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Elizabeth Meriwether
The creator of smash hit New Girl spends days (and nights) writing jokes, wrangling stars and caring very little about Hollywood glamour
THERE'S A GIRL POWER PHENOMENON happening in Hollywood. As studio executives green-light a flurry of comedies by young writer/producers—such as Mindy Kaling of Fox's The Mindy Project and Lena Dunham of HBO's Girls—Elizabeth Meriwether, the 31-year-old creator of the sitcom New Girl, has emerged as the most far-reaching talent among this new vanguard. Now in its second season, nothing has found the sweet spot of critical acclaim and high ratings quite so well as the Fox hit, whose fall premiere last year was the network's most-watched in a decade.
It's likely that viewers first tuned in owing to the appeal of lead actor Zooey Deschanel. But in its sophomore season, New Girl blossomed into the rare show that enjoys both a mainstream fan base and a cult following. What started as a standard post-Friends ensemble revolving around four Los Angeles roommates—loosely based on Meriwether's early twenties—has found its footing with a unique comic voice that borders on the absurd without feeling out of touch.
Raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Meriwether studied play-writing at Yale before moving to New York, where Fox (owned by News Corp., which publishes WSJ. Magazine) recruited her through a writing program. New Girl was only the third pilot she had ever written, the kind of lightning-strike success that's virtually unheard of in the entertainment industry. As a showrunner, she serves as the executive producer while also overseeing all the daily elements of bringing the show from the writers' table to the screen.
Meriwether doubted whether she could helm a weekly show without any prior television experience but quickly adapted. "When you have to make a show every week, no matter what's going on in your life, you just figure out a way to make it happen," she says.
Making it happen, for Meriwether, means approving every wardrobe choice, making sure every joke lands and sitting with the editors for every cut. There's nothing resembling Hollywood glamour in her day, which often begins before dawn and stretches into the late hours—with food and showers an afterthought. But during those long spans at the writer's table and behind the camera, her quirky, unvarnished charm, easily recognizable to any viewer of the show, shines through—Hollywood's new girl, come to life.
Corrections & Amplifications
Liz received tulips at her office. An earlier version of a caption in the accompanying interactive identified the flowers as roses.


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Ok, so who out there has a white ceramic owl perching on their bookshelf? I love how chic and modern these little owls look, but until now I hadn't found the right one… for the right price. Until one day a few weeks ago I stumbled upon this cute little owl at Ross. It was $1o.99 and I knew I had to have it. I put this little guy in my shopping cart and drove home happy.
But the thing is, this isn't what the owl looked like when I purchased it. What sat in my cart was definitely not very modern or chic. It actually looked like this…
I achieved this makeover by I giving my little owl one coat of spray primer and two coats of white glossy Rustoleum spray paint. Bam. Modern chic in just one afternoon. (Now can my whole house please be transformed that quickly?)
But it gets better. I didn't want my little owl to be lonely, so I bought him a friend.
I think they make quite the pair, no?
Since completing this project, I have seen similar white owls at HomeGoods and West Elm, and the prices are actually pretty close to what I paid for my DIY version.
And don't you think my little bird just completes the set? So glad I found him.
So moral of the story is, never under-estimate the power of spray paint or the potential of an item on clearance!
Linking to some of the parties here along with Today's Creative Blog, TipJunkie, Home Stories A 2 Z, Funky Junk Interiors, The Shabby Nest, My Repurposed Life, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Thrifty Decor Chick

subset: commoncrawl


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ABC alum tapped as prexy overseeing all aspects of the network
After interviewing numerous candidates for the top job at the CW during the past six months, CBS and Warner Bros. execs quickly realized what they wanted for the position — and what they didn't want.
With Dawn Ostroff's decision to exit as entertainment prexy, the CW partners seized the chance to alter the net's exec structure, putting creative, business and administrative operations under the purview of a single leader. That made the job search harder — until Mark Pedowitz's name popped up.
The ABC alum, who was formally named prexy of the CW Television Network on Thursday, was a perfect fit with CBS and WB's vision for a second-generation CW topper.
Pedowitz brings broad business and strategy experience from his years at ABC, plus he spent five years immersed in creative issues as the prexy of the ABC Studios wing. And just as important as his resume, he comes to the table with strong relationships with the two execs who are the CW's primary overseers: Warner Bros. TV Group prexy Bruce Rosenblum and CBS senior adviser Nancy Tellem.
"He's the perfect executive to help us take the network to the next level, a key content driver with vast experience in all disciplines," Rosenblum said.
For Pedowitz, the opportunity to take the reins of an established net with oversight of programming, marketing, advertising sales, distribution and other key areas was an opportunity he couldn't resist.
"What appealed to me is that it's a new challenge," Pedowitz told Variety. "There's a great brand here and great people who have really fulfilled the promise of this network. And I think there's a lot more potential here. … The two partners, Warner Bros. and CBS, are people who understand the broadcast business and the production world. I couldn't be happier to have the chance to work with people who truly get it."
Thursday marked Pedowitz's first day in the C-Dub's Burbank office, though he's been reading scripts and otherwise doing due diligence on his new gig for the past few weeks. Pedowitz's negotiations with the CW's parent companies heated up in mid-March once it became clear that Ostroff was preparing to ankle at the end of this season after nearly a decade with CW and its UPN predecessor (Daily Variety, March 21).
Since the net's inception in 2006, Ostroff had run programming while chief operating officer John Maatta spearheaded the business side, with both reporting to the board that oversees CW. Maatta now will report to Pedowitz, as does Thom Sherman, exec veep of drama programming. Sherman, who previously worked with Pedowitz during their respective tenures at the Alphabet, is expected to be formally granted additional programming responsibilities in the near future.
Pedowitz's appointment marks a new chapter for the CW in that he's the first leader to come from outside of the net's WB Network and UPN legacy. When those netlets merged in 2006, the parent companies agreed to split the leadership between UPN alum Ostroff and Maatta, who had been with the WB Network since its formative days in 1993. Pedowitz now brings a fresh pair of eyes to CW, and he is known for his skill as a dealmaker and strategist.
Among the major issues Pedowitz's will have to deal with first is the void in CW's marketing department once Rick Haskins, exec veep of marketing and brand strategy, departs the net in August (Daily Variety, April 28).
Pedowitz's appointment should quiet the persistent rumors that CBS and WB are poised to pull the plug on the net, hatched through the merger of the WB and UPN in fall 2006. Insiders said there's never been a discussion of folding the tent; both sides have a vested interest in keeping it going. CBS needs the primetime programming for its eight CW O&Os affiliates, while both partners make money from off-net sales and international licensing of the programming they produce for CW.
CW has been in a stable place for the past 18 months or so, after slumping in the 2007 and 2008 calendar years. For this season, C-Dub is averaging about 2 million viewers in primetime, flat from last year, and a 1.0 rating/3 share in its target adults 18-34 demo, according to Nielsen.
CW has made strides this season in squeezing more advertising coin out of online plays of its primetime programming on its website. It makes the bulk of its slate available online with the same volume of advertising as the shows carry on the air and has been successful in pitching online and on-air time to advertisers as a single ad buy. Pedowitz said he's noted the net's leadership in the digital arena.
"Our needs are greater in the digital world because of our (18-34) audience," Pedowitz said. "There are great growth opportunities there. Our digital convergence strategy is light years ahead of the other nets, and it's born out of necessity, which breeds great innovation."
Pedowitz had been working as a producer on the Warner Bros. lot after exiting the Disney-ABC TV Group fold in early 2010. There was speculation from the moment he relocated to the studio's lot that he would eventually wind up in a WB-related exec role.
He takes over the CW after a nearly 20-year run at ABC, starting out in 1991 in business affairs and capped by his 2004-09 stint as ABC Studios prexy. Although he does not come from a traditional creative background, Pedowitz developed strong relationships over his years at ABC with a range of scribes and producers.
"Mark is a rare breed — a chief who actually trusts the creators he works with no matter what insanity pours from their minds," said Damon Lindelof, co-creator and exec producer of "Lost," who worked closely with Pedowitz on the ABC Studios series. "His faith and support were invaluable in completing the six-year journey that was 'Lost.' "
Producer Mark Gordon, who has long been based at ABC Studios, credited Pedowitz with being a good listener and a great champion of creatives. Gordon said he was impressed by how Pedowitz handled the learning curve when he shifted from the ABC network to the studio side.
"He's a great collaborator," Gordon said. "He listens. He has strong opinions but he's also very good about allowing people who are supervising the shows to do what they do. There's real give-and-take with Mark."
Gordon said he also admired Pedowitz's decision to work in the trenches after he left ABC. The exec's Pine Street Entertainment banner has a few projects set up around town, including a pilot in contention at Lifetime.
"With Mark there was none of this 'I'm a senior-level executive — I'm not going to go out and schlep my wares,'?" Gordon said. "He didn't put together a big (staff) entourage. He just went out there and did it. But that's Mark. He just embraces the process and always wants to learn as much as he can."
In making the official announcement of Pedowitz's appointment, Tellem saluted Ostroff for her role in honing the network into an alternative to the Big Four with a laser focus on young femmes.
"Since its inception, Dawn and her team have built the CW into a brand-name destination for young female viewers with franchise shows as well as forward-thinking marketing campaigns," she said.


