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Great blog, very informative! Just looking into a weekend trip to Brussels/ Bruges and enjoying few beers at the Beer Weekend this September and getting very excited about it now after reading your blog. Thanks:)
All over Belgium
Trip Start Apr 15, 2003
136Trip End Sep 01, 2011
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Our Belgium trip proved to be both exciting and relaxing. We linked up with Stephen and Julie (see Kantors Abroad tpod) for the first weekend in Brussels and Brugge. We left on Friday morning from Amsterdam and headed to Brussels for the Fifth Annual Belgian Beer Weekend. After that, we went to Brugge and then on to southern Belgium (on our own) to tour the Flanders and Ardennes regions. Along the way we learned a lot about the history of the region (including its importance in both World Wars) and enjoyed beautiful countryside, in addition to discovering some new beers.
Belgium produces over 600 beers in many different types of breweries, from big commercial endeavors to very small "artisanal" brews to those made by Trappist monks in Monasteries. So the trip was loosely organized around investigating these different beers and seeing the different circumstances under which they are made. The southwestern part of Belgium was the location of the northern part of the western front during World War I for four years and the southeastern part of Belgium (the Ardennes region) saw the last German offensive battle of World War II so there were many historical sites there that we explored as well. We also saw a couple of old forts and castles. Although organized around the breweries, drinking beer was not the goal of the trip. It was really about getting to places that a person would have little other reason to go to and seeing interesting things along the way.
Friday: Pick up Stephen and Julie. Drive to Brussels. Tour Brussels and experience the Fifth Annual Belgian Beer Weekend.
Saturday: Drive to Waterloo and then on to Brugge. Explore Brugge.
Sunday: Explore Brugge some more. Drive to the De Dolles Brewery in Esen for 2:00 tour. Drive to Watou. Bike in Belgian and French countryside. Dinner at 't Hommelhof.
Monday: Brewery tours around Watou. Drive to Westvleteren to pick up special beer only available directly from the monastery. Drive to Poperinge and tour National Hop Museum. See hop fields. Drive to Ypers. Explore WWI memorials/cemeteries, see British military Last Post, go through In Flanders' Fields Museum. Drive back to Amsterdam.
Tuesday: Ride bikes to Haarlem . Tour Grote Kerk.
Wednesday: Drive to Maastricht to pick up watch books. First "Hunt for Red October" to find lodging. Check out Maastricht.
Thursday: See 9/11 entry. Many failed attempts at brewery tours and war museums. Visit Abbaye Val Dieu, AChouffe, Phantom, Rochefort, LaRoche (including fort). Second "Hunt for Red October".
Friday: Tour Rochefort Monastery (Chris only), drive through Ardennes forest, Boullion (including castle/fort).
Saturday: Drive into France on way to Chimay, visit Chimay and Silly, drive home
Sunday: Rest!
After arriving in Brussels we promptly got lost since we had no detailed map and Chris forgot to load the GPS with Brussels city details. However, there was a silver lining. In our wanderings we happened into a cute little neighborhood where we stopped for lunch. We asked for directions, but everybody that we asked spoke French and told us we shouldn't drive down town. We were on our own but not driving downtown when we had driven in NYC and Chicago was out of the question. Eventually we found the hotel, checked in, and set off to explore some of downtown Brussels, wandering in and around the Grand Place.
In mid-afternoon the Belgium Brewers Guild, 'Chevalerie du Fourquet des Brasseurs', held a ceremony to induct new members into the Guild, including the first American (who happens to own the Brickskellar in Washington, D.C., which some of our friends have been known to frequent -- Rick G. you know you have!). After the induction (a private event) there was a parade that ended with a very interesting church service for the consecration of the beer organized by the Knighthood of the Brewers' Mashstaff, in the Magdalena Church. Stephen and Chris attended. The service was focused on Saint Arnold, the Patron Saint of Brewers.
Meanwhile, while Chris and Stephen were in church, Melanie and Julie wondered around the Grand Place some more and went to the chocolate museum, where they received a few free samples.
After dinner of mussels, French onion soup, salad and Belgian fries, it was time for the beer festival to begin. Chris had been trying since we arrived to get a press kit for the event. Finally, at 5:00 they gave him one, which allowed him to enter the festival 1 hour early. He was able to get stickers for all 4 of us to get in early as well. We attribute this not only to Chris' natural charm, but also to his Clark Street Ale House baseball cap that he wore all week. Once inside, we found out that the press stickers entitled us to free beer all night! BONUS!!! Thus, we had the freedom to try many more beers than we would have if we were buying them. Here Melanie is carefully writing down tasting notes.
Additionally, since they were free, we did not feel obligated to drink more than a taste. This is particularly good since the Belgian beers are very strong, so drinking more than 1 or 2 is a bad idea. Since the samples were full beers and not just tastings, this led to a table full of much more beer than any 4 people should ever have. We kept trying to give it away; some people were leery of taking beer from strangers and others stopped and drank some with us! When we asked Stephen which beer he liked best, his reply was, "They're all good!" - which nobody could dispute.
While deciding which beer to sample next, Chris started talking to some people and discovered that they were from northern Virginia near Wahington, DC! It is through them that we met the only American inductee, the owner of the Brickskeller, as well as the owner of Chris' father's favorite Olney, MD, restaurant, Mannekin Pis (that's the restaurant's name, not the owner's). This restaurant is about 3 miles from where Chris grew up. The restaurant owner was there to sample the Belgian beers as well. It's a small world!
This was a very enjoyable event. We met some new friends and got to try many new beers. There was a brass band (12-15 people) wandering throughout the event. People kept buying them beer, so they got louder as the night went on, but it was still fun.
The celebration was right in the main center square of Brussels set among many 16th century guild and town halls. The whole setting really was enjoyable. Here is a picture from the beer tents in the main square taken by Stephen as the evening descended:
After trying a number of beers, some of the guests had to take a break including this little guy:
On Saturday morning, we joined a tour (for the press) that was supposed to be of hidden pubs in Brussels. We found out about it from the press kit and went in, but the tour was really bad. It was given by the tourist board of Brussels and was targeted at journalists so you would have thought that they would try to do something that would be packed with information and new things, but that was not the case. The big excitement occurred when we were waiting for the tour to start and saw "the giants" come through the plaza. It turned out that Mannekin Pis (the little guy above) was getting a new outfit and there is a whole parade and ceremony that goes with that, so we got to see the parade:
Here he is in his new outfit that looks like those that the brewer guild members wear:
No one is really sure of how the Mannequin Pis statue came to be in Brussels....but the statue certainly is a popular site there. And some how he seemed very fitting on a beer weekend in Brussels.
After enduring the 2 hour non-tour tour and getting lost again on our way out of Brussels (we've decided we don't like driving in Brussels) we were on our way to Waterloo, where Napoleon was defeated. This site contains a memorial (a huge hill that can be walked up for a view of the surrounding fields), a private museum, a movie, and a panorama (a big painting of the battle). You have to pay separately for each thing (or buy a package) and since we had already spent too much time in Brussels we decided to pay only 1 Euro and climb up the big hill to the Lion's Head memorial (Pont du Lion). It was interesting, but not terribly so - probably because we skipped the most informative parts.
After Waterloo we headed to Brugge. Julie and Stephen wanted to help us navigate but the events of the previous evening caught up to them:
Of course the directions on how to get to our B&B were incorrect and we again we did not have a detailed map of the city. But this time Chris did have the GPS loaded, so despite being right in the middle of a bunch of very narrow winding streets loaded with pedestrians we were able to find the B&B without too much trouble. When we got there, we discovered that one of the owners is a veterinarian. There was a dog, 3 cats, a goldfish and a backyard full of box turtles in residence. We wandered around Brugge, sampled the chocolate, and then went to dinner - more mussels for Melanie (they're in season now) and Flemish stew for Chris and Julie. After dinner we were walking around the town and, as usual, Chris was behind, googling at something. Some very drunk British guys stopped Stephan and asked if he spoke English. He said yes, so they asked what time it was, Stephan told him, and they moved on. A block later we saw that they had run into Chris and were talking to him. When Chris finally caught up to us, we found out that they had the same questions for him. However, because everyone in Amsterdam answers "a little" to the question, Do you speak English?, Chris has gotten into the habit of answering the same way. So these drunk Brits were very confused when they asked Chris if he spoke English, he answered "a little", and when they asked the time he answered in his usually gabby-Hooper fashion. They didn't know if he was playing a joke on them or serious. Pretty funny.
On Sunday we took a canal tour of Brugge (very relaxing, but not nearly as interesting as the Amsterdam tours), bought more chocolates, and then left Stephan and Julie on their own in Brugge while we drove to the teeny tiny town of Esen. The De Dolle Brouwers, makers of Oerbier, is in Esen. It is a teeny tiny brewery owned and run by two brothers - a doctor and a dentist - who used to be home brewers and decided to expand. They only brew on weekends and they only open the brewery for tours on Sundays at 2:00. On this particular Sunday, one of the owners, who in addition to being a doctor or dentist is also an artist, was having an opening exhibition of his artwork in the brewery. He was obviously more interested in the art than in telling us about his brewery, but after a � hour wait while he went home and had lunch, we got the tour. Several interesting things about this brewery:
