text:
Volume III
The Puente Project, California
What's New
USED releases fact sheet and website to help with Hurricane Katrina relief; " Chicago Public Schools to pilot SES flexibility; new service from the U.S. Department of Education allows teachers to "Ask the Secretary;" Secretary Spellings introduces Tool Kit for Hispanic Parents; NCES releases report on trends in the education of American Indians and Alaska Natives; USED releases new non-regulatory guidance on Title IX, Part E, Subpart 1of No Child Left Behind; Constitution Day resources available online; History Channel offers resources for Hispanic Heritage month; Chris Whittle, CEO of Edison Schools, Inc., publishes new book; and CDW Government, Inc. publishes Teachers Talk Tech survey.
Innovations in the News
Two Temecula Valley (AZ) charter schools find a new home; plus information about closing the achievement gap, raising student achievement, school reform, and technology.
Puente Project Bridges High School and College for Educationally Disadvantaged Students
Visit the San Francisco Bay Area, and you will find a city once known as the "Heart of the Garden of Eden." With its temperate climate and fertile soil, Hayward, California earned this nickname in the early part of the 20th century because everything from produce to livestock grew in abundance. Within the last decade, 146,027 people from numerous cultures have settled in the city, an area that has burgeoned into one of the most ethnically diverse parts of the country, with over one-third of its residents Latino.
Wanting Hayward to live up to its Edenic reputation and better serve Latino youths, two faculty members at Chabot Community College built a support system aimed at keeping Latino students in school. Felix Galaviz and Patricia McGrath developed their intervention program in 1981 and named it "Puente," which means "bridge" in Spanish. In the early 1980s, Mr. Galaviz and Ms. McGrath recognized that the number of Latino students in California who dropped out of school exceeded the number of those who graduated. They believed their intervention program could help close that gap at the college level. When a pilot of the program at Chabot Community College showed an increase in student achievement and retention rates, the founders refocused their mission to prepare community college students to transfer to four-year institutions. In 1993, success with this approach inspired an adaptation of the program for the high school level. Today, Puente is active in 33 high schools and 59 colleges across California.
For both its high school and college programs, the Puente goal is the same: to increase the number of educationally disadvantaged students who apply to and attend four-year colleges, earn bachelor's degrees, and ultimately return to their communities as leaders and role models. Although Latino students still make up the majority of participants, the project is open to students from all ethnic backgrounds. To enroll, students must fill out an application and interview with Puente faculty members. Students are selected based on whether faculty members believe that the students will benefit from the program.
The Puente Project serves the needs of the "whole student" by using instructional techniques and materials that are sensitive to Latino culture in three areas: writing instruction, counseling, and mentoring. The entire Puente Project is based on the idea that educationally disadvantaged students will flourish if they are taught strong writing and communication skills in a supportive environment that validates their culture.
At the high school level, Puente is fully integrated into the existing district-mandated core curriculum at each participating site. The basis of Puente's academic component is a standards-based writing program, modeled after the Bay Area Writing Project, a collaboration of the University of California Berkeley and Bay Area schools. Puente's writing component begins when students enter high school and continues through the tenth grade with the same Puente English teacher, who is specially trained in rigorous developmental writing strategies and Puente's writing portfolio assessment cycle. Students begin writing from personal experience, connecting the world of school to the world of family, culture, and community. Over time, as the students develop fluency and confidence, their writing repertoire builds to include academic, analytical writing. Students also read and respond to a broad range of culturally relevant literature, including poetry, essays, novels, and other nonfiction. The reading and writing skills that students develop in their Puente English classes are also designed to help them perform better in other subjects.
Guidance counselors participate in the project and make frequent visits to classrooms. By observing and even engaging in lessons, counselors can ascertain students' interests and how they learn best. Counselors use this information during one-on-one meetings with students, where individualized learning plans are developed and maintained. These learning plans are used to ensure that each Puente student is taking challenging high school courses that will put him or her on track to attend college.
Once students enter the eleventh and twelfth grades and pass the Puente writing component, the counselor's role in the Puente Project is intensified. During one-on-one sessions, counselors provide students with more in-depth information concerning SATs, the college application process, and financial aid. Counselors organize field trips to local college campuses and coordinate information sessions at University of California sites. Throughout the school year, counselors also conduct workshops for parents of Puente students, where they provide specific information about college, and how parents can best support and monitor their children's current academic performance.
Puente's founders and Mary K. Healy, PhD, from the University of California at Berkeley, developed the project's writing curriculum and counseling program, as well as its faculty-training component. Each year, new teachers and guidance counselors from participating high schools attend a weeklong residential training institute at one of the University of California (UC) campuses. During this session, teams of teachers and counselors practice intervention strategies to help students from under-performing schools and from families with little or no college experience. Teachers learn how to link reading materials to the local community and to their students' personal and cultural experiences. They also practice techniques to differentiate their lesson plans, as Puente students enter the program at varying levels of academic proficiency. Counselors gather information about the UC system and educational resources in order to provide students with a wealth of information about their options for higher education. They also learn effective methods of reaching out to parents, who must sign a contract to support their child's goal of college preparation. After the training institute, teachers and counselors return to their schools to pass on what they have learned to other faculty members.
In addition to the teaching and counseling components, the high school program incorporates a mentoring component, designed to introduce students to professionals from the local community who can serve as models for students as they navigate their way toward higher education. Through collaborations with local businesses, universities, and with Puente alumni, students are inspired by the stories and lessons of those who have gone before them. The mentoring component is explicitly linked to both classroom and counseling goals and activities.
Frank Garcia, Executive Director of the Puente Project, notes, "The Puente high school program creates a wrap-around effect for students. Teachers, counselors, mentors, and parents reinforce the message that the students can get a college degree. Eventually the students move from asking each other, 'Will you go to college?' to 'Where are you going to college?'"
"Puente Clubs" at each high school develop students' leadership skills by promoting community service projects and cultural and social events. Students conduct fund-raising activities for community causes and attend school board meetings where they make presentations and discuss issues of concern. Each year, for example, Puente Club members at some sites organize a Christmas Posada. The entire school is invited to celebrate and cultivate a sense of familia, share a meal, and listen to speakers such as members of the city council and local school board and college professors.
Since their inception, Puente high school and college programs have directly served over 43,000 students. According to a 2001 study from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), Puente students went on to attend four-year colleges and universities at nearly twice the rate (43 percent versus 24 percent) as matched control students who did not participate in Puente. Another report, published in Educational Policy in 2002, showed that by the twelfth grade, 82 percent of Puente students surveyed felt that they understood what they needed to do to prepare for college, while fewer than two-thirds of non-Puente students felt equally educated.
In 1998, the Puente Project was one of ten programs selected from a national pool of over 1,400 to win the Innovations in American Government Award, a project of the Ford Foundation, Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, and the Council for Excellence in Government. California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office and the University of California sponsor the Puente Project.
The Puente Project grew out of the Bay Area Writing Project of the National Writing Project, which currently receives a directed grant administered by the Office of Innovation and Improvement.
- The Puente Project
- California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office
- University of California
- National Writing Project
What's New
From the U.S. Department of Education
The U.S. Department of Education has announced that the needs of students affected by Hurricane Katrina will be met and has launched a "Hurricane Help for Schools" website to serve as a nationwide clearinghouse of information. The Department will work with states and communities to welcome children and enroll them in schools as quickly as possible; the education process will be stabilized for all students; and parents will be offered guidance and support. The Department is also looking at ways to redirect existing funds toward relief efforts. Other ways of helping include: affected student loan borrowers may delay payments; deadlines for higher education programs have been extended; and on a case-specific basis, the Department will relax certain reporting provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) for affected states. (Sept. 2)
U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings announced flexibility for Chicago Public Schools under NCLB supplemental educational services (SES) provisions. The Chicago Public School District will be part of a series of free tutoring pilots to be tested during the 2005-06 school year. These pilots will ensure more eligible students receive SES and that there is better information on the effectiveness of SES programs. (Sept. 1)
A new feature on the U.S. Department of Education webpage will allow teachers to learn about professional development, state academic standards, best practices, and success stories under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). The link, Teachers Ask the Secretary, will also provide a forum for teachers to list their questions and concerns. This new feature is one of many interactive tools for teachers, including online eLearning courses, a searchable online database, and electronic Teacher Uppdates. (Aug. 24)
Secretary Spellings released a new tool kit for Hispanic families at Chaparral School in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In her remarks, the Secretary said, "Education is a value that we hold close to our hearts... It's the key to the American dream... That's why we created this tool kit. It gives families the information they need to help their children get ahead in school and in life." (Aug. 31)
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has released a report entitled Status and Trends in the Education of American Indians and Alaska Natives. The report illustrates the educational performance of American Indians and Alaska Natives, who make up 1 percent of the U.S. population. The report shows that more American Indian/Alaska Native high school students enrolled in Advanced Placement classes in 2003 than in any previous year. There has also been a 50 percent increase in the number of these students enrolled in degree-granting institutions over the course of the last 25 years. (Aug. 25)
The U.S. Department of Education has released new NCLB non-regulatory guidance on Title IX, Part E, Subpart 1-Private Schools: Equitable Services to Eligible Private School Students, Teachers, and Other Educational Personnel PDF, (618K). The guidance will assist LEAs and SEAs in fulfilling their obligations to provide equitable services to eligible private school students and teachers under such programs as Reading First, 21st Century Community Learning Centers, and the Enhancing Education through Technology Program, among others. (Aug. 29)
Constitution Day
September 17 is Constitution Day. To help schools and teachers educate students about the U.S. Constitution, resources are available from the Library of Congress, the National Archives, and Federal Resources for Educational Excellence (FREE). (Sept. 7)
Hispanic Heritage Month
September 15 marks the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month. The History Channel offers programming, teaching materials, and resources for illuminating Hispanic culture on its website. (Sept. 2)
School Reform
A penchant for research-based school design led Chris Whittle to found Edison Schools, Inc. This same interest has spawned a new book. InCrash Course: Imagining a Better Future for Public Education, Mr. Whittle urges the nation to invest in education research and to never "lose sight of the children in our schools who are not yet learning." (Aug. 23)
Results are in from a survey conducted by CDW Government, Inc. (CDW-G), a technology advisor and provider to educational institutions and federal, state, and local government agencies. The 2005 Teachers Talk Tech survey revealed that teachers at every level from kindergarten through twelfth grade increased their use of technology during the last year. Eighty-six percent of teachers surveyed relied on computers for administrative functions such as taking attendance; emailing colleagues, students, and parents; and posting class information on intranet systems. A smaller number (54 percent) integrated computers into daily lesson plans, although 70 percent reported that computers are a "somewhat important" or "very important" driver of student achievement. (Aug. 29)
Innovations in the News
Charter Schools
This fall, "homecoming" has a special meaning for two Temecula Valley charter schools. After moving its facilities seven times in 11 years, Temecula Valley Charter School has a permanent home along with Temecula Preparatory School, which has moved four times in five years. The schools had been shuttled around the district to make way for student growth, but now each school has a campus that consists of separate classrooms in portable structures. Within the year, construction will begin on permanent, multipurpose rooms. Temecula Valley serves 275 students in kindergarten through eighth grade and mixes a traditional curriculum with a focus on Spanish and the arts. Temecula Preparatory School serves 430 students in kindergarten through twelfth grade with a focus on phonics, classical literature, art, and French and Latin studies. [More-North County Times] (Aug. 30)
Closing the Achievement Gap
Nine states will share funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in order to develop programming that will motivate high school students to attend college or receive some form of postsecondary education. The Southern Governors' Association plans to partner with the Southern Regional Education Board to help the states that are selected for the grant money create public education and media campaigns to encourage high school students to pursue college. [More-The Atlanta Journal-Constitution] (Aug 31)
Raising Student Achievement
Think "state fair," and prize-winning pigs, cotton candy, and carnival rides may come to mind. How about state education test scores? The Minnesota State Fair was the venue Governor Tim Pawlenty chose to reveal some celebratory news concerning the results of the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments from last spring, and a shorter list of schools not meeting Adequate Yearly Progress goals. Across all grade levels, students improved scores in math and reading. Seventy-nine percent of students scored proficient on the reading section of the exam, up from 73 percent last year. In math, 76 percent scored proficient, up from 70 percent. Overall, 247 schools did not meet AYP performance criteria, down from 464 schools last year. [More-The Star Tribune] (Aug. 30)
School Reform
The new Secondary Support Services Unit at the Massachusetts State Department of Education has high school reform as its goal. At the helm is Stafford Peat, whose charge is to institute a more rigorous curriculum across all subjects, create a K-16 system with stronger relationships between the public schools and institutions of higher learning, and put an end to the achievement gap. Over the next two years, Mr. Peat and his team will oversee the development of a "Curriculum for College and Work Readiness" and will compare the state's core curriculum frameworks to college-level proficiency exams. [More-The Boston Globe] (Aug. 29)
"No more pencils! No more books!" Students at Arizona's newly opened Empire High School may be singing a similar song as they celebrate much lighter backpacks and participate in an innovative experiment in secondary education. Each of the 340 students received iBooks, laptop computers from Apple Computer, Inc., at the start of school in late July. Students get reading materials over the school's wireless network, which includes a built-in filtering system to control activities that distract from learning such as chat room visits and instant messaging. Students turn in assignments using the Internet and file work in virtual folders. Teachers craft lessons using free web resources as well as materials from traditional textbooks that have been digitally formatted. [More-eSchool News] (Aug. 29) [free registration]
Last Modified: 08/13/2009


