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Echo Lake
English act Echo Lake ended up in the news for the worst possible reason in 2012, the death of drummer Pete Hayes more widely-reported than the release of their debut album, Wild Peace. To bring this up is not to downplay the tragedy the band suffered, but to point out, to all those that skimmed over the RIP notice, that Hayes played drums in a band he loved and believed in, who're worth hearing outside of the specter of his death. Though named after a feature of Disney World, Echo Lake's sound is distinctly English; drawing from the dreamy, atmospheric end of shoegaze practiced by acts like Slowdive and Pale Saints, with Linda Jarvis's washed-out voice swimming through unfurling ribbons of delay-draped guitar.
ESP are a LA trio obsessed with old New Age cassettes, with guided-meditation synthesizer soundscapes and flotation-tank keyboard waft and the synaesthetic qualities of particular presets. There's been scores of underground synth-muzak acolytes exploring this realm, but few have hit quite so vividly on the possibilities of exploring these sounds unironically. Rather than sounding like a work of retrofuturist pastiche or bedroom isolationism, the trio —based around the brother/sister duo of Aska and Seiya Matsumiya— sound like they want nothing more than to make a human connection; to have us all holding hands, and lucid-dreaming our way together through the rainbow-ripples of their psychedelic-synth-sound cosmos. This is, of course, the goal of Extra Sensory Perception: the dream of communication via thought, not words; and their self-titled EP wants to be a bridge between their brains and yours.
Evans the Death
Young London outfit Evans the Death have a genuine weapon in the form of vocalist Katherine Whitaker, whose voice can go from highwire howls to tender prettiness and back. It adds a beauteous contrast to the band's raggedy indie-rock racket, which leans often on distortion and brashness. Even better: Whitaker's singing the witty words of songwriter/guitarist Dan Moss, which are mischievous and satirical in the great tradition of English indie-pop smart-asses (think: Howard Devoto, Edwyn Collins, Morrissey, Jarvis Cocker, Darren Hayman et al). And, at their best, the lyrics can be both hilarious and beautiful, like in single "I'm So Unclean," when Whitaker mournfully, tenderly carols "When I'm watching the shopping channel, I will think of you."
Fear of Men
For devotees to classic anorak indie —C-86, twee, jangle, dream-pop, Sarah and Slumberland, zines, scenes, cassettes, cuties, cardigans and K Records tattoos, etc.etc.— then Fear of Men were the debutantes of the year. Given they are, clearly, fans of classic anorak indie themselves. The Brighton band even put out their "Mosaic" seven-inch on the once-thought-to-be-defunct Too Pure imprint, scoring late-'80s/early-'90s nostalgia via the logo on the back of the 45. Matching the sing-song singing of Jessica Weiss with the requisite thin, trebly, jangly guitars and cardboard-box-ish drums. On "Born," Fear of Men turn this into a thing of beauty; tapping into that spirit of bedroom-indie as the eternal balm for broken hearts.
Foxygen are a pair of American kids —one from New York, one from Olympia, WA— rummaging through old British Invasion records, nicking licks and repurposing swagger, performing a cut-and-paste job on classic-pop sounds with both a sense of humor and a sense of adventure. Their awesomely-titled disc Take the Kids Off Broadway is like a magical mystery tour into murky, manic, ever-merry rock'n'rolls jams, in which pastiche switches up into pastiche into pastiche; a whole jukebox worth of late-'60s tropes hatcheted up into twitchy, itching, impish form. The colossal, shape-shifting, rock-opera closing cut, "Middle School Dance (Song for Richard Swift)," includes a shout-out to a producer who serves as both spiritual forebear and neat comparison for Foxygen.
Whilst raucous Swedish rockers Holograms are clearly obsessed with post-punk England, to the point where Anton Spetze's yelpy bark almost sounds like an Oi! vocalist (especially when he's singing, assumedly with some irony, "Sweden's pride!" over and over in "You Are Ancient"). Their debut, self-titled LP —issued on Brooklyn's brilliant Captured Tracks— showcases a band playing snarling, stripped-down, bare-bones punk in a cavern of echo, like they've taken their keyboard/bass/drums/guitar onto the train-tracks of a subway tube, and we're listening to them from the next station. That (kinda contrived, sorry) image suggests the darkness, the darkness, and the subterranean intrigue of their post-punk; which is further conveyed by press photos that paint the members as sepia blur. Fans of Danish punks Iceage: listen up.
Hundred Waters
Whilst indie-rock has long been in thrall to the work of primitivists, punks, and outsider artists, there's always been a place for those with unadulterated musical proficiency; the rise of folk like Sufjan and Owen and Joanna in the '00s turning the ambitious, orchestrally-minded prodigy into a friendly, first-name figure. Florida five-piece Hundred Waters are clearly compositional eggheads, but, like those forebears, they haven't forgotten the simple humanity and straight-up beauty that best connects with an audience. Their self-titled debut album is a study in mixing concert-hall grandeur with rough-hewn folksiness and ruptured digitalia, but, thanks to the glorious, soaring voice of Nicole Miglis, no one's ever going to mistake it for a work of austere chin-scratchery.
Io Echo
Io Echo first put out their first song in 2009, which is roughly two decades ago in blog years (which are exactly like dog years, natch). Yet, they remained an almost-secretive proposition in the three years since, only putting out two more singles whilst beavering away at their debut album. It's still coming, too; the LP still being finished up for 2013. But Io Echo have turned out their debut, five-song EP; a work of evocative, atmospheric goth-pop that draws from '80s staples like Siouxsie Sioux and Cocteau Twins in its vast, echoey symphonies of trouble. Sometimes, their dream-pop layers are soft-focus and foggy, all misty ambience and soft coos; but other times Ionna Gika strikes a more command presence, Leopold Ross layers on the noisy, shoegazin' guitar, and the band peddle something closer to pure pop. It's a promising mix whose gestation period has been long.
Impeccably-maned Londoner Adam Bainbridge came out of nowhere to issue one of the year's most striking debut LPs, Kindness's World, You Need a Change of Mind. On it, he creates a singular mood —effectively, downbeat disco— from a range of different-sounding songs, and a wide-ranging run of influences (French-house, synth-pop, funk, piano-bar jazz, chillwave, etc). The huge influence of French superstars like Daft Punk and Phoenix gives a cross-channel flavor to his chilled-out, hipster stew, and Bainbridge's thoughtful curation of the Kindness 'brand' —his attention to myth-making, to publicity shots, to artwork, to music videos— has made the getting-to-know-you process an unbroken delight.
Mac DeMarco
At the beginning of 2012, Mac DeMarco arrived with his debut LP, Rock and Roll Night Club, which ran the clichés of mid-century Americana —blue jeans, bobby socks, malt shops, etc— through the warped, lo-fi filter of Ariel Pink. Making such a debut would've made a fruitful year for any debutante, but the Canadian kook made light of regular release-schedule pace, showing up six months later with his second LP. 2, as it was casually called, found DeMarco refining his brand of laconic, wobbly pop; jams like "My Kind of Woman" and "Freaking Out the Neighborhood" showing the endearing melodies, stylistic oddness, and goofball charm of ol' Mac. Ol' being non-literal: though he has two LPs under his belt, DeMarco is still just 22, but a babe in the rock'n'roll woods...


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Keep It To Yourself With Clipperz
You're a busy person. Some or all of your busy-ness involves being online. And being online means that you more than likely have multiple places requiring you to login. You need Clipperz, an secure online method of storing your important information.
Where do you store all those logins? In your head, only to be forgotten over time? On your PDA which could get lost or stolen?
With Clipperz you not only have the convenience of storing your logins securely online, but you can house other confidential information like home alarm codes, notes, credit card information, etc. While the convenience of getting to your information from any computer with an Internet connection is a huge benefit, what about the times you know you won't have access to the Web? No problem, just download your information to your laptop (encrypted, of course) and you're set.
And when you're visiting a site requiring login information, you can easily store that information using its bookmarklet. Another nifty feature Clipperz offers is how it tells you how strong your password is. Sure, small words are easier to remember, but they may also be easy to figure out by prying eyes. So the stronger your password is, the stronger the yellow bar beneath that field becomes.
Don't worry about remembering difficult passwords (of course, make them reasonably memorable), but the point that I'm trying to make here is that Clipperz does the remembering for you. The one important password you'll want to remember is the one that gets you into your account. After that you shouldn't have any trouble.
[tags]online security,internet safety,passwords,encryption,software,reviews[/tags]
This is NOT a paid-for review.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
PassPack is another online password manager which employs this same "hands off the data" method – it's called "host-proof hosting" (run that through Google for some more info). Of course, it's also is free, secure and nothing to install. In addition, we also have an anti-phishing mechanism in place.
There's a screenshot and Features list here: http://passpack.wordpress.com/passpack-infosheet/
PassPack lets you do import and export, as well as save and restore encrypted backup copies. It has a password generator built in and tools to help you find your passwords (a quick search, tags and alphabetical order lists).
Would you mind trying PassPack and maybe letting me know your thoughts? I'd really appreciate it, thanks! We support bulk import, so it should be fairly quick to started, even just to give it a test run.
Tara Kelly
PassPack Founding Partner
Hi Ken.
Thanks. I've put together a 5 Steps Getting Started Guide. If you're able to use Clipperz, you should have no problems with PassPack. However, the guide is useful for folks approaching password management for the first time: http://passpack.wordpress.com/passpack-getting-started/
Just let me know if you have any questions.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.

subset: commoncrawl


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CATEGORIES MoviesKristin Wiig, the former "Saturday Night Live" cast member who recently signed on for the hotly anticipated sequel to "Anchorman," has agreed to spend more time with Ron Burgundy himself, Will Ferrell, this time in the indie comedy "Welcome to Me." The movie will be produced by Ferrell and "Anchorman" director Adam McKay and directed by McKay's wife, Shira Piven.
The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that the screenplay, by Eliot Laurence, is about "a woman with dissociative personality disorder who wins the lottery and decides to spend her winnings on a cable access talk show about her life." Sounds kind of bizarre. And pretty awesome.
Following the wildly successful "Bridesmaids," Wiig has been on a role and has a number of movies (including animated sequel "Despicable Me 2" and the big budget Ben Stiller vehicle "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty") awaiting release. Ferrell, for his part, continues to be one of the funniest people on planet earth. Besides "Anchorman 2," which is due out this Christmas, Ferrell has the football comedy "Three Mississippi" coming up as well as a voice role in 2014's "LEGO" movie.
[via THR]


