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Accept gays as people first
Sunday's story, "Tempest in my soul," was heart wrenching. We have been wrong so many times in our history, discriminating against blacks, Jews and women, just to name a few. We even crucified our Lord. Haven't we learned anything?
Ask yourself: When did I choose to be a heterosexual? My bet would be you didn't "choose" it, you were born with that orientation. We may choose lifestyle, but we don't choose sexual preference.
I am hopeful we will come to accept our homosexual brothers and sisters with the same rights and responsibilities given to heterosexuals, especially in our churches. I am hopeful because I see many young people who have accepted their friends who have come out of the closet, and they relate to their gay friends as people first.
Matt Nevels served on a committee with me several years ago. My guess is that he would not remember me. But I certainly remember him. I did not know his hurt, but I have not forgotten him because of his kindness, wisdom, gentleness and joy. And yet, how could this be with the trials he was facing? What an awesome testimony to God's ever power, presence, love and healing grace.
MARY DeSHAZO RICE, Hixson
Fleischmann, team are shameful
The Chris Carroll article (June 23) about Chuck Fleischmann's campaign was pretty shocking but proved some things that most of us knew two years ago.
First, getting someone's personnel file from the Tennessee Republican Party to falsely claim "lavish bonuses" were paid shows me two things: The TNGOP is corrupt in allowing a personnel file out of their care to be used in a GOP primary. Just because something is said on TV by a preacher-politician doesn't make it true. Right, Mr. Huckabee?
If that isn't enough, Rep. Chuck Fleischmann's campaign director, Chip Saltsman, admits he used the official seal of Tennessee to create the belief there was a state audit that never occurred; another lie created for a TV image that went unchallenged.
We were told over and over again, "I'm Chuck Fleischmann, and I approve this message," when he now admits he's not observing federal requirements.
For this small-business man-attorney to knowingly lie while he claims he wants to serve the public shows that he and his supporters are happy to skirt the rules, blur the lines and downright lie.
Chuck Fleischmann and his "team" are all shameful.
Remarks about Steelman belittling
I felt Ms. Garrett stepped out of line in her low-key derogatory remarks against Dr. Fred Steelman. Dr. Steelman has been and continues to be a highly respected man along the same lines of Billy Graham, Charles Stanley, etc. I felt Ms. Garrett was trying to embarrass, humiliate and make Dr. Steelman look like the "bad guy" because of his rightful, biblical stand against homosexuality.
I applaud Dr. Steelman's stand. I wish there were more with the same courage he has shown. Until you've walked in a pastor's shoes, and had to make controversial decisions, you can never know the pain he feels.
If Dr. Steelman had compromised his true convictions and avoided biblical passages condemning homosexuality, and allowed Matt to have free rein in his eulogy of other gay friends, you can rest assured Red Bank Baptist Church would have lost more families than the Nevels family.
To the Nevels family, I am sad for your loss and understand it was nothing you did to cause this situation; however, you cannot expect God to change His word to fit your present emotions.
I hope the new pastor from Louisiana has the same convictions and boldness Dr. Steelman has shown in his many years of leadership.
REV. RONALD B. CASE, Pastor, Grace Baptist Church, South Pittsburg, Tenn
MARY DeSHAZO RICE, there you go again, acting as if Jesus approves of accepting and welcoming people!
SUE POWELL, well don't worry, if we're lucky he'll just be a one-termer.
REV. RONALD B. CASE, I can however, expect people to take God's words as they want them to be, rather than as they are. And you should have the same skepticism.
You won't, though, not when it's sentiments you want to follow.
There are other causes besides the purely genetic which influence human development, but are still not conscious choices.
But no, it is very expressly not the case that even among identical twins that genetic predispositions are identical. You really don't do yourself credit with that statement.
Besides, if you are concerned about the expenses of HIV/AIDS the places with the most problems don't have theirs significantly among homosexuals. Sorry, but they don't.
Justachild is so certain in his belief, I'm sure no amount of science or life experience will dislodge what has been hammered into his head since he popped into this world. So continue on with your holier-than-thou view and maybe science and understanding and true compassion for those that live along side us will finally come to pass. You're a dying breed.
If Dr. Steelman is indeed no better than Billy Graham, Charles Stanley, etc., then I guess he deserved some bad press.
JAHCHILD, where exactly do you find these 'Identical Twin Siblings' who are absolutely honest about their preferences? (And what about the identical twins who are not siblings?)
here's a clue, justahatefulchild, I don't believe the voodoo you believe so I'm not intimidated by your childish threats.
JAHCHILD, again, if you look at patterns in other countries, you see an entirely different picture.
Besides, if you thought about it, you'd realize how you just explained that it wasn't a free and conscious choice. Much like a smoker, or a heroin user, or just your common alcohol addict, maybe they aren't able to make the choice of their own free will.
Or heck, just somebody who eats too many sweets.
And actually God is mocked and defied, and all sorts of things here on Earth. Why there's even people who profess to be doing God's Will while doing anything but.
One hopes they face the consequences of their actions without too much dismay.
Rev. Ronald Case, I hope you read Mary Rice's letter. I suggest that you read and re-read it until you have ingested the simple wisdom contained within it. I doubt that it would do your hardened heart and closed mind any good. But just maybe.
I have no use for religion or churches or make-believe gods but I do understand why some people have a need for such things. Most of those people cling, unfortunately, to the notion of a ruthless, judging god like you do (though you like to refer to him as a "loving" God - what a joke) and hold fast to antiquated, out-of-context verses in the Old Testament that have nothing to do with love and compassion but rather old-fashioned justice and vengeance. You might call yourself a Reverend but if your religion is more concerned with focusing on "sin" and obeying the letter of the law (isn't that what the Pharisees and Sadducees of old were all about? Those same Pharisees and Sadducees that your Jesus railed against?) than it is with loving and accepting people as they are, then perhaps you should get your head out of that antiquated book that you call "holy" and just live in today's world among the people. I guarantee you there are more pearls of wisdom in Ms. Rice's letter than within the hundreds of pages of Old Testament BS that you so fervently cling to.
JAHCHILD, I agree with you 100%. Most of these LIBTARDS in here are very well spoken when it comes to the english language and know how to talk down to people very well. But thats about all they know. When it comes to Spiritual wisdom they havent got a clue and dont want a clue. The Lords ways are abhorrent to them and doesnt fit their lifestyle. When the sons of Satan move in next door to them who ya gonna call? And you cant argue with an idiot, they will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience every time.
Spiritual wisdom means nothing. Everyone has their own religion with different beliefs. Do you consider a muslims "spiritual wisdom" to be equivalent to yours? I doubt it. Therefore, your spiritual wisdom is simply your beliefs. And, as we all know, there is not proof to substantiate any of your "spiritual wisdom" based on your religious beliefs.
"The Lords ways are abhorrent to them and doesnt fit their lifestyle. When the sons of Satan move in next door to them who ya gonna call?"
What does this even mean?
"And you cant argue with an idiot, they will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience every time."
That's how I feel when I argue with a Christian.
Hmm, who just got done talking down to someone?
Oh yes, CADMAN1. Sorry, but you just showed your lack of spiritual wisdom, though you did show yourself to be in full command of a load of arrogance.
Do living in the Lord's way include referring to people with whom you don't agree as LIBTARDS? Wow, my church is way off on that one, I suppose.
- I suggest a new title, "Accept bigots as people first"
"The Truth is that You and I, and, all of The Family of Faith love every one of them." - JAHCHILD
Yeah...like Hitler loved the Jews. I know exactly how you bible-totin', bible-quotin' christian cretins "love" everyone - you love 'em all the way to hell. Your "love the sinner/hate the sin" philosphy of tough love doesn't mean diddly squat. If you think that you have the right to point out the "sins" of other people but then you say that it is up to your God to carry out the dirty work of actually casting them into hell for all eternity (unless of course they change their ways and profess belief in sweet jeezus), then you are as complicit in the dirty work of banishing them to hell as your sadistic God is. The God that you choose to worship - and the key word here is CHOOSE - is a reflection of who you are, and if your God is petty, vindictive, and sadistic enough to cast his own children into hell based on nothing more than how they choose to believe, then you and your God are one and the same. You are as petty, vindictive and sadistic as the God you worship.
You christians like to say that you are not "judging," rather you are simply pointing out the error of someone's ways. Yeah, right. I'd rather have indifference or even the pure unadulterated hate of someone (at least it's raw, honest emotion) than the sick, twisted, self-righteous kind of "love" that you claim to feel for all of humanity.
JAHCHILD, what happens to those who percent God's word?
Think about it.
To Matt and Frances Nevels, thank you for allowing Ms. Garrett to write this beautiful story of your love for your son, his partner and their friends be told. Thank you for walking the path of Love, for teaching us what it looks in today's world. Jean Brookbank, New Hampshire (Ms. Garrett, I found your piece on the Huffington Post. Thank you for the gift of your writing.)
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The lack of diversity in architecture isn't a simple problem, but there are better and worse ways to approach the issue. Architect and Yale University professor Deborah Berke outlines ways forward.
For two decades, the Young Architects Forum has helped emerging designers network and grow professionally.
Wastewater-treatment plants used to be dirty buildings. Today, architects are cleaning them up.
A look at local market conditions in Jackson, Miss.
Tablets and smartphones promise to change the way that architects and engineers do business.
Spelling out the letter of the law regarding sustainable design.
Matt Risinger bases his custom home building business on architect referrals and shares insights on how other custom builders can do the same.
The National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA) recently polled member kitchen and bath dealers from across North America to gauge their general financial state based on third quarter figures and get sales or project predictions for 2012. The NKBA also surveyed more than 350 member designers to...