text:
Students at UTSA 1604 Campus
2008-2010 tuition and fees approved by regents
(April 1, 2008)--Tuition and fee rates for the next two academic years at University of Texas institutions were formally approved March 26 by the UT System Board of Regents. The action came following a review of tuition and fee proposals submitted to the regents by the campuses earlier this month.
Today's headlines
- La Prensa Foundation is newest member of UTSA Lone Star Society
- UTSA alumna Jordan Kaufmann wins $50K for new stent-graft start-up
- UTSA begins new way-finding sign installation this summer at Main Campus
- USA Today: UTSA long jumper Tyler Williamson rescues three-year-old boy
Article tools
The approved tuition and fee increases for full-time resident undergraduate students were limited to 4.95 percent per year or $150 per semester, whichever was greater, adhering to the regents' resolution last December to limit tuition increases.
A few exceptions to the tuition and fee cap were approved. Among them, nursing programs will be allowed to recommend new tuition and fee proposals for consideration next year and UT Brownsville was allowed to allocate more of its increase in the first academic year to better address the effect of its policy on student satisfactory academic progress.
Several campus proposals also included student-initiated fees -- such as fees to fund recreational facilities and transportation needs -- which were proposed by the students and have been approved through student referenda, thus slightly increasing total academic costs.
The approved rates for Fall 2008 and Fall 2009 can be found on the UT System Web site. The regents approved rates for two years largely at the request of students who desired more financial predictability.
"We believe these modest increases in tuition and fee rates will go a long way toward furthering excellence at our campuses," said Board of Regents Chairman H. Scott Caven Jr. "The board remains committed to ensuring an affordable and quality education for our students, but at the same time we must continue to enhance our operations and programs to keep our institutions competitive in the higher education arena and ever-changing global environment."
UT institutions will use the additional tuition revenues to continue to enhance student services and academic programs, such as hiring additional faculty and advisers, reducing class sizes, and repairing and renovating campus buildings.
"These tuition increases will allow our academic and health institutions to hire more faculty and advisors and improve course offerings and availability," UT System Chancellor Mark G. Yudof said. "These additional funds and the services they provide are essential to maintaining the quality of a UT education. The most important thing to remember is that an education in the UT System is still a great value, and we have set aside money for financial aid that ensures no qualified student will be turned away because of financial need."
Since 2003, additional tuition revenues have allowed UT institutions to hire more than 650 faculty members and create nearly 500 course offerings. The plans approved also include a variety of incentives to encourage students to graduate on time by taking more semester credit hours in each term they are enrolled.
Last week, the UT System launched the revamped UT System Access & Affordability aimed at helping inform students, parents and others about accessing and paying for college. The site includes campus tuition and fee proposals planned for the next two academic years. The expanded site contains information and resource links on financial aid, how tuition is used, campus cost-saving initiatives and how to pay for college, among other things.
For more information, contact Anthony de Bruyn or Matt Flores at (512) 499-4363.
>> Read more about UTSA and UT System tuition at the UTSA Tuition and Fees Web site.
About the University of Texas System
Serving the educational and health care needs of Texans for more than 125 years, the UT System is one of the nation's largest higher education systems with 15 campuses -- including nine academic and six health institutions -- and an annual operating budget of $10.7 billion (FY 2008). Student enrollment exceeded 194,000 in the 2007 academic year. The UT System confers one-third of the state's undergraduate degrees and educates three-fourths of Texas health care professionals. With more than 80,000 employees, the UT System is one of the largest employers in Texas.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
I love to sew, with 7 daughters and 16 grandchildren, somebody ALWAYS needs something fixed or sewn. I went into my first quilting store to look at material and walked around with my mouth open for about an hour.... So making a long story short I made my first quilt. "Chicks on Parade" I hope you like it!
The princess in the center is getting ready for the local parade. She is wearing a crown made from lace made by my Great Great Grandmother.
Daddy Rooster in the corner is SO proud that he's popped his button. The chicks on the bottom left are having a "tug-o-worm".
Chicks on Parade


text:
Service: 10 a.m. Wednesday at First Baptist Church of Kennedale. Interment: Brown Cemetery in Aledo. Visitation: 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday at the church.
Memorials: In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions be made in Jimmie's honor to First Baptist Church of Kennedale's Multi-Purpose Building Fund, Box 295, Kennedale, Texas 76060.
Jimmie was a devout member of First Baptist Church of Kennedale and dedicated his time to whatever service was needed. He was a member of Deer Creek Masonic Lodge of Everman for 40 years. Jimmie spent his life doing what he loved most -- fishing and hunting. He retired from Western Electric in September 1990 after 35 years of service.
Jimmie was preceded in death by his parents, C.B. and Josephine Clepper of Baytown and Jimmie Levi Carpenter of Marshall; brothers, Vernon Virgil and Robert Reynolds; and his hero, Luther J. Wood.
Survivors: His adoring wife and fishing buddy, Charlotte; his daughter, Andrea Kay Ober and her husband, Ronnie, of Mineral Wells; his sons, Chuck Carpenter and wife, Dean, of Fort Worth and Kyle Fletcher and his wife, Letha, of Kennedale; granddaughter, Jody Mara of Fort Worth; grandson, Cody Carpenter of Fort Worth; sister, Mable Anderson of Baytown; loving mother-in-law, Loweda Wood (Meme) of Aledo; and many dearly loved extended family members and friends.
Published in the Star-Telegram on 12/23/2008


text:
Puzzle Levels
Download a FREE Solution for your puzzles!
Click Image to Enlarge
Troy Extra Muros
Currency Converter: * Exchange rates shown above are estimates only, and may vary slightly from the rates charged by PayPal or your Credit Card Company.
Product Information
|shut out enemy knights/ keep own knight safe in city
|Smart Games
|Games - Children, Strategy - Logical, Raf Peeters
Product Description
Protect the city from invasion!
Place the walls on the board so that all the enemy's knights are shut out while your own knights are safe inside the city.
Troy is a legendary game with 60 challenges from easy to difficult: it's very simple ground rules might make it seem easy...but don't be deceived!
Contents: booklet with challenges and solutions, game rules, game board with transparent lid and elastic strap, 4 city walls and 8 knights.
Ages: 7-adult
*This is a single player game
Customer Reviews |Write your own review!
This item has yet to be rated


text:
Last Saturday, I decided to test the claim that bees will draw out foundationless frames faster than foundation frames. I really didn't know what I was doing, so I just heated some wax and painted two coats on the top bar of two plain old medium frames.
Here are the four day results:
Both of these are of the same frame. The other frame is being drawn out very nicely as well...not quite like this, but still strong.
These bees were a swarm I got from a town over. They were hived 2 weeks ago and are beasts.
Even caught a glimpse of her majesty:
I added another medium above them. In that I placed 5 foundationless frames with triangular strips for guides. Also, staggered between these I put 5 frames with foundation.
They also have a deep box on the bottom. They don't like it as much as the medium. I might remove it soon. I'm switching to all mediums anyway.


