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Emerald Suites Las Vegas Boulevard Hotel
Rooms: 396
Reviews - Emerald Suites Las Vegas Boulevard Hotel
Want to see more hotels? View all hotels in Las Vegas
Historical Traveller Reviews of Emerald Suites Las Vegas Boulevard Hotel
ve ever stayed atfrom A TripAdvisor Member
With few exceptions, horrible staff. Manager was utterly apathetic about problems our conference attendees faced.
Examples of some of our problems.
Shuttle was supposed to pick us up at McCarran Airport. Insisted they had missed us, even though we had been waiting for 20 minutes from the pick-up point. Called agiain, shuttle finally arrived (after an hour of waiting) and we were taken to the wrong hotel. No signs on the shuttle denoting which location they are going to, and the driver actually asked us if we wanted to go back to the airport!
Reservations had our check-in dates wrong, even though we had confirmations with the correct date.
Facility has no elevators, so if you need handicap access, you better hope for a first floor unit.
All rooms, regardless of smoking or non designation, reeked of cigarette smoke. Furniture, linen and general state of rooms was extremely shabby. People are obviously using this place as an extended residence, as there is laundry hanging over the walkway fences. I could clearly see into my room through the one inch gap between the vertical blinds and the window sill.
I gouged my thigh on a mattress spring because they're too cheap to have decent bedding or replace the mattresses.
The walls are so thin, you can clearly hear the conversations (amoung other noises) in every room around you.
The shuttles are supposed to take you anywhere you want to go in Vegas, but in reality, most of the drivers hassle you if you ask to go anywhere other than Mandalay Bay or the airport. They are also supposed to pick you up 24/7, and instead will leave you stranded on the strip.
If you expect to have a meeting room where you need a network connectivity, make sure it's hooked up first--we discovered the Cat 5 cabling was acutally hanging in mid-air on the other side of the wall of our room.
Don't expect to have rooms you reserved for meetings or appointments available either--the hotel sold ours right out from under us, leaving us looking like idiots in front of our interview candidates.
I cannot stress enough how you should definitely not stay at this motel. The staff is unhelpful, uninformed, and apathetic.
awesome valuefrom kmanfrede
Nice place away from the stripfrom A TripAdvisor Member
After reading reviews, I was a little hesitant, but we found the Emerald Suites to be very nice, clean, and the staff to be accommodating.
Our suite was a one-bedroom unit on the 3rd floor. Our only complaint was that there is no elevator. After walking all over the strip, by the time we returned to the hotel at night, it would have been nice to take an elevator to the 3rd floor. We found the suite to be clean and it fit our needs for the weekend. It was nice having a refrigerator to keeps drinks and snacks cold.
The pool area is very nice, however, there were a lot of out of control kids there who's parents/guardians were not watching them. A security guard came around, but didn't say anything to the kids or their parents. Apparently a child had an "accident' in the spa and it was closed on Sunday. Security really should handle out of control kids so those of us without kids and those customers who's kids are behaving don't have to deal with it.
Overall, we enjoyed our stay at Emerald Suites and would stay there again.
Very Cozy!from A TripAdvisor Member
Rob, Joppa Maryland
Wonderful alternative to the stripfrom kimspassions
Cheap and Dirtyfrom A TripAdvisor Member
Cons- Could feel springs pushing up through mattress, sheets didn't go to foot or head of bed, "non-smoking" room smelled like smoke (not surprising, since there were cigarette burns on the furniture, counter tops and carpet), couch was a joke, blood on the vertical blinds (no curtains), squeeky floors, generally dirty.
If I could do it over, I'd pay another $20 or more per night to get a cleaner place.
Roaches here!!from A TripAdvisor Member
This place is too much of an extended stay hotel that people have mistreated and trashed. I could only imagine the disgust that attracted the roaches in the first place.
We will never consider staying here again.
Wonderful time here!from A TripAdvisor Member
I didn't go in the pool, but whenever I was coming or going I saw plenty of people in or around it, so it must have been nice. My only complaint was that the remote for the tv only went up and down, which was kind of boring when you would look for something to watch. But then again, I was in Vegas. There was a lot to do other than watch tv.
So I don't know what happened with the other people. All I know is that I had a great time. Oh yeah, they have this thing called IDL, which means that they forward their registration list to LV police. So they know who is staying there and if they have warrants or something, they'll get picked up. Very safe.
Perfect for a family trip.from A TripAdvisor Member
Disappointedfrom A TripAdvisor Member
Top Local Tips for Las Vegas
it is for teenagers I went with 3 more families everyone told me why are you taking your kids, but they had a great time las vegas hotels are great just to visit them and there are lots of free stuff to do and shows to watch with your teenagers it is a magical city but just for 3 or 4 days I am no gambling person the bellagio fountains are amazing I could stay there and watch them for hours the resaturants are expensive but the buffets are good choice on wednesday they have a steak buffet at the orleans (not on the strip but go to visit very nice hotel) the buffet was very good they even gave us a glass of wine with it, we went with a 15 person van and could park in most of the hotels so no problem to bring a car, also went to cirque du soleil ka and didn`t like it mystere at pleasure island is better
transportation if you book this hotel just make sure you have a car or secure means of transportation to get around and to the strip.
Much better places to stay. People, this is Las Vegas. Yes, room rates are high, but PLEASE do not stay here. Spend the money and go to a REAL HOTEL, not this low budget street side MOTEL.
- (hotels)
Other names for Emerald Suites Las Vegas Boulevard Hotel
- emerald las vegas
- emerald hotel las vegas
- Address: 9145 Las Vegas Boulevard South - Las Vegas - Nevada - 89123 - United States
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- (hotels)
Hotels Near Emerald Suites Las Vegas Boulevard Hotel
- Cancun Resort Las Vegas Hotel Las Vegas, Nevada Distance: 1.6 km / 1 mi
- The Grandview At Las Vegas Hotel Las Vegas, Nevada Distance: 1.3 km / 0.8 mi
- Silverton Hotel and Casino Las Vegas, Nevada Distance: 2.3 km / 1.4 mi
- Hilton Garden Inn Las Vegas Strip South Hotel Las Vegas, Nevada Distance: 2.6 km / 1.6 mi
- Crestwood Suites Boulevard Hotel Las Vegas, Nevada Distance: 3.7 km / 2.3 mi
- Doubletree Club Las Vegas Airport Hotel Las Vegas, Nevada Distance: 4.6 km / 2.9 mi
- Residence Inn By Marriott Industrial Hotel Las Vegas, Nevada Distance: 6.6 km / 4.1 mi
- Courtyard Las Vegas South Hotel Las Vegas, Nevada Distance: 6.7 km / 4.2 mi
- Fairfield Inn and Suites Las Vegas South Hotel Las Vegas, Nevada Distance: 6.8 km / 4.2 mi
- Holiday Inn Express Polaris Hotel Las Vegas, Nevada Distance: 6.8 km / 4.2 mi
- Four Seasons Hotel Las Vegas Las Vegas, Nevada Distance: 7.3 km / 4.5 mi
- Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino Hotel Las Vegas, Nevada Distance: 7.6 km / 4.7 mi
- Green Valley Ranch Resort & Spa Hotel Henderson, Nevada Distance: 7.8 km / 4.9 mi
- Travelodge Airport Inn Hotel Las Vegas, Nevada Distance: 8.3 km / 5.1 mi
- Ambassador Strip Inn Travelodge Hotel Las Vegas, Nevada Distance: 8.3 km / 5.1 mi


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Dear Investor,
If you've been investing in stocks for a period of time, you're probably subscribed to several newsletters, maybe some membership sites… And you may have tried some of the automated software that GUARANTEES to make you rich… And chances are you were a little disappointed.