Building a strategic alliance is a way to expand without exposing your firm to liability.
The 2011 third quarter results of The American Institute of Architects' Home Design Trends Survey show an approximate 15 percent improvement in the custom/luxury market with outdoor spaces and smaller, greener homes remaining the most popular requests among residential clients.
Copyright © 2014 Hanley Wood Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

subset: commoncrawl


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Another candid review from the Asian-American blogosphere clocks in, this time from Jocelyn of the Speaking of China blog which is all about "One Western woman with a Chinese husband makes sense of China 洋媳妇看中"
The nice thing this time, unlike the other two reviews from The Alpha Asian Mindset and Amped Asia review, is that this time it's from a WOMAN'S point of view.
I'm very proud of this advanced CD that I'm GIVING AWAY. But only if you have the balls to step up and take charge of both your manhood and your dating destiny.
My "Exposing the Myth Behind Why Asian Men Can't Date White Women" is spreading like wildfire arming Asian men with the tools and beliefs necessary to get out of their dateless lives and having the kind of dating, sex, and relationship options that they've only dreamed of.
But instead of me just blowing my own horn at how awesome the production quality and informational quality is on this free product, I'll let Jocelyn take it away!
Ask the Yangxifu: Review of Exposing the Myth Behind Why Asian Men Can't Date White Women
The audio dating CD — "Exposing the Myth Behind Why Asian Men Can't Date White Women" — really grabbed my attention just because it was so fun to listen to. JT Tran, along with William, the Better Asian Man, are so easygoing and affable throughout the CD. At times, I almost felt like I was eavesdropping on two Asian men swapping their best dating advice and dating stories. These guys are so relatable — and I found myself nodding my head at the examples they gave, because I'd seen or heard similar things from other Chinese or Asian men.
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The sad thing is most of the comparisions are true...we will eventually be our own undoing. When that does occur we will ask how did that happen?
It will have happened because we as a society became too tolarent of deviate behavor.
Too little disipline.
Yeah tot, alot said but the majority comes from those that come from a conservative mindset. Yall are being marginalized out of existence yet fail to see it.
Tolerance of deferrent lifestyles is not a bad thing. But INTOLERANCE is a bad thing.
We are a nation of immigrants and differing cultures and we are winning.
We are a a Great Melting Pot. We are America.
When our ancestors came to America it was to start a better life for their family. Not for welfare and higher taxes!
Up until our liberal educators indoctrinated the youth of old America and led many of them down the path of socialism in the sixties and thereafter our people were too proud to accept a handout.
JM, without some intolerance there will be little or no limit to this society's decline.
Our morality is being trampled by society as a whole.
We were a nation of immigrants and differing cultures.
That nation was mine and your parents and grandparents.
They were called the great generation and they were in fact just that.
I can't agree that intolerance is a good thing however, too much tolerance is not a good thing either. "I'm Ok, Everyones Ok" is a copout. Some things are just not ok. We are a melting pot but if you come to America because it is a better way of life, Be an American dammit! Don't ask for special status because your ancestors were a different ethnicity. Dont ask for an exception because of your sexuality. Be an American first and foremost. Lastly I am by no means a moral stanchion. TOT is right though, being moral is not considered a neccesity. Simply a fad of days gone by. It seems that if one does not concur with an all inclusive acceptance of some of these issues, we are intolerant. If that is the case, than I guess I am intolerant. One of the reasons people come to America was being able to believe and worship freely without persecution. Ironically it seems latetly that if one does not buy into "alternete" lifestyles we are being "persecuted" Bottom Line, I live in a country that DOES afford me the ability to think and feel as I choose. Regardless of who approves, I am going to continue to do so.
I will admit, Tot, that there is a middle ground. I ain't uh advocatin complete anarchy, fostered by those on the left or those on the right. Both sides have their shareof demons. My personal opinion, of course, is that there are more on the right at present.
I am sure that I would be one of the first ones that would be lined against a wall and shot should the right prevail.
I do not like waste, fraud, abuse, and corruption. I think we may just disagree on how to fight it.
Jimmy Mack, When was the last time anyone in this country was stood against a wall and shot for expressing their opinion? The fault lies on both sides of the political spectrum and not just the right. Let's face it, we have become a nation of the offended and the freeloader. Now it's considered evil to work hard and succeed unless you are willing to share your hard earned success with those who live on the taxpayers dime. The values that made us a great nation no longer apply. Now its anything goes as long as it makes me feel good and who cares how it affects others. It's a shame that we have people who have no pride or shame that their very existence depends on handouts from the government. I wonder if it every occurs to the folks in Pollution on the Potomac that those who get up and go to work every day have families they need to take care of first. Apparently not, because all they do is whine about the poor and the uneducated. How poor is someone who is drawing Food stamps, an EBT card, subsidized housing, and a free cell phone? Probably living better than a couple working for minimum wage. The system is turned upside down and getting worse.


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Broward Sheriff Al Lamberti is once again being challenged by North Bay Village Police Chief Scott Israel -- the same candidate Lamberti defeated back in 2008. Much like in 2008, Israel's beef is that Lamberti isn't doing a good enough job cleaning crime off the streets in Broward. Lamberti says t ... More >>
Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney will be coming to Fort Lauderdale on Monday for a $50,000-per-person couples fundraiser.The shindig will be hosted by the president and COO of Auto Nation, Michael Maroone, and his wife, Michelle, and cohosted by Rick Case of Rick Case Honda, and his wife. ... More >>
Customers claim AutoNation lured them into bad loans
Bob Horvath was the ultimate company man for GM and sold their cars for 40 years. The thanks he got? The auto giant put him out of business.


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Slow-Cooked Meatball Stew
"I came up with this hearty meal-in-one as another way to use frozen meatballs," reports Iris Schultz of Miamisburg, Ohio. "It's quick to put together in the morning and ready when my husband gets home in the evening."
6 Servings
Prep: 20 min. Cook: 9 hours
3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 pound fresh baby carrots, quartered
1 large onion, chopped
3 celery ribs, sliced
1 package (12 ounces) frozen fully cooked homestyle meatballs
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed tomato soup, undiluted
1 can (10-1/2 ounces) beef gravy
1 cup water
1 envelope onion soup mix
2 teaspoons beef bouillon granules
Place the potatoes, carrots, onion, celery and meatballs in a 5-qt.
slow cooker. Combine the remaining ingredients; pour over meatball
Cover and cook on low for 9-10 hours or until vegetables are
crisp-tender. Yield: 6 servings.
Nutritional Facts:
1 serving (1 cup) equals 291 calories, 8 g fat (3 g saturated fat), 51 mg cholesterol, 1,400 mg sodium, 41 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 14 g protein.
© Taste of Home 2014


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Aludd: Running Away!
by Max-o-matic
Art Print
Collect your choice of gallery quality Giclée, or fine art prints custom trimmed by hand in a variety of sizes with a white border for framing.
This is one of my favourite pieces from the Aludd Show: Running Away.
- 65Promote
kristal: it says (in spanish) : "in the movies seems easy to burn urban assault tanks"... it´s in reference to something joe strummer said about "white riot"´s lyrics.
This is such a great image that I'm pinning it to my Pinterest public S6 favorites board with the hope that it will drive more traffic to your wonderful art!


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My new DIY project. Rebuild the front porch. Lessons learned (actually confirmed) so far. Nothing is as easy as it seems. Always allocate time for preparation, evaluation and planning (don't jump straight to project execution). Pick a small representative (and, ideally, non-critical) section of the project to execute first. Apply the lessons learned to the remainder of the project (if something goes wrong, the impact is somewhat limited).
Watch this space as I report on the progress of this project.
Musings on the Human Condition
Monday, July 28, 2014
Sunday, March 16, 2014
Learning to Fly: School Bus Adventures in Delhi
I spent most of my younger years in New Delhi, India. I lived with my family on the campus at IIT Delhi and attended Modern School, Vasant Vihar. The campus where we lived was like a walled city within a city. School buses weren't allowed inside the campus. So, in order to catch their respective school buses, kids had to walk from their homes to the campus gates, of which there were three or four. This could easily be up to a half mile walk. On occasion, I missed the school bus and had to take the public transport bus. Delhi's public transport system is known as the Delhi Transport Corporation or DTC.
As anyone who has lived in Delhi would know, taking the DTC bus is an adventure and a test of fitness. During rush hour (i.e. when I missed my school bus in the mornings), DTC buses don't quite stop at designated stops. Rather they merely slow down because while they must let off passengers they don't quite have room to let on more passengers. Therefore, those who need to get off must do so with great skill and determination, running for a few steps upon getting off to keep from falling due to inertia. And they must do so while taking care not to wipe out by stepping into a pot hole or on to a banana peel.
And while the bus slows down to let off passengers, those who have sufficient confidence in their abilities (or a desperate urgency) try to run and hop onto the moving bus. And getting on the bus isn't as simple as it might sound. Recall that the bus is full. Passengers are bulging out of both the front exit and the back entrance, neither of which have doors (see picture above). Therefore, a passenger wishing to get onto the bus must first use one hand to secure a grip on something -- a handle bar, a window, or even another sturdy passenger. Second, the passenger must now quickly secure a foot hold, ideally on the exit or entrance steps but occasionally on another passenger's unsuspecting foot.
These rush hour rides were great exercise and an excellent opportunity to travel ticket-less because the destination would typically arrive before one could wrestle one's way to the bus conductor comfortably seated in the back of the bus.