1) The building looks medieval, but it isn't. Apparently many buildings in Belgium (and probably Europe generally) were destroyed during various wars and were reconstructed after the wars using the original bricks (early recycling!). So, whereas we had always assumed that a building made of really old materials was a really old building, it turns out that many of these buildings are actually from the 1920s. Chris knew this all along (it is possible to tell from the architecture), but it was news to Melanie. 2) The artist/owner/doctor/dentist loves bright colors, so the whole place is decked out in primary colors:
Sitting on the terrace feels like being on a playground - all bright yellow, blue and red. 3) Esen is in the middle of nowhere - sorta like being in the middle of Iowa. There are cows in the field out back and the main street is about 4 blocks long. But somehow, despite being in the middle of nowhere and brewing only on weekends, these two brother brewers have made a successful beer that is carried in at least 2 of the Belgian specialty bars in Amsterdam. 4) People here really don't understand why two fairly young people from Chicago would go to Esen to see the brewery. We met several "locals" during out � hour wait and they were clearly surprised by our presence. Actually, now that we think about it, most people that we know don't understand the appeal of this vacation either!
After the De Dolles brewery we drove on to the little town of Watou. Watou sits very close to the French border, so we rented bicycles and biked into the French countryside, over to the neighboring town, and back to Watou. It felt great to be outside in the fresh air after so much driving. Along the way we saw lots of farmland including fields of corn and Swiss chard. We also saw several Catholic shrines at the corners of fields in remembrance of the GReat War:
We're not sure if they are war memorials or religious shrines used by the farmers, but they are very common. Watou is a very small village, but it is known throughout Belgium for its literary arts culture. They have a 1 week poetry festival each year where people go to various venues, including people's homes, and listen to poetry. The walls and rooftops are literally covered with poetry in Watou. We were fortunate enough to arrive on the last day of the festival. Unfortunately, all (or at least most) of the poetry was in Flemish (very similar to Dutch), so we did not understand it. The other claim to fame in Watou is a beer cuisine restaurant, 't Hommelhof (roughly translated as the Hop House). This is a very upscale restaurant that cooks with the local beers. We had dinner there and it was one of the best meals of our trip. Truly worth the drive if you are already in that area of the country:
There are three or four breweries in Watou. All were closed to tours, but Chris walked into the warehouse at St. Bernadus and discovered that it was possible to buy beer direct from the warehouse (at factory direct prices), so Melanie went in to see what was there. We started talking to the guy who was running the warehouse, asking questions, etc., and at one point he mentioned that they were brewing a particular beer that day. He could see that Melanie was very curious about seeing the process, so he bent the rules and gave us a quick tour. In all the tours we've been on, this is the first one during which brewing (creation of the wort) has actually been taking place. Cleanliness is paramount to quality beer, so in general a brewery would not give tours while anything is open -- for fear of contamination. We got to see the brewing tank in use, go into the cold storage room where the beer sits to bottle ferment prior to sale, and got an explanation of the bottle cleaning machine. OK, maybe this doesn't sound so fascinating to some of you, but believe us, it was. The bottle cleaning machine is integrated directly into the bottling machine. The dirty bottles come back from the distributors in plastic crates. The crate and bottles are put into the machine. They are separated, cleaned and sterilized and the bottles go directly into the bottling machine before they can become contaminated again. The bottles are filled with beer and at the end of the process, bottles and plastic crate are reunited. We learned that the bottle fermented beers take a lot of time to create. Depending on the beer, it must sit up to 8 weeks longer than a typical Budweiser would require before it is ready for consumption.
After Watou, we drove to Westvleteren for our first Trappist beer. There are only 6 Trappist beers in Belgium and the Netherlands (defined as: brewed at the monastery with the actual monks maintaining substantial control over the brewing process) and Westvleteren is one of them. This is a very special beer because the monks actually brew the beer themselves instead of just supervising the process. They only brew when they feel like it and when they have enough bottles available. Their philosophy is that they work to live not the other way around....think about that concept! The beer is sold only for personal consumption, not for resale, so it has no label - just a plain naked bottle. The bottle cap tells what type of beer it is and when it was brewed. According to many beer experts (and Chris and I agree) it is consistently ranked one of the top beers in the world. It is not possible to visit the monastery itself, so basically the whole point of going there is to get a drive in the country, buy some great beer, and have lunch at the little cafe across the street from the Monastery - where they have the Westvleteren beer available and serve tostis made with Trappist cheeses.
From Westvleteren, it was on Poperinge and the National Hop Museum. Hop plants are very susceptible to disease, so there are only specific places in the world where they are still able to be grown and the area around Poperinge is one of them. The Hop Museum is small and interesting. There was a 30 minute introductory film that could be viewed in French or Flemish (the two official languages of Belgium), so we decided to test our Dutch and view the Flemish version. Occasionally Melanie though she understood something, but afterwards as we were reading the English brochure that explained the museum displays we found that her interpretations were generally wrong. Guess a few more Dutch lessons are in order!
From Poperinge it is a short drive to Ypers. There is a good explanation of Ypers in the July 8 travelpod, which we won't repeat here, except to note that this is the site of the Mennen Gate, a very moving WWI museum, and a town totally rebuilt from its own ruins after WWI. We wandered around the town of Ypers as well as the outskirts and saw many war memorials and military cemeteries. It is amazing how many military cemeteries and memorials exist in this area. It seems like every field has another military cemetery. Some are quite small, like the one we happened into while riding our bikes, while others, such as the Tyne Cot Cemetery are incredibly huge - especially considering that the cemetery is usually for a particular group of soldiers from a particular period of a particular battle. It's just overwhelming how many people died. Melanie got to see the Last Post (although 1 week later) and go through the museum. It's a very small town, but definitely worth the trip.
Since by Monday night our car was already full of beer and we still had almost another week to go, we decided to go back to Amsterdam. In retrospect, we probably should have scheduled Westvleteren last on the trip so we wouldn't have to worry about the car getting too hot, but hind sight is always 20-20 (or at least closer to it). Also, Chris had some business he wanted to take care of, so we drove back, arriving in Amsterdam around midnight. On Tuesday morning we slept in until 10:40. It felt so good!!! After such a restful sleep we decided to ride our bikes to Haarlem - a town about 12 miles from Amsterdam. There are bike paths throughout this whole country so it is very easy to ride from one town to the next on a dedicated path. Sometimes the path goes through beautiful green countryside and sometimes it is following beside a highway or other industrial area, but it is always pretty easy to follow and generally protected from traffic. We had very strong head wind going there so it took almost 1.5 hours, but the return trip, with tail wind, took less than 1 hour. While in Haarlem we saw the Grote Kerk where Mozart and Haydn each played the famous organ - Mozart when he was 10 years old:
There were a few exhibits in the church, one of which was on bats. After looking at that exhibit, we were walking around the church and saw an almost dead bat crawling along the floor. Creepy! It's a good thing Melanie's Mom wasn't with us - she hates bats! In keeping with our vacation's theme, we had lunch in a brown caf� where Jopen beer (brewed locally in Haarlem) was sold and had dinner at our favorite Belgian restaurant/ beer cafe in Amsterdam, De Zotte.
On Wednesday, we drove to Maastrich, in the southern part of the Netherlands that is sandwiched between Germany and Belgium. There is a clock expert who lives in Dusseldorf who has published a book that Chris sells on his website, so we met him in Maastrich to pick up a fresh supply of books. People had told us that we would really enjoy Maastrich, but the traffic was bad getting there and the weather was bad as well - very cold and rainy. We met the book author at 12:30, transferred the books, then had a hot chocolate and talked. Konrad, the author, was a little boy living in Germany during the second World War and he remembers the American liberation and then the Americans leaving and the Russians being in control. His father somehow managed to escape being part of the military and was generally challenged trying to keep his principles while not offending those in control and putting his life and his family's life in danger. It was very interesting to hear his views on European politics - both present and historical - and we ended up spending several hours together. By the time we said adieu and Chris and I found a place to have lunch, all of the museums and churches in Maastrich had just closed. Bad timing again. We wondered around a bit and enjoyed the pretty neighborhoods. We then decided to drive on to Belguim.
