain. Recipients may use these funds for educational expenses such as tuition, fees, books, and room and board.
These comments from scholarship recipients on the Area Foundation's Facebook page in the summer of 2012 represent just two of the many success stories:
- "Thank you SO much San Antonio Area Foundation for my scholarship!!! It has helped me greatly this past year, for if I did not have it, I would not be able to afford to go to college."
- "… With this scholarship, I am closer to achieving my dream and my family's dream, as well."
For additional information, please go to this link on the Area Foundation website. Click on the red, rectangular "Scholarships" link in the middle of the page for descriptions of the different scholarships.
Bernice Uresti is Program Officer-Scholarships at the San Antonio Area Foundation.


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Google Trend growth of Heavy Truck Drivers over an 8 year period. The search interest picked up a little before 2007 and maintained it's strength in interest in heavy truck driving and has picked up steam lately.
Bureau of Labor Statistics information for Heavy Truck Driver salaries is classified under the category in the BLS as Heavy & Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers. The median pay for a Heavy Truck Driver was reported in 2010 as $37,770 a year coming out to about $18.16 an hour. The total number of Heavy Truck Driver positions on the job market are about 1,604,800 and the total market is expect to grow by about 21% which is faster than most careers. Heavy Truck Drivers can expect to see an additional 330,100 tractor trailer driving jobs added to the market from 2010 – 2020. Some states pay as much as $45,000 a year as you can see from the state by state truck driving salaries listed below from job listings by each state. If you're wondering exactly what this classification of truck driver is the BLS reports that they typically, "are long-haul drivers and operate trucks with a capacity of at least 26,001 pounds per gross vehicle weight (GVW). They deliver goods over intercity routes, sometimes spanning several states."
Listed below is information that is specific to Heavy Truck Driver job salaries that you can expect to receive in that state area. Our state by state breakdown allows you to see which state is best to get a job as a Heavy Truck Driver. The salary information provided below is off of real-world job listings for Heavy Truck Drivers and the pay offered for those jobs. We source Indeed, Simply Hired, PayScale and GlassDoor.com. The information provided by Indeed about their process for collecting salary averages is as follows: "Indeed Salary Search is based on an index of salary information extracted from over 50 million job postings from thousands of unique sources over the last 12 months. Many job descriptions don't contain salary information, but there are enough that do to produce statistically significant median salaries for millions of keyword, job title and location combinations – in fact, most job searches you are likely to think of. As new jobs are added each day, the Indeed Salary Search index is automatically updated with fresh salary data, so the salary results are as up-to-date as they could possibly be."


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High Contrast Midnight Navy & Burnt Orange
The Burnt Custard High Contrast collection was created with the adrenaline junky at the heart of the design. The blend of statement colours is rad and a staple for the extreme sports lover. High Contrast fuses the mountains, beaches, and streets of the word giving a high octane look and feel.
- Tech Spec
Tech Spec


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*August 3 - 9
Apostasy in the North
MEMORY TEXT: "Elijah went before the people and said, 'How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him'" (1 Kings 18:21, NIV).
THE LAND FLOWING WITH MILK AND HONEY. . . AND BLOOD. We last left off with the northern kingdom of Israel after Jeroboam, who, having split Israel from Judah, forged golden calves, constructed idols, and did "more evil than all who were before" him (1 Kings 14:9, NKJV). After his death, he was succeeded by his son Nadab (910-909 B.C.), who also did "evil in the sight of the Lord" (1 Kings 15:26). Nadab was soon murdered by Baasha, who, after taking the throne, walked in all the sins of Jeroboam and who caused Israel to sin (1 Kings 16:2). After Baasha died (886 B.C.), Elah his son (another corrupt ruler) took the throne but was murdered by Zimri, who reigned only seven days (1 Kings 16:15), before burning himself to death rather than surrendering to the Israelite army. Enraged over the murder of Elah, the Israelite army revolted and placed Omri, the commander of the army, on the throne (1 Kings 16:8-20).
That is the good news. The bad news is that, under the house of Omri, things start to go bad.
THE WEEK AT A GLANCE: What was the history of the house of Omri? What kind of false religion did Ahab bring to Israel? What was the role of Elijah? What can we learn from the struggle at Mount Carmel?
*(Study this week's lesson to prepare for Sabbath, August 10.)
Sunday August 4
The dates for the entire dynasty of Omri are from about 885 B.C. to around 841 B.C., 44 years, one-fifth of the entire existence of Israel as a nation.
