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20 May 2005
Over the past couple of weeks, I've read about ten short stories and four or five novels (most of them short). This is a little bit more than I get through in the average fortnight, but I had been doing quite a bit of writing before that, and I usually alternate bouts of reading and writing. During the past year, the amount of reading I've done has increased -- there was a time when I averaged only a couple novels a month -- and I'm happy for it. The reasons for the rise in the amount of things I'm reading are many, but the primary one is that I'm writing a couple of book reviews a month now, and I usually read three to six books for every one I review. (Most of my students, and plenty of other semi-rational creatures, would consider this schedule to be horrifying. I think it's fun.)
There's a problem, though, and it's that my reading is governed by an obsessively eclectic taste. If I read, for instance, three science fiction novels in a row, I will quickly become incapable of enjoying any more science fiction novels until I read something entirely different. Usually my need for variety is satiated with fiction from different eras or styles, but sometimes I discover myself incapable of getting pleasure from almost any sort of fiction at all, and have to fill my time with plays, poetry, essays, history, science, etc. Sometimes this is against my will -- just because I want to read more of one type of writing doesn't mean that, once I start, I will find any enjoyment from it at all.
Essentially, that's where I am right now. I've read a bunch of different stories and novels, all of them fantasy or science fiction, and have found none of them satisfying. I'm objective enough to see that in some cases this was more the book's fault than mine, but in other cases, I could find nothing particularly wrong with the book or story -- the fault was mine, an inability to engage with the author's structure, characters, words, images, anything.
Whenever this happens, I know it's time for a big change, which is why over the past week I've mostly been reading plays and poetry. I've been enjoying reading some of Sylvia Plath's work, particularly what she wrote in 1959 (in her Collected Poems). It can be difficult to wrench Plath's poems away from her biography, her mythology, her appeal to anyone tempted toward overwrought self-dramatization, but going back to the poems she wrote before 1962 or so is helpful, because it's possible to revel in the pure sound of the poems, the confidence of her words, the assured lines and stanzas. She wasn't as good as W.H. Auden or Dylan Thomas, but I'm not often in the mood for someone of that level -- when it comes to just reading and appreciating, there are few sets of poems I'd rather spend time with than the poems Plath wrote before she really came into her own as a poet in 1962 or so (many of which are poems I like a lot, but those poems possess more of an ability to wound, because by then Plath had tremendous control over the language that sometimes seems to take control of her in the earlier poems, keeping her from expressing pain in words and phrases that draw blood. Her mastery destroyed some of the distance that makes the earlier, less accomplished poems, more aesthetically compelling to me).
I also read the play (well, monologue) Thom Pain (based on nothing) by Will Eno, a theatre piece I'd heard many good things about, but those good things eluded me in reading it. I can see how it could be an excellent vehicle for an actor, but as a piece of writing it didn't do much for me -- as opposed to, say, something like "Terminal Hip" by Mac Wellman (collected in The Bad Infinity) or The Fever by Wallace Shawn, both of which are extraordinary when performed well, but also have at least some interest as written texts (at least for me). Now I'm reading Michael Frayn's Copenhagen, a play I never got around to reading before, despite intending to multiple times.
In any case, I'll be returning to novels and short stories soon, and will report what I find. Because being on the jury for the Fountain Award kept me reading lots of 2004 stories, I've read hardly anything from 2005, and need to remedy that soon.
I wonder if and when people find themselves burning out on certain types of writing -- what's your experience, O my readers? Can you endlessly fill yourself with one sort of book or story and feel no indigestion, or do you need a varied menu? (Most editors, I assume, read a lot of similar things and don't, at least for a while, end up hating it all.) Are you the sort of person who reads an author's entire collected works before moving on, or do you jump from one author to another? When do you know it's time to change your reading habits?
11 comments:
- Anonymous5/20/2005 7:28 PM
Well, I'm now officially burned out on 70s nurse novels and Regency Romances. I also cannot read another word of that bloated borehound Henry Miller.ReplyDelete
I always thought Tropic of Cancer was a nurse novel.ReplyDelete
Generally speaking, I even have to mix up fiction and nonfiction. Otherwise it's like a steady diet of pepperoni pizza. I mean, I like pepperoni pizza. But not that much.ReplyDelete
- Anonymous5/21/2005 11:13 AM
In general, I do not become burned out on a genre, sometimes finding that I've read the same type of books for 9 or 10 months.ReplyDelete
The one thing I absolutely can't do, however, is read in the same genre I'm writing in at the time. If I'm in the middle of writing a fantasy novel then I tend to move toward anything else - mainstream, thrillers, even biographies or history.
I read a lot of Childrens/YA fiction for work, which I try to break up with adult stuff. I can read about five mysteries in a row before I have to switch genres, but only if it's five cozies or five hardboiled. OTOH, if I'm on an author jag (catching up on the earlier works of a newly discovered fave) I can do the run before I have to switch to something else.ReplyDelete
Unless I"m really, really taken with a particular author, I can't go too long in one genre or style. If I read too much of one type I become burned out on reading in general (a very frustrating place to be). I'm usually good for two books of a related type at a time and then I need to switch.ReplyDelete
A more difficult problem for me is a sudden interest in something new. Even if I'm enjoying a book I can easily become distracted by another book, theme, or style, that suddenly becomes necessary for me to read. In the past month I've been distracted by Arthurian legends, the history of evolutionary thought, Joseph Conrad, intelligence gathering, deep ocean/deep space, Stanislaw Lem short stories, chapbooks, and some other things that flitted through my brain too quickly to recall.
hmmmm....either I don't have the staying power to get burned out or I burn out wayyyyy too quicky...
I don't burn out permanently, but like you I need a frequently varied diet. That's one reason I'm no reviewer.ReplyDelete
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.ReplyDelete
I tend to be similar. If I read 2 or 3 of the same type books consecutively, I tend to burn out on them for awhile. This reached a peak in the mid-90s when, after reading sf exclusively for a long time I was unable to read a single sf story for nearly 2 years. Thankfully, I got over that eventually.ReplyDelete
Two Howard Conan novels in a row is too much.ReplyDelete
Must... take... months... off... between.
Ooops. Did I admit to reading old-school Conan novels?
But yea, it's true on my end as well - too many "literay" books in a row or too many SF/F in a row burn me out pretty quickly. What's worse is reading work by the same author (particularly those who stick to formula) right after another. You work out their tricks pretty quickly, and stop enjoying all their quirks.
I (very) occasionally will become so enthusiastic about an author that I will read as much as I possibly can by them for a few weeks. I enjoy it, but I'm always aware that the enthusiasm will wane eventually. The authors I get enthusiastic about tend to be all over the map, in terms of genre.ReplyDelete
In general, though, I skip genres from book to book, just to keep it interesting. I tend to have a fairly short attention span, otherwise.


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My favorite part of every election is the rationalization afterward.
It's when the campaign manager for a losing candidate stresses the important issues he raised. It's when the breathless advocate of a ballot initiative highlights the momentous gains made in defeat.
I received such an email Wednesday from the Yes on Proposition 37 campaign -- the folks who want new labels on genetically engineered food -- headlined "Narrow Loss; Movement Victory."
Perhaps "narrow" is in the eyes of the beholder, but losing statewide by more than 500,000 votes doesn't strike me as the precipice of victory. It's like saying you nearly scored a touchdown because your punt wasn't blocked.
"Yesterday we showed there is a food movement in the United States, and it is strong, vibrant and too powerful to stop," the email read. That's one way to put it. Another is that 53 percent of all voters said this proposition was a really bad idea.
The proponents of Richmond's Measure N "soda tax" must be equally thrilled with the inroads they made. Only two of every three voters rejected their proposal. There are few things that 66.9 percent of all people agree on, but rejecting a one-cent-per-ounce tax for sugar-sweetened drinks apparently is one of them.
Advocates for both issues surely will blame the well-funded industries that poured millions of dollars into defeating them. Food manufacturers didn't want new labels, and beverage makers didn't want the cost of their drinks to go up. But that's only part of the explanation.
It's more likely that voters saw no need to fix something that wasn't broken. No one is dropping dead from genetically engineered food, and customers concerned about sugar intake don't need a new tax to keep them from drinking soft drinks.
Money may be a factor, but it doesn't secure outcomes. If it did, Proposition 30 (sales and income tax hikes) never would have passed. Opponents far outspent supporters but captured only 46 percent of the vote.
If money guaranteed victory, voters would have passed Proposition 32 (banning unions from collecting dues for political purposes). A political action committee in Arizona spent millions trying to push through that initiative.
What Tuesday's election results showed is that California voters are independent and unpredictable. They agreed to ante up more money for education -- K-12 and college -- but they drew the line at more funding for the Contra Costa Fire District. They saw the wisdom in relaxing the three-strikes law but not in eliminating the death penalty.
On the whole, voters showed a willingness to repair only that which they thought merited repair, regardless of outside support or advertisements aired.
This will come as little solace to Richmond Councilman Jeff Ritterman, the point man for Measure N, who saw a tax on sugar-sweetened drinks as a means of curtailing obesity and diabetes, but he did accomplish something.
He shined a light on a genuine concern. He educated people about the dangers of excessive sugar intake. The red wagon he pulled around, filled with 40 pounds of sugar (the equivalent of one year of soft drinks), didn't get his measure passed, but it conveyed a graphic message.
That might be just as effective as a tax would have been.
If I were in his shoes, that would be my rationalization.
Contact Tom Barnidge at firstname.lastname@example.com.

