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For the last two years, Lowe's employees have brought their talents to Las Vegas for the company's annual meeting. From singing and beatboxing to tap dancing and guitar playing, the winners of the annual Lowe's Has Talent competition prove they bring more than just home improvement knowledge and skills to the table. This year was no different – thirteen employees from across the U.S. and Canada attended the meeting and rocked out in front of more than 3,500 of their Lowe's coworkers. Each had amazing talents and even more unique stories. Here are just a few of them:
Keith Swinney: Small town, big sound
Keith Swinney laughs when asked about his hometown.
"Well, it's pretty small," he said. "The population is 480, counting the horses and chickens."
Holton, Indiana, may be tiny, but it's where Swinney planted his roots. It's a place where he's made a lot of memories … and a lot of music.
Swinney began playing the guitar when he was 11 years old. His great-grandmother taught him, along with other family members. The results were awesome jam sessions at every holiday or family gathering and a love for music Keith couldn't deny. He also couldn't help but share his natural talent. By the time he was 17, he'd won numerous talent competitions, started his own band, recorded a CD and even opened a sold-out show for country music legend Merle Haggard. Not too shabby for a kid still in high school, right?
That's also the same time he heard about job opportunities at the Lowe's regional distribution center (RDC) in North Vernon, Indiana. A few of his friends worked at the RDC after school, so he decided to give it a shot. Plus, it offered the perfect schedule – he could work during the week and play music on the weekends. He started with Lowe's in March of 2000, with plans to work there until he saved enough money to follow his dreams to Nashville. But, much like Holton drew him in, Lowe's did the same. Eighteen years later, he's proud to still be part of the Lowe's family.
He's held several roles during his tenure, but is currently enjoying being an on-the-job trainer. He helps new employees learn the equipment, processes and responsibilities of their jobs.
"I love working with new hires and being part of their first Lowe's experience," Swinney said. "It's great to help them learn their job and build friendships."
Most of his RDC coworkers know about his guitar-playing talent. He's hosted several jams and mini-concerts at work, and plays around town with his band, The Keith Swinney Band. While it wasn't a surprise to his colleagues when he won the Lowe's Has Talent competition, Swinney appreciates all the support he received.
"Everyone shook my hand and wished me luck," he said. "It's really cool that everyone supported me."
Swinney represented his RDC family well on stage at INVEST, rocking it out on his guitar with four other Lowe's Has Talent winners.
But he's not done performing. He plans to continue working at Lowe's, and playing and traveling with his band. His goal is to get back into songwriting – something he's especially passionate about.
"It's not about the smoke and lights for me," he said. "I don't feel like I need all that. My music may not be the fanciest, flashiest or greatest, but it's from my heart."
Aleah Baillargeon: From shy to showstopper
Strong. Powerful. Resounding.
That describes Aleah Baillargeon's voice. With a sound like Adele, she's a force to be reckoned with on stage, which makes it hard to believe that at one time, she was so shy that she struggled to even talk to people.
Baillargeon's passion for singing started early. She performed her first concert at the age of two, belting out tunes from a Snow White concert for her parents at their home in Winnipeg, Manitoba in Canada. Her mom, who was also a singer, knew then she had a stellar voice, but it was a few years before Baillargeon would share her talent with others.
Baillargeon attended a French school until eighth grade, when she transferred to an English secondary school. It was a hard move – Baillargeon didn't know anyone and had a tough time making friends. She was quiet, reserved and painfully shy. Music was her escape.
"Music is so much more than just … well, music to me," she said. "It mellows me out and calms me down."
She knew she needed to break out of her shell and wanted the confidence to sing in front of people. So, she signed up for a music class. Her like-minded, and like-talented, classmates became some of her closest friends and she got opportunities to build her confidence through shows, plays and performances.
"Music class put me in a situation where I had to be on stage," she said. "There was no 'being a chicken.' I had to be there or I would let down my teacher and class. It made me push myself because I had people relying on me."
The rest is history. Since graduating high school, Baillargeon has been the lead singer in a band, performed at various shows and gigs with multiple artists, and recorded songs. She also got a job with Rona, a Lowe's-owned Canadian brand. She's worked at a Rona store for a little more than a year, and loves it.
"The people there are honestly just good people," she said. "I love working with everyone at my job."
She didn't tell many co-workers about her voice, but her secret was uncovered when they found out she'd won the Lowe's Has Talent competition.
"They [co-workers] were so happy," Baillargeon said. "The entire store went crazy. I really felt the love from everybody!"
And she didn't disappoint them in Vegas. Baillargeon performed a duet with a fellow winner on stage, and belted out a tune to the delight of the crowd.
She's heading back to Ontario, but still has a lot of exciting opportunities coming up. She plans to make an album with a fellow artist and she may join a new band.
"I definitely want to move forward in music," she said. "I'm just going to see where it takes me."
Jonatan Lopez: The beatboxing champion
By day, Jonatan Lopez is a sales specialist at the Lowe's store in North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He assists customers with their projects, helps them select products and answers their questions.
But most nights and weekends, you can catch him battling. Not with weapons, but with beats.
Lopez started beatboxing when he was a young teenager. He admits he didn't even realize that's what he was doing until he saw someone beatbox at a high school talent competition. He soon learned a whole beatboxing scene existed, and he was hooked. He'd dabbled in songwriting and electronic music making before, but loved that beatboxing allowed him to share his thoughts and emotions quickly.
"It's a very intimate form of expression," he explained. "I like that I can express myself right away."
He practiced diligently and by 19, had become "pretty obsessed" with beatboxing. In 2011, he entered his first beatboxing competition … and won. Since then, he's added a long list of accolades to his musical resume, including: the 2011 American Beatbox Champion, 2013 International MidWest Beatbox Champion and 2015 YGEA Beatboxer of the Year. Under the artist name JFLO Beatbox, he's performed at more than 70 venues across the country, and at multiple festivals and recording studios. He's thought to be one of the pioneers of the new school U.S. beatboxing scene. Oh, and you might have seen him in this commercial a few years ago.
For him, beatboxing is about being yourself and putting your own style or twist on things.
"When it comes to art or music, everyone is always influenced by something or someone. Nothing is original in that sense. It's more how you manage to make it your own."
And while he typically keeps his beatboxing separate from his work at Lowe's, he was excited to perform at INVEST. He beatboxed alongside two other Lowe's Has Talent winners, who danced and rapped with his beat.
Although INVEST is over, there's no slowdown in sight for Lopez. In addition to performing in the U.S., he has plans to take his talent to Europe, where the beatboxing scene is more established.
"As of right now, I'm not sure what the future holds," he said. "But I do it [beatboxing] because I love it. If I continue to work hard, something good will come out of it."


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You need to quench your thirst on a hot summer day. You don't want a soda or a Gatorade—you want a cool, refreshing sip of water.
Do you grab a bottle of water? Or would you rather the simplicity of pouring a healthy, good-tasting glass of water from the sink?
The pinnacle of home water filtration – a reverse osmosis filter – means you can have the purest, best-tasting water whenever you want from your sink. Reverse osmosis systems purify drinking water by forcing the water through a semi-permeable barrier that blocks any contaminants, yet allows the clean water through.
Reverse osmosis systems mean you enjoy the best, healthiest water on-demand from your kitchen sink. Here are the six unbeatable benefits of a reverse osmosis water filter.
Reverse Osmosis Benefits
1) Clean, good-tasting water
Tap water doesn't always taste the best — or anywhere close to it. The impurities often make water taste chalky. Trace amounts of the chlorine used to treat the water supply can end up in your drinking water.
Imagine that you're thirsty for a glass of cool, clear water — yet you end up tasting a swimming pool instead.
Since your reverse osmosis filter will eliminate those impurities, you get a delicious glass of water every time.
2) Healthy water
Going beyond what you taste, some unfiltered tap water can contain trace amounts of unhealthy chemicals and minerals that may be linked to long-term health problems.
Reverse osmosis filters provide the highest quality of water filtration on the market today.
How effective is it? To give you an idea, bottled water manufacturers use reverse osmosis filtration. That's right – you can have the same technology in your home as the companies that specialize in bottling water.
3) Convenience
So if bottled water manufacturers use reverse osmosis filters, you can essentially enjoy bottled-water quality water from your sink whenever you want.
That means you get the taste and health of bottled water anytime, and you enjoy as much or as little as you want.
4) Big Savings
Not having to buy to bottle after bottle, case after case, of water means you save money, too. Even if you buy your bottles in bulk, a family of four that only drinks bottled water can easily spend over $1,000 per year on it.
When you have a powerful reverse osmosis filter by your sink, you and your whole family can enjoy gallons of clean and healthy water — while saving big money over time.
5) Environmental Benefits
Next Earth Day, you'll really have something to brag about. Even though water bottles are recycled, creating millions of them every year still consumes vital resources.
By reducing how many plastic bottles you use, you lessen your environmental impact.
6) Better-Tasting Food
You might not expect this last benefit, but follow us for a second here.
Think about that chalky, chlorine-tinged tap water that you don't like to drink. You still cook with it right?
So that means that all of those impurities get transferred to the meals you make your family. Start your meals off right with the purest water possible.
Reverse Osmosis Filter from Benjamin Franklin Plumbing
Interested in drinking the healthiest, purest water whenever you want from your reverse osmosis filter?
Then call someone you already trust: Benjamin Franklin Plumbing® of Lancaster. Bring out a water quality expert to discuss and install your reverse osmosis filter.
Contact us to discuss a reverse osmosis filter and all of your plumbing needs

