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Solomon Northup, Twelve Years a Slave
The Solomon Northup memoir "Twelve Years A Slave" is a 1st person account of a free man of color from New York state being drugged, captured, sold into slavery in New Orleans, Louisiana and spending 12 years as a slave here in Rapides and Avoyelles Parishes, Louisiana.
The memoir ends with his telling of how he reacquired his freedom, aided by a man named Samuel Bass. Bass was born in Canada but lived and died in Marksville, LA in Avoyelles Parish. Bass died of pneumonia August 30, 1853 – age 46, while at the home of Justine Tournier (a free woman of color), only months after Solomon was freed.
The memoir was originally published in 1853 and is to be featured as a 2013 movie 'Twelve Years a Slave" >>> official movie site.
After arriving in New Orleans Solomon was first sold to William Ford (of what is now Woodworth, LA), then after one year to John Tibaut and after another year to Edwin Epps, a planter from Avoyelles Parish. Solomon was to spend the next 10 years on Epps' plantation.
Epps' plantation was located south of what is now Eola, Louisiana in the community of Holmesville, LA on Bayou Boeuf >>> google map. Before Epps' house was moved in 1976 it faced south/southwest along Bayou Boeuf, just southeast of the Texas and Pacific railroad tracks near a clump of second growth trees, encompassed by a pecan orchard on three sides.
The Edwin Epps house is now located on the >>> campus of LSU at Alexandria, about 25 miles from its original location. It is the only structure still standing in Louisiana directly associated with Northup's account. Below I have posted some images of the house which Northup assisted in building.
Sue Eakin, a professor at LSUA, was instrumental in bringing Northup's story to modern readers. Prior to Eakin's finding of the book, on a dusty shelf in an old Louisiana Plantation home, the book had been lost to 20th century readers. Eakin soon learned the narrative could not be found in libraries, stores or catalogues. It later became part of her life's work which included the establishment of the >>> Northup Trail (scroll down page 86 of "Avoyelles: Crossroads of Louisiana Where All Cultures Meet" for Trail Information) in Louisiana, which follows points of interest in the story.
Additional Links:
Solomon Northup's memoir "Twelve Years a Slave"
Summary of "Twelve Years a Slave" (I noticed a typo of "Great Pacoudrie Swamp" I think it should be Cocodrie Swamp, cocodrie means alligator and it is near Cocodrie Lake, south of Ford's Plantation)
Historic Documentation on the Epps House
Sue Eakin interview in Country Roads
Article from the New York Times 1853
Twelve Years a Slave, the movie at IMDB
Edwin and Mary Epps' Burial Site – Fogleman Cemetery, Avoyelles Parish
Samuel Bass – genealogy information
The old Avoyelles Parish Courthouse, no longer standing. Solomon Northup's freedom order was signed at Marksville, parish of Avoyelles on the fourth day of January, 1853.


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K-12 Marketplace Sees Major Flow of Venture Capital
The flow of venture capital into the K-12 education market has exploded over the past year, reaching its highest transaction values in a decade in 2011, industry observers say.
They attribute that rise to such factors as a heightened interest in educational technology; the decreasing cost of electronic devices such as tablet computers, laptops, netbooks, and mobile devices; and the movement toward standardization of curriculum through the Common Core State Standards.
"Having been in this space, covering it for more than a decade, I've not seen this level of interest or supply of early-stage K-12 businesses in the last decade by any stretch of the imagination," said Adam J. Newman, a founding and managing partner of Education Growth Advisors, an education business advisory firm in Stamford, Conn.
"What you have right now in K-12 education is an ecosystem of really dynamic entrepreneurs and emergent companies and a very diverse set of organizations that have become interested in the education space," he said.
The flow of venture capital funds into the K-12 market dropped precipitously in 2001, following two years of huge investments of about $500 million annually before the dot-com bubble burst. Investments leveled off between 2001 and 2006, before rising again, and taking off last year, surpassing venture capital investments in higher education for the first time since 2006.
Venture capital transaction values in the K-12 field, which include both public and private schools, increased from roughly $130 million in 2010 to $334 million last year, according to data from the Chicago-based GSV Advisors.
Precollegiate education historically has not been an easy market for venture capitalists to break into, analysts say, but certain factors are contributing to a higher awareness of this market for investors.
Venture capitalists generally look for "high-growth opportunities" and rely on the ability to scale up new enterprises quickly, said Mr. Newman. So the common standards in English/language arts and math, for instance, which have been adopted by all but four states, are contributing to companies' perception of a potential for fast growth in standards-related ventures across a larger market, he said.
"[The common core] is breaking down some of those state-level barriers that made it challenging for folks [to achieve scale]," said Mr. Newman. (His firm's other founding and managing partner, Christopher L. Curran, is a trustee of Editorial Projects in Education, the nonprofit publisher of Education Week.)
For instance, MasteryConnect is an educational technology startup that aims to help teachers transition to the common-core standards. The platform allows teachers to find, administer, score, and track student data through formative assessments.
Limiting the Risks
At the same time, educators are becoming more open to technology in classrooms, said Tom Vander Ark, a managing partner of Learn-Capital, a San Mateo, Calif.-based venture capital firm focused on funding entrepreneurs working in education. "Now you have digital natives teaching digital natives," he said.
Jennifer Carolan, an associate partner for the San Francisco-based NewSchools Venture Fund, a nonprofit venture-philanthropy firm working in education, said that teachers are not only more open to technology, they are also beginning to expect the same technology tools in schools that they use everywhere else.
"There's an increased demand for the latest technology tools because the teachers are younger, the demographics have shifted, and there's an even greater chasm between what educators are using in their everyday lives and the tools they have available to do their work," Ms. Carolan said. "Technology is an attractive venture deal because it tends to yield a higher profit margin, so it's a natural place for venture capital to play a role in."
In fact, the last large influx of venture capital into K-12 education coincided with the dot-com boom of 1999 and 2000, spiking at $497 million and $521 million, respectively, further establishing the strong link between technology and venture capital. (Numbers have not been adjusted for inflation.)
The NewSchools Venture Fund typically invests in promising for-profit education startups in their early stages, when it may be too much of a risk for venture capitalists, said Ms. Carolan. In fact, the organization recently announced the creation of an educational technology seed fund that will help ed-tech startups find early-stage funding.
"[We] play the role of taking out the risk early on," she said, "and helping these companies until they get to the point where venture capitalists will take a look at them and invest."
For example, three years ago, NewSchools invested in BetterLesson, a company that allows educators to use the Web to share and catalog lesson plans, after recognizing the need for such a tool in the education community. BetterLesson now generates about 120,000 unique hits a month on its site and 250 sign-ups a day, said Ms. Carolan. And although NewSchools continues to contribute funding to BetterLesson, in its latest round of funding in August of 2011, the majority of the funding was from other organizations, including traditional venture capital firms, said Ms. Carolan.
BetterLesson's success is in part a shift toward more social learning, a market within educational technology that is experiencing much growth, Ms. Carolan said. Companies such as Grockit, a test-prep social-networking website based in San Francisco, and the education-focused social-networking site Edmodo, based in San Mateo, Calif., are other examples of successful social-learning startups, she said.
'Moving Target'
The K-12 market has not been the typical destination, however, for traditional venture capitalists, Ms. Carolan said.
"Venture capitalists always look for huge markets, and education is a massive market, but there's been a lot of friction in the past with getting for-profit companies to find profits in schools," she said.
Kim Smith, the co-founder and chief executive officer of Bellwether Education Partners, a nonprofit organization based in Washington that works to improve educational outcomes for low-income students, noted that for-profit companies face opposition in trying to play a significant role in public schools.
"There's never been a huge resistance to the technology," said Ms. Smith, who also co-founded the NewSchools Venture Fund, "but the closer you come to running schools, the more you encounter a very strong ideological aversion to for-profit [companies]."
What's more, Ms. Smith said, the K-12 market is heavily regulated on such matters as what schools can spend money on and how they spend it, rules that can change based on a variety of conditions, including who is occupying the White House.
"If you want to invest, you're being told, 'Here are the rules of the road right now, but in four years, it could be completely different,' " which is not a climate that fosters confidence among venture capitalists, she said.
"There's a constantly moving target for what you should be doing, which is different than most other fields, where there's a little bit more of a consistent knowledge base," Ms. Smith said.
To make matters more complicated, the purchasing decisions of schools do not follow the typical model of most markets, making it hard to predict sales cycles, she said.
"Often, the decisions that are being made about buying things aren't rational," she said. "In education, because there's so much disagreement about what quality looks like and how you can measure it, you can be successful in one place but not necessarily successful in another."
Marguerite Roza, a senior scholar at the Center on Reinventing Public Education, at the University of Washington in Seattle, said another factor that makes the market complex is that the audience for the products companies are marketing—mainly teachers—often doesn't have purchasing power in districts.
"There is no head honcho in education," said Ms. Roza. "The person [who has spending power] are the 60,000 school board members."
Of course, superintendents and other administrators also make purchasing decisions in a district, but regardless, the fragmentation of the market makes it difficult for education companies to achieve efficiencies of scale, she said.
Seeking Social Impact
Meanwhile, as education draws renewed interest from venture capitalists, a new breed of investors is emerging, said Ms. Smith of Bellwether Education.
"There's a small, emerging niche of 'impact' investors," she said, who typically made their money in the corporate sector and now want to reinvest in a good company that will provide profitable returns, but will also have a positive social impact.
"Education is a complicated business, but it hasn't made huge productivity gains, ever, so that's clearly an area ripe for innovation," Ms. Smith said. The productivity gains that technology could achieve in the education market are attracting attention from impact investors as well as traditional venture capitalists, she said.