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Created in this Craftsy class
Exotic Sugar Orchids taught by James Rosselle
Bring a touch of the tropics to your cake creation with an arrangement of delicate sugar blossoms, accented by graceful leaves, bamboo stems and fondant pebbles.
Other projects made as part of this class:
Cake DecoratingOrchid Cake
Cake DecoratingOrchid
Cake DecoratingWedding Cake
Offer some kudos...
Join the conversation...
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|Here are some details about my project:
|Cake Decorating
|Gum Paste
Beautiful orchids!
Thank you, Vagabond Baker! :)
Wow, beautiful
Thank you, Anna1255! :)
Very beautiful ,I love the way how you took the pic ,did you attend classes for that ..
11/20/2012 Flag
Thank you La petit sweets! You're too kind! I did not take any class for photography, just trials and errors pretty much.
11/20/2012 Flag
This is aweson,I can't catch my breath
11/21/2012 Flag
awww,, Thank you so much, nwagboony1065915! You're too kind!
11/22/2012 Flag
Wowwwwww this is a beutiful beutiful. Cakee!
09/06/2013 Flag


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Mid-Carolina Rifle Club meets monthly on the second Monday of each month at
Meetings start at 6:30 p.m., but feel free to come early to chat, have dinner, and enjoy fellowship prior to the formal meeting. To find information on the next meeting check the calendar. You can get directions to the meeting from the map here.
Mid-Carolina welcomes all individuals interested in the shooting sports to join our club. Just looking for a place to shoot? That's fine too! Individuals interested in joining need to attend a monthly meeting and join at that time.(PLEASE SEE BELOW FOR APPLICATION - MUST DOWNLOAD and COMPLETE) (applications are not available at the meeting) Prospective members are required to hold membership in a nationally recognized shooting organization such as the NRA, GOA, SAF, or JPFO. MCRC can supply the necessary applications to satisfy this requirement. (you must bring your membership ID card to the meeting for verification)
Additionally, new members must attend a range briefing after application to the club has been accepted and approved at the meeting. You need to attend the briefing that will be scheduled after the meeting. Payment is required at time of application submission. We currently accept; Cash, Check, or Money Order. (WE DO NOT accept credit cards)
The following levels of membersip are available:
You must download a PDF version of the application that you must fill out on your computer before printing to bring to the meeting (form is a fill able PDF). Be sure to bring the COMPLETE Application to the meeting as well as supporting documents.( applications are not available at the meeting ).
(Requires Adobe Reader 9.1 or higher which can be downloaded below)
Download Application--> (Right click and choose Save Link/Target as..) (If you try to open in browser the form will not show correctly and you will not be able to fillin the form)
(Current Members - DO NOT USE THIS FORM TO RENEW! you must use the Renewal Form)


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Mixed Media
Sapporo International Art Festival
Sapporo is generally known for three things: snow, ramen and beer. These things, and festivals such as the Snow Festival or City Jazz, are what draw more than 14 million tourists to the city every year. However, as the production of real materials increasingly moves ...


text:
Created in this Craftsy class
Master linear perspective and learn to draw landscapes accurately using simple tools and classic techniques.
Other projects made as part of this class:
Offer some kudos...
Join the conversation...
Ask a question...
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|Here are some details about my project:
Hello napgar, Welcome to Perspective in Landscape Drawing. Congratulations on posting your first project. It is a lovely drawing, your scrupulousness in depicting the two trees in the foreground is not only delightful but gives the viewer a clear visual cue about pictorial depth. In terms of pictorial depth, you will need to be just as attentive to the depiction of those elements that comprise the middleground and background. In this instance, the fields [middleground] and mountain [background]. The middleground is not distinguished from the foreground due to the similarity in detail; it seems to be foreground still. [It may be that this is true, for example, the artist is standing on a hill where the middleground cannot be seen and than the background appears. If that is the case, there needs to be certain visual cues to let us know that.] The lines, and shadow mass, that describe the distant mountain are of equal weight as those that describe the foreground trees unintentionally confusing the distance. Would you mind giving everyone a bit more information: size of sketch pad, paper used, pencil hardness, reference [was it done plein air or from a reproduction?], etc. Please see the latest General Announcement on this matter. Look forward to seeing your next drawing.


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Content from our sponsor Please note: The Wall Street Journal News Department was not involved in the creation of the content below.
Deloitte Insights for CIOs couples broad business insights with deep technical knowledge to help executives drive business and technology strategy, support business transformation, and enhance growth and productivity. Through fact-based research, technology perspectives and analyses, case studies and more, Deloitte Insights for CIOs informs the essential conversations in global, technology-led organizations.
Transitioning support for a new, mission-critical system from an implementation partner to a low-cost application maintenance provider may save a company money in the short term, but the switch in vendors may erode the value the company derives from the system over the long term. It's also likely to overwhelm organizations already exhausted from a barrage of technology and process changes.
Outsourced IT staff comprise a significant portion of the IT workforce at many companies, both in quantity and capability. Yet most CIOs pay little attention to their outsourcing provider's talent strategies. As a result, they can easily get blindsided when third-party vendors make staffing decisions that sacrifice client service for profit.
Many CIOs select one vendor to implement an application and another for ongoing support, yet using the same vendor for both can yield numerous benefits, including more stable applications and better vendor support.
Economic pressures are forcing more CIOs to trim their application maintenance budgets. As they reduce application maintenance costs, they increase the risk of potentially damaging outages. The following strategies can help them cut costs while mitigating risk.
CIOs tend not to recognize the importance of helping offshore IT resources feel like they're part of the onshore team. Yet careful integration of onshore and offshore staff is central to effective outsourcing arrangements and can separate those that simply provide low-cost labor from ones that deliver tangible business value.
When renegotiating an IT service contract, CIOs should resist the urge to play hardball and create a win-win situation for both parties. Why? Because if you push your supplier to give in one area, you may find yourself giving—often unexpectedly—in other areas.
As companies' reputations and day-to-day business operations become inextricably tied to the third parties with which they do business, the need to manage the risks associated with using them grows more urgent. Consider the following strategies for helping to mitigate the four most common and serious risks associated with IT outsourcing.
Businesses are becoming increasingly reliant on third-party IT service providers to help accomplish their objectives. Meanwhile, their third-party service providers may be outsourcing to third and fourth parties, sometimes without their clients' knowledge. As external providers take on more of corporate IT departments' day-to-day operations, regulators are stepping in, with an eye on outsourcing risk.
CIO Journal has the focus of a trade journal with the global resources and
expertise of The Wall Street Journal.
CIO Journal has the focus of a trade journal with the global resources and
expertise of The Wall Street Journal.


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Cashel® Cool Crusader™ Fly Mask with Ears
The Cashel® Cool Crusader™ Fly Mask with Ears offers coverage from insects and the elements. Durable, breathable mesh covers the ears, eyes and cheeks from biting flies, gnats, mosquitoes and other pesky bugs. UV protection helps guard against sunburns. Read more...
The Cashel® Cool Crusader™ Fly with Ears is shaped and bound for comfort. Single hook-and-loop closure allows for quick on and off and a secure fit. Made with a soft nylon micro mesh that blocks 70% of the sun's damaging UV rays while it prevents insects from landing on your horse's face. Shaped and sewn to prevent mask from rubbing the horse's eyes. Hole for forelock lets the hair hang naturally.
Premier product - this product is not eligible for any discounts off the purchase price.
100% Satisfaction Guaranteed - Your Money Back Any Time, for Any Reason.
Smith Brothers is proud to offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee on all of our products. We stand behind the quality of our products, and should you not be satisfied with your purchase, simply return it and we will refund, replace or exchange it for you.