We had heard that Leige was a nice city, so decided to drive there. We knew nothing about the city, but it was big enough to get lost in (and of course tourist information was closed), the weather was still bad, and it was starting to get dark, so after getting lost enough to be discouraged we decided to keep driving so that we would be close to the next brewery (Abbaye Val-Dieu) the following morning. Unfortunately, we were driving into "Iowa" again, so we didn't realize how low our probability of finding a place to stay really was. Luckily, along with the signs to the abbey there were also signs for two B&Bs. One was deserted, but the other was available and really, really nice. What luck! The remainder of the story is on the 9/11 tpod, so we won't repeat it here, but bottom line: we found a nice place to stay in a beautiful part of the country and very close to our first stop the following day.
We discovered the beers of Abbaye Val-Dieu at the Belgian beer festival and really liked them, so decided to see what the brewery was like. There are no monks at the abbey anymore, so it is not a Trappist beer. It also didn't feel like a peaceful abbey sort of place. Everybody was running around very busy. We finally got the attention of some guy who didn't speak English, but who brought out the guy who does the tours. Turns out they only do tours for groups of 14 or more and only by appointment, so we were SOL. He did convince the brewmaster to take 30 seconds to find some brochure in English for us, we poked our heads inside the brewery, and saw beer cases of beer being loaded on a truck, but that was the extent of the tour. The chapel was open, so we peeked in there as well. We did learn that they ship beer to Chicago, so somewhere in Chicago (Sam's maybe?) the beer of Abbaye Val Dieu is available. Despite the fact that we didn't get a tour, it's still a great beer that we would recommend trying if you get the opportunity.
After stopping at the U.S. war memorial and the town of Aubel which was liberated by the American Army on Spetember 11, 1944 (see 9/11 for details) we drove on to Achouffe, where the LaChouffe and McChouffe beers are created. After a little searching we found the brewery, only to learn that tours are only given at 10:30 only by appointment and only for more than 10 people. Strike two.
The logo for the Chouffe beers is a little trollish guy who looks a little devilish. Our impression of the town of Achouffe was that the whole town felt a little trollish. At first we thought it was cute, but when we walked into a local restaurant everybody looked like trolls. They were short and stubby and had goofy shaped heads and really short arms. There were these two trollish guys in the kitchen. It didn't look too clean and the troll thing was kinda creepy so after waiting a few minutes and not getting any service we decided to leave.
We had a tourist map of Belgium that showed not only most of the breweries, but also historical sites and museums. From the map it looked like there was a good war museum in Bastogne, on the way to the next brewery, so we drove there. When we arrived, we discovered that the museum was privately run (like the one at Waterloo) and had the feel of a tourist trap, so we decided to skip it. However, it was right next to another U.S. war memorial that was very nice. The memorial was in the shape of a star and we could climb the stairs to have a beautiful view of the surrounding countryside.
In Bastogne, there was a tank that had received damage during the Battle of the Bulge and a statue of General McAuliffe (see gallery above). General McAuliffe told the Germans "Nuts" when given the ultimatum to surrender during the Battle of the Bulge.
After seeing all this cool stuff, we were starving, so we stopped at the closest grocery store and grabbed some cheese, bread and fruit for lunch. Stopping at grocery stores in different places can be interesting because there is often something strikingly different from place to place. In this instance, the store was the anchor to a very small shopping center - sort of like a strip mall only enclosed and perpendicular to the parking, so more like a mall. Anyway, in the middle of the shopping center, where an American shopping center would have the little jewelry, sunglasses, or engraving kiosks, this place had a bar. It was like a gazebo shape with the bartender in the middle and bar stools surrounding, but no other enclosure. You sure wouldn't see that in the U.S.!
Next on our tourist map was LaRoche, a small town right in the middle of the Ardennes, where the Battle of the Ardennes Museum resides. Surely this one would be a winner! But, when we arrived, we found a very tourist town with another cheesy privately run tourist trap museum and again decided to pass. Not all was lost though. The Ardennes are where the Dutch go for hiking and other outdoor activities. It is hilly with lots of dense forest, so the drive there was beautiful and very different from what we had experienced in the western part of Belgium. Also in LaRoche is a castle ruin which we spent an hour or so exploring. The number and quality of ruins in Europe is just amazing to us. So many little towns have these old castles or forts. This particular castle had something extra for the tourists though - a ghost! The ghost only appears on the weekends during tourist season, but when it does it looks amazingly like a KKK guy. No kidding. It's a person all in white with a white face mask and the pointy white hat. We couldn't believe it. You can even buy postcards of the "ghost" to send to your friends. We thought about it, but decided that we didn't want to risk that somebody who saw the postcard along the way would get the wrong idea. Clearly this is a town that could use some diversity training!
Despite the ghost and the tacky museum, LaRoche seemed like a cute little tourist town with plenty of lodging, so we decided we should stay there. Chris checked with the tourist office and got a listing of B&Bs and confirmation that there was no danger of places being full for the night. Since it was about 4:00 and we were about 30 minutes drive from another small brewery, Phantom (maybe named after the LaRoche ghost?), we decided to go there. We eventually found this little place, but it was only open on weekends. Strike 3. Three breweries in one day and no tours. Still, it was interesting to see the relative size of the breweries, what kind of buildings they were in, and the surrounding countryside. After all, that's the real point of a trip like this. As many of you are probably thinking: "Ya seen one brewery, you've seen 'em all."
Instead of calling it a day, we decided we were fairly close to the 2nd Trappist brewery on our tour, Rochefort, and drove over there. Rochefort makes relatively small quantities of beer, but not as small as Westvleteren. Their beers are commercially available, but the abbey is closed to the public and no sales occur at the abbey itself, so there's really no reason to go there. Still, we thought it would be interesting to see where this place was. Curious Chris, of course, was not content to just drive by the place, though. We had to stop and he had to wander in to see if anything was open to the public. There are no tours at Rochefort, but the monk that Chris talked to only spoke French, so he called the abbot and put Chris on the phone with him. After confirming that Chris was not with a tour group and asking some other questions, the Abbot instructed Chris that if he came back at 10:30 the following day he could have a private tour! Homerun! This made up for the 3 strikes earlier in the day - plus the monk handed him a beer on the way out! One caveat though - only Chris could go on the tour. No girls allowed in the abbey. So, Melanie had to wait in the car the next day while Chris got a private tour with one of the monks. It was a nice tour. Chris got to see the brewery, meet the actual brewer in the quality lab, and see the monastery grounds.
Chris' sister, Jeannine, calls wild goose chases "the Hunt for Red October". In LaRoche we experienced our second serious Hunt for Red October (the first being for dinner and lodging the previous night). When we had left LaRoche around 4:00 it was a bustling little tourist town - like the beach towns on the East Coast. When we returned at 8:00 they had rolled up the sidewalks. Everything was closed, there was nobody on the streets, the place was deserted. Although it was true that there were plenty of rooms available, we had a hard time finding one that would be preferable to sleeping in the car. As most of you know, we are not terribly picky about accommodations, but these places smelled BAD. Many of them smelled of stale (or fresh) cigarettes, mold, mildew or just plain funky. One place was essentially the extra bedroom of some old bat who chain smoked. We could hardly breathe there! Another place had torn bedspreads and nasty tiles in the bathroom that looked like they were about to fall off. Chris finally asked somebody at a restaurant if they could recommend a place. That person sent us to a place that was "Hilton quality, only cheaper". We're not sure what Hilton this guy had stayed at, but this one smelled just as nasty as every place else we had stayed and was still about $70 per night. Finally we found a place that didn't smell and was relatively clean. The room was tiny, the sink was in the bedroom instead of the bathroom, the wallpaper was starting to pull away from the wall, the linens were quite worn (including cigarette holes), but appeared clean, and the bathroom door was a sheet of plywood on rollers, but it was by far the best we could find. It's one redeeming feature was that it had a view of the castle with a full moon was rising next to it (no ghost), so if we turned off the lights and looked out the window it wasn't too bad.
After finding lodging, the next "Red", as we would begin to call these adventures, was to find dinner. Most restaurants were closed by now, so we went back to the place with the Hilton guy. They had Phantom beer available, so we got to try that. Chris thinks it's really good; Melanie thinks it's ok. It only comes in really large bottles though, (wine bottle size) so we both have to like it to open a bottle.
We learned a new tourist catch phrase in LaRoche - artisanal. Everything there is artisanal, meaning that it is made as if by an artist - or some such b.s. In LaRoche (and later we noticed throughout most of Belgium) they had artisanal ham, artisanal cheese, artisanal beer and artisanal chocolates. I'm sure there are other artisanal products that I've missed because as we continued our travels we realized that the Belgians have discovered that if something is labeled "artisanal", the tourists will buy it.
Here was a Patton tank from the Battle of the Bulge that was among an outdoor market in LaRoche:
