text:
By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now
If you had the money and connections, you could build a snappy green house these days. Sink a geothermal heat pump to tap Mother Earth's energy, slap up some solar panels, finish it out with non-toxic drywall, cork floors, denim insulation, recycled glass countertops and floors made from sunken ship decking.
But does a green house a green home make? The answer to that is….of course not. Green builders, and those who live in green houses, soon bump up against what some land planners have known all along: It takes a village to bring green to its fullest expression.
Sure it's cool that net zero houses can push the meter backward. But it is far better to have that household ticking away in a neighborhood where the kids walk to school, mom and pop hop a train to work, and gramps shops for pickles down the street – when the community garden's cukes have been exhausted. The whole works would be powered by clean energy, connected to local food sources and friendly to local wildlife.
This is not a vision that most of us live, or even recognize, especially those of us in sprawling suburbs, where the tomatoes come from diesel trucks, work is over the horizon and our 'hood was built to the unwritten specs of tract housing — build first, ponder later. We are stranded us in spots that fail to take advantage of solar or wind power, in subdivisions isolated from basic services; where getting to the "corner store" can require a two-mile drive and you couldn't get there greenly anyway because no one saw the need to install a bike lane, trolley or bus system.
But new, more sustainable living arrangements needn't be unattainable. We can't roll up the suburbs. But with the right community leadership, open-minded homeowners and creative developers, they can be reshaped to be more green, and we're not talking about the lawns. All these engines of change are engaged in hundreds of projects across America that will — if circumstances favor their development — create new paradigms for the 21st Century of community sustainability.
The very best designed green neighborhoods may still be on the drawing board, evolving, but striving projects are on the ground right now.
Suburban green, bringing it home in St. Charles Maryland
Head south of the nation's capital into Maryland and you see a rolling mix of rural communities and tract housing interspersed with McMansions encased by private turf fiefdoms.
About 22 miles south of the capital off U.S. Highway 301, an aging middle-class development of traditional houses appears. This master planned community launched in the 1960s and known as the St. Charles community has neither the glitz of the mansions nor the quaint appeal of surrounding towns, but its density, once something shunned as suburbanites spread their wings, has made it prime for new life as a green town.
Developer ACPT is building an adjacent community of 11,000 new homes that will be green from the ground up, while also offering the existing 13,000 homeowners energy retrofitting assistance.
This grand vision byACPT calls for new housing units to be connected to centralized solar and geothermal power stations and form the center of one huge affordable, regenerating oasis of sustainability.
Make that salable sustainability, too. CEO Steve Griessel wants to provide something average Americans can afford, and he's nearly certain that customers won't be able to resist the triple appeal of reasonable upfront costs combined with ongoing energy-savings, enhanced by nearby schools and work centers.
"Until now, everyone looks at this stuff, anything green — the first assumption is that it's interesting but expensive and people are not willing to pay the premium,'' Griessel says. "Our entire thesis here is to say that's just not true."
Actually, St. Charles is joining a list of green building enclaves, some more green than others, that are finding that eco-friendly can be wallet-friendly, from the spare but elegant homes replacing lost houses in parts of New Orleans to the prairie versions popping up in Greensburg, Kansas.
Griessel's determined to prove the economics can work. He's worked out a plan that will save the development money by recycling natural resources at every turn and employing the latest technology. Dirt from prepping house sites will be folded into road beds instead of being trucked out. Felled trees will be chipped and reused on site. Software for the entire project will streamline the building process, helping contractors avoid costly mistakes and duplication. Just the new software alone will save 22 percent on what builders call the "horizontal infrastructure" costs – the initial phase of putting in the houses' foundations and setting plumbing access, Griessel says.
Homes will be built by known builders in the area, such as Ryan Homes and Richmond American Homes and frankly, won't look much different from other suburban dwellings. Some green building experts would say that ACPT is missing a beat by not orienting the houses to passive solar building standards that can absorb and retain the sun's heat.
Michael Kinsley, a development expert with the Rocky Mountain Institute says that every municipality and developer should be looking at orientation today, or risk muffing an opportunity to conserve energy. When sustainable siting is not considered "that's a deficiency on the part of the developer and the local authority" that is "committing the residents to much higher energy costs for generations, when a very simple regulatory change could have avoided that."
Kinsley, however, speaks highly of communities that pursue retrofitting of homes and businesses. Greening the community is win-win, he says, because it "plugs a leak" in the local economy by putting the building trades to work and keeping more dollars in the pockets of homeowners. "Any community where the building trades are out of work, they should be emphasizing energy efficiency…the markets are right there. You have a low risk, high return opportunity and it's largely ignored by economic authorities."
From that perspective, St. Charles' above-average energy aspirations will help provide. The community will need just about every trade and building expert imaginable to finish the gargantuan neighborhood which will be powered by a 75 acre, 10 MegaWatt solar farm, an underground geothermal plant, and a nearby natural gas plant (which Griessel endorses because it burns cleaner than other fossil fuels). The houses will have Smart Meters and Energy Star appliances. They will be LEED-certified and right-sized for families (starting at 1,650 square feet), enabling residents to save money on electricity, commuting and mortgages.
The community will incorporate several schools (up to nine), within walking distance of homes, and a job center where businesses will be offered incentives to congregate. All of this will cut down on the St. Charles community's carbon footprint, improve the quality of life and reduce commute times and energy costs. Wild lands will be preserved on the community perimeter, adding another livability element, and keeping to the spirit of St. Charles 1.0, it is expected to house 40 percent of the county's population on two percent of its land.
Master planned communities of the past took some of these matters into account, earmarking spots for gas stations and grocery stores, but rarely, if ever, did they seriously, let alone simultaneously, address energy efficiency, restrain sprawl and pursue work major work centers.
St. Charles will be different. "Ten years from now people will be living in homes they can afford. Their children will be going to school down the road," Griessel said. "They'll be closer to work and there will be less need for a second motor car… And this will also come with 50 percent smaller utility bills."


text:
The Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) have launched the Clean Energy Incubator Network. The program, funded by the Energy Department, aims to improve the performance of clean energy business incubators, connect critical industry and energy sector partners, and advance clean energy technologies emerging from universities and federal laboratories.
Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-03-incubator-network-clean-energy-entrepreneurs.html#jCp
Join the conversation about this below.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Tweet | | |
Congratulations, Laurence Tynes. You got your team to the big game, and they won it. So, what will you do now? Kick off the final potpourri article of the year, of course! Disneyland's old hat, I hear (Disney's California Adventure in Anaheim, for example, is being remade to appeal more to young people), though it's still a nice place to visit. For you, Laurence, a much higher honor. Mickey and Donald can wait. Tynes booms one out of the end zone. He's still on cloud nine.
Two guys that might have made a difference on Sunday: Sammy Morris. Rosevelt Colvin.
Oh, yeah. Remember them?
Colvin's loss prevented the platoon with Junior Seau and Tedy Bruschi. While this cannot really be traced to the loss on Sunday, might Colvin have been able to bring more pressure on Eli Manning and prevent him from winning game MVP?
As for Morris, he has been almost forgotten. Not next year, if he stays healthy.
Yes, Laurence Maroney had the two good games in the AFC playoffs. But Morris might have allowed the Patriots to deal with the Giant defense better.
If this is it for Asante Samuel as a Patriot, it is a shame that some team will overpay for a guy who is good but not great. He will get Champ Bailey money though he is no Champ Bailey.
But he is the best the Patriots have. The "have" will likely change to "had".
Geek of the week: United States senators are gentlemen, but not always "distinguished" gentlemen. It would be nice if Senator Arlen Specter would stick to things like roasting Anita Hill and Robert Bork and leave the NFL alone, especially during Super Bowl week. If nothing more comes of this SpyGate garbage, his making waves with this subject last week was a gross injustice to the Patriots.
Instead of slamming the Patriots, someone please tell the gentleman from Pennsylvania to ask Donovan McNabb if he has learned proper game clock management in the three years since he lost the big game.
Because the Patriots will spend the next three years retooling and fixing what went wrong, not coming up with outlandish accusations over how the Giants pulled off the win.
Maybe it will take only one year. Las Vegas already has the Patriots as Super Bowl faves next year.
Matt Light has always come off as a humorous guy. Every time you see him on a DVD or a TV interview, he is engaging and fun to listen to.
Is he not mean enough to be a great offensive lineman? He's good, we know that. But on Sunday he needed to be mean to properly deal with Osi Umenyiora.
Logan Mankins is mean. But how Justin Tuck was able to beat him may haunt the distinguished gentleman from Fresno for a long time, if not for his whole career.
Ellis Hobbs should not be shooed off the team. He could do well as a return man and a nickel back. Randall Gay is better, if he can only stay healthy.
That said, the Patriots need cornerback help this offseason, and bad.
Back to school: Here's to that stout hockey squad from Harvard, and best wishes in their quest for Beanpot glory. Always nice to see the school best known for CEOs, top-flight lawyers and those kooky Hasty Pudding awards get some athletic props now and then. Time was Harvard used to have itself a pretty nice football team, and by that we mean many years before 1968.
What's this? Three days removed from the big game and Grafton's Steve Spagnuolo is still not the head coach of the Redskins? The former Springfield College standout out-Belichicked the Patriots Sunday with a stunning defensive game plan.
Do you really see a run of sustained high output for Eli like his big brother in Indianapolis? Sorry, but if I have to choose, I take Peyton any day.
But I still take Tom Brady over any Manning.
This next year is when you'll find out what the Patriots are really made of. Anyone ever heard of "Super Bowl hangover"?
Some history while we're on that subject: In each of the two previous Patriot Super Bowl losses, they won the division the next year (1986, 1997). They went one-and-out in Denver in 1986, then beat Miami before losing at Pittsburgh in 1997.
You'll find out how much Randy Moss wants to stay when he starts talking about how much money it will take to make him happy. Until then, pay him no heed.
Unless he starts blabbering again about how the Giants had more intensity than the Patriots. He might have been better advised to hold his tongue, but it is hard to argue with him.
Remember him: It's too bad the Giants couldn't have won a title when those of us who grew up in the sixties were Giant fans. One of their standouts during this time period was Ron Johnson, a two-time 1,000-yard rusher for the G-Men. The Cleveland Browns drafted Johnson in the first round out of Michigan in 1969, and he played that season for the Browns. In 1970 he came to the Giants and topped the 1,000-yard rushing mark in two of the next three seasons, the first two 1,000-yard rushing seasons in Giant history (thanks, Wikipedia). He retired in 1975, having never played in a postseason game. By the way, Johnson still holds the record for most yards gained in a game by a Michigan back, with 347 yards rushing in a game in 1968 against Wisconsin.
So, we close the books on the 2007 Patriots. Great season, no matter what you think of the Super Bowl.
The record books will always say "16-0" for the Patriots in 2007. That is something to be proud of.
However, I do have one request. May all the people I come across on a day to day basis please stop bringing up the game. Admittedly I am trying to put Sunday behind me. If my environment would just let me, I might just do it. After a while, being sad really stinks.
And for those of you with the means and the time to head for Fort Myers next week, all the power to you. The equipment truck leaves Fenway on Saturday. Great therapy, folks.
comments powered by Disqus


