text:
"The bigger you build the bonfire, the more darkness is revealed."
- Terence McKenna
Apocalypsopolis, book one
Civilization Will Eat Itself, Superweed 1-4, best of
crashwatch (retired)
search this siteJanuary 13. So, if anyone is just now tuning in, I'm in the middle of a tour around the states, using a 60 day Greyhound bus pass, and staying with readers. I've got more than 60 invitations mapped out but will probably end up staying with fewer than half. My schedule is loosely planned and flexible. I'm in Austin tonight, then Dallas, then it looks like I'll be around Atlanta all next week. Then Knoxville, NYC, Cape Cod, Vermont, Pittsburgh, Ann Arbor, and Chicago, and maybe a few other points on the way. Then if I have time I could dip down to St Louis, or up to Minnesota. I think I'll burn my pass out in the east and try to get back west through rideshare or Amtrak.
It's not too late to send me an invitation, especially if you live in a group house with easy transportation to and from the bus station. My typical stay is 2-3 nights. You don't need to entertain me, but I will need to borrow a computer, and I might be making heavy use of your kitchen. So far on this trip I've made 15 apple pies. Mostly I'll want to hang out and rest and eat. Deep conversations and games would be great.
Everyone asks me why I'm traveling. It's not easy, and it's not that fun. But I have the urge to stretch myself, and I enjoy meeting people and seeing different landscapes. Another nice thing is that it makes this short life seem longer. I've been on the road for 17 days and it feels like a month.
January 11. Another loose end from the other day. Christienne, who teaches yoga, points out that postures are only one part of yoga, overemphasized in the west. Also she writes:
What is the original yoga? It can be found basically in the first line of The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. This one is translated by Mukunda Stiles: "Yoga is experienced in that mind which has ceased to identify itself with its vacillating waves of perception."
This reminds me of a verse from the Tao Te Ching, which I would paraphrase as: "When you lose touch with the Tao, there is nature; when you lose touch with nature, there is human morality; when you lose touch with human morality, there is law."
This is a challenge to the modern counterculture, which puts nature at the very center. I like the idea that there is something deeper, which even nature can only crudely approximate. You can also find this idea in sophisticated Judeo-Christianity, which defines "God" as something like the Tao, rather than a silly sky father.
I've been reading Masanobu Fukuoka's The One-Straw Revolution, and he has some great ideas, but I think he makes a mistake to put nature at the center and trust it absolutely. His philosophy is designed more to be inspirational than helpful, and in practice he makes exceptions, using diluted mineral oil to kill insects on his trees, and not letting a heavily controlled orchard suddenly go wild, but bringing it slowly through a transition.
My favorite idea in the book is that there's no such thing as progress or regression, only movement toward or away from the center. This is liberating because it disconnects human technological innovation from value, either positive or negative. In practice, what we call "progress" has mostly moved us away from the center, because we're trying new things and making mistakes. But it's equally possible for technological innovation to move us toward the center, if we learn how to do it right.
January 9. Adam has done a nice blog post on my comments this morning, Yoga, culture, and the spark of life, basically arguing that some branches of yoga, some spiritual traditions, and some schools do not veer off from the source, but continue to be helpful.
Also, here's something related to unemployment: Cut the working week to 20 hours, urge economists.
January 9. Last week's Archdruid post, Waiting for the Great Pumpkin, repeats the argument that we're in for a long decline, rather than a sudden crash or recovery, and offers this great summary of what to do about it:
The only way out of the trap is to accept a steep cut in your standard of living before it becomes necessary, as a deliberate choice, and to use the resources freed up by that choice to get rid of any debts you have, get settled in a location that has a fair chance of keeping a viable degree of community life going, and get the tools and learn the skills that you will need to manage a decent life in an age of spiraling decline.
Second subject, same as the first. In Prime Age Men Crawling Back to Work, Stuart Staniford considers the cultural effects of long-term unemployment:
The importance of hard work and self-discipline has been a central value of western culture for many centuries. One in five working age men are no longer working and as far as I can see there is little or no hope of a fundamental reversion in this trend. We are going to have to either a) change the situation in the economy, or b) undergo a massive values shift to give honor and meaning to men who don't work, or c) experience a major crisis.
Third subject, different from the first. How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body. Yoga was developed by people in great physical shape who had enough body awareness to avoid injuring themselves. "Now urbanites who sit in chairs all day walk into a studio a couple of times a week and strain to twist themselves into ever-more-difficult postures despite their lack of flexibility and other physical problems." And teachers push students and themselves too hard because of ego.
Something the article doesn't mention is that every yoga pose was invented by someone whose body needed that particular stretch at that particular time. Ideally we would all have the skill and awareness to improvise our own exercises every day. Lacking that, we follow rigid and uniform routines that are inevitably wrong for us. This reminds me of how religion starts with direct experience of the divine, and then hardens into rules and memorized prayers. Or how learning starts with curiousity and self-directed exploration, and ends up in lifeless forced schooling.
January 8, late. Just finished a 26 hour bus trip, where I was lucky again to mostly have two seats to myself. On Greyhound you're never going to sleep well at night, but with two seats you can sleep well enough that you can keep up with the help of naps. I've also noticed that my body goes half dormant on the bus, so I can get away with eating less and putting less water through.
This was my first daytime trip through west Texas, and I was surprised at the vast amounts of land that are still totally undeveloped. Tonight I'm staying with Brian in the San Antonio suburbs, and I expect to go up to Austin on Tuesday morning.
January 7. My Altadena hosts, Evan and Cheryl, have generously offered to drive me to San Bernardino, so I have time to say a little more on yesterday's subject. At the Huntington I spent a lot of time in the botanical gardens, which are like a museums of living plants, a near-perfect metaphor for civilization gone too far. The plants are alive, but they're disconnected from nature, over-protected, and completely managed. A botanical garden appears to be better than wild nature if you just see a snapshot, but nature is much better if you understand the relationships.
Related: Gabriel sends an interesting sci-fi story, Just another day in utopia. It's about a world where omnipotent AI's allow humans to choose their level of excitement and safety, and the protagonist lives in a perpetual action movie with no chance of being seriously hurt. I think we would get bored with this really fast, like a four year old who imagines utopia as a giant pile of toys. The author understands that a good society has to be safe enough to not be traumatic, while giving us the freedom to take risks and create our own stories. What's missing is our need to work with constraints.
January 6, late. I've been super-busy. It's warm enough here to ride a bike around in a t-shirt. Yesterday I rode to the Pasadena Whole Foods, the first two-level grocery store I've ever been in, and paid $7 for the only certified humane eggs. I've made two more apple pies, one with Braeburn and one with Arkansas Black, both of which are inferior to Fuji as pie apples. I'll continue testing more varieties.
Today I went to the Huntington, and it got me thinking about museums and civilization. Anti-civ authors are making a mistake to point out when civilization causes pain and destruction, because nature causes much more pain and destruction, and the avoidance of pain and destruction is a civilized value. The correct way to critique civilization is to point out control and lifelessness. Museums have their place, but when the ethic of the museum creeps into the culture at large, that culture is in trouble. You'll have to think of your own examples. I'm off to bed, and tomorrow off on the next long bus ride.
January 3. By popular demand, a recent article related to today's subject: How Doctors Die.
January 3. Susan comments on one aspect of the ongoing collapse:
I work in a busy emergency room. I had left ten years ago and just returned last May. At first I was amazed at how much sicker the patients were and how heavy the work had become. This weekend I realized that we do a lot more for the patients. It seems that almost everyone who comes in with anything more serious than a twisted ankle gets blood work and an EKG. It doesn't seem like a lot until you multiply it by hundreds of patients every day. When you have a very elderly person and/or a very sick patient, they amount of care they receive skyrockets unbelievably, even if that person isn't expected to live much longer. For example, I had a 90 year old woman with an extensive cancer history come in with difficulty breathing. Probably she had inhaled some food because she couldn't really feed herself any longer and developed pneumonia. Her family had made her a DNR (Do Not Resuscitate), so that if her heart stopped we wouldn't do CPR or stick a breathing tube in her mouth. But other than those caveats, she got numerous, costly tests and possibly will spend the remaining weeks of her life in a hospital, undergoing daily blood tests and CT scans and god knows what else.