subset: commoncrawl


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Dharmesh is the founder and Chief Architect of HubSpot - a hosted software service focused on Internet marketing. He's also the author of a very popular blog on software startups. His talk was titled "Software Insights from MIT: Two Years of Graduate School, Boiled Down."
- Start your business FIRST. The good ideas only come later. It's interesting to me that this idea was repeated by at least three different speakers at the conference.
- Write a blog, not a business plan.
- Most startups SHOULD be embarrassed about their first product. If you're not, you waited too long to release it.
- Get your product out there now. Charge early and charge often.
- SAAS has much higher costs that traditional software sales. Don't forget to take those into account if you consider doing SAAS.
- Consider measuring CHI (Customer Hapiness Index). Try to determine which features customers identify as the reason they stay with your product.
- Parternships: DON'T. If you team up with a 900-pound gorilla, it rarely works to your advantage. If you team up with another small enterprise, you just have twice the number of problems to solve. I'm not sure I totally agree here, but most of the history I've seen would support Dharmesh's view.
- Don't optimize your business too soon. Sometimes things will change drastically and your optimization will become a problem.
- Create a Blog before the product. Use it to determine if there is interest there. Get your market risk down while the costs are cheapest.
Round-Table Discussions
After lunch on day-one, we had a series of round-table discussions with groups of ten people. Everyone chose their topics in advance. I selected the topic "Facebook, Twitter and Web 2.0 - will they survive?" It was a pretty inflamatory title, but I figured it migh result in some interesting conversation.
The conversation really ended up with people sharing ways they have used Facebook, YouTube and Twitter to communicate with customers, recruit new employees, and market themselves. One business uses Twitter to provide up-to-the-minute status reports on the status of their hosted-service systems.
One group in Toronto had a Facebook group they had encouraged their employees to help build and invite people to join. One day they sent an unsolicited notice of a new product offering to this group; by the end of that day a good portion of the group had left. The interesting part was the people who didn't leave.
Others were using YouTube to publish internal videos, promo bits, etc. We've done similar things at GenoLogics, and I don't think this idea is particularly novel.
The consensus however, was that nobody was able to say whether these techniques were effective. Were these methods reaching new people, or people in a new way, that made them more valuable than previous methods? None of us were positive of the answer.
There was also an interesting discussion of just what Twitter is for. How are people using it that differs from merely updating your Facebook status on a frequent basis? Does Twitter enable something unique that Facebook does not? If anyone at the table felt this question was answered, it wasn't clear to me.
Jessica Livingston
Jessica is the author of the book "Founders at Work" and a founding partner of the seed-stage venture firm Y-Combinator.
- None of the "famous founders" (Wozniak, Flickr, etc) knew what they were doing when they started. Most famous founders ended up becoming famous for an idea very different from what they started with.
- Many of the greatest ideas were rejected at first. Wozniak tried to sell the original Apple-1 plans to his employer HP, but they weren't interested.
- Early-stage plans change a lot. Sometimes the official idea gets in the way of the great idea. Flickr and Blogger are great examples of this.
- Let your users design the product. Startups are flexible enough that they can do this.
- The best ideas come from personal need.
- Make something people want and don't give up along the way. I guess that's a lot better than making something everybody hates :-)
- Perseverance is critical because your initial idea is probably wrong. Lack of determination is the #1 reason for failure in the first six months of a startup.
- Adapt your idea. Commit fast and fail quick rather than waiver uncertainly.
- Scratch your own itch and look for a way to expand its market.
I've run a shareware business for the past 16 years. These days shareware isn't a common term, but the idea is still alive and strong. During the past 16 years I've had three reasonably successful products (and a few not-so-successful products). I couldn't have quit my job on the basis of my shareware revenue, but some years it was in the five-figure range.
In every case, the products that I was successful at selling started their life with a personal need. I wanted a particular problem solved and found a personal solution that I liked first. Only then did I start taking feedback on how to evolve things. I am convinced that this is the best way to run a software business. It's certainly not the only way to be successful, but I wouldn't start my own business unless it was premised on a personal "itch" first.
Paul Kenny
Paul is a sales trainer from the UK. His purpose was to convince all the non-sales types at the conference why they actually need a sales force. His message in a nutshell: even the best products do not sell themselves everywhere; there will always be potential customers who would benefit from your product but who don't know that yet - this is what sales is for.
When hiring a sales force he gave the following suggestions:
- Hire attitude first. Don't just hire for experience.
- Reward things other than just the deal. Offer incentives for adding to the sales funnel, filling out customer profiles, building relationships, etc.
Next post: Day Two.


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Ampersand As Apostrophe Violet for Women, Spring 2020
brand: ampersand as apostrophe color: violet
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Deco Two-Tone Diamond Bracelet Watch
MICHELE bracelet watch with diamond bezel. Seven-link bracelet strap with deployant clasp. Interchangeable with any 18mm MICHELE strap. Yellow golden and stainless steel hardware. 33mm x 35mm rectangular watch head. Mother-of-pearl dial with diamond bezel. 6 o'clock date window; three subdials. MW logo and text at 12 o'clock index. Three-hand Swiss quartz movement. 0.66 total diamond carat weight. Water resistant to 5 ATM. Sapphire crystal window. Imported. buy from Neiman Marcus
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Micro Sutton Bag - Medium Grey
Versatile mini bag constructed from lightweight nylon. Double top handles Top zip closure One inside zip pocket Lined Nylon/leather Imported SIZE Removable, adjustable shoulder strap, 10.5"-18" drop 7"W x 6.75"H x 4.75"D. Handbags - Contemporary Handbags > Saks Fifth Avenue > Barneys. MZ Wallace. Color: Medium Grey. buy from Saks Fifth Avenue
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You've not heard anything like this.
The White Noise sound like no other band you've ever heard. Well, they do… just not for long.
The Los Angeles crew show more progression across this 10-track debut album than most bands show over their entire careers, and 'AM/PM' is all the better for it.
There's catchy metalcore in the form of 'Picture Day', but also sunny, almost laid-back radio rock in the form of 'I Lost My Mind (In California)', a '90s-tinged curveball. And that's before you reach the raging 'Rated R...' or the thick, slow emo of 'Montreal'.
Is 'AM/PM' unpredictable? Yup. Does it make sense? Hmm, sort of. Is it boring? No chance.
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|Pa. Turnpike Reminds Motorists of 10% Cash-Only Toll Increase Next Year
Turnpike customers encouraged to get E-ZPass now to avoid higher tolls in the New Year.
|HARRISBURG, PA (12/16/2011)(readMedia)-- The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission reminds customers that fares are set to go up on most of the state's toll roads by 10 percent on Jan. 1, 2012 for cash-paying travelers only. Because electronic-toll rates will not go up, E-ZPass customers will pay about 17 percent less than cash customers, on average, starting next year. (E-ZPass users presently pay 7 percent less, on average, than cash customers on the Pa. Turnpike.)
With the new rates - that will take effect at 12:01 a.m. - the most-common cash toll for passenger vehicles will increase from $1.10 to $1.25 while the most-common cash toll for a standard commercial-truck classification (Class 5) will rise from $8.95 to $9.85. (The 2012 fares were determined by applying a 10 percent increase on top of the 2011 fare then rounding up to the nearest nickel.) The increase will be applied to all vehicle classes on all Turnpike sections except the Southern Beltway (Turnpike 576) in Allegheny and Washington counties, where rates will be unchanged.
Turnpike Chairman William K. Lieberman of Pittsburgh said by not raising E-ZPass rates, the agency is easing the economic impact of a toll increase. "Since nearly two-thirds of travelers already use E-ZPass, only about a third of our customers will be affected," he explained. "For anyone without E-ZPass, I recommend you sign up soon if you want to have that transponder in hand before the end of the year."
Getting E-ZPass is easy: Most customers enroll online at www.paturnpike.com or by calling 1-877-Penn-Pass (1-877-736-6727). Customers can also open an E-ZPass account at many of the state's AAA offices and at certain regional grocery stores including Acme, Giant Eagle, Get-Go and Karns. For a complete list of retail locations, visit www.paturnpike.com/ezpass/sales.aspx.
Chairman Lieberman said there are several reasons to motivate people to get E-ZPass. "We believe it's important to encourage more travelers to switch to E-ZPass because of the numerous benefits, including economic, environmental and customer-safety advantages," he explained. "Collecting tolls electronically is not only safer, faster and more convenient for customers, but it is better for the environment because it helps diminish idling at the toll plazas and also reduces the Turnpike's operating costs."
The cost to process an E-ZPass transaction is about four times less than the cost of handling a cash transaction; it costs the commission about $1 per transaction to collect a cash toll, and less than 25 cents per transaction to collect tolls via E-ZPass.
The lower E-ZPass rates apply to all individual and commercial E-ZPass customers regardless of issuing agency or state in which an account was established. Presently, there are 24 E-ZPass agencies in 14 states, largely in the Northeastern U.S., and more than 20 million E-ZPass transponders in use on toll roads, bridges and tunnels nationwide.
The 2012 increase is needed, in part, to satisfy the Turnpike's funding obligation to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. A 2007 statute expanded the Turnpike's role by directing it to utilize tollbooth revenues to help underwrite a transportation-funding shortfall. Under Act 44 of 2007, the Turnpike Commission continues to make annual contributions of $450 million to PennDOT; of that amount, $250 million is used for transit agencies across the state and $200 million is used to help fund non-Turnpike road and bridge projects. To date, the commission provided more than $3 billion to the state under this law. The 2012 toll increase will be the fourth rate hike needed to meet the debt-service costs associated with Act 44.