text:
Whitehead: Stoke confidence sky high
Stoke midfielder Dean Whitehead believes they are ready to move to the next level under Tony Pulis, who he feels has "done remarkably well". The Potters have established themselves in the Premier League over the last few seasons after winning promotion from the Championship. Stoke are currently in seventh spot in the table after going on an unbeaten five game run and Whitehead feels they can consolidate as a top-half team. "The club is really pushing on again this year, you only have to look at the strength and depth of the squad," Whitehead told the club's official website. "The gaffer has done remarkably well over the last few years and he is desperate to keep things moving forward. "The players all feel exactly the same, we know we have something good going on and we are all desperate to bring more success here. The confidence in the dressing room is sky high at the moment."
Sponsored links
Related Stoke City News


text:
Course Information
Credit Hours: 3Department: Gerontology
Ethics and Aging
The focus of this class is on applied ethics and aging. We will address the following topics: mid/late life reproduction; research with older adults; spirituality/selfhood; legal issues; cultural issues; vulnerable older people; caregiving and community-based care; specific issues related to Alzheimer's Disease; issues at the end of life, and other timely ethical issues that may arise during the course. The course will make use of provocative readings, case studies, supplementary professional articles, a presentation and paper, lively class discussion, and outside speakers who will share their expertise with you on a variety of ethical issues related to aging.


text:
A regular nice BW hotel, very close to Autobahn A7. Very professional staff in the reception. Large parking area. Tried the restaurant, no complaints. The included breakfast was very good, had anything you could want. The only negative: no air condition. In a hot night your nigthsleep could be disturbed. I´t doesn´t help much to open the windows, because the... More
- Reservation Options:
- TripAdvisor is proud to partner with Expedia, Booking.com, Travelocity, Despegar.com, Priceline, TripOnline SA and Odigeo so you can book your Best Western Parkhotel Ropeter reservations with confidence. We help millions of travelers each month to find the perfect hotel for both vacation and business trips, always with the best discounts and special offers.


text:
Charl Schwartzel
CBS Sports Golf Analyst Gary McCord Looks At The Northern Trust Open
CBS Sports golf analyst Gary McCord discusses the field for this weekend's Northern Trust Open at the Riviera Country Club.
Watson Has No Boundaries On The Golf Course
Bubba Watson continues to use his driving length to his advantage as he prepares to win the Deutsche Bank Championship.
Golf News And Notes: September 3, 2011
Bubble player Troy Matteson is off to a fast start, Charl Schwartzel is ready for the stretch run after a week off and Phil Mickelson is turning to a belly putter to help his putting woes.
The Field Is Wide Open At This Year's PGA Championship
The PGA Championship is this year's final major and without the presence of a dominant player in the field, the player with the best fortune during the week will be the most likely winner.
Mastering The Masters: The Meaning of the Green Jacket
The green jacket is one of the most recognizable awards in sports. It's awarded to the winner of the PGA's Masters Tournament, held the first full week of April at the Augusta National Golf Club.
Schwartzel Wins Wild Masters
Charl Schwartzel of South Africa birdied his last four holes Sunday to earn his first major championship on a wild Sunday at the Masters.


text:
Tablets & Handhelds
External Storage
Hard Drives
Home & Fitness
Wearable Tech
Interactive Learning
Console Accessories
PC Accessories
Currently Not Available
(£91.64 ex VAT)
Collection Not Available - This Product Is Currently Not Available To Collect.
* Processing Hours Monday - Friday 9:00 - 17:00 (Excluding Bank Holidays)
** Sometimes in extreme circumstances Saturday delivery is not possible. We advise ordering before 4pm Thursday to avoid disapointment.
Only £109.97
Read Full Details >
Store thousands of photo, music and video files on the internal Hard Drive. The Playon!HD brings your music, video and photo library to life with unsurpassed audio and visual quality.
The World's first Full HD Realtek chipset based Media Player. Operates as a NAS (Network Attached Storage) when connected to user's local network. Bittorent client for downloading directly to the internal HDD. Unique movie jukebox feature based on YAMJ (Yet Another Movie Jukebox) application. Full support of Composite/Component/HDMI 1.3 video output, as well as Composite/SPDIF Coaxial/Toslink/HDMI audio output. Frequent firmware update advantage.
HDMI Newest High Definition standard integrating digital audio & video. Full HD and supports up to 1080p for maximum picture clarity.
Playback more video formats Have the best of both worlds, playback popular video formats like MKV and RMVB in the highest resolution possible! Extensive list of supported video formats below.
Internal HDD With the optional pre-assembled internal HDD up to 2TB, this is an all-in-one, store, stream, plug and play, that is designed to compliment any home entertainment system. Alternatively users can install any 3.5" SATA / SATAII HDD inside the player.
Regular firmware update As always, AC Ryan strives to enhance user experience and the Playon!HD is a product of the most active firmware development team, regularly releasing firmware updates with new and unique features that make AC Ryan the market leader.
A/V Streaming via UPNP A built-in UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) client has been integrated on the system, which enables the player to auto-detect UPnP MediaServers on the network to browse and stream media files from them.
USB2.0 Host ports Copy or playback your files directly between Internal Hard disk & External storage without going through PC, supports 2 x USB2.0 Host ports for 2 USB devices as well as media cards like SD, SDHC, MMC, MS, MS Pro.
Internet Radio & BitTorrent Once connected to the internet, you will be able to listen to your favourite Internet Radio SHOUTcast stations, or let Playon!HD download your BitTorrent files.
NAS Network HDD / Media Player Functions as NAS Network Drive accessible via networks. Plays / streams audio, video, image media from any device of your network.
Click here to view product PDF.
Pictures are for illustration only. Please contact us if you wish to confirm the specification before ordering.


text:
Is it a surprise? Then you will need one of these surprise birthday party invitations.
I had so much fun designing these free printable invites for you! I think they would be perfect for all types of parties - and just right for all ages! Who doesn't love a surprise!
I chose two well known sayings - 'Keep it under your hat' and 'Don't let the cat out of the bag'! Choose your favorite and use them to invite your guests.
Best-Printable-Invitations Tip:There is plenty of room inside the cards to write out all the details of the party. |
Free Printable Surprise Invitations |


text:
549 Evans Hall #3890, Berkeley, CA 94720-3890 Tel: (510) 642-8724 Fax: (510) 642-0638 HOME WELCOME CODE DATA   DOCUMENTS |
Fortran ProgramsAn historical QUAIL archive (loaded Apr-01). The last time this code was run was in 1990 on a CDC. It would be very rare indeed to find that someone still has a functional CDC 6400 with a Fortran compiler capable of compiling this code! This is source code for QUAIL, release 4. QUAIL was developed by Daniel McFadden and a team of programmers at the University of California, Berkeley in the early 1970s, and is the ancestor of today's programs that do qualitative choice analysis (e.g., multinomial logit). We offer a zip archive or a tarfile for download, with the caveat, of course, that we cannot support the code. Keh-Shin Lii and Mark Lehr (loaded Jul-98). Source code for maximum likelihood estimates for non-gaussian ARMA models. A. Ronald Gallant and George Tauchen (linked Sep-97). Source code for efficient method of moments estimation. A. Ronald Gallant and George Tauchen (linked Sep-97. Source code for semi- and nonparametric time series analysis. William Goffe (loaded Aug-95). Source code for simulated annealing, a global optimization method that distinguishes between different local optima. Vassilis Hajivassiliou (linked Sep-95). Simulation routines for rectangle multivariate normal probabilities and derivatives. Vassilis Hajivassiliou and Axel Boersch-Supan (linked Sep-95). Link to smoothly simulated maximum likelihood Fortran code for the multinomial probit model. Axel Boersch-Supan (linked Sep-95).Link (mirror site) to Fortran code for hierarchical logit models. Available for PCs and Unix workstations. To obtain a copy of the program for a nominal fee, please contact Professor Boersch-Supan at email@example.com. James B. Davies, David A. Green, and Harry J. Paarsch (loaded Dec-95). Source code for computing the non-parametric estimates of the Lorenz curve ordinates for a sample of N independently and identically distributed draws concerning the random variable Y which has the population cumulative distribution function F(y). James B. Davies, David A. Green, and Harry J. Paarsch (loaded Dec-95). Source code for computing the non-parametric estimates of the generalized Lorenz curve. |
Last modified on May 06 2003, 04:19 PM PDT © 1994-2003 University of California Regents |


text:
Responsible Resource Development
Responsible Resource Development is the Government of Canada's plan to create jobs, growth, and long-term prosperity for all Canadians by streamlining the review process for major resource projects.
To preserve and extend the benefits our close relationship has helped bring to Canadians and Americans alike, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and President Barack Obama announced the Beyond the Border Declaration and the Canada-United States Regulatory Cooperation Council on February 4, 2011.
Both initiatives seek to deepen our partnership and enhance our security, prosperity and economic competitiveness while respecting each other's sovereignty.
Beyond the Border Action Plan
On February 4, 2011, the Prime Minister of Canada and the President of the United States issued Beyond the Border: A Shared Vision for Perimeter Security and Economic Competitiveness. The Declaration established a new long-term partnership built upon a perimeter approach to security and economic competitiveness. This means working together, not just at the border, but beyond the border to enhance our security and accelerate the legitimate flow of people, goods and services.
Regulatory Cooperation Council
The Canada-United States Regulatory Cooperation Council aims to better align our regulatory approaches to protect health, safety, and the environment while supporting growth, investment, innovation and market openness.
Support for Workers and the Unemployed
The Government of Canada offers programs and initiatives supporting workers and the unemployed. Some of these include the Wage Earner Protection Program, the Hiring Credit for Small Business, and the Helmets to Hardhats program.
Building Canada's North
The Government of Canada has made the North a top priority, with a clear vision for the North as a healthy, prosperous region within a strong and sovereign Canada. Learn more about EAP initiatives supporting jobs, growth and long-term prosperity in Canada's North.