Now, this isn't really news to me, as a nurse, that the US spends more on health care and has poorer outcomes than any other rich country. But it did occur to me that we might be at the peak of what we can provide. We take care of more and more baby boomers as they're getting older and they are not as healthy as the generation before them. Fifteen years ago I'd take care of a lot of 80 year olds who had never been really sick, had never taken any medication other than aspirin and had never been in a hospital. Now, I'm seeing 60 year olds with all kinds of health problems and we haven't even got to the baby boom bubble yet. I can't imagine that we're going to have enough staff, resources or even space to take care of these people in another ten years.
It's important to remember that the American medical system is predatory. Doctors and nurses may be trying to help people, but the system as a whole is just trying to suck as much money as possible into the giant black hole of private capital around which the whole economy orbits. This means that any procedure a hospital can bill insurance for, it will do, and it's very difficult for patients to refuse. Meanwhile insurance companies will raise rates, and governments will pretend to do good by throwing more money down the hole while cutting more valuable services.
My guess is that rich people will continue to get more medical care than is good for them, and middle class people will also get more care than is good for them while going deep in debt. This will drop most of them into the lower classes, who are already getting much less care than they need. It is not possible for medical providers to cut back services to what is actually helpful; it is only possible for them to cut back to what is profitable. Of all the issues facing us, health care is the only one where I can't see any non-catastrophic path to a better world. If you have comments, here's a subreddit link. I'll be spending today in the kitchen and tomorrow on the bus.
January 2. Today, some material from readers. Tim Boucher sends this link about a Walkupy Group, which he found after a series of dreams about a "new walking-occupation movement wherein masses of people had left the comforts of normal home and society to become pilgrims on the road." Note: "walkupy" rhymes with "occupy", as in "walkupy all street!"
Christine sends two good links: Hellarity burns is a long, thoughtful article about a squatter house in Oakland, which happens to be written by one of the famous Iraq hikers.
And a surprisingly sympathetic article, Dinner gets very local for squirrel-eating Seattleite.
January 1, 2012. For the record, this is my position on the Mayan calendar: 1) The 2012 winter solstice is not the end of the Mayan calendar, only the renewal of a 26,000 year cycle, based on the precession of the equinoxes. 2) We don't know what the Mayans thought was actually going to happen on this date. 3) Whatever they predicted, they were just guessing like everyone else. 4) Nevertheless, this world is full of meaningful coincidence, and if you look around, big changes are underway. Also, the popular myth of the end of the world in 2012 might make people bolder in trying to change the world.
I don't think we'll see a global hard crash, unless it's caused by something in the realm of astronomy or science fiction. Catastrophes will be local, and the global system will continue to barely function while slowly breaking down, like a poorly maintained road.
In the coming decades, I see two trends pulling in different directions. One is energy decline. There is nothing on the horizon that can match the abundance, density, and ease of storage of fossil fuels. There are enough alternatives to give us more energy than preindustrial people, but not enough to maintain the outrageous consumption of the late 20th century. Reduced consumption will cause economic collapse, since our economy is based on perpetual increase. Professional economists will be the last ones to see that economic growth is the wrong goal, and the right goal is to maximize quality of life with zero growth. But I think humans lack the self-discipline for an enduring steady-state economy, and instead we will continue to enjoy growth-based economies by repeatedly crashing them, like we did before the age of oil.
The other trend is information technology. The smartest computers will continue to get smarter, and where this will take us is anyone's guess. Will artificial intelligence be used more to strengthen human domination systems, or to undermine them? Will AI's develop their own motivations? At what point does it make sense to ask what it's like to be a computer? Is there any place for the whole drama to reach equilibrium? I can see equilibrium in only two scenarios: human extinction, or something we can't even imagine.
By the way, I'm in Eugene, staying at the Walnut Street Co-op. I'm leaning toward skipping the bay area, and going straight from here to Los Angeles, and then to Texas.
December 27. Three years ago when I used Craigslist rideshare to get down the west coast, I noticed that drivers in the northwest asked for an equal share of gas money, while drivers in California asked for a flat fee that was much greater than a share of gas. This behavior has now crept into the northwest. Everyone driving from Seattle to Portland seems to be running an unlicensed bus service, charging enough to buy gas and make a profit. This is troubling. As Fredy Perlman wrote, trade is something you do with your enemies. Nobody would give their friend a ride and charge enough to make a profit. But as the economy collapses and people get desperate, they are shrinking the sphere of people they think of as friends, and applying the cold logic of the market to everyone outside a tiny circle.
I don't like to be half-assed corporate. I'd rather pay money to an actual corporation that's already selfish by design, than pay to reward humans for choosing selfishness. So I'm planning to start my Greyhound pass now, and if I want to keep traveling after late February, I can figure something else out.
December 25. So I've already read two reality-shifting e-books. First was Sailor on the Seas of Fate, which I remembered as my favorite of Michael Moorcock's Elric series from 30 years ago. It was totally fun, although Moorcock uses the word "sardonic" way too much. Then I read Ursula Le Guin's The Lathe of Heaven, which was clearly influenced by Philip K. Dick. It's about a meek but courageous man whose dreams can retroactively change reality, and a psychologist who exploits him to try to create utopia. I am tired of fiction with a message about society, but if you're not, I recommend it.
In other news, after two weeks on a near-Paleo diet, I was looking like Steve Jobs' ghost. Bits of quinoa were getting stuck in the hollows under my cheekbones. If you need to lose weight and stay healthy, there's nothing better than Paleo, but I need to gain weight, so I've just put apple pies back in my diet in a big way. I might be buying a lot of butter and flour and apples on my trip.
December 22. Just found out I'll have internet on the coast, so I might be posting a bit. Meanwhile, No Tech Magazine and Do The Math have had some great posts lately, and the other day John Robb made a fascinating argument that The Future of Drone Warfare will not be like flying a plane, but like playing Starcraft.
December 20. Here's something to think about. Are we in a decades-long design rut? The author, Kurt Andersen, points out that popular style has changed less in the last 20 years than in any 20 year period going back to the 1800's. This reminds me of Steven Pinker's observation that violence has declined. We should not confuse our certainty that it's happening, with our certainty that we know why. Andersen thinks that technology has given us the ability to turn popular culture into a museum. Update: thanks silverionmox for making a subreddit link.
December 16. So on Monday I leave Spokane and leave my computer behind. For the following two or three months I'll be on borrowed computers, so I won't be online nearly as much. Maybe if I'm staying with someone who has to go to work, and they leave me with their computer all day, I'll be able to read some stuff and make some longer posts, but I expect most of my posts will be brief updates on where I am and where I'm going next.
Something I haven't written about yet is the American presidential race. It looks like Obama is in trouble, until you look at the Republicans who are in worse trouble, with no candidate who can unite the establishment and the base. Following presidential politics is like following sports: you have no influence on the outcome, and the outcome has no effect on the world. I've written before that I think Dennis Kucinich and Michele Bachmann would be more different in their performance as janitor than their performance as president, because the office is now utterly controlled by the giant blocks of money. But if you enjoy following the race, Nate Silver's FiveThirtyEight, now at the NY times, is a great blog.
December 15. And another gift I got in the mail. Trumpeter Peter Evans has made a record based on my essay "Beyond Civilized and Primitive", and last week he sent me a copy. My turntable is in storage so I haven't listened to it yet. Peter might put a stream up on his More is More Records page, and you can buy it from Dancing Wayang Records. And here's a nice review: Peter Evans - Beyond Civilized And Primitive.
December 14. Thanks Jerah for buying and mailing me a physical copy of I'm With the Bears, a collection of ten stories about climate change. I liked some of it, and I've just posted this review on Amazon.


text:
keep Haunted Collector on the air
If anyone does not contact me about using this as a promotion for their page, I will delete this petition.
Help keep Haunted Collector on the air, by signing, and saying why you would like it to stay on.
Once you've signed, you're done. You can sign anonymous as well. There's no need to donate when you see the donation's page. I've already done that. Though it is up to you, it is a wonderful cause, I've used this, and saved many shows this way....
But, I can't do this alone. ALL votes count!
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
GARDINER, N.Y. -- A 22-year-old woman who was part of a group climbing the Trapps Cliff section of the Mohonk Preserve died Sunday from injuries she sustained after falling to the rocks below, state police said Monday.