Robert Lytle, a head of the Boston-based Parthenon Group's Education Center of Excellence, which focuses on for-profit global markets, agreed that impact investing has become a recent trend.
"There are areas of the economy [such as K-12 education] that will not attract venture capital because the business dynamics aren't good enough, but I can invest my money there with a different return profile," he said, keeping in mind that the return will be partly the social impact and partly financial. "It's become more of a movement around the world."
Roy Gilbert, the CEO of Grockit, the website that links social networking with studying, explained the key role of venture capital in building successful startup companies such as his.
Startups often have high initial costs because of the design, development, and engineering it takes to launch a website or product, he said, before a firm can launch the idea and begin to turn a profit.
"There's a significant lag before you're making a ton of revenue," Mr. Gilbert said, and that's where venture capital comes in. Raising seed money is essential to the success of those startups, he said.
"The profile for venture investing is high-risk, big industries where you can take advantage of scale," he said. And while K-12 education has always been a big industry, the opportunity to scale has held back investors, said Mr. Gilbert. However, because of shifting dynamics in the market, that is beginning to change, he said.
"It's a pretty vibrant time," Mr. Newman from Education Growth Advisors said of the current climate for K-12 investment.
"On the flip side is that a lot of these folks won't make it to the other side," he said. "The nature of early-stage investing is that you have a lot of failures along with a number of successes."
With the renewed interest in the K-12 market, Mr. Newman said, "you could run the risk of a lot of these businesses' getting some traction, but not enough" to make a large impact on the industry.
"It will be interesting to see if winners and losers emerge," he said, "and whether we'll have a universe of really interesting, thoughtful ideas."
Vol. 31, Issue 19, Pages 1, 10-11Published in Print: February 1, 2012, as K-12 Marketplace Sees Major Flow of Venture Capital
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subset: commoncrawl


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It's that time of year, again!
I wrote last year about the Fantasy Film League, in which you cast your own movie, and it makes money over the course of the year based on the box office performance of your actors and director's real-world movies.
My movie for last year, "Bible Song," ended the season around number 30, out of more than 200 movies competing.
The new season is about to start, and I've already entered my movie, "All The Queen's Men."
I'd love to have you play along.
First, go to the Fantasy Film League homepage and sign in to create your movie.
You'll be given $70 million to cast your film with, and a price sheet of actors and directors.
Pick a combination six actors and a director whose films you think will make the most money in real life next year.
Then, join my "Movies In My Pocket" private league by using the code 0cd6e69b. That way you can compare results easily with this group, in addition to the entire league.
Let me know which movie you create, and good luck!
Filed under: Entertainment | Tagged: Box office, Fantasy Film League, movies, postaday2011 | 1 Comment »


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The Wrong Stuff
Ever since NASA was founded, the greater part of its resources have gone into putting men and women into space. On January 14 of this year, President Bush announced a "New Vision for Space Exploration" that would further intensify NASA's concentration on manned space flight. The International Space Station, which has been under construction since 1998, would be completed by 2010; it would be kept in service until around 2016, with American activities on the station from now on focused on studies of the long-term effects of space travel on astronauts. The manned spacecraft called the space shuttle would continue flying until 2010, and be used chiefly to service the space station. The shuttle would then be replaced by a new manned spacecraft, to be developed and tested by 2008. Between 2015 and 2020 the new spacecraft would be used to send astronauts back to the moon, where they would live and work for increasing periods. We would then be ready for the next step—a human mission to Mars.
This would be expensive. The President gave no cost estimates, but John McCain, chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, has cited reports that the new initiative would cost between $170 billion and $600 billion. According to NASA briefing documents, the figure of $170 billion is intended to take NASA only up to 2020, and does not include the cost of the Mars mission itself. After the former President Bush announced a similar initiative in 1989, NASA estimated that the cost of sending astronauts to the moon and Mars would be either $471 billion or $541 billion in 1991 dollars, depending on the method of calculation. This is roughly $900 billion in today's dollars. Whatever cost may be estimated by NASA for the new initiative, we can expect cost overruns like those that have often accompanied big NASA programs. (In 1984 NASA estimated that it would cost $8 billion to put the International Space Station in place, not counting the cost of using it. I have seen figures for its cost so far ranging from $25 billion to $60 billion, and the station is far from finished.) Let's not haggle over a hundred billion dollars more or less—I'll estimate that the President's new initiative will cost nearly a trillion dollars.
Compare this with the $820 million cost of recently sending the robots Spirit and Opportunity to Mars, roughly one thousandth the cost of the President's initiative. The inclusion of people inevitably makes any space mission vastly more expensive. People need air and water and food. They have to be protected against cosmic rays, from which we on the ground are shielded by the Earth's atmosphere. On a voyage to Mars astronauts would be beyond the protective reach of the Earth's magnetic field, so they would also have to be shielded from the charged particles that are sent out by the sun during solar flares. Unlike robots, astronauts will want to return to Earth. Above all, the tragic loss…
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Lets lighten things up around here shall we?
My last few blog posts have been a tad heavy - unfortunately heavy issues are just that. Heavy. So I make no apologies for that. But because you have all been so patient with me, and read the heavy stuff, I'm doing a give away. The very first for Life on the hill.
Now if you've been reading for a while you will know that I am the budget queen, or known affectionately as Frugal Vicky. Its a title I'm happy to have. I like nice things, and to look after myself as much as the next girl does, but I also have to do it on a budget. Gone are the days where I can buy what I want, when I want it, and not care about the price tag.
About half way through this year I started using Garnier's BB Cream and Pure 3 in 1 cleanser. I have had problem skin since I was pregnant with Nathan - 15 years ago, and have tried EVERYTHING! When I started using these two products, I noticed a significant improvement in my skin after only a couple of weeks. Not only was my skin improving, but my wallets wasn't taking a huge hit in doing so. I'm pretty certain I have told everyone I know about these two products. I got my daughter using them both, and she has gone on to tell her friends as well.
When I saw the promotions for the launch of the new Garnier product Dark Spot Corrector, that helps correct sun spots, age spots and acne marks I was keen to try it. I was just waiting for it to hit the shelves!
Fate intervened, and I was very lucky to be gifted Garnier's new Dark Spot Corrector to trial, as well as the new BB Cream for combination and oily skin.
I have been using both these new products for about the last ten weeks, and LOVE them. I'll be honest and tell you that I have no idea why these products are working so well on my skin. Maybe its the Vitamin C found in both of them... I don't know. All I do know, is that my skin feels, and looks the best it has in a very long time. It is literally glowing. It doesn't appear dull anymore, and feels soft and supple. Which is pretty good going for the nearly 43 year old.
My skin care routine involves minimum effort. I use the Garnier Pure 3 in 1 face wash, Dark Spot Corrector moisturiser, morning and night. In the day, I will put the BB cream on after the moisturiser, and if I'm going out at night, I will use the BB cream as a base for my foundation.
Here are some pictures of before and after. It wasn't until today that I could visually make the comparison when I took a photo. My skin looks a lot more even, definitely more hydrated, and generally healthy.
Garnier have given me the opportunity to give four lucky readers in Australia (sorry, overseas readers) the opportunity to try these products. All you need to do is tell me why you would like to receive a Garnier Dark Spot Corrector and BB Cream Package. Winner will be drawn 10 December 2012.
Disclaimer - Garnier sent me some Dark Spot Corrector and BB cream samples as a thank you for being involved in the twitter conversation on launch night of the Dark Spot Corrector. I have received no payment for this blog post. Opinions are my own. I just honestly love Garnier


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Welcome to the Crestron Labs Forum.
A Crestron Lab Program is a program where Crestron invites people to use not yet released equipment, or firmware, to test it in their existing systems.
There are currently 9 users online. 2 members and 7 guests
Most users ever online was 473, 07-12-2018 at 12:06 AM.
82087 Spammers Denied Registration
8 Spammy Posts Automatically Moderated
Welcome to our newest member, Simon Bochtler


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LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Former Manson family member Susan Atkins has requested a "compassionate release" from prison because she has less than six months to live, a California prisons spokeswoman said Friday.
Susan Atkins, Califorina's longest-serving female inmate, is shown in her most recent mug shot.
Atkins, 60, was convicted in the 1969 slayings of actress Sharon Tate and four others. She had been incarcerated at the California Institution for Women in Corona, California.
But Atkins, the state's longest- serving female inmate, has been hospitalized since March 18 and is listed in serious condition, state corrections department spokeswoman Terry Thornton said. Because of privacy laws, Thornton would not disclose the nature of Atkins' illness.
Atkins' husband and attorney, James Whitehouse, was quoted as saying she has been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, according to a blog called Manson Family Today. She also has had a leg amputated, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday, citing sources close to the case.
The compassionate release request has been approved by the prison, which conducted an evaluation, and is under corrections department review, Thornton said.
If the department approves, the Board of Parole Hearings and the sentencing court in Los Angeles also must sign off on the request. There is no timeline for a decision to be made, Thornton said.
Atkins, known within the Manson family as "Sadie Mae Glutz," has been in prison since 1971 and has been denied parole 11 times.
According to historical accounts of the murders, Atkins stabbed Tate, who was 8½ months pregnant, and scawled the word "pig" in blood on the door of the home the actress shared with director Roman Polanski.
"I don't want to seem like a heartless creature, but in all my years, I never considered this could happen," Debra Tate, the actress' sister, told the Riverside Press-Enterprise.
"She showed no compassion. She told my sister as she slit her throat that she didn't (care) for her or her unborn baby," Tate added.