text:
The president's recent interview with Canada's CBC television network demonstrates that he doesn't know much about Afghanistan. But that isn't stopping him from talking about it — even while he escalates America's war there.
"Well, I think Afghanistan is still winnable, in the sense of our ability to ensure that it is not a launching pad for attacks against North America," he told his interviewer.
How is it possible for this well-educated man — like me, he went to Columbia, which had a superb history department — to be so ignorant? Afghanistan has never been a "launching pad" for a single attack, much less plural "attacks" against the US. (Or, as far as I know, Canadistan.) It's true that, until 2000, there were a few camps in Afghanistan. But the vast majority of the training camps loosely affiliated with Al Qaeda or other militant Islamist groups were, and remain in, Pakistan. Moreover, most of the jihadis who trained there wanted to fight countries other than the US: Chechens seeking independence from Russia, Uyghurs waging a low-intensity insurgency against China, Uzbeks trying to overthrow Uzbekistan's dictator.
German intelligence officials have said that three of the 19 September 11th hijackers had attended such camps. But that's an incidental fact. If you're looking for the men responsible for 9/11, you need to start in Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Well-connected religious fanatics and government officials in both countries conceived the plot, recruited its personnel, and provided the money. If jihadi training camps bother you, go where most of them are: Pakistan. Afghanistan never represented a significant threat to the United States. And it still doesn't.
More disturbing still is Obama's assertion that Afghanistan, where US soldiers are even likelier to die than in Iraq, is "winnable." To be fair to the president, he admits that "you cannot solve the problem of Afghanistan, the Taliban, the spread of extremism in that region solely through military means." But the key word is "solely." He's not only keeping troops there — he's sending tens of thousands more. US and NATO occupation troops aren't part of the solution; they're a big part of the problem.
Hamid Karzai, the former Unocal oil consultant hired by Bush to run Afghanistan's US-supported puppet regime, knows this. "Entering by force our people's houses is against the government of Afghanistan," he told foreign dignitaries in Kabul in December. "This way the Afghan government will be destroyed and it will never be strengthened when in my country, the foreign soldiers go and arrest people, hit them and even kill them."
But Obama isn't listening. Just last week, another US air strike killed 15 supposed militants in the northwestern province of Herat. Afghans, who live on the actual ground, said all 15 were civilians.
One quarter of all civilians killed in Afghanistan in 2008 were blown up in US and NATO bombing raids.
Table of Contents
Cover Archive
Masthead | Authors | Contact us
All Slideshows


text:
Setting out to do for co-op gaming what Counter-Strike did for team combat, Left 4 Dead is an ambitious, independently-produced survival horror game from Turtle Rock Studios, the co-developers of Counter-Strike Source. Running on the Source engine, Left 4 Dead leaves four armed survivors of a world overrun with zombies, and they must fight their way out to escape the outbreak.
Designed for co-op play, the four players must work together to finish each stage of the game, lending each other artillery support, sharing ammo and rescuing each other when zombies are on top of them. In addition to the standard four players as humans, another four players can be amongst the masses of assaulting zombies, seeking to take down the other players. Zombie players might even find themselves become one of the four mutant "boss" zombies, who have unique powers that can be used to devastate, injure, tie up, mark and track, confuse, or even humiliate the gun-toting human survivors.


text:
Wizard World is hosting their first Comic Con in Portland, Oregon, this weekend at the Portland Convention Center. The guest list looks fantastic, including Stan Lee, Morena Baccarin, and Brent Spiner. GeekDads Jonathan Liu and myself will be making an appearances, along with Geek Mom Cathé Post. Continue Reading "See GeekDads Live at Wizard World Comic Con Portland" »
All posts tagged 'Wizard World Comic Con'
- 02.21.13


text: The game celebrates the hilarious, timeless cartoon by putting players right into the classic cat-and-mouse chase. Gamers must help Jerry get back the cheese Tom has stolen while leading the frustrated feline into enough trouble that he finds himself out of the house! The game, which is now scheduled to ship October 31, is rated E for Everyone.*


text: Hi everyone, This morning, I noticed a substantial water leak right where the heater hose goes into the firewall on my 2008 Trailblazer (4.2L). It was clear water, not any sort of antifreeze. Anyway, I jiggled the hose a little bit and it seemed to lessen the leak to a degree. My question is whether the consensus would be a that the leak was a connector? I verified that it wasn't the air conditioning evaporator...I haven't run my a/c in about 3 days, which is why I started getting nervous see the water leak. Any help or insight would be appreciated Thanks!!


text:
Well I guess you can unload 2 pallets of deeps at the beginning of the flow and only one at the end.
You are right though the way I work I would find the max. Blew all the hoses on my Kubota the first month when I bought it 10 years ago. Apparently no one had ever Benn able to do that before so they fixed them for free.
I dont know the price yet. I am looking at a forklift that does not have side shift yet as my starter lift so I would get the 2x one and just use one set. I can always use the second set when I am moving nucs or singles. Really struggling with the HummerBee or Swinger for a fist time bee keeping lift. Need to get contracts and year over year income to justify I think.


text:
With the U.S. Supreme Court expected to make a ruling this month on California's ban on same-sex marriage, county clerks' offices around the Bay Area are preparing to accommodate a potential influx of gay and lesbian couples lining up to tie the knot should Proposition 8 be overturned.
Read the full story here Web Link posted Wednesday, June 12, 2013, 4:59 PM
Town Square
Bay Area clerks' offices prepare for Supreme Court decision on Proposition 8
Original post made on Jun 13, 2013
Like this commentPosted by Alan
a resident of Alamo
on Jun 13, 2013 at 6:26 am
Please let prop 8 monstrosity be overturned. It is about time.
Like this commentPosted by Dave
a resident of San Ramon
on Jun 13, 2013 at 6:53 am
Please let Prop 8 perversion STAND.


text:
Winter Bingo
By Michelle Powell
Are you tired of Winter already? We still have a month left, and it looks like the snowy weather has returned to Utah! Instead of dreading the winter that is left, take advantage of it and enjoy it with this Winter Bingo idea from one of my readers! Download the winter bingo sheet to play along w... Read More


text:
Saiddeal.net is a 1 year old domain, situated in United States. The domain is linked to the IP address 18.104.22.168 which is provided by the hosting company Steadfast Networks.
It was registered by SINKHOLE SECURITY , who can be reached at . Registration details show that it was registered on 09 Jan 2016 through eNom and will expire on 09 Jan 2017.


text:
What!?! I exclaimed when opening my Danville Express on Tuesday morning and scanning to the right to see the temperature. It was 27 flippin' degrees! And this was at 8 a.m.! No wonder our heater had come on during the night, even though we keep it at the lowest setting. At least the day's prediction was a high of 47 degrees - oh, goody - and the forecast was clear skies, which meant that with any luck I could sit in the sunny part of a front room in the late morning.
I crunched out over the grass in the back yard to check out the fountain. Frozen. Even hours later a sad little scrub jay was fruitlessly pecking at the ice hoping to find water to quench his thirst. OK, perhaps I'm reading into that. Maybe he was happy to have a bowl of ice on which to work out his aggressions. But he certainly was peck, peck, pecking away.
The day before, Monday, we awoke to a blanket of snow over the house and yard and it was cold, but not this cold. The snow was fun. I grabbed my camera to go out and take a photo of our home, and neighbors were out with their cameras, too. Next I bundled up to take photos in Alamo and Danville for the Danville Express and to check out San Ramon for the San Ramon Express. Everywhere in our neighborhood, kids were playing in the snow before heading off to school.
That's when the reality hit me of the area's micro-climates. In southern Danville I found nary a snowflake, ditto San Ramon, including Dougherty Valley. Of course by the time I got there, after stopping to take photos at Hap Magee Ranch Park, it could have melted. But later phone calls proved this was not the case. Let's move to San Ramon fast, I told my husband: It's warmer there.
My son in Germany heard about our snow and immediately IM'd to note it was colder in Danville than in Berlin. Had he seen it on DanvilleExpress.com? No, a friend on Facebook mentioned it was snowing here. But he soon checked out DanvilleExpress to enjoy a snow-covered Mount D.
Photographer Chris Scott who grew up in Danville tells me there hasn't been this much snow around in 41 years - he remembers it as a teenager. Although he had been out of town, he hurried back to take snow photos of Mount Diablo to add to his collection. Any local photog works his/her lenses has a collection of our landmark in every season.
Beverly Lane, curator of the Museum of the San Ramon Valley, recalled that in February 1976, the snowfall in the valley was even heavier than this week. She recalled the principal at John Baldwin Elementary just sending all the kids home, and that her sons slid down the hill in back of their house on cardboard boxes since no sleds were around. That time, she reported, it snowed during the day, too, not just in the evening.
Speaking of history, the photos that people took of their houses during snowfalls throughout the last century in California have proven helpful to historians. In years past, as now, this was often the only time people thought to photograph their homes. I wish we'd taken a picture of our house when we first moved here in 1981. We have a row of eucalyptus trees in back of our house and I'd like to see how much they've grown. Of course we took plenty of snapshots inside and outside, most including family members. We thought to document our kids' growth but not that of the trees!
But now I have plenty of photos of our house in the great snowfall of 2009. And I'm sure I'll have a record PG&E bill to document the cold snap.
Town Square
Diablo Views: Snow brings out our inner photographers
Original post made by Dolores Ciardelli, editor of Danville Express, on Dec 10, 2009
Like this commentPosted by Hal Bailey
a resident of another community
on Dec 10, 2009 at 4:18 pm
Dear Dolores,
Thank you.
I applaud your writing and appreciate the return of Diablo Views (Diablo Vista if you are in my neighborhoods). But this writing is delightful quite like a story book.
You again today made my day,
Like this commentPosted by Barbara
a resident of Danville
on Dec 14, 2009 at 11:52 am
The snow was beautiful and I would love to see other's photo's. Is there a way, folks can post their best Mt Diablo photo for all to enjoy here online. Or is that too risky an invitiation for folks to misbehave?


