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Since Monday, August 13th College Station Police Department officers and investigators, along with investigators from multiple other agencies have been working around the clock in an effort to gather information and evidence in this case.
The College Station Police Department has been assisted by the following agencies during the initial call and the subsequent investigation: Bryan Police Department, Brazos County Sheriff's Office, Texas A&M University Police Department, Brazos County Constable Offices, City of College Station Marshall's Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Texas Department of Public Safety Highway Patrol Division, Texas DPS Emergency Management, Texas DPS State Crash Team, Texas DPS Aircraft Section, Texas Ranger Company A, Texas Ranger Company B, and Texas Ranger Company F.
As a result of the continued investigation, the following timeline of events has been determined.
Note that the times provided are approximate times:
12:11 PM – First 911 call received. Caller advised that an officer had just been shot and he thought that his girlfriend (Holdsworth) had been shot also. Numerous 911 calls were received including a call reporting that Northcliffe had been shot.
o Holdsworth was shot as she pulled her vehicle into a driveway in the 600 block of Highlands.
o Northcliffe was next to a parked vehicle in the 600 block of Highlands when he was shot.
o Witnesses also told police that the suspect approached Constable Bachmann, after shooting him and removed his duty weapon from his gun belt.
o During this same time period a civilian in the 600 block of Highlands fired 5-6 rounds from a small caliber handgun towards the suspect.
· 12:14 PM – First officers arrive on scene and approach from Maryem Street. They immediately come under fire from the suspect.
· 12:18 PM – Additional units begin arriving and set up a perimeter.
o Shortly after arriving on scene Officer Oehlke was shot in the calf by the suspect.
· 12:28 PM - Two officers arrive at Park Place and Fidelity. Using a patrol vehicle as cover they attempt to reach Holdsworth and Northcliffe.
· 12:30 PM – Two SWAT officers arrive on scene and formulate a react plan.
· 12:35 PM – Suspect is shot and secured by CSPD officers.
Between 12:14 and 12:35 PM the following incidents occurred.
· The suspect continually fires rounds at officers from his front porch.
· The suspect retreats into his house between rounds of fire.
· Several firearms were recovered from the suspect's house including Constable Bachmann's service weapon. It does not appear that Constable Bachmann's weapon had been fired. The suspects weapons are described as follows:
o Dragunov 7.62x54 semi-automatic sniper rifle
o SA vz. 58 7.62 mm assault rifle
o 40 caliber Glock Model 35 pistol
o Mosin-Nagant bolt-action rifle
· In excess of 65 rounds were fired by the suspect during the incident.
· The number of rounds fired by law enforcement officers are still being determined.

subset: commoncrawl


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Wellhouse Leisure has now updated their Toyota Powervan/Granvia conversion to include some excellent new features.
The successful Yorkshire-based business now provides the facelift Powervan or Granvia with optional RIB crash-tested seat, optional 3-way fridge, the latest SMEV split glass hob and sink with integrated taps. In addition, wider cupboards and extra top lockers on both elevating-roof and high-top models mean tons of storage space!
Check out the photos below or visit www.wellhouseleisure.com for more info.
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SOCORRO, NM June 17, 2003-- On Saturday, June 28, New Mexico Tech will officially welcome to its campus one of the nation's oldest and most prestigious research-based programs for academically gifted teenagers -- the Summer Science Program (SSP) -- as the university celebrates "SSP Day at New Mexico Tech". SSP chose Tech for its first-ever expansion, after 44 successful summers of operation in Southern California.
At 11:30 a.m., New Mexico Lieutenant Governor Diane Denish and Tech President Dr. Daniel López will help dedicate a new telescope, installed by SSP at the campus observatory. The ribbon-cutting will also be attended by SSP students, faculty, Trustees, news media, and invited guests. Following a buffet lunch, Dr. Paul Gilna of the Center for Human Genome Studies at Los Alamos National Laboratory will present a public guest lecture on the Human Genome Project.
SSP, conceived at the beginning of the Space Age in 1959, brings top high school students from around the world to spend their days in college-level lectures on physics, astronomy, math, and computer programming, and their nights observing the speck of light from a distant asteroid. By the end of the sixth week, each team of three students has calculated the asteroid's orbit using the team's own observations, measurements, and software. This summer, 30 young scientists in New Mexico have nearly doubled SSP's enrollment to 64 students, from 14 states and 5 foreign countries.
Students describe SSP as an intense, exhilarating intellectual and social environment, "the educational experience of a lifetime." Emphasis is on teamwork and cooperation; neither grades nor formal credit are given. Seven faculty members are resident with the students. The curriculum also includes guest lectures on a wide range of subjects by prominent scientists and other professionals. Field trips from Socorro will include the Very Large Array (of radio telescopes) and Apache Point Observatory in Sunspot.
Many SSP alumni go on to become leaders in science, business, and other professions. Prominent examples include Mitchell Kapor '66, founder of Lotus Development Corp., Harvard Prof. N. Gregory Mankiw '75, current Chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisors, Dr. Jerry E. Nelson '60, Director for the Center for Adaptive Optics at UC Santa Cruz, Franklin Antonio '69, Chief Scientist at QUALCOMM, Dr. Douglas Richstone '66, Chair of Astronomy at the University of Michigan.
According to the Program's Chairman, Stephen Cotler '60, "We are extremely fortunate to find in New Mexico, and specifically on the Tech campus, the perfect combination of facilities, scientific community, dark skies, and financial support necessary to make this historic expansion possible." Dr. López described SSP as "a welcome and prestigious addition to our University."
SSP is affiliated with several major universities and operated by an independent non-profit corporation, managed and funded by SSP's alumni, with other major support from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the Mitchell Kapor Foundation. The Socorro campus is also supported by New Mexico Tech, Los Alamos National Labs, Lockheed Martin / Sandia National Labs, and Los Alamos National Bank.


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OverviewProduct Summary
Product Details
Author(s)Kevin Stirratt
Give us this day our daily bread...
These words from the Lord's Prayer are beautiful and inspiring, but truly following them can lead to a terrifying place in our spiritual journeythe place of absolute dependence on God.
Just ask the Israelites. Living on manna in the desert had to be scary. They couldn't gather more than they needed or save any of it for later. Their bread was supplied one day at a time. Every morning they had to trust that God had provided what He promisedthe exact amount of manna needed for that day's survival. Can you imagine? Every day their lives depended on a miracle from God.
It is this kind of daily dependence that transforms wandering believers into great people of God.
This inspiring book calls you to follow in the footsteps of the Israelites and allow God to take you to the terrifying, yet transformational, place of absolute dependence on Him. Instead of simply observing and being entertained by God's miracles, you will be challenged to let go of your fears and doubts of living on manna and, like the Israelites, develop a level of trust with God that allows Him to use you in ways He was never able to before.
Click here to download the Leader's Guide and PowerPoint.


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- Home /
- Cynthia Kneen
Cynthia Kneen
Cynthia Kneen is also the author of Awake Mind, Open Heart: The Power of Courage and Dignity in Everyday Life (one of the Best Spiritual Books of 2003—Spirituality & Health) and Business & the Buddha (forthcoming). She is a management consultant with expertise in multiple industries, former senior manager at a major consumer goods company, co-founder of Naropa University, and a teacher of Buddhism and Shambhala. Cynthia lives in Boulder, Colorado. For more information, please visit www.cynthiakneen.com.
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Failing! - What am I doing wrong?
I've been trying NYT no-knead recipe following JMonkey sourdough version, and a breadtopia version from http://www.breadtopia.com/sourdough-no-knead-method/ and its failing miserably.
I tried Jim's recipe tonight - http://home.att.net/~carlsfriends/jimpics/Instructions.html
– same result.
I am using Organic White flour from Shipton Mill, measuring 140-150g to a cup, and a 100% white starter (tried rye/wholemeal – with no improvements)
NY dough is VERY wet, and I am only using 1.5 cups of water.
I leave it for 18 hours (but see bubbles after 12) at a room temperature, shape and lease to rise for another 2-2.5 hours in a warm place. And it really sticks to a towel – I am using a lot of flour, but it seems to absorb it all.
I managed to get it into my hot hot Le Cruset pot and bake as per recipe.
It has absolutely no oven spring, but a nice crust and a very sour taste (which my husband likes).
Jim's recipe – mixed it well, left for an hour – did the French fold – worked beautifully! 18 hours later, the dough is very wet again, had lots of troubles shaping it into a ball. Left for a final rise in a warm place – really flat, and not much volume, even though, its been sitting for an hour and a half at least. Took at least 5 min to transfer it to a baking stone – baked to 40 mins – flat and no over spring – another disaster!
Please help, what am I doing wrong?
First mix
After 18 hours
The result