On Friday, after Chris' tour of Rochefort, we drove to Boullion - another small town with an ancient fort and (we thought) 3 breweries. The drive was very pretty through the Ardennes forest. We were surprised, however, to see that the U.S. is not alone in clearcutting its forests. There were many places along the drive where clearcutting was very evident. In Boullion, we found one very small brewery and learned that the other two had closed. The one that we found was really a beer store with a little brewing equipment in the back. It had the feel of somebody's home brew on steroids that they brought to work with them. The store itself was interesting because they had almost every beer made in Belgium - which is impressive when you consider that over 600 different beers. So, with no additional breweries to tour, we went to the fort. This fort was much larger than the one in LaRoche. It dated originally from medieval times but had also been added onto over the years and was even used by the allied military in WWII.
Boullion also has several "artisanal" chocolate shops and "artisanal" pastry shops. Fruit pastries are a specialty of this region and Melanie found plum tarts like her Grandmother Bernhardt is reputed to have made. So, lunch this day was very healthy. We each had: an apple, 1.5 tarts and lots of chocolates. Thus, we were ready for "real" food for dinner. Around the corner from the brewery/beer store, across the street from the church whose carillon sung Beethoven's 9th several times during our visit, was an odd little restaurant that we think was also a cabaret or theatre or had some sort of performing art thing happening on the 2nd floor. It played lovely Parisian music, had a French menu that we couldn't understand, and absolutely the best food of our entire trip. Even better than the beer restaurant in Watou. It was amazing. Given that this was so good and was just a little nothing restaurant, we now have a desire to go to France and see what all the fuss is about with their multi-star restaurants!
Boullion offered another "Red" opportunity. Although the hotels appeared to be reasonably well maintained, we had the same smelly issues as in LaRoche. In one hotel the lobby bathroom had cloth towels to dry your hands and bathrobes in the room, but the hallway smelled like aged urine. Gross. Finally, we found a normal hotel that didn't smell at the top of the hill over looking the town and the fort. As is common throughout Europe instead of a shower we had a tub with a shower hose, but the room was spacious, the hotel had been recently refurbished, and the whole thing was stink-free, so we were very happy. Here was the view:
To get from Boullion to the Chimay monastery, the most direct route was to drive through France. Coming into France was not like the other European Union border crossings we'd experienced thus far. When driving across the German or Belgian borders, it's sort of like driving to another state in the U.S. There's a sign that says "Welcome to Germany" and that's about it. But, coming into France was a little different. There are signs starting 5 km before the border warning of the advancing border. 2 km, 1 km, 800 meters, 500 meters, 100 meters. At the border itself we had to slow down to go through what looked like a toll gate without a toll. Guards stood at the border crossing, but didn't seem to do anything. We're not sure what the purpose of all this fuss was, but it was definitely different than other border crossings. The roads in France are also difficult. Highways become diverted into little towns then back onto the highway then back into the little towns again. Generally it was a mess and very confusing. Still it was nice to see the French countryside. It made us want to take a driving tour next summer of France or Italy.
Back in Belgium, we made our way to Chimay. The abbey was difficult to find; the signs were about as clear as those in France (in other words, confusing). Finally, decided to just stop at a restaurant and see if we could figure out where we were. It turned out that the restaurant was owned by the abbey and was across the street from the forest path that leads to the abbey itself. So, after lunch, we walked through the forest to the Abbey and were able to walk around the grounds somewhat and into the church. The brewery is not open to the public. The Chimay beer is available on tap in a few special bars in the immediate area.
After Chimay, we drove to the small town of Silly in search of the Brewery de Silly. Melanie had discovered the Scotch Silly beer at the Brussels Beer Weekend and thought it would be fun to see where it was brewed. Plus, according to our map, there was another really good beer cuisine restaurant in Silly. This was another really tiny town, maybe 8 blocks long. Everything was closed except for a small local tavern where we decided to sample the beer. The restaurant, it turned out, was only open on weekends, but was closed for the whole month right now because the owner/chef was on vacation. We looked at the only restaurant that was open in town and it looked pretty bad, so we finished our Trappist cheeses, bread and fruit sitting next to a war memorial in the town square. The church's bells were calling people to Saturday evening service (which we had also witnessed on Sunday morning in Brugge). We decided that since it was already 7:00 and we were in the middle of nowhere, we could either start on another lodging "Red" or just drive home. Given the experience of the past 2 nights we decided to go home, be with our kitties, and have a relaxing Sunday to catch up before heading back to work (for Melanie anyway) on Monday.
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text: In my previous Health Coach Helper article, I covered the key takeaways from Lesson One. This next portion of material really dives into behavior and all of the different factors related to why someone may or may not be motivated to make these behavior changes. Motivation is a very fluid thing, meaning that it varies from person to person and from situation to situation. This lesson discusses how a Health Coach can facilitate a transformation by utilizing his or her skills to ultimately teach clients to be motivated to take responsibility for unhealthy habits and replace them with healthier ones. Lesson 2 This section in Academy Select (again, don't worry if you don't have the program) includes chapters 3, 14 and 18, and each chapter elaborated on a different aspect of behavior. What I got out of these chapters is that no one person will ever be coached the same! Everyone is influenced by a variety of factors and those factors impact each person differently, so a health coach really needs to recognize these individual differences to best assist his or her clients. I used the same process as last time to go through the material (using the Master the Manual, videos, etc.), except this time I watched the videos twice—once before I read the chapters and once after. I think it really helped because with these different models and theories it took a couple times to get it straight. Repetition really does work—your muscles are proof of that! Also, I can't stress enough how helpful the "Think It Through" sections are! They give you real-life applications of the information presented, and they challenge you to explore the different options one might have and what is going to be BEST option for any given scenario. Key Points Chapter 3: Health Behavior Science -Determinant of Behavior - Operant conditioning (antecedent, behaviors and the response consequences), habit, and social and individual factors (personality and cognitive factors). -Behavioral Theory Model: Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change (TTM) - When it comes to these stages there are three goals: 1) to understand how to determine how ready one is to adhere to this change; 2) what the goal is of working with someone in this stage; and 3) the strategies you would use to progress them to the next stage. For example, someone in precontemplation has not even begun to view exercise as something valuable to them, so encouraging them to exercise is unlikely to resonate. In other words, you need to make inactivity relevant to their health in order to get them to think about making a change. Figure 3-1 on page 60 is a great resource and suggests some great strategies you can use to achieve that goal. -Health Belief Model - Perceived seriousness, perceived susceptibility and cue to action. It is essential to understand how PERCEPTION shapes a client's motivation. For example, if two individuals are prehypertensive (blood pressure 120-139/80-89), and one perceives this as a very serious condition that he is highly susceptible to developing, he is going to be motivated to change. The other individual, however, might not see it as that big of a deal and would not see this as a cause for change. -Promoting Behavior Change and Adherence and Motivation – Communication, relapse prevention, behavioral modification, and cognitive behavioral techniques and self-efficacy (6 sources of self-efficacy—pages 64-65). Key Points Chapter 14: Lifestyle Modification and Behavior Change -Socio-Ecological Model (SEM) - Understand why someone's surrounding culture affects his or her health. How could public policy, communities, schools, interpersonal relationships and individual traits either positively or negatively influence an individual's motivation to be active or eat a healthy diet (or visa versa)? -5 Categories of Motivation and 3 Factors That Guide Human Development -Creating Realistic Goals and Expectations - Educate clients on realistic weight loss and goals to help them avoid false-hope syndrome and planning fallacy. Also, be sure to address stress management. -Lifestyle Modification Strategies - Realistic goals, increase self-efficacy, finding social support and implementing various self-monitoring techniques Key Points Chapter 18: Helping Clients Establish Self-Reliance -Active Spheres of Influence - Recreation activities, transportation, occupation, and household activities. How could you create new opportunities for physical activity and healthy diet option? -Creating Self-Reliance - Strategies for establishing self-reliance. Components of realistic goals as described on page 538. Ultimately, the goal of the health coach is help their clients get to a place where they can MAINTAIN this new healthy lifestyle without relying on the health coach. -Behavioral Contracts - Components that promote health-behavior maintenance. Figure 18-5 on page 541 is a great example. -Different Tools and Strategies to Foster Success - Finding ways to cope with setbacks, reinforcing success, and using technology and other products to communicate and promote progress. Thank you for reading my blog—I hope this information was helpful to you! In the next blog, I will cover chapters 6, 7 and 15. If you have any feedback on these blogs or if you have a study question, you can comment here or contact the Resource Center at 800-825-3636, Ext. 796, where our Study Coaches are ready to help 7 a.m.–6 p.m. PST, Monday-Friday.

