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"Hit early and hit hard," advises Dr. David Ho, Director and CEO of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center. Referring to the importance of rapid treatment for HIV infection, this advice requires early and frequent HIV testing, so that antiretroviral treatment can be initiated as soon as possible. Early initiation of treatment has dramatic implications for the quality and length of an infected person's life. Nowadays, if someone tests positive for HIV and initiates treatment once eligible, that person can expect to live a relatively normal and healthy life (assuming they maintain a regular treatment routine).
In honor of National HIV Testing Day on June 27, USAID offered free HIV screening to all USAID employees at the Federal Occupational Health Center in the Ronald Reagan Building. Community Education Group provided the health screenings, which included HIV counseling and testing and a high blood pressure screening. Even though we were fully booked, some hard work on the part of our testers enabled the accommodation of quite a few walk-ins, bringing the total number of people tested to 64!
This employee HIV testing campaign was designed to both promote HIV testing and destigmatize the act of getting tested. The Bureau for Global Health's senior management team led by example: Assistant Administrator for Global Health Dr. Ariel Pablos-Méndez, Deputy Assistant Administrator Robert Clay, Deputy Assistant Administrator Wade Warren, and Deputy Director of the Office of HIV and AIDS Paul Mahanna each agreed to be tested and even smiled for the camera! As Mahanna said of HIV counseling and testing, "It's critically important. Everyone should know their status and get tested frequently. I've been tested countless times."
Thanks so much to Community Education Group and the Federal Occupational Health Center for providing invaluable support and coordination for this event. Learn more about how to get tested for HIV in the DC area and across the country.
Learn more about how USAID is trying to keep on the forefront of the global AIDS crisis.


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Won-Young Kim, who runs the seismographic network for the Northeast at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, said the city is well overdue for a big earthquake.
From Metro New York:
The last big quake to hit New York City was a 5.3-magnitude tremor in 1884 that happened at sea in between Brooklyn and Sandy Hook. While no one was killed, buildings were damaged.
Kim said the city is likely to experience a big earthquake every 100 years or so.
"It can happen anytime soon," Kim said. "We can expect it any minute, we just don't know when and where."
New York has never experienced a magnitude 6 or 7 earthquake, which are the most dangerous. But magnitude 5 quakes could topple brick buildings and chimneys.
Seismologist John Armbruster said a magnitude 5 quake that happened now would be more devastating than the one that happened in 1884.
"Today, with so many more buildings and people … we'd see billions in damage," Armbruster said. "People would probably be killed."

subset: commoncrawl


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I talk a lot on this blog about frugal strategies, saving money and financial independence, but there is another aspect, no less important, of financial difficulties – the emotional side of the matter. It isn't enough to say, "OK, so we'll tighten the belts and get over it". Often financial challenges come with a heavy emotional baggage that needs to be dealt with.
Insecurity. The feeling of walking on rotten ice. Will things ever stabilize? What will happen tomorrow, in a year, or two, or ten?
Fears, some of them totally irrational and/or with little base in current reality. What if the washing machine breaks down tomorrow? What if the house needs repairs we can't afford? How are we going to contribute towards our children's future education/weddings?
Anger and resentment, towards all those people who can just walk into a store and buy whatever they need, without thinking about money.
You might end up in an emotional state that really warrants therapy, but the trouble is, if you're really in the financial trenches, you probably won't be able to afford it, and you might hold back from talking about your troubles with friends so that you won't be taken for someone negative, or worse, someone who is indirectly asking for financial support.
Self-care is imperative. Eat as well as you can, keep up your personal hygiene, exercise (walking and running don't cost anything), keep up hobbies and activities that make you feel good and don't cost money. For me, this is usually writing, or finding a creative recycling project I can do at no cost, such as making candles out of old wax or soap out of old oil.
Keep a lookout towards the future. When things are at their low, it's sometimes easy to forget all the many ways the situation can improve over time: a new job, a business opportunity, inheritance you can reasonably look forward to, ways to reduce one's dependence on the money economy altogether. It really is tough to look ahead and think you are always going to be stuck when the cold season comes and you don't have enough money to buy shoes, that you will never be able to afford good-quality, varied food in abundance (true, sardines and bone broth go a long way, but sometimes you really crave an expensive steak). Don't think this way, because there's no rational basis to it. Sometimes one really has to live day to day.
And, as a believer, I always keep my eyes on G-d and His divine guidance, which has never forsaken us so far. Indeed, we have experienced many small miracles, from unexpected gifts of furniture to finding a bag of almost-new children's clothes just when we needed them most.
If you become depressed, you might miss out on opportunities to improve your situation as you wallow in misery and don't dare to look up from the ground. So keep an eye on that. Whenever getting out of bed or tackling daily routines seems difficult, do all you can to get help and support, because this isn't normal.
It's tougher when you have children depending on you. I've sometimes found it hard to strike a balance between being open and honest, and not overburdening little children with circumstances beyond their control. I know my children are aware of the value of money, because we aren't ashamed to say, "We won't buy this because we can't afford it." They don't seem traumatized or worried. But avoid making it seem as though the family is on the brink of disaster, because children can be extremely sensitive and become prone to anxiety.
Financial difficulties aren't a picnic, but with wise strategy and cautious optimism, you can pull through towards a better future.


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Main Features of Infinity App:
- Sell your iPhone, Android or Windows Phone App,
- Customizing is easy even for beginners,
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- Enhanced with jQuery and CSS3 — looks great in older browsers too (Cross Browsers),
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Giving 5 star () if you enjoy the product!


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The company now expects a higher loss and lower sales from its Nook units this year.
The Nook business ain't what it used to be.
Barnes & Noble announced yesterday that it expects a higher loss from its Nook business for fiscal 2013, which ends in April. The company didn't reveal specific numbers, but its EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) showed a loss of $262 million for fiscal 2012.
B&N expects overall annual sales from the entire Nook Media business to be less than $3 billion. The Nook business itself includes the tablet, an e-book reader, accessories, and digital content such as books and movies. The Nook Media business includes the entire Nook segment and the company's college segment.
The company previously expected revenues for its Media business to reach around $3 billion.
Last month, B&N acknowledged that Nook segment sales for the holidays were much lower than expected. For the nine weeks ended December 29, Nook business revenue fell to $311 million, a 12.6 percent drop from the same period a year earlier. Though sales of digital content rose, Nook device sales were down.
Barnes & Noble has been looking to its Nook business to generate greater demand in the face of lower sales from its retail chains. But product development and marketing costs have risen, taking a bite out of the Nook's contributions, according to Reuters.
B&N shares slumped 4 percent in after-hours trading yesterday.
The company will hold a conference call at 1 p.m. PT on February 28 to discuss its third-quarter results. But many of the questions will undoubtedly focus on the annual projections and the downturn in the Nook business.
Update, 11:45 a.m. PT: Clarifies that the $3 billion projected revenue is for B&N's Nook Media business.


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The Potala Palace: Tibet's greatest monumental structure
Perched upon Marpo Ri hill, 130 meters above the Lhasa valley, the Potala Palace rises a further 170 meters and is the greatest monumental structure in all of Tibet. In 637 Emperor Songtsen Gampo decided to build this palace on a hill, and the structure stood until the seventeenth century, when it was incorporated into the foundations of the greater buildings still standing today.
Construction of the present palace began in 1645 during the reign of the fifth Dalai Lama and by 1648 the Potrang Karpo, or White Palace, was completed. The Potrang Marpo, or Red Palace, was added between 1690 and 1694; its construction required the labors of more than 7000 workers and 1500 artists and craftsman.
The Potala Palace was only slightly damaged during the Tibetan uprising against the invading Chinese in 1959. Unlike most other Tibetan religious structures, it was not sacked by the Red Guards during the 1960s and 1970s. As a result, all the chapels and their artifacts are very well preserved. (Photo by MC)
Mont Saint-Michel: a Medieval Castle on a Small Island
Mont St Michel France is situated on a quasi-island on the Normandy coast, near Brittany, which at high tide is almost entirely separated from the mainland. Only a narrow causeway, constructed in the 1880s preserves a link to the coast. Beware: the tide comes in quickly – many tourists have drowned attempting to cross the sandy bay.
Unlike other castles in France, which began as defensive structures or pleasure palaces, Mont St Michel had its beginnings as a monastery. Today, the Castle attracts over four million visitors a year, far more than most castles in France and has been featured in numerous movies, cartoons, and even videogames. (Phot
o by citiesXL and lct)
Predjamski Castle: Integrated in a Cave
Every castle in the world is unique in some way, no two are the same, but this one –even though it's rather small and humble compared to some– is probably the only one in t
he world who is integrated in a cave, precisely the second largest cave system in Slovenia. Its name, Predjamski Grad, literally means "Castle in Front of the Cave."
The castle wasn't built in one go; first written records exist from 13th century, though the first part (left wing) was probably built in the first half of 12th century. Middle part was added in renaissance, and the right wing was build around 1570. Some things were added and changed later, but since 1990 renovation work is in progress, restoring it to the
original 16th century look. (Photo by visitareslovenia)
Neuschwanstein Castle: the Classic Fairytale's Castle
The most famous of three royal palaces built for Louis II of Bavaria, sometimes referred to as Mad King Ludwig, the Neuschwanstein it's a royal
palace in the Bavarian Alps of Germany. egun in 1869 and left unfinished at Louis's death in 1886,
the castle is the embodiment of 19th century romanticism.
In a fantastical imitation of a medieval castle, Neuschwanstein is set with towers and spires and is spectacularly sited on a high point over the Pullat River gorge.
The construction of
the castle was carried out according to a well thought-out plan. The castle was equipped with all kinds of technical conveniences which were very modern, if not to say revolutionary at that time. Running water on all floors. There were toilets equipped with automatic flushing on every floor.
A warm air heating system for the entire building. American tourists are already familiar with Neuschwanstein; the sleeping beauty Castle in DisneyLand,
was modeled on it. (Photo by grotsasha)
Matsumoto Castle: Japan's most fascinating castle
Matsumoto Castle, locally known as Matsumotojo, is one of the most complete and beautiful among Japan's original castles. It is also a good example of a so called "hirajiro", a castle built on the plain rather than on a hill or mountain.
Matsumotojo's castle tower and smaller, second turret were built from 1592 to 1614 and were both well defended, as peace was not yet fully secured at the time. In 1635, when no more military threats existed, a third, barely defended turret for moon viewing was added to
the castle. (Photo by lpq)
Hunyad Castle: were Dracula was held prisoner
Now located in Hunedoara, Romania, the Hunyad Castle was part of Principality of Transylvania, and it's believed to be the place where Vlad III of Wallachia (commonly known as Dracula) was held prisoner for 7 years after he was deposed in 1462.
The castle is a relic of the Hunyadi dynasty.
It was
built in Gothic style, but has Baroque and Renaissance architectural elements. It is a large and imposing building with tall and diversely colored roofs, towers and myriad windows and balconies adorned with stone carvings. (Photo by ctc)
Malbork Castle: World's Largest Brick Gothic Castle
The Castle in Malbork was
built in Prussia by the Teutonic Order as an Ordensburg. The Order named it Marienburg, literally "Mary's Castle". The town which grew around it was also named Marienburg, but since 1945 it is again, after 173 years, part of Poland and known as Malbork.
The castle is a classic example of a medieval fortress, and is the world's largest brick gothi castle. UNESCO listed
the castle and its museum as World Heritage Sites in December 1997. (Photo by ordensland)
Palacio da Pena: Oldest Palace inspired by European Romanticism
The oldest palace inspired by European Romanticism, the Pena National Palace in Portugal stands on the top of a hill above the town of Sintra, and on a clear day it can be easily seen from Lisbon. First
built in the 15th century as a
palace, it was later reconstructed and donated to the church as a monastery.
An earthquake in 1755 ruined most of it, until Prince Fernando acquired it in 1838 rebuilt it. The style of the
palace is an eclectic combination of the original and subsequent styles, plus Romantic, Bavarian, and Moorish architecture, plus an English garden. (Photo by cm-sintra and Matt & Isabel)
Löwenburg Castle: The Disneyland of the 18th century
Within the Wilhelmshöhe Hill Park which sits on one end of the city of Kassel, there stands what appears to be a medieval castle. However, the Löwenburg or "Lion's Castle" was ordered to be built by the Landgrave Wilhelm IX from Hessen Kassel (1743 -1821), the Walt Disney of his era, over a period of eight years between 1793 and 1801 as a romantic ruin.
It was carefully designed by his royal court building inspector Heinrich Christoph Jussow who had gone to England specifically to study romantic English ruins and draw up a plan for the Landgrave's garden folly. Today scholars regard Löwenburg Castle ruins as one of the most significant buildings of its genre, in addition to being one of the first major neo-Gothic buildings in Germany. (Photo by Ben)
Prague Castle: World's Largest Ancient Castle
One of the biggest castles in the world, and according to Guinness Book of Records, the biggest ancient castle, Prague Castle is about 570 meters in length and an average of 130 meters wide. The Czech Crown Jewels are kept here, and it was the place where the Czech kings, Holy Roman Emperors and presidents of Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic have had their offices. (Photo by liberato)