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MIAMI — Magic Johnson and Larry Bird duked it out in the NBA Finals three times in four seasons, although it seemed more like a million glorious battles. The two regular-season games between the rival Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics throughout the 1980s were must-see TV as those teams and their transcendent stars swept up a generation of new fans.
Michael Jordan followed as arguably the league's greatest solo act with no equal to challenge him during the 90s.
Tuesday's Christmas Day Finals rematch between the pillars of their respective conferences, LeBron James vs. Kevin Durant, the Miami Heat vs. the Oklahoma City Thunder, reminded just how riveting last season's title series was and the undeniably tantalizing prospect of more to come, of an emerging Magic-Bird, Lakers-Celtics-style rivalry.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, a teenager during that great period, and assistant coach Bob McAdoo, a Lakers reserve for two Finals series against the Celtics, saw the makings of a modern-day rivalry between dueling MVP candidates and their championship-chasing teams last June.
"Both teams have multiple, once-in-a-generation players," Spoelstra said prior to the Heat's 103-97 Christmas Day win, referring to the Heat's Dwyane Wade and the Thunder's Russell Westbrook as supporting superstars. "You don't see that too often, but we remember when we were in the Finals last year, the speed, athleticism, and competitiveness of that series, what we talked about was probably similar to what you saw in the 80s with those Celtics and Lakers teams. Coach McAdoo even said it reminded him of that because it was a force of nature of two teams of young, talented future hall of famers in their prime, and multiple ones on each team. That was a fierce, fierce series, and the five games did not properly tell how competitive that series was."
The Heat won Games two through four by a margin no greater than six points. Tuesday's intense matchup made it four of the last six between the two decided by six or less.
"Of course that's a sexier matchup, as far as LeBron and me and Russell and D-Wade, Serge [Ibaka] and Chris Bosh, of course that's the matchup everybody wants to see," Durant said. "But you never know. We never try to concern ourselves like that, we try to take it a day at time, but it does play on last year, everybody talks about us building a rivalry. So, you know, if it does happen, that'd be fun, that'd be something great to be a part of."
The new collective bargaining agreement, with its harsher luxury tax penalties, might ultimately determine the fate of this rivalry. The Thunder are in excellent position to contend for the foreseeable future. They made the difficult decision to trade James Harden before the season after locking up its young core of Durant, Westbrook and Ibaka at manageable salaries through 2016.
"We're excited about where we're going, but still we want to win a championship now," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "We're not playing for next season or the next season after. We're like every team, if you have a chance to win you want to win now."
Heat owner Mickey Arison got one title with his dream-team trio and the Heat are prohibitive favorites to repeat. But, he'll will have to commit to paying stiff luxury taxes to keep James, Wade and Bosh together to fulfill LeBron's "not one, not two, not three…" prophecy.
The three All-Stars are under contract through 2016-17, but all three have early termination clauses after next season, and whispers of a James departure for the Lakers are already coming in like the warm Atlantic lapping the South Beach sands at low tide.


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Until fairly recently it has been all quiet on the shared cataloguing front. Cataloguing departments taking records from the Library of Congress, other National libraries, or one of many other libraries that share their Z39.50 connections. Many libraries also being members of an organisation to share the cataloguing load, such as OCLC, or Talis Base in the UK.
About a year ago dust started to stir on the surface of this stable landscape, when OCLC caused a curfuffle with their move to redefine their record reuse policy. Then in January, open source library system vendor announced ‡Biblios.net, a free cataloguing service in which you can share with other libraries. In the last few weeks we have had SkyRiver arrive on the scene. Not much visible on their site yet, but according to press releases they hope to deliver quality at a lower costs - so things are a changing.
Unfortunately nobody was available from OCLC, ‡Biblios, or SkyRiver, to help talk through what these moves might mean. Nevertheless Gang members Marshall Breeding and Frances Haugen were on hand to explore the ramifications of these moves and what a more competitive landscape might mean for the players in this market.
Library 2.0 Gang 10/09 [40:11m]:Download


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Previous Editions:
30th Edition
29th Edition
28th Edition
27th Edition
26th Edition
25th Edition
24th Edition
By the National Radio Club.
The most accurate and comprehensive guide to American and Canadian medium wave (AM) stations available. Organized by frequency, with callsign cross reference. Includes addresses and phone numbers for all stations plus formats, network affiliation, day/night power and antenna pattern type! Recent additions to the log lists call letters of FM simulcasts, listings of regional groups of stations in the groups section (a separate section of the log book) and a cross reference of stations broadcasting in I.B.O.C. (In Band On Channel) digital audio. Many talk radio hosts and their syndicator or network appear in a separate section also. This book is supplied on separate 3 hole punched sheets so you may put it in a standard 3 hole binder. Everything is displayed in an easy to read format. A must for every medium wave DX'er. Many updates since the previous 30th Edition of the log! 31st Edition. National Radio Club. Printed August 2010. 296 pages. Click here to view larger.
Click here to view 32nd Edition.


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2.5.07: If they could just stay little
Charlie had his two-month checkup today and I am completely devastated. He's totally fine. Perfectly healthy. Couldn't be better. It's just that...well... he's so BIG.
I spent the second half of my pregnancy holding my breath at every prenatal weigh-in, wincing as the scale passed 180...190...200. (I stopped looking after that.) And now I find myself doing the same at Charlie's appointments. I have to look away.
Part of me wants to pack a pair of pompoms for the next pediatrician visit just so I can break into a "Yaaaaaay, Charlie. Goooo milk!" cheer and do a little heel-click in the air. But part of me is just really sad.
Julia was always at the top of the growth charts for both height and weight. She towers over all the other kids her age. Charlie is apparently going to be her even-bigger brother, and it's killing me. Just weeks ago, his tiny little bottom fit completely in the palm of my hand. Now he's wearing size two diapers. He's got rolls. Rolls that, if he's anything like his big sister, will someday hide entire Biter Biscuits that we'll sheepishly unearth days later. The blankets we used to straight-jacket-swaddle him in don't want to tuck around him anymore. You'd think we were trying to bind his feet the way he's stuffed into his footie pajamas.
He's also getting Will's dimples -- on his hands.
What's even more devastating is that he now coos. He makes this little warbler bird sound that makes my knees a little warbly. I'm like a coo junkie, hovering over him, waving his monkey rattle, doing anything I can to elicit just one more coo. Then, he couples the coos with his crazy gummy smile. His entire face lights up as he tilts his head to the side in a flirty, "Aww shucks, who, me?" kind of way.
Charlie's life is flashing before my eyes. I have visions of him running across a sunny field in his Little League uniform, towering over me in his cap and gown, buttoning cufflinks on his wedding tuxedo. I just put away his tiny little newborn clothes. They're all up in the attic in a storage bin, next to Julia's. I'm not sure why I'm holding onto them. I just know that I can't part with them. Not yet.
Plus, he's not even the new kid on the block anymore. He already has two new cousins—the new babies.
I feel like I'm losing my baby.
Frozen in Time
When Julia was just a week old, I had the same worries. By week two, I was so anxious about the days slipping by too quickly that I jokingly suggested to Will that maybe we should stop feeding her. He didn't find it a very humorous suggestion, and I later found him pretending to look up "burping the baby" in the What to Expect book while he secretly scanned the post-partum depression danger signs.
Ever since, I have been waging my very own babyhood "Battle of the Will." Last night at dinner, Will asked "Who wants broccoli?" and Julia made a face that looked like he'd just asked "Who wants to be tarred and feathered?"
"NOBODY!" Julia yelled, and I almost cut off my big toe when I dropped my knife. I shot Will a look of horror and betrayal. Julia used to announce "ANYBODY!" whenever Will asked that same question. It was one of her little babyisms that I loved so much. And Will corrected it. You see, he's got this big idea in his head that our child should learn proper English so that she'll grow up to be an intelligent, articulate adult, yada, yada, yada. My big idea is that I don't want him messin' with the baby talk.
Julia used to hold up her arms, beseeching us to "Hold you! Hold you!" Will taught her to say "Hold me." Her alphabet used to have a "QRS, double menno P" in it. Used to. Little Miss Muffet used to sit on her tuffet eating her turds and whey. (OK, I'll give him that one. But the fider who sat down beside her is off limits—he's not touching that one.)
It's just that they're babies for such a short time. And besides, sometimes Julia's original take on things makes a lot more sense to me. She comes up with words that, in my mind, are so much more appropriate -- so much more accurate, like:
frisbee = "frisky" (Aren't they just, though?)
strainer = "drainer" (Yes, it does.)
cushy = "kwishy" (Much more squishy sounding.)
The Ferris Wheel = "The Fairest Wheel" (Especially from the tippy top.)
Scrabble = "Squabble" (At least in our house.)
The other day, Will and I sat in the corner of a preschool class, at a teeny tiny table, on the edge of our teeny tiny seats, observing from the sidelines as Julia had her preschool "screening." Our knees were up around our chins and our hearts were in our throats as we watched Julia take the teacher's hand and walk off, without so much as a backward glance at her lower-lip-biting parents. Today, she's wearing her big girl undies. Last night, she slept in her big girl bed. After she drifted off, I watched my big, stringbean girl sleep for a little while with a heavy heart. And it was then that I noticed her hand sticking out of the blankets. Maybe it was my own failing eyesight, or the shadows cast by the nightlight, but I was completely taken aback by the chubby little baby hand sticking out of the blankets. It still has dimples.
I'm going to go get my pompoms.
Join FitPregnancy.com's Managing Editor Dana Rousmaniere each week as she chronicles life with a new baby.
Read the next entry: 2.19.07: Cinderella Story


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Celebrities and editors open the public eye to aspirational looks.
But the real fashion must-haves anymore are imagination, instinct and an Internet connection.
"The trend is the focus on personal style and how you put yourself together," said Sasha Charnin Morrison, fashion director for Us Weekly. "The blogs covering street style are where people are looking for day-to-day inspiration."
Among scads of sites in this realm, Morrison ticks off a few of the top influencers — thesartorialist.com, leeoliveira.com, vanessajackman.blogspot.com and jakandjil.com.
Still, Scott Schuman, whose blog "The Sartorialist" has led to two books and photography projects for Burberry, Tiffany, Coach and J.Crew, said magazines have not lost their place in fashion.
Schuman still buys GQ and other style bibles that he read as an otherwise typical boy in Indianapolis. They planted the seed for his career in fashion marketing and sales before his two children and his blog redirected him toward photography.
"I love this dream world that magazines create. Street style was to me always a supplement," he said. "But both sides have to get better at what they do. Magazines have been so dominated by the hand of advertisers for so long that I think no one really believes that what's in magazines is what editors love. If it's one designer look head to toe, that's not even style, then."
There are blogs, too, that pander to advertisers.
But Schuman thinks the next generation of fashion followers is savvy enough to demand more honesty from both blogs and magazines. While advertising supports "The Sartorialist," Schuman said, "we've been able to maintain an absolute separation. The No. 1 thing the blog has brought me is freedom as an artist to shoot the way I want every day."
Freedom fuels fashion, said Lee Oliveira, a Brazilian who lives in Sydney. Like Schuman, Oliveira travels the world scouting outstanding street style for his blog, which has opened doors to social media consulting projects for luxury brands.
"Social media has brought about so much more information and choice in how we can and want to dress," Oliveira said. "I find it fascinating and clever that an individual has put something together with the pieces they have, without a team of stylists. I find this much more interesting than following trends."