subset: commoncrawl


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Men's Under Armour PIP Performance Polo Shirt
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GREENSBORO, N.C. - Clemson's Jon McGibbon hit a walk-off three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth to give fifth-seeded Clemson (33-25) a 9-7 victory over top-seeded Florida State (43-14) Friday afternoon inside NewBridge Bank Park in Greensboro, N.C. With the loss, the Seminoles fell to 0-2 in pool `A' play of the 2012 ACC Tournament, while Clemson moved to 1-1.
The Tigers scored five runs over the last two innings after trailing by as many as three at 7-4 after the top of the eighth. Spencer Kieboom brought Clemson within one of the lead with a two-run single in the bottom of the eighth. Robert Benincasa (4-1) retired the next two batters in the inning to keep FSU's one-run lead intact.
Benincasa returned to the mound to pitch the bottom of the ninth and got off to a good start striking out Richie Shaffer for the first out of the inning. The Tigers then strung together three consecutive hits including McGibbon's three-run home run that just cleared the wall in right center to end the game.
Florida State suffered its first loss when leading after eight (38-1), while it marked the first loss for Benincasa on the year.
Before the start of Friday's game, Florida State had already been eliminated from advancing to play in the conference championship game as Georgia Tech defeated Virginia 17-5 in seven innings earlier in the day. After falling to the Yellow Jackets on Wednesday, the Seminoles needed to win out and have Virginia beat Georgia Tech to reach the finals.
Jayce Boyd paced the Seminole offense on Friday going 3-for-5 with three singles. James Ramsey, Justin Gonzalez and Jose Brizuela all recorded two hits apiece. Gonzalez connected on his eighth home run of the season in the fifth, while Devon Travis had the other extra base hit on an RBI double in the third.
Ramsey and Gonzalez both drove in two runs each, while Travis scored twice.
Brandon Leibrandt did not factor into the decision as he worked 6.2 innings allowing four runs, two earned, on five hits. It marked his third longest outing of the season as the freshman left hander walked two and struck out three.
Clemson did not record a hit of Leibrandt until the fourth as four of the five hits allowed during his 6.2 innings went for doubles.
The Seminole squandered a golden opportunity to score first on Friday leaving two stranded in the second. Boyd led off the inning with a single up the middle and moved to second on a sac-bunt by Stephen McGee. After Gonzalez drew a one-out walk, Clemson starter Dominic Leone retired the next two Florida State batters on a fly out and a strikeout.
Clemson took advantage of a Seminole error in the bottom of the second to grab an early 1-0 lead. Jason Stolz drew a two-out walk from Leibrandt, stole second and scored the first run of the game on errant throw by Travis on a groundball off the bat of Brad Felder.
The Tiger lead was short lived as Florida State responded with four runs in the top of the third as the Seminoles sent nine batters to the plate and knocked out Leone from the game. Brizuela opened the inning with a single to left center and advanced to second on a groundout by Sherman Johnson. FSU then strung together three consecutive hits including an RBI double by Travis and a run scoring single by Ramsey. Boyd and McGee followed with a single and walk, respectively, to load the bases for Gonzalez. The junior shortstop would come through with an RBI single on the very first pitch from Leone to score Ramsey and give the Seminoles a 3-1 advantage. Boyd scored the fourth run of the inning when Tiger relief pitcher Kevin Brady was charged with a balk on his first offering of the game.
Leone would last just 2.1 innings on Friday as the junior right hander was charged with four runs on six hits as he walked two and struck out two.
The Seminoles threatened to add more in the fourth but left the bases loaded to keep the score at 4-1. Brizuela led off the inning with a bunt single to third, while Johnson and Ramsey both drew walks. Brady and Boyd would battle in a long at-bat before the Clemson pitcher got the Seminole first baseman to fly out in foul territory at third on the ninth pitch of the at-bat for the second out. Brady would get out of the inning on the very next pitch as McGee grounded out to second to retire the side.
Florida State finished the game leaving 10 runners on base including seven in the first four innings.
Clemson cut into the Florida State lead with a run in the fourth to make the score 4-2. The Tigers registered their first two hits off Leibrandt in the game on a pair of doubles. Phil Pohl led off the inning stinging a double to straight away center and scored two batters later on an RBI double down the line in right by McGibbon.
The Seminoles got the run back in the top of the fifth on a solo home run by Gonzalez to extend their lead back to three at 5-2. The junior shortstop hammered a 3-2 offering from David Haselden out of the park and into the streets beyond the right field wall for his eighth home run of the season.
Clemson came right back with two more runs in the bottom of the fifth to draw within one at 5-4. Leibrandt looked as if he was on his way to a quick inning recording the first two outs on just two pitches. But Thomas Brittle kept the inning going with a double to right. He scored a batter later as Richie Shaffer dropped a bloop double to short right away from the shift to score the first Tiger run of the inning. Clemson added one more when Gonzalez could not handle a groundball off the bat of Phil Pohl allowing Shaffer to score from second.
The Tigers had the tying run at second with two outs in the seventh, but Gage Smith got the Seminoles out of the jam getting Pohl swinging on strikes to end the inning.
The Seminoles added to their lead in the eighth pushing across two more runs to extend their lead to 7-4. Both runs came on two outs as the rally began when Johnson and Travis drew back-to-back walks off Haselden. Ramsey hit a ringing single off the wall in right to plate Johnson and advance Travis to third. Boyd followed with an RBI single to give the Seminoles a three-run cushion.
Clemson's Patrick Andrews (2-3) picked up the win as he worked 1.1 scoreless innings retiring all four batters that he faced.
Florida State will return to the diamond to face fourth-seeded Virginia on Saturday, May 26 at 3:00 p.m. The game will broadcast live on the Regional Sports Network and in Florida on Sun Sports. Fan can listen to the game locally on 100.7 FM and over the internet on Seminoles.com. Live stats will be available via gametracker, while fans can always receive in-game updates on Twitter @FSU_Baseball.
Every game of the ACC Tournament will also be live-streamed via the Internet by ESPN3. In addition, Sirius 94 will broadcast Saturday's game live via satellite radio, and every game with exception of the Wednesday and Friday 7:00 p.m. games will also be broadcast live via satellite radio on XM 190.
For further information, visit: www.seminoles.com


text:
South Dakota is one of the most important duck production areas in North America. Although it is considered a Central Flyway state, South Dakota produces ducks that migrate continent-wide. The portion of South Dakota west of the Missouri River is considered "unglaciated," so the relatively few wetlands in this area consist mostly of impoundments used to water livestock. Nonetheless, duck recruitment in this landscape is high. The glaciated, eastern part of the state contains some of the highest wetland densities and breeding duck populations in the Prairie Pothole Region. DU has conserved 665,722 acres of waterfowl habitat in South Dakota, and as part of the Preserve Our Prairies Initiative, is now focused on securing critical breeding wetlands and grasslands through easements and acquisitions.
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President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp Act into law.
First duck stamp, designed by Pulitzer-prize winning editorial cartoonist, Jay N. "Ding" Darling, issued.
Prairie drought peaks.


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Seems like it costs money to do just about anything.
And in the college world, for lots of students, that means taking out student loans.
There's an important deadline coming up for borrowers that might mean having to pay more money.
Getting a college education adds up.
"Tuition, housing, car insurance, books...food, of course; that's a big one," says John Schmeelk, a junior at ASU.
"It's a lot," says ASU junior Shannon Broadwater. "It's rather expensive between room and board, tuition, books, transportation...it's just a lot."
Student loans serve as a quick paycheck to make ends meet.
"I only have two," Shannon says.
But interest rates are going up.
Rates for Stafford loans are rising 4.70% to 6.80%--about 2 percent.
"And that's why the big push is on to consolidate to lock in the previous interest rate," says Willene Holmes, the director of financial aid at ASU.
Holmes is encouraging consolidation now.
The deadline is Friday, June 30.
Borrowers who wait for July 1 won't get the lower rate variable rate; it'll be the fixed higher rate.
"And it's been a long time since we've really experienced an increase of this magnitude," Holmes says.
Two years ago, the rate was only 2.77%.
"And people might say, 'Well, that's only a couple of points', but when it comes time to repay the principal and interest, 2 percent points will make a difference in a loan payment," says Holmes.
Something many students know...but some, like Broadwater, still choose to wait.
We asked Broadwater if she would regret her decision. "Probably so, I don't know," she said. "That depends. I mean, if I get a good job, it'll be worth it."
The increase includes Federal Plus loans for parents as well.
If you do not consolidate before July 1, you'll get a higher, variable rate, about a quarter of a point less than the new fixed rate.