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Brother Cesare Bonizzi
I've been thinking about Brother Cesare Bonizzi, the heavy metal monk, since yesterday's blog post. Yesterday's post was titled 'Mentoring' for a reason. There's a laundry list of things I'd like to learn from him. He's fearless. Oh, I'm sure he has some fear. But how much fear can a 62 year old monk who performs heavy metal music ON STAGE have? He's ageless. In our culture, most 62 year olds have bought the recliner that they intend to die in. Not only is Cesare listening to a genre of music that is almost exclusively enjoyed by youth… he's SINGING it! He's in integrity. Cesare's work as a brother and his passion for metal seem to be in integrity. Here's a type of music that is often judged to be evil, and he's incorporating it into his life and work, making it holy.
"I do it to convert people to life, to understand life, to grab hold of life, to savour it and enjoy it. Full stop"
I want to be just like Brother Cesare when I grow up!


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Group ride guidelines
Riding in a group can be fun, but it also requires a little thought and preparation before you set out on the road.
If you're thinking of riding in a group, there are some particular things you need to think about. Safety, size of your group and where the least and most experienced riders fit into your formation all need to be considered.
There are a range of guidelines to help you get started and prepare you for what can be a thrilling riding experience.
Here are some links to some available guidelines:
- Ride Forever
- Institute of Advanced Motorists
- New Zealand Transport Agency
- Hawkes Bay Harley Motorcycle Club
- Kiwi Biker
If you know of any more please let us know.


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Movies and Criticism
I love movies. I always have. There is something inherently magical about the experience of watching a piece of film, old or new, and experiencing a story in front of you. For the longest time I have been fascinated by films. So I've consumed them. Studied them. Attacked them with a voracious appetite. I wanted to know more than I already did. They became a part of my life, something that became a part of traditions within my family. Something that I could turn to for comfort. There is something magical about re-watching a film, and remembering the first time that you watched it. What your experience was.
Movies quickly take on more than their initial meaning. I cannot think of A Christmas Story without thinking about the way that my family watches the movie every year on Christmas Eve, eating takeout Chinese food and laughing at all of the same jokes. It doesn't matter that I've seen the movie dozens of times, that we can quote practically the entire film back and forth to each other, or that every year we hear the same pieces of trivia from my dad as he sits on the couch with an iPad in his hand. And even when I watch this movie outside of this context, I can feel these comforting feelings wash over me.
Films tell stories. Not just the one that they are showing onscreen. They tell other stories. They tell stories of nights and days and afternoons. Of mornings spent huddled under a blanket watching Toy Story, of evenings laughing with friends. Of dinners and conversations and so much more. Films tell you their story, and in the moment that you watch them, you create your own story to go along with it.
It makes it interesting to talk about film. It makes it difficult. Because when I speak about film, I don't just speak about camera angles and direction, of acting and set design. I speak of the way in which I experienced it. Which is comprised of so many different factors. An amazing movie can turn sour in the wrong circumstances. You wouldn't want to watch Schindler's List during a light Sunday dinner with your family, no matter how amazing it is.
Sometimes these circumstances can change the movie forever for you, the viewer. I can say with complete confidence that A Christmas Story will always hold a special place in my heart not because of the quality of the film, but because of the circumstances. We all have these films, these iconic moments in our viewing history that have become more than film, that have transcended the medium into a part of our lives.
So how do we talk about them? How can we sit down and describe film in a way that might seem more meaningful than a simple qualitative assessment of it? How can we elevate the way in which we talk about film? There are writers out there that are trying to accomplish this very thing every day and it is an amazing undertaking. It's complex to talk about film when it becomes a part of your life because it is an experience that is inherently your own.
Furthermore, how much of that experience is due to the movie as opposed to the circumstances surrounding it. I cannot tell you when we began our Christmas Eve tradition, it was before I could weigh in on what we were watching. I didn't take part in choosing the movie, and in some ways it was force onto me. But now it doesn't feel the same way.
Talking about movies like this is inherently talking about ourselves. And that is not a bad thing. Far from it in fact. At least in my opinion. Films are designed to reach out to people. I just want to tell the story of how it is done. Where does it fit though? It can't be called an objective review, because it is the exact opposite of objective. But can any movie be reviewed objectively? Can anything that we consume be talked about in an entirely objective way. There are movies that are objectively well made that simply aren't great movies.
This viewpoint is entirely a reflection of my views as a writer. Because I am a writer. I want to create something that I could give to a reader and have them be able to identify me. Anyone can watch Pulp Fiction and say why it is good. But I want to say why it is special. To me it is. And to me it has taken on a different meaning than a simple movie.
I want to talk about that.
Tom has been writing about media since he was a senior in high school. He likes long walks on the beach, dark liquor, and when characters reload guns in action movies.
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Birmingham Heartlands Hospital is based at the heart of a bustling, dynamic community. A large site consisting of modern, state-of-the-art buildings purpose built to provide the highest possible quality of patient care and support services, Heartlands is the largest hospital at Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust.
The Hospital offers a highly extensive array of facilities and procedures for its patients and visitors. Its dedicated staff serve a diverse population with professionalism and pride.


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Berlinale-Blogger 2017
The messiness of life in "On the Beach at night alone"
At first glance, the filmography of Hong Sang-soo appears neat and orderly — and repetitive. The prolific writer/director typically makes a feature a year, sometimes more often; he has three releases slated for 2017, for example. He frequently returns to the same types of scenarios, characters and playful structures.
Someone is often yearning for love and trying to piece together their life in his movies. Filmmakers and actors commonly feature in his narratives, and the same talent is usually seen on screen. Eating, drinking and chatting — and combining the last two, arguing under the influence of soju or beer — pop up again and again. And, unravelling each tale in an easy, linear fashion is rarely on the agenda.
Still, there's no such thing as a routine Hong effort, and nor does any listing on his ever-growing resume feel as if it's a cursory inclusion. Similarly, while much about his work favours recurrence, little stacks up as nicely as it might appear on paper. For the filmmaker, life is messy and so is his chosen profession. Indeed, as he riffs on his own to follow an actress having an affair with a married director in On the Beach at Night Alone — something he has been rumoured to have done himself, with the movie's star, his frequent lead and Berlinale best actress winner Kim Min-hee, no less — the parallels between the two couldn't be more apparent.
On the Beach at Night Alone | © Kim Jinyoung, 2017, Jeonwonsa Film Co. Kim plays Young-hee, a Korean almost in hiding in Hamburg in the film's first half, in an attempt to escape the controversy around her love life. She walks and talks with her friend Jee-young (Seo Young-hwa), eats with locals, and wonders if her lover will join her as planned, yet only seems at ease when she's embracing the solace of the spot where the sand meets the sea, by herself and in the evening. In the second portion, Young-hee has arrived back Gangneung, only to cross paths with old acquaintances that are keenly aware of the scandal. Further discussion and boozing ensues, though once again, visiting the shoreline solo under the stars beckons.
It all seems simple. Narratively, On the Beach at Night Alone is, in fact. But Hong watches and waits as he depicts slivers of Young-hee's existence that probe the many ripples her romantic liaison has caused — to finessed and thoughtful effect. While his trademark for quick zooms remain, guiding the audience's attention in pivotal moments, his ability to linger proves just as revealing. Beneath the recognisably familiarity of his many trademarks lurks a portrait of lust, love and longing that defines the character's in the film's midst. And though the same could be said of many of his movies, each offers a new fragment of his broader collage of amorous-centric human interaction.
Here, a deeper mood of melancholy infuses his latest musing — but, of course, that's one way that matters of the heart can turn out, perhaps even more so in a filmmaking career somewhat dedicated to the topic. That tone seeps through the imagery, naturalistic as ever in Hong's work, but is splashed most strongly, powerfully and masterfully across the screen in Kim's performance. When Young-hee is liquored and fired up, to the point of slinging insults and sharing kisses, there's no escaping her torment; when she's staring at the beach, or sleeping on it, her face always betrays her sadness. There may be few things more picturesque than the sight of someone standing against a scenic backdrop in the manner of On the Beach at Night Alone's title, and yet if there's one notion that Hong returns to again and again, it's that even in the most straightforward of circumstances, little is ever what it seems, with the reality almost always much more complicated.