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About GCS
The Gauss Centre for Supercomputing (GCS) combines the three national supercomputing centres High Performance Computing Center Stuttgart (HLRS), Jülich Supercomputing Centre (JSC), and Leibniz Supercomputing Centre, Garching near Munich (LRZ) into Germany's foremost supercomputing institution.
Each GCS centre hosts a supercomputer in the multiple Petaflops performance mark (1 petaflops = 1 quadrillion floating point operations per second, or a 1 with 15 zeros), placing all three institutions amongst the most powerful computing centres worldwide. With in total more than 35 petaflops for use (number growing), GCS offers by far the largest and most powerful supercomputing infrastructure in Europe to serve a broad range of science and industrial research activities in various disciplines.
GCS also provides first-class training opportunities for both the national and European High Performance Computing (HPC) communities. More than 50 highly qualified scientists acting as trainers host over 60 courses (or 150 course days) per year. Due to its wealth of training opportunities and the vast experience of its trainers, GCS is one of the leading HPC training institutions in all of Europe.
GCS is jointly funded by the German Ministry of Education and Science (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung – BMBF) and the corresponding ministries of the three national states of Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bavaria, and North Rhine-Westphalia.
GCS is a hosting member of PRACE (Partnership for Advance Computing in Europe), an international non-profit association (aisbl) with its seat is Brussels/Belgium. It has 26 member countries, whose representative organizations create a pan-European supercomputing infrastructure, providing access to computing and data management resources and services for large-scale scientific and engineering applications at the highest performance level.
GCS has its headquarters in Berlin/Germany.
Federal Ministry of Education and Research - BMBF
Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts of the German State of Baden-Württemberg
Bavarian State Ministry of Science and the Arts
Ministry of Culture and Research of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia


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"Honk if you hate the MB" this was what written on a banner held by a high school student called Omar yesterday in one of the busiest streets in Nasr City yesterday and people did it in the traffic.
Here is a short video clip filmed by
Omar is the one of the admins of a Facebook Page called "Your ID is Egyptian" and to be honest this generation gives me hope even with these simple protesting things.
I read that April 6 Youth Movement is going to adopt this and has already adopted today in the Friday protests which I no longer follow because they have become a daily routine losing its meaning.


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I roll over again onto my side pulling the duvet around my shoulders tighter to squeeze more comfort and warmth out of the Tog 24 rated bedding. I am warm…I am cosy…I am comfy…I am in bliss. Very nice…marvellous.
All is quiet within the Kingmagic house hold. Sleep reigns supreme with the silence only being interrupted by the occasional low snore. The kind of snore that boasts contentment, that all is well with the world and that the ever approaching day is far far away.
Lazily I open one eye to sneak a look at the alarm clock. Just to reaffirm to my sub-conscious that I am in Heaven and that I have lots of zeds left before I need to mobilise my tired limbs.
"……..0618 hours……." mmmmm! I,ll just have another five minutes…….
A slow burning candle at the back of my mind begins to burn brighter. Suddenly the candle begins to take on the shape and form of a bright halogen light bulb….Ping!
Realisation number:
……the bloody alarm has not gone off!
……I,m at work in 42 minutes!
……It takes me 30 minutes to drive there!
……I,m still not fully awake!
With the agility and grace of a gazelle I leap from my warm duvet which has cocooned me in warmth and nice dreams all night. The sudden shock of the cold night air hits my body as the bedroom temperature seems much, much, much lower than that of my nice warm duvet…!
Immediately my warm body seems to seize up and I stumble and stagger across to the en-suite bathroom. Whereas once I was gazelle like, I am now more akin to a one legged elephant pissed up in the dark! My foot catches on the corner of the door and I fumble about for the light switch. A light switch that I have turned on and off a thousand times with no problems…even in the dark! Now I seem to have lost all sense of spatial awareness and momentarily think to myself that I might not even be able to find my own arse with both hands!!!
Panic begins to creep in…."Wake up! Wake up!" I will my self to shake off the cobwebs of sleep from the befuddled edges of my consciousness. "Click!" I find the light switch…the bedroom is bathed in light from the bathroom and I look to Mrs .Magic who is sleeping and hope that I have not disturbed her.
I start to wake up now…formulate an action plan and begin to put it into action. I only have time for the three S plan…"S**t, shave and shower!" I will not have time to eat breakfast and I make a mental note to buy a big sausage, bacon and egg butty at the first opportunity.
"Uniform…?"…..I cant remember where it is….and it needs filling up with all the bits of kit that I carry during my shift. I will just bung it all in a plastic bag and sort it at work……
"……0631 hours!……" ….I,m not even dressed yet! I am going to be soooooooo late!
A sudden movement from under the duvet alerts me to the fact that I have woken Mrs. Magic from her slumber. "What are you doing…?" she asks me as I try and jam my left boot onto my right foot! "Bloody alarm did,nt go off!!!" I stagger with one leg in the air trying to chase down the errant boot that refuses to play fair.
Mrs. Magic looks over at the clock……"0636 hours……" She then looks back at me as I try to multi-task zipping trousers, tucking in shirt, sorting out collar and grabbing kit….still with one boot on the wrong foot! "Why are you up…?"
Realisation number:
5. ……I,m on days off…!!!


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In the book The Art of Terminator Salvation, fans can find hundreds of examples of concept art, storyboards and illustrations from the film.
As you can see, one series illustrates, literally, how to pin a terminator down using a helicopter. Thanks to this storyboard, John Connor was able to pull the feat off in the film. Hit up io9 to check out the rest of the series. [io9 and Amazon]


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Happy Hour: Lemonade Mojito
The other day, I cohosted a barbecue so, of course, I served a signature cocktail. As an added challenge, the barbecue was actually a baby shower, and the guest of honor was pregnant. So I searched for a recipe that would be just as refreshing without booze as with it.
I dug this recipe out of my recipe file, ripped out of InStyle magazine years ago and just waiting for its moment. It's great for big groups since it can be made in large batches, and I like that it uses vodka instead of the usual rum, since I have a lot of friends who find rum off-putting.
It's very tart and sufficiently sweet, and without the vodka, it's just a minty homemade lemonade. To get the recipe, read more.
Lemonade Mojitos
InStyle magazine
- 1/2 cup mint leaves, plus mint sprigs for garnish
- 1 cup sugar syrup (recipe follows)
- 5 cups club soda
- 4 cups vodka
- 4 cups fresh lemon juice
- 2/3 cup superfine sugar
- To make the sugar syrup, heat 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water over low heat, stirring with wooden spoon until sugar has dissolved. Stop stirring and increase heat to medium. Simmer 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool; refrigerate 2 hours before using.
- In large bowl, muddle 1/2 cup mint leaves with sugar syrup.
- Stir in club soda, vodka*, lemon juice, and 2/3 cup superfine sugar. Chill.
- Pour into ice-filled pitchers with lemon rounds and mint sprigs; serve in tall glasses.
* To make a nonalcoholic batch of lemonade, reserve the vodka and add 1 1/2 ounces to each glass before pouring.
- Category
- Drinks, Cocktails


text: It is human to feel lonely at times. I myself have days where I miss being in love. It is difficult going through hard times in life alone, but I have found that I am never truly alone. I may not be in love, or have a partner by my side, but I have myself. I have my family. I have my friends. I have God. No matter what you believe in, or what your personal relationships are like, try to remember that we ourselves are company. We are love. Take time to yourself to do something you enjoy. Spend time developing your interests. It is crucial to love ourselves truly and deeply. To accept who we are entirely. I honestly believe that until we find ourselves, our deep selves inside our souls, we cannot be truly happy in any other aspect of our lives. Life is here in front of you now. We all need to take a step back sometimes to put things into perspective. Too often I find myself wishing I was at a point in my life that I am not currently in. There is no need to rush life. Whether you want something to happen now, or a year from now, whatever is meant to be will be. Stressing about something that we have no control over is a complete waste of time, energy, and thought. Each moment that I become conscious of the fact that I am unhappy with just…being…I try to think of something that I am thankful for. I have begun my journey of stepping away from the pointless drama. Counting myself out of the frivolous arguments or discussions and truly focusing on the growth of my inner being. We all have our own journeys to go on, and no one way is better than the other. Contemplate what is truly important to you, and if your life is a reflection of that. If not, adjust accordingly!


