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The First Word in Protective & Marine Coatings
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Federal investigators are looking at corrosion of an old pipe as the possible cause of a near-catastrophic fire at the Chevron Refinery last week in California.
Toni Hanna / richmondconfidential.org
"A large number of workers were engulfed" in a vapor cloud just before it ignited Aug. 6, causing a series of explosions and a massive blaze that forced tens of thousands of area residents to shelter in their homes with the windows and doors closed.
No plant workers were killed, but more than 900 community residents sought emergency medical treatment for various effects of the fire. Plumes of smoke were visible for miles around the refinery in Richmond, CA, 10 miles northeast of San Francisco.
Pipe Leak
The blasts followed the leak of a combustible hydrocarbon liquid known as "gas oil" from an eight-inch pipe connected to a crude-oil distillation tower in the refinery's crude unit.
Workers noticed the leak and were attempting repairs on piping connected to the still-operating tower when the leak suddenly intensified, reported the U.S. Chemical Safety Board, which is investigating the accident.
"Due to the high temperature of the material in the tower, in excess of 600 degrees Fahrenheit, the gas oil immediately formed a large flammable vapor cloud" that ignited shortly after the dozen or so workers fled.
Investigation Underway
Seven CSB investigators arrived at the refinery Aug. 8 and have been interviewing witnesses and reviewing documents at the site. CSB structural and industrial safety experts were to arrive Monday (Aug. 13) to prepare the site for safe entry by investigators.
"Monday's fire was a near-disaster for refinery personnel," said Dr. Rafael Moure-Eraso, CSB Chairperson. "The circumstances warrant a full and independent federal investigation to determine the root causes.
"Although fortunately no workers were killed, the overall impact of the incident ranks it as among the most serious U.S. refinery incidents in recent years." Focus on Pipe Failure
Tillema said important issues in the investigation included understanding why the pipe that later failed was kept in service during a late 2011 maintenance turnaround.
CSB inspectors told the Associated Press that an old pipe connected to the one that failed was replaced after the November 2011 inspection. However, the decades-old pipe that failed was not replaced.
CSB inspectors said they have not yet seen testing records for the pipe that failed but believe corrosion is a strong possible cause of its failure, given its age and the condition of pipes connected to it, the AP reported.
Tillema said the Safety Board anticipated executing a site preservation and evidence testing agreement with Chevron and other investigative groups and arranging for independent testing of the leaking section of pipe to determine the failure mechanism.
The board also wants to examine what procedures and industry practices exist for responding to a leak of combustible material from a running unit. Chevron will not comment on the leaking pipe but says it is cooperating in the investigation, which also includes Cal/OSHA, Contra Costa County, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and other investigative groups are fully cooperating. The refinery is still operating at a reduced capacity. Only the equipment that had been involved in the fire remains shut down.
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main index
"The edges of the Shikra blade have been honed to the thickness of a single atom. I must keep my hand very still, for fear that one slip will cut you... in half."Weapons that have been sharpened to a single atom are a particular type of Absurdly Sharp Blade that are so sharp, their cutting edge can be measured in terms of atoms or molecules, often being just a single molecule wide. This usually gives the weapons Absurd Cutting Power, but generally requires the blade to be made out of some sort of Unobtanium to maintain that sharpness without dulling instantly (or just shattering into a million pieces) the first time it's used. For these reasons, the trope is most frequently encountered in Science Fiction settings. A common term used for this is "monomolecular". Most often seen with knives or swords, but occurs from time to time with Razor Wire, too. This can be particularly troublesome, as monomolecular wire is usually functionally invisible, and walking into one can slice through vital bits without being immediately noticed. A weapon is only an example of this trope when a specific (very small) width is given for the blade's edge; if no specific measurement is given, then it's just an Absurdly Sharp Blade.
— Qetesh, Stargate Continuum
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KANSAS CITY, MO – SEPTEMBER 30: Jackie Battle #44 of the San Diego Chargers gets up after being stopped short of the goal line against the Kansas City Chiefs during the game at Arrowhead Stadium on September 30, 2012 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
San Diego Chargers v Kansas City Chiefs
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Maker website: http://supermarkethq.com/designer/12047/profile
Bio: Simple, stylish, and handmade, Lola Riera Jewelry and Clothing are made using recycled materials and fun textiles. Designer Cristina Coro-Dickson creates her own designs and fabricates them in her Austin, Texas studio. She is committed to creating pieces for mothers and daughters who want something original that accentuates their personality and style.
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i thought i had.....
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You can count the stars in this 9-billion-pixel photo of the Milky Way
Today's observations suggest that our Milky Way contains hundreds of billions of stars — estimates go as high as 400 billion. If that doesn't make you feel small, then how about this: you can start counting plenty of those in this jaw-dropping 9-billion-pixel image that contains over 84 millions stars.
VISTA, an infrared survey telescope operated by the European Southern Observatory, took the thousands of pictures needed to create this single uber-view that's 108,200 by 81,500 pixels. The raw file is a hefty 24.6 gigabytes.
Beyond being pretty, photos like this allow astronomers and more to better study the stars of our galaxy, and research just published in Astronomy & Astrophysics states that studying the Milky Way's "bulge," which is the higher concentration of stars found near its center, "is a fundamental Galactic component for understanding the formation and evolution of galaxies, in particular our own."
Here's the image larger (click to see it bigger):
You can also zoom around the photo on the ESO's wesbite here.
ESO, via Astronomy & Physics, via Wired
Milky Way image credit: ESO/VVV Consortium


text: Description Facilities Map Important Information Lavenders Blue is a romantic, thatched self-catering cottage situated in the Victorian village of Stanford, near Hermanus. There are glorious views of the mountains, and it is a short walk away to the banks of the Klein River and the river meander. The spacious double-volume cottage comprises a downstairs bedroom with a queen-size bed and antique furniture, while the bathroom has an authentic Victorian bath and heated towel rails. The outdoor shower area allows for a quick rinse off after a swim in the river. The upstairs loft room has a king-size or twin beds plus an additional single bed, and a bathroom with shower. The bed linen is 100% percale cotton, with wool duvets, and luxurious bath towels. Swimming towels should be provided. The outside laundry is equipped with a washer and dryer. An open-plan lounge and dining area is furnished with a mixture of modern and antique furniture, and features a large open fireplace and an additional bar fridge. The well-equipped gourmet kitchen boasts an imported gas cooker, and opens onto a covered patio with a built-in barbecue. The spacious garden has lemon, guava, mango and avocado trees, and off-street parking is also provided. The cottage is located close to all village amenities, excellent local restaurants, and antique shops. Please note that the rates displayed are for two guests and additional guests will pay an additional R150 per person; hence we advise guests to request the appropriate tariffs. Type: Self-cateringSleeps: 5 Check-in: 01:00 PM Check-out: 10:00 AM Reviews: 2 Parking AvailableLaundry Facilities*Braai/BarbecueFireplaceLanguages SpokenEnglishAfrikaansGrading4 Stars - Tourism Grading Council of South AfricaAA Highly Recommended* Please enquire for further details. Toggle Street View * We rely on Google's mapping service, and the location information supplied to us to show street view images. Please use street view as a guide only as we cannot guarantee its accuracy. Please note that the rates displayed are for two guests and additional guests will pay an additional R150 per person; hence we advise guests to request the appropriate tariffs.A minimum two night stay is required, with a minimum stay of seven nights required during December/January school holidays. A surcharge is applicable for bookings of one night. Provisional reservations can only be confirmed with 50% deposit within 48 hours after booking is made.


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Postfix/amavisd - connect to 127.0.0.1[127.0.0.1]:10024: Connection refused
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Submitted by falko (Contact Author) (Forums) on Thu, 2011-08-18 11:33. :: Errors
Error: Postfix/amavisd - connect to 127.0.0.1[127.0.0.1]:10024: Connection refused
You use a Postfix setup with amavisd-new and get the following errors in your mail log:
Aug 17 14:58:33 server1 postfix/smtp[5993]: F0C57124E77: to=<firstname.lastname@example.com>, relay=none, delay=2524, delays=2524/0.27/0/0, dsn=4.4.1, status=deferred (connect to 127.0.0.1[127.0.0.1]:10024: Connection refused)
Aug 17 09:42:24 server1 postfix/error[7809]: 15D54124E53: to=<email@example.com>, relay=none, delay=269, delays=0.49/269/0/0.04, dsn=4.4.2, status=deferred (delivery temporarily suspended: conversation with 127.0.0.1[127.0.0.1] timed out while receiving the initial server greeting)
Please restart both amavisd-new and Postfix and then check with
netstat -tap
that both are running on the ports
25 and 10025 (postfix)
10024 (amavisd-new).


