text:
um, yeah, there.
Friday: Polo Haus 5416 ne 14th place portland, OR 97211 8 PM - polo in the street, pump track in the back, and music in the middle WELCOME TO THE OBPC's Presented by the men of the polo haus. Saturday: Pier Park 7 AM - meet at court to asseble the boards and resweep the court 9 AM - registration opens to everyone - $10 a head / $30 a team 10:30 AM - registration closes and tournament rules are reviewed 11 AM - first games begin 6 PM - its almost to dark to play - alternate ending location if needed 6:30 PM to ??? - breakdown/cleanup of event location 8 PM - Drinking and shenanigans, location TBD Sunday: Alberta park 8 AM - meet at the court to setup for days events 10 AM - first of the finals games starts we play till there are no more games to be played. Side note to all participants -Please bring a cup or bottle to put your beverages in due to park police and city police. There are restrooms open at pier park which MUST be used by everyone. They are located a distance away but the park is beautiful so enjoy the ride. -There will hopefully be food/drink on both days for everyone. -Please remeber you are visiting the NW and it still is winter time and we get rain here alot. Please bring dry clothes and a rain jacket/pants/socks. We want you to have a good time not a wet time. -Thank you all for letting me know you are coming. I hope this schedule will help alot of you all out - see you in a few days! Thanks you so much Drew Kinney
um, yeah, there.
Okay catfish, I'm going to move my mouth like this...
You guys are hosting a tournament in a hollow? Look out for witches.
Chicago Bike Polo 2003-2008
St Louis Bike Polo 2008-now
This poster is blowing my mind.
sweet...I'm down. 360 here I come!
its been awhile... c u then... you guys have a new court???
since 1998
Matt Messenger
since 1998
just got my tickets! arriving thursday.
can i stay inside somewhere?
anybody else from the east coast going?
You bet it is! I'm on Portland's flyer!
it's a take-off on the portland landmark neon sign on the shores of the willamette. and the strip clubs.
thank you el joker my friend from canada made it for us she found the picture some where on the internet but is that ok with you if we keep using you.
but you don't have any friends in canada. um. oh. i guess this is a bad time to ask you for a place to stay?
Okay catfish, I'm going to move my mouth like this...
oh martin your silly i have alot of friends look at my facebook that will prove it just kidding justine from victoria just moved here and she offered her experties in making the flier. and you can stay with me martin and tell james to come down with you.
cool drew. i'll let james know. he'll be down this weekend for the mayhem so you can even work on him yerself. yea i just heard from justine today! woot woot! i'm so excited to get out of this city! too bad it's not for another three and a half weeks!
Okay catfish, I'm going to move my mouth like this...
yo what is the mayhem i really dont know
mini-bike winter.
Okay catfish, I'm going to move my mouth like this...
Axles of Evils and the mini bikers we have never been the closest of players but James polo on sun that is if you can get monday off
independent tribes working to achieve a similar goal with different tactics...
free fun for winter bikers this valentines day weekend!
bring extra blood to share.
Like the Care Bears said, "sharing (bicycles, F/OSS, alcohol and Josh's Mom...) is caring"
Yeah yeah, for a crew like Portland to use me in this fashion Im honored, even if it wasnt intentional. Any way I can trade this usage of my likeness for some badass Local Portland teammates for this tourney? I'm plannin on going anyhow, tho I dont think any other LA kids will unfortunately
Hey Alex, it's Tom from Vancouver. Let's be on a team my bearded brethren. whaddaya say???
Take it Sleazy
Holy shit are you for real OMG FUGGYEAH!!! I'm emailing you rite now. So cool!
Hey Tom!
Do you have a third?
Is there room for another 818 all star?
Hey Joey read what Tom wrote you need to grow a beard to get on the squad. Dont get mad at me I dont make the rules...
Is this good enough?
Dam I tried to change the picture. But the browse wigit is not updating.
awesome i have a few benchers that would love to play with you we will see you in a few weeks holy shit only a few weeks.
I can house two but you should be very comfortable with each other cause you will be sleeping in the same room...on the same air mattress...maybe three if you're very comfortable.
i'll be there thursday night. can we get some pick-up games going on friday the 6th?
kenny and i will be there friday night to cuddle with drew and our teammate...
Okay catfish, I'm going to move my mouth like this...
don't worry, i'll have the dutch oven warmed-up by the time you get there.....
warm it up. it's been too long...
Okay catfish, I'm going to move my mouth like this...
Friday night polo haus polo in the street its been a while but it will be fun and we will have a welcoming party that night to.
sweet. thanks drew. so looking forward to this
how's the ride from the airport to your place?
the light rail from the airport in PDX is the shit as well. it has a stop right outside of the baggage claim and you can bring your bike on it. it also runs on the honor system for payment;)
the ride is dope its only 4 to 5m of flat that is if you take the right way what time you flying in?
i land at 10:47pm Portland time on Thursday the 5th
Yo Chris!
You got a team? I looked for tickets and they are so freekin cheep! Might use my CSI NY check to buy one.
hey joey, yeah i have a team. but joker and tommy gunn might need a third. get with them!
chris i can meet you at the airport if you will have your bike the max or light rail does not go very close to my house. but its an easy ride
fyeah! about time we had some international competition in our house.
although i dont know how to get from portland airport to the marine drive bike path without going far out of the way. maybe you can just bushwack it?
ByCycle suggested this route:
http://bycycle.org/regions/portlandor/routes/find?q=7050-5466 to 47702
but regardless even if you take the max to the Lloyd Center at NE 15th it is only about 2 miles. pretty easy riding.
Like the Care Bears said, "sharing (bicycles, F/OSS, alcohol and Josh's Mom...) is caring"
er i found it. kinda looks like it still sucks a bit, but whatevs:
Like the Care Bears said, "sharing (bicycles, F/OSS, alcohol and Josh's Mom...) is caring"
phil corn foot its the only way go around the back of the airport screw 33rd and the bike path i got a secret for all of you
thanks for the links revphil, but i think i want to know drew's secret. i can see cornfoot drive on maps, going through golf courses. drew, email me your address. hopefully i'll be able to put my bike bag on my back and ride to you, but i appreciate the offer of the ride. i'll let you know as we get closer and montana finishes cutting my bike in half.
I plan on driving down thursday afternoon for this. Hopefully with a few cars full of people, it will be awesome
nice, so we can have pick-up all day friday!
a of all- new yorkers are rally coming? sweeet!
b of all-rory_bear-thats right FULL CIRCLES! as timmy would say, but not always do...
c of all-this is shaping up Drew-good job!
well, one new yorker at least. i've been practicing my 360s in pick-up and the others are not too happy about it. i am really looking forward to meeting everyone and getting to see some friends again. though i have to say, despite the fact that both of their explanations should be legitimate in civilized society, both martin and leon are leaving me sad and empty due to their foretold absences.
you have no idea how sad i am that i have to miss this chris!
rock on portland. do it like i know you can!
Okay catfish, I'm going to move my mouth like this...
Just bought my flight and I can't wait to go to my first out of town tourney!
I am realy in need of some tourny action. (and a brake from the norm)
Portland or Boston?
What to do?
Portland's founders faced a similar dilemma about whether to name Portland "Portland" or "Boston".
It's a sign. You should go to Portland.
portland: you joker and tommy gunn
the return of the blumpkin
enter the blumpkin...
Okay catfish, I'm going to move my mouth like this...
I think I am just going to hold my load for the ESPI's.
Joey get yer arse down to portlad and play some polo, i think u tomgun, alex will do just fine.. do it ! do it!
Northern Standard
You grew the beard fool, and we already knew you were good enough. Get on Southwest Airlines already! Go to the ESPI's also I will need your help there too... Thanx Chris
duh, Portland!
you could always flip a coin but if you're coming up from cali its obviously easier and faster to get to portland than boston. plus-c'mon support your west coast!
you coming, too craig?
I want to. If I can get a team / ride, then definitely.
Ah! I do have a beard!
Inland Empire/Upland, eh? You ever run across any players from Harvey Mudd or elsewhere on the 5C's? Are they any good?
I play with those kids every Fri.
There is one guy named Ace who kills it. He has a prime group of kids who love the game.
Wow i was under the impression it was going to be only Portland, Corvallis and Eugene invited, im glad it was opened up to everyone, this is gonna rock! Eugene is jumping at the bit to get up to this tourney, Corvallis is gonna have an awesome team.
Eilif Corvallis OR.
less than two weeks!
ya 2 weeks, getting stoooked!!!
Hey chris can you look into some pedals for me? Brooklyn bikes have some called shinburgers, how much????
Northern Standard
$110 usd. you want a pair? black or silver?
what up drunkie? leaving in nine days and portland polo is all i'm thinking about!!!
well, that and strange!
hey chris,do you know anyone at BB? anyway of getting a polo discount? Ah f!@# it, sure get me black pair.
Northern Standard
so, they're actually done making the shinburgers and don't have any left. they've gone vegetarian. they told me that they work better ("your foot kind of sinks into the holes rather than having that bed of nails feeling"), and that they're lighter. 120 usd. you want these ones? http://brooklynmachineworksstore.com/shinburger-vegie.html
Just paid for my ticket!
Wait, are you playing on El Joker's team? I heard that the third from LA wasn't coming up to play with Tom/Alex.
I am coming out from the LA area. Unsure if I am playing with Tom and Alex. They may have a 3rd. Can you confirm this Tom?
Well, the reason I was concerned is that I am the third.
Oh Darn, Lucky you!
So I will not be able to play with my partner from LA. I am sure I will figure somthing out.
Good Luck Craig!
If you want I will ask around Seattle and see if there is anyone who still needs a third. Let me know. I may not be there in person but perhaps you can represent for me.
Seattle Bike Polo
Yes that will be awesome! Much appreciated!
can i please have a comment from pieter about how awesome this is going to be?
portlanders can party new york under the table any day of the week, don't you worry chris, there's more than one reason they call it little beirut. i don't even think they know what the fuck gatorade is. mallet throwing is encouraged and deftly practised. first time i went down there was a beer scavenger hunt in the park, everyone came out with like 12 cans each. someone told me i was crashy and i took it as a compliment and haven't looked back. everything i have learned about drugs, alcohol, and polo come from oregon. just remember chris, you have to be sober enough to play in the final. it'll be great to see you. bring me something from new york and i'll bring you something from east van.
thank you, crashy. this is exactly what i had in mind and needed. and i'll bring you something alright.