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Yesterday's shower was fun. It was relaxing as Tessa's mom was in charge of most of it and it was also a wonderful reminder of how much I love the women around me.
My daughters are so beautiful. Salinda is in a difficult situation right now but she is plugging away. She's been in school full time, has been working full time, and has her own place though she and Henry don't always see eye to eye and go from sharing the place to not sharing it on a daily (hourly?) basis. She is a very patient and loving mom to Gabby. Our relationship has healed and even though we aren't as close as I would have hoped, she is kind to me and not overly dependent on us. She takes pride in taking care of herself and I applaud that kind of determination.
I just blogged about Mercedes who is rushing toward adulthood now with what seems like great speed. Even though she's only a sophomore she'll be 18 in November and testing those independent wings. But she can be absolutely delightful if you catch her at the right moment.
Courtney, Isaac's mom, who I have now decided to call my grandbabymama, but only ocassionally, is just so much fun. She and I get along great and I love her sense of humor. She actually likes me, respects me and thinks I'm smart so what's not to like about that??? She and I have a super great time together and as you know, my love for Isaac is overwhelming sometimes.
Tessa, Mike's girlfriend, and mom to yet-to-be-born AJ (Aiden Jay), and I get along well also. She is smart, fun, and reminds me of me in some ways because she is who she is. She isn't pretentious at all and I love hanging out with her, even though there have been conflicts in the past between she and Mike that have made things awkward. She is taking excellent care of herself and is going to give AJ the best start she can.
I also was surrounded by my friends Kari (showed you her butt so you can see how she is no longer my BFF (Big Fat Fanny) but my LFF (Less Fat Fanny) and her daughter Anna, Sue, and Lois who have been there for me through 3 baby showers in the past 3 years ... as well as many other ups and downs in my life.
I'm so blessed....


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For those of you wondering what the Next Blogger Network is, it's basically a platform that allows bloggers, brands and Next to collaborate together. Need more information? Or if you think you'd like to join, then head over here!
The day ran from 10am-4pm, and there was lots to get involved with and lots to eat (but we'll have more on that later)! We were split into groups and given blogger workshops which were hosted by industry experts. The 'Photography and Film' workshop was hosted by Lily from What I Heart Today, Anna from Vivianna Does Makeup and Kit from Style Slicker, whilst 'SEO and Web Design' was run by Britt Soeder, SEO Campaign Director of Green Light and Faye from Fashion Beauty Etc. Last but not least, the 'Brand and Advertising' workshop was hosted by Emily from Fashion Foie Gras and Abi from Abimarvel.
The workshops were very informative and I definitely learned a lot of useful tips and tricks that I'll be incorporating into my blog. Here are some 'Three Top Tips' that I'd like to share with y'all:
- SEO and Web Design- Make sure your page is as user-friendly as possible. Don't clutter your sidebar with icons, or use pale writing on dark dark backgrounds (e.g. white font colour/ black background), as although these may appear cool, they can be quite hard to read and off-putting for visitors!
- Brand and Advertising- Aim high. The sky really is your limit. You never know where blogging can take you. Lily Pebbles and Anna are self-employed bloggers who are now earning a living through their blog!
- Photography and Film- Kit says: "Pay attention to lighting and weather" as these can have a massive impact on the quality of pictures produced.
|Copyright- Next
Here's a cheeky snap of myself, Demi and Miranda which we took in the DIY photo frame for the #NBNWorkshop Polaroid Competition. Say Cheese :)
The Next team were all very helpful and super friendly, and we were wined and dined until we were full to the brim. There were croissants, muffins, tea or hot chocolate for breakfast, pasta, chips and salad for lunch. To top it all the fridge was fully stocked with Coke, Sprite, water and more. Anyone that knows me knows I'm addicted to Coke (of the liquid variety mind) so I was in absolute bliss! As if that wasn't enough off there was afternoon tea, a free sweet tuck shop and cocktails at the end of the day.
|Copyright- Next
Next was kind enough to give us all goodie bags, each goodie bag contained a white pleather notebook, a luxury candle, one pair of fluffy socks, and a mini photo frame. Each of us got different socks, so it was kind of like a lottery draw as to which pair you got. How cute are my faux fur socks?
My luxury candle is in the scent Jasmine and Tigerlily and smells amazing. I can't wait to try it out soon!
|Copyright- Next
For all new and upcoming bloggers, if you ever get an invitation to a blogger's event, try and go, as it's a great place to network, start collaborative ventures, and great exposure too!
That's all for now m'lovelies. As always until next time, stay blessed and beautiful dolls xoxo


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A few days ago we heard the reports from Sony confirming Oreo update for their Models, Now HMD has shared their plans for the Oreo upgrade. The corporation has guaranteed that all Nokia-branded Android handsets such as Nokia 3, 5, 6, and 8 will receive the new Oreo 8 .0 upgrade. We already know that Nokia is consistent at providing regular updates on its handsets and we are glad to hear the official confirmation from the Finnish firm concerning the upgrade to the latest version of Android. On September 01 2017, HMD Global's chief product officer, Juho Sarvikas shared details on his twitter account regarding the upcoming Oreo upgrade for the Nokia android phones starting from budget phone Nokia 3 to recently launched top-end version Nokia 8.
He didn't disclose the time – range of when the Android Oreo update will be available for Nokia handsets. He also stated that Nokia operates on pure Android and it's likely to get this update sooner than several other handsets with additional personalization features. For the reason that budget handsets normally have trouble with offering consistent Android upgrades, Nokia may bring a change to this scenario by providing an update to Nokia 3 and could possibly benefit Nokia models in future.
Google introduced the latest version of Android series Oreo on August 21, but to date, it's merely been accessible for Pixel and Nexus handsets listed in the Android beta program. Generally, it will take a long time for phone manufacturers to launch the initial upgrades, There are also cases where handsets don't receive an update at all, resulting in Android's disintegration dilemma. Google's Android Oreo Development project team wants to assist handset manufacturers by providing quicker security and latest Android version upgrades.
After a string of leaks, HMD Global unveiled their high-end handset Nokia 8 with dual cameras on 16th August 2017. Along with 13 MP dual rear side and a 13 MP front side cameras, 5.3 inch Nokia 8 boasts Snapdragon 835 processor and 64GB of internal storage space. Nokia also introduced a new camera feature named "Bothie". Nokia also stated that the Nokia 8 comes along with Android Oreo support. Read more about Nokia 8 here.


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We went to Takayama last night to meet some Canadians. We ate at C4H and then went to the SEGA arcade. Lots of games! We also tried out the photo booth…(more)
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For more information, look up the SL Group, THE CLUBBING CONNECTION.
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Instrumentation & Controls
Instrumentation and Controls engineering requires a system view of the instrumentation, equipment and controls required. At Vee Create, we have an experienced engineering team to design your system through the use of hardware and software.
Our team has worked with many different types of equipment. Our team has worked with many different types of equipment and its control. Below are several examples:
- Robotics
- Conveyors
- Cranes
- Actuators
- Environmental Chambers
- Inspection Systems
- Loading and Unloading Systems
- Instrumentation for measurements (electrical and mechanical)
Our team of engineers develops software to provide the control and operator interface to the equipment. Some examples of the software used by our team are found below:
- Labview
- Lab Windows
- Basic
- Programmable Logic Controller - PLC
Vee Create has experience in deploying various communication methods over the BUS, LAN, Wireless and other leading edge technologies.
Vee Create has delivered numerous successful projects to our customers. Our work in the domain of Instrumentation and Controls uses the best tools and methods while delivering design and development services that are well accepted at the global level. Our certified processes are noted below:
- Requirements collection and analysis
- Development of block diagrams
- Development of schematics
- Equipment/Instrumentation selection
- Software Development / User Interfaces
- Assembly drawings
- Acceptance Testing
- User manuals
Our designs are documented to provide our customers with precise drawings, diagrams and manuals, which enable procurement, build and integration of the system.
The most impressive part of our work is that it is infused with experience, technology, ease of use and high quality which has provided us with loyal instrumentation and controls customers all around the world.
Our Service Features
At the core of our Instrumentation and Controls services are our workforce experience, excellence and advanced skills. Our team is knowledgeable and experienced in varied aspects of designing and implementing control systems. We start off by thoroughly analyzing your requirements. We then come up with an Instrumentation and Controls design using the latest technology and years of experience.
With smart designs that are resourceful and cost effective, we create solutions that provide the most optimum results to our customers. We help your business and operations thrive and achieve maximum benefits.
By entrusting Vee Create with your instrumentation and controls design, you can be assured to have a solution that doesn't just match your requirements but also gives you good ROI.