text: It was in a hollow tree stump, I am surprised it made it. The tree was cut down back in February and I covered the open colony with a tarp, a thick layer of straw, then another tarp. I have checked in on them from time to time to be sure they were still alive, then finally I had time today to hive them. Also it was the first time I got to use my bee vac that I built from beesource's plans, and it performed flawlessly and saved loads of work. I have several short clips that I need to get edited together then I will put it on youtube, then link it here.


text:
i'll always go with the balanced attack
you can win by the pass but few to none become champs that way
brown gives us the best balance
Bradshaw has always done better when he has another back in there to take some of the carries, and Brown has earned the opportunity to get more. I just hope the situation allows them to give him more playing time to give us a true head to head comparison of what he can do compared to what Bradshaw can do against the same defense.
All I have to say is "would all of your Andre Brown fan like some magic beans?" I have some for sale good value. I thought David Wilson was RJ3. Real Jesus 3 with the way you guys were talking him up after his pre-season carries. There must have been 40 threads about how Wilson is going to take bradshaws job because of a handfull of nice runs. Now we have moved onto RJ4 aka Andrea brown. After a come from behind win against a team the readskins flat out dominated, and a game against the Panthers who are generally a bad team you guys all switched religions. You have left the first church of Wilson to join the Browntology.
News flash! You can not run behind a bad o-line. Example Chris Johnson. No injuries, no way he "lost a step". His line just does not get it done and he has bad games. Suddenly they get their blocking right and he rushes for 150.
Also the reason Brown did not get many carries in philly is he game out limping, so don't try to go point out he is more bigger and durable.
LOL can't block. He had one back block that I remember. Bradshaw has been sucking lately as a RB. But hey! He can block so let's play him more.
TENN's O-Line is much better at pass blocking than run blocking...just like ours.
And CJ picked up some bad habits dancing around and trying to create stuff that's not there -- just like Ahmad -- and for the same reasons, too.
Since we're bad at run blocking, Andre's North/South run style would no doubt work better. But if he can't block as well as Bradshaw, you're pretty much telegraphing that it's a run when he's in.


text:
Researchers have devised a way to attach sugars to proteins using unique biological and chemical methods. This means that large quantities of different glycoproteins can be generated for various medical and biological studies.
The E. coli bacterium produces a protein to which a sugar is attached using an engineered glycosylation machinery. Outside the cell, enzymes trim off the monosaccharide. Other chemically synthesized sugars are then attached. (Diagram: F. Schwarz / ETH Zurich)
When the intestinal bacterium E. coli and the diarrheal pathogen Campylobacter work together, it does not have to result in serious illness. Rather, when biologists and chemists team to use the product of this bacterial collaboration, it opens up a whole new technology with potential pharmaceutical applications. Now, the PhD student Flavio Schwarz from Professor Markus Aebi's group at the Institute of Microbiology of ETH-Zurich and researchers from the University of Maryland have developed a new method for producing glycoproteins.
New tool
E. coli is a well-known biological workhorse that can be used to produce recombinant proteins. The problem is that E. coli is missing many of the functions required to modify proteins with sugar molecules. Markus Aebi's team, however, recently discovered that Campylobacter can do something that only eukaryotes like human cells can: attach sugar molecules to proteins following synthesis to produce glycoproteins.
The researchers recently reported this ground-breaking work in the journal Nature Chemical Biology. In this engineered glycosylation system, some of the genes from the Campylobacter glycosylation machinery are introduced into E. coli, thereby enabling the E. coli to produce glycoproteins. In a second step, unnecessary parts of the sugars are removed outside the bacterial cells and replaced with chemically synthesized sugar molecules of different size and structure, to produce sugar structures resembling human glycans.
Glycoproteins define blood group
This means that different glycoproteins can now efficiently be produced, thus helping researchers to analyze the structure and function of individual glycoproteins in a more precise manner. If you want to study host-pathogen interactions, for instance, you need pure samples of a particular glycoprotein, whereas natural systems can only offer researchers a highly complex blend of such substances.
Glycoproteins play a crucial role in biology. They are found more frequently on the surface of cells than "normal" proteins and they participate in numerous cellular processes, such as cell to cell communication. They are present throughout the human body, also in mucus, and the different glycosylation of blood proteins contribute to define the blood group antigen.
Blossoming concept
The new technology also has great potential for the development of new cancer treatments. These therapeutic glycoproteins can be produced specifically-tailored to remain in the bloodstream longer while targeting cancerous cells.
"For now, we have simply managed to prove that our concept works. It remains to be seen what potential practical applications it might have," says Flavio Schwarz from the Life Science Zurich Graduate School. The new process was actually a "by-product" of his dissertation -- further proof that basic research can also produce application-oriented results. It just needs resourceful people like Flavio Schwarz who recognize this.
Story Source:
Materials provided by ETH Zurich. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
Journal Reference:
Cite This Page:


text:
Ok everyone, we are asking for your help to hopefully make a small difference. We are now accepting nominations to determine who will be the recipient of the wounded warrior dog that we are training. We have a very nice yellow male pup that has been donated by a very reputable breeder. He will be placed on our truck, put through our gun dog program and then given to a very deserving wounded warrior. This will be done at zero expense the recipient. What we are asking of you is if you know of a wounded warrior that could benefit from a new companion and a trained retriever please contact us with their info. We need the following:
Name, Location, contact info and a short bio to tell us about the warrior that you are nominating and why you are nominating them.
To ensure that we place the dog with a warrior that he will serve best we ask that the person you nominate is a waterfowl hunter or interested in becoming involved in hunt tests.
For those making nominations please send info to us here or email email@example.com if you have any questions you can call Matt directly at 317-534-7380.
Thanks Everyone and please feel free to share this or post this info elsewhere.


text:
very beautiful work. I watch your projects with great pleasure.
here are a few pics of the trunion from barstock project. Lots of machine time for a part thats available in 70% form for less than $200 but I wanted to build as much of this project as possible from scratch, common sense be damned.
I had a power surge and the mill went nuts and cut the carry handle boss off before I could respond but the second trunion I am machining is finishing up nicely
very beautiful work. I watch your projects with great pleasure.
yah this is beautiful work. will you be offering a kit on here that we could buy.
like all the semi parts that you machined.
I will probably have the semi only rails available in both the JRW and US ord configurations as well as the jrw trip mechanism and striker assembly that fits in the bolt. Unsure of cost, a std NFA 60 left rail takes about 1 hour to machine , due to the raised blocking ribs both on the sde and bottom of the semi rails as well as all the cuts for the semi specific parts the left semi rail is taking about 6 hours to machine. The right rail and bottom rail are pretty much like the FA parts and are not that time consuming. Doubtful I keep any in stock.
There is a fellow that has the semi center channel available for $80 and another fellow with some nice 50% and 80% trunions for less than $200
rails machined for jrw build, Riveting and assembly will begin as soon as I get back from the creek
I don't get you selling your self short. I believe your one of the most talented people on this board. Most of us wish we had your talent and toys. build on brother you give us courage to forge on when we watch your builds and thanks for posting the pics.
Those parts are looking great PBB. I think we all dream a little as we watch your creations come to life. Thanks for sharing them with us!
Freedom is not free. Some will perish to preserve it for the many. Just as our Forefathers did before us, we must take up the battle and not waver. Victory is our only option.
if we paid you machine all the semi parts for cost+time+profit would you do it?
yes I do plan/hope to offer the semi parts for sale


text:
Hey, the Rolling Stones' 50th anniversary isn't the only ancient history to get hopped up about this year — here are some other treasures from the vaults.
OMNIBUS :: Eccentric Soul:: Numero Group:: $250:: The saintly staff of Numero have been campaigning for nearly a decade on behalf of some of the most obscure vinyl sides ever cut, focusing on regional soul and R&B oddities that, in sum, form an alternate history of modern American music. This, their 45th release, is a compendium of tracks that didn't fit on any of the prior 44, a massive cup-runneth-over of 45 45s that gives lavish treatment to 90 sides of criminally ignored funk and soul radness.
Table of Contents
Cover Archive
Masthead | Authors | Contact us
See all articles by:
All Slideshows