Not Pieter but I am sure it will be awesome!
My first travel tourny. I am glad I will play against familiar faces like yourself Christopher.
I think East Van have 2 or 3 teams and a couple mixed teams with folks from NYC and LA. I think next week we'll play 360s again to help remember how to play oldschool. I think most of us are coming down friday afternoon/evening. Maybe we'll get some pick up infron tof the Polo Haus.
Drew if I remember correctly Portland allows defensive 360s...even encourages it. True?
Someone please bring me a medium East Van T.
Need a team!
Ill be flying into Portland from Milwaukee on the 3rd. Id love to hang out, maybe play some pickup. I dont think I can make it for the whole tourney. If anyone besides sweet t would be interested in hanging out, seeing the sights, letting me sleep on your porch, or whatever, I dont really have any plans for almost two weeks so Id love to meet up. Ive never been to Portland so Im pretty excited. Do you guys play any other days during the week?
If anyone wants to meet up email firstname.lastname@example.com. Send me your contact info so I can reach you once I get there.
Extra-stoked on pickup games in Eugene tonight—we're still figuring out how many of us are coming up. We even had a last-minute pickup/practice Monday!
hey canadians! I wanna check to see if I can cross the border or if my extensive crime record will keep me out.
SO, I would like to catch a ride North to Vancouver with someone if there is room. Then Ill come back home after a day or so.
any takers?
btw Bike Prom is coming back to Victoria April 24-26th expect another rad polo turny and various types of other lecherous activities.
Like the Care Bears said, "sharing (bicycles, F/OSS, alcohol and Josh's Mom...) is caring"
oh rev, you know i'll be at the prom...er makin out on the bleachers outside it i mean.
Okay catfish, I'm going to move my mouth like this...
oh and bring your waterbottle/pimp cups for discreet adult beverage consumption.
Like the Care Bears said, "sharing (bicycles, F/OSS, alcohol and Josh's Mom...) is caring"
Fuck ya!
alex, it'll be great to catch up in portland, sounds like you've picked up a fun team. 818! where's the hamma?
YOYOYOYOYO Pieter! Dude Im psyched on this thing, I'm gonna be on a Canadian team! Hey if u want the latest check our thread below Im sure you'll find Hammer there if u look. I got a new polo bike too!
Well, ~half Canadian. I'm actually from the States.
Looking forward to playing with you. Super pumped!
get ready...its gonna be fun!
Cos everybody knows this is how it goes, west coast has got the most sauvoir faire per player,read em and weep we play three deep and we roll along bang a gong trex said get street cred...
wot wot? dang dawg, i thought you knew!
just an update/request for an update...we've got 4-8 people rolling down that way friday with a likely ETA of 3-5 pm PST. cars parked and polo bikes mounted by sundown at the LATEST. pickup games? beer? what's the word for friday night?
818, 2/3 in effect!
909 Representing!
Ya! you heard about the big bad Upland!
Oh man I can't wait for this weekend!
there will be a new schedule posting either in the morning or late tuesday afternoon waiting on a couple of things to time out for it but friday night party at the polo haus with polo in the streets along with a bitchen pump track in the back and i have a few djs and a band playing that evening should be fun to get people pumped to play on sat. see you all really soon
pump track?
is this something rory will win?
east van is coming strong with 15 players.
thanks for everything drew...
Make way for the East Van army!
ohh PUMP TRACK, i was just at 1 on sunday, Is it mt bike style or BMX? Should i bring a bike for it or are there some dirt machines there? I'll take rory on!!!!
Northern Standard
i have a few bikes but i really wanted to use polo bikes on it i think it would be sweet to have a polo pump train going on i have a few pics at polohaus.blogspot.com and teamwreck.blogspot.com check both sites out there are great.
fuck you all. (said with my head in my hands)
Okay catfish, I'm going to move my mouth like this...
i was really looking forward to seeing you martin but i guess next time right good luck debating your decision about not coming.
if only the decision were mine!!! have fun polistas! i'm with you in spirit!
Okay catfish, I'm going to move my mouth like this...
Just saw the pics,SICKTER OFF THE RICkTER,can't wait to shred it!!!
Northern Standard
word on the street for the weekend portland has a snow advisory. snow level dropping to 500 feet on sat night and possible snow on sunday. so everyone be prepared to have snow on you this weekend or not portland weather men really suck at casting the forecast.
Bring the snow. My polo bike is ready:
Corvallis has one team for sure, and we almost have a 2nd team.
Eugene will defenantly have a team. I will talk to them this thursday night and see how many they got coming.
Ashland Oregon bike polo just started and i hear at least one person will be coming up.
hey eilif talked to sean in eugene and he has a couple teams and beer and i have got intouch with ashland as well and i think they may have one or 2 people so if anyone is coming to the tourney without a team i think there will be plenty of people to play with or make a bad ass team that may win this whole event i hope well eilif i jsut want to make sure you are bring the boom box so we have music all weekend and does corvallis have a place to stay as well let me know we will talk. i hate spelling.
if Eilif's stereo doesn't make it, I'll be bringing mine, too:
We can battle/share batteries.
Im charging my batteries at the moment, the sound system will be ready! I will be bringing 2 batteries. I could even pull the battery out of my truck if need be, ill also be bringing a charger. Yep over prepared as usual. Tho i may need to bring a tent as well to keep it dry.
Alexanders system is great for carting around town on a trailer, I know from many a good drunken ride in Eugene! we might have to do a night ride up there in Portland!
Some of Corvallis is looking for a place to stay, were planning on coming up friday to get the whole shebang. Ill be hashing out the details this thursday and will report back.
eilif please bring a tent please we will need it and i cant find a big enough one as i returned it to rei to get a smaller one that is way to small i think i got a line on a sweet table tough let me know
I think ill be able to borrow the Peak Bike Sports convention tent. Everyone at peak has played or is playing bike polo so we got a bit of sponsorship ehehe.
i don't think we're allowed to have tents under our permit...lame, but jus sayin' i'll double check, and a boombox is fine. but no super amplified anything... anyway i am totally stoked for this tourney even though i am a low level player. its gonna be fun! who is gonna be here by friday night partaking in the festivities? everyone, right? :D
polo brings us all in one full circle. count it!
*i just got back from wed night polo so ...make what you will of that* see y'all friday, and saturday and sunday!
Gregg from Peak says i can borrow the pop tent, ill bring it up just in case.
The Eugene "B" team will arrive by 9 Friday. With any luck, we'll be sleeping at my friend's house on Roselawn.
PS--Peak is a great ISP; they give me good speed, a static IP, they never packet-shift...And now they're loaning a tent for polo! Thanks, Gregg!
Actually Alexander, I work at Peak SPORTS in Corvallis (a Bike Shop), and know practically nothing about computers. But my wife says Peak Internet is THE best. They have actual people working there! And they have brains. You can even go in and talk to them in person (this is easier if you live a few blocks from the office obviously). I Hope to make it down to Eugene tonight w/Eilif -its been WAY too long, you guys are probably too good for me now.
tiah we need a tent its oregon and it rains we need a tent trust me we will have paper that will get wet and that will mess everything up for us if it does bring the polo tent we need it no matter what tiah says.
mallet throwing and 360s, just like the good old days.
The keg of NINKASI IPA should be in ptown around 8:30-9pm today... fast for atleast 6 hours beforehand.
We got 5 players coming up for the friday night party from Corvallis. Needs place to sleep. Figure the floor of the Polo Haus would do just fine. Get our backs nice and straight for the tourney.
Gregg is bringing up the pop tent on Saturday morning.
a of all-someone is bringinga keg of ninkasi ipa? i love you!
b of all-drew! i undertand whya tent woudl be awesome, and i'm all for it, but not if i get some fine because of it. i'll double check the paperwork, i relaly don't know why it would present a problem but i seem to vaguley recall the park people saying something along the ones of "no tents" but whatever i doubt it would be a big deal if its up for rain purposes.
c of all-hurray!
YOYO Tia I got some LA Polo gear for you! Girl size T-s you will like!
Yo Alex! Thank you very much! :)
To those of you who have not seen the LA shirt-its pretty sweet-black with a white outline of a polo player rearing up with a mallet about to swing raised over the head. Count it!!!
Day one of the tourney is complete! It was a great time, more mellow(on the sidelines) at times then you'd expect from 20 teams (!!!)but it was never lacking for good times. The party the night before after a bunch of pick up games in front of the Polo Haus was pretty sweet, too. It was a lot of fun to meet the out of towners, and to talk with returning peeps.
There were lots of great looking games.
The reg list is in Eric's notebook right now-thanks Eric for running the brackets!! but I'll list all the teams later.
aww, you're with mean justine in your profile pic and she has an east van bike polo shirt. WHY THE FUCK AM I NOT THERE?!?!?!??!
Okay catfish, I'm going to move my mouth like this...
I wish I was there ;( I heart PDX
Quick like Thunder
Peace to all the Gods and the Earths!
I wish I was there ;( I heart PDX
Quick like Thunder
Peace to all the Gods and the Earths!
THANK YOU EVERYONE for coming out is was the players who made this such a great success THANK YOU AGAIN.
hup hup. its done and done! i'm too tired from my long day on the bench to recount all the details now, but i wanted to post this link to some nice photos my buddy Jose took from day one of the tourney.
there's more than me than there should be admittedly but its cos i'm on his bike team and he was taking a couple so i could use one for a profile shot. sorry!
yesterday was great and today was awesome.
i'll also have a few photos up in the near future. i'll post a link when i get to it. if other peeps took pics and can share them that'd be great,too.