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University of Miami
Photo: Guess what today is
Photos: UM Archaeology Lab Day
Photo: A special visitor
UPDATE: Miami Hurricanes defeated the FSU Seminoles : 28-27
Photo: Recruitment numbers
Photo: Reasons to be confident about today's game
Photo: Donny reps 'The U'
And he's the SMART one too. Nice to see "The U" recognized for something other than JUST sports for once.
Photo: Winter in Florida
Photos: Beat FSU
Hurricane promotes proposed overpass
The Miami Hurricane is doing its best to promote a proposed pedestrian bridge over US 1 between the University Metrorail and Mariposa Court which has resulted in 8 deaths since 1989. It was my experience as a student the intersection that I had the most trouble crossing was US 1 and SW 57th Street (South Miami Metro on the west and Sunset Place on the east).
The paper ran a story last week (April 10th) about the online petition to get the owner of University Centre Plaza to allow the city to use five parking spaces to build said bridge. In a related story, the same author similar offers a somewhat incomplete guide on how to handle rude\impatient drivers in this car crazed city without ending up another fatality (dress like a jogger) – conveniently using Mariposa Court as her primary example.
This week, the paper reports that the project is apparently going through in a nearby area that doesn't involve sacrificing the Plaza's valuable parking spaces. If you think losing five spaces is no big deal – here's a story (from 2002) about a student outraged because the university paved over six parking places for an outdoor seating area.


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Where attitude and style find their meeting ground, we might find ourselves amidst a conundrum of whether to dress to suit our mood, or to fix it. As the first day of the week arrives, perhaps the latter is where most of us linger; trying to find the right wardrobe pieces to ease us from our weekend bliss in to the start of a new week. Mondays can be, for many, synonymous with dreaded deadlines, significant workloads and more – often made worse by the decision to throw oneself head-first (perhaps quite literally) in to a full-blown power suit that serves as a constant reminder of the bygone weekend. If you've ever faced this conundrum, then it may be time to reevaluate your approach to weekday dressing, and utilize your wardrobe as a tool to succeed, or perhaps just to get through Monday a with a little more efficiency.
With the unspoken but extremely visible confines of traditional "office-appropriate" attire often blocking the opportunity for more creative outfits, it's understandable why many feel unhappy and uninspired with their workwear. It'll take some clever thinking and styling, but figuring out which "weekend" pieces can transition in to our workwear wardrobes is well-worth the time and effort. Personally, the key to balancing the mixture of the two, is pairing classic items (like a crisp white shirt, tailored blazer, pencil skirt) with unexpected but plausible weekend pieces (cropped denim, structured t-shirt, etc).
Below, I decided to pair my new (and long-coveted) Zara denim culottes, with a crisp white shirt, classic leather tote bag and black mules.
Come at me, Monday!
Wearing Truworths Fashion White Shirt, Zara denim Culottes, TheFix mules, Woolworths Tote Bag
Photographer: Lemuel Witbooi
Images Copyright The Minimale Blogger


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HARRISBURG – Gov. Tom Corbett today announced that following a request for assistance from the state of Connecticut, he quickly directed PennDOT to mobilize crews and equipment to help citizens of that state recover from one of the worst blizzards in recent memory.
"Our neighbors in Connecticut are struggling with closed roads, power outages and dwindling supplies of perishable goods – when the call came in for help, we quickly responded," Corbett said. "I'm proud of our employees who will be working long hours and spending time away from their own families to help others in need."
PennDOT crews from Somerset and Tioga Counties left late in the evening on Saturday, Feb. 9 and crews from Montour and Columbia Counties left early on Sunday, Feb. 10.
PennDOT has sent three massive snow blowers, three tractor trailers (to haul the snow blowers), three crew cab trucks, several equipment operators, several foremen and a mechanic. Those crews are working to clear roads in parts of Hartford, Farmington and Meriden, Conn.
The governor also directed the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission to mobilize crews and equipment to assist residents in Massachusetts following their request for assistance. That request was later canceled by Massachusetts when they were able to free up resources from a nearby state.
PennDOT expects their teams to return to Pennsylvania later this week.


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Hello again,
Starting this weekend, it will be the time for outside shows under a shelter. Especialy this weekend, it is on Sparks Street between Elgin and Metcalfe for the Artists Alley with many other artists and artisans. Come in Ottawa to see the beautiful tulips and walk around downtown Ottawa to see what's up.


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McConnel Smith & Johnson produced the conceptual design for Wittinglsow Amusements successful submission to the Luna Park Trust for the amusements precinct at Luna Park and worked as joint consultants on the detailed design of the precinct. The concept design took full account of the eclectic and romantic nature of the Luna Park of the 1930s, proposing a scheme with a vibrancy and intensity appropriate to contemporary Sydney. Important urban design issues were integral to the scheme. MSJ also provided art direction working in consultation with artists and artisans MSJ was awarded the RAIA Lachlan MacQuarie Award for Conservation.
Client - Luna Park Trust and Wittingslow Amusements Value - $24 million Awards - The Royal Australian Institute of Architects Merit Award for Architecture & Lachlan Macquarie Award for Conservation


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Well after being told 'NO' to a visit to Triples, my wife reconciled and let me go. I had to do loads of DIY stuff first but never the less i managed a trip to a show.
Triples for me is really good because it is held in Sheffield and is only 2.5miles from my front door! It has changed venues and is now at the Institute for Sport, all i know is i once sat some first year university exams on the running track!
I much prefer this venue to the old one at the Octagon at Sheffield university, it is more 'roomy'.
The show seemed empty but was actually really good, looks of great looking 'eye candy' games to watch, not many participation games but a great atmosphere anyway.
All of my buys were impulsive, and for once i really enjoyed all of them. There was none of the regret or guilt that one feels when buying for the sake of buying or buying something because you think you need it when in fact you needed the other thing. However all being said that is what being a war gamer is all about, one huge pile of lead and a ton of unfinished projects..
One of my best buys today was 4 packs of Blood Dawn fantasy miniatures, the guys at Magist Militum allow their children to earn pocket money if they pick and pack miniatures. They did a selection of Orc and Dwarf packs, which they priced at £1.50! A real bargain if you ask me. Of the 4 packs i got 3 Orc packs and 1 Dwarf pack, giving a total of 12 various armed Orcs and 6 various armed Dwarfs. In terms of SoBH, the Orcs total 445pts and the Dwarfs 278pts. £6.00 for two war bands is awesome.
The figures themselves are lovely, very chunky and about 20mm tall, lots of good detail and i am guessing a treat to paint.
The link to them is here: http://www.magistermilitum.com/prodtype.asp?PT_ID=1161&strPageHistory=cat
I will be getting some more of these in the future.
I also got some bargain Lords of the Rings characters and some Hasslefree Bohkin - http://www.hasslefreeminiatures.co.uk/range.php?range_id=36&subcat_id=42 not sure why but they looked good and i have a few Grymn. I will post some photos soon.
Lastly I bought this figure from Studio McVey - http://seditionwars.com/index.php?option=com_factions&c=faction&faction=1&slug=barker_pulse&Itemid=63 I normally wouldn't pay £7.00!!!!! for one figure but i really like it, and looking at the website i saved £0.99!!!! The painted version with the Pulse cannon is brilliant, reminds me of Cole from Gears of War.
All in all had an enjoyable few hours at Triples and for once i came home and assembled / based all my figures! Now that is a first :-)


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Granola bars are one of those sneaky snacks that seem like a healthy choice, but are usually packed with sugar. While we have a sweet tooth that basically runs the ship around here, it's great to make our own on-the-go bars and be able to know exactly what's in them! Here, we went with a cherry almond bar (with chocolate chips if you want to really go crazy) and, while we did sweeten it with some sugar, we used natural and organic ingredients that make us feel way better about what we're putting in our systems. These granola bars are ridiculously yummy, perfect for taking with us out the door, and will hit the spot no matter whatwe promise!
Cherry Almond Granola Bars
Yield: 1 dozen, depending on size
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 1 cup dried cherries, chopped
- 3/4 cup slivered almonds
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1/4 cup oat bran
- 2 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 1/2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 2 tablespoons ground flax seed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- semi-sweet chocolate chips, optional
- Line a square or rectangular baking dish with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on both sides.
- Combine oats, almonds, flax seed, oat bran and salt in a large bowl.
- In a small saucepan, heat honey, brown sugar, coconut oil and vanilla extract over medium-low heat and cook, stirring frequently, until sugar is melted and mixture is smooth.
- Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute, then remove from heat and pour over oat mixture.
- Working quickly, stir in chopped dried cherries (and chocolate chips, if using) and stir everything together until evenly coated.
- Transfer granola to baking dish and use your hands to press it firmly into the bottom of pan and smooth it out into an even layer.
- Refrigerate at least 2 hours to allow bars to set and firm up before extracting parchment paper (using the overhang on both sides) from dish and cutting granola into equal bars.
- Store in an airtight container and enjoy!