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Last month, MoMA PS1 erected a geodesic dome in New York's Rockaways to complement the Long Island City museum's upcoming summer exhibition. "Expo 1: New York" (May 12-Sept. 2), organized by PS1 director (and part-time Rockaways resident) Klaus Biesenbach, will address some of the ecological and sociopolitical challenges impacting contemporary life with art installations, lectures and a film program.
In mid-February, MoMA PS1 put out an open call for ideas for rebuilding the Rockaways post-Hurricane Sandy. Anyone could submit a short video (3 minutes or less) addressing issues related to waterfront planning, alternative housing, the use of public space and other related concerns. MoMA PS1 received about 150 submissions by the Mar. 15 deadline.
Soon after the deadline, Kevin Boyle, the editor of the local Rockaways newspaper The Wave, suggested that the museum should host a couple of on-site recording sessions for those interested in participating who didn't have access to video equipment. The first such event was held this past Sunday, and about 40 more people recorded their suggestions. The final opportunity to participate is tonight, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., at the VW-sponsored dome at Beach 94th Street.
From the videos submitted online by Mar. 15, plus those recorded on-site, a jury—made up of Biesenbach, MoMA PS1 curator Peter Eleey, independent curator Hans Ulrich Obrist and others—will select 25 finalists whose submissions will be screened at the Rockaways dome some time in late April.
For now, the dome is open five days a week (Wed-Fri, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sat-Sun 10 a.m.-6 p.m.) and functions as a temporary cultural and relief center, with a café inside run by Veggie Island, a vegetarian snack and juice bar that used to have a concession stand on the boardwalk. There are two artworks on view in the dome—Peter Fischli and David Weiss's 1987 film The Way Things Go, and the future iz bigger than history (2012), Terence Koh's pair of eggshells in a glass vitrine. MoMA PS1 is also hosting a few family-friendly activities in the Rockaways (beehive painting Apr. 7, a historical bike tour Apr. 28 and an Earth Day festival May 4), with more events to be announced in the coming weeks.


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Pastoral Care
Your spiritual and emotional well-being are important to us. Chaplains are available to visit, talk and/or pray with you. The Chapel, located off the main entrance lobby, is a place where people of all faiths can come for quiet reflection and personal prayer. Chaplains can be reached through the hospital operator or by calling (727) 734-6018.
Your Hospital Chaplain
Your hospital chaplain has specialized education and training to serve the emotional, spiritual and religious needs of persons of all faith traditions, including those without specific affiliations. Through caring, compassion and non-judgmental listening, the chaplain provides spiritual care in a variety of situations at the hospital while respecting privacy and protecting confidentiality. Moreover, the chaplain offers comfort, strength and hope while respecting each person's religious background and spiritual beliefs.
Caring Services
There are many caring chaplain services available to you free of charge while you are in the hospital:
- Crisis or emergency response available 24/7
- Assistance with care concerns and difficult decisions
- Assistance with spiritual or religious requests and prayer
- Assistance in contacting your pastor or religious leader
- Grief support and follow up
- Visits from volunteers
- Hospital chapel is open 24/7 for prayer and reflection
- Call a chaplain whenever you need a supportive presence, prayer or spiritual and religious guidance.


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Seventeen-year-old Xiao Feng is more interested in walking through gardens with her grandfather than blushing around boys in 1930s Shanghai, but life changes suddenly with an unexpected death — and a new deal brokered with an influential Chinese family. Married off to Sang Xiong Fa, the selfish son of a wealthy family, Feng is instructed to breed an heir. Her thoughts, opinions and interests matter little in the face of the wishes of domineering First Wife, Xiong Fa's severe mother.
Despondent that her own parents would force her into such an arrangement, Feng's life is shaped by the decisions she makes early in her marriage — and the story, shared as a way of explaining the time in which she grew up and the reasoning behind her choices, eventually finds Feng deeply changed and far from home. As the Communist Revolution pushes across China, Feng must come to terms with the way life has unfolded.
Duncan Jepson's All The Flowers In Shanghai is a coming-of-age saga concerning a young, sheltered woman — a second daughter — and the unexpected path she's forced to take. I fell in love with Jepson's descriptions of the lush gardens in which Feng learns about life from her grandfather, and his early presence in the book endeared me to the story. From the moment I started, I felt invested in Feng's future and eager to learn what became of her.
The emphasis on tradition, "giving face" (paying respect) and the tightly-controlled, measured lives of women in 1930s Shanghai all served to demonstrate how Feng's fate seemed beyond her control. She falls in love with a young, poor man just before she's shipped off to the Sang family, and the memory of their brief time together — an innocent time, a "normal" time — never leaves her. It's Bi, in fact — or the memory of him, anyway — that eventually leads her in a new direction. But not before so much befalls her.
Before we go any further, I'll whip out my ignorance: I know very little about China's Communist revolution, civil war and cultural practices. While other readers have devoured books like Lisa See's Snow Flower and the Secret Fan and Shanghai Girls, I've yet to pick up much literature set in Asia. Jepson's All The Flowers In Shanghai served, for me, as a nice primer on a very unique time period.
Though many of Feng's actions seem hard to understand , I feel Jepson did a good job of justifying his narrator's actions in the context of the era. I was angry at her handling of certain situations, especially regarding the treatment of her own children, but I knew her feelings of betrayal guided these reactions. At a time in which wives were property and a necessary commodity, Feng is thrust into a life she never wanted. The book nicely captured the sense that much of what shapes us isn't decided by us at all. Quite sobering.
Other readers have mentioned feeling emotionally distant from Feng, and I can understand where they're coming from — but I actually felt bonded to her through all she'd been through, especially as I realized the drastic lengths to which she had to go to keep from feeling as though the Sangs, and her husband, "owned" her. Though Feng does eventually come to use sex as a weapon, I didn't find the novel distasteful or graphic. The scenes in which Xiong Fa "visits" his new wife made me feel squeamish and sad for her, but I wasn't horrified by Jepson's descriptions. It's all handled with care.
It might be worth noting that Jepson, a male author, has written a moving novel from the perspective of a broken young woman. Never pandering, Jepson's accounts of Feng's life as the woman chosen to give the Sang family an heir resonated deeply with me — and, as the Chinese Revolution spreads, I felt the full weight of its futility. Wealth, privilege and tradition mean nothing in the face of the changing world.
Though ultimately somber, All The Flowers In Shanghai was a story in which I felt invested from the beginning and was eager to finish. Fans of historical fiction, tales of motherhood and those who enjoy peeking at feminine roles throughout history might find something sad, touching and fascinating in Jepson's debut.
4 out of 5!
ISBN: 0758246854 ♥ Goodreads ♥ LibraryThing ♥ Amazon ♥ Author Website
Review copy provided by publisher in exchange for my honest review