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Paris Healing Arts, Monterey, CA.
|Welcome! We are a family-run Integrative Medical Clinic in Monterey, California. Our mission is to provide personal, high-quality, safe, and effective care to help our patients achieve their greatest health and quality of life.
Laura Paris is a co-owner and practitioner. She is a licensed acupuncturist, herbalist, nutritionist, and certified Feldenkrais practitioner. She integrates these modalities with private patients, using a Functional Medicine approach. She also teaches weekly group Feldenkrais® classes.
Feldenkrais practitioner Seth Paris is a co-owner and consultant. He is currently not taking private clients, because he is working as an Occupational Therapist at California Children's Services. He provides rehabilitation for children with a range of physical disabilities.
Please browse this site to learn much more. Contact us to schedule an appointment with Laura, or to receive our monthly news. Our phone number is 831-655-9611.


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With recent speculation that the West may not win the battle in Afghanistan, many fear that a resurgent Taliban will lead to increased radicalisation in neighbouring Central Asia.
Since Nato's offensives in Afghanistan and Pakistan have seen hundreds of al-Qaeda fighters flee into Central Asia, experts are concerned that the former Soviet republics of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan could be the next flashpoint in the fight against Islamic extremism.
Critics of Central Asia's oppressive governments argue that the extremist threat does not stem from Afghanistan but from local oppression of political opponents and religious groups.
As filmmaker Michael Andersen reports, the autocratic Central Asian rulers, many of whom have been in power since Soviet times, have been using the fear of Islamic extremism to justify their oppression for decades.
He warns that it is exactly this brutal clamp-down on any kind of political opposition or independent religious activity which is sending more people flocking to outlawed religious organisations to vent their frustration.Breeding extremism can be seen from Wednesday, January 20, 2010 at the following times GMT: Wednesday: 0600, 1230; Thursday: 0130, 1400, 1930; Friday: 0630, 1630; Saturday: 0330, 2030; Sunday: 0030, 0530; Monday: 0830.


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The Catholic Church does not have more paedophiles than any other institution with an inordinate power over it's wards.
There are probably as many paedophile teachers as there are priests.
However, the problem with the Church is how it dealt with paedophiles. In order to maintain the illusion of a moral high ground, the Catholic Church attempted to cover up, hide and outright deny the existence of paedophiles. This was done under the guise of "forgiveness" but in reality it was an attempt to keep the Church's facade of integrity safe. [Read more…]
It's no secret that Atheism and Skepticism are rising movements. What was once a lose confederation of a lack of belief is more organised and more connected thanks to things like the Internet.
Love him or hate him, the Pope is the world's most influential religious leader. Due to his rank as the head of the Roman Catholic Church, he does wield an inordinate amount of power. And so despite all our exhortations that the Pope should be irrelevant, here we are. Jorge Mario Bergoglio is the new pope and how he deals with the Church and indeed "us" is yet to be seen. Lest we forget? The Church is a wounded beast. It's been hammered to bits in the third world over it's stance on contraception and women's access to healthcare. It's been hammered in the west over it's protection of child abusers. It's been hammered across the social liberal demographic as a force for the oppression of the GLBT. Hell, the Previous Pope went so far as to make highly inflammatory comments about Atheists and Secularism in the UK. [Read more…]
[important]I wrote this a fairly long while ago. I sent this in response to some comments made to Keith O'Brien to the Archdioscean office. I feel that we need to see a repost of it to realise how much of a lie Cardinal O'Brien was living. Until the details come out in the open, Keith O'Brien is either Gay (phew… good!) or a rapist/molestor (not good)[/important]
A Copy of the following Letter has been sent to Archdioscean office and Cardinal's Residence as a voice of complaint against the letter written and published in the Sunday Telegraph by Cardinal O'Brien. If you wish to voice your complaints as well, please take the time to do so and I urge that there are no active threats. Let us not sink to the depths of the homophobes but hold ourselves to a better standard. The addresses are email@example.com and email@example.com [Read more…]
Apparently one of the "least publicized and seemingly most easily correctable drivers of the massive elephant slaughter now taking place across Africa" is religion. A lot of religion seems to use ivory in the production of holy goods.
Now this includes both legal and illegal ivory, a lot of cultures use it in particular the Vatican, it is believed that a stance against Ivory both legal or otherwise would drop the demand for ivory and save a few elephants. Check out Bryan Christy's "Ivory Worship" article if you want to read more about it.
I agree with a lot of things in the original article, if we do cut out the demand for even legal ivory we could help alleviate the demand and stop the fetish of the teeth of elephants.
A lot of the usage of Ivory is symbolic and it is honestly elephant teeth, I am sure we can use cow or camel which are infinitely more common and whose bones are a by product of our meat consumption for the same purpose. I am sure unless you are some sort of elephant biologist, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
I am a firm believer of utilising all of an animal when you kill it and honestly? We can do better than kill elephants just for two massive teeth. We have cows whose bones are often wasted or broken down for calcium. If the ivory market is that massive we can use that as a substitute.
Many cultures already use camel and cow bone as a substitute for ivory, so why not the Church?
There is a petition on the National Geographic link at the top. Go show your love for the big grey beasties.


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Meet 45 year old Chris Chagnon from St. Albans ……
Five years ago I was pushing 40. I weighed over 300 pounds. I was on three different medications for hypertension and I had a herniated disc. I was drinking too much and eating crap. Quite plainly, I was playing Russian roulette with the prospects of seeing 50. I have three teenage boys and, not only was I ruining my health, but setting a poor example for them. I wish I could say that it was as easy as trading in my wine glass for running shoes, but it wasn't that smooth or that quick.
However, I did have my last drink on March 18th of that year. I did start eating healthy. And, I did start walking. In a year I had shed 100 pounds. I was off all medication and my back issues are seldom and milder. Maybe it's the obsessive nature in me but, over time, walking wasn't enough. I would log my walks, measuring time and distance, always trying to go faster and farther. Somewhere in that behavior I transitioned from walking to running. And, Wow!! A whole new world opened up for me.
I have been running for 2+ years now. I ran a few 5Ks, then 10Ks. This past February I ran my first half marathon in Hyannis. In September I ran my first full marathon in The Islands. I love running! Running has saved my life. Running makes me healthier. Running relieves my stress. Running gets me high. I have made new friends. I have built a lifestyle around making healthy choices. This is the example I want to set for my boys. I'm feeling pretty good about hitting 50, 60, and 70. You use to see a lot of people wearing the yellow Live Strong bracelets. I picked up a black bracelet at a charity run this year that says, "Run For Your Life". For me that says it all.


text:
Member Articles
You Can't Fire Your Kids
by Karen Webb | 2169 views | 3 comments | Rate this now!Follow @Work_It_Mom
3 comments so far...
Toooooooooooooo funny!!
Flag as inappropriate Posted by KathyHowe on 25th November 2007
Very funny. My baby is turning into a toddler, so I'm enjoying some (but not yet all) of these activities and behaviors. You might also enjoy this post by my fellow blogger, Sara, on Working Moms Against Guilt: http://www.workingmomsagainstguilt.com/2007/02/toddlers-in-board-room.html
Flag as inappropriate Posted by Susan Wenner Jackson on 12th June 2007
This is hilarious and so true! It also highlights something very important as well - that when we become parents we are faced with the ultimate lessons in leadership. We are forced to lead and we can't just fire our charges when things are not going well (which is, of course, the mark of a true management failure anyway!) Organizations could learn a big lesson here...
Flag as inappropriate Posted by Kelly Watson on 6th June 2007
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All else being equal, do you enjoy the games you pay full price for as much as the ones you buy on sale for cheap? While it of course first depends on the game, a certain well known theory in psychology suggests that paying $60 for the new Tomb Raider game when it came out last March, for example, might lead to your enjoying it more than waiting to buy it for $15 for it a few months later.
Back around 1959, Leon Festinger and one of his ambitious undergraduate students, Merrill Carlsmith, conducted an experiment at Stanford University. For an hour straight, the subjects carefully removed and replaced a bunch wooden spools from a tray over and over again and meticulously twisted rows and rows of wooden dowels on a rack. It was, in other words, a stupefyingly boring series of tasks.2
For an hour they had to do this. But at the end of the experiment, the researcher pretended to be in a bind, saying that he needed someone to describe the task to the next subject waiting to take his turn at the boring tasks. But the thing is that the subject had to really sell the tasks and make them sound super fun and interesting –a service for which the researcher offered to pay. Depending on which experimental condition the subject was in, he was offered either $20 or $1.


text:
Top British actress Thandie Newton has decided to return to natural hair, it has been reported.
The Styleite website says she wants to let her hair go naturally curly as a good example to her daughters.
She told her friend and makeup artist Kay Montano: "I didn't want my daughters to judge their beautiful curls."