subset: commoncrawl


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Please join me in a healthy competition with our fellow CU campuses by teaming up to show that we in Boulder understand the value of health and wellness both in the workplace and in our community.
As in years past, I have agreed to this friendly competition to see which campus can gain the highest participation rate of primary members of a CU Health Plan who complete the SUCCEED Health Assessment. The Health Assessment is an online questionnaire that provides a snapshot of your overall health and wellness. Let's show the CU system that our campus can achieve the highest participation among all employees who are Plan participants.
Last year the Boulder campus finished last with just over 18% participation. I am setting the bar higher this year with a goal of 30% participation. If you need a bit of motivation to help us reach our goal, take the Health Assessment between now and April 11 and you'll be automatically entered into a drawing to win one of 10 great prizes – music devices, tablets, Fitbits and a variety of gift cards – every week during the Health Assessment event. A new list of prizes will be announced every Monday through April 11.
Besides a chance to win one of many great prizes and learn more about your health, the assessment is an annual requirement of the Be Colorado. Move. program. Once you have completed the assessment, you are eligible to receive $25 a month for every month that you complete 30 minutes of activity a day for a minimum of 12 days a month. As Benjamin Franklin once said, you can be "healthy, wealthy and wise."
Let's be the University leader in promoting a healthy lifestyle! Complete the SUCCEED Health Assessment today!
If you have any questions visit www.becolorado.org or e-mail firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Report: Obama's "fiscal cliff" offer to Republicans calls for $1.6 trillion in new taxes and end of debt ceiling in exchange for … nothing, basically; Update: McConnell laughed out loud; Update: Walk away, says Krauthammer
posted at 6:02 pm on November 29, 2012 by Allahpundit
Even more unbelievable than the "offer" itself is the fact that the our hack media will go on painting Republicans as the unreasonable ideologues in this equation.
House Republicans said on Thursday that Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner presented the House speaker, John A. Boehner, a detailed proposal to avert the year-end fiscal crisis with $1.6 trillion in tax increases over 10 years, an immediate new round of stimulus spending, home mortgage refinancing and a permanent end to Congressional control over statutory borrowing limits.
The proposal, loaded with Democratic priorities and short on detailed spending cuts, was likely to meet strong Republican resistance. In exchange for locking in the $1.6 trillion in added revenues, President Obama embraced $400 billion in savings from Medicare and other entitlements, to be worked out next year, with no guarantees.
He did propose some upfront cuts in programs like farm price supports, but did not specify an amount or any details. And senior Republican aides familiar with the offer said those initial spending cuts might well be outnumbered by upfront spending increases, including at least $50 billion in infrastructure spending, mortgage relief, an extension of unemployment insurance and a deferral of automatic cuts to physician reimbursements under Medicare…
[T]he details show how far the president is ready to push House Republicans. The upfront tax increases in the proposal go beyond what Senate Democrats were able to pass earlier this year. Tax rates would go up for higher-income earners, as in the Senate bill, but Mr. Obama wants their dividends to be taxed as ordinary income, something the Senate did not approve. He also wants the estate tax to be levied at 45 percent on inheritances over $3.5 million, a step several Democratic senators balked at. The Senate bill made no changes to the estate tax, which currently taxes inheritances over $5 million at 35 percent.
Here's Peter Suderman's idea of a commensurate counter-offer:
Republicans hear Obama's opening bid, counter with: Eliminate the federal government, except for defense.
— Peter Suderman (@petersuderman) November 29, 2012
Two possibilities. One: Obama reeeeally wants to avoid the cliff, so he's engineering some political cover for the other side to compromise. Ante up with a ridiculous bid, then pretend to let Republicans "win" by letting them negotiate him down to, say, "only" a trillion in new revenues. In order to believe that, though, you have to believe that O fears the cliff. Why would he? Polls show that Republicans will take most of the blame, which means not only will Obama have more leverage after January 1 (see my earlier post about that) but he can then blame any economic sluggishness over the next year or two or four on the GOP too. That might be the difference between a Republican Senate versus a Democratic House in 2014. Which brings us to two: He's either indifferent about going over the cliff or now actively wants it to happen, and since he knows he can count on the press to scapegoat Republicans when it does, he's decided to shoot for the stars with his "offer" and see how desperate Boehner is. Is the GOP sufficiently nervous about being called enemies of the middle class if a deal isn't reached that they'll cave on tax hikes on the rich in exchange for some smaller bundle of concessions, with this insane package the only other alternative on the Democratic side? That's what O wants to see.
Exit question: Let it burn?
Update: NRO's Dan Foster asks a good question:
Is the White House proposal supposed to reduce the deficit? By how much?
— Daniel Foster (@DanFosterNRO) November 29, 2012
We're supposed to be paying down the deficit here, not squeezing the rich to fund Obama's next government expansion. How much of this mega-soak is designed to do the former rather than the latter?
Update: Laughable, literally:
Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican leader, says he "burst into laughter" Thursday when Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner outlined the administration proposal for averting the fiscal cliff. He wasn't trying to embarrass Geithner, McConnell says, only responding candidly to his one-sided plan, explicit on tax increases, vague on spending cuts…
Geithner suggested $1.6 trillion in tax increases, McConnell says, but showed "minimal or no interest" in spending cuts. When congressional leaders went to the White House three days after the election, Obama talked of possible curbs on the explosive growth of food stamps and Social Security disability payments. But since Geithner didn't mention them, those reductions appear to be off the table now, McConnell says.
Update: Via NRO, hard to argue with this.
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text: Seduction and luxury are what you get with Cover Male underwear. The brand offers both everyday and edgy underwear that combines masculinity, elegance and class while offering men a chance to indulge themselves. Many of the underwear pieces are made in bright neon colors offering men a playful, fun look. Underwear is made with high quality fabric to ensure a comfortable fit. Some of the designs are even sheer for a playful peek. Style and comfort are no stranger when it comes to all of the Cover Male designs. They are all designed with the man looking for a sexy, unique, modern look when it comes to their underwear. What he's wearing under his clothes can be his little secret.Cover Male was established in 2011 and the first collections launched in January 2012. Designer Tarek Al-Halabi wanted a line that gave men the new "it" underwear. He noted that men were started to expand their fashion desires when it came to underwear. The motto of Cover Male quickly became, "Is it on you?" Cover Male designers want every man to be wearing the seductive underwear. The brand is on its way to making history with its own fun designs and spreading across the globe.Cover Male offers three collections with more on the way. The Cotton collection will be available in Fall 2012. The Sports collection features the Running Short designed for ultimate mobility. The athletic design has sides that cut up to the waistband. The Peek Jockstrap is made with a soft elastic waistband with a contoured front pouch. The Casual Wear collection features basic underwear with Cover Male's unique spin. The Bikini comes in fresh, vibrant colors and has support for everyday wear. The collection also features a trunk, waisted-up brief and cheek boxer. The signature logo elastic waistband is included on many of the pieces in this collection to proclaim you are a "cover male!" The Erotic collection features many of the wilder styles. Many of the styles are sheer or cut so that not much is hidden from the imagination! Some of the products include the G-String, Brazilian Bikini and String Bikini. The Pouch Enhancing Cheek Boxer and Thong both provide a smooth, defining fit making a bold statement. The thong has an extreme enhancing pouch to improve your profile and give support.Cover Male's focus is to grab the attention of men and their significant others as well! Designers want the underwear to give men an extra boost of confidence. Knowing you have a bright, wild piece of underwear under a suit, workout clothes or just jeans gives men a devilish confidence to conquer the world. Besides confidence, the line is made with elegance and sophistication in mind. Designers believe boring white underwear is yesterday's fashion. Even the classic fits in Cover Male designs have a bit of an edge. A Cover Male is dressed in fun fashion and a comfortable style.


text:
German company pulls out of Israel rail project because it cuts through West Bank
JERUSALEM — Israel Railways says a German company has quit a project to build a high-speed rail link between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem because the line cuts through the occupied West Bank.
Spokeswoman Liran Gordon says German railway operator Deutsche Bahn played a minor role in the project and that its departure won't affect the link's scheduled 2017 launch.
Deutsche Bahn confirmed Monday that it backed out of the project amid political pressure.
Several German lawmakers had criticized Deutsche Bahn's participation.
A separate light rail project in Jerusalem has generated similar concerns. An Israeli partner in that project has said pressure from pro-Palestinian groups forced French multinational Veolia to drop out.
Veolia says it dropped out because of financial considerations.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Europe is trying to address privacy issues with a proposal that's been termed the "right to be forgotten." Currently, users' internet actions, whether they be Facebook updates or online purchases, are collected by various parties. The concept of the "right to be forgotten" is a privacy issue that focuses on that data not being collected, and not be aggregated to provide a view of a person's history and patterns. He said, "Consumers in Europe feel uncomfortable with their data being tracked and their online personas being available to retailers and others. They want to have the right to be forgotten . . . they want it to be their choice."
The European Network and Information Security Agency or ENISA has published its assessment of the proposals. In general, Kelly believed ENISA was sympathetic to the goals of these proposals, but overall, he extracted that the bottom line was that it's not practical or even possible to enforce those kinds of rules, mainly because the internet is worldwide and not policed by any one country. Kelly said, "I think what this report is really saying is that the reality today is that we all create a lot of data. There's really no way to have it be forgotten . . . frankly, it's just not feasible." Kelly commented that in order to allay these concerns to a certain degree, consumers have to see their data being put to good use, not just to the benefit of business, but to their benefit as well.
Google is under scrutiny for promoting its own services in search results, and there's talks of huge fines and even detailed regulatory control coming into play. Kelly thinks that one way to deal with this issue is to focus on the data and determine what the best results are to a user. He said to let the data decide could be the best approach. If there were ever to be an open, non-commercial search engine, he said that big data and analytics would be the keys to delivering the most relevant results with no biases involved whatsoever.
Big Data is getting its very own book called "The Human Face of Big Data." The book demonstrates how big data is used in the real world, not only in commercial settings, but in society at large. With all the hype surrounding big data and the election earlier this year and now this book, it seems as though Big Data is emerging into the "bigtime." Kelly agreed that big data is starting to become more mainstream. He observed that there's a growing interest in big data and predictive analytics to the point where the term "big data" is not even a buzzword anymore. People are starting to understand that data-driven analysis, data-driven business, and data-driven decisions are all part of big data. See the entire segment with Kristin Feledy and Jeff Kelly on the Morning NewsDesk Show.


