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Argentina (please don't cry)
I was reading my Encyclopaedia Britannica (1957 edition) earlier, index & atlas (section 24). On the map of Argentina, sort of on your way to Mendoza, there appears to be a place called Pringles.
Could you call in and see how much a tube of crisps costs?
A xxx
PS The wine cellar now has 2 bottles of Malbec and another non-Malbec Argentinian red - just waiting for your return.
There is a corner of some foreign field...
Trip Start
Aug 09, 2007
Trip End
Jan 20, 2008
Why am I here? I mean that in the most immediate sense, rather than trying to turn into to some pulp-brained first year philosophy undergraduate. Why did I choose to come so far out of my way to Welsh Patagonia? They're not even Welsh. No more than those idiots in the USA (particularly Boston) are Irish.
"Oh, I'm Irish"
"Really, have you ever been to Ireland?"
"No, in fact I've never left the US in my entire life, and neither has anyone in my family for the past 150 years, but that doesn't stop me being Irish."
"Yes it does. Wanker".
And so the friendly conversation continues down other avenues.
I think it was the dinosaurs. In Trelew. Chatwin's grandmother had a piece of brontosaurus skin. Or rather, in fact, didn't. But, yes, everyone loves dinosaurs. So I saw the dinosaurs. But Trelew was full. So I moved to Puerto Madryn.
There, it's easy to get to Penisula Valdez. Wildlife reserve. Oh. Because I've not seen sealions, yet. Or penguins. There's been a distinct absence of penguins. Unfortunately, all the tours, that take you to the out-of-the-way places, last a full day. And I don't have a full day. I leave in about an hour, in fact. Less.
So I took a bus, and did it myself. Not to the distant parts, but never mind. There's only orcas. And who wants to see those bastards?
Pah. Orcas. Rubbish.
Oh well. Mendoza. They have wine there. So that's OK...


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We've heard that AT&T's GPS-ified BlackBerry 8310 is set for launch on September 24th, which would line up well with a their Pearl 2 debut mid-September. The talk about BlackBerry 8800s getting phased out to make room for the 8820 gets you wondering about how long it will be before the BlackBerry 8300 gets the same treatment. If there's no significant price difference, is there a reason someone wouldn't go for the 8310 over the 8300? Hell, if the BlackBerry 8310 is going to be in black, it's a done deal – anyone who hadn't gotten around to picking up a Curve will just grab the newer model. All these new devices are fun and all, but should RIM be spacing out their product releases a bit more to give them time to sell?
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subset: commoncrawl


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Comedian Rosie O'Donnell said she's lucky to be here after suffering a heart attack. A Valley doctor said there are signs women experience and ignoring them could mean the difference between life or death.
O'Donnell just revealed she had a heart attack last week. She joins the more than 430,000 women who have one every year.
"We have to recognize that heart disease is the leading killer in the U.S. and still the leading killer for women," said Dr. Grayson Wheatley with the Arizona Heart Institute.
O'Donnell is now calling on women to not ignore the signs. This after she experienced symptoms but didn't go to her doctor until the next day. They inserted a stent after discovering her left main coronary artery was 99 percent blocked.
"The main artery that supplies all the blood flow to the heart muscle," Wheatley said. "This blockage and location has the highest incidence of sudden cardiac death."
Wheatley said while chest pain is still the main symptom for both men and women, "In generally women have a higher proportion of presenting symptoms that are atypical and by atypical we mean lightheadedness, dizziness, cold sweat, nausea, chest pressure or pain in the back," he continued.
Symptoms the doctor said shouldn't be ignored.
"If the symptoms go on for more than five minutes, they should call 911 or go into the emergency room, which sounds like a very short period of time, but we're talking about a very serious health problem," Wheatley said.
A serious issue that can be prevented by doing things like making sure you have don't have high blood pressure, eating right and exercising.
"If you do have any of these lifestyle issues, you should probably get checked up and not wait until the heart attack happens to get some screening," Wheatley said.
The doctor said women typically get a full cardiac workup around age 60. But it all depends on your risk factors and family history, so talk to your doctor.