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Thursday, August 30, 2012
I watched some TV. I napped for 5 hours. We went to dinner. I used my computer. We watched some TV.
I ended up staying up past 3am and finally going into bed and just playing Solitaire to get myself to fall asleep.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
8.25 - TV All Day
I sat at my computer for a little but just didn't feel like it. I was still exhausted. I feel like that 8 mile run really kicked my butt. I was as exhausted as after running a marathon. Probably because I didn't sleep well Thursday night.
I ate leftovers for lunch and dinner. I just watched TV all day. I started watching Glee and had so many episodes that I kept watching them all until I fell asleep. I woke up and started the episode again to find my spot then fell asleep again. I figured it was time to go into bed instead of having a third failed attempt at watching.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Shirt: F21 (2012), Necklace: Lia Sophia, Jeans: Express (2006)
I hit snooze a bit. I interviewed. I read some Big Brother updates. I ran (a long run).
I got back and was basically ready for bed but used the computer a little bit.
Man did that run make me so tired.
Monday, August 27, 2012
Like Father ...
For those that didn't know me in college: I went to RPI which is Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and we called nerds at school Polytechnicians. Poly got her name because it is short for Polytechnician.
(Note those shorts are shorts I made in sewing class in 8th grade.)
I went for a run at Bay Trail with Hilary at 5:30. I was surprised how long it takes to get there at 5:30 PM.
We didn't watch TV at all.
I put on my compression socks hoping that would help my calf soreness. I haven't really done that before but 2 different people recommended it.
I was in bed by 10:30 and playing solitaire under the covers until about 11.
On an interesting note, my old camera will work with the battery my new camera says is dead. The Eye-Fi card will work in my old camera and it doesn't even overheat. Therefore I guess it is the camera that is broken and not the memory card and it was just a coincidence that the camera broke when I used the new memory card. But the new memory card does overheat my new camera more than other memory cards do. My "new" camera is 11 months old but since I have multiple cameras, that's what I called it.
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Week 6 - Training
|Previous Summaries
Hal Higdon's have me doing 4 mi, 4 mi (tempo), 3 mi, and 10k race (plus lifting)
The other Hal Higdon one has me doing 4 mi, 2 mi, 4 mi, and 5k race
This week I have done 5 mi (tempo), 5 mi, and 8 mi. See details below.
Monday: Since I missed my tempo run on the weekend I did it Monday. I'll miss a different run this week but figured the tempo shouldn't be skipped.
The training plan suggested doing a 9 minute pace but last time I felt like that was too slow. I asked a friend and her recommendation was 8:20. She didn't think it would have been that fast but based on recent run times I gave her, she said I should go for 8:20. Since it was sunny and I didn't drink any water all day, I figured I'd go for 8:40 but with a reach goal of closer to 8:20. I hear tempo runs are supposed to be challenging but manageable but that doesn't help me much. My friend said that I wouldn't be going all out but that I would want to drop back. That's pretty much how I felt on the run today so maybe I did an alright job. If there was shade, it was so much nicer to run in. Too bad the only shad was about 100 yards worth in the park portion of my run.
I pretty much felt dead after my run. I'm taking that as a good sign. I get a little bit bored on the streets around my apartment but I was afraid to try a tempo run at the trail since I run slower when it's not pavement.
Tuesday: Rest (Dave wanted to go for a walk but I didn't want to so that I could rest my calves.)
I set my Garmin to 9:35 target pace since that is what Hilary and I ran last time. We beat that. We also added a mile. It was really windy this time. With 2 miles to go, my Garmin went crazy and the bezel kept clicking around. Now I know what other people talk about when it is overly sensitive. I will lock it next time and see what happens. I set up virtual partner and I had been looking at it more than normal to update Hilary (even though I don't think she cared). But when I run on my own, I do my pace in my head and don't ever flip over to the virtual partner. It got so messed up that it was stuck on the to location screen for awhile. I believe this slowed us up but then we picked up the pace after I got annoyed with it. Before it went crazy, Hilary's watch was only.01 different than mine. After that mess it got off by .06. I slightly adjusted the results to show the 5.06 that hers said we ran.
I put on my compression socks around bed time and slept in them because my calves were already bothering me.
Thursday: Rest (I knew I had to rest because of being on my feet so much on Wednesday. I probably could have lifted but I ended up not.)
Friday: I will start off by saying I had 1 can of Diet 7up and ~1 oz of water all day prior to the run. Because of that I thought it might be a bad idea to try mile repeats for the 2nd time in my life. So then I decided I'd do a long run. I chilled in the car for over 10 minutes because I didn't really want to start. I just wasn't feeling it. I even noticed myself falling asleep in the car.
Finally I got started and set out with a 9:30 pace goal in mind. I played bonus seconds in my head. I knew I had a really good first mile and a good but not as good 2nd mile. Then somehow I sped up and seemed to keep doing it. I thought I would crash and burn at 5 miles since that's basically all the distance I had been doing. I did not. The 4th and 5th miles were all against the wind. The wind was very loud too. I still can't believe my times were so good. In the last mile, I was feeling though. I was getting very tired. I kept it up though to finish. I ran until .11 thinking that would take me at a minute into the 9th mile but I was going too fast for that. It's not everyday that my worst split is only 1 second after my goal for each .25 (especially when that .25 goal would have put my mile pace 2 seconds better than my real goal. And especially when the number rounds up to that number versus being round down)
My last long run was about a mile shorter but took almost 2 minutes longer!
I can't believe how exhausted an 8 mile run made me. I feel as fatigued as I did the day of my marathons.
Saturday: Rest (and I was exhausted)
Sunday: Rest (I was just lazy. I mean I was so lazy I took a 5 hour nap.)
Total Miles: 18.23 (I'm the most happy with this mileage of any week so far)
Total everything else: weights once (Monday), a few walks, plus a run/walk with Dave.
Total suggested by training plans: 21, 17, or 13.
Final Thoughts:
I started off with my missed speed workout from Week 5 but then I got myself screwed up for runs the rest of the week because of my sore calves. Yet another week I only ran 3 times and I even told the Smart Coach I'd only run 4 days a week. I don't know how I only run 3 days a week. I wish my calves wouldn't bother me. I've been forcing myself to take it easy so they don't get worse. I wore my compression socks twice this week after tough runs.
Saturday, August 25, 2012
I worked out with Dave. Got back, drank water, and ate half a protein bar. I knew I was weak from the lack of food on the 16th. Then I set out and ran 7 miles. They were 7 awful miles.
I did a few things on my to-do list. I read facebook. I read Big Brother feed updates. I played with data in R. Man did I have fun with that. There will be a post with those eventually. I just want to make some improvements and fill in some missing data.
At 5:45 Dave IMed me. I asked him if he was home. I thought he would be. I was just getting ready to stalk him on my phone (Find my Friends app). This was the conversation that followed:
(5:49:53 PM) Dave: it's friday remember
(5:50:04 PM) gmail: oh
(5:50:05 PM) Dave: but i didn't go back to my desk
(5:50:06 PM) gmail: nope
(5:50:07 PM) gmail: i didn't know
(5:50:14 PM) Dave: you didn't know it's friday?
(5:50:21 PM) gmail: no wonder someone asked me what my plans are for the weekend
(5:50:27 PM) Dave: look at you
(5:50:32 PM) Dave: unemployed and fancy free
(5:50:37 PM) gmail: here i was thinking i had to finish playing with data because you'd be home
(5:50:50 PM) Dave: lol
Friday, August 24, 2012
Nerd x3
All the graphs that say Dave Only are the times that I walked or ran with Dave. He did some walks without me and some walk/runs without me but I don't have those so they aren't included.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
At 8, we went for a walk. It was dark but the street lights helped on all but one little portion of the one road.
I ended up going to bed at 11. Go me.
I'm very upset about my new Eye-Fi card. It was a refurbished one. It would overheat and drain the battery in 4 pictures. Now I'm using my other Eye-Fi card again that is for my Rebel but 1 battery won't even hold a charge long enough for one picture. The other one maybe lasts 4. I'm so mad right now. I want to find my old Canon to see if it is battery or camera related. It all started with the faulty Eye-Fi card. (After finding my camera, the memory card seems to work in my old camera.) I have started to use instragram more since I've had to resort to using my phone to take pictures.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
8.18 - Cooking
We finally went to Goodwill and made what I think is our last of the Goodwill donations. There are still a few boxes left so there might end up being more. We went to the recycling place. I hate that. So you pay an extra 5 cents per can and 10 cents or something per bottle when you buy drinks then you go and recycle them after to get your money. Except it isn't like NY at all. There seem to be few places that do it. You go there and ask what you do and nobody answers you. You watch some people and figure some stuff up but still aren't sure. You wait what seems like forever even though only a couple people are there. They weigh everything so then you end up with some money that isn't divisible by any can/bottle amount. Then you think that 40 minutes of your life was not worth the 3.81 that you just got. It almost makes me not want to recycle. It was super annoying. Now I know why people end up with garbage bags full. It's because you try to go as long as you can before turning them in. I still have to recycle other things. I hear apartment complexes have to provide recycling. I haven't figured out how or where to do it. I also haven't asked.
After that we bought gas and the gas station didn't accept credit cards. It was so weird.
We went to Whole Foods and Safeway to get ingredients to cook dinner. We made Baked Penne.
1/2 lb. extra-lean ground beef or Italian Sausage - We used 1/3 lb Sweet Italian Sausage and 1/3 lb ground beef.
1/2 cup chopped onions 1/2 cup green peppers - We didn't measure. I think it was more than 1/2 cup green peppers. It seemed about 1/2 c of onions but I wish there was more
1 jar(24 oz.) spaghetti sauce
1 tub(10 oz.) Philadelphia Italian Cheese and Herb Cooking Creme, divided (I used reduced fat)
1 cup Kraft Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, divided - Probably used a little bit more
3 cups cooked penne pasta - just poured in the entire box of wheat penne
Heat oven to 350°F.
Now I felt the directions were pretty vague for making this on the website. I added some notes in parenthesis.
Brown meat with vegetables in large nonstick skillet. Stir in spaghetti sauce, 3/4 cup cooking creme and 1/2 cup mozzarella; cook and stir 2 to 3 min. or until mozzarella is melted. (Cheese melted right away but we cooked the sauce a bit longer first) Add pasta; mix lightly. Spoon into 2-qt. casserole (we totally filled our 2.5 qt casserole dish); top with remaining cooking creme and mozzarella (we also put Romano and Parmesan on top). Cover. Bake 20 min. or until heated through, uncovering after 15 min.
Now we used way more pasta than it said and I still felt that it was too saucy. Next time we said we'd use more meat and more onions. We'd put less cheese on top because we didn't care for it like that. We added TONS of spices to the veggies, meat, and sauce. So we did that at 3 separate times. There was no mention of spices in the original recipe. Make sure you salt the meat when cooking it. Dave actually cooked the meat and veggies but I asked him what he did.
Put oil in the pan and get it hot. Put in onions, salt, and pepper. Then put in peppers, salt, and pepper. Put in meat, salt, pepper (more salt on the beef). Stir and break it up good. Let it cook for awhile. When it is about done add basil, garlic, and spices for about 30 seconds. Then put in the sauce. Stir. Then more Italian seasoning was added. Once it was boiling, turn it down and simmer for about 20 minutes.
The toasts were delicious. I didn't want garlic on mine so they are just butter and cheese. Dave's have butter, garlic, mozzarella, Romano, and Parmesan.
I did read some of my SQL book around bedtime and I ended up staying up extra late. It was just too easy to keep learning.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Nerd x2
Well I was unhappy with my data from a few days ago so I dug out my old excel files and did some updating and now graphed 3.5 years worth of data. (The type of runs aren't all updated for past years. Also who isn't fully updated either. It's basically impossible to remember what type of run it was 3 years ago.)
I need to run more with people to get more data here. I did go back and add a bunch of runs with Kelly and all the runs with Jen. I was able to figure those out but it was time consuming. Too bad years ago I didn't think of all the stuff I'd want to track. Back filling out data is hard work. My runs with Callie are deceiving. It makes it seem like she's slow but really two of those are at a very high elevation that is hard to run in for me and another one we were running on extremely muddy trails and had to climb over some trees.
What do you think? My brother told me this is all ridiculous.
Nerd x3 post
Monday, August 20, 2012
I slept through lunch (but had a late breakfast) so at 4:30 I ate a little pub cheese. When Dave got home, I didn't want to eat. I had warned him so he brought a sandwich from Google. We watched some TV.