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Virtual system patterns fully automate the deployment of complex applications and platforms while taking advantage of best practices, therefore the most important technical role in virtual system pattern development is that of the application deployer.
The application deployer is the subject matter expert on:
- Identifying application prerequisites (both hardware and software).
- Understanding the solution architecture from the perspective of high availability, scalability, failover and fault tolerance.
- Applying best practices for application deployment and understanding the installation and configuration bottlenecks.
- Installing all components of the application.
- Scripting the installation of application (using shell, Jython, DDL scripts).
- Administering prerequisite middleware and software products.
- Running basic functional tests on the application.
Ideally, the application deployer will have enough prior installation, deployment, and configuration experience to identify the automation touchpoints of key manual tasks and to also build into the pattern industry best practices. For example, if most customers or users run with a specific Java™ virtual machine (JVM) heap size in WebSphere®, then this setting should be built into the pattern.
So let's examine some suggestions about the process of planning and designing a virtual system pattern; we'll try to provide helpful commentary at each point. Topics we'll cover include:
- Key concepts in VSP design, such as elasticity, topology, orchestration, and security.
- Some of the important technical aspects when deploying a virtual system pattern:
- Identifying and mapping runtimes to pattern components.
- Incorporating native components into your pattern.
- Reusing existing assets such as scripts and tooling.
- Sizing virtual disks.
- Three ways to extend the functionalities of the base image catalog available in IBM PureApplication System by utilizing script packages, built-in extend/capture tooling, and the Image Construction and Composition Tool (ICON).
- Best practices in the iterative approach to pattern development and testing.
Key pattern design concepts
Review these concepts when designing and developing a virtual system pattern:
- Elasticity
- Topology
- Orchestration
- Security
Let's discuss each in more detail.
Elasticity in a cloud environment involves automatic horizontal and vertical scaling of your application via dynamic assignment of resources. In a virtual system pattern, WebSphere Application Server environments can be made elastic by using the Intelligent Management Pack (IMP) feature in IBM PureApplication System.
The IMP feature can grow or shrink a WebSphere Application Server cell in a virtual system pattern on demand, based on service level agreements or performance metrics described via policies. An example of how IMP achieves horizontal scaling is when it detects a workload spike in the WebSphere Application Server cell, that might starve out current CPU capacity, it will automatically provision a new WAS node to meet workload demand. Furthermore, IMP is flexible enough to implement vertical scaling when configured. In order to fulfill a response time SLA to prevent performance degradation IMP can trigger the starting of new JVMs in a WebSphere cluster.
If elasticity is a requirement for your application, then consider using the IMP-enhanced WebSphere Application Server environment in IBM PureApplication System.
Figure 1. Selecting IMP enabled WebSphere images in a VSP
If existing topological best practices have been applied within your current environment, these will be relevant to the virtual system pattern as well.
For example, if you use a clustered WebSphere Application Server setup with 8 JVMs and in-memory session replication as your best practice for production, then the same applies to the production flavor of your virtual system pattern.
For a devtest flavor of the virtual system pattern, you may choose a single server configuration and smaller heap sizes on JVMs.
As part of designing the virtual system pattern, it is helpful to create a diagram of the topology in which each product is listed (along with the number of VMs per product) and the relationship between each VM is reflected; for example, if WebSphere Application Server needs to connect to an MQ server, then this communication should be reflected in the topology diagram.
Figure 2. Documenting the topology of the VSP in a diagram
Once a topology has been identified for the virtual system pattern, the next logical step is to list the actions that are needed in each VM to orchestrate the standup of the system. And the order of each action should be determined as well.
Figure 3. Determining order in which topology is orchestrated
For example, if your application's install process requires that a database should be up and running with a schema in place, then it would make sense to orchestrate database setup before the application install process is kicked off.
To enable this kind of orchestration, virtual system patterns allow the designer to specify the order in which virtual machines are brought up and the order in which automation scripts are executed across the virtual machines.
Figure 4. Specifying orchestration order in VSP deployment tooling
It can be helpful to list these orchestration tasks, including their order, in an extended version of the topology diagram since this becomes the blueprint for the virtual system pattern developer.
Security: Directory servers
LDAP support is one of the security-related topics to consider when designing a virtual system pattern. Typically, applications do not mandate dedicated LDAP servers; most apps will connect to an existing LDAP server (such as a corporate LDAP directory) for authorizing access to protected resources. In such a situation, an LDAP server component would not be included in a virtual system pattern.
From a WebSphere Application Server perspective, connection to an existing LDAP server in a virtual system pattern can be captured via a script package that takes LDAP server information (host, user/pwd, etc.) as input parameters. The script package will automate the configuration of an LDAP connection in WebSphere Application Server via a Jython script, thereby alleviating a user of a virtual system pattern to do it manually.
Figure 5. Configuring an LDAP connection in WAS with a script package
If an application requires a dedicated LDAP server, then a new Tivoli® Directory Server instance can first be stood up using the web application Virtual Application Pattern in IBM PureApplication System and WebSphere instances in the virtual system pattern can then connect to the newly stood up Tivoli Directory Server LDAP server — script packages in the virtual system pattern can be used to configure WebSphere Application Server with the new Tivoli Directory Server.
Figure 6. Connecting a WAS instance in a VSP to a TDS server stood up by a virtual application pattern
Gathering input from other key roles in the organization
In some organizations subject matter knowledge can be spread among various roles that might require participation from a broader set of technical experts such as:
- Application architects: This can be the case if a product version migration is being done as part of virtual system pattern creation. For example, if you are upgrading versions of the application server from one level to another by migrating to a virtual system pattern, then an application architect might need to give input on potential code migration as well.
- Application testers: If your application requires complex functional and/or performance testing that is unknown to the application deployer, testers might need to be engaged to validate the proper functioning of the application once deployed within the virtual system pattern.
- Sales engineers and product managers: Employees with insights into your customer's pain points on installation, configuration, life cycle management and scaling can provide valuable input into virtual system pattern design. For example, a product manager might note that a virtual system pattern can potentially boil down a 10-day installation/configuration cycle to 20 minutes, thereby improving the time-to-market or -value. A sales engineer might point out that if a virtual system pattern can stand up a POC environment for a customer in minutes (instead of hours/days), he can reduce the average sales cycle length and demonstrate ease-of-use of your product to your clients.
A recommended best practice is to involve these "resources" in your initial meetings to gather input on design and to discover potential issues up front. As the project moves forward, link the main application deployer to the extended team in case help is needed down the line.
As with any project, non-technical roles are also involved in virtual system pattern development, such as those of project sponsors and project managers. However, descriptions of those roles are outside of the scope of this article.
Identifying and mapping runtimes
You'll definitely want to identify various runtimes in order to effectively map them to virtual system pattern components. Let's look at those processes.
Identify runtimes
The first step in designing a virtual system pattern is to identify all the runtime components (including exact version numbers) that are needed to host the target application. These typically include:
- Operating systems, including extensions such as specific RPMs on Linux® for example.
- Web servers.
- Application servers.
- Databases.
- Business process servers.
- Messaging and connectivity components such as MQ.
- Custom middleware components such as a custom C++ application server.
The first runtime to check is the operating system; ensure that it is supported on IBM PureApplication System.
Map middleware runtimes to pattern components
Once it has been verified that the required operating system is supported, then the mapping starts:
- IBM middleware components should be mapped to hypervisor editions of middleware products that are shipped with IBM PureApplication System. For example, if WebSphere Application Server V7 on Red Hat Linux is one of the runtime components, then it maps to the WebSphere Application Server V7.X hypervisor edition for Red Hat Linux image that ships with IBM PureApplication System.
- If there is not an exact match of the version number of an IBM product in the IBM PureApplication System image catalog, then an evaluation will need to be done on whether the application can run on a newer version of the product. For example, if the app runs on WebSphere Application Server V188.8.131.52 and the WebSphere Application Server image in IBM PureApplication System is at V22.214.171.124, an evaluation of the application running on the newer version of WebSphere Application Server is needed.
- If the application cannot run on the version level of an IBM product in IBM PureApplication System or if no hypervisor version of the IBM product exists in the IBM PureApplication System image catalog, then the system provides the flexibility to create fully customized virtual images.
Figure 7. Extending and capturing a base image in the catalog
- Custom images: It is possible to create a custom image of the product via the extend/capture capability in IBM PureApplication System or via the ICON tool. In this method, an operating system hypervisor core image is taken as a base and then the product is installed on top of this operating system core image. This customized image is then captured back into IBM PureApplication System for repeatable deployments.
- Support considerations for custom images: Before creating custom images of IBM middleware products, check with IBM support to ensure that such a configuration of the product will be supported.
- If a virtual system pattern component maps to a non-IBM product, then the custom images approach we've just described can be used to include a non-IBM product in the virtual system pattern.
Figure 8. Mapping products in topology to components in VSP
Incorporate native components into a pattern
Native components are products or runtimes that are not operating-system-agnostic. For example, a custom server written in C++ can be considered a native component since it may have been compiled to run on a specific operating system or architecture.
The prime point is to ensure that the native component is compatible with the target hypervisor edition operating system on IBM PureApplication System.
Native components can be brought into the virtual system pattern via a script package, extend/capture, or ICON tooling approach.
Reusing existing scripts and tooling
Virtual system patterns have been designed to maximize reuse of existing investments that customers may have made in their infrastructure and platform. Scripts that automate the install and configuration of your application will be a key asset to reuse in virtual system pattern development.
Figure 9. A diagram of script reuse
For example, if you have Jython scripts that create a WebSphere Application Server cluster, configure data sources/queue definitions, and install an EAR file, then it will be very easy to reuse such a script in the virtual system pattern environment to orchestrate the stand up of your application. The same applies to DB2® DDL or SQL files that create schemas and populate your tables with initial data; these scripts can also be easily applied to DB2 components in the virtual system pattern.
Additionally, if you have products in your virtual system pattern for which IBM PureApplication System hypervisor images do not exist, then any existing automation tooling for those products will be very useful in the virtual system pattern. For example, silent install tooling for third-party products (as opposed to GUI-driven install shields) can be reused in virtual system patterns to automate standup of non-IBM products.
Disk sizing considerations
Default configurations of hypervisor edition images come with specific disk sizes. For example, WebSphere Application Server profiles are placed in a 2GB virtual disk and the DB2 data virtual disk size is 10GB by default.
If your application requires different disk sizes, then you will need to extend/capture the respective product images in the IBM PureApplication System catalog with larger virtual disks.
A strategy should also be in place for cleaning up or rolling log files and temporary files that can cause virtual disks to fill up.
Extend and capture components in a pattern
If there is a product in your virtual system pattern design for which a hypervisor image does not exist in IBM PureApplication System (these can be non-IBM third-party products or IBM products for which hypervisor image editions do not exist), then there are three methods to capturing such a product/component in the virtual system pattern:
- Using script packages.
- Using the extend/capture method.
- Using the Image Construction and Composition Tool (ICON).
Using script packages
Script packages allow existing or new scripts to be run on VMs that are provisioned by a virtual system pattern. The reason they are called "packages" is that a user uploads a ZIP or TAR file to the appliance which can contain scripts and associated binary files, as well files upon which the script needs to act. For example, if a script package needs to execute a custom Java program, the user can upload a ZIP file that contains a JAR file along with the shell script that will invoke Java code inside that JAR file.
Furthermore, script packages can access built-in environment variables that make them more intelligent about the cloud they are running in. For example, a script package in a WebSphere Application Server VM can look up the hostname of a DB2 VM (that is also part of the same virtual system pattern) in the cloud at deployment time.
Therefore, script packages can also be used to automate the install and configuration of a third-party component on an IBM PureApplication System hypervisor image.
As to the question of what kind of hypervisor image to choose for installing the third-party product, the choices are between Core OS image and any other hypervisor image already in your pattern. Some considerations need to be made to properly answer this question.
If your third-party product can be co-located on an image which is already part of the virtual system pattern, then it can be simpler to just install the product on that existing image. For instance, if you already have a WebSphere Application Server image in your virtual system pattern and the third-party product can be co-located with WebSphere Application Server, then it will be simpler to just add the script package to the WebSphere Application Server VM.
However, if the product needs its own dedicated VM, then you use a Core OS image in your virtual system pattern and add the script package to it. A Core OS image is a blank hypervisor image with only an operating system installed on it. This Core OS image VM will be stood up as part of your pattern just like other regular IBM product VMs and the script package added to this VM will be executed to install, configure, and start up your third-party product.
So, this can be a good approach provided your third-party product binaries are not very large (at the time of writing this article, there is a 2GB limit on script package sizes uploaded from the IBM PureApplication System GUI) and provided that the install/configure of your third-party product is not very complex and can be automated with shell scripts.
Note that script packages that are larger than 2GB in size can be uploaded via the command line interface of the deployment tool. If large files or product binaries are being packaged with the script package, then it is a best practice for the script to access a network file system or central repository where large files are stored.
While script packages allow customization of hypervisor images (via scripts) at virtual system pattern deployment time, the extend/capture method customizes VMs before the virtual system pattern is deployed and makes the customized VM part of the IBM PureApplication System catalog.
If you want to set a standard baseline for a VM in all your patterns, extend/capture can be a good method to do so. For example, if the default disk size of the WebSphere Application Server hypervisor image profiles directory in IBM PureApplication System does not meet your requirements and you want larger disk sizes for WebSphere Application Server profiles, then you can extend the WebSphere Application Server image in the catalog and give more disk space to the WebSphere Application Server profiles directory. The same principle applies to any other standardization you want to do on VMs, such as having specific Linux RPMs to be present on certain VMs in all patterns.
Additionally, this extend/capture approach can be used to also install third-party products on a Core OS or an existing IBM product hypervisor image. In the extend/capture method, the image to extend is first deployed into the cloud and then manual customization (such as third-party product installation) is performed on the VM that is provisioned for the image. Once customization is complete, the state of the deployed VM is captured into the catalog with a new logical name. Then this customized image can be used in any virtual system pattern.
The extend/capture approach is preferable to script packages (for third-party products) when the installation and/or configuration of the product can not be achieved via scripts. For example, if your product is only installable via a GUI which requires human intervention, then the extend/capture approach is a good option. Additionally, in situations where you want fast on-boarding of a product in a virtual system pattern and do not currently have resources to create scripts for automated installation, then this can be a preferable approach as well.
Also, if your third-party product binaries are very large (greater than 2GB), then the extend/capture method is preferable to script packages.
You'll want to note that script packages prevent what is known as "image sprawl"; they allow you to add different "flavors" to a base image. Without script packages, even slightly different configurations of a base image would require you to go through an extend/capture process which would lead to a lot of images in your catalog.
There are some challenges to the extend/capture method.
First, the customization that a user does on the captured VM is manual, therefore it is not easily repeatable unless it is thoroughly documented. For instance, if you support Red Hat and SuSE Linux, then you will have to do this customization twice for both flavors of Linux. Similarly, if you upgrade to a new version of a hypervisor image down the line, you will have to repeat this manual customization.
Second, keep in mind that certain properties of the customized image are dynamic; they change upon every deployment. For example, each instance of an image in the cloud has a dynamically assigned hostname or IP address. If the third-party product configured on the image needs this dynamic information, an associated script package (which runs at image activation time) will have to be used to update this information in the image.
To address some of these challenges, ICON tooling can be used.
Using the Image Construction and Composition Tool
Image Construction and Composition Tool (ICON) is a tool, shipped with IBM PureApplication System, that allows for repeatable customization of a base virtual image. The extend/capture principle explained above also applies to ICON with one major difference: ICON allows for modular customization of an image via a concept known as bundles— this means that customization of the image is inherently documented and repeatable with ICON.
A bundle in ICON represents the software and configuration scripts needed to install/configure that software and runs on a base hypervisor image. Configuration scripts execute as part of image activation, therefore are capable of understanding the cloud context they are running in (such as dynamically picking up the host name of the VM). Multiple bundles can be added to an image in ICON. And bundles can be reused across different images. For example, a bundle for "product X" can be used to customize a Red Hat or a SuSE image.
Similarly, if a newer version of the base image comes along and needs to be customized, existing bundle(s) can be run again on the new base image in an automated and repeatable manner, thereby reducing the maintenance burden of customizing virtual images.
Therefore, ICON, while requiring a greater investment up front, is preferable to the basic extend/capture approach in IBM PureApplication System when multiple operating system support is involved, when repeatability of image customization is a concern, and when images are upgraded frequently.
Table 1. Which tool is best suited for what tasks
|The tool ...
|... is best suited for ...
|Script packages
|Installation of small footprint products
Products with a silent install option that doesn't require human intervention
Post-install customization steps
Ordered orchestration of topology
|GUI driven install process with no silent install option
Installation of products with a large footprint
Quicker deployment time for large topologies
|Streamlined creation of customized virtual images that can be imported into IBM PureApplication System
Installation of complex non-IBM products
Iterative development and testing
Finally, let's look at an overall philosophy for development and testing of virtual system patterns, one that also works in most IT development efforts.
It can be tempting to take a "big bang adoption" approach to developing the virtual system pattern, one in which you try to automate the standup and configuration of every component in the virtual system pattern in the first go. But this approach can be risky because it can delay the discovery of unforeseen challenges of bringing up the application in the new environment.
This will especially be the case if you happen to be upgrading to a newer or different version of a product by dint of taking a virtual system pattern approach. For example, you may discover that your application requires some tweaking to work on a different version of a product. Or that a third-party component does not function properly on a specific version of an operating system in the hypervisor image.
To prevent late discovery of such issues, it is best to take an iterative approach to virtual system pattern development. This is done by doing a manual dry run of all tasks that you want to automate with script packages:
- Deploy all the VMs in the topology to the cloud without script packages.
- If you already have existing scripts to perform configuration tasks on the VMs, run them manually by uploading them directly to the VM and invoking them by hand. If you don't have scripts yet, then do all the tasks manually (via a GUI or command line) and document any gaps you found in your original virtual system pattern orchestration steps.
- Once all VMs have been configured and the application has been manually brought up, then run some basic tests on the environment to verify the app.
- Once you have verified that the app works in the environment, then you can start creating scripts to automate all the manual steps you performed.
- If you had existing scripts, then all you need to do is to add them to script packages. However, if you did not have existing scripts, then you can first iteratively develop them on the VMs that you manually configured.
- Additionally, there is an iterative approach to testing script packages as well. Script packages can be specified to run automatically (at VM startup or shutdown) or manually from the workload deployment GUI.
- The advantage of running them manually from the GUI is that updates to script packages are picked up upon each invocation. So this allows you to iteratively test your script packages without having to redeploy the entire virtual system pattern on every change made to a script.
In conclusion
We hope this article, combined with the resources at developerWorks and in the IBM PureApplication System Infocenter, can give you a strong start in developing your own virtual system patterns.
We'd like to thank the following for their support and guidance: Kai Young, Catherine C. Diep, Shaun Murakami, Jason Anderson, and Animesh Singh.
- Learn more about IBM PureSystems™.
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For more on how to perform tasks in the IBM Cloud, visit these resources:
- Up and download files from a Windows instance.
- Install IIS web server on Windows 2008 R2.
- Create an IBM Cloud instance with the Linux command line.
- Create an IBM Cloud instance with the Windows command line.
- Extend your corporate network with the IBM Cloud.
- High availability apps in the IBM Cloud.
- Parameterize cloud images for custom instances on the fly.
- Windows-targeted approaches to IBM Cloud provisioning.
- Deploy products using rapid deployment service.
- Integrate your authentication policy using a proxy.
- Configure the Linux Logical Volume Manager.
- Deploy a complex topology using a deployment utility tool.
- Provision and configure an instance that spans a public and private VLAN.
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text: Click on the Royal Caribbean Cruise Liner to learn more about "SPLISH SPLASH" on Royal's newest & BIGGEST ship ever...Oasis of the Seas. This exciting acrobatic comedy high dive spectacular is featured in a fabulous Aqua Theater at the stern of this amzaing ship. Splish Splash is produced exclusively for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines by Dana Kunze CEO of the Kunze Entertainment Group, LLC.