Anyway, I digress. Back to the school bus. I remember that sometime in the middle grades we had a Sikh bus driver. I, too, was born into a Sikh family. So, the driver might have been partial to me. Anyway, he used let me sit next to him on the engine cover, which used to get pretty hot (so one needed motivation to sit on it). And, as you will discover, I had a certain motivation. At some point I mustered up enough courage to ask him if he would let me shift the gear for him -- just once. To my surprise the driver turned out to be quite a sport and played along. Slowly I graduated to shifting gears for him all the way to school (several miles). He would, of course, press his foot down on the clutch and I would try my best to time the actual gear shift with his clutch work. The engine cover used to be hot as hell, which was tolerable during winters (our school uniform required shorts until grade 10) but sucked during summers. The stick shift was this large apparatus (about as big as a baseball bat) that I could barely maneuver. Every once in a while I'd screw up and cause the transmission system to let out embarrassingly loud grunts and roars. The driver would smile and bail me out. I can only hope that I didn't do any great harm to the transmission system during these adventures. But I had fun and the driver was an absolute darling for humoring me and providing me with my first ever driving lessons, albeit rather unconventional ones.
Saturday, December 7, 2013
My Experiments with the PICAXE 08M2+
In the electronics and robotics world, the analogy of cooking from scratch is to build circuits using a bare bones micro-controller chip (e.g. the PICAXE) rather than a fancy board (e.g. the Arduino). Therefore, once I get a circuit working with the packaged Arduino approach (e.g. this robot I built recently), I usually try to replicate the circuit using more basic components like the PICAXE.
My decision to consider the PICAXE was influenced by Charles Platt's coverage of it in his awesome book Make: Electronics. But essentially, I am a minimalist and I want to see how much I can get done with a bare bones chip rather than a bulky board-based micro-controller like the Arduino. My current favorites are the Nano (quite small, just $7, breadboard friendly, and just as easy to work with as the Uno). My next experiment will be the ATtiny85V-10PU chip because I believe it's still fairly easy to work with (it can be programmed via a regular Arduino and has many of the same capabilities as the Arduino -- many programs written for the Arduino can easily be modified to work on the ATtiny), costs just $2.50, and is of course breadboard friendly. (I don't mind soldering, but for most of my experimentation breadboards are the way to go.)
And the actual PICAXE I chose was the latest model of the smallest chip available, i.e. the 08M2 ($7), for which (as a gentle soul on one of the forums clarified to me) the label on the chip actually reads 08M2+.
Uploading your program to the PICAXE is the first major hurdle you're likely to encounter. As I have discovered, everything involving the PICAXE is harder to do than it is with the Arduino. That's because the PICAXE is just a bare bones chip, whereas the Arduino is a micro-controller chip on a board along with a fairly large supporting cast of components and connectors (e.g. USB).
The standard way to program the PICAXE is by using the AXE027 (USB to 3.5mm jack plug male audio cable) or the USB010 (USB to RS232 9-pin male cable). In either case, additional components are needed to complete the setup.
The AXE027 cable uses an FTDI chip to perform the USB to RS-232 serial conversion required to program most micro-controller chips. However, I was inspired by this video by Kevin Darrah and other postings on the web to employ means other than having to buy this pricey $30 cable.
Kevin Darrah's approach uses an Arduino Duemilanove, which I don't have. So, I tried doing this with the Arduino Uno. The Uno didn't work because the Uno uses the Atmega16U2 chip to perform the USB to RS-232 serial conversion. According to my testing, using the PICAXE IDE's "Test Port" feature, the Uno's serial converter did not seem to support the RS-232 "break" command. The IDE's "Test Port" feature works by turning the signal on and off and a multimeter hooked up to measure the voltage across the PICAXE's serial input pin and 0V (or ground) is supposed to detect a change in voltage as the test LED is switched on and off.
This port test did succeed for me when I tried it with the Arduino Nano, probably because the Nano uses an FTDI chip to perform the USB to RS-232 serial conversion, which clearly does support the RS-232 "break" command.
Note: the exact chip I used was the PICAXE 08M2+, which is a significant upgrade on the 08 and 08M chips. I paid about $7 for it (compare with $35 or so for the Arduino, $45 or so for the Raspberry Pi, and $2.50 for the ATtiny85).
Note that the FTDI chip and most other USB to serial converters that perform the conversion often stop short of inverting the signals, as is needed for programming the PICAXE. The FTDI chip can be configured to invert the signals using FTDI's FT_PROG tool. However, I decided to heed the warning on the FTDI site and use the circuit I've described in this blog to invert the signals rather than mess around with the FTDI chip on my Nano and risk having my Nano being rendered useless.
As I mentioned previously, the reason this circuit is required at all is because signals are inverted in the RS-232 serial protocol. Using 0V to represent logic 0 (a bit value of 0) and 5V to represent logic 1 (a bit value of 1) is the more common approach and is known as the transistor-transistor logic (TTL) level. The RS-232 serial logic levels are not only higher (+/- 12V, so you wouldn't want to connect them directly to your chip since most chips operate on 5V or 3.3V) but also inverted. Therefore a USB logic 1 signal needs to be converted to a logic 0 signal and a USB logic 0 signal needs to be converted to a logic 1 signal. The circuit described here accomplishes that inversion of signals.
To program the PICAXE the IDE needs to send data to the PICAXE and receive data back from the PICAXE. Think of the RX (receive) pin on the Arduino as representing data arriving from the PICAXE IDE via the USB-to-serial FTDI converter. When the IDE is sending data to the PICAXE, the RX logic 1 signal is applied to the transistor's base, which results in completing the circuit from the transistor's collector to emitter and a logic 0 signal being applied to the PICAXE serial-in pin (the logic 1 signal from the Arduino's RX pin got inverted to a logic 0 signal prior to being sent to the PICAXE's serial in pin).
Conversely, when the PICAXE sends data back to the IDE, a logic 0 signal from the PICAXE's serial out pin causes the transistor to remain off and the 5V (logic 1) signal is applied to the Arduino's TX pin. And a logic 1 signal from the PICAXE's serial out pin, when applied to the transistor's base, turns the transistor on, thereby causing a logic 0 (0V) signal to be applied to the Arduino's TX pin. Hence, the inversion of signals is accomplished via the use of these two NPN 2N2222 transistors and four 10K resistors.
So, finally, here's the circuit that I've been describing in the paragraphs above.
|Schematic From Kevin Darrah's Video
|Breadboard Circuit for Programming the PICAXE with an Arduino
|LED Blink Program for the PICAXE
However, to be fair, I should acknowledge that Atmel also uses different physical/hardware and software/code pin numbering schemes for its chips, e.g. the ATtiny85. Regardless, I'd appreciate it if anyone could point me to a good tutorial on how to use the four ports (A, B, C, D) on the PICAXE 08M2+.
|The ATtiny85 by Atmel
|PICAXE 08M2+ Pin Assignments
Here's the circuit I put in place to get a reliably blinking LED. Note that this is the configuration you'll need in case you wish to have the serial in/out pins to double duty, e.g. digital I/O. However, my favorite configuration is one in which I leave serial in/out pins dedicated to programming and use the other four pins for I/O. That way, I can program on the fly. Also, note that here the Arduino is merely supplying power (5V) and I have not shown here the USB cable from my laptop providing power to the Nano.
|Breadboard Circuit for PICAXE 08M2+ Blinking LED
In closing I'd like to share one final observation. So far, I have been lucky to have fried or damaged very few components. The first was a set of three LEDs that came with my Raspberry Pi starter kit from Adafruit. That was until I realized that I simply must add a 1K resistor in series with LEDs at all times. And I also realized that once you know exactly what you want (which requires a bit of learning and research), it's a lot cheaper to buy components via eBay. The second was the Raspberry Pi's SD card slot, which broke upon the slightest application of vertical stress. (BeagleBone's MicroSD card slot is a much better idea since it's smaller and less susceptible to vertical stress.) And finally, the first PICAXE I ordered either arrived damaged or was damaged during my experiments with trying to program it. I suspect it might have been the former (a ding against eBay), because when it arrived the painted branding information (PICAXE 08M2+ and serial number) had already worn off and I had to strain to read the engravings (a shout out to the iPhone magnifying app "Mag Light" for making this a lot easier). The second PICAXE I ordered (again via eBay), which is the one I successfully programmed, seems pretty resilient. I have even accidentally applied reverse voltage and all it did was pop the software fuse on my laptop's USB port (requires a laptop reboot to reset). To be fair, I have ordered many, many components from eBay at extremely reasonable prices and have had very few negative experiences (although the best deals do take forever to ship and will test your patience and stamina for electronics). Note that I always make sure that the seller has at least a few hundred reviews and a 98% or higher ratio of positive feedback.
Update: Good news! The first PICAXE, which I had set aside as "damaged" has turned out to be perfectly fine and healthy. I swapped it into my programming/test operation circuit (described above in this blog post) and I am able to program and operate it. So, it was human error after all. However, when I'm at my wits end I often fall back to swapping components like chips that cannot easily be tested with a multi-meter. And it is certainly good to have plenty of spare breadboards and jumpers so that once, for example, you've established a working circuit for programming a micro-controller chip you can set it aside and not have to tear-down and build it each time you need to program the chip. Now on to programming my 2D string array of remote control codes for my Arduino robot project (see link above), which I eventually want to try controlling with the smallest bare bones micro-controller that'll do the job, e.g. a PICAXE or an ATtiny. Also, I am told that faded etching on top of the engraved chip markings are quite normal and are not necessarily a sign of wear.
