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Home › Forums › Gear Forums › Gear (General) › Revelation X quilt – recommended way to use shock cord.
Dec 6, 2012 at 4:05 pm #1296806
I got my RevX quilt today. 20 degree, wide, with overstuff.
there seem to be at least several Rev quilt users here so I figured I'd ask here before contacting Enlightened Equipment.
I know the three pieces of shock cord and toggles are supposed to be for the three sets of loops on the back to keep the quilt snug under me.
but they seem small compared to the grossgrain loops. if I merely feed them through expecting tension to keep them in place, they pop through the loops.
Any technique suggestions?
Thanks.Dec 6, 2012 at 4:18 pm #1933675
Kenneth JacobsBPL Member
@f8lessLocale: Midwest
I loop one side through twice and pull the barrel lock so it snugs up. Then I put the other one through the other side, adjust as necessary, and loop it through again.
KJDec 6, 2012 at 4:50 pm #1933686
Mike VBPL Member
@deadboxLocale: Midwest
I modified my cords on my rev X quilt based on the instructions on this link. I have been very happy with the result and it is actually lighter in weight than the stock cords because they can be trimmed down and you only need half as many cord locks.
http://rooinater.blogspot.com/2009/07/golite-ultra20-quick-adjust-strap.htmlDec 6, 2012 at 6:02 pm #1933707
Steve MeierBPL Member
@smeierLocale: Midwest
I have the Rev X quilt as well. It seems like everyone is asking how the heck to use the cords the bags come with, as I did. And it seems like everyone has an idea of how to modify them to make them more usable. But isn't it strange that whatever system it is supposed to be isn't obvious to everyone, including Tim, since there aren't really any instructions?
Just a thought. Like the quilt…completely confused how to use the core closures…Dec 6, 2012 at 7:02 pm #1933723
John DonewarBPL Member
@newtonLocale: Southeastern Texas
This won't answer the question in your OP but…
I think I have added the grosgrain loops and shock cord to any quilt that I have made out of sheer habit.
The thought has crossed my mind recently that if quilts are sized right and have a sufficient amount of material they can be self tucking and stay put without the need for shockcord or straps and buckles.
For example I will describe my tuck and roll method of quilt "donning".
Using the drawstring style foot box, insert your feet into the foot box and while sitting up close the snap closure at the top of the quilt. While still sitting up put the opening over your head and adjust the drawstring closure as you like it. Put your arms inside, lie back and gently "roll" side to side once or twice. Your top quilt is now magically self tucked. If your quilt is properly sized it will stay that way unless you roll onto your side or go all "fetal position". ;-)
The trick is to properly size the circumference of the quilt around the shoulders, hips and waist area. The length of the quilt is the second element. If it is too long there won't be enough "tension" on the material to aid in tucking it underneath your body as you roll side to side.
BTW My 30* Wide, overstuffed Revelation X arrives next week. ;-)
Party On,
NewtonDec 7, 2012 at 10:13 am #1933827
Thanks for all the great replies.
I don't tend to lie still while sleeping. I move around, and alternate between sides and my back, so the simple tuck method probably won't work for me.
I'm eager to try the other suggestions, though, and am particularly interested in the blog article.Dec 7, 2012 at 10:24 am #1933829
Chris SSpectator
@bigtimeLocale: Truckee
I was confused about it as well. What I ended up doing is tying an end of the cord off to a loop on one side, then feeding the free end through the cord lock, then through the loop on the other side, then back through the cord lock.Dec 7, 2012 at 12:44 pm #1933861
Diane PinkersBPL Member
@dipinkLocale: Western Washington
I found the cords too fiddly, and uncomfortable to sleep on. I don't like attaching my quilt to my pad–too much air gaps. So, I found an alternative. I use gros grain ribbon, and sew one of these on:
I then cut the ribbon to length, and thread it through gros grain loops on the quilt, then the adjustable side of the watchband buckle. Flat, lightweight, holds its tension but can be easily adjusted, and removed if not wanted.
I was actually losing sleep having to fiddle with the shock cords. Now I sleep much better. I know he's trying to keep production costs low by not having multiple this's and that's to purchase, but I think this system just works better.Dec 11, 2012 at 9:07 pm #1934919
Aubrey BiscoeMember
@aubothogmail-comLocale: Upper Midwest
im also confused w/ how to use the cords, it was a classic scratch my noggin kinda of time trying to figure the best way to use them. i do however have some better ideas on what to do now after reading some of your posts…but if anyone had a picture of their "system" i would love to get a peak, i can of course figure one out for myself but im not shy to say that i dont mind borrowing logical ideas as well. i have a buddy who has a rev x and he doesnt need them as he has a wide and is a stomach sleeper (this is what he tells me). thanks for your posts guys.
whoops: didnt see Mike V's link up there with the pics already there, thanks for that.Dec 11, 2012 at 9:41 pm #1934926
ROB WHELANMember
I have the cord end without the lock attached to the Grosgrain loops on one side, then push the lock through the loop on the other side just like you would with a button through a button hole……. then you only need to pull on the shock cord when you need to tighten the quilt…. does that make sense? :)
I might have to take some photos tonight if it doesn'tDec 12, 2012 at 7:54 am #1934984
Michael CheifetzBPL Member
@mike_hefetzLocale: Israel
My MLd has the grosgrain ribbon + flat buckles as shown above…
but another method i have used is tie shockcord to lowest (footbox) loop and run criss cross up to the top where I put the cordlock (you will either need to get a cord lock large enough NOT to go through the loop or get one that is anchorable (ie has another hole to tie/sew to the loop) and sew it in….
alternatively you could use a normal cordlock and just make a small loop of static cord that is tied to the gorsgrain loop and goes through the cordlock hole (yes – the same hole the shockcord goes through)…it works
what you get is like this (something posted by greg mihalikDec 13, 2012 at 7:41 am #1935207
The criss-cross method with one shock cord is interesting.
At first glance, it would seem difficult to get into or out of the quilt when configured like this, especially for a bathroom run in the middle of the night.
What has your experience been like using this in the field?
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Naomi Klein:
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Seems like a reasonable post from a Skins fan. Could be a fun last game of the season, except, I expect the Giants to have wrapped it up by then! Good luck.Quote:
Just figured I'd chime in as a Redskins fan. For our D-line, I'm not exactly sure which 2 DL's you are talking about. The only one that was injured that I would consider one of our best is Adam Carriker, who tore his quad, and recently had a setback, but will probably be out on PUP and be ready to go later on in the season. As for our LB Orakpo, who is our best pass rusher, he tore his pectoral in Week 2, and was declared 100 % by Mike Shanahan in the OTA presser last week. All our other notable DL and linebackers are healthy at the moment.
As for Griffin, I think there has been a big misunderstanding from the outset, that the media picked up and ran with. A lot of information was bungled by the Skins in the aftermath of Robert's injury. Even a lot of our fans were confused initially This link will help explain things.
Griffin tore his LCL, but not the ACL. The ACL was not damaged. The bore sights were repaired on the ACL, that's about it. So his recovery would not be equal to the amount of time needed to heal from an ACL, not to mention that doctors used stem cells to aid in his recovery. He's absolutely ahead of schedule though. He's been throwing and running for awhile.
He will most likely begin cutting in a couple of weeks. In the OTA's last week, he displayed improved mechanics, was able to plant, bend, and his release looked a lot better now than it did last season. I think it is pretty much a forgone conclusion that he will be ready week 1. He'll probably even play in the preseason, but that will be up to the coaches.
Cooley's not on the team. We actually have a very versatile TE corp. Our best pass catcher Fred Davis will be back after he was injured in Oct, and Logan Paulsen, who is also our best blocker, happens to catch everything thrown his way. We also drafted a very versatile and athletic TE in Jordan Reed, who has the skills to thrive in our offense in a role similar to that of Aaron Hernandez. We also drafted two shifty backs in Jawan Jamison and scatback Chris Thompson from FSU, along with Roy Helu, returning from injury, who has the speed to break a game open, as well as the ability to catch passes out of the backfield, which we lacked with Morris.
D Hall may be playing his last season here. We brought in 3 DB's from the draft in David Amerson, Bacarri Rambo, and Philip Thomas, who all could be seeing significant playing time by the middle to latter portion of the season, and we signed EJ Biggers to be our 3rd corner, on a defense that started to improve, and get to the quarterback as the season went on, despite having some of the worst secondary play in recent memory. We will also have Brandon Meriweather back, who was healthy for a half last year, where he played pretty well.
All in all, the NFC East is going to be a lot tougher this year I think. Every team improved. Gonna be a fun season.


text:
Keith, I got to get me some of those bees !
I got a bee addiction problem , LOL
say man , you would nt have a camera on hand, got to give me some pics !
Im sitting in a snow bank , cold feet, cold hands, wind whistling overhead.
I need some beekeeping pics to cheer me up!