text:
By ASHLEY NEWMAN
Tribune Chronicle
WARREN - When the first of a series of snow storms expected over the next week rolled over the Mahoning Valley on Thursday, the white stuff was greeted by smiles from many locals looking to prolong their post-holiday cheer.
Article Video
Stephany Elzy Smith and her family awakened Thursday morning seeing the snow as a great opportunity to spend some quality time together.
"The family wanted to come out for a family sled riding outing," Smith said as her husband, son and daughter took to the hills at Packard Park in Warren.
"They are having a blast," Smith said. "My son (Frankie Smith) is 23, but he's a big kid at heart."
Article Photos
Photo by R.Michael Semple
Jacqueline Orr of Howland, top, gives Danny Marker of Warren, middle, and Olivia Costantino, 17, of Cortland, a big push as the trio spent Thursday afternoon sled riding at Packard Park. More than 3 inches of new snow fell in Warren by late afternoon, according to the National Weather Service. The wintry conditions are expected to continue today, with the wind chill reaching as low as -12.
The Smith family wasn't alone.
Crowds of children and adults braved the cold temperatures taking to their sleds at Packard Park, along with Waddell Park in Niles.
The National Weather Service in Cleveland reported the area had 3.4 inches of new snow by 5 p.m. Thursday, with more coming throughout the evening and overnight.
Fact Box
Closings so far
Local closings as of midnight Friday:
- Austintown Schools, closed today
- Creative Learning Workshop, closed today
- Holy Trinity Orthodox Christian Academy, closed today
- Hope Academy for Autism, and preschool, closed today
- St. Patrick - Hubbard School, closed today
- Trumbull Career and Technical Center, closed today
- Victory Christian School, closed today
- Warren City Schools, closed today
- Austintown Township parking ban: Until further notice
- Boardman parking ban: until 4 p.m. today
- Cortland parking ban: until noon today
- Girard parking ban: until noon today
- Howland parking ban: until 10 a.m. Saturday
- Hubbard city parking ban: until noon today
- Liberty parking ban: until 2 a.m. Saturday
- McDonald Village: until 3 p.m. today
- Niles parking ban: until further notice
- Warren parking ban: until further notice
- Weathersfield parking ban: until 3 p.m. today
- Youngstown parking ban: until further notice
Most schools were already closed Thursday for winter break, but Warren City Schools which was set to open Thursday, canceled classes both Thursday and today.
The Trumbull Career and Technical Center was open Thursday but sent students home early, with car riders leaving before noon and bus riders shortly after. TCTC canceled all adult education classes on Thursday afternoon and evening, and are closed today.
In Mahoning County, Austintown Local Schools were among those that called off classes for today.
Schools weren't the only ones affected by the wintry conditions, as many area businesses closed their doors early Thursday afternoon.
David Zemann is a retired Warren homeowner who works in his spare time as a maintenance worker for Pro Flooring of Warren Inc., which is near his home on Atlantic Avenue. Zemann spent the evening hours clearing the sidewalk, parking lot and driveway for local business.
"I wish I could be sled riding, trust me on that one," Zemann laughed. "It's not bad. You pace yourself and work within parameters. I don't think I'm doing too bad for being 66.
"The snow is dry and really powdery. Skiers would love it, I'd guess."
Meanwhile, difficult driving conditions made for a busy day for Trumbull County 911, according to officials. The call center dispatched crews to 40 non-injury crashes from midnight to about 8 p.m., and 30 accidents with injuries reported, though none considered serious.
"That's a little more than normal in a situation like this," Eric Luketic, supervisor of the 911 Center said. "Luckily, we haven't had any serious reports yet."
In addition, no serious injuries were reported by Ohio State Highway Patrol's Southington Post, though numerous crews were dispatched along state Route 5 and 11 in Trumbull County during the snowfall.
While the snowfall created some problems for schools, businesses and drivers, dangerously low temperatures could become the main concern today as the thermometer creeps into the single digits. More snow is also expected over the weekend.
The forecast has an additional 1 to 3 inches of snow possible by this morning, with a high of only 15 and lows around 2, and wind chill values as low as -12. While temperatures will increase to the lower 30s Saturday and Sunday wind chills will continue as low as -11.
Monday and Tuesday will see more cold temperatures with Monday forecasted for a high near 13 with lows around -11 and Tuesday high near 3 and low -4.
The weather has area shelters preparing to house more needy residents than usual.
Chuck McCorkle, program coordinator of the Warren Family Mission, said they received six phone calls Thursday from individuals needing a place to stay.
McCorkle said there are 10 beds and 23 cots available at the mission as part of the residential program.
He said men needing a place to stay during the cold weather can come to the men's facility location at 361 Elm Road, Warren where they will receive a meal, laundry and place to sleep.
''All we ask is if they stay here they help chip in at the mission. They don't have to leave, but help us,'' he said.
McCorkle said he expects to receive more calls once the temperatures really drop.
Christinia Gargas, donor recruiter for the American Red Cross, said the need for keeping blood supplies replenished is critical during the winter months when less people, due to cold or severe winter weather, are unable to go to blood drives.
''The bad winter weather really affects us. The need is always up at this time of the year because of the weather because of more accidents on the roads. It is important that we maintain a sufficient blood supply,'' Gargas said.
She said the ARC tries to offer as many opportunities to donate blood in the winter months as possible, which are listed at redcrossblood.org.