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Funny how they didn't mention anything about the markets almost becoming completely wiped out over the last year… But I can't blame them because…
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And neither did he… "Dave, if it could be done, it already would have…" I managed to convince him to at least take a look…
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Oh Brandi, honey, why make life harder on yourself than it need be? The
Truth Trauma Cannon looked lovely in blue, with her hair parted fetchingly to the side, yet her eyes were puffy and her body tense like a deer on the side of the road. She hadn't slept and her oft-mentioned anxiety had reached level orange. She had come ready to fight Lisa, but simultaneously wanted a hug and cup of tea from the older woman she at once idolized and hated herself for doing so.
Their first spat came when Lisa wondered why would Brandi waste time suggesting on her podcast that Lady Lisa had once lived in the Valley. Brandi said because it was true, she knew it was, what with her having spent $9.99 to look it up on the interwebs. Brandi, you must learn some type of ritualistic routine—go for a walk, eat a taco, watch an episode of Friday Night Lights—when your pettiness takes hold. To her the jab felt warranted because Lisa used to tease her about living so far out in the sticks. Lisa said it was a joke, just like the jokes Brandi used to make about sleeping with Ken. We have the same personality, said Brandi. Lisa checked that quick, insisting regally that they may share a sense of humor but certainly not a personality. This cut Brandi to the core and you could see the flood of emotions swirling on her blushing cheeks. The vulnerable bruise of a woman looked ready to burst into tears and rake her nails down someone's cheek.
There was a silly, harmless montage of Kim, who spent her first season sober but in high spirits. She loves turtles, and reserves the right to worship them and God whenever and however she pleases. She looked delighted when a viewer wrote in praising Kingsley and then dumbstruck when the viewer rapped her on the head for not having a boyfriend. Let the woman be. As Tina Fey once so wisely said of Taylor Swift, "She needs some Me Time." At one point Andy asked her if the show had been and Kim praised it for keeping her sober and accountable and in some sense giving her a sense of self-worth. (Sigh.) "I love feeling important and making people smile and laugh. You guys have saved my life," she said. " Wow, that's great," said Flat Andy, in an emotionless monotone.
Joyce and Brandi made a lot of noise, about tampons and gaygents and donkeys and Sochi. It was largely unbearable, to everyone but Carlton who loved Brandi going for Joyce's jugular. Though Carlton did voice a wish that Brandi hadn't brought it to the group that the two women had made out in a pool. Rather than air that for the Bravo audience, she would've preferred to share that news with her children in her own way, in her own time, i.e.., "Mummy's made out with a girl."
Brandi summed up the problem with this season, perhaps with much of "reality" TV in general, when she later described the source of her beef with Lisa. She didn't appreciate it when Lisa would act so concerned about her drinking or her various decisions on camera. If she thought it unwise for Brandi to slug directly from a bottle of booze at the end of long night why couldn't she pull her behind a scrim and tell her to knock it off. Why couldn't she impart life lessons on off-shooting days rather than treating her like a lost lamb on TV? Perhaps it's inevitable, even shrewd, to think so definitively in terms of on camera and off camera personas but that leads to viewer manipulation and image consultation and storyline fabrication. Worse yet, it's boring and gross.
At the end of the hour Yolanda, who'd spent much of it complaining that Lisa hadn't ministered to her in her time of need, proved once again that she is the grown-up in the room. It took a while but she managed to articulate to Lisa that it wasn't so much an apology she wanted but the sense that she was being heard and taken seriously. Valid! Then she did something wholly uncharacteristic for this series: She spoke with genuine self-awareness about herself, acknowledging that she couldn't have been easy to get along with these last two years. "Maybe I was boring or grumpy and yes, I might have been sensitive about things that I usually wouldn't be sensitive about or I might not remember things correctly." Lisa jumped in with delicious timing. "Yes, see, I was there every day holding your hand," she said. The woman might not always be able to take a joke but she sure is funny.


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There are so many wonderful aspects of Hampstead Heath, I love the walks and the vast green areas to picnic and play.
Can't find your city? Try Time Out World for great nights out and all that's going on near you – wherever you are in the world.
Magazines and Visitor Guides are also available in Malta, Porto and Muscat.
© Oliver Knight
Posted: Wed Jun 20 2012
Wild and undulating, the grassy sprawl of Hampstead Heath makes a wonderfully untamed contrast to the manicured lawns and flowerbeds found elsewhere in the capital – and it will feel even more delightfully rural if the City of London Corporation's 'aspiration' to graze sheep on the heath as a flock of organic lawnmowers comes to fruition.
The heath stretches across 791 acres of woodland, playing fields, swimming ponds and meadows of tall grass in north London from Hampstead to Highgate, and has provided the inspiration for countless films, books and poems. On hot summer days, the Hampstead Ponds are perfect for a refreshing dip, while the dizzying heights of Parliament Hill provide a popular destination for kite-fliers when the weather turns breezy.
ReviewsAdd +
Hampstead Heath
Highgate Road
Tube: Hampstead, Kentish Town: Rail: Hampstead Heath
4.5 / 5
There are so many wonderful aspects of Hampstead Heath, I love the walks and the vast green areas to picnic and play.
I think that it is fabulous and needs just a bit more imformation.


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Bloomberg BNA's Pension & Benefits Blog is a special resource offered by Bloomberg BNA to provide commentary and insight on news and trends reported in our publications: Pension & Benefits Daily, Pension & Benefits Reporter, and the Benefits Practice Resource Center. The authors of the blog are members of our Benefits Practice Resource Advisory Board and members of staff (who contribute summaries of some of their recent stories).
The ideas presented here are those of individuals, and Bloomberg BNA bears no responsibility for the appropriateness or accuracy of the communications between group members. We reserve the right not to post comments that are abusive or otherwise objectionable.
Communications regarding the Pension & Benefits Blog may be directed to Dana Domone via e-mail to email@example.com.
February 24, 2012
This week we officially relaunch the Bloomberg BNA Pension & Benefits Blog. Now on a new platform, the blog is more attractive and easier to use, yet it continues to contain insight, commentary, and analysis from the well-respected Bloomberg BNA Pension & Benefits Advisory Board.
December 21, 2010
BNA is sponsoring a webinar titled "Changing the Definition: Who is a Fiduciary," to be held Jan. 13, 2011, from 1 - 2:30 p.m ET.
May 3, 2010
Jeff Yablon has compiled a wonderful collection of tax quotes for the new edition of As Certain as Death: Quotations About Taxes. I discovered the book from an Alan Sloan column that appeared in the Washington Post. Sloan quotes Mark Iwry, Senior Advisor to the Secretary and Deputy Assistant Secretary (Retirement and Health Policy) at Treasury. Mark is the most quoted living person in the book. Justice Jackson holds the record but I predict that Mark will overtake him in later editions since Justice Jackson is dead and Mark is still alive and saying quotable things.
April 28, 2010
Each year when Henry Eickelberg of General Dynamics and I finish our course on Employee Benefits in Corporate Transactions at Georgetown, we take our students to my pub, the Irish Channel in DC, and the talk inevitably turns to jobs (or lack thereof) and careers in ERISA. I thought it might be useful to share some of that discussion with the BNA Pension & Benefits readers.
April 13, 2010
Pensions, alas, on their way out?
September 15, 2006
Welcome to the BNA Pension & Benefits Blog: Insight from the Advisory Board.
Initiative Gathers Section 409A Data For Compliance Check, IRS Official Says
Recent SCOTUS Benefit Decisions Pose New Questions for Litigation, Panelists Say
Overview of U.S. v. Windsor and its Effect on Employee Benefits
Dudenhoeffer Ruling Benefits Both Sides, Attorneys Who Argued Case Agree
Obstacles Loom for House Legislation On Frozen Retirement Plans, Speaker Says


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Several years ago I overheard a group of some of my female friends from our small town gossiping about another woman in our community. Like a good fly on the wall, I stayed rooted in my spot just around the corner from the ladies, trying ever so hard to figure out just who was at the end of their complaints. Geez, did this lady (whoever she was) drive them nuts! Apparently she was too loud, too nosey and too peculiar to put up with. The more they talked about her, the more familiar she became to me, but still, I had no solid clue about who she was until they started talking about the woman's family. From what they said I knew her husband was a professor just like mine was. I learned she had three daughters just like I did. It seemed she even came from the same hometown as I. And coincidences being coincidences, she was a writer, too. Who was this woman? Oh my... she was I! I was the person of their dislike! Imagine my stomach dropping to my feet when it dawned on me my friends were two-faced fakes. Ouch.