text:
Smart Moms
Moms are so ingenious! I learn new things from parents everyday and the saying inventions are the mother of necessity rings true again.
As I have been discussing in earlier posts, RSV has really been rampant these last few weeks, causing many babies to wheeze and a few of my patients had severe enough symptoms to require hospitalization.
A sweet 6 month old patient of mine was recently admitted to the hospital for a few days due to respiratory distress, and subsequently developed an ear infection (which is not uncommon) and was discharged on an oral antibiotic. Oh, did I mention that while the baby was in the hospital, the 2 year old sibling started to cough and wheeze as well and he was at home getting breathing treatments. When it rains, it pours!
Now that this family is on the mend, I had them return to the office for a post-hospitalization follow up and the mother said she had been a bit overwhelmed for the last few days. Poor thing! She said she was worried that she might mix up medication doses between the two children.
She then pulled out the box that contained the medicine for the 6 month old and showed me how she had drawn a calendar on the side of the box, with a square for each dose of medicine to mark off as she gave the dose. That way she was sure that she had given the medicine. It was like cross-checking medicines in the hospital to prevent dosing errors. How clever is that! No big chart, nothing fancy, but very practical.
She had brought along the medicine for her visit so I could see how well the baby was taking the medicine (which was not one of the better tasting liquids) and she had the perfect technique for administering the medicine as well.
So, this picture shows you how clever the bottle/box dosing calendar is. Of course she is a teacher, and I bet a good one!!


text:
Guardian Cub
Binds when used
Use: Teaches you how to summon this companion.
Sniffs the air, looks about, spreads its wings and yawns, rears up on its hind legs, does a back flip while idle in flight.
Pit-pattering footsteps; vocalizations (periodic and on-click)
The Guardian Cub is a mini-pet version of the Winged Guardian.
This pet is available for digital download exclusively from the Blizzard Store. It may be purchased using any major credit card.
The pet item can be traded in-game as well as sold on the Auction House after a 24 hour cooldown period. However, the Guardian Cub is a single-use item, so players will need to purchase one cub for each character they wish to give the companion. Players may hold more than one Guardian Cub item in a single inventory.
I bought one today (12/12/12). I can confirm that this is now an account-wide pet; I can see and use it on other characters than the one it was "bound" to. I can also right-click it and "Put In Cage", though we'll see if I still can after 24 hours.
The Guardian Cub was discontinued in June 2014. The pet was made account-bound, so if you get your hands on one, it will be available to your alts as well. I like having this fellow out when I ride my Winged Guardian.
When it was first removed from the Pet Store, the item was selling on Warsong-US for 10K. I rarely see it at auction for less than 15-20K now, and it will continue to go up as they get rarer, so if you see one for less than 20K, buy it. It is cageable, too, so if you get desperate for gold, you can likely sell it after a while for more than you paid.
But you'd have to be pretty desperate, because this fellow is fun to have around.
For your money you get only one pet for your whole account (other pet store pets give you the pet automatically on all characters). Prior to purchase you choose the character that should receive the pet.
This pet is the first item which can be legitimately bought with real money and sold on for in-game currency.
I'm so happy I kept him, one look at him swatting butterflies and his big doofy grin melts my hearts.
Only one available on the Auction House on Alexstrasza...85,000 gold...that's allot.
I got on here and was kind of freaking out because the last guy said this was discontinued in June 2014, but I just searched my AH and got one for 13.5k. He's also already level 12, so I'm pretty happy with that.
Late night AH browse to see if I can find a good deal on any of the few pets I don't have... and I came across this guy. Wasn't familiar with it originally and saw the post about him no longer being available in pet store so I scooped him up right away. 2,500g is all it cost me, think I got myself a steal for once!
"the Guardian Cub is a single-use item, so players will need to purchase one cub for each character they wish to give the companion. "
Is this account-wide?
" can confirm that this is now an account-wide pet; I can see and use it on other characters than the one it was "bound" to."
Account-wide even after 24 hrs and you can put it in a cage again (after >24 hours)?
yes, removed a month or two ago, currently avail only through trade or ah, value around 15kish
I am not seeing this pet in the store. Has it been removed?
Get him while you can because he's TOTALLY worth it. He's so cute-especially when he chases butterflies. And if you get the Winged Guardian mount they just look spectacular together!
I love this little guy! Cuteness + power = total win! I named him Falkor after the flying dog-ish creature from Neverending Story because that's immediately what I thought of when I first saw his picture on the website. <3
Originally, I wasn't a fan of this pet, but he isn't too shabby in a battle! And at least the Guardian Cub doesn't look as goofy as the Quilen Cub.
It is that time of year-- I named this utterly adorable little guy Moonraiser, after the winged lion King of the Isle of Misfit Toys (Rudolph, anyone?)! : > Kind of a big name for such tiny shoulders, but I think he can handle it! So glad he turned out to be account wide.


text: There is no Canadian equivalent to Dancing With the Stars (which I'm okay with, really). We used to have our own version of So, You Think You Can Dance. I don't watch any of those reality shows but I watched the season where Eman competed. He ended up a very respectable 4th--he was fantastic! Tessa would be a shoo-in for Battle of the Blades but I'm not sure there will be a new season.


text:
Skip Navigation
A number of species in the Northwest are listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). In our operational area these species include primarily bull trout, particularly in western Montana. Avista consulted with the United States Fish & Wildlife Service regarding the ESA during relicensing of both the Spokane River and Clark Fork hydroelectric projects.
The restoration of wild fish stocks, particularly bull trout, is a key part of the Clark Fork Settlement Agreement. The result is a collaborative native salmonid recovery program with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Native American tribes and the states of Idaho and Montana on the lower Clark Fork River, consistent with requirements of the FERC license.
Key Clark Fork activities in 2010 included:
With respect to other fish species, on our Spokane River Project we implemented ramping rate and minimum flow operations at our facilities, as agreed to with fishery agencies and included in our license. We also submitted a five-year fishery protection and enhancement plant and performed the following habitat assessments:
Avista's Water Quality Certification for our Spokane River Project FERC license, issued under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act, requires Avista to develop a wetland and riparian habitat protection and enhancement plan for the purposes of "identifying, evaluating and undertaking wetland and riparian protection, restoration, creation, and enhancement projects." A five-year plan was submitted to FERC on March 26, 2010, and approved by FERC on Oct. 5, 2010.
Currently Avista is partnering with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, United States Forest Service and Ducks Unlimited to undertake a potential wetland and riparian habitat improvement project along the St. Joe River approximately 10 miles upriver from the town of St. Maries, Idaho. This project consists of habitat restorations on a combined total of 124 acres of Idaho Department of Fish and Game property and Avista Corporation property. Project alternatives are being analyzed in 2011 with anticipated habitat improvements being completed in 2012.
Section 4(e) of Avista's Spokane River license requires Avista and the Coeur d'Alene Tribe to collaboratively prepare a Coeur d'Alene Reservation wetland and riparian habitat plan providing for the restoration of at least 1,368 acres of wetland, riparian and associate upland habitat. The plan was submitted to FERC on June 18, 2010, and approved by FERC on Oct. 5, 2010.
In 2010 Avista and the Coeur d'Alene Tribe began evaluating and identifying quality mitigation projects and properties on the reservation that could add improvements to the wetland, riparian and upland habitats within multiple watersheds on the reservation.
Avista also has ongoing programs to reduce harm to raptors, including hawks, ospreys and bald eagles, by minimizing nesting on transmission and distribution line structures, providing nesting platforms, taking remedial action in the event of bird injury, and training employees in raptor identification and protection.
As part of our Clark Fork Project License, Avista monitors and protects bald eagle nest sites, to ensure there are no project-related human activities that could harm eagles. Avista also prepared and will implement a bald eagle management plan to protect bald eagles related to the Spokane River Project. We submitted that plan to FERC on May 7, 2010.
This plan includes:


text: New Member Program at Summer Conference Who should attend? Educators/MTA members in their first five years of practice. How much does it cost? Nothing! This program is fully funded by MTA. Why spend five days in the beautiful Berkshires? You'll meet great people. You'll have a lot of fun. You'll master the maze of rules, responsibilities and demands placed on K-12 public school educators. What is the program about? The Rules in Education Who determines licensure rules, MCAS standards, whether your school is underperforming, the length of the school day and year, and much, much more. School and District ConditionsSalaries and working conditions, evaluations and PTS (Professional Teacher Status), and the role of the local association. Facing the Challenges Everything from daily survival to relationships with students, colleagues and administrators to 2009 budget cuts and layoffs. Will you be able to get other nagging questions answered on subjects such as licensure?Yes! What is the program not about?The program does not address curriculum and instruction or classroom teaching strategies. Who runs the program?Members of MTA's New Member Committee; all are alumni of the program. How do I sign up?Before, May 1, 2009, e-mail Diane Gately at email@example.com. After May 1, you may register online. What is the deadline? June 12, 2009 Is registration limited? First-come, first-served; there may be limitations per district based on number of members.


text:
Remember Me
Wine reviews for the rest of us. Save the high scores for the high dollar publications. We taste theĀwine you are interested in buying. You won't find $50 a bottle juice on this site.
Read More
We accept samples of wines under $30 retail. We are particularly interested in value priced wines. If your wine can qualify for our cellar selections, $30 and under, please contact us.
Wine reviews are free to use provided redwhiteandrose.com is given credit. Reviews are the property of redwhiteandrose.com. redwhiteandrose.com is not responsible for misuse of wine reviews.Read More
Advertising Wine submission Article submission Suggest a wine General inquiries


text: I am new here and new to beekeeping (I will have my first package in a week). I know I may be getting the cart ahead of the horse, but I really think it would be great if I could trap or catch a swarm to potentially start a second hive. However, I have a bit of an issue. I live in one of the two counties in the state of Georgia that have documented presence of Africanized bees (AHB). To my knowledge, AHB were detected in the state about 3 years ago. I have a lot of places that I could hang traps and I feel confident that I will be hearing about swarms. My question is should I mess with them at all given AHB is known to be in the area. I have relatives in TN, so I may be better of to wait on trying to trap until next spring. Thanks much for your advice.