Stephanie Prezant, of Haworth, N.J., was treated at the scene and transported to St. Francis Hospital in Poughkeepsie, where she later died, police said.
The accident happened at around 1:30 p.m.
Police said Prezant had made a successful climb but as she was returning to the cliff base, she fell, striking her head on the rocks below.�


text:
Another Good Reason To Get HD Radio
Most readers know I am biased on this topic by virtue of Flatiron's investment in iBiquity, the developer of HD Radio.
But regardless of my vested interest, I think there are a bunch of good reasons to get an HD radio the next time you buy a radio:
- HD lets you get the free HD2 and HD3 channels where there is a ton of great programming, all currently advertising free. Here's a listing of all the HD channels, including HD2 and HD3, in the NYC market.
- HD offers advanced data services on the radios, starting with things like artist, song, and title information, but over time including traffic, weather, and other real time data services.
- HD offers CD quality sound on the FM band and FM quality sound on the AM band.
But today, Don Imus talked on his show about another reason to get HD Radio. It turns out that there are places where you can't get an analog signal, but you can get a great digital signal.
Here's Don telling the story.


text:
Chazz: A Bronx Original
Online Reservations
Awesome restaurant. Can't wait to go back! Limoncellos are a must have and the pizzas are delicious. Our server, Sydney, was very attentive and probably one of the best servers we've ever had at any restaurant. The only complaint I had was where we were seated. It was just my husband and me and we were surrounded by other diners with children. Usually I don't mind this but there were other available tables.
Love this place whether it is for family dinner, date night or just to grab a drink early in the night...
Enjoyed the pizza. The Parma Prociutto pizza was reminiscent of what we ate while in Italy. The price for two pizzas and one glass of wine came to $43. More than I like to spend on that meal.
Great food. Pizza was a little greasy for my taste. Salad for an appetizer is way to big.
I ordered a pepperoni pizza and expresso. The pizza was big enough for two and very delicious. I ordered the expresso but did not realize how extremely small the cup would be. So the waitress nicely replaced it with a cup of coffee. I can't wait to visit again!!
This was my first visit to Chazz. Upon arrival, we were impressed with the decor and the huge space. The servers and service was wonderful and our food was incredible. Definitely a neighborhood gem.
Enjoyed salad, pizza (meatball) and a couple of beers including Chazz's IPA. Tables for 2's a little close together. Made 6:30 reservation through Open Table but not taken until 6:45 even though we fought the rain to get there on time. Host and hostess tried to be accommodating about the delay. Would recommend.
My wife and I go to Chazz any chance we get. I absolutely LOVE food, so my opinion counts - and trust me, you want to go to Chazz. Very delicious italian food in a new, modern designed restaurant. Can't get any better in Baltimore (way better than anything a few blocks over in Little Italy).
If you love panini's then you must try one of Chazz's. It was delicious!! Can't wait to go back.
Very nice place to eat. Some of the best pizza I have ever eaten.
But the pizza was delicious. Chazz's drink menu is a bit overpriced with drinks ranging from $10-15 a piece. I was celebrating, so getting "celebatory" was not an option here. Some dishes seemed to be missing something, like the sausage and peppers- that is ONLY sausage and peppers (what no pasta?). I had the pepperoni pizza, reasonably priced at $14 or so. I got a whole pie that tasted as close to NYC as I could get that night in Baltimore. They have a good variety of pizzas, but I keep it traditional. So Pepperoni pizza and if you must get an alcoholic drink, get the Orange Creamsicle!
As always it as do good. The waitress was not attentive. We had to wait awhile for our drinks and then we got apps and had to wait for setups.
Made a reservation for 6:30 PM and planned to see a move at 8. We told our waitress (Kim?) that we were seeing a movie and she went out of her way to make sure our order was put in and received our food in a timely fashion. She was sweet and friendly. I hope to see her next time!
Found the food to be fantastic--shared two appetizers and two pizzas between three women and we had leftovers for lunch the next day! We were surprised when we checked in (on time) for our 8:00 reservation (on a Saturday night) to be handed an electronic buzzer and told our table wasn't ready yet--despite seeing empty tables. We sat at the bar, per the hostess recommendations, and were met with disinterested bartenders. Finally, we felt rushed by the hostess when our table finally was ready (a half-hour later) and we needed to pay for our drinks before heading to the table. Once at our table, the dining room was pretty loud and there were many kids nearby.
Nice, clean relaxing ambiance. Enjoyable food and very yummy desserts! The arugala salad was awesome!!!! and the cheesecake was rich and great! if going in a group, you can definitely share - the portions are large. Old fashioned fresh lemonade - I had the steak, potatoes and broccoli rob. Happy camper! Our waitress was a sweetie but she was too slow for our taste. We had long pauses in between being seated, ordering, receiving food and the check - otherwise nice!
Friends came into town and we decided to try out a new spot. Chazz was the restaurant we chose and we were happy with our selection. Our waitress was very helpful and friendly (Shannon) she took us through the menu and offered up her recommendations. We ordered both appetizers and pizzas and we were very pleased with both. The food was great, the ambience fit the waterfront location and the service was excellent. Our friends were happy with our selection they enjoyed the evening and we will be back.
We went there after a show at CenterStage so the "kitchen close time" was nearing. They were very patient, as our friends had a hard time getting out of the parking lot which caused them to meet with us after the kitchen was "technically" closed. But our server was great, and asked them if they wanted anything (other than pizza, which you have an hour extra to order). She was patient and very attentive. To boot; the food was great!
A pleasant surprise. We had the broccoli rabe pizza and it was outstanding.
the veal meatball, salami and pizza were delicious. Best pie in town.
The manager was very gracious and made sure we were taken care of. The waiter was excellent and the food was excellent. The home made pasta was worth every penny. We will go again when in Baltimore.
Starting with the fried calamari or the fresh Mozz with roasted peppers our dinner was outstanding. We even tried the NY Bronx original pizza. Two of our kids had the homemade fettucini with the parma and speck ... outstanding. I had the Veal Parm, you can't go wrong. My daughter had another pasta dish that was fresh and amazing. My husband had the other Veal dish with mushrooms in a brown sauce. The veal was beyond tender. The kids all had mango gelato for dessert and my husband said it was outstanding. We will be back. I'm coming back for more Pizza and Apps!!!
While in baltimore I was looking for a place for lunch. I found "Chazz" and thought I'd give it a shot. The pizza with White Clam Sauce was fantastic. The Pizza Man, Ezra, was friendly, and did a great job with my pie. I enjoyed it so much that I went back for dinner, on Ezra's recommendation. At dinner, I had the Hanger steak. It was tasty. Annie, the bartender, was very friendly. Overall, a great find. Peter was also very friendly upon my arrival (both times), and checked in with me a few times during my meal. I hope to be back next time I visit Baltimore. Maybe Chazz will open a NY location! NAD
Our server was very knowledgable, intuiative but not hoovering.Our appetizers were great, Caesar came drentched in dressing, we sent our entrees back. They were unedible. My chicken parm was so over cooked you could not cut it.(really) Husband had a veal dish that was so full of sinew you could not chew it and the polenta was charred black.How did a cook put this on a plate???. My replacement dish was very good,a pasta but my husband wound up ordering a pizza. The manager on duty, Roman, was sincerely apologetic. Unfortunatly he wasn't the one cooking.
Had the lamb ragu, very good. Large Italian portions!
Food excellent....ambiance great....thoughts of the neighborhood while in Baltimore...
We've been to Chazz before, but our Restaurant Week visit marked the first time we ordered entrees beyond pizza. Everything was outstanding. It's been two days and I'm still full from the meal.
I've been to Chazz before and the Pizza was very good. This time we went for Restaurant Week. The calamari appetizer and wedge salad were fantastic. I had a Mahi Mahi and my girlfriend had a pesto chicken for our main courses. Neither dishes were items that I'd get again not because the food was bad, but just because of the flavors. The chicken was pretty blaaa and the fish was just marinara covered over a bed of noodles. There weren't any flavors that really popped and made me say man this is really good. I would have been better off sticking with the pizza. The apple tart and flowerless chocolate cake for dessert were really good though. It was partly my fault in the order selection for the main course, but decent overall.
We mostly had pizza, and all 4 were excellent, including the Nutella pizza for desert. The salads were also very good, as was the house ale. Definitely will come back.
