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We have just returned from another excellent adventure—this time to Singapore and Indonesia (Central Java and Bali) to celebrate our 22-year-old daughter's college graduation. As always, we want to thank those (Kathie, Bob & Karen, tripplanner001, and others) whose recent experiences helped pave the way for our plans. And, of course, we want to pay it forward by sharing our experiences with those whose future plans include these areas.
It was a trip of diverse experiences, with many highlights and great memories. These are a few memorable moments, not necessarily in order—chronologically or otherwise:
1. Arriving at Borobudur on Waisak—the holiest date in the Buddhist calendar, with the largest celebration taking place at Borobudur. This was a complete coincidence in our planning that we recognized a few months after booking flights. We arrived too late to see the procession, unfortunately, but still in time to observe some of the evening activities, including a speech from the president of Indonesia.
2. Receiving a complimentary upgrade to a fantastic villa near Borobudur, with private pool and private dining service at our poolside verandah—a stay that we will all remember for a long time.
3. Feeling like rock stars in Java, fielding numerous requests for photos (okay, this got a little old, but it was fun—or funny—for a bit). How often do you have giggling women saying "wow" because they've had the chance to take a photo with you?
4. Visiting the well-known sites of Borobudur and Prambanan—but also a few of the lesser-visited temples. In fact, we had Candi Sewa all to ourselves.
5. Stretching our legs on a few short walks/hikes, including up Menoreh hill near Borobudur, on the Campuhan Ridge near Ubud, and through the rice fields to see Candi Selogriyo.
6. Rafting down the Elo River for a couple of hours and observing daily life from a different perspective (tip: close your mouth when you go over the rapids).
7. Diving into the baggage-claim scrum at Yogyakarta airport—a chance to really get up close and personal with 100+ fellow passengers.
8. Immersing ourselves in the crowds along Yogyakarta's Malioboro Street and in the Pasar Beringharjo (market)—a chance to get up close and personal with many more hundreds of people.
9. Taking daily dips in three fantastic pools at our accommodations to cool off after our days of sightseeing in the heat and humidity.
10. Relaxing in another stunning private villa at Alam Jiwa in Ubud, with views over the rice field, refreshing breezes, an open-air shower, and even a visiting monkey or two. It was so large that we were regularly losing track of things like our mobile phones and the front door key.
11. Popping into a local restaurant in Yogyakarta recommended by one of our drivers. There was no English spoken and no menu. One of the staff brought us small plates of every item available so that we could choose our dinner. Even though we didn't know much about what we were choosing, it was all really good!
12. Sipping our obligatory Singapore Slings at Raffles (or gulping as the case may be, because the heat left us very thirsty)—and not even caring about the US$22 price tag.
13. Watching—and watching out for—the monkeys as we walked the path alongside the Sacred Monkey Forest of Ubud multiple times per day.
14. Seeing the Ramayana Ballet with the temples of Prambanan lit in the background.
15. Dashing into Seoul during our six-hour layover for lunch and a look around the Namdaemun market.
And Bali. We basically loved everything about Bali. Even a brief glimpse of Kuta and its Vegas-meets-Hawaii vibe was interesting (but we wouldn't want to stay there).
There were many highlights. We blogged the trip for some friends and family and will post a link shortly to share day-to-day detail, as soon as we get some things cleaned up and fill in some missing detail.
In the meantime, we will add a little background and a few more details about our accommodations, logistics, and such.
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A graduation celebration: Two weeks in Singapore, Java and Bali
We have just returned from another excellent adventure—this time to Singapore and Indonesia (Central Java and Bali) to celebrate our 22-year-old daughter's college graduation. As always, we want to thank those (Kathie, Bob & Karen, tripplanner001, and others) whose recent experiences helped pave the way for our plans. And, of course, we want to pay it forward by sharing our experiences with those whose future plans include these areas.
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The occasion
Our daughter just graduated from UW-Madison in May. In celebration of that and since we haven't had many opportunities to travel with her for a few years, this was a trip for all three of us. She helped in picking the destinations. She has been to Singapore previously on a short study-abroad program re: Chinese diaspora as part of her certificate in Southeast Asian Studies. Indonesia was a new destination for all of us (side note: our other trips to SE Asia have included Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and a couple of visits to Bangkok; daughter has also been to Malaysia).
And just as a bit of background, we're usually kind of "mid-range" travelers in terms of budget. We splurged a bit more this time on hotels than we might otherwise, partly because of the occasion but also because there were three of us. Accommodating three adults for two weeks is different than traveling when she was a teen. We needed some space and, thus, booked two rooms or larger suites accordingly.
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Oh, goody! I've been looking forward to your report! Great start - I look forward to more.
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Step 1: Figuring out how to get us there and back
We had about two weeks to play with; anything more than that becomes difficult work-wise. We were flexible on dates within about a six-week window from late May through early July. Ultimately, though, our dates would come down to award ticket availability. We wanted to fly into Singapore and home from Denpasar, all in business class—two on Mileage Plus "saver" awards and one on a paid (preferably deeply discounted) business class ticket. We were willing to take separate flights as long as they arrived reasonably close to the same time.
Getting all that took a LOT of work—particularly as we started shopping in earnest about seven months out from our time of travel, which isn't a great window for searching for premium-cabin award tickets to very popular destinations. Ultimately, though, we made it work using a combination of ANA, Asiana, United and Air Canada flights. At least two of us were together on each leg; on a couple of legs, all three of us flew together.
How it all worked out:
We left on Friday, May 29, connected via Narita, and arrived Singapore just after midnight on May 31. Well some of us anyway; mr_go was on a United flight to Singapore that was delayed by 3.5 hours, putting him at Narita when the 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Japan.
Our return was on Monday, June 15, departing Bali at 2:20 am (yikes!) and connecting at Incheon. From there, we split up, with one flying via San Francisco and two via Vancouver and all arriving Chicago in the evening. Our flights were scheduled to arrive at ORD 10 minutes apart, but the Chicago weather and ATC made sure that did not happen.
The Air Canada Dreamliner from Seoul to Vancouver earned positive overall reviews from the other two, particularly for the seats (I was on United at that point). Mr_go had the pleasure of flying ANA first class from Chicago to Narita…but that isn't a fair comparison with anyone's business class. Service on Asiana was excellent, but the seat (not Quadra Smartium) was dead last.
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Step 2: Fine tuning the itinerary and logistics
With the flights locked in and 15 days/nights allocate, we could get down to the business of itinerary planning. As usual, we would have to prioritize and not try to do it all.
We quickly determined that, while Singapore has a lot to offer, this was really a trip to Indonesia. Our couple of days in Singapore would be about adjusting to the time change and the heat and humidity, and we would be happy with whatever we could fit in. We will have other opportunities to spend more time in Singapore, given its convenience as a gateway for Southeast Asia.
Our final itinerary was as follows:
3 nights @ the AMOY Hotel in Far East Square
Central Java
3 nights @ Villa Borobudur, near the temple
4 nights @ The Phoenix Hotel in Yogyakarta
5 nights @ Alam Jiwa in Ubud
1 night @ Vira Bali in Kuta/Tuban Beach (very close to the airport; a last minute addition booked just a day ahead to give us a place to rest and shower before our 2:20 am flight home)
Originally, we split our week in Central Java into three stops, with 2 nights in Solo. But a few weeks before the trip, we began feeling like that would be too much moving around, so we allocated an additional day to each of the other stops and hoped to see Solo as a daytrip (we never did).
We used Air Asia for two internal flights: Singapore-Yogyakarta and Yogyakarta-Denpasar. We booked those flights six months out. There was one schedule change on the latter that moved it to earlier in the morning, but otherwise, these worked out just fine.
Finally, we arranged a couple of airport transfers in advance through our hotels but did not otherwise pre-book any driving services. Rather, we used our hotels to arrange drivers, when needed, once we were on the ground and had a good idea what we wanted to do on a particular day.
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Step 3: Picking accommodations
In hindsight, we did well. We were very happy with all accommodations and our balance of time at each. In particular, going city-rural-city-rural allowed us to end our trip on a fairly relaxing note.
The AMOY Hotel, Singapore
This is an interesting property—a fairly small hotel inspired by the area's Chinese heritage. It is located in Far East Square, and the main entrance is part of a museum (which is closed at the moment for restoration). The rooms are not large, but they are well designed and thoughtfully furnished, comfortable, and quiet. We had the only two rooms on the fourth floor. The hotel has a nice, included breakfast buffet with Western and Asian foods. There's also a Japanese restaurant on the premises; our rate included a dinner there one evening (food fine; service a little awkward). Everything in the minibar, including the beer (!), was complimentary.
The best feature of this hotel, though, was the absolutely terrific location between the central business district and Chinatown and very close to the MRT. We used the MRT a few times but generally were able to walk all over from this location.
Overall, this hotel reminded us in some ways of Butterfly on Wellington in Hong Kong (on a smaller scale, of course), which we very much enjoyed for its location and low-key atmosphere. Thumbs up!
SG$268++ per room, per night
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Villa Borobudur, Central Java
As others here have noted, there haven't been a lot of options near the temple that fall in between the pretty basic Manohara (already booked for our dates, which corresponded with Waisak, so it was never an option) and the Amanjiwo, which priced out at around $1,000 per night for two (I didn't even want to know what it would have cost for three).
Villa Borobudur is a newer property that opened a few years ago and is located relatively close to the Amanjiwo. It has five "Borobudur suites" in three buildings that are part of the main site, as well as a handful of standalone private villas in the surrounding acres—all located on a hillside overlooking Borobudur and several volcanoes in the distance. All of the accommodations are "all inclusive"—meaning all meals and snacks, non-alcoholic beverages, transportation to/from Yogyakarta and/or Solo, and laundry service…and probably some other things I'm forgetting. If you stay two nights or more, a guided tour of Borobudur (not at sunrise) is also included.
We booked one of regular suites with the extra-person fee—which was not inexpensive, but still well below the Amanjiwo. We arrived and saw the suite, and it would have been more than sufficient for the three of us. But the manager on duty told us not to unpack, as they had a private villa (Villa Menoreh) available and would be happy to give us a complimentary upgrade if we found it acceptable upon inspection. We weren't able to see it for a couple of hours, but when we did…oh, yes, it was quite acceptable. It included two small buildings, each with its own bedroom and bathroom (and air conditioning), a private outdoor dining pavilion, and a private pool—all serviced by a staff that looked after that villa and one or two others near it. We rarely saw other guests.
So let's talk meals. As noted, the rate includes three meals a day, plus a well-stocked snack table in the dining pavilion with unlimited fresh fruit, several kinds of addictive chips, and water, sodas, and tea/coffee. At the end of each meal, we reviewed a menu for the next, which offered a handful of options for appetizers, main courses, and desserts. We had the chance to try out quite a number of things over three days, and everything was delicious and fresh. Many of the dishes exceeded those we had in proper restaurants on the rest of our trip. We did not go hungry here!
But there's more! A few weeks before we arrived, I was asked to send back a guest questionnaire from the hotel to get to know us (names, ages, etc.), our interests, our robe and slipper sizes, our food/beverage preferences, and most notably for us, any allergies. Our daughter is allergic to tree nuts (including candlenuts, which do factor in Indonesian cooking), so this is always a big concern while traveling. The fact that the hotel asked about and incorporated this into our meal service made a big impression on all of us. And it was a big relief to our daughter, who really appreciated that she was able to sit down to every meal without worrying about what she might be ingesting.
The one drawback to the hotel is that you can't just walk out and see things; you'll need transportation to get up or down the very steep hill (drivers had to turn off the AC when starting up the hill!), through the village below and over to the temples or other sites. They do offer drivers and guides (for a fee) for a full range of activities (from temple visits, to hikes, to rafting, to gallery visits, to cooking classes, to day trips to the cities, and much more), and we were able to take advantage of these, often on short notice.