text:
MakoSOLDIER uses Playfire to track their stats and meet gamers to play with! Get your own profile for free.
Greatness Awaits. http://www.twitch.tv/makosolider Anime: http://myanimelist.ne
Playfire is the global community for gamers. Get a killer profile, track news & discussion
for your favorite games, and follow your friends' progress in games.
© 2007-2017 Playfire Ltd.


text:
Overfishing and destruction of habitat threaten trout populations worldwide. Humans are the cause, though may also be trout's saviors.
In 1999, on a trip to Yellowstone, James Prosek and Patagonia owner Yvon Chouinard met. Hearing the stories of James' efforts to catch various trout around the world, and the dramatic challenges these fish are facing, Yvon was motivated to help.
The World Trout Initiative's mission is simple: To identify the individuals and groups that protect native fish, to tell their story and to support their conservation efforts by placing money into their hands. By telling a compelling story and providing the angler and interested parties with a call to action, we felt we could make something happen.
The stunning artwork that James Prosek used to document trout around the globe for his books, "Trout of North America" and "Trout of the World," offered an ideal opportunity to both raise awareness and funds. Patagonia set to work using this artwork to create t-shirts to raise funds for grassroots groups working to protect trout and their habitat. As the program has grown, we have used artwork from various artists and five dollars from the sale of each shirt goes to that end. Since its inception in January 2005 through October 2012, World Trout has given away $627,300 by selling almost 100,000 t-shirts.
The money has been used to support such groups as: The Native Fish Society, The Snake River Fund, Obirame Restoration Group, California Trout, Wild Fish Conservancy, Balkan Trout Restoration Group, The Quivira Coalition, Atlantic Salmon Federation and the Bone & Tarpon Trust. World Trout supporters have also sought out these grassroots groups to donate funds and volunteer their time directly to the group.
For more info or to apply view our Grant Guidelines.


text:
Better Binding
Prepare Binding Strips
Double-layer (also called French-fold) binding is easy to apply and adds durability to your finished quilts. From start to finish, here's a visual guide for how to apply double-layer binding.
The cutting instructions for each project tell you how many binding strips to cut and what the width and length of each should be. Unless otherwise specified, cut binding strips on the straight of grain of the fabric. Join the binding strips with diagonal seams to make one long binding strip.
Place binding strips perpendicular to each other and stitch. After stitching, reduce bulk by pressing seams open. Trim seams to 1/4".
Attach the Binding
With the wrong side inside, fold under 1" at one end of the binding strip and press. Then fold the strip in half lengthwise with the wrong side inside. Place the binding strip against the right side of the quilt top along one edge, aligning the binding strip's raw edges with the quilt top's raw edge (do not start at a corner). Begin sewing the binding in place 2" from the folded end.
To turn a corner, stop sewing when you're 1/4" from the corner (or a distance equal to the seam allowance you're using). Backstitch, and then clip the threads.
Remove the quilt from under the sewing-machine presser foot. Fold the binding strip upward, creating a diagonal fold, and finger-press.
Holding the diagonal fold in place with your finger, bring the binding strip down in line with the adjacent edge, making a horizontal fold that aligns with the quilt edge. Start sewing again at the top of the horizontal fold, stitching through all layers. Sew around the quilt, turning each corner like this.
Finish It Up
When you return to the starting point, encase the binding strip's raw edge inside the folded end and finish sewing to the starting point. Trim the batting and backing fabric even with the quilt top edges. Turn the binding over the edge to the back. Hand-stitch the binding to the backing fabric only, covering any machine stitching. To make the binding corners on the quilt back match the mitered corners on the quilt front, hand-stitch up to a corner and make a fold in the binding. Secure the fold with a couple stitches, then continue stitching the binding in place along the adjacent edge.


text:
Pulaski Tech's Board of Trustees elected new officers during its regular meeting on Monday, Nov. 5.
Ronald Dedman of Little Rock was elected board chair of the Pulaski Technical College Board of Trustees. James Herzfeld of Benton will serve as vice chair, and M.G. (Ret.) William Page of Maumelle will serve as secretary. Appointments become effective immediately.
Pulaski Tech's seven-member board of trustees is appointed by the governor of Arkansas. Each member serves a seven-year term and resides within Pulaski Tech's service area, which includes Pulaski, Saline, Lonoke and Faulkner counties.
Pulaski Technical College