text:
Facebook might have been one of the biggest stories of 2011, but don't count on friending the First Daughters anytime soon.
In their only print interview of the holiday season, President Obama and the First Lady tell PEOPLE they don't allow daughters Sasha and Malia on Facebook. Not that it's been a hard decision to enforce, says the President.
Their theory is, "Why would we want to have a whole bunch of people who we don't know knowing our business? That doesn't make much sense." But when the First Lady points out that Malia is only 13 and Sasha 10 right now, the President laughs and adds, "We'll see how they feel in four years."
The Obamas, who let the family dog Bo sit in on the Dec. 5 interview (only after removing his distracting jingle-bell collar), also revealed that must-see TV in the White House divides along gender lines.
"For the girls and me, Modern Family, that's our favorite show," the President says, adding that he's "a little darker" in his TV habits, listing Boardwalk Empire and Homeland as his must-sees, other than sports.
"Yes," said the First Lady with a laugh, "we don't watch TV with him."
And lest anyone think the private residence of the most powerful man in the world comes with all the latest gadgets and gizmos, President Obama says the technologically antiquated second-floor family quarters only recently saw a DVR installed. "We're a little bit behind," he tells us dryly.
For the full Obama interview and the rest of PEOPLE's annual roundup of all the hot stars, weddings, splits, babies and news of the year, pick up the special year-end double issue, on newsstands Friday
President Obama Talks Facebook and TV Habits
updated 12/14/2011 AT 09:00 AM EST
•originally published 12/14/2011 AT 08:00 AM EST


text:
Fruit Flower Garden RecipeRead Reviews Be the first to add a review
Spruce up any summer activity or party with a surprisingly easy fruit platter that's as good to look at as it is to eat! In about 30 minutes, you can make this centerpiece that'll wow guests so much, they'll all be asking for your secrets! Simple & Delicious Test Kitchen
- Fresh parsley sprigs
- Fresh strawberries
- Sliced fresh honeydew melon, pineapple and kiwi
- Seedless red grapes, halved
- Seedless red grapes
- Pretzel sticks
- Dried currants
- Orange slices
- Orange peel strips
- Line a large serving platter with parsley. With a small sharp knife, cut a strawberry vertically toward the cap. Repeat, cutting to form petals resembling a rose. Repeat with remaining berries.
- Using cookie cutters, cut honeydew, pineapple and kiwi into desired shapes. Decorate with grape halves as desired.
- For ants, skewer three grapes with a pretzel stick. With a small sharp knife, cut two small holes in a grape for eyes; insert currants. Arrange three pretzel sticks on the platter for legs; top with an ant body. Repeat as desired.
- Decorate platter with berry roses, fruit cutouts, ants, orange slices and peel. Yield: 1 fruit flower garden.
Originally published as Fruit Flower Garden in Simple & Delicious May/June 2009, p7
Reviews for Fruit Flower Garden
Please Log In or Join to add a rating and review.
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Any changes to your rating or review will appear where you originally posted your review
Reviewed May. 22, 2009
"Looks great what is the best way to cut the pineapple and honeydew for the cookie cutters?"


text:
Contact NLM
> Health Services Research & Public Health
Glossary of Terms Bibliography Quizzes/Review Site Map
Introduction to Health Services Research : A Self-Study Course
In this module you have had a chance to learn more about the many governmental and non-governmental organizations that conduct health services research.
Academic departments, private foundations and associations, government agencies, and business organizations all have a vested interest in issues such as policy and changes in policy, how the health care system is functioning, including who is or is not gaining access to care, legislation at all levels of government, grant funding and related topics in the health services arena.
Keep in mind that new players come onto the scene on a regular basis. "Old" players may stay in their existing format or change emphases or names. Librarians and researchers need to be alert to changes and keep informed of changes in the health care system through the many alerting services and e-newsletters that are made available for signing up for on the these organization's Web sites.
Before you go to the next module which introduces you to "Searching the Literature of Health Services Research," you might want to examine the Enrichment Section for additional information on entities mentioned in this Module.
Prepare yourself to take the quiz for this module by reviewing possible questions. Then take the quiz. From the quiz you can apply for the Certificate of Success for Module 1.
Module 3: Quiz 3 [review questions]
If you do not wish to take the quiz for Module 3, move on to Module 4 : Searching the Literature of Health Services Research.
When you have completed the course please take time to give us feedback by filling out the evaluation form for these modules. Thank you.