Thanks for hosting, Portland. I had a great time.
wow back to reality with 5 cm of snow on the ground here in Vancouver, i think we got what Portland was supposed to get this weekend, thank frek the polo gods were good to us this weekend.. I had absolute blast this weekend, playing day 1 in that park setting, was for me a truly amazing experience with old growth douglas/cedar/ trees = AWSOME!!!! i flipping LOVE the north west coast..ANYwho, many thanks to everyone who made this happen,(u know who you are)
much love
321 polo!!!!!
Northern Standard
East Van's Ballz Deep won - Rory, Drunky, Piet. (can we have the final standings please?)
Okay catfish, I'm going to move my mouth like this...
It was something like 1) East Van Ballz Deep, 2) Seattle's Good Enough, 3) Portland Sucka Fucks, 4/5) LA/NY/EV & East Van's Seven Seven Hate
4/5) LA/NY/EV & East Van's Seven Seven Hate
It only just occurred to me, but I wish we could have seen that match up.
778 fo' life.
Neither Kenny's nor my team played either of your teams or the Women's Army either.
Wow I cant believe that! Top 5!
Big thanks to my team!
Fuck yeah! Way to go.
next years oregon bicycle polo championships early april we will have 45 more minutes of daylight i am looking forward to putting htis one on again.
i haven't got that list off of Eric yet and as the reg person I should be able to come up with the names, right? Alas there were 20 teams and so much activity I doubt I'll get em all but I'll try to remember a few.
Balls Deep-i'm pretty sure they were there...:)
NY/LA/East Van-that name sucks guys...
77 Hate (on)
TMT Blast
BMFP (bikemuthafuckinpolo)
Dead Fucking Best
Big Back Yard
818/?/? (some vancouver area codes)
Flying Tigers
Dirty Sock
The 206ness(seattle's good enough)
The Ladies Army
In state beer tax
Polo Trollo
Bob's Your Uncle
Ashland Penetration
Bob Ross & the naked ladies
Solid Gold
In case anybody wants to see the final bracket:
You can click on "all sizes" to blow it up.
This was a great 1st tourny for me! Traveling to meet other people who love bike polo as much as I do was a great expierience. The Portland team has a great style of playing that I have never seen before.
A big thank you to Drew who took care me while I was visiting from LA California.
Oh ya Tim Tim thanks for letting me crash at your house on Saturday!
joey-i'm glad you chose portland and not boston, or maybe you're gonna go there, too? in any case we're glad you came. i wanted to get a pic of you and alex with your awesome shirts but alas i never got around to it, y'all just have to come back next year, ya hear?
back in nyc, but still high from this weekend. a lot of great memories were made, but i'll save those stories for the post-obpc thread.
thank you everyone. drew: your hospitality and generosity are inspiring: from meeting me at the airport thursday night, albeit it with no tools to put my bike together, to our off-road ride up to the overlook above the train yard, to lending me a sleeping bag for the weekend, to showing me where to find green to smoke all weekend, to teaching me to ride that pump track, all the way to monday morning with everything else in between. thanks man. i can't wait to see and play with you again.
to everyone who put in hard work to make this tournament run so smoothly, from tia and eric to the polo haus to little beirut generally: a giant thank you. i was really happy to have met so many new players, and to have played again with some (all too) familiar faces (pieter, can i go three weeks without seeing you?).
kenny and joey: thank you so much for playing with me. i was really impressed with our turn around between saturday and sunday. i knew we had it in us. one win from the podium isn't bad for our first time playing together.
martin: thanks for not coming so joey could take us as far as we got! i did get your gift from one very special member of the east van army, though, thanks. i really missed you.
and to tpl: thanks guys, the bike and the mallets are the shit.
i miss you too buddy. soooon...
Okay catfish, I'm going to move my mouth like this...
Hey Martin thanks for the gift.
You have a great group of girls.
Okay catfish, I'm going to move my mouth like this...
Polly gave me somthing and said it was from you....
like drew said, the players made it excellent.
thank you for making it rad.
Like the Care Bears said, "sharing (bicycles, F/OSS, alcohol and Josh's Mom...) is caring"
Did you guys see this?
hey joey did you get your bike alright i hope i packed it well for you.
Ken Ken Ichi is in it!!!


text:
Derek Gripper's Kora transcriptions
The last day of WOMEX is usually taken up with an awards ceremony and last minute networking within the world music community. But this year it found me traveling through Galicia in a bus bound for the Monastery of Santa Cristina, and a concert by classically trained guitarist Derek Gripper, presented by Ecos da Pedra. It was a kind of a "those in the know" event, and I was happy to be on board.
Rene Marie at the Blue Note
I have been documenting the annual Jazz Journalists Association Awards event for four years running. Each time Howard Mandel, president of the Association, books three acts to break up the presentations of the award, (more…)
Martin Lubenov and Jazzta Prasta at WOMEX
Three songs from Bulgarian born accordionist Martin Lubenov, who has made his home in Vienna. The trio called Jazzta Prasta (Angel Demirev, guitar and Mihail Ivanov on bass) (more…)
A folk song from Gurya
Fula Flute plays for the JJA Awards
Two clog dancing demonstrations
Show of Hands performs "Be Lucky."
A Lifetime Journey Toward Song – the making of
Habib Koite: A West African Fête at the City Winery
The April Verch band at WOMEX 2013
Kapela Brodow at Mazurka Festival
Groupa at WOMEX 2012
The Knights with Wu Man play concerto for Pipa
Two Folksongs by Wu Man and the Knights
Tsuumi Sound System at WOMEX 2012
Gaiteros de San Jacinto at Terraza
Carlos Nuñez and the Celtic Music of Spain
Wonderland performs at IstanbuLive IV
Ragnhild Furebotten at the Førde Festival
Music in Uzbekistan: a Festival
Consider the Source plays the JJA Awards
Renata Rosa at the Førde Festival
Sweet Swedish Sounds of Irmelin
Oran Etkin and Kelenia at APAP
TriBeCaStan: Downtown meets World
Blitz the Ambassador at WOMEX:"Akwaaba" Means Welcome"
Tükrös Plays Opening Night at WOMEX 2011
Pistolera -Taking Life by the Teeth
Neil Pearlman Finds the Clavé in a Scottish Jig
Neil Pearlman plays "Alison House."
Simon Barker plays a tribute to Kim Seok Chul
Yemen Blues at Le Poisson Rouge, "Um Min Al Yaman"
Timbila with Poet Bob Holman at Bowery Electric
Timbila Live at Bowery Electric
Dance Like an Indian: Red Baraat at The Hiro Ballroom
Have You Heard Huun-Huur-Tu?
Punk Meets World: The Ex
The Artvark Saxophone Quartet Plays a Gospel Song
From WOMEX: The Kids Are Alright…in Wales
The Visceral Glory of Home-Made Music: De Temps Antan
NY Gypsy Allstars and Selim Sesler at Drom
De Temps Antan: Full live performance at WOMEX
They Don't Call Him Papa Wemba For Nothing!
Two from the Ploctones
Khaira Arby at the Bowery Poetry Club

subset: commoncrawl


text:
|Korisnicko iskustvo
|Na našem
|16:30 - 17:30
|046 (327)
Software Engineer with 15 years of experience in different areas of software engineering - from development to testing, deployment and projects delivery, including team leadership, development methodologies, continuous integration/delivery and DevOps.
Have alse experience in project management, delivery, maintenance, and test management working with clients across different countries.
Currently work as Head of .NET and AMS (DevOps) competence units at Zuhlke Engineering.
Zuhlke Engineering


text:
This information is provided for your convenience and may no longer be valid.
Status: Closed
Know more about this business than we do? Cool! Please submit any corrections or missing details you may have.Help us make it right
Comfort guaranteelowest price guarantee#1 choice for adjustable bedsfamily owned & operatedfeaturing:gel & latexgel latexlargest selectionmost knowledgeable staffoptimumpillows sheets & mattress toppersprice guarantee.puce guaranteeyour headquarter for all things sleep!lnnerspring headboards
Mattress Land is located at the address 550 Sw 6th St in Grants Pass, Oregon 97526. They can be contacted via phone at (541) 474-2337 for pricing, hours and directions.
Mattress Land has an annual sales volume of 501K - 999,999. .
Mattress Land provides Showroom, Financing Available, Warehouses to it's customers. For maps and directions to Mattress Land view the map to the right. For reviews...
Locally owned and operated. See us for all your needs
Be the first OregonLive.com user to add photos or videos of Mattress Land
5 star
Main Sales person was very helpful and far from pushy! The salesman doesn't work on comision so he's not looking to rob you blind like the other places! Please don't take my opinion or someone elses and … Main Sales person was very helpful and far from pushy! The salesman doesn't work on comision so he's not looking to rob you blind like the other places! Please don't take my opinion or someone...
Mattress Land is your Headquarter for all things Sleep!
We carry a complete selection of Mattresses from the top names like Sealy, Posturepedic and Stearns & Foster. We have a very knowledgeable staff and consider ourselves the experts in Adjustable Beds. We offer Free Delivery, Setup and Removal in Jackson and Josephine Counties. Our quality low price guarantee assures that you will get the...
Carrington Chase
Set Up & Removal
Comfort Guarantee


text:
"If she doesn't get outside help, she won't last." That was my friend's closing thought about working with her head coach. She's in a support role for a division I team and was lamenting the challenges of working with a coach who is unaware how her attitudes and behaviors impact the team and even athletic department. The truth is, we all need … [Read more...]
Wisdom for the BusyCoach
The man who insists upon seeing with perfect clearness before he decides, never decides. —Henri-Frederic Amiel You face hundreds of decisions daily, BusyCoach. Venti or grande? Recruit A or recruit B? Practice more or rest? Though you may long for clarity before you pull the trigger, oftentimes you only have enough light on your path to see a … [Read more...]


text:
A Statement of Values
I wake up every day to gratefully enjoy God's gift of life lived to the fullest
I value a strong, healthy, and happy marriage relationship, vowing to love, honor, and cherish my spouse and be an equal partner with her in all of life's tasks, including raising our children, maintaining our household, managing our finances, and encouraging her in her life's mission, recognizing that what is important to her is important to me simply because she is important to me.
I value a healthy and connected relationship with my children, spending time with them, teaching them, listening to them, and giving them the best opportunity for healthy adult living so that they might enjoy life to the fullest.