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Thursday temperatures could meet or exceed the 91 degree record from 1961. Realfeel temps expected to be 94.
— Weather.com
So here I am, having dutifully gotten up at 5AM in order to do my 14 miler with 8-10 at Mpace+20 seconds per mile. And it's already hot and humid. The sun's not even up yet.
The forecast for Sunday's race in South Nyack is even better: Pouring rain, high humidity (obviously) and possible high winds.
All things considered, at least I don't live in Haiti, the Dominican Republic or along the Gulf Coast (for a variety of reasons, not limited to bad weather, I am thankful for this). I've chosen not to live in the path of hurricanes. So why must I — and my training — still suffer? Why? Why?
Which also begs the question: Should I bother going running this morning? Or should I just go back to bed and shoot myself?
Filed under: training | 1 Comment »


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Beautiful Vegetables at Tetsuya Sugimoto in Shizuoka City!
I agree that this particular article has been long overdue.
Not only my expats friends, but many Japanese friends have been at pains at finding restaurants, bars and cafes where they wouldn't have to put up with the hazards and stink of smoke inhaled and expelled by uncaring customers.
Some time ago I mentioned partially non-smoking restaurants but I see little point to mention them unless the entirely non-smoking times are clearly announced and respected!
This is of course not an exhaustive list, but it will be regularly updated as I visit establishments for work!
There is no special order to this list, they come as they come!
One more important point: Non-smoking is not the only criterion, good food is, too!
If you are kind enough to recommend me restaurants not introduced here it will be my pleasure to survey them!
Service: Shy but very friendly and informative
Facilities & Equipment: Very clean overall. Superb washroom
Prices: Slightly expensive but appropriate and very good value
Strong points: Authentic Japanese High Gastronomy mainly achieved with local seasonal products. Great sake and wines! Entirely non-smoking!
420-0032 Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Ryougae Cho, 304, Ryogae Cho ST Bldg., 1F
Tel.: 054-653-2300
Opening hours: 17:30~
No fixed holidays
Cash only
Entirely non-smoking!
Service: Very friendly and smiling, Great welcome
Facilities and Equipment: Great cleanliness overall. Superb Washroom
Prices: Very reasonable
Strong points: healthy and generous fusion gastronomy making a great use of local ingredients.
Entirely non-smoking!
TASTY RABBIT Cafe & Shop
Chef: Mr. Moshe Liram
Kikugawa City, Honjo, 1172 [mama's Share Shop Soramame]
Tel: 090-5453-0075
Opening hours: 11:00^21:00 on one Saturday and a full week-end every month (Check BLOG!)
Parking: 15 cars
Entirely non-smoking!
Service: Kind, smiling, and easy-going if a bit shy at the beginning.
Facilities & Equipment: Very clean overall. Excellent washroom
Prices: reasonable to slightly expensive (beef is not cheap in Japan!)
Strong points: Beef! Roast Beef! Wagyu Beef! Take out and online orders!
Entirely non-smoking!
Roast Beef Restaurant
Chef: Tastuya Suzuki/鈴木達哉さん
Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, baban Cho, 106 (mid way along Sengen Street)
Tel.: 054-251-7002
Fax: 054-251-7019
Opening hours: 11:30~14:00, 17:30~20:30
Closed on Sundays and national Holidays
Entirely non-smoking!
Service: Very friendly, attentive and informative
Facilities: Overall clean if a bit old-fashioned
Prices: Reasonable
Strong points: Mainly local fish and seafood. Local sake. Always ready to improvise!
Entirely non-smoking!
Shizuoka Shi, Aoi Ku, Koya Machi, 3-3 (Just in front of Shizuoka JR Railway Station
Tel.: 054-252-0123
Business hours: 11:00~21:00
Closed on Wednesdays and 3rd Tuesday
HOMEPAGE (Japanese)
Entirely Non-Smoking!
Service: Friendly and attentive
Facilities & Equipment: Extremely clean overall. Splendid gender separated washrooms
Prices: Reasonable
Strong points: Light & mild Italian gastronomy. Great use of local products
Entirely non-smoking!
Chef: Koushin Saita/才田亨辰さん
422-8076 Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Takajyo 1-7-13, Espacio Takajyou, 2F
Tel.: 054-260-7552
Opening hours: Lunch-11:30^14:30; Cafe-14:30~18:00, Dinner-18:00~22:30
Closed on Mondays and 2nd Tuesday (the next day in case of National Holiday)
Credit cards OK
Entirely non smoking!
Service: easy-going and friendly
Facilities: good general cleanliness
Prices: reasonable
Strong points: Most of ingredients are local!
Completely non-smoking!
438-0831, Shizuoka Ken, Iwata Shi, Kamishinya, 499-1
Tel.: 0538-21-1511
Fax: 0538-21-1515
Business hours: 11:00~14:00, 17:00~21:00
Closed on Mondays, 1st & 3rd Tuesdays
Big parking available
HOMEPAGE (Japanese)
Rama 4.5 Organic Cafe & Shop
Service: Friendly, smiling and helpful
Facilities: Overall very clean. Washroom a bit small but clean.
Prices: Reasonable
Strong points: Exclusively vegan cuisine. A great scope of vegan ingredients on sale. Entirely non-smoking!
Rama 4.5 Organic Cafe & Shop
420-0031 Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Gofuku Cho, 2-4-5
Tel.: 054-266-3845
Business hours: 10:00~19:00
Closed on Wednesday
Entirely non-smoking
Other home-restaurant at:
422-8052 Shizuoka City, Suruga Ku, Midorigaoka, 19-6
Tel.: 054-260-5186
Business hours: 11:00~23:00
Closed on Wednesday
HOMEPAGE (Japanese)
Service: A bit shy but very friendly and attentive
Facilities & Equipment: Superb cleanliness overall. Superb washroom
Prices: reasonable
Strong points: Exclusively vegan gastronomy. No wheat flour. Only mineral water used. Entirely non-smoking!
Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Ryougae Cho, 2-1-7 (behind Shizuoka City Hall, along Aoba Street, on the right-hand side)
Tel.: 054-253-1339
Opening hours: 11:00~14:00 (lunch), 14:00~17:00 (cafe)
Closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays
Completely non-smoking!
Service: Very friendly although a bit shy!
Equipment: Great overall cleanliness. Nice washroom
Prices: Reasonable
Strong points: Vegetarian menus. Healthy rice flour cakes. Can prpeare vegan meal with sufficient advance reservation.
Completely non-smoking!
420-0839 Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Takajyo, 1-10-6
Tel.: 054-260-6622
Closed every Wednesday and one Monday
HOMEPAGE/BLOG</strong> (Japanese)
Service: Excellent and very friendly.
Facilities: Great cleanliness overall. Superb washroom (mouthwash and toothpicks provided!)!
Prices: Reasonable to slightly expensive, very good value.
Strong points: Interesting wine list. Great use of local products, especially organic vegetables and Shizuoka-bred meat.
Can prepare vegetarian or vegan meals with sufficient advance reservation and discussion/explanations!
420-0839 Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Takajo, 2-3-4
Tel.: 054-270-8768
Fax: 054-627-3868
Business hours: 11:30~14:30; 17:00~22:00
Closed on Tuesdays and Sunday evening
HOMEPAGE (Japanese)
Credit Cards OK
Entirely non-smoking!
Service: Highly professional and friendly
Facilities: Great overall cleanliness. Beautiful washroom
Prices: Appropriate
Strong points: Freshest produce and ingredients only, mainly from Shizuoka Prefecture. Organic vegetables, top-class Shizuoka-bred meat and Suruga Bay seafood. Seasonal food only.
Map (Japanese)
Tetsuya SUGIMOTO
420-0038Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Umeya,2-13,1F
Tel./Fax: 054-251-3051
Opening hours:11:30~14:30,17:30~21:30
Holidays: undecided (do make a call first!)
Credit cards OK
Entirely non-smoking!
Service: Friendly and smiling
Facilities and equipment: Great cleanliness overall. Superb washroom on same floor
Prices: Reasonable
Strong points: Hawaiian gastronomy
ALOHA TABLE Hawaiian cafe & Dining
Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Miyuki Cho, 4-6, Den Bilg, 2F
Opening hours: 11:00~23:00 (Lunch until 17:00)
Non smoking until 17:00!
Service: Friendly
Equipment: traditional. Clean. Beautiful toilets
Prices: Appropriate
Strong points: Very fresh ingredients. Most ingredients not only local but sef-grown or self-raised! Local sake and shochu!
Entirely non-smoking!
Sake Soba Kawakatsu
426-0034, Fujieda Shi, Eki mae, 1-8-4
Tel./Fax: 054-645-1770
Business hours: 11:30~14:00, 17:30~22:00
Closed on Mondays, 1st & 3rd Tuesdays
Service: Friendly
Equipment: a bit old but clean
Prices: Appropriate
Strong points: Very fresh ingredients. Old-fashioned atmosphere
Entirely non-smoking!
Soba No Mi
Shizuoka Shi, Aoi Ku, Kawabe Cho, 2-2-3
Tel.: 054-251-8000
Business hours: 11:00~21:00 (or until soba are exhausted)
Closed on Tuesdays and third Wednesdays
HOMEPAGE (Japanese)
Service: Friendly and informative
Equipment & Facilities: Old but very clean
Prices: Reasonable
Strong points: Traditional japanese food in a traditional environment full of history!
421-0103 Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Mariko, 7-10-10 (Take the bus going to Fujieda from North Exit Platform No 7 at Shizuoka JR Station. Get off at Marikobashi Iriguchi stop!)
Opening hours: 11:00~19:00
Closed on Thursdays and last Wedenesday of the month
Entirely non-smoking!
HOMEPAGE (English)
Service: Attentive and smiling
Facilities & Equipment: Great cleanliness overall. Suparb washeroom shared with oh\ther sushi restaurants
Prices: Reasonable to slightly expensive
Strong points: Many local fish and seafood in use. Superb product freshness. Great Sake list!
Completely non-smoking!
Shizuoka City, Shimizu ku, Irifune Cho, 13-15, S Pulse Dream Plaza Bldg, 1F (get off at Shimizu JR Station East Exit and board the free shuttle bus to its final destonation at S Pulse Dream Plaza)
Tel.: 054-354-3700
Opening hours: 11:00~22:00
Credita Cards OK
Completely non-smoking!
Service: Very friendly
Facilities: Very clean
Prices: Reasonable
Strong points: Traditional Italian Country Cuisine. Very good value. Very interesting list of Italian wines at reasonable prices
Osteria TiaLoca
420-0839 Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Takajo, 1-7-8, 1F
Tel./fax: 054-260-0217
Business hours: 11:30~14:30, 18:00~22:30
Closed on Mondays from 2012
Reservations recommended
Completely non-smoking!
Service: Very friendly and attentive
Facilities: Superb cleanliness through and through and beautiful washroom.
Prices: Appropriate