We could go on and on, but suffice it to say, we were mighty impressed—with the accommodations and facilities, the food, and the staff and service. This is a stay that we will remember for a long time.
The blog and photos are yet to come, but here's a little preview:
Approx. US$450 per night for three people, including taxes and service
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The Phoenix Hotel, Yogyakarta
This one is kind of a known quantity here, so probably no need to go into great detail. It's a beautiful old hotel that is very well maintained. Every afternoon, we came back to find one of the staff members polishing the marble floors of our hallway.
We had adjacent rooms on the third floor, in the wing that surrounds the swimming pool. Although the hotel seemed fairly busy, we never found the pool area to be all that crowded—and we made good use of it every day to cool off from all the walking we did.
The breakfast buffet is so expansive that after four days, I still didn't have a chance to sample everything I wanted to. The Vino Bar has decent happy hour specials; our daughter, in particular, became a big fan of the hotel's signature drink, the Gin Sling.
As noted above, we had ideas for what we wanted to do during our stay in Yogyakarta, but other than booking the Ramayana Ballet (which was only performed on one of our four nights there), we wanted to wait to plan each day based on what we felt like doing at the time. Accordingly, we arranged drivers through the hotel when needed, and that all worked out well. We were able to secure drivers with not more than an hour's notice.
We thought the location was good. We like to walk, and it was pretty easy to get around from here. It is located near a busy intersection, and at first we were a little afraid of crossing the street there—but eventually we got the hang of it.
All in all, and enjoyable stay.
Approximately US$90++ per room per night
Our review for Alam Jiwa (which we also liked very much) is coming, but I need to get back to work for awhile.
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I've been looking forward to your report! The villa near Borobudur sounds fabulous!
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great start...
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Thanks everyone!
Kathie, it was fabulous. I should note that the specific villa obviously goes for somewhat more than what we paid. With the two separate bedroom units, it would be a great arrangement for two couples traveling together.
Alam Jiwa, Ubud, Bali
This is one of a family of small hotels that has also been reviewed here periodically, and seemingly is well liked—for good reason.
I originally inquired about some specific units at nearby Alam Shanti, but those were booked for our dates (6-7 months in advance). The reply suggested the Cendrawasih suite at Alam Jiwa, and after we took one look at the photos, we confirmed.
It is a standalone villa with a bedroom and bathroom on each floor and plenty of open air space (including a shower) to enjoy the Bali breezes and the views out over the adjacent rice fields. I won't waste words here; the photos on the hotel's website speak for themselves:
We found it every bit as advertised—perhaps even better. There's even a kitchen in the basement, not that we wanted to cook, but we did use the fridge.
We thought the location in Nyuhkuning village was great. It's about a 15-minute walk to the central part of Ubud, using the motorbike path that runs adjacent to the Monkey Forest (use caution on this path; more on that when we post our blog). We are avid walkers and had no problem getting from here to points across central Ubud; in fact, we made the walk and back several times per day in some cases and even at night. The hotel has a shuttle for anyone who wants/needs it.
We enjoyed the pool for at least some amount of time on most days. Breakfasts were excellent. We had our choice of where to have our breakfast (e.g., pool), but it was hard to pick anything other than the large open-air dining table on the villa's second floor. One morning, we had a monkey join us briefly on our first-floor patio.
We had arranged our airport transfer in advance through the hotel, and we ended up using the same driver three other times—twice for day trips (Batur caldera and eastern Bali beaches) and once back to Kuta before our flight out. He has clearly been doing this for a long time and knows every bit of the island, and he was very accommodating of our specific interests. He also made some great suggestions along the way—the most significant of which was to get an inexpensive hotel close to the airport (with free airport shuttle) to have a base for the evening before our flight out at 2 am. We're certainly happy to recommend him to anyone interested.
We did not see any of the other 10 units on the property other than from the outside, but if they are furnished anything like our suite (and I'm sure they are—just not as large), then they should be pretty nice! There was a small tour group staying on the property part of the time we were there, and the hotel was taking some special steps to host them, such as a poolside reception and dinner and special Balinese cakes for breakfast (we benefitted from some of those).
Anyway, we knew we would be getting something pretty special with this accommodation, and we were not disappointed. It was hard to pack up and leave.
US$205++ per night
Vira Bali, South Kuta Beach, Bali
This gets a small mention. We booked it a day in advance so that we would have a place to base, rest, and shower for about 8 hours prior to leaving for the airport. We got a last minute special rate that would have been good for two people (~$50++), but we were honest and booked for all three (even though we didn't need the bed space), which added a bit to the cost. Our rate included breakfast, which of course we did not need. We did take advantage of the free airport shuttle. The room was a standard but comfortable hotel room with balcony overlooking a nice central pool area. It's about two blocks off the beach, so not far, and a little south of the real madness of Kuta. Pretty much perfect for what we needed…
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I'm so looking forward to reading this as I'm hoping/planning to do pretty much the same trip next year. I'm really looking forward to reading about everything you did - and I'm especially interested in reading about Bali.
I'm so drawn to what I understand to be a warm, welcoming traditional culture, yet get a little bit worried when I read about the growth of tourism and the traffic, so I'm glad to read that you loved your time on Bali.
Thanks for getting this started so quickly! And a big congratulations to your entire family on your daughter' graduation!
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Welcome back and thanks for sharing your travels with us.
We had a similar experience to you with the photos with locals on Java. Our most memorable one was at the multihued lake on the Dieng Plateau. A large Javanese family asked for a picture with us and we spent a few minutes together. They didn't speak English and we surely didn't speak Bahasa but felt like we bonded through our gestures.
Looking forward to more...
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We has not only family groups, but whole groups of children - and their teachers - who wanted photos with us! There aren't a lot of places anymore where local want photos with visitors like that!
Progol, I visited Bali for the first time in the last 1980s. It was magical then and it is magical now, despite the growth in tourism, IMO. Just avoid the places purpose-built for tourists - Nusa Dua and Kuta.
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Many thanks on the reassurance -- everything I read has captivated me, and am planning on going next year.
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I didn't find Java all that "touristy." Even at the big monuments, most visitors were Indonesian groups--mostly school groups. I'm not sure if the time of year had anything to do with that. Bali, yes, but generally not in a bad way.
One of the things that I loved about where we stayed in Ubud is that it felt quite traditional--not only in the construction, setting, and service, but also the location was just far enough outside the center of Ubud to have more of a window into local life. Our villa looked out on the rice fields. There was a school at the end of our street and a soccer (or, football!) field across from that, with games going on a couple of evenings.
The photo thing was interesting. There were also a lot of people and groups looking to have conversations and practice their English. We enjoyed the interaction (particularly our daughter, since many were in her age range) and tried to be as accommodating as we could, but there were a few situations where it bordered on being a little over the top.
progol, I'm hoping to post the day-to-day detail tomorrow. I'm mostly trying to fix some formatting issues right now. I've worked in corporate communications for 25 years, and it always pains me to put out something that I don't feel is as polished as it should be
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As motivated as you are to post quickly, I have no problem with a brief delay so that your posting is up to your standards! I'm planning a year from now, so I really can wait a day or two.
Now if it were to go on much longer....well....I might not be so accommodating!
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I've posted some links to our blog for the day-to-day trip detail. As noted, we did this so that some family could follow along and as a test to see whether we could keep it going while traveling (we did, but it took some effort). I've tried to tidy up a few things as best I could and add a few more photos. Please excuse typos and various font and line-spacing issues. I've got to get into the HTML at some point, but that's a project for another day.
It was pretty hastily written, just to get something posted--and for the most part just summarizes what we did. I'd love to enhance both the narrative and the photos some and will probably do so as time permits. One of the good things about this format (unlike posting a trip report here) is that I can now edit it as much as I want!
We will also eventually be posting an album of photos to our photo-sharing site. One note on that: My "walking-around" lens broke at the beginning of the trip. I also had a wide-angle lens that came in handy a few times but I don't like it as a general-purpose travel lens. For better or worse, a LOT of my photos are from the iPhone. I have yet to go through mr_go's photos from his camera.
Alternative link: since the Blogger site reads backwards from the most recent post, it might be easier to follow by starting here and then clicking the "newer post" link in the lower left corner at the end of each day:
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I've been looking forward to your report too, mr & ms go! Sounds like a great trip! Congratulations to your daughter on her graduation!
mr go - we had an earthquake at Narita once too!
I will be checking out your blog in a few minutes. DH and I want very much to get to Indonesia soon. It won't be this year, but maybe next.
By the way, we are going to Athens and Crete over Thanksgiving (we picked Crete largely due to inspiration from your trip report from last year) and are staying at your Crete hotels! So thanks!!
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Florida1, thanks! You will love Crete and that hotel in Chania! They are so nice. I'm sitting here thinking about the breakfasts there and making myself hungry.
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Warm Friday morning greetings from Toronto to you, ms_go - and thank you kindly for another round of wondrous writing and pictures. And, glad to see you enjoyed your brief stay in our fine home of Singapore; our sweet city-state of SIN can have her moments.
Also wish to congratulate you on travelling to so many unique places with your daughter. Last weekend was spent in Scotland for (near) yearly family reunion and the siblings all agreed our parents certainly raised a contingent of frequent world-wide travellers. Well done, go family. (And should you decide to venture off to the UK, I am in the process of putting up some all-too-brief reviews on my profile page; the latest UK trip was a perfect mix of work and holiday, with good family, friends and colleagues.)
Normally conclude with another modest promotion of "our" Singapore Airlines, but later today will be flying Air Canada from YYZ to good old SFO. (As always, would be honoured to offer future SQ suggestions.)
Keep up the brilliant work, ms_go. Warm weekend wishes to you and all from Toronto,
macintosh (robert)
... Singapore Girl, You're a Great Way to Fly ...
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F1: mr go - we had an earthquake at Narita once too!
True fact: I have experienced only 3 earthquakes in my lifetime, and 2 of them were during travel layovers!
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How funny, mr_go! The other other earthquake I felt was also in Japan - woke us up in the hotel in the middle of the night! So we say that every time we go to Japan, they have an earthquake!
Glad you enjoyed your Singapore Slings! We still talk about ours - DH found a recipe that tastes exactly like the ones there.
Also meant to tell you both that we have also "copied" you for our Berlin trip this summer. We are staying at the Adina Hackeschermarkt (sp?) hotel where you stayed!
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I'm so loving your blog!
I've just started, but your experience at Villa Borobudur is amazing! I love your walk and the rural vistas -- stunning.
Looking forward to reading the rest!
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great blog
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Finished reading, and thank you! You have definitely helped me make the decision to go to Singapore/Java/Bali next year. I'll be following in your footsteps, for sure!
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Loved your blog! Did you visit Candi Mendut, near Borobudur? It has the only Buddha statue I've ever seen where the Buddha is sitting as if on a chair. www.marlandc.com/Java-2012/Candi-Mendut
You visited a number of places that Cheryl and I didn't visit three years ago (like the kraton and the water palace) that I saw 20+ years ago. Isn't Java just an amazing destination? And of course, Bali is wonderful.
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Thanks, everyone! Glad you're enjoying the blog and photos.