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Jennette Weik says:
Carrie Underwood is great. I got lucky enough to watch her in concert at the Strawberry Festival. Great artist
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Taylor says:
Carrie is beautiful but the most overtated country singer. Reba by far is the best country singer in history.
Carrie's looks got her where she is now. But soon Taylor Swift will be more in demand. Taylor is young and has a lot of years ahead of her. Again neither Taylor nor Carrie have as much talent as Reba.
wb1 says:
I didn't expect anything less for Carrie. She's exactly what the world needs more of. Super talented, but still humble, super smart, but doesn't think that she knows more than the next person, and last but not least, she doesn't go shooting her mouth off to try to sway others to her way of thinking. She can be defined with just one word…. PERFECT.
For those who liked the song that she sang tonight and don't yet own her albums, I can tell you that every song on each of her albums is as good as the next one. Treat yourself to a great talent and human being and pick up a copy of Some Hearts and Carnival Ride, you most definitely WON'T be disappointed.
JR says:
I Know You Want was out standing she is an amazing vocalist. I have her Carnival Ride CD and it is great. I will be buying her next one too.
DJ says:
OMG..Carrie was amazing. I Know You Won't was such a beautiful song and really showed off Carrie's vocal abilities which are just perfect. WTG, Carrie. Love your music!!!
Jerri says:
Lord, I have never seen a girl sing as good as Carrie. That girl has some kind of voice.
Jessie Rice says:
Carrie Underwood Sucks
TJ says:
she sang "I know you won't"…love it
Pingback: Official Peoples Choice Awards Discussion Thead - Page 22 - Carrie Underwood Fans
Molly says:
The song is called I Know You Won't and it is on her CD Carnival Ride. The entire CD is awesome!!
Stephen says:
The song is called "I Know You Won't." Just bought it off iTunes. Incredible song. She looked insanely hot and her singing was EPIC.
Don says:
Carrie was beyond amazing.
What vocal abilities she has.That is the best live performance I've heard in a long time.
Raeanne says:
Carrie was AMAZING…..and she looked stunning.
Jeff says:
When Carrie was singing….she kept squeezing it….Is it inflatable and she was trying to keep it pumped up?
Michelle says:
carrie was soooo amazing!!!!
Lisa says:
I know you wont which totally shows off her vocals, great job Carrie….
jennifer says:
what was the song carrie underwood


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Trip Start Apr 08, 2009
10Trip End May 27, 2009
I wasn't the only person struggling to stay free while, at the same time, getting the love he/she needed in Rymarov (a small town where couples rarely kissed twice without becoming monogamously committed). Each of these "small town Casanova's" had his own strengths and weaknesses, as well as different goals and success rates.
Among us, there was I. My goal was celibate love, or just a good dance; the less talking involved, the better. I clung to the naive belief that the battlefield of love should be a friendly place, a place where people feel safe and have fun and remain friends - not a place where girls seek comfort and a higher social position, and then close themselves off to new love.
My STRENGTHS: tall; good ad-lib and salsa dancer; looks good in a suit; bold moves; particularly effective with young, drunk girls; American; renowned adventurer; stays sober. My WEAKNESSES: unpredictable hair; looks like hell when tired; Verca; worry over a girl expecting sex; can't work on subjects unless inspired; doesn't like talking; anti-sex and anti-monogamy views.
My BIGGEST SUCCESS, I'd say, came with a girl I didn't have great success with, but who really inspired me. Katka's happy, gleaming face consisted of baby cheeks and black eyes and ponytail; her healthy, round butt and two roaming continents for breasts pushed on the short dresses she wore to balls with such opposition you'd think the dresses would burst. She liked playing with me, but she had a boyfriend, so she couldn't always play. The first time I saw her, she was dancing in leather pants on the stage in V Club, and I came up to join her. The next time, we were the first pair dancing on the ballroom floor at a ball. A third time, I saw her on a slow night in V Club. I asked good-natured Michal Zet'ak, a champion hip-hop and electric boogie dancer, if he and his girlfriend wouldn't help me entice Katka into dancing. Katka responded that maybe she'd join us in a bit. I picked her up from her position, lounging on the couch; she squirmed in my arms, but smiled. She followed us to the floor. And ten minutes later, I gave birth to a new move, when Michal's girlfriend hopped on my right arm, I scooped Katka up with my left, and spun us around.
"That's right, my friend, women really like action, daring, violence ... women were made to be carried away, they want to be carried away by the strong, - good Trivalin, it's the law of nature that women love heroes ... Dear Trivalin, women are weak, that's why they're attracted to heroism. A woman, my friend, loves blood on a man's hands, and wants to be won." - Brighello to Trivalin, in the "Play of Love's Destiny", by Karel Capek
A second "Casanova" was nineteen-year-old Jarda. He had short, dark hair; light-brown, serious eyes; and a jawline that was developing from "young and soft" into "firm and successful." His goal in life was to be a rich businessman, and as happy as possible. When interacting with girls, he wanted to get to know girls intellectually, to gain a better understanding of women, and he also wanted what most guys want. His cold-hearted approach indicated a more-realistic attitude toward the Rymarov girls, most of whom were opportunistic and unsympathizing. (One source said his first girlfriend had been unkind.) He engaged in power struggles with girls, to see if they'd obey him when he asked them to do things; and he rejected girls, so they'd like him more.
His STRENGTHS: good jive dancer; well-loved in the community; interacts with the girls on an everyday basis; student of "pick-up" strategies; charming. His WEAKNESSES: aims too low; tries so hard he doesn't enjoy it; seen kissing too many girls in public.
One night in V Club, I was talking to Jarda about how we all reach our "peaks" at some point in life, and after that we go downhill. A NOTEABLE SUCCESS of Jarda's happened when, some time later, he told a girl, "We might be at our peaks right now, and we don't even know it," to convince her they should have fun together now.
I could tell you about other "small town Casanova's", such as blond, twenty-eight-year-old Klara Sigmundova. Her STRENGTHS: hillarious; pretty; good party stamina; no competition (no single girls over 21); funny photographer. WEAKNESSES: too strong for most Rymarov men; susceptible to nervous shaking when sober. But, we have to continue with our story ...
After seven weeks of kissing girls on the weekends, I realized that what I needed most were some real friends I could talk to, and whom I could see during the week. In the next two months, happily, I found some. Not all of them were present at my "good-bye party" in early April, but Jarda and Klara and some others were.
In an alternative-style bar, I read into a microphone one of my travel stories which I'd translated into Czech; it was barely comprehensible, and well-received. Jarda then suggested we play a drinking game involving dice. But, since I didn't drink, we decided the players could have the option of doing "ukoly" (tasks) if they lost.
Jarda sat the furthest to the right, playing and enforcing the rules. When he lost, he often chose to drink, but he didn't become drunk. Among the "ukoly" he performed was to sit on an unsuspecting girl's lap, take a sip from her drink, and say, "Hey, honey, so how do my chances look tonight?"
I sat to Jarda's left. Once, for a task, I had to ask an acquaintance if he didn't have a spare condom he could loan me. Later, I had to climb to the top of a gate and say into the microphone, "Compared to me, King Kong is a pansy!"
The latter "ukol" had been thought up by eightteen-year-old Michal Zet'ak, who sat to my left. He, like classmate Jarda, had been my students three years ago, but we only became good friends now. The possibility of teaching again had been the #5 reason I chose to spend the winter in Rymarov. Unfortunately, for me and for the town of Rymarov, the school principal followed Prague's orders and didn't let me work illegally.
"Any code of rules is an act of violence. ... Laws are oppressive handcuffs. ... All governments are tyranny." - Adam, in Karel Capek's play, "Adam the Creator"
So, I worked instead as a plumber's helper.
Michal Zet'ak, meanwhile, for his "ukol" had to jump and hug our bar's stripper pole and twirl around it. His innocent smile, the smile of a boy who believed we should do what we feel and who loved drinking and befriending people, looked funny on the pole.
To Michal's left sat pale Martin. Martin, in his second year of university in Prague, loved girls, and he came home to Rymarov almost every weekend to attend the balls, though he was often quiet and unsure at them.
These balls, of course, had been the #3 reason I'd wanted to winter in Rymarov. This season's highlights included: any jazzed-up, rock dance with Jana Krecmerova, a tough little girl in a shimmering, gold blouse who shook every part of her body angrily; a ten-minute polka with Jana K., in which we hopped and spun so quickly sweat dripped from my forehead onto the sleeves of my suit-jacket; a racing waltz with Jana K., in which we triangled our way through the crowd and got nauseously dizzy; and slow-dancing with Orange-cheeked Petra, who sang the Czech song to me.
For an "ukol", Martin walked on all fours through the bar and yipped and shook his head around like an excited puppy. Later, he was supposed to lick someone's ear. He walked slowly through the bar, unsurely looking at girls' ears. Finally, he ended up at the bar and, giving up on the task, resignedly ordered a shot.
The next player, little Klara Sigmundova, would inherit this "ukol". Though she was totally sober, she walked straight over to a shy boy who had a lot of hair. She melodramatically pulled back all the hair that was covering his ear, which took a long time. Then, she gave the ear a big lick like a St. Bernard licking a steak. The poor boy turned red.
Fun Klara was my best and most loyal Czech friend, a girl who lived to cook for and have fun with the people she loved.
She'd been the only friend to join me for ice skating, the #6 most enticing thing about Rymarov's winter. Tragically, she suggested we take some funny photographs while skating. She wanted to skate at me and jump into my hands. "Hmm, that seems dangerous," I thought, "but dangerous for her only, so if she wants to do it, who am I to stop her?" Sure enough, I couldn't hold her weight while on skates. She fell backwards. The next morning, she found she couldn't move her neck, and she had to wear a neck brace for the next two weeks.
Next to silly Klara sat our game's final player, Andrejka. Not knowing her that well, I'd say she's typically Czech: thin and strong-willed and beautiful, with dyed red hair; monogamous and reserved and controling. I couldn't believe Jarda got her to play this game. For an "ukol", she had to go to the bar's bearded owner and ask if he didn't mind her doing a striptease for the bar; he, as if trying to contain his glee, just shrugged, "Sure ... why not?"
The tall, lanky guy to Andrejka's left was her boyfriend - unhappy that she was playing what he'd later call, "A game for pigs" - and one of Klara's and my good friends. A month before this, he'd said to me, "Tvoje trojka byla rozhodlna." (Your three-pointer was decisive.) The town basketball tournament was the #2 thing I'd come to Rymarov for. We won our last game, 61-58, against a mean, bullying team that included Jana Krecmerova's boyfriend. I surprisingly made a long-distance shot with ninety seconds to go, and we took second place in the tournament.
Andrejka's boyfriend looked on as Martin performed a late "ukol". Martin crawled under the long table, stuck his head out in an unsuspecting girl's lap, and said, "Little cow, little cow, give me some milk."
This black-haired, sad-eyed girl was Verca. Martin pushed himself against her as he struggled to get up from underneath the table, clumsily.
The thought of dancing with this girl - alias Vika, a.k.a. Vert'a in my stories - at the Public School's Ball had been the #1 best thing I could imagine about Rymarov. She wore a long, gray dress and she seemed to have tears in her eyes, when we did indeed dance at the ball. Our thighs and faces were very close, we moved to the music slightly. A faster song came on, we held hands and jumped around, we came together, and I dipped her, which was so fun. As she left, I thanked and kissed her.
The #4 reason why I'd come to Rymarov was because I was in love with Verca. She and her persistent disregard for me made me weak.
Unlike with Katka's rejections, I was unable to shake off Verca's rejections of me and approach her the next time with confidence. She was so cold ... and joyless. She suffered and was beautiful like a Dostoyevsky novel. Whenever I was next to her, I felt like there was nowhere else I had to go. And yet ... deterred by her rejections, I stopped trying to talk to her months before this night. I wasn't even sure if she'd come to the bar because she wanted to say good-bye to me or not. As scared as I was of her, I was not Verca's hero.
The boys and Klara and I quickly left for V Club. Katka, who happened to be a good friend of Verca's, was there. I tried telling her about my ideas for a utopia without sex; she said she liked sex, and went to her boyfriend. Just then, Jarda gave me the task of talking to and entertaining one of his "girls", so she wouldn't get bored while he went and talked to another.
Two days later, I saw Katka in a bar. She in her full, light-blue jeans wanted me to smoke my first-ever cigarette with her, and I agreed. Later on, we went to a dark room to dance, but unfortunately the song ended after twenty seconds.
Two days after that, Verca and I had a meeting. I told her I'd been in love with her. To my surprise, she said she hadn't known. I mentioned how unfortunate it was that we hadn't spoken together for months; in response, she noted that I'd been a bit of a playboy at the balls. And that was that.
The SMS I'd written to Verca in January, "Mam novy napad. Ty, Katka, a ja budeme spolu, a budeme zit bezkonecne st'astni," (I've got a new idea. You, Katka, and I are going to be together, and we'll live happily forever) never got more of a response than, "OK, now, that plan makes no sense to me ..."
I hoped my Casanova abilities hadn't reached their peak yet.
- Modern Oddyseus
Thanks to Marco; Antonella; Renato; Milo; Piotr; Christian; Marek, Sylven, Paulina, & Kristyna; Filip & Gina; Joze; Petr; Tomas; Honza; Cyril & Ludmila; and Franta for rides to and in the Czech Republic!
Much thanks to Jano, maminka, & Brano; Albina, Igor, Katka, & Niki; Pavel & Dasha; Mom & Dad; and Klara for places to stay!