Apparently she lets her daughters' hair grow naturally and has made the decision not to give them chemical relaxers.
She was inspired by Chris Rock's film Good Hair, which revealed that the products used by many black women to straighten their hair contain enough lye to dissolve a Coke can, according to the Styleite website.
Thandie says she has struggled against the pressure to fit in since she was a child. "I remember when I was 7 at my convent school, it was school photo day so all the kids came looking their best," she says.
"Mum did my hair in 20 or so 'corn rows' with green wooden beads on each end to match my school uniform. The nuns were appalled, they wouldn't let me have my picture taken. I felt embarrassed, disappointed, ashamed. Can you imagine how my Mum must have felt? There was a mild ruckus and the next day I had my picture taken."
[Image: ministryofstories]


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Rick Perry was sworn in as Texas' 47th governor on December 21, 2000.
Perry has led a life of public service, starting in the United States Air Force and continuing over two decades in elected office. His political career began in 1985 as a representative for a rural West Texas district in the state House of Representatives. Beginning in 1990, he served two terms as Texas Commissioner of Agriculture. Between 1972 and 1977, Perry served in the United States Air Force, flying C-130 tactical airlift aircraft in the U.S., Europe and the Middle East.
Perry's administration has focused on improving education, securing the border and increasing economic development.
Perry is a Texas A&M University graduate where he was a member of the Corps of Cadets, a junior and senior yell leader and an animal science major. Perry is an Eagle Scout and lifetime member of American Legion Post #75. He and his wife, Anita, have two children, Griffin and Sydney.


text:
I really enjoyed the Ottawa Linux Symposium because of the hallway conversations and the afterparties that I attended. The conference itself wasn't a good fit with my interests because I haven't done low-level programming in a while, but the people were awesome. Again, special thanks go to Don Marti and Simon Law for introducing me to such interesting people!
The OLS may have made me realize that I'm probably not going to be a
kernel hacker in this lifetime, but it did inspire me to check out a
fresh tree of Emacs and re-subscribe to the mailing lists. I also
checked out a Ruby on Rails open-source contact relationship
management system, and I'm looking forward to figuring out its design
and either contributing to that project or using it as a launchpad for
my own. Hooray open source!
I've decided to keep hacking on Emacs for a number of reasons. First,
it's fun. Second, it's what everyone else mentions when they introduce
me, so it still has some geek cachet. Third, it exposes me to the
crazy things power users do in the userspace, and maybe I can take
those ideas and spread them to a wider audience by writing about the
hacks that people have made for their Emacs. So yes, I am going to
keep being an Emacs hacker. I might even work on becoming more of one.
I did the touristy thing too, of course. I took pictures of the guards
in their bright red uniforms and funky hats, and of the architecture
and statues around the National Gallery. The pics are all on my
Facebook account under pictures. (One of these days, I'll get Flickr
export working again.)
Somehow I managed to still find time to work on my thesis. I talked to
my supervisor (finally!) on Friday morning, and he gave me advice on
how to handle some of the sections that had been challenging me. My
first draft is up on the wiki and I've put it together in a linear
document. The next thing I have to do is to add to my review of
related literature, and I can do that while my supervisor reviews the
first draft. The end is in sight!
I also spent some of the week planning an upcoming trip to Somers, New
York, for an IBM conference on collaboration. A long, hard look at my
schedule and my budget showed me that it probably wasn't the best
thing to do at the time. Figuring out how to get around Somers without
a car and paying for everything out of my own budget—more stress than
I need right now! I was frustrated, but I channelled that frustration
into looking for brilliant ways to make the most of the situation. I
came up with terrific ideas! =) I can't wait to make those ideas
reality. I love my life! Being able to tap my frustration and use it
to drive creativity totally rocks.
I picked up a Table Topics game, too, and I'm looking forward to using
that at tea. =)
Next week, I plan to read and review at least 20 additional papers and
to write 15 more pages for my review of related research. For my
personal geeking out, I want to deploy and modify that CRM on Rails
system I just downloaded. As for other people – I want to catch up
with some people who pinged me while I was away in Ottawa. A good
friend's birthday is coming up soon, and I'm looking forward to
celebrating it with him and with our other friends!
Random Emacs symbol: gnus-methods-using – Function: Find all methods that have FEATURE.
We enjoyed a long weekend because of Canada Day, so we had enough
leisure time to make a kite out of bamboo sticks and plastic. We had a
hard time flying it in the chaotic breeze, but it was good fun anyway.
I also practiced on the devilsticks. I'll get the hang of it yet.
Random Emacs symbol: muse-xml-charset-default – Variable: The default Xml XML charset to use if no translation is
Random Emacs symbol: map-keymap – Function: Call FUNCTION once for each event binding in KEYMAP.
We picked up four volumes in Eoin Colfer's totally awesome fiction
series, Artemis Fowl. I had fallen in love with the series thanks to
the audiobooks (thank you, Toronto Public Library!), and finding the
hardcover books on the bargain table under the heading "What to Read
After Harry Potter" was like finding the LEP recon officer at the end
of the rainbow. ;)
Random Emacs symbol: message-forward-subject-name-subject – Function: Generate a SUBJECT for a forwarded message.
This week's main accomplishment was the compilation of my first draft,
which is currently being reviewed by my supervisor. While waiting for
his comments, I'm reading tons of research papers so that I can expand
my review of related literature. My research paper got accepted to
CASCON 2007. I'll need to edit it down to four pages and include my
updates resultes. We'll probably schedule my defense for early
September at the latest. I think we'll manage it. It feels doable now.
I've mailed my application for an extension of my study permit. I'm
not too worried about getting denied. I think I have a good case for
it, and it would be silly to cancel my studies *now.* <laugh>
I've moved to Dreamhost for both web and mail hosting, so my
outgoing e-mail should properly reflect my e-mail address:
email@example.com .
Personally, it's been an eventful week. My mom called me, concerned
about a doctor's visit that turned up on my TODO list. It was actually
just a chat with the doctor, as I wanted to ask about some things I'd
read about. Understandably concerned because of the lack of detail on
my blog, my mom called me up and we talked for around two hours about
various issues.
One of the main issues is that I don't keep in touch with my family
enough. I almost never initiate conversations. My family is half a
world away and I don't keep instant messaging on (interruptions are
evil!), so we don't have that many opportunities to "run into" each
other or do things together. I need to figure out what kind of
relationship I have and want to have with my family. Close and happy
beats distant and stressed, for sure.
Fortunately, my mom and I have practiced enough emotion-fu to be able
to make progress even during emotionally-charged conversations. One
thing that will make her happier is if I start the conversation more
often. Let's try maybe two weeks of putting a secret family-related
task on my TODO list…
Next week: Update review of related literature.
Random Emacs symbol: gnus-agent-read-servers – Function: Read the alist of covered servers.
Darn. It looks like Statistics is one of those subjects that creeps up
on you and clamps onto your brain when you least expect it. I'm
reading a research paper right now and I can't help but be impressed
by its analysis. Now, if only I could do experiments like this…
(Oooh. Measurement analysis. *Shiver.* Confirming within-team response
representativeness… power analysis… aggregation analysis…
Random Emacs symbol: bbdb-extract-address-component-regexps – Variable: *List of regexps matching headers.
I revised the first chapter of my thesis today, incorporating suggestions from my research supervisor. He's happy with the quality of my writing, too. I think I might actually be getting the hang of this.
Tomorrow, I'm going to Sudbury for a short trip out to the science centre there. It certainly looks like fun… =)
Random Emacs symbol: tramp-time-diff – Function: Return the difference between the two times, in seconds.
The drive to Sudbury was scenic, dotted with the lakes for which this
area is well known. At least the bits and pieces that I saw were
scenic—I drifted in and out of sleep, probably because of the glare
bouncing off the road.
We settled into the hotel and then picked up some swim stuff at the
nearby Zellers and Canadian Tire. You know you're still in
civilization when….
We went for a quick swim. J. liked the small pool, although the
whirlpool was a bit too warm for her. *I* really enjoyed sinking into
the 100'F water, remembering the onsens of Japan. We alternated
between the warm whirlpool and the slightly cooler pool. The swimming
pool was around 5 meters long and 3 meters wide, which wasn't much
challenge in terms of laps but still provided good exercise if one did
those laps while chasing or being chased by someone. Beside the pools
was an exercise room with a few pieces of gym equipment: a treadmill,
an elliptical traininer, and some weights. I didn't bring my exercise
gear, though. At least I remembered my swimsuit this time!
Before heading to dinner, we passed by a toy store that caught our
eye. I was sorely tempted to get a paper doll crafting book because
the patterns and ideas caught my eye, but I figured that I could get
it for less if I ordered it over the Internet. W. picked up two
well-constructed wooden puzzles which looked nicely fiendish.