Strong points: Authentic Northern Italian Gastronomy. Good wine list. Very fresh ingredients, local whenever possible
Entirely non-smoking!
Chef/Owner: Mr. Sebastiano Bonomi Pattini
Orta Ristorante
Hamamatsu City, Naka Ku, Banya, 675, 2F
tel. & Fax: 053-455-0321
Business hours: 11:30~14:, 18:00~22:00
Closed on Tuesdays
Credit Cards OK
Service: Very friendly and attentive
Equipment: Great general cleanliness
Prices: Reasonable
Strong points: Great appetizers. Home-made pasta!. Great use of local products from the land and the sea. Southern Italy and Sardinia gastronomy.
420-0843 Shizuoka Shi, Aoi Ku, Tomoe Cho, 48
Tel/Fax: 054-247-0709
Business hours: 11:45~14:00, 17:30~21:00
Closed every Monday and 3rd Tuesday
Credit cards OK (dinner only)
HOMEPAGE (Japanese)
BLOG (Japanese)
Service: Excellent and very friendly
Facilities: great cleanliness overall
Prices: reasonable.
Strong points: Many local products be they from the land or the sea. Organic vegetables. Car park.
no-smoking-logo1 Entirely non-smoking!
421-0122, Shizuoka City, Suruga Ku, Mochimune, 5-1-10, Sunrise Mochimune (5 minutes walk from Mochimune JR Station. Second stop after Shizuoka)
Tel.: 054-2565877
Business hours: 11:30~14:30, 17:00~21:30
Closed on Wednesdays
Credit Cards OK
HOMEPAGE (Japanese)
Lunch sets: 1,480 yen~
Dinner: Appetizers: 500~yen, 1,000 yen~
Pasta: 930 yen~
Pizza (oven-baked): 1,180 yen~
Carte available
Service: Very friendly and relaxed. Very intelligent explanations and presentations.
Equipment: Great general cleanliness in a beautifully decorated house. Superb washroom
Prices: Very reasonable considering the extravagant quality.
Strong points: A great accent on local products both from the land and the sea. Gastronomic Italian-style cuisine with a constant research on new products and methods. Excellent wine list. Superb grappa.
426-0204 Shizuoka Ken, Fujieda Shi, Tokigaya, 864-3
Tel./Fax: 054-641-4778
Opening hours: 11:30~14:00; 18:00~22:00
On reservation only for dinner
Closed on Tuesdays and first Monday
Credit cards OK
HOMEPAGE (Japanese, but do check it for great photographs of the house and garden!)
Service: Very friendly
Equipment: Great general cleanliness
Prices: Reasonable
Strong Points: Local vegetables and meat! Very healthy meals!
Mishima City, Hon-cho, 7-30, Via701-2, 2F
Tel.: 055-981-8889
Opening hours: 11:30~15:00, 18:00~22:00
Closed on Mondays
Parties welcome!
HOMEPAGE (Japanese)
Entirely non-smoking!
Service: Excellent and very friendly.
Facilities: Great cleanliness overall. Superb washroom (mouthwash and toothpicks provided!)!
Prices: Reasonable to slightly expensive, very good value.
Strong points: Interesting wine list. Great use of local products, especially organic vegetables and Shizuoka-bred meat and caught fish.
420-0839 Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Takajo, 2-3-4
Tel.: 054-270-8768
Fax: 054-627-3868
Business hours: 11:30~14:30; 17:00~22:00
Closed on Tuesdays and Sunday evening
HOMEPAGE (Japanese)
Credit Cards OK
Entirely non-smoking!
Service: Highly professional and friendly
Facilities: Great overall cleanliness. Beautiful washroom
Prices: Appropriate
Strong points: Freshest produce and ingredients only, mainly from Shizuoka Prefecture. Organic vegetables, top-class Shizuoka-bred meat and Suruga Bay seafood. Seasonal food only.
Tetsuya SUGIMOTO
420-0038 Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Umeya,2-13,1F
Tel./Fax: 054-251-3051
Opening hours:11:30~14:30,17:30~21:30
Holidays: undecided
Credit cards OK
HOMEPAGE (Japanese)
Entirely non-smoking!
Service: Professional, welcoming, very attentive and smiling. Great explanations.
Facilities & Equipment: Extremely clean. Superb separate washrooms.
Prices: Reasonable considering the extravagant quality.
Strong points: Mainly local products including wild vegetables and meat. Vegetables mainly organic and grown by the staff. Menu changing for the most part every two weeks.
MAP (Japanese)
419-0303 Fujinomiya Shi, Oshikakubo, 939-1
Tel.: 0544-67-0353
Fax: 0544-67-0098
Opening hours: 11:30~14:30, 17:00~20:00
Closed on Tuesday Night and whole Wednesdays
Reservations highly recommended!
Credit Cards OK
Parking for 8 cars
HOMEPAGE (Japanese)
Entirely non-smoking!
Service: Friendly
Facilities: old but very clean. Very clean washroom!
Prices: very reasonable
Strong points: excellent French cuisine without ostentation. Great local products from the land and the sea
no-smoking-logoentirely non-smoking!
Bistro Ogawa
411-0856, Shizuoka ken, Mishima Shi, Hirokoji Machi, 1-37, 2F
Business hours: 11:30~14:00, 18:00~
Closed on Sunday, Thursday lunch and Saturday dinner
Tel.: 055-972-5040
Cards OK (+5% handling fees)
Service: Extremely friendly and attentive
Equipment: Supreme cleanliness and beautiful amenities
Prices: Reasonable. Very good value
Strong points: French gastronomy conceived mainly with local seasonal products. Beautiful bread baked on site! Parking available.
Entirely non-smoking!
EMA L'Estaminet
431-3115, Hamamatsu City, Higashi Ku, Nishigasaki, 1088-1 (within walking distance from Nishigasaki Station, Entetsu Railway Line)
Tel.: 053-433-7700
Business hours: !0:00~16:00 (Bakery)
11:30~ 13:00, last orders (Restaurant)
Closed on Sundays and last week of August
Service: Pro and attentive
Facilities and Equipment: Extremely clean. Superb separate washrooms!
Prices: Appropriate
Strong points: Elegant restaurant and French gastronomy. Superb panoramic view of Shizuoka from Mount Fuji to the Suruga Bay. Building totally non-smoking!
25F Sky Restaurant
GRANDAIR Bouquet Tokai
420-0852 Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Koyamachi, 17-1, Aoi Tower, 25F (right across from Shizuoka JR Station North exit)
Tel.: 054-273-5250
Fax: 054-273-5251
Opening hours: Lunch 11:30~14:30, Tea Time-14:30~17:30, Dinner-17:30~21:00
Credit Cards OK
HOMEPAGE (Japanese)
Completely nonsmoking!
Service: Friendly if a bit shy.
Equipment & Facilities: Japanese traditional restaurant very clean overall. Cute washroom
Prices: Reasonable
Strong points: Fish! Gastronomic bistro-style. Extensive use of local products and catch. Reasonably-priced wine list
Entirely non-smoking! Private rooms available.
Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Takajo, 1-5-2
Tel.: 054-669-2087
Opening hours: 11:30~14:30, 17:30~23:00
Closed on Sundays and Monday lunch
Credit Cards OK
Counter: 5 seats, 4 private rooms (up to 8 seats each)
Entirely non-smoking!
Service: A bit shy but friendly
Equipment: Great general cleanliness. Beautiful washroom
Prices: Reasonable
Strong points: Interesting combination of French and Japanese bistro-style cuisine. Traditional tarts and cakes.
Entirely non-smoking!
420-0081 Shizuoka Shi, Aoi Ku, Gofuku-cho, 2-5-17
Tel.: 054-255-3090
Business hours: 11:30^14:00, 17:30~20:00
Closed on Wednesdays and 3rd Tuesday
HOMEPAGE (Japanese)
Service: Pro and very friendly
Equipment & Facilities: Great overall cleanliness and superb washroom
Prices: Reasonable
Strong points: Fresh local ingredients whenever possible. Both traditional and inventive Italian cuisine. Good wine list at moderate prices. Open late! Non-smoking from 16:00 to 20:00!
420-0858 Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Tenmacho, 9-7, Kita, 1
Tel./fax: 054-260-4637
Business hours: 16:00~24:00
Closed on Monday
Credit cards OK
Private parties welcome!
Happy hour: 16:00~17:00: 1,000 yen set-3 appetizers plate and 1 glass of house wine!
Smoking allowed BUT Non-smoking until 20:00 everyday!
Service: Very kind and easy-going[
Facilities: Impeachable cleanliness. Superb washroom
Prices: Reasonable to slightly expensive
Strong points: Unusual and happy combination of Sushi and French gastronomies. Shizuoka sake and even shochu!
Entirely non-smoking (extremely rare for a sushi restaurant!)!
Sushi o Miue/寿し幸実宇栄
420-0852 Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, kooya Machi, 13-6
Tel.: 054-221-3888
Opening hours: 17:30~indeterminate
Closed day not yet decided
Credit cards OK
Entirely non-smoking!
Service: Kind and easy-going
Facilities: very clean overall. Clean washroom (shared with anothet shop)
Prices: Reasonable
Strong points: True French-style galettes and crepes! Cidre available. Local vegetables used.
470-0858 Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Takajo, 1-12-1, Aobaen Bidg., 1F
Tel.: 054-260-6116
Opening hours: 11:00~18:00
Entirely non-smoking!
Service: Very kind and a bit shy
Equipment & Facilities: Spotless clean. Superb washroom.
Prices: Reasonable
Strong points: Soba! Very Japanese atmosphere.
TSUDONO Zaru Soba
421-2121 Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Tsudono, 514-2
Tel.: 054-294-1005
Opening hours: 11:00~15:00 or until the soba are sold out!
Closed on Mondays (except on National Holidays)
Car parking available
Entirely non-smoking!
So Good Sushi Restaurant in Nice France
Navigating Nagoya by Paige, Shop with Intent by Debbie, BULA KANA in Fiji, Kraemer's Culinary blog by Frank Kraemer in New York,Tokyo Food File by Robbie Swinnerton, Green Tea Club by Satoshi Nihonyanagi in Shizuoka!, Mind Some by Tina in Taiwan, Le Manger by Camille Oger (French), The Indian Tourist, Masala Herb by Helene Dsouza in Goa, India, Mummy I Can Cook! by Shu Han in London, Pierre.Cuisine, Francescannotwrite, My White Kitchen, Foodhoe, Chucks Eats, Things that Fizz & Stuff, Five Euro Food by Charles,Red Shallot Kitchen by Priscilla,With a Glass, Nami | Just One Cookbook, Peach Farm Studio, Clumsyfingers by Xethia, PepperBento, Hapabento, Kitchen Cow, Lunch In A Box, Susan at Arkonlite, Vegan Lunch Box; Tokyo Tom Baker, Daily Food Porn/Osaka, Only Nature Food Porn, Happy Little Bento, J-Mama's Kitchen, Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Bento Lunch Blog (German), Adventures In Bento, Anna The Red's Bento Factory, Ohayo Bento,
Must-see tasting websites:
-Sake: Ichi For The Michi by Rebekah Wilson-Lye in Tokyo, Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
-Wine: Palate To Pen, Warren Bobrow, Cellar Tours, Ancient Fire Wines Blog
-Beer: Another Pint, Please!, Beering In Good Mind: All about Craft Beer in Kansai by Nevitt Reagan!
ABRACADABREW, Magical Craftbeer from Japan
-Whisky: Nonjatta: All about whisky in Japan by Stefan Van Eycken
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery
Non gastronomy must-see sites by Shizuoka Residents
HIGHOCTANE/HAIOKU by Nick Itoh in Shizuoka City