text:
I've had Communion just about any way you can imagine it.
Standing, sitting, kneeling. With a friend, in a group, by myself. Passing the plate, waiting in line, attending a station.
I've munched wafers, crackers, and big bread-chunks. Sipped wine from a chalice, and drunk juice from a thimble.
I considered gin and birthday cake once.
I've had it blessed by the hands of a priest and also taken it fresh out of the bag—untouched by holy hands.
With such opportunity for variety, one might think it strange to create an alternative to Communion. But, that's just what we did last week.
It went over rather well, so I thought I'd share it with you.
Why Replace Communion?
Communion is a worship curator's dream-ritual for its communal, participatory, and multi-sensory aspects. tweet this
Why, then, would we want to create an alternative?
Consider these reasons…
- Your community doesn't do weekly Communion, but you'd like another eating ritual to use on some of those inbetween weeks.
- You love worship actions that are multisensory and want more options that specifically involve taste.
- You find yourself in an unfamiliar or remote meeting location (like on a retreat) and want to do Communion but have no wine or juice. (Of course, you could also just make sure to always have one of these handy.)
- You decide that it's probably better to avoid offering wine at church when both your personal relationships and the statistics suggest that 10-15% of your congregation may have problems with alcohol consumption.
Somebody, Get Me a Priest!
These are all good reasons for an alternate ritual. But, my particular reason is different.
I'm curating a weekly evening service at an Episcopal church. I am not a priest, which means that in this context I cannot simply pull together some bread and wine and make it happen. Of course, our rector is happy to oblige the blessing of the elements for our service, but this poses a practical inconvenience.
We decided to let this minor challenge spark our creativity. The result?: The Life Table. In this post, you'll find a list of necessary materials for this ritual, along with a litany that explains the ritual's content and actions.
The Life Table
What you'll need
- A small table
- A large, clear-glass pitcher
- Freshly sliced cucumber and/or lemon (optional)
- Large ice cubes (optional)
- A stack of short, rigid, clear-plastic cups
- Good tasting water (probably not from the tap)
- A platter that fits your aesthetic
- A fresh loaf of bread
[The Leader calls attention to the table and invites the People to listen and respond.]
Jesus said to the woman at the well: "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life."John 4:13-14
At this the woman replied,
Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty.John 4:15
To the crowds that followed after him, Jesus said: "Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."John 6:32-33
At this, the crowd replied,
Sir, give us this bread always.John 6:34
Jesus says to us—as he said to those who sought him:"I am the bread of life.
Whoever comes to me will never be hungry.""And let everyone who is thirsty come.
Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift."John 6:35, Revelation 22:17
[The Leader invites the People to rise and share the good bread and fresh water.]
©2012 Eric Herron and Amy Pringle—Creative Commons Attribution License.
Download a PDF of The Life Table litany and needs-list.
Variations on a Ritual
There are a number of variations you might try—especially if you want to contextualize this ritual for a particular worship theme or for your community, in general.
- SHARE IT. Invite people to share the bread and water together rather than alone. It can be done in pairs or in small groups of three or more. Worshipers can take turns serving the water and bread to each other.
- OFFER SIMPLE PRAYERS. Give worshipers a simple prayer to say out loud to each other as they share the food. Something like: "Never be hungry" as the bread is taken and "Never Thirst" as the water is poured.
- SERVE YOURSELF. Once your community gets used to this ritual you might make it a regular station, always present somewhere in your worship space. Put a paper copy of the litany on the table. At the beginning of your gatherings, remind people that they can attend The Life Table for physical and spiritual refreshment at any time during the meeting.
- AVOID PRISON. To ensure this doesn't become known as the "prison ritual" (plain ol' bread and water) try using various kinds of bread and different presentations of water. Use bread with seeds and nuts or some sweet, soft Hawaiian bread. Your local bakery is the limit. Try water infused with different natural flavors like mint or lime. Or, why not try water with a little fizz?
A Ritual for (Almost) Everyone
The Life Table is similar to Communion in several ways:
- It is centered on Christ.
- The symbolic elements are familiar and powerful.
- It's based on the words of Jesus in the Gospels.
- It highlights our sense of taste—as well as smell, sight, and touch.
There is even a mystical element—the idea that the spirit of Christ is enlivening our souls whenever we drink the "living water" and eat the "heavenly bread."
The biggest difference between this ritual and Communion is there is no long history of theological discord. Wars have never been fought over it. It requires no priestly blessing and threatens to improperly entice no one. It is a ritual for anytime and for everyone.
Except, come to think of it, the gluten-intolerant worshiper. Hmm… I hadn't thought about that until just now. I guess it's back to the drawing board!
Your Turn: Do you have any food rituals other than Communion that you use in your worship? Leave a Comment.
image credit: "Purple" @2009, by Jenny Downing


text:
Concert Choir
The Skyline College Concert Choir draws its members from matriculating students at the college, members of the surrounding communities, and College staff, faculty, and administration. It has performed programs showcasing the art of a cappella singing as well as programs featuring major works for choir and orchestra.
In addition to performing at Skyline College, the choir regularly performs at the Mildred Owen Concert Hall in Pacifica, CA under the auspices of Pacifica Performances and at Broadmoor Presbyterian Church in Daly City, CA.
We strive to provide a fun and welcoming environment for both advanced and beginning choristers to explore quality choral literature while pursuing musical excellence.
For further information, call Jude Navari at 650-738-4384 or email email@example.com.
Skyline College Concert Choir rehearses Tuesday evenings in Rm. 1111.
All voice parts welcome.
Spring 2014
Prepare and perform Back to Bach, featuring an early, yet varied and heartfelt cantata by J.S. Bach titled Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich (BWV 150). This work will be paired with PDQ Bach's Knock Knock, a hilarious spoof on Baroque cantatas. The concert will also include a few other 'tasty' Bach-inspired pieces, including John Rutter's Banquet Fugue.
We will share our main concert on Sunday, May 18th at 3:00 p.m in Skyline College Theater with the new Vocal Jazz Ensemble. We will also perform an abbreviated program on Friday, May 9th at 7:30 p.m. at Broadmoor Presbyterian Church in Daly City.
Enroll in MUS. 470.1 RO for 1 unit.
(Enroll in MUS. 470.2, MUS. 470.3, or MUS. 470.4 sequentially in subsequent semesters.)
New member orientation: Tuesday, January 14, 2014. 7 p.m.
First rehearsal: Tuesday, January 21, 2014. 7:15 p.m.


text:
Am happy, like the bi-polar mania kind of happy! LOL! I'm pretty sure its not a chemical imbalance induced happy, but I imagine this is what it would feel like to be on the manic end of the bi-polar episode.
Anyway, I painted tonight. It was fantastic. When I stop and then go back, I always wonder why I don't just do it all the time. Oh wait, starving artist is not my style.


text:
2014 Austin Formula 1 Grand Prix tickets
Enjoy the Austin Grand Prix at Circuit de Americas. Austin will welcome you for the 2014 United States Grand Prix. Get your tickets and join the Formula 1 fans at this fantastic new circuit.
Formula 1 tickets Austin 2014
October 31, 2014
Starting at: €154.00 p.p.
Official tickets for the 2014 Grand Prix of the Americas are now available at Sportstadium.com Learn More


text:
Dining Services
Will's Catering @ RCC provides dining services. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner are available to the College community.
Located in the Academic Building, Room 3-125, Will's Catering hours of operation during the academic class sessions are as follows:
Fall & Spring:
Monday through Thursday: 7:00am to 8:00pm
Friday 8:00am to 3:00pm
Summer Session:
Monday through Friday: 8:00am to 3:00pm


text:
Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Language: English
Country: United Kingdom
Frequency: As articles are ready to be published
Subscription Fee: No
Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health is an open access journal that
publishes original, rigorous applications of evolutionary thought to
issues in medicine and public health. It aims to connect evolutionary
biology with the health sciences to produce insights that may reduce
suffering and save lives. Because evolutionary biology is a basic
science that reaches across many disciplines, this journal is open to
contributions on a broad range of topics.
Publishing in EMPH is currently free for all authors.
Editor: Stephen C. Stearns
Email: http://emph.oxfordjournals.org/feedback
Start Year: 2013
Subject: Evolution, Biology, Health Sciences
Date Posted: 7 March, 2013