We ate at Swiss Chalet, one of J.'s favorite restaurants. Feeling a
little bit guilty about having indulged in so much bacon over the past
few weeks, I ordered the garden fresh chicken platter and chose fresh
vegetables and a salad as my two sides. (There, Mom, look, I'm eating
vegetables voluntarily!). This chicken platter was mostly ignored,
though, as I poked and prodded the two puzzles we just bought. (No
luck yet.) Only the occasional twangs of responsibility and sense of
etiquette reminded me to look up from the puzzle and eat dinner.
Fortunately W. and J. were busy with the other puzzle, so I wasn't
being antisocial.
Tomorrow—Science North, the reason we made this trip. =) I hope it's
as interesting as the brochures make it sound! This is the first time
I've made a trip *just* to go to a science centre. Stay tuned.
Random Emacs symbol: eshell-command-interpreter-max-length – Variable: *The maximum length of any command interpreter string, plus args.
Today made me *so* wish that I grew up near a large, active science
centre. I've seen my fair share of presenters. In fact, I go out of my
way to see good presenters. The Toastmasters International convention,
the Power Within motivational event… but this guy took the cake, and
he probably hasn't even finished university yet.
Maybe it was the sheer spectacle of propane gas burning in a trough,
or maybe the methane bubbles that flamed into rings in mid-air. Or
maybe it was all of that as well as humor, enthusiasm, passion… The
Bluecoat who did the two demonstrations we watched is named Ben, and
he was good. He was really good. He made me want to go and volunteer
somewhere so that I could learn how to do stuff like that too. He made
me wish I grew up near a big science centre so that I could have done
that as a summer job. Not that I could've done it with anywhere near
that kind of flair. Ah, well… that's okay, I'll just have to make it
up. At least I have yet another role model!
We also did a few workshops. In the lapidary lab, we polished rocks.
W. and J. just smoothed the surfaces of theirs, but I went to the
trouble of shaping an oval cabochon out of the feldspar and quartz mix
I picked out of the bucket of rocks. I'm happy with the rock that I
polished, and I wonder if I can make it into a pendant or a bracelet.
In the LEGO stop-motion movie workshop, we used iStopMotion to create
our own movies. J.'s was surprisingly well done. Two dinosaurs were
heading for the same gift. They bickered in front of it, then got
distracted by a passing spider, which they chased. Another dinosaur
crept in and gobbled the gift. The first two dinosaurs turned around
and ran after the third dinosaur. I thought that was better than my
short clip of Darth Vader attempting to hitchhike in the desert,
although I did enjoy simulating a bit of a force tantrum.
We all headed back to the toy store for a few more puzzles. I picked
up some 3D block puzzles. Think tangrams, but using segments of four
cubes stuck together. The graded puzzles and hints might be good for
J., although she still needs hints. I thought the cubes might be more
interesting than flat tangrams. Besides, *I* want the spatial
practice. ;) W. picked up some more of those wooden puzzles under the
brant Headstress. They're fairly well constructed and rather pretty;
the kind of thing you can display in the living room as a trap for
unwary geeks. ;)
Good day. Very good day. I heart science centres.
Random Emacs symbol: tramp-smb-handle-make-directory-internal – Function: Like `make-directory-internal' for tramp files.
We went to Dynamic Earth today, which is the other big attraction in
Sudbury. I knew that Canada's mineral resources were significant, but
I hadn't known that Sudbury played such an important role in the
mining industry. Sudbury's huge nickel deposits gave Canada a
near-monopoly on the metal for a long time. Nickel is widely used in
the production of stainless steel. I was surprised to learn that the
production of stainless steel kitchen sinks is one of the biggest uses
of nickel today. What a great way to bring that point close to home!
We spent some time panning for gold in one of Dynamic Earth's
interactive exhibits. I got pretty good at swishing the sand around to
separate it from the heavier gold flecks, although I don't think it's
something I should do as a full-time job! A short movie about gold
fever gave us a glimpse into the life of a modern-day prospector as
well as vignettes of gold's importance all over the world and through
all the ages.
Good stuff.
Random Emacs symbol: ispell-pdict-save – Command: Check to see if the personal dictionary has been modified.
I confess: I went to Chapters today with the sole intention of finding
a book to give to a good friend, and… and… I couldn't help it! I
found myself buying not only a hardbound book for the friend
(appropriately entitled, "Surrounded by Geniuses") and two hardbound
books for myself: "The 4-Hour Work Week" and "Automatic Wealth for
Grads". The 4 Hour Work Week had been recommended to me by a number of
people. The book was published this year, and I didn't want to wait
for the library to pick up a copy. The Automatic Wealth book looks
like a rehash of the usual advice, but maybe I'll pick up something
from it anyway.
I like books. I like books a lot. And I'm starting to realize that
even with the Toronto Public Library being absolutely wonderful, I'm
still going to want to buy books—especially newly-published books,
preferably *before* everyone starts talking about them. I'm also
starting to realize that, like the advice I've read in a number of
books, hardbound books really *do* feel different. I need to think
about that a bit more. Maybe it's just the writers' bias rubbing off
on me.
But yes. Books. I confess: even with the public library and the
Internet, I still can't help buying books.
Random Emacs symbol: eshell-prompt-function – Variable: *A function that returns the Eshell prompt string.
One of my friends had recommended the 30,000 island cruise around
Georgia Bay, so we made a side trip to Parry—a tourist town halfway
between Sudbury and Toronto. We managed to pull into the parking lot
*just* as the boat was filling up with people. Good thing, too – ten
minutes later and we would've missed it completely!
The Island Queen was a stately three-decked ship with gleaming white
sides. As I stepped onto the deck, a crew member smiled a hello. He
told me that since I had such a nice camera, I should make sure not to
miss the Hole in the Wall and the crooks and crannies of the islands
we would pass by. A Toronto Star reporter had been there just a few
days ago, he continued. I nodded and cradled my camera close, thinking
how much better my dad's pictures would have been had he been there!
The scenery was just as spectacular as the brochures promised. The
Hole in the Wall was a narrow, twisting corridor through granite
cliffs almost close enough to touch. As the passage widened into
harbors and passages, it seemed that every bend revealed a solitary
house couched in windswept pine. Some of the larger islands had
clusters of cabins and even beaches with park benches.
Seeing all the lush greenery, W remarked that he was no longer quite
as concerned with his carbon footprint.
These remote hideaways reminded me of one of the points made by *both*
of the books I was reading: it doesn't actually take obscene amounts
of money to enjoy the luxuries commonly associated with the lifestyles
of the super-rich. I'm sure that a determined vacationer could find a
short-term rental here. Reflecting on the amazing scenery passing by
us, though, I felt a twinge of dissonance.
This isn't my dream. Many people aspire to going off and having their
own private island, but not me. I like a bit of green, yes. I happen
to be fond of good postal service and public transit, and I wouldn't
want to rely on airlifts in order to get to the hospital. Besides, I
like the bustle of the city, with endless things to do and so many
people to meet. So that's probably who I am: a city kitty, at least
for now.
Still, as I snapped picture after picture from the white rails of the
ship, I wondered—what this place must look like in the fall, with all
the maple trees aflame!
I'll upload pictures soon. I have around a thousand photos to sort
through. Experience has taught me that my little laptop is nowhere
near up to the task. Fortunately, W.'s desktop is more than twice as
fast as my computer, and the program I found (kphotoalbum) allows me
to quickly go through pictures. A friend had recommended keeping even
the bad pictures so that we could learn from our mistakes, but who has
the disk space and attention span for that? No—I'm going to
ruthlessly discard anything that's blurry or can't be salvaged with a
little photo manipulation in the Gimp.
My photographs can't do justice to the place, though. It was
beautiful. And you know what? I *know* we have beautiful places like
that in the Philippines. I know because I've seen the pictures taken
by my dad and my sister on their adventures throughout the country.
Sure, most of our forests have been stripped by logging and other
uses, going as far back as the slash-and-burn tactics used by
pre-Hispanic Filipinos—but there's hope. If Sudbury could plant over
three million trees in order to reclaim a barren moonscape wrecked by
nickel mining and huge ore roasting beds, then the Philippines can
Random Emacs symbol: gnus-empty-thread-mark – Variable: *There is no thread under the article.
Skimming the help.gnu.emacs newsgroup can turn up all sorts of amazing
tidbits. For example, I occasionally write papers using the LaTeX
markup language for scientific documents. This allows me to produce
professional-quality typeset papers, particularly when equations are
involved. (I used that *so* many times in university!)