I value Alaska and the outdoors and experiencing both with my family through outdoor recreation and subsistence activities such as camping, hiking, dipnetting, hunting, biking, rafting, kayaking, and touring.
I value community involvement, serving, and doing do my share, and even more than my share, for the good of my local and global community, without feeling the need to do it all, and seeking to leave every person, place, and situation better than I found them.
I value friendships and hospitality, hosting guests, making others feel comfortable and welcome in my home and in my presence, and seeking ever deepening relationships with friends old and new.
I value a vibrant spiritual life, abiding in God, and following Jesus through the Christian disciplines of worship, prayer, study, serving others, welcoming the stranger, and loving my neighbors.
I value financial health, using money as a tool to serve my other values, budgeting monthly, spending wisely, eschewing debt, and striving for financial equanimity and sacrificial generosity.
I value quality and integrity in my work, doing my best, finding success in my profession, and using my knowledge, skills, and abilities to make the biggest contributions I can make in my field.
I value life long learning, continuous improvement, and the pursuit of an ever deepening education for myself and for others, continuing to learn and improve, working to help others do the same, teaching all subjects and all people, and working to promote the importance of education and the accessibility of education for all.
I value art, beauty, and creativity, expressing my creativity through both the appreciation and creation of art - particularly through reading, writing, and photography.
The Sacrifice of Praise
I recently had the honor of being asked to preach at First Presbyterian Church in Fairbanks, on a Sunday when most of our pastoral staff was out of town. What follows is the text of the sermon I wrote and delivered on that day.
Hebrews 13:7-17 - "The Sacrifice of Praise"
My wife Stephanie and I were sitting together one evening this week. We were just chatting together while Stephanie was sorting some laundry, turning all the clothes right side out and checking the pockets before they went into the wash. As we were talking, she felt something odd in the long sleeve of one of Sarah's dresses. Sarah, our four-year-old daughter. Stephanie reaches into the sleeve and pulls out two crumpled dollar bills. We looked at each other and just knew that something wasn't right. She didn't have any money of her own and we were pretty sure that we didn't have any loose ones that she could have taken. The next morning over breakfast, Stephanie asked Sarah about it and got the whole story. It turns out Sarah had taken the money. Stolen it. She had stolen it while she was at church last Sunday. It turns out, she had taken the two dollars from the Sunday school room basket that held the children's offerings that were intended to support Abdul, the child our children's ministry is supporting through World Vision. Heavy sigh. Groan. Yes, that's our kid. Stealing from God, and from a poor starving child in the third world.
Well, it's what kids her age do, and it's been a pretty good teaching moment this week as we've had plenty of opportunities to talk to her about serving others and about making broken things right.
Of course you recall, we've been spending quite a few weeks working our way through the book of Hebrews. And we've seen how a major theme of the book of Hebrews is that Jesus is greater. Again and again we read that Jesus is greater: greater than the angels, greater than Moses and the priests, and the prophets. Greater than the Mosaic Law. And again today, we will see the writer of Hebrews teach us that Jesus is greater even than any religious tradition. And finally, since Jesus is greater, we'll see the writer of Hebrews teach us that our only response to such a great God is to offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is our words and our works that acknowledge his name.
Our text this morning begins in Hebrews 13 verses 7-17. Verse 7 begins with an admonition, or a word of correction. "Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith." And this is wise counsel indeed. We should remember our leaders, our teachers, and value their instruction. We should watch them and see their lives, and model our lives after theirs.
It appears from what we read in the next few verses that these Jewish Christians were new believers and followers of Jesus, but having been left alone for some time, left to their own devices, they began to neglect what their teachers had told them, and they began to strike out on their own, doing whatever seemed right to them.
We understand that these leaders were ones who had preached the word of God to them, who shared the good news of Jesus with them. The writer now urges them to "remember" their leaders, not just to think of them fondly [like "hey, I remember Dave Moody. Good guy."], but no, the directive is to hear again, to consider again the things that these leaders taught them, and be instructed, be corrected by them.
When we in this room think of our leaders who speak the word of God to us, perhaps we think most immediately of our pastoral staff here at First Pres. We think of Andy, Dave, Emily, and David, who have preached the word to us, who love us, and whose full time vocation and responsibility is the shepherding of our spiritual lives and those of our children, or maybe we think of other teachers or spiritual leaders in past seasons of our lives who were important to us.
It's perhaps fitting that this passage should be presented by someone other than our four pastors. It might sound a little self-serving for Andy or Dave to stand up here and say to us, "Hey, you should really listen to us, follow us, and you should appreciate us." It might be hard for them to say. So it's my privilege to say these things on their behalf. The fact is we are very blessed, very fortunate to have these Godly examples on our staff and in our lives. They do care for us, they do teach us from God's word, and they model Godly lives for us to emulate.
In verse 17, the writer says again "obey your leaders and submit to them." The word "leaders" here in verse 7 and verse 17 is a pretty non-specific word. It doesn't specifically refer to elders or deacons in the early church, although it would certainly include them. It isn't specifically apostles or pastors, although it includes them as well. "Leaders" in this much more general sense refers to, as verse 7 says, "those who spoke the word of God to you." We are told to obey them and submit to them. This is a good reminder to us of the wisdom of listening to and submitting to those who speak the word of God to us. Not just our pastors, but also our Bible study teachers and small-group leaders. We should trust our elders and deacons. Our youth should love God the way David loves God. Children must listen to their parent's instruction, spouses should submit to each other, and friends must keep each other accountable to the truth. In these ways we are all leaders as we speak to each other the word of God.
I imagine pastors must carry a special burden for those they know and love and minster to regularly. I know that Andy has at times felt a real sense of loss and sadness when he sees someone in his care that has made a really bad life decision, or maybe someone who has turned their back on God or God's people for a time. The writer of Hebrews tells us that their leaders are "keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account." Hear that comparison: it is as if they will be held accountable for our choices along with us - at least, this is the burden they feel.
It makes me think about a scene, maybe in an antique shop or a fine china shop, where a parent browses the store with a young child. If the child is over energetic, or careless, and drops and breaks a valuable piece, the shop owner won't simply look at the child and hold the child responsible. The shop owner looks to the parent and asks the parent to make it right. That's this kind of responsibility our pastors feel for us and our choices.
The end of verse 17 continues, "Let them [that is, our pastors] do this [that is, keeping watch over our souls] with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you." What a great image: groaning. I didn't ask Andy or Dave about this, and I'm sure they wouldn't say, but can't you just imagine there are times in their professional lives when they just groan and sigh and think to themselves, "why do you make these same poor choices. Haven't we been over this again and again?"
And we know what this is like, right? This groaning and sighing over the difficulty of being responsible for someone who is making poor decisions. Maybe as parents, we've had to deal with an adult child who makes unhealthy and unproductive life choices, or maybe as teachers we've had students with no interest in learning. Or maybe as parents of four-year-old daughters who steal money from their Sunday school class. And from a poor starving child in the third world. We sigh. We groan.
So let's not be like that. Let's instead thank God for those leaders God has put in authority over us. Let's look at their lives and their examples and imitate them. Let's pray for them, for their strength and encouragement. Who knows, maybe a kind word to them or a note of thanks from time to time might also be in order. At the very least, let's try not to make them sigh or groan at the choices we make.
The second thing today's passage teaches us is that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and that Jesus is greater than anything we could add to the gospel of grace. The entire book of Hebrews culminates in this critical idea that Jesus is greater. Jesus is greater than any religious practice or tradition, even a religious system that attempts to please God and reconcile us to God. Jesus is greater than that.
In verses 8 and 9, the writer warns his audience, "Do not to be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings; for it is well for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by regulations about food, which have not benefitted those who observe them." Our hearts are strengthened by grace alone - sola gratia - that is, the unmerited favor, the kindness from God that we could never earn, reconciliation with God, not because of anything we do, but because of what Jesus did for us. Without that grace from God, without the actions of Jesus on our behalf, all of the laws and regulations about what foods to eat don't do a bit of good. Without a relationship with Jesus, all religious practices are no more than empty tradition.
These early believers in chapter 13 were Hebrews and they had lived under the Jewish Mosaic law. They had very strict rules about what they could and could not eat. There were rules about animal sacrifices for various purposes, and priests who made sure the rules were followed. The priests performed these roles on behalf of the people, so if these practices were going to benefit anyone, surely the priests would get the most benefit, right? These guys were on the inside, they got to hang out with God. They were in the center of the center. These priests were the only ones worthy enough to do these things. And yet, v. 8 and 9 tell us that these rules hadn't benefited those who observed them.
These rules were all about keeping the Jewish people in a right relationship with God, about paying any penalties and being forgiven for their sins. This was the religious system that they had kept for generations, and I'm sure they had grown to love this system and trust this system to keep them on good terms with God. But then came Jesus who was the full and final sacrifice that the law demanded. And with his sacrifice, the law was fulfilled, making any other sacrifices pointless. So these early believers in Jesus stopped doing it, they stopped living under this Mosaic Law, and rightfully so.
In addition to the Jewish people in this part of the world at this time, there were also pagan tribes with their pagan gods and religions. These other religions had their own systems of worship with priests, and temples, sacrifices to their gods, and rules to govern all of it. And these early Christians, after initially hearing about the gospel of grace, and being freed from the demands of the law – perhaps they started to look back at their Jewish heritage. Maybe they had some nostalgia for the good ol' days and the old ways. Maybe they were looking at their neighbors next door and watching them perform their religious rituals, and maybe they felt a little inferior. You see, these early believers didn't have a temple to worship in, they just met in their homes. They didn't have any priests in robes, they just had these guys, friends of theirs maybe, who told them about Jesus. The never did animal sacrifices. They didn't have any rules on how to go about it. No altar. No organ. No hymnals. And perhaps there was a temptation to develop some of these things. Keep following Jesus, yes, but maybe we can add to. We can add to what Jesus did for us. We can add in what we do for him. We can develop some special laws and then follow them, so that we can really show Jesus how good we are. And the writer of Hebrews steps in, corrects them, and says, "don't get carried away by any strange teachings. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever." And Jesus is all we need.