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We're not surprised at the news that Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is locked in at a running time of 140 minutes — at least 20 minutes longer than it should be to achieve that coveted $300 million mark Paramount wants for it. But that's nothing compared to the film's production stills, the most dismaying of which we found couched over at Hollywood Elsewhere and you can check out after the jump.
We could buy Indiana Jones training a rocket launcher on Nazis 27 years ago in Raiders of the Lost Ark, but there's something more self-parodic than self-referential going on in the above photograph. This could very well be Paramount's stab at viral marketing, encouraging fans to circulate the artwork in pursuit of the most ludicrous caption invoking the "good old days," relative star-power, women drivers, erectile dysfunction, the film's box-office prognosis... you get the idea. For our part, we're happy to play along, and we hope you will, too — it's the only thing really sustaining our interest at this point.
- 140 Minutes Plus [Hollywood Elsewhere]


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The Ripon Police Department has been seeking community donations to help purchase a drug-detection dog. The department's first drug detection dog, Topper, retired after a very successful career.
On Oct. 31, two Ripon girls, accompanied by their proud father, came to the Police Department to donate their hard-earned recycling money to the department, toward the purchase of a new drug-detection dog. B'elanna and Aidan Morriss presented Chief Ed Ormonde with the money they saved. Ormonde gratefully accepted the money from these outstanding citizens.
B'elanna, 11, and Aidan, 10, eagerly told officers that they wanted to donate the money to the Ripon Police Department to help police catch "bad guys" and to help stop drugs in Ripon. The girls said their grandmother contributed money also to, in their words, "keep our town safe."
"We are proud to see young Riponites contributing in ways that are heartwarming expressions of concern for their community," Ormonde said.
Location, ST | website.com


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2016 Summer Research Applications are Closed!
About CG at Penn
The HMS Center's mission today may be broadly defined as the study of computer graphics and animation applied to the creation, animation, and utilization of human characters, crowd modeling and control, and computational connections between language and action. The Center's research is well-represented and cited in the mainstream computer graphics literature. HMS exists to promote first quality research
Recent News
CG@Penn Selected to be a 2014 CUDA Teaching Center by NVIDIA
CUDA is a parallel computing platform and programming model that enables dramatic increases in computing performance by harnessing the power of NVIDIA® GPU accelerators. CUDA Teaching Centers are recognized institutions that have integrated GPU computing techniques into their mainstream computer programming curriculum, and [Organization] was recognized for its commitment to advancing the state of parallel programming education.
As a CUDA Teaching Center, [Organization] will have access to NVIDIA GPU hardware and NVIDIA parallel programming experts and resources, including educational webinars, an array of teaching materials, and access to the NVIDIA CUDA Cloud Training Program.
CG@Penn Ranked Highly Among Animation Schools
UPenn is ranked as the #4 Animation school program on the East Coast and #9 nationwide.
DMD Junior and teammates make final rounds of the Disney Imagineering Competition
Congratulations to DMD Junior Emre Tanirgan and his team, Kesif, on making final rounds of the Disney Imagineering Competition as well as being featured in The Daily Pennsylvanian!
SIGGRAPH Asia 2013
Congratulations to Tiantian Liu for having two papers accepted to SIGGRAPH Asia, one on Anatomy Transfer and another on Fast Simulation of Mass-Spring Systems!
Senior Capstone Projects 2012-2013
This year's seniors completed an impressive and broad set of projects, each one conceived and completed independently. For details, click here!
Web Technologies Spring 2013
This past spring, a group of DMD and CIS students put together two impressive web applications as an independent study. See an overview of the projects here!
Recent Interview with Dreamworks TD and CGGT Alum Ruhi Sinha
CGGT alum Ruhi Sinha talks about her experience as a Lighting TD on Dreamworks Animation's most recent movie, The Croods. Read the article here.
Congratulations DMD 2017!
Congratulations to the students admitted to the DMD class of 2017 including: Daniel, Aliza, Irem, Nicholas, Meghana, Marshall, Madeline, Minjae, Richard, Zhiyu, Nicholas, Chloe, John, Henry, Valerie, Alyssa, Sarah, Nancy, Paul, Sacha, Albert, Daniel, Conor, Loren, Lynda, Joshuah and Ji Hoo!
Upcoming Events


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SARG27044 wrote:Was there this fall and all baskets are back....Not sure on the damage but looking at the courses around here, it wouldn't surprise me if there was. Hey, maybe a big tree or two fell and made a bridge.....
claya wrote:What's the course record here?
1semenking wrote:There may be a gentleman hosting a tourney there this year with $1000 added cash. I have spoken little of this to anyone. He wants to make sure that it will be done right and be successful. He wants it to be a fundraiser for course improvement. We may get those zip-lines after all!!!!
claya wrote:What's the course record here?
really wrote:The Donator wrote:claya wrote:What's the course record here?
55 with one witness...
Witness here
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text:
University of Alabama and Shelton State event cancellations
Performances and other events cancelled due to severe weather
Published: Thursday, April 11, 2013 at 2:58 p.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, April 11, 2013 at 2:58 p.m.
Threats of severe weather leading to the closing of both the University of Alabama and Shelton State Community College mean performances and other events have been cancelled today.
Theatre Tuscaloosa has cancelled its 7:30 p.m. performance of the comedy "I Hate Hamlet" in the Bean-Brown Theatre at Shelton State. As offices are closed, patrons should call 205-391-2277 after 9 a.m. Friday.
This afternoon's reading/signing of Tom Cherones' new comic novel "The Hardly Boys: The Mystery of the Golden Goblet, set for 1-3 p.m. at Reese Phifer Hall on the UA campus, has been canceled. Rescheduling plans have not been set, but Cherones has another reading planned for 1-3 p.m. Wednesday April 24 at the Tuscaloosa Public Library.
The 2013 Windgate Fellows Exhibition reception in the Sarah Moody Gallery of Art, originally intended for tonight, has been rescheduled for a week from today, 5-7 p.m. in the gallery at 103 Garland Hall on the UA campus.
As of 2:15 p.m., tonight's performance of Helen Edmundson's play "The Clearing" is still on for 7:30 p.m. in the Allen Bales Theatre on the UA campus.
Reader comments posted to this article may be published in our print edition. All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged.


text:
Share Photo
Skateboarder Danny Way of Encinitas set a world record for a free fall jump called a bomb drop when he jumped off the neck of the guitar in front of the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas in 2006. Way landed on a 40ft+ ramp in the parking lot in front of thousands of people.
— K.C. Alfred


text:
cydisc11895 wrote:First, you need to find an image hosting site for your image. There are several hosting sites out there where you can upload images for free. I use photobucket.com for mine. Once you have set up an account and uploaded your image, you merely post the image link using the "img" feature and it will magically appear in your post.
1. Sign up for an image hosting site. Some common hosts include Photobucket, Flickr, and Imageshack. I use flickr because it uses my yahoo login.
2. Upload your picture to the image hosting site.
3. Copy the image link (URL) provided by the hosting site.
4. Paste the link into the message body, then highlight the link and click the "Img" tag at top. Preview.


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BATON ROUGE – A total of 11 LSU football players have received an invitation to compete in the annual NFL Combine which will be held Feb. 22-25 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Click here for the original story.
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County retreat on helping camp owners on road feds fail to maintain
BERLIN — The county commissioners acting in their capacity as selectmen for the Unincorporated Place of Wentworth Location shifted their opinion at their Oct. 9 meeting on whether or not they would be in favor of spending accumulated funds to solve an ongoing erosion problem that jeopardizes the embankment of the Magalloway River and thus Chapel Hill Road, both owned by the Umbagog National Wildlife Refuge.
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Thursday night a meeting gave local residents a chance to voice their concerns about obesity, and it provided a forum to discuss ways of initiating weight loss community-wide.
Linda Crowe says she's glad her family attended an open dialogue on obesity.
"It was very nice to see most of the principal, a lot of the teachers here so they can continue to educate students and especially their parents in the importance of health education," says Linda.
"We have too many of our young people who are at risk of obesity and we need to change that. Over the past 10 years there has been and increase," says Superintendent Bill Montford.
And that's why so many came out to this town hall meeting, to discuss ways of cutting down on obesity among our young people.
"We definitely need to as a community increase physical activity, improve our nutrition. We need to expend more calories and take in fewer calories," says John Agwunobi, Secretary for the FL Department of Health.
During the meeting, Tim Tankersley, director of nutrition services with Leon County Schools, said there have been changes made to many school menus. He says the pizzas now have low-fat cheese.
For hamburgers, beef patties with proteins are used, and for dessert the options include low-fat brownies and baked potato chips, not fried.
Many health professionals in the audience say the road to lowering obesity rates start at home.
Obesity in Children
Cause of Obesity
General Suggestions
Physical Activity Suggestions
Source: http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/topics/obesity/calltoaction/fact_adolescents.htm (The Surgeon General's Call to Action Web site)
"A four year old does not have a clue about nutrition, His choices are gonna be based on the last Ad that he saw. It's the parents role to provide a balanced meal, It's the child responsibility to decide how much of that meal they're gonna eat."


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Christmas Music
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Glory in the Highest
Chris TomlinRegular Price: $9.99 Special Price $5.00Add Your ReviewSinger Chris Tomlin releases his first Christmas album, Glory in the Highest: Christmas Songs of Worship. Recorded over two nights in Nashville, Tomlin gathered a community of worship leaders and artists to lend their voices to this special live recording. Featuring familiar... Learn More
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Cowboy Christmas: Holiday Favorites from the Great American West
Jim Hendricks$9.99Add Your ReviewJim Hendricks is a multi-instrumentalist who plays guitar, mandolin, dobro and autoharp. His career has spanned over four decades of American Music. He was a pioneer on the 1960's folk circuit, performing with such artists as "Mama" Cass Elliot and John Sebastian. He wrote t... Learn More
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Vail official report: 6 inches in last 24 hours, 3 inches overnight.
Vail Daily field report: On ungroomed Zot, it felt like a foot or more.
Liftline Status: Gondola One was jam packed this morning, but the maze takes less than 10 minutes to get through.
Weather: Still snowing slightly, but the sun looks like it's ready to poke through the clouds. It's cold again, which is a good thing with all this powdery snow we're enjoying.
Breakdown: Chair 4 is running! We've been waiting all season to get to the top of the mountain, and the good things come to those who wait. Most of the terrain off mountain top is open, including Christmas, Swingsville, Espresso, Cappuccino, Whistle Pig and Zot. A lot of it is ungroomed with plenty of powder to find.
Snowcast: There's a-slight change it's going to continue, then we'll get a break for a few days until Friday,-when NOAA says we can expect more. -