We went here for restaurant week, and the food was great! The shrimp and calamari appetizers were delicious, and the lamb ragu was filling even though the portion size didn't look like it would be initially. I was full before dessert, actually! I tried the apple tart (prepared just right!) and the flourless chocolate cake was very chocolately and sinful - great if you are a dark chocolate lover. Overall, I love the ambience of the New York City Subway theme and the fire wood stoves that grab your attention once you walk in. Service was great! I would definitely go back again - I hear the pizzas are awesome, but I have yet to try them.
Seems too upscale for pizza joint and did not have many other choices on the menu.
food was delicious, the food was delivered hot and timely,service excellent, atmosphere was astounding
Chazz was AMAZING! The food was delicious, the service was incredible, and the restaurant was beautiful!
Chazz is better and more upscale and cosmopolitan than one would expect from a foodie that specializes in pizza. It is an exceptionally well designed and decorated restaurant. The menu is varied and the prices are reasonable. I would return again with an entourage because I enjoyed it so much. I would want my friends to know about this place.
We enjoyed the food, the ambiance, and the service. I would definitely recommend this restaurant to a friend and we will be coming back!
My husband and I joined some friends for a great, casual dinner at Chazz on Friday night. Even though we had a reservation, we took time to sip a cocktail at the bar before we moved to our table. We were not rushed at all and I'm appreciative of that since the 4 of us were "cathcing up" since the last time we were sans children. Dinner was fantastic! There were plenty of options for everyone. I was actually debating between a pasta dish and good old pizza. But our waitress said that many people share a pizza as an appetizer - which was a great idea and that's what we did. So I was able to enjoy a slice of traditional pizza and my fave chicken parm at the same time.
Started with the mozz appetizer and then shared a pizza with my husband. Love love love their pizza. We then had the same dinner the linguine with shrimp Fra Davolo. The pasta is outstanding, fresh and worth the trip. We skipped dessert since we had the pizza and nothing really hits you off the dessert menu. Love this place and added as a favorite of mine.
To be honest I thought this restaurant was going to be more hype than serious restaurant but I was wrong. The caprese salad was sensational, the rice balls were delicious, and the pizza was perfect. Add generous drinks along with great pasta dishes and you've got a restaurant I'll visit again and again. The only misstep was our inattentive and distracted server who thought it was more important to have a cigarette than bring our bill (among her many errors), but service throughout the rest of the place looked to be on the ball.
Fun atmosphere, good food and friendly service. Having our rehearsal dinner here in November!
visited from DC, friend took us there and I can't stop thinking about the amazing Mariana sauce that had so much flavor for the calamari. the veal Parmesan was amazing. actually wanted to order 1 of everything. the pizza smelled amazing upon arriving but just didn't have room for it all. Had no idea Chazz even had a restaurant but sure was worth it and definitely going back for more!
Had dinner this weekend at Chaz. Food was good and service was great.
Fun atmosphere, great bartenders. Started out with a table reservation and was having so much fun at the bar we just stayed. Wonderful starters, fun specialty drinks and the Pizza was the best I've had in a very long time.
Food and service were very good. One of the highlights of the night was the drink we had at the bar before our meal. Sal was the perfect bartender who made excellent cocktails. Rated the ambiance very good because of the large flat screen TV in the middle of the dining room. It did seem to belong or should have been turned off.
The food was delicious! The space was a little tight, but overall we had a great experience.
We heard about this on a radio interview with the owner. Met my wife after a class on Saturday and stopped for an early supper. We had a reservation, but it was not crowded. Staff was welcoming and proficient. We tried one of the signature drinks - Negroni - a favorite which we've had in Florence IT where it was invented. This version was a bit different (the brand of vermouth?) but pleasant. Calamari appetizer was superb ! We've had this dish many times, in many places; never enjoyed it as much as at Chazz. Tender, flavorful, not too much breading & a good, spicy marinara. The olive oil served with the foccacia was also a bit spicy - nice, unusual touch which we associate with one of our favorite spots in Tuscany. Great pizza followed !
This restaurant offers excellent service and has good food. The bar is huge and the place has a great atmosphere.
Walkng into CHAZZ was like stepping off of a New York subway train and immediatley back in time! The ambiance is comfortable yet stylish and the food has italian elligence. Even the pizza is fancy... but the price tag is not. We went here as a group for my husbands 35 birthday and had a 10 month old in our party. Everyone was equally pleased with thier experience. ONE NEGATIVE: They were out of thier home made lemonchello which was disappointing since its one of the specialties they advertise. All else exceeded our expectations!
We had never been there but had a great meal and meet several nice folks Already recommended to several business assoc & friends
We went there for dinner after "A Bronx Tale" show. Food was delicious and service was great. The servers did a great job keeping up with the busy crowd!
This quickly jumped to the top of my lists of favorite restaurants. I absolutely cannot wait to go back and take my husband. It's definitely "trendy" - and the tables are close together. But man, the food blows all the surrounding restaurants out of the water. Home made pasta that literally melts in your mouth and the pizza is perfection. Service is quick and friendly and drinks are strong and delicious. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.


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Stayed for one week whilst on business and found this to be an excellent little hotel with true 5 star service. Set in a very pretty surrounding with nice gardens and tranquil atmosphere. The hotel is furnished to a high standard and my colleagues and I stayed in a small three bed apartment which was very comfortable. There is also... More
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Ranked #8 of 27 hotels in Celle
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Please enter your travel dates.
Standard Room, 1 Queen Bed, Non Smoking
Standard Room, 1 King Bed, Non Smoking
Standard Room, 2 Queen Beds, Non Smoking
Family-friendly Williams motel near Small Town America Museum
This family-friendly motel is located in Williams, close to Wild West Junction, Small Town America Museum, and Williams Depot. Local attractions also include Bearizona and Elk Ridge Ski Area.
Property Features
Econo Lodge Williams provides a train station pick-up service and complimentary wireless Internet access. Other amenities include free self parking and free parking.
Room Amenities
Flat-screen televisions come with satellite channels. Guestrooms also feature complimentary wireless Internet access, air conditioning, and coffee/tea makers.
Hotel Amenities
- General
Guests can enjoy a complimentary breakfast. High-speed wireless Internet access is complimentary. Onsite self parking is complimentary.
- 24-hour front desk
- Air-conditioned public areas
- Total number of rooms - 39
- Number of floors - 2
- Free breakfast
- Free parking
- Free self parking
- Free RV, bus, truck parking
- Train station pickup (complimentary)
- Free Wi-Fi
- Internet
Available in all rooms: Free Wi-Fi
Available in some public areas: Free Wi-Fi
- Parking
Free parking, Free self parking, Free RV, bus, truck parking
- Room Amenities
- Air conditioning
- Access via exterior corridors
- Phone
- Coffee/tea maker
- Daily housekeeping
- Private bathroom
- Iron/ironing board
- Rollaway/extra beds available
- Cribs/infant beds available
- Free local calls
- Satellite TV service
- Flat-panel TV
- Free Wi-Fi
- Dining
Guests are offered a complimentary continental breakfast.
Policies & Fees
- Check-in
Check-in time starts at 3 PM
- Check-out
Check-out time is 11 AM
- Payment types
Accepted at this hotel: Carte Blanche, Diners Club, Discover, JCB International, MasterCard, Visa, American Express
- Pets
Pets not allowed
- General
Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on hotel policy.
Government-issued photo identification and a credit card or cash deposit are required at check-in for incidental charges.
Special requests are subject to availability upon check-in and may incur additional charges. Special requests cannot be guaranteed.
- Fees
- The following fees and deposits are charged by the property at time of service, check-in, or check-out.
- Crib (infant bed) fee: USD 10.00 per night
- Rollaway bed fee: USD 10.00 per night
The above list may not be comprehensive. Fees and deposits may not include tax and are subject to change.


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On Sunday the 21st April 2013 myself and another eight lens based journalists were directed off the motorway by Sussex police officers. Seven members of the group were searched by police officers, one photographer was told that she was being searched under the Terrorism Act (pictured).
We were travelling to Brighton to cover 'March for England,' a gathering of various far-right racist groups and individuals. Sussex Police estimated that around 250 far-right protesters and approximately 1000 counter-protesters were in Brighton that day. They drafted in over 700 public order officers from different forces to police the event. Sussex police report that by the events conclusion at 18:00, 19 public order related arrests had been made.