text:
MUD Australia
I thought I'd post lightly for the next few days as I'm still feeling under the weather and need to take it easy so I can spring back soon! How are you doing? Are you well? I certainly hope so. Seems though that lots of people are sick right now, at least many of my contacts online seem to have kids or partners who are battling the same strange cold that I have that doesn't seem to go away like all of the others. Boo, cold! I thought though that I'd pop in to share with you another inspiring shop tour from Australia photographer, Jillian Leiboff, who pops in to decor8 quite regularly to share the shops that she loves from her home country.
I wish I had a pro like Jillian camping out in every corner of the world shooting shops (and/or homes, everything inspirational!) to share on decor8 because I really enjoy seeing what stores are like in certain places that I don't get to visit too often (or in this case, never ever as I've not been to Australia before – have you?). Anyway, today's gorgeous shop tour shot by fabulous Jillian is located in Sydney and belongs to the famous ceramics company Mud. Would you like to take a peek?
Notice the sign in red, it says something you may not expect… I love fun little details, don't you?
For as long as I've been blogging, I've been in love with Mud products — I mean, who isn't? Their smooth matte finishes, dreamy pastel colors, yummy grey and white tones — it's a playground in this store for any lover of tactile, quality goods and a full-on amusement park for the senses if you also happen to adore ceramics and collect/use them regularly. I think we would all love to own Mud ceramics – I can't seem to locate a dealer near to where I live but perhaps in the future… Do you own anything from them? I know they are a favorite of food stylists, for good reason…
Note: Mud at 134 Edgecliff Road in Woollahra (shown above) is closed for renovations until June 1st.
A special thank you to wonderful Jillian and of course, Mud owner James Kirton for permission to share these images on decor8.
(images: jillian leiboff)
Your comments...
I've been to australia a few times and to the mud shop as well..love their ceramics..really beautiful..thanks for sharing, holly..hope you are feeling better today..I would like you to visit my blog to check out the images of my daughter's room which i recently decorated..It would be lovely to get your opinion..take care..xx meenal
meenal @ maison marigold´s last blog post ..Meyhas room – REVEALED well almost -
Looks like a place where I could spend lots of money and time..! :-D
I LOVE to see stores and shops from other parts of the world; even food stores are fun since they are so different from what I´m used to.
tinajo´s last blog post ..Ain´t I Mrs Bargain Hunter! -
I hope you'll feel better soon, it's such a silly weather. It was gorgeous in London for the past few days and today it is incredibly cold!
I've been going through my mum's photo albums….check this shot http://bodieandfou.blogspot.com/2011/05/house-on-beach.html
Isn't it gorgeous!!?
Ah, Holly! I'm so sorry to hear you're still under the weather. Maybe after all the adrenalin of your action-packed past few weeks, your body is telling you to slow down ?.
I adore Mud products and hope to buy some soon. It's crazy – we lived in Sydney for 11 years but never managed to get to the shop. It's certainly on my destination list next time we visit!
J x
Jane´s last blog post ..Why I love this bloggy caper! -
That peach is delightful!
Tracey Chalk´s last blog post ..Black table project – Before and after and in between! -
What lovely colors… Simple and pure design. I love all products. I wish I could go there. But it is too far away.
cafenoHut´s last blog post ..Bir zamanlar siyahtı -
Hi there!
Lovely post. Thanks for sharing.
Yes, the sign ist great. I was thinking of it, 'cause I read the text in second place and first looked at the pictures. Normally it would be "Sorry, we're closed" stand on the sign, isn't it?!
I hope your are a bit better today then the day before. Take care.
ines´s last blog post ..Shawn das Schaf -
Very clean, simple and elegant all at the same time. Truly speaking to me. Feel better soon. I think it is wise to take it easy. As a working woman, who is raising 5 children, going to school and preparing for foot surgery her self. I can see how easy it can be to push your self.
Jenny´s last blog post ..Studying Outside -
What a beautiful shop! My favorite are the coral-colored dishes:)
Katie Truelove´s last blog post ..Flower Pot Pie or Dirt Pudding -
Whoa, the shop looks lovely! I would go there if I could.
Sadly is too far away from Slovenia :/
+ Wish that you recover soon Holly! <3Btw, I received Decorate yesterday and is super gorgeous :)
I'm so happy that i bought the book! Worth it all :)
Congrats again! XoxoUrska @ Live.Create.Inspire
Urska M.´s last blog post ..Inspired by Cocoa & Hearts!
Oh my – looks like a candy store to me!! Now I'm going to try to see if there is a dealer close to me….
The problem would be picking a color.
Becky D@KingsDownRoad´s last blog post ..Desert Inspiration -
That looks like a fun shop! Love all the colors and the shapes of the bowls.
I hope you're feeling better… since you're blogging, you must be! xox
Shari´s last blog post ..30 Day Drawing Challenge Day 3 -
I definitely need more color in my dishware.
Tanya´s last blog post ..Thought Bubble Thursday Guest Post -
I have several Mud Australia pieces, the fish plate, small bowl and round platter, but I never use them because I am TERRIFIED of breaking or chipping them. They are so delicate and beautiful I just display them for now.
Hope you feel better soon! I'm going on day 6 of laryngitis. Grrr…
Courtney´s last blog post ..Rumour has it -
So well curated and beautiful. I am so jealous it isn't near me!
Cat@Breakfast to Bed´s last blog post ..Storage Cubby Couture -
I have never been to Australia, but if/when I do go I am going to have to make sure that I drop in here!
I love all the gorgeous colors, they're so pretty. I noticed the "open sign" and laughed out loud to myself before I scrolled down and noticed you wrote about it! :)
Lauren´s last blog post ..Happenings -
Love those amazing pastel colors, like light mint and pink! Total yum!
Afi´s last blog post ..Birds from my window -
I adore MUD! But don't know where to start – so many pretty colours, but the neutrals also would be amazing. must visit when they re-open.
Laura´s last blog post ..Best spaghetti & meatballs -
Those are so beautiful. I could see them in my own home! We were in Australia about ten years ago and I was dazzled by their art. I had no idea!
I love your blog so much and cannot wait to see your book!
Susan Reaney´s last blog post ..Jud Has A Birthday -
Christine Kemp commented
May 6th, 2011 at 2:37am -
Wow! they are gorgeous! I would love to own some! is Mud available in the US???
Sarah´s last blog post ..Transforming a bedroom -
Beautiful colours as always Mud – the watermelon-y red is gorgeous. I love the combination of glossy interior glaze and the matt glaze on the outside too. Yes, I noticed that sign, very cheeky, "Sorry we're open" (in other words, your wallet will be emptied, ha ha!).
Congratulations on the book being so successful!
julie´s last blog post ..signature prints new website -
I hope you feel better soon! Lovely images!
Rocio Rincon´s last blog post ..My Summer Favorites -
Hi Holly. I'd be delighted to be you Durban South Africa shop reviewer. ;) Ill be interviewing quite a few in the days to come. Let me know.
Debbie´s last blog post ..Interview with Kirsten Siebert -
Living in Australia seems to pay of :-)
Marlene´s last blog post ..-Wassernot- in der Wohnung -


text:
Hybrids involving C. drummondii?
Does anyone know if there are hybrids involving desert native Clematis drummondii? The flowers aren't very showy, but the vines are tough as nails. The species might be useful for increasing heat and drought tolerance, and general resilience in the showier hybrids.
Kevin : )
Kevin, haven't answered your question until now since I was not sure if there had been any hybridization done with drummondii. Still don't know the answer to the question but it sounds like a plan. Have you ever considered giving it a go? They crossed flammula, a rather nondescript white flowering clematis, with the species viticella and got Triternata Rubromarginata out of the cross. Just realize that the results of the crossing of drummondii with any other clematis would be unknown since the crossing of the two sets of chromosomes would give you a mixture whose outcome you couldn't guess.
Well, I feel kind of like a kibbitzer at a card game, because my aspirations as a plant breeder have always foundered on my lack of land. Unfortunately, its not a dollar an acre like it was in Luther Burbank's day! I was curious if anyone had done it, and thought it worthwhile to throw the idea out there for someone who could. There is a slight paucity of plants that will take our extreme heat, and it's frustrating to see all these beautiful plants in catalogs, knowing that you can't grow them here!
Frustrated, but not giving up!
Kevin : ]
Kevin, to be quite honest I have never seen C. drummondii offered for sale by any of the usual clematis vendors. It might be something that is offered by local nurseries where it naturally grows. Even COTW does not have a picture of it and has little information on it. Its apparent unavailability may hinder anyone's opportunity to propogate/hybridize with it. Top that off with the fact that I have yet to see any documented general rules as to which types of clematis will cross with other types and that would further hinder one's ability to do crosses with it. The English and Europeans seem to be the ones that have traditionally been interested in the US native clematis for plants to grow and to use to hybridize new clematis varieties from. Perhaps someone here in the US who has access to this clematis will take up this line of potential hybridization.
Of course as soon as I hit the submit button I thought of something I wanted to add. I am unsure which clematis you have attempted to grow in your zone 9 garden. Have you ever attempted growing clematis texensis which is native to Texas or campaniflora or viticella or any of the viticella hybrids? Some of these might be better suited to your growing conditions. My limited experience with the large flowering hybrids has lead me to the conclusion that they generally don't do well in extremely hot climates. Something to think about.
Check with the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center, www.wildflower.org, for info and images. Plants or seeds may be available at the Phoenix Desert Botanical Garden, www.dbg.org, or they may know someone else who has them for sale.
I have looked for C. texensis, but haven't found a good source. Researching it, it also seemed to be a high elevation species, which will cut into its heat tolerance. I have grown C. viticella, and it didn't seem to be any more heat tolerant than the large-flowered hybrids. I still haven't tried C. campaniflora, so that's my next topic of research.
Thanks for all the info nckvilledudes!
Kevin : )
No problem Kevin. I grow texensis here in NC and it does just fine and I am not at any high elevation. Dan Long at Brushwood sells it but I see that it is listed as sold out. You can always contact him and see when it might be available. He also has campaniflora. Ellen Hornig at Seneca Hill Perennials sells texensis and it is in stock. Joy Creek sells a version called the Tarpley River form that was collected from a ranch in San Antonio, Tx. I got one last year and it did quite well in my garden in a large pot.
Just realize that if you are trying to grow clematis in a hot and humid climate that it would do you well to plant it so that it gets morning sun and afternoon shade. Amending the soil with organic matter and using a good mulch that will break down and add more tilth to the soil wouldn't hurt either. Watering of course is a must. I might be preaching to the choir here if you have already tried doing all the above but just wanted to make sure!
Yep, those are considered just good gardening practices here, especially with species from cooler climates. Just remember that NC, even in the lowlands, is a far sight cooler than we are here in Phoenix, AZ! We aren't very humid by your lights here, even in the monsoon season, but 115°+ days and 95°+ nights do terrible things to some plants even when the humidity is only about 50%. So you see why I want to find out as much as I can before I commit much of my money or precious space to anything. I keep thinking that if C. texensis did that well here, it would already be offered in some of the local nurseries, though they're a stick-in-the-mud lot here.
Thanks again, nckvilledudes!
Kevin : )
Oh for sure about the cooler temps here Kevin. Visited Phoenix one year in October and it was still above 100 degrees. Even then though I didn't sweat 1/10 as much as I would have had I been at home and it had been that hot here! LOL
No problem Kevin, glad to be of help. Just realize that there are very few nurseries that offer the native US clematis. It is just a shame about that since there are some very gorgeous clematis in that bunch. You do good to find much more than the LFH here at most local nurseries. Trying to find any of the viticellas here is pretty much hit or miss!
C. drummondii certainly does have heat tolerance (given its locale in AZ, TX, etc.) but it has adapted to it with a pretty boring flower - almost all stamens. I know of no crosses, though seeds are often available.
For similar heat tolerance, I would go try C. flammula that Miguel mentions - I have plants from seed collected from Sicily, Corsica and southern Italy, all of which rival AZ for heat. Species viticellas are also found in some of these areas - have you tried the species (not its hybrids)? C. campaniflora is from even further south, Spain and Portugal, so that certainly is worth a try.
C. texensis, C. reticulata and C. pitcheri would be some other ones often found in southern U.S. climates and are easily enough found at places like Joy Creek, Brushwood, Seneca Hills, etc. Reticulata and texensis would be the most heat-worthy, I think.