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RJpedia – Article Search by Subject:
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Browse All Articles by Subject
Spirituality and God
Holidays: Hanukkah: A Miracle of Trust
Alan Morinis. Re-examining the Hanukkah exhortation, "A great miracle happened here," not as the miracle of the oil lasting 8 days, but as a spiritual miracle—that the Maccabees lit the wick despite knowing they did not possess enough oil. While recalibrating Hanukkah through a spiritual lense, Morinis explains its potential to open our hearts. Winter 2013.
Journeys: Abraham, Great-Great Grandma Mary, & Me
Vered Harris. Personal reflection on how the author's "soul is woven from the threads of the stories of all those who came before me." Winter 2013.
Science + Religion = Better World
Geoffrey Mitelman. There is mounting evidence that "religion" and "science" are not adversaries but potential allies which, working together, can improve our lives and our world. Cover Story, Winter 2013.
Teen Talk: The Power of Faith
Gabe Snyder. A teen shares poignant lessons about faith at Auschwitz which he internalized on the URJ's L'Dor v'Dor program. Winter 2013.
What Your Heart Can Teach You
Alan Morinis. Reflection on how, at moments of experiencing
—which the author defines as feeling awe, fear, and reverence all at once--our hearts are open to discovering the essential meaning of our lives. Summer 2013.
Divinity of Dementia
Cary Kozberg. "Persons with dementia are 'messengers from God,' helping us to reflect on what it means to be human." Adaptation from the URJ Press book
Broken Fragments: Jewish Experiences of Alzheimer's Disease through Diagnosis, Adaptation, and Moving On
. Spring 2013.
The Higher Authority Lies Within
Daniel Reisel. The biblical story of Moses breaking the tablets "teaches us that even God agrees that to seek truth means to question authority. Quite literally, it means to break the rules." Spring 2013.
Theology: How Reform Jews Picture God
Leah Hochman. Analyzing "The God Survey" responses of 4300+ Jews worldwide who took the magazine's online theology survey adapted from Rabbi Mark Dov Shapiro's original survey of his congregation. Spring 2013.
Preparing for the New You
Theodore Bikel, Susan Caro, Rachel Cowan, Stacia Deutsch, Emily Goldberg, Lawrence A. Hoffman, Liz Lerman, Richard N. Levy, Cynthia Roosth Wolf. Nine Jewish thinkers reflect on the teachings that inspire them to take an accounting of their souls, how they take stock of their actions, and the life experiences that have prompted them to seek change. Fall 2012.
Dear Reader: When God is Trivialized
Rick Jacobs. In his inaugural column, the new URJ President discusses how Reform Judaism provides a compelling way for Jews to get to God. Summer 2012.
The God Survey
Mark Dov Shapiro. The rabbi of Sinai Temple in Springfield, Massachusetts reflects: "Does God exist? What does God do or not do? Last Yom Kippur I sent a survey to my congregants to find out what they believe. The results surprised me." Includes his congregants' anonymous reflections about "I have felt close to God…", "I have felt distant from God," and "If God was accepting questions, I would ask…." as well as "6 Jewish Perspectives on God," "How To Continue the Conversation at Home and Temple," and a link to a North-American wide survey exploring the God beliefs of Reform Jews. Summer 2012.
Cultivating Love
Alan Morinis. What can each of us do to foster nefesh—soul love? Spring 2012.
Love IS Stronger than Death
Rex Perlmeter. Nurturing love in the face of tragedy. Spring 2012.
What Works: A Labyrinth Changes Lives
No byline. How a labyrinth that began as an Eagle Scout project has become an integral part of the spiritual life of Congregation Kol Ami in Flower Mound, Texas. Spring 2012.
An Open Heart
interview with Alan Morinis. The breaking of the wedding glass sends the message: To fully experience joy, one must also be able to feel deep sorrow. Part of Focus "Happiness." Winter 2011.
Healing "Spiritual Deficiency Syndrome"
Abraham J. Twerski. How to alleviate the cause of enduring happiness—neglect of the human spirit. Part of Focus "Happiness." Winter 2011.
My Idea: Practice Inclusive Prayer
Janet Alyn. Lynn Stahl's inclusive prayer at a community-wide function embraced every member of her audience; how to follow her example. Winter 2011.
They Call Me Happy. Here's Why.
Evan "Happy" Braude. "Engagement gives meaning to my life, and from meaning I derive happiness." Part of Focus "Happiness." Winter 2011.
Encounters of the Angelic Kind
Mike Holzer. Reflecting on the melakh elohim moments, or messenger of God moments, in the author's life. If it hadn't been for his childhood wish to play the shofar, his whole life would have turned out differently. Fall 2011.
Lessons in the Mirror
Charles R. Krivcher. Personal reflection of a High Holy Day encounter with a mirror that led to an epiphany regarding the author's relationship with God and personal responsibility in prayer. Fall 2011.
Dear Reader: The Search for God
Eric H. Yoffie. The URJ president discusses ways to find God while acknowledging that we mortals are often engaged in a never-ending quest. Summer 2011.
The Jaguar Whisperer
Naomi Levy. Rabbi Isaac Luria said that every human soul is given a Divine mission to repair some aspect of this broken world. Meet Alan Rabinowitz, a renowned conservationist and wildlife explorer, whose severe childhood stutter kept him from speaking to people until age 19. Spring 2011.
Einstein's Religious Awakening
William Berkson. Probing Einstein's religious upbringing and changes in religious perspectives over the years to understand what Einstein really believed and what he can teach us about faith. Winter 2010.
Wilderness Awakening
A conversation with Rabbi Mike Comins, Rabbi Kevin Kleinman, Rabbi Jamie Korngold, and Rabbi Owen Gottlieb. Our biblical ancestors first experienced God in the wilderness. What did they know that we need to rediscover? Fall 2010.
Inner Life: Into the Deep
Russ Levine. Tashlich isn't so much a contrived solution to bring absolution of sin as it is a challenge from God. Fall 2010.
Triumph of the Spirit
Jerome Groopman. "I deeply wanted to live, so I had to fight. Then I could tell myself that I had done everything possible. There would be no regrets." Summer 2009.
The Questioner's Quest
Faithann Brown. Personal story of an African American woman who found Judaism and came to understand God through study, reflection, worship, and, perhaps above all, questioning. Spring 2009.
Spirituality: The Fly Fishing Rabbi
Rabbi Eric Eisenkramer. I have discovered a kindred spirit in the Reverend John Maclean, who dedicated much of his adult life to searching for trout and for God, both of which can be equally elusive. Winter 2008.
What God Can Learn from Us
A conversation with Rabbi Jack H Bloom on the false notion of God as a perfect Being and the ways God can learn from us mortals. Winter 2008.
Debra Cohn. Personal story on how the practice of mussar led the author to newfound acceptance of others and self. Part of Focus: Mussar-A Spiritual Practice to Elevate Character. Fall 2008.
Fran Zimmerman. Personal story on how the practice of mussar led the author to newfound compassion. Fall 2008.
Henry Wodnicki. Personal story on how the practice of mussar led the author to newfound equanimity. Part of Focus: Mussar-A Spiritual Practice to Elevate Character. Fall 2008
Gary Shaffer. Personal story on how the practice of mussar led the author to newfound freedom. Part of Focus: Mussar-A Spiritual Practice to Elevate Character. Fall 2008.
Holiness at the Poker Table
Art Grand. There are times when poker is about more than playing cards-moments when we admit that our lives are broken, and that without the help of our fellow Jews and God, we'll never make it. Fall 2008.
How To Bring Mussar to Your Synagogue: 5 Practical Steps
Leonard Felson. Part of Focus: Mussar-A Spiritual Practice to Elevate Character. Fall 2008.
Ellen Berk. Personal story on how the practice of mussar led the author to newfound humility. Part of Focus: Mussar-A Spiritual Practice to Elevate Character. Fall 2008.
Mussar Online Study & Discussion Guide
Alan Morinis. This mussar discussion guide for congregations and families reflects on the Focus: Mussar-A Spiritual Practice to Elevate Character while offering new mussar insights and practical steps. Fall 2008.
Practice, Practice, Practice
Alan Morinis. Three stages of practice-attention, action, and transformation-can guide us toward our highest spiritual potential. Part of Focus: Mussar-A Spiritual Practice to Elevate Character. Fall 2008.
The Mussar Revival
Leonard Felson. Reform Jews in congregations across the continent are now embracing a Jewish spiritual practice formulated in 19th-century Lithuania. Part of Focus: Mussar-A Spiritual Practice to Elevate Character. Fall 2008.
Encountering God & Wrestling with Faith-Reform Judaism Guide: 30 Stories
The range of Reform Jewish thinking on encountering God and wrestling with faith. Summer 2008.
Why Religion Matters
Krista Tippett. Some say religion is the cause of our worst divisions, and a threat to civilization. The truth is more broadly and deeply rooted in the human psyche and spirit. Summer 2008.
"Drawing Near to God" Discussion Guide
Alan D. Bennett. This study guide for congregations and families, based on "Focus: Drawing Near to God," includes an overview, questions for discussion, and a bibliography. Summer 2006.
God Training
Rabbi Richard Levy. Ways to train ourselves to find God's presence in our lives every day, from sunrise to sunset. Part of Focus: Drawing Near to God. Summer 2006
God Wrestling
Barbara K. Shuman. The paradox of the God wrestler: God can be as close as breathing, yet mysterious and unexplainable. Part of Focus: Drawing Near to God. Summer 2006
Our Children Need God
Rabbi Edythe Held Mencher. How to strengthen our children's spiritual lives and answer their God questions in age-appropriate ways. Part of Focus: Drawing Near to God. Summer 2006.
This Is My God
Rabbi Simeon J. Maslin. The author's personal reflection on "facing my father and finding my God." Part of Focus: Drawing Near to God. Summer 2006.
Life at Its Highest
Rabbi Ted Falcon. Meditation on the Sh'ma, the central affirmation of our faith, can awaken us to the Oneness of the universe and the interconnectedness of all life. Summer 2003
An Ancient Prescription for Inner Peace
Leonard Felder. Reciting a daily prayer when you rise in the morning and lie down at night can help you overcome adversity. Fall 2001
Rachel Naomi Remen. The things we can experience yet cannot prove may be the very things that ultimately sustain our lives. One such experience is a belief in God's existence and power, and with it, the development of an inner God within each of us. Fall 2001.
Becoming a Blessing
Rachel Naomi Remen. According to my grandfather...each of us has the capacity to uncover the hidden holiness in all events and all people... Winter 2000.
Spirituality: How To Raise Your Spiritual IQ
Rabbi Stuart A. Pollack. Judaism acknowledges three types of intelligence: intellectual, emotional, and spiritual-yet many Jews place too little emphasis on the third. Pollack offers three suggestions to help us nurture our spiritual intelligence. Spring 2000
The God Puzzle
Rabbi Richard Levy. Got did not give us the puzzle box with the picture on the cover. Figuring out how to connect all the pieces is part of the purpose of our existence. Spring 2000
Repairing the World from the Inside Out
Rabbi Jan Katzew. It is not enough to elevate our world through social action. Equally important is the act of internal, spiritual mending. Winter 1999.
Of Vileness & Virtue
Rabbi Jeffrey Salkin. How we can take the evil within (yetzer hara) and make of it a ladder that can spiritually uplift us. Summer 1999.
The Placebo God
Rabbi Harold Schulweis. In past decades, religion and medicine represented opposing camps: faith vs. facts, Pentateuch vs. penicillin. But today's scientists and doctors carry a new banner: "Faith Heals." Spring 1999.
God, Where Were You?
Rabbi W. Gunther Plaut. Tackles perhaps the toughest theological question of all: How can Jews believe in God after Auschwitz? Summer 1998
Taking a Chance on God
Rabbi W. Gunther Plaut. We take many things "on faith." Why not give belief in God the benefit of our doubt? Fall 1997.
The Holy Makes Us Whole: How Should Reform Judaism Develop in the Next Century?
Rabbi Richard Levy. Discusses how we can integrate Judaism into all areas of our lives by re-forming some of the mitzvot (ways into the holy life) given to us at Sinai. Fall 1997.
Finding God in the Prayer Book
Adam Fisher. "We should not let the siddur act as a barrier between us and effective prayer; it should help us become closer to God." The author discusses successful approaches to prayer. Fall 1996.
My Bat Mitzvah Miracle
Barbara Levine. The writer asked God to heal her speech impediment. Instead, God freed her of the need to have a perfectly functioning body in order to find fulfillment and joy. Part of Focus: Medicine & Faith. Summer 1996.
My Cancer and God: A Final Work Unfinished
Rabbi Roland B. Gittelsohn. In his last days, the author reflects on his mortality, alternative treatment choices, and the ways in which coping with dying proved to be the ultimate test of his theology. Part of Focus On: Medicine & Faith. Summer 1996
Overcoming Our Pain: The Life Lessons of Dr. Bernie S. Siegel
Interview with Dr. Bernie S. Siegel. The author of the best-selling Love, Medicine and Miracles talks about his personal awakening, transition from doctor to healer, and the role of spirituality in his healing. Part of Focus On: Medicine & Faith. Summer 1996.
Hear God's Call - A Communal Ethical Will
Rabbi Alexander M. Schindler. A poetic adaptation of excerpts from Rabbi Schindler's farewell address at the UAHC biennial in Atlanta, December 1995, urging a return to synagogue: "A Reform Judaism of substance is a life path/that links the past to the future/through the wilderness of our lives." Spring 1996.
How To Be A Truly Spiritual Jew
Rabbi Jeffrey K. Salkin. The author argues that authentic Reform spirituality involves God, holiness, social action, and the land of Israel, and suggests four ways to incorporate Jewish spiritual values into our daily lives. Fall 1995.
Saying Kaddish to the God Who Did Not Prevent Auschwitz
Menachem Z. Rosensaft. Asking, "How can we believe in a God who is both omniscient and omnipotent?" the author reflects on who God is and where we can find examples of God's power, even in the darkest places. Spring 1995
What Does God Require of Us? A Symposium
Introduction by Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman. Authors: Rabbi Roland B. Gittelsohn, Rabbi Daniel B. Syme, Barbara K. Shuman, Rabbi Arthur Hertzberg, Rabbi W. Gunther Plaut, Emil L. Fackenheim, Rabbi Ben Kamin, Rabbi Helene Ferris, Rabbi Floyd Herman, Sherry H. Blumberg, Daniel S. Schechter. These rabbis and Jewish lay leaders offer a variety of perspectives on what God expects from us as Jews. Fall 1993.
God Is a Woman And She Is Growing Older
Rabbi Margaret Moers Wenig. The author compares God to an aging woman whose children depart to begin their own lives, neglecting their mother, unappreciative of the fact that she provided them with life; God's love is always available to her children, despite these wrongs. Part of Focus On: Women & Change. Fall 1992.
Rabbi Bernard M. Zlotowitz. In the biblical and rabbinic periods, God was viewed as being directly involved in human matters; modern thinkers believe God's power is limited by the laws of nature which he created. The author discusses ways we can make prayer work within our modern worldview. Summer 1992.
Finding God
Rabbi Lawrence Kushner. Discusses ways to use Jewish religious traditions to feel oneness with God. Spring 1992
Doubt and Faith
Susan Sobel-Feldman. Reflects on her lifelong search for God-beginning as a child exposed to the contradictory Catholic and Jewish perspectives of God and the afterlife, and into her adulthood, where she comes to see that although God will not prevent suffering, His presence will always help people cope with hardships. Part of Focus On: God. Winter 1991
Reform Perspectives
Rabbi W. Gunther Plaut. Discusses the Reform Movement's changing relationship with God throughout history. Part of Focus On: God. Winter 1991.
Teaching Our Children About God
Sherry H. Blumberg. Offers advice on how parents can talk to their children about God. Part of Focus On: God. Winter 1991.
What Gender Is God?
Rabbi Rebecca Alpert. Explores the way gender is assigned to God - and the problems that arise when God is portrayed as solely male, including the notion that humans are subordinates to God, rather than God's partners in creation. Part of Focus On: God. Winter 1991
Why I Am a Religious Naturalist
Rabbi Roland B. Gittelsohn. The author shares his belief that God exists within the universe. Part of Focus On: God. Winter 1991
Union for Reform Judaism