The writer goes on to assure them that rather than lacking anything, what we have in Jesus is greater, just as Jesus is greater. Verse 10 says, "we have an altar from which those who officiate in the tent have no right to eat." And he's referring to those guys, the priests of the temple, the ones at the center of the center; even they are not worthy to eat at this altar. Of course these early Christians had no altar, not a literal one anyway. The writer of Hebrews is of course referring to Jesus. Unlike the priests in the temple who did not know Jesus, we have the ability to partake in Jesus' sacrifice, and Jesus is greater than any animal sacrifice offered by pagans or priests. They - and we - no longer need the symbolic sacrifice of an animal when we have the actual sacrifice of Jesus.
I had an English professor in college whose area of specialization was modern poetry. He would get totally caught up in the poetry itself as well as the analyzing and talking about poetry. He had this phrase that he would use over and over again that has really stuck with me. He would often talk about the relationship between the sign and the signified.
Of course you recognize the word sign. A sign is something that stands in place of some other real thing. A sign points to something else. A sign is a substitute. The signified is that thing that the sign points to. The signified is the real thing, the thing itself. In poetry, writers will use some mental image, something most readers will understand, and use it to represent - to point to - some other subject. Shakespeare compares a woman's beauty to a summer's day. A mild and sunny summer's day is something we all understand and have experienced. The writer uses this sign - a summer's day - to help us understand the signified - the beauty of the beloved. And of course we shouldn't mistake Shakespeare's subject; he isn't writing about a summer's day, but about a beautiful woman. We shouldn't mistake the sign for the signified.
Right out here, above the stairs, is a beautiful mosaic made of small ceramic tiles, cut and fashioned by Jordanian artists. It's a beautiful scene of Jesus sitting with children surrounding him, reminding us the gospel story of the children flocking to Jesus. It's a beautiful piece of art, but it is simply a piece of art, and nothing more. It's a picture of Jesus, it reminds us of Jesus, but it is not Jesus. It is a sign, but it is not the signified, and I don't think any of us would confuse one with the other.
Now, we don't have any strange teachings about whether or not to eat animal sacrifices. It just doesn't often come up. But in much the same way, we do have other signs and symbols that remind us of our special relationship with God and that aid us in worship. We have traditions surrounding our worship that are neither Biblical nor unbiblical, its' simply the way we do it. This collection of things and ways that good Christian people are supposed to be and do isn't wrong necessarily, but they are those extra things that we've added on.
Our religious practices may have developed naturally out of a heart of worship, but they have a tendency to consolidate and come together into patterns. It's human nature. We fall into a pattern and then after a while we simply practice the pattern without examining why. And sometimes we can get pretty rigid and inflexible. Then, when someone comes along to challenge our pattern, our way of worshipping, or our ways of doing church, we become defensive. We'll protect our traditions as the right way to worship God. But we have to remember that Jesus is all. It's grace alone that reconciles us with God, and not our religious traditions.
Please don't misunderstand me, symbols, and practices, and traditions, and rituals are good and important insofar as they serve as reminders. As Ebenezer stones. Like the Lord's supper, as long as they point us clearly and specifically back to Jesus and his grace to us. But we have to keep the main thing the main thing. It's a matter of heart more than it is a matter of practicing empty forms. In truth, we need both, both the sign and the signified, both the representation of the thing and the thing itself.
But our focus should always be on Jesus, and on the work that God did for us, and the grace that has been extended to us on the cross. If we can keep Jesus at the center, and keep the supremacy of Jesus in our minds, perhaps we can avoid an unhealthy over-emphasis of tradition, symbols, and the often-times resulting legalism in our lives.
In verses 11-12, a comparison is made between animal sacrifices under Jewish law, and the sacrifice of Jesus, the completion of the law. This isn't the first time this comparison is made as one is a precursor to the other, the first one a sign that anticipates the second. But the emphasis in these verses is the idea that - just as the animal given in sacrifice was taken outside of the city to be burned - this sacrifice of Jesus, of God's own son, of God himself, has taken place outside of the city gates. When the priests, the worthy ones, are at the center of the center, because Jesus is so utterly rejected, he is cast out: outside of the temple, outside of the courts, outside of the city itself.
When Stephanie and I lived in Fort Yukon, one of the fascinating places to visit was the village dump. You had to go there to dump your own trash, and while you were there you could find just about any other odd thing: cast off furniture, junked cars, the skeletons of '70 era snowmachines. Often there would be piles of trash burning with black smoke coming from black plastic bags. Dead dogs, dirty diapers, the empty carcasses of salmon or moose. It is a filthy, stinky, and fascinating place. And of course, the dump is not nestled right in the center of town. The dump is at the end of a long dirt road that leads a couple of miles outside of the town. Far enough away that no one has to see it or smell it unless you're dumping your trash.
And that's kind of how I imagine the place where they took Jesus to be crucified. This is where we take the trash. This is far enough away that we won't have to smell the rotting flesh, and where we don't mind a few scavenging animals. This is the furthest we can get from clean, holy, acceptable, and at the center of things.
But verse 13 says, "Let us then go to him outside the camp and bear the abuse he endured." It's like the writer is saying, if that's where Jesus is, then that's where I want to be. In the typically atypical way that the Kingdom of God turns things on their heads and in that first-shall-be-last kind of way, when our natural impulse is to want to be in the middle of things, at the center, on the inside, in with the in-crowd, here the writer expresses that Jesus is greater than all of that, and being with Jesus, even if it means being out at the village dump, even if it's in a third world slum, no matter that it is on the margins of society with fallen and forgotten people, if that's where Jesus is, then that's where we want to be too. And if being on the outside, being out of the loop and missing out on the action and perhaps being rejected by our culture is the price we have to pay, then the writer of Hebrews is happy to bear that abuse, and encourages us to do the same.
Two weeks ago, Andy preached from Hebrews 12 about an unshakeable kingdom. Here again, the writer of Hebrews reminds us that in this life, we have no lasting city, everything that we do, what we design and build, even our religious practices are shakeable - that is they are temporary, finite, and will fade away. But we look forward to an unshakeable city – an eternal city - that is to come.
The third thing we learn in this passage is that the only appropriate response to knowing a God who is greater is to praise him and worship him. Verse 15 says, "Through him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name." I like the word "then." Kind of like the word "therefore," that occurs so often in the Bible. It indicates a concluding remark or a culminating idea. It's as if the writer is saying, "Everything that I wrote before: here's the point I was building to." In fact, I would say that verses 15 and 16 of this chapter are the climactic verses in the entire book of Hebrews. Not just today's passage, but the entire book, and I'm glad that Andy has left it for me to deliver. I would argue that the whole thing builds to this idea that the only appropriate response to the right teaching of our leaders, to the understanding and acceptance that Jesus is greater, greater than the law because he has completed the law, greater than any tradition, greater than anything we can add to his gospel, the only appropriate response is to praise him, to worship him. We saw this earlier, at the end of chapter 12, when the writer pointed out that our only response is the give thanks to God and "offer up our acceptable worship with reverence and awe."
We shouldn't overlook the fact that verse 15 tells us not simply to praise and worship God, but to "offer a sacrifice" of praise. All of this is framed by the writer in a context that his readers would understand: the Mosaic law. The writer tells them to "make a sacrifice," because it was a concept they understood.
In a sacrifice, something must die. That's the difficult reality. When an animal was sacrificed and a blood offering poured out, the animal's life had to be taken and it died. When Jesus was crucified and became the ultimate sacrifice for us, he died before being raised again. When we offer a sacrifice – a sacrifice of praise or thanksgiving, or the sacrifice of giving to others, what is it that dies? Not ourselves, thankfully, but maybe a part of ourselves. Maybe that part of us that demands we always be comfortable has to die. Maybe that part of us that says "I'm going to take care of myself first" has to die. Maybe it's the part of us that says, "I don't want to feel foolish." Otherwise – if I insist on remaining comfortable, taking care of me and mine first, and never appearing foolish, maybe, if it doesn't cost us anything, it's not a sacrifice at all. Maybe to be a sacrifice, it has to hurt, at least a little.
I had a friend a few years ago that introduced me to mountain-biking. We were friends and wanted to hang out together, and this is something he liked doing, so I bought a bike and joined in. He would tell me about mountain bike races he had been in and how much he enjoyed them. He rode in a 24-hour relay race a couple of times where a team of three people would take turns riding laps around a course, and the winning team was the one who completed the most laps in 24 hours. He told me how arduous this was, and how painful it was. And how much fun it was. Fun? I asked him? It doesn't sound like fun. You said it was arduous and painful. Well yeah, he replied, but you know how it is when you push yourself, and it hurts, and you push through the pain and keep going, just to see how far you can go. Maybe those of you who are athletes can understand this, but I certainly don't. For me, when it becomes uncomfortable, that's when it's time to ease up, and when it hurts, that's a pretty clear sign that it's time to stop.
Following Jesus is no guarantee that we'll always be comfortable. Following Jesus is no guarantee that we'll never hurt. On the contrary, if Jesus suffered and it is our desire to follow Jeus, who are we to be unwilling to suffer? And in today's passage the writer says in v. 13, "Let us then… bear the abuse he endured." If we are going to be followers of Jesus, then we have to offer a sacrifice or worship, we have to "do good and share what we have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God." The command is not simply to worship God and do good, but to offer a sacrifice of these things. This is what Paul says in Romans 12:1 when he writes, "Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship." In the same way, 1 Peter 2:5 says, "offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." Is what we offer to God in our worship and in our service a sacrifice?
Unlike me and my somewhat lacking mountain-bike skills, maybe we should take the fact that it hurts not as an indication to stop, but maybe we should recognize when it doesn't hurt a bit, when we sacrifice nothing in our praise and our charity, that it's a sign we should be doing more. And again, we don't do more because we need to, or because we are earning anything, or pulling our own weight, or making our own way. But simply because we trust in a God who is greater, a God who has done it all for us, and in response we offer our sacrifice of praise and service.
