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Sat, Nov 30, '13
Locked out!
Well holy moley. Nearly another year. Again I'm logging in to post here because something's gone wrong.
Facebook, which has become my way of communicating with friends while too busy to see anyone in person, has locked me out, asking for a government issued ID to prove I am who I say I am. I had no idea why on Thanksgiving day, when it happened. Did I annoy someone in a public feed, and they reported my account as a fake account? Did I get hacked? Did Facebook just get sick of me? Some combination of things?
Well, at least one thing is becoming more clear. Someone is actually trying to get into my accounts. Facebook locked me out, but then the Apple ID notifications started coming, until they locked down password changes. Now I'm getting notifications from Netflix.
I'm under some kind of attack for the passwords associated with my Gmail account. So I've changed that password and a number of other key passwords. I keep a secure password database, which makes this a little bit easier. All my passwords are different. But, as of this morning, there are 223 of them. Changing even a substantial fraction of those would be a real pain.
Either this lame account-thief will get into one or more of my accounts, or they will fail and move on. Since I've added 2-factor authentication to my email account, I should be able to rely on the ability to put everything back if I do notice a breach somewhere.
If you happen to be following me on other services, could you please let me know if you see unusual activity? Thanks.
Also, after 2+ days of this lockout, I miss my friends. I've started posting to Google+, but except for a couple of friendly folks, posting there is like screaming into the void.
Hmm. Kind of like posting to this blog after so many years of neglect.
Wed, Dec 26, '12
And a year went by
I was prompted to come back here and post something because I needed to log into Movable Type to remove a code that prevented individual entries from loading quickly. Some blog-related service died (blogrush) over the last year and made it difficult to get to old recipes on Aces Full of Links.
That's what I (and certain friends) still use this blog for. Recipes that are stored here. Although I have started moving some of those to my databases in Springpad and elsewhere.
Until those services die. :)
Anyhow, If anyone is still checking here, Aces Full is kind of dead, but I am not. Which means it may return someday. The world has changed. We all use "social media" more than we used to use blogs to stay in touch. The fact that this remains a useful and searchable resource for recipes shows one of the weaknesses of Facebook. I can't find a damn thing I have posted to Facebook.
I am about to sign up for this year's Little Compton Scenic Winter Road Race. Time moves on. We are all still here, and I hope we stay in touch by whatever means we can. That is what is important.
Fri, Jan 7, '11
Fri, Oct 22, '10
You and I need a secret signal. When I send the signal I need you to call me, or come rescue me from a bad conversation. Will you do that for me?
I was sitting outside of our offices yesterday, about to make a phone call to Maggie before my class started. Before doing so, I sat down in a chair and checked my phone for emails. While this was happening, I overheard a conversation a man was having about his interest in being trained as a math teacher. I didn't listen in to it; I heard it was happening.
As I was about to dial my phone, the man walked by me and made a comment to me about UMass having a presence in the building. I looked up and realized that I knew this fellow; he was a classmate from my undergraduate days long ago. I didn't want to be rude, so I said "Hi, A——-. Yeah, some centers are located here because the university has a deal with AT&T."
A——- asked me if I was the director of one of the centers (I guess I was relatively well dressed yesterday as a result of my internship meeting) and I said "No, I'm a student in the program here and I work on research projects as well. You're interested in becoming a teacher?"
I was mainly trying to be polite. I admit, I wasn't actually that interested, because this was a fellow I never really had much cause to interact with. Even so, I am interested in mathematics teaching and I thought we had some common interest that was genuine. It turns out that I was wrong.
A——- told me that his knowledge of technology was what got him interested in teaching, because he'd heard that technologically savvy teachers were needed. But he didn't have a math background that the state would have required. That much is fine. But with nary a pause for breath, A——- launched into a discussion of specific technologies, computer chips, operating systems, programming languages, the size of memory chips, RISC processors, the Makerbot and other extremely technical details completely out of any sort of context that would make them interesting.
"…so they put C on the chip and it's 64K I think… well, there were chips that were 32K, but the 64K chip works better because…"
I think I was polite. After 8 minutes of this, I started to signal my wish to end the conversation by saying things like "Well, I hope you have good luck in your…" but I couldn't even finish a sentence like that because he would immediately tell me something like:
"… well the Mindstorms brick has an ARM in it and that was originally made in the 1980s by Acorn, and so ARM stands for…"
Ok, people. I'm not saying I am never interested in some of this stuff. But the stream of consciousness bombardment was too much for me. No context. And no conversation - this was completely one way. But it gets worse.
After the ARM discussion, I tried to turn the conversation to some of our common experiences, and I referred to when we were in college together. This was about 15 minutes into the conversation, or, more accurately, my captivity. He looked back at me confusedly. It was the first pause of more than 2 seconds in the conversation.
"Who are you?" he asked me.
He didn't know we went to college together. He didn't remember me. He had cornered me to tell me all this barely coherent stuff about computer engineering, and he thought I was a stranger. I started to tell him who I was, but he interrupted me and started on again about how small the pins are on some chip or other. Or how many pins it had. Something like that.
My boss walked by to the men's room. He didn't see me with my hands clasped together, trying to shrink into the wall. He did not admonish me for being away from my desk; my prayer was not answered. I realized, I was starting to feel an urge to visit the facilities as well.
I tried for the 5th time to extricate myself from the conversation by asking if we could start walking towards the men's room. He didn't skip a beat in his talking and just followed me as I walked that way. When it looked like he was going to just follow me inside, I stopped walking. I was not going to let him corner me in the men's room.
My boss came out of there. He did not make eye contact. Damn.
We were now near the elevator. As he stepped toward the elevator I realized that 25 minutes had gone by. I fantasized that the elevator doors would open and I would push him through them and make my escape. Not every version of this fantasy involved a waiting elevator behind the doors.
After about 5 more minutes, my phone rang. As A——- rattled on about not being able to remember what company made some chip that he wished dearly could run Python code, I checked it; it was Maggie!
"Oh, it looks like I have to take this call. Sorry! Well, good luck with your…" he wasn't listening to me, he kept talking.
I put the phone up to my ear and said "Hi" to Maggie, and A remembered what company made that chip, and started telling me why they made the chip. THIS IS NOT HOW YOU END A CONVERSATION. I had to tell Maggie to "hang on" (I HATE doing that to a caller).
I "let" him tell me a couple more things as I waved my hands and the phone, indicating the conversation should be over. He continued talking as he stepped into the elevator. "Thanks for having a sympathetic ear." He told me. Gah. Well, not so sympathetic, I am afraid. I am interested in many things. But none of them is being cornered and talked at. I feel like the chair would have been as good a participant in this discourse.
So, please, people. We need a secret sign. I promise to rescue you someday, if you need it.
Tue, Sep 14, '10
Okay, not really.
So, I just decided yesterday that this blog is going on a sort of hiatus. It's slipping into low power mode, at least for the semester, possibly until 2013. This will be of high interest to the 2 people (including me) who still read the blog. (Thank you, RSS feeds!) Thing is, I still have stuff to say, and a number of issues here (psst. the software) keep me from wanting to make this my daily haunt. Plus, blogging feels like more of a drive-by affair lately. So, I'm switching to microblogging.
When you're too busy to blog… get yet another blog, right?
My new blog is called Rabbits of Mind (http://rabbitsofmind.com). If you care, you can check out that blog's RSS feeds. Lucky for you, it pretty much autoposts to Twitter and Facebook as well. It's a Tumblr blog, so if you've got a Tumblr account, you can follow me that way.
I installed a Disqus commenting system on there which (hooray!) should be completely spam and maintenance free! It requires authentication, but you can use your Twitter account. Eventually Facebook accounts should be recognized, once I get that working.
What will happen to Aces Full of Links? I still use it. All my recipes and such are here. I search it nearly every time I cook. I'll probably still post my recipes here, so I have a place to find them. But for the short term, my conversation has moved over to Rabbits of Mind. And Facebook and Twitter.
See you there?
Mon, Aug 16, '10
The Mosque
I rarely tell my parents this, but I am often very thankful for my upbringing. Do all people feel they were "raised right?" I don't know, but I am frequently thankful for the example of trusted family members, and for the experiences my parents gave to my sister and myself. My memory is full of formative experiences.
In one such memory is of a trip to Morocco with my sister, parents and aunt and uncle. I remember wandering around looking at the beautiful tile work near some sort of mosque. At the time I only barely understood what a mosque was; I was 6 or 7 years old. But I did know that the people who built the mosque were not the same religion as we were. Despite that, my mother's fascination with everything we saw helped to instill in me an appreciation for the beauty of inspired human accomplishments, no matter what inspired them. I credit that experience with strengthening self-awareness of subjective judgment. But, really, I thank my parents for allowing me to see more things by looking past certain obstacles that society installs in our brains.
This idea of an Islamic community center within blocks of the site known as "Ground Zero" has caused many to balk, to comment on the craziness of the modern world, to cry out with offense, and to claim insult.
Were the 9/11 attacks carried out by an entire religion? I think that if we begin to attribute the motives of some who call themselves religious to all who share their name, we have a lot of tiring work to do condemning people.
That said, people clearly are offended, insulted and hurt. Some of these people are folks I care about. Some ascribe nefarious motives to the builders of the center; they lament that some will interpret its existence as a sort of triumph. Those feelings are real. But what, in the end, is the consequence of them? That is a decision we must make between our desire to save our feelings and our desire to stand by American principles. Is it important to deprive some extremists a thing they will see as a symbol (when extremists snap their fingers, do we jump?) or is it important to show the majority of Muslim Americans that we really are a nation of laws and principles?
We do not have a right not to be offended or hurt. This is fortunate, even though we and our friends will be unhappy at times because of it. It's fortunate because the principles at stake are much more important than the whim of personal feelings, even if those feelings are strong and shared by many. An ability to see past feelings to principles makes us better than extremists and shows that we believe in our principles; we don't just spout them meaninglessly.
Some people risk their very lives and even die for these American principles. Others of us make a different sort of sacrifice when we bear the brunt of an offense in the name of a difficult to defend principle. Both are noble.
Fri, Aug 6, '10
Rendering Equations in GMail and Elsewhere
I just found out this workaround for rendering equations in GMail and it was so awesome that I felt I had to share it. Even if you don't use GMail, you might find this useful, if you ever have to work with equations online, because I'm going to show you 2 tools that help you with mathematical equations.
First, the "problem."
Have you ever wanted to send someone an email with an equation? This happened to me today when I wanted to send Dr. McCabe some math I was working on for a problem he threw at us on Wednesday. He likes to pop by the office and give us math problems to keep us on our toes. I'll give you guys the math problem when I find out for certain that I have the description correct.
Anyhow, I wanted to add a couple of equations to the email, but I wanted them to look nice. Let's say these were the equations:
(x/2)/1997 = 43/56+x
It's much nicer if they look like this:
Lots of word processors have equation editors, but GMail does not. There is a cool workaround that's also very easy to use.
You have to enable the ability to insert images into your GMail messages (it's a Google Labs feature) and then, instead of inserting an image from your hard drive, you choose to insert an image from a url. Here's the cool part: there's a website that will generate an equation image from a URL. It's called http://texify.com
If you type your equation using LaTeX syntax in place of the angle brackets in the following url, you'll get the rendered equation:
The cool part is that if you type the above first and then add the equation, GMail gives you a live preview as you're typing.
The first equation looks like this in LaTeX: x=\sqrt{34765}-65
My web editor messes up the link, but you can take this URL:
…and paste that in your address bar and you'll see that it renders the equation. Neat! For documentation on how texify works, check out http://www.texify.com/.
But what if you don't know LaTeX? There are some good online editors that will generate the LaTeX for you, and show you what the syntax is. This is a good one.
Even better, if you don't use GMail, that equation editor will render the image for you and allow you to download a gif and paste it into any application. So, just for fun, you should go send some mathematical equations and expressions to people.
Credit: I found the idea in this thread of people making suggestions for GMail features.
Sun, Aug 1, '10
Better than a Coolatta
For a few years I've been trying to duplicate the Dunkin Donuts Coolatta at home so that I can have one whenever I like, but also so I can make one with a lot less sugar. the real Coolattas are the liquid equivalent of cheesecake.
I've made a few attempts and got pretty close, but have always been somewhat disappointed, especially with the texture. You need a powerful blender. Trying to get the crushed ice just right is tough. Also, the milk will tend to go foamy on you. I suspect that the filler they use in the "for recipes" Splenda was contributing to foaminess.
The closest I've come was when I used a recipe out of one of Todd Wilbur's Top Secret Recipes books: Top Secret Recipes Unlocked. Todd found that one of the distinctive flavors in the Coolatta is hazelnut. If you don't order a hazelnut Coolatta, you still get hazelnut flavor in your Coolatta. Even with that knowledge, I didn't love my recipes.
Finally, I've got a substitute I like, but it's nothing like an actual Coolatta. It's essentially like an iced latte, but I like it better than the slushy drink I used to buy at Dunkin Donuts. I make these without measuring, but I am giving you a recipe below so you can try to recreate it for yourself if you care to (and so I can remember). My recipe is low calorie, but you can make an even yummier one if you use real sugar and whole milk. It's up to you.
Also, this is fairly sweet because that's what a Coolatta is like. If you don't like your coffee sweet, omit the Splenda altogether, taste, then add one packet at a time to your taste. Remember, the flavored syrups are sweetened.
DrMomentum Low-Cal Hazelnut Latte
- 20 ounce cup or larger
- 3 or more ounces of very strong-brewed coffee. (Preferably espresso or Italian coffee made in a bialetti stove-top pot. Espresso roast. Fresh beans ground just before brewing. Chilled if you have time, use extra ice if not.)
- small ice cubes
- skim milk
- Fat free half & half (optional)
- 2 packets of Splenda
- Torani Hazelnut flavor syrup
- Any vanilla flavored syrup for coffee (I use sugar-free, Torani or Archer Farms from Target)
Half fill cup with ice.
Empty 2 packets of sweetener onto the ice.
Add 1 tsp of each of the syrups (eyeball a splash of each).
Pour 3 oz (that's essentially 2 shots) of espresso onto the ice. If your cup is >20 ounces, add another ounce or half shot. If your coffee is not that strong, you need to use more of it.
Add a splash of fat free half & half if you've got it. We've always got it because Maggie uses it every day.
Top up with skim milk and stir.
The important thing here is the strong coffee. Remember, you're diluting it with the milk and ice. If you want a milkier latte, use less ice so you have room for more link.
Brewing strong coffee / espresso substitute
To brew really strong coffee, I use a Bialetti Moka pot on the stove and I take it off the heat before it's done brewing so that the coffee in the pot is concentrated (the coffee that comes out later in the brewing process is less strong). I stop the extraction by running cold water over the bottom of the pot, or wrapping the pot in a frozen kitchen towel.
How do you make really strong coffee? let me know in the comments.
Thu, Jul 22, '10
Fitness is infectious because being in decent shape feels good. Maggie has recently cautioned me against going crazy with my exercise, probably because she knows I can go overboard sometimes. "Extremism in good health is no vice" — didn't someone once say that? I guess not.
Maggie's right; it's not smart to go overboard. But part of my plan for the summer is to get an exercise routine in place and habitual enough that when the semester starts again, I won't have to think about it.
Running is great because, if you can do it, you don't have to put much thought in it. You just run. Unfortunately, for me, almost any other exercise carries with it a learning curve because I am really unfamiliar with strength exercises. So, I'm starting from scratch, no matter what I try.
Are you starting out there, too? Then you might be interested in kettlebells. After some initial interest in kettlebells after reading about them on a Twitter-friend's website a while back, I recently got re-interested when friends told me their trainers had them try out kettlebells (for fitness and for rehab purposes). It just so happens that I would like some exercises for my off-running days. Usually I just do shorter runs, but I would like to both give my feet and lower legs a rest and get some core and upper body fitness. I like the idea of kettlebells because people tell me:
- They help you burn fat and tone your core instead of bulking you up (which is why they also have a large female following).
- They combine strength training with cardiovascular so that you get multiple benefits at once.
- They don't concentrate on one muscle group, but spread the benefit out over many muscle groups, which is both a time savings an advantage for general fitness.
- The equipment is relatively cheap, compared to home gyms.
- The equipment is small and portable.
Still, there's a learning curve because you have to understand how to do the basic exercises without hurting yourself. The most basic exercise stems from the "box squat" which teaches you how to bend over and pick up something heavy without hurting your back. Essentially, you plant your feet and bend down by creasing at the waist and throwing your behind back while keeping your knees above your feet. You can practice that with your arms straight out horizontal in front of you without a weight until you get it. Then you can try it by standing about 8 inches from a wall, facing the wall with your arms out from your sides. This will tell you if you're doing it correctly without leaning forward.
Once you've got that form, you can do swings and cleans and other fancy moves that are quite challenging.
I can tell this is going to challenge my weak upper body (I have problems doing even one pull-up) and help tone my relatively strong lower body. But, we'll see. I will post my progress (my learning curve progress) here; I'll let you know in the future if I am able to continue with this, or whether I have wasted my time.
(P.S. Here's a gal demonstrating what a kettlebell routine might look like.)
Sun, Jul 18, '10
A few people are interested in this film, so I figured I would pen a quick review of Inception. It's one of those films that makes it tough to say too much about, but I promise to be careful.
Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a special kind of freelance agent; he has learned enough about people's minds so that he now has the ability to enter their dreams and learn their most valuable secrets. This skill is called "extraction." However, his own secrets are kept closely guarded even from his closest associates.
It is these associates whom he must convince to help him pull off a new job, one that will not only bring them wealth but will help Cobb deal with some trouble from his past. And convince them he does. Soon he has assembled a team to perform a daring feat that none of them are sure is even possible: "inception." That would be the placing of a thought into someone else's mind in such a way that they believe it is their own idea.
This quickly becomes a science fiction mystery film wrapped neatly into the trope of a heist film. With a bit of a con job thrown in, the fast pace keeps you from dwelling too long on the details. It's safe to say you will see bits and pieces of all your favorite films and genres here, because Christopher Nolan borrows heavily, but he's taken these elements apart and rearranged them. Ghost story? It's in there!
Ariadne (Ellen Page) is the new recruit on the team, a hotshot dream architect who acts as the audience's way in to the complex maze of Cobb's own mind, which might be just as challenging to unravel as how our heroes can succeed in their plan as things (inevitably) begin to go wrong. Her curiosity forces us deeper into Cobb's own story (which he actually seems to give up a bit too willingly, one of the forgivable flaws in my opinion). As Ariadne wonders whether they're even safe on Cobb's journey, we simultaneously wonder where he's taking all of us.
Inception reminds us that when Christopher Nolan isn't making movies about the Batman, he likes to mess with our minds. In this film, he's mixed taut action sequences with unsubtle psychological gymnastics in an attempt to give us everything at once. It's an enjoyable effort, if a bit messy at times. But Mr. Nolan probably doesn't want us to come away with too neat a view of this world he has constructed; he's left us to fill some of it with the projections from our own dreams.
Sat, Jul 17, '10
Run Training That Worked For Me
I have recently had the good fortune to be able to increase my running distance far beyond what I thought I would ever be able to run. I thought this would be a good subject for a blog post for anyone who might be dealing with issues with their running or workouts.
I like running because it's a workout you can do almost anywhere. However, numerous foot problems have always prevented me from getting my routine running distance up to 3 miles, which is often considered "fitness" distance - a decent chunk of running you could do a few times a week as a fitness routine. Heel pain (plantar fasciitis) and later Achilles tendinitis limited my running, because I always felt the telltale signs creeping back when I increased my distance.
Finally, last semester I gave up entirely after trying a Couch to 5K training program on the iPod. My tummy doesn't tolerate NSAIDS (like ibuprofen) so when I felt the Achilles pain start, I figured I was done.
Base Workout
I dropped back to a base workout of alternating running and walking on the treadmill, using the pre-programmed workouts on the treadmill to burn some fat while I dieted. These workouts alternate running and walking, usually with an incline on the walking portion to keep your heart rate up. They keep you aerobic without killing your tendons and muscles.
Because I was limited in my distance, and because my doctor suggested it, I began exercising every day instead of every other day, in an effort to head off blood pressure problems (I had an elevated reading over the winter break).
Then I Ran Farther
Then something happened and I was able to run farther. I don't know exactly what it was, so I can't give you a single recommendation. Instead, I'm going to list these as guidelines for myself for what has made this year's run training so productive for me, and why I think I was able to increase my distance.
1. Maggie, Running Outside
First, I began to run with Maggie on her running days. Her schedule is 6-6-10. Twenty two miles over three days in a week. I couldn't do those distances, of course, so I would just run some distance out and then walk back. Sometimes, she'd catch back up to me and I'd run with her back home, making my workout a run-walk-run.
This helped my motivation. Running with someone else is motivating. Running outside is motivating, if you like outside. Also, somehow, running outside is easier than running on the treadmill. It is very difficult for me to run on the treadmill for longer distances. I do not know why.
I continued to work out every day, but I ran outside when Maggie ran.
2. Slow Down
Maggie has a slower pace than mine. I slowed down to match her pace. I think this was key to increasing my distance. I always wanted to run fast, but speed definitely stresses my legs. Slowing down allowed me to extend my workouts and avoid injury.
The slower you run, the more exercise you're getting per mile (mostly because it takes you longer). So, running slow is a good fitness choice. If you don't have a person to pace you just try to consciously slow down to the point where you're just barely running. (Some people call this jogging. I call it running slow.) You can always speed train later.
3. Ice and Heat/Ice
I began to ice my tendons every day. I keep two ice pads in the freezer. Any pain I had after a run I would ice. If I had no pain, I would ice the places where I usually had pain.
At night, I would use a heating pad on my habitual injury areas for 20 minutes and then ice them for 20 minutes. I am amazed at how this reduces soreness. And I have not injured myself during the time I have used this practice.
4. Slow Increases / Don't Run Through Pain
"Don't increase your weekly run mileage more than 10 percent" is an oft-repeated guideline. I kept this in mind as I slowly increased my peak-day mileage to approach Maggie's base-day mileage. But I also judged by how my tendons felt. Any indication of heel or tendon pain and I figured it was time to walk.
5. Protein / Calories / Water
At the time I began to increase my mileage, I stopped dieting as strictly as I had been. This was a welcome change! It means my weight loss has slowed way down (and even reversed on some weeks) but it takes calories to build muscle and repair damage, and it takes carb calories to efficiently burn fat during aerobic exercise. So, this gave me a (small) license to eat.
Immediately after a run, I would make sure to have some protein-rich food. Usually an egg substitute omelet. Sometimes yogurt.
I don't think it's good to cut your caloric intake way down when you're training, but if you have to, at least get decent amounts of protein.
Also, it's important to stay hydrated. I carry water with me when I run, by strapping a water bottle to my hand. Take a gulp of water every once in a while. Gulp it down to help your body get it out of your tummy faster, and get it t your muscles. I got that advice here, along with some other pre and post workout eating advice.
6. Get actual running shoes
Have your gait analyzed at a good runner's shoe store. This is something I did years ago, and it has helped with my crazy foot-planting.
7. Achilles tendon strap
I mention this last because I'm not sure it applies to anyone else, but it might apply to you if you have a history of Achilles tendinitis.
I was afraid enough of re-injuring my tendon that I began taping my foot before a workout to see if I could prevent heel and Achilles pain. Actually, I had slightly re-injured myself after my last attempt at Couch to 5K, and so I was taping in the hope that I could continue exercising without making my condition worse.
The tape seemed to help, but I hated having to constantly tape myself up. So, I bought an Achilles tendon support strap. This strap supports the tendon by applying gentle pressure with a soft, rubberized buttress. See this video to see someone applying the strap.
I have used this strap on almost every one of my runs. It seems to be making a difference in preventing the recurrence of my Achilles problems. I am not a doctor, and I did not begin using this strap on the advice of a doctor. But I think it has helped me avoid re-injuring my Achilles.
In Summary
I hope this has been helpful. My general advice to everyone is do some exercise you're comfortable with. Increase slowly. Don't get lured in by speed; running fast is not necessarily running well. The most important thing in your workout is to stay healthy. Try to listen to pain cues from your body. And try to work out every day to see the best results.
Mon, Jul 12, '10
Turkey Scallops
Earlier today on Facebook I mentioned that I was doing a foodsperiment by wrapping some of my scallops in bacon and some of my scallops in turkey bacon. The purpose of this exercise was to see whether an especially low fat turkey bacon would make a good wrap for scallops. Here I present the findings of my research.
First, I must apologize for not including a photo. As often happens, we were hungry and tucked into the scallops almost immediately. I like to take pix of my food, but did not have the energy to try to set up an attractive arrangement. Presentation is, admittedly, not my strong suit in cooking.
Why do this at all? Because scallops are a good and delicious source of protein, which I would like to get more of at meal time. Scallops taste great wrapped in bacon, and this method of preparation makes them both easier to keep on a skewer and allows them to cook more evenly. However, the fat in the bacon makes this a less attractive dish from a diet perspective. Turkey bacon is half the calories (this particular brand) and so I wanted to see what the difference was.
Back to the research. I had 2 lbs of dry boat-run sea scallops. I had a pound of Oscar Mayer bacon. and a pound of Oscar Mayer turkey bacon.
WRAPPING and SKEWERING
Wrapping the scallops was slightly easier with the turkey bacon. Every slice is the same, and it's less important where you skewer the bacon. However, real bacon is slightly stretchier, which gives the sense that you're making a tighter wrap. Still, the advantage here goes to turkey bacon.
On the grill, both kinds of bacon shrunk slightly, tending to hug the scallops, giving them more structural integrity and a better presentation. Regular bacon takes longer to cook, probably because of moisture content.
Regular bacon becomes slightly more solid, so it turns out that concerns over where you skewer the bacon (through a meaty part or a fatty part) are not too relevant.
One huge difference between the two is the amount of fat that drips on to the grill. Unfortunately, the real bacon renders a lot of fat which can catch fire in the grill. Large amounts of burning bacon fat can cause soot to deposit on the scallops. Greasy soot is an unpleasant grilling product; avoid the scallops from touching flames. This is much easier to do with the turkey bacon.
Advantage turkey bacon.
Turkey bacon cooks up somewhat similar to strips of bologna. This is actually better than it sounds. The finished color is reddish brown and each wrap came out a consistent width because of the similarity of the artificial bacon.
Real bacon is more variable, and presents a varied appearance in how it cooks. Where two scallops touch, the bacon stays soft, fatty, and pale. On the other hand, where the bacon is cooked on the external sides, it looks like scrumptious fried bacon.
This is a toss up.
The variability of real bacon, and the variability in how cooked it gets makes it difficult to compare texture. The real bacon will have very cooked spots and soft, fatty parts. Turkey bacon has a slightly rough, chewy mouthfeel.
However, the richness of the bacon fat fills your mouth with flavor. The advantage here is with the real bacon.
As you might imagine, turkey bacon cannot compete with true bacon in the flavor department. This comparison goes to real bacon.
The question here was not only to compare these two preparations, but to get a sense of how different they were, and whether turkey bacon could perform satisfactorily. I am interested in answering these questions:
- Does the turkey bacon prevent scallop shrinkage?
- Does the turkey bacon enhance the flavor of the scallop?
- Does the turkey bacon taste good?
- Does the turkey bacon introduce any unpleasant aspect that prevents enjoyment of the recipe?
And so:
- Turkey bacon does protect the scallop from shrinkage. They allow the scallops to cook and they help prevent overcooking by limiting the number of surfaces directly exposed to the drying effect of the drill's heat.
- Yes, turkey bacon imparts a meaty/salty/smoked flavor.
- Yes, though your opinion may vary.
- No, there was no unpleasantness introduced by the turkey bacon.
In addition, the lack of large quantities of rendered fat in the grill means it is easier to cook the turnkey bacon scallops.
I would use turkey bacon again and, considering caloric intake, will probably prefer to have turkey bacon wrapped scallops. It's bacon-wrapped scallops with slightly less guilt, but all the scallopy goodness you expect.
Sat, Jun 26, '10
The Rivet
Yesterday we had a "stats day" at the Center, which I sat in on partly as a review and partly to deepen my knowledge about the methods we use to find interactions among the variables in the the data we gather. Since I've spent a lot more time on qualitative methods in the last year than quantitative ones, it was nice to help keep me thinking about a variety of methods.
After that, Ryan twisted our arms for a well-needed visit to the Pour Farm (OK, not much of a twist was needed) where we ran into Ryan's friend Nick.
We also ran into a new cocktail. The liqueur in it got my attention when I saw Stephen examining the bottle. It's pictured to the right: a distinct bottle containing a concoction of citrus flavors and elderflower. I don't know what that means, but when they mix it with Hendricks Gin, it's awesome. I took a picture of the menu.
A "Rivet" is Hendricks gin, St-Germain, fresh lime juice, shaken and served like a martini. This drink was similar in flavor to a gin and tonic, but frankly more awesome. There was a good deal of sweetness to offset the sour of the lime, so I'm guessing that St-Germain is somewhat sweet on its own.
I am going to enjoy experimenting to get this recipe right, but it looks like a gimlet without the simple syrup. And, lo and behold, the St-Germain website lists a "French Gimlet" cocktail recipe which is 2 parts gin, 1 part St-Germain and 1/2 part fresh lime juice. I have a feeling someone thought "Rivet" sounded more manly. Let the fun begin!
Mon, Jun 14, '10
Pork and Voting
Later today, my town will have a special meeting to determine whether the people want to regionalize with Berkley and accept a bunch of help from the state to build a new, combined high school. I'm for the plan because our current high school building is falling apart and we're already effectively regionalized with Berkey, except that they have no say in how the school is run.
Also, nobody seems to have an alternate plan for the future of the high school that doesn't involve crossing our collective fingers and hoping that the state wasn't serious when it said that this was the only way they were going to provide money for a new school. Playing chicken with the state is not a plan. So.
On a more interesting and unrelated note: pulled pork! I don't have a smoker, so I have to settle for slow cooked pork. But, I assure you, I have now found the easiest and best slow cooker pulled pork.
Here's the simple recipe. Get some of the stuff pictured on the right: McCormick's Grill Mates Applewood Rub and rub it all over a 3-5 lb pork roast. Put it in a slow cooker. Add apple juice to roughly 2/3 the way up the side of the roast. Cook on low for 8-10 hours.
After the pork is cooked, remove it to a big glass bowl. Reserve some of the cooking broth. Pull out the bones from the meat and any hunks of fat you don't want to eat. Shred the pork and put it back in the slow cooker with a bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce. Add some of the reserved broth if the meat seems dry.
Serve it on buns, and you're done! I got the dry rub suggestion from the Al Dente blog here. Their version of the recipe suggests you bake it in the oven to finish. It does improve the flavor, but not necessarily enough for me to justify messing up another pan when I'm busy.
Needless to say, I have one of these cooking as I type this. The house is about to smell incredible.
Somersettians, see you at the special town meeting tonight. Whatever your political views, a sandwich is something everyone can agree on. (And we can argue endlessly over what type of sandwich, but at least that's fun.)
Mon, May 24, '10
LOST Ending
This post is light on the spoilers, but I open up the comments for FULL SPOILER ALERT if anyone wants to talk about the ending.
In short, I enjoyed it. They went for a (what I think was) fairly conventional heroic ending, explaining the gimmick of the season and focusing on resolution for the characters if not for the mysteries of the Island. In other words, they chose not to give us too much cheese to criticize, and hoped that the fans would come away thinking the writers had respected the characters.
Have at it, if you feel the urge.
Continue to read previous entries in the monthly archives:
Slow-Cooker Italian Shredded Beef
Dark Matter, More Ice Cream and Trivia
THE BLOG IS BACK (now with more ice cream)
Your Behavior and Your Data
SouthCoast Double Down
Don't Shoot Me, Captain!
RIP Robert Culp
Lobster Pie
Copyright © 1999-2007 James P. Burke. All Rights Reserved