No matter how old we get, false friends can put deep scars on our hearts and big dents in our confidence. I have known this truth for as long as I have tried to make a friend or two, but each time I face it, I feel a sting. While psychologists report it is only natural to feel hurt when we are wronged, I still feel stupid for getting wronged so many times! It isn't easy forging friendships when you're Aspie, so maybe that's why it hurts so badly when I think I have a friend I don't really have. It doesn't really matter if it is natural to have a sorrowful reaction or just an Aspie response to be thwarted, lousy friends are just plain lousy people. At the end of the day, these types of people don't deserve our friendship and they surely don't deserve the power to harm us.


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The Kiss Cam And American Sports Fans: The History Of A Romance
To tell the story of the Kiss Cam, let's start with a kiss that happened off camera. On Aug. 8, 2000, Danielle Goldey and Meredith Kott attended a game at Dodger Stadium. At one point, as couples are wont to do, they smooched. Before long, security guards arrived, removed the women from their seats, and escorted them… »


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The presidential election of 2000, at least where this classical liberal is concerned, was a choice between the lesser of two evils. The winner, George W. Bush, was the lesser of two evils.
(As an aside, notice that Al Gore's celebrated beard makes him look much more like his ideological role model, V.I. Lenin. Compare the photo of Gore below at left with the photo of Lenin below at right).
(Picture Lenin with some hair on top of his head, or picture Gore with a little Lenin-style cap, and the resemblance is quite strong, da?).
Some Americans, happy not to be under the ecologically-sensitive jackboots of Lenin, er, Al Gore and his environmentalist minions, are giving President Bush a free pass where the growth of federal power is concerned.
In an effort to keep Bush's polling numbers high (and, of course, to prepare for the Congressional elections), the Republican party has been attempting to cast President Bush as the second coming of Ronald Reagan — if not of Thomas Jefferson. As Howard Fineman writes in comparing Bush to LBJ (another Texan who swelled federal power),
The pictures, so far, have been picture-perfect: George W. Bush in jeans and boots, smiling beneath the Big Sky of Texas; in outdoor gear, clearing brush in the Colorado mountains; in shirt and tie at the Rockies game; in a suit in Albuquerque, N.M., reading to second-graders.
There's only one thing wrong with these pictures and this message: It has little to do with the way in which the Bush Administration is behaving. In fact, this ostentatiously anti-Washington presidency may see the most far-reaching expansion of federal power since the heyday of the last Texan who loved his ranch: Lyndon B. Johnson.
As always, the Devil is in the details. Photo ops and sound bites are not supported by reality. As Fineman continues,
Consider: Bush's energy plan calls for giving the feds new eminent domain powers, so power companies can string new lines over the objections of local and state governments. The "patients bill of rights" Bush now supports creates a federal tort claim that would supercede state common law — a novel and unprecedented idea. His "faith-based" social-welfare initiative would funnel billions into the charity programs of religious entities — and where federal bucks go, federal rules inevitably follow. Bush's education plan, of course, is the biggest potential federal power grab of all: it would essentially federalize the supervision of testing in every public school nationwide.
Although Fineman is correct — remember, folks, you heard it here first (see "Oh Shrubbery, My Shrubbery").
Aside from the points Fineman raises about Bush, his article is worth considering for two other points he makes, namely, his portrayal of Thomas Jefferson and American conservatism. First, Fineman argues that
Bush is hardly the first president to talk local and act national. He follows a tradition as old as the Republic, or at least the first Jefferson Administration. The Sage of Monticello was the original anti-Federalist, localist foe of the autocratic John Adams. But Jefferson didn't hesitate (and didn't care about bureaucratic niceties) when he doubled the country's size in the Lousiana Purchase. Sending Lewis & Clark into the West was an act of aggrandizement, literally. In all, Jefferson was as aggressive as Adams, maybe more, in using federal power to knit the nation together.
As a matter of sheer nit-picking, Jefferson was of course not the first "anti-Federalist," if that term is taken to describe those "democratic republicans" who strove to preserve the English traditions of the rule of law and limited government in the American colonies.
Jefferson, however, is perhaps the most prominent classical liberal in American political history. And yet, as when considering other presidents (such as Lincoln), one must be careful not to idealize Jefferson. Fineman is right to observe that even the great Jefferson had his faults, most notably with respect to geographic expansionism and his treatment of the American Indians. Citizenship is not hero worship. (In that regard, the new volume published by the Ludwig von Mises Institute, Reassessing the Presidency, goes a long way towards removing the rose-colored lenses through which Americans are accustomed to viewing the inhabitants of the Executive Mansion, better known as the White House).
Second, Fineman contends that President Bush
reflects the age-old American ambivalence toward federal power. We prefer barn raisings (and barn burnings) to decision-making in a distant capital. Yet we accept sensible roles for the feds, from highway-building to money-printing to Social Security to Medicare. And in rare circumstances — in times of war or depression — we glory in our commonality, if not, quite, in the idea of government.
This point gets to the heart of the dispute between classical liberals (libertarians) on the one hand, and conservatives on the other hand. Despite the fact that both classical liberals and conservatives are concerned with individual liberty and the preservation of free institutions, their concerns have a different emphasis.
As Friedrich Hayek points out in the postscript to The Constitution of Liberty, tellingly entitled "Why I am Not a Conservative," classical liberals have a principled attachment to individual liberty and free institutions. Classical liberals believe in the rational superiority of liberty and its institutions because they believe that liberty is necessary to the flourishing of human existence. Liberty is not chosen merely because it is expedient, useful, or the status quo.
On the other hand, Hayek notes that conservatism is only as good as what it conserves. Where the rules of just conduct (i.e., the law) and their attendant institutions are animated by a concern for individual liberty, conservatism will be a good thing. Where the law and social institutions are hostile to liberty, however, conservatism stands athwart liberty yelling stop.
Thus, when Fineman opines that Americans "accept sensible roles for the feds," such as "highway-building to money-printing to Social Security to Medicare," he points directly to the fault line between classical liberals and conservatives.
There is no "need" for government fiat money, backed by nothing but the promise of taxation, in contrast to privately provided real money (gold). There is no "need" for compulsory Ponzi schemes such as Social Security, which taxes young workers to pay old retirees, with no guarantee that the young will ever have their money returned to them. There is similarly no "need" for government to "fix" the provision of medical services in America. Most of the problems (if not all) with American health care can be traced directly to government economic interventions in the first place. And yet many conservatives — for example, Jonah Goldberg of National Review — positively ridicule the very idea that economic goods such as transportation (in particular, roads) could ever be better-provided by a private marketplace than by the compulsory state.
Worse, Fineman adds that "in rare circumstances — in times of war or depression — we glory in our commonality, if not, quite, in the idea of government."
It is one thing to share fellow-feeling and sympathy with suffering neighbors in times of economic gloom, and to rally to the defense of home and family when attacked. Too many conservatives, however, do not go beyond the notion of rallying to the flag to examine the underlying reasons for the "rare circumstances" of war and depression.
When was the last time a foreign nation attempted to invade the United States? When was the last time American men went to die in a war? Notice the great disconnect between the two events. Conservatives — especially of the neo-conservative, Bill Kristol and Jonah Goldberg variety — no longer seem so concerned that war be restricted to self-defense on a national scale, hence Kristol's enthusiasm for American military intervention in China.
