text:
So I drove down to the field yesterday, and halfway down I started worrying about the car. I had to aim about 45 degrees left all the way and I was convined that I would have to stop along tehe way and get the wheel alignment sorted out. When I stopped at Machadodorp for lunch and got out the car, I relised that it had nothing to do with the car, but rather the gale-force winds! I had to stagger in to the bathroom and then fight the wind behind me all the waay back. I had been frying in the car, as the sun was pretty hot, but it was even worse outside as the wind was also very warm. I managed to get the last paddle-pop in the star shop (seriously, people have to start stocking more purple and yellow paddle-pops!) and went on my way.
I was running seriously late, after going out with Lara and crew the night before and only really paking in the morning. Typically I can pack for a trip in about 2 minutes, but as I'm in it for the long haul (at least 2 months) I took a bit longer, partly because I as trying to find extra bags for al the little things that I kept adding in. Here's some advice for anyone going on fieldwork; take a few things that will keep you sane, even if they are totally impractical. I have a white jersey, among other things, because when I get back from a day in the field, hot, dusty, usually bruised and bleeding and often with glue in my hair - the idea that I could (if I wanted to) get showered and change into something clean and pristinely white - it really makes a difference. The chances of my wearing it on this trip are practically nil, but at least I know that it's there, and as such it plays much more of a role than many of the things that I use relatively often.
I got to the shopping centre at around 3:30 and took my time doing the first big grocery shop. the sense of deja-vu-but-not wasn't as strong as before, possibly because I was expecting it, but probably because I was tired and hot. I got to the house before it got dark, unpacked and collapsed into bed by about 7 or so, where I picked up the book I was reading last time and tried to figure out where I left off. It didn't grab my attention enough for me to start all over again. The kudu were in the garden again, like a milk-moustached welcoming committee that ran away as soon as I walked anywhere near them. I wonder how the baby is doing, I'm sure he was there but he's grown too much for me to ecognise him!
thi morning was windy gain, although not as bad as yesterday, so I headed off to an outcrop that I know to have a few sheltered areas. I caught two lizards before I packed up - the lizards werent super-active and the wind was picking up so that the traps were starting to strain at their press-stick a bit. The coolest part was when I sat watching some of the traps and a female stuck her head out of a crevice right next to my. She freaked and ran back in, but then stuk her head out again, watching me. I didn't move and she kept going in and out, until she ran out, probably only 5cm from my knee, rushed about 2m to where was traps were, grabbed a mantid and then ranced back nto the crevice. I felt very Attenboroughesque being right next to the action like that!
Once I got back the wind was really picking up, and I rushed inside with all my equipment to spin my blood samples down. An hour later I coouldn't see even the nearest trees from the window. There was so much dust from the wnd that it looked foggy. the house, despite not having a single level patch of floor, is really solid, and I felt safe, while I watched tree branches floating past the windows. At one stage wen it calmed a bit I walked around outside, where I felt the same kind of exhilaration that I usually get from walking in the rin, except that instead of having to towel off when I came inside, I had to put in eyedrops and brush the sand and twigs out of my hair.
And house after that I sat inside trying to figure out what the shapes flying past the window were. It was kind of like pictures in the clouds, except that there were actual possibilities that I was right! At one stage I could have sworn I saw a branch go past wth a surprised vervet monkey attached, another time I thought I saw the purple-crested lourie that I see on our roof sometimes.
Other than that I took a nap, did some work and have been fighting the internet ever since. It's good to be back!
Sunday, August 31, 2008
cloud shapes in the wind
So I drove down to the field yesterday, and halfway down I started worrying about the car. I had to aim about 45 degrees left all the way and I was convined that I would have to stop along tehe way and get the wheel alignment sorted out. When I stopped at Machadodorp for lunch and got out the car, I relised that it had nothing to do with the car, but rather the gale-force winds! I had to stagger in to the bathroom and then fight the wind behind me all the waay back. I had been frying in the car, as the sun was pretty hot, but it was even worse outside as the wind was also very warm. I managed to get the last paddle-pop in the star shop (seriously, people have to start stocking more purple and yellow paddle-pops!) and went on my way.
Posted by Helen at 9:44 pm 1 comments Links to this post
Labels: field work
Friday, August 29, 2008
I'm leaving. No, really!
So everything is pretty much organised, I have the few little things that always get forgotten to sort out and pick up and pack (oh yes, I haven't packed yet!), but I'm on track to leave early tomorrow morning for two months of solitude. I'm not sure if I'm really all that happy about it, but I've finally lost the feeling of dread that I felt every time I thought about fieldwork. I think it's because I went and bought traps yesterday - which is usually the last thing I do before I leave.
I got a new DVD drive yesterday, it has light-scribe which is super-cool! Now I just have to find compatible DVDs... so I can back-up my work while I'm away, as well as watching movies on rainy days. Seriously, HOW did people do fieldwork before laptops and Ipods? If it wasn't for my internet connection and DVD collection I think I would die out there! And before cellphones? Mxit? I will have to ask an old scientist. Maybe my supervisor has forgiven me for laughing at his Frisbee-themed desktop background...
I had dinner with Jo on Wednesday, which was nice (pizza!) - I'm going to be back in the gramadoelas soon where I go shopping every 10-14 days, so junk food is pretty much out of the question. Well we have a snack shelf in the cupboard, but take-out isn't really feasible. The scary thing is that I don't miss it at all! I miss Thai food. I'll have to see if there's a Thai place in Nelspruit.
Everything is so hectic - the last day in 'civilization' usually is, I suddenly realise everything I need to do. Fortunately Nelspruit (the nearest town, except for Kaapmuiden which scares me) is pretty big and I can buy anything I forget to take/find out I need later. but now is the frantic rushing around to say goodbye to everyone and make sure that I've RSVP-ed a 'no' wherever necessary and try to spend time with the people I'm going to miss without offending other people by overlooking them.
I remember last year, when I spent 3 months or so on fieldwork I came home twice - the first time was for a meeting, and I have two nights at home. I barely blinked the whole time as I rushed from place to place and besides having my meeting and organising everything and updating my supervisor (I'm really not very good at sending updates when I'm out there) I managed to see most of my close friends, do all my laundry, have a games evening... and by the end I was so totally exhausted I was in slow-motion when I got back to the farm! I was also completely miserable at home because I'd got used to the quiet of being in the middle of nowhere, and the traffic and noise and pollution gave me a blinding headache. At the same time, the giggling at games, and the time that I spent with people I had missed, gave me memories to hold on to when I went back.
The second time I went home was for one day. I had to bring a vehicle back and take another one, so I got home one night (gave my family a huge fright when I walked in for the first time in over a month!) stayed for the following day and left the morning after that. And that time I hadn't told anyone that I was coming home, so I ended up spending time with the people I ran into rather than planning to see everyone. Nobody was offended, as I hadn't planned the trip and I didn't have time to organise anything before I left, and I ended up having a lovely, relaxing day with people I care about. And it gave me the strength I needed to go back and finish up.
I can't believe it's been almost a year since I left for my first big field-trip. and I can't believe that it feels more like going home than leaving.
And I'm going to miss everyone like crazy! When I get back, a lot of the students who were in my class the whole way through will have finished their masters and left. And I'm so sad that I won't be here to see the end of their studies.
I can't really focus now, so I'm going to go and check that I packed all of the right equipment!
Posted by Helen at 9:58 am 1 comments Links to this post
Labels: field work, going away, special people
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Why do I do these things?
Yesterday was the honours student's birthday, and I didn't know until I decided to indulge in some Facebooking tonight. Now I feel terrible! We'll have to have a ... what are those thing called? A pinata? I've never seen one before except in weird TV shows... I felt really bad today because a few of his lizards died and he nearly cried.
So anyway today I discovered that the major issue I've been having with my equipment was NOT a hardware fault, but a SOFTWARE problem. I think. so there is hope that I might actually be able to leave, and take all the readings that I need. There is hope!
The masters student also wanted to measure the colours of the paints she's using before I go away (potentially taking the specs with me), so she went off today and bought a ton of different paints. She had tried to go the scientific route and use a paint company that measures their colours that could match it more exactly, but they messed up, so she picked out a whole bunch of colours and then we measured patches of each one and picked out the right colours, or chose which ones to mix and stuff. It was quite fun actually!
So, to get to the actual point of the story, one of the colours was supposed to be a light orange. It turned out to be a super-hectic lumo orange! It practically glows. I was completely in love with it right away (bear in mind, my hair has gone from blue to fire-engine red in less than 2 months, and the last shoes I bought were bright yellow... I like bright colours!) so I decided to make a sign fr the door with it. I ran out of inspiration though and ended up just painting random abstract symbols on a piece of paper (yes, I have two degrees. Your point being?). I also repainted the practice model lizard by adding orange stripes. It looks like he's been outfitted in camo-gear now! with orange eyes and nostrils. He's scary!
So after I'd walked Luke to his car and had enough of fighting with the equipment, and not feeling like playing with the honours student's data yet (I said I'd have a look, because he's totally stuck), so I boiled to kettle for chai tea and then caught sight of the tube of orange paint. If it was a movie there would have been alternating shots of my eyes, the paint, me, paint, me... in quicker and quicker succession. With the music doing a dramatic crescendo.
So while the kettle boiled I found a paintbrush and painted my nails with the bright orange paint.
It was a messy job, but I figured it's just acrylic (or so I thought) and I could just neaten it up with some wet paper towel. When I tried I succeeded in smearing orange paint all over my palms, a lab coat, the sink, my tea-mug my lower arms and possibly my face (no mirror in the lab and the honours students next door were looking at me oddly, but I have no way of figuring out if that was a result of paint on my face, or paint all over the rest of me. It's also pretty much indelible. Whoops.
So I went outside and chatted to the honours students, and they were all stressed out,. so I felt all patch adamsish because they couldn't look at me without giggling. The plus side was that I didn't want to touch my keyboard until the paint was totally dry! I'm just hoping I can soak the orange off when I get home. Whoops. Oh well, live and learn I guess! and it is a VERY funky orange, so maybe if I paint over it with clear nail polish when I get home. Actually I have clear nail polish here, from the skeleton-reconstruction it ended up in my dissecting kit... I'm going to go and do that now!
Fun times!
Posted by Helen at 6:57 pm 3 comments Links to this post
Labels: Exciting stuff, random, weird
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
am so never leaving Joburg! And as much as I don't want to go, I'm still frustrated and wanting to get some work done! I know I'll be happy when I'm there, I was just as upset about leaving at the end of last year! And I want to go to Madagascar! I'm tempted to apply to go from May to July next year as a volunteer, I'm hoping to do something involving the pet trade, but anything really...
Problem is:
1. I have a PhD to finish