Last Sunday, Andy challenged us to consider each of our days and all of our lives as a sacrifice of worship. Worship isn't only what we do on Sunday morning, but it is what we do moment-by-moment throughout every day. We've heard the command to pray without ceasing, and we understand that to mean we maintain a constant spirit of prayer and communication with God even as we do our work, drive our cars, and raise of families.
In the same way, we can say "praise without ceasing," and understand that we can maintain that same constant spirit of praise and thanksgiving. Do we praise God and worship him when we're enjoying our outdoors – hiking and hunting? Do we praise God and worship him as we come home at the end of a long day at work, thanking him for a comfortable home and family to come home to?
Is my work an act of worship? Do you recognize that, if you're a construction worker, you participate with God in God's orderly and planned act of creation, providing boundaries for the earth and the sky, and safe places for people to dwell?
If you are raising young children, or teaching others, you – like Jesus – are raising up a group of disciples, teaching and training them, equipping them to show the love of Jesus to their generation.
If you are a caretaker of any kind of facility or organization, you are being a good shepherd of space and resources and co-laboring with God. All of these things, all of the jobs that each of us do, we can offer up to God as our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving.
Let's offer a sacrifice of praise. Let's do it continually. As Jesus indentified with the outcasts, those in the margins of our society, so should we. We should emulate Jesus by "going outside the camp," outside the city walls, outside the safe enclosure. Maybe our sacrifice should involved going outside our culture, our social circle, and our comfort zone to reach out to love and serve others.
Let's remember and appreciate those who spoke the word of God to us. Let's think again about their teaching and be instructed and corrected by it. Let's always remember, especially when we're distracted by something good, but a lesser good, that Jesus is greater. And let's worship God through our sacrifice of praise, and through our service to others. As Jesus himself instructed, let us Love the Lord our God with all of our hearts, all of our souls, all of our strength, and all of our minds, and love our neighbors as our selves.
Cabin Camping at 35˚ Below
Last weekend, our family slipped away for a couple of days and nights of cabin camping on the Chena River. We've often enjoyed Alaska's public use cabins, and those cabins on Chena Hot Springs Road have become very familiar to our family.
In October, Stephanie had the good idea to reserve a public-use cabin one weekend each month throughout the winter until summer tent-camping season arrives again, so we've had last weekend reserved for more than a month. We could not have known when we made the reservation that the interior would be locked in this deep-freeze of twenty straight days of twenty to forty below. Had we known, we certainly would have postponed the trip to a warmer weekend. Despite the cold, we headed out.
You have to bring your own firewood when you rent these cabins, at least the ones accessible by road. I knew that and planned for it, bringing enough for our two-day stay and for an extra day, just in case. When we arrived, the temperature both inside and outside the cabin was a brisk thirty below, so the first thing I did was start a fire. It takes a lot of time and energy to warm a log cabin from thirty below to a habitable fifty or sixty above. As a result, it remained very cool inside late into that first night. And we found that the barrel stove was consuming the wood we'd brought far faster than we'd anticipated.
We read in the log book (always present in public use cabins) that previous users had noted the poor quality barrel stove and the rate at which it consumed wood. As we went to bed that night, I was already calculating rates, times, and contingency plans in the event we had to leave a day early or make some provision for more wood.
Compounding the issue was the fact that cars don't start readily at such temperatures without plugging in the car's engine block and oil pan heaters. I brought a borrowed gas generator so that I could plug in the car, but I wasn't entirely sure that setup would be enough to get it started. What I didn't want to happen was to run out of wood around bedtime, and then not be able to start the car by any means, just when traffic on the road trickled to non-existent. This is how I envision an easy family camping weekend turning into a perilous and life-threatening situation.
With this in mind, on Saturday mid-morning, I started the generator running, and plugged in the car. I took the bow saw (also standard in such cabins) and walked into the woods looking for downed and dried firewood. After running the generator for two hours, we were able to start the car, and Stephanie drove down the road and purchased an additional few bundles of firewood. With that, and what I collected, we were better prepared for a much warmer second night.
Our plan for Sunday was to pack up casually and go to Chena Hot Spring to swim and soak in the warm water. Around eleven I started the generator, planning to give it two full hours to warm the car. But after two and a half, it was clear that the battery was cold, not fully charged, and not going anywhere. I walked to the road carrying jumper cables, and the first person by pulled over to help. We got it going, but the combination of the hard-to-heat cabin and the will-it-start car made it hard for me to relax.
Of course our children were mostly oblivious to all of this. They played hard and mostly together inside the cabin all weekend. They loved the trio of bunk beds and platforms, taking down the ladders to the upper bunks and using them to span the gaps between the beds. Throw in a couple of benches from the tables, and they erected elaborate obstacle courses that they crossed and re-crossed endlessly. Jacob came home with a black eye, though he says he can't remember how it happened.
We played Legos and board games, read books, and made gingerbread houses. We ventured outside for about twenty minutes on Saturday, but it was too cold for the kids to stay out long. We mostly played inside and enjoyed what might as well have been a wood-fired outpost on the moon. Hopefully January's outing will be warmer.
There was an article in the local paper recently about dry cabin living, that is, living in a small log cabin with no running water, and heated by burning wood in a wood stove. The article enumerated the perks and problems of the log cabin lifestyle that so many people around here love. One commenter to the article caught my attention and captured my thinking. He wrote that anyone who did not have at least a woodstove and enough wood to get through the winter was foolish and irresponsible. Other commenters expanded on this theme to dramatic depths of prepper extremism. But just that single thought of having a wood stove and wood to get through the winter has stuck with me.
If the power were to go out at 40˚ below zero, what could we do? Our oil-fired boiler wouldn't run without electricity, and at that temperature we'd have a couple of hours before the house began to cool. In four hours, the water pipes that spider web across the garage and feed our baseboard heaters would start to freeze, causing tens of thousands of dollars in damage. In eight hours, we'd have to leave. These concerns are compounded by the responsibility of having young children at home.
I'm not predicting the fall of civilization and the end of the world as we know it, but it isn't difficult to imagine a 8+ earthquake that knocks out our local coal-fired power plant for upwards of two weeks (we had a 6.2 in 1995, a 7.9 in 2002, and each year is littered with twos, threes, and fours). And in the depth of winter, it seems like a wood stove would be a minimum survival requirement.
Of course, if the power were out for two weeks, where would our water come from? So it makes some sense to have some water available. A gallon per person per day is recommended, and for a family of six to last for two weeks is over eighty gallons of water. And food? We live at the end of a long supply distribution line. Everything sold in the local grocery store comes to us via cargo ships from the port of Seattle to Anchorage and is then trucked up the rest of the way (as is our gasoline, diesel, and heating oil). Our stores have a two or three day supply without restocking, and that's it. And first aid? And propane or white gas to cook with? And gasoline for the car or generator? Suddenly, some very sane and rational steps taken to ensure the immediate safety of your family descends into wacky prepper paranoia.
So where do you draw the line? If failing to have at least a wood stove is foolish and irresponsible, and building a bunker to stock with enough supplies and munitions to live off the grid for ten years is insanity, then where is the middle ground? How much preparation is enough?
It's what's for dinner
My friend, Nathan, is on the Alaska State Troopers road kill list. Whenever a moose gets hit by a car on the road, rather than leave the moose carcass to rot on the shoulder of the road, the troopers call the next person or agency on the list to come and harvest the animal in order to recover as much useable meat and not let it go to waste.
I guess there have been some problems coming out to recover a moose on the side of the road and creating a new road hazard, because the troopers have modified the program slightly. Instead of calling you out to the sight of the accident, they lift the animal up onto a flatbed truck and deliver it to your driveway, which (if you're prepared for it) is a pretty convenient deal.
Nathan called me on Thursday afternoon and told me he'd just got the call: the troopers were on their way to his house with a downed moose. He offered to split it with me if I could come help deal with it. And I was glad to.
But the moose we got was not exactly what we expected. For one, it was a calf, probably a year old. Still it was probably 500 pounds and not the monster animal we'd hoped for. For another thing, this particular moose hadn't been hit by a car; it had been shot. Poorly.
Apparently (so the story was told to us), this moose was lingering too near an elementary school on the local army base and displaying aggressive behavior. So the decision was made to solve the problem by shooting the moose. Since it was on base, it wasn't the state troopers, or wildlife troopers, or even Fairbanks police. I am imagining that this was some twenty-year-old MP that was likely not from Alaska, not long in Alaska, and not long for Alaska, with an opportunity to actually shoot and kill something in the line of duty. So he pulled his sidearm and shot this moose twice, broadside, tearing into the gut sack and spilling all manner of vile liquid and semi liquid into the torso cavity.
When we pulled the hide off, there was even intestine and poo hanging out the side of the animal, and much of the muscle surrounding the ribs was bruised and damaged. We took off all four legs, head and neck, and the rest was pretty much unfit for consumption.
Still, some moose is better than no moose, and we have two legs hanging in the shed, waiting to be dealt with more fully this weekend, and a roast in a pan ready for dinner. It'll hold us over until we (hopefully) get a moose of our own this fall.


text:
Our work
- Details
- Category: Uncategorised
- Published on Thursday, 12 February 2015 13:33
- Written by EPAadmin
- Hits: 11961
Principles of Compliance and Enforcement
This policy explains how EPA will use enforcement to achieve compliance and create credible deterrents against breaking the law.
EPA is guided by eight principles when undertaking its compliance and enforcement role, exercising its regulatory responsibility and administering the EP Act and Regulations. The principles are:
Targeted: The Agency will undertake compliance and enforcement activities to prevent the most serious risk or harm.
Proportionate: Regulatory measures and responses will be proportional to the problem they seek to address and how culpable or responsible the offender is for the problem.
Transparent: Regulations and standards will be developed and enforced transparently. Information and any other lessons learned will be shared and promoted. Enforcement actions will be public, to build the credibility of, and confidence in, EPA's regulatory approach and processes.
Consistent: Outcomes from enforcement activities should be consistent and predictable. EPA aims to ensure that similar circumstances, non-compliance and incidents lead to similar enforcement outcomes.
Accountable: To ensure full accountability, the compliance of permit holders, enforcement decisions and the conduct of Authorised Officers will be explained and open to public scrutiny.