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forum: Campaigns and Community
Pages: 1 2 3 4 … 59 | Home » Campaigns and Community » Chat about Jamie's Food Revolution and connect with others
#11 Thu 11 Mar 10 6:05pm
- Member
- Member since Thu 11 Mar 10
Re: Chat about Jamie's Food Revolution and connect with others
Jamie I just wanted to say how inspirational you are. Im 18 years old and, unfortunatley beg my mother to not eat out and cook dinners. I end up cooking healthy food, and I have to watch what she buys at the grocery store. She was obease at one point when she was in law school, managed to lose it all - no clue how except for starvation and diet pills im sure. She doesnt listen to me and my ideas because im just a "child". I grew up with my dad and grandma, who cooked homemade meals for us everynight, and most from what you cant even get at a grocery store because it was from the backyard. It was delicious, every night. Homeade everything, even down to desserts. So I'm instilled to eat like this. I cook, and I love to. But living with my mom is hard. She's all about the brands and quick easy do-nothing meals. YUCK. i.e. this crappy gross packaged lasagne that has ball meat in it. (excuse me while i go barf) I tell her i refuse to eat that "****" because thats exactly what it is. If she wants lasange, damnit, i'll cook it. I get this response - "well its too much and it takes too long and this is the right size because i hate left overs". SO after all of this i want to know how to change her and her horrible eating habits. I care about being healthy and eating right. i love vegtables and fruit and try to incorperate in into every meal i eat. she likes pasta breads cookies cake hotdogs burgers... ughgswughsn. Help me jamie!!! I dont know where to begin because it seems like whenever i try to tell her its crap for meals she doesnt listen to me and just does what she wants, no matter how many statistics i throw at her. and on top of it ALL, she eats out about 4-5 times a week! everyday for lunch, and then dinners on top of it! She also complains that its more expensive to buy groceries; really mom??!?!? I NEED HELP!!!!!
#12 Thu 11 Mar 10 7:02pm
- Member Occupation Engineering student + pastry trainee
- From London
- Member since Thu 11 Mar 10
Re: Chat about Jamie's Food Revolution and connect with others
Hi EMCO54,
I am no Jamie Oliver, but hope my experience and opinion on your problem can help you a little.
It will not be easy for your mom to change her diet. From what you wrote, it seems like it has been a lifestyle for her - eating from ready-meals and junk food. It is difficult to change one's lifestyle and habits, it will definitely take sometime and effort on your end before any progress matures. Another fact is that this is not a one-off effort - it is a continuous activity until it becomes a lifestyle.
It is important to be in her shoes to understand deep down why she don't really listen.. why she don't want to change. Maybe there is a trigger that you have not found yet that can work on her. If facts and figures from you is not working.. what if it is told by a different person (e.g. doctor or someone she trusts/listens to)? It will take some trail and error until you find the thing that can get she attention.
Seems like you're cooking meals at home for your mom.. this is a good start. If this is a permanent thing then it is great, but if not, try to make it permanent. Having your mom join in the process of making will be even better. Start off with some really simple pasta dishes or something she likes to eat. From what you wrote: "she likes pasta breads cookies cake hotdogs burgers..." - these can be healthy too if prepared fresh (but doesn't mean going to the extend of making your own pasta or hotdog bun). Start slow and build it up from there
Finally, let her know deep down that you really care about her and the reason that you're doing this. I am saying that you don't care, maybe you can express it in a different way. Sometimes brute-forcing can be a way of showing affection too.. in the long run.
I hope that helps even a little. Goodluck!
#13 Fri 12 Mar 10 3:44am
- Member
- Member since Fri 12 Mar 10
Re: Chat about Jamie's Food Revolution and connect with others
Hi Jamie,
My name is Jess and I'm 17. As prefect of my school this year, I am planning on 'revolutionising' our school's canteen which sells total junk at the moment!
I've grown up with parents who are both qualified nutritionists and well experienced in the health/fitness industry. It has helped me to develop my own passion for food and spreading awareness about the importance of healthy eating.
I'm all for fresh fruit and vegetables, whole, organic raw foods, you name it!
Currently sitting in the year 12 common room at lunchtime, watching all my friends consume pizza rolls and slushies from our canteen while I am sitting here researching your amazing achievements. You really are a huge inspiration and your school dinners campaign is really driving me forward with my own canteen project at school.
I do not know if it will work - so far there has been a lot of resistance and I have only a small group of committed followers, but we shall prevail! But I really want to get rid of all the sugary fatty processed and overall nutritionally empty foods and replace them with home cooked meals that offer the kids the nutrients they need to function at their best during the school day.
I heard you are coming to Australia soon. I wish you could come and spread your knowledge to the kids at my school. I really believe that if someone like you came and spoke to them, then we might just have a chance at changing their attitude towards healthy food. Let me know if you have any time at all. I'd really appreciate your support. Understand if you can't, I can imagine how hectic your life must be!
Nevertheless, just wanted to let you know that your work has made an impact all over the world, even on a 17 year old girl who is now changing a canteen in the small area of Mt Eliza in Melbourne.
Thank you Jamie
#14 Fri 12 Mar 10 7:13pm
- Member
- Member since Fri 12 Mar 10
Re: Chat about Jamie's Food Revolution and connect with others
Thank you, thank you, thank you! This awareness is so needed in our society today. It breaks my heart to see the children suffer because most adults do not even know how to teach them proper nutrition. To do something along these lines has always been a dream of mine....I just never knew how to start. I teach kids fitness and try to include some education about healthy bodies and eating, but other than that I've been at a loss.
I wish I could help you on your endeavor by doing more than donating and signing a petition. I will most definitely tell everyone to do the same!
Again, thank you so much for caring enough to do this!
#15 Sat 13 Mar 10 8:37pm
- Member Occupation advocate for better Health & Fitness
- From USA
- Member since Sat 13 Mar 10
Re: Chat about Jamie's Food Revolution and connect with others
Hi Jamie and all,
I am the one and only who can accurately count & track your walking running & jumping foot action stats before and after meals. Please tell Jamie I'm ready to work for him, his customers & the world to stay healthy & fit.
after I walk/run 10,000 steps! I EAT ANYTHING I WANT!! 8-)
See the 100% ACCURACY video proof at:
make it great day!!
every step counts,
Michelle & Staff
#16 Sun 14 Mar 10 7:35pm
- Member
- Member since Sun 14 Mar 10
Re: Chat about Jamie's Food Revolution and connect with others
Hi Jamie, I'm writing to you from Nashville, Tennessee. I've been living here for a year now and love it, moved from L.A. However, I lived in Portsmouth, England for 15 years and know you all the way back to the documentary about the River Cafe...Have some of your books and think you're enthusiasm is contageous.
Think what you are doing is great and echo's my passion about cooking great healthy food and giving good starts in life to our kids.
Jamie, I work as a medical transcriber. My account is for an inner city hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. Day after day I type medical consultations on people who are dying before their time. Probably 90% of my cases are from the African American communities. At least 90% of these cases have diagnoses of morbid obesity linked to type II diabetes and all the horrific complications connected. I'd say the average age of the patients is mid 50's and by then they have developed kidney failure and are on dialysis, lost toes and limbs, suffer congestive heart failure, etc. All because of FOOD, all obese. They would have had to be pre-diabetic early in life, maybe in their teens. I so agree with you that PREVENTION is the best medicine. However, education cannot solve it all. Economics for so many is a huge factor. We need to expose the grocery chains for only caring about their bottom liine. Even in the recession, they have raked in big profits. The government also is to blame for paying farmers to NOT grow crops so that market demand is developed for particular produce, thus jacking up prices. Farmers markets are not everywhere. It is a crime when a red bell pepper costs almost $3 a pound and apples this year have been up to $2 a pound. A family of four can eat more cheaply gathering all their junk mail coupons and spending them on the junk food drive-thru Two for one Big Mac's, and the like. If a mom has $5 to spend do you think she's going to buy a tiny little box of blueberries with $4 of it. Hell no, she's going to buy a bag of potatoes, cheap white sliced bread, and bulk her kids up. Perhaps doctors should be able to write prescriptions for $20 a week of fresh fruits and vegetables.
There is a lot of work to do to take back our basic human right to good health in this country and I want to be a part of the revolution, even if only in my little corner of the world.
My love to you and your lovely family. xxx
#17 Thu 18 Mar 10 6:18pm
- Member
- Member since Sun 14 Mar 10
Re: Chat about Jamie's Food Revolution and connect with others
I"m trying to do my bit. I just posted on my blog an offer to teach people to cook...for free.
I'm in New York and Italy but believe that the States are in more dire need of help than Italy...at the moment, things are changing there as well.
I'm volunteering to start setting up a network of cooks and chefs that will teach people to cook.
Email me... let's brainstorm.
Let's build on what Jamie has started.
judith {at} aromacucina.com
Last edited by JudithKlinger (Thu 18 Mar 10 6:19pm)
#18 Sun 21 Mar 10 6:18am
- Member
- Member since Sun 21 Mar 10
Re: Chat about Jamie's Food Revolution and connect with others
We are a small school for children with neurological differences in Guatemala City. At our school here (Colegio Monarch Guatemala) and our sister school in Houston (The Monarch School), we dedicate ourselves to our children's emotional, social and physical well-being. This past week was Brain Awareness Week, established by the Dana Foundation to raise awareness about the brain and brain research. This year, we chose FOOD as a more specific focus. We had this idea after seeing chef Oliver accept his TED award and present his wish.
We spent brain awareness week discussing and presenting lessons and activities centered around food and its effect on the brain. Each of the classrooms focused on a different food group, discussing the benefits of each on the brain. One classroom had a vegetable exposition in which each student brought in a new, interesting vegetable. They worked on vocabulary and being exposed to new sights, smells and tastes. For children with neurological differences, trying new foods can be difficult, and putting them into the context of something fun really helped many to explore foods, fruits and vegetables that they might normally not otherwise.
At the end of the week, all the classrooms got together to share their new foods. Our oldest students even used food to make models of the brain and neurons (for example, a brain model comprised of foods rich in nutrients for the brains). You can see this by searching for Colegio Monarch on Facebook.
We'd like to thank Chef Oliver for serving as the impetus for this wonderful week we had. We hope that our families and greater community can help us to continue providing these important lessons...
Tran N. Templeton
Colegio Monarch Guatemala
#19 Sun 21 Mar 10 7:08am
- Forum super champ
- From Melbourne Australia
- Member since Sun 12 Apr 09
Re: Chat about Jamie's Food Revolution and connect with others
What a great post Tran! It is wonderful to read what your school is doing! All Power to You!
#20 Mon 22 Mar 10 6:02am
- Member
- Member since Thu 26 Mar 09
Re: Chat about Jamie's Food Revolution and connect with others
Food Revolution is a hit. I'm updating our website and will have something ready by wednesday evening, midnight Central Std Time.
Danny - I'm so proud of you and everyone working to help families around the world. Food Revolution was fantastic.
We want you to know that there is a food revolution already happening in the Dallas/North Texas area. We've been working to educate families and children for three years now through local farmer's markets and grocery stores.
Please let me introduce you to 1st Class Kids and its programs called "Chefsville Kids". Chefsville Kids educates families on healthier eating choices and childhood obesity avoidance. What makes this program unique is that it is not based on a nutritionist or a registered dietition, but through the lens of a chef who loves people and is passionate about food as well.
Please feel free to visit : www.1stClassKids.org
Chef Scott, our co-founder, has the priveledge of working with many grocery store chains in the North Texas area.
Chef Scott is an educator working in local communities to help families make better choices. We can be contacted at 972/516-0325.
Chef Jamie should be applauded for such efforts. He needs our support, even more importantly, the kids need our support.
Chef Scott is willing to bring his Chefsville crew down to help meet the needs of families by helping to empower them so that obesity avoidance is much easier.