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Hi, I have already posted a "First Boba Build" thread in its respective category. However I have decided to move away from making a boba and start a custom Mando/Bounty hunter with the supplies I have already acquired. So if anyone has any links to things I can base my armor design/color scheme off of that would be awesome. My favorite color combo is black and red but I appreciate any other ideas you guys have to offer!
PS: I already have a boba style helmet made by rubies and I am willing to do minor modifications to it (paint, greeblies, interior, etc..) I also have begun to cut Boba armor from black garbage cans. Also i want to spend as little money as possible so as much as I'd love to go and buy flight suit, flack jacket, boots, stuff like that I would like to do as much as I can with what I already have.


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Super Bowl XLVII Pics — Stars, Sports & More
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Town Square
Boundary Issues or Tresspass?
Original post made by Leslie, Palo Verde, on Sep 7, 2006
While my husband I were first put off and a bit disturbed by this, we were truly amazed when she proceeded to open the gate and go into the backyard of our neighbor! She did not see us and was clearly aware that she was out of bounds (she was looking around to see who saw her). Our neighbor is not currently living in the house so when we drove off we called the police and reported the incident.
I don't actually think this woman was going to rob our neighbors house. This was probably someone who just was curious. However, with the recent crimes in south PA, we decided to err on the side of caution.
Has anyone else had any problems like this? Is this person a repeat offender? She was probably mid to late 40s with light brown hair, she was thin and wore exercise clothing. I do not think that there was a child in the bike trailer because she left it on the side of the street (Loma Verde).
Comments (6)
a resident of Palo Verde
on Sep 8, 2006 at 10:32 am
We went through a construction process about 1.5yrs ago - where we had moved out of the house ... such people always wandered around on the property when the construction folks were not there on the property (i.e. off hours)
Once I was on the property - a guy stopped his truck, came onto the property and started rummaging through the stuff on the driveway and picking up pipes !! And I was on the property (second floor) yelling my head off and asking him to back off (really scary experience). I tried to call 911 (ofcourse from a cell phone - it never gets connected immediately) - and I didn't know what to do. Knowing that there are a lot of crazy folks around, I didn't quite want to go on the driveway and confront him. This guy took his own time and found two plumbing pipes in the trash and waved them to me, said 'Gracias' and took off in his truck ..[and no, I was not connected to 911 in the mean time]
Then there was the other set of people - who were just curious as to what was going on, what changes were being made and let themsleves on the property, looked around and went their way. Sometimes these people were sent by our contractor to take a look at his ongoing work, sometimes these were people from the neighborhood who were shopping around for a contractor/architect.
After the incident of the guy coming onto the driveway, we asked our contractor to put up a temp fence, which was 'locked' ( they tied it with a metal tie on one end ) when the construction folks were done with their work. So if someone had to come onto the property ( driveway included ) they had to untie the metal tie and come inside .. this proved as a deterrent, since undoing the metal tie was like opening a 'lock' to some extent and was more like trespassing.
a resident of Embarcadero Oaks/Leland
on Sep 11, 2006 at 9:45 am
i witnessed a father showing his young son how to squeeze between a locked fence to steal some plywood from a spec house. he was obviously too big to get through so he sent his kid.
they were on bikes, and they did come back for more wood !!
a resident of Crescent Park
on Sep 14, 2006 at 5:20 pm
Let me ask a dumb question. If the stuff is in the trash, why do you care if he takes it? Isn't that recycling? You should be recycling the stuff anyway.
Of course, I'm not talking about stealing non-trash.
a resident of Palo Verde
on Sep 26, 2006 at 12:23 pm
In response to Trudy:
I do not care about the trash, per se. What I was concerned about was that someone was on private property snooping around. The dumpster was not on the street it was clearly in the driveway. Even if you think its okay to tresspass if you stay on the driveway, she then went in the back yard!
a resident of Barron Park
on Nov 3, 2006 at 2:37 pm
Yes, there appears to be more trespassers in most communities. Perhaps it is ignorance of observance of personal property boundries or just a lot of nosey people who feel that they can just wander in.
Unfortunately, the police will only intervene if the owner of the property is present and you have a good description of the person/s.
They can only be held responsible if the owner places a formal complaint otherwise it is good that you are a helpful and watchful neighbor.
a resident of Palo Verde
on Nov 7, 2006 at 12:55 pm
Another example of this happened to us this part weekend. Our elderly neighbours have moved out of the home they have lived in for over 50 years and this past weekend we had a huge estate sale next door. I couldn't believe the way people behaved. At present we are having some remodeling done and buyers at the sale decided that our construction was a sideshow to the event. We are still living in our house while the work is being done and it was incredible how these people took liberties. Our driveway was not only blocked, but as soon as I pulled out to take my son to his soccer game, on my return someone had parked on my driveway, there was no street parking anywhere so I had to park on what should have been my front lawn except for the fact that it was the entrance to the construction site. Similar liberties were taken all weekend blocking me in or making it extremely difficult for us to use our driveways. People walked right up to the perimeter of the work and stared at the construction even though they could see me chatting on the phone at the window of our kitchen. They lined up to use our porterpotty and allowed their children to run all over the dirt at the front of the house.
I can't believe that people going to the sale had such bad manners to the neighbours. The estate sale had nothing whatsoever to do with us, but we were considerably inconvenienced by those who had nothing better to do than visit sales to find "hidden treasures". I feel sure that most of these people would not have treated their own neighbours like this, so why did they treat us this way? Is it because they were out of their own neighbourhood, or was it because our construction made us look like a free for all?
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I think I've found the positively worst fett armor out there, even comes with a boba-thong ick.
Printable View
I think I've found the positively worst fett armor out there, even comes with a boba-thong ick.
With a narutard in tow... wow... I didn't think I'd ever see a picture made of that much FAIL.
(For the record, I'm allowed to make fun of Narutards, I've dated several and am friends with many more)
At least he's making that kid happy, that's what's really important. Naruto isn't that bad, once you give it a chance.
yes I think we are missing the point. we really don't know the circumstances of that pic. I really doubt he was saying "here is my 501st armor I think Its better than yours. approve it now" the kid was happy, and I bet the guy in the Boba was very happy to take the pic with him! They looked like they were big star wars fans! My costume isn't perfect but I would love it to be, and hopefully it will get better the more I work on it.
I guess what I am trying to say is I hope this thread doesnt turn into a 'lets make fun of that guy thread" because I know if that was me in the pic (either the kid or the adult) that would make me feel so sad!.
This is not what the forum is about... it may not be the best representation but it is an attempt at a boba.
I recall a thread like this was closed cause it got a bit nasty,lets end this soon. :facepalm
oh, and Naruto Shippuden... is awesome, Narutards arn't.
at least he tried his best to make his own boba fett's costume...and btw, i'm following Naruto series too, quite nice...
http://www.thedentedhelmet.com/showthread.php?t=24164. I hope this one dosen't turn out like that one.:facepalm
Where's the love "mandosoldier"?
whats in his hand?? I dunno about the pic though. its got that creepy free candy vanness to it.
I am going to close this thread. It is not going to go anywhere but down.
At least the person in photo tried to make a Boba. He may not have had TDH to help get it up to what we would like to see. He may be a member here working on his Boba right now.
Thank you to those who did not jump on the dog pile.