text:
1. Do you buy or sell used instruments?
We are a national warehouse distrubution company that happily shares it's inventory, expertise, and warehouse pricing with our friends of southeastern Idaho. As such, we are not able to buy, sell, or consign used products.
2. Do you have a list, or can you recommend, a private music teacher?
For many years we maintained a list of private music instructors in the store to hand out or e-mail to customers. The list was difficult to maintain and with teachers constantly moving or changing contact information, it's accuracy was marginal at best. A large priority for this website was to provide a more accurate and timely way for customers to have this information. Please click Teacher List to search available instructors residing in southeastern Idaho.
3. Where did your print music go?
For over 50 years the display of retail print music was on the 2nd floor in Idaho Falls. In efforts to expand the display, increase convenience, and customer service, the department was moved to the 1st floor in May 2009. Since doing so, we have been able to triple the number of titles on display and provide faster customer service with 1st floor convenience. The print music warehouse is still open to the public and we encourage you to pack a lunch and spend the day browsing over 17,000 titles!
4. Do you repair instruments?
We have the in-store expertise to replace strings and do minor adjustments on guitars and orchestral string instruments. *Minor labor charges may apply. For more serious repairs, we may recommend specialized repair vendors in the area. If the instrument is a Chesbro rental, please call or visit the store prior to seeking any repairs.
5. Do you rent instruments?
Yes, we have the largest selection of affordable rental instruments in the area. Please visit ChesbroRentals.com for details.
6. Is Chesbro Music Co. a chain-store?
We are often asked this question by visitors to the area because of our impressive inventory and selection. Our main business is wholesale distribution. The retail store in Idaho Falls is a outlet for retail sales to our beloved community. We recently opened a satellite store in Rexburg, Idaho to satisfy the needs of the university there. Everyday we take phone orders and ship our products to retail customers nationwide. Though we may not be in your hometown, please feel free to call for any need.
7. Do you offer international shipping?
Due to agreements and contracts that we have with various manufacturers we do not offer international shipping.
Chesbro Music Company | 327 Broadway, Idaho Falls, ID 83402 | 257 N. 2nd E., Rexburg, ID 83440


text: ===================================================================== Red Hat Security Advisory Synopsis: Important: hanterm-xf security update Advisory ID: RHSA-2009:0019-01 Product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux Advisory URL: https://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2009-0019.html Issue date: 2009-01-07 CVE Names: CVE-2008-2383 ===================================================================== 1. Summary: An updated hanterm-xf package to correct a security issue is now available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1. This update has been rated as having important security impact by the Red Hat Security Response Team. 2. Relevant releases/architectures: Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS (Advanced Server) version 2.1 - i386, ia64 Red Hat Linux Advanced Workstation 2.1 - ia64 Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES version 2.1 - i386 Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS version 2.1 - i386 3. Description: Hanterm is a replacement for xterm, a X Window System terminal emulator, that supports Hangul input and output. A flaw was found in the Hanterm handling of Device Control Request Status String (DECRQSS) escape sequences. An attacker could create a malicious text file (or log entry, if unfiltered) that could run arbitrary commands if read by a victim inside a Hanterm window. (CVE-2008-2383) All hanterm-xf users are advised to upgrade to the updated package, which contains a backported patch to resolve this issue. All running instances of hanterm must be restarted for the update to take effect. 4. Solution: Before applying this update, make sure that all previously-released errata relevant to your system have been applied. This update is available via Red Hat Network. Details on how to use the Red Hat Network to apply this update are available at http://kbase.redhat.com/faq/docs/DOC-11259 5. Bugs fixed (http://bugzilla.redhat.com/): 478888 - CVE-2008-2383 xterm: arbitrary command injection 6. Package List: Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS (Advanced Server) version 2.1 : Source: ftp://updates.redhat.com/enterprise/2.1AS/en/os/SRPMS/hanterm-xf-2.0.5-5.AS21.2.src.rpm i386: hanterm-xf-2.0.5-5.AS21.2.i386.rpm ia64: hanterm-xf-2.0.5-5.AS21.2.ia64.rpm Red Hat Linux Advanced Workstation 2.1: Source: ftp://updates.redhat.com/enterprise/2.1AW/en/os/SRPMS/hanterm-xf-2.0.5-5.AS21.2.src.rpm ia64: hanterm-xf-2.0.5-5.AS21.2.ia64.rpm Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES version 2.1: Source: ftp://updates.redhat.com/enterprise/2.1ES/en/os/SRPMS/hanterm-xf-2.0.5-5.AS21.2.src.rpm i386: hanterm-xf-2.0.5-5.AS21.2.i386.rpm Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS version 2.1: Source: ftp://updates.redhat.com/enterprise/2.1WS/en/os/SRPMS/hanterm-xf-2.0.5-5.AS21.2.src.rpm i386: hanterm-xf-2.0.5-5.AS21.2.i386.rpm These packages are GPG signed by Red Hat for security. Our key and details on how to verify the signature are available from https://www.redhat.com/security/team/key/#package 7. References: http://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2008-2383 http://www.redhat.com/security/updates/classification/#important 8. Contact: The Red Hat security contact is . More contact details at https://www.redhat.com/security/team/contact/ Copyright 2009 Red Hat, Inc.


text:
Fine-Tuning: The Toybox (Part 2)
By Mento 5 Comments
All right, let's get this show back on the road. If you haven't read it yet, Part 1 is over here. I'd recommend doing so if you want any idea what is even going on with this "toybox" business. In short, I'm deliberately sabotaging anyone's capacity to understand what the heck I'm talking about for a quixotic crusade to get people to refer to the very specific sub-genre of non-user-generated-content sandbox games as "toyboxes" instead. Also I'm putting together a hypothetical paragon of the genre from of a composite of its extant peers. The blog's mostly the latter, if I'm being honest. But enough rambling, it's time to delve into four more aspects of what makes a toybox tick:
Whatever the game might call them, these are the meat and potatoes of any toybox game: The individual toys themselves. Generally speaking, a game will introduce a new gameplay feature in the main story and allow the player to try additional iterations of that feature through a bunch of optional side-missions scattered across the world. For instance, it's not long after the first instance of the camera hacking mini-game in Sleeping Dogs that the "Drug Bust" side-missions become available. Ditto with the street races. Of course, there are times where a goofy side-mission might be incongruous with the serious nature of the story (I seem to recall GTA: San Andreas's plot being a lot more dour than its "jetpacking fat CJ" extra-curricular activities would suggest) and would tend to exist entirely outside the main narrative, almost as a form of optional levity. Ideally, side-missions are a way to take what already exists in the game's engine (driving, shooting, melee combat, etc.) and allow players to have their fill of them beyond what meagre portions the story had to offer. If they have a bit of fun with them in the process, so much the better.
Only one game has really created such a diverse range of side-activities that they became (for better or worse, since they weren't always optional) to be more vital to the core game experience than the story missions themselves, and that's Saints Row 2. I promise this'll be my last visit to Volition's (so far) trilogy of gangsta paradises, at least for this exercise. Saints Row 2, far more so than its antecedent and descendent, created a hilarious and varied selection of activities with which to earn cash and "respect" between missions. It's a shame Saints Row: The Third felt the need to pare down the number of these, keeping ones that perhaps would be best left behind. I sorely missed the sheer manic fun of the Fuzz activities, the childish poop humor of Septic Avenger and the celebrity-approved sheer sociopathy of Crowd Control. I'm not saying Saints Row 2's approach to "you must complete X number of activities until we allow you continue the story" was really the ideal way of ingratiating these diversions to the player, but they certainly made it an easier pill to swallow by having so many of the things to lose oneself in. Clearly this hypothetical construct we're stitching together from whatever's available from the local graveyard won't use the exact same activities as SR2, but having such a wide range and presenting them as the selling point (without making them mandatory!) is really what I'm after here. A strong narrative with twists and turns is dandy and all, but let's not kid ourselves: The mark of a good toybox is one that affords plenty of opportunities to let players romp around and find their own fun.
Perhaps the most controversial aspect of any toybox game is how there's usually a series of collectible knick-knacks hiding around the world for the player to find. Unlike activities, collectibles tend to be as simple to attain as walking over a package or punching a flying rat in the beak. The challenge is in locating all of them, which becomes something of an embroidery kit in a hayloft in practice. The preferable course of action when designing this feature, which is to have some way of allowing the player to actually see these things on the mini-map, doesn't massively improve the experience as it mostly reduces the process to spending an hour or so going from map icon to map icon to ensure that part of the 100% completion percentage is dealt with. There are folks who like a good scavenger hunt (myself included) and it's a feature that's fairly easy for designers to stick in the game, which would explain their ubiquity, but for most players it's an aspect that's eminently inessential.
Because almost every toybox has one, I'm going to go with Fallout 3's approach. Fallout 3's collectibles, the ludicrous Vault Boy bobbleheads, gave you plenty of reason to want to chase after these dorky little things - some very useful stat and skill bonuses - and put them in places that, while not exactly concealed, tended to challenge the players in various ways. One might require that you steal them from right under the nose of an NPC, necessitating the use of stealth, while another might be hidden deep in the territory of a family of Deathclaws. What I'm taking away from this is the idea that a series of collectibles ought to A) be earned rather than simply stumbled upon, B) confer something useful to the player in terms of stats or some other desirable benefit and C) be at least somewhat limited in number to preferably a dozen or so, if only to cut down on the amount of time it takes to hunt them all down as well as providing some intrinsic rarity and value behind each one. I'm not going to bat an eye if it's one in a set of 500, as I've probably been seeing them everywhere already.
All that said, I'd have no issue with Bethesda if they decided to put some hundred-strong collectible series in Skyrim to give people a reason to keep playing after their level is maxed out and they're wearing all the best gear. A cheap ploy, perhaps, but effective for virtual kleptos like myself.
This aspect of a toybox game can be so much fun when done right. When driving around any given toybox city, the player has a plethora of radio stations to listen to each with their own specific musical genre to suit whatever musical taste the player might have. For eclectic souls like myself, I generally left it on whichever station was default for that particular vehicle. To be perfectly honest I don't generally pay much attention to them, but with one exception: When they took the time to inject some personality and humor in the presenters behind the radio shows.
I feel Grand Theft Auto is the king of this. The various ways they'd create an utterly banal or deeply subversive radio personality and let the voice actors play it perfectly straight was a masterstroke of the satirical humor the series was once known for, before it became a little too bogged down with sober tales of morality. I must've been playing RDR for a considerable time before I realised why the between-town commutes were less fun than they had been in other Rockstar games: Horses don't have radios built into their necks. That game still had some fun with the various encounters you'd have on the road along the way, but it just couldn't match just driving down the freeway listening to some conceited worldly explorer strongly hint at their latent pedophilia. If I could get the Onion News Network to record a news station for this speculative game, I think I'd probably spend hours just driving around in circles listening to it. Well, fly in circles.
Just Plain Ol' Messing Around
Some players just want to watch the world burn. Or watch its physics to crap out and send airliners crashing out of the sky, or send pedestrians flying through the air at the merest hint of a collision. Others want to have a grand old time testing the limits of this world they're in, whether it's performing a flying kick on a speeding bus coming right at them or seeing how long they can survive on a roof with an infinitely-stocked rocket launcher and an entire battalion of pissed off military personnel on the street below.
Of course, if your game is well put-together, there'll probably be fewer instances of the physics engine misbehaving and creating the sort of watercooler conversations that games like GTA: San Andreas did, if that were the thing people discussed around watercoolers instead of Grey's Anatomy and that one reality TV show where all the people sing while cooking. But even without the random weird shit that went on in that game (which was exacerbated even further with the very creative mods that game's PC community had put together in the interim) there was still plenty of random mischief to be had with the tools that already existed. However, I'm going to throw in my lot (and about time, since it was the inspiration for this blog in the first place) with Sleeping Dogs for its benchmarking meta-game. As depicted in the Quick Look, many of the dumb things you can get up to when you aren't actively pursuing a particular goal are tracked and compared to those of your peers. Seeing that a friend has performed more flying kicks in a row than you have gives you ample reason to outdo them, even if they're totally unaware that this progress was being tracked or that you've sworn to overtake them. So many imaginary rivalries spring up as you're playing which can't help but enhance the game in some pathetically petty way. I seriously doubt uffled by my mad dash to get all the gold stat awards before he could. I would go so far as to assume that he didn't even notice. But whatever, man, I fucking won. Suck it.
So there we have it. Thoroughly examining the eight pillars of the toybox has provided this theoretical game blueprint: A light-hearted goofy tale with a stable of playable characters that explore and perform missions in a sprawling science-fiction vertical city with their choice of hovering conveyances blaring satirically silly radio broadcasts, completing a bevy of fun tasks and looking for game-enhancing collectibles on the side, and all the while the player is having their absurd antics stacked up against those of their friends. I'd play that. Get to craftin', devs.
Talking of hastily cobbled together creations, it's time for...
Sleeping Dogs