Where economic contractions are concerned, how many Bush voters understand the economic reasons for such contractions, as advanced, for example, in Friedrich Hayek's theory of the business cycle?
The government to which conservatives run for bailouts has been historically responsible not only for causing economic downturns, but for making them worse.
The paradoxical reign of George Bush, then, is paradoxical precisely because his supporters have not resolved certain paradoxes in their minds. American voters may know that they are not Communists, and they may fear the machinations of the Democrats sufficiently to continue electing Republicans. America will not be significantly better-off, however, until more American voters choose their politicians based upon a principled adherence to a coherent and workable view of society, namely, classical liberalism.
If Americans wish to have more freedom over their lives, and less government regulation, they must give up the idea that their own pet causes merit government interference. They must also approach with a critical mind the sound bites and glossy photographs with which politicians seek to cloak the expansion of the government.
As the situation stands today, George Bush, like his predecessors in office, has expanded the powers of the federal government. The reason for this is simple. Individual freedom is inherently at odds with government regulation. Not enough American voters understand this fact.
Those who voted for George Bush because he was not Al Gore got what they bargained for. Those who voted for George Bush because they thought he would reduce the size of the federal government should take a closer look.
Mr. Dieteman [send him mail] is an attorney in Erie, Pennsylvania, and a PhD candidate in philosophy at The Catholic University of America.
© 2001 David Dieteman


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Thruway looks for ways to cut costs
Nov. 21, 2012
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Thruway looks for ways to cut costs
During the next Thruway Authority meeting, which is expected to happen sometime in December, board members will discuss more than a proposed 45 percent toll increase on trucks. It will also look to
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UNE and St. Joseph Hospital CRNA Interview
- 0Jan 22, '13 by bytompkinsI have two upcoming interviews at UNE and St, joseph hospital, has anyone been interviewed at this places? What type of questions should I look out for? Any advice is welcome and appreciated. Thank you.
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A new tablet works well for customers and saves restaurants money, but could it mean the beginning of the end for the waitstaff?
This story has been corrected and updated. See note at the bottom of the story for details.
PALO ALTO -- Walk through the doors of Palo Alto's Calafia, located in a shopping center across the street from Stanford, and you're retracing the footsteps of giants. Steve Jobs and Eric Schmidt were once spotted talking shop there. Sergey Brin, Larry Page, and Mark Zuckerberg all frequent the place. Even James Franco, who admittedly is everywhere, has made an appearance at the restaurant run by Google employee number 53, the chef, Charlie Ayers. Ayers' book, Food 2.0, sits on a short pedestal near the front host's table.
When I sat down across from Rajat Suri, who dropped out of an MIT doctoral program in chemistry, so he could tell me about his startup, I could practically smell the Next Big Thing in the air. This is, of course, why he wanted me to meet me at this place, but we're not just there for the ambiance.
Suri gestures to a device that I've never seen that's sitting on our table. It sort of looks like a small iPad, maybe a thick Kindle Fire. Presto is its name. The screen shows an animation that says, "Touch me!" with half a dozen different animations. It's a menu and a way to order food and a method for paying the check all in one. The Presto functions like a better, more responsive version of the touchscreen food ordering system on Virgin America.
"I really like the pork buns," he tells me. "I'm a big fan of pork." I ask for another recommendation from Ayers' selection of rice bowls. He suggests the fiery bottom pork bowl with a quail egg on top, one of the restaurant's signature dishes. I love a quail egg, so I agree to order that.
With no instructions, I order the two items through the Presto. Beautifully lit photos let me see what I'm going to get. The UI is intuitive. Within 20 seconds, I've sent my order to the kitchen. Before we'd even finished eating, I swiped my card slightly awkwardly into the built-in payment slot, added a tip, and settled up. I would not say that this machine will blow your mind with its technical capabilities, but that's exactly the point: It just works.
I cannot say for sure that this will be The Future of your restaurant experience, but after talking with Suri, I'm convinced that some sort of automated ordering system will make its way into your dining experiences. And it's not because the technology is cool or whizbang or will draw customers. The real reasons are completely economic.
"It costs about a dollar a day per table, it can even go lower depending on if you have sponsors involved because all the alcohol companies want to get involved," Suri says. "For that, they get about $6 a day per tablet in increased sales. That's extra desserts, appetizers, drinks. They get about another $5 in extra table turns. If you can fit in one more table per night, that's worth a lot of money. And some restaurants, though not Calafia, get about
$45 $4, $5* extra because they choose to save labor."
So, at the minimum, we're talking about $10 a day more money coming in per table. And, if the restaurants choose to cut some employees because they have an automated ordering system, that trims a bunch of costs, too.
Those margins have meant good things for E La Carte, which is Suri's company. "A lot of our growth has been in the last six months just because awareness of the technology has grown a lot," Suri says. They now have tablets in 300 restaurants and he expects to be in 1000 by the end of the year, and 3000 the year after that.
In the past, automated ordering systems like this haven't made economic or social sense. Before the iPad, people didn't really get touchscreens. Now, most people are familiar with how to operate one. The costs of tablets' components have also come down, which benefits E La Carte. Suddenly, Suri's idea, which he hatched three years ago in Cambridge, is becoming a viable business.
I watch as two women a few tables away poke and prod the machine. They seem to be enjoying or at least tolerating the interaction, but then a waiter arrives at their table and they order from him. After I finish up with Rajat and Ayers, I sidle up to their table and interrupt them as gently as I can.
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"This is amazing. I brought it to a party, where the hostess referred to it as 'crack salad.' When I make a batch to eat at home, I double the vegetables (so essentially, eat half the dressing and blue cheese). "
"Loved the combination of goat cheese with steak, but found the honey mustard a bit overpowering and unnecessarily sweet. If I make this again, I'll just top herbed goat cheese with a little squeeze of lemon. "
"This came out a perfect medium rare, but had minimal crust. I brought it to room temp in its plastic packaging. It may have worked out better if I left it out in the open air to dry out as it warmed up. "
"I love Aarti. Her recipes are usually so fabulous, I was a bit let down by this one. Can't say I like her rub any better than simple S & P on flank steak. The onions were a nice version of carmelized onions, but not memorably so. I won't make this again. "
"This recipe calls for a lot of butter. Most recipes this size have 1 or 1.5 sticks of butter with milk, instead of 2 sticks butter and no milk. I usually love Ina's recipes, and this creates a satisfyingly dense cookie, but - I think I prefer a cookie with less butter. These sit like rocks in your stomach.""
"Yum! Cut the water in half after reading other reviews. This curry was great with meatballs, but I think I will try it with shrimp or chicken next time.""
"When I saw the richness of the sauce on this episode, I knew I had to make this recipe. Rich and full of flavor. Be sure to make polenta with it - it needs the extra texture and flavor as a counterpoint. Substituted pork shoulder and greek yogurt for the veal and creme fraiche.""
"Wow. So good! Cut this in half, skipped the cognac and subbed an extra onion for the pearl onions. Meat was still a bit tough after 1.5 hours - as others say, cook it longer if you have time. I will definitely make this again the next time friends come over.""
"YUM. Just made this for Christmas Eve. Listened to other reviewers, and roasted the garlic and cut back on the parsley. Came out great. The pita chips are wonderful.""
"Yum. Other reviewers pointed out two potential errors in this recipe - the quantity of peppers and white bean cook time.
Cook time: Even though most sources recommend soaking and cooking white beans a lot longer than this recipe, it worked fine for me as written.
Peppers: Some say Paula's cookbook calls for 1.5 peppers, not 1.5 cups. This se""
"5 stars for the filling, 3 stars for the crust. The filling was lovely, rich and decadent - definitely worth 5 minutes of constant stirring! As for the crust... as other reviewers have said, the quantity seems excessive. The crust wasn't especially tasty, though cutting out the oreo centers and whizzing up the graham crackers and oreos took som""
"Yum! Can't believe this recipe only has 1 review. It deserves to be much more popular. Really loved the flavors of this dish.