Sussex Police were authorised to use powers under Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. This provides police with the power to, 'stop and search pedestrians, vehicles and/or passengers where in a local police area, an officer of at least the rank of inspector reasonably believes that incidents involving serious violence have taken or may take place and it is expedient to prevent them, or find weapons or dangerous instruments for example blades and pointed weapons.'
We were traveling to Brighton in a nine seater minibus and first became aware of the police when we spotted a Land Rover parked overlooking the motorway. It was no surprise when a police car over took us and announced on a screen on their rear window that we were to follow them.
We followed the police to a car park and garages, in a place called Hickstead, a few miles from Brighton. One press photographer optimistically suggested that, "we will probably get a nice officer who will see our press cards and wave us through." I think at that point we all shared this optimism. As we were pulling into the car park we noticed two other vehicles and their occupants being searched. We all recognised the English flags and other paraphernalia as the type used by the English Defence League. Police officers working against domestic extremism are no doubt aware of the 'fatwa' against a member of National Union of Journalists (NUJ), and their hatred and mistrust of photographers in general. If not they should be. We can only hope that those in the far-right being searched nearby did not over hear any of our details being taken or collect any other intelligence that could lead them to us in future. This was a worry on the day as there were comments made online by Casuals United, a group of far-right football hooligans and English Defence League supporters calling for the targeting of Brighton Argus journalists.
Due to these threats we were understandably eager to show our UK Press Card Authority (UKPCA) press cards to the police so that we could move on quickly without further attention being brought to us. The officers were shown our press cards but took no notice. This was surprising to us all due the fact that our press cards show police officers that we are not only members of the NUJ or the British Association of Journalists (BAJ) but to quote the message to police on the card:
A phone number is provided to a hot line so that verification can be given by the UKPCA in the form of a password that is known only to the UKPCA and the journalist.
The advice given to police officers using Section 60 to stop and search suspects by ACPO who, remember, recognise us as bona fide news gatherers, is that 'Officers may question the person to confirm or eliminate reasonable suspicion for grounds for the search' (Practice Advice on Stop and Search, ACPO and Centrex, p10, 1.6).
Once reasonable suspicion had been eliminated the officers could have saved themselves time and effort by not continuing with the search. Instead, when asked why they did not recognise our cards, one officer said that, "the officer in the car (the car that pulled us over) had started the process, so we are obliged to finish it.' Another officer commented on a BAJ press card, "Anyone can print one of those off, they don't prove anything."
Being journalists, we had of course been recording the whole thing. A videographer started filming as soon as he could and I began filming on my iPhone almost immediately. From start to finish the searches took roughly 35 minutes and as soon as we were released we naturally started tweeting. When we finished work for the day and got a chance to check twitter, we were delighted to see over a hundred favourites, retweets and many more tweets of support and tweets of disgust at the idea of the police using Section 60 to search journalists. I am still getting retweets weeks later. The NUJ was quick to speak out and posted a statement online condemning the search (see link below).
There were a few messages of support for the police's actions by people who felt that we could have been terrorists pretending to be journalists and our camera bags laden with weapons. The Boston Marathon bombing was also used as possible justification for the search. This leads me to our main concern about Sussex Police's actions that day.
We are not terrorists, we are photographers.
We are journalists who are registered press card holders who have a process of identification supported by ACPO. Surely the police must respect ACPO's guidance and involvement in the press card scheme? They must follow the UKPCA procedure stated on the card and once they have identified us they must not treat card carrying journalists like suspected terrorists.
It is not enough that Sussex Police tweeted that an officer had made a mistake when she informed a photographer that she was being searched under the Terrorism Act, 140 characters won't cut it. Although it would be nice if we all received a formal apology for the mishandling of this encounter and the ignorance of police officers who do not understand the law or the UKPCA process of identification, we also need assurances from ACPO that this will not become an acceptable or standard part of policing in the future and that proper media training is being undertaken.
If a precedent is set and the police feel that it is acceptable to stop and search accredited journalists, they could use this to stall, disrupt, regulate and even stop us from reporting on certain events completely. At this point I am consciously avoiding giving anyone the excuse to invoke Godwin's Law, but this is as unhealthy here in the UK as it is in the countries that our government so enthusiastically points its finger at, countries like North Korea and Iran where journalists are harassed, searched and arrested as a matter of course.
Article by Pete Maclaine
For reference:
Another clip shot by a videographer traveling with the group
National Union of Journalists statement condemning the police search of journalists
Guardian Comment is Free – Far Right Embrasses Fatwas – Jason Parkinson
ACPO and Centrex (2006) Advice on Stop and Search, National Centre for Policing Excellence:


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We have now complete test boards for a CC2540 Bluetooth Low Energy with our own design.
Everything seems to be working with the microprocessor, I/Os, and timers with the exception of the Bluetooth LE communication.
We installed the Texas RF packet sniffer and we can confirm that there are no radio packets coming from the device.
We cannot rule out or narrow it down to a hardware or software issue at this point.
Practically only the I/Os mapping changed from the reference demo kit keyfob software application so very few changes in the software and none in the communication part. All the RF components and crystals in the schematics are supposed to match exactly the reference design.
Could someone suggest what the issue or typical issues could be at hardware or software level for a new (first) CC2540 implementation.
In particular, we would like to know if there is any particular setting to burn in the CC2540 level that is not happening when we download our application with the Flash Programmer.
Has the software being used on the customer's board been tested the TI reference design board?
Also, has a basic TI software example been used for testing the customer board for verification?
CC2540 Code Examples: http://www.ti.com/tool/ble-stack
Default location after install: C:\Texas Instruments\BLE-CC254x-1.2.1\Projects\ble
Hi Austin,
Yes, our custom software was tested and runs well including Bluetooth communication in the CC2540 Mini Dev Kit from Texas Instruments (Key Fob demo).
Our software is essentially the SimpleBLEPeripheral application included in the BLE stack release modified with few changes including moving all I/Os from Port 0 to Port 1 (with interrupts use) and using the Timer 1 to generate a PWM signal.
In our new custom board all the I/O functionality and the PWM generation is running correctly (only Bluetooth seems to not be working). Would this already mean that both the 32Mhz and 32Khz crystals/oscillators are working fine?
Also, our custom board copied from the keyfob reference design the RF and crystal sections. The only difference is that we are using the PCB Inverted F antenna instead of "Meandered".
Yes, the basic application provided with the BLE stack (both compiled and original binary) was attempted to run on our custom board and still we don't get Bluetooth to work.
Of course, we would not mind at all to send you our source code or hex, schematic and gerber files to check for any evident issues in the software or hardware.
Thank you very much !
Are you able to use a sniffer to verify any wireless communication?
SmartRF Protocol Packet Sniffer: http://www.ti.com/tool/packet-sniffer
Also have you had a chance to review any of the following to documents for designing with an Inverted F Antenna (IFA)?
2.4 GHz Inverted F Antenna: http://www.ti.com/lit/an/swru120b/swru120b.pdf#page=3 (page 3)
Basic RF Testing of CCxxxx Devices: http://www.ti.com/lit/an/swra370/swra370.pdf
Application Note AN058: http://www.ti.com/lit/an/swra161b/swra161b.pdf#page=28 (starting with page 28 specifically).
Thanks indeed for your help. Yes, we made our design using the inverted F antenna guidelines in these docs.
Good news first. We now see with our custom board the advertising packets with the RF Sniffer and we communicate with the BTool PC application + USB BLE dongle. We can also read/write GATT characteristic values into our board (http://processors.wiki.ti.com/index.php/Category:CC2540DK_Mini_BTool_Connection)
Not so good news now. We then tried to have an iPhone 4S discover and connect to our board using the BLE-TI-DEMO IOS application (http://processors.wiki.ti.com/index.php/Category:IPhone4SBLEDemo). The iPhone application does not even discover the device when scanning for peripherals. We already had this application compiled and working fine with our application running on the keyfob demo kit hardware provided by TI. Same CC2540 application running in the keyfob demo kit and our hardware.
Bottom line, our hardware can communicate and read/write values with BTool + USB BLE dongle using BLE, however it cannot do the same with our tested iPhone app.
Any suggestion of what to look for on hardware or software?
Thank you!