text:
Top Definition
acting foolishly and/or out of control.
Yo, you got kicked out of the party cause you were walin.
He just went in there walin out and breakin shit.
He just went in there walin out and breakin shit.
dari Steven McCall Kamis, 31 Mei 2007
Trending Now
Can you define these popular missing words?
things that no one understands
"You keep walin - lest you tryin to end up red" - DMX
dari Imran Khan Selasa, 13 April 2004
goin crazy in general or goin crazy on someone
"dam, why you all wa'lin on me"
"he's wa'lin man"
"he's wa'lin man"
dari vince Rabu, 27 Oktober 2004
The act of engaging in sexual intercourse with an obese slut, after bringing them from your local fine liquor dispensing establishments.
Yo we goin walin breh?!
dari wale master Jumat, 16 Desember 2011


text:
Welcome to the Jailhouse Saloon, where everyone wants to do time!
**Happy Hour: Monday-Friday, 3-6pm**
Our back room is available for parties!!
Room is "FREE" Beverages have to be purchased on premise. NO wine or pop carry in's. Food may be catered in or brought in for your private party. We recommend Parties R Us.
Jailhouse Saloon W25644 State Road 35/54 Centerville WI 54661 608-539-JAIL (5245)


text: RC Cola, Kielbasa Sandwich Star in Consol Energy Debut Posted by TPB Staff on Aug 13, 2010 13:45 ShareTweet Derek went on a taste-testing adventure at Consol. This is his story. Aramark came out guns blazing yesterday in a food tasting for the new Smokehouse Grill at Consol Energy Center. The tone was set admist the smell of pulled pork and BBQ chicken. The menu: We got to try almost every item on the menu. Prices weren't listed, and we forgot to look at them. $6 to $7.50 range sounds right. Best sandwhich Kielbasa Grinder – Complete package. From the Italian roll to the shaved Kielbasa: nothing but goodness. The sample size was big enough to fill us, so the normal plate, we gather, will be plently. Washed downed with beer on a cold winter night or a warm April evening, this sandwhich is big-time. Runner-up Pulled porked – Mouthwatering. The crispy onions and possible sauces make it dangerous. Could see a joke home game against the Islanders turn into a pulled-pork eating competion very easily. Dark Horse Sirloin French dip – Roast beef, swiss cheese on a hard roll. Surprised everyone. The biggest question is this: It comes with a french dipping sauce. Will problems arise with the dipping sauce? Chris Devivo of the Penguins and the blog Backteching had the maiden spill. It could be the perfect stand-around-and-bullshit sandwhich at intermission. Not sure about the travel to the seats. The possibility of the dipping sauce spilling puts the sirloin French dip in dire straits. In the drink deptartment, major changes. RC Cola is now the pop of choice. Totally forgot how good it is. Can't go wrong with 7-Up either. The last item to address is the nachos. Afrer holding a summit with Seth from Empty Netters, we both agreed that there is more research needed. New options for nachos, as well, bring new possibilites. ShareTweetPenguins Tickets About TPB Staff View all posts by TPB Staff →


text:
by Marti Leimbach
Dying Young is an extraordinary accomplishment, a first novel whose flaws show only because there are so few of them.
It is about a young man who is dying of leukemia and the life he shares with his caretaker-turned-lover in a sleepy town on the Massachusetts coast.
Leimbach, 26, writes vividly and avoids clichés. So Dying Young is never depressing nor melodramatic even if it is a tearjerker. (In the emotion department, it ranks with such sentimental works as Love Story and Terms of Endearment.)
In fact the terminally ill Victor Geddes, 33, who has battled his disease for 14 years, is so snide he's often not a sympathetic character. In discussing the effect his illness has on other people, Victor says, "They get rather taken aback when they ask you what you are planning to do for your summer vacation and you say, 'Get buried.' "
Victor is also mean, even violent, with his girlfriend, Hilary, the book's narrator. Their life is steeped in emotional turmoil too, and Hilary finds comfort in her friendship and eventual romance with the handsome, hardy businessman Gordon, whom she calls "a marvel of normality."
While the ensuing love triangle thickens the novel's plot, Dying Young is really about Hilary's inner life and the way she sees herself through Victor, whose imminent death is the only thing she's sure of.
Victor is from a wealthy Boston family, while Hilary is a lower-middle-class woman who has floundered in a series of odd jobs. Once a Ph.D. candidate in philosophy at a prestigious university, Victor is confounded by Hilary's preference for books about UFO sightings over works by Nietzsche.
Leimbach's prose keeps the interior monologue running vigorously. In a launderette, Hilary figures, "I appear not as a woman whose last hour has been spent huddling inside the cold shell of a car but as one who takes seriously the consequence of separating colors.... I wait for the dryer to finish. I watch the gentle tossing of Victor's boxer shorts, my turtle-neck, his black socks, my yellow ones. I think, How can I consider leaving a man while his clothes are drying in such an intimate manner with my own?"
It's disappointing on those rare occasions when a character blurts out an unlikely Harlequin romances line such as "I can barely stand it. I want you so much."
Otherwise, whether she's writing about the sinking of a ferry, injecting morphine or sorting out a tangle of cords and toaster ovens on the floor of the couple's apartment, Leimbach has produced in Dying Young a masterpiece of details that always rings true, with the sad, funny and fascinating unpredictability of real life. (Doubleday, $17.95)
Picks and Pans Review: Dying Young
updated 01/22/1990 AT 01:00 AM EST
•originally published 01/22/1990 AT 01:00 AM EST


text:
These days, Gaye Florio has gotten used to seeing a line of briefcases snaking up to the front door of her office before it even opens.
She saw it once before, during an oil boom in Weld County during the late-1970s. The briefcases belong to employees of oil and gas companies who come to the Weld County Clerk and Recorder's Office, researching land titles for parcels of land that those companies may target for future drilling.
The difference between that oil boom and this one?
"We haven't had any fights this time," said Florio, chief deputy clerk and recorder with the Weld Clerk and Recorder's Office. Thirty years ago, she said landmen would get into scuffles over their place in line.
Clerk and Recorder Steve Moreno said he was struck by how competitive the industry is today — workers still line up early so that they can be first to use the office's microfilm machines, and they are reluctant to reveal anything about their research.
Not that he is complaining.
While other counties had to buckle down following a state-mandated reduction in copy fees — down from $1.25 to 25 cents per copy in 2007 — traffic through Moreno's office has meant thousands of dollars more in revenue. In fact, revenue from copy fees has surpassed that of 2007, from about $215,000 to $267,000 last year, despite the fact that they cost one-sixth of what they did five years ago.
To handle the influx, the Clerk and Recorder's Office bumped up its microfilm machines from six to 10 and hired a part-time employee whose sole job is to make copies. The office also houses five machines purchased by oil and gas companies for private use — a fairly expensive investment, Moreno said, at about $19,000 a pop.
Once oil and gas companies obtain the mineral rights, they turn around and pay a recording fee, Moreno said, further boosting the department's revenue. He said that has helped the Clerk and Recorder's Office invest in a $700,000 project to convert all of its records on microfilm to a digital database.
So far, everything recorded from 1982 up to present day is available online for a flat fee of $300 per month, Moreno said. He said he's still unsure of how that kind of revenue will compare to what the office is bringing in now, but it does come with some advantages — for example, someone from Texas or Louisiana could pay the fee to do research from home.
"The office will be open 24/7," Moreno said. He said records dating back to the 1800s should be digitized by March.
Filing records, too, has changed. Weld was among the first Colorado counties to provide "e-filing" in 2004, and now 43 percent of its records are submitted electronically. Filing fees — which have brought in more revenue since 2008, to $1.7 million in 2011 — won't change, at $11 for the first page and $5 for each additional page, Florio said.


text:
KOCO 5 News team snaps hail, storm pics
Published 11:14 PM CDT Apr 26, 2013
Click here to check out KOCO 5 News photos of Friday night's severe weather.
The KOCO 5 News team had its cameras out Friday night, snapping a sorts of weather pics before, during and after the storms. Send YOUR pics to firstname.lastname@example.com.
Click here to view our pics.


text:
This handsome wood finish cocktail table has storage space for wine and spirits.
This warm wood finish trunk style cocktail table features three lift up tops with plenty of storage space inside. From the Hidden Treasures furniture collection by Hammary, a La-Z-Boy company.
Free Shipping on Most Orders
Our associates are standing by to assist you.


text:
The Maui News' reports on the Fordham Institute's rating of Hawaii's standards for science education raise questions over educational quality, not the least of which is: What is the purpose of state standards on education?
Kalama Intermediate School science teacher Maggie Prevenas, noted for her enthusiasm and ability to motivate students, illustrated the issue when she observed that California was given an "A" in the Fordham report but California students scored below Hawaii students in a National Assessment of Educational Progress report.
The issue is not standards but implementation, how well teachers are teaching. As Prevenas says, "Excellent science standards don't necessarily equate to excellent science learning."
The observation applies to all educational standards. In assessing educational outcomes, what matters is how students perform after leaving school, not how well they test in school.
Business owners and managers who hire young adults with high school degrees can assess whether the employee is adequately prepared. At University of Hawaii Maui College and similar open-enrollment colleges around the country, large numbers of students are not prepared for college, requiring remedial classes that add costs for students and institutions.
The ACT exam last year found that half of the students tested were not up to speed in math and reading for college-level work ("Few students ready for college coursework, ACT says," Aug. 17, 2011, chronicle.com). The implication is that secondary school standards either are inadequate or simply not being met.
Educational standards are goals, but applying a goal for 180,000 students in Hawaii public schools is hardly realistic if expectations are that students with varying abilities all can achieve the same result.
Even the Fordham Institute appears conflicted on how standards are implemented. The institute supports educational reform and No Child Left Behind. But a December report found that initial gains from NCLB mandates did not lead to continuing advances ("The Accountability Plateau," Dec. 16, 2011, Fordham Institute/Daily Flypaper).
While NCLB initially improved student performance, the report says, "The data also suggest, however, that the accountability movement has likely reached a point of diminishing (or perhaps even no) returns."
School governance is seen as a problem when teachers in the classroom have to answer to federal and state government agencies, school boards and district administrators.
Fordham policy fellow Peter Meyer's resolution requires the "government getting out of the way. We need less system, not more" ("Scaling up by scaling down, part 2," Feb. 6, 2012, Fordham Institute Board's Eye View).
But there can be effective standards. Fordham advocates the Common Core program that Hawaii's Board of Education has adopted. Its broad mandate is that students be prepared for a post-high school career or college. That requires collaboration with college instructors and employers to assure that the curriculum prepares students for the next step - whether it's college or a job.
Collaboration can be difficult. Through the centuries, communities in the United States paid for schools providing what the communities determined were educational needs. Communities determined standards, not the state or federal governments. School districts today deal with standards imposed from above that add costs to communities, while communities may have alternative views about educational needs.
There are efforts to bridge the gap, such as the Maui Educational Consortium (maui.hawaii.edu/mauiedconsort/LC_About_Us.html), which has Maui District teachers and UH-Maui College instructors devising educational goals for students expecting to move on to college.
But there is no goal-setting to match for students who will not go to college, and the Educational Consortium is voluntary rather than schoolwide. Standards and goals are noble ideals. Implementation and achieving goals are what count and that results from the efforts of teachers and students - the ones doing the work.
* Edwin Tanji is a former city editor of The Maui News. He can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com. "Haku Mo'olelo," "writing stories," is about stories that are being written or have been written. It appears every Friday.