2. I'm supposed to be going Brazil/the states at the end of July and I don't think I'd have everything ready if I was off gallivanting in the forests with the tree frogs...
3. I don't have 2500 euros to pay for vaccinations, flights and so on
4. I haven't spoken French in a very long time, so I would need a crash-course. they only accept applicants with an acceptable level of French. Why didn't the Afrikaans people colonise somewhere cool? I speak that well enough!
5. If I raise the money and volunteer in Madagascar, I probably won't be able to volunteer in Antarctica, which has been my dream for much longer than Madagascar...
I'm still waiting for help from the company that 'fixed' my equipment in May, I really wish I'd thought to check the set that I don't usually use back then! Or that I could use the other set to measure anything. I've done all the troubleshooting I can, without actually opening the thing up, and everything is working except for the component that we had checked and serviced!
Right now the annoying KID-ess masters student is doing his proposal presentation. He's a lot more nervous than he's admitting, and wearing a smart shirt and shorts... with a belt buckle that is shiny and the size of a dinner plate. At least it doesn't say "stud" like the last one!
The honours student and I have just used black cotton to tie his backpack to his keyboard. Should be fun...
Posted by Helen at 2:39 pm 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: going away, pipe dreams
Monday, August 25, 2008
I want to go to Fiji!
So the last post was cut short by Luke who very kindly phoned (from about 200 metres away) to remind me to go to a seminar. It was given by a guy who recently finished his masters and wet to work for the WWF in Fiji! And now I'm desperate to go there!
And my supervisor is a fruitcake...
and now that the piece of equipment that was giving me trouble is fixed, something else is broken, so I'm not sure when I'll be leaving Joburg. The most frustrating part is that I can't decide what I feel about the whole situation - I was frustrated as anything and really want to get going until the equipment was fixed, when suddenly I really didn't want to leave tomorrow.
I know that I'll miss my friends like crazy, but I also know that once I'm there and settled in I'll be happy as well and then I won't want to come home. Who knows...
Here are some pictures from my trip to Jersey. I know that it's totally unrelated, but I haven't posted photos for a long long time, so I figured I might as well now!
This is an adorable rabbit that I met while waiting for a bus one day. This was shortly after a random car screeched to a halt to rescue a duckling from the side of the road and move it further away from an impending doom of squishedness. I was really touched by the people's concern, but as I had just finished a 10km hike along cliff paths in a little over 2 hours (after a whole morning of running around, no lunch and in blazing sun, when all I had was a single Smint!)
The side of a castle. Doesn't it make you want to go and do some exploring (in true Enid Blyton style)?
A lizard. I fell down some stairs to get some not-fantastic shots of my first wild reptile in Jersey. They were really cute, and two of them had an awesome encounter where they circled and showed off and it was really awesome. I don't know if the tour group that I held up thought so ...(I was doing the real touristy thing with my dad that day, rather than my normal taking the bus to somewhere obscure and hiking randomly around the countryside).
I was desperate to visit this lighthouse and finally managed to squeeze it in with a short geocaching stop on the way, to run down to the base, take a picture and sprint back up the rather long hill to the bus stop. Father was still in tow (and might have outrun me slightly. Bearing in mind that this was on the same day that I fell down stairs chasing a lizard, and the day after a pretty long and brink hike, I feel justified in blaming the leftover lactic acid at this point).
A graveyard in St Helier, that hasn't had the grass cut or the plants trimmed or anything in years. They like thinking of it as a nice little oxygen source or something. I thought it was more beautiful in its overgrown-ness than the usual neatly trimmed cemeteries. It was peaceful.
I like taking pictures of fishermen, but in their absence I will make do with a canoeist/kayaker.
I think they kept pigeons here.
A 'labyrinth' - not quite creepy in the Pan's labyrinth style, but very pretty. I got the feeling that a lot of brides-to-be want to have their picture taken here. Although the ground leading up to it was kind of soggy so they might change their minds...
The view from another rather long (although not so brisk) cliff-path expedition. I loved the fact that you can go almost the whole way around the island without using the roads, and the paths are really well maintained with lots of benches, and grids over slippery spots and things. I did get very lost and in a patch of stinging nettles at one stage, so the signposting could use some help, but otherwise I loved it!
A boat. There were a lot of them. I thought this one was cute though! The tide goes out ridiculously far, so most of my pictures of boats are scary and sad ones of tons of boats lying on the bottom of the harbours, so it was nice to find that I actually had a picture of a floating boat!
Posted by Helen at 5:03 pm 1 comments Links to this post
Labels: going away, pipe dreams, random, ranting
The wrong elephant
The title is the punchline to a joke I heard at a 21st on friday night (yes, I dragged myself, hacking and wheezing to spend about 2 hours with a bunch of kids who made me feel old, while spending quality time with a few friends of my age who felt equally old to be surrounded by a bunch of 16-year old goth and emo kiddies who were plastered by 8pm (to the point of breakdancing and hugging me). It was fun, although I was glad to leave when 9pm arrived ad I was exhausted from a week of waking myself by coughing several times a night, and apparently an hour after I let the kiddies (and the birthday girl) threw up uncontrollably and passed out, so I missed the 'fun stuff' and just got the chatting and dancing and other 'old person fun' before I went home ridiculously early.
I'm getting old!
I went home and straight to bed, where I coughed all night and woke myself up several times (it's kind of like an auto-reminder for cough mixture: yep, 3 hours is up, I can have another dose!). After work at the vet on saturday I went straight hmoe and back to bed, where I stayed for the next 18 hours or so. So thanks to the commentors on the last few post - I heeded your advice! I've been trying to sleep in a relatively sitting-up position to avoid getting a chest infection, and I think I was finally tired enough to sleep in that rather weird position. I think adding another pillow and a bundled-up blanket helped too.
I woke up on Sunday still achey and tired, but able to breathe, not coughign as much, and able to go out in public without a box of tissues wedged under my arm. I decided to spen my morning doing something useful, and as my supervisor had emailed me a new paper, I went off to university and spent a very relaxing (if not necessarily productive) afternoon in the lab.
Posted by Helen at 1:55 pm 0 comments Links to this post
Friday, August 22, 2008
Losing faith in soup
So I was still completely miserable yesterday. My voice is all crackly and about an octave deeper than usual, I'm coughing all the time and my nose started running. At lunchtime, after a very frustrating morning of discovering that one of the pieces of equipment essential to my work isn't working (and it was fine a few weeks ago...) Luke dragged me off to get lunch. All I wanted was soup, and for some reason (this isn't the first time) nowhere on campus had it! I had started feeling really nauseous, so anything else was out of the question (scary stuff: I'd been helping mount UV lights for the honours student's lizards, and he's had the same flu. Apparently vomiting is scheduled for me for the next day or two...).
Posted by Helen at 10:31 am 3 comments Links to this post
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Should have had more soup...
I felt a whole ton better yesterday, and had a fairly productive day! After I left the lab I went off to the vet to tell that that I will work this Saturday (I figured that a cold front and flu makes going on fieldwork 2 days earlier a bit silly) and then went down the road to say hi to Jo and to get more soup.
I think the whole of Joburg has this flu - they were out of cough mixture, medlemon AND all the nice soups. Joey was awesome though, she saw me, told me that I looked 'really sick' (i.e. terrible) and made me mint green tea. She also insisted that I stay with her for a few hours so I decided to skip having a nasty soup and have dinner with her.
It was fantastic! I haven't much time with her lately, considering that we used to go for coffee at least once a week, often more than that but I've been so busy buried in the lab that I've neglected her slightly. We both pulled out our laptops and discussed our photos (she is also a professional photographer, although I wonder about her style sometimes), showed her pictures of all the people I work with and places I go to regularly. She was very funny in her reactions to some of the people, I guess I talk about the lab and the people here so often that she had a mental picture of them that didn't quite add up.
A few other people came to visit, and before I knew it I had been there for 3 hours and I was exhausted, so I went home. I woke up at 2am unable to breathe, and I realised that as great as the Thai food was, soup would have been a wiser option! At least I got up early! Coughing works so much better than my alarm clock! And now I'm off to calibrate equipment and try and figure out exactly how it all works...
Posted by Helen at 9:30 am 4 comments Links to this post
Labels: bleh, special people, work
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Once again, the restorative powers of soup!
I discovered yesterday that although allergies may have played a role, that I had full-on flu. After an entirely non-productive morning where I nearly cried at the futility of my attempts at visual modelling and Luke was really kind and offered sympathy and bought me popcorn (I will write something about the restorative powers of popcorn at some stage, although it is only a temporary fix - a bit like a band-aid when you need a cast and a hospital bed).
Just after lunchtime when I went all over campus looking for lunch and deciding that I didn't want anything I gave up and went home. I took some work with me, but halfway home I realised that with several layers of clothing, a scarf and the heater on full I was shivering violently. By the time I got home I had all of the aches and pains of flu to go with my fever and I couldn't even swallow the cough syrup that I hadn't poured all over my carpet the night before.
So I made a hot water bottle and crawled into bed. I woke up at sevenish and went to a 24-hour grocery store to get throat lozenges and tomato soup, and then went straight back to bed. I woke up this morning a little bit congested but otherwise fine! As I felt like death after my 4 hour nap in the afternoon, I must give credit for the recovery to the fantastic restorative powers of tomato soup!
So forget the flu-caps and vitamin C, just drink soup!
Posted by Helen at 10:52 am 2 comments Links to this post
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
For crying out loud, it's AUGUST already!
And no, I'm not going to do the 'my oh my, time has flown this year' thing. It has, and it hasn't and that's entirely a topic for discussion at another time, preferably after rather too much Perky Pink. What I'm shocked by, is that it's August, not even 2 weeks from the official beginning of spring, and it's colder than it has been all winter, and foggy!
Just to make things worse, I have all the hayfever associated with Spring, and a bit of a cold from the freezing weather, which meant that I woke up this morning sounding like Norah Jones. I was also up ever few hours during the night to re-dose on cough mixture, which I managed to pour all over my carpet at 3am. And the chemist wasn't open at 7am (how DARE they) so I'm having to make do with an old box of medlemon and some nasty lozenges that don't work.
I ahte to admit this, but I'm almost looking forward to the brutally hot weather in the lowveld!
Posted by Helen at 9:45 am 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: bleh
Monday, August 18, 2008
I ended up not going away last week because I was missing a mildly essential set of configuration files (yes, I live in a farmhouse in the middle of nowhere, and I can't go because I need something for all the piles of techno-geek equipment that I have to use down there). So I decided that I couldn't let the time be wasted and I settled down to get some major work done. And I did!
Ok, well I didn't get as much done as I would have liked, but I stayed in the lab until late every night (except Friday when I had to get to a birthday party at 7 so I left at 6) and read a lot, and played with stats programmes, and finished going through 2 super-awesome stats books (although Luke's supervisor said I haven't learned much becasue I'm not using sequential models yet... I told him that stats is a lot more subjective than people realise and I'll figure out sequential models if and when I need to use them). The bonus of all the reading is that although I may not have progressed too far in terms of deliverables I can feel my thinking getting sharper and when I read the scary scary papers I can mostly understand them. I even took a landmark paper and pointed out all the flaws last week! w00t!