The outstanding characteristic of the dynasty of Omri is the constant repetition of the phrase that each successive ruler "did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him" (1 Kings 16:30, NIV). Probably the worst epitaph used is that Ahab "considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam" (1 Kings 16:31, NIV).
As commanding general of the Israelite army, Omri took over the kingdom after a four-year struggle with Tibni. Omri is the first Hebrew king mentioned in archaeological records outside the Bible, on the Moabite Stone, which said that Omri, king of Israel, had oppressed Moab for many days, for Kemosh was angry with his land.
Omri established a powerful dynasty and made Samaria the capital city. Years after his death, Assyrian leaders still called Israelite kings "Sons of Omri."
|King's Name
|Who Was He?
|Length of Reign
Founder of the dynasty
12 years
Omri's son
22 years
Ahab's son
2 years
Jehoram (Joram)
Ahab's son
12 years
Kings 16:25, 26: "But Omri wrought evil in the eyes of the Lord, and
did worse than all that were before him. For he walked in all the way of
Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin,
to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger with their vanities."
The key thought here is this notion that he "made Israel to sin." It is a pretty direct translation from a Hebrew verb, "to cause to sin." How do we understand this phrase? Can someone really cause another person, or even a whole nation, to sin? The text implies that a certain amount of guilt and responsibility belong to the kings, and that is understandable, considering their role; but can anyone cause, as in force, someone to sin who ultimately does not want to? Who, in the end, ultimately is responsible for sin? At the same time, can we be held accountable for other people's sin?
If Omri were not bad enough, his son Ahab, who ascended to the throne in 874 B.C., has been immortalized for evil. No question, though, his biggest problem arose from his wife, a pagan princess from Phoenicia who determined that her pagan faith, which included the worship of Baal, dominate in Israel. Ahab seemed more than happy to oblige, though the names of his two sonsAhaziah, "The Lord grasps," and Joram, "The Lord is exalted"suggest that, perhaps, he did not intend to replace the worship of Jehovah with the worship of Baal but simply to meld both faiths together.
If, indeed, Ahab simply wanted a mixture of Baal worship and that of Jehovah, why would that be so bad? Suppose he was able to find common ground in certain areas and stressed those common grounds. Would that be acceptable? Why, or why not? Can you see any example in the church today of an attempt to meld aspects of our faith with others? If so, in what ways, and is that always bad? If so, explain why?
The Canaanite religions were some of the most depraved of the time. To prompt the gods to action, worshipers performed sexual acts, and the Baal shrines were staffed with male and female attendants for this purpose. "Through the influence of Jezebel and her impious priests, the people were taught that the idol gods that had been set up were deities, ruling by their mystic power the elements of earth, fire, and water."Ellen G. White, Conflict and Courage, p. 204.
|"By bringing from her homeland hundreds of cull personnel of Baal and Asherah, by introducing the rites of the Canaanite cult system and by persecuting and killing the worshippers of Yahweh, Jezebel caused a religious crisis of the first magnitude (1 Kings 18:4, 19). "Siegfried Horn, Ancient Israel: A Short History from Abraham to the Roman Destruction of the Temple, ed: Hershel Shanks (Washington, D.C.: Biblical Archaeological Society, 1988), p. 121.
|In the context of today's lesson, read Romans 1:24, 25 and ask, What is it about humans that we seek to worship the creature more than the Creator? In fact, even in today's world, without such crass idolatry in most places, how is the same principle of idolatry being manifested? In what ways can we, even in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, be subtly caught up in this perennial problem?
"Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months" (James 5:17).
Imagine that you are king of Israel (a fairly "successful" one at that point), when, one day, apparently out of nowhere, some farm boy appears, stands before your throne, and announces," 'As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word' " (1 Kings 17:1, NKJV). Then, before you know it, he is gone. At first, you might have been tempted to dismiss him as some kook or fanatic (after all, claiming that it would not rain except at "my word" does sound a bit much)that is, until it, in fact, stops raining, to the point that there is, indeed, a famine in the land.
Read Deuteronomy 11:16, 17; 28:23, 24; Leviticus 26:19. In light of these texts, however bold and brash Elijah's words were, why should they not have come as a surprise to the king?
|The name Elijah means "my God is Jehovah," which is appropriate, considering the battle that he was engaged in.