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The Center for Fine Art Photography 2009 International Exhibition of Fine Art Photography
From the competition webpage:
All subjects are eligible.
The exhibition is open to photographers world wide, both amateur and professional. The Center for Fine Art Photography invites photographers working in all mediums, styles and schools of thought to participate in its exhibitions. Experimental and mixed techniques are welcome.
Juror: ANDY ADAMS, Editor/Publisher, FLAK PHOTO
"Andy Adams is the editor/publisher of Flak Photo (www.flakphoto.com), a contemporary photography website that celebrates the art of publishing photography online. Flak Photo provides unique opportunities for artists and photography organizations to share their work with a burgeoning online photographic community and highlights new series work, book projects and gallery exhibitions from established and emerging photographers. Recent features include 3030 Press' New Photography in China, Humble Arts Foundation's 31 Under 31: Young Women in Art Photography, Hamburger Eyes Photo Magazine's Inside Burgerworld, the Photographic Resource Center's EXPOSURE: The Annual PRC Juried Exhibition, Big City Press' Hijacked, Volume One: Australia & America, and David Wright + Ethan Jones' Pause to Begin."
Important Dates:
- Entries due: July 14, 2009
- Notice of acceptance: July 24
- Exhibition dates: October 2 – October 31
- Reception: October 2
Entry Fee:
- The entry fee for non-members is $35 USD for the first three images.
- The entry fee for members of The Center for Fine Art Photography is $20.00 USD for 3 images.
- Additional images may be submitted for $10 each.
There is no limit to the number of images that may be submitted.
Applicants signing up for membership at the time they submit their work for
jurying may become a member and meet the entry fee for a total of $77.00 USD.
Exhibition and Awards:
With selection for this exhibition, artists and their work will be seen by an international audience of collectors, curators, art consultants and others who appreciate the fine art of photography.
- Juror's Selection award: $300
- Director's Selection award: $200
- Gallery Visitor's Choice Award: $100
- Two Artists' ShowCase Online subscriptions for one year: (preview at www.artists-showcase.org)
- All exhibitors are included in the Center's online gallery
For the application form or to submit online click here.