And that is why I never let anyone else read my work. Which is a problem.
The weekend was good, I went to Chris's birthday party at Joey's house on Friday. It was fun, but I felt kind of bad - although it was Chris's birthday (and Chris and I really don't get along well), all the people there were Jo's friends, and although we had a great time, I don't think we spoke more than 2 words to him the whole time. Lara was there which was great as I haven't seen her in a while. She's been writing tests, which means that she usually vanishes from the face of the earth for a week or two and studies like a maniac. Her last test is today so I'm hoping to spend some time with her before I head off on fieldwork again. I was supposed to joing Luke and Duncan later, but as the only left home quite late I decided to head home instead and get soem sleep before work the next morning. I felt liek a little old lady trying to get home before bedtime, but I managed to get a lot of reading done at work, and I didn't make any huge mistakes, which is easy to do when I'm tired!
Sunday was FREEZING! We got hit by a nasty cold front and I was very grateful to all the heaters in quarantine where I found two dead frogs :( and spent some time hand-feeding a gecko who has decided to be friendly! I try and ignore all the times that he has bitten me in the past. FRom there I ended up fighting with a spreadsheet for one of the curators and then I helped Elaine feed her piglets (SO cute! And they were hungry so they snuffled like crazy and then drank really fast!) and then we went for lunch with Luke, Brett (one of the vets), Caleb (a volunteer) and Louise who has a dodgy sense of humour and always makes us laugh! Althea joined us for all of about 5 minutes and then ran off, so after lunch Luke and I went to see her and Luke got to meet the baby monkey who has grown a lot and she's getting more hair on her head so she looks less like a cross between a gremil and Gollum.
Other than that everything was pretty uneventful, I must get back to work now as my supervisor should be back in teh coutnry today and I need to show him some *sigh* deliverables.
Posted by Helen at 11:49 am 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: animals, going away, zoo
Friday, August 15, 2008
Perfect Day
I was thinking about the old song "Perfect Day." I'm not sure why it's been stuck in my head for the last few days. It was a special edition that was made by a whole bunch of artists for charity and the music video was released just as we got DSTV (and thus MTV) for the first time at home. I watched MTV non-stop for month, and saw the video millions of times.
So anyway, I've been sitting at my computer for the last 2 days trying to focus on a PCA while "It's such a perfect day... I'm glad I spent it with you..." echoes arounf my head. As much as it's annoying, it's more because I don't know the rest of the song, and I know that if I listened to the whole thing I could move on with my life. I'll have to go and try to find it later (the joy of living on South africa is that we don't have iTunes - well we have it, but other than podcasts we're stuck...).
I was thinking about what the perfect day would be. Lately I've been reminiscing about my honours year a lot, where we worked like complete maniacs and nearly had breakdowns, but in that was such a sense of purpose and cameraderie that it was awesome. We also got up to so much stuff, from TP-ing someones desk to running around the passages with towels as 'superhero capes" around our shoulders. I realised that I miss coming in early and having breakfast at my desk. I miss taking a break and going to get lunch and sitting and eating it together.
The closest I've come to that feeling lately was 2 days ago when Luke and I set up a LAN connection in his lab and closed the door and played computer games against each other. Of course, as luck would have it, just about everyone in our department suddenly ahd a desperate need to see Luke and so we got caught within about 15 minutes of starting. It was really funny!
So yes, that's what I'm thinking in an effort to block the ridiculous embarrassment of this olympic games. Seriously, Zimbabwe has more medals than us! And what happened to Ryk? And will the commentator ever learn to pronounce Roland Schoemann's name? There's only so much "Roe-Laaaahnd Skoe---meaaan!" that I can handle!
Posted by Helen at 12:13 pm 1 comments Links to this post
Labels: random
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
So on Saturday night I was finally dragged off to Santini's a sokkie-club in Honeydew! Sokkie, for you non-South african's out there is a traditional form of dancing that is enjoyed by Afrikaans people and ridiculed by pretty much everyone else. It's also known as "Langarm sokkie" and looks kind of like a weird afst waltz accompanied by regular music remixed to have a very distinctive beat. All sokkie-music has the same beat, so besides being distinctive, once you've figured out the dance you're pretty much set for life.
Not to be mean about it, to watch a bunch of people who actually know what they're doing is pretty impressive. I've resisted going to Santini's as long as I could, but Saturday was Laurin's birthday and I didn't really have a choice. La has always promised that she'd be there the first time I went, but she's writing tests and stressed beyond belief, so I was on my own.
Despite all my protests, it weas actually pretty cool! I was amazed by:
- The old south african flag was stuck up EVERYWHERE! Darren and I counted about 6 flags, and the place isn't very big!
- Men in short shorts and rugby jerseys - yes it is the Afrikaans uniform, and we had been playing rugby, but to go clubbing?
- The number of girls in rugby jerseys - ddn't really match the mini-skirts, but hey...
- The number of old people (toppies) out-sokkieing the youngsters
- The game trophies on the walls
- and, despite all of that... the signs everywhere were in English! And not just the ones about not smoking or drinking on the dance floor - which I could understand meaning that the English visitors don't know how to behave or something, but even the signs for the entrance and the business hours and the bathrooms...
All in all it was an awesome evening and Laurin seemed to have a great time! And not all of the music was sokkiefied, so those of us with less coordination got to have fun as well. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I might be going back there sometime! I'll try and add some photos at some stage, as soon as I can get them from other people...
Posted by Helen at 11:33 am 7 comments Links to this post
Labels: friends, fun, memories, special people
Friday, August 08, 2008
After reading more papers all day I realised that I was tires when I was reading a paper on eyes (visual ecology) and found myself wondering what an "e yes" was. To break it up a bit, I went to Wikipedia and clicked on the link for a random article. This is what I got:
Signalman Kenneth Smith GC was posthumously awarded the George Cross for the bravery he showed on the night of the 10th of January, 1945 on the island of Ist in the Adriatic.
On patrol with fellow members of the Long Range Desert Group, he picked up a ticking bomb which saboteurs had placed in a wireless room in a house sheltering women and children. He managed to get a few yards outside the house before it exploded, saving the lives of his army comrades, partisans and civilians.[1] The citation published in the London Gazette on the 19th of October 1945 praised his "superb courage and complete disregard for personal safety"
a complete disregard for personal safety should ALWAYS be praised!
Posted by Helen at 4:09 pm 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: random
Monday, August 04, 2008
It's a monster!
I must explain that "monster"is not entirely a bad thing. Ever since Thandi the mandril hit her first 'terrible twos' stage, a few people I know have referred the the monkeys as 'monsters' which I've picked up from them. It's actually quite an affectionate thing!
So anyway, as of Saturday night, Oliver the spider monkey has a new baby sister. He really doesn't lke her very much, but she's still really small and doesn't do much, plus they're not in any physical contact. Her mother basically abandoned her lke she did him, and so for the first month all ahndling is with rubber gloves and facemasks and everything is super-sterilised before she comes into contact with it.
To backtrack a little bit: we saw Sarah on Thursday night and it was awesome! She brought me a really cute little keyring thing of a little chef eating sushi (complete with chopsticks!) and it was really really great to see her again. It felt weird - like she hadn't been away at all. I walked in, said "Hi Sarah." and then "Hang on... SARAH!!!!!" it just felt realy normal to have her back. She's such a bubbly and energetic person that I think there was a pretty big void when she left and it was just... right... or something. Unfortunately she's not around for long, but I hope we can see her as much as possible before she leaves again at the end of next week.
On Friday I was a total zombie and nearly fell asleep several times during the day. I'm not sure why, but I decided to go off to see the Dark Knight in the evening anyway. It was fun, although going fof to Luke's side of the world was confusing - I always get lost out there - not only on the street, but also in the shopping centre, in the parking lot... I really do appreciate the fact that most thigns are nearer to my house usually and I totally appreciate all the driving that other people usually have to do! It was a good movie, just a bit long and I kind of fell asleep once or twice before neaking out right before the end - it was late and my Dad was going to be stressing about my safety and so on and so on. I did enjoy the movie, but I guess it's partly that I'm not really a batman fan and I've hardly seen any of the other movies or read the comic books or anything that I didn't find it as life-changing as everyone else did. I'm glad I saw it though, and I thought they did a really good job.
Anyway, on Sunday morning, after a very stressful session of collecting my mother from the airport (I'm sorry, HOW does it take an hour and a half to get luggage from the plane to the airport? and how can a 'car guard' in a place where you're paying R1 a minute for parking get to demand payment when he hasn't done anything?) I went off to the zoo hoping to get there in time to scrub out my frustarion on some frog and/or lizard tanks. I got there quite late but as it happened they were desperate for help and I got to do the whole room I usually clean out on a Sunday! I was quite annoyed to fond that a bunch of the animals which had been reallocated to a certain place had been taken on Friday and nobvody thought to tell me so that I could say goodbye to my frogs - Speckle as well as Mr and Mrs Speckle (our volunteers have great eharts but not much imagination when it comes to naming things) are gone as well as a pile of the big geckos and a few of the tomato frogs. I got to put some of the other geckos outside in the sun for a bit though and it was awesome to see them rush out and bask!
After all that I saw Althea, who showed me the new baby spider monkey. She isn't names yet, and she's so absolutely hideous that it's totally adorable! Feeding her was a huge battle because the bottles they ahve for baby animals have really hard rubber teats and she couldn't cope with them, but she's too small for a baby bottle. As I ahd to go and get a birthday present for my sister-in-law I offered to go bottle-hunting. The best to use for her was apparently a baby medicine bottle.
So I spent my afternoon and evening going to every pharmacy and hopsital that I could find looking for them. Half the people didn't know what I was talking about, and the rest usually said that they knew them, that they were amazing and fantastic things, and no. Nobody had them. Finally I went to visit Lara and Laurin and sat ont eh floor behind the coutner with teh phone book, calling every pharmacy I could think of and then calling whoever they referred me to, until at about 6 pm I found a dodgy little pharmacy that was open until 9 that had them! Strangely enough it was owned and staffed only by men, but they had the one thing that every woman who had had a baby swears by! I went and got three different variations on the nmedicine bottle adn then rushed off to Althea's house to drop them off.
I ended up staying for a few hours, I got to hold the baby while she sorted things out (it's usually in an incubator, but mid-feed Althea whould suddenlt nees something or have to rush off and I'd get to sit with the little monster who is SO UGLY it's toally adorable! Two feeds later she got the idea and drank all 10mls! I was so excited!
And I went home and collapsed and, of course, couldn't sleep. Cue the mondya morning zombie!
Posted by Helen at 1:00 pm 2 comments Links to this post
Labels: animals, memories, special people, zoo