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Justin Kan rose to Silicon Valley fame five years ago as star of the one-man, always-on Webcast Justin.tv. He then spun that out into two companies with millions of users: TwitchTV, an online community for gamers, and SocialCam, which lets smartphone owners create and share videos.
The serial entrepreneur's latest creation is decidedly less glamorous: Finding people to clean other people's toilets. But he's convinced that Exec can be something big.
As part of the new "sharing" movement that's creating marketplaces for short-term contract workers, the company "lets anyone go and do whatever they're good at," the Yale physics graduate said.
Exec began last year as a glorified errand service akin to TaskRabbit, which lets people post miscellaneous jobs that temp workers can bid to perform. But, Kan said, a significant chunk of customers' requests centered on housecleaning, so he dedicated an entire page of the company's website for those services.
"If you go through the experience of booking a cleaner, there's a lot of picking up the phone, seeing who's available when," said Kan. "Our goal is to take away that pain."
Users of Exec's mobile app or website punch in their addresses and the number of bedrooms and bathrooms to be cleaned. They then see a slate of potential dates and an estimated cost for the job. Exec's two-person crews bring their own "green" cleaning supplies to the user's home or office.
Others in the mobile-maids-on-demand business include Getmaid and Pathjoy, the latter of which touts cleaning services as low as $20 an hour.
Perhaps befitting its name, Exec's services are pricier -- Kan quotes $130 for a two-bedroom home, which he said typically takes two hours to clean. "It's a little cheaper than some of the guys like Molly Maid or Merry Maids, but it's in the upper tier," he said.
Still, after three months, the cleaning service already accounts for about a quarter of Exec's customers, though Kan won't say just how many that is. And while help with odd jobs and errands is available only in San Francisco, the cleaning crews also cover Berkeley, Oakland and San Jose.
Paul Graham, co-founder of tech incubator Y Combinator, calls Kan "a seasoned veteran" of the valley's startup scene -- a seasoning process that began when, at age 23, Justin.tv suddenly garnered Kan attention from the likes of CNN and USA Today. Graham added that while Exec might seem like a departure for Kan, it has a lot in common with his previous startups.
"You probably think of it as a service business, whereas Justin & Co. are trying to make it as much of a software company as they can," Graham said. "Like Amazon: Amazon is not a retailer, it's a software company that sells people things."
Like many other "sharing economy" startups, Exec checks the criminal backgrounds of its contractors to boost customer confidence. Kan's temps -- called "Execs" -- earn $15 to $20 an hour, depending on experience, with no health insurance or other benefits.
But Julio Artiga, who started landing jobs through the company in early 2012, said he has no complaints.
"Working for Exec is actually really exciting, because you get to make other people's lives easier," said the 32-year-old Daly City resident.
Artiga signed up with Kan's outfit after a stint in nonprofits and a short-lived startup of his own. Through Exec, he's run errands, helped people assemble their Ikea furniture and cleaned dozens of homes.
"We cater to a lot of people who work in the tech industry, somebody who's chained behind the desk," he said. "They want to come home to a house that's clean."
Exec's customers also tend to skew on the young side, company officials say.
"A lot of people in this day and age look for ways to optimize their time so they can do the things they love," said Daniel Gross, 21, the CEO of a s schedule-planning startup called Cue. He's hired Execs to clean his San Francisco apartment and fetch occasional grocery items.
Gross calls Exec "an arbitrage market for time," noting that people can buy and sell what, especially in the go-go Bay Area, is an increasingly valuable commodity.
As for Exec's 300-plus contractors, Kan said, "We can aggregate enough work to make it flexible, so you can work as much or as little as you want." Exec's mobile app shows workers what jobs are available when; dibs are awarded based on skill level.
Artiga said the typical Exec pulls 20 to 25 jobs a week. Compared with his old nonprofit gig, he said, "I'm making more money, and I'm enjoying what I do a lot more."
But do people look down on him for cleaning houses?
"It's kind of the opposite," Artiga said. "You go around the city and people notice the Exec jackets -- and the jackets are pretty sweet."
Contact Peter Delevett at 408-271-3638. Follow him at Twitter.com/mercwiretap.
For more information on Exec's services, go to http://iamexec.com.


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This time of the year seems to come upon us so quickly. When visiting Whispering Pines Bed & Breakfast this weekend, be sure to spend a few hours the the 42nd annual Algonquin Mill Fall Festival in Carrollton Ohio. The festival is about a 15 – 20 minute drive from our Bed & Breakfast.
There will be quality Artisans demonstrating their craft and delicious out door made food, so come hungry. On the grounds are log cabins, a schoolhouse and an old bookstore that will be open for touring. In addition, music, dancers, wagon rides and antique cars and tractors will be on display.
The festival begins on Friday, October 12th and runs through Sunday, October 14th.
On your way to the festival, stop by the McCook House, a Civil War museum on the square in Carrollton for a tour.
Have a great fall weekend.
I'll look forward to seeing you soon,
Whispering Pines Bed and Breakfast ——————————-


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I'm trying, to copy parts of a drawing in another drawing, but it doesn't work. I tried the copy and paste (strg+c / strg+v) but it doen't work. Does anybody know, how to fix my problem.
I hope you understand my problem, because my english is not so good.
Thanks for your help


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"I think this is really putting the focus on children's mental health as a child issue," says Dr. Paramjit Joshi, the president-elect of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. She notes that "about 50 percent of lifetime mental illness starts before the age of 14."
Dr. Joshi says 3 out of 4 people with mental illness develop their condition -- including bipolar disorder, depression and schizophrenia -- by young adulthood when the intricate structures of the brain are taking shape. But fewer than half receive treatment.
The president has called for a new initiative -- which would need congressional approval -- that would provide mental health first aid training for teachers and set up a robust referral system for children with mental health and behavioral problems.
Mike Fitzpatrick, executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, says that training is critical: "People say: 'Oh, we saw the signs,' but no one knows what the next steps are. And that includes families and caregivers and teachers and resource officers. So to go into the communities and offer training on what to look for, how to spot the signs of mental illness and where do you go to get assistance: This, in many ways, would be a game changer."
Obama's proposal also points out that a startling number of children have direct experience with gun violence: 22 percent of 14 to 17 year olds in the U.S. have witnessed a shooting in their lifetime, and the plan calls on Congress to direct some $25 million to help traumatized students.
A separate initiative would aim support at older teens and young adults -- ages 16 to 25 -- in need of help who can get lost in the tumble of college or a first job.
But mental health experts say that while it's critical to recognize the first signs of mental illness, it's just as important that children and their families have health insurance that guarantees them coverage for treatment.
That problem was supposed to be addressed, in part, in 2008 when then-President George W. Bush signed the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act. It requires employers with more than 50 workers to offer mental health coverage that is on par with medical benefits. But writing the regulations has proved difficult: There has been disagreement, for example, over a lifetime cap on the number of therapy visits for people with depression.
In the meantime, advocates say that people with mental illness have languished under temporary rules that have barred patients from a full range of mental health services. That's set to change now. One of the executive actions the president signed yesterday included a vow to issue final rules sometime next month.
Chuck Ingoglia of the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare says the rules will apply to nearly every type of insurance, from state Medicaid programs to employer coverage to individual health plans sold under the Affordable Care Act. Among the so-called "essential benefits" will be mental health care. "We're hoping a final rule on parity will make it very clear about the scope of services that are offered. ... The whole intent of the parity law was that if you need mental health and addiction services, that it should be available to you."
Those rules won't require congressional approval, but much of the president's plan to improve mental health services – and his other gun-related proposals – will hinge on support from House Republicans, who vociferously oppose the administration's health policies, especially implementing and funding the 2010 federal health law.
Still, the NRA and a number of Republicans have said they support addressing the nation's fractured mental health system, and advocates for the mentally ill say they anticipate far less political resistance. The total package of mental health proposals in the president's plan total some $155 million in federal spending. And the modest scale, those advocates say, might just be something everyone can agree on.
Republished with permission from Kaiser Health News. This story was produced in collaboration with NPR.


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This shirt was actually inspired during a bout when two skaters lovingly exchanged motivational quips back and forth. You got to love having the bench next to the pivot line.
"Scrimmage-ify": This option includes your name & number on the back as well as your numbers on the sleeves. Put the shirt on and go, no stinky markers, no shifting arm bands. Get on the track and go! "Scrimmage-ify" customizations are WFTDA/MRDA compliant.
**Please double check all spellings, numbers, and spacing.**
Unisex & Women sizes are available. Unisex shirts are longer with a more generous sleeve. Women are shorter in length with a shorter sleeve. Based on customer feedback, sizing tends to run big, but Derbyology recommends ordering true to size.
White shirt with black graphic or black shirt with white graphic available.
Shirts are extra-soft, scrimmage-weight, 100% pre-shrunk cotton.
Shirts that are scrimmage-ified can not be returned due to customization.