Sharon Tate and three houseguests were slain in August 1969 by killers who burst into her Benedict Canyon home. A teenager who was visiting the home's caretaker in his cottage on the property also was killed.
The following night, Leno and Rosemary LaBianca were slain in their home in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles. The two-day crime spree sent shock waves throughout Los Angeles.
All of the killers remain behind bars. Atkins also was convicted in the earlier murder of music teacher Gary Hinman.
Atkins, like Manson, received a death sentence, and the punishment was changed to life in prison when the California Supreme Court ruled the state's death penalty unconsitutional in 1972.
Vincent Bugliosi, who prosecuted Atkins, told the Los Angeles Times that she "has paid substantially, though not completely, for her horrendous crimes. Paying completely would mean imposing the death penalty." But, he told the paper, given her terminal illness, "I don't have an objection to her being released."
According to her Web site, Atkins is a born-again Christian who during her incarceration has worked to aid at-risk youth, victims of violent crimes and homeless children.
Last month, authorities dug for buried bodies at the Inyo County, California, ranch where Manson and his followers once lived, after police became aware that testing had indicated humans might be buried there. Nothing was found, police said.
All About Charles Manson • Crime • Los Angeles


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You may not have noticed, but those of us who have our blogs hosted on Google's Blogger site were a bit flummoxed when Blogger went down for over a day late last week. Wonder what some of my fellow bloggers did during the downtime? Read on here, here and here to see what Amy Coffin from The Wee Tree Genealogy Blog, Elizabeth at Little Bytes of Life and Randy Seaver from Genea-Musings did during "The Great Blogger Fail of 2011." Also, Lorine at Olive Tree Genealogy Blog brought us a little reality (and some tips) about backing up our blogs in case of catastrophic technical failure! Guess what I'll be doing in the next couple of weeks...I hope you'll click over to these great blogs that influence and inspire me each week. You might learn something, and you'll certainly be entertained!
Lorine from Olive Tree Genealogy also shared with us a Civil War-era family photo album that has come into her possession. Color me jealous!!!
Heather at Leaves For Trees is helping a friend find her Mexican family roots - no easy feat! I've been thinking about doing the same for my brother-in-law's family (so my nephews will have a more well-rounded family history), and I'll be following Heather's quest to get some good tips and tricks.
One of my recently-discovered Beals cousins, Travis at TJLGenes: Preserving Our Family History, shared the 1867 tombstone of his 5th great grandfather, Nathan C. Beals, that he found thanks to the efforts of one of the many volunteers at FindAGrave.com.
Greg A. Hoots was the guest blogger at the Flint Hills of Kansas blog this week, and he wrote a great story about the cowboy history in the Flint Hills. Since I have my own cowboys who hail from the Flint Hills of Kansas and worked cattle there, this was a great read for me. Greg has also written a new book about the Flint Hills. It will be available next week, and I look forward to snapping up a copy!
Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings offers a great tip about using the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) website to find your own Revolutionary War patriots. Trust me, he's right. The DAR website, and its GRS research system, were instrumental in helping me locate some great information, including a "Record Copy" of another DAR member's accepted application that helped me to prove my own patriot and join this wonderful organization.
I loved this post from Marian at Climbing My Family Tree. When she writes about her mother-in-law, Marian Jane McClure, who was born in 1909 Cleveland, Ohio, she gives us a rich history of that time and place, including demographics of the city, transportation and exploration during that age. I hope she doesn't mind, but I plan to use her idea for some of my upcoming blog posts. Genealogy is so much more than just names/dates/places, so I appreciate that Marian has gone a step further to truly flesh out her relatives' histories.
Finally, my cousin, Jennifer, over at the "other" Climbing My Family Tree blog, had a great time last week at the National Genealogical Society (NGS) conference in Charleston, SC, with her daughter, Ellie. She kept us up-to-date with all the great stuff she learned and the people she met at the conference (and her AWESOME photography!). My favorite post, however, included this wonderful video "news report" that Ellie produced and starred in! Ellie took us on a tour of the conference and introduced us to some of the big influencers in the genealogy community. She's a great interviewer, and I think Ellie may have a broadcast career in her future!
Friday, May 20, 2011
Follow Friday: My Favorite Blog Posts of the Week
Happy Friday!! It was another great week in the genealogy blogosphere. Here are some posts by some of my fellow family historians that I think you might enjoy. Please click on over and show them some love!
Posted by Wendy B. at 12:01 AM
Labels: Follow Friday
3 comments:
Thank you for posting the information from Randy Seaver. I have a lot of ancestors dating to the American Revolution that it will be nice to confirm or deny information that maybe I was too quick to assume correct from ancestry.comReplyDelete
Thanks for the mention, Wendy!ReplyDelete
Thank you for the mention, Wendy! Have a wonderful week!ReplyDelete
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PORTAL(redirected from portale)
Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Medical, Encyclopedia.
A trading platform operated by NASDAQ of closely-held companies and other companies for investment by extremely high net-worth individuals. This market is largely exempt from the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. In 2007, the Portal Market required an individual to have a minimum net worth of $100 million to qualify to trade on it.
A NASD trading system for unregistered foreign and domestic securities.


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Dutch oven cooking may sound primitive, but cooks familiar with the process can turn out real gourmet meals.
At the Dutch oven contest during the Morgan County Fair, Bev Lowell of Deer Creek and Jan Halstead of Colorado Springs told of participating in the World Champion Dutch Oven Cook-off in Salt Lake City — and how those cooks served the "gourmet of the gourmet" dishes.
"It was quite an experience," Lowell said. "Our eyes were opened."
Those at Morgan County's cook-off served some amazing dishes, too.
The Red Hot Coals team of Mike, Caroline and Kaddie Anderson, Shawn and Teri Miller, Amanda Green and Sara Korgan were the overall winners of the Morgan County contest.
They won first place for their Italian bread wedges for the bread part of the competition, first place with their main dish of sausage-stuffed pork loin, second place with their side dish of eggplant parmigiana and second place with their dessert of grandma's bacon brownies.
Second place overall was the Ehrlich Toyota team, which won first place for its lobster corn chowder side dish, second place with its cheese biscuits, fourth place with its almond streusel and fifth place with its pork loin with stuffed pepper.
Third place overall were Lowell and Halstead, calling themselves the Columbines. They took first place with their Neapolitan cheesecake for a dessert, third place for their grandma's orange rolls, third place with their vegetable gumbo and fourth place with their verde chili pork tenderloin.
The Morgan County Rural Electric Association team took second place with its Burgundy beef, fourth place overall, winning third place with a peach cobbler, fifth place with breakfast cornbread, and fifth place with onion-basil veggies.
The Bar Lazy R team made up of Bill, Kristen and C.J. Groves, and Kim and Halla Pfeiff took fifth place overall. They took third place with their pork shoulder with barbecue sauce, fourth place with their country loaf bread, fourth place with their bullseye beans and fifth place for their cowboy chocolate cake.
It was no big surprise to see the Red Hot Coals in first place, since they took first place in all four dishes last year, Mike Anderson said.
People come to Dutch oven cooking in different ways. The T Bar team started about 10 years ago, when a sister and brother bought an oven for one of the teams. They experiment with recipes many weekends. They started with two ovens and now have 16, built their own cooking box and use wood for cooking.
The Columbines started about six years ago, because they like the cooking and the competition, Halstead said.
— Contact Dan Barker at firstname.lastname@example.com


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Facebook said users haven't lost any email and that they are simply "confused" by their email folders. "What?" you ask. "How can that remotely be a real reason?"
Well, Facebook did say user confusion caused the email loss after it received complaints about the social network's switch in default users' email addresses. A Facebook spokeswoman said that most users were simply befuddled over how Facebook categorizes email.
U.S. & World
News from around the country and around the globe
"By default, messages from friends or friends of friends go into your Inbox. Everything else goes to your Other folder," Facebook spokesperson Meredith Chin told The Next Web in an email. "That is likely where the messages are being sent from other people's emails. Even if that person is friends with them on Facebook, if the friend doesn't have that email on their Facebook account, the message could end up in the Other folder."
Facebook got a lot of heat last week when it switched everyone's default email to an @facebook.com address to crank up use of its largely ignored email. While many decried this move and worked to switch it back, several also were worried about the loss of information and emails.
We have talked previously about Facebook's lack of concern for privacy, so it shouldn't be a surprise that after a another misstep the social network doesn't blame itself -- but users for not being psychic and figuring out where their missing email might be. Again, great customer service, Facebook!


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Average Cost: $$$$
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This is a 4 acre Ranch nestled in forest and meadows near beautiful Julian, Ca. offering fasting of either juice/smoothies, master cleanse or purified water. This fasting retreat is designed to educate and detox to obtain optimum health. Care given by Millan personally, a 35 year pioneer author/lecturer, nutritionist in the alternative detox health industry . She is also a detox/fasting coach. she has had over 30,000 clients total, served . This is a 6 day plus or less days program, which includes 32 different cleansing herbs including 3 products of intense parasite program and much more. Millan's objective is that you learn as much about health as you can while you stay at the retreat which will enable you to be prepared for a new journey to optimum health. She is here to serve and care for you. All that you receive while at the retreat is reasonably priced in comparison to other fasting retreats. A lovely salad with her special dressing will be gifted to you the last day of your fast to take home with you. You will experience love in action with a caring atmosphere. This is not a spa but a Ranch atmosphere retreat. Millan has hundreds of testimonials and letters from previous clients and a return client record. You will see lots of wild critters, deer, coyotes, fox, bobcats and wild turkeys.