I just found out that you can click on the typeset document (the DVI)
and jump to the source code. Here's what David wrote on help.gnu.emacs:
That's easy. This feature is called forward and inverse search. It's
explained in the AucTeX manual. If you use auctex just hit C-c C-t C-s
(I don't know if this also works within the build-in tex mode). This
enables the TeX-source-specials. With the source-specials on, Emacs
will start xdvi with further options. xdvi will start displaying the
page where the point is set in Emacs (forward search). When you click
any line in xdvi simultaneously pressing Ctrl you return to Emacs with
the point on the corresponding paragraph. This works also with other
dvi viewers, but you have to configure them to use emacs server for
inverse search.
On Technorati: emacs, pimpmyemacs
Random Emacs symbol: default-fringes-outside-margins – Variable: Default value of `fringes-outside-margins' for buffers that don't override it.
I'll upload pictures someday and then go back and edit these entries,
but I wanted to make sure that I got the stories out at least.
I need to read more cooking magazines. I'm running out of superlatives
for describing what I've been eating these days. Today's vocabulary
challenge was posed by dinner: a strawberry spinach salad tossed with
a raspberry vinaigrette, sprinkled with almond slivers. The tartness
of the raspberry vinaigrette contrasted with sweet strawberries and
nutty almonds. Feta cheese might have added an interesting saltiness
to it, but we didn't have any handy, so we added grated Parmesan
cheese instead. And all because strawberries were on sale today at No
Frills, $3.49 for 2 pounds.
Just thinking about it makes my toes curl.
For brunch earlier, we had buttermilk pancakes: stacks of six airy
buttermilk pancakes with a slightly crisp face, heaped with strawberry
chunks, drizzled with pure maple syrup, and—the final
flourish—dusted with confectioner's sugar in the fancy-shmancy way
that restaurants justify high prices.
It actually doesn't take a lot of money to live the life of the rich.
In terms of eating things in season, I think we're totally there.
Sure, there are little things that we can add over time as our
circumstances improve. A griddle would be nice, for example. But it's
hard to imagine a better life than this, with plenty of time to
leisurely cook and cheerfully linger over one of life's basic pleasures.
Random Emacs symbol: mode-line-next-buffer – Command: Like `next-buffer', but temporarily select EVENT's window.
Although the Joy of Cooking is a venerable cookbook and the one we
turn to for classic recipes, my current inspiration is The Essential
Wok Cookbook, by Whitecap Books. Maybe it's the colorful pictures.
Maybe it's my own inclination towards Asian recipes that feature
garlic and ginger and all sorts of yummy things. Whatever it is, that
wok cookbook tickles my fancy more than Joy of Cooking does. Maybe I
have to learn how to wok before I can… augh. I'm sorry. I just had
to say that.
I like stir-fries. There's something almost magical about the result
of a 15-minute marinade, a little oil, and a lot of movement. You can
throw in whatever vegetables are on sale. And it lends itself well to
using frozen meat, too. Beef is much easier to slice thinly when it's
still frozen solid, and you only need a little of it anyway.
I'm looking forward to trying the other recipes. After we finish the
pho, or perhaps for lunch on Monday, maybe I can make garlic beef and
red pepper. Mmmmm…
Random Emacs symbol: edebug-wrap-def-body – Function: Wrap the FORMS of a definition body.
Last week
Next week
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I've spent the last two years of my life working on my master's degree.
My thesis defense has been booked for August 8. I'm putting the finishing
touches on my thesis about using Web 2.0 to find expertise. Tomorrow, I'm
going to wrestle with page numbers and formatting. On Wednesday, I'll
print out my thesis for my committee members.
Can I really be so close to finishing?
And am I really so close to being able to do all the things I've been
planning to do once I get out into the Real World?
Watch out! This will be fun!
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I enjoy learning languages. There's something about straining to pick
out one or two recognizable words from a stream of syllables, forming
sounds and words and thoughts and sentences that you know you didn't
know just yesterday, testing new combinations of ideas and finding out
what you can express. Every day is an adventure: what will I be able
to say today? What will I be able to understand? It's like learning
how to speak all over again, except this time you have the wealth of
your experiences to build on and plenty of ideas for which you can
make new sounds.
Last night, we visited W's mom at her apartment. W-'s aunt was
there as well. We had a lot of fun testing the limits of my
conversational Cantonese. They complimented me on my use of tones.
Even Chinese kids born in Canada often speak with flat tones because
they can't hear the difference. When they spoke to each other, I
couldn't understand what they were saying—but I could pick out a few
words, and I had so much fun listening and celebrating each time I
heard something I knew!
Someday, I'll speak more than eight languages conversationally. I've
always thought that was a really cool trick, and now I've realized
that it probably won't be as hard as I thought it was—and learning
will be tons of fun, too. Toronto is a terrific city to do this in,
what with all the multicultural communities. Europe would also be a
great place because of the natural mixing of languages. If you're not
in a place with lots of opportunities to speak different languages,
you can find conversation partners on the Internet, and you might even
find podcasts in your target languages. Try it out!
How do I find the time to learn languages, anyway? Half an hour on the
subway, or the short walk to the library, or while I'm working on
something else (preferably with low verbal interference)—there are
all these spaces that I can use to learn. I'm too impatient to listen
to non-fiction audiobooks, but interactive audio programs are just
perfect. The Toronto Public Library carries the Pimsleur language
programs, which are the best I've heard so far. You should try those
out and make the most of your commute or your exercise time. Who
knows, maybe a foreign-language conversation can help you seal a
business deal!
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New blog! I'll be sharing my book notes over at Booksnake.sachachua.com. If you've ever wondered what I'm learning from the tons of books you've been hearing about, check it out. Tell friends, too!
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Another cycle of revisions. My supervisor thinks my draft is ready to
be defended, although there are some things I'll fix tomorrow before I
sort out the page numbers and send it out. He told me to relax and not
worry too much about deadlines, although he understood that I like
delivering things when I say I will. So, that's going well.
I met Robert Terpstra again this afternoon, and his questions helped
me reflect on things I was doing well—and some tricky things I need
to think about a little more.
One of the questions he asked me was whether I felt that I could have
done all this had I been in the Philippines instead of Canada.
I told him, yes.
This is not entirely true. The kind of research training I've
received, the opportunities I've had, the library I've made so much
use of—all these things are difficult to find in Third World
countries. But what I said was more true than it was false.
I would probably have been able to do something in the Philippines. I
don't know what I would have done, but I do know that it would've been
interesting, and I would've been just as happy doing it as I am doing
The important bit is being happy. In terms of my work, I can't say
that I'm happier here. Then again, I can't say that I would have been
happier had I stayed home. It's hard to tell because I'm happy and I
think I'd be happy no matter what. I can't speculate much about other
possible lives, but looking back at this one, I can say that I'm happy
to have survived the challenges. They've made me stronger, and even if
homesickness gets the better of me sometimes, things are good. But my
intuition tells me that there's a reason for this, and that there's
something more that I need to explore. It feels right to be here at
this time.
I don't have a master plan right now. I can't tell you how my life
fits into some grand plan for the Philippines or for the world.
I'm here, and as long as I pay attention to the details and check
every so often that I'm heading in a direction I like, things should
work out.
So, should I have stayed in the Philippines? I don't know. I'm sure my
life would have worked out if I had. But I'm here in Canada, so let's
see what I can do from here. After all, if I think that I'm in just
the right place at just the right time, I'll probably be right. And if
I think I'm in the wrong place at the wrong time, I'd be right too.
I'd rather be in the right place. =)
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containing header lines, to be inserted in outgoing messages.
I sent off another revision today, and I think I'll be ready to send a
copy of my thesis to my reviewers by tomorrow. Life is good. It's
really nice just blasting through a set of editing tasks… =)
We ran to Park Lithuania again. My breathing was a little bit better
than yesterday, although I still hit my target heart rate quickly. W
helped me do reverse chin-ups again, although I did only four this
time. We did lots of other exercises, though. I definitely have to
work on those leapfrogs.
He told me that he was glad I could keep up with him. I laughed. Keep
up? For some definition of "keep up," perhaps. He still runs circles
around me. ;) But he's glad that I don't mind exercising. I know it's
good for me, and with him around, it's a fun social kind of thing.
Tomorrow I may even go to trapeze class.
After exercise, we made pinakbet—this time with bagoong alamang! He
made me laugh by saying "bagoong" and "ampalaya" over and over again.
The pinakbet was wonderful. This time, I leached some of the
bitterness from the ampalaya (bitter melon) by soaking it in salted
water. The dish turned out wonderfully, and we have two more servings
in the fridge. Mmm mm! Next Filipino craving: beef tapa. Oh, I'd love
to figure out how to make tapsilog…
I'm finishing off the last crumbs of cherry pie on my plate. I'd
stayed away from it all week because I thought cherry pie would be too
sweet and because I had stocked up on fresh fruits instead. W assured
me that cherry pie was made from sour cherries, though. As with all
things food-related, he was right: cherry pie's yummy. Mmmm mmm.