Kathie, we actually did not get to Candi Mendut. We drove by it on our way in, which was shortly after the procession left there for Borobudur on Waisak. There was still a lot of activity going around around the temple. Then we drove by again on the way back to Yogyakarta and I realized we'd never made time to go there. Java is amazing. Our week there went very quickly. I wish we'd had time to go further east--but I know there is much to do there and we will just have to make that another trip sometime!
progol, you won't be sorry! We'll all be looking forward to your trip report next year.
AskOksena/Robert M, we enjoy traveling with our daughter and wish we could do it more often. She keeps us thinking "young." I'm not sure we would have picked a rafting trip without her input, but it ended up being something we all really enjoyed and will remember about this trip. And we enjoyed having her as our "guide" in Singapore! I could tell she was happy to be back there.
True fact: I have experienced only 3 earthquakes in my lifetime, and 2 of them were during travel layovers!
And, ironically, the other one was here in this hotbed of seismic activity, Northern Illinois. True fact!
Florida1, have a wonderful time in Berlin! I thought that hotel was in a great location, so hopefully you'll enjoy. The Pergamon Museum is one of my faves. I think part of it is closed now but you can still see some of it.
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Just finished reading your amazing blog. From one Hawks fan to another, many thanks for bringing back wonderful memories of our own journeys now more than a year ago.
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Thanks so much for this trip report, ms_go, and for your blog and awesome photos, too! I am at the very earliest stages of planning a trip for 2016, and Indonesia is definitely on my radar, particularly Java and Bali. Your words and pics are inspiring!
I usually aim to travel in May, but can slide a bit into June. I might be able to include Waisak Day in Bodobudur – it sounds like something you would recommend?
Can you tell me anything more about your rafting trip? It sounds like a lot of fun….
Congratulations to your daughter on her graduation, and to you and mr_go for helping her get there! I hope you've recovered from your cold and are finding benefits to returning to "normal".
BTW: I want one of those Balinese pancakes!
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kja, In 2016 Waisak will be celebrated on May 21.
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Hi, kja. ms_go is hard at work trying to meet a deadline, but I have the day off today (lucky me). So I'll answer in her stead.
Waisak is a pretty big deal at Borobudur, and there are quite a few visitors there. We missed the procession and the daytime crowds at the temple, due to our travel schedule...but we would imagine it was quite a scene. The evening event that we attended had thousands of people; I'm pretty sure you need to buy tickets, but our hotel took care of everything for us. In any event, it pays to plan ahead.
The rafting trip on the Elo River was a nice little adventure. Again, it was entirely arranged by the hotel staff, so no hassles. It offered just enough white water to keep it interesting for amateurs like us, with cool and peaceful stretches that afforded a glimpse into daily life of local residents along the river's edge. And at around two hours, it didn't wear anyone out and didn't chew up too much valuable vacation daylight.
Thank you so much for your kind words. Both ms_go and I are very proud of Allie, and we can't wait to see what surprises await in the next chapters of her life's story.
P.S. The pancakes were great, but nothing beats a hearty bowl of homemade soto!
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@ marmot -- thanks!
@ mr_go -- thanks so much for your response -- I like what I'm hearing and find it very helpful! If I decide on Indonesia, I'm sure I'll be consulting this thread and your blog over and over. I hope ms_to meets her deadline with time to spare.
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We've finally had time to go through photos from three people/four cameras and post some to go along with this report.
The short version--one album of some of our favorites from the whole trip:
The long version--separate albums for each day of the trip, which we are pairing with the individual reports on the blog:
As noted earlier, my primary lens broke at the beginning of the trip, so there is a much higher percentage of iPhone photos and a much lower percentage of DSLR photos than normal (for us).
We hope these are helpful to anyone considering a visit to these areas in the future.
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Thanks for sharing your photos, ms_go. They help bring back fond memories of our own trip. Especially love the photo of Borobudur lit up at night.
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Thanks, brought back memories of our trip as well.
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PS I loved seeing where you stayed near Borobudur!
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I can't thank you enough for posting your "long version" -- absolutely inspiring! And yes, they are VERY helpful to at least one person considering a visit to these areas -- I'm rapidly becoming convinced that you are introducing me to my next trip.
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Did you have connectivity in these more rural places?
How did you happen to choose them, though it sounds like there's quite a tourism infrastructure so they can't be too far off the beaten path.
Obviously I'm not familiar with the region or Asian in general. But I did see that Singapore was humid and seemed to get a lot of rain year round, so I'm not even sure when the monsoons are.
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Beautiful photos, ms_go & mr_go! Truly stunning locales, wonderfully photographed. Thank you for taking the time to post these.
I'm not sure that I'll be able to go after all, given a change in jobs, but your blog and photos seriously tempt me to keep to my original plan!
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Thanks, all.
kja--glad we could help you make your decision
progol, I hope you will be able to keep your original plan, but we understand how that goes. It is hard for either of us to take a vacation of this length. Most of our trips lately have not much more than 10 days, and the next two will only be a week each.
scrb11, yes, we did have Internet connectivity everywhere. It's something that's basically a requirement for us when booking, due to work (both of us) and evolving elderly parent matters (me). I wouldn't say the connectivity was perfect everywhere, but it was pretty reliable. Villa Borobudur is up a steep hill, so it was the closest to being "off the beaten path," but it really isn't. There is a very well established $1,000+ per night hotel just a kilometer or so away from it.
I'm not sure about the rain patterns for Singapore, but we picked Indonesia because we would be traveling in June and knew this would be the beginnings of the dry season. It was very hot and humid in Singapore, but sunny. The weather forecasts while we were there predicted a high chance of rain, but that never happened. Java was also warm and very humid, but we only experienced two brief showers, neither of which affected our plans. Bali was warm but noticeably more comfortable--and, again, just one brief shower while we were there. Ironically, it was about 85F and 99-percent humidity in Chicago yesterday and felt a lot like being back in Southeast Asia!
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Bookmarking. Thanks for posting.
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Another question, if you will indulge me....
The more I read about Waisak / Vesak Day, the less I think I would like to participate in the procession ... although I might want to see it. But I think I would greatly enjoy seeing the release of the lanterns! Can you tell me how you managed that? Maybe what you've already written should make it clear, and if so, please forgive my confusion....
Thanks so much!
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But I think I would greatly enjoy seeing the release of the lanterns! Can you tell me how you managed that?
Unfortunately, we were bushed and didn't stay up for the lantern release (which was around 1:00 or 1:30 in the morning). It's one of those tough choices one always has to make on a travel adventure... stay up, or rest up!
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Thanks! Travel does call for some hard decisions, doesn't it?
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I am getting ready for a March trip to Indonesia and read your blog... thanks so much for sharing!
We have a bit more time than you and were planning to take the train to Eastern Java and on to Bali from there. Can anyone tell me if it is possible to fly to Denpasar from Eastern Java? From what I am reading the ferry and bus is quite a haul.
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Yes, you can fly from Eastern Java to Bali. Surabaya has the most connections, but Malang should have a few flights to Bali.
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Thanks much, Kathy!
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Thanks so much for all the detail and also the lovely photos.
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Glad I stumbled on this. will have to take time to go thru your photos.
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Knowledge Acquisition. Professor Nigel Shadbolt. Learning Objectives. Appreciate the maj0r features of expertise Be able to describe at least four families of KA technique Appreciate the pros and cons of various techniques Familiarity with material in "Eliciting Expertise"
Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author.While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server.
Professor Nigel Shadbolt
Methods which the expert might informally adopt when expressing or displaying expertise
Typically easy to use
Typically liked by experts
Empirically least efficient
Essential for relationship building in early stages
Elicit knowledge in ways that are not usually familiar to the expert
Typically harder to use
Typically disliked by experts
Empirically most productive
Unsuitable in early stagesKnowledge Elicitation Methods
Delimit time and topic
Review area 10-15 mins
Set of probes for concepts, rules and relations mentioned in review
Iterate over new material
P1.1 Could you tell me about a typical case?
F1.1 Provides an overview of the domain tasks and concepts
P1.2 Can you tell me about the last case you encountered?
F1.2 Provides an instance based overview of the domain tasks and concepts
P2.1 Why would you do that?
F2.1 Converts an assertion into a rule
P2.5 What if it were not the case that
F2.5 Generates rules for when current condition does not apply
P2.6 Can you tell me more about
F2.6 Used to generate further dialogue if expert dries up
:The Structured Interview
"To start off with it's obviously a fairly coarse-grained rock ... and you've got some nice big orthoclase crystals in here - this is actually SHAP GRANITE - I know it just because everybody's seen SHAP GRANITE - or it's a very strong possibility that it's SHAP GRANITE ... it's a typical teaching specimen - as I say the obvious things are these very big orthoclase crystals pink colouration and you can certainly see some cleavage in some of them - you can certainly make out there are feldspar cleavages in there - it's a coarse-grained rock anyway, you can see the crystals nice and coarsely - these large porphyritic crystals - you can see, in the ground mass, you can see quartz - get some light on it (HOLDS SPECIMAN UP TO WINDOW) quartz, which is this fairly clear mineral you can actually look into it and see through it as opposed to calcite or feldspars where it's more cloudy - you can't actually see any good crystal faces on these cut sections - small flakes of biotite, black micacious looking - small plates, without a hand lens…."
1 adamellite 2 andesite 3 basalt 4 dacite 5 diorite 6 dolerite 7 dunite 8 gabbro 9 granodiorite 10 granite 11 lherzolite 12 microgranite 13 peridotite 14 picrite basalt 15 rhyodacite 16 rhyolite 17 syenite 18 trachyte
Sort 1: grain size Piles 1=coarse, 2=medium, 3=fine
Sort 2: colour Piles 1=melanocratic, 2=mesocratic, 3=leucocratic
Sort 3: emplacement Piles 1=intrusive, 2=extrusive
Sort 4: presence of olivine Piles 1=always, 2=possibly, 3=never
Sort 5: presence of quartz Piles 1=always, 2=possibly, 3=never
Non Nickel-Iron Core
Nickel-Iron Core
To move DOWN the expert's domain knowledge
"Can you give examples of
To move ACROSS the expert's domain knowledge
"What alternative examples of
To move UP the expert's domain knowledge
"What have
"What are
To elicit essential properties of an item:
"How can you tell it is
To discriminate items:
"What is the key difference between
KE So how could you tell something was dacite?
EX Well + examine the fresh surface and the weathered surfaces first + looking at grainsize, the relationship between the grains
KE Can I just stop you there. What type of grain size is it?
EX Coarse, medium, fine grain, oh, you want me to actually say what dacite is?
KE The grain, in dacite what would it be?
EX Er + medium grained.
KE Medium grained, right. So can you give me other examples of medium grained rocks?
EX Medium grained rocks + dolerite... Granodiorite as well... And we'll stay with that.
KE Right, erm, what alternative is there to a medium grained rock?
EX Well, you can have a coarse grained one or a fine grained one, those are sort of the three major ones.
KE: Yes
EX: So we've ruled out things like fruit, vegetables, cows?
KE: Yes
EX: Is it the metal industry?
KE: The material is wood
EX: So we could be dealing with a large object here like a chair or table
KE: The object is large
EX: It's likely to be a 3-D object, you've got to pick it up and turn it over
KE: That's right
EX: So what I need now are the dimensions of this object in terms of the cube that will enclose it
KE: It would have similar dimensions to the table top
EX: Do I inspect one surface or all the surfaces?
KE: All of them
EX: Is the inspector looking for one or many faults?
KE: One particular fault
EX: Can you describe it for me?
KE: It's pencil marks about half an inch long
EX: What colour is the wood?
KE: Dark unfinished wood
EX: We've got a contrast problem here. At this point I'd go and look at the job + to see if the graphite pencil marks reflect light + sometimes it does, but it depends on the wood + if it does you can select the light to increase the contrast between the fault and the background
EX: I'd be doing this in three phases: first a general lighting, then specific for surface lighting, and then some directional light [expert then gives technical specifications for these types of light]Limited Information Task e.g.

