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By Larry Wilson
Most of the time, here at the Opinion factory, we wouldn't let the happenstance of the location of our workplace influence a breaking view.
But sometimes some of our editorial board members, including me, work out of the world headquarters of one of our newspapers, the San Gabriel Valley Tribune in West Covina, which is just across the tracks from Irwindale, and just a few blocks down Azusa Canyon Road from the massive new hot-sauce plant owned by Huy Fong Foods.
This is where much of the world-famous Sriracha sauce is made, and where all of it will be made once the transition from the old factory in Rosemead is completed. What a saucy success story! Both a cult condiment for the foodies and everyday folk alike! Millions around the world are addicted to the stuff, a version of a classic Vietnamese chili sauce that just makes everything taste better.
As the T-shirt worn by saucemaker-in-chief David Tran at a recent festival reads, "I put Sriracha on my Sriracha!"
I've got a bottle right here, and will take a whiff. Ah, the pungent perfume of specially grown jalapenos. Ah, the garlic and the salt. The vinegar. Even the potassium sorbate, perhaps. It's all good.
Unless, say some Irwindale neighbors, you live downwind of the factory. They say at peak production times the odor can choke a person, can tear a person up, can even exacerbate asthma.
I don't doubt them, as such. It's just that we who work in the neighborhood drive by the place all the time. And, even with windows down and sunroof open, sniff deeply though I may, I've never even gotten a hint of the stuff. I drive on the side street above the factory, too — nothing.
And Irwindale, after all, is a city made rich by its rock quarries, the dust from which has been blowing through these parts for decades. Its residents live downstream from a Superfund site where Aerojet rocket scientists dumped toxic fuels into the aquifer. Its an industrial city that welcomes business, where there are 10 times as many daytime workers as there are citizens.
And yet its city attorney is suing Huy Fong, saying the smell is too much, and that it's got to shut down unless it does a better job filtering the odor.
There are conflicting reports about whether there is a problem at the old plant in Rosemead. A letter to the editor we'll print in Thursday's paper from a Rosemead resident says he's complained many times about the stench to his city, to no avail. Yet the Rosemead city manager says his staff can't recall a single complaint against the company.
Here's what I think: Huy Fong is good for Irwindale. It's bringing hundreds of jobs and lunch-buying workers to the city. And there are worse smells, let me tell you, than jalapenos and garlic. Inside the plant, plenty of workers don't even wear a mask. But if Huy Fong can do a better job of preventing neighbors from taking the heat while they're having a barbecue in their backyard, it should.
It's just that, working in the same micro-climate as the factory, I'll take the fact of jalapenos in the breeze anytime over the ammonium perchlorates of a rocket plant any day of the week.
Larry Wilson is a member of the Los Angeles News Group editorial board.


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Russian bathhouse traditions live on in the Sochi region during the Olympics
KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia – "What's the score?" asks Svetlana Fedorenko as she enters a bathhouse in the Caucasus Mountains with her husband and friends: The U.S.-Russia hockey game was on, and most of the country was glued to a television.
A few miles away from the ski slopes of Krasnaya Polyana, where athletes are competing for Olympic medals, an outdoor bathhouse called British Banya is attracting visitors.
Russians feel so strongly about the banya, a ritual of sweating it all out in a steam room and whipping each other with bunches of leafy branches, that even a crucial game between the old rivals can't stand in the way of this weekend tradition.
Bathhouse master Ivan Tkach starts his preparations late in the afternoon, at least three hours before the bathing party arrives. He chops the wood, heats up the stove in one room, builds a fire for the Native American sweat lodge, and ignites the blaze beneath a Japanese hot tub, which swings on chains from wooden poles.
"The most important thing about the banya is to have a good spirit in the body," Tkach explains. "When people come to the bathhouse, it is not only about warming up the body, but more importantly about relaxing, getting the toxins out of the body, and, psychologically, leaving the worries behind."
The banya is an institution in Russia. It's a place where businessmen deals have been struck and romantic comedies have been set. Russians even have a special greeting for each other as they emerge: "Happy light steam!"
The bathhouse traditions go way back. One of the earliest and most vivid mentions of the banya in Russia chronicles Princess Olga in the late 10th century avenging her husband's death by inviting his killer's emissaries to have a bath in Kiev. She then set fire to the bathhouse while they were enjoying themselves inside.
Russian bathhouse owners are more welcoming these days. Tatyana Larkin has been running the British Banya for seven years since moving from Moscow to start a business of her own. The 46-year-old entrepreneur says she's been a fan of the banya for so long that "when I faced the choice of what to do next, I didn't have that many options."
Larkin says Krasnaya Polyana is the ideal place for a bathhouse.
"People come here for a vacation, they ski, they need to have something to do," she says.
Larkin describes her bathhouse as an "interactive museum of bathhouse art." Its name was inspired by a visit to the British Museum in London, where she was struck to see a sprawling collection of exhibits from around the globe.
"Our grounds are, of course, not as big as to present the entire collection of bathhouse traditions across the world, but we've tried our best to display the key points so that people can find out about them," she says.
One of the highlights of this bathhouse is a Native American sweat lodge, a narrow hut that consists of a frame covered with layers of thick felt. A bathhouse master puts hot stones in the middle of the hut, pours water on it, and lets the people sitting around it enjoy the steam.
Bathhouse master Ivan Tkach is worried: The bathing party is still lounging in the aroma-therapy room, tarrying over tea. "We're losing steam," Tkach complains to a colleague. "Can't they understand?"
The steam room is the pinnacle of a Russian bathhouse experience. Tkach, who has been heating up the stove for hours, is afraid the guests will feel that the steam "has died out."
Valery Fedorenko, a 48-year-old businessman from Krasnodar, comes out of the aroma room with a red towel around his hips and a woolen hat on his head. It's a chilly evening and the steam is evaporating from his shoulders.
For Fedorenko, the weekly bathhouse visit is "about recreation, health, the joy of friendship, life and longevity."
He is in Sochi to see the Olympics, but he had to quit watching the hockey game in his hotel room to make time for his weekly bathhouse appointment — the one thing in his planner that he never misses.
Fedorenko says he has been teaching his four children, aged 4 to 27, to make the weekend bathhouse visit a must.
"They all do it. All my friends come over and we go in together," he says. "You can't compare it to anything else."