text: Movie goers at one South African theater thought they were watching an ordinary (and particularly insipid) romantic comedy trailer — that is, until a zombie started shambling down the aisle. Watch the video to the very end to see this inspired marketing stunt to promote The Walking Dead. All I have to say is, that zombified actor is lucky no one in the audience tried to take a headshot.

subset: commoncrawl


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Statistics say schools are becoming safer. According to the National School Safety Center, violent crime rates at schools dropped 54 percent between 1992 and 2004, and theft rates dropped by 65 percent. Although there are no rankings that compare different states or regions in terms of school safety, many school officials say Massachusetts schools are generally secure.
Academics and extracurricular activities may be at the forefront of most parents' minds when it comes to assessing their children's schools, but there is another important aspect: school safety and security.
Statistics say schools are becoming safer. According to the National School Safety Center, violent crime rates at schools dropped 54 percent between 1992 and 2004, and theft rates dropped by 65 percent. Although there are no rankings that compare different states or regions in terms of school safety, many school officials say Massachusetts schools are generally secure.
"We look at the horrible things that happen, and they are catastrophic, but on a day-to-day basis, schools are safe," believes Richard J. Kelley, principal of Silver Lake Regional High School in Kingston.
Still, stories like the January stabbing at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School and the recent shootings at Virginia Tech University may leave some parents uneasy about the security of their kids' schools. Furthermore, there is plenty of room for improvement.
In 2005, for instance, 28 percent of students ages 12 to 18 reported being bullied at school, according to the National School Safety Center.
"We can't lull ourselves into thinking that being rural is a safety net," said Michael Wood, Nashoba Valley Regional SchoolDistrict superintendent.
And many Massachusetts schools are employing new programs or beefing up existing safety measures to make schools more secure. Melroseschools have implemented photo IDs for all staff and volunteers, recently updated their crisis plans, and brought on board ConnectEd, an automated communication system that sends e-mails to staff and parents in the event of an emergency, said Superintendent Joseph Casey. The system worked well during a recent bomb threat at the high school, Casey explained, and the school district was able to notify parents in short order.
The Nashoba Valley Regional School District is also adopting an ID key system for staff, as well as keeping schools on lockdown during the school day.
"The biggest risks are from situations that arise from why a person would want to come into a school," explained Wood. "We have to really look at who's coming into our buildings." Silver Lake Regional High School is likewise locking all doors except its front entrance, Kelley said, and visitors will be monitored and must be buzzed in by school officials during school hours.
Sandwich Public Schools held a successful recent mock drill that emptied the schools, to illustrate what would happen in a real emergency, said School Business Administrator Richard Reino.
"The biggest thing we learned is that the agencies who would have to be involved worked really well together," Reino said.
In addition to local measures, about 280 school districts and charter schools receive funding from the Federal Safe and Drug Free Schools Program to fight substance abuse and encourage violence prevention, said John Bynoe, associate commissioner for Student Support, Careers, and Education Services at the Massachusetts Department of Education.
But schools aren't the only players. For safety and security measures to be truly successful, there must be all-around cooperation between school districts, local law enforcement, and other agencies. Sandwich, for instance, employs a school safety task force that involves school officials, police, fire and civil defense officers, Reino said. At Lincoln-Sudbury, law enforcement has helped implement new safety measures, such as an ID system of staff over the past year, and has worked with the schools to address potential safety issues, said Lincoln Police Chief Kevin Mooney.
Parents and students are also an important part of the safety puzzle, school officials say. Read on for tips on ensuring safety and security at your kid's school, as well as talking with your children about school safety:Tips for Ensuring Your Child's School is Safe:
· Be familiar with the school's emergency plans and communication procedures. Talk with the principal's office about the safety measures the school has in place and the way the school will address security situations, Casey recommends.
· Adhere to school guidelines. That means not only abiding by school safety regulations – such as entering only through designated areas – but also sharing information with staff about potentially dangerous conditions, Kelley said. Communication between the school, its students, and parents is key, Casey agreed.
· Get involved, said Wood. "The goal is to foster communication…and relationships between adults and students." Serving as a volunteer monitor or a member of the school's safety committee are just a few examples of roles parents can take to be more involved in security measures.
· Recognize that safety can be a challenging and multi-faceted issue for schools. For example, schools are often limited in their efforts to keep buildings safe after hours, when extracurricular activities and adult education programs are in full swing, Reino said. Another common complaint comes from parents who can't freely enter locked buildings during school hours. Parents must "recognize that having a secure building also means it's more difficult for the good guys to come in," Kelley pointed out. Though some parents and students may feel imprisoned, "we have to find a happy medium between a safe environment and a happy and nurturing environment," Kelley said.Talking to Your Kids about School Safety:
· First and foremost, assure your kids that schools are a safe place to be. Kids today are seeing a whole lot more stories of school violence than past generations. "Put it in perspective," recommended Mooney. "These things are going on in the world, but in your own school environment, adults are taking steps to make things safe."
· Recognize that "safety means a lot of different things," Bynoe said. For example, with younger kids, you may want to focus on "stranger danger," while older kids may need a discussion on bullying, harassment, and violence prevention.
· Emphasize that kids are an integral part of keeping schools safe and secure. First, kids should be informed: Kelley said he explains every drill, incident, or code in detail to his students, as it's crucial that they be a part of safety measures; he also tells his students not to open school doors for anyone, not even a fellow classmate. Even more importantly, students must understand that they need to share information with parents and staff about potential safety issues. Encourage kids "not just to ignore if there's been something inappropriate going on, [but to] step up," said Mooney. "We've seen too many circumstances where there were red flags and nobody said anything."
Two Boston fathers have created the first, full size, lightweight bulletproof backpacks to safeguard children in the event of an attack. The packs, called My Child's Pack, meet the standards set by the National Institute for Justice and retail at $175. Available in a variety of colors and sizes, they can be ordered at www.mychildspack.com.