subset: commoncrawl


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Soups help that transition from Winter to Spring, and nourish us on the wintery days of fickle Spring.
Enjoy our transitional Soups for Early Spring.
You can also browse other Early Spring recipes:
- Indian Deliciousness
- Salads, Dips, Dressings, BBQs and Vegetables
- Soup Recipes
- Goodies, Grains, Lentils, Preserves and More
- Drinks and Sweets
- Helpful Hints for Early Spring
Please let us know if you find links that are not working. We would love to fix them for you.
Soups and Soupy Dals for Early Spring
- Gentle Asparagus Soup
- Green Mung Dal Soup with Asparagus and Tomatoes
- 13 Treasure Happiness Soup | Provencale Vegetable Soup
- Velouté d'asperges – Cream of Asparagus Soup
Carrot Soups
Cauliflower Soup
Mushroom Soup
Parsnip Soup
Pea Soup
Tomato Soup
Lentil Soups
- Green Mung Dal Soup with Amaranth Greens
- Gentle Mung Soup
- Green Mung Dal Soup with Asparagus and Tomatoes
- Italian Farmhouse Barley and Vegetable Soup | Zuppa di Orzo


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European Games opening ceremony costs double than London Olympics
Baku: The lavish and impressive opening ceremony of the inaugural European Games cost 100 million manat (R608 crore approximately), revealed Azerbaijan Sports Minister Azad Rahimov on Saturday. No expense was spared -- pop diva Lady Gaga being the surprise headline attraction — by the organisers which saw it cost more than double that of the 2012 Olympic Games in London which had a budget of $42 million.
Whereas the London organisers deployed 10,000 performers, the Baku spectacular used 2000 and the former lasted four hours -- including a mock up of Queen Elizabeth II parachuting out of a helicopter with fiction's most famous secret agent James Bond -- while the European Games show was half that time.
"100 million manats were spent on the opening ceremony of the European Games," said Rahimov at the The Baku European Games Organising Committee conference.