subset: commoncrawl


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Guest Opinion: Don't let a small group run a good business out of Freetown
I'm writing in strong opposition to Articles 1 and 2 on the Freetown Special Town Meeting warrant for 7 p.m. Monday, June 16. If approved, these articles, submitted by petition from a small group of misinformed citizens, will set Freetown back years in myriad ways and will cost the town hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost revenue. These articles, aimed at shutting down Cape Cod Aggregates, seek to prohibit commercial excavation or removal of processing of earth materials and set a disturbing precedent for all businesses in town.
CCA is operating under a three-year permit, issued unanimously by the Freetown Soil Conservation Board, with site-specific conditions thoughtfully and carefully crafted for the protection of the town and the neighborhood.
My hope is that Town Meeting voters will see through this desperate attempt to harm a local, family-owned business that has been nothing but a true community partner on so many levels.
Over the years CCA has paid the town of Freetown more than $600,000 in tipping fees, property taxes, and permitting fees.
CCA also has contributed generously to community needs.
The push to shut down CCA began with a small group of Berkley and Freetown residents who have been laser-focused on finding fault with the company since the first permit was issued to CCA in 2007. There is nothing mysterious or harmful about aggregates; they are the basic building blocks of the construction industry. Without aggregates there would be no schools, hospitals, roads or homes. Yet these opponents remain determined to halt an operation that has been nothing but transparent and cooperative.
Among other strategies, these opponents have interjected fiction as fact at meetings before the Soil Board, using so-called paid "experts" to spread falsehoods in attempts to block the permitting process, and they have managed to promote confusion among abutters. All of their unfounded accusations have been proven false on multiple fronts.
Freetown needs businesses like CCA to support public safety, schools, and so much more. As a family-owned business, the company understands the need to give back to its host community, and CCA never fails to display anything other than unparalleled generosity. This financial support to Freetown is so vital to maintaining quality of life. These are monies that would otherwise come from taxpayers — or, more likely, would not be available at all.
CCA, to its credit, has deep respect for our fallen heroes and those whose memory and sacrifice must live on. For example, CCA has supported the Tyler J. Trahan Memorial Fund and the VFW's POW/MIA Memorial Chair (to be dedicated at the end of the month).
The company regularly donates to organizations such as the Freetown Youth Athletic Association and the Freetown parade and fireworks.
From this past February to the present, for example, CCA has donated close to $6,500 to local groups, and recently purchased an ATV for the Police Department so that our officers can access the many areas of our community that cannot be reached by cruiser during an emergency. The company has been a consistent presence during weather-related emergencies.
And so I urge Freetown residents to vote "no" on Articles 1 and 2 on Sept. 16 at the Freetown Elementary School on Memorial Drive. Adoption of these articles would have ramifications far beyond a critical loss in revenue to the town; it would result in a very costly legal battle; and it would set extremely dangerous precedent. If CCA can be shut down by a few folks — despite every good effort made by CCA as well as local and state officials to ensure that the operation is well run and is safe — what business will be next on this hit list? Voters of Freetown should not be fooled.
The residents of Freetown recognize the need for economic development to help maintain levels of service across the board.
All residents rightfully expect that these businesses will be subject to careful scrutiny and oversight, which is why the town has public safety officials and town boards reviewing records and making personal visits.
A CCA-type operation is also answerable to state and local authorities, not to mention the federal Mine Safety Health Administration.
In every instance this company has met all requirements, often going above and beyond to allay fears and address concerns. There is not a single reported incident in which the company's operation has exceeded any threshold for noise, vibration, dust, particulate matter, air quality, and/or water quality.
On the contrary, the results of testing and monitoring demonstrate consistently lower impacts than permitted by regulation and law. The company's test wells are reviewed regularly by independent third-party hydrologists.
These reports as well as all others are always available for public viewing.
CCA is a well-run, carefully monitored company, and a key asset to Freetown. So just say no to Articles 1 and 2.
Jean Fox is a former member of the Freetown Board of Selectmen. She currently serves as project manager for South Coast Rail.


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The Dolphins are holding out hope, albeit slim at this point, that they can still land Peyton Manning. But they are not so naive as to do nothing else in case bad news comes.
That is why the club has today reached out to free agent quarterback Matt Flynn to discuss the basic parameters of a contract and seek permission to speak with the player himself. The club had coach Joe Philbin, who has coached Flynn in Green Bay, call his former pupil to express interest in him. The club obviously also talked to Flynn's agent.
And all this while everyone awaits a verdict from Manning.
Earlier today a Dolphins source described this as a "delicate" balance for handling the situation. No lie! The Dolphins don't want to offend Manning by making him believe they've moved on before they're actually told they are out. And they don't want to be so inactive as to lose out on Flynn who is now Plan B behind Manning.
It is obviously helping that Flynn wants to come to Miami. Yes, someone would like to come to Miami. It is also helping that the Flynn camp believes the Dolphins will help set the market for the free agent. And, of course, there's Flynn comfort level with Philbin and his system.
So we are waiting the final result of all this.
If you want me to speculate, I'd say the Dolphins end up with Flynn rather than Manning. Just a guess. Nothing more.
Follow me on twitter.


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Radio – Same Ol' Same Ol'
I don't listen to the radio much these days…okay….sometimes when I'm driving but that's mostly for road and weather reports. Music….not so much. What music I do hear is the rotation of the same songs or the same tired formula over and over and over…. I will admit I tune into Q107 but that's more for the DJ banter and the stories than the music. ….and the commercials, on any station, send me over the edge!