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Defending Life
Ted Cruz has fought to protect innocent human life. He played a leading role in several important cases, including defense of the partial-birth abortion ban, parental consent laws, and prohibiting state funds from going to abortion. These cases have all been part of the ongoing effort to ensure that every child in America receives the protection and respect he or she deserves.
- Authored an amicus brief for 13 states, successfully defending the federal Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act. The ban was upheld 5-4 before the U.S. Supreme Court;
- Authored an amicus brief for 18 states, successfully defending the New Hampshire parental notification law. The law was upheld 9-0 before the U.S. Supreme Court [note: this brief was awarded the Best Brief Award from the National Association of Attorneys General for U.S. Supreme Court briefs written in 2005-06];
- Successfully defended Texas's Rider 8, which prohibits state funds for groups that provide abortions, winning unanimously before the Fifth Circuit court of appeals.
Click here to download a PDF of Ted's proven conservative record.
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text:
Navy Board
1893 text
A list of the Officers of the Admiralty, May 31st, 1660. From a MS. in the Pepysian Library in Pepys's own handwriting.
His Royal Highness James, Duke of York, Lord High Admiral. Sir George Carteret, Treasurer. Sir Robert Slingsby, (soon after) Comptroller. Sir William Batten, Surveyor. Samuel Pepys, Esq., Clerk of the Acts.
Commissioners: John, Lord Berkeley (of Stratton,) Sir William Penn, Peter Pett, Esq.—B,
This text comes from a footnote on a diary entry in the 1893 edition edited by Henry B. Wheatley.
5 Annotations
Phil • Link
The Board was housed at the Navy Office: http://www.pepysdiary.com/encyclopedia/483/
Pauline • Link
From Claire Tomalin's "Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self" pp49-50
"The members of the Navy Board were appointed by the king and whoever he chose to listen to. In 1660 Sandwich [Montagu], as vice-admiral, was one adviser, alongside the duke of York and his secretary, William Coventry. They agreed that the board should consist of four principal officers, as it had done under Charles I--treasurer, comptroller, surveyor and clerk of the acts--and three commissioners, a system that had worked well under the commonwealth. Sir George Carteret, an impeccable royalist whose service at sea had begun under Charles I and who had held Jersey for him, was appointed treasurer. He had official lodgings at Whitehall, a house in Pall Mall, another at Deptford and a country mansion near Windsor, and he was the highest paid,with L2,000 a year and the right to three pence in every pound he handled--this was a remnant of the old way of doing things. He was well disposed to Pepys, and Pepys knew he must cultivate him. The comptrollership went to two still more aged cavaliers, first Sir Robert Slingsby, who died within a year, then Sir John Mennes, whose naval career went back to the 1620s. He had fought at sea with Prince Rupert and no doubt against William Penn; and he was an educated man, a wit and a poet who had published imitations of Chaucer and encouraged Pepys to appreciate "The Canterbury Tales" and "Troilus and Ciseyde".
"The surveyor, with particular responsibility for the dockyards and the design, building and repair of ships, was Sir William Batten, a professional who had served on both sides during the civil war. Of the commissioners, Penn, who was given a brief to take an interest in every aspect of the board's work, also owed his appointment to his years of experience as a naval commander; both men made a useful practical link with the commonwealth regime. Another commisioner, Peter Pett, the master-shipwright at Chatham, had nothing of the cavalier about him and had served Cromwell zealously; but no change of government could unseat him, because the Pett family had a virtual monopoly of shipbuilding in the Thames yards, and he moved smoothly to work for the restored monarchy. In May 1660 he had been summoned on board the Naseby to prepare it for the king, and later in the year he started to build a royal pleasure yacht, the Catherine, greatly admired by Pepys.
"These were the men with whom Pepys chiefly had to work; Lord Berkeley, the third commissioner, was appointed purely as a sign of royal favour; nothing was expected of him. There were further officers working at the more distant dockyards, Harwich and Portsmouth, some with histories of service to the commonwealth. Other minor officials left over from commonwealth days contrived to hang on in lesser Jobs....
"Each officer of the Navy Board was served by his own two clerks, chosen by himself and usually owing their jobs to personal connections, just as their master did. Pepys was quick to defend his two, Tom Hayter and Will Hewer, against any criticism and to attack inefficiency among the other. The rest of the staff served everyone: two messengers, a doorkeeper, a porter and couple of watchmen; and there were boatmen ready to take all the board official up or down river at all times."
Phil • Link
The Navy Board consisted of the officers http://www.pepysdiary.com/encyclopedia/1121/ and the commissioners http://www.pepysdiary.com/encyclopedia/920/ .
Pedro. • Link
Naval Board General powers (L&M Companion):
The Board was to make most of its decisions jointly. It was required to meet twice a week, the hours and days being varied during parliamentary session for the benefit of the members who were MP's or peers. In 1660 when, it was getting into its stride, and in crises, during the war and after, it met more frequently. Two members constituted a quorum. The clerks were present except when the Board resolved to meet "close".
vicenzo • Link
Navy board Officials
At the Restoration the offices of the four Principal Officers of the Navy, the Treasurer, Controller, Surveyor and Clerk of the Acts, were re-established, and three Commissioners were appointed to act with them. These officials, known both singly and collectively as Principal Officers and Commissioners of the Navy, formed the Navy Board and were jointly responsible under the direction of the Lord High Admiral for the civil administration of the Navy. .....
Various expedients were adopted to deal with the business arising from the examination of seamen's tickets. The Ticket Office was usually managed by one of the members of the Navy Board. Its management was taken out of the hands of the Controller in 1668 and entrusted to the Controller of Treasurer's Accounts.
From: 'Introduction', Office-Holders in Modern Britain: Volume VII: Navy Board Officials 1660-1832 (1978) pp. 1-17 URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?com.... Date accessed: 10 April 2005
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Chart showing the number of references in each month of the diary's entries.
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