After Elijah made his warning to Ahab, he is told by the Lord to flee to Brook Cherith, and there he could drink from the brook, and there the ravens (by God's miraculous command) would feed him. Thus, his water came from something natural (the river), his food from something supernatural (the ravens). Eventually, the water of the brook dries up "because there had been no rain in the land" (1 Kings 17:7, NKJV). Food from the ravens was fine, but if Elijah did not find water, he would soon be dead.
|How many of us have ever been in a similar situation: One of seeing the miraculous providence of God at work in our lives while at the same time struggling with what appears to be a "natural" turn of events that does not seem to be working in our favor or that, in fact, seems to be undermining the providence of God? Think of similar examples from biblical history where the same thing happens. For instance, God called Abram to the Promised Land, and when he arrives there, he faces a famine (Genesis 12); and the children of Israel, right after the miraculous deliverance from Egypt, face thirst (Exod. 15:22-24). What lessons can we learn from these experiences?
Read the story of the confrontation on Mount Carmel and answer the following questions:
1. Why was Obadiah so frightened to do what Elijah had asked him to do? What previous events gave him reason to be scared of the king?
2. What was Ahab's first reaction to Elijah when he appeared before him, and why was it so typical? What other examples can you find in the Bible of the same principle, that of blaming others for your own sins?
3. Read Elijah's question to the people in verse 21. What does it imply regarding the kind of worship that was practiced in Israel? In other words, was it pure paganism or a mixture of both?
4. Why did Elijah mock the prophets of Baal? Was there any need for that verbal barrage or, perhaps, was it his own personality and frustration coming through?
5. Notice the time that Elijah chose to call upon the Lord to respond from heaven and vindicate His name and power. What was significant about that specific time of the day?
6. Why was the punishment so harsh against the prophets of Baal? After all, they were following only the beliefs of their religion. Why should they be put to death for their beliefs, whichconsidering their actions on the altar (vs. 28)they held sincerely?
7. The story of Elijah on Carmel is one of the more popular ones in the Hebrew Bible. Clearly, the principles derived from it are simple enough: We should not worship false gods but only the true One, the "Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel" (vs. 36), the Creator of heaven and earth. The question remains, however: What can we, today, learn from it? In other words, how often are we put in situations so dramatic and clear as this? How often are we ever confronted with truth and error in such stark, unmistakable terms? How often do we expect fire from heaven to come down and devour sacrifices, wood, stone, and dust when a voice from heaven would be more than enough?
"And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time" (1 Kings 19:1, 2).
"The heart of Asa was loyal all his days" (2 Chron. 15:17, NKJV).
Our God is a God of mercy, of forgiveness, of unimaginable grace. At the Cross, Jesus Christ paid the penalty for the sins of the world. All our lies, our greed, our envy, our lust, our pride, our cheating, our selfishness, and all the nasty and dirty little things we have thought and done were brought to the Cross. All the things were brought to the Cross that by themselves might not seem so bad but, if gathered together, added up, and shoved in our faces, would cause us to beat our breasts in woe. All of them were there, at the Cross, killing Christ so that when all the evil moments of our life are tallied and weighed, they do not have to ultimately, and forever, kill us. Talk about grace!
Read each of the following verses and write down what they say about salvation and grace:
John 3:16, 17 ________________________________________________________________________
Rom.5:6 ____________________________________________________________________________
1 John 2:2 __________________________________________________________________________
In this context, look at the reaction of Jezebel; that is, after Ahab had told her what happened at Mount Carmel. One would think that after such a powerful manifestation of the power of the true God, Jezebel would have, at best, converted, repented, and sought forgiveness from the God who had so completely devastated her gods; at worst, she would have thought, perhaps, it would be best to leave town and leave Elijah alone.
Instead, what happened?
Perhaps none of us has ever been so close to something like that day at Carmel. Perhaps there is no need for us to be convinced of God's power in such a dramatic fashion (after all, look what good it did Jezebel). Nevertheless, we all need to be careful not to allow our hearts to be so hard that, even in the face of God's incredible grace, we turn our backs on the Lord. How can we protect ourselves from doing, at least in principle, what Jezebel has done in reality?
For additional information on the religious and cult practices of the Canaanites, see The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 1, pp. 126, 129, 162; vol. 2, pp. 38-40, and the additional note on Joshua 6.
History teaches that the peoples on the eastern seaboard of the Mediterranean were as corrupt and depraved as any nation that ever existed. They made a religion of lust. They sent their children into the fires of the god Molech. Leviticus 18 presents briefly something of the moral rebellion of the Canaanites. The imagination and a little knowledge of history supply the rest. According to the Bible, the Canaanites were so vile that the very land did "spue" them out (see Lev. 18:28). No wonder the Lord was so firm with Israel that they not be contaminated with that religion.