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If it has been awhile since you've read the YA series Seed Trilogy by Pamela Sargent, or if you are unfamiliar with this series, now would be the time to start reading it. Published by Tor Teen Paperback, the reprint of Farseed was released in trade paperback for the first time on January 8, 2013. It is the coming of age story of two teenage girls whose lives crash together under very violent circumstances.
Farseed is the second book in the Seed Trilogy series. Earthseed – the first book in the series — has been optioned by Paramount Pictures.
The events in Farseed take place a little more than 20 years after the events in Earthseed. Ship has seeded Home. Now, Ship's children have children of their own. History appears to be in danger of repeating itself. The conflict between Zoheret and Ho begins anew because of events surrounding the main protagonists of the story: their 16-year-old daughters.
Farseed is divided into four parts. The first part focuses on Ho's 16-year-old daughter, Nuy. The second part focuses on Zoheret's 16-year-old daughter, Leila. Nuy's and Leila's lives clash and become intertwined in the third part, with resolution in the very short final part.
Nuy and Leila are very different people.
Nuy grew up with a lot of abuse. This abuse was not only at the hands of her father, Ho, but also at the hands of her mate, Belen, and at the hands of her settlement in general. Her father is mentally insane. Her mate is physically abusive. The people of her settlement fear and distrust her because of her differences. As a result, her thoughts and internal conflicts are very dynamic.
On the other hand, Leila grew up in a positive environment. Her biggest worries involve whether or not she will have offspring before she is 20 like the majority of the settlement — that is, if she'll have offspring — and boy troubles. She has never witnessed any major conflict, never mind witnessing any real disagreement between people. She has never had to worry about food or shelter. She grew up in a society that, by its very nature, doesn't lend well to the development of diversity, and is in danger not evolving socially because every one is too afraid to shake up the status quo. Now that they are no longer within the protective belly of Ship, they are too afraid to truly live. In fact, many of theme are hoping for the day that Ship realizes it was a mistake to leave them there, and returns for them. Her environment has grown stagnant.


text: To my utter shock (and delight) my bees seem to have made it through the winter not only alive, but with a full box of honey and few extra frames. However, the little bit of honey I did collect last fall was all golden rod and aster and it all crystallized very fast. It looks like the aster honey in the hive is crystallized (but the goldenrod looks the same). Can the bees use this? I've read that they can't, but this doesn't make any sense to me. Or does it just look crystallized?


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I have a friend whose dad has neuropathy which affects his feet and legs. He basically has no feeling in them. He says it's like trying to walk when your legs and feet go to sleep and he stumbles around alot, walking from support to support. Does anyone know if apitherapy has helped with this condition? If so, any leads as to sting locations and frequency?
My friend thinks he would definitely try apitherapy, so I'm trying to glean some info for them.
Thanks in advance


text:
Over the years, your faith in my work has strengthened me. You donated to my election campaign, you made phone calls to help identify volunteers and get out the vote in Massachusetts, and you pushed hard again and again to put wind in my sails in every way imaginable so that I could take on the big guys.
Against the odds, you helped give me a real shot at winning.
You've been there for me since the beginning, and I'm so grateful. This is how real change happens – we do it together.
Thank you for being a part of this, and keep fighting!
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Windows 8 Lock Screen Policy
In November 2012 Microsoft released an update for Windows 8 and Server 2012 (KB2770917) that added the ability to "Enable enterprise customers to customize the default lock screen." This meant the addition of a Group Policy that enabled control of the Lock Screen.
Although specifically for enterprise customers, I was looking for a way to programmatically change the Lock Screen across all install types – so I began to investigate. Sure enough, after installing the update, the option to "Force a specific default lock screen image" appeared in Group Policy. Although I could set this policy, as highlighted below, it would only be applied on domain-joined or enterprise machines.
I traced the checking of this policy back to Windows.UI.Immersive.dll in the %SYSTEMROOT%\System32 directory. As of the November update a function named LockScreenPathFromGroupPolicy() made an appearance in this DLL. Roughly translated the function looks like this:
The EnterpriseCustomizationAllowed() function is also a new addition, with LockScreenPathFromGroupPolicy() currently being the only function that makes this check.
From here it was a matter of removing this check and letting the function follow on whether the user was in an enterprise setting or not. In assembly, the check looks like the following:
To remove the check, open Windows.UI.Immersive.dll in your favourite editor and NOP (0x90) 9 bytes at offset 0x4607A (x86) or 0x560A5 (x64).
I have found no reason why this policy is "enterprise only" and have experienced no side effects from performing the above mentioned patch, however, your mileage may vary.


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2011 Mercedes Benz SLS AMG Team Galag gumball 3000
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too much paint job on the car man
Rated: 4/10
Rated: 4/10
Posted on March 4, 2013 3:11PM by NikosBellic_898
Please from Lamborhini Aventador LP700-4 by smokey
Posted on March 5, 2013 1:54AM by Chalenger911
lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 by smokey ongoing project 80% eight days Chalenger911
Posted on March 5, 2013 7:38AM by nazyy
muy bueno
Posted on March 14, 2013 1:47PM by sany21
very nice,how to change hud color ?
Posted on March 16, 2013 8:07PM by Will-_Akatsuki
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text: I was doing some research on oil filters a few months back. I found a site that some may find helpful. It tells the square inches of filter material, manufacturer, bypass valve material , and anti drain back valve material of each filter. It is comparing the AC PF2 to other filters. http://www.minimopar.net/oilfilters/reference.html#delco


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The U.S. Export-Import Bank assists exporters by guaranteeing term financing to creditworthy international buyers, both private and public sector, for purchases of U.S. goods and services. With an Ex-Im Bank loan guarantee, international buyers are able to obtain competitive term financing from lenders when financing is otherwise not available or there are no economically viable interest rates on terms over one-to-two years. Click here for contact information: http://www.exim.gov/contact/contactus.cfm.
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text: I've been the co-host of the Mike and Tricia Mornings for the past 10 years, the longest running of Mike's on-air wives! My day starts with a muttered curse word when the alarm goes off at 3 a.m., but once that first morning pot of coffee kicks in, I'm raring to go and entertain our listeners! I'll let you know when that finally happens! I'm happily married to Darren Hunt, mom to Ryan and Sam, grandmother to 4 beautiful little girls, and part of a huge family who loves to hang out eat, talk, and argue politics - kind of like what I do on the show! When asked what the best part of my job is, I always say, it's the listeners. You've gotten me through Ryan's 3 deployments, been patient with me during the ballpark controversy, and been so nice to me all these years! Thanks for listening!


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One of the many brands of cheap vodka or "rotgut", but Majorska is surprisingly better tasting than the competition. It is 80 proof, but also comes in 100 proof bottles. Almost always bought by the handle (1.75 L) due to it's pricetag of around $10-$14. Known respectively by many for its distinctive triple crown. Mass consumption may cause one to become "jorsked."
Yo, i only got $15 and I need to get 10 people drunk...no prob, get a bottle of 100 proof Majorska...thx man.
by ThaStonedGecko May 31, 2007
The vengeful act of crapping on a lover's chest while they sleep.Buy the plush


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A homicide investigation is underway after Cass County Sheriff's Office deputies discovered a gunshot victim at Wills Cemetery in rural Peculiar.
According to investigators, a person called to notify law enforcement at 2:30 p.m. June 4 that they had saw the body of the deceased person in the cemetery, located in the 21800 block of S. Thorngrove Road.
Deputies and emergency responders arrived to the scene and located one victim, identified by police as 25-year-old Forrest Fuller, Peculiar, near a vehicle in the cemetery.
Fuller was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators said foul play appears to be involved.
"We are currently investigating it as a homicide," Sheriff's Office spokesman Lt. Kevin Tieman said.
Tieman said it appears that Fuller died from an apparent gunshot wound, and that the incident occurred around the time of the call.
Additional law enforcement officers from the Kansas City Metro Squad, a special investigations team consisting of detectives from the surrounding area, reported to Cass County on Thursday morning to assist the Sheriff's Office in the case.
Ten teams of investigators are following up on information and evidence collected by Cass County detectives.
"It appears that Mr. Fuller had been shot and at this time we have asked for the assistance of the Metro Squad," said Sheriff Dwight Diehl in a news release Thursday morning.
The Jackson County Medical Examiner's Office will be conducting an autopsy of the victim's body. No other details of the investigation have been released at this time.
According to information recorded on recent court documents found on Missouri Case Net, Fuller's listed residential address is located about one mile from the cemetery where his body was found.
It is unknown at this time whether or not if the victim was living at that location prior to his death.
Anyone with information in this case should call the TIPS Hotline 816-474-TIPS or 816-380-8712.
This is a developing story. Please check www.demo-mo.com for the most up-to-date information on the investigation.


text: The New Year begins with the deadliest day Metropolis has ever seen ? and by the end of the month a villain will stand revealed, a hero will fall in the outer reaches of the galaxy...and the reveal of Supernova will deepen his mysteries even further. Plus, The Origin of Mr. Terrific by Mark Waid and Dave Johnson.


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Well, it depends - gun prices can be regional.
Here in TX - I can buy one new for $495 locally at my gun store - and at a gun show, I bet I can find a new one for $475.
So, U may have paid a bit too much for a used one - how "like new" is it? Do U know the history behind it (a friend - whome you know how many rounds were fired thru it)?
But, did you pay sales tax? That's more money you saved there....


text:
Duct Tape Engineer shows how to create fourteen mega projects out of duct tape--backpacks to kayaks and catapults to queen-size beds--right in your own backyard.
Black & Decker Complete Guide to Sheds 3rd Edition contains all the most popular building plans from the previous editions, with new information on popular miniature tool sheds and "she sheds".
Square Foot Gardening: Growing Perfect Vegetables is a practical guide that answers the age-old question for gardeners: when is a fruit or vegetable ripe?
A beautifully illustrated giftable gardening reference book, combining exquisite botanical illustrations with practical self-help projects. Readers can discover more than 200 life-saving plants and 25 home-grown remedies to make themselves.