I know I had a bunch of trouble getting my PICAXE 08M2+ to do my bidding. So, I decided to document my experiences in order to help others and perhaps even myself, if several days from now I can't recall how I actually got it working. As I mentioned, working with the PICAXE (or any other bare bones micro-controller chip like the ATtiny85) is sure to be more challenging than working with a board like the Arduino boards. Also, relative to the PICAXE, there is a lot more help available for the Arduino in the form of videos, web posts, and books. But if you're up for the challenge, then the PICAXE can give you more control at a smaller cost. All said and done, I feel very positive about the PICAXE and its prospects on future projects of mine.
Thursday, November 28, 2013
Arduino Robot | Step 1 (Basic Operation)
|Arduino Robot | Step 1 (Basic Operation)
Component List
- Arduino Uno. I plan to switch to the smaller Arduino Nano to see whether the Uno is overkill for this project. Subsequently, I also plan to see how far I can get with the ATtiny85V, PICaxe 08M2 and any other smaller micro-controllers worth trying.
- Breadboard. I know how to solder (and you should, too), but it's not much fun at all and risks burning out components. Breadboards are great for prototyping, making modifications on the fly, and building projects incrementally, in phases (not unlike Agile software development). Later on, you can solder the robot into a permanent gadget, if you really want to (and have no need to reuse the components). This is why I want to experiment with smaller/cheaper micro controllers units (MCUs), although the cheap prices for the MCUs are often offset by the complicated/expensive setup required to program them.
- 9V Battery. To power the Arduino. It's a good idea to keep the Arduino circuit separate from the circuit driving the motors for several reasons. One, the two circuits might require different voltages to drive them. Two, doing so protects the Arduino from the noise produced by induction motors. Three, the Arduino might not directly be able to provide the current required to drive the motors (I tried and failed to run the motors directly off the Arduino digital pin output).
- Custom Arduino Software/Program. The actual program that causes the robot to move in the pattern you see in the video.
- Jumper Cables. Invaluable for connecting components using a breadboard. For example, jumper cables are used to carry the digital output signals from the Arduino to the breadboard.
- Test Leads with Alligator Clips. These are also invaluable when you don't have the ideal connectors handy. I used these to connect the 9V battery to the Arduino, using jumper cables.
- 2WD Chassis. This is the base for the robot.
- DC Motors. These are attached to the chassis.
- Wheels. Attached to the motors.
- Caster Wheel. Attached to the back of the chassis. This provides a simpler option than a 4WD robot, which is harder to make and manage, in part because you then have four motors to manage instead of just two.
- 6V Battery Case. This is what powers the circuit for the motors.
- 2N2222 Transistors. These happen to be the most popular semiconductor of all time. I used the TO-92 packaging components to bridge the Arduino circuit to the motor circuit. The digital output from the Arduino is wired to the transistor base (via a 560 ohm resistor in series). When the base receives a signal from the Arduino, it allows current to flow form the collector to the emitter, thereby completing the circuit for the motor and causing the motor to run.
- 560 Ohm Resistors. As described above.
- Double-Sided Tape and Velcro. Invaluable for attaching things (e.g. the breadboard, the Arduino and the 9V battery) to the robot chassis so that they don't fall off while the robot is operating and they can be easily removed when you need to use them for other prototypes.
Next Steps
This step is just the beginning on what I expect to be a long road with the following enhancements and/or modifications.
This step is just the beginning on what I expect to be a long road with the following enhancements and/or modifications.
- Add a distance sensor (SR04) for obstacle/precipice avoidance.
- Add light sensors (LDRs) for light following behavior.
- Add infrared (IR) remote control capabilities. At least for me, the VS1838 module (a little board with a built-in LED) was a miserable failure. So, I switched to the raw TSOP4838 (not a module), and it works like a charm (with the Keyes remote control that shipped along with the VS1838 module).
- Add an H-bridge using the L293D chip (I pulled it off my Arduino Motor Shield, which I found to be overkill) to allow the Arduino to reverse motor direction without rewiring.
- Experiment with smaller micro-controllers, e.g. the Arduino Nano, the ATTINY85V, and the PICAXE.
- Experiment with alternate wireless remote control technologies, including Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless.
- Store robot configuration (e.g. MRU motor speeds) in EEPROM using I2C serial communication from the Arduino.
- Add LEDs to indicate status, e.g. remote control signal received (blink), light following behavior on/off, turning indicators/blinkers.
- Make: Electronics by Charles Platt. A delightful book with detailed pictures, drawings and explanations. Easily the best modern book on the subject.
- Arduino Cookbook (Second Edition) by Michael Margolis. Encyclopedic treatment of all that you can do with an Arduino micro-controller.
- Arduino in Action by Martin Evans. There a lot of Arduino books in the market. But I found this one to be one of the most useful books.
- YouTube Videos. Especially the ones by Jaidyn Edwards and Jeremy Blum.
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Learning to Fly: Peanut Butter, Sardines, and Turbans
|Haagen Dazs Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream
During my most recent visit to New Delhi my cousin's wife re-introduced me to an old classmate, of whom I had only vague recollections. She was able to convince me that we had been classmates. She recalled that I used to bring peanut butter and honey sandwiches to school for recess. Of course, I had purged that little detail of my school days, along with all of the other embarrassments that caused me not to blend in. Nobody else brought peanut butter sandwiches to school for lunch. This was New Delhi, not Canada, where I was born and raised for the first three years of my life and where I undoubtedly developed a taste for peanut butter sandwiches.
The school I attended was Modern School (initially the Humayun Road branch and later the Vasant Vihar branch, aka MSVV). This is a rather Westernized and hip private school. And yet no one except me brought peanut butter sandwiches to school. To add to my inability to blend in, unlike Guru Harkrishan Public School (GHPS) up the street on Poorvi Marg, not many kids at MSVV looked like me. So, in more than one way, I did not blend in. I had unshorn hair, worn in a top bun, as is done by observant Sikhs, and covered up using a patka or turban. Sikhs are like India's Jews, a mere two percent of the population, but responsible for disproportionately large contributions in the military, agriculture, transportation, sporting, and many other endeavors. Memories of me wearing a turban are some of my proudest moments, in large part because it made my family happy. Paradoxically, wearing a turban caused me to stand out, which is the direct opposite of blending in, but in a good way. Most kids, as well as adults, want to blend in, that is if they're not going to stand out in good way. Observant Sikhs automatically get to choose the latter.
My turban was welcome protection during the winter months. But for the most part it was a source of ridicule. Among the countless forms of teasing observant Sikhs have to endure in India's schools, friends openly speculate on whether their turbaned mates stand any chance with the most sought after girls. Gone were the days, it would appear, when a turban signified respect, honor and prestige in Indian society.
My former classmate's recollection about my fondness for peanut butter sandwiches had rung true because I still like them and they are, to this day, a favorite option for breakfast. The turban, on the other hand, is no more. I had never liked wearing it although I was quite adept at tying it neatly and looked smart in it, or so I was told. The protection a turban offered me in the winter months was massively offset by the discomfort of unshorn hair, especially during New Delhi's sweltering heat and never-ending hot spells.
To make things worse, my curly hair was particularly unsuited for keeping long. I remember countless hours of working through knots that would form in my hair after washing them and letting them dry for a few hours (see my Afro pictures from college days upon returning to Canada). As a kid I had help from my mom, but later in life I had to fend for myself. And it was quite an ordeal. I don't know what the statistics are globally, but at least in my circles curly hair are a fairly rare feature and so not many people (i.e men) have experience with the torture involved in keeping them long or unshorn. My daughter has inherited my curly hair and it didn't take her long to discover hair straighteners, which vastly simplify her life. The wonders of technology.
My parents used to tell me that I liked sardines. Of that I have no memory. I don't like them presently and no classmate has stepped forward to own the rekindling of that memory. Perhaps that is in store for my next trip to India. And although I remain opposed to sardines, I am very passionately ambivalent to turbans, which I find any excuse to don, including religious and family events. The extent of my indecision is so extreme that I sometimes wish I could wear it to bed and never ever take it off, as if it were stuck to my head with peanut butter.
Monday, September 23, 2013
Sikhs as a Firewall for Hate Crime
By the time this reaches you, you would likely already have heard about the heinous hate crime attack on a Sikh professor from Columbia University in New York. All too predictably, the attackers referred to the victim as "Osama" and "terrorist".
In building construction, a firewall is built as a barrier to prevent a fire in one part of the building from spreading through the rest of the building.
Building on the analogy (no pun), in Web or Internet technology, which is where I earn my living, a firewall is used as a first line of defense to block unauthorized access from sources that wish to perpetuate attacks of various kinds on a Web site.
I have borrowed the term "firewall" to describe the role Sikhs have played, from their origin leading up to current times.
The Sikh religion was formed, in some part, due to the dire need to protect India's predominant Hindus against unrelenting attacks from Muslim invaders from Mongolia, Persia, and beyond.
Fast forward to today. And we find that, in America and in other Western nations, Sikhs have become a perpetual "mistaken identity" for Muslims and have faced uncountable "mistaken identity" attacks (starting with Meso, Arizona). In doing so, unwitting Sikhs have served as a canary in a coal mine, warning the Muslim community of what awaits them once the firewall melts and is no longer able to stop the spread of the fire.
In building construction, a firewall is built as a barrier to prevent a fire in one part of the building from spreading through the rest of the building.
Building on the analogy (no pun), in Web or Internet technology, which is where I earn my living, a firewall is used as a first line of defense to block unauthorized access from sources that wish to perpetuate attacks of various kinds on a Web site.
I have borrowed the term "firewall" to describe the role Sikhs have played, from their origin leading up to current times.
The Sikh religion was formed, in some part, due to the dire need to protect India's predominant Hindus against unrelenting attacks from Muslim invaders from Mongolia, Persia, and beyond.