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For years now, network TV has developed new shows in the same way: Every season, each broadcaster commissions a couple dozen pilots for a few million dollars apiece, then picks between one-third to one-half of them to go to series. But since it got into original programming in 2011, Netflix has streamlined the process, commissioning full first seasons of shows such as House of Cards and Orange Is the New Black without ever seeing a pilot. It's not the first to skip this once-sacrosanct step: Networks have occasionally agreed to go directly to series in order to land high-profile projects, from the massive 44-episode commitment NBC made to Steven Spielberg's Amazing Stories back in 1985 to CBS's more recent pilot-free order of Spielberg's Under the Dome. But this year, what was once a rarity has become far more commonplace. Fox is leading the way, handing out series commitments to more than a half-dozen 2014 projects, including a high-profile comedy from Tina Fey, the fantasy adventure Hieroglyph, and the Batman-inspired Gotham. ABC, CBS and NBC have all also ordered at least one early series sans pilot. "It's become the big thing this season," says Bela Bajaria, head of NBC-owned production studio Universal Television. While both competitive and financial pressures are at the root of the move, some small-screen execs see skipping pilots as a means to a larger end: shaking up the sclerotic system of series development that's been in place at the networks for decades.
That's certainly the rationale of Fox network chief Kevin Reilly, who sounds more like the CEO of an Internet start-up than a broadcast dinosaur when discussing the rationale behind his recent slew of series orders. "I'm trying to set a bomb off," he says calmly, explaining that he's done with the decades-old development schedule, where writers pitch scripts in late summer, pilots are made between January and April, and series get ordered in early May, right before upfronts. "I don't want the one-size-fits-all business anymore, period. It's outdated, and it doesn't work anymore for television," Reilly argues. "These series orders are a way to create a different rhythm in our business."
There are creative advantages to the no-pilot approach. In the old model, writers design a pilot, and then wait for months to worry about what comes next. When they finally get the green light, they immediately need to staff up a writers room and then spend the season scrambling to churn out scripts that stay just ahead of the production schedule. Reilly says they're "like Lucy at the chocolate factory, with the conveyor belt going faster and faster, and they can't keep up with it." Skipping a pilot and ordering multiple scripts means both showrunners and execs "can put the pieces together, and the plan for the show together, much earlier," says CBS Television Studios president David Stapf, whose studio co-produces Dome and the upcoming Halle Berry straight-to-series project Extant. "You're ahead of the game." Writers with extra time can discover emerging problems and then go back and retool earlier scripts to preempt them before they're shot. Universal's Bajaria says long-range planning was key to the success of her studio's Carlton Cuse–Kerry Ehrin thriller Bates Motel, which was sold to A&E without a pilot: "We had six episodes written before we even started filming." The producers of Gracepoint, Fox's pilot-free adaptation of BBC America's Broadchurch that's planned for next season, have already cast several of their leads, are working on multiple scripts, and, after a January production start, will likely have multiple episodes filmed by the time Fox unveils the shows to advertisers at its upfront presentation next May.
A major reason networks resisted upfront series commitments in the past was that they were seen as much bigger financial gambles. With a pilot, networks only have to pay for one episode of TV; if it turns out the cast has no chemistry or the idea behind a show doesn't work, they can move on, having spent just a few million dollars. But now there are new ways to counter the financial risk of a series order: for Under the Dome and the upcoming Extant, CBS all but eliminated its monetary risk by working out a deal with Amazon that gave the Internet service early access to the show in exchange for a hefty financial commitment. "The unique [financial] modeling … is what allowed the network and studio to go straight to series," Stapf says. But even where there's no such deal in place, Reilly argues that it's bogus to think of series orders as exponentially riskier than the old pilot process. "Pilots have always been a false sense of security," he says. "We think it's hedging our bet, because it's the least amount [of money] you can commit on [a project]. And yet it's been massively inefficient with a really bad batting average." (As mentioned above, networks typically green-light between one-third to one-half of pilots to series.) "It's led us to shotgunning things on the air and – massive failure," Reilly adds. "Is [going straight to series] possibly going to be any worse than what we're doing now? I don't think so. In the long term, it's actually going to be more efficient."
Reilly's logic echoes that of Netflix programming chief Ted Sarandos, who so far has opted against making any pilots. Earlier this year, he told Vulture that jumping straight to series represents "much lower risk" than "playing the odds game, where we make twenty pilots and make two [series] and one sticks. That's a good business? I don't think it is. I'd much rather end up with twenty hours of programming that people can watch." He also argued that stepping up with a big commitment to a project would help Netflix attract better ideas: "By going straight to series, the people who have a great story to tell will bring it to us first." Industry insiders concede that Netflix has indeed become a key player in the competition for high-profile projects. And with some other newer cable players making big upfront series orders – WGN America, Starz – networks have had to up their game to stay competitive. "It has a boomerang effect on the talent, writers and actors," one veteran network suit says. An executive from the studio side concurs: "What you're hearing a lot of this season is, 'If we go to Netflix, we'll get ten episodes,'" the exec says. "You hear it on almost every single pitch. Agents and managers – they're all using it." (Not that the argument is always effective: "Netflix can only do so many shows," the studio exec laughs.)
Fox's Reilly doesn't give Netflix quite as much credit for the move as some execs do, and he correctly notes that he started handing out series orders (Terra Nova) long before Netflix got in the game. And yet, he admits the Internet programmer is helping change the rules. "I'm not following those guys, but they are giving me an assist," he says. The straight-to-series model "is more out there, and it's beginning to get everyone out of lockstep. And when there's success, it really helps." So far, the track record for no-pilot projects is mixed. Under the Dome was one of the year's biggest hits, and Bates Motel also did well and will be back for a second season. Netflix doesn't say how many people watch its shows, but it has ordered second seasons of every one of the series it's developed. On the other hand, the aforementioned Terra Nova was an expensive, modest-ratings performer that was canceled after one season. Over at NBC, network chief Robert Greenblatt's decision to hand Michael J. Fox a 22-episode series sight unseen did nothing but give the Peacock yet another low-rated Thursday comedy.
Those failures, plus concerns about upfront costs, help explain why straight-to-series orders are still the exception, and not the rule. Some executives also believe that many creators benefit from the old process, since it lets them essentially produce a first draft of an idea. "You can learn a lot from pilots," says Bajaria, who believes that series orders are "quite a ways away from displacing pilot season." One new player on the scene is actually doubling down on the idea of pilots: Amazon's Prime Video service puts first episodes of its shows online and solicits viewer feedback before deciding whether to move forward with them. Some broadcast network execs, including Reilly, are also increasingly turning to so-called "off cycle" pilots, a middle ground between the old system and straight-to-series orders: A pilot is still made, but — as cable networks have done for years — it's developed and green-lit whenever it's ready, not when the traditional TV calendar says it's time to do so. Off-cycle pilots offer some of the same production advantages as an early series order (they can be cast outside the frenzy of pilot season, writers have more time to work on scripts) without forcing the network to make as much of an upfront financial investment. Even though he's handed out more series commitments than any other exec, Reilly is fond of off-cycle pilots, too, and says he's not wedded to any one particular way of forcing change. "If there's a pilot to be ordered out of cycle, great. If there's a series order that needs to be done, great," he says. "It's all part of a puzzle." What's most important, the Fox chief argues, is that networks insist on radical changes to the development cycle. Otherwise, "The system [will] suck everything right back to the same old way of doing things."


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You are currently browsing the tag archive for the 'Glasgow Film Fest' tag.
As part of the Glasgow Film Festival horror fans are in for a real treat thanks to soundtrack legends Goblin, or more accurately Claudio Simonetti's Goblin* are providing a set filled with their perverse sounds to mixed audience of film buffs, metalheads and me.
Claudio Simonetti shuffled onstage appearing somewhat dishevelled in stark contrast to that of his smoothly and immaculately decked out backing band**. Claudio holds court to the side of the stage entrapped in a cage of keyboards and synthesisers, which is how everyone wants it I imagine.
What followed was a selection of some of Goblins finest pieces of work, more a less conducted in chronological order and each introduced by our leader leaving no mistake in what we were listening too which left little to surprise with.
Taken out of their usual context of providing a soundtrack to (normally gruesome) images it is quite revelatory to hear the scattershot approach of the music which seems to encompass everything from prog, funk, disco and metal***. And for all of the jokes that can be made about the backing bands appearance****, they were more than capable of providing the bombast and technical prowess required from their Claudio in order to recreate these fevered compositions.
But though these tracks were created as technically as they had been on record, which is no mean feat, it really put into contrast that Goblins music, or more accurately their better known music, is designed for the screen and without this the set becomes incoherent and out of place. It is valiant to see a band concentrate on getting everything right on target when it comes to the tunes but when this means there is little energy on stage***** due to this concentration then it lacks something for the audience to connect with.
Despite this there was still entertainment to be had and I won't lie and say it wasn't a thrill to see the music of 'Susperia' brought to life. Also it's the first time in years I've seen a guitarist mouth along to the noises his instrument is making****** and it was amusing to see Claudio's attention focused on two young goth clad ladies near the front of the stage, should these be the highlights of the night though? I'm glad I went, and would be more than willing to see them again but only when providing a live soundtrack to one of the many gorgeously horrible films where they made their name.
*Don't worry; refunds were available on the door if this fact did not please you… only time in my life where I found refunds to be so freely available.
**Seriously, these guys were pretty… like girl pretty.
***You know… all the cool genres… yeah?
****Well, the jokes that I made anyway.
*****Except for the occasional metal horn thrown out there.
******More than worth the price of admission.