I was reluctant to brown the meat in the shallot paste, since there was the disclaimer that you should be very careful to avoid burning the shallots. So I browned the meat first and used the rendered fat to cook the "
"I won't make this again. Using 1.5 pounds of cod keeps this affordable, but I am still cod-ed out when I think about this dish - and I cooked it 3 weeks ago. Followed the advice of the previous reviewer and cooked the shrimp in last few minutes - that worked out well, and in fact they were still a bit rubbery.
The great revelation to me was how"
"You know how a few simple, high quality ingredients can combine to create a delicious dish? That doesn't happen with this one. The lemon zest is overpowering. The chickpeas are mealy. When you pour in olive oil to moisten the chickpeas and keep them from scattering across the plate, the shrimp gets a bit greasy. It's an OK dish, but the textu"
"Yum! The grocery store here doesn't carry red beans in sauce - plus most brands have MSG - so I used a can each of regular kidney and pinto beans, and threw in a generous tablespoon of tomato paste to substitute for the sauce flavor. This stew really benefits from extra time spent simmering on the stove. The red pepper flakes and garlic cook up in a flash in the hot oil - maybe 30 seconds - so you want to have your sausage and veggies ready to go. I also used 2 serrano peppers with seeds instead of jalapenos to increase the heat, which was perfect for spice-lovers like us."
"Hmmm. I agree with the previous reviewer - this is missing something. Blending or mashing some of the chickpeas gives this a nice texture, and the heat and flavor of the spices elevates this beyond a simple starving-student vegetarian soup. But the taste and smell is a bit sickly-sweet for me - maybe omitting the juices of the canned tomatoes, using fresh tomatoes, or adding lemon zest would make this taste fresher.
I should note I made several changes - cut cinnamon to 1/8 tsp, increased cayenne to 3/4 tsp, used a 1/2 tsp of honey instead of sugar, and added the juice of half a lemon. I also blended about half the soup, which I would strongly recommend to make the texture creamier."
"Gets the job done but not spectacular. I try not to eat a lot of sugar, so when I do, I want something amazing. These are wonderfully simple when you need a quick and easy recipe without making a special trip to the store. But they are a little bit greasy - you can get better flavor and texture without much more effort. I won't make them again unless I find myself in a pinch with no bittersweet chocolate in the house."
"Beyond delicious. I wasn't sure the ingredients sounded appealing, but based on the glowing reviews, I decided to cook this. I'm so glad I did! The first time, I used yellow split peas - soaking for 30 mins before cooking. The total cooking time ended up being a bit longer than the recipe - 35 to 40 mins. Later, I found mung dal at a health food store, and cooked as directed. The mung dal has a bit nicer texture - it's smaller than split peas, about the same size as your shredded coconut, and cooks up softer. But split peas are a fine substitution if that's all your grocery store carries. Also used fresh coconut instead of sweetened dried coconut. Hope to find unsweetened dried coconut somewhere, since it's a bit of a production to scoop out and shred the fresh coconut.
All in all - a ridiculously good dish! "
"Delicious one-pot wonder. Was concerned a medium saucepan wouldn't be large enough, but it just fit. It's included in the show as a side dish, but it can be a light main course for 2-3 people. Leftovers are great for lunch. I let the lentils sit for a few minutes after adding the oil mixture, to let the flavors really combine.
"Loved it! Substituted 1 lb cubed stew meat for ground beef. Added an extra bell pepper, and if (when) I make it again, will probably add even more veggies - carrots, as well as more bell pepper and onion. Used a bit less beef broth than suggested, based on others' suggestions. Couldn't find canned great northern beans or navy beans so used white kidney beans and extra black beans - worked out just fine. Flavor really improved with extra time to simmer. We love spicy food so added minced hot peppers (jalapeno, etc) to each bowl to taste. Served with monterey jack and cheddar - the monterey jack was better. Can't wait to try a veggie version - plenty of protein and substance in this without the meat. A great winter Sunday afternoon recipe!!


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"I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal, which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."
-Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela is my favorite Nobel Laureate. He is and will forever be my example to follow when my time comes to enhance and serve my community. The previous generation will not be with us forever and it is time for the new generation to make decisions. I have had the call to work for others, especially after the loss of my family in the 1994 Tutsi genocide in Rwanda. A million innocent people were butchered while nobody reacted and I believe that in order to prevent this from happening again, we need to see one another as human beings.
After my stay at the Nansen Dialogue Center I was amazed to see how the center elaborated a framework of dialogue instead of debate. After spending a week with the students from the Balkans and how I could relate to their story, it reinforced my feeling of hope. The new generation can overcome the old mentality and come together to listen and understand one another. I think that something different can happen in this world. Pain is temporary and people should not give up. I believe that people have the power to make this world free and beautiful.
The International Summer School: Ninety-six countries are represented. It is the perfect opportunity to engage in dialogues/discussion with one another in order to break the barriers are realize that at the end although we have different cultures, speak different languages and live in different countries we first are human beings. I am thankful to be part of this experience, and be part of a group of students who logs to make this world a better place.


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Tropical Storm Isaac 2012 Projected Path Leans Toward Hurricane
Hurricane Isaac 2012 projected path has been updated by the National Hurricane Center.
While the GOP battles the storm known as Todd Akin, they are now facing a hurricane named Isaac.
It appears that the Republican National Convention that will take place in Tampa, Florida might be disturbed by tropical storm Isaac that is projected to reach the Sunshine State in the upcoming days.
Hurricane Isaac 2012 is currently located about 270 miles or 440 kilometers southeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The National Hurricane Center issued a public advisory warning islands like Cuba, Haiti, Dominican Republic and British Virgin Islands due the fact that TS Issac which is carrying maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (75 kph) and might grow into a hurricane by Thursday or Friday.
Category: News


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June 12, 2000
Mr. Walter Kosik, the Chairman, called the meeting to order at 7:30 PM.
Mr. George LaBonte called the roll:
PRESENT: Walter Kosik, George LaBonte, Edmond Gleason, Peter McNamara, Alternate David
ABSENT: Peter LaPolice, Alternate Jim Bundock, Alternate Carolyn Carter
CASE # 2174 – ML 10- Pelham Kindergarten & Day Care Center – 96 Bridge St. – Seeking a special exception to Article VII, Section 307-41 to reduce the setback from 25 feet to 0 feet from poorly drained soils for the replacement of a failed leach field.
Mr. LaBonte read aloud the list of abutters.
Joan O'Connell of Tewksbury, Ma. appeared before the board to present her case. She explained that her family has been running a day care at this site for 26 years. It is a small day care with 50 children. At this time of the year the septic system and the dry well are always failing and the ground is saturated. In the middle of the property is a little stream that is about 8" to 10" high in the spring and dry in the summer. Lately they have had to pump the septic system once a week, which is very costly. She would like a waiver so that they may replace the septic system. Ms O'Connell gave out extra plot plans so that the board could examine the property lines. She also stated that she has had the approval of the Conservation Committee and the Planning Board. She needs approval from the Zoning Board so that she then can go to the state.
Mr. Kosik asked if the state approved it yet.
Ms O'Connell explained that she had to prove to the state that it was not a new business. Also the new plans show the vent where as the old plans do not which the state also needed.
Mr. LaBonte asked what kind of permission was needed from this board.
Ms O'Connell stated that the state wanted approval from the Zoning Board and Mr. Zanowski, the Health Agent, also wanted approval from the Zoning Board before they would approve.
Mr. Kosik then asked the audience if anyone would like to speak in favor or against this case. No one stepped forward.
Mr. Kosik then asked the board to discuss or ask questions on this article.