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Archive | Jun, 2010
Corrilan IT Consultancy Ltd
Corrilan IT Consultancy Ltd is a provider of computing and communications systems and services. They supply business, education and home users. Services include web development, [&hellip
The Axe man commeth?
So, you want to know why there's no money left
GoogleCL Linux CLI Tools
For all the command line addicts out there
Useful applications you've never heard of – part #
Thunderbirds are Go!
Mozilla's new v3.1 release is definitely worth a look!
Linux Alternatives to Windows Software
Before downloading from the websites listed below, check to see if there is a version available in your package manager. Office Suites and Applications Windows [&hellip
Partition Magic!
Enter a Live CD distro with only has one thing in mind, disks!
Support from M$
It looks like Microsoft is trying to help Linux for a change!
What Office Applications does Linux Have?
The primary office suite for Linux is OpenOffice which is a fairly comprehensive replacement for Microsoft Office


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Chicago, IL (SportsNetwork.com) - Patrick Kane kicked his quest for a second straight Conn Smythe Trophy into high gear on Friday. Kane scored the first two of Chicago's three unanswered goals in the third period, as the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks downed the Minnesota Wild, 5-2, in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal series at United Center. Chicago carried a 2-0 lead into the third, but Clayton Stoner and Kyle Brodziak scored under five minutes apart early in the frame to even the score. Kane took over from there, netting the game-winner with a wicked backhander at 8:22 before potting his fifth of the playoffs later in the frame to give the Blackhawks a two-goal cushion. "It was one of those plays where I was about to drop it to (Patrick Sharp) but I saw both defensemen kind of go to him," Kane said of his tiebreaking goal. "I just tried to get in on the backhand and made a good shot." Bryan Bickell, who opened the scoring with a power-play goal in the first, added an empty-netter to help Chicago draw first blood in this best-of-seven series. Corey Crawford registered 30 saves for the Blackhawks, who bounced the Wild from the playoffs in the first round of the playoffs last year. Ilya Bryzgalov got the start in net for the Wild in place of an injured Darcy Kuemper, who was forced to exit Minnesota's Game 7 victory over Colorado after sustaining an undisclosed injury late in the contest. Bryzgalov stopped the only shot he faced in relief against the Avalanche, but turned aside just 17- of-21 shots in Friday's setback. "There wasn't enough urgency in the details and the little things that add up to make the difference at this time of year," Minnesota head coach Mike Yeo said. "We slipped a little bit from last game. We didn't bring the same level and so we'll rectify that." Game 2 of this series is slated for Sunday in Chicago. Brodziak's tap-in from in front off a slick pass from Erik Haula tied the game at 2-2 just under seven minutes into the third, but the Blackhawks responded with three answered goals, starting with Kane's backhander. The Chicago winger carried the disc down the left side and into the Minnesota zone before cutting through the high slot, where he faked a drop pass. Given room to work, Kane held off his defender and worked into the low right circle before lifting a filthy backhand over the short-side shoulder of Bryzgalov. Kane doubled Chicago's lead at 16:47 when Sharp's shot from the right point deflected off Ben Smith's stick in the circle and ricocheted to the low left side, where Kane was waiting to send the puck home for a 4-2 lead. Bickell buried an empty-netter 32 seconds later to account for the final margin. Early on, Minnesota's Jonas Brodin was sent off for a high-sticking double- minor at 13:09 of the opening frame and the Blackhawks cashed in less than two minutes into the man advantage. While working in the Minnesota zone, Brent Seabrook fired a heavy slapper from the high point that tipped off Bickell's stick in front and slipped through Bryzgalov for a 1-0 lead with 5:12 left in the first. Minnesota nearly found the equalizer late in the first after a scrum in front of the Chicago cage saw the disc squirt across the goal line. The referees ruled it no goal immediately, citing that the puck was covered and the whistle had blown. Video review confirmed the call on the ice and the Wild went into the first intermission trailing by a goal. Brodin was sent off for high-sticking again 10:09 into the second stanza, and the Blackhawks capitalized on the power play once again. Just after Crawford denied Zach Parise on a short-handed breakaway, Chicago worked the disc around the point in the Minnesota zone before Brandon Saad received a pass in the slot and stickhandled past a defender. From the low right circle, Saad backhanded a pass to the low left side for Marian Hossa, who one-timed the disc past Bryzgalov for a 2-0 lead at 11:21. The Wild sliced the margin in half 2:19 into the third after Stoner threw a shot on net from atop the left circle. The shot snuck through Crawford and trickled toward the goal line, but defenseman Johnny Oduya was able to keep the puck from going in. However, Oduya swept the puck into his own skate, causing the disc to trickle across the goal line to bring the Wild within 2-1. Brodziak's third of the playoffs pulled Minnesota even at 6:56. Game Notes Hossa also had two assists, while Seabrook and Sharp supplied two helpers apiece in the win ... Chicago's Andrew Shaw left the game in the first period and did not return after absorbing a hit from Stoner ... Minnesota made its first appearance in the second round of the playoffs since its first postseason appearance in 2003, which ended with a loss to Anaheim in the conference finals ... The Wild fell to 1-7 all-time in the first contest of a series and haven't won a Game 1 since their first-ever playoff game, a 4-2 win against Colorado on April 10, 2003.
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It's Fitness Friday! What have you been doing this week to stay fit? This week the Hubz and I started a mind body and soul cleanse to help get our bodies ready for a busy summer. Part of the cleanse is to stay active, here is what I did this week:
- Friday: 20 cardio workout
- Saturday: nothing- I spent Saturday cooking, cleaning, demoing chocolate, preparing for a birthday party and hosting a birthday party with only about 30 minutes to sit down and relax. This resulted in my fail of not completing this months challenge.
- Sunday: 2.5 mile 60 minute walk
- Monday: off
- Tuesday: 30 minute yoga burn
- Wednesday: 30 minute abs & legs Skinny Bitch
- Thursday: off…..b/c girl reasons had me curled in a ball. TMI.
Days: 4/25 Days 2/15.5 Hours
What's Your Favorite Yoga….
I am honestly a yoga mat hoarder. My friend came over the other day and walked into our workout room and saw the basket full of yoga mats and stared in shock – asking why do we need so many mats? Well honestly a few are samples that I have received, a few are the Hubz and a few are mine.
- I have my super old Winsor Pilates Mat which is a thicker spongy mat that I don't really use for yoga but more for mat workouts.
- Then I have a Jade Yoga mat that is my favorite however it slips a lot so using it at home is not ideal because we have carpet and when I do use it I always end up at least a foot back from where I started.
- The next mat I have which I like for power yoga and on carpets is my pRana Mat; it is super heavy, long and is good for more vigorous yoga sessions. The downfall with this mat is that it weighs a ton and there is no way I could (or would) lug it to and from yoga classes.
- I also have an Aurorae yoga mat which I don't really like that much, although many people love it and honestly the Hubz is the one who uses it consistently. I do however love my Aurorae yoga sport sweat towel and sleep free rosin bag.
- My favorite mat because it is thin, naturally sticky, light weight and it doesn't slip is my Gaiam Wisdom Yoga Mat; created from all-natural rubber that's non-toxic, eco-friendly and biodegradable. My husband also has a Gaiam Mat, I'm not sure which one but it is a thicker one and he has a super cheap one he got at Target which is really pretty awful and slippery.
So as you can see I am a yoga mat hoarder; I like each mat for different reasons and use them all for different types of yoga, different floors and depending on my mood. What type of yoga mat do you have?
Type of Yoga:
I have tried Power Yoga, Anusara, Ashtanga, Groove Yoga, Restorative Yoga and community classes which are usually a Vinyasa class. My favorite yoga class to take is Anusara which is a system based on Hatha Yoga founded by John Friend. I recently just took a Groove Yoga class and it was really an amazing experience. It incorporates dance and yoga into one class and it gives you a great cardio workout and just lifts your spirit. Ashtanga is more regimented than I like and after my six week workshop I have never returned to another class. Restorative Yoga is all about being slow, relaxing, concentrating on the breath and you stay in poses for several minutes. For me Restorative yoga is my favorite way to unwind, relax and it leaves me feeling like I just had an hour massage. At home I usually do Rodney Yee Power Yoga, A.M. Yoga, Yoga for Abs and Yoga Burn at home along with some podcasts from yogadownload.com. What is your favorite type of yoga?
Other Posts You Might Like:


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Highlights from boston.com/hive, Boston's source for innovation news.
There are two sides to the Google Glass experience: that of the wearer and that of everyone who encounters a person (cyborg?) who appears to have stepped off the set of "Star Trek."
Behind Glass on a recent afternoon, I was alternately wowed by its capabilities and frustrated by its deficiencies. The intriguing, wearable computer could direct me to the nearest Mexican restaurant — putting a tiny map in the corner of my right eye that adjusted to every turn of my head — but could not compose a tweet. These days, even popcorn machines can tweet.
I tested Glass as a first-person video camera during a couple of interviews with entrepreneurs at Workbar in Cambridge. With impressive picture clarity, Glass recorded my conversations exactly as I saw them — a handy reporting tool, and one that put Investors Beat founder Shelli Trung at ease.
"I actually think it's a bit more intimate," said Trung, whose company publishes a real estate investment magazine. "There's no camera guy. I feel like I'm just having a chat with you. It's very natural, actually."
But when I sat down with social media consultant Tammy Kahn Fennell, founder of MarketMeSuite, I got a different reaction.
"It's a little weird," Fennell told me. "I've done plenty of on-camera interviews, and I'm more comfortable with a giant lens next to me because I'm used to dealing with it."
3-D printing expands to ceramics
This ceramic fruit bowl showed up at the Globe recently, addressed to me. It's a product sample sent by Figulo, a South Boston company. And it's the first 3-D printed item I've seen that I could imagine using in my daily life — as opposed to chalky, fragile prototypes or "toys" that only last if they're kept on a shelf.
It was designed by University of California, Berkeley architect Ronald Rael, who runs a website called Emerging Objects. "The piece was just a cool little design study of his," Figulo founder Andy Jeffery said.
An inkjet printer head in the 3-D printer spits out a powder formulated by Figulo that includes a solid glue. Then, it adds a water-based fluid that "dissolves the glue and binds the joints of the ceramic particles together," Jeffery explains.
The printer head builds the object one layer at a time, resulting in a green ceramic piece. "It gets fired in one of our kilns, then we glaze it and fire it again, so it's food-safe. We don't claim it's microwaveable or dishwasher safe."
It takes about two hours for the printer to produce a bowl. "If we get an order on Monday, we can ship it on Friday," Jeffery said.
Orders come through 3-D printing sites such as Shapeways and Cubify.
Watch for the blind proves popular
MIT start-up Eone Timepieces has rocketed past a $40,000 Kickstarter fund-raising goal five days into the campaign, with orders for its blind-accessible wristwatch exceeding $300,000.
The interest in the watch, which allows wearers to tell time using their sense of touch, is a relief to founder Hyungsoo Kim, who had been unable to attract funders and was running on the fumes of a $150,000 personal investment.
The surprisingly high demand is also a bit daunting, Kim confessed.
"It's making me quite nervous, to be honest," said Kim. "It's something that we didn't really expect. Now, we feel like we really cannot make any mistakes at this point."
The watch, named the Bradley after Paralympic swimmer Bradley Snyder, uses ball bearings, not hands, to mark time. A magnetic field pulls the bearings into place if the wearer moves them while checking the time.
Kim said he plans to bring aboard designers David Zacher and Amanda Sim as full-time employees. The team's next project is an alarm clock that blind users can set using only their sense of touch.