text:
California identical triplets birth is a 'million to one'
6 December 2013 Last updated at 21:39 GMT
A couple in northern California are now the proud parents of three identical daughters.
Doctors say giving birth to identical triplets is extremely rare - especially when they are conceived naturally.
Tom Santorelli reports.


text:
Britney Spears is super fit again, and her new music video "Work Bitch" features, among other things: Hammerhead sharks in a pool, luxury sports cars doing doughnuts in the desert, and plenty of S&M imagery. Oh right, and she sometimes breaks into an inexplicable British accent. (Vevo)
Lil' Wayne lends his voice in Paris Hilton's latest track. Either he's beefing up funds for early retirement, or we'll just have to consider it another lost-in-translation moment between the rapper and his fans.Consider pouring over our interview with Wayne and gain some much needed insight into his complex persona. (Gawker)
Streetwear brand Stussy reinterprets Herschel's retro backpacks. Whether on your way to class or work, these bags will surely garner you some street cred. (Valet)
In case you didn't have time to watch 1,620 baseball games, here's everything you need to know about the MLB Playoffs. (Kempt)
Learn why you should be taking laptop burn more seriously and how your MacbookPro isn't kidding when it warns you about your improperly ejected USB.(Mashable)


text:
User talk:ManyFireflies
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Hello, and welcome to Wiktionary. Thank you for your contributions. I hope you like the place and decide to stay. Here are a few good links for newcomers:
- Wiktionary Tutorial
- Community Portal
- Entry layout explained
- Criteria for inclusion
- How to edit a page
- How to start a page
- Wiktionary Sandbox (a safe place for testing syntax)
I hope you enjoy editing here and being a Wiktionarian! By the way, you can sign your name on Talk (discussion) and vote pages using four tildes, like this: ~~~~, which automatically produces your name and the current date. If you have any questions, see the help pages, add a question to the beer parlour or ask me on my Talk page. Again, welcome!
Hi there. I have wikified posse comitatus for you, so you can see how we format things here. Cheers. SemperBlotto 16:31, 24 September 2005 (UTC)


text:
Candidate takes active role in discovering city issues
By DAWNE LEIKER
Shaun Musil has been on a path of discovery as he campaigns for a seat on the Hays City Commission.
At 40, Musil said he has seen many residents his age and younger "turned off" by politics, but he would like to see that change.
"We should care what happens in Hays," he said in an interview earlier this month. "That's why I've been going to the (city commission) meetings.
"You get a different grasp."
Musil will go up against four other candidates for three commission seats in the April 2 election: Todd Gabel and Dominic Pianalto and incumbents Ron Mellick and Eber Phelps.
From doughnut shop talk to conversations at his kids' ballgames, Musil has been hearing residents' concerns that run a broad spectrum including a proposed convention center, taxes and wind energy.
Water, he said, also is a topic that has come up repeatedly.
He said he is encouraged about the potential of new city water conservation programs.
"I would love to be part of helping spread that word (conservation)," he said. "I think it's important people my age want to live here and raise a family; they need to understand to conserve."
In addition to conservation efforts, Musil said he is proud of what Hays has accomplished through its recycling program.
The city has made a habit of keeping some contingency funds, and Musil said it is important to keep "rainy day" reserves, but if funds are available, infrastructure improvements should be a priority.
Although the city has seen increases in sales tax collections the past few years, Musil said he thinks it's important to acknowledge not all those collections come from Hays residents.
"One thing I want to make sure is, we rely on our draw factor, but I think we need to be careful we don't alienate people from Norton, Phillipsburg, Plainville," he said. "Those people are a big part of that."
Musil has made it a point to gain insight through visits with city officials and hopes to spend time with department heads and staff members.
"From what I've heard, (city manager) Toby (Dougherty) is doing a great job, but you need to talk to the people down below, the people who are physically doing the work, and ask, 'Are you being taken care of?' " he said.
A willingness to "listen to anyone," is part of what Musil said sets him apart as a candidate for city commission.
"I hope that people vote for me and look at it as someone with a new, different perspective," he said. "But I also very much want to listen to people who have lived here all their lives.
"The future of Hays is extremely important to my family. What happens in Hays will definitely affect me."


text:
Do I need to download USPTO software onto my computer to use EFS-Web?
No. EFS-Web is a web-based tool. All you require is Internet access of at least 56 Kbps and a standard operating system that is compatible with EFS-Web. You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader 7.0.8 or 7.0.9 ONLY to use the latest version of the fillable forms.
>> Download free Adobe Acrobat Reader 7+


text:
11 August 2012 Influenza A (H3N2)v |
2012-08-11 09:32:18
The Pan American Health Organization / World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) would like to stress to its Member States the recommendations to maintain and strengthen routine surveillance activities, and to promote and disseminate influenza case management and prevention information to the public. The Organization encourages Member States to update and implement plans to respond to public health emergencies.
| ||
Read more |
Determinants of Health |
2011-03-21 14:31:36
About Through the work of researchers such as Sir Michael Marmot, we now understand that good health does not lie solely with medical interventions but also with living conditions and personal choices (4, 5). Determinants of health are lifestyle-based properties affected by broader social, economic, and political forces that influence quality of personal health. These attributes include but are not limited to education level, employment, income level and distribution, housing, childhood development, food security and nutrition, race, gender, and stress. Such factors have been shown to have marked associations with risks for different illnesses, life expectancy, and life-time morbidity. In recent decades, increasing health disparities in developed countries and between developing and developed countries have been associated with these social factors. While public health workers and policymakers seek to reduce this divide, they face challenges in designing and implementing programs that are comprehensive enough to address issues that have complex, long-term, causal relationships with specific disease pathways. However, both the motivation and action to develop effective research and intervention methods continue to grow in this field of public health (1). News/Events
Documents and publications
Tools Related links
Areas of Work
Figures The below figures demonstrate that improved social conditions and better health status often have a positive, step-wise, incremental gradient association (2). Click on the figure to enlarge: Citations
| |
Read more |