text:
The Best of Business 2009
Best Hire: Phyllis Campbell
Washington Mutual's collapse last year-which came to a head with a run on the bank and seizure by the FDIC-resulted in the loss of 3,400 jobs in downtown Seattle, a virtually empty shell of a new headquarters building, and a lot of anger and hurt in the community. The challenge for JPMorgan Chase, which acquired WaMu, was to reassure customers, win back local confidence and develop a strong brand as the foundation for a range of new services.
Chase hit a grand slam when it hired Phyllis Campbell to chair its Pacific Northwest operations. During her career as CEO of the Seattle Foundation, CEO of US Bank, Washington and, before that, in management at Old National Bank in Spokane, Campbell developed a reputation as a competent manager and a hard worker with a strong commitment to the region. (see also p. 53.)
With JPMorgan Chase promising to continue WaMu's charitable giving ($2.65 million to Washington nonprofits in 2009), it is good to have such a strong homegrown leader at the helm. Now if she could only persuade Chase to move its headquarters to Washington state. —Leslie D. Helm
Photo by Hayley Young
Best Connected: Dan Rosen, Chair, Alliance of Angels, and CEO, Dan Rosen & Associates
As chair of the nonprofit Alliance of Angels, an organization of more than 100 individuals who invest in early-stage companies, Rosen has helped provide make-or-break funding for more than 140 Northwest entrepreneurs over the last dozen years. Often using personal funds, angel investors are the critical link between the "friends and family" stage of borrowing and the more formal venture capital stage-hence, the beatific moniker. Unlike venture capitalists, who look for quick returns on their investments, angel investors are often committed to firms for as long as eight years. In recent months, as venture capital has dried up, Rosen's Alliance has played an even larger role in the fate of Seattle's startups. Last year, the Alliance made 34 investment transactions worth about $6.4 million, a 64 percent increase over 2007 and the second-highest investment total since the organization was founded 12 years ago. Rosen boasts: "One hundred percent of the companies that have received money [from the Alliance] in the last four years are either still in business or have been acquired." —Randy Woods
The Alliance of Angels and Dan Rosen's Investment Success Stories
- SnapIn Software
- OnRequest Images
- Neah Power Systems
- Pacific Bioscience Laboratories
- Insitu
- CleverSet
- Shelfari
- The Coffee Equipment Co.
Photo by Kyle Johnson
Best Business to Be in in a Post-Cash Economy: Bartering for Luxury Cars
If your company can't give you a raise, would you settle for a $100,000 Audi instead? Seattle-based BizXchange can help you out. That's what the business bartering service did this year for a cash-strapped media company that wanted to reward its employees.
"We help companies pay for products and services they need without having to use cash," says BizX president and CEO Bob Bagga. "Smart business owners want to save money, whether the economy is booming or shrinking."
Under Bagga's supervision, Al Nabooda Automobiles, a Porsche dealership in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, exchanged 25 Audis (each with a sticker price of about $100,000) for unspecified media services from Dubai-based Arab Media Group. The transaction, worth about $2.2 million, was the most highly valued deal of the year on BizX.
With more than 2,000 existing members in its system, BizX allows companies to register online and indirectly exchange services with other businesses. Barter transactions between BizX members grew at an average of 32 percent per quarter during the first three quarters of 2009, and revenue is up 54 percent from the same period last year, Bagga notes.
Bagga says the most common exchanges in BizX come from real estate companies, media groups and the entertainment industry. He has watched some people pay for all or part of their homes and even witnessed an exchange for plastic surgery. —Talia Schmidt
Best Startup and Startup Executive: Seattle Sounders FC and Tod Leiweke, CEO, Vulcan Sports and Entertainment
Flying in the face of the gnarliest recession in decades came the Major League Soccer expansion team Seattle Sounders FC, scarves held high and expectations guardedly low. Selling out every home game at Qwest Field, the Sounders have confounded fútbol skeptics and local economic analysts. While credit goes to many, none is more central to the caper than Tod Leiweke, CEO of Vulcan Sports and Entertainment, Paul Allen's amusement park that also includes the NFL Seahawks and NBA Portland Trail Blazers. Leiweke helped Allen fulfill a promise from 12 years earlier when Allen told statewide voters that if they helped fund a stadium, it would host soccer matches along with football.
"People asked us for a long time, 'When is it going to happen?'" Leiweke, a 26-year veteran of pro sports administration, notes. "I would often say, 'When we do it, we will do it right, so that it has a chance to succeed for the long haul.' Now, when you look at this partnership between [majority owner] Joe Roth, [part-owner and general manager] Adrian Hanauer and Paul Allen, you can check the box that we put the right partnership together." —Art Thiel
Photo by Hayley Young
Best Leader in Education: James Jiambalvo, Dean, Michael G. Foster School of Business at the University of Washington, and the Kirby L. Cramer Chair in Business Administration
School rankings may not be a perfect measure of success, but there's no doubt they raise an institution's profile. As head of the UW's Foster School of Business, Jim Jiambalvo, 60, has been instrumental in improving that school's ranking on the U.S. News & World Report list of full-time public school MBA programs, up from 13th in 2008 to eighth in 2009. It's just one measure of success for this public-accountant-turned-professor (he taught at the UW for three decades before becoming dean), who nabbed the school's top spot after a nationwide search.
Jiambalvo has also re-energized the business school's capital campaign, pulling in some $65 million in major gifts during the campaign's final year in 2008. And he's credited with re-envisioning the school's new home: Paccar Hall, a $95 million, state-of-the-art facility set to open for classes in fall 2010. "It may be the single most important aspect of us becoming a successful school," he says.
"Our ultimate goal is to be the best public business school in America," he adds. "I don't think that means being ranked number one. It's about creating futures and changing the lives of our students; that's the ultimate goal." —Elizabeth M. Economou
Best Business Expansion: Express Credit Union moves into low-income housing
About four years ago, long before the current economic crisis, Tricia McKay was looking for a way to address the fact that a shocking 20 percent of Puget Sound-area residents, mostly in the low-income bracket, had no access to banking institutions. "Far too many low-income people in the county had nowhere else to turn except to predatory lenders like payday-loan and check-cashing services," she says. The result of her efforts is the newly expanded Express Credit Union, a 75-year-old financial institution with 1,400 members. Under the guidance of the Medina Foundation, McKay helped broaden Express' business model to include lending services for moderate- to low-income customers, making it the only credit union to provide such assistance in King County. Working closely with BECU (the former Boeing Employees Credit Union) and eight nonprofit service providers, McKay helped set up 16 satellite offices, staffed with BECU customer service reps, in communities traditionally underserved by banks.
The new Express, says McKay-who at one time directed the Craig and Susan McCaw Foundation and managed Seattle's Team Read tutoring program-is another step in her lifelong goal of eradicating the root causes of poverty. "We saw a huge gap in affordability of financial services," she says. It looks like Express is helping to close that gap. In its first three months after relaunching, Express signed up 500 new members and now has more than $9 million in assets. During the next five years, McKay expects Express to serve between 6,500 and 7,000 low-income members. —Randy Woods
Best Turnaround: Dendreon
Seattle biotech firm Dendreon has been through good times and bad. But the company got the news it needed and possibly secured its future in April, when it announced that its first drug out of the pipeline, Provenge, was shown to help men with prostate cancer live longer.
The reaction was immediate. Dendreon's stock shot up to $20 from $8 per share the first day after the news was released (it's now around $30, as Seattle Business goes to press). The company launched a clinical trial for a cancer drug in pill form, raised close to $200 million in a follow-up stock offering, announced it would build a manufacturing plant in Atlanta and submitted its final application to the Food and Drug Administration to sell its drug commercially.
This from a firm that had unfavorable results from its Phase I trial, a stock trading under $2 a share in 2002 and no future. But the results came in and, eventually, Dendreon showed long-term survivability rates were higher with Provenge and was able to expand its trial to 500 men, the critical stage that ultimately vindicated the business. Throw in some politicking on the FDA's 2007 advisory panel and there were enough ups and downs to make Dendreon stockholders reach for the Dramamine. The future, at least, looks a lot smoother. —Chris Winters
Most Eagerly Anticipated and Desperately Needed Upgrade: Windows 7
Let's face it. Microsoft blew it with Windows Vista. When it was released, it was obviously not ready for prime time, was too bloated, and worst of all, all those "Vista Ready" PCs turned out to be ... well, not. Not by a long shot.
It was a PR nightmare that even bringing Jerry Seinfeld out of retirement couldn't save. But here we were in 2008, Windows XP was seven years old, and while it was a perfectly decent product, it was getting long in the tooth. Besides, all the Apple fanboys wouldn't stop their cackling over all the cool stuff they were doing with Leopard. Those "I'm a Mac" commercials were especially grating.
The answer was Windows 7, which you'd have to think was what Microsoft should have/might actually have been working on all along, kind of like the Coca-Cola Classic to the New Coke that was Vista. Early reviews were good. Great even. "What took you so long?" they asked. Good question. —Chris Winters
Kind of a Big Deal Dept.: Amazon Buys Zappos
You may not be able to judge a book by its cover, but to online retailer Amazon.com, shoes are another story.
In a deal apparently blessed by St. Hubbins, the internet bookseller's $880 million purchase of the internet shoe company Zappos not only enabled Amazon to get a better toehold in the online footwear market, it also allowed Jeff Bezos to brag that he finally owns more shoes than Imelda Marcos could ever dream of.
In a close second place, Microsoft sold off Razorfish, pocketing $530 million for the digital ad agency, which lost $50 million on $360 million in revenue for fiscal 2008-2009, and was forced to lay off 70 people earlier this year. The new owner of Razorfish, which Microsoft bought as part of its $6 billion acquisition of aQuantive in 2007, is PR firm Publicis in the West. Maybe Publicis will be a more natural fit for the agency, which has somewhere in the neighborhood of 2,000 employees worldwide. —David Volk, Chris Winters
Best Loss Leader: Microsoft Windows Live
Last year's financial results for Microsoft's Windows Live division read like the punch line of a good-news-bad-news joke. The good news: The division that includes Hotmail and Live Messenger raked in $520 million in revenues in fiscal 2009. The bad news: It lost $560 million.
And then we wonder why there are layoffs in Redmond. But it may be a small price to pay for hot internet properties. At least Hotmail remains more popular than Google's Gmail service ... just not as popular as Yahoo Mail. —David Volk
Best Sign That Venture Capital Isn't Dead: Biotech Firms Rake In Most of the Cash
The year 2009 will go down as the time of the Great Recession, but there remained a few signs of life. In particular, venture capital still provided a bit of money for startups. As was reflected in the public markets (see p. 35), biotechnology and medical sciences proved a popular draw for investor capital, with networking technology and video games following.
The top venture deals of the year:
- Calypso Medical: The company, which is developing ways to reduce the side effects of radiation therapy for cancer, raised $50 million in September from Skyline Ventures and original investor and founder Frazier Healthcare Ventures.
- Pathway Medical Technologies landed $42.5 million in March to build devices used to treat diseases of the arteries. Investors include WRF Capital, Forbion Capital Partners, HLM Venture Partners and others.
- NanoString Technologies, a spinoff of Leroy Hood's Institute for Systems Biology, scored a cool $30 million in June to boost sales of its product, a device used to measure gene activity in tissue samples. Investors included Clarus Ventures, OVP Venture Partners and Draper Fisher Jurvetson.
- Calistoga Pharmaceuticals, a Seattle company that got its start licensing drug technology from now-defunct Icos to make cancer therapies, raised $30 million in May from Frazier Healthcare Ventures, Alta Partners, Three Arch Partners and Amgen Ventures.
- NewPath Networks, a Seattle maker of wireless infrastructure technology, raised $30 million in April from the private equity firm Charterhouse Group and venture company Meritage Funds.
Other significant deals this year: Smith & Tinker (games): $29 million, Popcap Games (games): $22.5 million, Telecom Transport Management (networking): $20 million, Audience Science (advertising): $20 million. —Chris Winters
Best Silver Lining to a (Really) Dark Cloud: Entellium Postscript
It isn't often that the people left holding the bag after a business bankruptcy get anything more than heartburn, but some of the workers at ill-fated software maker Entellium walked away with something a little more lucrative.
Fourteen of the people who kept the company going during its final days received an unexpected New Year's gift when a bankruptcy judge ordered that they be awarded more than $380,000 total in incentive bonuses and severance pay.
Yes, many were upper-level managers, but it's better than nothing. The bulk of the company's 200 staffers were unceremoniously laid off without warning and walked away empty-handed ... unless you count the satisfaction from seeing the former chief executive officer and chief financial officer get prison sentences for falsifying the company's revenues. —David Volk
Better Late Than Never Dept.: Link Light Rail
It may have been millions of dollars over budget, several years later and many miles shorter than expected, but Link Light Rail service began in mid-July to cheers, generally positive reviews and a rider load of about 96,000 over its first two days.
Of course, it helped that the rides were free on opening weekend. Once fares kicked in on Monday, the crowds on the 14-mile line were much thinner. The Seattle Times reported some trains left Tukwila with as few as eight riders while passenger counts around downtown were closer to 100.
Maybe that's why they call it "light rail." —David Volk
Best Extreme Makeover: Unbranding Starbucks
We'd never understood the phrase "authentic replica" until we heard about Starbucks' newest bit of sales strategy: running as far away from itself as it possibly can.
At least that's the way it seemed in July when the coffee company redesigned a store on Seattle's Capitol Hill, which already has plenty of independent coffeehouses. This location was originally slated to close and deliberately omitted any evidence of its corporate identity. Instead, 15th Avenue Coffee & Tea (inspired by Starbucks) opted to recreate the feel of an authentic community coffeehouse complete with china cups, live entertainment, wine and beer sales, and the ever-present rustic furniture.
The stealth store was the first of three that the company planned to test in Seattle. One local wag wondered what would be next. Home Depot opening a "neighborhood" store next to the local True Value Hardware? —David Volk
Photo by Hayley Young
Most Innovative Charity Program: Food Lifeline
Who knew that attending a Macy's fashion show, going to a gourmet dinner party or even opening a free checking account could make such a difference in feeding the hungry? A member of hunger relief organization Feeding America, Food Lifeline set up corporate-sponsored programs doing just this to help distribute nearly 22 million pounds of food to more than 660,000 hungry people in western Washington this year.
Along with a variety of local business partnerships (including the Seattle Sounders, Boeing, QFC, Macy's and Seattle Metropolitan Credit Union, to name a few) and national promotions with brands such as Arm & Hammer, Stouffer's, Kraft Macaroni & Cheese and Snickers, Food Lifeline President and CEO Linda Nageotte launched Seattle's Table, Produce for the People and Grocery Rescue, which arranges same-day donations of excess food from restaurants, markets and food service providers.
Food Lifeline uniquely operates under the philosophy that building partnerships and fostering long-term mutually beneficial relationships with participating businesses will have more effective results than simple handouts. As a result of these practices, Food Lifeline received a $900,000 grant from the Gates Foundation, among many other corporate and personal donations. The 58-employee organization manages to supply almost half of all food distributed by King County food banks. —Kate Vesper
Most Unlikely Survivor: Cell Therapeutics
You could be forgiven for thinking at the end of 2008 that Cell Therapeutics' days were numbered. It ended the year with $124 million in debt, no revenue (like most biotech firms in drug development phase) and an August 1-for-10 reverse stock split that failed to prevent the company's share price from closing out the year at 14 cents, down 99.3 percent from the year before.
We at Seattle Business even said it was time to unplug the machine.
And yet, the end hasn't come. Or it might just have been postponed.
The year 2009 may well be the year Cell Therapeutics hung on, fighting a rearguard action against bankruptcy. It sold off its share of the lymphoma drug Zevalin for $18 million (later reduced to about $14 million in arbitration), then cut the 34 jobs (of 122 total in Seattle) related to that program. It closed an animal testing facility in Italy (another 62 jobs gone) and then raised $15 million from one of its investors. Then it sold $20 million in a stock offering.
Come June, the company released promising data on its lead drug candidate, Pixantrone, for non-Hodgkins lymphoma, causing its share price to crest above $2 for the first time in years (although just for a day). The firm gave several executives, including CEO James Bianco, $250,000 in what may seem ill-timed largesse but was actually deferred bonuses from 2008-kind of a "thanks for not bailing on us" note.
Also in June: the business unloaded $52.9 million in debt (paying cash and stock to get rid of it) and turned in a new application for Pixantrone to the FDA. Then in August, the company sold $30 million in preferred stock; the proceeds would be used to buy back a lot of common stock that it had been selling off to keep the lights on.
In September came the kicker: The FDA agreed to review Pixantrone. Cell Therapeutics asked for an expedited review, which would still take six months. The company has another drug in the pipeline, but it's still at an early stage, and the company appears to have bet the farm on Pixantrone garnering a favorable review from the FDA.
Cell Therapeutics isn't safe yet, but can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Just hope it isn't an oncoming train. —Chris Winters
Best Way to Co-Opt the Competition / Bypass a Porn Filter: Microsoft Bing
It used to be if you wanted to look at dirty pictures, you had to summon your courage, walk into a convenience store, buy a bunch of things you didn't need, then nonchalantly ask for a Penthouse or Playboy as though it wasn't the real reason you stopped in.
Not only has internet porn removed that walk of shame, but Microsoft's new search engine, Bing, made it easy to bypass porn filters at home or work. All users have to do is pick their poison, select video, put the cursor on one of the thumbnails and watch the tiny video play itself out. That's one way to increase market share, at least until Microsoft puts out a "security patch" that fixes that particular "bug."
If you're trying to beat Google at the search game, however, another way is to team up with its biggest rival. Which is why Microsoft's alliance with Yahoo helped Bing make a big boom, allowing the company to attain the No. 2 position in the increasingly important world of search.
Whether Bing's entry into the marketplace will be a good thing over the long haul depends on whether you're a boss, a parent, a Microsoft supporter or a porn-seeking teen. —David Volk
The Worst of Business 2009
Worst News Story: Underemployment, Unemployment High, Higher
In this dark economic climate, we wait on tenterhooks to see if the unemployment rate in Washington will join that of Oregon and California, edging into double-digit territory.
Wait no longer. While the state's jobless rate hit 9.3 percent in September, that number is simply the official figure from Washington's Employment Security Department, which only counts those of the jobless who are actively looking for work. New data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics say that roughly 6.3 percent of the state are out of work and not looking, or are working part time involuntarily.