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Tufts Medical Center announced today that Governor Deval Patrick will receive the second annual Ellen M. Zane Award for Visionary Leadership at the Working Wonders benefit evening on March 26, 2014 at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center.
The Ellen M. Zane Award for Visionary Leadership honors individuals who exemplify visionary or transformational leadership within Tufts Medical Center, Floating Hospital for Children, Tufts University School of Medicine or the community-at-large. Thomas F. Shields, Chairman and CEO of Shields Health Care Group, was the inaugural award recipient in 2013.
"Tufts Medical Center is honored to recognize Governor Deval Patrick for his outstanding contributions in health care and to celebrate his leadership at this year's Working Wonders event," said Dr. Michael Wagner, Interim President and Chief Executive Officer of Tufts Medical Center and Floating Hospital for Children. "Governor Patrick's record on health care is second to none as he has expanded access to almost all residents and also supported the vital health care industries which are an important part of the Massachusetts economy. We are honored to present the Ellen M. Zane Award for Visionary Leadership to Governor Patrick who has continuously been a strong supporter of Tufts Medical Center."
Governor Patrick has made health care and life sciences a top priority. The Governor's many accomplishments in health care include the expansion of affordable health care insurance to over 98 percent of Massachusetts residents, investing in prevention and wellness programs, instituting cost saving measures within the new health reform law, replacing the fee-for-service model with quality-of-care model and obtaining an increase in funding from the National Institutes of Health. He has also positioned Massachusetts as a global leader in biotechnology, biopharmaceuticals, health care and health education.
This year, in addition to awarding the Ellen M. Zane Award for Visionary Leadership, the Working Wonders benefit evening will present the Cam Neely Award for Courage to Floating Hospital for Children patient, Allison Hawkes, 20, of Methuen, Mass., for her continued determination and positive outlook in the face of adversity. Tufts Medical Center will also honor longtime resident and advocate of Boston's Chinatown neighborhood, Frank Chin, with the Lifetime Achievement Award for being a vital partner in uniting the local community with Tufts Medical Center and Floating Hospital for Children.
Regional Executive of BNY Mellon, Joanne Jaxtimer and Steve DiFillippo, CEO/Chef of Davio's Northern Italian Steakhouse will co-chair the event that supports compassionate care, leading-edge research and Tufts Medical Center's commitment to treat all of their patients as if they are a part of their family. Davio's will also design the menu for Working Wonders.
About Working Wonders for Tufts Medical Center:
Working Wonders for Tufts Medical Center is an inspiring benefit evening to recognize and celebrate champions of the Medical Center. Every day Tufts Medical Center is working wonders - providing academically sophisticated care in a warm, collaborative and inviting atmosphere. Proceeds from the event will support compassionate care, leading-edge research and our commitment to treat all our patients as if they are a part of the family. For more information: http://www.workingwonderstuftsmc.org


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An educational video on pregnancy plays at the Waco center. Run largely by conservative Christians, pregnancy centers say they offer what Care Net leader Roland Warren describes as "a compassionate approach" to the abortion issue. Critics counter that information provided by some pregnancy centers is deceptive and scientifically flawed.