"The priests of Baal witness with consternation the wonderful revelation of Jehovah's power. Yet even in their discomfiture and in the presence of divine glory, they refuse to repent of their evil-doing. They would still remain the prophets of Baal. Thus they showed themselves ripe for destruction. That repentant Israel may be protected from the allurements of those who have taught them to worship Baal, Elijah is directed by the Lord to destroy these false teachers. The anger of the people has already been aroused against the leaders in transgression; and when Elijah gives the command, 'Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape,' they are ready to obey. They seize the priests, and take them to the brook Kishon, and there, before the close of the day that marked the beginning of decided reform, the ministers of Baal are slain. Not one is permitted to live."Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, pp. 153, 154.
J. H. Zachary
When Felix was a teenager, Protestant pastors occasionally came to speak at his school. Several times the students chased the pastors out of the village, and sometimes Felix joined them. But he could not deny that these pastors were different from the religious leaders he knew.
After high school, Felix started a little business, but it went bankrupt. Felix felt a great emptiness in his life. With time on his hands, he thought a lot about spiritual matters. He remembered the pastors that he had helped drive out of the village. What made them different? He remembered the importance these pastors placed on the Bible.
Felix bought a Bible and began to read it, searching for spiritual meaning to life. One day he passed a public meeting held by a Protestant group. He stopped to listen and decided to attend the meetings. He arranged for studies and planned to join this church. But before he could join, an elderly Adventist neighbor invited him to evangelistic meetings in town. Felix decided against attending the Adventist meetings, since he had found another church.
The Adventist meetings were held close to Felix's home, and he could hear the preacher from his front porch. Felix noticed that the pastor quoted many Bible texts. Felix began following the pastor's study in his own Bible. Night after night he listened from his porch.
When the message on the Sabbath was presented, Felix felt strong conviction. He left home and walked to the meeting. He arrived just as the pastor made an altar call. Felix never took his seat, but walked straight to the front in response to the pastor's invitation.
When Felix returned home, he told his brother with whom he was living about what he had learned from the Bible. He was surprised at his brothers strong resistance to his attending these meetings.
Felix decided to return to his parents' home. He knew that they would not resist his decision to follow Christ. Felix has been baptized and has found peace and happiness in working for God as a literature evangelist.
Felix Kansamugire (left). J. H. Zachary is coordinator of international evangelism for The Quiet Hour and a special consultant for the General Conference Ministerial Association.
Join the SSNET moderated email discussion group. You are also warmly invited to join a group discussion of this lesson Sabbath morning with your local Seventh-day Adventist congregation.
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Splash: Hi, Carolyn. Tell us how you got involved in design work?
Carolyn Lawrence: My work in design started early in life. I used to build homes out of cardboard boxes and used Pringles cans as the pillars when I was a kid. My dad introduced me to construction as his "apprentice." My dad was one of those amazing people who could build anything. Years later after going through a divorce I decided to take my love of design and see if I had any real abilities so I took an interior design course at a local community college and I was hooked. Since then I've taken every free course in landscaping or design that I could find. Luckily I live in a city that offers a lot in the way of free education. As I started buying and renovating my own homes people took notice and began asking me for help with their projects and I have been able to build on it from there.
Splash: So why the change from voice over actress?
Carolyn Lawrence: There hasn't really been a change. I am very lucky to continue to work as an actress on many shows. It's been a blessing to get to the point where I am able to pursue both passions at the same time.
Splash: How are you incorporating your new real estate license?
Carolyn Lawrence: I finally got my real estate license because I was basically finding homes for my friends anyway just not getting paid for it. Now I am able to find someone a home and share my vision for how to make it they're dream home. Everything has come full circle. My dream is to buy, renovate and sell a home as a full package experience for my clients.
Splash: Tell us about the pilot you recently shot with Tri-con productions?
Carolyn Lawrence: We shot a pilot based around my life. It revolves around the current renovation of my own home while living with my mom and raising my one-year-old daughter. I also have three dogs and a cat so the chaos makes for good TV.
Splash: So how did this acting background help with design and real estate investing?
Carolyn Lawrence: Oddly enough the careers are similar. Both acting and real estate are basically small businesses. If you have experience running a small business it's easy to apply those skills to a new field. With my passion for creating it doesn't matter in what genre I work as long as I'm creative I'm happy.
Splash: What is your vision of this business?
Carolyn Lawrence: My hopes are to become a one-stop shop for people to create their dream homes. Within the business we also hope to empower people to go after their dreams. A good example is supporting other small businesses by finding ways to work together.
Splash: And what about your business partner Becky Richards? What is her background?