text: Hello i'm new here. My name is Jack and i'm living in the south of The Netherlands. I bought the Basman last August 2 nd hand from a guy from Belgium. During the winter months i did a little build over,and made it a little more my bike. I call it Basman 883 because it has: Nexus (8) spd, Rigida DHL (8)0 mm rims, (3).0 Thick Brick WW on it. Here some pics of the Bas so far. When I bought it. Put a taillight on it. And a Headlight. Also put a 346 3 piece crank with 346 spade pedals on it. Then some bigger changes took place. I didn't like the 346 seat, it looked a little flying high to me. :roll: So i decided to mount a old Brooks B33 saddle. This is how it looks right now. :shock: The Brooks B33 saddle with tripple rails and twisted springs all in chrome. And the taillight comes out inbetween the springs.


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James Leininger, M.D.
College of Business center hosts technology boot camp
By Wendy Frost
Director of Communications, College of Business
(March 18, 2008)--James Leininger, M.D., founder of Kinetic Concepts Inc., will present the keynote address at the UTSA Center for Innovation and Technology Entrepreneurship (CITE) Boot Camp. Sponsored by Jackson Walker, the boot camp will be 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday, March 24 in the University Center Denman Room (2.01.28) at the UTSA 1604 Campus. Leininger's address begins at 4 p.m. and will be followed by a networking reception.
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
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The daylong boot camp will feature presentations on fundamental entrepreneurship topics including opportunity identification, business plan basics, introduction to business law and funding a technology start-up.
Admission is free for UTSA students and employees. Registration is $25 for students from other institutions and $75 for all other individuals. Attendees who wish to come only for the keynote speaker and the networking reception can attend for $25. Payment can be made by cash or check the day of the event. Register online at the CITE Boot Camp Web site.
CITE is an interdisciplinary center in the College of Business and the College of Engineering. The center focuses on fostering the growth of entrepreneurs and new technology-based ventures through a process of education, experiences, resources and support.
Scheduled speakers include Stephanie Chandler, a partner with Jackson Walker LLP; Jill Dickman from the SBDC Technology Center's SBIR and STTR group; Cory Hallam, director of CITE; Jim Poage, president and chief executive officer of the San Antonio Technology Accelerator Initiative (SATAI); Raymond Teske, attorney and UTSA College of Business faculty member; and Alan Weinkranz, founder and president of Weinkranz and Co., an international public relations and marketing firm.
The Entrepreneurship Boot Camp is co-sponsored by the UTSA College of Business, UTSA College of Engineering, UTSA Institute for Economic Development and the San Antonio Technology Accelerator Initiative.
For more information, call (210) 458-6595.