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Oily in nature, either literally, or as an obsequious or manipulative personality
This is English at its very best. Easing is not one of the great events of life; it does not call for Beethoven; it is not an idea to get drunk on, to wallow in, to engage in multiple oleaginous syllabification until it becomes a pompous ass of a word like "facilitate."
— Russel Baker, So This is Depravity (1981)
On the wooden desk above this coop sits a grinning young butcher, showing off the flesh and organs of recently chopped-up chicken, still oleaginous with a coating of dark blood.
— Aravind Adiga, The White Tiger (2008)
Disraeli once described the manner of Bishop Wilberforce as "unctuous, oleaginous, saponaceous." And the good prelate was ever afterward known as Soapy Sam. For every man there is something in the vocabulary that would stick to him like a second skin. His enemies have only to find it.
— Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary (1906)
Olea ultimately comes from the same Latin word as both "olive" and "oil".


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I call it Joy, which must be sharply distinguished both from Happiness and Pleasure. Joy has indeed one characteristic, and one only, in common with them; the fact that anyone who has experienced it will want it again. I doubt whether anyone who has tasted Joy would ever, if both were in his power, exchange it for all the pleasures of the world. But then Joy is never in our power and Pleasure often is. – C. S. Lewis
Joy is the best makeup. – Anne Lamott
Oh, what a difference three years can make.
Three years ago, I declared a mental manifesto about the upcoming Holiday season.
I will not send Christmas cards. I will not buy presents. I will not spend THREE days decorating my house for a season that lasts TWO WEEKS only to spend another TWO DAYS to take it allll down in January.
I will not travel on Christmas.
I will not go to ten thousand holiday parties with people I don't spend any time with any other time of the year.
Christmas wasn't about any of those things, after all.
(That's what I told myself, anyhow.)
The truth was, I wasn't entirely sure what Christmas was about.
There were some things that stuck with me, of course, like tiny pieces of lint refuse to get brushed from a wool coat:
My kids' choir production.
Hot chocolate and a cozy fire after a winter run.
The soothing click of knitting needles.
The Charlie Brown Christmas Album.
And of course, The Story.
The Baby.
The reason.
That I was trying to rewrite the holidays – or at least how we went about them – might surprise some of you who knew-me-when.
After all, I was the girl with six strands of white lights in her dorm room – all year long.
I was the psycho who started listening to Christmas music on Thanksgiving weekend. (And lest you think that normal, I'm talking Canadian Thanksgiving. In October.)
I was the weirdo who tried to pretend I didn't have White Christmas almost memorized.
I even wished for a sister so I'd have a partner for that ridiculous dance Rosemary Clooney and the-other-one does.
(Though I probably prefer the Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye spoof.)
Bereft of such a partner in crime, I learned the "Sisters" routine by myself, rewinding the VCR enough times to perform it for an imaginary audience in my grandparents spare bedroom.
Elliana does this kind of thing now, when she doesn't think I'm watching.
As an adult, the shine of presents-under-the-tree and imagining-every-thing-my-heart-desires fortunately transitioned into the more generous sparkle of good winter meals and giant puzzles with those I love most.
But every year those smiles-around-the-turkey felt a little more forced and a little less real.
What is happening to me?
I would say to David.
He would tell me something simple and true, like you're growing up or life isn't a movie or its okay, next year will be better because (x) will happen.
I would smile and say, of course.
But the restlessness stayed.
Until somewhere around the middle of 2009, the thought of Christmas filled me with dread instead of delight.
It wasn't that it was going to be the first Christmas (knowing) I had cancer.
It wasn't that I was taking chemotherapy instead of breastfeeding my baby girl.
It wasn't that I stopped believing in anything.
I just. Didn't. Want. It. Anymore.
I didn't want the trimmings. I didn't want the shiny baubles. I didn't want the handsomely wrapped gifts or the charmingly baked cookies. I didn't want A Christmas Carol or It's a Wonderful Life or anything else that reminded me of all that wasn't anymore.
I didn't want to keep pretending to be happy in a season that for years had only made me sad.
So I pulled out.
Sort of.
I volunteered to work Christmas Day.
Stat pay.
Quiet shift.
It worked for me.
It became kind of a tradition.
These work people became another family.
And my kids loved it.
They would make the turkey or the pie or the stuffing and bring it in with Dad for a 2 pm Christmas dinner, around the team room tables covered with white tablecloths and Christmas crackers and a smorgasbord of food made by people who care about Christmas
and each other
and helping those who need help
even on the holidays.
We minimized presents.
We emphasized time, people, and quiet.
And it was glorious.
I loved the message this sent to my kids: Christmas is about more than just you.
In fact, Christmas isn't really even about you.
Of course, it was also handy to tell myself the same thing.
If its not about me, then I don't need to think too deeply about me.
I went to get my every-three-months blood work done yesterday.
I got the nicest, sweetest girl you could ever meet. She listened to me as I rattled off my complicated story and thanked me for knowing more about the test than she did and for waiting close to 90 minutes to take a test that tells me if I'm living or dying –
The test that
should be normal by now
but somehow still isn't.
A couple of hours later I had two missed calls on my phone.
These were from the sweet girl.
'Sorry, I'm SO sorry, but we need to do this again.'
It wasn't that I had to go back and do all of this again today.
It wasn't that I was already running a time deficit this week.
What built inside of me had nothing to do with the lab's mess-up
and everything to do with something I'd almost forgotten.
I have a friend who I see maybe once every three years. In classic long-distance friend style, every time I see her we pick up exactly where we left off.
I love this girl.
I love the way her mind works. I love the questions she asks. I love the thoughtful, gentle way she asks me how I'm doing with things like music, Christmas, and my dad.
She asks about music because she knows its my outlet.
She asks about Christmas because
it was Christmas music I was listening to
as I studied for a Nursing exam
the last day my dad was alive.
It was Christmas music I was playing as my mom came downstairs
and told me that
Dad had vomited something … black.
It was Christmas lyrics I had stuck in my head
as I walked into Dad's room,
saw the mess,
noticed him smile,
heard his weak voice say,
'oh, you came to see me!'
and told Mom to call my brother.
I'd forgotten that till just now.
So yesterday,
as I hung up the phone
after talking to the sweetest-lab-tech-on-the-planet,
I struggled to recognize the emotion rising in me.
I think it was something like anger.
Yet it was so long since it had visited
or threatened to take over
that acknowledging it only made me smile.
Let me explain:
That I felt anger yesterday and yet spoke words of grace to this girl who already knew she'd messed up,
that I almost laughed in the face of a simple lab test taking up two whole days of my life,
as it does every time I take it,
every three months
for the last seven years,
That I spoke words of truth and understanding to her and gently said I would see her in the morning,
That my husband was more angry about it than I was,
That my first thought was,
okay, I guess that's what I'm doing tomorrow
instead of a diatribe on why my time is way more valuable than this
I'm not who I used to be.
Oh, I am so not who I used to be.
And it took the Worst Christmas Ever to do it.
Yep, you read that right.