text:
Story by
Nancy Messieh
Lesotho-born and raised, Nancy Messieh, The Next Web's Middle East Editor, is an Egyptian writer and photographer based in Cairo, Egypt. Fol Lesotho-born and raised, Nancy Messieh, The Next Web's Middle East Editor, is an Egyptian writer and photographer based in Cairo, Egypt. Follow her on Twitter, her site or Google+ or get in touch at [email protected]
With reports emerging this morning that Iran's final online crackdown would take place in August, completely shutting down access to the Internet, denials have begun to circulate, according to AFP.
A statement from the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology said, "The report is in no way confirmed by the ministry" and is "completely baseless," adding that it served only, "the propaganda wing of the West and providing its hostile media with a pretext emanating from a baseless claim".
According to comments attributed to Iran's Communications Minister, Reza Taghipour, Iran's ISPs were to provide access only to the country's 'National Internet' by August. The statements were said to have been made during an interview, in which the minister confirmed that services Google and Hotmail would be replaced with government-controlled options.
Claims were also made that Taghipour said that the Internet "promotes crime, disunity, unhealthy moral content, and atheism" and the government has no choice but to rid the country of these "scourges".
While Iran's government may be incensed over the initial reports that it will be implementing its 'National Internet' as early as August, the fact remains that authorities are still proceeding with plans to do just that.
Announced in July of last year, the system is said to already be in beta testing, and will include a search engine alternative to Google called, 'Ya Haq', meaning 'Calling God'.
What remains unclear is whether or not the introduction of the system will also be accompanied with cutting Iranians off completely from the World Wide Web. The government has, however, had no qualms in blocking access to everything from Gmail and Google to the official Olympics London 2012 site, whether occasionally or permanently.
According to AFP, Iran's National Internet system will be fully implemented by March 2013.
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text:
The Nonexistent Town of Argleton
Tuesday, 3rd November 2009 by Alex Turnbull
Nestled in the Lancashire countryside, just to the south of Ormskirk, is the small town of Argleton. Or so Google would have us believe.
Zooming in closer reveals that Argleton isn't exactly a bustling metropolis. In fact it looks suspiciously like a couple of fields.
Roy Bayfield of Ormskirk was so intrigued by the mystery that he walked to the centre of Argleton just to check that there was definitely nothing there. There really wasn't.
So where has Argleton come from? Some of Aughton's 8,300 residents believe that it's the result of a simple mispronunciation, but conspiracists have suggested another theory.
The map data used here comes from Tele Atlas, and it has long been known that cartographers sometimes alter their maps as a way of protecting their intellectual copyrights. Usually this takes the form of Trap Streets (which are designed to "trap" people who steal the data, as they copy the unique mistakes along with everything else), however in this case, is it possible that Tele Atlas has invented an entire town?
In the past the inclusion of a fake town in a map would have likely caused no harm, but in the age of automatic content generation, Argleton was building up a fair bit of fake history.1 Simply by having been declared to exist, automatic listings were being generated for it, meaning that is someone were to look it up online, they would believe it to be a lively town with jobs, hotels and schools.
Of course one final possibility remains – that Argleton is simply a mistake. Consider the fact that just a few kilometres to the north, Google has quite brilliantly renamed a local cul-de-sac to Dummy 1325.
Thanks to Google Maps Mania for alerting us to this one, which was originally posted by Mike Nolan at the Edge Hill University.
Before the story of Google's sinister activities swamped the rankings that is. ↩


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Is seeing life through rose-colored sunglasses right for you? It might be if you're a fan of early-morning bike rides, if you're a commuter at dusk or you happen to live in a largely overcast climate.
Choosing new summer shades is more than an issue of flattering frames. There are decisions to be made about the lenses, too, and there will only be more in the future.
Things to think about: Are your sunglasses more for performance or fashion? (You don't necessarily need to choose.) Are you concerned about glare or definition? Do you want a curved lens that provides maximum coverage or a flatter one that allows more peripheral vision?
Will gray, green or rose be a better match for your lifestyle? Each is best suited to handle particular conditions and activities.
"Lenses can affect — and can enhance — performance. Sports performance is the biggest category for shopping by lens color and treatments, and most fashion lenses are still browns and grays," says Dr. Justin Bazan, a Brooklyn optometrist and medical adviser for The Vision Council, a trade group for the optical industry. "I can imagine it happening, though, that the tint options that have exploded in sports will soon come to fashion purchases."
Roberto Vedovotto, CEO of Safilo Group, parent company to sunglass brands Carrera, Smith Optics and Polaroid, and the licensing partner for designer labels Gucci, Dior and Marc Jacobs, agrees that it's on the cusp.
Smart about UV light
Customers, he says, are becoming more educated about ultraviolet light — largely because of great strides in sunscreen use, and they are aware that the technology exists to improve sunglass lenses. People are very aware overall about protecting themselves from the sun.
"Educated consumers help us," adds Vedovotto. "People who care about the lenses, they need — they want — perfect vision."
That probably explains why athletes are the most demanding, says Bazan. "For those people who are very competitive, they'll look for anything that gains an advantage."
That means knowing when polarized lenses, which act as blinders to horizontal rays, make sense, and when they might not.
Enthusiasts of water sports, including surfing and sailing, are Hobie Polarized's most discerning shoppers. And when it comes to lenses, they want anti-reflective coatings, another coating to shed water and the evenness — almost flatness — of polarization, says Dustin Mora, senior product line manager. Polarization makes sense for many runners, beach-goers and drivers because it will reduce the glare of light coming from the water, road or sand, he explains. They're good for fishermen who need to see beneath the surface.
A skier, however, who needs to see the shine and shadows of the snow and ice, might want a non-polarized lens.
Sammy Bryant, retail business developer for Adidas Eyewear, says golfers also steer away from polarization because peripheral vision is important on the greens, and a lens with that treatment will have a more noticeable difference between what you see through the glasses and the corner of your eye.
The curve of a lens is going to matter, too, Bryant says. It's measured on a scale of one to 10, he explains, common for reading glasses — which are pretty much straight from end to end — at a five, and ski goggles at a nine. Higher numbers give better protection and cover a wider range of view, but curve can add some distortion.
Green is good, sometimes
Color is also a factor, according to Nick Gomez, senior product manager of Under Armour Performance Eyewear. While green lenses might be good for the ball field — there's better balance of background and the target object — brown ones are good for hiking or mountain biking because they offer improved depth perception, he says.
Generally, gray lenses, maybe with a hint of green, block the brightest rays, and brown are almost as effective but have a slightly warmer effect. Gomez says brown might be the most versatile.
Rose helps brighten overcast days, and can be particularly helpful in the early morning or near sundown. Yellow lenses have a similar effect. Blue and green lenses provide a view that is truer to natural color, but they might not curb bright light the way a gray lens would.
Mirrored lenses can be an additional layer of glare perception, notes Bazan. They are less likely to change color perception, he says.
"Personal preference is what's going to drive this. You have to try them on," says Bazan. "There definitely is a performance factor, and there's word of mouth and people are paying attention to what top-level athletes are using, and fashion purchases are largely driven by designer names, but you have to put them on and look outside."
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Usually I am a bit more up-to-the-minute on my New Years post with a review of the past and hope for the coming times. 2013 was put to rest none too quickly for my liking. It was a hard and frustrating year due to the car accident and slow healing. Glad that's almost over!
On December 31st I pulled my journal from the bottom dresser drawer… the journal with the hot pink cloth binding and the swirly letter L with bling bling on the cover. The journal contains my bucket list. I usually don't look at it but once or twice a year, so I'm pleasantly surprised when I get to highlight the completed items on the list! In 2013 there were 2 1/2 items completed…. 1. Go on a girls road trip! CHECK! 2. Build a chicken coop and raise chickens. CHICK! I mean CHECK! And 1/2 of 3. See the Parthenon…. well, I did see the Parthenon. The one in Nashville. I didn't even know there WAS a Parthenon in Tennessee! It's in far better shape than the one in Greece. When I made the list, I meant the one in Greece, but I didn't specify Greece…. so I half-way highlighted it with hopes of Greek Islands in my future still.
On the horizon for 2014, other than we should start getting fresh eggs come May, we have a few out of town weddings, a graduation, some missions trips and lots of excitement and hope! I relish a fresh new year with no scribbles on the pages.
As far as resolutions go…. REZ#1: I'm going to lose the weight I gained while lying on the couch for months eating casserole after casserole that my homeschool peeps brought to feed our family! Believe me, I am SOOOO thankful for my community who surrounded us during that time! What's a bigger size of jeans? Or 2? But everyone plans to lose weight, right?
REZ#2: I am reading the Bible through again. The Children's Living Bible is the chosen translation again. The best I ever did at reading the Bible through involved a plan that took weekends off. I needed the weekends to catch up! So I divided the number of yearly weeks by five days and then divided the number of pages in the Bible by that number. Voila! Brilliance! Four and a half pages a day. And it's already January 10th and I'm ahead of schedule! Oh Yeah!
REZ#3: Make a few more mind and life changing resolutions…. like spending time each day in silence, and spending time each day being artsily creative, and knitting (well, that is creative too), and spending time each day listening to good music. "Good" by my standards, not my children's.
What are your resolutions? Did you make any? Will you keep them? Share the wealth!