Good news first. We now see with our custom board the advertising packets with the RF Sniffer and we communicate with the BTool PC application + USB BLE dongle. We can also read/write GATT characteristic values in our board (http://processors.wiki.ti.com/index.php/Category:CC2540DK_Mini_BTool_Connection)
The proprietary CC2540 board seems to be working now with RF Sniffer, RF Studio and BTool, but still not working with iPhone.
So I preferred to start a new post focusing on the iPhone communication issue.
Therefore you may prefer to answer here or in the new post.


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December 13, 2013
EDGEWATER, Fla. (AP) -- Forty homes have been damaged by a tornado that ripped through Volusia County.
The Edgewater Fire Department says a tornado touched down Monday afternoon, ripping off roofs of some of the homes. At least a dozen of those homes were destroyed.
The Daytona Beach News-Journal reports two people sustained minor scratches. No major injuries were reported.
Firefighters are assessing the damage that includes trees and power lines down and debris along roadways.
Get the ingredients you need to cook with Rach all week long. | |
Full length exclusive concerts from hot artists. | |
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Home > Browse Ads > MG
MG 1600 (1) Convertible (2) MG (1) MGA (5) MGB (31) Midget (8) TC (4) TD (12) TF (3)
1973 MG MGB 4 Cylinder, 4 Speed, Factory Tach And Gauges, Dual Mirrors, Day Night Mirror, Factory MG Wheels, Craig AM FM Cassette Stereo. This is a beautiful MG with a nice body and ... $13,500
1979 MG MGB Stock #5858-STLEngine:1800cc Inline 4cylTransmission:4-Spd ManualMileage:10000 (since rebuilt) Body Style: Convertible Exterior Color: Burgundy Interior Color: BlackManual ... $6,995
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1972 MG MGB Stock #577-LOUVehicle is located in Memphis,IN. 16 miles north of downtown Louisville,off I65.Engine: 1.8L 4-CylTransmission: 5-Spd ManualMileage: 62384 (unknown) ... $6,995
1980 MG MGB Limited This is a rust free overdrive car. Two in every ten built had overdrive. The car runs and drives as a 50k mg should, with new tires and battery and also top the rest is oem . ... $5250.
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Horseback riding tours
Rides in Spain
Intro to Spain
Western Overseas
Riding Clinics Guest Ranches Working Ranches Cattle Drives Horse Drives Wagon Trains Wilderness Rides Pack Trips Inn to Inn Rides Short Getaways Family Vacations Women Only - Choose Continent - South America Central America Europe Africa Northern Africa North America Eastern Africa Southern Africa Middle East Asia
Join us on a special ride through the famous wine harvest area of Ribera del Duero in Castile. During the 1990's the region developed into one of the best wine producers of Spain and now showcases some of the country's best wines. The area has 28.000 acres in grape production and is home to over 180 vineyards- over 8000 wine producers buy their grapes from this area! Our horseback tour allows you to explore its bountiful landscapes while you taste some of these classic and delicioua wines. The first two days of the ride focus on the beauty of the nature park, Hoces del Rio Duraton. Situated to the northeast of Segovia, it has many great archaeological and historical riches as well as natural splendor. The water of the River Duratón is dammed after passing Sepúlveda, in a canyon with areas that have astounding drops of over 100 metres. Impressive and deep gorges have been carved out by the river's forces in these limestone lands, where a great number of birds of prey nest, like the striking Griffon Vulture. The next four days we will follow along the river of the same name - Ribera del Duero - and visit the nearby vineyards. The soft dandy trails of the high plateau are the perfect place explore on horseback and of course the cultural and culinary experiences along the way play a big role during these days. We visit castles and abbeys, stop at the best bodegas (wine tasting rooms and cellars) and enjoy the beautiful wines and cuisine of the region. Savor typical regional dishes like the juicy lamb roasts and the full flavored sheep cheese. This trip is certainly designed for lovers of fine wines and delicious foods! Accommodations are in very nice hotels and country estates. To make it a bit more relaxing we only move lodgings every second day (a total of 4 different accommodations) – so no need to pack your bags every morning. You will have breakfast and dinner at your accommodations and lunch is typically at one of the bodegas or a sumptuous picnic alongside the trail. A wonderfully appetizing way to explore central Spain!
Progressive Ride (no camping) Ride with Western Tack
Day 1: Transfer from Madrid to Sepulveda. If you arrive early enough, take a stroll in the old part of town – it is beautiful with its old fortified walls and historic churches and buildings. Overnight is at a very nice country hotel near the nature park Las Hoces del Rio Duraton.
Day 2: We ride along the forested river banks, through large pine forests with its juniper bushes, into the nature park. Enjoy the breathtaking views from the high cliffs over the fields, the water and the cloister of San Frutos in the distance. Many birds of prey, including the large Griffon Vultures, will be accompanying you along the way – maybe you will even see a pair of eagles if you are lucky. For lunch we stop in the village of Fuentiduena before we reach Scramenia by following the river in the afternoon. Here we all join for dinner at the restaurant and stay overnight.
Day 3: Again we follow the river Duraton to where it flows into the Duero. We stop along the way for a good lunch and nice siesta. In the afternoon we reach Peñafiel with its majestic fortress and the wine museum. We check into a nice four-star hotel and still have some time for a stroll around town before dinner.
Day 4: From Peñafiel we take a nice leisurely ride through the valley of the river Cuco to the Castle of Curiel in the province of Valladolid. Here we stop at the base of the castle hill. This afternoon we will visit a bodega and taste some of the local wine. Overnight as the day before.
Day 5: Along the right hand side of the Duero we explore the famous Ribera and visit some of the most famous bodegas along the way. We then visit the Cloister of Santa Maria de Valbuena near San Bernardo. It was first built in 1143 AD and is a magnificent example of early Cistercian Architecture still in very good condition. Tired and satisfied after long canters, the sightseeing and wine tasting we reach Quintanilla de Onésimo, where a modern four-star hotel awaits us.
Day 6: The morning ride leads us across the high plateau to an excellent viewpoint over the whole Ribera del Duero. Here we stop for our picnic lunch and siesta. Our return ride takes a break along the way at another bodega with wine tasting and a nice little surprise will wait for you. Dinner and overnight are the day before.
Day 7: Our ride takes us again along the river to the village of Sardón de Duero, where we cross the river and stop for the last time at a well known bodega. Dinner and overnight back in Quintanilla.
Day 8: Transfer back to Madrid after breakfast.
The horses are mainly locally bred Arab and Andalusian crosses. They average between 15hh and 16hh and are a forward going, responsive and thoroughly enjoyable ride. They are also good natured, nimble, sure footed and well suited to the . Tack is English style with sheepskin saddle covers available if required and saddle bags provided when necessary. Rides are normally for a maximum of 10 guests.
Pace and experience required: To join these rides you should be a reasonably experienced rider who is comfortable, secure and in control on a well schooled horse at a walk, trot and canter in open country and over varied terrain. You should also have a fairly good level of general and riding fitness. The pace on the rides is moderate overall but it varies each day with the going - one day particularly includes some steep ascents, descents and narrow trails to negotiate; other days are on more open going which allows faster riding.
The overall climate of Castillia is similar to Southern California: hot in the summer, pleasant and moderate in the spring and fall, and fairly cool in the winter. Rain is possible anytime, but rare in summer. The main rainy season is from the end of October to the beginning of May.
Rain gear suitable for riding should be carried along, particularly during the months from November through AprilA belt pack in which to carry your camera and other small valuables during the ride is handy. Attire is strictly informal throughout, though if you are planning to visit other cities on your own later you may wish to bring a jacket and tie. Regular film can be obtained locally, but special sizes may not be available-bring plenty. It is a good idea to bring your own soap, since not all hotels supply it. Also, please bring comfortable walking boots as you have to walk with the horses downhill on a rocky surface on the second day for at least one hour.
Average ratings from 1 tour feedback (see details below)
Overnights are in 3 and 4-star hotels and country inns. Dinner is typically at the hotel resaturant. Lunches are at local bodegas along the way or picnic along the trail.