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I was a little dissatisfied with the availibility
and quality of tools for Linux to create clickable imagemaps. Since
the Gimp
already provides a lot of the functionality that is needed
for writing such a tool I have designed a plug-in that hopefully
meets all your imagemapping requirements.
Most people are probably already using Gimp 1.2.x. In that case you
don't need to download this plugin since it is already part of the
official GIMP distribution.
At the moment no active development is going on. I consider this
plug-in pretty mature. However I might resume development as soon
as Gimp 1.4/2.0 appears.
You will only want this when you are still using Gimp 1.0.4!
Latest version is 1.3.2. Click
here to download.
An example editing session:
Yes, this program definitely needs a manual. Like all programmers I
haven't had time for this and it is not that high on my priority
list. Fortunately there are at the moment at least 2 books that
describe this plug-in in more detail: the official Gimp User Manual
and a book called
'Grokking the Gimp'.
In chapter
9.2 Clickable Image Maps you can find a nice tutorial on this
plug-in. More details about this book
can be found on the Gimp homepage.
These are already quite a lot of tools out there to create imagemaps:
There are a few things still left on my todo list. In no particular
These are the bugs known to me in version 1.3.2:


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I was out when it started raining yesterday (August 9th) and there was a pretty cool sunset after the rain so I decided to snap some pictures.
August 9th Sunset After The Rain
By: HepSubscribe Channel: Weather Location: Fort Wayne
+ Comment!
This story is inappropriate and should be flagged for moderation. Please choose from one of the following options:


text:
Narrow your search
With fewer brands to choose from, Keurig 2.0 is more restrictive than the last generation, and the K500 doesn't do much to make up for it. As upgrades go, this one doesn't make sense.
The Xperia T3 may not have the high-end specs of its top end brother, the Xperia Z2, but its big screen and good looks make it a fair choice for those of you looking for an attractive phone with a display large enough to enjoy movies on the go.
With comparably good sound for its size and the addition of speakerphone features, the Sony SRS-X3 mini Bluetooth speaker measures up well against the pricier Bose SoundLink Mini.
Although the Sony Xperia M2 looks pretty slick, it's let down by its low resolution display and its old version of Android, which makes even its affordable price way too high. For much less money, you could snap up the Moto G or spend a little more and pick up the older Xperia Z with its full HD display and waterproof design.
Sure, it costs a bundle, but the Sony Xperia Z2 is everything you should expect from a top-end phone. Its impressive performance rivals the Samsung Galaxy S5 for smartphone top dog, but the Z2's slick glass and metal design trumps the S5's plastic body. If you're looking for both style and substance from a phone, you've come to the right place.
Sony announced pricing and availability of its 4K-video-capable full-frame camera.
While the battery is a concern, the Xperia Z2 Tablet is still a good-looking slate that's loaded with more than enough power for anything you're likely to throw at it. It's a good choice if you're looking for a more affordable iPad alternative with 4G LTE -- particularly if you've ever lost a gadget through water damage.
The design of Toshiba's high-end Kirabook hasn't changed since last year, but it has aged gracefully. The components get an update and the battery life gets a big boost, making this an all-around excellent, but expensive, ultrabook.
The Elgato Thunderbolt Drive+ is by far the fastest portable drive to date and, for power users, totally worth the investment.
With its aluminium body, high-quality digital audio amplifier, and ability to play lossless audio files, the Sony NWZ-Z10 is an MP3 player for the dedicated audiophile that demands top-quality sound.


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Bank of America, MBIA, skirmish over bonds covenants
There's been some interesting skirmishing going on in the increasingly heated Bank of America-MBIA war over put backs.
The latest is an attempt by Bank of America to buy a majority of about $329 million in bonds to block MBIA from moving forward with a "cross-default provision" in the bonds. As the covenants now stand, creditors can demand payment from the parent company if the MBIA Insurance unit is seized by regulators. MBIA would rather such demands be made of its municipal unit, National Public Finance Guarantee Corp. So this is a way of protecting the main company.
Sensing weakness, Bank of America is aiming to keep the pressure on the parent by buying up all the bonds in order to block the change in covenants. Bank of America is offering a 22 percentage point premium on the bonds in question, according to Bloomberg. That followed an attempt by MBIA to incent bondholders to approve the change by offering to pay $10 per $1,000 of notes to those who agree.
Who has the upper hand in this?
The MBIA stock sold off earlier this week, as Mr. Market seemed to give Bank of America the advantage in this high profile putback battle. But even if Bank of America prevails on this "cross-default" issue, MBIA is still fighting from some strength.
One analyst, who has a buy rating on MBIA, believes "the selloff was unwarranted. He (along with credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's) continues to believe MBIA's structured products unit has sufficient liquidity to last well into 2013, which should be enough time to force a settlement with Bank of America," notes TheStreet.com.
For more:
- here's TheStreet.com article
- here's the Bloomberg article
Related articles:
Mortgage put back concerns weigh on Bank of America


text:
Follow our step-by-step guides to help you get up and running with EE.
Clone phone-about the insurance
Phone insurance with 24 hour replacement is only available on the Clone Phone Fully Loaded Plan.
What's covered
Clone Phone Fully Loaded will give you worldwide cover on your mobile device (e.g. mobile phone, USB modem, tablet, etc.) purchased from Orange, T-Mobile or EE against:
- Loss
- Theft
- Damage
Warranty cover against electrical or mechanical breakdown for 36 months, provided by EE Limited. The warranty period will be unaffected if we replace your phone. The 36 months will continue to run from the date Clone Phone Fully Loaded first came into force. Read more about warranty.
What's not covered
You will not be covered for:
- Theft where your mobile device is knowingly left on display and outside the view of you, an authorised user or anyone using or storing Your mobile device with the permission of you or an authorised user.
- Theft where your mobile device was left in a building or other property, unless force resulting in damage to the building or premises was used to gain entry or exit.
- Any costs arising from unauthorised use of your phone after it was lost or stolen, such as phone calls, downloads, apps and text messages.
- Any claim where the SIM card linked to an Orange, T-Mobile or EE Service Plan was not inserted into the SIM card holder in your mobile device at the time of the incident. This exclusion will not apply where You have removed the SIM card temporarily for a legitimate reason, or where the mobile device is a SIM free device purchased as part of a bundle with a mobile device from us or one of our suppliers.
- The excess for each successful claim that you make.
Please see the 'what's not covered' section in your policy document for the full list of exclusions and conditions.
Orange care customers
Orange Care customers can migrate to Clone Phone at any time to benefit from Clone Phone features.
Read the full terms and conditions >
See all our Clone Phone plans >
Services and offers we have for you
Watch our help and support videos to get the most out of EE and your phone.
Keep track of your usage, manage your add-ons or pay your bill on the move.
See what people are saying in the EE Community - get involved or get advice.


text:
The first of six new Texas driver's license centers will open Tuesday in Pflugerville.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Monday at the Department of Public Safety Driver's License Mega Center on East Wells Branch Parkway.
DPS says the Austin-area Center is expected to handle about 700 customers daily. The upgraded system will let customers reserve spots in line and use technology to do more services online. Walk-in customers will use self-service kiosks to make appointments.
"DPS is using that state funding to open multiple mega centers, hire 266 new employees and purchase equipment and technology to improve customer service and efficiency of the state driver's license system," said Cynthia Leonna, Chairman of the Texas Public Safety Commission.
The 2011 Texas legislature provided $63 million for six high-tech DPS centers. Two will be located in the Houston area, two are meant for Dallas-Fort Worth and one will be built in the San Antonio area. All should open by the end of 2013.
Didn't find what you were looking for?
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text:
Because of each country's product availability, the selection on this site may not be the same as the one you were previously on.Confirm Cancel
Show your love with this 14k white gold engagement ring, featuring a split shank and your choice of center diamond.
View our education section to learn more about our engagement rings.
product was beautiful. I will have to get it resized. So hopefully that transaction will work smoothly. diamond is amazing. the setting was lovely.
Robert, Orlando, FL – April 2013
Its a difficult task for anyone to pick out a ring, and more importantly the setting that defines you as a couple. I did a lot of research, and store visits to see what suits her. This was just perfect with being traditional and classy, yet something to it (the surprise stone) to set it apart. I got the the round stone, it looks just right.One thing I had wished and expected that surprise stone was a little bigger, when I purchased it online. So do consider that the surprise stone is tiny, and the picture is magnified to appear otherwise. I dont regret buying the ring, an she loves it, and so do her friends and coworkers (which is required.. haha).Also the support and quick communication I received from Blue Nile was exceptional.
Anonymous, Owings Mills, MD – March 2013
Better than I had thought and building it yourself is easy! It arrived on time exactly as promised!;-)Everyone wanted to know where I got it from! So, I told them!!!
JOHN, DOVER, DE – February 2013