subset: commoncrawl


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By CYRUS LEVESQUE
NEW HAVEN — Coming on the heels of what has been described as a "perfect storm" of problems for the Vermont's dairy industry, the $8.6 million emergency relief program announced at last Thursday's dairy summit drew praise from local farmers.
"It will encourage a lot of people to work for nothing if they have to, because they know they are supported," William Scott, a farmer from Vergennes said at a Farm Bureau meeting at Rep. Harvey Smith's house last Thursday. About a dozen Addison County farmers attended the monthly meeting and all agreed that just knowing the state government and state residents understood the depth of the crisis meant a lot to them.
Any help is appreciated, said Harvey Smith, president of the Addison County Farm Bureau, who hosted the meeting at his own farm. For most farmers, the aid will only amount to a few thousand dollars of direct aid to counteract an estimated average decline in farm income of $50,000 this year just due to the lower price of milk, plus an equally onerous hit caused by crop damage and higher fuel costs. "It isn't meant to replace the total amount of the loss," Smith said.
LEICESTER — Addison County Transit Resources (ACTR) will seek state funds to start a new Route 7 bus service that would operate between Middlebury and Rutland. Two communities that figure to be stops along the route — Leicester and Salisbury — are currently readying "park-and-ride" facilities for prospective users of the new service.
BRANDON — Bluegrass music, food, music workshops, a guitar raffle, dancing and field picking will all be going on July 6-9 at the 12th Annual Basin Bluegrass Festival in Brandon.
"Field picking,� says Dudley and Linda Berry, is "a unique component of the weekend� which involves the spontaneous playing of instruments with others festival-goers in the field.
The Berries, who together with Rhodes and Donna Wyman and their son and daughter-in-law Tracy and Harriet Wyman have been running the festival since its inception in 1994, said the festival's unique culture has attracted a loyal following for much of the past decade.
"People will start arriving on Sunday, July 2 at 8 in the morning (when the gates open) to pick their spot for the camper. We'll have somewhere around 600 to 650 campers at the festival that weekend,� Linda Berry said. "Some people come to pick their spot for the following weekend, pay and reserve it. Many others come for the entire week before the festival with their instruments and spend the weekend playing music with others in the field.�
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Our new Monitor Arm - Long Reach w/ Keyboard Holder MW-M23WBKN features built-in gas pneumatic spring design for easy and smooth movements, allowing instant floating of LCD monitor from position to position. This LCD wall mount provides maximum of 72" (182.5cm) straight extension. The articulating arm is a perfect solution if you need to float your LCD monitor around or above settings like workstation, manufacturing equipment, assembly line etc. The wall mount solution can be rotated 370° at arm, 370° at monitor end and 180° at the wall connection for optimal viewing angles. When not in use, the unit can be folded up and out of the way, an excellent space-saving feature for any room. Handle design facilitates easy operation and movement. This simple and contemporary looking durable arm is made of aluminum alloy with plastic cover outside. It's ergonomic, space saving attributes and contemporary look make the LCD wall mount a practical choice in businesses, office, doctors' office, clinics, dental operatories, hospitals and factories. Please note that monitor is not included.
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(Release: July 2, 2012) - Students in Phi Theta Kappa (PTK), the national honor society at Hagerstown Community College, recently participated in the Middle States Region Officers' Academy and Honors Institute.
This year's institute was held at Kings College in Wilkes Barre, Pa. The purpose of the institute was to assist student officers in planning activities that encompass specific PTK initiatives. Student officers who attended the event included Allen Calvert, of Rohrersville; Heather Geary and Rick Howe, both of Boonsboro; Andrea Theodoru, of Smithsburg; Leann Tomlin, of Hagerstown; and Allie Villatoro, of Myersville.
In addition, Howe, the current president of PTK, was elected as the Maryland State President of the Middle States Region. He is the first regional student representative to be selected from HCC.
The Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society is the largest honor society in American higher education with 1,270 chapters on college campuses across the United States and in various other countries around the world. More than 2.5 million students have been inducted since its founding in 1918, with approximately 125,000 students inducted annually. To learn more about Phi Theta Kappa, go to www.ptk.org.
Photo Caption
Back row, from left: PTK student officer Allen Calvert; PTK co-advisor Sherry Donovan; and PTK student officers Heather Geary and Rick Howe.
Front row, from left: PTK student officers Leann Tomlin, Allie Villatoro, and Andrea Theodoru.