Passports Passport valid for at least three months beyond length of stay required by all nationals referred to in the chart except: (a) 1. EU nationals holding a valid national ID card. Note: EU nationals are only required to produce evidence of their EU nationality and identity in order to be admitted to any EU Member State. This evidence can take the form of a valid national passport or national identity card. Either is acceptable. Passports held by EU nationals need only be valid upon entry to and exit from Spain. Possession of a return ticket, any length of validity on their document, sufficient funds for the length of their proposed visit should not be imposed. Passport Note Spain is a signatory to the 1995 Schengen Agreement. Visas Not required by nationals of EU countries regardless of purpose and/or length of stay; 2. not required by nationals of other countries referred to in the chart above for stays of up to 90 days. Visa Note Nationals not referred to in the chart above are advised to contact the embassy to check visa requirements


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All five of the Buena Vista men's golf team posted scored in the 70's on Sunday to close out the Wartburg College Spring Invite in strong fashion, while also moving up and placing eighth overall out of 18 teams.
Jaron Smool carded the team's low round of the day (76), but was closely followed by Andrew Zinn and Mitch Kyle Auffert, who each tallied a final round 78. Mitch Brunick and Troy Ticknor rounded out the team's round by each posting rounds of 79.
Zinn's two-round total of 153 landed him in a tie for 22nd overall, while Smool and Brunick were one and two shots behind him, respectively.'
The team fired a second straight 311 and finished with the fourth-lowest round of the day overall. Overall, its final score of 621 was just six strokes back of a top-five finish.
Kirkwood Community College tallied 298 on both days to win the overall team title by seven strokes over runner-up Hastings College. The host Knights, who held the team lead after an opening-round 297, posted a 314 on Sunday and finished fourth.
Buena Vista will be back out on the course again next Friday and Saturday (April 20 and 21) when it hosts its annual BVU Spring Invite out at Lake Creek Country Club.


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A great blog about something I have been working with. And yes, the meat/fish thing is the hardest for me. And my local CSA sends stuff in plastic bags which I am sad about. I buy a lot in bulk and that has helped. Ironically, we are now buying granola my husband likes best by the case and guess what it has inside the cardboard box? Right, a plastic bag. Sigh. I hope to convert him to the homemade stuff. And we are down to going to the dump (we have elected to not have trash pick up because we were going to decrease out garbage output and because it was expensive!) about every 2.5-3 months. Yea! And yes, I have had the experience of white noise plastic. It is everywhere. And it can be more expensive in buying glass instead of plastic - but I have bitten the bullet (is that right?) and figure I am getting storage containers out of the deal. I am reusing the plastic bags - one from nearly a year ago finally just gave out. I also have had to be very concious about taking in cloth shopping bags to other stores other than grocery - fabric store, Target, etc to decrease those plastic bags. Grocery stores I have down cold. I also had to make sure my husband is becoming more aware of it so he doesn't bring hope that stuff. One thing that I thought of is that I should take plastic ware with us to eat out because we nearly always half our meal to take home some for another. Thanks for the inspriation and I look forward to more blogs on this.
The Great Plastic Packaging Reduction Update: How We're Dealing with Phase Two
A while back, I wrote a post detailing thirty different ways we were using less plastic packaging around the house. It was a little overwhelming at first, even with all the steps we had previously taken to reduce waste in general. Still, we made a pretty good initial dent in things. Several areas of waste reduction were still outstanding however, and I felt the time for an update post was at hand. Read on to see what new areas we've tackled, how we've done it, and what things we've noticed along the way.
Paper wrapped meat update
At the time of the last article, my plan was to try getting sale meats wrapped in paper the next time a great loss leader sale came along. So far, the best loss leader meats have been at Sweet Bay and I have to say they've really stepped up to the plate. With no quibbling over this issue, either. I've snagged half price salmon, ninety-nine cent per pound boneless center pork chops, and two dollar London broil steak. They wrap it in paper and seal it with the price label. Then, if I need to break it down into smaller amounts, I can wrap it in waxed paper and seal with tape. We store it in larger airtight freezer containers, like the upside down Tupperware cake holder I used this week.
The turkey sausage and pepperoni still come in plastic packaging as do any chickens or turkeys we buy. Much of our seafood comes in plastic as well, as do some of the bulk meat purchases from the warehouse store. But with Sweet Bay grocery chain stepping up to wrap sale meats in paper for me, and a workable alternative to baggies for some of the meat breakdowns, we've definitely had a significant reduction in packaging in this area.
For the occasions when we're hosting people and want to serve smoothies or other beverages where a straw might be necessary, we found some really great (and affordable) bamboo straws, which are pictured above. We have a flexible tube cleaning brush that goes with one of our camel back water supply pouches we use while hiking or doing yard work. A pipe cleaner would probably work too.
Reduced waste lunch kits
We put together two portable kits for reduced plastic consumption while eating on the road. The way we did it is a bit different from other systems I've seen, so I'm putting together an entirely separate post on the subject. Stay tuned.
Plastic bags
Occasionally I still forget my reusable bag when not at an "errand" type store. Clothing stores are a good example. Although, since I've basically switched to cloth grocery bags and have a reusable produce bag solution, I've become much more aware of the bags that certain things still come in. I try to buy as much package free as I can, but from time to time I still end up with produce and other items that come in plastic bags. I save them all now, even the ones that are sealed on both ends. I used to tear them. Now I cut the top end off carefully and use the entire bag for other things. Sometimes those bags will only get one or two more uses, but it's better than getting tossed right away. I've also come up with an affordable solution for transitioning to cloth bags for bulk bin shopping.
Fast food
Did you know you can snag a plastic free lunch at McDonalds, even without a reduced waste lunch kit? It's true. They don't use styrofoam for the boxes anymore, and with the combo meals you don't need plastic silverware. As long as you eat inside, you can get ketchup in the paper portion cups and skip the plastic straw and beverage cover. Voila! Affordable and plastic free, if not low calorie. Drive through is harder to be plastic free. You can skip the straw, but you really need the top for your drink to prevent spilling. Also, if you're determined to have ketchup on your drive through fries, you'll be stuck with the little packets.
Alternative storage for baked goods
We're using our retro advertising tins for muffins and other baked goods, as well as extra large glass containers for biscotti and such. For a bread storage solution, I found a set of two brushed steel containers with metal lids from Ikea. I'll line them with waxed paper.
Transitioning back to reusable feminine products
I had pretty much been there before the flood and our winter septic issues at the lake, but during the transition I found I just needed a little more convenience. I'm about fifty percent back to the green zone now in this area. Also, for those that continue to use disposable, some brands come with way more packaging than the others. Just something to be aware of.
Bulk buying / freezer savings / assembly cooking or OAMC departments
For the large bags of shredded cheese we buy at the warehouse store, my plan involved finding out which stores carried canning supplies year round. The answer? Ace Hardware. Now that I have the different sizes of lids and jars I need, I no longer need to break down the bulk cheese supply into smaller baggies. I can use canning jars with lids. For meats as I mentioned above, we're going with paper and waxed paper wrapping stored inside larger airtight containers. While some of the bulk items still come in plastic, I don't have to transfer them into baggies anymore. This cuts into my efficient flat storage system a bit, but since we're no longer remote it isn't such a huge issue.
Noticing new areas all the time where plastic is woven into our lives.
Medicine bottles are a classic example, as are cosmetics containers. Not really much to be done about it that I can see, other than to research which companies are the most responsible and purchase conservatively in the first place.
We're actually dropping a little weight.
Not real huge processed food fans in the first place, we've reduced them even more. With paper-packaged popcorn as our main snack of choice, we're basically down to the occasional bag of Sun Chips in that department. As far as meal items, we keep anywhere from 1-3 frozen pizzas on hand along with the occasional bag of frozen breaded chicken breast tenders for nights when we just can't deal. That's still five or less processed meal items per month with plastic packaging. Not bad considering how busy we are. And since our already low consumption of processed foods has dropped even more, so has our weight. Score!
It's harder when I'm pressed for time.
The other day, things were completely out of control on the work front and a couple of other errands took way longer than expected. As a result I had time for one grocery stop and one grocery stop only. Since I needed a couple of things I could only get at the warehouse store, it was off to Sam's Club. Several of the items I needed could have been purchased elsewhere without packaging. I felt off about it, but it was that or not get groceries. So I'm working on not feeling guilty when things don't flow as smoothly as I'd like on the reduced packaging front.
Significantly reduced trash output.