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Maple-Rosemary-Bourbon Pecans Recipe
The preparation method for these pecans includes soaking them in a brine flavored with maple syrup, bourbon, and fresh rosemary. The resulting nuts are incredibly crunchy and infused with a woodsy, herbaceous flavor.
Adapted from Tuesday Recipe
What's New On Serious Eats
- Yield:Makes 3 cups
- Active time: 25 minutes
- Total time:45 minutes
- 3 tablespoons bourbon
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 2 medium springs fresh rosemary
- 3 heaping cups raw, unsalted pecans
Preheat oven to 325ºF. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine bourbon, maple syrup, salt, and 2/3 cup water in medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring until salt is dissolved. Drop in rosemary sprigs and remove saucepan from heat. Allow mixture to cool from hot to warm, about 5 minutes.
Remove rosemary sprigs from saucepan and discard. Stir in pecans. Soak pecans, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. Drain pecans through fine mesh sieve. Spread in single layer on baking sheet and bake until dry, toasty, and fragrant, about 12 to 15 minutes.
All products linked here have been independently selected by our editors. We may earn a commission on purchases, as described in our affiliate policy.


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[Verse 1]
Probably cause I never could
Said if I had it, never would
Then I got my first little taste of paper and I splurged
I guess it's just a nigga urge
This is The Boondocks
I swear, yo, I'm like Huey mixed with Riley
Thursday I be tryna save the world, and then on Friday, I hit the club
Hoping that my dick get rubbed by some fat asses
Niggas get to scrappin' then you hear the gats blasting, damn
Hope them niggas ain't got no problems with me
My momma told me to speak like you got a college degree
You see, I can, but I won't cause I'm saying what I want
Plus this slang that I speak don't change that I'm deep
As the throat on a certified freak, will she choke?
As we headed to the crib, yes, I let her give me head
So she won't 'member where I live, my game is tight
Baby, no need to bring pajamas, you ain't staying the night
No disrespect, I just say it polite
I drop her off before I sleep, I be praying for life
Like Hov said it, can I live?
Ay, dear Lord, can I live?
Hey, now am I living to get paid, just slaves for a wage, are we?
I can't do no 9-to-5, told my momma sorry
I can't do no suit and tie, no I want the glory
If you knew me, know my life is like a movie starring me
Pardon me, if it seems that I'm following my dreams
I ain't reading off the script that they picked for me
I ain't pissed, nah, couldn't give a shit hardly
I'll be shitting on them niggas that was shitting on me
Will I live or will I die before they get to know me?
If I go, I know the ones that's pouring liquor for me
And I know them fake niggas really hating on me
Knew that I was 'bout to blow, so they was waiting on me
But oh no, Lord
You see, I'm smarter than they know
So hold on, Lord, cause I ain't quite ready to go
Can I live?
Somebody told me that it's only one shot
So I'll be goddamned if I'm ever gonna stop
Promise to my momma I'ma make it to the top
So I'ma keep climbing 'til my heartbeat drop
[Verse 2]
Like the phone when she heard the news
Her sister on the other line talking to her shoes
The only son, what a thing to lose
More blacks singing more blues
More niggas pouring more brews
Poor dude, he was young like 21, straight up out that city that I'm from
A real smart nigga, but his niggas, they was dumb
He ain't even get a chance to run
Before it landed in his lung
God, breathe nigga
His partner screaming "Don't you fucking leave, nigga!"
Took off his shirt, tryna stop the bleeding nigga, "Don't you go!"
But his life fading slow
Did I tell my mom I love her, do she know?
Did I tell my baby sorry from before?
Won't get to see my son grow
Lord, I ain't ready to go
Can I live? Can I live? Dear Lord, Can I live?
Can I live?
This is a quite powerful song from J. Cole where he addresses the problems he faces as a young rapper on the come up. He talks about some of the morally confounding decisions he had to make in during his trying period as a rapper and speculates what will happen upon his demise.


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Ham, bacon, sausage, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, onions, mushrooms & cheese
> PLEASE CHOOSE ONE <White Wheat Rye Sourdough Italian English Muffin
If you order additional items here, we will add the cost to your total at pick up.
The location and menu you have chosen is currently closed and unavailable for immediate orders.
You may continue to place your order, but the earliest time the order will be ready is:
Pickup : Monday, August 24 @ 5:41AM
I understand. Continue my order...


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bring to aid
bring (something) to (one's) aid
To provide something to someone in need of help or assistance. The kind woman at the information desk brought a wheelchair to my grandmother's aid.
bring something to someone's aid
to bring something with which to help someone. The officer brought medical supplies to our aid. An ambulance was brought to the injured man's aid.


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Central Connecticut softball's Ashley Black, Lauren Alibozek and Kat Malcolm have been named NFCA All-American Scholar-Athletes by the National Fastpitch Association for the 2011-12 academic year.
The award is bestowed upon exceptional college and high school athletes who achieve a grade point average of 3.50 or higher during the 2011-12 academic year. Alibozek, Black and Malcolm join players from Bryant, LIU Brooklyn, Quinnipiac, Robert Morris and Wagner in representing the Northeast Conference on the list.
"I'm very excited that Kat, Ashley and Lauren received this honor from the NFCA." Head Coach Jeff Franquet said. "It is a testament to their hard work in the classroom and their ability to balance academics and athletics as student-athletes. The education of our student-athletes is the top priority of our program and as a team we believe the commitment to success in the classroom is tied directly to success on the softball field."
The Blue Devils turned in a record-breaking 31-19 (11-9 NEC) season in 2012, boasting the most wins in CCSU softball program history. The squad kicks off its 2013 season on March 1 against Georgia State at the University of South Florida Tournament.


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Coconut lilac tapioca
1/2 cup large pearl tapioca
2 (14-ounce) cans unsweetened coconut milk
3 cups whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup lilac blossoms
About 36 fresh and/or candied lilacs
1. Soak tapioca in coconut milk for 1 hour, stirring occasionally to make sure you end up with individual bouncy nuggets rather than a solid lump of tapioca.
2. Combine milk and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to a fast simmer. Stir in tapioca and coconut milk and bring to a boil.
3. Simmer, uncovered, stirring frequently, for about 1 hour, or until tapioca turns soft and translucent. Let pudding cool before stirring in lilac blossoms. Cover and refrigerate overnight or up to 1 week. Garnish with fresh or candied lilacs before serving. Makes 6 servings.
Recipe from "Cooking with Flowers" by Miche Bacher (Quirk, $24.95).


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Story Time at the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium
January 11, 2020, 2:00 pm
$3 – $12
1600 Ocean Front Walk, Santa Monica , CA 90401
Join us every Saturday at 2:00 p.m. for a whale of a tale! The Santa Monica Pier Aquarium will host story time in the Dorothy Green Room. Children (and adults) love to hear a good story, and the Aquarium has a nearly endless supply of books celebrating life of the sea. Join us any Saturday for a fun-filled story time. And while you're here, be sure to get a hug from a sea urchin, check out the new-born sharks in the nursery, make a marine-themed craft to take home and learn about the more than 100 species on exhibit - all marine life found in the Santa Monica Bay.