text:
Microsoft Should Not Buy Netflix
NEW YORK ( TheStreet) -- You never want to receive HUH? as a response from Jim Cramer. But even if he snarls at me in the halls of 14 Wall Street, I will live life on the edge. As explosive as ever. And, as the great Tom Petty said, I Won't Back Down.
That's exactly the attitude I took in 2011 as Netflix (NFLX - Get Report) powered past $300. I remained bearish, knowing that we had a fundamentally broken company with a jive-talking CEO floating a classic momentum stock.
Netflix's late-2011 implosion delivered vindication.
Today I am on the right side of the trade, however my feelings haven't changed much about Netflix, the company.
Despite a better-focused content acquisition strategy, Netflix might be in worse shape now than it was in 2011. The notion of Microsoft (MSFT - Get Report) bailing Netflix out sends me running for pint glass.While it would not surprise me to see Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer make a move on Netflix -- it fits with his ongoing ineptitude -- it could end in another write-down or merely something even more embarrassing than Surface Tablet and Windows Phone sales figures. Monday on Twitter, Cramer responded to my ridicule of a Netflix/Microsoft hookup with the feared "HUH?": Contrary to what several Tweeters and commenters believe, I am not contractually obligated to agree with Jim Cramer. In fact, I have been instructed to push him so far to the edge that he starts throwing computers again like he did back in his hedge fund days. I set my bar of insubordination high, straight to the founder!
Here's why a Microsoft-Netflix deal, even if it happens, is misguided:
1. Netflix's cash situation is deteriorating once again. Just like it did in 2011. See support for this contention in last week's Reed Hastings Hypnotizes Wall St. Analysts. 2. No matter how Netflix tries to explain it away (likely at the urging of the SEC), the company still has $5.6 billion in off-balance sheet, streaming content obligations, as of the end of the year, compared to $4.8 billion at the end of 2011. Nearly $2.3 billion of that is due in less than one year; roughly $5 billion of it inside the next three years. 3. Pursuant to No. 2, why would Microsoft, or any other company for that matter, want to assume what amounts to billions in debt to pay for largely non-exclusive content? It just doesn't make any sense. Microsoft, in particular, does not need Netflix to enhance Xbox. Why take on somebody else's problems? 4. Netflix is also spending millions on marketing, international expansion and original programming. Free cash flow continues to decrease. This is all public information. Available in the same annual reports and 10-Qs on the SEC Website that Wall Street ignored or chose to downplay in 2011. 5. If this was the story of a perpetual startup with a track record of execution spending money and sacrificing the balance sheet and bottom line to seize massive and realistically attainable long-term opportunity -- like Amazon.com (AMZN - Get Report) -- I could overlook the quantitative writing on the wall. However, the qualitative story sucks as well . . .Hastings spins everything positive. He situates the international expansion and original programming pushes as proof Netflix is on the right path when, in fact, it's these very moves that should trigger red flags.
Netflix has no choice but to head overseas and, in particular, take a long-shot bet on original content because there's no way it can survive as a third-party player licensing, by and large, non-exclusive, non-premium content. This is all eerily similar to how things came apart in 2011.
Check Out Our Best Services for Investors
Action Alerts PLUS
Portfolio Manager Jim Cramer and Director of Research Jack Mohr reveal their investment tactics while giving advanced notice before every trade.
Product Features:
- $2.5+ million portfolio
- Large-cap and dividend focus
- Intraday trade alerts from Cramer
Quant Ratings
Access the tool that DOMINATES the Russell 2000 and the S&P 500.
Product Features:
- Buy, hold, or sell recommendations for over 4,300 stocks
- Unlimited research reports on your favorite stocks
- A custom stock screener
Stocks Under $10
David Peltier uncovers low dollar stocks with serious upside potential that are flying under Wall Street's radar.
Product Features:
- Model portfolio
- Stocks trading below $10
- Intraday trade alerts
Check Out Our Best Services for Investors
Dividend Stock Advisor
David Peltier identifies the best of breed dividend stocks that will pay a reliable AND significant income stream.
Product Features:
- Diversified model portfolio of dividend stocks
- Updates with exact steps to take - BUY, HOLD, SELL
Trifecta Stocks
Every recommendation goes through 3 layers of intense scrutinyquantitative, fundamental and technical analysisto maximize profit potential and minimize risk.
Product Features:
- Model Portfolio
- Intra Day Trade alerts
- Access to Quant Ratings
Options Profits
Our options trading pros provide over 100 monthly option trading ideas and strategies to help you become a well-seasoned trader.
Product Features:
- Actionable options commentary and news
- Real-time trading community


text:
Please, Miss
I was shocked to the core when I walked into the little boys' room at work this week; they had removed the poster which tells me how to wash my hands. What the hell am I going to do now that stroke-by-stroke instructions are gone, how can I refer to the little diagrams telling me how much soap to put on, where, & which actions my hands must be doing in order to maximise my personal safety & ensure the job doesn't have to pay me sick leave because I have picked up one of the millions of strains of germs which float around the control room?
Has the chief constable gone totally mad? Next they'll be removing the sign which tells me the steps are slippery when wet or the one which advises waiting until the door is open before I walk through it.
I never realised the true function ofĂ'Â 'Police – Do Not Cross' tape was to stop me walking across a patch of muddy grassĂ'Â at police HQ or keeping me from incurring a fatal injury from the edge of a desk where the metal edging has fallen off (because they bought the cheapest).
If you don't see a blog entry tomorrow, it's probably because nobody told me not to do something I've not been doing for nearly 50 years quite successfully.
7 comments
Oh dear, that sounds a bit dangerous!
Up here in snowy Scotland, our phones at work have just sprouted little stickers with a cartoon germ and the words "sanitize regularly". Yes, with a "z" instead of an "s". We've all attacked them with the Tipp-ex and changed the spelling. We may not have sterile phones, but by god we know how to spell. My suggestion that we dip them in Dettol didn't go down well with management, though. Somewhere in my personnel file the words "sarcastic cow" are probably written in big letters.
December 18th, 2009 at 14:07
Is it the 20 step NHS hand-washing poster that ends with the words "hand washing should take no more than 15-20 seconds"?
Just reading through the steps takes 1 minute. Actually doing them takes longer. Yet the powers that be believe it only take 15 seconds.
And that is why the NHS is failing, completely disconnected from reality.
December 18th, 2009 at 15:02
Helpfully, we now have a small poster attached to the back of some toilet doors demonstrating how to have a safe poo (a real diagram provided by a genito-urinary practioner somewhere). One hopes that a copper has found this and posted it for fun but increasingly the walls between reality and some kind of Pythonesque alternate reality are breaking down in Police World.
December 18th, 2009 at 18:17
We had those little posters put up in January last year. However there was no soap in the dispenser in the toilets for us to test the theory. When we requestd some from the Civvy Hygene manager (head bog lady) in admin we were told there was no money left in the annual budget for soap and we'd have to wait for the next financial year!!. Another fine example of Police lunacy. All theory no practice.
December 18th, 2009 at 20:05
In City Hall, there is a notice above each of the hot taps stating "warning, extremely hot water". Two things to note, because of a low shelf above the sinks,anyone over the age of 8 can not see the notices, and secondly the water there has never ever been more than luke warm..
December 18th, 2009 at 20:54
Some wag found an 'Examination in progress' sign and glued that to the toilet door. It was there for absolutely ages
December 18th, 2009 at 21:20
well… its the odd world we live in…
the average huwmon has about 1/2 a kilo of micro-organisms in and on their body- that have nothing to do with human evolution…
but we have to wash like a good one?
and what about when you touch the door handle?
lol… we are sooooo odd…
December 18th, 2009 at 21:35


text:
Join our network of non-profits, companies and individuals who believe social change can happen through design.
Become A MemberPopular Blogs
- winema gaven
1 Votes / 1 Posts - LogicGateOne Corp
0 Votes / 4 Posts - Monty Kennar
0 Votes / 2 Posts - zwanen burgh
0 Votes / 2 Posts
Most Active Members
- Kate Andrews
321 Recent Posts - v-neeta
305 Recent Posts - steven landau
157 Recent Posts - Douglas Best
126 Recent Posts
Recent Work Samples
- vasilis capellas
Designer - Vina Domingo-Roy
Designer (Product Design) - fert det
Designer (Journalism) - HeatherRose Studios
Designer (Illustration)
Hewitt Feddersen
Member since November 11, 2013
Short Term Effects Of Smoking Cigarettes Questions And
An electronic cigarette contains a savor of baccy in traditional cigarette. 925g for humanities, and that it hush had the like sort of acceptance as it did ages ago. Fifth is SmokeTip, which offers Eazy-drag system that lets the melted to get easy turned into a smokeless vapour. Basics of the Electronic Cigarette discount automatically applied to any purchase! When a person is fuming due to the evolution of former dependances alike alcohol and eating up disorders. An E cigarette dwells of a battery, an atomizer and the e-juice magazine lams out. The flavors of electronic cigarettes experience been useable in much stocks global yet. But what I saw a red-- WALTER LEWIN: I cognize just what it goes same.
A further gain is that you can direct your business and get tangled and go to piece of work with it. When the e succus refillable magazine in the nicotine costless variety. These best E cig trade name for you, a lot of some former vantages short term personal effects of fuming cigarettes first of all you ask. It is called cartomizer, cartridge and atomiser. Water vapour arrives out short term personal effects of fuming cigarettes of the cigarette. tobacco and cigarettes smoking You can and so start out smoking the non nicotine flavored cartridges that would do you short term personal effects of smoking cigarettes minimal injury and save you money. alternatives to smoking cigarettes But the major deviation is that inside the cigarette's principal piece, there's a especial vapor that's intentional to mime real fume. safe e cigarettes
These forms of cigarettes and a soft way to gradually discontinue fuming. I learned about smokeless cigarettes by searching the Chicago Star-Tribune. too due to the fact that they comprise carcinogens. The up-front expense for just short term personal effects of fuming cigarettes a fraction of the costs of the cigarettes are double-dyed water vapor message. With Asaro electronic cigarettes, your cravings are importantly short term effects of fuming cigarettes trimed.


text:
The Real J.Lo: A Diva? A Mom? A Millionaire? A Look-Alike From Miami?
Via facebook.com/JenniferLopez |
Who is the real Jennifer Lopez?
Well, earlier this month, the Australian edition of 60 Minutes praised the entertainer's seemingly grounded, surprisingly un-diva-like demeanor during a recent interview.
"I'd expected to sit down with a prima donna," reporter Allison Langdon said during the segment. "But the 43 year old is warm and engaging."
The television news magazine correspondent also enthusiastically marveled at Lopez's striking beauty, complementing the singer's full-bodied hair, "flawless" skin, and all-around glamor. Like most who meet J.Lo, the reporter was refreshingly awestruck, even giddy at times to be speaking with an incredibly levelheaded superstar.
Our experience with Lopez, however, was far different. And by different, we mean non-existent.
Crossfade's interview request was denied, suggesting that Jenny from the Block suddenly became exhausted with being so "warm and engaging" just before the undisclosed, would-be date of our conference call with her.
In the end, we wasted upwards of 39 research hours, the bulk of which took place while snuggled beneath a fleece blanket as we nursed a fever likely induced by J.Lo overload.
Speaking of which, did you know that Jennifer Lopez had to give her four-year-old twins a stern "mom look" before a recent concert at the Staples Center in Los Angeles? You would if you'd gotten lost on the Internet with us and stumbled upon New Delhi Television.
Sponsor Content


text:
Orofino splits
doubleheader against St. Maries The Orofino
Merchants came away from their league doubleheader against St.
Maries with a lackluster split of Orofino 7-12, St. Maries 8-3. The
Merchants had a 5-1 lead in the fourth inning of the first game, but
several fielding gaffes and errors allowed St. Maries to mount a
comeback and claim an 8-7 win. "We gave
away too much in the field and at the plate," Merchants coach Jeff
Wright said. "We struck out 13 times against pitching that was just
OK, and we had very little clutch hitting." But Orofino
got another early lead in the second game and made it stand up, as
they cruised to a 12-3 triumph, fueled by six St. Maries errors. Ethan
Gilliam collected four RBI in the win, and Dylan Midstokke and Seth
Melton each had six strikeouts.
First Game Orofino 002 302 0-7 9 4 St. Maries 100 340 x-8 5
1 Seth Melton, Dylan
Midstokke (6) and Jason Thompson. Bubba Pugh, Ryan Sullivan (5),
Jordan Stapleton (7), Jayden Guidry (7) and Ashton Stephenson. Orofino hits - Melton 2,
Midstokke 2 (2B), Michael Welch 2 (HR), Ethan Gilliam, Trevor
Bansemer 2. St. Maries hits - Guidry
2, David Barbou 3 (2B).
Second Game Orofino 230 051 1-12 9 1 St. Maries 003 000 0- 3
6 6 Midstokke, Welch (5) and
Thompson. Stephenson, Stapleton (6) and Guidry. Orofino hits - Melton,
Midstokke 2, Welch 2 (2B), E. Gilliam 2, Thompson, Bansemer St. Maries hits -
Stapleton 2 (2-2B), Pugh 2 (2B), Sullivan, Barbou. |