Inclusive: EPA will engage the community, business and government to promote environmental laws, set standards and provide opportunities to participate in compliance and enforcement.
Authoritative: EPA is prepared to be judged on whether individuals and business understand the law and their obligations. EPA will set clear standards, clarify and interpret the law and provide authoritative guidance and support on what permit-holders need to do to comply. EPA will also be an authoritative source of information on the state of environment, the level of compliance with the laws it regulates, and what the key risks and new and emerging issues are.
Effective: Enforcement activity will seek to prevent environmental harm, impacts to health, and improve the environment. Enforcement action will be timely to minimize environmental impacts and maximize the effectiveness of any deterrence.
EPA defines risk as combination of two elements: consequence (the risk or harm to health and environment) and likelihood (the chance that non-compliance will occur).
EPA's Regulatory Model
The EPA Act, 1996, establishes the EPA and provides a framework for preventing and controlling air, land, water and noise pollution, increasing resource efficiency, reducing waste and improving environmental performance. EPA coordinates activities to address the discharge of wastes into the environment; the generation, storage, treatment, transport and disposal of industrial waste; and the generation and release of noise.
The EP Act gives the Agency discretion to exercise its functions and to address the harms and impacts it was established to prevent and control. This discretion includes how to prioritise and allocate resources and enforcement decisions are made and what actions are taken. EPA's regulatory model and this Manual explain how the legislation will be enforced administered, and will prioritise compliance and enforcement activity. It outlines the strategies will be applied when dealing with activities that are we regulated.
A risk-based and responsive regulatory model
EPA will allocate resources where the biggest difference can be made, or where the biggest risks to environment, health, safety or well being can be managed.
We have adopted a risk-based model in which targeting of enforcement and responses to incidents, compliance requirements, level of non-compliance and pollution reports will change depending on the risk or harm to health and the environment.
EPA will prioritise its compliance monitoring and inspection efforts towards the biggest risks of harm to the environment and to those people and businesses that are less likely to comply.
2.1 EPA's Regulatory Approach
Encourage higher performance: The EPA will develop and work with leaders and partners to encourage higher performance and leadership, which will build the case for improving practices and influencing future standards.
Monitor compliance: The EPA will determine the level of compliance with current standards and laws, and maintain a credible risk of detecting non-compliant activities.
'Compliance' means following the law. It means obtaining the right approvals or permissions. It means conducting authorized activities in accordance with any conditions or regulatory requirements.
Compliance is the responsibility of all businesses, organizations, governments and individuals. Everyone has obligations under the law. All parties have a social duty of care to the environment to reduce their environmental impact and ensure that future generations experience a clean and improved environment. All duty-holders are accountable to the regulator and the public to prevent and minimize environmental harm.
The EPA undertakes a range of activities on behalf of the public to achieve compliance with the EP Act and Regulations. EPA uses a balanced regulatory approach with a mix of compulsory and voluntary methods. The approach to regulation involves a number of key steps:
a) Inform and educate:
In order to raise awareness of environmental impacts, obligations, and EPA's role and social duty of care for the environment and human health, a key role for EPA is to raise awareness of environmental laws and requirements; environmental quality; the environmental and health impacts of activities and individual duty of care; and, EPA's role and jurisdiction.
EPA will promote its aspirations for an improved environment. This will be done by stating what is the responsibility for environmental impacts from the activities of permit holder- business, industry, local and state agencies, and individuals. We all share a social duty of care to protect the environment and to not cause harm.
EPA will broadly promote its purpose, jurisdiction and role in protecting the environment. We will clearly communicate our regulatory approach and how we work with co-regulators, community, business, government and non-governmental organizations to protect, care for and improve the environment.
EPA emphasizes education and raising awareness as an effective way of encouraging people to comply. Broad knowledge of what the environmental obligations are under the law will increase compliance and provide a common understanding for EPA to enforce the law.
EPA will regularly communicate compliance levels and broadly promote its enforcement strategy, and compliance plan, and conduct compliance campaigns to provide clear information about areas or issues we are focusing on.
b) Set Standards:
Providing clear and authoritative standards based on science and community aspirations, The EPA sets environmental standards and expectations for all activities through regulation, policy and permits. These standards are based on good science and consideration of community aspirations. The EPA promotes compliance by setting clear standards and raising awareness of risks and controls to protect the environment. The EPA will be clear about what the law requires and will support permit and non permit holders to achieve compliance by setting clear standards and providing guidance on how they can be met. Standards focus on key causes of environmental harm, seek to protect our sensitive environments and drive environmental improvement. Standards are based on rigorous science, evidence, an understanding of the state of environment and current and future risks. Standards will evolve over time with changing environmental conditions, national and international standards and individual aspirations.
The EPA will work with industry associations, businesses, community organizations, ministries and governmental organizations in developing standards and promoting good practice. In order to ensure laws and standards evolve and that standards of protection continuously rise to meet those standards, EPA supports Permit holders to perform beyond current standards.
c) Supporting Compliance:
Providing practical, constructive and authoritative advice on how to comply with the law. The EPA promotes compliance by providing advice on how to comply with the law, and, where non-compliance is found, how to remedy it. The EPA uses advice, guidance and partnerships to ensure Permit and non Permit holders to understand what compliance is and how to identify and manage the risks of their activities. One of EPA's key functions is to provide advice to any person who has a duty or obligation under the EP Act, regulations or policy about hot to comply with that duty or obligation. EPA and its officers will provide practical and constructive advice on how to comply with the law, interpret standards and where necessary, provide support on how to remedy any non-compliance. This compliance advice may include referring people to applicable codes of practice, best practice management guidelines, protocols for environmental management, international standards or other relevant information.
Compliance advice does not extend to providing legal advice; the onus for compliance will always rest with the party who has a duty or obligation under the law. The advice EPA provides will not give any additional legal rights or defenses for any alleged non-compliance with the law. The degree to which a party takes into account advice provided by the EPA will be taken into consideration when deciding whether to prosecute.
d) Monitoring Compliance:
Monitoring compliance with the law and maintaining a credible risk of detection. A core function of the EPA is to determine levels of compliance with current standards and laws, and maintain a credible risk of detection of non-compliance. The EPA's primary focus is on prevention; wherever possible, we want to ensure that incidents of non-compliance and their impacts are avoided. The EPA constantly improves its capacity to detect and respond to non-compliance. When the EPA identifies or becomes aware of a problem or a risk, it seeks to resolve the problem before it leads to an impact on the environment. Monitoring compliance and investigating non-compliance is therefore a key role for EPA.
e) Enforce the Law:
Requiring parties to make good any (or 'the') harm caused and deterring non-compliance, The EPA addresses non-compliance with the law and standards by objectively and assertively requiring remedy and, where appropriate, applying sanctions. 'Enforcement' means the use of influence, authority and statutory methods to compel compliance with the law.
Enforcement of environmental requirements should be undertaken for the purpose of:
- Better protecting the environment and its economic and social uses;
- Ensuring that no commercial advantage is obtained by an person who fails to comply with environmental requirements; and
- Influencing the attitude and behavior of persons whose actions may have adverse environmental impacts or who develop, invest in, purchase or use goods and services which may have adverse environmental impact.
Enforcement is just one way of achieving compliance. The EPA can take enforcement action when legal requirements are contravened or not complied with. Requiring parties to meet their legal obligations or remedy their non-compliance is a key part of enforcing the law.
Enforcement has two key elements:
- Remedy: Fixing the problem or "making good"; and
- Sanction: Applying a penalty or punishment for breaking the law.
The EPA will use enforcement to address non-compliance, fix the problem and restore and 'make good' the harm caused by breaking the law. It may not always be possible to restore the environment to its previous state, so the EPA will require offenders to 'make good' by minimizing the extent of the damage or risks and taking all reasonable steps to remediate the impacts.
Remedy and punishment can be used in combination, but all contraventions of the law will be met with a requirement to fix the problem.
( i ) Remedy: Fix the problem or make good
The first goal of enforcement is to stop non-compliance with the law and prevent further harm. Stopping non-compliance with the law or preventing or limiting harm may be done, for example, through an Authorised Officer, a pollution abatement notice, or giving direction.
EPA will bring into effect the principles of the EP Act that the polluter should pay the cost of cleaning up pollution they have caused and restoring the environment.
( ii ) Sanction: Apply a penalty or punishment for breaking the law
Sometimes remedying a breach is insufficient to deter lawbreakers. In some cases, enforcement can include punishment, such as when people are prosecuted for serious breaches of the law. Punishing law breakers is an important and effective way of deterring people from breaching their environmental obligations.
Sanctioning generally deters those offenders who might evade their obligations or seek profit from breaking the law. In some circumstances, it will be necessary to specifically deter them from offending in the future. It also levels the playing field financially for those who do the right thing and invest in prevention and environmental improvement.
f) Encouraging higher performance:
Building the case for improving practices and influencing future standards, The EPA will develop and work with leaders and partners to encourage higher performance and leadership, building the case for improving practices and influencing future standards. The EPA will work in partnership to promote higher performance and improvement that is aligned with EPA's priorities, is focused and will develop future standards. We will drive performance, improvements and leadership that may apply to specific sites, sectors, geographic areas and business and industry groups. This may involve establishing and supporting networks, holding seminars, publicizing case studies, organising field visits, and providing grants, in-kind support and incentives for people comply and go beyond minimum standards.


text:
Sunday, April 24, 2005; Page W14
My husband, Rick, and I have been involved on and off for more than 20 years with music programs at Roman Catholic churches in various cities. Several years ago, Rick was trying to make his mark as director of music and liturgy for a church in Denver and sent an e-mail to me at my office with some suggestions for improving a diocesan program, which he had also e-mailed to the archbishop of Denver. I thought it took a lot of nerve to tell the archbishop what to do, so I replied that he had "really big ones," referring to a specific area of the male anatomy.
I have no idea how it happened -- perhaps my husband had blind-copied it to me? -- but as I hit the "Send" button I realized that the archbishop's e-mail address was in the "To" line. As soon as I did it, I thought, "Oh, my God." I quickly checked my sent e-mails hoping my eyes had been tricking me. But there it was.