Average Cost: $$$$
$1750.00. 6 day program. Price Includes professional colon hydrotherapy.
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Reservation Criteria: call 619-562-5446 to reserve. Call for major discount. reservation if cancelled can be used for future date within 6 months of cancellation. cancellation made within 10 days of date reserved is NON-refundable.
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Validating a whole farm modelling with stakeholders: Evidence from a West African case
Andrieu N., Dugué P., Le Gal P.Y., Rueff M., Schaller N., Sempore A.W.. 2012. Journal of Agricultural Science (Toronto), 4 (9) : p. 159-173.
Strategic and tactical decision support tools can assist farmers to make farm management decisions. The challenge facing researchers is to construct decision support tools that lead to the successful adoption of the strategies selected. This article describes and assesses the use of a whole-farm model in West African savannah regions. Farmers and advisors were involved in the choice and design of models, the definition and analysis of scenarios, the design of alternative strategies, and the validation of models. The validation process included a short and mid-term analysis of the use and usefulness of the model for farmers. During the validation process, farmers demonstrated that they were able to define and characterize iterative scenarios permitting the performance of their farm to be improved. They also had a good understanding of the outputs of the model, even several months after they had used the model. They declared having changed some technical or management practices and having acquiried calculation and management skills. This type of process offers an alternative to conventional advisory methods based on advisor expertise. (Résumé d'auteur)
Mots-clés : approches participatives; modèle; agriculteur; savane; participation communautaire; gestion de l'exploitation agricole; système d'aide à la décision; exploitation agricole; afrique occidentale; burkina faso
Thématique : Organisation, administration et gestion des entreprises ou exploitations agricoles; Méthodes de recherche
Documents associés
Article de revue
Agents Cirad, auteurs de cette publication :
- Andrieu Nadine — Es / UMR Innovation
- Dugué Patrick — Es / UMR Innovation
- Le Gal Pierre-Yves — Es / UMR Innovation


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Fans of "Jersey Shore" have certainly seen Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi lock lips with other girls, and now the pint-sized reality star is opening up about her sexuality.
In an interview with Huffington Post, Polizzi says "I would consider myself bi[sexual]."I've done stuff with girls before. I've experimented."
She claims that she could not be in an exclusive relationship with a woman, however, because she does prefer men.
U.S. & World
Last season, Polizzi and housemate Deena Cortese engaged in a graphic makeout session.
But Polizzi wasn't done there. Having been candid about her own sexual proclivities, she turned her attention to speculating about Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino.
"He told me one time, [all the talk about his sexuality] is making me wonder."
Jenni "JWoww" Farley, who joined Polizzi for the interview, was even more blunt.
"His posture and the way he holds his cigarettes - everything," she said. "Listen, I know I keep talking about my best friend Joey, but his husband was closeted for 27 years of his life. And I knew him before he came out. So because of that I know the signs."
Selected Reading: Huffington Post, MSNBC, New York Daily News


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Equipment & Gear: Soda-Club (SodaStream)
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Posted: Thu Jul 30, 2009 9:08 pm
Post subject: Re: Website Evaluation
Wow, talk about thin skin. Anyone who thought your site was unprofessional now has ample evidence that the guy behind sodarefill.com is equally unprofessional based on this overblown reaction.
sodaclubrefill.com wrote:
"Our monetary resources are best spen on delivering a quality product FIRST."
Yes, clearly you didn't bother to pay for a spell-checker either.
Either way, Michael made an off-hand comment that you foolishly decided to take issue with in a very public fashion. Now, per the prior commenter, your anger-laden posts are nicely indexed by Google and its peers for posterity.
The compelling reason for developing a nice looking website isn't solely to create "eye candy", it's so that you can establish trust and legitimacy in the eye of your audience (there are other reasons too, but I won't delve into them here). If I go to a site that is shabbily designed it might give me pause when I decide whether or not I want to transact with it. It doesn't take a Californian to recognize that.
sodaclubrefill.com wrote:
Truly, we invite all constructive criticism. Yours is duly noted, at least the constructive parts which is still up for debate. As for the professionalism aspect, perhaps a better choice of words would have gone much further in making your points.
You clearly don't invite any constructive criticism, but it's fun watching you pay lip-service to it.
sodaclubrefill.com wrote:
Thank You for your opinion Mr. Chu, it is refreshing to see that such a "Professional" as yourself can evaluate the "professionalism" of an organization by the look of a website.
I suppose that in "Chu's World" a website put slapped together (as you put it) by disabled children selling pencils would be equally labled as unprofessional and merit the same crass assessment.
Sir, my opinion is that you are a very frustrated professional that has spent way too much time on the geekdom high-horse. Is there an axe you're grinding here or just feel the need to satisfy your ego by offering your jabs and criticism?
Our monetary resources are best spen on delivering a quality product FIRST. No amount of website candy can benefit a customer if the product is substandard. Frankly, customer's could care less about pretty sites, they want value for their hard earned Dollar. As a Californian, of all people YOU should be uniquely astute in that area.
Truly, we invite all constructive criticism. Yours is duly noted, at least the constructive parts which is still up for debate. As for the professionalism aspect, perhaps a better choice of words would have gone much further in making your points.
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Posted: Sat Aug 22, 2009 6:51 am
Post subject: sodaclubrefill.com management stabs itself in the foot
I am happy to see that sodaclubrefill.com posted up on here with the characteristic defensive and inflammatory tone that caused me to write a negative review of their product in the first place. The above posts speak for themselves and I am sure that anyone who reads them will understand what they are dealing with should their judgment fail them and they actually order from sodaclubrefill.com.
As an update, I ordered an adapter from sodaco2.com and for half the price sodaclubrefill.com tried to charge me, I was able to do exactly what I needed to do - adapt Soda Club bottles to be refilled at standard refilling stations.
I also looked into a home carbonation set-up and there are a number of very easy options out there for anyone who has not already invested in the Soda Stream set-up.
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Michael Chu
Joined: 10 May 2005
Posts: 1654
Location: Austin, TX (USA)
Posted: Sat Aug 22, 2009 7:55 am
Post subject: Re: sodaclubrefill.com management stabs itself in the foot
lucrece wrote:
As an update, I ordered an adapter from sodaco2.com and for half the price sodaclubrefill.com tried to charge me, I was able to do exactly what I needed to do - adapt Soda Club bottles to be refilled at standard refilling stations.
Where are these standard refilling stations? I don't know where I can go to refill CO2 tanks - that would be cool to know.
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Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2009 7:33 pm
Post subject: an alternative
Not as handy an appliance, but I love it since you can use any old 1, 2, or 3 liter bottles you have and there's nothing proprietary. This one uses a paintball canister, I use a 40lb tank. It's $4 to refill a 40lb tank and I need to do it once every year at most with moderate use.
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Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2009 3:03 pm
Post subject: Wow
I was looking at buying from sodaclubrefill.com and was surprised at the negative conversation that I have found on this site. If left alone, it could have seemed like a "bad apple", not everybody can be happy with everything. The response from sodaclubrefill is painfully unprofessional. Never, should a business resort to name calling (punk, immature liar and idiot) no matter what they were thinking in their head. They should also not get into a pissing contest online. An apology perhaps, along with a refund would have gone a long way early in the discussion (in fact it should have been the first thing he said here). Sodaclubrefill has done more to earn their bad name than anybody on this thread could have ever done to them. When you are in business that has such a narrow audience it would be wise to remember that anybody looking for information on Sodastream will see this and choose to NEVER do business with them. Sodaco2.com is the only one that is truly going to benefit from sodaclubrefill's behavior.
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Posted: Tue Sep 29, 2009 11:01 pm
Post subject: Sodastream carbonator exchange
My Sodastream carbonator has worked well, but my first exchange of empty carbonator cartridges for full ones is proving to be a problem that would-be Sodastream users should know about in advance. I placed an order for two new carbonators, expecting to return the empty carbonators and then receive new ones. After I submitted the order, I was informed that I had to give the empty carbonators to the delivery person delivering the new carbonators, or I would be fined $15. This arrangement might work for most of customers, but I live in a large New York co-op complex with a mailroom. Deliveries are normally made to the mailroom. We are not permitted to leave items with the mailroom staff to give to delivery people, and delivery people are not permitted to have access to the rest of the complex unless the resident is at home. When I realized the problem, I immediately sent a query through the Sodastream website and called Customer Service, but the customer service representative was unable to do anything to resolve the situation, and I did not receive a reply to my query. I would like to ship the empty carbonators back to Sodastream and then be sent my new carbonators after you have received the empty ones. Sodastream does not make the exchange/delivery method clear before the customer has submitted the order; the customer service representative seemed to think that it would be impossible for Sodastream to do this because "they deliver to all fifty states," but of course many online businesses manage to do it with ease by the simple expedient of a dialogue box in which the would-be buyer enters his or her zip code +4. Perhaps the company's website design team needs a little help. I don't mean to malign Sodastream; it's just that customers with unusual package delivery situations need to be aware that the company may not accommodate their needs.
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Joined: 19 Oct 2007
Posts: 1248
Location: central PA
Posted: Tue Sep 29, 2009 11:44 pm
Post subject:
>> I was informed that I had to give the empty carbonators to the delivery person delivering the new carbonators, or I would be fined $15.
there is some very basically wrong with this story.
I serious doubt Sodastream has a private proprietary pick up and delivery service that covers all fifty states. they are using a commercial service, no?
no UPS, Fedex, or USPS delivery person is going to stand there and wait for your to package up and give them your empties.
Sodastream could provide "return" packaging and labeling in advance - did they offer that?