I did laundry and used my drying rack outside on the balcony. I believe this is the first time I will have clothes dried outside in all my life. I had to put one shirt under another shirt because it kept blowing off the rack.
I talked to my mom on the phone for an hour.
Our hallway is finally clean going into the office. Stuff accumulated there that needed to go down into storage.
After dinner, I went for a run. I almost forgot too! I finished a few minutes after 8 and it was still light enough for my liking.
I showed Dave stuff I did with all my photoshopping skills on the running pictures. Then he got distracted and said he knew how to fix something. Over an hour later he was still sitting at my computer doing stuff in Photoshop. I also showed him how to remove the signs on the edge of the trail. He was impressed.
We watched Big Brother. Then I went back to my computer to work on all the little things on my to-do list. I really don't know what people do that don't use a computer all the time. I feel like there isn't much else to do around the house.
I accidentally stayed up past 3am and still only got 72% of my to-do list done. There were more things I could have done but the time wasn't worth it at that late in the day. I wanted it to be my top completion and it's tied with 7th. Maybe someday I'll post my To-do list completion percent graph.
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Week 5 - Training
|Previous Summaries
Hal Higdon's have me doing 4 mi, 4 mi (400 repeats), 3 mi, 3 mi, and 8 mi (plus lifting)
The other Hal Higdon one has me doing 4 mi, 2 mi, 4 mi, 40 min cross, and 6 mi
This week I have done 3 mi, 3 mi, and 7 miles. See details below.
Monday: I went out to run in the evening. I was debating not running because I felt I should be doing something else. Then I thought more about it and realized runs are short. I was going to run 2 miles since that was a minimum suggestion for the week. Then I thought that why should I start with the least. Every time I run, I should run as far as I can that day (within reason/training plan) so that I don't end up with too many longer runs pushed together at the end of the week. It was starting to get dark and the last mile or so was past my comfort zone but I stayed in the well lit park.
I ended up finishing near my door at 3.03 and when I run 3.03 I might as well make it a 5k. I did that but then realized I still can't get in the door near me so I started the timer back up and ran to the other door. The first 2 splits were my worst but I still thought I made my 9 minute pace but my 2:18 was really 2:18.7 and other splits were on the high end so when I guessed that each split was .5 higher I was still wrong. I was close though. I set out to run a 9 minute pace and hit 8:50. I set out to run 2 miles and ran 3.15. I could tell the 3rd mile was harder but I was also going faster. I am so glad I still have my old Garmin to use while my new one is being shipped back.
Tuesday: Rest (Well Dave and I went to the trail to take pictures so I got a touch of running in.)
I planned 9:30 pace. After the first 2 splits, I was not doing well. I got a 2:25 and 2:26 (really 2:25.8 and 2:26.8 so even worse than I thought) and my goal was 2:21. Starting out a run with penalty seconds is never good for me but then I made it all up in the follow 2:11 split. The weather was cool that even for the first 2 miles I was chilly. I almost went back at 2 miles but figured what's an extra mile and I need to get these extra miles in when I can.
This is my second run in a row that I got better with each mile. I got lucky both times crossing the main street because people were already waiting at the cross walk and they already hit the button.
All these fast times recently have me curious what I should make my tempo run pace.
Thursday: Rest
Friday: I moved my long run to Friday since I had been missing them in the past. The bad news is I still need to get in my speedwork for the week.
I set out to do 9:30 pace and then switching to 9:40 pace even though Smart Coach says to do 10:35 pace. I changed to 9:40 before even looking at my watch. I started out at a 9:51 pace. I thought that was bad but then my next split had me at a 10:46 pace. It was just all around bad. I tried to speed up and only managed a 10:20 pace for the 3rd split.
My legs felt like lead. I wanted to quit but I didn't. Before leaving the house I wanted to do 7 miles or 7.1 miles. (The .1 is because I ran/walked with Dave right before and we did 1.4 miles so technically I would get 8.5 miles on my legs.)
I would have done the distance perfectly but instead of standing waiting for the walk sign I just kept doubling back on the sidewalk. I always hate to turn around because all the distance doesn't get accounted for so the Garmin says your speed is slower than it really is but I figured I could get an extra little bit and that'd help my overall mileage.
When I ran/walked with Dave, I wore a long sleeve shirt. It felt cold. When I was standing outside waiting to acquire satellites, I still had on my long sleeve shirt and I was still chilly. I thought that was a good sign that the run would be cool. Man was I wrong.
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Rest (I was going to do my speed workout but I woke up and my calves were killing me. I decided it was better to rest them now than to make them get worse.)
Total Miles: 13.73 (Not happy with this. An extra .25 is there to guess what I ran the day Dave took pictures of me running. I did wear my Garmin but I paused it to change lenses and I forgot to unpause a few times. Also I walked with Dave to next photo spot and had it running)
Total everything else: just a few walks plus a run/walk with Dave.
Total suggested by training plans: 20, 21, or 16.
Final Thoughts:
I started off another week well and then fall apart on the weekend. I missed my speedwork this week but didn't miss my long run. Sigh. I should miss an easy run. I'll try that if my calves start to feel better.
R - I'm a Nerd
I have recently discovered R. R is a free software environment for statistical computing and graphics. I just learned about it recently. I started playing it in. I should probably do a few tutorials because I don't really know anything now. I probably know less than 1% about the program and yet I still have fun with it. When I started plotting, I emailed people to tell them about my plots. I'm pretty sure they all think I'm crazy.
If you want to make a histogram, they look way better in R than in Excel.
Then I thought about it and thought that sometimes I run with other people and I might run at their pace (slower or faster) so I figured out how to do some plots with Who I ran with too.
If you want to make a histogram, they look way better in R than in Excel.
Then I thought about it and thought that sometimes I run with other people and I might run at their pace (slower or faster) so I figured out how to do some plots with Who I ran with too.
- In my base data, if I ran with more than 1 person, I only listed 1 person.
- If I ran 1/3 of the run with someone else and 2/3 on my own, I listed the other person
- Most of the times that I ran/walk with Dave, I did not put them in my base data. If I ran/walked with him then ran on my own, then I put it in the file.
- I would have graphed the mile pace versus mph but couldn't figure it out.
- I have run with more people but if I only ran with them once or twice, I removed them. I kept Jill on because I liked that regression line.
- I had to go back and fill out half of March, April, and May last night because I was slacking off back then. So I might have missed running with someone.
- Update: Someone pointed out that the lack of trend could also be because I've run when injured.
I need to make a file with only my data with Dave and not when I ran on my own before/after.
On a side note when I was going through the data, I had all the distances written in my file but not the total time. I was using my Garmin tabs to fill that out if I filled those out. A few weren't on there so I made a guess. Then once I realized since I ran it on the treadmill, it might be in my running notebook. It was. And I was 1 second off from my guess! Then later I had another one I didn't know and guessed. Then I realized it might be on the Garmin site. It was. I was 1 second off again. Both of my guesses were 1 second too slow. Maybe I don't even need all this data since apparently I can guess. Or maybe all the data, helped me guess the missing times. I based my guess on where I ran and the time of year so I knew what shape I was in. I also know that treadmill runs tend to be faster because they weren't as hilly.
Time to look into this program some more to see what else I can do. I have a lot of files of data but they don't mean that much so it's hard to play with the program to see what cool things to do. I just need more data. I need to run more to get more data. I need to run with Hilary more times so she can be included. I need to do other things (I just don't know what) so I can get more data. Any suggestions?
Nerd x2 post
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Edinburgh Fringe: Scientists experiment on stage
With shows celebrating Albert Einstein, the wonders of physics and the science of sex, this year's Edinburgh Fringe has an influx of scientists who have swapped the lecture theatre for the stage.
The Fringe is the world's largest performing arts festival, but this year the phrase "experimental theatre" has taken on an entirely new meaning.
In one Fringe show, titled Festival of the Spoken Nerd, three stand-up comedians and science buffs create a "fire tornado" on stage, electrocute a pickle and conduct other cool experiments.
Elsewhere, a physicist weaves drama into a quantum mechanics lecture, while Professor Peter Higgs - who discovered the Higgs boson - turned up to take part in one performance of a "stand-up physics" show named after him.
There are at least four shows combining science and comedy to explain relationships and sex, and a musical about Einstein, titled Relativitively Speaking, promises to prove that "Einstein = Musical Comedy Squared!"
"One link between science and theatre, is that we're both concerned with working out how things work and finding answers to problems," explains playwright Rob Drummond.
"We're both concerned with the quest for something that's unobtainable, and that's the truth."
Later this month, Drummond will chair a debate in Edinburgh titled Big Bang Theatre. It was organised by the Playwright's Studio Scotland after they noticed a trend at this year's festival for more shows based on scientific discovery.
Drummond believes the reason is linked to people looking to science rather than religion to explain the mysteries of the universe.
"With science answering many of those questions that we previously thought were unanswerable outside the realms of superstition and religious thinking, it's taken on a new importance in our lives," he says.
"I was brought up in a Church of Scotland household and, for the last decade, I've been slowly moving away from that and science is the thing that's taken hold of me more than anything. Now I'm a bit obsessed with science and quantum physics."
Andrea Brunello, a professional actor with a PhD in theoretical physics, has written and stars in The Principle of Uncertainty, which he describes as a real quantum mechanics lecture with a dramatic twist.
He says the addition of theatrical drama is crucial to ensure that science "talks to human beings and is not cold and detached".
"I believe that people are realising how important it is to have an understanding of our reality," he says.
Brunello's play is the first product of a collaboration with the physics department of the University of Trento in Italy to create theatrical science, or perhaps scientific theatre.
Brunello refers to the shows at the Fringe about "giants" of science like Einstein, Higgs and Sir Isaac Newton.
"I think people are starting to understand that these giants can make the world better," he says. "If we had more Newtons, say, in the world, I think the world would be much better.
"People want to be part of that and they are curious about it. These are becoming like pop culture icons."
The show about Prof Higgs, simply titled Higgs, is described by its Dutch creator Jan van den Berg as "stand-up physics".
"In the Netherlands we've got a new sort of theatre which is called stand-up philosophy, stand-up economics etc," he says. "At the moment that's what's going on, on the fringe scene."
A theatre and film-maker who enthuses about his love for particle physics, van den Berg says scientists and artists are linked because they are the only people really pondering long-term problems.
They look "further ahead than four years in politics or 24 hours on the stock exchange, and try to think about the bigger questions", he says.
Prof Higgs himself watched Saturday's performance of Higgs in the historic anatomy lecture theatre in Edinburgh's Summerhall before taking part in a post-show interview with van den Berg.
Asked about the abundance of theatrical shows based on science, Prof Higgs said: "I think it's very productive because you can put over things in a different language that's more readily accessible to people than I can."
Many comedians have tackled science on stage, radio or TV in recent years, from Robin Ince, who teamed up with Prof Brian Cox for the show Infinite Monkey Cage, to Chris Addison - who did a show about the periodic table.
Helen Arney started performing as a stand-up after graduating in theoretical physics from Imperial College, London, and is now in two science-based comedy shows at the Fringe.
"My favourite comedians and comedy writers think the same way as some scientists," she says.
"You don't just look at the world and see what is there on the surface. You have to find out how it works underneath.
"The most satisfying comedians are ones who don't just deal in stereotypes and surface stuff. They dig underneath to find out fundamental things about human nature and characters. And some of the best scientists see the world in the same way."
At the Fringe, she is in Domestic Science, a double act with her real-life partner Rob Wells; and she is also one of the three nerds enthusing about science and spreadsheets in the irreverent Festival of the Spoken Nerd.
They seem a bit too articulate and charismatic to be real nerds, however. "We're trying to redefine nerd as not being someone who sits in their room and never talks to anyone," Arney says.
"Being a nerd is being unable to stop yourself communicating this cool stuff. We cannot conceive that people would not be interested in this stuff."