text:
Explain this saying: "Still waters run deep."
The saying means that we shouldn't put down people who are quiet. Their stillness doesn't mean they lack depth. It compares such people to a river. When a river is shallow it runs quickly. A deeper river runs slower. Think about the people out in the middle of the Provo river in their hip waders. The water is shallow and you can see it running and flowing around the hip waders. Up in the reservoir, where it's deeper, the water is still. Of course the depth of the reservoir and the speed of the water going through it is controlled by whoever runs the spillway. Going up the canyon you can see the water running very quickly down the spillway. Shallow water. As water gets deeper it can absorb things flowing in quickly, and slow them down.
This starts out all right, but then in gets bogged down in an unexpected and confusing discussion of differing water depths.
What my 11-grade English teacher didn't understand, and what I didn't have the vocabulary to explain, is that she had asked us to describe what a particular metaphor meant, and I had tried to describe how it meant. I knew a metaphor was an implied comparison, one not using like or as, so if I was going to explain the comparison between quiet people and a slow running river I had to explain how the comparison worked. But there was a problem. I wasn't sure how the comparison worked.
Years later I read the comment, "Still waters don't run at all." But that wasn't the confusing part of the comparison, for I had always assumed that run was not a synonym for flow, but referred instead to the nature of something: It is the nature of still waters to be deep. Except that I was talking about flowing water, flowing around hip waders, flowing down the spillway. I tried to think about the slower stretches of the Provo, but I couldn't think of any. I knew there were wider rivers, deeper than any hip wader, but I didn't have any experience with them.
A metaphor is supposed to be a way of taking something you know and using it to understand something you don't know, but I couldn't validate from my own experience the idea that still waters run deep, and nearly 40 years later I can still summon up the frustration I felt at trying to explain something I couldn't be certain of from my experience.
But if I can't validate a metaphor from my own experience, how do I know my understanding is correct? Look at context, in this case Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie, which I had seen a production of recently. In Scene IV Amanda Wingfield takes her son Tom aside and says she wants to talk about his sister, Laura. "You know how Laura is. So quiet but–still water runs deep! She notices things and I think she–broods about them." There's more depth to your sister than you think, Amanda is saying. Still water is a metaphor for Laura. Or is it just an image Amanda comes up with spontaneously, a handy cliche?
I recently heard another context for the statement, having to do with a conspiracy. "Still water runs deep, you know." In that context it meant, "Be Careful. Things are not what they seem on the surface. There are undertows, undercurrents stronger and more dangerous than you might suppose."
But context isn't the only way metaphors make sense to us. The chief way metaphors make sense is through common sense, or through seizing common sense. Metaphors are most effective when they're transparent, when we don't have to think our way through the comparison.
When we have to think our way through a comparison we get stuck in unexpected and confusing discussions of water depth. That act of seizing common sense can make metaphors very compelling, give them coercive power. Resisting a metaphor can feel like resisting common sense, like raising your puny arm to stop the Mississippi in its course, or swimming against the current, fighting an undertow, swimming in deep waters. Of course, you might not be alone. See someone over yonder saying, "Deep water is where I am wont to swim."
And because metaphors seem so common sensical to us, they can also be very seductive. The more transparent, the more seductive—and the more compelling, especially if we don't realize the line of reasoning we just developed is a metaphor. Le metaphor juste can be worth a great deal of money, making product fly off the shelves and boosting sales into the stratosphere—getting us to spout all kinds of stuff we don't think of as metaphors.
The right metaphor can be worth many votes as well, making a compelling case for some kind of public policy. Which raises a question. If influence rightly gained is supposed to flow to us not through undertows and irresistible currents, but "without compulsory means," how do we avoid using compulsion? Aren't writers in the busy ness of crafting the most vivid sentences we can, of making people want to keep reading, and reading, and reading?
But metaphor has a further power. Because we use metaphors so widely just calling something a metaphor can tap into all the coercive power of metaphors–as when someone says of a scripture story, "That's not meant to be taken literally. It's a metaphor."
Recently on KUER's talk show Radio West Reza Aslan made a claim about scripture stories as metaphor, which echoed a claim from John Dominic Crosson on Radio West a few years ago. Both claims were variants of the idea that the ancients thought differently about stories than we do, that truth for them was not tied to verifiable historical events like it is for us. The claim is worth thinking about, though the more I wrestle with it (water rising around us) the more it seems that if there was a change in the way we think about historical narratives the change means that for the ancients a narrative didn't have to be either figurative or literal, it could be both at the same time.
That is, I suspect they saw comparisons more in terms of puns—where the two things being compared are both necessary for the comparison to work—than in terms of metaphors, where only the metaphorical meaning counts.
Your turn.


text:
Drew Brees will stay a Saint for at least another five years.
It cost one hundred million dollars to keep him in the black and gold and even Ragin Cajun staff members say its money well spent.
Brees is set to report to Saint's training camp on July twenty fourth.
The Saints first game in the Superdome September the ninth against the Washington Redskins will be played right here on FOX 15.


text:
All prices are in AUD Free freight within Australia.
The Rowing Australia Rules Handbook
Rowing Australia (RA) Board Approved 10 February 2006
(Amendments accepted at 30 September 2007)
In 2005, RA completed a comprehensive review of the Rules of Racing and Related By-Laws. In doing so, it incorporated the amendments made by FISA at the 2005 World Congress.


text:
- One Project Closer - http://www.oneprojectcloser.com -
Back in the Basement Remodel Completed
Posted By Ethan On December 18, 2012 @ 7:00 am In Basement,NotIndexed,Pro Follow | 7 Comments
It's time to close the book on another successful basement remodel. Final inspection has come and gone, and Joe and his crews are just adding the finishing touches. Mr. and Mrs. Homeowner are really pleased, and it's been a terrific Pro-Follow with lots of great how-tos. Today's article is a tour of the basement and recap of some of the major projects that took place.
The wet bar is my favorite part of this basement, and I really like the choice of colors and materials. If you remember, Jim and Rich from Diamond Tile handled laying all the tile [1] in the bar and bathroom, and they shared exactly How to Grout Tile [2].
Joe took care of leveling all the base cabinets [3], and we got a great look at how the granite countertops were installed [4].
The entire basement is wired with recessed lights, and I was able to spend time with Russel, a master electrician and owner of ETC Electric to show you How to Install New Work Recessed Lighting [5].
I didn't focus too much on the progress in the bathroom except to show the rough-in plumbing [6] with the guys from Drain Relief. As you can see it's a full bathroom, and the biggest challenge was rerouting the plumbing through the concrete subfloor.
If you're looking for more info on bathrooms, check out this bathroom remodel [7] or this Project Guide for Installing a Toilet (like a Pro) [8].
Except for the tile around the bar and in the bathroom, the entire basement is floored with berber carpet, and it was awesome to learn How to Install Carpet [9].
Joe built these custom bookshelves [10]. They were one of the last pieces to go in, and they look amazing.
If you or someone you know is looking for a contractor in the greater Baltimore area, I highly recommend you give Joe Bianco a call (info here [11]). These Pro-Follows show the professionalism and attention to detail that Joe brings to every job, and you'll thrilled with the finished product.
Article printed from One Project Closer: http://www.oneprojectcloser.com
URL to article: http://www.oneprojectcloser.com/back-in-the-basement-remodel-completed/
URLs in this post:
[1] laying all the tile: http://www.oneprojectcloser.com/back-in-the-basement-tile-prep-tiling-the-bar/
[2] How to Grout Tile: http://www.oneprojectcloser.com/how-to-grout-a-tile-floor/
[3] leveling all the base cabinets: http://www.oneprojectcloser.com/back-in-the-basement-door-knobs-and-bar-cabinets/
[4] granite countertops were installed: http://www.oneprojectcloser.com/back-in-the-basement-granite-countertops/
[5] How to Install New Work Recessed Lighting: http://www.oneprojectcloser.com/how-to-install-new-work-recessed-lighting/
[6] rough-in plumbing: http://www.oneprojectcloser.com/back-in-the-basement-day-2-plumbing-rough-in/
[7] bathroom remodel: http://www.oneprojectcloser.com/the-complete-bathroom-remodel/
[8] Installing a Toilet (like a Pro): http://www.oneprojectcloser.com/how-to-install-a-toilet-like-a-pro/
[9] How to Install Carpet: http://www.oneprojectcloser.com/how-to-install-carpet/
[10] custom bookshelves: http://www.oneprojectcloser.com/back-in-the-basement-installing-the-custom-bookshelves/
[11] info here: http://www.oneprojectcloser.com/meet-the-pros/
Click here to print.
Copyright © 2011 One Project Closer. All rights reserved.


text:
new shots from Thomas's show added to flickr. click below.
New work by Thomas DeMello October 23rd
Joseph Huppert's installation says goodbye
Great Closing last night. Thanks to everyone that came out and viewed the work through the evening. Michael's got more pictures of Joseph's piece on FLICKR
Closing reception video flier for Joseph Huppert
video by Michael James Armstrong
Installation photos of Joseph Huppert's latest work
Michael James Armstrong has more shots of the install HERE


text:
The Verizon and T-Mobile versions of the Samsung Galaxy S III Android phone have already received OS updates to Android 4.1 "Jellybean," and now AT&T S III owners can update their phones as well.
AT&T will not make the S III Android 4.1 update available over-the-air; the update requires you to download and install a piece of software called Samsung Kies which performs the update via sync on PCs and Macs. You can download Samsung Kies here, or visit Samsung's update page to learn more about the new features and the upgrade process.
This leaves just Verizon Wireless S III users waiting to be updated to Jellybean. No word yet on when that update is expected to drop.