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SIM card registration Compulsory RURA
MOBILE phone subscribers have a six-month deadline to have their SIM cards registered. The Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Agency (RURA) has fixed February 4, 2013 as the official start of the registration exercise expected to end on July 31, 2013.
The Director General of RURA, François Regis Gatarayiha, said that all mobile phone users must register before the six months elapse.
Rwanda is the only remaining member of the East African Community that had not implemented the process of SIM card registration.
"During that period, we want all mobile phone subscribers to have registered their SIM cards with their respective mobile service providers," Gatarayiha announced at a news conference yesterday.
He added, "The SIM cards that will not have been registered by the said date will be deactivated and disconnected off their telecommunication networks and will only be restored after they have been registered."
Gatarayiha said that all new and existing mobile phone numbers will have to be registered to be activated on a mobile network.
"The need to register SIM cards is due to public security concern to curb criminal acts made using cell phones," he explained.
Gatarayiha observed that due to recent developments of mobile applications such as mobile money, and other transactions made using cell phones, many countries across the world have embarked on registering mobile customers to establish a link between the SIM card and identification details of its holder.
"In case of criminal activities, there was no way of tracking them in the past. And for security purposes, once subscribers are registered, phone criminality is going to be reduced significantly," he noted.
According to RURA, the registration will be free of charge and the institution is going to carry out awareness campaigns to enable the public understand and fully participate in the exercise.
Most Rwandans are connected to market leaders MTN Rwanda, Tigo, a subsidiary of Luxembourg-based Millicom International Cellular SA, and Indian telecom giant, Airtel.
Norman Munyampundu, MTN Rwanda Senior Customer Operations, said that the company has already done a lot of preparations to ensure a smooth process.
"We have got a number of service centres and sales points across the country to facilitate the process of SIM Card registration. The exercise will be quick and simple; people will buy SIM cards and show identification documents before they are registered," he explained.
Mathieu Dutrisa, Head of Consumer Department at Tigo, said "We are prepared to make the registration as simple as possible for our clients. We welcome this major development in the telecommunication industry".
Brian Kirungi, Head Legal and Regulatory at Airtel, said the company has started drawing plans with sales agents to ensure the exercise is fast.
"We want to ensure that our sales team registers SIM cards as soon as people buy them," Kirungi said.
What is needed?
RURA Director General said all one needs is a valid national identification (ID) card to have their SIM cards registered.
For minors with phones and have no National IDs, the SIM cards will be registered in their parents' names.
In case of organisations that want to register their SIM cards, the legal representative of any entity will send an official letter to telecom operators accompanied by the name of users, date of birth, ID numbers, associated telephone numbers and certificate of registration for private companies.
The companies also may choose to give the SIM Cards to its staff to register themselves.
Registration for non residents who have a resident ID card, the process is as the same as for the citizen with National IDs, for those without resident card, the registration process will be done manually by scanning and storing personal data in operators' database.
SIM card registration in Rwanda is part of the regional exercise under the East Africa Communications Organisation (EACO).
Rwanda is the only remaining member of the East African Community that had not implemented the process of SIM card registration.
In Kenya and Tanzania at least 85 per cent of SIM cards in each country have been registered.
Contact email: frank.kanyesigye[at]newtimes.co.rw
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The Miami Heat will finally get back on the court after a long layoff when they host the Chicago Bulls in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals on Monday night.
The long break following a sweep of the Milwaukee Bucks has allowed Dwyane Wade some extended recovery time after he missed Game 4 due to a bruised knee. Wade is expected to be ready to go for Monday night.
The Bulls are dealing with some injury issues after beating the Brooklyn Nets in seven games. Luol Deng will be out as he continues to battle an illness and Kirk Hinrich is doubtful with a calf bruise. As for Derrick Rose? He's still not ready, and likely won't be for the remainder of the postseason.
Chicago did beat Miami twice in the regular season, including a 101-97 victory on March 27 that ended the Heat's 27-game winning streak.
Here are three key questions heading into Monday's Game 1.
Can the Bulls limit LeBron James?
With Deng out of the lineup, it will be an even taller order to slow down the NBA MVP. Jimmy Butler will get the primary assignment, but it will require a monumental team effort to try and limit the damage that James does. James has had a lot of success against the physical Bulls' defense this year, averaging 28.0 points on 63.8 percent shooting in four games. Successfully stopping James could prove to be impossible, so the Bulls may live with him getting his and focus more on shutting down his teammates.
Can the Bulls dominate the glass?
In Chicago's two victories in the regular season, they dominated the backboards. On Jan. 4 in Miami, the Bulls outrebounded the Heat by 20 and grabbed 19 offensive rebounds in the process. In the streak-busting win, the Bulls won the rebounding battle by 12 despite not having Joakim Noah. In Miami's two wins, the rebounding margin was much closer. Not having Deng will hurt the Bulls on the glass, but Noah, Carlos Boozer and Taj Gibson are still a formidable frontline that could pose some problems for Miami.
Will the Heat make hay at the free throw line?
The Heat, and especially James, have done a lot of damage at the free throw line against the Bulls this year. Miami held a 109-84 advantage in free throw attempts over the course of the four regular-season games. In the last of the four meetings on April 14, the Heat took a whopping 41 free throws in a 105-93 victory. James himself has taken 42 of those 109 free throws in the series, making 33 of them. Chicago will want to be physical with James and the Heat, but they must try and do it without fouling too much. If there's a parade to the free throw line, the Bulls won't have much of a chance.
Game time: 7 p.m. ET
Odds: The Heat are 11½-point favorites according to Oddsshark.com.
More from SB Nation:
• Ziller: Kevin Durant's greatest test
• Betting on Paul George or the Knicks' shooting
• The Nets' bill for rapid improvement arrives
• Celtics head off into great unknown
• Stephen Curry's 10 best shots of the playoffs
• Longform: The secret world of NBA daps


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Newport Central Catholic Sam Bunzel (10) battles for control of the ball against Notre Dame Academy Ellen Combs (8) Sept. 18.
The new district for the Newport Central Catholic girls soccer team is a lot easier to advance from, but not easy to win.
In the new state alignment, soccer was reconfigured to match baseball and basketball, so NewCath remains with old buddies Highlands in the newly named 36th District. County foes Campbell County and Bishop Brossart left the former 19th District, which was usually one of the deepest and most competitive in the state.
In the new alignment, Highlands and NewCath are alone in the 36th. Neighborhood rivals Bellevue, Dayton and Newport have tried to get girls soccer programs ...


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LINKS and Thank Yous
Purple Orchid Tiki Bar and Lounge, El Segundo, CA - Thanks Dave, Rebecca and staff!
Bill Smith Custom Records, El Segundo, CA
cosmic laundromat: 89.3 fm kuoi in moscow, id - Cosmic Laundromat is no longer on the air but they were the first to play EFFU's Tiki Bar. Maybe they will come on again someday!


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Motorcyclist hurt in Fordham crash on East 187th Street, Webster Avenue
THE BRONX - A motorcyclist was rushed to the hospital after crashing in Fordham.
It happened at around 3:30 p.m. Monday on East 187th Street and Webster Avenue.
Witnesses say a truck was trying to turn when the accident happened, but that it didn't actually hit the motorcylist.
Read More: Bronx Top Stories
The damaged bike was left in the middle of the road while its operator went to Saint Barnabas with knee pain.