Ballot Vote: Mr. Kosik, no problem, Mr. Gleason, no problem, Mr. McNamara, no problem, Mr. LaBonte, on the condition upon approval from the state and the Health Agent, Mr. Hennessey, same as Mr. LaBonte but with a written approval.
Mr. Kosik explained that you must wait 20 days before you can start.
Terry Lapointe of 4 Michelle Ave, Pelham then came forward and asked why her case was not on the agenda since she had all her paper work done by May 19th the day she was told by the Planning Department to have it in by.
Mr. Kosik said he did not know why and it was the responsibility of the Planning Dept. to post and advertise the case.
Mrs. Lapointe said she had paid all the fees in order to let all of the abutters know.
Mr. Kosik explained that the Zoning Board could not hear the case on this day and he was sorry but it will have to wait for next month. He told her to go to the office the next day and speak to Mr. Messina. He then thanked her for her patience.
Mr. Gleason made a motion to accept the minutes as amended – Mr. McNamara seconded.
VOTE: 5 – 0 The motion carries.
Mr. Gleason nominated Walter Kosik for Chairman.
Mr. LaBonte second the motion
VOTE: 5 – 0 Mr. Kosik is the Chairman
Mr. LaBonte nominated Edmund Gleason for Vice-Chairman.
Mr. McNamara second the motion.
VOTE: 5 - 0 Mr. Gleason is the Vice-Chairman
Mr. Gleason nominated George LaBonte for Secretary.
Mr. McNamara second the motion.
VOTE: 5 – 0 Mr. LaBonte is the Secretary.
MOTION: (Gleason/McNamara) To adjourn the meeting.
VOTE: 5-0 The motion carries.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:50 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
` Therese Soucy Recording Secretary


text:
15th February, 1928
My dear P.M.,
I attach hereto the notes of a conversation with R.G. Hawtrey [1] of the Treasury on this subject.
I also enclose letter from Mr. Montagu Norman [2] covering some relevant notes.
A certain amount of material of interest comes out of the above, but, I admit, not as much as I had hoped. [3] I may be able to get some more inspired comments in the next few weeks.
I am, Yours sincerely, R. G. CASEY
[Enclosure A]
Notes on conversation with Mr. R.G. Hawtrey at the Treasury on 6th February, 1928.
With regard to the activities of International Combines and of Cartels, Mr. Hawtrey did not think, in general, that they had much international influence towards or away from peace.
International combines in the heavy industries-iron, steel and engineering, and possibly in the chemical industry (and, in general, in all 'mass production' industries)-undoubtedly tend to eliminate bitter competition, and so tend to stop countries from manoeuvring to gain political influence in possible markets. These big industries are so formidable and are so closely associated with the economic power of a country that the fact that they are at peace with their opposite numbers in neighbouring countries is undoubtedly beneficial.
Mr. Hawtrey mentioned that he had himself used the generalisation that the Great War was a war between the coalfields of Great Britain against the coalfields of Germany, which had eventually been decided by the coalfields of the United States-coal being the basis of those industries which are most important in warfare.
As a comparative side issue, Mr. Hawtrey mentioned that leading industrialists may exercise great political influence in their own countries, and if their interests are internationalised, this conduces to peace.
Mr. Hawtrey thought there were three classes of investments in (or loans made to) one country by the nationals of another country which would have a political bearing:-
1. Government loans.
2. Public utility loans.
3. Concessions.
With regard to Government and quasi-Government loans, assuming that the borrowing country was normally civilised and did not default in the payment of interest and the repayment of capital, he was of the opinion that, once the loan was made, the lending country had no appreciable influence on its policy, domestic or otherwise.
On the contrary the lending country became dependent on the good faith and capacity of the borrowing country. Investing does not in normal circumstances give the investor any real power over the lender.
Should default become actual or probable, the investor is put in a position in which he may want to get power over the borrower, and he will use his influence with his own Government to get it to exercise diplomatic pressure, or even force, to back his demands.
In that case the investment does not facilitate political intrusion, but only supplies the motive (or pretext) for it.
The problem of dealing with defaults was responsible for the formation, in Great Britain, of the Council of Foreign Bondholders, from whom Mr. Hawtrey suggested that I should be able to get information as to what has been the past history of cases of default as regards Government loans.
The political bearing of public utility undertakings and of concessions (e.g. mining or transport) is on the same footing.
That is to say, administrative or legislative interference being necessary, the promoters are led to interfere in the political affairs of the country concerned, but the enterprise itself puts them in a position rather of dependence than of power.
With regard to foreign companies establishing branch factories or subsidiary companies in 'borrower' countries, and also with regard to concession seekers, Mr. Hawtrey did not consider that they had much influence, unless their numbers became excessive and unless they were accompanied by a large influx of the foreign nationals.
Their representatives had, of course, the personal influence that men of ability who can command wealth always have.
Those in control of such activities may appeal to the Government of their own country for defence against undue taxation in the 'borrower' country. This comes to the same position as mentioned above with regard to Government loans-diplomatic negotiations or pressure to ensure for the lender nationals of one country better conditions or redress of grievances in the course of their activities in a foreign 'borrower' country.
In general, however, it pays the concession hunter and the foreign company promoter to conform to the conditions of the 'borrower' country and to conduct himself as much like a national of the 'borrower' country as possible.
The position as between Canada and the United States is in a special category, as in this case you have very intimate economic relations and the extension of American enterprise into Canada is often accompanied by a free movement of population across the border. In this case, and in the case of the movement of large numbers of Italians into the south of France, you get conditions operating which are distinct from the movement of the finance that is involved.
Mr. Hawtrey mentioned the case of the United States and Mexico in the past when the very considerable infiltration of Americans into some of the Northern Mexican provinces resulted in eventual revolt and the adhesion of these provinces to the United States.
Notes approved by Mr Hawtrey 10.2.28
[Enclosure B]
BANK OF ENGLAND, LONDON, E.C.2 13th February, 1928
My dear Mr. Casey,
I find myself as the days pass by more willing but less able to discuss your three questions as I promised to do in my letter of the 4th instant. Each of the three needs much interpretation before it can be dealt with and each of the three might well be made the subject of an essay! So all I can do is to send, herewith, certain considerations (rather than conclusions) bearing on your three questions. I am so bold as to add that what took place at Geneva last July is likely in the long run to have a greater influence for or against international peace than most other happenings: but that, as Mr.
Kipling would say, is another story.
But although I cannot help you now, I hope you will let me do so at some other time.
Believe me, Yours sincerely, M.NORMAN
[Enclosure C]
1. To what extent does the modern tendency to large scale international trustification of industry (or 'rationalisation', to use a not altogether synonymous term) tend towards international peace? The organisations referred to in this question are of such diverse character that some discrimination must first be made between them. International concerns, which are yet not sufficiently international to possess a virtual monopoly, are likely to produce intensified competition inter se and are therefore hardly likely to tend towards international peace. Other cartels which have a monopoly, or whose products do not come into sharp competition with similar bodies, might be thought to have an influence towards peace if they reduce uneconomic competition, promote stability of employment and in fact make for economic prosperity. These cartels, however, mostly function through rationing output, and after a relatively short life have usually broken down because of the inability of their members to agree upon the allotment of the output. In any case their raison d'etre would vanish upon the outbreak of war because at that time the demand for nearly all products likely to be subject to a cartel would become practically unlimited. The existence of cartels would therefore not be a factor interposing resistance to influences making towards war.
Worse still, cartels might themselves tend towards war since the national groups represented in the cartel might ask their respective Governments to intervene in bargaining for a more favourable allotment.
Moreover, there is the danger that 'international' trusts confined to certain countries only might stereotype existing conditions to the disadvantage of other countries, or might endeavour to restrict the supplies of certain countries, and such action might easily lead away from peace.