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Mary L. (Zeigler) Kipe, 72, of 213 Senior Drive, Shippensburg, Pa., and formerly of 11245 Gehr Road, Waynesboro, Pa., passed away Sunday, June 30, 2013, in Chambersburg Hospital, Chambersburg, Pa., after a 19 year battle with cancer. Born April 19, 1941, in Waynesboro, she was the daughter of the late Norris L. and Catherine (Matthews) Zeigler. She was a lifelong resident of the Waynesboro area. She attended catholic high school in Emmitsburg, Md., however she stopped to care for her disabled mother and her family. She and her husband of over 52 years, Mr. Robert S. Kipe, were married Feb. 25, 1961, in Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church, Harrisburg, Pa. Mrs. Kipe was a homemaker who enjoyed reading Stephen King novels and visiting the New England coast to whale watch and explore lighthouses. In addition to her husband, she is survived by two children, Jeffrey S. Kipe and his wife, Nicole and Robin L. Francis and her husband, Bob, all of Waynesboro; one granddaughter, Haley R. Sites; one brother, Ronald Zeigler, a resident of ManorCare Health Services, Chambersburg. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by two sisters, infant Carol Zeigler and Frances Baker; and two brothers, Andrew Zeigler and Robert Zeigler. Services will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, July 8, 2013, in Grove-Bowersox Funeral Home, 50 S. Broad St., Waynesboro. Burial will follow in Harbaugh Church Cemetery, near Rouzerville, Pa. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service, Monday morning, in the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to: The American Cancer Society, Franklin and Fulton County Unit, 384 Floral Ave., Chambersburg Pa. 17201. Online condolences may be expressed at: www.bowersoxfuneralhomes.com
Location, ST | website.com


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Home › Hair & Nails › Nails › Nail Polish
Deborah Lippmann Walking on Sunshine Creme Nail Polish
Lively Luminous Lemon
Bold. Dynamic. Full of Life.
Hit rewind. This summer, we're going back to the 80's, where pop ruled and rock rolled. Introducing the 80's Rewind Collection for Summer 2014 featuring six bold, dynamic, vivacious creme shades to revive the decade with a full burst of energy and color to the max. Paint them on. Top the charts.