Just as I was starting to make my peace with the cheery season, Christmas 2014 hit me with a sledge hammer.
The biggest problem is that I shouldn't have been blind to it all.
I mean, I'd even walked into last Christmas with a plan.
I'd had this one, guys.
But never did I ever
imagine what was to come.
The plan didn't work.
At all.
Instead, Last Christmas became a season of breaking. A mirthless day of melancholy mess, triggered by some of the worst words I'd ever heard spoken, let alone spoken to me,
that I couldn't even breathe.
For months,
my soul, my heart was crushed,
torn beyond repair.
The vast emotional unknown ahead of me,
jagged edges of torn flesh
and broken bones
sticking out at every edge,
it was the last place I expected to find the pieces,
the people,
the Light
of astonishing grace.
But there they were.
Somehow the best part of being broken to the point where you can't put yourself back together, is that when you decide to move on,
you have to start with entirely different pieces.
So this summer, I went hunting for some good ones.
Humility – the underused gem. Most of us aren't too familiar with this one.
(It's hard to be when there's so much ME clamoring for attention.)
Imagine my shock to find
that thinking of everyone else and
all the really important things
freed me from the prisons of
and greed.
Which is really idolatry.
Friends, these jails are so over-populated, they look like concentration camps;
wasting away the essence of all that once was humanity,
they could all use another storming (or two, or ten) of the Bastille –
the kind of storming that won't be accomplished by the songs of angry men.
Fortunately, I found an escape route.
It led right through the tunnel of –
Forgiveness – a shockingly light but warm coat of grace that reminded me of all I'd been forgiven and all I used to be,
while covering all the exposed and recently-wounded places
as I learned to extend mercy
in the face of offense.
And after grasping how to use it, I've learned that Forgiveness is the sparkling accessory that must be put on every morning in order for my wardrobe to be complete.
Its the piece I am most complimented on,
the perfect outfit-maker my friends think I've only just gotten
when its been hiding in my closet for decades.
Every time I put it on
it wraps me in a gentle blanket of
Peace – the unshakable, unbendable, unmistakable warmth in the coldest winter.
Peace was the reminder that spring would come,
that I was not alone in the darkness,
and that I could be okay even when nothing else was okay.
Slowly but surely I have learned to pick these three essentials up with more ease.
They are becoming a part of me.
And it turns out they have quite the company:
Ladies, what if we could see these virtues for what they are? What if we valued them more than the most trendy clothes and the newest of new in-crowds and the best of all feelings?
What if we eagerly pursued these precious stones for friends?
I think there would be a lot more beautiful in the world.
I've found that the best part of having these values as part of my wardrobe is that,
like the best of friends,
even the worst circumstances
and the hardest days
do not prevent us from wearing them
-nay, showing them off –
like the royal robes that they are.
Only our hearts do.
Let me explain.
Ten days ago I went to store something in the crawl space and came back with the box of Christmas lights.
The year you were born,
I told Noelle,
I put these lights everywhere. You couldn't stop looking at them. When your dad and I couldn't get you to stop crying, we'd put you in front of the tree and you would stare at the lights for hours.
She smiled that full-hearted smile that only Noelle can.
-Why did you stop, Mom?
Instead of answering her, I got out the stool and started hanging them on the ceiling.
the girls handed me hooks and held the rest of the string
as the house transformed.
Then came the tree.
And another little one.
And stockings.
And the Silent Night sign I found at a Vintage Market last year.
–Mom, you're really going for it this year! Elliana cried in delight.
I really am.
Last Sunday, as I lay on the couch with my puke bucket handy
(Because, you know, the flu shot and me really get along)
My family put together a puzzle as we watched Elf.
I used to hate that movie.
I don't really remember why.
'Buddy the Elf, what's your favorite color?'
Made me almost pee myself laughing.
My husband could barely contain himself.
You really are different, he said. Old Lana was too good for this kind of thing.
–What, laughing?
Last week I listened to a woman I love and dearly respect shared some of the pain of having a husband with Alzheimers. She has the wearying job of patiently staying the same as the man she loves steadily drifts away.
Yet in the middle of this poignant moment, she smiled.
Put her hands on her hips, and exclaimed:
–Ladies, I've made a decision to laugh with my husband.
Last weekend, our brothers and sisters in Paris were sitting in coffee shops, watching sports games, and listening to concert music as
paraders of hate
tore through their exquisite city of light
and painted it all black.
World leaders offered their country's sympathy and pledges of support, but it was the response of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that stuck with me most:
"More than a hundred people lost their lives while they were doing what they loved, or spending time with their loved ones."
They were doing what they loved,
With whom they loved,
When terror struck.
They were laughing, smiling, enjoying good food and soaking up beautiful night sky as the air got littered with bullets and bombs.
This kind of thing has happened to many of us, in a sense.
Just as we were tempted to think all is right with the world we had the rug pulled out from us.
And it makes us scared to sink in,
or let ourselves enjoy anything.
And isn't that what all terrorists are after?
To make us nervous to leave our houses,
terrified to cross the streets,
afraid to go places,
scared to smile, laugh, or have fun,
without looking over our shoulder for the guy with the mask and a sniper rifle.
Or the guy with the heavily packed coat.
Or the swastika-bearing Gestapo whose rule so symbolized death they had a skull and crossbones on the lapel of their black leather coats.
The threat of terror reigns in every generation. The lurk of loss is present in every situation.
Our job is not to let it.
See, there was one virtue I'd forgotten.
Overlooked, maybe.
It isn't pleasure, or happiness, or fun.
It's not feel-good movies, ignorance, passivism, or only dwelling on pleasant things.
This is gutteral, trench warfare,
explosions of
that pulsate the blackest spots of our highlight reels and start to turn them
soft pink
until there's a tiny peek of
the color of my girls Thanksgiving slipper boots.
And one way our family will choose Joy this year
is by choosing Christmas.
It won't be about lights.
It won't be about presents.
It won't be about music
or toys
or movies
or time off
or decorations
or trees
or even the people we like the best.
Joy doesn't depend on any of that.
It only depends on us.
On a decision
-a belief, really-
that light can come to the darkness
and shine
even though the darkness does not understand it.
So while this holiday season will certainly have work and tears and difficulty and all of the things that go with the reunions of those who don't know or love each other as well as they used to
– or wished to.,
There will also be Joy.
I've decided it.
And this time, the Joy won't be pretend. It will be a celebration of all that is good and every gift that has been given in a season that at first seemed to be covered in sooty ash.
It will be a recount of all
the tiny blessings
and little miracles
and provisions
and serendipities
and transcendent life-changes.
It will be the laughter of my children as they beat me at Dutch Blitz.
It will be the childlike glee of my husband as he restrains himself from opening the girls Lego ahead of them.
It will be all the little moments that are stored up and joyed up to be played up
for all the Christmases yet to come.
Oh, what a difference three years has made.
I have learned the secret of being content in every situation. – Paul, to the Philippians
Find the Joy. Joy will burn out the pain. – Joseph Campbell
Welcome, Christmas.
We've been waiting for you.