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The drummer for the rock band My Chemical Romance is suing a dog trainer after the musician's beloved German shepherd mix died in the trainer's care – and was returned in the form of cremated remains, according to court papers.
In a bizarre lawsuit filed in Burbank Superior Court, Bob Bryar alleges breach of contract, fraud, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress against Daniel Schaffer, described in the action as the self-proclaimed "dog trainer to the stars."
"I don't even know what happened to my best friend and miss her more than anything in the world," Bryar tells PEOPLE. "The devastation I feel is beyond words."
Acting on a referral, Bryar says he spent $7,500 in April to send his dog Dixie – "the most important thing in his life," according to the lawsuit – to Schaffer's kennel for intense training to help the emotionally fragile, formerly abused rescue dog adjust to a new dog in the household.
About a week later, after previously telling Bryar that the dog had been "having a blast and partying all day," Schaffer reported that Dixie was killed when a drunk driver struck the vehicle in which Schaffer was carrying Dixie and other dogs, according to the lawsuit.
Later that evening, "Schaffer called (Bryar) again and informed him that he could not say goodbye to Dixie for she had been 'cremated due to her condition,'" the lawsuit says. Two days later, the trainer "delivered an urn allegedly containing Dixie's remains," the suit says. After Schaffer failed to produce a police report documenting the crash, he changed his story and said
Dixie died in her sleep, then changed that story to say she died under other circumstances, the suit says.
Schaffer didn't return messages seeking comment. No response has yet been filed to Bryar's lawsuit.
Rock Musician Files Lawsuit over Dog's Mysterious Death


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LOTA and the Hawthorn Elephants
are LOTA and the Hawthorn Elephants?
Lota is one of 16 elephants currently held by the Hawthorn Corporation
of Illinois. The owner, John Cuneo, has made a business out
of using these elephants for entertainment purposes. For more
than 35 years he has rented elephants out to circuses. All of
the elephants are veteran performers who have spent most of
their lives traveling and performing in circuses.
Why have animal welfare activists been so concerned over
the treatment of the Hawthorn Elephants?
John Cuneo has been repeatedly cited for animal care violations,
particularly in his unwillingness to provide proper veterinary
care for his animals. Numerous instances of obvious neglect,
causing his elephants pain and suffering, were documented
by the USDA.
What finally prompted the USDA to close down the Hawthorn
Public pressure, repeated demands from animal welfare groups,
and the long list of animal care violations were instrumental
in getting the USDA to take this important action.
Did the USDA confiscate the elephants?
Actually, no; the Hawthorn elephants remain under the care of
John Cuneo and his employees at their barn in Northern Illinois.
The only elephant that the USDA has ever confiscated is Delhi,
another one of John Cuneos elephants. In an unprecedented
action, the USDA confiscated 58 year old Delhi a year and a
half after her feet were soaked in full strength formaldehyde
by a Hawthorn employee. She was sent to The Elephant Sanctuary
in November of 2003, where she is currently recovering and doing
very well.
If the elephants were not confiscated what happened?
To settle the lawsuit filed against him by the USDA, John Cuneo
voluntarily relinquished all 16 of his elephants. In his March
2004 consent decree, John Cuneo agreed to place his elephants
in other facilities by August 15.
What will happen to these elephants now that theyve
been surrendered?
That is the next big hurdle that must be overcome. Barn space
in the nations elephant sanctuaries is at a premium. Placing
16 elephants is no small feat. Currently, there is not enough
barn space in sanctuaries to take all of the elephants.
Several circuses have asked for the elephants, and breeding
facilities have opened their doors as well an alarming
development. After having just advanced the cause of animal
welfare, and especially elephant welfare, what a tragedy
it would be to see these magnificent creatures again placed
in distressing situations.
What would be the benefit of keeping the Hawthorn elephants
together instead of splitting them up and sending them to
different homes?
Some of the Hawthorn elephants have lived together for decades.
Separating them could amount to inflicting extreme emotional
trauma. Additionally, this herd represents a wealth of information
regarding the life threatening diseases that plague captive
elephants. They are known as the TB Herd because
tuberculosis has been documented in the herd for nearly a
decade. Kept together, much could be learned through non invasive
research which would benefit these elephants, and potentially
many captive elephants around the world.
What plan do you have in place to carry out non invasive research?
Upon our request, Dr. Susan Mikota DVM has drawn up a comprehensive
plan to continue her ground-breaking work on tuberculosis
in captive elephants. Dr. Mikotas extensive background
in elephant TB makes her a prime candidate to spearhead the
development of diagnostics and treatments for TB and other
diseases that plague captive elephants. The Elephant Sanctuary
will establish a world class Elephant Health and Welfare Institute
to further the research of TB and other diseases, which have
had such a profound negative impact on the longevity and welfare
of captive elephants.
What arrangements are
being made for the Hawthorn elephants to come to the Sanctuary?
The Sanctuary has already received three of the Hawthorn
16; Delhi, Lota and Misty. We have raised the funds to build
a new barn to enable us to accept all of the female Hawthorn
elephants. Construction of the new barn is scheduled to be
completed September 2005.
Can the Elephant
Sanctuary accept all 16 of the Hawthorn elephants?
The Sanctuary has offered to accept all of the female elephants
which at this time numbers 11 elephants; 10 Asians and one
Can the Hawthorn elephants be put in the barn with the Sanctuary
Elephants with TB must to be kept separate from other elephants
to avoid spreading the disease to others.
Can the Hawthorn elephants that dont have TB be put
in the barn with the Sanctuary herd?
After proper quarantine and disease testing it would be
acceptable to put a non-TB positive elephant in with other
elephants. After Delhi joins our Asian herd in July, we
will have space in our main elephant barn for one additional
Asian elephant. We need more barn space for the Hawthorn
Is there a certain date that the funds must be raised by?
The USDA has advised that the elephants must be removed from
the Hawthorn Corporation property by August 15th. On August
13, the Hawthorn Corporation filed 2 motions to stop the
removal of their elephants. The case is back to court.
Is a new barn under construction right now?
The barn is under construction and on schedule to be completed
by September.
Where have the donations come from?
The donations have come from Elephant Sanctuary members,
Foundations and animal welfare organizations. To date, the
Park Foundation gave $50,000, PETA has pledged $50,000,
and the Chrysalis Foundation has pledged $250,000, just
to name a few. Many other foundations and individuals have
contributed to the effort to rescue the Hawthorn 16.
This sounds like a critical juncture for the animal welfare
No one ever said that rescuing elephants was easy; perhaps
this is why the USDA has never done it before. However,
the USDA has greatly advanced the cause of animal welfare
by now providing protection under the law for the Hawthorn
elephants. To
ensure that the movement does not lose momentum,
the funds must be raised to place these elephants in sanctuaries
equipped to care for them. We all recognize that if the necessary
funding is not found, we run the risk that the USDA will not be
able to confiscate needy elephants in the future.
What can I do to help?
You can
Can I really make a difference?
Most definitely. We have had great successes in rescuing elephants through the efforts of individuals who cared enough to take action. We are hoping that we can repeat these victories with the Hawthorn elephants they so richly deserve it.
We are very grateful for your concern and aid in this cause. Thank you for being part of the solution.
Carol Buckley
Co-Founder/Executive Director
Contact information:
Chester Gipson, D.V.M.
Associate Deputy Administrator
4700 River Road, Unit 84
Riverdale, MD 20737-1234