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An advantage to free software is that it is an environment where competition can thrive, choice is always available and different solutions exist for the same problem. However, it's also fair to say that free software is disadvantaged where competition breeds, choices are forced on unsuspecting users and diverse technologies fight each other.
Examples of this are GNOME vs KDE, PostgreSQL vs MySQL, VI vs EMACS, and even GNU/Linux vs the BSDs. On the face of it, another flame war seems to be looming, in this case in the domain of the accelerated desktop, that is one of SuSE's XGL vs RedHat's AIGLX. Various commentators and observers have caught onto this and there are hints at the beginnings of a press feeding frenzy here. However, upon closer inspection of these technologies, I have discovered that they are not quite as confrontational as it would first appear.
To explain, I need to go into the background of the current (or old as it may be now) relationship between the X Windows System and accelerated 3D graphics.
The story so far
The X Windows System was originally designed really as a mechanism for 2D graphics of the type needed for web browsing or word processing. It works on a "client-server" relationship—the terminal (screen, keyboard and mouse) being a "server" process, and the X programs (browser, word processor, card games, etc.) being "clients" that connect to the terminal server, creating windows the user can use to interact with the program. It does this using a protocol designed for the purpose. (I have described the X Windows System in quite a lot of detail in my article "What is X".)
X-Windows also has the capacity of being able to run the X-Server (screen, keyboard and mouse) on one machine, while the X-Clients (word-processor, browser, etc.) can run on another; the communication between the two uses the aforementioned protocol and is carried over a TCP/IP network.
Then along came 3D accelerated graphics. This, in short, transferred the processing required to display graphical detail from the main processor to the processor on the graphics card, or the GPU. To facilitate this, the GPU exposes a series of APIs or functions to the program that, when called, performs the necessary operations needed for the user to play first-person shooter games and blow up the appropriate baddies. Or, for the more serious, it would enable you to represent three-dimensional models of certain architectures using computer aided design programs.
In the Unix and POSIX world, the set of APIs used is the OpenGL functionality, originally from Silicon Graphics.
To facilitate this a library suite called "libGL" was created. This was implemented in a number of ways. One was the birth of the Mesa library. This included a sort of wrapper library, which exposes a set of OpenGL functions to the graphical program, simply translates them to X calls, and then transmits the data to the X-Server using the X protocol. Although this provides the logical functionality of OpenGL, you lose all of the performance enhancements of a proper 3D renderer, making it too slow to use for the majority of applications requiring graphical acceleration. However, it is still useful, because it implements the entire OpenGL API. Therefore, any small functionality of OpenGL, which isn't provided by a method described later, can use this library to implement it. In short, it can now be seen as a fall-back library to guarantee compliance with OpenGL.
The second is the use of a mechanism in X called an extension, which enables add-on features to be included in the protocol. An extension intercepts OpenGL calls and generates special packets, which mirror the functions generated by the client processes (such as CAD programs or 3D games). The extension then encodes them and passes them to the server (screen, keyboard), where a module in the X-Server process reads these packets and calls the appropriate process on the real 3D rendering GPU.
This extension is called "GL-X", and the mechanism described is known as "Indirect Rendering". Be careful not to confuse "GL-X" with "XGL", they are two different things.
Although this functionally produces a solution, for many applications it isn't always a practical one. When you're in the pits of hell with monsters coming at you from all directions, your ammo down to a handful of rockets, a couple of machine-gun clips and maybe a banana, the game program needs to instruct the screen to update countless thousands of polygons a second or else the game is simply unplayable. The program needs to stream directly to the GPU. Indirect rendering, even when the display is on the same machine as the game program, is simply too slow. And, you will get eaten.
A means of "Direct Rendering" needed to be incorporated into the X windows environment. And it was.
To achieve this the "networking" functionality of X was put aside. Direct rendering occurs when GPU functionality is called directly from application programs. Memory could well be shared between the renderer and the application. But, this is not feasible over a network; and, if an X-program was run on a separate machine, acceleration either did not occur or the GL-X method was used.
The way this works is the GPU vendor provides both the X-Server display driver and their own version of the "libGL" library. Windows are created, destroyed and manipulated using the existing X protocol, but when the meat of the program is required to manipulate the polygons rapidly within the window itself then the modified "libGL" library accesses the functionality in the GPU directly.
This involves a fairly sophisticated infrastructure to work, especially when considering the current X protocol mechanisms. To standardise this, something called the Direct Rendering Infrastructure (DRI) has been created. The idea behind it is that this would give a base from which independent hardware vendors could build 3D accelerated graphical drivers for X.
It is worth noting that hardware providers who support OpenGL for X in any way almost certainly would support the Direct Rendering method. As the vast majority of X-Servers run on the same physical machine as the X-Clients or programs that connect to it, GL-X is currently the exception rather than the rule.
Demand for composite managers
The current accelerated solution stated above would provide the functionality to allow a game to be run in full-screen mode, or the body of the window to display accelerated graphics. However, as machine power and expectations rise, there is a demand for the windows management itself to be accelerated. This would provide effects like: placing realistic shadows behind drop down menus and having the menus themselves fade in and out of existence; or for control to be switched from one virtual window to another while giving the impression the windows are on the face of a cube and you are turning the cube. Even things like: having the background of a window being transparent, enabling you to see what is happening in windows behind it; or for scaling windows, that is making it, and its contents, larger and smaller and zooming in and out of it.
To achieve this the "window manager" needs to be replaced by a "composite window manager", and greater interaction is required between the X protocol and the 3D renderer to allow this. Two free software solutions have come forward: XGL (X-to-OpenGL) which is sponsored by SuSE/Novell; and AIGLX (Accelerated Indirect GL-X) which is championed by RedHat.
When I first heard about these two competing solutions my immediate response was "Oh no! Not ANOTHER flame war...". But once I examined the two of them, I found that they're not as mutually exclusive as it first seemed. To explain why I'll go through a summary of how each works and the differences and similarities between them.
Both achieve their goals by making good use of the "composite" extension of the X protocol. This allows windows to be drawn to pixmaps in memory rather than to the screen directly. Once this is done, another program can then take the pixmaps and do wonderful manipulations with them, such as: blending a window with its background window, giving the appearance of transparency and translucency; performing three dimensional manipulations, giving the appearance of rotating and flipping; or even simple things like making the entire window bigger and smaller effectively "zooming" it.
XGL is conceptually the simpler of the two, though probably the more technically complex. It's a "traditional" X server that, instead of displaying its results on a monitor, interprets the display and calls the appropriate OpenGL APIs; the OpenGL driver physically interacts with the screen, keyboard and mouse.
The current implementation of XGL is XGLX. This is both an X server and an X client. To use it you need a "real" X server running that supports accelerated OpenGL rendering, and the only program (or X client) that connects to it is XGL—which is acts as an X server for all of the other X programs to connect to. In the future however, the project plan is to replace XGLX with XEGL. This replaces the "real" X-server with a process that writes directly to the Linux frame buffer.
SuSE/Novell have created a special "composite window manager" that interacts with XGL so that composites of the windows can be displayed on the screen using the accelerated graphics.
Rather than recreate the wheel—as XGL does by rewriting the X-Server—this project attempts to modify the current X-server mechanism so that it can handle accelerated windows management. This appears to take less work than you might think (though it's still substantial).
In this model, the "composite window manager" calls a special OpenGL API, which translates into a slightly extended GL-X protocol, even if direct rendering is installed. These are then transmitted to a slightly modified X-server, which handles the actual composites itself and performs all of the fancy effects.
The extensions to GL-X to create AIGLX largely seems to involve the composite elements. At the moment, to create a composite, the X-client program transmits windows and contents to the X-server display, which then generates the composite. This is transmitted back to the X-client program, manipulated, then transmitted back again (usually through the DRI if OpenGL is supported) to be displayed.
An extension that AIGLX provides is the ability to transmit just the pixmap manipulation commands to the X-server display so the manipulation can occur there, eliminating the need for data to be carried back and forth, significantly improving performance.
Advantages and disadvantages
There are in fact more similarities between the two architectures than differences. The two projects "borrow" code off each other to a very large extent. Both support new effects for composite window managers using resources in the GPU. Both support legacy 2D applications. In short, both have great promise.
At the moment, "compiz" is the composite window manager for SuSE/Novell's XGL, and a modified "metacity window manager" to include composite functionality is earmarked for the RedHat's AIGLX solution. However, once any problems are sorted out and they're complete, any composite window manager should work with either solution. Standards rule here. Both development processes are making use of the free software model, and both will probably be included in the X.ORG framework.
At the time of writing, a test version of XGL has been released into the wild while AIGLX is still very much in the developer's corner. At the time of reading, that situation may have changed. XGL has probably been widely welcomed, and is liked.
XGL was designed from the beginning to be as easy as possible for an existing OpenGL graphical card vendor to implement. Currently, as long as the card's driver can be connected to by an X-client that opens a full screen X window with OpenGL support for the body of the window, it can run XGL. In the future, it's possible the vendor won't need to produce an X-server at all, just a means of interpreting OpenGL APIs onto a display and from a keyboard and mouse. I believe it runs on all cards that currently support OpenGL acceleration through the X windows system.
AIGLX is far more an incremental improvement of the existing X-server drivers rather than a rewrite of them. However, for it to function correctly, alterations often need to be made in the vendor's OpenGL drivers themselves, many of which are proprietary so it's harder to implement there than the XGL solution.
Both, as I previously mentioned, support legacy 2D X-client applications. But, currently, only AIGLX can take advantage of OpenGL Direct Rendering for games and the such. XGL is limited to the GL-X mechanism here. The reason for this is that the X-Server and the DRI mechanism need to co-operate with each other. However, in the GL-X solution, the X-Server that the X-client connects to is (currently) not the one that does the actual displaying. It'd probably be a very major hack to include this, and could simply be unfeasible. AIGLX wouldn't have a problem here because X could implement DRI the same way as it does on systems now.
AIGLX also has the advantage of giving the hardware vendor opportunities to implement more goodies such as FrameLock, Quad-Buffered stereo, Workstation Overlays or SLI. By the way, I got that list from a presentation by Andy Ritger from Nividia for the 2006 XdevConf. I don't know exactly what they are or their relevance, but Nividia obviously want to take this route toward creating a richer experience for GNU/Linux desktop users.
Another kid on the block
Before signing off with a conclusion I would like to draw attention to yet another project that is not unrelated. This is the "Virtual GL" project, which is working at supporting GL accelerated applications through a TCP network. The way this works is that a GL application running on a central server uses its GPU to perform 3D rendering, but rather than displaying the resulting pixmap on a screen there (which could be thousands of miles from the person running the program) it decodes and compresses it and streams the display to the remote user's machine which uncompresses it and encodes it on the screen.
This project is still in its development phase, but it looks promising. Running full blown shoot-em-all, fast-car, wizzing OpenGL games on a remote machine may be possible after all!
Going back to the XGL vs AIGLX confrontation, the news is there really isn't one. Both compliment each other and help each other; and not just in the extensive code sharing the developers are involved in. They share far more similarities than there are differences. XGL is easier to implement for hardware vendors who want to exercise minimal development effort in GNU/Linux solutions, and AIGLX is good for those who wish to take the desktop experience to new heights.
I am looking forward to witnessing GNU/Linux being taken to new places by both projects.
Comments from old system
From: Tuukka Hastrup
Date: 2006-02-27
Subject: Some critique
Thanks for a nice overview of the current developments! I think GL-X is usually spelled GLX, however. And it's "compositing window manager" rather than "composite window manager".
I don't know how important it is to describe the exact current state of Xgl and AIGLX as they develop fast, but as you delve into DRI: What matters most is hardware acceleration, and Xglx does provide hardware-accelerated OpenGL to its clients, although indirect. This is different from the old indirect which is software-only Mesa. Further, Xgl provides accelerated XVideo too.
I'm sure you tried to balance your words to be neutral, but in the end the article leaves the feeling "Xgl may be here now but AIGLX will beat it," as heard from Red Hat versus Novell. Perhaps it was the part about Xgl recreating the wheel vs. AIGLX taking less work. Which ever way it is, I hope the better alternative wins! If AIGLX takes less work, it'd be interesting to know why it's lagging behind.
From: Craig
Date: 2006-02-27
Subject: Not SUSE
It's a bit unfair to attribute XGL to SUSE. It's been developed by the Novell Linux Desktop team, who were previously Ximian. NLD is based on SUSE, but it wasn't a SUSE development.
From: Nobody
Date: 2006-02-27
Subject: Lame
X Window System, _N_O_T_ X WindowSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS System.
From: Ananda
Date: 2006-02-28
Subject: Don't be so picky
I think this was a great article and it taught me a lot. I think that, if you find the need to comment about something so trivial, you must have a lot of time on your hands.
From: anonymous
Url: www.microsoft.com
Date: 2006-03-01
Subject: Great!
Thanks a lot for the info.
There is so few information out there I encountered about X.
It is good to know that GLX and AIGLX is good for X performance.
Anyway, my impression of X is still it is very slow compared to Windows.
Can you create a new article about X performance compared with Windows? Why Windows is so snappy? This is obvious and everyone should know so that X development will get accelerated.
Here are my bad impression about X:
- Why have a network component if it is not needed? It looks elegant that we can display in the network but it is not needed most of the time. It is impractical and just slowing things. Just make it a plugin.
- If kernel component of X could help accelerate things, why not do it so it can beat Windows? This will have a very big impact if X can beat Windows in terms of performance in GUI part.
- I am willing to forget compatibility for performance. Anyway, I think kernel always do a re-write also (from 2.4 -> 2.6). Maybe X should also to improve it.
Thanks again for the great article.
From: anonymous2
Url: none
Date: 2006-03-08
Subject: X Networking
Making the networking in X a plugin is simply not possible, as windows on your local machine are also created by connecting to your localhost.
Try this:
Kill all your X-servers currently running (by killing gdm or kdm), then disable your localhost-interface by running "ifconfig lo down".
Now go ahead and start your X-server.
Networking is not a "feature", it's a necessarity.
From: Luke
Date: 2006-03-03
Subject: 2 Questions
Hello, I have got a couple of questions.
1) You say that "An extension that AIGLX provides is the ability to transmit just the pixmap manipulation commands to the X-server display so the manipulation can occur there, eliminating the need for data to be carried back and forth, significantly improving performance."
As opposed to Xgl which uses the GLX_EXT_texture_from_pixmap extension to do the pixmap manipulation on the GPU, right? So here it seems to me (correct me if i'm wrong) that while AIGLX puts the pixmap manipulations at a higher level (which I assume means window compositing), Xgl manages to put the pixmap manipulations straight onto the GPU. If there's no extra overhead Xgl wins here then?
2) I don't completely understand this paragraph on OpenGL games: "Both, as I previously mentioned, support legacy 2D X-client applications. But, currently, only AIGLX can take advantage of OpenGL Direct Rendering for games and the such. XGL is limited to the GL-X mechanism here. The reason for this is that the X-Server and the DRI mechanism need to co-operate with each other. However, in the GL-X solution, the X-Server that the X-client connects to is (currently) not the one that does the actual displaying. It�d probably be a very major hack to include this, and could simply be unfeasible. AIGLX wouldn�t have a problem here because X could implement DRI the same way as it does on systems now."
I think you're explaining why the GL-X solution that Xgl relies on is no good. But why does Xgl rely on the GL-X solution for OpenGL games?
Well, great article! helped me to make some sense of the difference between AIGLX and Xgl.
In-Kernel X server and XGL's reliance on GLX
Various reasons in-kernel X servers are bad ideas:
1. There is code in X that is not GPL, only GPL code can go in the Linux Kernel.
2. In-kernel X servers would be more platform specific than the current approach, splitting X developers across platforms.
3. If X crashes, so would the whole OS.
4. Security concerns.
5. Most importantly, the speed increase would be trivial compared to the effort and complications.
XGLX renders to the screen directly and composites _X11 windows_. This prevents the ability to composite DRI windows (accelerated programs like games) (since they draw to the _GPU_ and not to _X11 windows_).
The idea is, AIGLX allows the acceleration of indirect apps. So even games (and other GL apps) get drawn to X11 windows (at acceptable speeds). And since they are drawn as X11 windows, they can be composited.
If you run XGL, you have to use XV for video playback, and OpenGL apps in XGL are slow. But everything is composited, and it works _now_. I guess XGL will also implement indirect rendering (so everything is fast again), but since it uses the same method as AIGLX, my guess is that it will only support graphics cards that AIGLX does.
If you run AIGLX, You can use GL for video, fast GL for games/etc, and everything is composited (the end goal). The only catch is it doesn't work on the proprietary video drivers (yet).
Actually according to
Actually according to Wikipedia AIGLX works on the current nVidia drivers, just not the old "legacy" ones. Its ATI that is lagging behind.
AFAIK, XGL uses indirect
AFAIK, XGL uses indirect rendering for all GLX applications (including compositing manager). AIGLX uses indirect operations for compositing manager. What about other GLX applications?
Re: X Networking (not used locally)
Just to correct the post from old archives about running "ifconfig lo down", but not to comment about the former post asking why networking (I find it very handy to run an application remotely, I do it every day at home).
X doesn't require networking to work. Actually you can even run the X server with the option -nolisten tcp.
Locally it uses unix sockets and not localhost, and it's helped by different extension protocols like X-SHM (shared memory). If *your* gdm/xdm does not start correctly after a ifconfig lo down, that's more because of some not really useful dns resolution that fails, maybe for remote X sessions handling.
Of course if you run something with DISPLAY=localhost:0 instead of DISPLAY=:0 that would force using network for local display, and you'd lose a lot of acceleration.
GLX , what video card to use
I've been using ATI and NVidia cards with their proprietary binary drivers for some time. I am unhappy with having to re-compile/install the proprietary drivers after every kernel update. When I go to re-install I usually put in an updated binary driver with unexpected results. By the time you do a kernel update your video card is too old to be supported in the latest binary driver meaning you have to find the old version somewhere.
I've heard that the new INTEL G965 chipset is open-sourced. Is there anyone here that has actually run one? How is the G965 3D performance after a kernel update?
I've also found an Open hardware implementation video card advertised. I wonder if it has half the 3D performance of my older 9200 radeon or NVidia Gforce4 mx?
ATI and NVidia binary drivers also have had problems with power-management such as sleep and standby modes (sometimes they don't wake up)
Using the free MESA drivers is the most reliable but the 3D performance is only half way there as of 2006.
"I've also found an Open
"I've also found an Open hardware implementation video card advertised. I wonder if it has half the 3D performance of my older 9200 radeon or NVidia Gforce4 mx?"
I can't tell for sure if you are referring to the Open Graphics Project. Of course, it doesn't exist yet, but when it does, it's expected to be roughly competitive with the ATI Radeon 9200 or so (it probably won't be much faster, but it shouldn't be slower).
It'll be awhile before OGP cards are "price/feature" competitive with proprietary cards (the project officially denies this as a goal, though I think it will be the result in the long run -- eventually the open source advantage will overwhelm the short production-run problem). In the meantime, the principle market for OGP cards will be people who are willing to pay a little extra for the openness of the hardware (specification and implementation).
how about some repsect to naming?
you seem to have not yet learn it is called X Window
please repeat it about 25 times before you ever write anything on X topic
Look at your own mistakes before pointing at others.
In your title... look at the fourth word. What is this? I can't find "REPSECT" in my dictionary. Strange. Maybe you meant RESPECT, am I right? Well... it seems you too lack respect, but not in the same way/meaning as the author of this article.
Also... please repeat the word PONCTUATION about 25 times in your head before your ever write anything on any topic.
Is it just who find's this
Is it just who find's this little tizz hugely ironic? Pot, Kettle, black etc.
It's "PUNCTUATION"... ;-)