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Self-Publishing Tips
Have you had a story running around in your head for years? Have friends or family told you that you should write a book? After 15 years of editing, publishing and co-writing 10 popular novels, 3 of them bestsellers, I feel I know a little something about producing books and decided to share. To find […]Read More


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Vice Media lands Carmelo Anthony for new sports channel
Melo and other athletes to host their own video seriesSeptember 2, 2015 Updated: September 2, 2015 4:47pm
Carmelo Anthony is Vice Media's newest teammate.
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Seim Effects BIG Photo Tools & Videos Freebie List.
Seim Effects is all about quality tools, education and service. Gavin's complete editing collections and video workshops are second to none. But there's also lots of freebies to get you started. You'll find them all the freebies category of the Continue reading


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Elite Pools and Spas has been providing quality service with expert knowledge to the area for 25 years. The Elite Pools and Spas store is located at 9114 Virginia Road, a short distance north of the intersection of Virginia Road and Route 31. Our award winning service team are all certified pool operators and approach their work with quality and pride. It is our pleasure to work with you and your family, whether we are building a pool, renovating an existing pool, providing a service call or repair, or assisting you in or store. We look forward to working with you!
We specialize in creating backyard environments. We believe a pool or spa is an asset to your home and property. There is nothing we cannot do when it comes to pools and spas, let our thirty years of experience go to work for you. Contact us today, our estimates are free.
Closing your pool too early can lead to a more costly opening in the spring. The longer a pool sits without circulation, filtration, and sanitation the more likely it is that algae will develop, the water will turn cloudy or green and the length of time before the pool is usable will increase.
Over a quarter of residential pools have either cloudy water or visible algae in the current year, over 50% in the last year or current year, 60% in the last 3 years and only around 15% never have a problem. This makes the case for gaining a thorough knowledge about the best way to maintain your pool.
Welcome to Elite Pools and Spas! 847-854-7767 9114 Virginia Rd. #114 Lake in the Hills, IL 60156
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Site design by McHenry Computers


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Forest path 4 by Tsabo6Watch
©2009-2017 Tsabo6
Nice glow
this is so old
I don't like the new format here. Seems harder to find the newest Deviant works. I miss the old stream.
spectacular speed-paint so full of detail and capable of suggesting a road in the forest, with the light, shadows and shapes of the trees, while maintaining an abstract feel about it. very well done!
nice lighting
well done i like textures!!
Beautiful work as always! Love the lights and shadow details


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Do you live in Grand Traverse County or surrounding areas? Do you have a novel idea, or a finished book you are ready to publish? Northwestern Michigan College Extended Education offers a variety of classes for aspiring and … Continue reading
Tag Archives: Elizabeth Buzzelli
TC Author Expo- Detailed Schedule
Full Schedule details for the TC Author Expo: 12 Noon – Joan Schmeichel, author of Devil's Rock, speaking on "I Played With Paper Dolls." 12:15 p.m. – Michael Dow, author of the forthcoming Dark Matters, speaking on "The … Continue reading
Cops and Women: Recap of An Evening with Karin Slaughter
Jacob Wheeler
Georgia native Karin Slaughter is regarded as one of the best crime novelists in America today. Her 14 novels have sold over 30 million copies worldwide and have topped bestseller lists in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, the … Continue reading


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Technology & Dating: The Simple Rules
With social media, ever present, in all of our lives these days, it's easy to forget our manners. We speak in status updates, and end relationships in 160 characters or less. For the record, we do not endorse breaking up over text message. Dating is a personal, hands-on experience, yet sometimes technology can make us forget that. We can see what everyone we know is doing, eating, reading, listening to, etc, without needing to ask, something we could never do just a short time ago. It tends to give a false sense of intimacy. We come to think we know this person well, just because we read their tweets or stalked their Facebook wall. You can slow down and get to know them, or you can meticulously scour their status updates and develop this imaginary attachment. Hopefully most of you prefer the former to the latter. Obviously, social media and technology are here to stay; you cannot eschew these forms of communication. Rather, you should follow some basic dos and don'ts in order to integrate them into your dating life. After all, dating has been made easier by technology, connecting us more than in the past. So, whether you met online or at the local bar, text messaging, Twitter, Facebook, and email will likely play a large role in your relationships. That being said, it shouldn't replace a real courtship.


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Black Hat of Uzbekistan Karakalpak Families Groups and Tribes strive to be self-sufficient or community sufficient Agricultural/Pastoral people Clans Family Groups
(Koshes) Karakalpak Tribes
(Uru) Social Structure Karakalpaks Qon'irat On To'rt Uriw Qitay Keneges Man'g'it Shu'llik Jawing'ir Qipshq 12 13 8 4 Alayat Mu'yten Ashamayli Poldawli Qostamg'aili Balg'ali Quramayin 63 7 "The difference between a tribe and a clan is defined by matrimonial alliances." (David and Sue Richardson) "Exogamy: it is not possible to marry within one's own clan, but it is possible to marry into another clan within one's own tribe" (David and Sue Richardson) Population: 520,000
Ethnicity: Turkic People -- Kazakh -- Karakalpak "In Central Asia, herds, "consist, as the Mongols say of the five animals: sheep, goats, horses, cattle, and camels." (Eickelmen 7) "Only 9 out of 1000 people moved from rural areas to cities in Uzbekistan in 1989..." (Eickelmen 86)
The Uzbeks were known by their counterparts as "oasis-dwelling cultivators" (Eickelmen 46-47) Karakalpaks make their living by raising livestock, fishing, and maintaining gardens. Patrilineal -- line of descent is traced through the males. Large families are desired in Karakalpak society and as many as 4 generations live together in the same house. Yurts -- summer homes (tents) of the people are decorated by the women of the tribe with woven carpets Children are taught to read at a young age but are also taught skills to survive, such as cooking, hunting, making things with leather, bone, and wood Primary Religion: ISLAM Religious Factors Majority of Karakalpaks are Sunni Muslims (78 %)
The rest of the population claim to be non-religious (22%). Sufi Islam is also practiced within the villages of the Karakalpaks.
Sufis hypnotize themselves after a time of frantic dancing and chanting to Allah. The government and its constitution are secular. "The Law requires religious activity to take place within the registered organizations" (Khalid 176). Sunni Muslims do not like to cause discourse within politics, so they conform to the "well-trodden path", a distinct characteristic of Karakalpak people. Communism's hold on the Uzbeki people is evident through their non- belief in a God or in their desire to follow the "well-trodden path" as a good Muslim. Cultural Factors Hospitality When a person is invited to a Uzbek household, he or she is expected to bring a small gift and will receive a small gift in return. Tea is served to the guest along with dried fruit and sweet confections (Harlan 76). Sometimes a guest is asked to sit cross-legged (Harlan 76). A common practice of Uzbeks and their guests is to eat the tea leaves after they have drank the tea (Harlan 76). Greetings One should not shake hands with another person with his left hand. Men generally do not shake hands with or touch women in any way in public. "Assalomu Alaykum!" Uzbek men greet other men by placing their left hand on their heart, signifying that the greeting is coming from deep within their heart. Close friends and family members kiss one another on both cheeks. Holidays Ramadan Navruz -- spring -time New Year Today, Uzbeks still serve a traditional meal of "sumalyak", which tastes like molasses-flavored cream of wheat and is made from flour and sprouted wheat grains. Sumalyak is cooked slowly on a wood fire, sometimes with the addition of spices. Sprouted grain is a symbol of life, heat, abundance and health. Lifecycles Birth is important -- the parents of the child visit relatives constantly when the baby is first born Schooling is strict; children learn submission High literacy rate --almost 100% of the population Time Relaxed attitude toward time -- event oriented Values -Islamic tenets
-Respect for elders
-Generosity and hospitality to people Women in culture Follow strict gender roles (part of Islamic tenets): cooking, cleaning, taking care of children Discriminated against in the workplace Superstitions "The yurt owners smeared the uwıqs (roof sticks) with butter, and hung pepper, onion, salt, and adıraspan (dried herb) on the kerege (doorframe). They believed that through these rituals everyone in the yurt would live well and remain protected from the evil eye" (David and Sue Richardson). Oral tradition for storytelling
Native songs with diverse sounds and themes Games ılaq oyın: game played on horseback using the headless carcass of a goat Food and Drink Karakalpaks eat hearty meals full of carbohydrates such as potatoes pasta, and bread Influence from the Soviet Union brought in vodka as a popular beverage Marriage "A woman is given a dowry (gifts and money for her new married life) by her parents. She is also presented with bride gifts by the groom's parents. The new wife moves in with her husband's family" (Akiner, Critchlow, Thomas) Marriageable when they are 16 years old and most marriages are arranged "... I was purchased as goods,
For a pitiful fifty tuwar.
Evil father, but he is already old". Husband needs to pay a dowry for his bride (cattle, produce, money) but until that is completely paid, he does not live with his wife. She is to live with her parents and is able to "sow her wild oats" if she pleases. Then once the dowry is paid, she must live with her husband and his family and take care of all of them
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Karakalpak, Black Hat of Uzbekistan
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Hannah Shipmanon 6 November 2012
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Cailin Lahey Gallo
Listed by Gallo Realty Group
Enjoy single level living in this bright and cheery home situated on an unbelievable lot!! Walking distance to schools, hiking trails, conservation land, and super easy highway access and shopping nearby. Beautiful front yard and well landscaped land with a very large park like back yard! 1 Car garage features front and rear entry doors & new garage door. Additional storage shed along with unfinished space in lower level offer ample storage. Large finished area in lower level is a great fun space with many possibilities, gym, game room, office, playroom. Gleaming hardwood floors flow through much of the main level. Three good sized bedrooms and conveniently located fun bath. Newer windows, heating system, and many other updates!!! Fully applianced, eat-in kitchen overlooking the gorgeous back yard. Freshly painted interior and so much more!
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'Too bad he didn't die' Vile trolls LAUGH after new Italian PM rushed to hospital
ITALIAN Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni has been rushed to hospital for heart surgery following a trip to Paris.
Mr Gentiloni was taken ill shortly after this press conference yesterday
The 62-year-old, who took over from Matteo Renzi last month, was rushed to Gemelli Hospital in Rome where he had a small angioplasty in a peripheral blood vessel yesterday.
Mr Gentiloni had told aides he'd been feeling unwell after returning from a meeting with French President Francois Hollande.
According to medics, the new PM Mr Gentiloni was able to walk to the hospital for treatment unaided before he underwent his operation.
Let me know if he dies. I have a bottle of champagne that I keep for special occasions
However, it is believed that the procedure could be as a result of a blood clot, a potentially life threatening condition.
Rome-based doctor Pietro Santarelli, who did not treat Mr Gentiloni, said he believed he could be out of the hospital in a few days.
He said: "If the time from the onset of the symptoms and the time that he went into the operating room was too long then perhaps some heart muscle could have been damaged."
Angioplasty is a procedure to widen a narrow or obstructed artery or vein by insertion of a tiny stent, or tube, or with a balloon.
The new Italian PM has had heart surgery
Mr Santarelli added that the he had likely suffered an "unstable angina," possibly caused by a clot.
Doctors are now likely to conduct enzyme tests and ecocardiograms to determine if any permanent damage had been done to heart muscles.
The shock surgery means a scheduled meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May has been cancelled as the Italian leader is expected to remain in hospital for at least three to four days.
The Italian PM is recovering in Agostino Gemelli Hospital
However reaction to the news was shameful as trolls took to their social media accounts to launch hateful tirades.
One user wrote: "Thank goodness occasionally the rich also cry."
While another wrote: "Too bad he didn't die".
And another said: "Let me know if he dies. I have a bottle of champagne that I keep for special occasions."
Another awful comment prays: "Thank you Jesus, every so often a joy".
The news could not come at a worse time for Italy as it battles against a backdrop of economic uncertainty.
The Italian Five Star movement has been opposing the new PM's bank bail out strategy
Italy's constitutional court rejected a petition calling for a referendum the controversial jobs act legislation earlier today.
The brainchild of ousted premier Matteo Renzi, it had been put forward last year with the proposals making it asier for companies to hire and fire employees.
The decision is seen as a boost for Mr Renzi's chances of a comeback as analysts warned if it was upheld the centre-left Democratic Party would have been forced to call a new general election.
Now as some of the country's largest corporations announced thousands of job losses this week, the country is also facing a ratings downgrade.
Gentiloni met Hollande in Paris yesterday and then became ill
However, despite the court's decision today Italy is facing troubled times with unemployment on the rise.
Youth unemployment has rocketed to 39 per cent with 627,000 people under the age of 25 out of work in the crisis hit country.
And the general unemployment rate rose to the highest level since June 2015 as families face a very uncertain future amid massive lay offs.
The new Italian government is desperately trying to come up with at a rescue plan for beleaguered lender Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena.
Meanwhile, the country's largest bank Italy's biggest bank UniCredit has announced it is also to slash thousands of jobs to shore up its finances.
Bosses there say the total number of expected job losses at the Milan-based bank is likely to hit 14,000 by 2019.
Additionally, Ericsson AB could be set to cut a quarter of its local workforce equating to 1,000 jobs after losing a contract to manage Italy's largest wireless network.
And analysts are warning of dire consequences for the country's sovereign bonds market ahead of a crunch announcement by ratings agency DBRS on Friday.
Fabio Balboni, European Economist at HSBC, says the next few weeks will shape Italy's long term future.
He said: "On 13 January, rating agency DBRS will conclude its review of Italy.
"DBRS is the only agency that still has Italy on an A-rating, and a possible downgrade could mean bigger haircuts might be imposed by the ECB on Italian sovereign bonds (and other assets) by the ECB.
"Although the direct implications for the banks are unlikely to be high, it could spur further negative market sentiment on Italian sovereign bonds.
"The new caretaker government also approved at the end of 2016 a bank rescue fund of up to EUR20bn (1.2% of GDP) to be used first for Monte dei Paschi di Siena.
"Such a fund does not provide a comprehensive solution to Italy's banking sector challenges yet, which are also likely to remain a key theme in 2017."