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Explainer: The craziest new pet products
The Global Pet Expo is a showcase for the latest breakthroughs in pet health — and also a stage for the whimsical and wacky. In a purr-pet-ual quest to set trends for our furry friends, vendors presented more than 3,000 new products in Orlando, Florida, last week at America's largest pet industry showcase.
Diva dog
Starstruck pet parents can turn their pooches into clones of "California Gurl" Katie Perry. A canine outfit complete with cupcake bra, blue wig and sunglasses is just one celebrity look that Animal Planet will be releasing shortly in its first clothing line for pets; other options include Jurassic-age monsters like the stegosaurus and the raptor. AnimalPlanet.com
Pooch pop
Doggie treats
Security blanket
Fishing for talent
Desktop pets made an appearance at the Pet Expo. The Betta Box plugs into a computer via a USB cable to provide betta fish, hermit crabs and lizards with mood lighting options such as sunlight yellow and moonlight blue. aa-aquarium.com
Jeweled jelly tones
Flown the coop
Backyard chicken products popped up all over Global Pet Expo, from state-of-the-art chicken coops to hen aprons, devices worn by hens to protect them from being attacked by roosters during mating. The poultry clothing comes in a variety of fabrics, from camouflage to pink. Then there's the Birdy Bra: a supportive chest protector for birds suffering from crop stasis, a condition which causes the crop to droop — rather like pendulous breasts on women. It's available in sizes from A to double DD. crazykfarm.com.
Pooper scooper
Love your pets, but hate their shedding hair? The Zoinks is an upright vacuum loaded with tools, including a de-shedding blade that fits onto the suction hose so that it captures flying fur directly into the machine while you groom. Bissell.com
No need to flee from fleas anymore: The FleaVac is a suction tool with a patented nozzle that fits on to most standard vacuum cleaners and is designed to suction fleas and dirt directly out of the fur of cats and dogs. FleaVac.com
Once you pooch has painted his work of art, you can hang it inside The Lodge, a dog's ultimate home away from home that you can set up in the backyard. It has a balcony that can be customized with a pet drinking fountain, and a spacious interior that can be fitted with a flat-screen TV so that your pet can watch his favorite Animal Planet shows in the comfort of his own, er, dog cave. advantagemarketing.com
Keeping track
© 2013 NBCNews.com Reprints


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National Society Children of the American Revolution
National Society Children of the American Revolution
C.A.R., the nation's oldest, largest, patriotic youth organization, offers membership to anyone under the age of 21, lineally descended from someone who rendered material aid to the cause of American Independence as a soldier, sailor, civil officer, or recognized patriot in one of the several Colonies or States, or of the United States. C.A.R. activities focus on patriotism, service, and education about our American heritage.
Harriett Lothrop, a prominent citizen and 19th century children's author of Concord, MA, presented the idea for a children's organization to the Daughters of the American Revolution Continental Congress in 1895; it was then chartered by the United States Congress. Organized "for the training of young people in true patriotism and love of country," C.A.R. has promoted this vision to hundreds of thousands of members. These boys and girls are the leaders of yesterday, today and tomorrow, now in a second century of keeping patriotism alive.
'Good citizens cannot be made suddenly. They must grow...' Harriett Lothrop
Website at http://www.nscar.org/index.htm


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Printed silk and lace top by ginger & smart. - monochromatic print - french lace mesh shoulders - relaxed fit - 100% silk/french lace - dry clean only free shipping on all australian orders over aud$70+ returns are easy. Click here for more info.


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Serious Health Concerns for Arash Sadeghi after a 42 day Hunger Strike!published on Tuesday, December 06, 2016
Arash Sadeghi and his wife Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee must be freed immediately and unconditionally!
Arash Sadeghi is an Iranian human rights activist who is currently serving a 15 year prison sentence on trumped up charges of "spreading propaganda against the system" and "insulting the founder of the Islamic Republic." In reality Arash is a human rights activist who has been arrested, tortured and imprisoned for his peaceful human rights activities.
Aras Sadeghi's wife Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee is also a political prisoner who is serving a six year prison sentence at the notorious Evin prison for "insulting Islamic sanctities". Golrokh is a peaceful activist and a writer, and the true reason for her imprisonment is an unpublished story she wrote about stoning in Iran.
42 days ago Arash Sadeghi went on a hunger strike in protest to the arrest and imprisonment of his wife. There are some unconfirmed reports that Arash was able to hear Golrokh being tortured in a cell nearby. According to reports coming in from activists in Iran Arash's health is deteriorating at an alarming rate, and prison officials have had no choice but to transfer him to a hospital outside of the prison.
It is sad and disappointing to see this young and brave couple be sentenced to a combined 21 years of prison in the brutal Evin prison, for their peaceful human rights activities, while the Canadian Liberal Government turns a blind eye to this atrocity and considers re-establishing its political ties with the Islamic Regime in Iran.
Arash Sadeghi, Golrokh Ebrahimi and all other political prisoners in Iran must be released IMMEDIATELY and UNCONDITIONALLY. Canada must start to hold the Islamic Regime in Iran accountable for the violent human rights abuses it carries out on a systematic basis.
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Saturday, October 23, 2010
Getting Started with Writing Mathematics in LaTeX
LaTeX and mathematics go well together. At the risk of preaching to the converted, this post sets out (a) reasons to learn to write mathematics in LaTeX, (b) a few free internet guides on learning to write mathematics in LaTeX, (c) several internet resources which can facilitate writing mathematics in LaTeX.
By jeromyanglim on Saturday, October 23, 2010 Labels: LaTeX, mathematics 0 comments
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|MS Word (586 KB) | PDF (806 KB)
Teacher Liability Protection (II-C-5)
The Paul D. Coverdell Teacher Protection Act of 2001 limits the financial liability of teachers, principals, and other school professionals for harm they may cause when acting on behalf of the school in disciplining students or maintaining classroom order.A recent survey of school principals found that 65 percent of respondents had modified or, in some cases, eliminated certain school activities due to liability concerns, and a survey of teachers found that liability was among respondents' top three concerns. The new provision will encourage school staff to maintain school discipline and order by removing the fear of being sued for their actions.
How It Works
This provision protects educators from liability for harm they may cause while disciplining students, and limits the awarding of punitive damages against them, as long as they are acting within the scope of their employment and in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws, including civil rights laws. There are a number of exceptions, including violent crimes, sexual offenses, and actions committed under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The law also states that this provision has no effect on any state or local laws, rules, regulations, or policies about the use of corporal punishment. The provision applies to teachers, principals, administrators, school board members, educational professionals working in a school, any school employee whose job is to maintain discipline and ensure safety, and any school employee who is acting in an emergency to maintain discipline and ensure safety.


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Accessible MicropatronageNovember 09, 2006
Something I've always appreciated about Joe Clark is that, within the group of those dedicated to accessibility on the web, he's one of a very select subset that places equal importance on the design of a site. You've likely heard of his adamant stance against WCAG 2 (for reasons that boil down to plain common sense in a lot of cases), and his follow-up project WCAG Samurai.
Now he's decided to place your money where his mouth is. In an ambitious effort to improve the world of accessibility, he has launched The Open & Closed Project, an initiative to write a set of standards for the four fields of accessible media — captioning, audio description, subtitling, and dubbing. The project will develop those standards through research and evidence-gathering, and where research or evidence is missing on a certain topic, they will carry it out themselves.
That's the executive summary, there's a lot more detail on-site, and a short-term pledge drive to kick it off. I'll leave the further explanation to Joe, but if you're interested in supporting this project, it's well worth a look, and perhaps kicking in the price of your morning coffee one day this week.