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Parents, you deserve a break today. In fact, you deserve a date! So I'm suggesting three films that are great for couples to cozy up to one the kiddies are in bed.
All three of these films are directed by Lasse Hallstrom, a Swedish master whose early work inspired me to get into filmmaking and writing about film. Hallstrom gracefully transitioned into directing films in English. Here are three sweet, thoughtful, and romantic films directed by Hallstrom that are perfect a spontaneous date night at home:
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (2011):
This film pleasantly surprised me. I was skeptical that I would really enjoy a film with "salmon fishing" in the title, and so was prepared to be a little bored watching some of my favorite actors casting a fly line for an hour and a half.
It turns out that "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen" has an entertaining story, and a very heartwarming one at that.
A fabulously wealthy sheik (played by the disarmingly charming Amr Wacked) from the Yemen happens to be not only an anglophile, but also an angler. Out of his love for all things originating in the British Isles, he's purchased an enormous estate in Scotland where he has taken of the sport of fly fishing for salmon. Since money is no object for him, he has a dream of bringing this meditative sport to his home country, and he instructs his representative Harriet Chetwode-Talbot — isn't that a terrifically proper British name? — (played by Emily Blunt) to make it happen, in spite of the dessert climate there.
His representative in turn contacts a top ecology and fisheries expert Dr. Alfred Jones (Ewan McGregor) to make the dream a reality. Skeptical, Alfred is eventually convinced by the prime minister's press secretary (Kristin Scott Thomas) that it is worth the undertaking because the British government is desperate for a feel-good story about the Middle East. Alfred's efforts to accomplish the outlandish mission brings him closer to Harriet, and a sweet and unlikely romance blossoms between the two, though complications with the project and their personal lives could keep them apart.
I really enjoyed the film's mix of romance and politics. It has a very British sensibility, and the movie draws you into the world of Londoners, both the every day citizen and the super rich, in a way that is immediate and fresh.
"Chocolat" (2000):
This charming confection has a delicious story featuring a romance between gorgeous French star Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp as a traveling gypsy. Binoche portrays Vianne, a free spirit who opens a chocolate shop in a conservative French country village during an important religious holiday. The chocolates she serves mysteriously cures what ails the townspeople in their personal lives, and particularly seems to help them out in the love department. But Vianne's recipes for curing the towns peoples' love lives outrageous the town officials, who will do everything he can to shut her down. Johnny Depp is the vagabond who mysteriously drifts into Vianne's life and sweeps her off her feet, proving that the bonbon baker herself needs to be loved.
"Casanova" (2005)
Heath Ledger stars in the titular rolls as the notorious ladykiller determined to win the heart of a beautiful young scholar with feminist ideals (Sienna Miller) in eighteenth century Venice. This film is pure eye candy, and watching Francesca resist Casanova's advances against the stunning backdrop of Venice will delight lovers of period and costume dramas who want something more lighthearted and fun.
The film may not have the resonance and brilliant plot of "Shakespeare in Love" but it is thoroughly enjoyable. This film will transport you to magical Venice, an ideal setting for a temporary "getaway" with a movie date night.
Parents, plan your date night soon: treat yourselves!