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text:
Safety is Most Important to Pokemon Director
Junichi Masuda considers safety to be the most important thing when delivering a new game.
It's an accepted fact that -- no matter how huge a hit it would be -- we won't be seeing a Pokemon game on, say, Facebook anytime soon. Besides Nintendo's own quirks, there's another reason why such a thing isn't going to happen: A concern for safety.
Longtime Game Freak employee and Pokemon Black/White director Junichi Masuda explained that ensuring gamers can pick up a new Pokemon and play it safely and without any fears is what he considers to be most important when developing a new game.
Asked if he feels any pressure to change how Pokemon is delivered in light of the success of the social and mobile aspects of the industry, he told MCV, "I don't feel pressured. What I consider to be most important when releasing a videogame is to ensure it reaches everybody and to make sure it can be enjoyed by players safely and securely."
Nintendo's game systems are a more appropriate, controlled environment for games that kids will want to play. Facebook and things of that nature, on the other hand, aren't really intended for people of all ages.
"For example, Facebook and MSN are mainly for adults, but what's very important is that everyone can enjoy a Pokémon game without feeling any fear," he continued. "So that's what I think about whenever I produce a new video game."
To some, that's likely to sound pretty strange. But online safety has been a high priority for Nintendo, as anyone who has had to use friend codes can attest.
See Also
Comments (16)
Pokemon Grey???Posted: Apr 02, 2011 12:00AM PST by Charlie101
A new Pokemon game is being developed and a new Pokemon will appear!
123Posted: Apr 02, 2011 12:00AM PST by Sabotender
so this is the asshole that's holding pokemon back. good to know.
Too badPosted: Mar 31, 2011 12:00AM PST by Shadow_sigma
...this is also probably the reason we'll never see a Pokemon MMO
Ahh man...Posted: Mar 31, 2011 12:00AM PST by steelerzfan101
I would love to see a Pokemon MMO. That would be a great idea! I guess you are right though, I guess we won't see one coming...
I flagged thisPosted: Mar 31, 2011 12:00AM PST by Gassy_Ocelot
because I was so mad because you're probably right
awesomePosted: Apr 01, 2011 12:00AM PST by easilyconfusedguy
I had never thought about a pokemon MMO but that could be an amazing game. If people were addicted to previous games this game would have people hooked for years
CantPosted: Mar 31, 2011 12:00AM PST by sepewrath
say I blame him, the way people go nuts over the slightest change to a series, why bother? People constantly go on about how Pokemon is sticking to the same formular, but the moment something is changed, they'll be rushing to Kyoto to burn down Nintendo's headquarters.
AmbiguityPosted: Mar 31, 2011 12:00AM PST by Cae
I wish the article would have explained what was meant by "safety." We tend to view it as meaning "not taking risks, not changing things that work" but in this context I believe it's the "not getting death threats or pictures of some guy's balls because you beat him at MvC3" meaning.
I mean, take a look at something like fatuglyorslut.com and you'll see exactly why Nintendo will never have something like XBL for Pokemon.
(Oh, but they're wrong about one thing: Facebook isn't mainly for adults. It's mainly for people with no lives.)
ahhh yupPosted: Mar 30, 2011 12:00AM PST by smile_kill
safety first it all fun n games till sumone loses an eye
Makes sensePosted: Mar 30, 2011 12:00AM PST by LK4O4
To be honest, that actually sounds okay. I even kind of agree with a good amount of it. I don't think that Facebook is "mainly for adults," but I get that he wants to keep it safe for the children and not have strangers swearing at them through voice chat and whatnot, and that seems perfectly valid.
There's nothing wrong withPosted: Mar 30, 2011 12:00AM PST by paranoid_kanser
meaning to keep them safe. Its very commendable. And they still make a damned incredible game with awesome connectivity options even while worrying about the safety aspects. Besides, friend codes aren't THAT bad....you exchange them once, and as long as you aren't changing systems its never an issue again. People just love to bitch and whine about any little thing @_@
There is such a community behind PokemonPosted: Mar 30, 2011 12:00AM PST by RoverTX
That if you want to find good people to fight you can find them easily on pokemon strat sites and swap friend codes. Also while I am a 20 something male that been playing pokemon since Blue and Red, its clear that the game main market is kids, so an open online system could really hurt the series if it ended up in some horrible Law and Order SVU like scenerio, even by no fault of Nintendo. On top of that such a system might even damage the already robust online community.


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Image Archive
Detailed Record
Title: Desolation Island, Indian Ocean
Accession Number: 1939.1265
Category: PAINTINGS - OIL
Type: oil painting
Place: Indian Ocean; Antarctica, Desolation Islands
Materials: oil paint; canvas; wood
Description: Oil painting by unidentified artist; Desolation Island. Desolation Island is one of the main islands of the Kerguelen Islands in the subantarctic zone of the Indian Ocean. 100 miles long, of volcanic origin, with deeply indented coast with numerous peninsulas, capes, and fjords. It was a convenient anchorage for whalers and sealers.
Mystic Seaport Image ID m113270 Information regarding reproductions


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The latest school standardized tests – state exams that comply with federal regulations – once again include some quirky results in the Aiken County School District and in other instances, leave administrators throughout the district shaking their heads.
Aiken Elementary School received a "C" grade this week, based on the state Palmetto Assessment of State Standards (PASS) battery of tests. Also the recipient of a "C" grade was South Aiken High School. All high schools get grades based on the high school exit exam, end of course tests and the graduation rate.
"Last year we had an 'A' and this year it's a 'C,' but not much has changed," said Becky Koelker, the Aiken Elementary School principal. "I can't explain it, because I don't understand it."
Of the district's seven high schools, only Midland Valley and Silver Bluff received "B" grades. Aiken High also received a "C."
South Aiken Principal Bryan Skipper said he recognizes that the testing emphasis is on performance within sub-groups within the student population – such as low-income, minorities, English as Second Language and special education.
"We increased across the board in every measure of standardized testing," Skipper said. "I wouldn't agree we're a 'C' school."
Another unusual issue emerged in 2012 with "Focus Schools," those considered to have the highest average of performance gaps between sub-groups, based on a federal accountability system. All are federal Title I schools, in that they have significant numbers of students qualifying economically for free and reduced lunch fees.
Six schools were designated to fit into that category – elementary schools Aiken, J.D. Lever, North Aiken and North Augusta and middle schools Paul Knox and Schofield.
As focus schools, all six last year and again this year are required to give parents the right to transfer their children to "receiver" schools with transportation provided. Those receiver schools again are Belvedere and Warrenville elementary schools and Jackson and New Ellenton middle schools.
North Augusta Elementary and Aiken Elementary were named focus schools despite "A" grades last year, and Lever won a state performance award. North Augusta again has an "A," while Schofield received an "A" for the first time and is required to remain a focus school.
"The state recognizes there is a flaw in the system," said Jeannie Glover, the Aiken district's Title I coordinator. The State Department has a federal waiver to operate its own tests, she said, and "they're looking to reapply for another waiver to make some tweaks."
Last year, a total of 22 parents from six focus schools chose to move their children, "and that's not significant," Glover said. "Most parents are happy with their schools."
Koelker has no intention of agonizing over the "C" grade, but she considers such changes from year to year as anomalies. There are all kinds of sub-group issues, and it's not transparent looking at students in a sub-group and not the individuals, she said. One size fits all through this process, that is not the way to measure growth.
"One grade on one test does not tell the story," she said. "We'll work hard because we always work hard."
Schools have varying numbers of sub-groups with sufficient enrollment to count toward a state grade, Skipper said, and that can have an impact. The scoring process emphasizes the growth within those sub-groups, so a ceiling effect can emerge, he said.
"If you're already scoring fairly well, you don't have as much room to grow," said Skipper. "We've been recognized with national attention and have an excellent report card. You have to look at all of this as a whole to measure the school fairly."


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In one of the Lowcountrys strangest elections, Jimmy Buffett, Bobby Harrell, Goober, Mickey Mouse, Democratic, John Doe, Colleen Condon and No Idea all fell just one vote shy.
Election facts
Polls will open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday for the special St. Andrews Public Service District Commission election.The district stretches roughly from Porter-Gaud School up to Drayton Hall and covers the area not already annexed by the city of Charleston.The 15 polling places will be the same as those used in the Nov. 6 election.While the candidates are required to live in the western portion of the district, all of the districts approximately 10,000 registered voters may cast ballots.
So did 137 others.
But eight candidates tied with two write-in votes apiece, and they will face off in a special runoff election Tuesday.
At stake is a $5,468-a-year position on the St. Andrews Public Service District Commission.
How crazy is this? said Christie Holderness, the new manager and former chairwoman of the commission. I still dont know the majority of the candidates.
The surviving candidates are Anthony Ferro, Callie Powell, Ceryl King, Jeff Gladwell, John B. Johnston III, Lashaunna Brown, Laura Toney and P. John DeStefano.
Whoever wins will join four other commissioners in January and spend the next four years overseeing an operation that puts out fires, picks up garbage and pays for street lights in much of unincorporated West Ashley.
Joe Debney, director of Charleston Countys Board of Elections and Voter Registration, said Friday he has never seen an outcome quite like this. Its been a bizarre year, he said.
Debney said all eight write-in candidates who received two votes Nov. 6 are qualified for the office, meaning they all are registered voters who reside in the districts western section.
We would not have put Mickey Mouse on there, he said.
Tuesdays special election will cost at least a few thousand dollars and probably will involve a very low turnout, he said. Also, some election officials will have to work Friday, a county holiday, to certify the results.
While write-in candidates rarely win not even God was able to convince two people to type in His name and qualify Him for the runoff Tuesdays winner wont be the commissions first such victor.
I actually won as a write-in 12 years ago, Holderness said.
Reach Robert Behre at 937-5771.


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Chartiers Valley high school, middle school evacuatedUPDATED 1:23 PM EDT Apr 30, 2013
Chartiers Valley high school and middle school students are back in class after their buildings were evacuated Tuesday morning.
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