Why would someone who is unemployed not be looking for work? In short: It's discouraging.
Consider the tally of layoffs this year, including three major employers cutting significant chunks of their work forces:
- Boeing: 10,000 jobs this year worldwide;
- Starbucks: 6,700 jobs;
- Microsoft: 5,800 jobs.
And then there's a long list of other companies cutting staff, adding up to at least 5,000 more, not to mention the uncounted small companies that cut handfuls of jobs or quietly went out of business. —Chris Winters
50-100 layoffs: Amgen [100], Cardiac Science [66], Cell Therapeutics (96 worldwide), Expedia [85], F5 Networks (85), Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (83), Nautilus (50), Philips Electronics (96), Premera (95), Razorfish (70 nationwide), RealNetworks (70), SumTotal Systems (58), Vulcan (50), Watchguard (55 worldwide).
101-200: Adaptis (138; shut down), Agilent (120), Alcoa (106), Attachmate (120), Coast Engine and Equipment (111), Eddie Bauer (193 nationwide), Hampton Affiliates (175), Intermec (150), Key Bank (200), Liberty Mutual/Safeco (100), Magnolia Audio Video/Best Buy (182), Results Bellingham (150), Seattle Post-Intelligencer (181), ZymoGenetics (161).
More than 200: Allied Waste/Rabanco (203), Genie Industries (260), Itronix (300), Qwest (235), Russell Investments (400), Swedish Medical Center (200), TTM Technologies (429), Weyerhaeuser (221).
Compiled from regional news sources
Worst Reflexive News Story: Bye Bye, Miss American P-I
After years of battling the Seattle Times, the city's oldest and scrappiest newspaper, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, ceased publication in March with an edition that was, ironically enough, one of its biggest sellers ever. Unless you were one of the subjects of its many hard-hitting investigative series, that's the bad news. The good news is that the website Newspaperdeathwatch.com, reported that in the first five months after the print edition ceased, Seattlepi.com managed to retain most of the readers it had before the paper folded. And it just might prove to be the example the news business needs to see how online news can be made to work (i.e., even scrappier than before). —David Volk
The Hall of Shame: Businesspeople Behaving Badly
Michael Mastro
Call him Mastro the Magician: This 84-year-old made billions of dollars disappear into thin air. For more than 40 years, Seattle-based developer Michael Mastro held a successful career in the real estate market, primarily working on low-profile projects.
But when the market collapsed, it took down Mastro's empire with it. Now, the former developer has been forced into Chapter 7 federal bankruptcy.
James Rigby, the court-appointed trustee hired to oversee the liquidation of Mastro's assets, said this could be the biggest bankruptcy the western Washington district has ever seen.
Mastro's statement of his finances reveals almost $587 million in liabilities-$100 million of which is still owed to individual investors and local organizations like the Italian Club of Seattle. Yet he reported just $249 million in assets. The documents also indicate Mastro borrowed heavily from dozens of banks to help secure finances for his projects, while simultaneously loaning millions to other developers.
A handful of banks have sued Mastro for unpaid loans and millions of dollars they will likely never see again, including Charter Bank, Washington First International Bank and Wells Fargo Bank. Meanwhile, the "friends and family" investors who supported him early on are likely to get nothing.
Stuart Fuhlendorf
Two years after he stepped down as chief financial officer at digital storage technology company Isilon Systems Inc., Stuart Fuhlendorf made headlines again this year after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged him with fraud. The SEC reported that the former CFO was cutting secret side deals with Isilon customers, allowing the firm to report inflated sales numbers following its initial public offering in 2006. The SEC began its investigation in 2007.
Fuhlendorf hid the true terms of the deals from Isilon's controller, audit committee and outside auditor, according to the SEC, leading to the company reporting $4.8 million in improper revenue.
In a court filing in U.S. District Court in Seattle, the SEC sought an injunction against Fuhlendorf, and wants to make him pay back his gains, plus a financial penalty, bonuses and other compensation he received, as well as to bar him from serving as an officer or director of another public company. Fuhlendorf's attorney, Peter Ehrlichman, has denied the allegations.
Pradyumna Samal
Mustn't cry over spilled milk—or wine, in this case.
When online wine company Vinado hired Bellevue-based web development company Minecode to help design some features for its website, Seth Micarelli, Vinado's CEO, never imagined it would ultimately lead to the demise of his empire.
In 2006, the two companies began having problems over a contract dispute. Minecode President and CEO Pradyumna Samal ordered his project manager, Sandeep Verma, to disable the "virtual gift shop" function on the Vinado website by removing two programs, significantly impacting the company's revenue. Vinado restored the programs a few days later. But in early January 2007, Samal hacked into the website once again, this time deleting all of Vinado.com, its e-mail server and entire database. Total damages to Vinado add up to at least $115,000. The site is now defunct.
Samal and Minecode ultimately pleaded guilty to two counts of computer intrusion. Earlier this year, a federal court judge sentenced Samal to 90 days of home detention with electronic monitoring, as well as three years' probation. The judge also sentenced Minecode to three years' probation and ordered it to pay $144,000 in fines and $120,000 in restitution.
Susan Kinney
Susan Kinney, who managed funds at the Rotary Club of Seattle to eradicate land mines in war-torn nations and to provide polio vaccinations to Third World kids, apparently was scraping a little off the top—$350,000 over more than four years, according to the court papers charging her with theft in September.
Kinney's former colleagues described her as a trusted friend, making them disastrously wrong on both counts. Kinney faces five years in a federal penitentiary, while her colleagues had to dip into the Rotary's cash reserves to cover the shortfall. —Talia Schmidt, Chris Winters
Worst Employee: Thinking Globally, Stealing Locally
Brett M. Smith didn't work for Washington Mutual, Countrywide Mortgage or Lehman Brothers, but that didn't keep him from thinking globally and acting locally when he tried to cash in on a trend and steal big, even if it was only from a Northwest lumber business. The 25-year-old Puyallup man embezzled $2.5 million from Tacoma-based Manke Lumber Co. by using his position as a lumber weigher and grader to falsify records so that deliverers would be paid for lumber they had not delivered. But unlike the Wall Streeters who bailed out with platinum parachutes, the small-time Smith was sentenced to 10 years in prison and had to forfeit bank accounts and a BMW. So much for being upwardly mobile. —David Volk
Your Flight Has Been Delayed Indefinitely Dept.: Waiting on the Dreamliner
If you think some of the flight delays you've had to deal with lately are bad, consider the fate of executives at the 50 or so airlines that opted to order Boeing's composite-hulled 787 Dreamliner. Although it was originally slated to start flying in mid-2008, there have been so many delays that the plane, now nicknamed the 7L87, is scheduled for completion in late 2010. Delivery of the 747-8 has also been delayed. What frustrates airline execs even more is that every time they call Boeing to check on arrival time, they're told their plane will arrive on schedule. —David Volk
Toughest Out-of-State Competitor That Isn't Google: South Carolina
So goes Boeing, so goes the local economy, and it looks as if Boeing is headed South.
The former Vought Aircraft Industries plant in North Charleston, S.C., was one of the key suppliers of 787 fuselage sections. After Boeing completely failed to see how outsourcing the manufacture and assembly of the 787 to a dozen companies around the world might produce a little logisitics problem, it bought the plant from Vought last year.
Cue the conniptions in Seattle. After speculation that oh-no-Boeing's-going and milquetoast promises of hometown loyalty à la the Sonics, Boeing announced in October that, well gol-darnit, they will open the second 787 production line down south after all! No official mention of that inconvenient strike by the local Machinsts last year, right when Boeing's jumbo-sized production problems were coming to light, except in the snarky comment sections of local websites.
With a backlog of 787 orders expected to last several years, there won't be a shortage of aerospace work in Washington for a while. But aerospace, the largest source of employment in Washington state, is intensely cyclical. When the next slowdown hits, Boeing will be looking for places to cut back. Given their track record, we're not optimistic that Washington won't be one of them. —Chris Winters
Most Prescient Quote: Phil Condit, former CEO, The Boeing Co.
"We have started a very fundamental transformation of Boeing." —March 21, 2001, on announcing Boeing would move its headquarters out of Seattle.
Second-Worst Breakup: Russell to Tacoma: "It's Not Me, It's You."
We're not sure what Tacoma officials were told when Russell Investments execs called to say they were moving to Seattle after 73 years in the City of Destiny, but we wouldn't be surprised if it was a contender for lamest breakup line ever.
Given the number of incentives it offered to keep one of its marquee businesses, Tacoma did everything but show a little leg while all Seattle did was bat its eyelashes seductively ... and offer dirt-cheap real estate. The Tacoma News-Tribune reported that the collapse of Washington Mutual allowed Russell's parent, Northwestern Mutual Life, to buy the former WaMu Tower for $150 per square foot, far less than the $400 per square foot it cost to build the 863,000-square-foot building.
What's good for Russell is good for Seattle, apparently, but in an editorial, the ever-conciliatory Seattle Times tried to smear some butter on the burn by saying Seattle still felt the loss of Boeing's corporate headquarters. The piece then added insult to injury by referring to Russell founder Frank Russell, saying, "Tacoma never was the logical place to put the company he built." The paper might as well have added, "You should stick to timber" and finished it off with "Have you ever heard of deodorant?"
There's nothing like a sore winner. —David Volk
Dept. of Facepalm: Costco and Microsoft discover the postracial society hasn't arrived yet
Costco's progressive employment policies may make it the darling of liberals, but even the mega-retailer of all things mega makes mistakes, and when it does, it's a doozy. The Kirkland-based company stopped selling a children's doll when it got complaints from its East Coast stores. Apparently, customers weren't happy to see African-American and Hispanic dolls wearing a headband that said "Lil Monkey," even if the dolls were sitting next to a banana and a small monkey. At least the firm didn't put out "Lil Jihadi" dolls in Arab garb.
Microsoft earned an even bigger "What Were They Thinking" award when the geniuses in marketing decided to localize an illustration for the Polish market. The English version of the page shows an Asian man, a black man and a white woman sitting in what appears to be a conference room. The Polish-language version uses the same photo, but the black man's head had been Photoshopped out and replaced with the head of a white man. We admit there probably aren't all that many black people in Poland, but we bet there are even fewer white guys with black hands. —David Volk
Worst Way to Game Amazon's Ranking System: Amazon's Mechanical Turk
It should come as no surprise that friends and relatives of authors write glowing reviews of their books on Amazon.com. Likewise, people who dislike a particular author also write negative reviews just to drive down ratings of the writer's work. Still, most of them do it out of passion even if they haven't read the book.
An employee at the electronics company Belkin took the practice to a new low when he offered users of Mechanical Turk—Amazon's "crowdsourcing" service, which amalgamates labor en masse for doing repetitive and/or boring business tasks—65 cents apiece for each five-star review they posted on Amazon about a router they didn't own, and then marking any negative reviews as "unhelpful." Judging from current reviews on Amazon, they had their work cut out for them. Of 19 reviews posted (assuming none were from the Turks), only two were positive. One review was headlined "Don't buy it. Don't. Seriously. Don't." Another said, "I'd Enter 0 stars if I could."
The company later apologized for the "rogue employees'" marketing strategy, but the damage was done. People who comment on reviews left cynical responses to the only two positive reviews that remain.
"Well, I'm glad you got your 65 cents," one said in response to a five-star review. A four-star review prompted another to write, "He won't get his 65 cents. He didn't mark the product five stars." —David Volk
Bedford Falls II: Potter's Revenge: Banks Fail, No George Bailey in Sight
No matter how hard we try, we can't think of anything funny to say about bank closures after three Washington institutions bit the dust this past year: the Bank of Clark County in Vancouver, Westsound Bank in Bremerton and Venture Bank in Lacey. All three were seized by regulators and sold off to other banks. Only Westsound Bank's new owner, Kitsap Bank, is based in Washington state. And as Seattle Business went to print, Sterling Bank, the state's largest independent bank, was also at risk following a federal order that requires it to raise $300 million by closing branches and selling assets. —David Volk
Worst Use of Dead Trees: Clearwire's Mass Mailing
It took a while, but America Online finally realized we just weren't that into them. And it's a good thing, too, because we were running out of things to do with those free downloadable CDs promising more free hours of an internet service in a month than there are hours in a month. Hell, we've even been using the CDs for skeet.
We only hope Clearwire will learn the lesson a little bit faster. A word to the wise: If we haven't already taken you up on your offer after the first 20 mailers, it won't help to address the letter to the people who lived here before we did. —David Volk
Worst Travel Scam by a Legitimate Company: Expedia Sticks it to The Man, Both Little and Big
In the good old days of travel, you didn't have to worry about pickpockets until you arrived at your destination. Thanks to the internet and Expedia.com, however, the process of parting tourists from their money became much more efficient. Travelers who booked hotels on the site from 2003 to 2006 got their wallets lightened before they even left home when Expedia charged customers hotel taxes based on the retail price while the site was paying taxes based on the wholesale rate. Unhappy consumers filed suit and a criminal probe resulted in Expedia having to pay $184 million for the overcharges. —David Volk
Worst Workplace (That Hasn't Closed): How Lowe Can You Go? Dept.
A Lowe's hardware store in Longview was ordered to pay $1.74 million in an odd sexual harassment suit filed by three employees. Two of the employees were men who became victims of harassment because their co-workers thought they were gay. When the two men tired of the grief, they reported the problem to a manager who was busy harassing a female underling. The situation was enough to prompt an attorney with the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission to call the store a "cesspool of harassment." —David Volk
Most Inflated Résumés: Two to Concur
Concur Technologies investors found themselves singing the blues when it was discovered that CEO Steve Singh claimed that he had graduated from the University of Michigan when that wasn't the case. The revelation sent the stock plunging 20 percent. Although such a violation of business ethics could be punished by dismissal, the company's board of directors expressed confidence in Singh.
Of course, it didn't hurt that Singh's brother, Rajeev, the chief financial officer of the firm, is also on the board and was sympathetic to his situation. As it turns out, Rajeev Singh claimed that he had a degree from noted science and engineering school Kettering University, when in fact he had received his engineering degree from the more humble Western Michigan University.
A runner-up in this category is Peter Christothoulou, the co-founder and chief operating officer of Seattle-based Marchex. He was caught in March claiming to have received a bachelor's in economics from the University of Washington, when in fact he had never graduated. The information was removed from his corporate biography. —David Volk, Chris Winters
Bankruptcy Has Its Privileges Dept.: Goodbye Yellowstone Club
Maybe Groucho Marx was right when he said he wouldn't belong to any club that would accept him as a member.
A select few of America's super-rich-Bill Gates was reportedly a member-accepted invitations to the Yellowstone Club, a residential, members-only Montana ski resort, and look where it got them: Even paying $250,000 to become a member, at least $5 million for a home and dues of $20,000 wasn't enough to insulate them from the economic downturn. The resort became something of a white elephant in the divorce case between local timber investor Tim Blixseth and his ex-wife Edra Blixseth, now a California socialite. Edra took it over after their divorce, but after running up debts of $157 million was forced into bankruptcy liquidation. Court papers attest her profligate spending-she'd pay $15,000 to fly in her housekeeper from Palm Springs in a private Gulfstream jet to clean her Seattle condo, and often used the plane to fly in her dogs as well-led to the financial crunch. She sold off the club in the summer for $115 million, although it's not clear whether Tim Blixseth has recouped any of his investment. Lawyers are currently fighting over lawyer fees in the case.
The members joined the ranks of a slightly less exclusive group: those who live in a troubled housing development. Can unfixed broken windows and graffiti be far behind? —David Volk, Chris Winters
Worst Unintentional Irony: Amazon Plays Big Brother
When Amazon.com remotely deleted some electronic books from users' Kindles in July, it caused an indignant backlash over rights to purchased property. The problem emerged from a dispute between Amazon and MobileReference over whether MobileReference had the rights to offer the books for sale electronically. CEO Jeff Bezos has since issued an apology and refund certificates to those affected, settling with one 17-year-old student who filed suit over the deletions, but that didn't prevent perceptions that the act was uncannily Big Brotheresque—particularly since one of the deleted e-books was George Orwell's 1984. Amazon's ability to delete files without notifying customers or obtaining their permission is a frightening reminder of the rising power that large internet companies have over our lives. —Kate Vesper
Shortest Lived Victory Dept.: RealNetworks' Stock Battles Gravity
RealNetworks' real excitement over its first real positive news in a really long time turned into a really big bummer really fast after an industry analyst hit the firm with a dose of reality.
Less than 24 hours after the firm's stock shot up 7 percent on news that RealNetworks' Rhapsody subscription music streaming service would become an application available for iPhones and the iPod touch, the expert said it really wasn't that big a deal. To add insult to injury, JPMorgan analyst Vasily Karasyo reminded the market that Real was still facing litigation worth millions of dollars.
The stock gave back all its gains before the day was out. —David Volk
Worst Trend: Fees, Fees and More Fees
Despite the hard economic times, or perhaps because of them, bigger corporations like airlines and banks have increased the ways in which they can nickel-and-dime their customers by adding and increasing fees for services that were once free.
With fewer people able to afford to fly and fuel costs on the rise, the airlines were left with the task of making up for losses somehow. It started with checking a second bag (now $50 on American Airlines), charging for food on domestic flights ($7 sandwiches on Alaska Airlines, credit or debit only), sitting in an exit row or aisle seat ($15 on US Airways) or extra fees for unaccompanied minors ($75 on Alaska Airlines).
United Airlines alone expects to rake in more than $1 billion this year in fees, ranging from baggage to accelerated frequent flier awards, while US Airways brought in more than $100 million in fees for checked bags in the second quarter alone.
Banks are no exception when it comes to racking up fees to help offset massive loan losses. Watching your credit cards' interest rates creep (or rocket) skyward is old news, as is being dinged for transferring your balance to a lower-rate card. But some of the country's largest banks, like JPMorgan Chase (which now owns WaMu's business), US Bank and Wells Fargo recently billed small-business customers for federal deposit insurance increases, the New York Times reports, while Citigroup and PNC Financial are charging customers nearly 3 percent international transaction fees when consumers use their debit cards abroad. And free checking, long a staple of WaMu's offerings in the Northwest, may be a thing of the past in most other corners of the country: Bank of America raised fees on its basic monthly checking account from $5.95 to $8.95. Meanwhile, average ATM charges rose to $1.97 from $1.78 in 2008, and the harshest fee around-the dreaded overdraft fee-rose 4 percent, to an average of $26, with Bank of America charging $35.
In this new world, everything has a price. —Talia Schmidt