Fast forward to today. And we find that, in America and in other Western nations, Sikhs have become a perpetual "mistaken identity" for Muslims and have faced uncountable "mistaken identity" attacks (starting with Meso, Arizona). In doing so, unwitting Sikhs have served as a canary in a coal mine, warning the Muslim community of what awaits them once the firewall melts and is no longer able to stop the spread of the fire.
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Learning to Fly: Learning to Swim
|The IIT Delhi Swimming Pool
I can't recall the last time I had to work on a Saturday. But taking the kids to swim is not work. It's a joy to see kids learn, and grow. I remember learning to swim at the swimming pool at IIT Delhi (India). My father, who was a professor at IIT, used to stress that it was an "Olympics size" pool. I have no reason to doubt that it was. IITD had awesome facilities. And I am lucky to have grown up on campus.
I remember my father doing length-wise laps in the pool. He was a good swimmer. (My mother's strokes were a bit more labored. She could only manage breadth-wise laps.) My father used to tell us that a good swimmer causes little or no splashing in the water. The strokes must be smooth, like a knife through butter. He didn't say that last part. I added that because it describes what he had tried to convey. We (my younger brother and I) got the message, loud and clear. But I never became as accomplished a swimmer as my dad. In fact, I doubt I'm more accomplished than him at much at all. Perhaps squash? Perhaps parenting? Taking the kids for swimming lessons is good parenting. But my dad taught me himself. There were no swimming lessons to be bought.
We were instructed to hold on to the lip around the pool and splash our legs. Of course, we had inflated tire tubes around our waists holding us up. We weren't going to sink. And we weren't going to swim. The most I ever managed was to push my self off one side of the pool, splash wildly, and land on the pool floor, often just short of making it from one side of the shallow end to the other. But not quite knowing how to swim didn't stop me from joining white water expeditions during college in Windsor, Ontario (Canada). Of course, I had no life vest and had not contemplated the possibility of the raft tipping over! And when it did, I had to recall everything I had learned about making a few lunges from one side of the pool's shallow end to the other and, somehow, I managed to grab hold of a boulder sticking out of the water. Once the group found out about my swimming prowess, I was banned from joining them on wilder expeditions to follow.
And, yes, somewhere between the raft tipping over and the group managing to get it back under their command, we lost the beer we had ingeniously tied to outside of the raft (so that the water would keep it oh so cold). I sincerely hope that my kids will turn out to be better swimmers than me and will show better judgment than I did when asked to partake in a crazy adventure. But then, they might not have anything to write about.
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Are JSP tag libraries still relevant?
|Figure 1
|Figure 2
|Figure 3
|Figure 4
Dump JSP tag libraries and switch to JSON.
I often see development teams using JSP tag libraries when they shouldn't be. I wrote this post to explain why it's best to view JSP tag libraries as relics of the past.
Most non-trivial web applications store data in a database on the server side. These applications need mechanisms that allow the clients (web browsers) and servers (e.g. Java application servers) to exchange data. Typically, either a) data needs to be displayed for the user (so, the client sends the look up criteria to the server and the server responds with the relevant data) or b) the user changes data in the browser and the client needs to submit the data modification to the server for processing and/or permanent storage.
Until recently, most Java web applications have used JSP tag libraries as a client-side mechanism to extract data out of Java objects (JavaBeans) passed back and forth between clients (web browsers) and servers as part of the JSP/servlet paradigm offered by Java. (Note: JSPs are HTML files that get converted into Java servlets so that they can contain Java code for manipulating server-side Java objects.) In each case, the server responds with a new page (with embedded data), also known as a full page refresh.
As a result, I recommend to most teams I consult with that it's best to abandon JSP tag libraries entirely in favor of a pure AJAX/JSON based approach.
Here's a summary of the reasoning behind my recommendation to use AJAX/JSON exclusively (even for full page refreshes).
- I have worked with teams that have analyzed the size of the data being shuttled back and forth across the network and found that JSON consumes a lot less network bandwidth than the JavaBeans/JSP tag library approach or even XML payloads. Their analysis seems to make sense to me since JSON is a bare bones pure text format without the syntactical overhead involved with XML or the rich object overhead involved with JavaBeans.
Thanks for reading. I hope I've made my case adequately. However, I'd like to have your feedback, especially if you believe I've overlooked something.
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Ode To The Handyman
I recently posted a list of DIY projects on Facebook and a friend responded to suggest that I hire a handyman. So, I wrote this response to explain why I prefer the DIY route.
Understand. I like to understand how things work. Fixing things is a great way of achieving an appreciation for how things work, what causes them to stop working, and how to build them better and use them the right way so that they last longer. (While growing up, one of my father's books The Way Things Work was among my favorites. Hard to believe, but this 1967 classic is apparently still in print!)
Delegate With Competence. I like to know how something is done before I delegate it. That way I can provide competent supervision and am less likely to be taken for a ride.
Reduce Waste. Once you develop a handyman mentality, you tend to fix things rather than throw them away. We have become a throwaway society that creates far too much trash. So, I am always looking for ways to reduce my garbage footprint.
Save Time. Rather than schedule an appointment with a handyman, likely take a day off work, wait for his arrival, and hang around while he works, I can do the job during off hours, at my own convenience.
Stay Active. All the fixing helps me maintain an active lifestyle. And that's a major plus in today's sedentary society wherein we spend most of the day either sitting or lying down.
Save Money. It's cheaper. Not only do I not have to pay exorbitant hourly rates, I also don't lose a vacation day at work. And I can use the money I save to fund our next vacation trip.
(Of course, none of the above really applies if you're not handy. And in that case you have no choice but to either hire or befriend a handyman.)
Saturday, January 5, 2013
How to Select and Install Shelves
The kitchen in my house has a closeted area for laundry, where the washer and dryer take up the floor space. But there's 50 square feet (5' wide x 4' high x 2.5' deep) of space above the washer and dryer that was going unused. So, I started researching shelving systems. I began online at Home Depot, Lowe's, etc. But this isn't something you can do online unless you've worked with that exact system previously and know exactly what to order. After speaking with someone at the local Home Depot, I ended up going with a ClosetMaid ShelfTrack system that has several parts that all need to be coordinated carefully to get a working system. That is the system I will describe in detail in this post. But I'll also allude to other options.
First, note that this is a system especially suited for situations like mine where you're working exclusively within the top half of the space between the ceiling and the floor. Here is the component list for the ClosetMaid ShelfTrack system, also referred to ClosetMaid's web site as Adjustable Mount Hardware.
At this point I should mention a major alternative, suitable for situations where you're only planning on one or shelves and aren't worried about being able to adjust the height. Fittingly, this is the system listed under ClosetMaid Fixed Mount Hardware. Broadly, it consists of Wire Shelves and the following.
Although picking a shelving system and buying the right shelving components that fit well together is hard enough, the part that stumps most people is the correct methodology for screwing these pieces into the wall. In most Western houses, walls are erected by screwing sheets of dry wall to wood or steel frames setup along the perimeter of each room. The frame is typically made up of 1" x 2'' or 2'' x 4'' slabs of wood, also known as studs. Whenever possible, you want your screw to go into a stud so that it will be more secure and will support enough weight. However, locating studs isn't easy and involves either knocking on the dry wall to use the change in sound to detect the existence of studs or the use of a stud detector ($10 to $50, depending on the level of sophistication). And when you're installing something horizontally (as is the case for our Hang Track) you will be lucky if you're able to line up one or two of the 6 screws with a stud. The remaining screws will go into dry wall, also known as hollow dry wall. And this where most people get stumped. If you use regular wood screws to screw your Hang Track into dry wall, the Hang Track will not have must support and will come down like a house of cards as soon as you put some weight on your shelves.
First, note that this is a system especially suited for situations like mine where you're working exclusively within the top half of the space between the ceiling and the floor. Here is the component list for the ClosetMaid ShelfTrack system, also referred to ClosetMaid's web site as Adjustable Mount Hardware.
|Shelf End Caps
|Hang Track
|Superslide Shelf
- Hang Tracks. Installed horizontally near the top of the shelving area. Create one-step leveling and prevent the need to level each standard separately. The length of the Hang Track should be as much a as possible without exceeding the length of the space in which you plan to install the shelving system.
- Standards. Installed vertically. The notches at the top of the standards fish tail with the Hang Tracks so that the Standards lock into and hang from the Hang Tracks. The height of the Standards should be a much as possible without exceeding the height of the space in which you plan to install the shelving system.
- Wire Shelving Brackets. Attach to the Standard at the desired height and spacing such that Brackets sit parallel to the floor and support the shelves. The Bracket size (e.g. 16'') should match the depth of the Shelves you intend to install.
- Superslide Shelf. There are several kinds of CloseMaid Wire Shelves that can sit on top of the Brackets. Superslide Shelf is the one that seemed most appropriate for my purpose. Shelves come in fixed lengths. So, I had to buy a 72'' Shelf and have it cut down to 60''. And when you cut a shelf, you end up with sharp edges at the cut end. So, it's best to cover up those sharp edges with Shelf End Caps. (I did consider wood shelves but somehow could not find the right size. Also, the CloseMaid Wire Shelves snap onto the back of the Brackets so that they don't move around once they placed on the Brackets.)
This system cost me around $150.
|Wall Clips
|Wall Brackets
|Support Bracket
At this point I should mention a major alternative, suitable for situations where you're only planning on one or shelves and aren't worried about being able to adjust the height. Fittingly, this is the system listed under ClosetMaid Fixed Mount Hardware. Broadly, it consists of Wire Shelves and the following.
- Wall Clips. These are used for attaching the back of the Wire Shelves to the wall.
- Wall Brackets. These are used for attaching the front of the Wire Shelves sideways to the wall.