I rather suspect you need to contact somebody other than "customer non-service" with this issue.
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Michael Chu
Joined: 10 May 2005
Posts: 1654
Location: Austin, TX (USA)
Posted: Wed Sep 30, 2009 3:49 am
Post subject:
In my case, when I ordered my replacement(s), they sent me the filled carbonated bottles in boxes with instructions to repack my empties in the boxes and bring them to a UPS store for delivery. I told them they were empty CO2 bottles and since they are empty no special forms needed to be filled out.
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Posted: Wed Sep 30, 2009 7:02 am
Post subject: Re: Wow
Looks like a Guest vs Guest sodaclub refill website plug war. And here I thought this forum was legit! LOL!
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Posted: Wed Sep 30, 2009 9:12 pm
Post subject: Clarification about delivery and exchange
I've just been in communication with Sodastream and they explained why they can't simply use a standard return delivery system for the empty cylinders; the cylinders, which had contained dry CO2, take some special handling and can't just be dropped in the mail like a returned pair of shoes. So the person who thought there was something wrong with my story was right; I didn't have enough information about Sodastream's reasons for the exchange method. We're still trying to work out an exchange that will work for my quirky situation, but I really
complain about their handling of the problem! So please accept my correction. And the seltzer is delicious.
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Posted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 6:25 am
Post subject: better option
half the price, $3-5 refills anywhere, more CO2, non-proprietary.
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Potential refill customer
Posted: Mon Dec 14, 2009 1:17 am
Post subject: Sodaclubrefill.com - wow what an unprofessional jerk
Wow, I simply can not believe that the owner of that site posted such garbage here. I did a Google search for "sodaclub refills" and this came up in the top several items. Read the article by Mr. Chu and the posts below it. I was seriously looking at the sodaclubrefill.com site and was debating buying an adapter. Having seen how the owner there handles customers and treats people.....that will never happen now. I do not care how good a product may or may not be, if you treat your customers like garbage, I will not spend my money there.
Thank you Mr Chu for keeping this available as another interesting reference on the subject.
Back to top
Posted: Fri Dec 18, 2009 9:57 pm
Post subject: sodastreamjavascript:emoticon(':angry:')
They sell proprietary C02 cartridges, which means they can only be refilled by SodaStream.
Also be aware that the cartridges and refills a.) are not always in stock at retail outlets listed on the SodaStream site b.) cost $24 per cartridge refill (as compared to $3 for a standard CO2 cartridge) c.) the size of the cartridge when available at a retail store may not match yours
The customer service on getting exchange CO2 cartridges is *horrible* - every order that I have placed has had some problem. Beware especially if you live in an area where they use an independent courier, rather than UPS. (seriously call them up and check before ordering) In this case, they dont send shipping confirmations or tracking by e-mail, and several times I have waited for bottles only to find that they have not yet shipped (in one case, for weeks).
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Joined: 25 Dec 2009
Posts: 4
Posted: Fri Dec 25, 2009 11:21 am
Post subject: Perhaps a more economical alternative might be ...
Has anyone using soda club / sodastream equipment ever tried Fizz Giz bottle caps? They let you carbonate straight into common soda bottles. Check out
for an informative video. Soda bottles are pretty much free for the taking, therefore, readily available. U can really reduce production costs by using 20# co2 tanks and a filler hose. Well, Fizz Giz caps and something that looks like a small scuba tank may not have that kitchen appliance look or appeal. But they're darn cheap. And if you're an engineer, you sometimes that what it takes to get the job done. You can likely carbonate a thousand bottles with a single 20# tank which, near me, runs $3.50 to fill.
I had value engineering in mind during the conception and design of my carbonation system.
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Posted: Wed Jan 13, 2010 9:36 am
Post subject: Home Soda machines
I cam across this page via a search and was intrigued.
I just recieved my soda maker (purchased from
as they offer a discount coupon of $10)
it is a marvelous machine- we are so happy with it
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Tune in on Saturday, 08/15, at 10:06am ET
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Me, in more depth
I've been playing WoW, now, for… almost two years. Not quite one of the old-timers, but it sure feels like it sometimes. I've almost always been a priest, and have run every race except the new ones up to at least 40 (when the top was 60). I've had a dwarf and an undead at 60 back then. My main today is Zingiber, a level 70 Night Elf Priestess on Undermine. Yes, I said priestess, and I am male. If this bothers you… Read This.
I also like hunters and warriors (in that order), and my current alts include those classes among them.
I've been playing wargames – not computer games, but board and mini and rpg and… just about anything, since I was 16. Since I'm pushing 50 now, that possibly gives you some perspective.
I'm not particularly anonymous, though I've a few privacy quirks – you'll know if you run across one. But this means I'll share my email if you want to contact me semi-privately. I don't promise to answer — real life may interfere, as may an inability to form a coherent (or, based on one email from a few years ago, POLITE) response may result in silence being what happens. Rest assured I'll read it. I just may not respond. If, with that caveat, you still want to write me the address is k s p e n c e r 3 0 7 2 0 AT y a h o o . you can finish the rest. (Yes, this is a test. If you cannot get my address from that, perhaps some work on basic cognitive processes might be in order.)
Since this is the WoW side of things I'll not bore you with what I do, have done, and hope to do. Just know that I do not live and breathe computer games – or even computers, though there for a while…
Rule one of the game: It's a game. If you're not having fun, quit.
Rule two of the game: It's a game. If it's interfering with real life, quit.
Codicil to rule two – Real Life may not always have precedence. The game may be more interesting than 'that party' for example. But if you're giving up income and friendships over the game, you may want to re-examine your priorities.
More to follow as I think of it…
7 Responses to "Me, in more depth"
Did you ever discuss the pros and cons of Aldor or Scryer for Holy priests? I looked but did not find anything.
Very impressed on your representation of the Older Generation sir. I have been leading guilds in MMO's since I was 13, and now that I'm 23 I can honestly say that there have been quite a number of older folks that I have to put some special attention on to get the same performance from some of their younger counterparts. I hope you keep this blog going as I will be frequenting it alot more and hopefully adding to some of your useful information!
Hiya Zin,
Mojo here. I was wondering if I could talk you into posting the straight numbers that we were talking about ingame so that I can more easily respec.
I did read the article and was suitably impressed and feel this is exactly what I was looking for to help up my dmg and work better in groups with my VT/E
Was wondering if anybody anywhere knew of a good Mage blog. We have great Druid, Hunter and Priest blogs which I love to read but my main is a Mage. Isn't there one out there with the same quality as PE, Ego, BRK, BBB and the others??
[…] Kirk, the long-time author of Priestly Endeavors, has done what only the truly wise can do. […]


text:
Registered Charity Number: 1037414
Egypt's water resource and open sewer
Westfield fife scotland acid mine water water resource
Here you will find out much about the Trust. It is an unusual site in that is a working mechanism to allow those interested to find out a little of what we have achieved, what we are doing presently and what we aspire to do. It also allows you to find out if we can help you or your organisation to carry out your environmental goals. Be you an international corporation, a council or individual. The Trust will do its best to find answers to issues, carry out research, project manage or will certainly be able to steer you in the right directions.
As this is a live site there may be anomalies and some overlap, it is also a conduit for knowledge and over time will show our records and archive of past projects. There is a current water related news aspect to the site which allows the dissemination of both the Trusts concerns and other issues that come to our attention.
You interests may at first glance not relate to water, remember that all environmental issues eventually lead to it; so be it air, agriculture, contaminated land or any other issue use us.
I hope you find this site of interest.
Dr Harvey Wood. Director.
© 2020 Clean Rivers Trust, All Rights Reserved.
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text:
Tales and Tidbits from the Desert...
May 28, 2010
Another Mina joint to love
Seablue and Nobhill are two of my favorite restaurants in the city. I've been a fan for years. I remember being excited to check out Stripsteak when it first opened in Mandalay Bay. It was an enjoyable meal, but it didn't win me over like the other two. Now, his newest kid on the block is American Fish. I've been anxious to check it out. We finally did, last week. As an aside, I realize it's a crime I haven't been to Michael Mina at Bellagio yet. I intend to correct that the first opportunity I get.
Back to American Fish, we had a tasty meal and we were not disappointed. Check out
Vegas Values: American Fish
for details.
Here's additional eye candy. Enjoy.
Louisiana Chowder & chocolate custard
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Approaching the weekend
It's nearly here, at last. What a week!
A restful weekend by the pool sounds lovely... fire up the grill, mix margaritas, yes, that sound very nice, indeed.
However, my house is need of a deep cleaning. Scrubbing the floors and showers, and all that jazz. Hoping to get that all done tomorrow. I would also like to trim the rose bushes and oleander. If I find the time. I want to power wash the backyard walls. It's particularly filthy where the vines were.
Sunday and Monday we will complete mom's move. Frank plans to tackle the landscaping and I figure I'll clean, unpack and organize. It's time she feels at home.
Plans are in place for BBQ and bonfire. So, it will be nice to kick back under the stars, and listen to the roar of the fire while we knock back a few cold ones.
I hope everyone has an enjoyable and safe Memorial Day. God bless America, and the men & women who fought, and/or continue to fight for our freedoms, and the freedoms of others in foreign lands.
Pioneer Woman, one of my daily blogs, has been sharing photos all week with the theme "Coming Home". Talk about photos speaking a thousand words...
check them out
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May 27, 2010
Dirty Heads and more
I'm pretty late with the details from Saturday's concert. This
CityCenter debacle
does not have time on my side. It's been a crazy week. Looks like next week will be more of the same. Nothing like reliving projects after they've been complete. I can't complain too much I still have a job. As long as I'm collecting a paycheck I'm a team player.