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one's inability to hack an iPad means precisely nothing. Nobody needs to program an iPad to enjoy using it, except those who have no capacity for enjoyment other than programming and complaining about same.
Joe Clark – Denial of expertise
Refresh Austin ringleader, speaker, fire starter, UX manager, community catalyst, Web technologist, barbecue acolyte & information junkie
one's inability to hack an iPad means precisely nothing. Nobody needs to program an iPad to enjoy using it, except those who have no capacity for enjoyment other than programming and complaining about same.
Joe Clark – Denial of expertise
The idea that there are three simple levers that define a feature or a product is passive-aggressive professional absurdity. There are myriad levers the team can adjust, but to understand them you need to understand the people who are actually building the software.
Michael Lopp a.k.a. Rands from Bits, Features, and Truth
If you haven't picked up his book Managing Humans: Biting and Humorous Tales of a Software Engineering Manager yet, you should.
While I'm in the process of changing machines I'm going to document many of the apps and plugins that are on my "Must Have" list. I love a fresh start and given my proclivity for demo software and beta apps it's positively refreshing to start with a clean Applications folder.
I've also collected my System Tweaks for OS X if you're interested.
I plan to write a post with all of my must-have UX components, which will include many OG resources, so I won't go into those here.
I use Pages, Numbers and Keynote on my personal machine, but their integration and support of the de facto workplace standard just aren't good enough, so Microsoft Office is the suite of the day for work. Specifically, I use:
Adobe's Creative Suite is indispensable. I spend a lot of my creative time in Photoshop and Illustrator, while others swear by Fireworks. I've tried many of the smaller, independent image editors, but I'm accustomed to the power and features of these pro tools.
Coda is one of many Web development applications that I've tried since switching to the Mac. While I used TextMate for a few years, Coda has replaced it with a combination of efficiency and beauty. It feels much more oriented to front-end development and flow than the spartan TextMate, and feels "right" to me. The built-in support for multiple sites, FTP, terminal, Subversion, preview capabilities and code snippets integrate with the code editor beautifully for a great experience. The only thing that it lacks from my point of view is code-folding, which is quite likely the most-requested feature, so I hope they'll add it in the next release. For me, the benefits easily outweigh that one negative.
Versions is a beautiful and easy to use Subversion client, which says a lot as most SVN clients, even on OS X are convoluted and not much of a step-up from doing everything at the command line. While I have used the command line in the past, I really like having a graphical UI for interacting with version control.
MAMP stands for Mac, Apache, MySQL, PHP. It's a self-contained install of those server technologies that I've found easier to configure and run than the native OS X installs. That said, I haven't tried the pre-installed versions since 10.4, so it's possible that my use of this app is purely out of habit.
LaunchBar is quite possibly the most used utility on my system. The app speeds the launching of other applications. With a simple keyboard shortcut, I open LaunchBar type a couple of letters and hit Enter to launch an application, start or stop music, find a file or even run a quick calculation (without the calculator app). It also has a setting that will keep track of multiple clipboard items, so I don't have to run a dedicated utility for that functionality.
Evernote is my note-taking application of choice as it quickly and quietly syncs content between computers, the Web and my iPhone, guaranteeing access to information where and when I need it. The fact that I can easily add photos is killer, especially as Evernote will index the text inside the photos so it's searchable.
Adium is a great instant messaging client that unifies the various networks, ensuring that I can communicate with anyone that I need to regardless if they are on AIM, Yahoo!, MSN or Jabber.
Things is one of countless to-do and GTD applications available for the Mac, but for me, it stands above the rest. I love its structure and the ability toe create projects, which can be grouped into areas. Additionally, being able to assign dates – both specific and general ("Someday") – allows me to get ideas out of my head without being oppressed by an overwhelming task list.
Dropbox syncs files between computers, both Macs and PCs as well as my iPhone and does it seamlessly. Dropbox is elegant, powerful and amazingly enough, it's free unless you need a very large amount of space. Many apps that lack their own ability to sync information can use Dropbox to add information sharing. For example, I use Dropbox to store my Things database, ensuring that both my work and home computers have the same list of tasks, without my needing to do anything extra to keep each up to date.
If you sign up, please use this referral link as we'll both get an extra 250mb of space for free.
Skitch is one of the many screen capture apps released in the last year or two. It's a great app that just works, making it easy to take a snapshot of part of the screen and annotate it if I need. Additionally, it makes it easy to upload the capture to online services, which is how I typically add interesting bits to my Web Detritus set on Flickr.
1Password is one of those applications that causes me to wonder how I worked without it. It is the best password manager I have ever worked with, hands-down. 1Password guarantees that I can use very complex passwords without risk of forgetting them, nor worry that they're sitting around for someone to steal.
In addition to Safari, I install Google Chrome and Firefox, which are currently battling for supremacy in my daily workflow.
Fluid is another browser I use regularly, though it has a key difference. Instead of acting as a general Web browser, it turns Web sites into desktop applications, complete with icons in the Applications folder and on your dock. My most common use for this is for Google Reader, but I have also tapped it for Web-based mail and to-do lists.
For Preference Panes, please see my post about System Tweaks for OS X.
Back in 2006, I wrote Software for a Switcher.
Please expand this list by adding your recommendations in the comments.
As I'm switching to a new machine, this is the ideal time for me to list all of the tweaks and changes I make to OS X and various core apps.
Overlay Drawers for Dock Stacks are a nice touch, but do not provide anything beyond aesthetic pleasure
SymbolicLinker simplifies the creation of symlinks.
Nicholas Jitkoff, who created one of my most used Mac utilities, Quicksilver, now works for Google, which has just released Google Quick Search. I and many other devoted users lamented Nick's decision to stop development on his popular app. Now we know why he took that step and more importantly have hope that something better than Quicksilver is on the horizon. Lifehacker has provided a nice writeup of the current capabilities, but if you're in the mood to just grab it and give it a whirl, you can download it on Google Code.
Google Quick Search already contains a lot of the QS functionality, but uses Spotlight for its indexing, which should provide a significant increase in search speed while reducing the processor requirements. Hopefully, by offloading the search indexing to Spotlight, privacy advocates don't need to worry about Google synchronizing the index of every file to their servers, but I haven't seen word one way or the other as of yet.
Google Quick Search is young, but promising, and I truly hope it will pick up the Quicksilver banner and advance it.
My buddy Christian recently asked me about my personal password creation algorithm, which is something I've mentioned a few times (including once or twice at a Refresh Austin meeting). After doing a quick walk through with Christian over IM, it seemed appropriate for me to write it up in a more legible format so others can benefit.
It all comes down to this: you want a memorable, but complex password to use on the Web. Ideally it isn't the same on every site you access to ensure that one compromised Web site doesn't leave every one of your other accounts open to nefarious evildoers.
This post is longer than I anticipated, so here's the bit-sized version.
I recommend you read the full post as I give other examples and provide a couple of usage tips throughout.
There are a few simple steps to achieve these goals.
For this first example, we'll use the title of a seminal jazz album, Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue".
Let's begin by removing the the spaces as most login systems won't accept them in your passwords. We now have
KindofBlue. Next, we'll do some simple substitutions of numbers for letters (the capital "O" in "of" becomes a zero and the 'e' in "Blue" becomes a three) and play with capitalization, which results in
kind0fBlu3. This isn't that complex, and the number-for-letter substitutions is easily recognized (and broken), but it should be easy for you to remember.
This is where it gets more interesting and more secure – we're going to take a bit of the Web site to use in our password. In this example, let's take the first letter and last letters of the domain and insert 'em at the beginning and the end of our password. So for www.amazon.com the password is
akind0fBlu3n. For the Apple Store (http://store.apple.com/us) it is
akind0fBlu3e. You'll notice that while they are similar (the only difference is the last letter), they are different, so if someone learns your Amazon password, they can't get into your Apple account unless they deduce the overall pattern.
You should only use the main part of the URL (amazon.com, apple.com). Ignore subdomains ("www.", "store.") as you will likely only have one account on a domain, but the domain may have several subdomains. This keeps life much more simple for you.
I like to add a couple of extra touches to make my password a bit more complex and to make it more difficult for someone to recognize that there could be a human-readable pattern. Continuing with our example, we'll add a number (22) and a dash at the beginning and a question mark at the end, which generates
22-akind0fBlu3n? for Amazon. These latest additions don't change from domain to domain, so you don't need to memorize a bunch of different patterns. For example, the password for Microsoft's site would be
A note: Some login systems don't allow punctuation, so it's handy to stick it at the end or at a specific spot. For a domain that won't let me use the dash or question mark, I know to delete the third character and the last character of my normal pattern resulting in
22akind0fBlu3n for Amazon.
The sample I used above is pretty simple, and easy to recognize as a word or phrase. A better pattern would be to use a sentence or phrase and take the first few letters of each word as your base and/or shortening words. Sticking to our musical theme, here are a couple of ideas:
We could take the first two letters of each word:
dametothenoflo which with some substitution and additions becomes
9+adam3tothenofl0n! for Amazon and
9+mdam3tothenofl0t! for Microsoft.
We can get a bit more creative here and substitute "Lil" for "Little" and only use the first three letters of "Corvette":
LilRedCor. As before, finishing out the pattern could result in
00=aLilredcorn! for Amazon.
Of course you don't have to choose the first and last letters from the domain, you could choose the second and third (assuming the domain is longer than two letters) or you could take the first letter and put it at the end and take the last letter and put it at the beginning.
I didn't come up with the idea, and I no longer recall where I first learned of it, so while I have adopted it wholeheartedly, someone smarter than me deserves credit for it.
This is not foolproof and I am not a security expert. Following this pattern means your password is not truly random and someone who has access to your account on one system and is clever enough, could determine how it works and get into other systems. That said, it is at least more secure than not using a system like this.
I recommend creating and using a few of these patterns to reduce the risk that breaking one will allow somebody to access every account you have on the Web. For truly important sites (your bank account, anywhere that stores your credit card numbers), you should go with a random password generator paired with a secure password manager, like my personal favorite 1Password (Mac only, I'm afraid).
So, how can we improve this practice and how do we ensure that this is something that non-technical people can use to be a bit safer online?
Twitter makes it easy for me to keep up with my dear friends here in town and those flung about the globe. I can stay on top of ever-moving trends, learning about them in minutes if not seconds. Twitter connects me when I'm ready to be connected and allows me to reach out when I feel the need. Those capabilities alone makes it an invaluable part of my day, but there's an unsung benefit to embracing Twitter: memory improvement. Specifically improving my ability to remember people I've met.
In my day-to-day life, I'm involved in projects and groups of different sizes and to different degrees. I do my damnedest to remember names, faces and details about the people I meet, but that's not an easy task by any stretch. Refresh Austin alone has over 400 members and I've met a sizable portion of 'em. Add the other amazing colleagues and friends I've met through events like SXSW Interactive and the Geek Austin parties and it quickly becomes overwhelming to remember, and more importantly quickly recall a name when I bump into someone that I've met once or twice.
Twitter changed that with a constant stream of updates.
Each tweet contains a face, a name and something that was of at least slight interest to that person. Those components reinforce the neural pathways associated with each person in my cranium, making it easier to remember them later. I may have to take one more mental hop to unite the real world face and name for those people who adopt an avatar and/or a nickname within Twitter, but that's still a lot more than I had five years ago.
Twitter reinforces my real-world connections with those relationships that are the most tenuous as a byproduct of my having fun using it.