text:
The Apple-1 personal computer carried a retail price of $666.66 in 1976, when it was built by Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs.
Today, Christie's auctioned off an early Apple-1 signed by Wozniak for $387,750. It was sold through an online auction and is now the highest-priced item ever to be sold through Christie's new online-only platform. Bidding came from 96 countries.
The price marks a huge increase from its 1976 sale price—about $2,800 in today's dollars—and shows how rare, highly prized vintage electronics are quickly joining art, wine and cars as a new class of collectibles.
Still, the Apple-1 sale marked a slight disappointment from earlier sale prices—and from Christie's own top estimate. The Apple-1 was estimated to fetch between $300,000 and $500,000. And two previous sales of Apple-1 computers both fetched more than $600,000.
(Read More: Buying a Picasso on Amazon? Not So Crazy Anymore)
An Apple-1 sold in May went for $671,400, while another sold in November 2012 went for $640,000.
It's unclear why the latest sale price was so much lower. The broader auction markets—for art, wine and cars— have remained fairly strong in recent months, despite the recent wobbles in the stock market and slowing growth in China, Latin America and other wealth-producing countries.
(Read More: Art Buyers Unfazed by Falling Stocks—for Now)
There's also the possibility that the public's craving for all things Apple is waning, along with Apple's stock price and cool-factor. Or perhaps this particular Apple-1 had different provenance or condition compared to the other two.
Either way, the Apple-1 is still considered the Ferrari of vintage, collectible computers.


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Search Buddhist Channel
From Silverscreen Samsara to Offscreen Nirvana
by Shen Shi'an, The Buddhist Channel, March 28, 2005
A look back at Schindler's List
Singapore -- Sitting upright in silence in the dark, I close my eyes and empty my mind of thoughts of the past and future, as I centre myself in the present moment. May my mind be free of preconceived ideas and expectations. May I be mindful and learn by non-judgemental observation. Soak in the tranquility and watch the mind...
Suddenly, I hear a familiar sound, the signal to end meditation, to open my eyes, to begin experiencing what unfolds to the senses of sight and sound. About to enter a new realm previously unexplored, I gently brace myself, reminding myself to pay close attention, as more images and sounds form before me...
If you havn't got the drift yet, that was a pre-movie meditation! Some Buddhists have the idea that going to the movies is the radical opposite of going to the mediation centre. Yes, of course there are differences, but there are less than we think. The cinema might seem a place to stir up the "dusts" of the mind while the meditation centre the place to settle it, yet the cinema is also a testing ground for how well your mind can stay unruffled, just as the meditation centre lets you know how stirred-up your mind is, as streams of stray thoughts course through you.
To the regular movie-goer, the challenge is to step in a peaceful meditation centre, away from the thrills and stimulation of films. To the regular meditator, the challenge is to step in a cinema with the latest surround sound system and digital screen, away from the serenity of the centre. The Dharma is afterall for practice and discovery at all times and places; not just once a week for a couple of hours on a cushion.
I enjoy meaningful movies because they offer brief immersions into meticulously designed alternate universes. They give me opportunities to put myself in various "What would you do if you were him/her?" positions, to understand myself and others better. A good movie is never an escapade; it allows me to live through multiple lives, while leaving me spiritually reborn as a kinder and wiser person, through absorbing the lessons it preaches. It is entertaining yet enlightening. The Dharma is for living, and it is life itself. Likewise, movies are always about life - case studies of Samsara, of characters unconciously yearning for True Happiness, as they go through trials and tribulations. So life-like are movies that there is seldom nothing one can learn - even from a C grade movie!
One of the most moving spiritual moments I ever experienced was in the cinema. The movie was the multiple-award winning "Schindler's List". Based on a true story, it tells how Oskar Schindler, a vain and greedy businessman, became an unlikely humanitarian during the horrific Nazi reign. He secretly transformed his factory into a refuge for Jews when he witnessed how they were barbarically treated. His factory was commissioned to manufacture shells, but having become anti-war, he ensured it never made a single working shell! Previously profiting from exploiting cheap Jewish labour, he spent his fortune buying over a list of some 1100 Jews - from the otherwise certain death by being gassed.
In the scene where the Jews bid him a grateful teary farewell, as he prepares to flee for his "war-crimes", he realises he still had a car, that he was still wearing a gold Nazi pin, both of which could had been exchanged as valuables for more lives. He sobs uncontrollably, self-lamenting, "I didn't do enough!... I could have gotten one more person... and I didn't!" But his friend comforts him, "There will be (future) generations because of what you did... You did so much." While watching, tears flowed down my cheeks uncontrollably too.
A powerful truth resonated with me - I suddenly saw the essence of the Bodhisattva path articulated - to always listen to your heart which has perfect compassion for all, to help as many as you can in the moment to be free of suffering, yet not being attached to having helped or not helped a single one. This is how the self-liberated liberates others.
It reaffirmed my aspiration to be a true Bodhisattva. At the same time, it gladdened me that there have always been living examples of Bodhisattvas throughout history. Will you not be one too? Schindler's List was screened back in 1994. What lessons have you gleaned from the movies lately? From silverscreen Samsara, may we derive some offscreen "Nirvana"!


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Nokia is switching Dopplr.com off this month (they said 1st November, but as I write, it's still there…)
Marko asked me and Matt B to a pub (somewhere on Charlotte St I think, might have been The Fitzroy Tavern) about 8 years ago to talk about an idea he had.
The next January we took a weekend away in a cottage in Norfolk to prototype the first version.
We let a hundred or so friends try it, we took it to SxSW. We worked part-time on it, we got angel money. We quit our jobs and worked full-time on it for a year or two.
Our most active users loved it. We moved in with our friends at Moo, and inadvertently rebranded Old St as 'Silicon Roundabout'.
We released new functionality every two months or so that we were enormously proud of.
We had ideas of how to make money, but getting to critical mass was hard. We were mobile (SMS!) friendly from the start, but too slow to build an iPhone app.
We suffered from being hard-to-define, falling between awesome logistical tools like Tripit, and pure social networks. We kept going. We even 'pivoted' a little, and created a 'social atlas' of recommendations built out of analyzing crowdsourced data, but perhaps too early before services like Foursquare showed how it really should be done.
I left to join Matt & Jack and build BERG, Dopplr got sold to Nokia. Dopplr kept going even though none of the team could work on it while they were at Nokia – testament to Matt, Tom and Boris' code-chops.
And now it's going away for good…
I learned a hell of a lot designing and building Dopplr. I still stand by a lot of the principles that we as a team tried to follow. Don't build a website, build a part of the web. Be polite, playful and pertinent. Use copy as UI as well as possible. And perhaps most importantly in the last few weeks: always let the user leave – easily and gracefully, with all of their data.
So, thanks to Marko, Matt B., Tom, Boris, Celia, Dan, Lisa, Noa – and our investors/advisers especially Saul Klein.
It was great being your fellow traveller.
With two 'l's' of course…


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awareness, cause, charity, cure, health, kidney failure, pkd, polycystic kidney disease, postaday2011
This is a more serious post, compared to my usual blog posts.
Meet my Mom: She has been married to my father for 32 years! She enjoys hiking, kayaking, family, friends, and dancing. She started college at the age of 16 and backpacked across the country in the 60's. She has been active member in her community for ever; Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, church choir, PTO, and she started a drug & alcohol halfway house in her 20's. She's a terrific mother, friend and grandmother. She has inspired my interests in cooking, gardening, nature, wine, crafts, DIY, etc. Even though I look more like my dad's mother, I have inherited her freckles, dazzling green eyes, honey colored hair, great eyebrows and dimple. She has PKD, it is genetic disease she was born with (my grandfather had it, my uncle is living with it too). She is on peritoneal dialysis and has been on a kidney transplant waiting list for a few years now. As a result of the PKD, she also has a polycystic liver. Unfortunately, she doesn't yet have a kidney. The friends and family members who have been tested are not matches. She is one of my best friends and I can't imagine my life without her in it! ❤ ❤ ❤
PKD (Polycystic kidney disease) is more common than down syndrome, cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, sickle-cell anemia, hemophilia & Huntington's disease… combined!!!
PKD is the most common, life threatening genetic disease affecting 600,000 americans and 12.5 million worldwide.
Did you know ET's Cojo is living with it?
How can you help???
You can make a donation to the PKD Foundation.
Twining Vine Designs is selling a kidney heart pendant necklace for $32, $20 goes to PKD Research.
Check out the PKD Foundation's idea page for fundraising!
Look for a walk near you and sign up to participate in 2011's walk!
Zazzle has a bunch of PKD awareness T-shirts, posters, bags and more. I'm not sure how much of the cost goes to PKD research, check each item before you buy!
Even taking a minute to pass this information along would help raise awareness.
Thank you!!!
What is a cause that is close to your heart?