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Green Canadian Celebrities: Sexy Eco-Friendly Stars Who Inspire Us (PHOTOS)
With Earth Day just around the corner, celebrities have already started spreading the green love. Some launch eco-friendly fashion lines, while others endorse organic snacks. But when it comes to finding green role models, it's the ones who stay truly green 365 days a year who inspire us the most.
They are the hybrid car drivers, the solar panel collectors and the ones who show up at protests and campaigns when nobody asks them to. They tweet about going green, launch green blogs and manage time to volunteer while entertaining us at the same time.
Canadian environmental news in 2012 has been a mix of pipeline protests and the movement to ban the seal hunt. But if you're more inclined toward planting seeds than picketing Parliament, you can make easy changes to your everyday life. Making sure you recycle, finding new uses for older things, carpooling and even cutting down on the use of plastic cutlery are easy ways to stay green.
Stumped for inspiration? Here are 25 green celebrities who deserve greens thumbs up:
GREEN THUMBS UP: He saves the ladies, breaks ups fights and has a long list of memes that make us fall in love with him over and over again. We also love this animal-loving actor for defending chickens and turkeys in factory farms and calling out KFC and McDonads on behalf of PETA. Actor Ryan Gosling attends the premiere of 'The Ides Of March' held on September 27, 2011 in Beverly Hills, California.
GREEN THUMBS UP: With a voice this powerful, we're not surprised Canadian opera singer Measha Brueggergosman has green energy within her. Brueggergosman has pledged to make her life more green with the World Wildlife Fund, by buying green appliances, draft-proof windows and sticking to a green energy supplier. Singer Measha Brueggergosman arrives at the Canada For Haiti Benefit on January 22, 2010 in Toronto, Canada.
GREEN THUMBS UP: Canadian sensation Justin Bieber received an eco-friendly car for his 18th birthday last month, assuring us the young adult will continue to go green for years to come. The $100,000 Fisker Karma electric car was given to him by his manager Scooter. Singer Justin Bieber speaks during interview with Elvis Duran for 'The Elvis Duran and the Morning Show' on March 24, 2012 in West Hollywood, California.
GREEN THUMBS UP: Long-time PETA activist and vegetarian Pamela Anderson has stripped for ad campaigns, worn a lettuce bra and starred in anti-fur video campaigns. Actress Pamela Anderson attends a press conference on March 22, 2012 in West Hollywood, California.
GREEN THUMBS UP: Canadian beauty Rachel McAdams is no 'mean girl.' The actress co-owns a green lifestyle site, Green Is Sexy, and says she's not a typical materialistic gal. Actress Rachel McAdams attends the premiere of Sony Pictures' 'The Vow' at Grauman's Chinese Theatre on February 6, 2012 in Hollywood, California.
GREEN THUMBS UP: Even though there has been some outcry for James Cameron's use of private jets, the director says the motive behind "Avatar" was to send out an environmental message. James Cameron arrives at the world premiere of Titanic 3D in central London on March 27, 2012.
GREEN THUMBS UP: Canadian rocker Avril Lavigne has worked for Reverb, a non-profit environmental music-based organization that promotes green tours. Singer Avril Lavigne attends the Picksie 2.0 launch party at Lucky Strike Lanes & Lounge on November 22, 2011 in New York City.
GREEN THUMBS UP: Actor Ryan Reynolds is one face behind Nissan's "Innovation For Endurance" campaign focusing on environmental innovators. By the way Ryan, even though you mention Teddy Roosevelt's passion to protecting the parks of America as your inspiration, we hope you can bring some of that green lovin' back home. Ryan Reynolds attends the 'Safe House' premiere at the SVA Theater on February 7, 2012 in New York City.
GREEN THUMBS UP: This band was named one of the most eco-friendly rockers by Rolling Stone Magazine in 2010. The Barenaked Ladies started "green touring" back in 2004 before it got cool and sold recyclable CD cases. Kevin Hearn, Ed Robertson, Jim Creeggan and Tyler Stewart of Barenaked Ladies pose on the red carpet at the 2011 Juno Awards.
GREEN THUMBS UP: As a environmental activist, this Canadian actress told MotherJones.com she gets excited by permaculture, Bill McKibben, and ecovillages. If that wasn't enough, Page also vouches for organic products and speaks out against the spreading toxins in Halifax.Actress Ellen Page arrives at the premiere of IFC Midnight's 'Super' at the Egyptian Theatre on March 21, 2011 in Hollywood, California.
GREEN THUMBS UP: Singer Alanis Morissette says she has solar panels, drives a hybrid and loves to shut off the lights in the house.Alanis Morissette arrives at the American Music Awards in Los Angeles on November 20, 2011.
GREEN THUMBS UP: Canadian VJ Liz Trinnear is also another young'un in the environmental fashion world. For the 2011 Junos and Lollapalooza, Trinnear pledged to go green for six weeks with her clothing, beauty and even her drinks. MuchMusic VJ Liz Trinnear poses at the 2010 Much Music Video Awards in Toronto.
GREEN THUMBS UP: Canadian actress Mia Kirshner reportedly supported Canada's oilsands protest in 2011. We can respect her passion. Mia Kirshner arrives at the 63rd Venice International Film Festival's gala opening, 30 August 2006, at the Lido in Venice.
GREEN THUMBS UP: Canadian Michael Buble has a way with words -- even when he's discussing climate change and greener driving with environmentalist David Suzuki and actress Emily Blunt.Michael Buble attends the 2011 Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting on November 30, 2011 in New York City.
GREEN THUMBS UP: Hayden Christensen loves to get his hands dirty. The Canadian actor bought a farm north of Toronto in 2007 and couldn't wait to fill his land with farm animals and drive around his Bobcat. Actor Hayden Christensen attends the Cinema Society screening of 'Vanishing On 7th Street' at IFC Center on February 7, 2011 in New York City.
GREEN THUMBS UP: Vegan, singer and photographer Bryan Adams is another celebrity behind PETA's campaign on animal rights and promoting a meatless lifestyle. Canadian musician Bryan Adams performs at the Dasrath stadium in Kathmandu on February 19, 2011.
GREEN THUMBS UP: We've seen singer Nelly Furtado spreading the love with her dark concert during Earth Hour in 2008, but she also fundraised for The Land Conservancy of British Columbia by working on a handmade quilting project. Singer Nelly Furtado attends the Opening Night Gala during the 35th Toronto International Film Festival at Metro Square.
GREEN THUMBS UP: Canadian actress Malin Akerman says she has been an environmentalist since childhood by volunteering for environmental organizations, driving a hybrid and installing solar panels in her rental home. Malin Akerman attends the LACOSTE launch of Women's Spring/Summer 2012 Collection held at The Sunset Tower on March 21, 2012 in West Hollywood, California.
GREEN THUMBS UP: Actress Sarah Chalke has been dubbed as a green mommy by purchasing and using organic products like bedding and wooden toys, according to Ecollywood. Are we surprised? Not really. Chalke was also once an environmental reporter as a teen for the Canadian show KidZone. Actress Sarah Chalke attends the Premiere of Summit Entertainment's 'Man On A Ledge' at Grauman's Chinese Theatre on January 23, 2012.
GREEN THUMBS UP: Canadian television personality Jessi Cruickshank knows a thing or two about fashion. She told Chatelaine magazine she loves eco-shopping for organic cottons and sustainable prints. She has also designed eco-friendly t-shirts for Free The Children. MTV hosts Jessi Cruickshank (L) and Dan Levy attend MTV's 'The Hills Live: A Hollywood Ending' Finale event held at The Roosevelt Hotel on July 13, 2010 in Hollywood, California.
GREEN THUMBS UP: After shooting "The Day The Earth Stood Still," Reeves told The Sun UK he recycles, owns solar panels and has joined the cause for rainforest conservation. Keanu Reeves attends the 'Side By Side' Premiere during day seven of the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele on February 15, 2012 in Berlin, Germany.
GREEN THUMBS UP: You may remember Joshua Jackson as the voice of Jesse Grass, a hunky environmentalist on an episode of "The Simpsons." But this real life tree hugger loves cycling, owns a hybrid and a biodiesel truck. Actor Joshua Jackson attends the 'Lay the Favorite' premiere during the 2012 Sundance Film Festival held at Eccles Center Theatre on January 21, 2012 in Park City, Utah.
GREEN THUMBS UP: "Arctic Air" actor Adam Beach has been seen opposing pipelines in British Columbia and joining forces with the First Nations of Canada for land rights. Actor Adam Beach attends the Premiere of Universal Pictures 'Cowboys & Aliens' during Comic-Con 2011 at San Diego Civic Theatre on July 23, 2011 in San Diego, California.
GREEN THUMBS UP: "Vampire Diaries" star Nina Dobrev is not only a humanitarian, but she also urged her fans to get more green with the "Increase Your Green" campaign in 2010. Actress Nina Dobrev attends the 9th Annual John Varvatos Stuart House Benefit on March 11, 2012 in West Hollywood, California.
TWO GREEN THUMBS UP: Canadian musicians Drake and K-Os both toured green in 2010 for Drake's "Away From Home Tour," with greener technologies, like biodiesel fuel, biodegradable products on the tour bus and backstage, and an 'Eco-Village' to give more information about green options to audience members. Actress Nina Dobrev attends the 9th Annual John Varvatos Stuart House Benefit on March 11, 2012 in West Hollywood, California.


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Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET)
Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET) is a non-governmental organisation initiated in May 2000 by several women's organisations in Uganda to develop the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) among women as tools to share information and address issues collectively. WOUGNET's vision is a society in which women are empowered through the use of ICTs for sustainable development.
WOUGNET's mission is to promote and support the use of ICTs by women and women organisations in Uganda, so that they can take advantage of the opportunities presented by ICTs in order to effectively address national and local problems of sustainable development. The new ICTs, in particular, email and the Internet facilitate communication with each other and the international community. Indeed, access to information about best practices, appropriate technologies, ideas and problems of other groups working on similar concerns have been identified as critical information and communication needs of women organisations in Africa. WOUGNET activities are conducted under three program areas: Information Sharing and Networking, Technical Support, and Gender & ICT Policy Advocacy.
APC member since 2005
- Topic areas of expertise:
- Access to information,
- Free software,
- Gender & ICTs,
- ICT for development,
- ICT policy,
- Internet governance,
- Strategic use of the internet,
- Training & ICTs,
- Wireless technology
Plot 55 Kenneth Dale Road,
Off Kira Road, Kamwokya,
P.O. Box 4411
Tel: +256-41-4532035
Fax: +256-41-4530474


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Use Concord's materials to educate in your own community by bringing people together. Our tools can help with everything from an informal discussion about the federal budget over coffee to a full town hall meeting with your local elected leaders.
Pick your audience. Pick a set of people who you want to engage with during this event, whether its friends and family or the entire student body of a local university. This will give you a better idea of the space and resources you will need. You can schedule space at a community center, reserve a table at a restaurant, or clear out the living room; just make sure your group has a comfortable and convenient place for discussion.
Choose an activity. Review the tools listed on the right and determine which one best suits you and your audience. From videos to chart talks and hands-on group exercises, there is something for everyone.
Ask us for help! While we design these tools for anyone to use, we are always available to help you plan your event.


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Music Review: Chris Brown's Fortune
Chris Brown releases a 55 minute ego stroking album Fortune.
Like Lana Del Ray, I find it hard to separate Chris Brown's music from whatever he gets himself into in his day-to-day life. Whether it's his unhealthy past with Rihanna, getting in a brawl with rapper Drake and his posse, or sending a less-than-humble tweet (and then deleting it) after winning a Grammy for Best R&B album, it's hard to push away that negativity while listening to his latest album, Fortune.
That being said, it's not like this album is anything close to iconic so we won't have to worry about it for long. He's basically created the ultimate R&B/Pop/Techno album by utilizing every single noise, hook and sound we've heard from albums that have been coming out this year. The second track, "Bassline," is basically a self-titled Pop/Dubstep song; "Till I Die" borrows the street sound from old-school hip-hop; and the track "Don't Judge Me" is a love song that defies belief since it's wedged between so many others that either sing about using Louis Vuitton condoms (because he's just that bank) or not caring if a woman has a boyfriend because, well, who wouldn't want to date a catch like Chris Brown? The best thing about the song "Don't Judge Me" is the line which sounds more like a plea to the public: "Can we please change the subject?"
Like him or not, Chris Brown is a Grammy winner, which means he must be doing something right. There are a few songs on the album that are catchy and can be heard in clubs, like "Trumpet Lights" and "Turn Up the Music." It's just hard to enjoy something made by someone who wants everyone to love him without giving them a reason why. He's concerned with his own self-respect to the point of shrugging off everyone who disagrees with him. Good thing there are so many teenage women who are still buying his albums to do Jell-O shots to before the club, because without them, Chris Brown wouldn't be here.
Best Tracks: "Bassline," "Don't Wake Me Up,"Trumpet Lights"
Skip These: "Biggest Fan," "Don't Judge Me"