- Support Brackets. The top end attaches to the front lip of the Wire Shelves and the bottom end is screwed into the wall.
Although picking a shelving system and buying the right shelving components that fit well together is hard enough, the part that stumps most people is the correct methodology for screwing these pieces into the wall. In most Western houses, walls are erected by screwing sheets of dry wall to wood or steel frames setup along the perimeter of each room. The frame is typically made up of 1" x 2'' or 2'' x 4'' slabs of wood, also known as studs. Whenever possible, you want your screw to go into a stud so that it will be more secure and will support enough weight. However, locating studs isn't easy and involves either knocking on the dry wall to use the change in sound to detect the existence of studs or the use of a stud detector ($10 to $50, depending on the level of sophistication). And when you're installing something horizontally (as is the case for our Hang Track) you will be lucky if you're able to line up one or two of the 6 screws with a stud. The remaining screws will go into dry wall, also known as hollow dry wall. And this where most people get stumped. If you use regular wood screws to screw your Hang Track into dry wall, the Hang Track will not have must support and will come down like a house of cards as soon as you put some weight on your shelves.
|Dry Wall Installation
So, an entire cottage industry has evolved for coming up with creative ideas on how to more successfully drive screws into dry wall (and have them stay there). The primary choices are as follows.
|Dry Wall Screw With Anchor
|Dry Wall Screw With Self-Drilling Anchor
|Dry Wall Toggle Bolt
|Dry Wall Screws (Hybrid or Triple)
|Dry Wall Screw (Anchor-less)
- Dry Wall Screws With Anchors. You first drill a pilot hole and tap the anchor into the dry wall with a hammer. Then, as you rotate the screw into the anchor, the anchor typically expands on the other side the dry wall, thereby locking the screw in. These are cheaper and are a good choice for low load situations, e.g. if all you're planning to put on the shelves is pillows.
- Dry Wall Screws With Self-Drilling Anchors. This is a bear claw style anchor (as opposed to the expanding style) and has the advantage of not requiring a pilot hole to be drilled first. You just drill in the anchor and then put in the screw. These are more expensive and are a good choice for high load situations, e.g. if you're planning on loading the shelves with cans of soup or books.
- Dry Wall Toggle Bolt. This is actually a bolt with spring-loaded wings that expand once they get past the dry wall. As you continue to screw in the bolt the wings will eventually be flush with the other end of the dry wall and will lock the bolt in place.
- Dry Wall Screws (Anchor-less). This is an all-in-one option that is typically best for situations where the leading half of the screw is going into a stud. However, it may not work in many situations because the hole in the part you're trying to screw into the wall isn't wide enough for this type of screw.
- Dry Wall Screws Hybrids. Sometimes also known as triples, these are futuristic looking anchors (generally plastic) that implement multiple locking strategies as described above.
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Understanding Indian Classical Music
I've recently developed a deeper interest in appreciating and understanding Indian classical music, of which there are two major forms -- South Indian (Carnatic) and North Indian (Hindustani). A brief exploration is sufficient to realize that this is a very complex discipline indeed, which explains why ustads (maestros) aren't made overnight but are the result of a lifelong pursuit of classical music as a passion and career.
By the way, the masters whom I admire most are the ones who leverage their classical foundation to deliver successful popular music. There a many examples, but the ones I am most familiar with include Jagjit Singh, Daler Mehndi, Sonu Nigam, and Shankar Mahadevan (of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy).
In this blog post I merely hope to document the major concepts and bookmark the links to which I hope to return when the next wave of inspiration strikes me to develop my amateurish understanding to the next level.
I would ask serious students to consider the Shankar Mahadevan Academy (SMA), a carefully constructed online system of coursework that is both thorough and fun. But before you pay a hefty sum to enroll at the SMA, you should probably check out the excellent raag-hindustani.com website to get a sense of what you're in for in case you decide to take the plunge. Also, worthy of attention are some online videos including Understanding the Basics of Indian Raga Music. Meanwhile, I shall return to my present level of engagement with this art form, which is listening to Rashid Khan's amazing performances cataloged in The Best of Rashid Khan. Ustad Rashid is a rising star who is presently at the peak of his form. I got hooked on to him when I saw him perform at Jagjit Singh's remembrance (you MUST WATCH this even if it's the only link you click on this blog post).
Before I leave, here's a machine gun version of the key terms and concepts. It all starts with swars (notes), which develop into ragas (a series of notes), accompanied by a tala (beat). And I better stop before I go astray. So, check the sources above and enjoy!
Other good references.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
A geek hotline!
31 Tools Every Web Developer Should Know About
[A book review of "Web Development Recipes" by Hogan et al. The Pragmatic Programmers. 2012. 321 pp.]
This terrific compilation of recipes (42 recipes in 300 pages) is akin to having 24/7 access to a bunch of super-geeks who have found the time you wish you had to explore every promising new web development technology out there. Moreover, the authors have prepared a nice little recipe (generally under 5 pages) for each idea that is worthy of further attention.
For the most part, you can skim through the book in any sequence. And you can either read or try out the recipes. I actually tried a few on my web sites (e.g. recipe #3) and they do work! And there's good thoughtful cross-referencing between recipes, pointing out prerequisites and ideas for further exploration.
Even if you're not motivated enough to try out all of the book's recipes, skimming through this book is the best way I can think of to develop a meaningful understanding of cutting-edge web development technology trends.
Of particular value is the "progressive enhancement" approach the authors evangelize and display while building their recipes. Start by laying down a pure HTML foundation. Then add JavaScript interactivity. Add CSS for styling. This results in a decoupled system which work even when JavaScript isn't available or up-to-date on the user's client.
Here's a comprehensive list of the cutting edge, proven web development technologies this book will introduce you to.
- HTML5 and CSS3. The latest techniques for constructing and styling your web pages. (Multiple recipes.)
- CSS3 Transformations. To animate without using Flash so you're iOS compatible.
- jQuery, jQuery UI, jQuery Theme. The most popular of the JavaScript libraries. (Multiple recipes.)
- Mustache. A tool for creating HTML templates (a cleaner approach relative to generating HTML directly from JavaScript).
- AJAX. A JavaScript technique for server requests for portions of an HTML page without having to request a complete page update.
- QEDServer. A standalone web application with a product catalog database and a RESTLike API that allows developers to focus on front-end proof-of-concepts without having to worry about setting up a back-end to run against.
- Google Maps. Use the Google Maps API to integrate with it on your pages.
- Highcharts. A JavaScript library for creating interactive charts and graphs.
- Knockout. A JavaScript library for generating dynamic UI widgets using the Model-View-View Model (MVVM) pattern.
- Backbone. Use the MVC pattern in JavaScript. Also introduces readers to Underscore and JSON2.
- JSONP. JSON with Padding, to get around the "same origin policy" and load data from a server in another domain.
- CouchDB's CouchApps. Easy to use document database and a framework for building and deploying HTML and JavaScripts apps for CouchDB.
- jQuery Mobile. Create one application that'll work on all mobile platforms (iOS, Android, etc.).
- Jekyll. A tool for creating simple blog sites.
- Sass. Extends CSS, provides variables and the ability to reuse code.
- CoffeeScript. A new dialect for writing JavaScript that produces clean, compliant results.
- Git. The version control system of choice for open source systems today. Allows developers to work on multiple versions in parallel.
- Ubuntu. A version of Linux.
- ClickHeat. A PHP script for generating heatmaps to show which parts of your pages are being clicked most often.
- Selenium IDE. A Firefox plug-in for recording and playing back keystrokes and mouse clicks in order to capture UI test cases.
- Cucumber. A tool to extend Selenium tests to non-Firefox browsers and multiple browser versions. Tests are written in text, which promotes behavior-driven development (BDD) and increased stakeholder involvement.
- Jasmine. A JavaScript testing framework that promotes BDD.
- Dropbox. Cloud-based utility for syncing and sharing files across multiple devices.
- VirtualBox. An open source option for creating virtual environments with the ability to save and share environment snapshots.
- Vim. A powerful text editor.
- Apache. The industry's most popular open source web server. The authors explore configuration, setup of Secure Sockets Layer (SSL/HTTPS) and URL rewriting to preserve links.
- Jammit. Combines and compresses JavaScript and CSS files for asset packaging and easy automated deployment.
- Guard. Combines with Jammit to rebuild packaged assets when underlying files are changed.
- Rake. A command-line tool written in Ruby for creating automated tasks. (Many of the recipes require a Ruby environment and the book shows you how to set one up.)
Monday, November 12, 2012
Utility trailer buying guide
I recently bought a utility trailer. (I'll explain momentarily what that is and why you might consider buying one.) Going through the process (research, preparation, purchase, registration, setup and maintenance) has taught me that it's not a simple endeavor and very little good documentation exists in the public domain (e.g. on the Internet). Hence, this post.
In dictionary terms, of course, "to trail" means "to follow" (or to trace the path of a primary vehicle). Alternately, Wikipedia defines a trailer as an unpowered vehicle pulled by a powered vehicle.
So, let's get acquainted with what a utility trailer is and why you might consider buying one. If you're a hardworking, blue collar American you probably already have one -- it's the back half of your pickup truck. Well not quite, but that's the reason Australians refer to a pickup as a utility vehicle. A pickup is characterized by the presence of a flat bed in the back half of the vehicle.
This flat bed can be used to carry bulky items. Conversely, white collar yuppies tend to drive cars and sedans whose trunks can't accommodate bulky items. A utility trailer, then, is a bridge between the beastly pickup and the yuppie sedan or SUV.