I dashed off an apology to the archbishop, who was very gracious in accepting my explanation. He did say he would pray for me, which struck me as a good idea since I'm certain there must be some purgatorial punishment for making remarks, however, complimentary, about a prelate's "privates."
Patrice Roe, Rockville
New query: Tell us about something you did that made everyone laugh, except you. If you have a 100 percent true story taken from your own experience concerning the above query, send it to email@example.com. Include your daytime phone number. Recount your story in 250 words or less. We'll pay you $50 if we use your tale.


text:
August 3, 2009 in Promotions (E)
[prMac.com] London, UK - The Mac Sale today are proud to announce they are now live, and offering their brand new Mac software bundle, which includes the superb REALBasic, Interarchy, Iris, Flux, and WriteRoom. Offering a great deal to both customers and developers alike, The Mac Sale combines the products of both established Mac powerhouses and startup indie developers.
The full list of applications in this exciting new bundle is:
REALBasic Personal - The exceptional rapid development environment. Designed to appeal to newcomers to software development and also old hands looking for another tool to add to their arsenal.
Iris - A new image manipulation app with a beautiful user interface. It's uncluttered user interface makes it a joy to work with on everything from photos to logos.
Interarchy - The ultimate file transfer tool. With support for FTP, SFTP, Amazon S3, WebDAV and more.
Flux - The powerful web design application. Flux supports just about everything your can throw at it from XHTML/CSS to JavaScript and Flash.
Scribbles - The innovative sketching program, with a remarkable user interface ideal for anyone needing to make quick sketches or fun paintings.
TaskPaper - The amazingly simple but flexible task manager. With a restrained user interface TaskPaper focuses your mind on your tasks ahead, and not a complex application.
WriteRoom - The remarkable word processor aimed squarely at writers. It's full screen mode has become famous in the Mac community and even got plaudits in the New York Times.
Stuf - The clipboard manager tool which lets you copy and paste over your local network. You'll wonder how you ever managed with it!
Mariner Calc - The lean and mean spreadsheet. This established and mature spreadsheet application is long standing Mac workhorse, and with good reason.
HoudahSpot - Don't search, find. HoudahSpot adds the missing "Advanced" function to Spotlight...
This amazing offer is available until the 18th August, so don't delay, once it's gone, it's gone!
The deal represents over $450 worth of quality Mac software from both established names and startups alike for just $49.99 (USD). A bundle this good is unlikely to be repeated soon.
The Mac Sale was established in July 2009, and offers many amazing software bundles for OS X.


text:
Parinda (1988)Genres - Drama | Sub-Genres - Crime Drama, Family Drama, Musical Drama, Romantic Drama | Run Time - 210 min. | Countries - India |
Share on
Synopsis by Mark Deming
Two brothers take different paths in life, which leads both of them into danger in this drama from India. Kishan (Jackie Shroff) and Karan (Anil Kapoor) are two brothers who move to Bombay to find their fortunes. Kishan falls in with Anna (Nana Patekar), a drug dealer; Karan becomes friends with a policeman (Anupam Kher), falls in love with schoolteacher Paru (Madhuri Dixit), and decides to go to America to further his education. As Kishan sinks deeper into the criminal underworld, Anna discovers the policeman Karan used to know has been assigned to bring him to justice. Anna intends to kill the cop rather than lose control of his criminal empire, and Kishan learns of Anna's deadly plan just as Karan is about to return home. Kishan is determined to keep his brother away from himself and the policeman to protect his safety, but Karan isn't so sure he wants to be sent away to Delhi, since he hopes to renew his relationship with Paru. Like many "Bollywood" dramas, Parinda also features several songs.


text:
Combine the right mix of traditional IT, private cloud, and public cloud to achieve optimal workload placement.
Do you need business continuity for your critical Linux® applications? HPE Serviceguard for Linux, a high availability and disaster recovery clustering solution, that increases uptime for your critical applications by protecting from a multitude of infrastructure and application faults across physical or virtual environments over any distance. It reduces impact of unplanned downtime with no compromise on data integrity and performance. Furthermore, it helps achieve near zero planned downtime for maintenance.
What's new
- 48-node scalability (24 node per site) for SAP® HANA® scale-out deployments; also, SafeSync verifies that your HANA secondary instance is synchronized and ready to take over in case of failure.
- Non-disruptively validate your disaster recovery (DR) readiness by rehearsing recovery of workloads on a secondary site and verifying cluster configuration consistency.
- Protect Oracle® databases with improved performance using Application Tuner Express. Oracle 12c R2 support, new workload management view and administration with IT automation tools using REST API's.
Fast Failover and Protection in the Data Center
HPE Serviceguard for Linux monitors the availability of critical resources, applications and provides fast failover in the event of a failure, in as little as 4 seconds without comprising on data integrity.1
Combined with HPE Serviceguard Extension for SAP, it reduces the need for manual intervention and the downtime in case of unplanned and planned failures for the critical HANA databases.
4x faster deployment – reduces setup time from days to hours with 93% reduction in setup time2. HPE Serviceguard for Linux offers out-of-box integration for several applications that enables easy deployment with no added customizations.
Achieves higher uptime in virtual environments with application failovers rather than virtual machine restarts. HPE Serviceguard for Linux supports VMware® and KVM hypervisors.
Monitors the availability of applications, services, databases, and platforms over distances, while protecting against outages and reducing downtime during planned maintenance windows.
Stay Available Enduring Site Outages
HPE Serviceguard for Linux disaster recovery (DR) solution keeps your application online even after the loss of a data center over any distance providing a choice of fully automatic failover to push button recovery.
Fully automatic recovery for complex scale-out workloads like HANA using site aware disaster tolerant architecture (SADTA) that provide robustness, resiliency and availability for your applications and services.
Offers a suite of disaster recovery (DR) solutions for different choice points based on distance, data replication and RPO/RTO to fulfill a wide array of conditions.
Reduces capital expenditure with flexible deployment models that allow minimal investment and consolidation of standby resources.
Near Zero Downtime During Maintenance
HPE Serviceguard for Linux offers a Live Application Detach (LAD) feature that allows you to do maintenance of the HPE Serviceguard cluster infrastructure (including the heartbeat network) with almost zero downtime.[3]
Rolling upgrade enables upgrade of infrastructure components, operating system and applications with minimal downtime.
No Compromise Data Integrity and Easy Administration
HPE Serviceguard for Linux delivers proven algorithms and superior arbitration mechanisms providing high levels of availability, data integrity and reliability.
Offers efficient fault detection capabilities that automatically failover critical applications to safer nodes and resumes normal operations without compromising data integrity.
Allows users to visually configure, monitor, manage and administer a cluster and its components (such as nodes, packages). Intuitive color-coded icons quickly identify problems with the cluster so user can quickly react and resolve issues.
- 1. Failover recovery observed in Hewlett Packard Enterprise internal lab testing. System was based on an HPE ProLiant Gen9 Server (two Intel® Xeon® processors, four computing cores each) with Red Hat® Enterprise Linux 6.5 running HPE Serviceguard 12.00.00 Configuration dependent, excluding cluster reformation time.
- 2. Based on Hewlett Packard Enterprise Lab analysis that shows typical manual effort for integrating Oracle database into a cluster to require 30 engineering days. With Oracle toolkit from Hewlett Package Enterprise, this integration is achieved in two engineering days or less.
- 3. Based on Hewlett Packard Enterprise Lab analysis while performing maintenance activities of the cluster including maintenance of heartbeat network, it used to be a common case where the application had to be brought down. However, with LAD feature it is noticed that the application downtime has been reduced to none even if heartbeat network is maintained and cluster is brought down.
- 4. Reference the Serviceguard for Linux support matrix for details.
- Oracle® is a trademark of Oracle Corporation in the U.S. and other countries.
- SAP® is a registered trademark of SAP AG.
- SAP HANA® is a registered trademark of SAP AG.
- VMware® is a registered trademark of VMware, Inc. in the United States and/or other jurisdictions.
- Linux® is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.
Related Links
Customer References
- Motech achieves high-speed in-memory computing and high availability
- RI Solution modernizes its SAP environment with Superdome X and achieves high uptime with Serviceguard
- Ordina boosts business with streamlined SAP services
- HPE Serviceguard for Linux Data Sheet
- HPE Serviceguard for Linux Certification and Support Matrix
- HPE Serviceguard for Linux Brochure
- All HPE SGLX Whitepapers
- Business Continuity for HPE ConvergedSystem for SAP HANA using Serviceguard
- HPE Reference Architecture for Oracle 12c high availability with HPE Integrity Superdome X, 3PAR StoreServ 8450 All Flash and Serviceguard for Linux


text:
This piece was commissioned by Denver Digerati and unveiled during the Urban Encounters: Sightline exhibition on Friday, May 11th, 2012.
Artist's Statement:
La Tierra is a 2012 short experimental video/animation that explores the image of the Mexican/Chicano masked wrestler (Spanish: luchador) which serves as a visual symbol of the struggle to overcome the colonized mind. The main figure portrays an embodiment of the two-sided face of post-colonial trauma, a descendant of both the colonized and colonizer.
La Tierra seeks to convey a sense of empowerment by expressing the interplay of both fantasy and truth. Where an empathy for the character evokes a type of social mirror and the masked wrestler is both a true hero existing only in longing and dreams and is the duality between wish and veracity while conveying experiences that are heroic, romantic and at times tragic. The luchador exists in a state of being where the voices of civil rights and the social justice struggles of the past echo as a resounding roar that may give hope to the labors and hardships of the immigrants of today.
The colonized and descendants of the colonized have been put through a trial that has never been based in reason. If we look at history, the adversaries of equality have acted from cruel emotions and biases. In a sense it is my hope to call upon the act of compassion and for others to understand the courage and solemn dignity of the immigrant in America. La Tierra shows torment but moves towards a sense of tranquil release in the liberation that comes at the end where the figure of death emerges and faces the tormented figure and who does not look away. She is the death of his anguish ultimately creating a new reality of hope and triumph.
Artist website: www.quintingonzalez.com