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Plant breeders are always working to improve plants, offering more desirable characteristics.
It is exciting to find new plants that are not too big, nor too tall, nor prone to many diseases. Plant breeders around the world are working to select plants with desirable characteristics. Choosing carefully can benefit everyone.
Breeders select plant material with improved pest and disease resistance. This can limit the cost of pesticides as well as application time and reduce the impact on the environment. For example, crape myrtles are bred for mildew resistance so fewer fungicides are needed to control the disease.
Plants have other undesirable traits that breeders are working to reduce or eliminate. How about thorn-less stems or no more unwanted seedlings or limiting messy fruit and pollen production?
Multi-season interest is a sought after characteristic in many plants. Plant breeding and selection allows new additions, such as fall colors, new flower colors, winter fruit, attractive bark and stem colors to a plant�s palette. Uniformity of plant characteristics is also a selection many gardeners desire to yield a neat and tidy landscape.
Our grandparents were not concerned about the same space constraints we find in our more heavily populated environments. Home properties are smaller now and the cost of yard maintenance is higher. Many older varieties grow quite large, but new varieties are available with more compact forms. Carefully choosing plant materials that mature to moderate sizes saves valuable resources.
Our environmental conditions are changing and it is more difficult to grow plants. Resistance to a tough environment is needed in modern plant materials. Breeders choose trees with branch angles that resist splitting, and stronger root systems that hold during strong winds. These weather tough plants can save dollars in insurance costs, tree removal and can even save lives.
Plant breeders are also including multiple needs in producing individual plants. How about one plant that can provide food and shelter for wildlife, serve as a wind break, control soil erosion and have ornamental value? Work with magnolias has resulted in trees that are substantially smaller, have increased flowering and have the attractive dark color to the underside of the leaves. Plant selection can help with utilizing our more limited outdoor space.
Take the time to research and locate new plant cultivars that meet your needs. Investing time and money into new cultivars can result in savings in the near future as well as in the long term.
Peg Godwin is horticulture agent, Lenoir County Cooperative Extension Center. Reach her at email@example.com or 252-527-2191.


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Most of my photography captures the innocence of the land given to us by Mother Nature and the peacefulness and serenity that it brings me. May my photos bring the nirvana to your eyes and soul too. Best wishes, Debbie May, Being raised on the Delaware Bay,South Jersey Side, I was privvy to so many seashore and seascapes along with many landscapes untouched by modernization. Which is probably what lured me to Steinhatchee, Florida, (where it is like stepping back in time 30 years). GO TO: WWW.Steinhatchee.info for...
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Sorry there are no upcoming events.
Sorry there are no upcoming events.
The VSBC representative that was handling our matter was exceptional.
The VSBC representative that was handling our matter was exceptional. His role in the matter has now saved not only my client significant further time and expense in pursuing the matter through the courts but the amount of money he saved the respondent was significant. I have used the VSBC before and have only a higher opinion of the purpose they serve after this process. Thank you
May 2015
I want to thank you personally…
I want to thank you personally for your very competent and professional assistance and guidance in the above matter. The mediator conducted the matter extremely well and the resolution was amicable. It is an impressive example of a government body utilising the services of good people to deliver a very valuable service at an affordable price.
Thank you so much
Director, Retail Business
March 2015
Without your help…
Parties have signed a Deed of Release yesterday. We have instruction to notify you that our client would like to withdraw their application. We appreciate your assistance in this matter. Without your help, the disputes between parties could not be resolved expeditiously.
April 2014
I felt that I was listened to, treated with respect and genuine concern for the circumstances I had found myself in.
From my first phone call to your office until the last communication, I felt that I was listened to, treated with respect and genuine concern for the circumstances I had found myself in.
All communication was prompt and unbiased whilst advising me of my options and rights under the legislation that applied.
To obtain a positive result was a testament to the concept of not caving in and believing in the principle at stake.
You and your office supported me wholeheartedly in this endeavour and again I thank you for your perseverance and professionalism in a tricky case.
Sally Court
Gippsland Art Supplies
October 2013
Thank you for the wonderful way you conducted our mediation.
Thank you for the wonderful way you conducted our mediation. It was a pleasure meeting you.
You conduct your work in a very special and efficient manner. At the same time your energies calm the situation so that a resolution can be reached.
You explain things in a very soft and polite way, which allows both parties to negotiate a quick resolution. You have faith in people and that goes a long way in helping them get through the hard times they are facing
Thank you once again. It was lovely meeting you and l hope to see you again sometime.
A.F. October 2013
A very big, big thank you for all your help and patience.
We reached an agreement at mediation yesterday and I am pleased to announce that we are leaving here on the 30th September.
[The Mediator] was amazing and the whole situation was handled very professionally.
Thanks again for all your help and support during this whole ordeal and I believe you had a lot to do with this fantastic outcome!
July 2013
Thanks for your role in assisting us to reach a resolution.
[We] wished to pass on to you our thanks for your role in assisting us to reach a resolution to the dispute with (the landlord). This has not been an easy experience so I am very grateful for your involvement and all the work you did, to uncover the issues.
July 2012
You made it a less scary experience for us.
I will have the papers signed and returned to my solicitor early this week to have this Terms of Settlement completed. I just wanted to say thank you for being the mediator. On the day, between us and the bank, you made it a less scary experience for us. Thank you once again.
May 2012
…quick feedback on the mediation yesterday…
(Some) quick feedback on the mediation yesterday. I cannot praise the method enough. My clients were delighted with the process and outcome and the excellent work by (the mediator) was very impressive. This was an issue that has festered for 2 years and was almost certainly headed for court and probably bankruptcy but now all the parties are satisfied. (The other party had not experienced the process and actually said to me privately that they really liked the experience).
Rural Financial Counsellor
February 2012.
Just a short note to thank you…
Just a short note to thank you for the process of mediation that you presided over between myself and (the other party). The outcome was not one that I thought would have been possible, or for that matter, even considered. The process has given me closure, and satisfaction, and I would consider it to be a win win situation.
Straight shooting, straight talking, firm and fair would be my description of the procedure. Thank you once again.
October 2011


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By Lucy Jordan, Senior Contributing Reporter
BRASÍLIA, BRAZIL – Brazil is the world's second largest consumer of cocaine and crack, behind only the United States, and accounting for twenty percent of the worldwide market for cocaine and its derivatives, according to study released Wednesday.
Altogether, more than six million Brazilians have tried cocaine or its derivatives at any point during their life, research by the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisa de Políticas Públicas do Álcool e Outras Drogas (National Institute for Public Policy Research on Alcohol and Other Drugs, INPAD) at the Federal University of São Paulo showed.
Of this group, two million have at some point used crack, oxi or merla – two other highly destructive derivatives of cocaine, usually cut with gasoline or other household solvents – while one million had used at least one of these three drugs during the past year.
The research also showed that in the past twelve months to between January and March 2012, which is when the interviews took place, 2.6 million adults and 244,000 young Brazilians consumed cocaine in some form.
Of these, 78 percent sniffed powdered cocaine, five percent smoked derivatives, and seventeen percent used the drug in both these ways. Some 27 percent of these used daily or more than twice a week and fourteen percent said that at some point they had used the drug intravenously.
The research offers a striking insight into the evolution of Brazil's role in the worldwide drug trade. While historically, the country has been used as a transit route for drugs traveling from Colombia, Bolivia and Peru to the U.S. or Europe, today, Brazil is often the final destination. Up to sixty percent of the drugs produced in Bolivia today ends up in Brazil, the survey shows.
Researchers, led by psychiatrist Ronaldo Laranjeira, told Globo that although it is impossible to say for sure, as other international drug-use rankings usually combine information on crack and cocaine, they believe that Brazil is the largest consumer of crack in the world today.
"No other country has one million crack users today," Laranjeira told Globo. According to his data, one in every hundred adults Brazilians smoked crack in the past year.
Read more (in Portuguese).
* The Rio Times Daily Update is a new feature we are offering to help keep you up-to-date with major news as it happens.


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Holiday traditions range from silly to sublime. Mine is moving. Furniture. Table from upstairs down, couch from here to there. The heavier the better.
Some children come home to find the house done up in twinkle and tinsel. Mine find the house in disarray.
It's holiday decorating, with more focus on decor, less on decorum. It fills the need for novel. What could be more novel than a massive cherry dining table, smack where bare floor used to idle? It surprises everyone.
Including the dog, who tends to develop a holiday concussion. After a while we switch to celebrating. And that's when decorating know-how really comes in handy.
Consider the ordinary glass of Champagne: fizzy, festive, fun. With a little muscle, it can be tinted tart, surprised with orange and decorated with single-cranberry restraint.
The resulting pink drink is delightful, delicious and dressed to the teeth. Though Champagne, like my house, may be best left unadorned.
Pink drink
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Makes: 1 1/2 cups syrup, enough for 12 cocktails
1 cup cranberries (fresh or frozen), plus 12
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
Zest of 1 orange
Triple sec (or sub fresh orange juice)
Champagne or sparkling wine (or sub ginger ale)
In a saucepan, heat 1 cup cranberries, the water, sugar and zest to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until cranberries pop and syrup turns pink, about 10 minutes.
Set a fine-mesh strainer over a wide glass measuring cup. Pour cranberry mixture through, pressing with a rubber spatula. Discard cooked cranberries and zest. Cool syrup. Pour into a 1-pint glass jar (isn't that pretty?), cover and chill.
For each cocktail, pour 1 tablespoon triple sec into a Champagne flute. Add 2 tablespoons pink syrup. Fill with Champagne. Drop in 1 cranberry, for decorative effect. Enjoy.
Leah Eskin is a Tribune Newspapers special contributor. Email her at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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IBM z/OS Communications Server details
What's new in z/OS V2R3 Communications Server
In V2R3, z/OS® enhances security and data protection by introducing z/OS Encryption Readiness Technology and updating AT-TLS to support features provided by System SSL. V2R3 also provides improved simplification and usability via new Configuration Assistant features.
Shared Memory Communications - Direct Memory Access (SMC-D)
IBM® z/OS V2R3 offers new support for fast low-latency TCP/IP traffic between LPARs within a CPC using the Shared Memory Communications – Direct Memory Access (SMC-D) software protocol over firmware-provided Internal Shared Memory (ISM) devices. SMC-D is expected to offer substantial performance, throughput, response time and CPU consumption benefits versus standard TCP/IP communications over HiperSockets™. This support is available on z/OS V2R2 via APARs OA48411 and PI45028.
Improved scalability with z/OS V2R2 Communications Server
z/OS V2R2 provides improved scalabilty by enabling the TCP/IP stack and its strategic device drivers to utilize 64-bit storage. V2R2 also provides improved scalabilty for Enterprise Extender and the Internet Key Exchange daemon (IKED), and raises the limit for the number of application-instance dynamic virtual IP addresses (DVIPAs) for a single TCP/IP stack from 1024 to 4096. Read more about the features in z/OS V2R2 Communications Server in the linked blog entry below.
z/OS Encryption Readiness Technology (zERT)
In z/OS V2R3, Communications Server provides encryption-readiness technology for z/OS administrators to determine which TCP and Enterprise Extender traffic patterns to and from their z/OS systems meet approved encryption criteria and which do not. In December 2018, IBM zERT Network Analyzer, a new web-based interface, is made available to help you determine which z/OS TCP and Enterprise Extender traffic is or isn't protected according to specific query criteria.
IBM Configuration Assistant for z/OS Communications Server
The Configuration Assistant for z/OS Communications Server, an optional GUI-based tool, provides a guided interface to help you create and manage TCP/IP profiles, and simplify configuration of TCP/IP policy-based networking functions.
Network Mgmt. for IBM Cloud Provisioning and Mgmt. for z/OS
IBM Configuration Assistant for z/OS Communications Server plays a key role for the network administrator as part of the IBM Cloud Provisioning and Management for z/OS solution.
Technical details
Software requirements
Software requirements and specifications can be found in the following link.
Hardware requirements
Hardware requirements and specifications can be found in the following link.
You may also be interested in
IBM z14
IBM mainframe servers to secure the cloudLearn more
IBM z13
Compete with a higher performing and more secure enterprise serverLearn more