text: MPR news photos of the week Issues St. Paul, Minn. · Aug 19, 2010 Here are some of the most memorable images from the week's news around the state. 1 Funeral for Christopher Dewey MPR Photo/Jeffrey Thompson 2 Thunderbolt 1000 siren MPR Photo/Tim Nelson 3 Worship songs MPR Photo/Ambar Espinoza 4 Makda Meles, Durety Diramo MPR Photo/Rupa Shenoy 5 Driking from the Cup MPR Photo/Jeffrey Thompson Stay Informed The news on your schedule from MPR News Update Email Address* Zip Code MPR News Update AM MPR News Update PM See our Privacy Policy. Must be age 13.


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Playthrough Video:
Way back when, I had been introduced to a rather interesting Mega Man fan game by the name of Mega Man: Perfect Harmony. It was unlike anything I'd seen before, as it featured upgradeable abilities, several characters for play and several fusion elements that would seem out of place in other games. But it worked for me, and I still regard it as a personal favorite. I befriended the creator Nick Ridgway, who wasn't very far from me and lived in Texas. He was interested in mystical and magickal type ordeals, having been rather knowledgeable in astrology. Like myself, he was also working class, had had several bad experiences within the workplace and had severely injured himself. He soon realized that no matter how much the Mega Man game was well-received, (except by Mega Man purists, as it definitely did not adhere to the traditional formula) it was time to work on something else. We'd talked about it for a while, as I would throw ideas back at him and he would tell me what he thought.
I originally had an idea about a Mega Man style game that would have four element based characters (young adults in the style of Mega Man) who would have to defeat six demons in order to get a different set of powers for each (rather than one power, the user could decide which of three boss abilities they wanted) in order to stop King Solomon from destroying the world. The final battle would of course have taken place inside of his castle, in which the player would have to battle the very powers of God, utilized by the ring he wore. The idea behind the game was that each character would have their own innate element (fire, water, air, wind) and some environments would be more receptive to the element of said player (fire wouldn't work as well underwater, exc.) essentially retooling the Mega Man formula into something more interesting and strategically based.
Though what he had finally decided upon was something called The Dream King. It essentially mixed this Mega Man friendly style with something that looked like a cross between Final Fantasy and Lord Of The Rings. It took place in a land called Endica, which was set to have six prior games (made for mobile) and three much larger games. It was a bit ambitious, but he was very ambitious in those days, even talking about a short Contra like app he was going to make for 99 cents. We'll not talk about some of the more private aspects of his life, as I'm not here to air dirty laundry as much as I am to talk about what were mainly bad decisions. In any case, the developer launched a Kickstarter campaign for something to the tune of $15,000. I thought it was a little much, especially for just starting out and having no real notoriety other than the Mega Man community. But we still pitched in, as the campaign ended with $1,800.00 of which he never saw as it ended just as quickly as it began. This sparked him to create yet another crowdfunding attempt on Indiegogo, in which he walked away with a mere $140.00. One of the largest backers on the campaign was the famous Deviant Artist Seizui, of whom has had a character featured in both Valdis Story and the hugely respected Shovel Knight. As of this review, he is still playing the game. We wish him the best of luck.
Times assuredly got tough as a game slated to come out in "December 2014" according to that Kickstarter demo, didn't actually arrive until January 13th of 2016, almost two years after the promised date. But the main issue behind this was due to the fact that the developer was wearing himself thin. He of course, was the king of announcements on the project, and if you'll look into Google you will find several older articles stating that the game was due to come out in October of 2015. The final build hadn't even been completed by then. Around this time, we were still throwing around ideas and it looked to be a rather intriguing game from what I played of the demo. The music was of course, very good, and the environments had a sort of amateurish flair, something that felt sort of grassroots in terms of game development. There were signs that the game still needed work, and some of the characters were far too overpowered, so my friends and I gave some well-needed input, which actually got factored into the final version of the game. Nick left Facebook, having had enough of it, moving right into Twitter where he began to publish updates and promote the game. The problem is, he just kept throwing out release dates. People would rile with anticipation, only to realize that it hadn't come out as promised. Then after the game's build had finally completed, he admitted to having a treasure trove of problems within Game Maker Studio. After calling it "junk" and talking about how it caused "so many errors" within the game's code, he finally released a version of the game to the public, which he claimed "might still contain some crash bugs." This is due to the fact that when Studio encounters a bug, it crashes the game and a window pops up, alerting the developer of the bug so that they may fix it. His intention was to ignore some of these crash bugs, as apparently previous versions of the software had allowed.
I jumped onto Twitter under an assumed account (which I will not reveal here, as I still use it and have since become an avid tweeter) and began to follow him there. At this point, I was pretty much under the assumption that the game would never release, and was admittedly a bit of a bug about it. Users will know what I'm talking about. But it was also obvious to them that I knew a thing or two about gaming and design (I'd made a few rather crappy games in my past) and some decided to follow me (and still are at the present moment.) In any case, I kept replying to his updates as I was generally curious as to namely, what in the hell was taking so long and what I could do to help. Surely I helped come up with some of the ideas for this thing, can't I at least try to fix things as well? I've only been playing these kinds of retro style video games for thirty years now, and I've found various bugs in several. When you're a kid, you think it's kind of fun to break the game and abuse cheats. In doing those things, I learned a little bit about how games are made. In designing them, I learned even more. So why would he not want the help of a guy who found a bunch of bugs in the demo, and was one of the only people in the world to actually post footage of the demo for all to see, further promoting the game to others? I really haven't the faintest idea. I'll note that a friend of mine believed so heavily that the game would not release, that we would even bet lunch on it. I actually had to cover the bill at one restaurant.
But there's more to this story. For some odd and awfully arrogant reason, Nick wanted to approach all of this by himself. While he could tell a worthwhile story and was a pretty good spriter, he simply refused outside help when it came to developing the game. A brilliant musician by the name of Kevin Phetsomphou was hired for the soundtrack, which is nearly godlike in composition. Even the composer for Secret Of Mana was hired for two tracks relating to the top backer's main character, Reize (of whom I mentioned was also in Valdis Story and Shovel Knight). Considering that there were fourteen playable characters and that the game was a maze-like metroidvania title, doing all of this by himself was a little bit more than he could handle. I originally complained that there were an awful lot of goblin sprites in the demo, even though there were a few mollusks and bats in the caves, though for the most part, THE GAME WAS LITERALLY LOADED WITH GOBLINS. Here called "Gobulin" they were at the mercy of Venedarin, the man who would not see Tellus Thomas become king.
It's true that the game had a brilliant premise, was well-written and delivered a fine narrative. In that instance, I was impressed. The very beginning scene with Thomas on the raft was a brilliant way to open the piece. It left an impression from the beginning. The only bad part, was that after the introduction, we're left to what seems like a Contra style gameplay mode of just shooting goblins and dodging blasts. Neither I or my friends (who are both highly knowledgeable in the field of game design, one is a graduate in the field while the other is currently working on a title to be released at a later time) could figure out why the inclusion of so many of these goblins, especially when if you really look, you'll see a barely walking older goblin with a beard. He doesn't really do anything and I don't recall him ever attacking. He's just slaughtered mercilessly like all the others. (Too bad, old man.) In any case, the player is expected to pretty much kill goblins ninety-five percent of the time. When you're not fighting bosses or playing platform type levels, you're killing goblins. Little green goblins. Though it's quite easy to see that most of these goblins only contain one or two sprites and as one person on the Steam discussion forums put it "they look unengaging." In other words, they didn't really look worthy enough to fight with just one single sprite that never moves or does much of anything. A small pellet or sets of pellets escape from them though at times, making for the only real challenge posed. Then we have the trolls, which are horribly stretched out and animated to move like gelatin. You heard me – gelatin. Jello. They do look a bit menacing, perhaps a bit unfinished in the design, but they basically just jump up and down, as do most things in the game aside from the masses of goblins.
The game makes you fight a troll from the very beginning, which some might take as a sort of sign as to what is to be faced upon the player (Am I being trolled this whole time?) and it's a horribly resized sprite, lacking in much animation and like the rest, moving as does Jello. But there are reasons why this boss and several other enemies as bosses are ill-animated or have rather boring attack patterns. The man simply refused help. He thought that he would have to pay people extra money to do these things, claiming he was poor. But that isn't exactly the case. I know for certain that there are spriters out there who would love to have their work featured in a game. If the game gets very popular and you have to pay them a little bit afterwords, that's fine. You'll have the money to do so, as you've made a game that people enjoy playing. The same could be said from the environments, which are a bit out of place. Sometimes they can look pretty good (like the sky area) but the inside of the caves are a smoky gray, which you'll be spending most of the time wandering around in. Another problem with the game was the inclusion of "no map" which he knew people were going to be complaining about. So outside help to design more varied sprites, more detailed and lush environments as well as a functioning map, would all have been suggested. But if he didn't want to have a map keeping it traditional to the first Metroid game, then there should have at least been door markers. I even went out of my way after the fact, to design bases for him to decorate and employ in the game. It's the first sprite sheet I had ever made and I felt that they served a useful point. I even asked Seizui if he thought they would be useful, to which he said he thought they would.