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When most people hear the word paper, they probably first think of the standard 8 1/2 x 11 in. sheets of smooth, white printer paper made from wood pulp, so commonly found in schools and offices throughout the world.
Paper, however, doesn't have to be smooth or white, and doesn't even have to be made from wood. In fact, paper is any thin sheet of material composed primarily of compressed cellulose pulp, and that pulp can come from wood, flax, cotton, or even onion or rice. Depending on the fibers used and the process of manufacture, a wide variety of tones, colors, and textures are possible.
This means that there are literally thousands of different papers to choose from when seeking a support for a particular project. While the vast selection may seem daunting at first, most papers are described by a few general characteristics. An understanding of these characteristics will help you to choose the correct paper no matter what the project. Luckily, MisterArt.com is here to help! Not only do we have the best paper prices online, but we have fast shipping all over the U.S. This guide should help artists of all stripes find the precise paper that they're looking for. When buying paper online, there are a few considerations to take into account:
Grade—The quality of a sheet of paper is referred to as its "grade." Grade is based on the material from which the paper is made. Lower grade papers-- like newsprint-- are inexpensive and suitable for students and preliminary sketch work. Higher grade papers, such as those made of 100% cotton, are generally excellent for permanent artwork.
Weight—The "weight" of a sheet of paper is actually a measurement of the weight of a ream, or 500 sheets. Sheet size, for this measurement, is standardized according to paper type. Light weight is 70 lbs. or less, medium weight 90-100 lbs., and heavy weight 140 lbs. and over. It's now common to see the weight as a measurement of grams per square meter. This is often a more accurate and useful measurement, as it is not based on sheet size.
Paper with a lighter weight is most often used for sketching and preliminary work because it can bend or wrinkle more easily than thicker papers. However, this tendency can also make it useful for projects or artworks that require folding and shaping.
Heavy weight paper is more sturdy and durable than light weight, but also more expensive. The heaviest papers can even be used for mounting purposes.
Texture—Paper texture can vary tremendously, from ultra smooth to extremely rough. The rougher the paper, the more "tooth" it has. Hand-made papers are usually highly textured with rough, toothy surfaces. Machine-made papers can be rough, hot pressed, or cold pressed.
Whether you're an artist looking for the perfect support for painting or illustration, or a crafter in need of something special for your latest project, MisterArt.com carries the paper for you! MisterArt.com offers everyday discounts on our extensive selection of the following kinds of paper:
Bristol Paper is an economical heavyweight paper that often comes in a choice of two surfaces. Smooth Bristol paper is ideal for fine pen and ink, pencil, and mechanical drawing. Vellum Bristol paper has a slight tooth and is designed for a broad range of drawing and painting, including crayon, pencil, charcoal, and watercolor or gouache.
Calligraphy Paper is designed with a smooth surface ideal for an easy flow of ink from a calligraphy pen. Some calligraphy paper is meant for practice and comes preprinted with a practice rule and a slanting grid.
Canvas Paper is an economical alternative to canvas suitable for mounting—its rough surface texture effectively holds pigment and enhances the creative process. Canvas paper is excellent for painting with oils and acrylics and good for mixed media.
Charcoal and Pastel Paper is paper developed with the ideal texture to create stunning charcoal drawings or pastel paintings. Charcoal and pastel paper requires a good, proper tooth for precise shading with charcoal, pastel, pencil, or crayon.
Construction Paper is a classroom favorite! This heavier-stock paper comes in packs, pads, rolls, and sheets of assorted bright colors ideally suited for arts and crafts. Construction paper is trusted by artists ready to cut, paste, doodle, and fold.
Craft Paper serves a variety of uses in the creation of arts and crafts. Craft papers include:
Graphite and Transfer Paper allows you to transfer your design from a sketch, pattern, template, or free-hand drawing to any surface. It allows for clean, crisp tracings that can be erased and painted over.
International and Exotic Paper includes fine-quality paper of widely varying grades, colors, textures, and uses from around the globe.
Printer and Copier Paper is smooth and sized properly to accept ink and graphics from copy machines, laser printers, and inkjet printers.
Stationary Paper is rugged, colorful paper that can be cut, glued, folded, and printed to create outstanding cards, letterhead, envelopes, and invitations.
Tracing and Graph Paper are kinds of paper that are most often used by designers and commercial artists, for whom precision and transferability is a necessity. Tracing and graph paper come in several different forms intended for a variety of uses:
Watercolor Paper is notable for its rough tooth and heavyweight thickness, enabling it to stay strong while wet. Watercolor paper comes in many different sizes and qualities; some watercolor paper is priced affordably for students while others are carefully crafted for masters.
Wrapping Paper includes many brightly colored, disposable papers (from contact paper to tissue paper to crepe paper) that are ideal for adding pizzazz and sparkle to a variety of projects, from scrapbooking and picture framing to floral arranging and decorating.
No matter what kind of paper your project requires, MisterArt.com guarantees the lowest price on the Internet. If we don't already offer the lowest price online, we'll gladly match it!
For some projects, paper just isn't tough enough! For these more rugged forms of artistic expression, many artists call upon boards instead. There is very little in the art world as versatile as a board. Boards can be painted and drawn on, cut, carved, decorated, hung with art or photographs, used to build, used to frame, and used in just about any other way you can imagine.
Artists have long used boards as support and backing for artwork. In fact, only stone has as long a history as an artistic support. Natural boards made of cedar, poplar, beech, walnut, mahogany, and oak have been desired by artists for centuries because of their rigidity, durability, and portability. Today, a number of man-made boards have also been developed to maximize these advantages:
Canvas Boards—Combining the texture of canvas with the rigidity of board, canvas boards are lightweight and low-cost. They consist of artist canvas stretched over heavy board backing. The canvas has usually been sized and primed. Depending on the canvas and primers used, canvas boards are great for painting with oils, acrylics, and watercolors.
Clay Boards—These panels, often constructed of masonite, have been coated with a pH-neutral clay that's both uniform and durable. Most clay boards are smooth and will work with a variety of media, from pencils to oil paints. Clay boards with a textured surface are also available. The texture makes them great for use with such media as watercolors and pastels that require some tooth.
Cork Boards and Rolls—Not only do cork boards and rolls provide insulation and acoustical soundproofing while adding warmth and character to walls and ceilings, they're great for hanging in your home or office to post memos, photographs, drawings, clippings, and more with the help of a few thumbtacks!
Corrugated Boards—These cardboard or polypropylene boards are sturdy and tough, making them ideal for outdoor signs, presentation boards, rugged models, and other tough, weatherproof uses.
Display Boards— Display boards are versatile art materials that can be used to mount, frame, accentuate, and protect artwork. Typically, display boards are rigid and sturdy enough to stand on their own and reinforce flimsier paper artwork.
There are four common types of display boards that serve an array of different purposes:
MisterArt.com has a great selection of low-cost display boards in many different sizes and colors!
Illustration Boards—The pressed surfaces of these boards make them perfect for illustration and line work. Cold pressed boards possess textured surfaces that are perfect for pastels, charcoal, and crayon. They also work well with watercolors. Hot pressed boards are non-porous and smooth, allowing for sharper detail. They work best with marker and pen and ink techniques.
Pastel Boards—Designed primarily for use with pastels, these boards have a sandy coating that holds dry media like no other surface. The fine grain tooth also works well with water media.
Scratch Boards—These boards are coated with a fine white clay and then covered with an opaque black ink. Using a scratch knife or other metal tool, the ink can be scraped off without damaging the clay underneath. By scratching through the ink, unique black and white drawings can be created. Some scratch boards come already coated in ink and are ready for scratching. Others require inking before they can be scratched.
Boards are also great for mounting artwork and photographs. Mounting boards are designed specifically for this purpose. They are solidly constructed and possess striking black or white surfaces that showcase the work. Poster boards, corrugated boards, and foam boards provide a cheaper alternative for mounting. Available in a variety of materials and colors, these boards are a quick and inexpensive choice for making signs and displaying artwork. They also make a great material for craft projects, as they're generally easy to cut, shape, and fold.
For actually framing artwork, mat boards are the way to go. Mat boards add contrast and depth to mounted and framed materials. The best mat boards are acid and lignin free so they won't alter or deteriorate artwork over time. We've got low prices on mat boards online every day at MisterArt.com!
Rough paper is highly textured, with many grooves, hills, valleys, and indentations.
Hot Pressed means the paper has been pressed with hot rollers during its manufacture. Hot pressed paper has a smooth surface with little to no tooth. It's well suited for precise detail and illustration. And because it is fine-grained, it's also good for even applications of color.
Cold Pressed paper is made with cold rollers. It has a slightly textured surface that's perfect for mediums such as watercolor and charcoal that require some tooth.
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When most people hear the word paper, they probably first think of the standard 8 1/2 x 11 in. sheets of smooth, white printer paper made from wood pulp, so commonly found in schools and offices throughout the world.
Paper, however, doesn't have to be smooth or white, and doesn't even have to be made from wood. In fact, paper is any thin sheet of material composed primarily of compressed cellulose pulp, and that pulp can come from wood, flax, cotton, or even onion or rice. Depending on the fibers used and the process of...
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It appears that maybe the Rookie of the Year race could resemble the Dunkin Donuts jumbotron race the United Center plays during time outs atBulls games. It's nothing special: an animated donut, coffee cup and bagel race twice around an animated track. There are six pre-recorded outcomes that play on a loop every six games. The coffee cup starts off with a huge lead, slows down and here comes the bagel. Now the donut takes a big lead. Last turn, here comes coffee cup. Oh, it looks like coffee cup. Except that coffee cup has suddenly stopped and bagel finishes! The place goes nuts. The only two things that get Bulls fans more buzzing is when the team scores 100 points and everyone wins Big Macs and when Brian Scalabrine enters the game. Go figure. People enjoy races that don't matter. So when I tell you that the Rookie of the Year race has Kyrie Irving in the lead, after MarShon Brooks and Iman Shumpert took brief and early leads, I don't blame you when you roll your eyes. For fantasy purposes though, it's worth speculating that with D.J. Augustin missing the Cats' next three games due to an inflammatory condition of the sesmoid bone (which is either a busted big toe or the title of the most awful of Dr. Who episodes), Kemba Walker seems poised to make his own jog around the ROY track. Last night, Walker earned a career-best 22/5/2 line that included 2 blk and 2 3ptm in 36 minutes. Maybe this game is an anomaly borne from nice timing and we never see him do this again. Maybe he carries this on for another week, then returns to 11/3/3 for the rest of the year, or maybe this is the spark that catches fire. Any which way, own Walker if he's unowned, play Walker if you haven't been and always root for the donut at the United Center. Here's what else went down Tuesday night in fantasy basketball.
Wait! Don't go just yet. There's still time to get in on the $1,000 NBA fantasy hoops contest over at Daily Joust. Even if you don't win the jackpot, there are still small money prizes to be had for entrants. People are still into money, right? I'm very out of touch! Anyway, click here or in the upper right corner of this page to check it out. See it? Okay, back to the blurbs.
Derrick Brown – Season-high 15 points to go along with 4 rebounds, 2 steals and a block in 33 minutes. By season's end, you will have owned every last member of the Charlotte Bobcats.
Bismack Biyombo – Played 11:07, didn't block nothin'. Remember what I said two days ago: he needed 23 more seconds.
Ryan Anderson – 24 points and 5 3ptm last night. The night before? 0 points, 0 3ptm. Two-game averages? 12 pts/2.5 3ptm. See how that works? We're good.
Glen Davis – Big Baby jumps with the meager force of someone launching from a patch of black ice, which explains why his shooting percentage is .345 in his last four games, but not how's he's managed to average 7.8 boards in that span.
Darren Collison – Failed to dole out one assist. Matter fact, not a single Pacer guard managed an assist last night. I don't know what a tiny Pacer is for, if not to hand the ball to the larger Pacers standing closer to the basket.
Carmelo Anthony – Held scoreless in the first half of a game for the fifth time in his career. Ended the game with 1 point in 30 minutes. It was the first game of his career he played that many minutes without scoring. Just 32 more games to catch up to Dennis Rodman.
Iman Shumpert – 1-for-9. ShumpShump has never taken more than six shots in a game before tonight. The fact that he chose his absolute coldest game to do so tells you much of what you need to know about the rookie.
Amir Johnson – I could have made Aaron Gray the subject of this blurb about Johnson losing his starting spot to one of the statistically worst players in the league, despite the fact that he's healthy, but I didn't. I didn't because Aaron Gray is not a fantasy option for any team. And right now, man, neither is Johnson.
Andrea Bargnani – Drained 34 points along with 5 3ptm after returning from six games worth of calf pain. With DeRozan completely pooping out this season, Bargs is Toronto's best offensive option, bar none-i.
DeMar DeRozan – 4/1/2, on 2-for-8 shooting. SELL! /Adam has the urge to throw something breakable against wall, has nothing in his hand with which to throw, goes to the kitchen to grab some crackers, hurls them against the wall, not good enough, picks up a coffee mug, crashes it against the wall, not good enough, picks up cat, looks at cat, decides the mug was okay enough, puts cat down.
Antawn Jamison – 2-for-6, with 5 points. This after his 1-for-10, 4-point performance on Friday.
Ronnie Price – 4/5, with 2 steals. Jared Dudley: 6/1, with 3 steals. Meh. Tomato-To Otto.
Raymond Felton – Two assists, six turnovers. Ray-Ray's assist:turnover ratio is, I think, um … shizz:balls.