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The Fictional 99%: 10 of Pop Culture's Poorest Characters
Earlier this week, Forbes released its annual list of the 15 richest fictional characters, topped by Tolkien's legendary dragon Smaug and featuring other one percenters like Tywin Lannister, Tony Stark and Robert Crawley. Well, that's all very well and good, but the list got us to thinking about the other end of the stick — the poorest fictional characters across pop culture, from street urchins to hobos to a very special monster who lives in a trash can. Click through to check out our list, and since we obviously couldn't hit them all, let us know if we've missed your favorite impoverished fictional figure in the comments.
Oliver Twist
Probably the most iconic poverty-stricken character of all time — courtesy Charles Dickens, of course — who uttered those famous and simple lines: "Please, sir, I want some more."


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- Why Colby?
- Request Information
- College Profile
- Scholars Programs
- Student Perspectives
- Alumni Success
- For Counselors
- Contact Admissions
Alumni Profiles
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Profiles 1-10 of 22
In Copenhagen, Tiffany Ng '08 has created a gastronomic niche that is part food, part fashion, part musical theater. Read more »
Occupation: Business, Education, Medical + Health, Nonprofit
Major: Religious Studies
Awn Be Se means "we can" in Bambara, the local language in Bamako, Mali, and a $10,000 Projects for Peace award allowed this alumna to build girls' aspirations, business skills, and self images in this African capital. Read more »
Major: Chemistry
Doyle and his team at Desktop Genetics Ltd. have developed a bioinformatics management system, AutoClone, to revolutionize the way genetic engineers work in laboratories around the world. Read more »
Major: International Studies
After more than 10 years of bartending, Volk opened his own cocktail bar, Hunt & Alpine Club, in Portland, Maine. The bar specializes in craft cocktails. Read more »
Occupation: Business, Education, Recreation
With Walking Feet Travel, Gabriel Duncan '02 turned his globetrotting lifestyle into a business and a life. Read more »
Majors: International Studies, German
With a new ticket sales model, Reece and his website, liftopia.com, bring ski resorts and skiers online. Read more »
Major: English-Creative Writing
Understanding firsthand the power of word-of-mouth recommendations, Downey launched weeSpring, a website where new parents can browse, review, and recommend baby products. Read more »
Major: Economics
Working with a California mill to create a fabric from recycled beechwood fiber, Natenshon launched Marine Layer, a San Francisco-based clothing company that specializes in softer-than-cotton T-shirts. Read more »
Major: Economics-Mathematics
This manager of a $3-billion global growth fund says he sees a common thread among Colby graduates in a wide array of careers: "The vast majority of them are having a heck of a lot of fun at whatever it is they do." Read more »
Major: English-Creative Writing
MacLeay and her husband turned their love for the outdoors into a livelihood when they launched Trailspace, an online forum to discuss the latest outdoor gear. Read more »
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Has anybody yet done any serious programming in Clojure? I have read the docs and there are a lot of interesting ideas there. I'm excited that somebody had the stones to actually create another Lisp-based language and put it forth for general usage. I haven't tried to actually use it for anything interesting, though.
Also, how do people feel about it being hosted in the JVM? This was cited in some of the descriptions of Clojure as an advantage. Personally, I'm not sure that's the case, but I can see that the ability to snarf a bunch of Java libraries instantly would greatly help productivity when using a new language. I'm not against VMs in general, just that the JVM was written to specifically run Java and I have heard a lot of stories of people trying to port Lisp/Scheme to it and being frustrated because it wasn't very suited to doing anything but run Java.
Anyway, it would be interesting to hear people's experiences with really using it.


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Business Briefs for Dec. 1 through Dec. 7
'Repeal Day' at High West
The High West Distillery and Saloon will celebrate two occasions Saturday, Dec. 1, its third anniversary and National Repeal Day, the day marking the end of Prohibition in 1933. High West will celebrate with live music, the debut of a new winter menu and the release of an experimental batch of Campfire Whiskey, according to a press release. The party is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. and those interested in attending are asked to dress up in a Prohibition Era outfit. One Ton Pig, a Jackson Hole band, will be taking the stage to perform its "down-and-dirty, outlaw-country-bluegrass," the release continued. Tickets cost $35 in advance or $40 at the door. To purchase tickets, visit http://www.2012HighWestRepealDay.EventBrite.com.
PCARA Meeting
The Park City Area Restaurant Association is scheduled to meet Thursday, Dec. 6 at 9 a.m. in the Wasatch Brew Pub located at 250 Main Street. Members and those interested in joining the organization are invited to attend. If those interested in attending have a topic or guest they would like added to a future meeting schedule, email firstname.lastname@example.com. For more information about the association, visit http://www.parkcityrestaurants.com.
PCTIC Winter Social The Park City Traders and Investors Club is scheduled to host its Third Annual Winter Social Wednesday, Dec. 12 from 5 to 7 p.m. The event will be held at the High West Distillery and Saloon and is open to anyone interested in attending. Attendees are asked to RSVP with Brian Kahn at firstname.lastname@example.com.
County loses employees with half-century of experience, ties to East Side
Anita Lewis, Brent Ovard and Travis English were influential in shaping how residents interact with the county.


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Acoustic Printer Hood - 740 x 660 x 465
- Manufacturer: Atep Gates
- Product Code: 10.105
- Availability: Call for Lead Time
Call for price
Internal Dimensions: 740 x 660 x 465 mm
External Dimensions: 840 x 790 x 530 mm
This noise reducing enclosure absorbs up to 90% of printer sound
the walls are made of 20mm density board with scratch resistant melamine
Colour: light gray ( RAL 7035 )
Lined with 25 mm polyether foam with a high absorption capacity
Noise attenuation 20 dB ( a) at 2500 Hz
Features a silent blowing fan
An adjustable paper guide paper leads smoothly from the printer
Base plate with paper slots for paper feed
Tinted acrylic cover with supporting frame and gas springs
Illuminated switch and CEE plug connection on the side
Printer cable entry at the rear
A pre-assembled stand is also available, complete with locking castors and paper shelves with feed path.
Please call us to order this product with a stand.
|Acoustic Printer Hoods
|Internal Width
|Internal Depth
|Internal Height
|External Width
|External Depth
|External Height
Reviews (0)
Product Codes 10.105, 10.105 + 10.380


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Students will easily have access to Mindomo's premium features while working on the mind map assignments the teacher shared with them.
Teachers create mind map assignments to encourage students to work individually or in groups on mind maps about the subjects they are learning. Once students start the assignment, their maps are automatically shared with the teacher.
Teachers can use each assignment's clear overview to see how students progress, and to engage in individual discussions to see if they encountered any difficulties or they need guidance.
For the collaborative mind map assignments, use the Playback feature to see how each student contributed to the assignment completion and grade its performance.
Log into Mindomo and check out your Getting Started Guide (1) to see how you can use Mindomo with your students in the most efficient way.
After you update the mind map assignment, follow these steps:
Join the assignment with his existing account or create a new one (6).
The student will be joining the assignment with the email and password of its current Mindomo account. If the student doesn't have an account yet, it can provide an email and set a password. A new account will be created and the student will be able to work on this assignment and other mind maps too.
Join the assignment with a temporary account (7).
The student will get exclusive access to this assignment by providing the first and last names and a password. At the first access, the student will be able to fill in its full name and set a password. Anytime the student will want to return to the assignment, he will have to go to mindomo.com/join, use the assignment access code, and fill in the name and password initially set. If the student forgets the password, the teacher can reset it.
An assignment can be accessed with a code also by going to the Sign Up page, clicking on Teachers & Students, then choosing 'Join an assignment with an access code' (9).
If a student forgets his password, you can set a new one by going to 'Share', 'Add from class or school' (6), select 'Accounts created by me' (7), select the account from the list (8), then 'Set Password' (9).
To quickly share an assignment with students you are in contact with:
Students will receive an e-mail notification, except for the ones that have accounts with no e-mail registration.
To share your assignment with students from your Google classes:
Students will receive email invitations on their Google accounts. If they don't have Mindomo accounts, they will have to sign up. Also, if they already have Mindomo accounts, accessing the invitation link will give them direct access to the assignment.
After the first group is created, when the other students will click on "Start Assignment", the Groups panel will appear, where each student will have two options:
Let's say you choose the 4-student group option. When a student clicks on "Start Assignment" and the Groups panel appears, if a group already has 4 students, then:
This will give you a clear overview of the map's history (11), but you can also filter the changes you want to see (12).