Now that is cool.
Looking for me on Twitter? I'm @BaldMan.
The folks at SXSW are starting a new program this year dubbed Accelerator. It's aimed at up and coming, under-the-radar companies, allowing them "to present their latest products and services to industry experts, early-adopters, bloggers, mainstream media reporters, and leaders of the venture capital community."
If you recall how Twitter catapulted onto the scene a couple of years back, you know what this type of exposure could do for your product or service.
You can enter up to five products/services across the categories as long as they were launched since March 16, 2008 or are scheduled for release within no later than three months after March 16, 2009
Winners of each category "can receive two badges for the 2010 SXSW Interactive event, a write-up in the April issue of SXSWorld magazine, plus additional prizes yet to be announced."
There's a $100 non-refundable application fee, though finalists will receive two passes to the SXSW Interactive Festival and those who do not qualify will be allowed to register for SXSWi at the early bird rate ($375).
A lot more info can be found at on the site and you can contact Chris Valentine at (512) 699-3467.
If you have friends that you think might be interested, please let them know about it. The SXSW crew want to see the best of what's happening out there.
If you or a friend decide to register, I would appreciate it if you would let Chris know that you heard about it from me.
If you're a bootstrapper, creating a pre-seed or seed-stage company, or thinking about starting something cool, check out Tech Ranch Austin, "a community of vibrant tech start-ups housed under one roof, and surrounded by the people, processes and materials needed to drive business success."
Kevin Koym and Jonas Lamis have done a lot for our tech community and it's exciting to see them take the future by the horns. Given their plans for the future this looks like a great opportunity for Austin entrepreneurs and geeks across the board.
This is another powerful example of smart folks coming together to create the next wave of technologies, without the needless walls that so often hamper innovation and energy.
I love this town.
This is a "warm blanket" agreement with which, by requesting your agreement to it, I am helping myself sleep at night by placing a small amount of formality on the sharing of The Idea. I believe The Idea will only improve as a result of having solicited your honest and clear feedback.
Rands shares a great idea for sharing great ideas – the FriendDA While this is a natural inclination amongst good friends, sometimes it's nice to stress the importance of confidentiality of the information. Often times the conversation starts off with "don't tell anyone about this, but I have this idea…" The FriendDA provides a shorthand for referencing a quick agreement of confidentiality among friends without getting too formal and it serves as a nice reminder that the idea's originator trusts you and your opinion but wants to keep it quiet for now.
You don't need to sign it, you reference it when you start the discussion, preferably with a pint in hand.
I accidentally inserted a double left angle quote («) this morning, which lead me to discover that OS X provides a handy way to insert it and of course it's match, the double right angle quote (»). This may not sound like much, but given how often I use these characters (especially ») in my wire frames and other docs, these shortcuts will noticeably improve my efficiency.
Here are the keyboard shortcuts to use in OS X:
Double Left Angle Quote («) –
ALT \ (hold the
ALT key and press the backward slash key)
Double Right Angle Quote (») –
ALT SHIFT \ (hold the
ALT and
SHIFT keys, then press the backward slash key)
Note 1: this doesn't insert the HTML equivalent of either character (
« and
» respectively), it inserts the actual character as if you were to cut and paste it from the character palette.
Note 2: the
ALT and
OPTION keys are equivalent. so if you don't have an
ALT key, use
OPTION instead.
I recently posted a quote from Steve Ballmer discussing a key difference between Apple and Microsoft, which I titled A Complete Experience. Having spent a bit more time thinking about it, I thought I would capture some of those thoughts here. This is basically a brain-dump, so it is by no means comprehensive, or for that matter a fluid discussion.
For Ballmer to claim that Microsoft is committed to choice doesn't match their past business practices. I'd love to see them truly commit to changes that support real user choice and a better end-to-end experience. The subtle knock of Apple (a "narrow" experience) is to be expected, though again it stretches the truth.
OS X, Apple's computer operating system is not as broad as Windows in terms of configurations and options (six versions of Vista to choose from – two for OS X, one of which is targeted for servers – no confusion there), but that's a very good thing for the people who buy and use computers. Windows provides every possible configuration option just in case one person out of 10,000 may want it. That's pretty cool, except for the fact that it often clutters the experience for the other 9,999 folks.
Apple has gone the other route, making a vast majority of decisions for the users – focusing on normal people instead of edge cases. Power users can dive into the command line and utilize the full power of the BSD subsystem. They both have to strike a balance, but have chosen vastly different ways to do it. I've come to love Apple's way of doing it.
If the experience were truly "narrow", you wouldn't have the wide swath of user types – students, lawyers, parents, kids, entrepreneurs and hard core developers. That last one is important – many dedicated techies who write programs and Web applications that millions of people use day in and day out switched to the Mac. These are the people most likely to tweak their system, to be that one out of 10,000. They chose the focused end-to-end experience over the bucket of options.
The experience is so much smoother on the Mac and my levels of frustration are amazingly low when I work on my computer. Hell, frustration doesn't tend to crop up very often. I should say that my level of contentment and the occurrences of elation are rather high compared to any other product or service that I use on a regular basis.
In the competition between PCs and Macs, we outsell Apple 30-to-1. But there is no doubt that Apple is thriving. Why? Because they are good at providing an experience that is narrow but complete, while our commitment to choice often comes with some compromises to the end-to-end experience.
The quote is from a memo that Mr. Ballmer sent to Microsoft employees this past July outlining the company's strategy for 2009. Aside from the not-so-subtle "narrow" swipe, it's a concise summation of why so many of us have switched to Apple products (not just the computer) after years, if not decades using PCs running Windows.
The experience matters.
In addition to the blog post, they've created an introduction to the browser in comic book form.
While there are a lot of questions about it and some interesting discussion points, I am curious to see how, or if it changes the way we design and develop Web apps. It will also be interesting to see how they design the interface and flows within the browser, having stated that one major goal is to streamline and simplify the UI. The beta Windows version is to be released today, with Mac and Linux versions coming soon.
I am also very curious about the privacy implications inherent in this release. Google has reached a point where they have an insane level of information about the interests (Google search, AdSense), browsing habits (Google Analytics, DoubleClick), events (Google Calendar), personal and business plans and finances (Google Apps) and personal connections (gMail, gTalk) of nearly everyone who uses the Web. While I love their motto of "Do No Evil", I can't bring myself to trust that it will always hold true, whether by internal decisions, or by outside pressure from stock holders or governments (wow, now I'm starting to sound like the other Alex Jones).
I will definitely test the browser, and I look forward to the concepts they are introducing. A shakeup in the market will be useful, even if it reignites the browser wars, and causes consternation amongst those of us who build Web apps and sites. We're pushing forward, which is a good thing, but we need to temper our excitement (or annoyance) with the impact this will have on the Web and be wary of what we as consumers and users trade for the new browser.
I wasn't all that familiar with Sproutcore, Apple's JavaScript framework prior to reading this article, but after thinking the arguments over, I think Apple has been flanking the other players in the application marketplace (both online and desktop) for a while. The article Cocoa for Windows + Flash Killer = SproutCore provides some very good reasons for Apple's moves onto Windows with Safari and other apps; I highly recommend you read it if you're the least bit interested in development on the Web, the iPhone and/or Rich Internet Applications (RIAs).
Being based on open web standards and being open source itself means SproutCore will enable developers to develop cross platform applications without being tied to either a plugin architecture or its vendor.
Sitting on top of web standards will also make it easy for Apple and the community to push SproutCore ahead without worrying about incompatible changes to the underlying layers of Windows, a significant problem for the old Yellow Box or some new Cocoa analog. SproutCore also lives in a well known security context, preventing worries about unknown holes being opened up by a new runtime layer.
Daniel Eran Dilger – Roughly Drafted
These developments are exciting for oru industry, but also for the world as a whole – a solid platform that can be as portable and accessible as the Web, yet have the power of the desktop has long been sought. We may finally have it in our grasp.
Michelle has posted a great wrap up of Tim Westergren's speech at Pandora's Get Together here in Austin. Pandora sent me a number of reminders about the event, but I chose not to go, which is a shame because it sounds like it was fun.
Michelle's post reminds me of the Ultimate Music Recommendation Smackdown panel I attended the last day of SXSWi '07, which added a lot of interesting pieces to my understanding of music consumption on the Net as well as how the comparisons and matches are made. The most interesting takeaway from that panel was the fact that four of the five services (Pandora, Last.Fm, iLike and I believe Bryght (site may be down)) had to add filters to their systems after discovering that their services were recommending The Beatles and Radiohead for almost every other song or artist. "We see you like Hank Williams, we think you would like Creep from Radiohead".
That's pretty damn interesting if you think about it. People are naturally ranking Radiohead at a level of interest as high, or higher as The Beatles by their natural listening habits. Some of this should be attributed to the average age of people using their services, which I assume skews to the younger side, but that's still a major point when you think about the popularity of the two bands, and the legacy of Radiohead.
The other interesting point I took away from that point of the conversation is the fact that in order for those two connections to be made listeners included the two artists amongst a wide variety of bands and genres. A quick view of my own listening habits and those of many of my friends provides some reinforcement, but I can't wait to see the types of connections being formed world-wide. It would be amazing to have a "map" or some other form of visual analytics of these musical connections.
Thanks for sharing the experience Michelle!
Whurley has created a poll to gather feedback on the question of who would be an ideal candidate for those of us who rely upon and value source software. As he says, "Assume for a moment that a knowledge of open source is prerequisite (or integral) in solving issues like patent reform. Who would you vote for? In other words, who would be the best candidate for the open source community?" I should have posted this sooner, but I've been distracted.
A quick note, Whurley picked the top candidates from each party, prior to Mitt Romney dropping out.
1Password, an amazingly useful password manager for the Mac has just released a beta version which provides the ability to auto-fill and submit your passwords on the iPhone. This is a massive improvement for anyone who uses even slightly secure passwords, but gets frustrated when inputting them via the on-screen keyboard.
The info is stored using 448-bit Blowfish encryption on the iPhone itself, and requires that you input a master password on the phone, so there isn't any communication with external devices. So, now you have the ability to use secure passwords sans frustration, for all of your accounts, knowing that your passwords will stay secure.
If you don't have a Mac, I'm afraid you are out of luck. But, if you do have a Mac, you need to download 1Password, it is a great program, that makes my life much much easier every day – seriously. The addition of the iPhone autofill bookmarklet has now made the program invaluable.
I recently needed to produce a PDF on my XP box at work, but as I didn't have Adobe Acrobat Professional installed I had to do some digging. Luckily it didn't take too long to find a convenient solution. Even better, I found an easy and free solution: doPDF. This utility installs itself as a virtual printer, providing the ability to create PDFs by selecting the plugin as the printer of choice in any program, in the same manner as Acrobat's"Print as PDF" functionality.
It does exactly what it says on the site, even on a 64 bit install of XP.
For folks using OS X – the functionality is baked into your computer!
Sweet, I Want Sandy, which I've covered previously supports interactions via Twitter! This makes it even easier to quickly capture something that should be remembered later. While the supported options are a subset of Sandy's full capabilities, all of the major needs are covered. Plus, they've spent some brain cycles thinking about how to make the process as easy as possible, including a single letter Twitter name ('s') and short hand for common commands like remind/remember ('r'), lookup ('l') and update ('u').
Damn, the folks at Values of n just keep rolling out cool ideas!