Towns were also utilized, but they all seem to have come from the same RPG Maker tileset and look a bit drab. It almost seems as if they were an afterthought to the game. You had to buy some of the better abilities, which were quite high, even though I felt that having some of the much stronger abilities at the beginning stages of the game could make some parts too easy. There are no up or down moving sprites for the characters in town either. As well as a button to press in order to move dialogue. It moves on it's own and is rather slow. The developer claims that the game was meant for all ages, hence why the text moves at a slower pace. We do find things in the caves or placed on hills, but there's no build-up or even an "item get" sound to accompany these pickups. A box appears and you're done.
The game offers a series of dreams, which one can have if they sleep at the inn. These offer minigames, some of which can be very tough, but there is no real reward and some very cheap bosses who don't make good use of the dream mechanic. Who wants to get into a boss fight when the dream ends and you can never finish the boss? You also don't get anything for completing the dreams. No money, no items, nothing. You don't even get back the $100 that it costs just to sleep at the inn in order to play these minigames, all of which are quite challenging. Additionally, there's a mysterious yellow door that as of yet; no one knows how to open. No one. I have a feeling that perhaps the secret hidden behind that door is the developer's very soul, completely barricaded behind these thick walls and corridors, refusing outstretched hands while overconfident in his lack of ability to accomplish such a herculean task.
Folks, the bottom line is that I actually helped out on this one a bit and provided what I thought were some useful ideas, yet got nothing in return but silence. The developer was not interested in polishing the game as did the devs in Valdis Story, he was simply content to release it just as it was. I predicted that exactly what I thought would happen with the game, did happen with the game after release – that I would be bug testing just as I'd asked and had gotten refused ten times over. But look what I'm doing now. I found bug after bug after bug, my friends found dozens of bugs and people on steam were finding them. We volunteered to test the game for FREE, for absolutely NO money. We just wanted a good game. We wanted a bug-free game. What? Was he afraid that we were going to find much of the unfinished stuff and complain about it? Well, we did… and we did. But the thing about that is, then we could have actually helped. Not after the fact, when the entire world has played the game and most realize that it's not in any way worth $15. The game was indeed advertised as a "multiplayer metroidvania" which also had "world's first" even though a Steam user corrected that to say it was UnEpic which held that title. This also caused confusion among the ranks, as multiplayer to most meant "online multiplayer." Well, that was quickly fixed to "local co-op only" to which many just simply jumped ship right there. There were logical complaints, like "my friends have wives and kids and we all can't get together and play a game in the same house" sort of deal, which is QUITE FUCKING COMMON in today's society. But, he said that it would take a long time to get everything rolling, to which my friend… the one he so hated, actually said "it would only take about ten minutes." Are you reading that? Yes, you too, could have had netplay in just a few minutes, which would have resulted in much larger sales.
But all of this simply comes under the umbrella of inexperience. Nick was very good at making Mega Man fan games. Some might not think so, but he was doing something new and different. I respected it, praised it highly on my channel. There were actually several more Perfect Harmonies in the works, as well as a huge battle game (which became the versus mode in The Dream King) and all of the games were going to be "bigger and better" with a different element utilized. Perfect Harmony I was air, so perhaps II would have been water, III fire, exc. This is what inspired me to the above Mega Man style game idea. But I was fully supportive of this Metroidvania style game, after having played and enjoyed the demo. However, he scrapped the berserker ability that Dash had, also giving him a blaster shot, which he absolutely did not need. I liked having the ability to play as a sword only character and was heavily upset when he destroyed that concept in two seconds of code.
I still don't know why Nick refused help from outside parties for this game. Having called himself a mystic guru, perhaps he needs a good grounding in the realm of reality. People are put here to help one another in their endeavors. Every man carries a load, whether it be the literal moving of furniture or to a new residence, or the creation of a product. It's wonderful to call yourself a "self-made man" but it's very rare that such a thing occurs, and frankly one needs the nerves of a steely titan to be able to achieve such a feat. Many of us added input to make the game better, but little of it was actually heeded. What we were left with is a game that had us wandering around in dark caves for hours, because we're not aware of which doors we've opened once they've disappeared. That does not make for a very fun experience and is simply, a waste of our time. The Dream King proves that anyone can make a game, and more importantly, what happens when someone makes a game and tries to tackle every single aspect of development by themselves. It's exactly what we should not do in game development, and ideas should be run by others and considered if they will help the final product to be better received.
It honestly upsets me that the developer and a man I've known for years, will not take the time to fix these issues. Perhaps I'm being a bit too hard on him, as he has slaved himself over this game, and has spent several sleepless nights working on the project while his wife worked her fingers to the bone. He also has a young son, so he has to babysit the child as well. Though Russians leaked the steam version of the game, he sent me a version of the executable as a DRM-Free non-Steam release pleading me not to leak it as "our son needs food." That really does tear just a little at my heart, because I really don't know how poor the man could be. I know very little about him other than what we've talked online and what I've seen in images. It's very likely that he thought he would make enough money to lift his family out of poverty with this project, and he very well might have if he'd just humbled himself to ask for help. The Dream King as it stands, is a good idea. But it's not finished and it could have been a long time ago. Why, he could have had spriters, designers, extra programmers to build AI and squash bugs, even including that netplay option to the game, which would have made it a classic. It may have even developed a major fan-base. It may have even set up Endica as a brand. There were some truly intriguing ideas here, told with a great story. I'm literally pulling my hair out here as I stare at the wall dumbfounded and just scream silently, "WHY???" It literally makes no sense. I suppose he thought that my friends and I knew nothing about game design, programming, AI… and that no one else online knew much about it either. He wanted complete and tyrannical control of the project, which certainly caused it's demise, only to thank us for many years of support today; further assuring that he was done with game development, as The Dream King sails off into the seas of abandonware. Forgotten, abandoned. A dream smashed and trampled upon. But It didn't have to be this way.
Thomas may have made it to The Enchanted Castle and became the King Of Dreams. But his creator seems to have found nothing but a nightmare. A nightmare that he himself created. But have I finished it? No. I have not actually finished the game, after coming to a point where a save section needed to be added and a town bug needed to be fixed that wound up in me losing a great deal of progress. Additionally, I was not looking forward to running back into the caves and not knowing where I was going. I pushed for door markers, which hopefully will be added (but I don't see them being so now, as I've been blocked from his Twitter) and don't really feel I should suffer myself to play through it until such an easy object is placed. I even took the liberty to draw how those things would work and am extravagantly angry at the absence and downright silence faced when I've worked so hard to make them a reality, especially when people have been complaining about them. But that is another problem I've had. He would always make excuses as to why something could not be added. Of the grammar used in the game, it's mostly rather well done. But there are maybe about two sentences I've seen that could be fixed. His response to that was that it was supposed to resemble a nineties game with spelling errors in translation. If two sentences make that point count, then more power to you. Seems to me like a fast fix.
At the risk of further and further bitching, I will add one last tidbit. This link will take you to a review written by a good personal friend and highly skilled programmer. He has yet to show the world his skills, and yes – he did volunteer to work on the AI for The Dream King or perhaps The Enchanted Castle. The man has spent hours writing code, usually from sunrise to set, and knows what he's talking about. We did put some input into it, but for the most part, it's his work and you can read it here:
Keep in mind, this critique is a CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM. I was there while it was written, and it was intended to help the developer to understand what the main issues were and how they might be fixed to add further enjoyment. It was not meant to troll or belittle the man in any way. It was written in a very polite manner that told the developer, while it was a very broken and unfinished piece of software; that he absolutely should not give up there. The Dream King was ABSOLUTELY NOT a final draft. It was not ready for human consumption. I feel that many will see that in the months and years to come, as it sits on Steam untouched. Even the discussions will end. Pretty soon, everyone will have moved on completely to something else. It won't only serve as one man's dream, which once again; did not come to fulfillment due to his own arrogance. I can't stress how much I wanted to like the game, and the fact that I was still playing it despite the bugs, as I enjoyed the gameplay. As you watch this video, you will see just a little bit of the game and what I felt it had to offer. It is pretty enjoyable, but it clearly still needs an awful lot of work, which sadly… it may never receive.
"Dreams are awfully large things. It usually takes a lot of people to shoulder them."