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love your blog with my morning coffee each day. how do you find the energy to write (well and coherently) at the end of such a fun-filled day?! love, w
Vulcan on the volcan?
Trip Start Apr 08, 2012
10Trip End Apr 13, 2012
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The volcano is an active composite volcano (built up over time with layers), which has spewed ash and gas during large eruptions in the 1950s. Now it has releases steam and gases on a regular basis. It is 8,860 feet above sea level. You can visit two calderas, which are depressions at the top of the volcano. One is active, the other has a lagoon and is surrounded by forest. It is like going from a moonscape to a landscape!
Our travels began on a local bus to Alajuela, which we caught just across the highway from our hotel. Poor Emily, who speaks Spanish best, always gets pushed forward to pay the bus driver or ask for directions
The land itself changes to agricultural as you ascend - coffee plantations, cattle farms, flower plantations, and strawberry growers are all visible as the bus chugs and swerves towards the top. Often, there are eroded banks along the road, and towards the top a smattering of tourist shops. There was definately something to see out the window at all times! The bus driver only seemed to know the English phrases he needed to communicate at each important point in the process. He actually made a volcano by putting his index fingers into a mountain shape while saying "Volcan" to let us know we had the right bus. If you ever take the bus, I'd suggest sitting in a window seat on the side which is not directly behind the driver, making sure to be in a spot where the open window will be in your space - good for the breeze and for photo opportunities out the window! We had a stop on the way up at a souvenir shop/fruit stand where we bought fresas fresca (fresh strawberries)l met a friendly dog, and watched the neighbor across the street lead his cow on a rope.
The day was picture-perfect: sunny and breezy
Our first view of the active caldera was amazing - although it often gets obscured by clouds combined with its own steamy emissions, it was totally clear and in the sun. The landscape inside the crater is without vegetation, but the colors and textures are varied. There are reds, dark greys, touches of yellow, white and red. The pool of water is a unique turquoise blue, and the steam coming from its side is snowy white. Textures range from the puffy steam cloud and smooth water surface to eroded areas that look like the sand tray experiments in our classroom. It is as amazing a piece of earth as I have ever seen!
We climbed the steep, concrete path up to the lagoon, passing through our first bit of trail through a forested area. Here we began to see epiphytes - plants that grow on other plants, taking advantage of sunny spots. There is lots of moss, and all kinds of ferns and delicate plants. It actually gets quite dark on the trail in spots where the non-leafy branches of the trees close in over you.
The lagoon itself is a bit of a tease - after a hot walk up the trail, it looks like such an inviting place to swim, but, of course, is off limits. Instead we found a spot for a picnic lunch (who knew how much the kids like corn tortillas?), where some very persistent and pesky squirrels got bolder the longer our food seemed to be available
We saw some interesting birds (none cooperative enough to pose for my camera) including hummingbirds along the loop trail back to the visitor's center. I fell in love with individual trees and small patches of vegetation which would be the envy of many a gardener. I really did take too many pictures to post here, but I will upload some. I'm a bit sad about the ones of epiphyte-laden trees that appeared wherever there was an opening in the forest - the tropical sun was just too bright for my camera.
Speaking of the sun, we were happy to notice that even the sun tells us that we are not at home. Since we are much closer to the equator here, the sun is just about directly overhead at noon. We took some photos of our very small shadows to show what it is like where the sun is closer to a 90 degree angle in the sky.
Today is the 85th birthday of a very special man. I'm pretty sure your day wasn't as spectacular as ours, Dad, but we're glad to have seen you so close to your special day.
Tomorrow? Off to the rainforest, this time in a taxi-bus-taxi travel extravaganza!
Post your own travel photos for friends and family More Pictures
It is my devoted reader that keeps me going! Actually, the sun sets at 6 and we don't partake of the night life, so.....
Last night while I was writing, Bob and Emily met a woman who paints murals in hotels around the world for airfare and room/board. She was painting in this hotel, which is quite decorated!


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Today we celebrate the birthday of French mathematician Pierre de Fermat (1601-1665). His achievements were many. His work with tangents was the basis of differential calculus. His work with Pascal became the foundation of probability theory. And above all, his most significant contributions were in the field of number theory. But what I love about this mathematician is his contribution to the world of puzzlers: He claimed to have multiple proofs that he never bothered to share, leaving the rest of us in the dark for centuries.
Continue Reading "Happy Birthday Fermat, You Cocky Little …" »


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Jewel Thompson
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Office: Room 400e Hunter North
Phone: 212-650-3608
Jewel Thompson is author of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: The Development of His Compositional Style and contributor to the International Dictionary of Black Composers. In addition, she is a composer and arranger of works for solo voice, mixed chorus, men's voices, and women's voices which have been published by MORNING STAR MUSIC PUBLISHERS, Fenton, Missouri, and GIA PUBLICATIONS, Chicago, Illinois. An organist, choirmaster, and Minister of Music, Professor Thompson performs in these capacities weekly and in frequent guest appearances throughout the Metropolitan Area.


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Critics have been given early access to screenings of Batman: The Dark Knight Rises and bit by bit, reviews of the film are hitting the Internets. As far as I can tell, from the information that has come out thus far, Christopher Nolan has outdone himself with this final installment of the Batman saga. Many people, me included, found it hard to imagine how he would be able to make a better Batman film than The Dark Knight but if the early reviews are to believed — he has done it. Of particular interest to me are the early reports of Anne Hathaway's performance in the film as Selina Kyle/Catwoman. I am beyond relived to hear that the early reviews claim that she gives an amazing performance as Catwoman.
Supporting both the protagonist and antagonist are a host of diverse characters that are as complex as they are intriguing. In The Dark Knight, we were presented with the Joker, who was not only insane, but also incapable of telling the same origin story twice. He would gladly die to "watch the world burn." This movie gives us this complexity with no less than three supporting roles. While this writer has found Anne Hathaway (of The Princess Diaries and Havoc fame) to be drab and aloof in her past roles, she is the polar opposite in The Dark Knight Rises. She not only blows away Michelle Pfeiffer's Selina Kyle/Catwoman portrayal, she is downright intoxicating.
You can read the full text of this early review HERE. I think I've been very clear with my concerns from the first moment that we learned that Anne Hathaway secured the role of Catwoman. My fear is that she is not capable of doing the character justice. I know I won't be convinced until I see the film for myself but I am very encouraged by what I'm hearing about the film thus far. The thing I keep hearing over and over again is how good the film is overall … and how worthy it is of an Academy Award for Best Picture. Again, we'll see. I may read a few more reviews between now and the time I can see the film for myself but I don't want to read too much. As I understand it, the film's ending (the final 15 minutes) is mind-blowingly awesome. I'm a bit relieved by all of this, yes, but mostly … I'm just really f*cking excited!