text: Two of the top youth wrestlers from Cedar Springs placed at the Border Wars National Wrestling Tournament held in Battle Creek, MI on Sunday November 13, 2011. Landon Demmorest took 4th place in the 7/8 year old, 43lb weight class. George Gonzales Jr took 3rd in the 11/12 year old, heavyweight class. Both boys did quite well against some of the top wrestlers from all over the nation. If your child is interested in wrestling, Cedar Springs Youth Wrestling club is the place for them. Sign ups and practices start November 22 in the the Cedar Springs High School Cafeteria. Sign ups will continue on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:00-8:00 PM at the High school until early December. You can get more info at www.cedarspringsyouthwrestling.com.


text:
Remember, a very important aspect of daily life is MAINTENANCE! This word applies to our temporal affairs and, of course, most importantly, to our spiritual lives.
South Africa's problem is lack of this big word, "Maintenance" – for very many years – around 30 odd! – Now we stumble in the darkness, the only light being the light of fires – I doubt the analogy is lost on you all.
Please pray for us – let us pray constantly for each other.


text:
Lucas John "Luke" Gregerson (born May 14, 1984 in Park Ridge, Illinois) is a Major League Baseball relief pitcher for the San Diego Padres. He owns the major league record for holds in a season.
Gregerson was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 28th round of the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft out of Saint Xavier University. He spent his first professional season between the Rookie-Level Johnson City Cardinals and the Short-Season State College Spikes in 2006. He went 0-1 with a 3.86 ERA in 15 games with Johnson City and 6-1 with a 1.72 ERA in 12 games with State College.
In 2007 Gregerson split the season between the Advanced-A Palm Beach Cardinals and the Double-A Springfield Cardinals. With Palm Beach he went 3-4 with a 1.97 ERA in 53 games and with Springfield he was perfect in only inning of work.


text:
zGames, MadRuse Games and Eppy Games Take top Honors and Prizes, Will See Commercial Release on App Store
LOS ANGELES – August 2, 2012 – Atari, one of the world's most recognized publishers and developers of interactive entertainment, today revealed the winners of the Pong® Indie Developer Challenge. The winning developers, who competed against other independent game developers for the chance to remake Atari's iconic Pong, were chosen by a judging panel in conjunction with community voting. Final ranking is as follows:
- 1st place ($50,000): zGames
- 2nd place ($37,500): MadRuse Games
- 3rd place ($15,000): Eppy Games
The three winners also win a three-year revenue-sharing agreement, which includes having their qualifying game published on the App Store by Atari with marketing and promotional support. Further details regarding the qualifying commercial release of the winning submissions will be announced at a later date. To view information about the participating developers and their games, along with video trailers, please visit: www.atari.com/pongdeveloperchallenge/finalists.
"The Pong Indie Developer Challenge presented an opportunity to introduce the talented work of independent developers to the Atari community, and their creativity was met with great enthusiasm," said Giancarlo Mori, EVP of Product Development at Atari. "This enthusiasm, along with the success of our recent mobile releases like Centipede®: Origins, is a further testament to the ability of our widely-recognized brands to engage both hardcore and mainstream audiences. We'll continue this momentum with the forthcoming releases of qualifying winning Pong titles from this challenge."
In the first phase of the contest, Atari received nearly 90 submissions from independent developers looking to remake Pong. After a comprehensive review, seven finalists were chosen for consideration by a celebrity judging panel made up of Nolan Bushnell, one of the original founders of Atari, Dave Castelnuovo of Bolt Creative (Pocket God), David Whatley of Critical Thought Games (geoDefense), and Mike Schramm of TUAW. In addition, the Atari community weighed in on the final ranking, with over 200,000 total votes logged for the various finalists. Ultimately, the winners announced today represent the top choices from Atari, the Atari community and the judging panel.
For full details regarding Pong Indie Developer Challenge, please visit: www.atari.com/pongdeveloperchallenge.
For more information about Atari games and the latest news:
– Visit our website: www.atari.com
– Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/atari
– Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/atari
– Subscribe to our YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/atari
About ATARI, SA
Atari (www.atari.com) is a multi-platform, global interactive entertainment and licensing company. The original innovator of video gaming, founded in 1972, Atari owns and/or manages a portfolio of more than 200 games and franchises, including world renowned brands like Asteroids®, Centipede®, Missile Command®, Pong®, Test Drive®, Backyard Sports®, and Rollercoaster Tycoon®. Atari capitalizes on these powerful properties by delivering compelling games online (i.e. browser, Facebook® and digital download), on smartphones and tablets and other connected devices. Atari also develops and distributes interactive entertainment for video game consoles from Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony. As a licensor, Atari extends its brand and franchises into other media, merchandising and publishing categories.
Atari has offices in Los Angeles, New York, Paris and Lyon.
© 2012 Atari Interactive, Inc. All rights reserved.
Atari word mark and logo are trademarks owned by Atari Interactive, Inc.
Media Contact:
John O'Leary, TriplePoint for Atari
+1 (212) 730-9744


text:
"The Ruby community tends to be really welcoming in and of itself, and then Railsbridge takes that and puts an anti-sexist and pro-diversity spin on it."
– Lillie Chilen in a blog post titled Railsbridge Changed My Life
The official account of the RailsBridge origin story tells of founders Sarah Mei and Sarah Allen deciding to host a workshop in 2009 for women who want to learn to use Ruby on Rails. Their goal was to "move the needle" of gender balance in the San Francisco Rails community from the embarrassingly skewed ratio of 97% men and 3% women to a more equitable ratio. The event sold out within 24 hours. The website comments "It turned out every speculation of "Well, maybe there aren't more women in programming because they just aren't interested" was 100% rubbish (as we all knew), and there has been an insatiable appetite for education and community ever since that first workshop." A year later, in 2010, Sarah Mei gave a talk about successfully "moving the needle" from 3% women to 18% women and mused about how to get that ratio to a 50/50 balance.
I've been involved with the Ruby Users of Minnesota (aka "RUM") since 2006 and I've been teaching people how to use Rails since 2010. For most of that time, sadly, the RUM meetings and gatherings of coders tended to match the 2009 numbers cited by the RailsBridge website – 3% women, 97% men. That needle started to move when the first RailsBridge workshop happened here in 2012 as part of the 2012 JRubyConf. Like many RailsBridge events, the workshop sold out almost immediately, as did the second Minneapolis RailsBridge workshop 6 months later. The tone of response from established local male hackers was one of enthusiasm that this was finally happening in our city and encouragement for it to continue. This support was accompanied by a glimmer of pride about the fact that at the code camp for kids, which also happened as part of JRubyConf, 45% of the attendees were girls. I heard multiple accounts claiming that a visible contingent of the parents in the room were hacker guys who want their daughters to know how to sling code.
I'm lucky to be connected with a community where people simply won't tolerate the idea that your gender somehow affects your capacity to excel as an engineer. My male peers around here always seemed to assume that the tech industry's gender imbalance is simply an oddity of cultural patterns, an anomaly that could easily change over time. However, they also seemed resigned to the idea that a software engineer's lot in life is to spend your days working in a monoculture of smart dudes. In other words, most of the software engineers I know have not maintained a conscious bias favoring male engineers, but they also have not seen their field's gender imbalance as a problem that needs to be fixed, nor have they seen it necessary to change the culture of their workplaces or to increase inclusiveness in the environments where skill-sharing occurs. Thankfully there are some wonderful and influential exceptions to this rule, but as a whole, that's the behavior I've witnessed.
There's nothing gender-specific about the RailsBridge curriculum; they're just well-designed workshops.
In my own work environment, which mainly involves collaborating with software development groups at libraries, the gender balance of teams tends to be around 20%-30% women. If you count only the coders, the number is closer to 18%. At the HydraCamp training events I've run, which reflect this gender ratio, we started using the RailsBridge curriculum in 2013 because it's a really well structured introduction to Ruby on Rails. Pedagogically, the RailsBridge curriculum is a great set of teaching materials and, importantly, people keep them up to date as the Rails framework evolves. This makes those curriculum materials extremely useful. We even overhauled the core Hydra tutorials to reflect the RailsBridge style.
There's nothing gender-specific about the RailsBridge curriculum; they're just well-designed workshops. So what is it about RailsBridge that helps push the needle of diversity in the Rails community?
I think it's about safe space. Simply by declaring a training event as being explicitly aimed at increasing diversity, it provides a promise that you won't be treated like a three headed monster when you show up and that you will be neither judged, attacked, alienated nor neglected by the instructors and the other students. It assures participants that they can arrive with only a laptop and the desire to learn, and they can expect to leave with new skills, a sense of empowerment and a sense of inclusion.
When we started kicking around the idea of doing a RailsBridge-based workshop* as part of the LTG Summit, I admitted to my collaborators that I've taught the curriculum numerous times within HydraCamp events, but never taught it as an explicit RailsBridge event. Since then, I've been trying to figure out what, if anything, I will do differently in leading the workshop at ER&L. At the moment, I'm pretty sure I won't change anything other than providing a bit of background and history about RailsBridge at the beginning of the day. Can you think of anything else that should be done differently from a regular training workshop?
[This is a cross-post that I wrote for LTGSummit.org and published there.]
* Note: The workshop at ER&L is not technically a RailsBridge workshop because we are charging $25 to attendees. We are, however, using the RailsBridge curriculum and aspiring to create the same learning environment that a RailsBridge workshop would offer.