text:
Brian Hayes
Five years ago a column in this series titled "How to Avoid Yourself" described the geometry of paths traced out by a random walker who refuses to set foot in the same place twice. Soon after the article appeared, I received a letter from Mark A. Wilson of the College of Wooster, who pointed out that some of my computer-generated paths were anticipated by millions of years in the fossil record of early life. He referred me to the Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology, an immense multivolume work sponsored by the Geological Society of America. Specifically, I was directed to Part W, Miscellanea, and within that part to Supplement 1, Trace Fossils and Problematica, written by the late Walter Häntzschel. As promised, I found there photographs and drawings of rock surfaces bearing intricate zigzag and spiral patterns that look very much indeed like certain computer-generated self-avoiding walks. Most of these "trace fossils" are interpreted as trails left behind by worms foraging in the muddy sediments of the seafloor. Can computer programs that generate similar geometric figures reveal anything about the creatures that made the fossil trails?
Wilson and I were not the first to ask this question. As a matter of fact, trace fossils were the inspiration for one of the earliest computer simulations of animal behavior, published in 1969 by David M. Raup of the University of Rochester and Adolf Seilacher of the University of Tübingen. Their ingenious model reproduced some of the more distinctive features of the fossilized trails, such as the prevalence of zigzag and spiral motifs. And the principle of the self-avoiding walk was a key element of the simulations: No worm was allowed to waste effort grazing in territory that had already been traversed.
In the decades since then, convoluted worm trails have remained a favorite subject for computer simulations. Here I shall review four more models designed specifically to explain the same trace fossils. The point of departure for all the simulations is a supposition about why the animals created trails of this general type. The driving force is taken to be a need to optimize foraging efficiency, so that every bit of territory is grazed once but only once. Given this underlying imperative, the question becomes how the animals created the patterns, or in other words what algorithms they employed to guide their movement. Because the primitive organisms had limited sensory and cognitive capabilities, the algorithms must have been fairly simple. And the computer simulations confirm that a few simple rules are enough to generate most of the observed patterns. Thus it appears that the how question has a plausible answer. But certain doubts remain about the why question. Is foraging efficiency really what motivated these mysterious animals?
When I first saw the photographs in Trace Fossils and Problematica, I assumed that the meandering paths had been inscribed by animals browsing on the surface of the seafloor, like snails leaving a slime trail on the glass of an aquarium. My assumption was mistaken; most of the fossils are actually burrows formed by worms living below the sediment surface. This was my first clue that understanding the nature of the trails might require some actual knowledge of fossils, rather than merely treating them as an exercise in abstract pattern formation.
The study of trace fossils—as distinct from body fossils—is the discipline known as ichnology (from the Greek ichnos, footprint). It is practiced by a small but thriving community, which has its own journals, conferences, traditions and vocabulary. Lots of vocabulary. Ichnology lives in a kind of parallel universe set apart from the rest of paleontology, identifying and naming "ichnospecies," which often have no known correlates among conventional biological species. In other words, ichnologists may conclude that various trace specimens were all made by the same kind of organism (thus constituting an ichnospecies), but they can rarely associate the ichnospecies with an animal known from body fossils.
The traces that resemble self-avoiding walks have been classified in ichnospecies such as Nereites cambrensis (from the Paleozoic era) and Helminthoida labyrinthica (found in Cretaceous and Eocene strata). None of these ichnospecies have been matched with known organisms, but most authors suggest they were worms of one kind or another. Expert opinion on the structure of the fossils is that they are tunnels rather than surficial grooves. Some tunnels are hollow, with walls consolidated by a mucous secretion; others are packed with fecal pellets, indicating that the animal was eating its way through the sediment.
Even though the animals lived in rather than on the seafloor, their trails are remarkably planar. This is mildly curious—what constrained their movements to two dimensions?—and also important in the context of self-avoiding walks. When confined to a plane, a self-avoiding walker is in constant peril of becoming trapped in a cul de sac of its own creation, surrounded by previously occupied sites. Although such one-way dead ends are also possible in higher dimensions, they are rarer. In two-dimensional space, trapping is so common that a random self-avoiding walker almost never gets far; constructing a long walk takes careful planning. The walk usually has a repetitive pattern—as seen in the ichnofossils.
Anyone who has ever mowed a lawn will recognize two of the most common motifs in the fossils. The first is the back-and-forth meandering pattern known as boustrophedon. (The original sense of this word is always given as "going as the ox plows," although I suspect the ox has little choice in the matter.) The worm follows a straight track for a certain distance, then makes a hairpin turn and proceeds parallel to the first track, then another 180-degree turn the other way. Thus the pattern grows as a series of alternating left and right hairpin turns, connected by straight segments traversed in opposite directions.
The second common motif is a spiral, which is even simpler. A left-handed worm follows the rule: Always turn left as sharply as you can without crossing your own path. The result is an Archimedean spiral, with the radius increasing by equal increments on each revolution. Note that the spiral is an outward one, formed of ever-larger loops. When I mow my lawn, I start at the perimeter and spiral inward, so that the last patch of grass to be mown is near the middle. As research for this article, I decided to try it the other way, beginning where I usually end. The experiment was not a success; I ran out of lawn on one edge while there was still a wide swath to mow elsewhere. I'll have more to say on this point below.
When Raup and Seilacher wrote their fossil-trail simulation in the 1960s, the output of the program was a path drawn by an x-y plotter, a mechanical contraption that today is in itself something of a fossil. In other respects, however, the model takes a thoroughly modern, algorithmic approach to understanding animal behavior. Following earlier work by Rudolf Richter, they assumed the worm obeys three basic impulses. Phobotaxis forbids the worm to cross its own trail (or any other trail, for that matter). Thigmotaxis, in contrast, urges the worm to stay close to an existing trail. Finally strophotaxis is a proclivity for making U-turns from time to time. Raup and Seilacher added a fourth action: Go straight if none of the other rules apply.
In the program, the worm examines the territory immediately ahead and to each side, looking for evidence of previous passages, then acts accordingly. If it senses a trail, it turns either toward it or away from it, depending on the balance of phobotactic and thigmotactic forces; if the way ahead is clear, the worm can either go straight or make a U-turn. Program parameters determine the propensity to choose each of these alternatives, as well as other variables such as the length of a straight run or the minimum turning radius. By tuning the parameters, Raup and Seilacher were able to reproduce some features of fossil tracks with impressive fidelity. The plotter's pen traced out spirals and meanders as well as curves that begin as a spiral and later switch to meandering (a transition frequently observed in real fossils).
But perhaps the program's ability to match the fossil patterns is not so surprising, since it was designed explicitly for that purpose. Present-day tastes favor a less direct approach. The rules of phobotaxis and thigmotaxis—which together cause the worm to adhere to its own path without crossing it—seem natural enough, but strophotaxis—the penchant for making U-turns—is something one would like to see emerge from simpler rules rather than being a built-in axiom.
Consider a worm burrowing parallel to a straight segment of trail. What happens when the segment abruptly ends? A spiral-drawing program handles this situation gracefully: The worm just continues applying the thigmotactic rule, turning around the end of the segment. The zigzag algorithm is not so simple. One idea is to interpret the end of the guide segment as a signal to make a hairpin turn in the opposite direction. This works well in the mathematically uniform world of computer simulations but might be unreliable for real worms on an irregular seafloor. Another strategy is to let the worm generate the pattern without reference to external cues, alternating left and right U-turns and connecting them by straight segments of equal length. But such an algorithm seems to require more cognitive capacity than we want to attribute to a Paleozoic worm. The trail-maker must remember when to turn left and right and must measure the straight segments.
Seilacher proposed an ingenious alternative: The worm's body length might serve as a natural unit of measure. The worm would start a new U-turn whenever it sensed its tail uncoiling from the last one, and this same signal would also indicate the direction to turn. It's a clever notion and seems like just the kind of thing that natural selection would come up with. But natural selection has come up with something else as well. Certain fossil trails have a recursive, multiscale structure: Large meanders are composed of smaller meanders of similar shape. It's hard to see how Seilacher's mechanism could account for these paths.
A few years after the Raup-Seilacher model appeared, Frank Papentin of Tübingen chose trace fossils as one of several examples he explored in a simulation of Darwinian evolution. Instead of tuning parameters by hand to achieve the desired patterns, Papentin encoded the parameters in genes subject to mutation and recombination, then applied selection pressure favoring compact but self-avoiding configurations. His worms lived on a square lattice—he named the species Rectangulus—and so they could make turns only in multiples of 90 degrees. If you make allowance for this geometric limitation, the patterns bear a strong resemblance to some trace fossils.
On the other hand, the genes that governed the behavior of Rectangulus were rather complex, which somewhat diminishes the sense of wonder when an intricate pattern evolves without the programmer's direct intervention. The genes regulated behaviors such as turning spontaneously, turning to avoid a trail, avoiding narrow channels between trails, maintaining contact with existing trails, and switching from spiraling to zigzag motion. Given these traits as tools to work with, it's not hard to see how Darwinian selection would construct patterns as elaborate as those of the trace fossils; the question is how such traits evolved. Still, Papentin's study was another pioneering one, an early application of the technique now known as genetic programming.
In the same period, Michael S. Paterson of the University of Warwick, John Horton Conway of the University of Cambridge and Michael Beeler of MIT were also inspired by the trace-fossil patterns. They turned the foraging process into a mathematical puzzle, which was described in a technical report by Beeler and in a Scientific American article by Martin Gardner. Their version of the worm's world is highly abstract. The worm eats its way along the links of a regular lattice, at each node choosing a new link from among those that have not already been eaten. (If there are no uneaten links, the worm dies.) The choice of direction is determined entirely by the pattern of eaten and uneaten links. For example, suppose a worm on a square grid enters a node and finds that the link to its right is already eaten but the links to the left and straight ahead are still available. The worm must choose one of the uneaten links, and will always make the same choice in the same circumstances. The set of rules for making decisions defines the species of worm.
On a square grid (Beeler calls this a "quadrille worm") there are only a few possible species, and none of them lives long; the largest quadrille fossil consists of just 16 links. But on a triangular grid, where six links meet at each node, Beeler counted 1,296 species. Most of these worms too have only a limited lifespan, but some sail off toward infinity and will never die. The fate of a few species remains uncertain even today: They do not have the kind of repetitive, propagating pattern seen in the infinite species, but they have been followed for hundreds of millions of steps without showing any sign of expiring.
What's lost in this model, of course, is most of the biology; the scheme is too abstract to predict the behavior of real worms. Even so, it offers evidence that very simple rules might be enough to generate the trace-fossil patterns.
Surely the least abstract simulation of trace-fossil worms was described in 1997 by Tony J. Prescott and Carl Ibbotson of the University of Sheffield. They did it with hardware—specifically, a robot built from Lego parts, which marked its trail by paying out a roll of toilet paper behind it. Arms extending from each side of the body carried pairs of optical sensors, which could detect the white paper against a dark floor. An on-board computer steered the machine by applying the now-familiar rules of thigmotaxis, phobotaxis and strophotaxis. The basic idea was to stay parallel to an existing trail by keeping the edge of the paper between the two sensors on one side of the chassis. If both sensors lost contact with the trail, the robot would steer toward it; if both sensors detected the presence of paper, the robot would veer away to avoid a crossing.
Getting the robot to produce a spiral was particularly easy. In fact, a spiral is the natural product of the rules just stated, given a bias favoring the sensors on one side or the other. Initially there is no trail to detect, and so the robot turns continually toward the favored side. After making a 360-degree loop, it encounters its own trail and begins spiraling outward.
Making zigzag traces is only slightly more complicated. All that's needed to initiate a U-turn is to transfer control from the sensors on one side of the body to those on the other. But the robot must still decide when to turn. Prescott and Ibbotson used a simple timer: The worm always turns after a fixed interval. With appropriately chosen parameters, they were able to generate the common motif of a spiral that evolves into a meander. At the outset, when the radius of the spiral is small, the worm can complete a few full revolutions before the internal timer runs out; later, at a larger radius, the timer triggers a U-turn before a full revolution is completed.
Back in the immaterial world of software, a model published in 1998 by Oyvind Hammer of the Paleontological Museum in Oslo returns to the simulated-evolution methods of Papentin. A population of 400 worms is let loose in an environment with limited food resources, and only the most successful grazers are allowed to pass on their genes. Each worm's movements are controlled by a network of components such as sensors, oscillators, memory elements, adders and multipliers, which initially are wired up randomly. It is the connections between these modules that are altered by mutation and recombination.
Under conditions of intense competition, Hammer's worms evolve from random toward systematic foraging. In particular, the worms learn to move rapidly between isolated patches of food, but they dawdle within a patch. Hammer's worms did not develop the kind of tightly organized meanders produced by ichnospecies such as H. labyrinthica. They also seem to have a habit of nibbling around the edges of a patch of food, rather than spiraling from the inside out.
This long series of computer (and Lego) experiments, extending over almost 35 years, leads to reasonable conjectures about how primitive burrowing invertebrates could have created the intricate patterns seen in ichnofossils. But the question of why the worms evolved these peculiar habits is harder to resolve. The assumption has always been that they were optimizing their feeding strategy, maximizing the input of food while minimizing the effort to acquire it. This is still the leading hypothesis, but perhaps there is room for doubt.
One reason for skepticism is that many other species live by grazing or foraging, but none (as far as I know) organize their feeding with such compulsive geometric precision. Sheep and cattle do not crop a pasture in neat boustrophedonic rows. Of course there are many differences between a cow and a worm, most notably the worm's greater difficulty in seeing and moving. Still, similar obstacles confront other organisms, such as bark beetles, which must chew their way through wood. The beetles tend to avoid crossing their own path, but their galleries are usually stellate rather than spiralling or meandering.
Another question is why so many ichnofossil burrows are planar. Other burrowing animals range through a three-dimensional medium. Perhaps the worms were chasing prey that lived at some specific horizon within the sediment.
A related mystery is how the worm got to the middle of a spiral. Most simulations do not address this issue: The program merely puts the worm at an arbitrary starting point. A real worm cannot simply materialize in this magical way. If it is strictly confined to two-dimensional life, then it must cross its own path as it spirals outward. An alternative is to tunnel above or below the spiral-to-be to reach the center—but if the worm can pop into the third dimension whenever it wants to, the carefully crafted planar trails are not needed at all.
Finally, even if self-avoiding paths are advantageous to a forager, why do they have to be compact paths? After all, straight lines are also self-avoiding. Staying in one place and cleaning your plate seems tidy and well-mannered, but does such fussiness actually improve foraging efficiency?
Authors differ in their answers to this question. Some cite a patchy food distribution, suggesting that it's better to consume everything in one patch before going in search of another. Other workers argue that the deep sea is the most uniform habitat on earth, with little patchiness in the distribution of nutrients. To account for the compact fossil trails they cite the effect of competition from other worms. Although a straight trail will never cross itself, in a densely populated region many trails will cross one another. In other words, the worm's aim is not just to avoid itself but to avoid everyone else as well.
Whether the motivating factor is patchiness or competition, it remains to be shown that outward spirals and meanders are the best way to achieve the objective. For an animal foraging within a patch of seafloor—just as for a homeowner mowing a patch of lawn—spiralling in from the perimeter seems like an attractive alternative. An inward spiral might also be a useful tactic against competitors, since the initial outermost loop would effectively fence off a territory for private exploitation. I have tried to explore these possibilities in a few simulations of my own, but the results are inconclusive. The efficiency of spiralling into a patch depends critically on the shape of the patch; nonconvex shapes are troublesome. In the absence of patches, the algorithm for inward spirals has a hard time getting started: How does the worm decide how large a spiral to draw?
My personal guess is that the answers to all these questions will come not from computer simulations but from further examination of the fossil material itself. In the meantime it seems worth considering the possibility that foraging efficiency is simply not what these structures are all about. There is precedent for such a change of view. A living worm, Paraonis fulgens, makes spiral burrows that look much like some trace fossils. But Paraonis is not a forager; its burrows work like a spider's web in the sand to catch small organisms. And Seilacher has proposed that some deep-sea fossil traces are structures built not by foragers but by farmers: The tunnels were used to grow fungi, much as some ants do today.
When fossils such as Nereites and Helminthoida were first discovered, most of them were classified as plants. The sinuous paths were thought to be stems or fronds. Indeed, there was a whole phantom taxonomic group, the Fucoids, made up of plant species that are now understood to be animal trails. Is it possible that ichnology will undergo another such interpretive upheaval?
© Brian Hayes
You can find this online at http://www.americanscientist.org/issues/num2/in-search-of-the-optimal-scumsucking-bottomfeeder/1
© 2016 Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society