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It was a horrible results show for me. My favorite went home and I have no idea why. TARDS! I think that oerson was probably the best this whole season. But other than that, No Doubt performed. I like them, but they were horrible. It was like a bunch of weirdo on an acid trip FREAKING out and jumping all over stage. Paula Abdul performed also. Scary crap dudes.
See what I had to say about this week and Paula - American Idol Rock Week Results
Cait Hagar


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Ever wanted to know the history of Doncaster's St Catherine's House and St Catherine's Hospital?
If so, an exhibition of its history is being staged at St Catherine's House in Balby on May 18. Entrance to the exhibition is free.
The house, which was the former HQ of Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust (RDaSH), is now part of Flourish Enterprises. The social enterprise, supported by RDaSH, provides work and vocational opportunities to people with mental health needs and learning disabilities who need support to get back into education or employment.
The exhibition, which will be open from 11am until 4pm, together with the neighbouring Victorian Tea Room and Walled Garden, will cover the history of the house from when it was built in 1838, and the history of the hospital from its opening in the 1930's.
Originally known as St Catherine's Hall, St Catherine's was built as the home for the Banks family. The family sold it for a little over £25,000 to the Ministry of Health in 1930 when it was turned into a 'mental institution'.
An excellent and extremely detailed book of the history, written by Christine Jones, is also available to buy for £4.00 in the Victorian Tea Room or the Walled Garden.
The house can now also be booked for conferences, events and hot-desking for commercial organisations and community groups.
For further information please ring 01302 798000.