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kaiat wrote:We have J1772-cars or Type 1 in Europe and Leaf is one of them. As cwerdna says, you simply get a cable with a Type 2 Mennekes in one end for the charging point and J1772 Type 1 in the other end for the car. No problem at all.
jube wrote:Had to change tires (they required tires capable of 210km/h which the US car did not have).
jube wrote:I shipped a brand new car over. It did not come with the high speed tires.


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Gardening therapy proves a tonic for residents
The two acres of wooded grounds in which Fernhill House is set not only provide a secluded calm environment in which to live – they also offer ample opportunity for relaxation, hobbies and propagating delicious home grown vegetables.
Award winning chef Chris Williams, an erstwhile Masterchef contestant who has worked with Marco Pierre White and Heston Blumenthal, is the driving force behind Fernhill's kitchen garden.
An immense fan of organic food – indeed he used to run an organic café staffed by people with autism and learning difficulties – he uses the fruits (and vegetables) of his labour in his mouth-watering recipes at every opportunity.
And residents are invited to join him at planting, watering, harvesting, cooking and, of course, eating time. The secure sensory garden – whose tranquillity and beauty was admired by the public at large during a recent Open Gardens event – provides a haven for all residents who are encouraged to indulge in their hobby if they have green-fingered leanings.
And when the weather is more traditionally British there is also an indoor potting shed near a very realistic indoor faux lawn and just next door to a 'real' pub and vintage style shop!
Maintenance manager David Smith runs ad hoc, weather dependent, gardening sessions, with activities run by other staff if residents have a sudden urge to plunge their hands into a flowerpot, as happened when Margaret Archer joined nurse Caroline Blackmore for a spot of potting up in the sensory garden recently.
Fernhill House manager Peta Mandleberg, a registered nurse who has worked in the care sector for many years, explained: "We have an ethos of fun here at Fernhill House. We want to ensure all our residents live their lives to the full and provide a wide, and often quite unexpected, range of activities, many of which are not standard care home fare. Gardening is obviously a well known and loved retirement activity – but we also have events such as cocktail gatherings, gym sessions and regular concerts."


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You can probably guess a few of these facts—like the ones referencing how successful the company is—but there ought to be a few you didn't know.
I certainly didn't know that the studio has a cottage for their employees to work out of that's modeled after a pink unicorn theme, but, hey! Thanks to Buzzfeed, I now know that, too.
To contact the author of this post, write to firstname.lastname@example.com or find her on Twitter at @tinaamini.


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Starburst Galaxy
An infrared image of the nearby starburst galaxy NGC 1569. Starburst galaxies undergo periods of intense star formation. The starburst activity in NGC 1569 is concentrated into three giant regions which are clearly visible as three red knots in the false color image.
These same starburst regions likely contain the massive X-ray binary stars which may be responsible for part of the mysterious X-ray background that permeates the universe.
This image was obtained with the Kitt Peak National Observatory 1.3 meter telescope, in Arizona. The infrared digital camera, developed at NOAO, sees Infrared light at a wavelength of 1.6 microns.
This Image was presented to the meeting of the American Astronomical Society In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on January 15, 1991.
Credit: Antonelia Fruscione, Richard Grifliths and John MacKenty (STScI)


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The 2012 edition of La Flèche Wallonne should be a cracker with no clear favourite for Wednesday's race. The infamous Mur de Huy will undoubtedly create carnage for some tired legs after the hilly parcours and whoever wins will have to time their move perfectly.
The team at Cyclingnews has put together a gallery of some of the great images of the past 16 years. It gives some perspective to the history of the race - and to the legends who have made the race great in the past.
There were animators like Michele Bartoli, who despite only winning the race once in 1999, could always be counted on to make the racing exciting.
There's plenty more in there so have a look, and enjoy all of Cyclingnews coverage of La Flèche Wallonne by clicking here.


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This dialog in my Facebook feed options seemed interesting:
Notice how it asks me how many friends I want my Live Feed from. It seems the default is 250 friends. What this means is that when you click "Recent Posts", you're getting recent posts from only your top 250 friends; all other friends are being ignored.
Obviously this is a problem only if you have more than 250 friends. I've heard the average is 150, but I'm sure there are a lot of people who are affected by this. This option caught my eye for two reasons:
From a technical perspective, news feeds are massive publish-subscribe systems. You subscribe to your friends' posts, which when posted, are published to your feed. The 250 friend limit sets up a convenient soft limit for the system, reducing the stress on Facebook's servers. Twitter doesn't have such limits, and I can imagine this is one reason why its servers get overloaded. It's a smart design from this perspective, but I wish Facebook was more transparent about the limit!
From a social perspective, I think this is a very primitive way to throttle friends. My understanding of the Feed was that my "Top Posts" ranked recent posts so that I had a high-level view of my feed, and "Recent Posts" gave me access to everything. It seems this belief is incorrect. When I increased this number to 1000(i.e. include ALL my friends), I suddenly started seeing updates from many friends I had totally forgotten about / lost touch with. Since I don't see updates from them, I don't interact with them on Facebook, leading to a self-reinforcing "poor get poorer" effect. I am assuming there's some "Friendness" ranking going on here. This way, friends in my bottom 50 will never make it to my top 250 friends on Facebook. The use of a self-reinforcing ranking function is risky; especially when the stability of the ranking depends on human input. I wonder if the Feed team has done anything smart to introduce "compensators" based on interactions with bottom 50-friends, similar to the random reset in PageRank. The issue here is that unlike hyperlink edges, we're dealing with a vocabulary of "Likes" and other social cues which are not well understood. It seems like this can be an excellent subject for a machine learning / information retrieval paper or two.
update: Horseman of the Interwebs Hung Truong points out Dunbar's Number:
Dunbar's number is a theoretical cognitive limit to the number of people with whom one can maintain stable social relationships. These are relationships in which an individual knows who each person is, and how each person relates to every other person. Proponents assert that numbers larger than this generally require more restrictive rules, laws, and enforced norms to maintain a stable, cohesive group. No precise value has been proposed for Dunbar's number. It lies between 100 and 230, but a commonly detected value is 150.
This puts Facebook's default threshold at a great place. However, Dunbar's numbers are meant for offline relationships, i.e. the Dunbar number for ephemeral, online "feed" style relationship could arguably be much higher. It appears Dunbar has been working on this , I'm looking forward to a publication from his group soon.


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Extracurricular Activities
Recently I presented two sessions at SQL Saturday #43 in Redmond, WA. The night prior to the event, many of the presenters had dinner together at Red Robin Gourmet Burgers in Redmond. One of the other presenters asked me why I was presenting. He wanted to know what I was promoting. In truth, I wasn't promoting anything. My reply was, "Well, I guess I just enjoy doing it."
I wasn't promoting a book (though I had one come out last October), a product, or a company. I guess you could say that I was promoting myself, but that wasn't really why I was there. I was presenting because I like doing it. I do presentations at work regularly, but those are internal presentations for small audiences, many of whom SQL Server is not their primary focus. I enjoy those, but not as much as I had enjoyed presenting at SQL Saturday the previous year. I feel passionate about SQL Server, and I enjoy sharing that passion with others who are passionate about it as well. I enjoy sharing my passion with those that are new to SQL Server and are still developing a passion of their own.
Being the totally selfish person that I am, I decided that I needed more extracurricular activities like this. I have several things lined up for the near future. Here are the things I have planned that I'm allowed to talk about.
1. I'm hosting this month's TSQL Tuesday – a monthly blogging event created by Adam Machanic (Blog|@AdamMachanic) – official announcement coming soon
2. I will be serving on the faculty of SQL University for two courses in the next two weeks:
· Degree Seeker (certification) Week (week of 7/5)
· Advanced Troubleshooting Week (week of 7/12)
3. I'm writing an article for an upcoming issue of SQL Server Standard Magazine from SQL PASS
4. I will be presenting to the West Michigan SQL Server User Group/SQL PASS Chapter on July 27th at 6:45 PM Eastern Time/ 3:45 PM Pacific Time via Live Meeting. Topic will be Advanced Tuning
Additionally, I'm launching an internal event at work called SQL Luncheon. This will be a monthly event hosted by members of the PQO Operations SQL V-Team and geared towards Operations Engineers and other technical workers who work with SQL Server but are not DBA's or SQL Developers. There will be a 15 minute presentation on a focused topic followed by a 15 minute Q&A session where any SQL Server topic can be covered. The topic for July will be "Recovery Models: What are they? Which one should I use?".
There is also one other extracurricular activity that I'm not allowed to discuss yet. Mum's the word.