text:
Hi there! Today's post is about most of the stuff I bought since the post-Christmas sale started. I'm saying most of the stuff because I always forget a lot… OK, let's take a look at the goodies!
Boots Skincare Treats The Discovery Collection – this was £10 on Boxing Day. I bought 3 of these. The 2 moisturisers are worth £25 alone! The set would have been great value for full price = £20, but it was the most amazing bargain for half price on Boxing Day!
I bought more face masks – but what else is new? Some half price Disney masks, some £1 masks from B&M Bargains.
The Sanctuary Spa Celebration Hamper – this was £20 on Boxing Day and it had the following goodies:
These look amazing!
And these too!
I bought a few more products from Boots' discontinued Live + Be range. The cheapest item was £1, the most expensive item was £1.75.
A few more Live + Be products.
I also bought fragrances from M&S. The first 2 were £9.50, the third was £12.50. All of them are repurchases.
I bought a number of different Westlab bath salts, the one above was £2.99 at Boots.
I also bought more Radox bath salts. The one above was £2.25 at Sainsburys.
2 more Radox shower gels – these were about £1.30 (or so) each at Superdrug.
Fragonard Belle De Nuit fragrance – £20 at M&S, the Olay Face Wash was £2.09 at Boots, the the Botanics Face Scrub was 33p (£2.33 plus 200 Advantage points for buying a Botanics product).
I also rescued 2 Dead Sea Natural Mineral Soaps from the clearance bin.
And this is it! Quite a bit, eh? Well, what can I say. I'll always be a bargain hunter! Thanks for stopping by today! 😊


text:
We're spending the week with our son.
We don't get to do that often enough these days. Right after high school he joined the army and we moved to Alaska. And for the next five years we saw him in bits and pieces, he a cog in the great wheel of the army's posting and leave schedule, and us connecting when we could match our opportunity to his availability. It was tricky, during those years, but we managed.
We've kept up, and kept in contact. I saw him in March, we spent a few days with him back in May, and will see him again at Thanksgiving. We're making up, a little bit, for lost time. Getting to know him again, and learning about this kid who turned 26 in June. Twenty-six! How did that happen?
It's often funny, hearing his take on life, catching his humor, his jokes, learning about his likes and dislikes…weaving the fabric with first hand knowledge and time spent face to face.
It's sometimes hard. He's not always easy, often stubborn and opinionated. He's a mix of the two of us, and at the same time, so different from either of us. Life and loss have left a mark. The army experience, both good and bad, and a young marriage that added to the statistics of military marriages, shaped him. He's finding his way, and so are we.
We laugh and enjoy. It's easy to be with him.
We tread warily. Rekindled relationships can be fragile. This one needs to strengthen a bit, solidify again.
I find my heart is fragile too, anxious that the week be good, something we'll all remember with smiles, and a desire to repeat.
Re-connection requires effort. Life gives us people and relationships, but it's up to us to nurture and make them thrive. So I dig deep, tell my mother's heart that all will be well.
We're in Victoria, British Columbia. It's beautiful and warm, the September sunshine pretending to be a gift of summer. We've picked an Irish and a Scottish pub for dinner the nights they have live music, and we're walking the town and driving the coast. Laid back, charming, and just touristy enough to keep the focus on fun.
How does it happen that you feel you have to get acquainted with the boy you birthed? I know his top layers, but the deeper stuff…well, that's been forming in the past few years, and I've not been with him enough to know his depths.
So I dig deep, mostly within myself…he will have to do his own digging, his own opening, when he's ready. It is not for me to make demands. He's his own person now, and I respect that separateness. I just keep it light, make sure he knows he has a home in my heart, so when he wants to land there for a while, he can.
It's delicate, being a parent to young adults. You play the game of giving them space and respect, but your heart really wants to just make everything right for them. Can't do it, they have to. I dig deep to get it just right, to hold back, to open up. Exhausting. Fulfilling. It's hard work. It's heart work.