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ENTER: Aug 1st to Aug 10th
VOTE: Aug 14 Aug 24
WINNER ANNOUNCED As soon as Patrice can post it.
SECOND PLACE Quilting Goodie Basket
THIRD PLACE - Quilting Goodie Basket
Please read ALL of the rules for this contest. People voted by posting their choice on the Entries
thread and those votes DO NOT count. The votes MUST be sent to Patrice by email.
This contest is for anyone who would like to enter.
All skill levels are more than welcome.
The only requirement is it must have some quilt related features.
Any style /any techniques/ embellishments are fine/mixed media is fine
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3. One pic of the back of your entry
4. Two pics of any details
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Smoked Fish Hash Recipe
How to make the best meal of the week even better.
Read more: Sunday Brunch: Smoked Fish Hash
- Yield:serves 4
- Active time: 25 minutes
- Total time:25 minutes
- 3 tablespoon butter, divided
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
- 3 medium carrots, finely chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 4 medium russet potatoes, cooked then diced into 1-inch pieces
- 1 pound smoked fish (such as cod or haddock, skin and bones removed if necessary), flaked into large pieces
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves, finely chopped
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 eggs
Melt 2 tablespoons butter in large skillet over medium high heat. When foam subsides add onion and carrots and cook until softened and beginning to brown—about 5 minutes. Add potato and cook until potato begins to brown, about 8 minutes. When potatoes have browned, add fish and gently fold into hash. Cook until fish is heated through, add chopped parsley and turn heat to low.
In a non-stick skillet melt remaining butter and fry eggs sunny-side up (or over easy if you must). Divide hash between 4 plates with an egg and serve hot with plenty of coffee.
This Recipe Appears InSunday Brunch: Smoked Fish Hash
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A faster, more efficient, more fun Bug.
The Volkswagen Beetle is based on the Golf, a car that offers a superb balance of comfort and superior driving dynamics. However, the base Beetle has been stripped of its multilink rear suspension and electric power steering. Instead, it has a less sophisticated torsion-beam setup in the rear and overboosted hydraulic power steering. Power for the base car comes from the 170-hp five-cylinder that is peppy but somewhat gravelly at high rpm. Fortunately, there are better options. The diesel four-cylinder is capable of returning up to 41 mpg on the highway. The Beetle Turbo is as poised and engaging as the GTI that inspired it. Its steering weight is superb, the suspension is firmer without being jarring, and prodigious power comes from the turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder. The base Beetle uses a five-speed manual or a six-speed automatic; the Turbo and the TDI raise the engagement factor with a six-speed manual or a six-speed dual-clutch automatic that delivers crisp, speedy shifts. The Beetle's interior features slick body-color accents and the simple, intuitive controls that Volkswagen is known for. There's enough headroom for six-footers in the rear but only enough legroom for small children. If you're a sucker for style, the Beetle is a smart small car with substance beneath the surface.
Hyundai Veloster
Mini Cooper
Nissan Juke
new for 2013
The third-generation Beetle debuted for 2012 with a more muscular stance and a retro design. New this year are a diesel-powered Beetle TDI and a convertible model available with the same three engines as the coupe. The new Fender Edition features a Fender premium audio system, a sunburst-style dashboard, Fender logos, special seat stitching, brushed chrome mirror caps, xenon headlamps, and eighteen-inch wheels.
Standard are ABS; front, side, and side curtain air bags; tire-pressure monitoring; and traction and stability control. The Intelligent Crash Response System turns off the fuel pump, unlocks the doors, and activates the hazard lights in the event of a severe collision.
High Mileage
Classic looks
Great visibility
Supple ride
Scant rear legroom
Not as sophisticated as a Golf
Loose steering in base model
Base Price Range: $20,590–$26,000 (est.)
DRIVE: Front-wheel
TRIM LEVELS: Beetle, Turbo, TDI
BODY STYLES: Coupe, convertible, 4-passenger
ENGINES: 2.0L turbo-diesel I-4, 140 hp, 236 lb-ft
2.0L turbo I-4, 200 hp, 207 lb-ft
2.5L I-5, 170 hp, 177 lb-ft
TRANSMISSIONS: 5- or 6-speed manual, 6-speed automatic, 6-speed dual-clutch automatic