So far we have dealt with trusts or cartels concerned with production. Of a rather different type are financial houses. These are probably an influence for peace, though they do not necessarily stand to lose by war; again it is not too much to hope that the co-operation of Banks, or rather of Central Banks, might be developed to a point where it would have an influence towards the maintenance of peace. An international financial control of the Press would probably be an extremely valuable contribution towards the world's peace. since it is the nationalist control of the papers in each country which has been largely responsible for war in the past.
2. At what stage does a wealthy country begin to get indirect political control over a poorer country to whose Government she is in the course of making loans for development and other purposes of Government? If the words 'indirect political control' refer only to the purely informal, personal and advisory relationships of individuals or organisations, it does not seem possible to make any useful generalisations on the matter. If, however, reference is intended to rather more direct forms of control, it may be said that these come into existence prominently at two points-(a) when the borrowing country attempts to borrow and (b) if and when it fails to pay the interest or capital of its borrowing. If political control be taken to include all interference with how the money to be borrowed is to be spent by the borrower, it frequently exists even where the Government of the lending country does not itself take a hand in imposing the conditions, but Government interposition also has been not uncommon both before and since the War. If the borrowing country defaults, control is likely to come whenever the resistance of the borrower is expected to be not so great as to make intervention unprofitable. Such intervention will usually require the consent or assistance of the Government, or Governments, of the lending countries, which will usually be forthcoming unless those Governments have a high regard for national autonomy, or, alternatively, fear the attitude of non- intervening powers, or both.
3. Is there an influence for peace in the increasingly widespread taking up of the bonds of poorer countries amongst the nationals of more wealthy countries? The answer to this question would seem to depend partly on whether it is contemplated that the bonds of the poorer countries are held in one or in several countries. Whether widely or narrowly held within each country, if they are spread over several countries it may perhaps be supposed that at any rate the interests of peace are slightly less in danger. As regards their spread within the same country, it seems impossible to generalise as to whether a large or a small number of people is more likely to show a pacific tendency, nor does past history help to decide the question. It would seem more important that the bonds should be held (either narrowly or widely) by a country which is likely, as a whole, to exercise an influence for peace. Those persons, however, whether many or few, or in whatever countries resident, who hold bonds of loans issued under the auspices of the League of Nations, may be supposed to be well-wishers to the cause of peace.


text:
Results 1 to 11 of 11
July 1st, 2004, 11:11 AM #1
July BOTM: Patternmaster by Octavia Butler
I just finished this book for the book club. I have had a copy for a long time, but never read it. This was Butler's first novel and I thought that it showed. It was not up to the quality I've come to expect from her. It was, however, a fine first novel and it was nice to see how far she has come.
The storyline was a bit weak, but the characters were fun. What I really liked about it was Butler's thoroughly fascinating world. Some more explanation of how the world, which I take was Earth in the far future, would have helped, particularly the sphynxs.
All in all, I enjoyed it and will probably seek out the other books in this world.
July 1st, 2004, 04:46 PM #2
This was the first Butler book I'd read, and I was really impressed. However, some of the symbolism seemed a bit heavy-handed, esp. at the end where the current Patternmaster seemed a sure-fire standin for a more or less uncaring god who forced you to do things on your own.
Still, a fantastic premise. One thing I regret is that I came to this knowing too much about Butler and her tendencies. So I was on the lookout for slavery, race issues, class issues, feminist issues, etc. I wonder what it would've been like if I'd come to it without any of that background. It still would've been good, I'm sure of that.
July 2nd, 2004, 07:59 PM #3
I read this book a while ago, and don't remember a whole lot. I enjoyed it, but wished that she had written her stories chronologically. Although this is the first written, she explains about the psi powers in Wild Seed. It took me a while in this book to figure out that 'mutes' meant people without the psi talent, and not those who were stupid/dumb/deformed.
The Sphynix's too were a mystery until you read Clay's Ark, which explains how they are made, who they are and why they and the humans are fighting.
I seem to remember a couple and a relationship they tried to have, and an escape. I enjoyed the story, but as always with her, wanted more.
I guess I am not sure how knowing what themes are important to her is a problem with reading her stuff ? It isn't like she lectures, and surely you don't mean to imply that she isn't allowed to have a point of view about what goes on around her, everyone else (authors or not) does.
July 4th, 2004, 01:52 PM #4
[i]I guess I am not sure how knowing what themes are important to her is a problem with reading her stuff ? It isn't like she lectures, and surely you don't mean to imply that she isn't allowed to have a point of view about what goes on around her, everyone else (authors or not) does.[i]
No, no no, I don't mean to imply that she shouldn't write about deep themes and issues and everything! Absolutely not. I'm glad that she does, since she enriches the field immensely.
What I meant was that I wonder how I would have percieved the book if I didn't have that background knowledge. Would I still have percieved that the feudal society of the psychic people and the slave status of the mutes all had different elements of slavery and oppression in them? Some things in the book felt unsubtle, but is that her fault as a writer, or my fault as a reader for looking for them too hard?
It's a bit hard to explain, and I don't really think it detracted from my enjoyment of the book much at all.
July 4th, 2004, 11:24 PM #5
No I understand now, I didn't from your first post.
Although the set-up of the society isn't subtle, I look at as a dystopia coming out of the 70's when everything seemed so bleak. It may have first been published in the 80's - but her stuff often takes me back to Jimmy Carter's days of 'malaise'.
July 17th, 2004, 02:49 PM #6
I was pretty thoroughly disappointed, especially having already read the Dawn / Adulthood Rites / Imago trilogy and the two Parable books.
Unlike those, this was a simplistic and straightforward book that still managed not to hold my attention. Why was everything so flippin' medieval? Two things I especially disliked: first, the way the magic-oops-I-mean-psi-powers were only vaguely explained and described, which is one of my pet peeves about fantasy-I-mean-SF-of-this-type. A little more exposition about what happens in school would have helped with this a great deal. Second, I guess the very first chapter (where Rayal gets hit by a gun) is supposed to happen after the last chapter--unless that's just the beginning of the time when Rayal is really too old and is basically just fooling everyone. I couldn't tell, and I didn't feel that anything ever looped back around to that chapter enough to provide me the understanding or closure I would have liked.
I think the only thing I liked was the Amber character, who was brave and resourceful. I am slightly interested in reading Clay's Ark, but at this point I won't until someone here mentions that it's worth it. Sigh... sorry to sound so negative but I really didn't like this one.
July 20th, 2004, 03:08 PM #7Originally Posted by lemming
Thanks Lemming, that helped to elucidate one of the reasons for my ambivalence about this one. I hadn't thought about it on a concious level, but you hit the nail on the head.
July 20th, 2004, 07:15 PM #8
I have to agree. The fantasy elements in the book were a bit too cliched for my tastes.
On the other hand, from what Ficus Fan stated, the other two novels help explain the development of psychic power and the origination of the spyhxes, so, technically, it should be considered SF with a sort of fantasy feel, what some people have dubbed SciFantasy, ala The Dragons of Pern.
As I opined above, this was by far the weakest Butler book I have read. Archen, I would recommend giving her other works a chance. That said, it was still not bad for a first novel, cliches and all. It does contain what will become hallmarks of her work, i.e., issues involving slavery and oppression, ways in which humanity may change and what we do with those changes, sexism, etc.
July 21st, 2004, 10:04 PM #9
I guess I would have to say that I don't agree that the book had fantasy tropes in it. Probably because I have read the other two books which explain things. But even without it I would say that the idea of mutant, latent talents in humans was a definite theme of the softer-science SF in the 70's and maybe early 80's. Just because there isn't a scientific explanation for the mutation (had they even thought about the idea of cracking the genome then-?) doesn't make it fantasy (maybe bad SF), anymore than a SF story where they just assume FTL is fantasy.
The people who had powers were all part of a genetic breeding program with a mutation and they could trace their heritage back to at least one of two people in Wild Seed. Sometime the two ancestors bred together and at other times bred with others - including their own offspring I think, in order to propagate the mutation.