Back to the concert, it took place at Henderson's Event Center. It's a small venue and it was perfect for the show. It was nice to be up close and personal with the bands. Crowds were laid back and friendly. Frank said he felt old. The show drew a bunch of teens and 20-somethings, but there was still a fair share from the 30+ crowd. I just felt vanilla. Only my ears are pierced, I have no tats and my hair color is natural. My boobs are real, too. I was a bit of an oddity for a woman of my age.
Drinks (from $3) and food ($2 tacos) were reasonable, and there were flushing toilets. A rare treat for an outdoor show. Winds weren't even a bother, because of the way the stage is designed. We got seated in the front row and camped out all night. The collection of bands were much better than I expected. I'd gladly see any of them again. Most did meet and greets and signings throughout the event, even the Dirty Heads. I chatted with Dustin and Mike bought a cd and got it signed by all the members of the band, except Jared, he hadn't arrived yet. Only complaint is that the venue underestimated the amount of beer sales. They sold Miller Lite, MGD, and Fosters. The Miller Lite ran out about 7 o'clock. Mike and Frank were sorely disappointed they opted for MGD. Those ran out just before Dirty Heads took the stage, Mike bought four of the last five.
We thought Rome (from Sublime) might join them for
Lay Me Down
since they've been touring together. But, Rome didn't make an appearance. They brought someone out from the audience to fill Rome's shoes. It was all good fun. Towards the end of the show Dirty J came out into the crowd. Mike rocked it out beside him and was given a high-five for his efforts. They wrapped and we brought them back out for an encore. A bunch of drumsticks and picks were handed out and with that the show was over.
At Sixes and Sevens
Ocean City Defined.
Waiting to meet the Dirty Heads
Getting Mike's cd signed
Soberdown with One Pin Short
B Foundation
One Pin Short
Dirty Heads
Dirty J
Lay Me Down
with fake Rome
Dirty J and Duddy
After the concert, we went to Goldmine Tavern for the after party. They had $5 PBR pitchers. We got there just in time for seats. Not long after we arrived it was packed to the gills. We ran into members from One Pin Short and Soberdown. Frank bought the lead singer of OPS a beer. We saw fake Rome, too. Beers flowed and music was good, we hung around for a couple hours. Mike hit a wall, and we were hungry so bailed. I thought we'd grab a bite at Eldorado, but the cafe was closed. No eats to be found. Wah-wah. I didn't drink at all during the concert and only had a couple beers at the bar so I was the designated driver. It was a long ride home for Frank and Mike. Made a Del Taco stop for Frank and then headed home. Mike was praying to the porcelain gods. Got him set for bed, ate a few triscuits - the late night snack of champions - and crashed. Between Friday and Saturday it was a wild weekend. Good times, though, good times.
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May 25, 2010
Damn, Winds
When people hear I'm from Chicago, many make some comment about the "windy city". Most don't realize that the nickname has nothing to do with actual weather statistics. Rumors say it refers to politics, but it was a term coined to promote tourism to Chicago. Don't get me wrong those cold blustery winds in the winter can be brutal, they'll freeze you to the core. But, I've never seen winds anywhere like what we get here. This El Nino year has been particularly bad. 50+mph wind gusts have become the norm, lately.
Friday there was wind advisory from 11am-11pm. I hoped it wouldn't interfere with the Steve Miller concert. My thought was poor sound, flying debris... minor interference. We pulled up to M Resort's valet about 6:45. The winds were fierce. It took two of us to put the t-tops on the Firebird, one to hold the door while the other secured the t-top. Meanwhile, I couldn't help to notice how much those valet guys would enjoy their night. Wind gusts tossed up skirts and dresses, revealing bare ass and panties. It was quite the show. I've never been happier with my choice of wearing jeans.
We met uncle Pete at 32 Degrees for drinks before dinner. He hasn't been to a concert in 40 years when he heard we were seeing Steve Miller Band, he wanted to join us. Before our 7:30 reservation at Marinelli's, Pete went to the box office to buy his ticket. Only they wouldn't sell it, since the concert was being threatened by the high winds. The staff at Marinelli's then kept us posted on the status of the show.
We had calamari to start. Nice and tender, and lightly breaded. Pete chose a special: stuffed veal, Frank had the onion and cheese risotto and I also selected a special: rigatoni with lamb ragu. We also had two bottles of Chardonnay with dinner. The meal and conversation were excellent. We were perched overlooking the terrace, judging by the waves in the pool we guessed the show would not go on. Soon, a kind woman confirmed our thoughts. The show was cancelled and tickets would be refunded at point of sale. A rain or shine concert called of due to weather in Las Vegas. Imagine that? Damn, Winds.
After dinner we went to Ravello Lounge. We got drinks and waited on a seat. Boogie Knights was performing. We had a good time, dancing, laughing and just being silly. Pete asked the band to play Steve Miller Band. When they returned after their first set they played
Rock'N Me
. The crowd went wild. Good times. Shortly, after that the night gets fuzzy for me. I was wrecked. Apparently, wine, beers and shots don't mix all that well. We stayed until Boogie Knights called it quits. Frank got us home safely. Then, walking safely was a huge fail on my part. I slipped and busted my knee. Felt no pain until the hangover settled in late Saturday morning, when I climbed into bed knee first and howled in pain. My knee had a nice swollen 3x3 egg, it was ten shades of ugly and puffy as can be. Lovely. Gotta love the memento of being a hot mess.
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May 24, 2010
Late-May Blizzard
I'm lagging behind today. I want to share about the weekend's shows and all, but I haven't got the time. It'll be quicker to turn out my tale of the snow storm yesterday.
It was chilly waking up yesterday morning. I took a look at the thermometer, it read a cool 60. I never thought that'd be the high for the day. The mercury only fell as the day went on. Around 2 o'clock we left to take Mike back to my mom's in Pahrump. You could see the storms in the distance, they looked like rain. Once we got closer we quickly realized it was snow. Snow in late-May. WTF? This is the desert for heaven sakes. It was just 94 on Thursday.
It must have sucked to be on those motorcycles. Check out the video from driving thru the storm. The lense filled with snow in a hurry.
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May 21, 2010
More on M
Today's article features M Resort. My second time writing about the resort. Nah, you can't tell it's my favorite local's casino - no way. I share details about our fine meal at Marinelli's, how to avoid ticketmaster fees, and you can even enjoy M's pool area without being a hotel guest. Get the scoop at
Vegas Values: More to Love at M Resort
It looks like Frank's uncle will be joining us for the concert. We're meeting for drinks at 32 Degrees, we'll grab a bite and then we'll hit the pool area for the show. A wind advisory is set today 11-11 I have no clue what to expect tonight. 90's to 70's... what to wear? Hope the winds don't interfere with the show. As long as they stay tame I suspect a great night.
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May 20, 2010
"Turn it up a little bit"
After busting my ass the last couple weekends, I cannot tell you how happy I am that tomorrow is Friday. This weekend will be busy, but not in the ass busting kinda way. It'll be fun-filled with music, eats and possibly some off-roading or pool time.
I love music... 70's, 80's 90's - a bit of everything. It's been a long time since I got excited about anything new. Welcome, Dirty Heads. They provided the sound-track to our San Diego getaway in April. We couldn't get enough. I knew they'd be huge. I just had to see them before it happened. I searched for shows nearby, but nothing came up in Vegas. They kicked off a tour opening for Sublime with Rome on 4/20 in Cali. It started a huge wave of success. Dozens of dates were added to the tour including a show at Mandalay Bay's Beach on July 30. Yeah, we'll be there. But before that was announced, I found a show in Henderson for the Dirty Heads. My brother helped convince me that they were indeed the band I wanted to see. That show is this Saturday. Once, I knew Mike would be in town, I bought him a ticket, too. Ten bucks, you can't beat it. I'm so stoked to see them live.
Here's a clip from a recent performance at the Jimmy Kimmel show. They've been topping the Alternative Charts with this one, "Lay Me Down".
Tomorrow, we're rocking it old school at M Resort. We are seeing Steve Miller Band. I've passed on shows a number of times before. I was left to regret not seeing Aerosmith last they came to town, so I figured it was better now than (possibly) never. I've liked Steve Miller since I was a wee one. I passed it along to my sister by six, she knew all the words to "The Joker". In hindsight, it probably wasn't appropriate. You live and you learn. "Take the Money and Run" has since become a favorite, it's a great road trip song.
Next month, it looks like we might catch Pepper and Slightly Stoopid at Hard Rock's Pool. Looks like more fun is in store.
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May 19, 2010
Sob Story
So, I mentioned that Mike flew in on Friday. Well, my sister took him to the airport. She had hoped to leave Nicky with Jeff, but he was called in early to work. This left her no choice, but to bring him along.
Nicky insisted that he was going to Las Vegas. He was on top of the world. When they left my dad's house he told he said, "Bye, grandpa Gary, I'm going to Las Vegas. Love you, miss you".
Amy repeatedly reminded Nicky that only uncle Mikey was going to Las Vegas. Nicky was relentless, "I'm going to Las Vegas, I'm going to help grammy move".
They stopped at Burger King on the way to the airport. Nicky refused to eat his chicken nuggets, he was saving them for the plane.
When they finally got to the airport Amy missed her turn, which took them by the runways. The kid was so excited you'd think it Christmas morning. Las Vegas!!!
They arrived at passenger drop off. Nicky busted out of his car seat, grabbed his nuggets and Mike's carry-on bag. He was ready to fly.