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We all need a little comfort from time to time ...especially when were not feeling well. That's where Olbas is unique. Olbas helps you feel better ...naturally!
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A2 Envelopes (4.375-x-5.75) - Ultimate White 80T Premium Wove - 250 PK
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Strathmore Wove, The Distinctive Textured Envelopes
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If you are seeking a world-class educational experience within a vibrant, Christ-centered learning community, Cedarville is the place for you. Step up to the challenge of our arts, sciences, professional and graduate programs, and achieve more than you ever imagined. Be challenged and transformed by professors who are experts in their fields and invest their lives at Cedarville to mentor and guide students like you.
Representative comedies, history plays, tragedies, and sonnets. Upper level literature courses cannot be used as a substitution for the general education literature requirement. Prerequisites: LIT-2090 Literary Analysis; LIT-2430 Survey of British Literature to 1800; or permission of instructor.


text:
Discussion in 'Off The Beaten Track' started by PeterG, Mar 16, 2011.
I guess all of his fans he gained during the show ditched him when he won.
I shouldn't complain because I didn't vote. But if I had I would have either gone with the best voice-Crystal Bowersox or the body/face-Casey James. Even Big Mike would have been an improvement over Lee. Lee should have come in about 9th or 10th.
He sounded like a lowing cow, IMO.
I'm trying to figure out why they chose that song as a single. It's boring and going to go nowhere.
I hope they have Crystal on to perform. When was the last time a runner-up was not invited back?
Theme weeks are back. Motown next week. I wonder what Scotty will do? Has there been a country cover of a Motown song?
Jennifer Hudson is performing next on next week's results show, which is nice. And Sugarland is performing, too. I think I prefer the Blackeyed Peas. I can't stand that last Sugarland single.
I thought they were avoiding themes which keep people in specific genres. I thought they were going to stick to stuff like "80's" or "Billboard Hits" or things which encompass genres of all kinds. I guess there is nothing stopping someone changing a Motown song to a country version but it isn't going to be easy and it is certainly a disadvantage.
Or it could be the best/most interesting thing he's ever done. We'll see. I'm excited for a theme week. Some of these people can't choose a good song to save their lives and have to practically be forced into picking a good song. It can't get much worse than this week, anyway.
This might turn out to be a good thing for Scotty. He's been singing only country recently and he's largely appealing to country fans. That's fine for now, but it would help him stay on the show longer if he branched out, and this could be a good time to do that.
He has sung other than country before this show. In fact, he said in an interview that he sang a couple of non-country songs in his auditions. He's also in his school choir, which probably does not sing country songs.
He also mentioned that he was a big Elvis fan. Elvis did some Motown songs, right? Didn't he do Unchained Melody? We'll see. Aside from Scotty, I don't see Motown being a huge challenge for the contestants as long as they've cleared a lot of songs. Hopefully it will encourage some less boring song choices. I really liked season 8's Motown night. I still remember Allison's and Adam's performances.
Have the Idol winners with the most successful musical careers thereafter, had their base in the "Country" genre? (I'm thinking Clarkson/Underwood.)
Underwood for sure. Clarkson has been on the country charts twice (is actually at #1 right now!) but only as a guest on duets. She has not ventured into solo territory except when her lead single from Idol, A Moment Like This, got some play on the country chart. However, plenty of other artists from Idol have done well on country, people you may have forgotten about. Bucky Covington and Josh Gracin come to mind right away.
I hope everybody makes the song their own, updating it to fit them (while being respectful to the original). I like how Pat made this one her own:
Pat Benatar - Seven Rooms Of Gloom
Do you like the hair?
Scotty could make any Smokey Robinson song into a country song. Good songs work in most (if not all) genres. I remember seeing Annie Lennox play some of the Eurythmics rockier songs on MuchMusic acoustically with only a guitar accompanying her...and they were amazing!
Scotty won't have ANY problem choosing a song. Berry Gordy was a big supporter of country music and there were country divisions within Motown Records the whole time he was in charge. TG Sheppard was a Motown artist!
Have you ever heard her version of A Whiter Shade of Pale? Beautiful. Love her.
Aceon, thank for the info on Motown's country labels. I didn't know about that. Assuming those songs are cleared, that would make things easier for Scotty. But, I'm really kind of hoping he branches out. All of his performances have kind of blended together in my mind.
I think that the country contestants who haven't made the finale generally have had much better success with recording careers than other contestants. So, I get why Scotty has targeted that audience now, but I still think he would benefit in the competition from doing a couple of non-country songs. It's not like it would prevent him from getting a country recording contract. Casey James and even Danny Gokey were able to get country recording contracts.
What year was that?
Scotty could sing the Mervin part of any Temptations song.
Seriously, country to Motown isn't as hard a transition, there are story songs, easy melodies and so on. Diana Ross had a range of about six notes, it's safe to sing any of her songs.
The problem with doing Motown is that some of those songs are sacred & the contestants are bound to fcuk them up. Sacriledge!
That is all part of knowing what songs to pick. If the contestant doesn't know any better then they deserve the criticism and to possibly go home. If they are good enough they can take a "sacred" song and make it work but I'm not sure there is anyone in this group capable of doing that.
I felt there was so much potential when we got the top 40 or so. However, there isn't one single vocalist in here who can blow me away. I thought Lauren had it but I think her initial audition was just really good vocally. I don't know if she can wow me anymore although she is still one of my favorites. Pia is good but she just isn't for me. I miss the days of Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Adam Lambert, etc. People who could give you the chills and bring the house down. Still a better group than last year, though and better than the group before Adam, Allison, Kris.
1 9 8 6
I have a feeling we're just getting going with a lot of them. Pia, James, Lauren, Scotty, Casey, and Stefano all have pretty great potential. Some of the best contestants don't fully bloom until the top 8, 7, 6 time. Think Kris, Vonzell, and Syesha. Just relax and enjoy the ride, we are coming off a pretty blah week. It'll pick up eventually.
I agree. I do not expect everyone to master the art of learning a new song and preparing it so it comes across well both live and on TV. Frankly, many established artists haven't mastered it, so why are we expecting it of these kids? The Top 8 will have a month of doing this, and will figure out what works for them.
James almost has it. I noticed it in the Top 13 show when he turned his profile to the camera before he went up into scream-land. I think Stefano and Casey are getting there. Jacob still needs work to find the best angles for the cameras. Most of the girls haven't yet found the way to sing to the crowd as opposed to the judges. Once everyone has to work less on the TV side, I expect the vocals to be better.
I hope so because this week was pretty dull.
I think that had a lot to do with the song choices.
I do think the contestants will improve in terms of stage presence and pitch as they get a little more experience and confidence and a spot on the tour is no longer on the line. I'm also hoping that some of them will take a few more risks in terms of song choices once they make the tour.
Also, different song choices might force some of the contestants to improve their stage presence. If Stefano chooses a more uptempo song and isn't trying to look so sincere, he might open his eyes. Also, if they let Paul play his guitar, he might not move around like a drunk chicken on stage.
Everyone had the instrument option last week. Strange that Paul didn't take them up on it.
If that's true, it may not have been communicated to Paul - or not in time -- because he had responded to someone's question last week by saying that instruments were not allowed yet. Casey was in the hospital until Sunday and did his song later than the rest, so maybe that was why he played an instrument. For a whole lot of things, Nigel has been changing the rules and format as they go along.
Anyway, I hope that Paul does start playing the guitar and gives the staggering a rest. Not sure how well that will work with Motown week.
If Paul had played an instrument, he would have had to omit his dance solo.
his St Vitus Dance?
Apparently Paul is a hit with gay guys. All the guys at my stylists shop love him. They rank Pia as number one girl and Paul as number one guy. They think he's interesting. It's going to be interesting to see how far he goes in the comp.
If he's a big a hit with the gay voters as Kris Allen was, he's going verrrry far. I'll keep an ear out for the convos at my gym re paul. Some of the things said about Kris Allen during his season ay my gym I won't mention . That said, I think Paul's the first guy out.
I still don't understand how Lee won. He was the definition of a schlubby bar singer. It was probably Simon kissing his ass each week for some inexplicable reason.
I think Paul strongly resembles Bradley Cooper but not hitting as high on the hotness factor.
OT, but TMZ posted the headline "Bradley Cooper and Renee Zellweger Split" and the entire article consisted of "this makes sense."
Mean, but
I think Jacob will get the boot before Paul does, though I agree that with Brian that he's not nearly as hot as Bradley Cooper. There are women who like Paul, too. It's not just the gay guys.