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[Pub.98QFA] Download :
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by Gillian French : Grit: A Novel
ISBN : #0062642553 | Date : 2017-05-16
Description :
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BMW BIKE – high quality design & technik
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Sports bike racing is a dream come true for most speed demons And the idea of building sports bike for speed is an understatement. Find out about the latest trends in mountain bike technology!
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best mountain bike, mountain bike
racing bike, pro racing bike
enduro bike, extreme bike for rest
trends for various types of bicycle
new bike for live!
BMX bike trend design and innovation
Kids bikes
concept bike, conceptual bike images, photos, gallery show
bikes design sketches, bicycle designers, bike manufacturing company
sales bikes
development best bikes, models: AUDI, BMW, PORSCHE, BUGATTI, BENTLEY, MERCEDES-BENZ, FERRARI, SPYKER, BENTLEY, LOTUS – world bicycles models
construction bike, mountain bike, painting, brushing design
rating best world bike, all about bikes
In general there are three basic bike trends these days: electronic-hybrid bicycles, folding bikes and bikes with hydraulic brake systems
Mountain bikes can be classified into four categories based on suspension:
Fully rigid: A frame with a rigid fork and fixed rear, no suspension.
Hardtail: A frame with a front suspension fork and no rear suspension.
Soft tail: A frame with small amount of rear suspension, activated by flex of the frame instead of pivots.
Dual or full suspension: A front suspension fork and rear suspension with a rear shock and linkage that allow the rear wheel to move on pivots.


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Celebrity Blogs - The Biggest Loser Contestant Jackson Carter Blogs Week 4
Starting weight: 328 pounds
End of Week 4: 288 pounds
Total loss: 40 pounds
Week 4, Ho!
Red team is definitely feeling the pressure. We have just eliminated Cate and all we want to do is eat dinner and get some rest.
But it wouldn't be a week on the Biggest Loser ranch if there weren't a wrench tossed into our plan. Alison Sweeney and the trainers (Bob Harper, Jillian Michaels and Dolvett Quince) walk into the kitchen and tell us that three more people will be leaving the ranch. Automatically, our first thought is "NO! We can't eliminate three more people tonight!"
Luckily (or unluckily depending on how you look at it), Alison says that it is the trainers who will be leaving. They will be going to the kids' homes to help them off campus. The sigh of relief that rushes through this place almost blows the walls down. Bob calls us dramatic (hello pot, meet kettle!).
We have just a few minutes to talk with our trainers before they leave to work with the kids (Biingo, Lindsay and Sunny). That is nowhere near enough time to discuss what happened on the scale in Week 3. We're down a teammate, we just left a HORRIBLE weigh-in, and now we don't have a trainer... IT'S GO TIME!
On our morning walk, Lisa tells me that she is scared we won't be pushed hard enough in our workout because nobody is there to holler at us. I tell her that I know how to holler, but she doesn't believe me. BIG MISTAKE!
We get into our workout and I take charge. I immediately get the team onto the Arc Trainer and get them moving. Halfway through, Lisa looks over at me and asks "Who are you?!" I think Dolvett should be pretty nervous about me taking over his job. The workout is wildly successful and I think the team has a little more confidence about the weigh-in this week.
Our challenge this week is to run a 5K. Sounds simple enough, but, as Jeff puts it, it's "4 more K's than we've ever run in our lives." Fortunately, everyone is a winner. It is a cash prize. The team with the fastest average time gets $15,000, second fastest gets $5,000, and last place gets $2,500.
I'm running much better than I had expected and I get my first mile done in 12 minutes (the fastest I have ever run a mile). I'm feeling good. But then, something horrible happens. It feels like I'm being squeezed to death by a giant snake. No matter how hard I try to breath, it feels like I can't get enough air into my lungs. Then I start wheezing. I think I'm going to suffocate here on the beach. Here comes Dr. H to save the day! He gives me a puffer for my asthma and I get right back to the race. I finish in sixth right behind Lisa. The white team KILLS it and comes in first. Red team comes in second and blue team comes in last.
The trainers come back to the ranch for Last Chance Workout. Dolvett is SHOCKED that I took over for him while he was gone with Lindsay. He had expected Joe to be the leader of the team. Dolvett and Joe get into a little bit of a fight. Dolvett knows that Joe has so much potential, but lets his mind get in his way. Joe agrees to work on pushing himself harder. We just hope this breakthrough doesn't come too late.
Time for the weigh-in! Alison asks Dolvett how he thinks the red ream did without him here. He tells her that I became him and asks me how that's even possible. I inform him that I have always been a ripped, bald, black man on the inside and I finally had a chance for that to come out. Ha!
Blue team weighs in and does well. But, after last week, we know that nobody is really ever safe. Red team weighs in and we KILL IT!! I lost 12 pounds! Best weightloss since Week 1 and I'm finally out of the 300's. White team ends up losing and one of my favorite people in the house gets sent home: Pam.
Pam is a truly amazing person. She has a way of making you laugh no matter how crappy your day has been. She will be extremely missed.
Tune in Monday at 8/7c on NBC to watch what happens to Danni now that she is all alone.
Much love- Jackson
View original The Biggest Loser Contestant Jackson Carter Blogs Week 4 at TVGuide.com
Other Links From TVGuide.com


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One of the interesting problems in abstract polytope theory is to determine, for a given finite group, when that group is the automorphism group of a regular abstract polytope. This is equivalent to the following question: Given a finite group G, when is G generated by involutions $\rho_0, \ldots, \rho_n$ such that $(\rho_i \rho_j)^2 = 1$ if $|i - j| \geq 2$ and such that for all $I, J \subset \{0, \ldots, n\}$ we have $\langle \rho_i \mid i \in I \rangle \cap \langle \rho_i \mid i \in J \rangle = \langle \rho_i \mid i \in I \cap J \rangle$?
The last property can be difficult to check, so let's relax that requirement for now. If a finite group G is generated by n involutions such that non-adjacent generators commute, what can we say about the structure or size of G? Of particular interest: what if G is simple?
Here are a few simple observations:
- For each n, the smallest (abstract) n-polytope has an automorphism group that is isomorphic to the direct product of n copies of $C_2$, corresponding to the trivial Coxeter diagram on n nodes. So a finite group G cannot be the automorphism group of an abstract regular n-polytope for $n > \log_2(|G|)$.
- A (nontrivial) group generated by involutions has even order.
- The abelianization of a group generated by involutions such that nonadjacent generators commute is a quotient of the group in (1), the direct product of n copies of $C_2$.


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create work orders for all equipmentsupportpubworks2017-06-27T22:28:49+00:00
On December 2nd, 2022 gWorks acquired PubWorks to bring a unified customer experience to small local governments. PubWorks will now operate under the gWorks brand. This acquisition marks a significant step for gWorks in its mission to broaden our geographical reach and to provide the most reliable and easy-to-use software solutions to empower small and medium-sized local governments. This partnership will create a company well-positioned to serve our mutual customers. Together, we serve 2,500 local governments across 48 states.
At gWorks, our vision is empowering public leaders to build smarter, more sustainable governments and stronger, more resilient communities with simple technology. Hundreds of local governments have trusted PubWorks' Work & Operations Management Software. Combined with gWorks' robust products and cloud-based solutions, we will be able to deliver a unified experience across front office, back office, and operations.
We don't expect any immediate impact for current customers. gWorks does offer additional resources and products to guide you into new technology, make your organization more integrated, and to make your work easier, more efficient, and less time-consuming.
For more information about the acquisition, please view the full Press Release.
For more information about gWorks and FAQs please check out gworks.com.


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After having watched and loved bother series of Karl Pilkington's An Idiot Abroad, I went off in search of more material featuring Karl. I stumbled upon this show on HBO in a hotel room one night, and I had to check out the rest of it. Watching the progress of Karl from his pre-Idiot days to his post was quite the experience. He'll always be a bit of a buffoon, but he's a lovable guy with his own ideas. Leave it to Gervais and Merchant to make him look like one of the biggest raving lunatics on the face of the planet.
So there's a basic progress to this show. Stephen Merchant, Ricky Gervais, and Karl Pilkington all sit around a table,
having "pointless conversations" about whatever seems to come to mind. The filtered through hours of audio and found these sections to be the best. This was thus turned into an animated series, after having been the world's most downloaded podcast. I'd call that a pretty damn successful feat.
The first series was rather good, seeing Karl as this idiotic manc (I don't know exactly what that means…) trying to get his ideas across to Stephen and Ricky. Through the use of literal cartoons, Karl's ravings are turned into stylized representations with the voices supplied by the three of them. Most of the time Karl is interrupted by the other two for being just too stupid, but when Stephen lets Karl roll with an idea, you have animated magic. I can't even handle it sometimes.
There's Monkey News (always supplied with a jingle from Ricky), Karl's Diary (the written down ravings of a lunatic), and a bunch of other topics that take us throughout the mind of Karl and just what Merchant and Gervais think of him. Gervais considers Karl to be his gift (or curse, either way…) to the
world and just what a twat he is. His words, not mine.
I think it is only after An Idiot Abroad that Karl actually came into himself. You can tell that he has more of an opinion and more to say more often in the third series. You feel bad for him (if you have any background on him) but you wonder why there is someone in the world that is as boring as Karl. It really is unbelievable. This show proves it, and it's just great to listen and laugh to. (Nice to look at sometimes as well.)
So, if you have the opportunity to catch this show (HBO, HBO Go, etc.) then you should. If not, catch clips of it on Youtube for a true taste of the idiocy. Karl Pilkington will truly make you think in a whole different way. I guarantee it. He's not far off from having actual revelations and epiphanies, but he damn well says what he wants to say. He is a man of the people. And I still wanna meet him. 8.2 out of 10.