Amy had to crush his hopes and dreams. "No, Nicky, we're not going, we don't have tickets". "Uncle Mikey has tickets", he says. Only for him. Nicky was pissed. The waterworks began, they were followed by "I won't love you anymore". The dramatics continued. Amy and Mike both felt terrible. He was absolutely heartbroken that he was not going. Amy called my mom to explain to him that he was not coming, because he wasn't accepting it from her. They were all crushed. Had I been there, I'm sure I would have bought the kid a ticket. Watery eyes, quivering lips, and look of defeat. There's no way I could say no.
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May 18, 2010
Seriously beat
This weekend was exhausting. Make that EXHAUSTING! Mike got in on time Friday evening, his bags even arrived this time. Nice! It was my first visit since McCarran changed from metered parking to pay parking. Now the line for passenger pick ups is ridiculous, everyone just drives around and around to avoid the fees. They need to make a cell-phone lot like they have at Midway Airport.
Anyway, we headed over to PT's for drinks and a bite. We shared a bucket of boneless wings. They were far better than I imagined. I still prefer Buffalo Wild Wings, but these were the next best thing. We had a great time catching up while pounding a few back. They have the coldest beers around - they go down way too easy. We made it home just before 2am. Morning and hard work would come too soon.
Saturday and Sunday were spent in Pahrump. Saturday I planned to clean the new house. But plumbing issues made it impossible to clean. By mid-day Blaine had one toilet and sink in working order. I did other odds and ends at the new place and then I was off to the old house to pack. Only a few boxes had been packed since I was last there a week ago. I got the kitchen completely done. Only leaving behind a coffee maker, a few cups and silverware. They can't live without coffee.
Sunday was moving day. We had six able bodies, my mom and 17-foot Uhaul. Mom decided they couldn't fully move into the new place because of the plumbing and electrical issues. So beds, fridge and other misc. items would be left behind. Packing wasn't nearly as complete as I was led to believe so much of the first trip was pack and load. My mom and I ran around prepping and packing and Frank and Don (hired help) loaded the truck. Mike was sent to the new place because my mom was concerned about the dogs. Blaine was out feeding animals. The 6th body disappeared until late afternoon. I did not want Frank to lift my mom's heaviest pieces, an armoire and old flat big screen tv. After having back surgery I felt it was too risky. But he loaded and unloaded both pieces against my wishes. Thankfully, he managed ok.
On Saturday my mom hired a man to clear an area for the horses to roam free. After the ground was disturbed the dirt turned to sand it was soft as the dunes. I mentioned to my mom that the Uhaul had to hug the trees when driving up to the front door, otherwise it would get stuck. Well, despite my words of caution, Blaine drove the truck into the live-wire area and got stuck. We didn't have tow rope long enough so Frank had to run into town to buy a couple from Walmart. In the meantime, I built deck box for storage and lent a hand in setting up to animal pens. When he returned, I helped prep the vehicles with the tow rope. Thank goodness we had the Suburban after a few tugs the Uhaul was free. Had we not brought it, I'm not sure what would have happened.
We unloaded the truck and then it was back to the old house for the next load. It took two full loads to gather much of the house and garage. One load for animals pens. And my mom will need to rent the truck again to move the remainder of the house items and the peacock pens. It was more stuff than I ever imagined. We worked our asses off for 11 hours. My feet hurt so bad at the end of the day, my veins were swollen and puffy, my legs have never looked more gross. I don't think I've ever felt dirtier. When I first stepped into the shower it hurt to get clean. The same way it feels when you stick your hand in an ice chest when it's blazing outside.
The worst of the move is complete. There is still much work to be done. But once my mom gets settled I think she'll be very happy at her new digs. Her animals will be, too. I love the place already. It has shade. And it's much closer to Vegas. Shaving off 20 minutes from the drive home late-Sunday night was much appreciated. I was home and showered by the time it usually took to drive door-to-door.
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May 14, 2010
Muy Bueno!
I covered my current favorite Mexican restaurant for this week's column. Check it out!
Vegas Values: A Winning Combo
We took my mom there to celebrate her birthday a few weeks ago. She only started to like Mexican within the last couple years. Steak quesadillas are her bag. She approved of the one at Casa Don Juan. "M'mmm the tortilla is so crisp", she said.
I'm always trying to get her to expand her horizons and try new food. Usually she turns me down, but she tried carnitas and the tamale, much to my surprise. "M'mmm good", she says. Yeah. I know. Maybe one day she'll step out of her comfort zone and realize there's a whole world of culinary delights out there. It begins with one bite, after all.
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May 13, 2010
A Ride of a Lifetime
A friend and co-worker is about to embark on an amazing journey in order to raise funds for the National MS Society. Saturday, he will depart from his Las Vegas home and pedal his way to Anchorage, Alaska with a small detour to Prudoe Bay and the Arctic Ocean. Yes, you read right, I said pedal. He's riding his bike. I'm not talking about a motorcycle either, just a regular ol' bicycle. He will ride through 7 states and 3 Canadian Provinces for a total of approx. 7,500 miles.
And here I was proud of my bike ride from the San Francisco Wharf across the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito. That's a hiccup in comparison. I'm really in awe of his determination and drive. I'd worry about his sanity had he not completed a trek like this once before, but that was 30 years ago, that journey took him from Missoula, Montana to Anchorage, Alaska. I think it's safe to say he's definitely upped the stakes.
I wish him well on his journey. I figure the least I can do is spread word about his tale and work to boost his fundraising efforts.
So, if you're looking to donate to a charitable cause this is a great opportunity. Donations are tax-deductable. Help the
National Multiple Sclerosis Society
Many thanks for your support!
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May 12, 2010
Back at it
Yeah, I got lazy. I fell back into my sluggish ways this winter. Getting sick really derails me every single time. Winter quickly turned into spring and here I am squishy and a bit bigger than I'd like to be. It's taken me a few weeks to amp myself up and get motivated to commit, err, re-commit to exercise and healthy eating.
Eating isn't much of an issue. I eat healthy and make good choices majority of the time. My meals out are the exception. But I'm not willing to compromise on those. I enjoy dining way too much to deprive myself of that happiness. I do need to re-evaluate portion sizes and my overall daily intake. I'm older now, so I'm sure some adjusting is necessary. I'm in the process of tweaking my current daily needs.
Exercise. That's my focus. I'm active on the weekends, but I fall short during the week. I'm chained to my desk 9 hours a day unless I make the effort to get off my ass and exercise on my lunch break. For months I used every excuse imagineable to convince myself to skip those workouts. NO MORE.
Last week, I finally got my head in the game. I'm currently 8/8 for daily exercise. My goal is a minimum of 30 minutes of exercise every day for six weeks. I first did this slug no more challenge last fall. I was able to shed some weight and tone up. I'm hoping my dedication provides me with similar results again.
I don't want to be squishy anymore.
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May 11, 2010
Enough Already!
Wind wind go away, come again some other year. Seriously, we've had enough in the last few weeks to last a lifetime. It's a shock that I still have trees standing. The gusts have been unreal. It sounds like I live by train yards, with freight trains whizzing by. One tree has caused the stucco to crack in our dividing wall from all it's swaying. Not sure how to go about fixing it, it's something to look into before it becomes a real problem.
I'm so over this warm and cold spells. Regular seasonal temps, that's all I ask. 90 to 60, 90 to 60, I should be used to it by now, but I'm not. It only makes 90 feel that much warmer and we should not be experiencing winter temperatures in May.
We thought we were past thing yo-yo weather. We put the solar cover on the pool last week. The water temperature was up to 73 this weekend. We've since lost all the heat. We had to remove the cover because of all the debris in the pool. As much as we want warm water, it's not worth risking the battle against algae.
Frank was so pleased when the pool was finally clean yesterday evening. However, it was just in time for the next wind storm. It howled all night. It woke us a couple times, usually we are deep sleepers. When we took a look in the morning you'd never guess the pool was sparkling clean just 12 short hours before.
Please, please can we have a break? Regular seasonal temperatures would be much appreciated. Thank you.
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May 10, 2010
So tired
This weekend wiped me out. Friday I got the house straightened knowing I had a busy weekend ahead.
Saturday, I helped mom pack. We managed to get a lot done. We never got to Amy's old room and we left behind items needed for the rest of the week, but all other odds and ends are packed and ready to go. Next weekend we'll start the big move! Such a whirlwind since just a couple weeks ago she was considering relocating to Tennessee since nothing affordable could be found out here. Just goes to prove my belief that everything happens for a reason.
Sunday, Frank and I ran a couple errands and then we attacked the backyard. The trees and plants were overgrown. We got to much of it. We took out six or seven vines. I grew tired of trying to maintain them, ultimately they'd always grow back and take over. It looks naked without them, but now I have a place to hang baskets and a retaining wall to fill with flowers. Two of the vines grew along the wall, we put a couple rose bushes in their place. We transplanted them from planters alongside the house. Once, I pick out new flowers and everything grows in, it ought to look real nice.
I'll leave you with a couple photos from mom's house on Saturday.
Windy days are hard on peacocks.
Ever seen a sunburt chicken? How about two? The lack of feathers is a result of mating and molting.
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May 7, 2010
So, this week I let you all in on my secret... Siena Bistro; It's my favorite breakfast spot. Get the scoop at
Vegas Values: A Hidden Gem
. A lake, lush greens, mountain and strip views, plus reasonable and tasty eats. You can't go wrong.
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More babies!
My mom has had her hands full the last couple days. Meet the other new arrivals. This is Mabel and Annie, both are peking ducks.
This trio of chicks hatched from the incubator. I believe they're all Polish chickens. Only two have names, Uno and Rusty. The third little guy is nameless, so far.