text:
Internal Memo Shows Corzine Ordered Funds Moved
Former CEO Jon Corzine gave a direct order to move funds from a customer account to meet an overdraft in one of MF Global's (MFGLQ) J.P. Morgan (JPM) account, according to emails examined by Bloomberg.
Edith O'Brien, a treasurer for the firm, wrote in an e-mail three days before the company's collapse, that the transfer of $200 million was "Per JC's direct instructions," Bloomberg is reporting. J.P. Morgan had drafted a memo, verifying that the funds were MF Global's and not those of a client, but it was never returned to the bank.
In December, Corzine told lawmakers that he had not authorized the loan of customer funds.


text:
forum: Everything else
Pages: 1 2 3 … 13 | Home » Everything else » When did you start getting interested in cooking?
#1 Mon 15 Sep 08 10:04pm
- Forum champ
- From North Carolina
- Member since Thu 15 Jul 04
When did you start getting interested in cooking?
Jamie, My love for cooking started in my mother's kitchen. I started baking cookies when I was just about 7 years old. I didn't have a recipe. I would just remember what I saw my Mom put in the cookies she had made earlier in the week. They always turned out very good. (At least to me!! ) I kind of got out of cooking when I married a man who loved to cook himself. He took over the kitchen. I did continue to bake and still do. At Thanksgiving and Christmas, my hubby, my daughter and I all end up in the kitchen having a blast. All of us are cooking something different and having a wonderful time. Great memories! Thanks!
#2 Mon 15 Sep 08 10:23pm
- Forum champ Occupation Student , Hobby Chef
- From Bavaria, South Germany
- Member since Sat 30 Jun 07
Re: When did you start getting interested in cooking?
I've always been someone who was interested in cooking and bakery. My first experiences were baking Christmas biscuits with my mum. When I was 6 or 7 I was given a Cookbook for children. But I was somehow never allowed to cook properly until the age of 13 or 14. That was when I learned to know Jamie on TV. he inspired me and encouraged me so that I annoyed my parents till the let me cook a real meal. Since then I'm cooking as often as I can.
Thanks Jamie, your the one who made me cooking
#3 Tue 16 Sep 08 12:55am
- Member
- Member since Mon 15 Sep 08
Re: When did you start getting interested in cooking?
I was always interested in cooking but was not allowed to cook much..apart from noodles or warming up preprepared dishes. Serious cooking started when I was unemployed for 6 month and offered to cook for the family (6 people) until I could start the new job.
First it was mostly "safe" dishes like spaghetti or roast potatoes..but I practiced and read cookbooks and got better.
I still love cooking, have taken cooking lessons too and try to prepare at least one complete meal for my own family now. And I teach my children how to cook
#4 Tue 16 Sep 08 1:46am
- Forum champ Occupation Duty Free Lancome and Fragrance sales
- From Greater Vancouver
- Member since Mon 23 Oct 06
Re: When did you start getting interested in cooking?
My interest in cooking started when we lived in Sri Lanka, Obviously you could not buy certain western foods and as a teenager that was a bit of a culture shock.
I read lots of recipe books my mom brought over. I especially checked out the cookie and cake sections from The Joy and I think there was a great one bowl chocolate cake from The New York Times cookbook. I was forced to make this flourless hazelnut cake for my mom countless times I wonder where that recipe went?
#5 Tue 16 Sep 08 5:51am
- Forum super champ Occupation Growing things
- From Up the garden path...Tasmania
- Member since Thu 02 Sep 04
Re: When did you start getting interested in cooking?
My interest in cooking started when I was quite young as I had to help out in the kitchen because of my mother's continued poor health.I tried very hard to help out and learn as much as I could. My dad had a big veggie garden so there were always fresh veggies to pick and prepare.
I became much more interested in cooking food and experimenting and entertaining when I left home and lived in a shared house with friends.
My OH was a great cook when I met him and together we have strolled down the culinary road trying out new things and reinventing old favourites, and passing this knowledge onto our children and grandchild.
#6 Tue 16 Sep 08 7:21am
- Member Occupation A blonde
- From New Zealand
- Member since Tue 02 Sep 08
Re: When did you start getting interested in cooking?
I guess I am a late bloomer. Though I did the usual perfunctuary cooking for my family through the years, even for shearers at one stage, my absolute love for cooking started just a few years back after walking free. While I was finding myself, I found a joy for cooking to the extent of pulling a recipe apart and creating my own version, or simply creating something new. My adult children know there is always a home to come home to with good ole nourishing, homely food.
Because we are living on a low income I have learnt that good food can be produced low cost, yet quite a good variety, nothing like the fish pie produced from canned smoked salmon as I was brought up on.
One adult child now works in a cafe kitchen, the other a male is quite adept in the kitchen. Not bad tools for anyone to know.
Food need not be an issue, being diet conscious, and yes I guess at times I do carry a few excess pounds, mind you don't they say 'you can't trust a skinny baker'.
#7 Tue 16 Sep 08 8:09am
- Forum champ
- Member since Wed 23 Jul 08
Re: When did you start getting interested in cooking?
my mom was a great cook of the meat & potatoes school although a little too much influenced by the 1950's 'convenience foods', frozen veg being her downfall. Her favorite cookbook: "The I Hate to Cook Book" by Peg Bracken, featuring pot roast with dry onion soup packets etc. -- it was all really good though (except the frozen brussels sprouts ) -- but reading that book, which was written with a lot of humor, made me think cooking could be fun.
was encouraged to make breakfast for the family on weekends (suspect it was a way to keep me busy, being the first one awake on saturday) - eggs, French toast, crepes, pancakes etc. - age 10
watched Julia Child, Graham Kerr (for his humor), other early TV chefs.
#8 Tue 16 Sep 08 9:06am
The White Rabbit
- Forum super champ
- From Sydney, Australia
- Member since Tue 22 Jun 04
Re: When did you start getting interested in cooking?
Standing on a chair at the kitchen bench as soon as I could stand on a chair. Then it progressed to rolling biscuits and flattening them with a fork. Even at 3 or 4 I had the perservence to roll and squash and sprinkle large batches of biscuits. It kind of progressed from there. I am a chemist (a real one, not a pharmacist) and cooking and chemistry go hand in hand.
Oddly, Mr Rabbit does more cooking than I do, even though he came to it later than me he has a certificate in commercial cookery (doesn't work as a cook though) .
Last edited by The White Rabbit (Tue 16 Sep 08 11:00am)
#9 Tue 16 Sep 08 9:37am
- Forum champ
- Member since Fri 31 Aug 07
Re: When did you start getting interested in cooking?
nzhippy wrote:
'you can't trust a skinny baker'.
I prefer the adage 'You can't trust a fat baker/chef'
#10 Tue 16 Sep 08 12:57pm
- Forum champ
- From Germany
- Member since Mon 13 Mar 06
Re: When did you start getting interested in cooking?
I think I never really started to get interested - I simply was interested in cooking from baby on. As long as I can remember I was left to play with my mom's pots and pans and wrapped in dad's apron and I often sat next to the stove watching. That almost killed me as a three-year-old when my mom tipped over a pot of boiling water. I got burned badly (life threatening), but as soon as I was fine again, I was back spying and trying to help....
Then later (from when I was 12 I think) mom and I had the deal that the one who was home first would cook. (I started that when I came home early one day and was so hungry that I just started cooking, and when mom came home it was ready to be served).