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ict@innovation is a capacity building programme which supports small and medium ICT enterprises and aims to encourage the growth of African ICT industries by:
1) spreading FOSS business models for enterprises
2) fostering FOSS certification and
3) supporting innovative local FOSS applications for social and economic development.
The ict@innovation portal provides free training materials, information on courses, and contact to people working with FOSS across Africa. You can become part of the ict@innovation community by registering a profile.
ict@innovation Blog


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Renald Book Shelf and Rack
Rs. 21,999 Rs. 15,999
Height: 6ftLength: 2ftWidth: 12 inchesMade of laminated sheet
Height: 6ft
Length: 2ft
Width: 12 inches
Made of laminated sheet
Length: 2ft
Width: 12 inches
Made of laminated sheet
Write a review for Renald Book Shelf and Rack
- In case of damaged delivery, we offer free replacement of the product / products. We don't have refund policy.
- Replacement for Furniture will be accepted only for damaged / defective products.
- Replacement against the damaged/defective product will be accepted only if notified within 48 hours of delivery.
- It is advised that the return packets should be adequately packaged so that there is no damage of goods- in-transit.
- On certain items like appliances & electronics brands, warranty may supersede Urban Galleria Returns Policy.
- Replacement will be processed within a maximum of 7 business days of receipt of the product by Urban Galleria, provided goods are received in acceptable condition.
- The mode of replacement will be based on the mode of payment chosen at the time of placing the order.
Returns and replacements would not be catered during sale days.
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Computer skills is something I have been lacking for years now. I am already learning more than I thought I ever would. Instructor Dave presents the information in a very easy to understand format which basically makes it like child play. I am extremely pleased with both the instructor and the information being presented. Now that I am learning these new skills, I know I will be an asset to any organization in todays work force. Thanks Instructor Dave. I have a totally new outlook on life in general!
Dave, thanks so much for an awesome class! I am looking for a new opportunity after 20 years with one employer and this was the perfect course to teach me things so that I could be competitive in my job search. I also recommended and sent the link to a friend and I know he is excited about taking your course as well.
Dave, you're a fabulous teacher. You have opened a door for me. You really know your stuff and it's been a great experience doing each lesson, reading and participating in the discussions and gaining knowledge that makes me feel confident in handling my work and/or problems that arise with the computer. I plan to take more courses and see how far I can go. Thank you so very much!
Great class, great material. I have already implemented what I have learned and got a great promotion!! Thanks for taking the scariness out of the computer world for me. I am looking forward to more on-line classes, this is a great way to learn. Thanks Dave.
I enjoyed this course. I felt rather "computer illiterate" before taking it, but found that I knew more than I thought I did. Also; my trouble areas weren't as difficult as I expected them to be. I would highly reccomend this course and may take others myself. Thank you very much for your assistance.
I'm so excited about having taken this online course. It has truly proven to be very beneficial to me in both my work environment and personal use, as well as managing my spouse's small business. I have recommended this course to some of my friends and family. When I first took the pre-test I scored 69%. Needless to say I was quite discouraged. I'm happy to say that after the 12 lessons and finally taking the final exam I scored 100% on the final exam. Instructor Dave you did a great job with course presentation and replies to our questions. We all owe you for this wonderful new wealth of knowledge. Thank you!
I thought this course was extremely helpful in improving my skills and liked the style of the course and would like to take more on-line courses in the future.
I've used a computer in my home for approximately 9 years and what I know I've learned from my husband, and one other computer course, and a lot of trial and error. I recently entered the work force and want to feel confident in what I know. This course helped with that. Taking this class has helped me feel a little more confident and has inspired me to take some harder courses for the more specific information I will need to do my job. Although, this did not start out to be the class for me, I am glad I did pursue it.
I was juggling this course and another (Intro to Word) while simultaneously seeking employment all summer. Happily I completed both classes and was able to land a temp-to-hire job primarily based on my familiarity with spreadsheets. A computer literacy test was required; many of the questions were covered in this course. I was able to impress them with a score in the 85th percentile, thanks to these classes. I plan to follow your advice and continue to build my computer skills next session with Intermediate Word and Excel. Thanks, Instructor Dave!
This course was perfect for me. Cannot be more pleased with the way that things were explained on my level to get started. I am a busy mother of 3, ages 19, 16, and 9yrs old with multiple medical special needs and recently started my first job outside of the home after 18yrs of raising children. I could make this fit into my hectic schedule of work, motherhood and 'nursing'/special needs world. I learned a lot from this course and do intend to continue on with more courses online.
Thank you for providing an affordable online course!!
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British actor Sean Bean was arrested on claims he harassed his ex-wife through text messages and phone calls, according to U.K. newspaper reports.
Police in central London questioned the 53-year-old "Game of Thrones" and "Lord of the Rings" star Wednesday on suspicion he harassed his fourth wife, actress Georgina Sutcliffe.
Bean had his fingerprints and DNA taken at the prearranged interview, was arrested on suspicion of harassment and released on bail, the Daily Telegraph reported.
U.S. & World
Sutcliffe and Bean wed in London in 2008 and divorced two years later, according to the Daily Mail.
Bean is best known in the U.K. for starring in the ITV Napoleonic war drama "Sharpe" and for his role as Boromir in the "Lord of the Rings" films.
More recently, he played Ned Stark in the first season of HBO's "Game of Thrones."
Selected Reading: Daily Mail, Telegraph, Mirror


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La Salonniere. The French word for salons. And the name of Jenny Packham's new Autumn/Winter 2013 Collection. No wonder I am in love. Paris in the 17th Century is the setting. And so the story goes - "Women gathered in these salons to discuss the arts, the philosophy of Voltaire and Descartes and to produce and shape the literature of their time," according to the show notes. Jenny Packham is inspired by these salonnieres. And I am inspired by her splendid designs that create a fairy tale of wonder, elegance, and grandeur.
Jenny Packham's new collection of Le Salonniere designs are truly worthy of their Parisian namesake where the "splendor and sophistication of the rooms reflected the passion and energy of the women that filled them." Encore.
Jenny Packham's Autumn/Winter Collection 2013 transports everyone into a fantasy fairy tale. Where flowing gowns, perfected soft colors, and sheer fabrics draped over satins and silks on model princesses felt like being inside a crystal ball.
Ready to be Sleeping Beauty? Just wake up in a Jenny Packham dress! The rest will take care of itself.
Seeing her new collection is a breathtaking, exhilarating experience. One mesmerizing silhouette after another graced the runway in a crescendo of beauty. A whirling wonderland. Just looking at the display of Le Salonniere gowns conjured images of palaces, castles, and of course…fairy tales.
Based in the UK, Jenny Packham does in fact dress the royalty. Regular clients include The Dutchess of Cambridge as well as Kate Winslet, Catherine Zeta-Jones and even Angelina Jolie. Mais oui. And did I mention Adele wore Jenny Packham to the Oscars this year?
With a "dreams do come true" undertone. Layer after layer of color hues and ever-more-opulent gowns adorned the runway. It was a fashion fantasy come to life. "Midnight in Paris" meets Jenny Packham.
The sequence of bejeweled gowns and captivating colors in Jenny Packham's Autumn/Winter 2013 Collection was a revelation. Her designs accentuate the power of female form. Feminine. Womanly. Exuding beauty.
Foremost is a signature aqua-marine evening gown with shimmering sequins on a sheer neckline that mesmerizes and bedazzles. Then there is the pink-coral satin gown with a glittering broach and white sweater. A glorious combination. Followed was the deep rich red of a strapless stunner. Rich is the word on every level. Shades of pinks to marines and ending in bold blacks. Sunrise to sunset.
These are a few of my favorite things.
Glitter and sequins and lush satin sashes,
Aquas and opals and pinks with red dashes
Shimmering, glimmering flowing with ease
Jenny Packham's designs bring us all to our knees...
I admit it….I re-believe in fairy tales. Especially those set in Paris.
Merci Jenny Packham!
For additional info on Jenny Packham, visit her website
Photos and Feature by Jodi Kaplan copyright 2013