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When arriving at the final destination of a Westward journey, it was usually a primary concern to build a house. Ocaissionally, and more frequently in later years, there was a building to go to which would be a family's new home. When this was not the case there were several choices for accomadation.
The log cabin is probably our most common notion of the Western home. Of course, in reality it was a phenomenon of the near West and West coast. The plains' home was more frequently an earthen structure. The framed house was a rarity up until 1860 and even after that was cause for remark. Of this group of writers, there is mention of log, sod, and framed houses.
The dugout was the easiest and quickest structure to build in as little as a few days. Because of these qualities, it was frequently the first structure to be built. A room was dug from the side of a hill and the opening closed in by wood, earth, or fabric, such as the wagon's cover. Drawbacks to this shelter were in permeability -- particularly to water, but also to mosquitos and other animals (Dick, 111).
The next step up from a dugout was a sod house, frequently called adobe. Jennie Wriston gives an account of such a building. Generally speaking, this building was created by stacking slices of prairie turf as though they were bricks. Roofing was wood or more sod. A sod roof was most unsatisfactory during rains due to its ability to hold water. If it held enough the roof could collapse, otherwise it merely leaked everywhere. This structure was much longer lasting than a dugout, lasting up to seven years.
A mudhouse was made of raw bricks: clay mixed with straw or grass, but unbaked. The walls were two to three feet thick, comfortable in hot and cold weather, and strong. They could be whitewashed.
A log house was constructed of large straight trees, stacked and then chinked with mud or twigs. There was usually a fireplace at one end which was made of sticks, grass, and mud. Roofs could be shingled, planked, or earthen. A dirt floor served at first and could later be easily replaced with a wooden surface. Eliza McAuley describes her first vision of a log house, what she calls a "California House."
The establishment of a residence in the West was a step by step procedure when the family stayed on the same property long enough. They built as much comfort as they could with what they could afford. Once the house was made, probably the family would set to making it into their home. Oddly, of the accounts used in this project, this facet of domesticating the frontier is seldom mentioned. These women hardly write of making and arranging their furniture, outfitting their linen chests, and the like. Perhaps this is because such writing went into letters to home rather than in diaries or memoirs, or perhaps the women were too busy making their homes to write of them. Probably there is little novelty in these activities. A house made of logs or dirt is odd and so worthy of note; deciding where to place your bed is an activity that was as much a part of New York as it was of North Dakota, and so it was not recorded. In any case, there is some, but little talk of furnishing the home.
"Saturday, September 18th, 1852. We started down the valley, passing a house on the way, which I must describe as it is the first California house we have seen. It is three logs high, about six feet long, and four wide, one tier or clapboard or shakes as they are called here, covering each side of the roof. Leaving this, and passing through a gate we soon came to another cabin of larger dimensions."
Eliza Ann McAuley
"Mon Aug 9 Got up before daylight and went to the old fort and laid by for the day. Found very good buildings, good rooms with good fireplace in them and furniture. Found one good large stove which we used to cook in. Found a good yard for our cattle. This fort, we hear, has been deserted about 3 years. We washed and cooked and had fine times in our houses. Weather warm and mosquitoes a plenty."
"we are building a small frame house"
Martha S. Read
"April 8th. We traveled yesterday 16 miles and camped on a vast prairie in Lafayette Co [Iowa] where nothing but land & sky were to be seen save one little log house. But to make up the absence of other interesting matter we found a wedding party assembled in the aforesaid 'log house.'"
Polly Lavinia Coon
"The houses, long distances apart in many instances, were frequently built of sod, and were called adobe. The sod was cut in regular shapes as desired and laid up as the wall of a stone house would be. The roof was usually framed with poles made of young cottonwood trees, or when available, of willow or alder. This was covered first with anything available, such as brush or coarse reeds from the river bank, and then with earth topped with sod." The sod was cut from the open prairie in the short-grass country where the roots of the buffalo grass are of such a fibrous nature that they penetrate the soil so compactly that the sod can scarcely be torn apart but must be cut. It was very durable; the buildings lasted for years, and were warm and comfortable during the long, hard winters. The inner walls of the better homes were washed with lime, when it could be obtained. This, however, necessitated a long trip to the nearest town, often taking a week to go and come with a good team of horses."
"The ranch, which was to be our temporary home, had much of interest in itself. The house was a long, low, one-storied building with rooms on end in a row. Just behind it stood what was called the "shanty" where the men of the ranch and cowmen lived." The main house was substantially built of logs with portholes in all sides, through which many shots had been fired at Indians in other days; bullet holes produced by the guns of the enemy besiegers were to be found in the outside logs. In the floor was a trap door opening into a cellar, out of which was an underground passage to a never-failing spring of water, and also one to a very large outdoor cellar in which vegetables were stored. It had been used many times as a fortified place during Indian raids in previous years."
Jennie Atcheson Wriston
"Another thing to relieve the monotony was the commencement of an addition to our log house, to consist of two rooms--a parlor and bedroom. They were to be framed, and joined to the log house on the north. We also had our kitchen chimney built and a small window put in, so that in April we moved our utensils into the new establishment. It stood about five feet from the main house and a roof extended across, making a shelter from sun and rain; a platform to pass over was also made. The "white folks" thought we had a "power of room," and were 'power down well fixed.'"
Christiana Homes Tillson
"July, Friday 11, 1890 -- Cleaned our house, fixed the border of the cealing [sic], it looks nice."
Emily French


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Browse by Medical Category
Friday, February 1, 2013
Dedicated advocates: From left, the Landreths, McDougle, and Clarence Schutt, PhD, director of the Nancy Lurie Marks Family Foundation
In the years since their grandson Luke "Tug" Bailey, 11, was diagnosed with autism, Robert E. (Bob) and Donna Landreth of Midland, Texas, have sought help and answers. Nonverbal and socially impaired, Tug struggles to connect with the world. None of the prescribed medications has helped bring him out of his shell.
Seven years ago while vacationing on Cape Cod, Bob Landreth learned about LADDERS, then a clinical program of MassGeneral Hospital for Children (MGHfC) and now the core of the Lurie Center for Autism. "I heard it was on the forefront of autism treatment research, so I thought why not take advantage of their resources," said Bob Landreth, who drove to the clinic that week, walked in and told the woman at the front desk about Tug. "They were just so welcoming right from the beginning. She said, 'Absolutely we can help you,' and scheduled an appointment for us to see Dr. Margaret Bauman [founding director of LADDERS] and Dr. Tim Buie, pediatric gastroenterologist at the clinic."
Since that time, the couple have become dedicated advocates for autism research and awareness. As part of this commitment, they have donated $5 million to the MGHfC to establish the Robert E. and Donna Landreth Fund for the Study of Neuroinflammation in Autism. The funds will support the work of Christopher McDougle, MD, director of the Lurie Center for Autism, who is investigating how inflammation within the brain may be related to the cause of autism in some people who have the disorder.
"We knew a solid source of funding was needed so that Dr. McDougle and his team could pursue this research without interruption over a five-year period. We thought this was a way for us to give back and to do some good," Bob Landreth said.
McDougle thanked the Landreths during a special evening ceremony at the hospital on Jan. 28. "I'm really looking forward to working with Bob and Donna as we launch this exciting new avenue of investigation," he said. "I am humbled and honored to have been given this opportunity to be the steward of this remarkable gift. I believe our institution can accomplish great things in this area of investigation during their lifetime."
The evening also included another generous gift announcement. The Lurie Center received a $5 million challenge grant from Nancy Lurie Marks and the Nancy Lurie Marks Family Foundation, which helped establish the center in 2009 thanks to an initial $29 million donation. This most recent gift will provide an additional two years of funding for the Lurie Center's clinical operations.
"We are grateful to Nancy Lurie Marks, her family and the family foundation for their enduring support and their renewed commitment to core clinical services – the foundation of everything we do at the MGH – which provides us a platform to do extraordinary things," said Peter L. Slavin, MD, MGH president. "And to the Landreths, you are truly visionary and I applaud your dedication to expediting research and finding answers to this perplexing disorder." Read more articles from the 02/01/13 Hotline issue.
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text: At least 10 people were killed and 70 injured in series of bomb attacks on Friday and Saturday morning in the Iraqi holy city of Karbala during a major Shiite rite, police said. According to press reports, the attacks started on Friday afternoon when two car bombs went off at a garage near the Shiite shrine in northern part of Karbala, killing three people and wounding 15 others, Xinhua reported. Another booby-trapped car detonated late Friday in the town of al-Hindiya, some 30 km east of Karbala, killing six pilgrims and injuring 28 others, an Interior Ministry source conveyed. On Saturday morning, a motorcycle bomb hit a crowd of Shiite pilgrims in Karbala's southern neighborhood of al-Mulhaq, killing a worshipper and injuring 27 others, the source said.