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NAPA -- Going up?
The Raiders seem to think they are, even though expectations from the outside world have never been lower as players report for training camp Wednesday at the Napa Valley Marriott.
After a 4-12 season and with salary-cap restraints weighing on them, general manager Reggie McKenzie and coach Dennis Allen changed the offensive scheme and overhauled the defensive personnel.
They hope the Raiders will be leaner, meaner and more serious about what it takes to win when they hit the field for their first practice Friday at Redwood Middle School.
Allen hasn't spent a lot of time talking about the team's public perception, but he did address the critics when the club finished its mandatory minicamp in June.
"I know there's a lot of experts out there that might think differently, but I like this football team," he said.
Profootballtalk.com ranked the Raiders as the No. 32 team in the NFL. ESPN analyst Ron Jaworski rated presumptive starter Matt Flynn as the No. 32 quarterback in the NFL.
Although the Raiders haven't had a winning season since 2002 -- a run of 10 non-winning seasons -- the fan base might have been deluded into thinking victory was near in the two previous offseasons based on 8-8 records under Tom Cable and then Hue Jackson.
But instead of being playoffs contenders, the Raiders might not even have been as good as their 4-12 record in 2012, given that three wins came against Kansas City (twice) and Jacksonville, teams that finished 2-14.
Rebuilding the organization after owner Al Davis' death in October 2011 has turned out to be more difficult than McKenzie and Allen expected.
"It was Year 1 for all of us -- for Coach Allen, for myself, for our owner, Mark Davis," McKenzie told the Raiders' flagship station, 95.7 The Game. "(Allen) went through some growing pains, as well as I. This year he's much more comfortable. The way he wants his team to look, his staff, his philosophies, is much smoother."
While not looking to take on the critics, the Raiders have adopted more of a "we know something you don't know" approach and plan to let their hard work speak for itself on the practice field and on game days.
When Flynn and the passing game received less-than-favorable reviews during offseason workouts open to the media, McKenzie told 95.7, "I really don't pay a whole lot of attention to that. Sorry about that, beat writers. If you were really good I'd probably get you in one of these scouting jobs."
Flynn seemed only dimly aware during organized team activities that little was expected of the Raiders.
"I don't know what's being said outside these walls, but I think if people are doubting us then we're definitely going to be underrated," Flynn said.
Middle linebacker Nick Roach, brought in from the Chicago Bears to be the defensive signal caller and to give the Raiders the kind of presence they never got from the departed Rolando McClain, thinks detail and attitude can work wonders.
"In the NFL, the talent margin is so slim that if you can get a group of guys together that just want to be around each other and care about it, it's just a matter of getting everybody on the same page as fast as possible," Roach said. "After that, anybody has a shot."
Free safety Charles Woodson, returning to the Raiders after seven seasons in Green Bay, sees a staff serious about doing things the right way, similar to what he experienced with the Packers in winning a Super Bowl.
"It's about trying to set a tone and making sure you're busting your tail like you're going to win every game, because nobody is going to give us a shot this year to do anything," Woodson said. "If we practice in a way that's going to help us win games, it doesn't really matter what anybody else says."
Defensive end Lamarr Houston, who is considered a building block for success, liked what he saw in the offseason.
"I think we look great. We have a lot of new players, and I think we're jelling real well," Houston said.
Safety Tyvon Branch, who along with Houston is the only surefire returning starter on defense, said, "I don't care if you're coming back with 22 returning starters. You never know what the next team is doing. Every year is an unknown. Every season is a new season."
For more on the Raiders, visit the Inside the Oakland Raiders blog at ibabuzz.com/oaklandraiders. Follow Jerry McDonald on Twitter at Twitter.com/Jerrymcd.
online extra
Jerry McDonald breaks down Raiders' training-camp roster, with position-by-position scouting reports.


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Philippine Banker Hints At Rate Increase
The Philippine central bank is dropping hints that it's preparing to tighten monetary policy — perhaps as soon as next week.
After Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen surprised markets overnight Wednesday by suggesting an earlier start to U.S. rate increases than anticipated, the governor of the Philippine central bank hinted he could move sooner rather than later as well.
"We see early measured adjustments in monetary policy as ideal. Gradual rather than discrete movements would be less disruptive and would help businesses plan better," Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Gov. Amando Tetangco Jr. said Thursday.
"Even as domestic inflation over the policy horizon remains within target, measured adjustments may be warranted given external developments, including the heightened geopolitical risks that could result in volatility in international commodity prices," he said.
Barclays Capital said it's possible the BSP could make a pre-emptive move as early as its March 27 meeting. More realistic, though, is the idea of a rate increase or a rise in banks' reserve requirements at the BSP's May 8 meeting, Barclays said.
"Increased hawkishness suggests BSP's preference is to move pre-emptively," Barclays said.
More In Philippines
- Philippines Pushes Indonesia for Return of Drug Convict
- Filipina Convict's Death Already Written In Ink
- President Aquino, Boxer Pacquiao Ask Indonesia to Spare Filipina's Life
- Video on Typhoon Haiyan: The Philippines One Year Later
- After a Year, Typhoon-Ravaged Tacloban Still Awaits Aid
- Indonesian Smartphone Makers Gain Ground on Samsung
The Philippine economy roared ahead last year, growing 7.2%, the fastest rate in Asia outside of China. The government is projecting gross domestic product growth of 6.5%-7.5% for this year, while the World Bank forecasts 6.6% growth.
Consumer prices rose 4.1% in February, a tad slower than January and around the midpoint of the central bank's 3%-5% target for 2014. Still, in recent months prices have risen quite a bit above last year's average inflation rate of 3%.
Bernard Aw, an analyst at Singapore's Forecast Ltd., agreed that the central bank would likely raise rates in May.
"The buoyant domestic demand conditions do provide room for a policy interest rate hike without affecting the Philippines' economic growth prospects," Mr. Aw said. "Furthermore, the monetary authorities believe that a preemptive response will minimize the overall impact of rising inflation on domestic economic activity by helping to anchor the public's inflation expectations."
Still, many analysts believe the BSP won't begin "normalizing" policy rates—which it cut in October 2012 to record lows of 3.5% for borrowing and 5.5% for lending — at least until the third quarter.
Central banks around Asia are beginning to consider tightening policy as the prospect of higher interest rates in the United States sinks in. Central banks in India and Indonesia have raised rates repeatedly since last summer's taper-related selloff underscored the need to reduce current-account deficits.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand raised interest rates earlier this month, becoming one of the first developed-world central banks to tighten policy since the global financial crisis. Moody's Analytics senior economist Glenn Levine pointed to the Philippines, Australia, South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan as likely follow suit later this year and into 2015.
"Rising rates will offset some of the capital outflows triggered by the U.S. Federal Reserve's moves to unwind its monetary stimulus, so most regional Asian currencies should finish the year only slightly weaker than they began it," Mr. Levine said.
Others think the BSP won't move at all this year.
Luz Lorenzo, an economist at Maybank-ATR Kim Eng, said that with domestic inflation expected to ease in coming months and a string of natural disasters late last year potentially weighing on growth, the Philippine central bank won't tweak monetary policy before 2015.