And we watched another episode of Fawlty Towers, too. John Cleese is
In addition to exercising, cooking a good meal, and cleaning up afterwards, I've also skimmed
three and a half books (in just one evening, too), looked at Christmas flights to the Philippines, written a blog entry on my Booksnake blog, drafted an entry for the next day, and written this entry. And yet I still feel that there's plenty of time to do so many things. Ah, I know—I have some sewing books coming in over the next few days, and I'm sure to get fun projects out of that. And I still haven't done my Chinese writing lesson for today…
Life is good. Life is very good.
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When I thought about what I would do if I had all the money I wanted,
I realized that trying out the flying trapeze was one thing on my
to-do list. A Friday drop-in class at the Toronto Circus School costs
only $25. Why not? It was going to be worth it, even if only for the
Bobby and Adam were our teachers and safety crew. After a few
instructions, they had the first ten participants strap on their
belts. I was #14, so I settled on the mat and started stretching.
The first one up was clearly experienced. She launched herself off the
platform and swung gracefully through the air, tucking her knees in
and over the bar in the smoothest of motions. She let go, pointed her
toes and arched her back. When Bobby gave the signal, she whipped back
up, grabbed the bar and untucked her knees, and let go. She landing on
the net with a gentle bounce and swung herself over the side of the net.
Right. She made it look so easy, which naturally meant that it was
difficult and I was going to embarrass myself big time. Fortunately, I
had decided not to take any friends along. I was glad I'd gotten there
a little late. There were twelve other people before me, twelve people
to learn from and twelve chances to visualize what should be done
before I actually had to get up there and remove my toes from the
comfort of the ground.
The next two people up inspired great confidence, though. They
couldn't get their knees up to the bar. At that point, I decided that
even the experience of swinging on a trapeze would make it worth it
for me, and that any sort of trick would be chocolate fudge icing on a
double-chocolate cake.
The rest of the students passed in quick succession. Some had clearly
done this before. Others were obviously first-timers. My fellow
first-timers generally made an undignified scramble for the bar, but
that was okay—at our level, just touching the bar with one's toes
could be considered an amazing achievement.
And then it was my turn. I climbed up the aluminum ladder, which
swayed with every step. I visualized the first person's performance,
while giving myself permission to do the frog scramble that other
beginners did. It was going to be okay. It was going to be fun.
On the platform, Adam tightened my harness and hooked up the two
safety lines that Bobby controlled. He told me to stand with my toes
off the edge and lean forward to grab the bar with my right hand. And
then I was somehow supposed to trust this guy to hang on to me as I
grabbed the bar with my left hand, leaning forward so that my center
of gravity was over thin air. As part of me started thinking ahead to
the things that might go wrong and how I might deal with them (hands
slipping because of sweat or surprise? safety person not paying
attention), another part of me though, "What the heck, I'm up here
already. I want to see what it's like. Let's go!"
"Hep!", he said, and off I went.
That first swing is a rush. I'd like to say that the only thought that
was running through my head was "DO NOT LET GO DO NOT LET GO DO NOT
LET GO". But it wasn't. It was just too much *fun* watching the world
whiz by. And at the height of that swing, Bobby gave me the signal to
get my knees up there.
Right. Time to haul myself up. So I hauled.
You must understand that the last time I did anything even remotely
like this was when I was five years old and doing gymnastics. No,
wait, I also made a habit of hanging upside down by my knees in the
low-branched kalachuchi trees of my high school. But it had been a
very long time since I had climbed a tree or played on monkey bars.
No, I did not have this flashback while I was up there. I was too busy
hauling. Crunch, scramble, get those knees up and over.
Whee! And then to let go of the bar—and point my toes—and arch my
It was over far too soon. The toughest part was figuring out how to
get back on the ground. I squawked, bounced off the net, clambered to
the edge, and tried to let myself over gracefully. Nope, I used up all
of my grace points doing that trapeze trick. But I did manage to get
myself back on terra firma without breaking anything.
And then we were taught another trick: somersaulting on the dismount
by tucking our knees in and leaning back. Piece of cake!
I'm going to sign up for circus classes this fall. I probably won't go
for the trapeze right away, although I'll drop in for classes once in
a while. I think I'll start off with flexibility training, because
that's something I can keep practicing on my own. But I've found
something I enjoy doing. Now I have even better reasons to develop
strength, endurance, and flexibility. I could always *see* these
tricks in my mind's eye, and now I can remember the exhilaration.
Random Emacs symbol: other-window-scroll-buffer – Variable: If non-nil, this is a buffer and C-M-v should scroll its window.
Old readers of this blog would know how special A Midsummer Night's Dream is to me, of all Shakespeare's plays. It was happy coincidence that J's Shakespeare camp involved a production of AMND, and that one of her roles was the same one I played so many years ago. All that I have to say is to tell you that the lantern is the moon… =)
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I have decided to do extraordinarily well, and to live the fullest
life I can. That means a rich and fulfilling full-time career, great
friendships, probably marriage and kids, and the time and energy and
finances to develop my self the way I want to.
I am going to have it all. I believe that it's possible.
Random Emacs symbol: set-window-hscroll – Function: Set number of columns WINDOW is scrolled from left margin to NCOL.
More exercise at the park today. I did three sets of five assisted
chin-ups and assorted other exercises, although I still have far to go
before I can even make it across the monkey bars. W- and J- beat me
every single time: running, climbing poles… Must remind myself that
I shouldn't feel bad that they're fitter than I am. <laugh> Will
instead focus on getting better!
We watched the Dream in High Park performance of A Midsummer Night's
Dream. The mechanicals' play-within-a-play was hilarious! J- loved it,
and so did W- and I. This production's Puck was a terrific acrobat and
he was so much fun to watch. And the fight scene between the four
lovers—that was awesome!
I heart AMND.
Tomorrow: tea party, write article for Booksnake, start planning my
own get-together…
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Goals from last week:
|Goals last week
|This week
|Finish and print thesis draft
|In progress. Up to the tenth revision of my paper. Supervisor happy. Needs some more formatting, though.
|Book room for defense
|Meet manager re declined offer
|Met Robert Terpstra and had great conversation about life.
|Ping tech sales
|Talked to Liz Elek about immigration documents.
|Read more books
|Read 7 books: one book on sales, four books on relationships, one book on e-mail, and one book on jobs. Only one sales book and one relationships book were particularly note-worthy: How to Sell to Difficult Customers, and the Feminine Mistake.
|Start booksnake blog
|Done: Booksnake
|Do core exercises 3x week
|Assisted reverse chin-ups.
|Finish 6 more sessions of Cantonese study
|5 done so far, 1 more scheduled today.
|Fri: Attend drop-in circus class
|Tons of fun!
|Revise CASCON paper
|Not started.
|Build cooking vocabulary
|Not started.
|Not started.
|Outsource a task
|Not started.
|Plan birthday event – LifeCamp
|Not started. Thinking about what I want to do with my life.
Other stuff this week:
Next week:
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Freshly-baked home-made croissants filled with marzipan and sprinkled
with slivered almonds. Check.
English Breakfast tea. Check.
Are there any better ways to start a Sunday?
Random Emacs symbol: forward-list – Command: Move forward across one balanced group of parentheses.
credmp has an excellent blog post on GTD with Emacs using Planner and Remember. I'm so happy! =)
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Did you know that the Toronto Public Library is the largest in North Americ in terms of circulation, with 19 million circulated items? (Source: Wikipedia) *Shiver.* What luck!
Random Emacs symbol: delete-other-frames – Command: Delete all frames except FRAME.
Driving is a useful skill, and I will definitely look into it.
However, I will postpone driving lessons right now because I don't
have a good handle yet on whether it will be needed for my job and
what the costs of keeping a car will be like (especially as I'm not
yet 25)…
Random Emacs symbol: message-goto-fcc – Command: Move point to the Fcc header.
My thesis draft has been sent to my committee members. I've also
revised my CASCON paper and outlined my presentation. And if I don't
find something else to do, some neat work-type thing, I'm going to go
mad. I can't really give myself permission to waste the time idly
surfing the Net. I get that itch to do something interesting and
Tomorrow, I'm going to go to IBM. I think my laptop's just too slow
for reliable VPN. If I go tomorrow, I can invest time in fully
participating in the blogosphere. I can even do some of the
story-collecting and analysis I'd been meaning to do forever. Maybe
I'll start putting the slides together.
Ah, there's another thing I can do: update my literature review with
older papers.
And get back into open source development, maybe with Rails.
This is teaching me a lot about my ideal life. I don't want to be
retired-retired. I want to be doing interesting things. Twitch,
twitch, twitch…
Random Emacs symbol: gnus-update-marks – Function: Enter the various lists of marked articles into the newsgroup info list.