In the simplest terms, a utility trailer is a detachable version of the back half of a pickup. Your car, sedan, or SUV represents the front half to which you can attach a trailer. Owning a trailer gives you the flexibility of driving a high mileage vehicle without losing the ability to lug a load of garden soil or a washing machine home yourself rather than having to shell out delivery charges. And once you own a trailer you will discover all of the other things you can do yourself rather than pay someone else to do.
There are, of course, many types of trailers. A utility trailer is a general purpose trailer, as opposed to a semi-trailer (typically used to transport large quantities of commercial goods across long distances), or a mobile home, travel trailer, or camper. In its most basic form, a trailer is nothing more than a flat bed with no predestined purpose. The flat bed can then be enhanced or customized for the purpose at hand, e.g. to transport a boat, a machine, or nearly anything else. However, what usually turns a trailer into a utility trailer is the presence of a flat bed surrounded by a 12 to 24 inch high walls to contain the load. The flat bed is generally made out of iron, steel, or aluminium. The walls are generally made of iron mesh or wooden planks.
Renting Versus Buying
In case you find all of the above somewhat intimidating, you can always just rent a utility trailer from U-Haul, the preeminent provider in this space. However, when you arrive at U-Haul to rent a utility trailer, U-Haul will remind you that regardless of whether you decide to rent or purchase you need to install a hitch on your yuppie vehicle in order to attach a trailer.
A hitch installation involves several facets, as outlined below.
First, you need to know your vehicle's gross combined weight rating (GCWR). This rating is generally explained in your vehicle's owner's manual and posted on the driver's side doorjamb. The rating represents the total weight your vehicle's engine can support, including the vehicle, driver and passengers, and the trailer. Some owner's manuals make it simpler and directly specify a maximum towing capacity for the vehicle. Also, most vehicles will recommend a lower maximum weight for a trailer without brakes. Trailers with brakes can carry a higher load because they have their own brakes to contain their momentum when the primary vehicle is slowing down, i.e. undergoing deceleration.
Second, U-Haul will recommend one or more hitches suitable for your vehicle. Hitches are categorized by class, e.g. class I, class II, etc. Higher class hitches generally support a higher towing capacity. Try to pick the highest class hitch available for your vehicle. The hitch's towing capacity should match or exceed your vehicle's towing capacity. Also, try to pick a hitch with a 2 inch receiver so that you will be able to tow most standard size trailers. The hitch is firmly bolted on to your vehicle's chassis on the bottom rear of your vehicle.
Fourth, ensure that whoever installs your hitch also installs wiring for powering the trailer lights with a standard 4-way, flat wiring connector that'll work with most trailers.
It took me a while to figure out that there's pretty much no point in looking anywhere except on Craigslist. Almost any trailer you buy online is likely to be in the self assembly, ultra light category. So, if you're looking for a solid trailer, often Craigslist is the way to go. One more incentive for us yuppies to buy a trailer, in case I haven't already offered plenty, is the opportunity to make and break things and engage in do-it-yourself (DIY) projects like we did before everything became either disposable or controlled by mysterious microchips.
In addition to the above-mentioned, there are many things to consider when buying a utility trailer. One of the most important considerations is towing capacity, which should match or exceed that of your vehicle and your hitch. Also, consider the size of the trailer. 5'x8' is the most common size. I bought a used, homemade 5'x8' for $500. Some of the homemade trailers might be somewhat smaller or larger.
Depending on the condition of your trailer on purchase, you may have to do some minor setup and/or maintenance to get it in working order. In my case, I needed a new setup for attaching the safety chains from the trailer to the hitch. Safety chains are intended to keep the trailer tethered to the vehicle in case it gets disconnected from the hitch. The existing hooks were too narrow for the loops on my hitch. After trying a few different options, I ended up buying a pair of Lehigh Quick Links. Before you buy, check the link's load capacity as well as the size of its opening so that you know that it will fit through the loops on your hitch.
A tip I picked up from another web site: adjust the slack in the chains to allow for a jackknife turn but no more and cross the chains to catch your trailer tongue if it ever gets detached from the vehicle while towing. This will prevent the trailer tongue from hitting the ground and getting damaged.
As I discovered several days following my purchase, I also had very slow leak on the left tire. It meant that the tire would remain sufficiently inflated for the several hours required for any reasonable task but would have to be reinflated in a week or so. Luckily I had an air compressor and the appropriate attachments to inflate the tire every week. It's a good idea to spend $25 or so on a portable air compressor that will run off the power source in your car and provide you with much needed assurance in case of a flat tire (to inflate the flat tire or the spare tire). However, after a few weeks of inflating I decided to fix the problem. I took the tire off the trailer. Depending on the amount of rust on the tire's nuts and blots you may need a breaker tool to get the nuts off. Once you do get the tire off, it's a good idea to spray the rusted nuts and bolts with WD40 to protect them from further rusting. With the tire lying on the ground, pour some soapy water on it to find the source of the leak. Bubbles will accumulate around the leak. As often happens with older rusted tires, the tire rim begins to rust and the rust breaks the seal between the rim and tire, thereby causing tiny rim leaks. I was able to get Pepboys to sand the rust off the rim and apply a fresh bead where the tire meets the rim. It cost me $25 and I now have a perfectly good tire that holds air forever.
Finally, it is worth buying a small padlock that you can use to lock the trailer's locking lever that makes it possible to hook the trailer to a hitch. No one can tow your trailer unless they unlock the locking lever. Consider using the lock when your trailer is sitting at home unused or when you have it parked somewhere (e.g. at a store) for a long period of time.
Even if you're not using the lock, always use a pin to prevent the locking lever from unlocking as you go over a bump or something.
A trailer with a gross vehicle weight (GVW) of 500 lbs or more must be registered with the appropriate office of the department of motor vehicles (DMV). At the time of registration you will need to provide a title or (in the case of a used trailer without a title) specifics about the trailer such as towing capacity, color, etc. You will also need to provide a bill of sale (BOS). A new trailer will likely already have a vehicle identification number (VIN), usually somewhere on its tongue. If you bought a used trailer without a VIN, then depending on the rules in your area you may be required to get a local police officer to visit your home (free of charge) and look the trailer over to certify in writing that the trailer doesn't already have a vehicle identification number (VIN) or other visible markings indicating prior ownership. Typically, your DMV can provide you with the form that is to be used by the police officer for the VIN check. Once you register the trailer you will get a title and VIN, which you should keep in a safe place. You may also consider engraving the VIN onto the tongue of your trailer.
The first time you drive with a trailer attached, go slow. The trailer has its own momentum and it takes a while to get used to it. Also, backing up can be tricky. The rule of thumb is to turn your vehicle in the opposite direction of the direction you want the trailer to go. Also, be careful when loading your trailer and keep your trailer's load capacity in mind. The rule of thumb for buying wholesale garden topsoil is that a one cubic yard bucket or scoop weighs roughly 1 ton/tonne or a 1,000 kilograms or 2,000 lbs.
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1w9mmuAXXAA
- http://www.howstuffworks.com/search.php?terms=utility+trailer
Happy towing!
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Programming Languages At A Glance
A humorous synopsis of today's major programming languages. Very cleverly done and pretty much hits the nail on the head. Your favorite language is sure to be discussed, albeit not necessarily in complimentary terms!
Friday, September 7, 2012
Nature Capture | Goslings
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November 27, 2014
December 18, 2006
As several of the largest Episcopal parishes in Virginia decide to break away from the Episcopal church, those close to home say there's no surprise to the decision.
"The larger of those congregations have pretty much disagreed with the direction the Episcopal church is going in for many years," Retired St. Paul's Memorial Priest Paula Kettlewell said.
At the heart of the decision, the acceptance of gay relationships, the consecration of an openly gay bishop, and, most recently, the installation of the first woman bishop as the head of an Anglican church.
"They think that the Protestant Episcopal church, the church that they have now removed themselves from, has erred, has gone away from what's taught in the Bible and traditional church," Professor of Religious Studies at UVa, Heather Warren said.
Those parishes now look to align themselves with a hyper-conservative Nigerian bishop, who views the acceptance of gay relationships "a satanic attack" on the church.
"It's an example of the growing divergence and tensions within the Episcopal church," Kettlewell said.
Meanwhile the Diocese of Virginia's bishop says he will actively seek to retain ownership of property at both churches, worth over 20 million dollars, but that he's also saddened by the split.
"I think there's going to be a lot of pain within the Episcopal church and also with these churches that have broken, away because its like a divorce," Warren said.
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text:
Revlon • Colorstay Quad "Addictive" • Eye Shadow
(15 reviews)
|Average Rating.
|Would buy this product again.