Then, this guy had a rough start. He might just be the ugliest newborn ever. He kinda looks like Big Bird on meth, doesn't he?
He didn't peck out of his shell quick enough so the sack began to dry all over him. He was pretty well glued to his shell. My mom helped him out and gave him half a dozen baths. He's doing much better today, see? Meet Tubby.
I'll be by to see all the new kiddos this weekend. I plan to help mom get packed, since next weekend should start the big move.
Hope all you moms have a wonderful Mother's Day. Don't forget to take a moment just for you.
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May 6, 2010
Mom's moving
My mom is moving, but not to Tennessee. Oddly enough the day she was going to book her flight to Nashville, a new listing came on the market. She's been looking in Pahrump for 6 months or so. She has put offers on dozens of places, but she was repeatedly outbid. None were too upsetting, because she didn't LOVE any of them, but they each had potential. This latest one, though, she loved. It's is in really good condition, too. She acted quick and won a bidding war. The house is hers.
It's a bit closer to Vegas, it should shave 10-15 minutes off the drive. That'll be nice to get door-to-door in less than an hour. She'll keep her two acres, and the living space is about the same. She is losing a garage, however. But a shed or two should resolve the need for storage space. The best part is that she'll own her house free and clear. She won't ever need to worry about losing the roof over her head again. It's a huge relief for me, so I can't imagine how relieved she must be.
She's expected to close and record at the end of next week. Mike is flying in from Chicago on Friday to lend a hand with the move. He'll likely be around for a month. The move will be one helluva task. The usual stuff is little concern other than a ginormous armoire and heavy big screen tv. Hopefully, Mike and Blaine can manage. Frank won't be much help, he has to be cautious with any lifting to keep back problems from reoccurring. The ordeal will be moving the animals and their stalls, cages, and fencing. Ever moved two horses, three goats, three dogs, a pig, a flock of ducks and geese, a slew of chickens and two peacocks? Me, either. I'll let you know how it goes.
To make things a bit more complicated it's baby time on the ranch. farm, whatever your preference. Goslings hatched last week. Here's Gooseston, Nicky named him.
And you might remember me mentioning the chicken eggs she is incubating, well two hatched yesterday. She hasn't sent me photos of them yet. More are due shortly.
The next few weeks ought to be wild.
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May 5, 2010
Sedona Lounge
Years ago we went to Sedona Lounge at 215/Flamingo, we thought it was just another neighborhood video poker bar. We had sticker shock once we got inside. I don't recall a single menu item less than 15 bucks. We bailed. We weren't up for upscale bar food at the time.
Last week, we returned. It's had a complete remodel since our last visit. Before, I recall curtains and large booths. Now, it's pretty hip and swanky, with a large bar and seating all around. There is also an outdoor patio, but it was windy and cool the night we were there. We sat inside. The tables quickly filled after we got seated. Apparently, it's a popular place.
We started with Four Cheese Flatbread ($12). The cheesy mix of fontina, provolone, mozzarella, and parmesan was a great gooey blend, but the sauce and crust were weak links. The sauce lacked any zip and I prefer a chewier crust. This one was a bit dry and crisp.
We each chose an entree and decided to share. Frank started with Baja Fish Tacos ($16). The mahi mahi pieces were dry, I wasn't a fan. Frank enjoyed the corn and black bean salad that came on the side.
I had a beef gyro wrap ($14). It was a bit bland and calling it a gyro was a stretch. I suppose I'm too used to savory mix of spices, beef and lamb in a traditional gyro. The fries looked crunchy, but they were mushy. I like crisp fries. The side salad with mixed greens and feta was great, though.
We left Sedona unimpressed. We'll stick to their sister restaurant, John Cutter. They have greats salads and good sandwiches. Prices are more reasonable there, too.
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May 4, 2010
Ice Box Canyon
Sunday we went to Red Rock for a hike. We wanted to see a waterfall and felt our best chance was at Ice Box Canyon. Let's get right to it... Ice Box Canyon trail is there somewhere.
Onward and upward.
We climbed enough elevation for a clear view across the park.
Heading deeper into the canyon.
And deeper...
Looks like a face, doesn't it?
First pool of water, some might think this is the end of the trail, but here's where it gets interesting. It's rock scrambling time!
Yep! That's the way.
The trail winds around the canyon walls.
Trees grow out of the rock, it's pretty wild.
This dying tree reminded me of the Whoville Tree. Surprising the winds haven't taken it out.
Check out the colors in the rock.
First glimpse of the falls.
Ice Box Canyon Falls, it strengthens after heavy rainfall and seasonally with melting snow. May is late for any waterfalls, so we were lucky to see the trickle from melting ice above.
That man near the ledge is looking over a pool of water. Soon, disaster would strike. And he'd be shaken to the core. We'll call him the cardiologist.
The cardiologist's wife slipped and fell into the freezing cold pool. She knocked her head along the way causing it to bleed. He jumped in after her. A few other quickly went to their aid. No one had cell service. So, everyone pulled together to help them to safety. Fortunately, the woman was coherent. She was freezing and in shock, but she was pretty good spirits for having a head injury. Frank donated his sweatshirt to keep her warm and a few experienced hikers hoisted the couple down the falls. Then, they assisted them out of the canyon to be sure they made it our safely. The couple were from out of town and had a 5:30 flight to catch. Somehow, I doubt they made it, but I hope she was ok. It was a scary sight to witness. The sense of helplessness is overwhelming.
We hung back at the falls to give them a good head start out of the canyon. The sun had moved and I was able to capture the beautiful colors of the falls.
We headed back, let the rock scrambling continue...
Do you see the rock climber?
You keep busy watching your every step, but it's good to take a break to enjoy the view and the desert wildflowers.
Once we got back to flat pavement it felt very odd. It was wild. A little ways down the loop, we spotted wild burros. It's been 5 years or so since I last saw them so it was a nice treat to see them still around.
Minutes later we were back in the city, cruising on the 215 headed home. It's wonderful to have Red Rock Canyon in our backyard.
We really enjoyed the hike. We intend to continue with more until we've done them all. It sounds like a fun challenge.
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Midtown Manhattan Based
Hi guys, I'm an all American boy next door who loves to have a good time. I can host in my centrally located Midtown Manhattan apartment, or travel to you. I can get into many different scenes depending what gets you off. I am passionate, friendly, and love meeting new people. My stats are 6'2, 160, bubble butt, well hung thick and completely versatile. I love kissing and giving massages. Available for overnights and travel- multi hour discounts are available. All ages and body types welcome.


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LSU QB Zach Mettenberger to Minnesota Vikings?
The Minnesota Vikings own the eighth pick in May's NFL Draft, and there's plenty of speculation of the team taking a quarterback.
Who might that signal-caller be?
This week, the Vikings will meet with LSU quaterback Zach Mettenberger at his pro day, along with an individual workout, according to ESPN's Ben Goessling.
Mettenberger is coming off successful ACL surgery earlier this year in January.
At 6'5", and 224 pounds, 2013 was Mettenberger's best statistical season. He threw for 3,082 yards, 22 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He completed 64.9% of his passes.
Another big name quarterback that could be chosen by Minnesota is Texas A&M's Johnny Manziel. However, last week, new head coach Mike Zimmer did say Manziel has red flags, and wasn't impressed with the 'sideshow,' Manziel put on at the Aggies pro day.
The NFL Draft is later this year, and begins on May 8.
Which quarterback should the Vikings draft? Should Minnesota draft Manziel, Blake Bortles, Teddy Bridgewater, Derek Carr, or Mettenberger?
Manziel, Bortles, and Bridgewater are top-ten projected draft picks. Carr is projected from anywhere in the first or second round. Mettenberger is projected in rounds three or four.
**Feel free to comment or email Sam at email@example.com, and follow him on Twitter @samtastad**


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Maryland tourism professionals from both the public and private sectors need to focus on convincing our fellow citizens and our elected officials on the merits of supporting tourism in Maryland. Making the case for Worcester County and Ocean City is particularly important given the fact tourism is the dominant industry in Worcester County and even most local "non-tourism" businesses and jobs are dependant on a successful tourism industry.
The obvious beauty of tourism for Worcester County residents is the financial impact that results from a three-month season: lower taxes, well funded schools, strong law enforcement, effective government services, a variety of recreation services and a wonderful quality of life. These are year-round benefits essentially paid for in three months.
Worcester County tourism is also a cash cow for the state government, as are the other larger tourism destinations in Maryland. However, in a move even Gov. Martin O' Malley could not explain, the state legislature earmarked $600,000 from the state tourism budget to give to the Baltimore Zoo. That means this year a single entity that loses money, the Baltimore Zoo, will receive approximately three times more tourism funds from the state than Worcester County and Ocean City combined. That shows a lack of respect and lack of understanding.
The Baltimore Zoo may indeed be deserving of state funds, but the money certainly should not come from the state's tourism budget. That money in the tourism budget was intended to promote Maryland as it competes with several neighboring states for travelers, and their expenditures, not subsidize operating losses of local attractions.
Worcester County is arguably the state's truest and most vital tourism destination, providing leisure and memories to our visitors, and an abundance of tax revenue to our state and local government. No individual business can effectively market the destination. That needs to be done by the state, county and city working together to produce a consistent and adequately funded marketing plan.
The people who rely on tourism, and there are many, need to spread the word so our elected officials understand that supporting tourism with a plan and marketing funds is smart and good for the community. Tourism is an economic engine that deserves their attention and respect.
Michael James
Ocean City
(The writer, a managing partner of the Carousel Hotel, is the former chairman of the Maryland Tourism Development Board.)