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Francis King 1923-
(Full name Francis Henry King; has also written under the pseudonym Frank Cauldwell) Swiss-born English novelist, nonfiction and short story writer, and poet.
The following entry provides an overview of King's career from 1985 through 1997. For further information on his life and works, see CLC, Volumes 8 and 53.
King is an award-winning author of over forty works that include novels, novellas, short story collections, nonfiction, and poetry. Known primarily for his fiction, King focuses more on people than events and his writing frequently includes sharp portrayals of characters finding themselves in different areas of the world. Sometimes referred to as a "dark" writer, King employs satire, humor, and perversity to explore his characters' eccentricities as well as the pain and fragility that lie beneath them.
Biographical Information
King was born in Adelboden, Switzerland in 1923. He spent his childhood in India until age eight, when he was sent to an English boarding school. As a young man, King became a pacifist, avoiding World War II, and chose instead to work the land and study at Balliol College in Oxford. While he was at Oxford, King published three novels and various poems. In 1951, he joined the British Council, serving in Italy, Greece, Finland, Egypt, and Japan. King returned to England years later and worked as a reviewer and drama critic. He went on to hold professional positions as president and vice president of the English branch of the International Association of Poets, Playwrights, Editors, Essayists, and Novelists (PEN), and president of International PEN. He also cofounded the Writers' Action Group. The people and places encountered during his travels had a lasting impact on King, and his writings continually draw on his experiences as an expatriate and foreigner.
Major Works
King's works include fictionalized accounts of his childhood, his life during the war years, his mother's life, his experiences in postwar Florence, his travels while employed at the British Council, and his life in Brighton after "retiring" from the council. Family relationships and sexual identity are two of the most prominent and consistent themes in his work. Several of King's early novels so openly addressed homosexuality that many critics during the 1950s refused to mention them. In fact, the homosexual subject matter in The Firewalkers (1955, reissued in 1985) forced King to find a new publisher. In this novel set in Athens, the narrator interacts with the elderly and eccentric Colonel Grecos. King uses a similar story structure in Punishments (1989), Secret Lives (1991), The One and Only (1994), Ash on an Old Man's Sleeve (1996), and Dead Letters (1997). In each work, a chance meeting between two men (often from different countries) is a catalyst for major and lasting changes in their lives. Punishments deals with the hardships encountered by Michael Gregg, who becomes enamored of German man during a student trip to Germany in 1948. In the highly praised Secret Lives, the plot centers around Sir Brian Cobean and his relationship with a Japanese boy, Osamu, who is fleeing an arranged marriage. When Sir Brian dies of AIDS, Osamu must explain to the world why he and he alone will receive Brian's estate. The One and Only examines themes of jealousy and obsession, feelings which arise when the protagonist Mervyn meets Robert, a man who is in love with Mervyn's mother. When Robert is shunned in favor of another man, he manipulates Mervyn's feeling toward his mother, who neglected him as a child. Robert and Mervyn's shared rage leads to their own sexual relationship and Mervyn eventually kills his mother. Years later, Robert writes a manuscript that details the crime extensively and Mervyn is desperate to keep it from being published. In Ash on an Old Man's Sleeve, sixty-nine-year-old Elliot Baker becomes infatuated with a wealthy, young police officer in Havana. As the two men travel through Cuba together, Baker's obsession with the officer makes him reflect on the theme of religious and sexual suppression. An Australian named Steve and an Italian aristocrat are at the center of King's Dead Letters. They meet by chance in Sicily, form a relationship, and the aristocrat becomes increasingly dependent on Steve. Abuse in Steve's past prevents him from being able to love; however, the Italian is still able to draw inspiration from him. One of King's most successful and critically praised novellas, Frozen Music (1987), is a fictional account of King's life in India. The narrator, Rupert, looks back on a trip taken with his father to India. During the trip Rupert is forced to come to terms with his mother's death and to accept the reality of a vastly changed country. The Woman Who Was God (1988) follows the path of Mrs. St. Just as she travels to Africa to investigate the disappearance of her son, presumably at the hands of a religious sect. As she searches for the truth, Mrs. St. Just becomes obsessed with reconciling her unwieldy preconceptions with what she observes firsthand. In Visiting Cards (1990) and The Ant Colony (1991), King makes clever use of location and satire. Visiting Cards is a campy, almost over-the-top narrative about Amos Kingsley, a little-known travel writer who has accidentally become president of the fictional World Association of Authors. At the Association's latest conference in Malindi, meetings are unproductive, writers are taken prisoner, wives become unfaithful, and a dwarf naval officer begs to display his exhibitionist tendencies. The Ant Colony, set in Florence, satirically explores the relationship between the worldly Iris and the frumpy Jack, while also commenting on the lives of British Institute instructors. King's autobiography, Yesterday Came Suddenly (1993) makes extensive use of reconstructed dialogues with several people, giving the book an anecdotal flavor that renders it readable and entertaining.
Critical Reception
Although his novels are well regarded, King is primarily known for his mastery of the short fiction and novella forms. David Profumo writes that the "pressures of the shorter genre … make so incisive his descriptions of psychology and place." Some critics find King's prose loose and overwritten. Others describe his writing style as detached, commenting that he sometimes fails to elicit reader sympathy. King admits to a pessimistic world-view, but disagrees in part with critics who call his work dark. Commenting on the darker themes in his work, King has stated that "it is a darkness illuminated (I hope) by acts of decency, generosity and valor." King has also been faulted for implausible plotlines and for including too many characters in his work. Many of his detractors concede, however, that the King canon is rich with keen observation and deep insights into his characters' emotional lives. His blunt, straightforward prose is regarded as one of his main strengths, and critics judge his ability to portray the intricacies of human behavior as one of his most effective tools. Critic Martin Seymour-Smith asserts that King is "one of the best writers of fiction [that] England possesses."
Principal Works
*The Firewalkers: A Memoir [as Frank Cauldwell] (novel) 1955
Act of Darkness (novel) 1982
My Sister and Myself: The Diaries of J. R. Ackerley [editor] (nonfiction) 1982
Frozen Music (novella) 1987
The Woman Who Was God (novel) 1988
Punishments (novel) 1989
Visiting Cards (novel) 1990
**Florence: A Literary Companion (nonfiction) 1991
The Ant Colony (novel) 1991
Secret Lives: Three Novellas [contributions by Francis King, Tom Wakefield, and Patrick Gale] (novella) 1991
(The entire section is 99 words.)
Stephen Everson (review date 12 April 1985)
SOURCE: A review of The Firewalkers, in New Statesman & Society, April 12, 1985, p. 26.
[In the following review of The Firewalkers, Everson comments favorably on the novel's writing and on the character Cedric. He warns readers that although the novel was reissued in the Gay Modern Classics series, it does not treat homosexuality as a subject.]
The Firewalkers was first published in 1956 under the pseudonym 'Frank Cauldwell' after the British Council had given Francis King the choice of publishing it under his own name or remaining in their employ. This autobiographical novel describes the young narrator's encounters with Greece and with...
(The entire section is 347 words.)
David Profumo (review date 29 August 1987)
SOURCE: "Mischief That Is Past," in Spectator, August 29, 1987, pp. 28–9.
[In the following review of Frozen Music, Profumo asserts that although King's prose is looser here than in his short stories, the narrated novella succeeds in its exploration of a father and son coming to terms with the past.]
'I promised my mother I should never use that wretched word "novella"', wrote Dorothy Parker, and for many readers the term does seem to be a taxonomical cop-out for something that is 'entre chien et loup'. When Hutchinson launched its novella series, in which Frozen Music is the latest offering, it was good to see a new platform available for...
(The entire section is 646 words.)
Martin Seymour-Smith (review date 27 March 1988)
SOURCE: "A Death in India," in Washington Post Book World, March 27, 1988, p. 10.
[In the following review, Seymour-Smith praises the structure and depth of Frozen Music.]
There is some confusion about the nature of fictions that are too short to call novels but too long to call short stories. There are novellas, Novelle, novelettes—and even ŕecits, André Gide's invention. The novella, which we are used to from Boccaccio, was simply a short prose narrative. The Novelle, more self-consciously developed by Goethe at a time when the short story as known to us had hardly been conceived as a form, and then by other Germans...
(The entire section is 625 words.)
Philip Glazebrook (review date 23 April 1988)
SOURCE: "The Sport of a Mad Mother," in Spectator, April 23, 1988, pp. 31–2.
[In the following review of The Woman Who Was God, Glazebrook asserts that King includes too much detail and too many fleeting characters in his novel. However, Glazebrook does praise King's well-constructed narrative.]
There is a relief in putting yourself into the hands of so accomplished a constructor of fiction as Francis King, which encourages you to suspend disbelief, suspend too to some extent the critical organs, and allow credulity a long rein. You accept that the novelist in the pages of his book may claim to be God, creating a real world. So, if at the finish you find...
(The entire section is 1119 words.)
Wendy Lesser (review date 27 November 1988)
SOURCE: "The Haunter and the Haunted," in Washington Post Book World, November 27, 1988, pp. 6–7.
[In the following review of The Woman Who Was God, Lesser criticizes what she perceives as King's lack of empathy for his characters, especially Ruth St. Just, and maintains that the too-clever plot does not allow readers to know or identify with Ruth.]
There's something disconcertingly wrong with Francis King's latest novel, but throughout most of The Woman Who Was God it's hard to put your finger on exactly what the problem is. Every time you think you've found a flaw, the novel justifies it by placing it in the context of the main character's...
(The entire section is 830 words.)
Nicholas Lezard (review date 3 June 1989)
SOURCE: "A Dark and Troubling Business," in Spectator, June 3, 1989, pp. 34–5.
[In the following review of Punishments, Lezard claims that the novel's principal drawback is its simplistic plot, but that this simplicity is made up for by the depth of the Michael Gregg character and by King's refusal to provide the reader with clear answers.]
These days, we look at prolific authors as at mothers of unviably large families (when will they get fed up? We are); except, really, for Francis King. He is a very professional writer, one of the last who does not rely on producing rubbish to sustain his output. This is his 21st novel. His subject-matter takes...
(The entire section is 771 words.)
Betty Abel (review date July 1989)
SOURCE: A review of Punishments, in Contemporary Review, July, 1989, p. 45.
[In the following review of Punishments, Abel briefly describes what she feels are the two "punishments" found in the novel.]
Punishments by Francis King is a subtle, thoughtfully planned novel in which a strong under-stated theme underlies the plot. A young medical student, Michael, recounts his experiences during a journey to Germany almost immediately after the second world war, in the company of a number of other English university students. They are to stay in the homes of German undergraduates. Theirs is a voyage of reconciliation and Michael later calls it a...
(The entire section is 441 words.)
Toby Fitton (review date 15 June 1990)
SOURCE: "Botni for All," in Times Literary Supplement, June 15, 1990, p. 653.
[In the following review of Visiting Cards, Fitton praises the novel, despite his questions about its unlikely premise.]
Visiting Cards, a jocose novel about the conference procedures of a World Association of Authors (WAA), by a former world president of PEN, contains much salutary sending-up of the scheming (and screwing) that seems to accompany worthy international gatherings. The donnée may appear all too familiar; the writers' conference novel, or memoir, may even be a symptom of writer's block. In the practised hands of Francis King, however, some...
(The entire section is 528 words.)
Mark Illis (review date 16 June 1990)
SOURCE: "The PEN Is Mightier Than the Word," in Spectator, June 16, 1990, p. 54.
[In the following review of Visiting Cards, Illis notes that there is a serious side to King's comic novel.]
Francis King, former President of PEN International, has written a novel about the President of WAA, the World Association of Authors. Given that this fictional President is called Amos Kingsley, and that two early and fleeting characters are called Gabriel Lopez Martinez and Fukushima Kazuo, the novel at first looks like an extended literary in-joke. This is deceptive. The world in which WAA exists is not a satirical construct in which members of PEN, and others, are...
(The entire section is 603 words.)
Paul Binding (review date 7 June 1991)
SOURCE: "Internal Combustion," in New Statesman & Society, June 7, 1991, p. 44.
[In the following review of The Ant Colony, Binding finds honesty and objectivity in King's satirical novel about the British Institute in Florence at the end of World War II.]
To Florence, not long after the end of the second world war, two young people come to teach English at the British Institute: Iris Crediton, who arrives with a whole string of connections (her mother was a famous pianist, well-known in Florentine expatriate circles), and Jack Prentice (his very surname significant), from a workingclass northern family with no social pull anywhere.
(The entire section is 589 words.)
Lorna Sage (review date 7 June 1991)
SOURCE: "Name-Droppers," in Times Literary Supplement, June 7, 1991, p. 22.
[In the following review of The Ant Colony, Sage examines King's treatment of his characters, especially Jack and Iris.]
Export the English if you want to have a good look at them, their absurdities and anxieties thrown into high relief against a foreign backdrop. It is the formula of Forster's A Room With a View and Woolf's The Voyage Out (in her exasperated début she transported them as far as South America), and countless novels before and since. Francis King's The Ant Colony is back on Forster territory, in Florence, just after the end of the war, where...
(The entire section is 770 words.)
Mark Illis (review date 8 June 1991)
SOURCE: "Expatriates Gossiping in Florence," in Spectator, June 8, 1991, p. 36.
[In the following review of The Ant Colony, Illis writes that despite the many likeable characters in the novel, the story is not compelling.]
The English novel is regularly accused of being too quiet, too polite and too safe. It is often described in negative terms: it is unadventurous or unambitious. Francis King has written novels, such as Act of Darkness, to which none of these adjectives apply. They are all, however, appropriate in the case of The Ant Colony.
Jack, a young, diffident, working-class virgin, and Iris the 'classy' titled...
(The entire section is 695 words.)
Richard Davenport-Hines (review date 2 August 1991)
SOURCE: "Only the Lonely," in Times Literary Supplement, August 2, 1991, p. 19.
[In the following review of Secret Lives: Three Novellas, Davenport-Hines judges King's novella, a tale of emotional isolation, as the strongest in the collection, which also includes novellas by Tom Wakefield and Patrick Gale.]
By far the most arresting of the three novellas in this collection is that by Francis King [Secret Lives] which gives the volume its title. This tells the story of a poor Japanese painter named Osamu who comes to London to escape a forced marriage, and becomes the houseboy and lover of a QC, Sir Brian Cobean. The latter is an elegant, persuasive,...
(The entire section is 711 words.)
Paul Binding (review date 23 August 1991)
SOURCE: "Coexistences," in New Statesman & Society, August 23, 1991, p. 19.
[In the following review of Secret Lives: Three Novellas, Binding praises King's title novella for its portrayal of characters carrying burdensome secrets and of a man dying of AIDS.]
In conversation with Professor Barbara Hardy for the European Gay Review, Francis King observed that the novella "is not an English genre. It was developed in France and Russia as a concentrated form for narratives of sexual passion." He cites Prevost's Manon Lascaut and Turgenev's First Love. Now he has followed his own masterly contribution to this un-English genre...
(The entire section is 597 words.)
Penelope Lively (review date 4 September 1993)
SOURCE: "Places and Friends He Still Can Recall," in Spectator, September 4, 1993, p. 26.
[In the following review of Yesterday Came Suddenly, Lively commends King's memoir, which she feels is an engaging and moving work, in large part because of King's use of anecdotes and lengthy dialogue segments.]
Autobiography comes in many guises—as stern narrative, as expiation, as justification, as smokescreen. Francis King is an accomplished raconteur and it is in this style that he has chosen to write his—a sequence of anecdotes by means of which the great array of people with whom he has been associated trip in and out of the pages. The result is...
(The entire section is 976 words.)
Penelope Fitzgerald (review date 5 September 1993)
SOURCE: "Words Break the Pain Barrier," in London Observer, September 5, 1993, p. 53.
[In the following review of Yesterday Came Suddenly, Fitzgerald summarizes King's autobiography, commenting on its story-like quality and on King's modesty in relation to his achievements.]
Francis King, the brilliant and distinguished novelist, poet, critic, travel-writer and biographer, turns out also to have been a successful Brighton landlady (his own definition), short-order cook and agricultural labourer. These experiences have led to 'an attitude of profound, if resigned, pessimism about the world. I do not expect people to behave consistently well, and my...
(The entire section is 923 words.)
Jonathan Keates (review date 8 October 1993)
SOURCE: "Wasp at Large," in Times Literary Supplement, October 8, 1993, p. 30.
[In the following review of Yesterday Came Suddenly, Keates praises King's "busy, populous chronicle of a literary life."]
The boy Francis King tasted "a brine-like salt" on his father's forehead when, reluctantly, or at any rate unspontaneously, he kissed him goodnight. The taste, his autobiography's Proustian memory spur, turned out to be a malign portent of disease and death, and it is the presence of these two elements, spectral or all too palpable, which lends a melancholy consistency to [Yesterday Came Suddenly, a] busy populous chronicle of a literary life....
(The entire section is 826 words.)
Patricia Beer (review date 16 December 1993)
SOURCE: "Memories Are Made of This," in London Review of Books, December 16, 1993, pp. 22–3.
[In reviewing King's Yesterday Came Suddenly alongside Giles Gordon's Aren't We Due a Royalty Statement? and William Trevor's Excursions in the Real World, Beer concludes that King's "detached" prose style serves Yesterday Came Suddenly well.]
I was well into Giles Gordon's Aren't We Due a Royalty Statement? before I noticed that other readers were taking the book seriously, often to the point of denunciation. Up to then I had been assuming that it had set out to be an ingenious spoof, a sort of hoax or parody which had failed to...
(The entire section is 2992 words.)
Gregory Woods (review date 23 September 1994)
SOURCE: "Criminal Connections," in Times Literary Supplement, September 23, 1994, p. 22.
[In the following review of The One and Only, Woods criticizes what he views as overwritten passages, but states that the story is "well told" and unique.]
The past comes back to haunt you. It does in fiction, at least. One does not need a large-scale obsessive, like Proust, to demonstrate how heavily the structure of the novel itself has come to rely on this banal idea. Come-uppance is the key.
The narrator and protagonist of Francis King's [One and Only], Mervyn Frost, is sent the typescript of an old school friend's autobiography and...
(The entire section is 647 words.)
Charles Godfrey-Faussett (review date 29 March 1996)
SOURCE: A review of Ash on an Old Man's Sleeve, in Times Literary Supplement, March 29, 1996, p. 22.
[In the following review of Ash on an Old Man's Sleeve, Godfrey-Faussett objects to the novel's "confessional style" and to its forced imagery.]
With [Ash on an Old Man's Sleeve] Francis King juggles the epithets in the aphorism attributed to William Lecky that "sensuality is the vice of young men and old nations." The "ash" of the title doesn't only get on the narrator's sleeve but also up his nose, as a brief encounter with cocaine launches his Cuban holiday in a way he never expected. He writes: "my head, so far from resembling some...
(The entire section is 588 words.)
William Scammell (review date 30 March 1996)
SOURCE: "Love in a Hot Climate," in Spectator, March 30, 1996, p. 29.
[In the following review of Ash on an Old Man's Sleeve, Scammell praises the novel's treatment of sexuality.]
[In Francis King's novel, Ash on an Old Man's Sleeve,] Elliott Baker arrives in the 'hot, dark, mysterious' city of Havana, a valetudinarian of fixed habits and declining powers, more accustomed to watching his step for cracked paving-stones than sniffing 'that strange fermentation of the air' which greets his traveller's enquiring nose. 'You want a good time?' he is asked on his first morning by a couple of prostitutes. 'Of course I wanted a good time. Who...
(The entire section is 908 words.)
Sarah A. Smith (review date 6 December 1996)
SOURCE: "People of a Certain Age," in Times Literary Supplement, December 6, 1996, p. 22.
[In the following review of A Hand at the Shutter, Smith comments on King's "sly" storytelling and on the brave female characters found in this collection of stories.]
A Hand at the Shutter brings together sixteen of Francis King's stories, half of them already published in journals and anthologies, written over a period of thirteen years. Elegant, well-bred stories, ranging in location from Maida Vale to Slovenia, Buenos Aires to Japan, they form a varied, subtly challenging collection which confirms the author's creative longevity. King focuses on...
(The entire section is 584 words.)
Tim Haigh (review date 24 October 1997)
SOURCE: "Sicilian Overtures," in Times Literary Supplement, October 24, 1997, p. 25.
[In the following review of Dead Letters, Haigh takes issue with the main plot, which concerns Prince Stefano and Steve's relationship.]
There is a tradition of novels whose power resides in allusiveness and suggestion rather than story-telling. It is as part of this tradition that Francis King intends Dead Letters. His aim is to indicate, rather than to tell, to leave things in the shadows or off-stage, rather than to expose them to the glare of sunlight; or, like a De Chirico painting, to give them the mythic resonance of a train in the distance.
(The entire section is 553 words.)
Further Reading
McDadd, Susanne. "Francis King: An Interview." Pen (Autumn 1989): 24-25.
McDadd interviews King, focusing on his life and various works.
Mellors, John. "Waves and Echoes: The Novels and Stories of Francis King." London Magazine 15, (December 1975–January 1976): 74–82.
Mellors offers a critical assessment of King's work, concluding that The Custom House, The Waves Behind the Boat, and The Japanese Umbrella are his "most impressive achievements."
Williamson, Malcolm. "Lechers on world peace." Observer (London), No. 10365 (10 June 1990): 54....
(The entire section is 130 words.)