Arrosynn on 6/24/2014 11:09:00 AM more reviews by Arrosynn
Age: 19-24 Skin: Combination, Fair, Cool Hair: Red, Wavy, Fine Eyes: Green
Alright, recently i've been looking into trying out more neutrals looks with eyeshadows. I actually never ever wear eyeshadow, so this is kind of a big deal. Well I came across this one in Shoppers last week and I thought the colors looked pretty easy to start with. A lot of people who have reviewed this product have mentioned that the colors aren't really all that pigmented. Which is true, they're not. If you use a primer though, they show up a little bit better. I ended up banging out the most perfect neutral eyeshadow and eyeliner look i've ever EVER done. It looked like something that could have been put on pinterest. I was so proud of myself! This quad was a total win.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
MandyLynn90 on 3/23/2014 10:52:00 PM more reviews by MandyLynn90
Age: 19-24 Skin: Normal, Fair-Medium Hair: Brunette Eyes: Hazel
I was excited when I found these pretty colors but there not pigmented at all. I gave it to my mom who doesn't really wear make up! Save your self the money and buy wet n wild eyeshadow in walking on eggshells
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AmazingBella on 9/15/2013 3:22:00 PM more reviews by AmazingBella
Age: 18 & Under Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium Hair: Brunette Eyes: Hazel
I agree with the user that said i don't find much luck when it comes to drugstore shadows so i saw this palette and had really low hopes for it but something was telling me to try it out anyway. The shadows certainly aren't the best quality but definitely not the worst . I find myself reaching for it a lot and i do think you can make many different looks out of it. It also works well with other shadows in my collection. i don't regret buying it but i probably wouldn't purchase again because i have so many neutrals in my collection already.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Sarahjuang on 7/27/2013 12:27:00 AM more reviews by Sarahjuang
Age: 18 & Under Skin: Combination, Tan, Warm Hair: Brunette, Wavy, Medium Eyes: Brown
I don't like these eyeshadows at all, they aren't pigmented at all, they look muddled on my lid and when swatched some of the colors look exactly the same. I don't really mind spending a lot of money on makeup but I really really regret spending the $6 I spent on this, I don't think I will get any use out of this quad because the colors aren't even pigmented enough to use with other eyeshadows. This quad turned me off a lot and I don't think I will be repurchasing other eyeshadows from this line.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
spaingirl87 on 7/26/2013 5:43:00 PM more reviews by spaingirl87
Age: 25-29 Skin: Combination, Olive Hair: Black Eyes: Brown
So, I really wanted to like the this product, but it wasn't what I expected. The colors are not very pigmented and takes a lot of digging with my brush to get the color I want. The only one that picks up instantly is the bottom right one and that one is actually muddy and not as pretty as I hoped ( hoping for a warmer brown). I had high hopes that this would be a great neutral eyeshadow palette, but it isn't . I wish I had spent my money on the Sonia kashuk 19.99 palette, which I hear is a great neutral palette. However I gave this a better rating b/c it did have great staying power and didn't crease and does last all day. However I often prime my eyelids with my concealer. It also has very nice packaging, and is very nice to travel with.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
lucyfw on 7/25/2013 9:21:00 AM more reviews by lucyfw
Age: 19-24 Skin: Combination, Fair Hair: Brunette, Wavy, Medium Eyes: Blue
I really like this product and was surprised to see some pretty harsh reviews of it. For a drugstore/high st product, it is definitely worth purchasing. I was looking for a neutral eyeshadow quad which would be easy to use - specifically with brown/taupe tones - and have found this to be perfect for these needs. My favourite shade is the bottom left one - a medium taupe with a subtle hint of shimmer (this is not as noticeable when on the eyelid). To be honest, I rarely use all four eyeshadows together. I like to mix the shades with other eyeshadows. For example, I also own the Revlon Siren eyeshadow quad and like to mix the shades for a smokey eye. I apply the shades usually with a Sigma E25 shading brush after either powdering the eyelid or using Bobbi Brown Cream eyeshadow in Bone as a primer. Using this method, I have found the shades to be quite long-lasting. I have also been quite impressed with the packaging. Unlike normal eyeshadow quads, the packaging works well in keeping them separate. I have even dropped the quad on the floor multiple times and the eyeshadows have not moved an inch. Excellent product - just be more careful with it than me!
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*TOP REVIEWER* sweetcg49 on 5/26/2013 6:34:00 AM more reviews by sweetcg49
Age: 56 & Over Skin: Normal, Fair-Medium Hair: Brown Eyes: Green
I like it, too. I was looking for a trio or quad to take with me on vacation so I didn't have to drag around so much stuff. I have several, but it seems that almost all of them are too sparkly. I wanted matte, and I totally got it with this one. One of the medium shades has a little bit of shimmer to it, but that's ok. The light shade works great as a base, and the darkest shade is just dark enough but not too dark for the crease. I had no trouble with the pigment. Seems just right to me. I usually use brushes, but I found that even the little applicator that comes with the product works fine with this. What a surprise! I like the texture. It doesn't flake, and it stays on. Quite pleased.
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*TOP REVIEWER* aznmnkygrl808 on 2/27/2013 1:04:00 AM more reviews by aznmnkygrl808
Age: 19-24 Skin: Oily, Medium, Warm Hair: Brunette, Wavy, Medium Eyes: Brown
I've had bad experiences with drugstore eyeshadows (except wet n wild) in the past. I figured since the drugstore has been on a roll with awesome makeup products, I would give these eyeshadows a try. This quad sucks soooo bad. Colors are chalky and not pigmented. Only 2 colors that are alright are the cream and silver/taupe shades. Other than that, I wouldn't wanna try any other quads from this line or from any other drugstore brand besides wet n wild. Wouldn't repurchase.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Regan7374 on 12/29/2012 8:10:00 PM more reviews by Regan7374
Age: 19-24 Skin: Normal, Fair-Medium Hair: Blond Eyes: Blue
At first glance I thought I would love this neutral quad. But unfortunately, I find that the shades look a slight bit darker than my skin tone and it doesn't look too great. The price was fairly inexpensive for a quad but I don't think I will be purchasing again.
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karieygirl on 11/30/2012 6:00:00 PM more reviews by karieygirl
Age: 19-24 Skin: Normal Hair: Black Eyes: Blue
To my own fault, I tend to steer clear of drugstore eye shadows and for the reasons why I don't like this product: it's chalky, void of pigmentation, and takes a lot of layering to see 3/4 of the colors.
I was at Walgreens today and seeing as Revlon was BOGO1/2OFF, I decided to pick up a foundation and *gasp* try a drugstore eye shadow palette. I came home and promptly tried it out in hopes that it would be something I'd fall in love with! Unfortunately, I didn't. I expected the first color to not show up as much-as it's essentially flesh toned- but not the other three.
I will be taking this one back and trying a different line of drugstore eye shadow in hopes of finding the perfect one.
In my opinion: steer clear of this palette unless you want eye shadows that have major fall out, are powdery, and 3/4 hardly show up at all.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Top Rated Eye Shadow
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text:
Facebook boss joins Disney
Facebook's chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg is to join the board of Walt Disney. Disney's boardroom is already graced by Apple boss Steve Jobs and presumably the company hopes Sandberg will help it improve its online and interactive offerings. Robert Iger, Disney's President and CEO said: "Sheryl has been at the …
Damn them
I've also been at the forefront of the way that people see Disney and their business. Admittedly I've been there saying "Don't buy Disney, they're an evil company" but still.. surely I fit the criteria. My turnover was also 500 million, 500 million invisible Esperantinos. I appreciate that is a drop in the North Atlantic ocean but every drop counts.. just ask Opec which has been pricing by the (some might say same) drop since 1984.
I would like to be the CEO of an RIAA protected company by the time I'm 40. This is my application. Thank you.
These clowns are delusional to think the Board will have any positive impact. After all, having Steve Jobs on the Disney Board has done ZERO for Disney's "computer presence" or "smart phone presence". Get real.
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text: Johnna Holloway wrote: > I have been present at feasts where diners ordered in pizza and also sent > squires out for KFC. And this was before cellphones would have made it > easier. > That's about the point where I would totally lose my cool. I'd throw a wobbly. And I'd throw them out of my feast hall. -- Antonia di Benedetto Calvo ----------------------------- Habeo metrum - musicamque, hominem meam. Expectat alium quid? -Georgeus Gershwinus -----------------------------


text: Greetings Fiber Arts Enthusiasts! It's been a few years since the last fiber college - it's time for another! This time the Fiber College will be held near Tyler, TX so that it can be more centrally located. The site is the church we held Kingdom Arts and Sciences in a few years ago. There are also a couple of yarn/fiber shops nearby, one of which is willing to stay open late and might even give us a discount. We are hoping that this can be a free or low-cost event. More details as we have them. Please save July 23, 2011 on your calendars for hours of fiber fun! Now that you've got July 23 saved, I am officially soliciting class ideas and instructors. We're looking for classes on fibers, making and doing things with string - nalbinding, sprang, embroidery, spinning, a gazillion types of weaving, fiber prep and more. We have one basketmaking class already confirmed. There's an area for wet crafts - I'm looking at you, dyers and felters! Contact me at clternus at sbcglobal.net , for class questions and Mistress Rhiannon at Deborah.Wade at tpwd.state.tx.us for site questions. We hope to see you there! Mistress Radegund of Tours -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://lists.ansteorra.org/pipermail/ansteorra-announce2-ansteorra.org/attachments/20110130/adeac516/attachment.htm>


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Search pictures and profiles of Senior Singles near you right now. Discover how online dating sites make finding singles in the United States, Canada, and all over the world simple, safe and fun! Once you browse profiles and pictures start flirting, messaging and connecting with other members of the SeniorPeopleMeet.com community. Search today and find other sexy, intelligent singles for casual dating or a serious relationship in your area.Search Single Senior Men | Search Single Senior Women
A little about me...
I have always enjoyed a challenge and I am presently involved in developing a new company doing international business. This requires some travel on my part which I am presently enjoying but know that will not last long. This will be my last venture and then I will have some decisions to make regarding whether to retire to the lake and live on my boat or keep my house and continue to travel or a combination of all of the above. Who knows what life will bring.
About the one I'm looking for...
I enjoy and apppreciate someone who is honest and easy to communicate with. I cant read minds so commnunication is a must. I am a very romantic person and enjoy the intimacy between a man and woman who really care about each other. That can be the most beautiful thing in the world.
I'd just like to add...
I really enjoy staying at home, watching a movie on the big screen in Blu-Ray with the surround sound blaring (spent all this money on this stuff, need to enjoy it) and bar-b-queing in the back yard. Would be nice to have someone to snuggle with (among other things).
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