Carolyn Lawrence: Becky has a professional marketing; commercial property management; and relocation background. We started off and realtor and client. After closing several deals together it was a natural progression to partner up in this new venture. She has a vast knowledge in the business and I continue to learn from her everyday.
Splash: So being in partnership with Becky is helpful to you.
Carolyn Lawrence: Very much so. We have different styles of working and bring different talents to the table but we do have a very similar work ethic. That is what makes this a good partnership.
Splash: What do you offer clients that is different from the mainstream?
Carolyn Lawrence: In this day and age of technology and I hate to say it…. selfishness. We are trying to bring good old-fashioned customer service to our clients. We truly want what's best for them not just to close a deal. We also are very creative thinkers. If a situation arises we go to great lengths to think outside the box and find a solution.
Splash: So in what capacity can someone hire you?
Carolyn Lawrence: They can hire us a just their realtors or we can take a larger role and help facilitate their renovations. We've also worked as project managers over seeing renovations. Whatever the client's needs we are open to talking about how to help.
Splash: Give a little background in the renovation project in which the pictures are provided?
Carolyn Lawrence: The photos above are from a house that was built in the 1940's. I knew it was the perfect layout to make into a more modern California living type home. The existing LR had a fireplace that completely blocked not only the view of the backyard but all the sunlight. I moved the fireplace so that we could install a large set of doors therefore opening up the room to the yard and flooding the whole house with sunlight. We also raised the roof up to the rafters to give it volume. One of the coolest happy accidents was running out of renovation money caused me to stain the existing concrete floors. It turned out to be one of the biggest highlights of the home.
This is the same 1940's home I spoke of above. The original kitchen was the size of today's laundry rooms. I knew something had to be done. So I added an addition to the empty space between the existing kitchen and detached two-car garage that was about 20 feel away. I never seem to have enough storage space so my goal was to get as many cabinets into the space as possible. We ran them all the way across the entire space into the dining room. This is a great example of using inexpensive IKEA cabinets but installing them in a way that feels custom. The money that we saved on the cabinets we were able to put into installing higher end flooring, appliances and countertops.
Splash: Thanks for chatting with us, Carolyn. Tell us how can people contact you or Becky?
Carolyn Lawrence: Best way is through our new website: www.lawrenceandrichards.com


text:
Does Belief Help Us to Survive?
I don't think religious beliefs are different from any other kind of beliefs: political attitudes, commitments to political parties, or economic ideologies, for example. These are all forms of belief. I think at the base of it is this whole idea that we're pattern-seeking primates. We connect the dots — A connects to B connects to C — and often, they really are connected, and that's called associative learning. All animals do it. It's a biological imperative; we grow new synaptic connections when we learn something.
The problem is that there's no baloney detection module in the brain that says, "That's a true pattern; that's a false pattern" with some consistent algorithm that helps us discriminate those. We tend to assume all patterns are real and that they're infused with intentional agency. And that's where I think the belief in spirits and ghosts and souls and gods and God and conspiracy theories and so forth comes in. (continue reading…)


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text:
Jon Stewart Rails on Trump for His Pizza Transgressions
Jon Stewart made the pizza luncheon between Sarah Palin and Donald Trump the subject of a breathtaking rant on last night's Daily Show. If you haven't seen it, you need to. In addition to making some very poignant points, Mr. Stewart flexes his pizza prowess by rattling off some the cities most beloved pizzerias. I know, I know, he didn't get them ALL, but at least there is no mention of Ray's (at ease, Slice'rs!).
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We are a varied lot of people here with many economic and political beliefs. The one thing that unites most of us is are disregard for religion. Some will be more equipped to answer this question than maybe I am in even asking it. But here goes.
As Americans we are support eschew socialism and communism and place all our faith on THE MARKET to solve all societies problems and best allocate resources. The way I understand it there are a couple basic assumptions that makes THE MARKET the ultimate arbiter of societies wants and needs. One of those assumptions is that people will act in their own best interests. There is also an assumption of perfect and equal access to information. We all know or can know the same information to base our decisions upon and we will make those decisions upon that information and our best interests.
I think religion undermines both of those assumptions. They impose a standard of morality that perverts people's understanding of what their own best interests are. They will vote against tax cuts for themselves because some two faced politician promises to enforce their morality while stealing their money. They reject information such as science or basic economics because their religious leaders offer them a magical solution that contradicts science but asks nothing of them but to believe.
I don't know where I am going with this but perhaps some wiser people more informed with the economic theory of the free market can develop the idea.
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