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By Skye Ziemke
Last night while shopping at a local big box store, the picture shown above caught my eye. Now, I know that the picture was not meant to be humorous but for some reason it made me laugh. My eldest son was with me and felt it was a fairly accurate portrayal of the potential danger caused when a Christmas tree is shoved into a doorway and blocks an exit. I can see his point. For me it was just one of those funny and ironic moments. A friend and I had just recently discussed the growing number of moms who were taking up the sport of running. I had stated to my friend that I did not enjoy running and couldn't be made to do it for any reason. Yet, as I looked at this sign, I realized my statement had been untrue. If my doorway ever looked like that, with flames pouring out at me, I would run just like that little stickman!
It is true though, isn't it? This passion for running has enveloped our nation. A group of women in my neighborhood now all train together. They even have a name, like My Neighborhood Mamas Who Run. It's cute, if not cliquish. I am happy for (and only slightly envious of) them. I could tell you how a fall on ice when I was 5 months pregnant with my middle son, ruptured my quad tendon, requiring emergency surgery and leaving me with permanent knee issues to explain why I don't run. Actually, I did just tell you. But to be honest, I just don't think running is fun. It isn't my thing.
If you are a runner, that is great and I am as proud of you as I am of these neighborhood mamas. Not so long ago, I realized how much I have allowed things like not becoming a runner to diminish my self-worth. Silly, isn't it? It was nothing anyone said to me, just something in my own heart. Many of my friends also do not care to spend their days training to run the Chicago marathon and I am pretty sure they don't feel like lesser women for it. But there are other things that I know get to them sometimes. Maybe they aren't as crafty as others (curse you, Pinterest!), can't bake to save a life, or are all thumbs with the knitting needles.
We need to give ourselves a break and the freedom to find our "thing".
It is so easy to be swallowed up by the role of parent. For me it has been very important to remind myself that I am allowed to keep my own identity and not just be "Mom". I also want to show my children that I have goals and dreams still. If your dream is to run a triathlon, well then, color me impressed!
As I work on finding my own niche, my own goals and dreams (a process I hope is ever evolving and developing) I need to work on how I view the goals and dreams of those around me. I want to applaud and value the strengths I see in others, not use them to harshly judge myself.
So, good job running-mamas across the nation! Sorry to hear about your days of blisters, ill-fitting shoes, and bad weather. I am proud of you! I also promise that I too will run if needed. If, for example, that Christmas-tree-shaped fire in the doorway becomes a reality, watch out! I will be setting land speed records on my way down those stairs!


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(Reuters) - A timeline of key Major League Baseball doping milestones:
Aug 22 - A jar of androstenedione is discovered in the locker of St. Louis slugger Mark McGwire, who admits he uses the steroids precursor. McGwire goes on to hit a then Major League record 70 homers. Performance-enhancing drugs were not illegal in baseball at that time.
April - MLB implements its first random drug-testing program in the minor leagues.
Aug 30 - Major League Baseball's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program unveiled. Policy calls for "Survey Testing" in 2003 to gauge the use of steroids among players. No one will be...


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Yarns for Felting:
Brown Sheep Beauties
- Nature Spun
- Lamb's Pride Worsted
- Lamb's Pride Bulky
- Handpaint Originals
- Effective Yarn Combinations
- Where to Buy These Yarns
|Combining Different Yarns
|You can achieve wonderful felting effects by stranding two different yarns together. The example below was made with one strand of Lamb's Pride Worsted and Hand Paint Originals.
Here are some more yarns you can blend with Brown Sheep yarns for successful felting.
|Where to Buy
|The following online shops sell most of the yarns referenced here.
eKnitting.com: Classic Elite, Brown Sheep, and Cascade.
Green Mountain Spinnery: Only shop in this list that carries Green Mountain Spinnery yarns.
Halcyon Yarn: Classic Elite, Reynolds
Monarch Knitting: Carries Bryspun Kid-N-Ewe, Cascade, Brown Sheep, Classic Elite.
Patternworks: Classic Elite, Reynolds, Brown Sheep, and Cascade.
Add your comments
Reader comments
"Enjoyed your review of Brown Sheep and felting. I have been felting for about 10 years and I believe that Brown Sheep yarns are the most consistant and reliable. Since I felted the garments for customers I needed something that was going to tulrn out the same each time. I am getting back to building my knitting business and hope to be able to afford to get Brown Sheep again. For machine knitter info it takes 2-3 cones of Nature Spun for a short to medium jacket. The handpainted yarn is most delicious and could be added as a yoke to keep prices reasonable."
Yolanda D., 02/12/01


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Thursday, May 27, 2010
Barley Risotto With Sopressata, Wild Mushrooms And Baby Spinach
OK, I lied. Cooking Light (May 2010) had a recipe for bacon and wild mushroom risotto with baby spinach that I thought could use a makeover, so I used what I had on hand to do the deed. First of all, while I'm a HUGE fan of regular risotto made with Arborio rice, I felt like I could do better from a nutritional standpoint. I think I've mentioned before that hubby and I are both trying to fend off diabetes and as pre-diabetics I'm trying to do everything possible to make sure that we don't slide down that slippery slope and end up full-fledged Type 2 diabetics. That's why you see so many recipes on my blog that incorporate whole grains. I'm not just jumping on the trendy, whole-grain bandwagon here folks; this is real life for me and my guy and I mean to go down fighting, or even better yet, not go down at all.
Research shows that barley's fiber promotes healthy blood sugar by slowing glucose absorption and insulin response. And at the risk of repeating redundancy (can I even do that grammatically?) I'm going to remind you that any time you eat something that slows down your digestion and glucose absorption, your tummy stays full longer. (Think weight loss!)
Enough nutrition. Let's just focus on how tasty this dish was. The barley takes on the creaminess of traditional risotto, but is left with just a little tooth (think al dente pasta.) The sopressata lends crispy, crunchy saltiness, and the cremini and dried mushrooms add an earthy deepness that stands up to the slightly firm texture of the barley. Toss in the spinach (another freakin nutritional powerhouse) and some pungent Asiago cheese and you've got yourself a taste bud's fantasy.
Barley Risotto With Sopressata, Wild Mushrooms and Baby Spinach
1 oz dried wild mushroom mix (mine was from Trader Joe's and actually weighed ,88 ounce)
1 1/2 cup boiling water
4 cups chicken broth
4 ounces Sopressata, finely diced
1 TBSP olive oil
3/4 cup onions, diced
4 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup pearl barley (not the instant kind) rinsed
1/3 cup white wine
4 cups fresh baby spinach, roughly chopped
2 ounces grated Asiago cheese
salt and pepper
In small bowl combine dried mushrooms and boiling water. Let sit for 15 minutes. Strain, reserving liquid. Chop mushrooms and set aside. Pour reserved liquid into a medium saucepan. Add the chicken broth and heat until hot, but not boiling. Keep broth warm on medium-low heat.
Heat a large sauce pan over medium heat and add diced sopressata. Stir and brown until crispy and meat has rendered its fat. Remove meat with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel.
Add olive oil to pan. Add onions, season with salt and pepper and saute for 5-6 minutes or until onions become translucent. Add fresh mushrooms and thyme and saute until mushrooms have lost their moisture. Add garlic and reserved soaked and chopped wild mushrooms. Saute for another minute or two. Add rinsed barley and saute for another minute. Add wine and cook until wine has been absorbed. Add broth by the 1/2 cup and stir until absorbed before adding another 1/2 cup. Barley takes a full 45 minutes to cook, so you'll be adding broth and stirring for this entire time. At the end of 45 minutes, stir in the chopped spinach and cook for one minute. Remove pan from heat and stir in cheese. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed. To serve, spoon risotto into bowl and top with reserved sopressata.
6 comments:
- Lyndsey said...
All these flavors sound terrific! I almost bought some barley to day, but this elderly (really elderly) lady was taking too long in front of the bins trying to get some oats....way too long. I didn't get it. I'd love to try this!
- May 27, 2010 at 10:42 PM
- June said...
Love risotto made from barley and this one looks exceptional! Thanks Mags.
- May 28, 2010 at 10:07 AM
- Magdalena said...
Oh My God ! It is a pleasure to read your recipe ! Pearl barley! Do people in the U.S. know this ? This is one of national Polish cereals, used for soups, accompaniment to meat, for stuffing and so on. So common here ! And even some time ago I saw (but on Polish culinary blog) a risotto with some barley. I really enjoyed your recipe, I am bookmarking this. I love barley ! Have a nice evening.
- May 28, 2010 at 5:04 PM
- Velva said...
Holy cow! Your risotto looks fabulous. Yum!
"Baby poo on top of doggy barf" Did I miss something? :-)
- May 28, 2010 at 6:40 PM
- Jenn (Fungus Fun) said...
Thanks for all of the nutritional information in your post! I happen to love barley and mushrooms! I can't wait to try this...one question though, do you know which kind of mushrooms were in your mix? Could you substitute fresh mushrooms for dried? Thanks!
- January 22, 2011 at 10:32 PM
- Mags @ the Other Side of 50 said...
Jenn: I couldn't tell you right off hand what was in that bag of dried mushrooms, but if you just want to skip those, just use the other fresh cremini (baby portabello)mushrooms called for in the recipe. You might also need to add another cup of chicken broth.
- January 23, 2011 at 10:38 AM


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Large Cottages
Please find below a selection of large holiday cottages in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Ideal for big groups and large parties, all of these spacious properties sleep at least 8 people and have a minimum of 4 bedrooms. Our largest cottages have up to 12 bedrooms and can sleep 32 people. Whether you are on holiday with a large group of friends or you are taking the entire family (and several relatives!) away, then these huge cottages have all the space you need.
Our big holiday cottages also offer great accommodation for hen nights and stag party weekends, as well as weddings.
Small Party Reductions are available in many of our larger
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We also offer cottage
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