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June 201, 2016
Dear good friends,
Anna's tea photo! Can you hear the background chatter? The click of silver against china? The rattle of cup against saucer? You can almost taste it, yes? Ah, tea! With fine linens, yums to eat, good company to keep . . .
I wish we could all have a tea party. We'd write notes. One page letters? A letter-writing tea perhaps? No? Just tea? Tea for we? You and me. No. No tea for me just yet. Nope. Tea for me will have to wait. 'Cause life happens when you least expect it.
No postal run today. I woke to repairmen in the attic, in-and-out, alongside the house. The a/c's working just fine now. A water heater repair person was scheduled for tomorrow. JC cancelled the appointment from his hospital room some minutes ago. I don't even know his room number. His phone needs recharging. I can't drive so . . . It's a long story.
Life happens. Mila almost made it through the fence. Her hips and the force from the water hose kept her from making it through the three slats she tore and chewed her way through before I made it to the back door. Life happens. It seems to be happening fast. Too fast for me to go on dual-minded when single-minded is best. This means I'm signing off for awhile. I need to stop while I'm ahead.
Thanks for being my friends. All is well. I just know it.
So, you be well.


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Johannesburg - Residents of Letlhabile, north of Brits, blocked roads with rocks and burning tyres in a protest about a week-long water cut, North West police said on Monday.About 55 people protested from 21:30 on Sunday, Brigadier Thulani Ngubane said.A main road into Letlhabile, as well as smaller roads, were blocked.No violence was reported and no arrests had been made."The [Madibeng] Municipality has had some trouble with water infrastructure, but is in the process of repairs... the situation is stable."Last week, residents of Oukasie, a township just outside Brits, staged violent protests over poor service delivery.They barricaded roads and apparently petrol-bombed an armoured police vehicle.The protest erupted after the Madibeng Municipality failed to respond to a memorandum of demands.A municipality spokesperson denied on Tuesday that residents' demands were not being met.
Let me guess.....anc controlled municipality?
Aha but for how long?
Hmmm Madibeng municipality - a candidate for the worst in the country. Two (of which I know) non-working traffic lights (one at a busy primary school intersection) have had stop-signs placed in front of them. There are long stretches of street lamps that havent worked in years. I could go on and on...


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Oakville, California
On the path to Oakville, you'll find a hidden gem that's been here since the beginning. A welcoming home in the Napa Valley, where you will taste our honest and true wines at their source. Exceptional wines are a given, but you'll also discover a family found.
Please note we are appointment only Christmas Eve & New Years Eve. We are closed Christmas & New Years Day.
Open Daily by Reservation
Relax and experience our reserve level wines in a private, seated tasting in our living room or on our vineyard terrace, where we curate an experience to match the most special wines we share with you. Taste top selections from our portfolio of Cabernet Sauvignons, hosted by your own personal wine educator. Experience our highest rated bottlings, small production wines, and occasionally library wines, as well as a behind-the-scenes tour of our estate winery and vineyard. The flight list is curated daily. See more images here.
Advance reservation required. $80 per person for a one-hour experience. Limited to 8 guests.
Taste through a flight of our current releases – all exclusive to the winery and produced from our estate vineyards. This is a casual, standing tasting at the Gallery bar, among our world-class photography collection, with views outdoors to our Pairing Garden and incredible vistas of the Napa Valley. Walk outside and explore the grounds at your own pace.
All are welcome and advance reservation is not necessary. $40 per person for the flight.
The Gallery is open to the public and features a twice yearly rotating collection, featuring famous artists such as Berenice Abbott, Ansel Adams, Margaret Bourke White, Dorothea Lange, Edward Weston, Herb Ritts and more. Click here for images and overview on our current show.
Exclusive to Membership
inquire for availability
An intimate and cozy room for members. The Clubhouse is open to book for members seeking an ultra private, guided tasting with friends. Based on availability, so please always inquire in advance by emailing firstname.lastname@example.com.
how to find us
Turnbull Wine Cellars is located in the heart of the Oakville AVA. Find us at 8210 St. Helena Highway (Hwy 29), one half-mile north of Oakville Crossroad, on the east side of the highway.
Our tasting room is open daily from 10 am to 5 pm. We are closed on Christmas, Thanksgiving and New Year's Day holidays.
We will be appointment-only on Saturday, September 23rd.
We have one Tesla charging station for our customers. Charging is complimentary while you visit our tasting rooms.
You may reach us at the winery at 707-963-5839.


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please i need a very good free software for slide shows.please can you help me ot here?
software for slideshows needed
please i need a very good free software for slide shows.please can you help me ot here?
You could download a software package from OpenOffice.org and use the program called Impress to make slideshows.
Try freemind. It's quite different from your usual presentation tools but after getting hang of it, it can produce nice presentations, they can even be exported to pdf, xhtml and more
Link to Freemind - http://freemind.sourceforge.net/
Hands down the best choice out there. It's free and it has most of the functionalities found in Microsoft office.
use ppt to avi convertor
Go for OpenOffice. Its almost as good as Powerpoint.
If you can pay a bit and want to create something flashy then go for Photodex.
another vote for open office
its got all the functionality of office, but free
the visual appearance and layout is very similar so its easy to learn to use.
Impress works well
My only complaint is that when i use writer i often have grammar errors that it dosnt catch but microsoft office will catch
i give it 4 out of 5
Hey hey
i use PROSHOWGOLD a great produkt for making slidshows. Great effects for blending pictures,movies ...
the even have the posebility to use the famous ken burns effect , the use that effect in geograhic channel, give it a try.
When u use it you don't wanne look at anithing else.
here is the link http://www.photodex.com/
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Item description for Saints at War: Spiritual Warfare for Families, Churches, Cities and Nations by Frank Hammond...Overview
A call to arms and an instruction manual for Christians.
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Christians are in conflict with demons and territorial spirits. This is nothing new... the prophet Daniel confronted the "prince of Persia" when interceding for the captive people of God. Today, Christians are being called to take their rightful place in the army of God and stand against "powers and principalities" over families, churches, cities and nations. We are invited to participate in the outcome of events through intercessory prayer. Find out the role you can play in God's kingdom through the authority granted you in Christ Jesus.
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August 11, 2004
A recent study by Columbia University's Earth Institute predicts that heat-related deaths in New York City and its surrounding area will increase 50 percent by 2025, and more than triple by 2080. However, these dire predictions may be overheated.
According to a University of Virginia study:
- Heat-related deaths in the Big Apple declined between the 1960s and 1990s, from about 85 annually to 25 per year by the 1990s.
- Twenty-two out of 28 cities have experienced declines in heat-related deaths over time, or have not been shown to experience humidity and heat-related impacts.
- Cities in the Northeast and the Midwest experience the greatest impact of heat, but heat-related death rates for those cities in the 1990s were much lower than in previous decades.
The reason for the decline is adaptation. Air conditioners in homes, cars and workplaces are far more common in areas such as New York City than they were 20 years ago. People are also more aware of heat dangers and take precautions accordingly.
In fact, a study by Dr. Laurence Kalkstein of the Center for Climate Research (to be released in August) reveals that Philadelphia's heat watch/warning system has saved 270 lives since its inception in 1995, at a cost to the government of only $100,000 per year.
Sources: World Climate Alerts, "Baked Big Apple," and "Human Adaptation," CO2 & Climate Team, Greening Earth Society, July 2004.
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