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Description: Sweet Beads Fundamental Finding is an amazing line of all the staples you will need for creating your jewelry designs. You'll find a complete range of ear wires, clasps, rings and other useful jewelry findings, in a variety of sizes and colors. Charm Modern Bird Silver 10pc- Graphic bird silhouette with punched indentations, on both sides, for eye and wing shape and a loop at the top of head. Measures about 5/8 inch without loop.
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Harris, A.S.D. and Medlin, L.K. and Lewis, Jane and Jones, K.J. (1995) Thalassiosira species (Bacillariophyceae) from a Scottish sea-loch. European Journal of Phycology, 30 (2). pp. 117-131. ISSN 0967-0262


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Installation Manual
With so many choices on the market today, it's easy to become overwhelmed with a decision that can make the difference between the ultimate bathroom or one that just says average when one walks in. This Kraus Clear 34mm edge Glass Vessel Sink and Decus Bathroom Faucet Chrome (Model C-GV-150-19mm-1800CH) changes all that. Once you lay your eyes on this gorgeous glass vessel sink and chrome faucet, you'll know your search is over. The beauty is that you've found a sink and faucet that are made with quality at the forefront of the process. Krauss settles for nothing but the best from the designers, to the materials used to craft such beautiful bathroom necessities to the must have style that every discerning consumer is searching for. Made form thick tempered glass this vessel sink is there to meet your needs for years to come. The natural state of clear glass gives its own beautiful shades and the greenish edges are just the perfect touch of earthy mixed with modern. Not only that, but the look of glass and chrome is one that never goes out of style, so if you decide later to change your bathroom décor, you know you won't have to worry about replacing your sink to keep up with your impeccable taste.
The perfect size for any bathroom, this clear glass vessel sink will accommodate on all levels without dominating your bathroom space. Exuding nothing but beauty created by an ingenious mixture of smooth and sharp lines; the choice has become easier than ever. Let your self relax knowing the search is over and now you can simply enjoy the luxury of Kraus.
I love the design and the thickness of the vessel sink is great. The set arrived in perfect condition and took very little time to install
"KRAUS" Brand Glass Sinks Limited Lifetime Warranty
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KRAUS is proud to offer its customer the strongest, most durable solid stainless steel faucets and ceramic cartridges for all the faucets it manufactures.
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"KRAUS" Brand Bathroom Faucets Limited Warranty
KRAUS is proud to offer our customers the highest quality Bathroom Faucets constructed from solid brass available in Chrome, Satin Nickel, Antique Brass, Gold, Oil Rubbed Bronze, Antique Copper finishes, KRAUS guarantees all Bathroom Faucets to be free of defect in materials and craftsmanship for five (5) years from the original date of purchase.
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Kraus warrants its faucets to be leak and drip free during normal residential use for the full term of the warranty while product is being used in the original purchaser's residential property. All KRAUS warranties are non-transferable.
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Daylilies last for just one day, but what a day it is! We are enjoying these beauties in our daylily garden.
Summer Daylilies
By: geodeSubscribe Channel: Weather Location: Waverly, NY
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Road construction on the Tioga Road in Yosemite National Park began this week, and will continue through September 30, 2015. This two-year rehabilitation project is a multi-phased construction project that encompasses improvements to the Tuolumne Grove Parking Lot and the Tioga Road Corridor. This phase of the rehabilitation work will include a 15 mile segment along the road from the Crane Flat Intersection to just east of White Wolf. The construction work will include improvements to culvert drainages, road grading and pavement resurfacing, new signage, and road striping.
Mammoth and Mono County voters went to the polls on Tuesday, June 3, under sunny skies and warm temperatures.
It was impossible to gauge voter turnout, said poll worker Jay Dienken.
"It's quiet now," he said at the Community Center polling station on Forest Trail, "but they come in waves."
As he spoke, Town Council candidate John Wentworth rode up on his mountain bike to vote, while Mammoth District Ranger Jon Regelbrugge of the U.S. Forest Service was in a voting booth nearby.
Political observers haven't seen anything quite like it.
It has been 20 years since Mammoth has had eight non-incumbent candidates running for three open Town Council seats. The race for Mono County Sheriff started out as a volatile contest, and then just kept getting more so.
Three candidates—Stacy Corless, Greg Eckert and Kirk Stapp—are running for an open seat on the Board of Supervisors from the Mammoth-only District 5.
Two staff positions, both described by Mammoth Town Manager Dan Holler as critically important, are no longer vacant.
With just one week until Election Day, the eight candidates for Town Council threw a little more gas on the fire this past week, introducing new campaign issues at a candidates forum at the Forest Service Auditorium.
A San Jose couple and their dog walked away from a plane crash with only minor injuries after the pilot crash-landed the plane on Sherwin Creek Road Saturday, May 24.
His Cessna 182 experienced engine trouble while flying from the Bishop airport over Mammoth Pass toward San Jose.
According to Mammoth Lakes Fire Chief Brent Harper, the pilot, Paul Cianci, San Jose, knew he had engine trouble while flying over the pass around 3 p.m. and started to look for an open spot to land the plane.
Whoever wins the race for the three open Town Council seats on June 3, the "new majority" will come face-to-face with a steep learning curve.
Mammoth Lakes Recreation, 11 months in the making, won a crucial victory this week when the Town Councl voted unanimously to move it into its final fomation stage.
The council's 5-0 vote came despite some citizen criticism that the formation of the non-governmental organization (NGO) it was too much, too soon.
Reno National Weather Service meteorologist Chris Smallcomb gave the latest update on the three-year drought and what it will take to bring it to its knees Tuesday, May 20.
It wasn't pretty.
"We have what we call a 'structural deficit' in terms of moisture that is very deep," Smallcomb said in an interview prior to his talk at the Green Church Tuesday.
That deficit is so deep that it will take a huge winter to simply catch up, he said.
Note: A previous version of this story state that the Mono County Board of Supervisors would eventually have to vote on whether or not to approve the environmental analysis for the proposed test wells. The final decision is made by the U.S. Forest Service, Inyo National Forest. The Times regrets the error.
Mammoth Mountain Ski Area recently triggered the search for water for snowmaking on June Mountain Ski Area and the Inyo National Forest is now taking comments about the proposal, according to forest authorities.
Town Council candidate Deb Pierrel this past week said her campaign is stronger than ever, despite a public kerfuffle involving her business debts.
Two of the heavyweight candidates for Town Council returned to their campaigns this past week, after having missed a combined 33 days of on-the-ground campaigning.
Richardson, 60, first started visiting Mammoth when he was 14, making the trip from Newport Beach with his dad, Jack, and skiing Mammoth Mountain on (now) impossibly long skis.
Fernie, 30, is a native of Columbus, Ohio, where his father taught childhood education in the graduate school at Ohio State University.
It's time to renew Town of Mammoth Lakes dog licenses for the upcoming fiscal year.
Join us for our annual license sale/vaccination clinic in the Police Department parking lot on Saturday, June 21 from 4 p.m to 5:30 p.m.
If your dog does not need a rabies vaccination update, you can just purchase a license for $20 if your animal is spayed/neutered or $50 if it is not.
You don't need to bring your pet to the clinic unless it needs a vaccination update.
Dr. Gaylon TeSlaa and the staff of Alpen Veterinary clinic will be on hand with low cost vaccinations for both dogs and cats.


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Blog Home
The Third Option
Jun 4, 2012
General Nonsense
Economists and politicians have offered two potential solutions to the economic woes in both the United States and Europe:
Austerity budgets that will kill the economy.
Continued deficit spending that will kill the economy.
Of the two options, killing the economy later is better than sooner. But either way, we're still dead. And this fascinates me about the debate: All informed adults assume we're dead either way. I haven't seen an economist map a way that we could keep overspending and later inflate our way out of the massive debt without causing a new set of problems just as dire. And economists generally agree that cutting government spending is the equivalent of pulling the plug on a comatose economy.
If you can't keep spending wildly, and you can't spend any less, what option remains? Allow me to trot out a third option that might work for the United States. Some of it will look familiar but I'm adding a new layer.
Let's start by agreeing that the amount of risk that either a person or a country should take is driven by circumstances. A prosperous country can afford to have many workplace laws and regulations to keep everyone safe. But if the world is on the verge of economic meltdown, you might accept some elevated risks in order to benefit the greater good. In general, bad times increase your options. Even a gridlocked and constipated government can make decisions when death is knocking at the door. (At the moment, death is merely walking toward the porch.) So while your first reaction to my plan is that our government could never act so decisively and creatively, I would suggest we are nearing a point where the only choices will be drastic and out-of-the-box. We're almost there.
My economic plan is for the government to pass laws ordering banks to turn all foreclosed properties into a specific type of rental. These homes would be reserved for foreigners that have highly valuable economic skills and a desire to live and work in the United States. At the same time, the government would ease restrictions on immigration, but only for the most skilled workers.