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Vacation rentals in Italy (villas, farms, estates, agriturismo, apartments)
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text:
So how did they test the capacity of the computer dinosaurs of yore? Randy Hayes was there, and he gives us a taste of what it was like. Even with automation, a simplistic approach can be very tedious. Randy also demonstrates that simple automated load tests don't necessarily test what you think they do, and they don't necessarily give accurate results until you've taken steps to ensure that they exercise the system the way real users would.
Can you imagine a full Broadway production that only runs for a single night? It would have to be a really bad show! But that's exactly what load testing used to be like, and still is if you automate the old-fashioned way. Writing test scripts, setting up computers to generate the load, running the test scripts by hand, and evaluating the results is like a really awful Broadway production. Problem is, the next time you make changes to your software you have to do the whole thing all over again. At least a bad show never comes back-this one does, but not often enough to keep the whole cast and crew hanging around!
That reminds me of a story. Back in 1981 (the dinosaur age in Internet time), I worked as a software test engineer for a company called Basic Four in Irvine, California. Basic Four manufactured a "minicomputer" that was the size of a small refrigerator and about half as fast as that old 386 machine in your closet. As many as 100 dumb terminals could be attached to a single machine and used for data entry tasks (or so the marketing guys claimed). My job was to prove that the computer really could support 100 terminals.
Proving that it couldn't did not seem to be an option. So I dutifully wheeled in several racks of CRT terminals, exactly 100, from the manufacturing floor and painstakingly connected all of the cables and cords. My boss cheerfully suggested that we post an announcement on the cafeteria bulletin board, asking for volunteers from the factory floor to help us with the test. We could even offer free pizza to entice them! "Forget it," I said, "most of the people on the floor don't speak English and have better taste in food. And it seems like a silly thing to do if we have to repeat it every time we change the software-can we really afford that much pizza? If we offered free beer we would draw more people for sure, but it might mess up the test results if they throw up on the keyboard or get tipsy. So I'll just throw together a little program to write to the disk drive and display characters on the CRT-at least it will be similar to what happens in real life."
So that's what I did. One after the other, I logged in at each terminal and started up my test program. The screen began to fill up with dots and then I moved on to the next one. I began to notice that the dots on all the screens moved just a little bit slower with each one I added. By the time I got to about 30, they were barely even moving at all. "Oops!" I thought, "My test program must be too demanding on the CPU-back to the drawing board."
So I rewrote the test program to be a bit more realistic. I started with what a fast typist might do (say, eighty words a minute) and calculated the average delay between keystrokes. Then I wrote a routine that put the program to sleep for that period of time and woke it back up long enough to send a dot to the screen. After eighty such iterations, I told it to send eighty bytes of data to the disk to simulate saving a record. Then, of course, I had to go back to all the terminals, one by one, to kill the previous version of the program that was running and start up the new one.
By then it was


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The Organic.Balkanet National workshop took place in a castle in Pivola Hompoš, on January 28, 2010. It was organized as part of 13th Alpe Adria Biosimpozij – News on organic farming 2010, "Research and knowledge transfer in organic farming", the professional groups of the participants that attended the workshop were 31% organic farmers, 8 % future organic farmers, 15 % agronomists, 8 % advisory specialists, 8 % teachers and speakers, 30 % people with other professions. In the age group younger than 25 years were 19 %, between 25 and 35 years were 8 %, 35 to 45 years were 23 % and over 45 were 50 %.
The Participants were introduced to other projects on training in organic farming in Europe and presented with some previous initiatives of working groups of partner organizations. From all the themes, due to the relation to organic farming, the participants chose the following, Organic plant production, Healthy food, to preserve nature, Environment and ecology, Organic products, Safe food, the continuation of farming, Organic breeding of animals, Well care of animals and Development of the countryside.