text:
Bridgeport community
members have some extra motivation this year to help them keep–up on those new
years resolutions.
The Prairie Winds Community Center just received a major upgrade: new fitness
Now visitors to the fitness center
can enjoy new free weights and weight–lifting machines.
New rubber flooring was also installed for the purpose of easier clean–up.
Prairie Winds Program Director Darren Emerick
says it's all part of a gradual renovation process.
"We have a foundation here that is extremely active in raising
money for our community center," says Emerick. "And last
year they helped up replace most of our cardio equipment." This year it was all about weights.
Emerick says the prairie winds
community center is a busy
place and the fitness–upgrades should help attract more visitors.


text:
6 Cosmetic Chemicals in Fast Food
It's not difficult to make the case that fast food isn't healthy. One can point out the ubiquity of partially hydrogenated oils (AKA trans fats; which appear on five separate occasions in the ingredient list for Burger King's grilled chicken filet). Or the tablespoons upon tablespoons of added sugars. Or the outrageously high levels of sodium. Or the lack of fiber. Or the presence of food dyes (there are two food dyes in Subway's pickles!). Pick your poison.
One also cannot gloss over the litany of chemicals — many of which are oddly found in cosmetics — present in these foods. Sure, water and aloe vera are found in mass-produced beauty products, but food in cosmetic products is very different from cosmetic chemicals in food.
While fast food defenders point out that all these chemicals are legally "generally recognized as safe" (GRAS), that isn't as reassuring as it sounds. Even if these additives posed no threat to health, their inclusion nevertheless makes it clear that as much as these companies like to "healthwash" and boast about "high-quality ingredients" and "freshness", most of what they sell barely resembles real food.
Behold these fast-food and beauty product staples:
1) Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate: A common 'dough conditioner' used in many fast food chains' "artisanal breads", SSL is also found in shampoos and soaps. Fast food companies like to make SSL seem like a natural part of the breadmaking process, even though bread has been made for thousands of years — and still is — without it.
2) Benzoyl peroxide: Recently banned in China, benzoyl peroxide is the active ingredient in acne creams — and commonly used to bleach white flour in the United States (and therefore used to make almost all fast food breads). Neutrogena sandwich, anyone?
3) Disodium phosphate: A staple in mascara and mouthwash, you can find it in many fast food items. At Wendy's, for example, it is present in their chili, cheddar cheese sauce, and Frosty desserts. Taco Bell includes it in their Southwest chicken.
4) Propylene Glycol: Commonly found in shampoo and mouthwash, as well as Burger King's pickles, smoky cheese sauce, and BK stacker sauce.
5) Ammoniated glycyrrhizin: "Ammoniated glycyrrhizin is prepared from the water extract of licorice root by acid precipitation followed by neutralization with dilute ammonia." It's commonly used in facial mask products, and is also an ingredient in Burger King's 'breakfast syrup'.
6) Calcium Disodium EDTA (Ethylenediaminetetraacetate): Used as a stabilizer in skin products and hair conditioner, you can also find this used as a "flavor protectant" in most fast food sauces, dips, and dressings, including Taco Bell's bacon ranch sauce, Arby's light Italian dressing, and Burger King's tartar sauce.
As much as fast food companies like to distract consumers with reduced calorie, low-fat items in an attempt to lure the 'health-conscious', they continue to serve up chemical concoctions that barely resemble food. Leave the propylene glycol for those neon-colored mouthwashes and get yourself some real food.


text:
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Q. I have been on thyroid medication for the past year. Last fall I noticed my hypothyroid symptoms returning: fatigue, muscle cramps and stiffness after walking just a mile of my usual three-mile walk. I also felt extremely cold, while others were comfortable.
When I saw my doctor and told him about my symptoms, he checked my thyroid levels and gave me a month's supply of Synthroid to tide me over. I had been taking generic levothyroxine.
A measure of thyroid function, my TSH level, was 3.7 on the generic. On Synthroid my TSH was 2.5 and all my symptoms disappeared even though the dosage is the same (50 micrograms). If there is such a difference from one brand to another, how can dosage be regulated properly?
A. The FDA maintains that all levothyroxine formulations (Levoxyl, Synthroid, etc) are identical. Physicians who specialize in treating thyroid disorders (The Endocrine Society) disagree. They worry that patients are put at risk when they are switched between brands or generics.
For more information about symptoms, side effects, interpreting lab tests and treatment strategies we offer our Guide to Thyroid Hormones.
People who get switched need thyroid function tests afterwards. Doses may also need to be adjusted for seasonal variation (lower TSH during the summer).
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CATEGORIES Independent, IFC, Distribution, Home Entertainment, Cinematical Indie, Features, Movies, CinematicalI just got word that IFC Films is about to launch a new distribution banner, aimed at releasing films in theaters and through On-Demand cable TV, simultaneously. The program will be called First Take, and to it IFC has already attached six films: CSA: The Confederate States of America, Caveh Zahedi's I Am a Sex Addict, New York Film Festival favorite Three Times, American Gun, Russian Dolls, and Sandra Oh-starrer and my early vote for Title of the Year, Sorry Haters. First Take hopes to release an additional 20 films this year. The basic idea is that by closing the window between theatrical and cable on these types of niche releases, films that would have only shown on the coasts can get a nationwide release.
What do we think about this? Is this a more or less viable plan than the cable/DVD/theatrical simultaneous release program that Mark Cuban and Steven Soderbergh are launching this week with Bubble?


text: Charmed Series 3 - 11. Blinded by the Whitelighter Share: About this programme 11/22. A powerful warlock goes on the rampage in an attempt to steal a Whitelighter's orbing powers so he can go `upstairs' and kill the rest - but the sisters, with the help of Leo and his friend Natalie, try to stop him. Meanwhile, Phoebe finally admits she allowed Cole to escape. Cast and crew Cast Prue Halliwell Shannen Doherty Piper Halliwell Holly Marie Combs Phoebe Halliwell Alyssa Milano Leo Wyatt Brian Krause Eames Steve Valentine Crew Director David Straiton Writer Nell Scovell Categories Drama Share:


text:
CANFIELD, Ohio – The Board of Directors of Farmers National Banc Corp. has named Kevin J. Hemlick as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company and of Farmers National Bank of Canfield, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company.
Hemlick had been serving as Interim President & CEO since October 4, 2013. Hemlick, 41, has spent his entire 18-year professional career with Farmers National Bank, most recently as the Company's Executive Vice President of Retail and Wealth Management, as well as Corporate Secretary for the Holding Company.
"We are pleased to welcome Mr. Hemlick into this expanded role," stated Farmer's Chairman Lance Ciroli.
In October, the board relieved John S. Gulas of his duties as President and Chief Executive Officer. Gulas had held the positions since July 1, 2010.
Hemlick is a graduate of Mathews High School, Vienna, OH. He received a bachelor's in Economics from Alleghany College in Meadville, PA. In 2001, Mr. Hemlick earned an MBA from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH. His credentials include Certified Financial Planner, Financial Advisor Representative, Series 24 NYSE Principal, Series 7 NYSE Registered Representative and an Ohio Life Insurance License. Mr. Hemlick resides in Howland with his wife, Amie, and son, Preston.


text:
Are We Raising Bubble Wrap Kids?
by Alexa Saleh
I just recently found and read a book by Lenore Skenazy called Free-Range Kids.
The author was dubbed "America's worst mom" for trusting her son to ride the subway in NYC alone. Just a note, he made it home perfectly safely. And also another note: I don't think I could have done it.
Lenore has now started the "free range movement" and is trying to encourage parents to relax and allow their kids to have the freedom to play, explore and learn independence, confidence and social skills. In her book, she has done a lot of research into some of the crazy things going on in our culture that parents are just too afraid to let their kids do.
Example: She noted that there's a law in one of the American states requiring bus drivers to pick up kids after school, drive them to their bus stop and if there is not an adult waiting for them at the stop, the bus driver is supposed to then drive all the way back up to the school so that the child can call someone to come pick them up. WHAT?? Who has time for that? No one. And plus, the point of a bus stop is to be in walking distance of the kids home so that they are able to walk home.
When I was little - like in third grade - I was walking two or three blocks to my bus stop, occasionally with a friend, but a lot of the time all by myself. My mom wasn't cruel or neglectful. She walked me there the first few times to show me where to go and what bus to take, but after that I was on my own.
By the age of nine, I was picking up my teacher's 5-year-old to accompany him to the bus stop. At those ages I was also allowed to walk or ride my bike a few blocks to my friend's house, and from there we would go down her street to the playground. We had no adult supervision, and here I am sitting in front of my computer 10 years later, perfectly fine. That's the point Lenore is trying to make through her book.
This is because my mom put a certain amount of trust in me, and my dad was the same way. When I was around nine and my brother and cousins were 11, we wanted to go to the corner store. My dad was not willing to give us money for junk, so he encouraged us to go out and earn some. He suggested we go and ask if we could wash windows, sweep floors or any other odd job that may have been available for a few dollars in exchange. FYI - for our generation, that was a no go. Stores aren't open to supplying odd jobs for kids due to taxes and lawsuits. We didn't know that and honestly, I don't think my dad did either, but we still asked. And we had fun!
No, we didn't get our corner store treat, but we got an opportunity to be independent, learn responsibility and learn what it meant to work for the things we wanted, plus it gave us an opportunity to use our imaginations. (Honestly, being little and wanting that candy bar so badly, we were almost willing to roll my brother around in the dirt, rip his clothes, and give him a coffee mug to collect money in and sit him in a corner outside of the strip mall)
Another story. My step-sister and I wanted to go to the ravine. Dad didn't have time to go with us, so he let us go off on our own. We walked through the city alone, made it to the woods and we explored the trails. It was fun, and then ya it got scary...we got LOST!! But our parents had taught us confidence and we had enough of it to approach a stranger and ask her for help. She very willingly gave us directions and we made it home safe and sound.
Obviously, the thought of your kids getting lost in the woods is very scary. Being the kid who was lost in the woods was even more scary, but we took the lessons our parents taught us and used our natural born instincts and made it home no problem. And honestly, we weren't even that lost. We were one trail off and couldn't see it through the trees. But again, here I am safe and sound, I made it to adulthood and now I'm on my way to motherhood.
In nature, as human beings, we are considered animals. We may not consciously consider ourselves as such on a regular basis, but that's what we are. And what do all animals have? Instinct. Our kids are equipped with instinct and also the lessons we send along with them.
One lesson Lenore has suggested we change is the " Don't talk to strangers." Lesson. Well if my sister and I hadn't talked to that stranger in the ravine, we probably would have gotten really lost.
We have to remember, that a majority of people are like us. If a kid went up to you and asked for help, you would help them knowing that you are trustworthy. However, if we are continually warning them not to talk to any stranger and instilling that fear in them, they won't ever talk to a stranger that could very well be of help to them in a "what if" situation. So a revised lesson is "Don't go off with strangers."
Lenore's book is an interesting new perspective, laced with a lot of really great humor. She also now has a show called Bubble Wrap Kids that I checked out last night and liked a lot. I think she's on to something.
While I personally am not going to rush out and slap the label "Free Ranger" on my forehead, I'm definitely going to put the trust in my kids that my parents put in me so that my kids can have the childhood that they deserve. To have fun and explore, with their chins up and confidence in every step, and a sparkle in their beautiful eyes which will tell me that I'm doing something right :)
So if you are looking for some confidence in letting your babies go...just a little, Free Range Kids by Lenore Skenazy is a great read!
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