I have no idea why OB wrote the series in such a disjointed manner. She was at Readercon a few years ago and she said her suggestion was to read them in the order they were published in. It was at a large Q&A after the interview, and I never asked why, and neither did anyone else.
I have read them all (except Survivor which is out of print, and she hates it, so it won't be republished and used copies tend to sell for $75.00-$170) and I have an understanding of the whole story, but think it would have been better suited to be told in order.
July 22nd, 2004, 12:03 PM #10
By fantasy tropes, I had more in mind the sort of feudal feel of the whole society. That is a hallmark of fantsy much more than SF. Also the old king, the quest (through the country on horseback, no less), and the competition for inherited power are all big parts of your average fantasy/sword & sorcery story.
I've got no problem with using those elements in an SF story, and Patternmaster was certainly SF by my definition (if it attempts a scientific explanation of its scenario in any way, no matter how inadequate, it is SF), but I would have liked more explanation for why an advanced society had evolved along these particular heirachical lines.
Also, being that is was so heavy into the fantasy tropes, it used precisely some of the elements that I generally don't like in fantasy. There's a reason that I read more SF than fantasy.
July 22nd, 2004, 09:27 PM #11
But it wasn't an evolved society, it was a post apocalyptic one that evolved from the wreckage of ours. They were medieval in feel becaus they lost most of the technology and heavy industry when society stopped functioning. There was a war between the mutants and the deaf, and there was the spread of the Clay Ark disease and later Clay Arks.
The man who started the whole thing was very big into power and being the top dog, so I suspect that type of behavior led to the belief in a single all powerful ruler. They were trying to survive so they banded into clans, and the strongest became the leader. It was a very autocratic set up in terms of the man who started it all. Others imitated him, and like all rulers with power they were interested in preserving it, strengthening it, and passing it on.


text:
Friday on the town.
- What:
- Paint this in black and white or add your own color. A fun evening will be had by all. Bring your drinks, snacks and all your friends! It's Friday night so we won't be in a hurry.An artist will be on hand to lead you step by step through your painting. All supplies provided.
- Where:
Paint Therapy Uncorked
Topeka KS
- Category:
- Other & Miscellaneous
- When:
- Friday, December 28 @ 6:30 pm
- Links:
Having trouble? Let us know!


text:
A college student deep into studying for a big exam might do well to give his brain a break.
You might not be as tired as you think you are. A growing body of research suggests taking a mental break at high-pressure times may not do any good. Shirley Wang has details on Lunch Break.
Just what he does during that break will determine how helpful that pause will be, a growing body of research shows. A stroll in the park could do wonders, for instance, while downing coffee could leave him just as stressed and depleted as before the break. And, sometimes, forcing oneself to simply power through mental fatigue can be more effective than pausing.
Like a muscle, our brains appear to get fatigued after working for sustained periods of time, particularly if we have to concentrate intensely or deal with a repetitive task, says Michael Posner, an emeritus professor at the University of Oregon who studies attention.
Taking a break to stroll in a natural setting can boost performance on tasks calling for sustained focus, such as studying, research shows. Ingo Fast
Researchers are zeroing in on some of the circumstances that bring about optimal mental refreshment.
Taking in the sights and sounds of nature appears to be especially beneficial for our minds, researchers say.
Marc Berman, a post-doctoral researcher at Rotman Research Institute in Toronto, and his colleagues are studying whether interacting with nature can be therapeutic for people with disorders including depression and anxiety.
This work follows research by Dr. Berman and partners at the University of Michigan showing that performance on memory and attention tests improved by 20% after study subjects paused for a walk through an arboretum. When these people were sent on a break to stroll down a busy street in town, no cognitive boost was detected.
Pausing for a walk down a busy city street involves the same type of attention as a tough task, meaning it may help no more than just working on without a break. Ingo Fast
In a follow-up study, the researchers had participants take a break for 10 minutes in a quiet room to look at pictures of a nature scene or city street. Again, they found that cognitive performance improved after the nature break, even though it was only on paper. Although the boost wasn't as great as when participants actually took the walk among the trees, it was more effective than the city walk, says Dr. Berman.
The result wasn't due to participants in the studies being in a better mood after the nature scenes, according to the research, which was published in the journal Psychological Science in 2008. In fact, some people were assigned to walk in the arboretum during a Michigan winter.
"You don't necessarily have to enjoy the walk to get the benefit," says Dr. Berman. "What you like is not necessarily going to be good for you."
Rather, the researchers say, nature images engage our so-called involuntary attention, which comes into play when our minds are inadvertently drawn to something interesting that doesn't require intense focus, like a pleasing picture or landscape feature. We can still talk and think while noticing the element.
By contrast, individuals rely on directed attention when they need to focus on work or potential threats, such as car traffic when crossing the street. It is this type of attention that can flag when used for long periods.
Engaging involuntary attention may allow directed attention time to recover, the research suggests, whereas the focus required on a busy street doesn't give the brain much chance to rest its directed-attention resources.
Engaging in exercise or a healthy snack, instead of another cup of joe, may help your brain bounce back. Ingo Fast
People who don't live in or near a nature-filled environment may not be out of luck, says Dr. Berman. A quieter city street with interesting natural elements to look at, such as containers of plants, could do the trick, too, he says. Dr. Berman and his colleagues are now trying to figure out exactly what elements of natural environments trigger the cognitive benefits.
The timing of a break also matters. People don't get the cognitive benefit when feeling rushed or under harsh time pressure. At those times, it may be best to just keep working, psychologists say.
The benefits of another popular way people try to refresh themselves—a coffee break—aren't clear cut, either, researchers say. While caffeine indeed revs up the body, including the brain, that doesn't necessarily translate to better performance, researchers at the University of Bristol found.
Don't automatically reach for the coffee. Research shows extra caffeine can leave you feeling more stressed than before a break. Ingo Fast
In talking with attendees at a stress-management conference who had access to unlimited coffee during breaks, some reported feeling more stressed after drinking additional caffeine. The researchers followed up with a study of 64 coffee drinkers and found that men who drank more than their usual amount of coffee performed worse when working on a group assignment.
The same didn't hold true for women, likely because they tend to perform better in groups, says Lindsay St. Claire, a lecturer at the University of Bristol in the U.K. who was part of the team that conducted the study, published last year in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology.
"The arousal from caffeine can prolong the arousal you would have from stressful situation," which can be detrimental, says Dr. St. Claire. So, she says, people should consider how keyed up they already are feeling before pausing for an additional cup of coffee.
While we seem to need a break from focused work at some point, people can push themselves beyond what they might think they are capable of, according to a study published in Psychological Science in September.
The notion of willpower as a resource that people can strengthen with exercise has gotten recent attention with the publication of "Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength," by Roy F. Baumeister and John Tierney.
Having fun isn't required. Taking the right sort of break, whether you enjoy it or not, can give your mind the rest it needs. Ingo Fast
In the September study, Stanford University researchers showed that people who believe they have an unlimited amount of willpower were able to work longer—without performing worse—than people who believe that they have only limited willpower.
Both groups reported feeling tired. But researchers subtly suggested in questionnaires to some participants that they had stamina that could be replenished, and this group appeared to overcome the fatigue. A possible reason is that forcing themselves to not think about being tired freed up some additional cognitive resources to work longer on the task at hand, says Veronika Job, a study author now at the University of Zurich.
The message, says Dr. Job, is that you can power through a period of high concentration, such as a final exam, if you believe you have unlimited willpower. The researchers are currently studying whether people can make lasting changes to their lives, based on their belief in their willpower. Such research could eventually help people, for example, stick to healthy diets or better regulate their emotions.
"When you have a limited mindset, maybe you'll be able to push yourself through a task, but in the evening you'll think, 'Now I'm done,' " says Dr. Job. Having a sense of increased willpower might make it easier for a person to say no to indulging in candy bars, even after a long day, she says.
Write to Shirley S. Wang at firstname.lastname@example.com