text:
Some years ago, I got the project to set up a fish processing operation in Klemtu on the central coast of British Columbia. Some agreement had been made a couple of years earlier, as the whole project started with the set up of fish farms.
For the processing, we needed to not only equip the plant, but also train the staff of this small coastal community isolated on an island with no road connection to the mainland. Therefore, the logistics were quite adverse: an isolated island with about no choice of carriers except the one that had been appointed on a sea that is often dangerous to the point that barges do not even venture on it. The risk was that the fresh fish could be stuck and not be delivered on time. Of course, that would have been unacceptable for our customers, who were located thousands of km away.
When it came to the facilities, the local community was providing for the plant, meaning a very basic building with no specific equipment for salmon processing. In the plant's yard we had to browse through a pile of old tables and pipes to figure out something. Since volumes were starting rather low, it would not have been sensible to buy automated processing equipment, because the cost per pound of fish would have been horrendous. Further, the isolation of the place would have made any call for a technician about useless, as it would have taken him a couple of days to be on the premises. All the work was to be manual.
The equipment was probably the easiest part, though. We needed to train the staff to modern food production and educate them about to all aspects of food safety and quality, as they had never been exposed to this. Everyone who has dealt with First Nations knows that they are dealing with a number of social issues and poor physical health and condition, unfortunately the result of past colonization and the destruction of their traditional society. As such, this exercise was a great way of merging two worlds and recreating a feeling of community between this village and the international food business including large retailers and food service companies in the US and Canada.
We developed the training program covering all theoretical aspects as well as the practical realities of fish processing. A few chosen crewmembers were sent to an experienced fish plant to get exposure to modern processing. We set up an exam to have an incentive for the potential employees to study our material. As it appeared the day of the exam, half of the students did not show up and someone explained to me that some felt uncomfortable with writing. Of course, this was an awkward situation and there was a chance of losing some of the workforce, which is not good when that workforce is already limited, and replacement not easy to find. I turned this around by giving only one collective grade. After all, I had repeated so many times that this would be teamwork, what better example could I find to illustrate that than giving the team the grade, instead of individual marks?
Considering how important it is to gut and cut the fish properly, I was more interested in the quality of the work than the productivity at first. Once they would master the technique, we could think of increasing the pace of the processing line. So, we started with the equivalent of half a truck the first day, and the second half for the following day. In a normal plant, a full truck was processed in five hours in those days. I was expecting that our first half load would be done in eight hours at most. The reality came out quite differently. After two hours, the staff got physically tired and I could notice that moment when all the shoulders started to drop. After eight hours, many of the workers went back home because they were tired. We finished the first production day in thirteen hours! The second day was even worse with some people not showing up at all, and it took 23 hours! The situation looked lost. However, my sense of persistence made me refuse to give up so quickly. I re-planned the next round of harvests to be only a third of a truck per processing day. This was the magical number, and from there, our staff was able to work within normal hours, and get more productive, while producing the proper quality. Within two weeks after this, they were able to process a full truck in 9 hours! What a turn-around! As production volumes were increasing, we were able to justify for the purchase of machines to help speeding up the operation and by then we were able to process fish as quickly as any other regular plant.
As time went by, some of the locals showed capacities to take charge of more and more things, and even the original agreement was clearly that management activities had to be carried out by non-locals, we created several positions that they could fill successfully.
Yet, beyond the business case, the most valuable experience for me had been to see activity coming back in a community plagued by 80% unemployment before this project started. Getting work did not only give them money, but it helped them become healthier, with many of the employees recovering from diabetes. The most important of all was a boosted self-esteem, as they found a new purpose in their lives.
They felt successful, happy and fulfilled again!
Copyright 2009 The Happy Future Group Consulting Ltd.


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About Summerville
Summerville is a town in the U.S. state of South Carolina situated mostly in Dorchester County, with small portions in Berkeley and Charleston counties. It is part of the Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville Metropolitan Statistical Area. Summerville's population at the 2020 census was 50,915. == Geography == The center of Summerville is in southeastern Dorchester County; the town extends northeast into Berkeley and Charleston counties. It is bordered to the east by the town of Lincolnville and to the southeast by the city of North Charleston.
Neighborhoods in Summerville, South Carolina
Arbor Walk, Ashborough, Ashborough East, Brandymill, Bridges Of Summerville, Buckshire, Crichton Parish, Flowertown Village, Gadsden Acres, Jamison Terrace, John Wieland Homes & Neighborhoods, Knightsville, Lakes of Summerville, Long Needle Estates Subdivision, Lotts Crossroads
Things to do in Summerville, South Carolina
Our Newest Profiles


text:
The Invisible Bridge
On the one hand, this is the story of the author's grandparents, Hungarian Jews during the holocaust. How can you criticize?
On the other hand, it's an overwrought romance followed by tedious suffering-through-war times.
The Husband's Secret
Entertaining, easy read. Fluff, but on the good end of fluff. Same author as What Alice Forgot.
A Natural History of Dragons
I thought that I would love this, but I sort of didn't. It was more of a mystery than it was a fantasy, with dragons. And the narrator was a bit heavy-handed in her explaining to me just how smart and forward thinking she was. Halfway through it, I started regretting my rec to LZ, but apparently, she liked it!


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Lightning try to get on track against lowly Panthers
A fast start has given way to an uphill battle for the Tampa Bay Lightning's playoff hopes.
The Bolts, then, should be glad they are set to visit the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night, when they try to avoid a third straight setback and hand their division rivals a fourth loss in a row.
Tampa Bay opened the season by winning six of seven, but now sits four games under .500 at 10-14-1. The Lightning have lost seven of their last eight and blew a two-goal lead in the third period of Saturday's 4-3 setback to the visiting Montreal Canadiens.
Steven Stamkos, Sami Salo and Ryan Malone all scored in the second period, but it was Montreal that potted three goals in the third frame to hand Tampa Bay a loss that left it tied for 12th overall in the Eastern Conference and seven points back of the eighth spot.
"We've got a big hill to climb, but we've got to believe," said Stamkos. "We have to have the mentality of being hungry to win."
Stamkos notched his league-leading 19th goal of the season, while Martin St. Louis had two assists to push his point streak to six straight games (2 goals, 7 assists).
With Mathieu Garon out with a lower body injury, Cedrick Desjardins gave Anders Lindback the game off in net and yielded four goals on 29 shots. Desjardins was making his third career start and first since Jan. 1, 2011.
Lindback is likely to start this game as the Lightning try to beat the Panthers for a seventh straight time. That includes a win in the first two of five meetings this season.
Tampa Bay rallied from two goals down in the third period to claim a 6-5 win in overtime in the most recent encounter on Feb. 16 in Florida. The Lightning scored the final two goals of the third, getting the tying tally with 11 seconds to go, before Benoit Pouliot scored his second goal of the game at 1:19 of overtime.
The Bolts have won three straight and four of the past six in Sunrise, though all six games have gone past regulation.
The Panthers try to avoid a fourth straight setback overall as they were dealt a 5-2 loss by the Canadiens on Sunday. Shawn Matthias and Tomas Kopecky each tallied for Florida, which has lost 13 of its past 16 (3-8-5).
"It's unacceptable," said Matthias of the Panthers' performance. "I've been through this before, it's not fun. I'm sick of losing, I'm sick of being down, it's wearing on you. I'm just really tired of it, we need to change things. We need to turn this ship around. It's gone on long enough."
Jacob Markstrom made 33 saves, but allowed all five goals in the setback.
The Panthers sit last in the NHL with seven wins and 20 points, one season removed from winning the Southeast Division.


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I read a biography on Coco Chanel in the spring (I've been pretty good at my book-a-month resolution). Chanel's influence on current fashion–fashion forever–is pretty amazing. Both little black dress and costume jewelry came from her. She was innnovative, smart and extremely savvy. She was obviously ahead of her time and many of the things she said are still very relevant today. This was my favorite line from the book:
Chanel's growing exasperation with her aging clientele could be heard in her remarks, given in an interview with Vogue in 1938, which strayed from her normally pithy aphorisms: "At forty women used to exchange youth for elegance, poise, and mysterious allure, an evolution that left them undamaged. Now they measure themselves against the very young with defenses that can only be described as ridiculous."
It's a great reminder during my 40th birthday month. Lord, help me to be more like Coco.