For the most part, the new immigrants wouldn't be taking jobs from Americans because there are always job openings for the top talent. The biggest tech companies are always begging for engineers. No employees of McDonalds will be replaced by the influx of foreign talent.
The new laws would also require that the foreign renters give all of their banking business to their landlord banks. The law might even have a clause that says the renter must someday get his first mortgage from the same bank, at a competitive rate, should he eventually buy a home. Buying a home would be the only path for a foreign renter to get out of the bank-owned rental market after say three years.
Banks don't want to be in the business of property management, so let's assume this idea creates a bunch of new jobs to support the rental properties. You'd need someone to qualify renters and help them move in. You'd presumably need lots of repairs to get properties into rental shape. And you'd need ongoing service and repair work because renters don't do their own home maintenance.
The government could also require the foreign renters to hire local housecleaners, to use local carpet cleaning companies once a quarter, and that sort of thing. That creates more jobs. Imagine also that the government loosens restrictions on cooking at home and selling food. And let's say the new renters are required to use these personal chefs at least twice a week. That's more jobs. Obviously I don't have the details worked out, but the basic idea is to compel the highly-paid foreign engineers to pour money back into the economy in ways that create jobs.
Next, the government could require banks that own foreclosed properties to install photovoltaic systems on each property that has the right kind of sun exposure. The estimated monthly energy savings would be tacked onto the rent, effectively financing the solar systems. Rental agreements would spell all of this out, including a warning that there might be people doing work on the roof for a week. That will create more jobs in the solar industry.
On day one, this new set of laws would stabilize the real estate market by sucking up the foreclosed properties. The big tech companies might find themselves hiring foreign engineers that rent homes in one state and work in another, just to take advantage of the loophole to hire talent. That's okay too.
In the long run, the influx of engineering talent should give the economy a nice boost. America's largest untapped resource is the fact that people want to live here. In normal economic times we can indulge our irrational fears and biases about outsiders. But as doom walks up our porch our appetite for risk increases. The unthinkable will turn thinkable.
I'll stipulate that my plan has flaws. I'm using it to illustrate a bigger point, that the "third way" out of our economic gloom will reveal itself as our appetite for risk increases. Desperate times require risky solutions. We might impress ourselves with our own creativity in the next year. I hope so.
Votes: +10
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Jun 4, 2012
As long as we are acting desperate, how about this-
Let us order all residents and businesses of New Jersey (Or substitute your favorite state here), to sell their properties to the Government at going rates and move elsewhere in the country. They will soon go and suck up the property market slack.
Then the Government would sell the entire state with all the infrastructure in place along and full Sovereign rights to, say, China (with some restrictions on militarization). I am sure it will fetch a lot more than what we paid for Manhattan.
So US loses a pinky and ends up with another territorial neighbor - no big deal.
I'll stipulate that my plan has flaws - I'm only acting desperate.
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Jun 4, 2012
Our bad habits with our country's financials is just like smoking.
When someone smokes, it feels good. Everyone knows it isn't good for them in the long run, but the effects aren't immediately visible, so they keep on smoking.
Same thing with a sick economy. It feels nice, even if we know there are long terms problems waiting.
So how do we fix it?
We break it - intentionally - and badly. If you send someone to the hospital with a lung condition, that's a fantastic wake-up call for them to give up on smoking, or die.
I'd propose we exasperate the problem, until people feel the pain acutely.
Actions need consequences! When the consequences don't come soon enough to prevent the bad actions - we should help accelerate the effects, not dull them!
We need to treat the root cause - not dull the symptoms.
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Jun 4, 2012
AtlantaDude has it right. You are just committing the broken window fallacy.
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Jun 4, 2012
You should read Paul Krugman -- he's a famous economist (among many) who disagrees with your initial premise. I wonder why you aren't familiar with him or the majority of economists who agree with him?
Do you have a cognitive bias against economists who disagree with you such that you boldly proclaim as a fact that there are none?
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Jun 4, 2012
Why not just let these high skilled workers into the country if they each agree to break and replace 100 windows per month.
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Jun 4, 2012
Hmm...I read "third way" but I hear "how to screw as much cash out of immigrants as possible".
Its very expensive for a newly arrived foreigner to live in the US as it is, due to the costs of things like insurance, medical insurance (which boggles the mind). Now you want to insist they pay *extra* for power that should be cheaper, and they *must* hire a chef twice a week?
Speaking as a foreigner who did work in the US for a few years at the turn of the millenium, I think just encouraging us over is a good idea (the rental agreements and linking it to more visa availability), without the enormous sticks. I certainly didn't need and couldn't afford a personal cook, but I did eat out 4 times a week, which I'm fairly sure puts money into the economy.
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Jun 4, 2012
Big problem with this plan. Most of the foreclosed homes are not located in local economies with lots of tech companies or other industries that require a lot engineers or other workers with "highly valuable economic skills." Those foreclosures that are located in a metro that could support that kind of hiring (e.g. DC, SF, Seattle, etc.) are usually located in parts of town where said engineers would not want to live.
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Jun 4, 2012
You are aware that "the third way" was the motto for Fascism, no?
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writes: Anyone have the tab to Doc Watson's fingerpicked version of Deep River Blues? I've been playing around with the first half for years and can never seem to get the rest. Thanks I love this tune too Bill and have been working on it for a while. I start it with these chords E7 and E flat7 and back to E7, up the neck: -------7--- and the E flat 6 -------6-- -------5--- (if that's it's name) -------5-- -------7-- ------6-- -------6 - -------5-- xxxxxxx xxxxxx-- -------0--- --------0-- The progression then goes: (E7) Give me back (E flat 6) my old boat (E7) I'm gonna sail boys (A) if she'll float <when you hit "if she'll float" the high E string goes ---3--2---0--> (E, played at 1st fret) I've got them deep river (B7)blues <this is followed w/ a nice fill:> --------------------------3bend---3b---0-------------- ------------------------------------------------3----0-- ---------------------------------------------------------- ------1------1------------------------------------------- -2---------------------------------------------------- ----------2----------------------------------------------- (E7) If my boat (Efl6) sinks with me (E7) I'm going down boys (A)don't you see (E)I've got them (B7)deep river (E) blues This is the first TAB I've tried so I hope it was clear enough, enjoy.
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Saint Francis University117 Evergreen DriveP.O. Box 600Loretto, PA 15940


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UPDATED Sunday Show Preview
• NBC's Meet the Press: Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey, Gov. Haley Barbour (R-MS), Gov. Ed Rendell (D-PA), NYT's David Brooks, WaPo's E.J. Dionne, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow, Republican strategist Ed Gillespie and NBC's Tom Brokaw
• CBS' Face the Nation: Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Rep. Ike Skelton (D-MO), Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) and Republican political consultant Ed Rollins
• ABC's This Week: DNC Chairman Tim Kaine, RNC Chairman Michael Steele and a roundtable with Democratic strategist Donna Brazile, Republican Pollster and Consultant Frank Luntz and ABC's Sam Donaldson, Cokie Roberts and George Will
• Fox News Sunday: Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) and a panel with Fox's Brit Hume, Fox/NPR's Mara Liasson, Fox/Weekly Standard's Bill Kristol, Fox/New York Post's Kirsten Powers
• CNN's State of the Union: Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey, Virginia Governor-Elect Bob McDonnell (R), Republican pollster Bill McInturff, Democratic pollster Peter Hart, CNN's James Carville and Mary Matalin and former Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev
• CNN's Reliable Sources with Howard Kurtz: Time's Joe Klein, AP's Beth Fouhy, "Googled" author and The New Yorker media columnist Kevin Auletta
• CNN's GPS with Fareed Zakaria: Aspen Institute's Walter Isaacson, "The Years of Lyndon Johnson" author Robert Caro, WSJ's Peggy Noonan, "Creating Black Americans" author Nell Irvin Painter and former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf
• NBC's The Chris Matthews Show: The Atlantic's Andrew Sullivan, NBC's Savannah Guthrie, New York Magazine's John Heilemann and WaPo's Kathleen Parker
• Washington Week with Gwen Ifill and National Journal: WaPo's Ceci Connolly, NJ's James Barnes, Politico's John Harris and ABC's Martha Raddatz
• Bloomberg's Political Capital with Al Hunt: House Minority Whip Eric Cantor
• Washington Watch with Roland Martin: RNC Chairman Michael Steele, DNC Chairman Gov. Tim Kaine, Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), commentator and author Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, WaPo's Michael Fletcher, Democratic strategist and pollster Cornell Belcher; Politico's Nia-Malika Henderson, syndicated columnist and author Deborah Mathis, Comcast Network's, Roll Call TV's and Philadelphia Tribune's Robert Traynham and News One's Smokey Fontaine
Will update as we learn them.