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Aftermath XHD
Alone in an infested city, you must survive the night.
Use your skills with flashlight, guns and grenades to evade and destroy the city's deadly inhabitants.
** XHD version - optimized and with exclusive new levels. **
"If you're looking for an atmospheric zombie shooter, this one's an easy recommendation." - Touch Arcade
"Aftermath isn't your average twin-stick zombie shooter, it's almost art." - App Spy
* Illuminate your surroundings with real-time lighting never before seen on Android.
* Unique intelligent control system designed specifically for mobile devices. Light up your enemies to shoot and choose how to use your grenades wisely.
* Fight through the zombie horde while taking care of cunning Spewers, bullish Screamers and lumbering Fatties.
* Relive the trials and near-escapes of the night as you progress through the story mode.
* Infinite replayability with score-attack challenge levels.
* Play with headphones to fully experience atmospheric audio.
* All-new HD textures, models and environments.
* 50% larger city.;


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Erick Manana is an acoustic guitarist, singer and songwriter from Madagascar. He often performs in a duo or as a solo artist, singing in accompaniment to his acoustic guitar in the ba-gasy genre that gained prominence in the central highlands of Madagascar in the 1930s.The composer, guitarist and singer Erick Manana is one of the stalwart of the music scene of Madagascar. For decades, he's a star in his homeland and popular worldwide in the Malagasy diaspora.Rootsworld described Manana as the "Bob Dylan of Madagascar"
"Ny 2 CV on-dRandria" titled Erick Manana his praises of Tanas resourceful taxi driver who in decrepit, leaky tin boxes their passengers with wit, heart and skill (and downhill mostly idle) chauffeured through the capital.
in duet with the german Jenny Fuhra who accompanied him on the violin


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72-year-old driver causes crash, raises questions
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - It's been almost two decades since Morgan Shepherd last ran a full Sprint Cup season, and his last national series victory was in 1993.
He can still probably wheel a race car better than you and most of your friends. That doesn't mean the 72-year-old should be racing against the very best drivers in NASCAR.
Shepherd drew scrutiny Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway when he caused Joey Logano to crash.
Shepherd was 40th, 16 laps off the pace, when second-place Logano tried to pass the slower car. Replays show little, just that Logano ended up with a wrecked car. He then publicly questioned if there should be driving tests for some competitors.
NASCAR dismissed Logano's notion, pointing out Shepherd has been approved to drive since 1970.
Shepherd has 925 starts in NASCAR's top three levels. He's got four career Sprint Cup victories, won 15 Nationwide races and even ran a full Nationwide schedule four years ago at age 69.
"He's been approved for decades," NASCAR vice president of competition Robin Pemberton said. "You take a physical at the beginning of the year. You pass your physical. You pass inspections with your car, you qualify for the race and you run the event. He met everything he needed to meet."
That's the problem. There is no rule in place - except for drivers under 18 years old - stopping someone from competing in a national level NASCAR race.
Mark Martin, his back aching and his eyesight no longer what it once was, called it quits last year at 54. If he wanted to race next week at Indianapolis, nobody would stop him if he showed up in a car that made the field.
Michael Waltrip, at 51, still runs four races a year. His Hall of Fame brother, Darrell, was 53 when he got out of the car following eight winless seasons.
Point is, rarely does a driver recognize when to call it a career. The love of racing, the addiction to speed, the thrill of competition, can all cloud a driver's judgment and make it impossible to see they aren't what they once were.
That's the case with Shepherd, who seems to have embarked on a journey to become the oldest at everything. He's the second-oldest race winner (he was 51 in 1993). He became the oldest driver to lead laps in a Nationwide race at 70, and last year he became the oldest driver to start a Cup race at 72.
That's all allowed in a sport that often fails to set standards to ensure only the best compete at the top level. In racing, those who find the dollars needed to race get the seats - often at the expense of the most talented.
So Shepherd got the funding - probably about $75,000 - to run for Circle Sport Racing at New Hampshire. For the second time this season, he was in the field with the big boys.
But the big boys passed him again and again as Shepherd struggled with handling and perhaps meeting the minimum speed of 115 mph. NASCAR said Shepherd was not warned about failing to keep pace during the race.
Shepherd did try to stay out of the way. But spotters alleged Shepherd couldn't hold his line at the bottom of the track and hit the corners at such a poor angle, his car would push into the center of the track. Logano spotter Tab Boyd tweeted he was "riding around like a rolling road block."
Shepherd, though, put the blame on Logano and said his age was not a factor.
"When he laid close to me, it caused me to slip into him," Shepherd said. "It's got nothing to do with my age or anything else. I've always said if I go out and I start hitting the wall and stuff, making mistakes, I'll get out of the car."
Fans seemed to flock to Shepherd's defense, calling the No. 33 Chevrolet subpar equipment. Well, that's on Shepherd, who could have taken his cash to any team in an attempt to get a better ride.
The ride isn't great, but Bobby Labonte drove the same car to a 24th-place finish at Daytona. Three other drivers have driven the car this year without crashing the leaders.
Had Shepherd had an uneventful run at the back of the field all day, nobody would have said a word about his presence in the race. Nobody would have noticed him. But he was involved in one glaring incident that NASCAR must consider going forward.
Sure, blame the car. But there's a reason Shepherd doesn't get to drive Jimmie Johnson or Jeff Gordon's car - because he's 72.
NASCAR must take a longer look at this because what Shepherd did 30 years ago or three years ago no longer applies. Father Time eventually catches up with everyone, and your eyes aren't what they used to be, and your reflexes aren't so catlike and your hand-eye coordination isn't as sharp as you remember.
Maybe there's no way for NASCAR to monitor those crucial elements of driving. But NASCAR can monitor minimum speed and the ability to hold a proper racing line.


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Hi everyone,
Hope your week is going well? Mine is super busy (for someone who is technically not working). Went to the second session of my six week course: pattern drafting at Clothkits: less maths this week for me to fret about.
This week was mainly spent cutting and sticking – it reminded me of the best primary school lesson ever!
We cut out six – I don't know what they are called – bodice fronts? – and manipulated the darts into one of six different positions so that we could see how it would work in practice. I actually really enjoy the theory side of things.
The one I found most baffling was where the darts are right across the middle of your chest. I really couldn't work out why you would ever do this but the tutor explained – with the aid of a piece of lined paper – the effect which would be created if your fabric had horizontal stripes. I have to say – there was a light bulb moment when it finally twigged.
You'll have to excuse my shoddy photos – there just wasn't enough light and I was rushing because I needed to concentrate on what the tutor was saying rather than faff around with my IPAD.
We have to start collecting ideas of what we would like our own dress to be like. I hadn't realised but the ultimate objective of the course is, as well as making the blocks, to have made a toile of our own design. After having spent the morning manipulating darts, I think I am going to go for a bodice with wing darts – similar to princess seams but the darts go under the arm rather than up to the shoulder. I am thoroughly enjoying the course and am very excited to be making up my own design – at this stage I am thinking a Christmas Day dress, perhaps in a floral needlecord.
We then spent some time fitting the toiles we had made up for homework. My darts had to be lowered by a centimetre and there was also an adjustment to remove some fabric from the back shoulders and to reduce the overall length. It was really interesting to see how you swivelled the darts around to move the fabric from one area to the other. Please excuse my mum tum on display – I am amused by the intense concentration on my face! We now have to make up a second toile incorporating all of our adjustments – precision is key apparently.
At the end of the morning the tutor, Maria Pulley, took us into her studio (which is based above Clothkits) to show us some of the beautiful couture garments she is working on. One of her original designs for the formal robes of the High Sherriff of (?) had had its inaugural wear the previous day at a Remembrance Day service and Maria showed us her initial sketches. It is a real privilege to be taught be someone who is clearly incredibly gifted.
Will close now with some good news – I went for a job interview yesterday and was successful. I was really chuffed with all the lovely messages I received on my Instagram so thank you lovely sewing community – you lift my spirits.
Toodle pip,
Clarinda x


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High Country News welcomes new interns
Two new editorial interns just joined us for six months of "journalism boot camp" at our Paonia, Colo., office. Danielle Venton was born in Petaluma, Calif. Early backpacking trips sparked her curiosity about the natural world, which eventually led her to study biology at Humboldt State University. Unlike her classmates, Danielle couldn't settle on just one organism to study for the rest of her career, so after graduating in 2005, she left California in search of new challenges.
In 2006, she interned at the federal research facility Fermilab, then became an editor and writer at CERN in Switzerland, interviewing diplomats, physicists and computer scientists. In 2011, she finished a one-year certificate in science communication at UC Santa Cruz, interned at WIRED and freelanced for KUSP public radio.
At HCN, Danielle will continue to gain fluency on Western issues. And she'll get back in the saddle again. Last summer, a horse bucked her off in California's Desolation Wilderness. Despite the pain of a broken collarbone, she slept that night under a lean-to and hiked out 10 miles the next morning. She says she'll ride again this spring; we're thinking about wrapping her in pillows first, though.
Neil LaRubbio joins HCN with a master's in journalism from the University of Montana, where he graduated last spring. Neil's written for both Bugle Magazine and HCN ("Lack of medical care on the firelines endangers firefighters," 10/17/11). He also co-founded a documentary film company, Highway Goat Productions, and is working on a project about riding the rails.
After gaining a degree in radio, television and film from the University of Texas, Austin in 2003, he and one of his brothers came west in search of work and adventure. They climbed mountains, spotted grizzlies and rode ornery horses with friends on the Blackfeet Reservation.
While working in Yellowstone, Neil met his future wife, Jessica. The couple camped their way through Spain and Scotland, taught English in Prague and Korea, and married in 2008. Returning to Montana, Neil worked as a wildland firefighter and decided to finally pursue journalism full-tilt.
Neil says he'd like to write the way the legendary jazz musician Charles Mingus played, with momentum and sophistication. He's joined in Paonia by Jessica and their young son, Nico.
We're also happy to announce that Marian Lyman Kirst, an outstanding intern from the previous session, will remain with us as an editorial fellow for five months, after her honeymoon. For more on our internship program, see our internship page.
The wolves that Jim and Jamie Dutcher filmed for their documentaries, "Wolves at Our Door" and "Living With Wolves" -- mentioned in HCN's Nov. 14 cover story, "Possessing the Wild: An Exploration of the World of Captive Wolves" -- were donated by people in Montana and Minnesota. The primary donor felt that the animals would do more to advance the understanding of wolves as the subject of an educational documentary than if they lived their lives confined on her property. No wolves have ever been purchased by the Dutchers or their nonprofit organization, Living with Wolves. The only time the Dutchers conducted financial business with Triple D, a game ranch in Kalispell, Mont., was to photograph a mountain lion at Triple D, years before the wolf documentary project.