We had already noticed the fact that we regularly put out about half as much trash as other people on our street, but now we're generating even less with just the moderate changes we've made. For example, there are two different trash pick up days here in our little corner of the 'burbs. Once we got over the initial overflow of unpacking, we've pretty much stuck to once a week with our rolling trash can and there's usually room left over. Now, it's only half full at maximum. In fact, we got so distracted the other week, we forgot to put the trash out at all. Rather than snag it on the second day we decided to see if we could tough it out until the following week. We did it with room to spare.
Fun side perk? Many bar items are plastic free.
Examples include the cases of microbrew, Seagram's coolers and Smirnoff Ice at the bulk buying club. Ditto with wine. Most hard spirits come in glass as well, but I noticed that my favorite brand (and the more affordable one) of coconut rum still uses a fair amount of plastic.
Other plastic packaging has ceased to be the "white noise" it used to be.
Now that this issue is in the forefront for us, the amount of incidental plastic in our lives is literally in our faces. There's no denying it. How I never noticed it before is beyond me. I've dubbed it the "white plastic noise phenomenon" and make a point to observe how others either notice it or not when we are out and about. For example, how come nobody asks whether you would like a bag or not anymore? When a friend got a refill on a drink the other day when we were grabbing the $1.50 polish sausage and beverage lunch deal at Costco and came back with a second drink cover, I also took note. Not wanting to be the annoying environmentalist, I decided not to mention it.
Does anyone else every feel like they are swimming these plastic reduction waters alone? Logically of course, I know that's not true. There are plenty of other blogs around with loads of followers, all talking about using less plastic and waste reduction in general. That being said, some days it's just plain hard not to feel overwhelmed with everything that's left to address when most of the people around you don't even appear to notice. It's not that I don't empathize. It all used to be white noise to me too, remember? So I'm not passing judgement. It's just hard. That's all I'm saying. Anybody else?
To wrap things up, I'd like to request commentary below on what other things people have noticed as they make the transition, as well as ideas for tackling some of the tougher areas. We have reached the level now where the next few things we tackle are going to take some serious precision research and multi-step action. Finding the time to dig through pages of Google research is going to be tough. Any advance tips or systemic change strategies are more than welcome.
Other articles of note on waste reduction include Andrea's pieces on ridiculous packaging and urban composting, Linsey's article on the disposable chopsticks debacle, this piece on alternatives to small plastic trash bags, and Nora's pieces on coffee cup waste and reusing wine corks. Recommended web sites on the subject: Fake Plastic Fish, Life Less Plastic, Plastic Less and My Zero Waste.
About five years ago, I decided that supporting the factory agricultural model in the U.S. no longer suited me, so I started shopping at a food co-op and eating fewer meals (especially fast food) out. I began watching the packaging in which the food came, and how much I was wasting on my own.
The improvements were almost always small (I still eat meat and there are some products which I strongly prefer to buy in plastic). But, after three years of getting on my own case because I thought I should do more to get myself off the factory-farm wheel, I sat back and realized I had indeed come a long way.
Your efforts in reducing plastic sound similar. At some point, you will look back and be a bit amazed at how much plastic you've managed to excise from your life. Every plastic bag you don't use, every non-blister-packed product you buy, is a little less petroleum wasted on earth. Kudos!
One tip I have not yet seen is in buying produce. I have learned to bring reusable bags to the farmer's market (since the producers are almost always to happy to bag items individually in plastic :-( ). But, at the co-op/grocery store, I've quit bagging produce like oranges or waxed cucumbers because I will only peel them before I use them anyway. Why waste a plastic bag when I can *compost* the food's covering?
I have been trying to cut down on plastic use for the last year or two, and it's hard.
Is your butcher using plain paper, or is it plastic-coated? Our coop uses plastic-coated, and i'm not sure there are any nonplastic alternatives.
The thing that really got me going was going to the kids playground and seeing how much plastic is mixed in with the sand, and going hiking in national parks and seeing how you have to be 2-3 miles in from the starting point before you get away from the plastic wrappers.
Now that most of our plastic recycling is trash we've picked up, I sometimes wonder what our trash pickup service thinks of us - the plastic and glass is half sports drink bottles and half liquor bottles.
Thank you for being a forerunner for this topic, which I think is VERY important. I hope we see more easily-renewable packaging products, such as cloth and bamboo, available, and less and less wasteful use of wood and plastic.
One of my friends was telling me there was an article about the unsanitary aspects of using reusable bags. I've never felt this to be a problem, but can you address this for those who believe it to be so? The more people we can encourage to move to reusable items, the better for our planet.
Thank you! LK
Thanks for all the comments, everybody.
SD, the produce bag thing was a tough one for me too. The link above in the article is to an affordable solution I found where you could purchase 4 drawstring mesh bags for a buck. It's working out well.
Rosa - it doesn't appear to be plastic coated. However, even if it is, I figure it's less waste than the plastic cling film with the styrofoam tray. But I'll check.
LK - Thanks for you kind words. As far as being the forerunner, I have to definitely tip my hat to Beth Terry on that one. Her blog, Fake Plastic Fish is such an inspiration to me. As far as the sanitary aspects of reusable bags, it's funny you mention it because it just came up for me for the first time the other day. The young man who was bagging groceries asked me if I had a problem with the sanitary aspects of using the reusable bags. My short answer to him was no, because I can launder them at home. Since you asked me to speak on it a bit however, here's a more thoughtful response as to why I don't personally feel it's a problem for me: First, as I mentioned above I can launder them. Second, I don't necessarily feel the produce is germ or dirt free when I pick it up from the produce aisle. People walk by and handle the food all the time in order to determine if it's fresh. They could have sneezed, coughed or even changed a diaper for crying out loud before they handled the cabbage I just picked up. So I always wash the veggies anyway. Also, and anyone who has traveled in the developing world can attest to this, our stuff is still WAY cleaner than some of the items you can pick up at street markets in some places. Not that there aren't some super clean open markets overseas, it's just that some of them really are not. Another thing to consider is that you only need enough reusable produce and grocery bags for those items that don't have a tough skin to begin with. Oranges, bananas and pineapples for example really don't need a bag. My response to those who felt it still wasn't sanitary enough when it came to switching to reusable bags might be to ask them if they buy a new cooler or insulated freezer bag after every use. Those you can only clean out with a cloth, rather than toss the entire thing in the laundry. Just a thought. Sometimes it's just a matter of perspective, not that people aren't willing to consider something.
Check out my various projects and services at Itinerant Tightwad. I also have a monthly education newsletter.
Heya...I was wondering what in particular was inconvenient about your non-plastic feminine products?
I just started my first menstrual cycle after pregnancy, so it's been a long time. I had some pads from the hospital leftover so I used them, but I had been using the Diva Cup which no longer fits. (I'll need to size up.) I mention this because I'm thinking about going to get a new Diva Cup tomorrow! because it is so convenient and comfortable for me, in addition to being reusable. You mentioned the cup in your previous post, but did you end up using one of the other methods mentioned?
Just wondering. My next quandry is what to do with a used Diva Cup that I can't use?
Well, without giving out TMI, it was largely due to the fact that I had learned to use the cup and fabric items under a particular set of circumstances and when the water and septic got wiped out in the back part of the cottage it threw things into complete chaos in the feminine products department. I have a limit on the types of things I'm willing to "deal with" in my kitchen sink. (go figure) Also, the type of composting toilet we had to replace the regular one with was enormous and high off the ground. The ones that are a more normal size have to be used in a house of a particular design. That wasn't us.
Then, after the flood we were with family for a few months with one very small bathroom. Having the necessary cleaning systems set up in a bathroom everyone uses just wasn't appropriate to the situation, given it wasn't my house and they aren't exactly items I prefer to have on display anyway.
Now that we are back to having a private master bath, things are getting back on track with being able to deal with the at home aspects of using those particular type of products. I hope that answers your question adequately Andie, because I know how difficult finding forums of discussion on this topic was when I was trying to make the switch. However, after sharing this level of personal information with the internet world, I do believe I need to go snag a shot of sambuca for my coffee. This is a little much for me to hit the post key for at this hour of the morning . . .
Check out my various projects and services at Itinerant Tightwad. I also have a monthly education newsletter.
Hi Myscha;
Thank you so much for linking to us again. I really appreciate it.
Its fantastic to read the review of how things are working out for you. Often people mention great goals on their blogs and then fail to come back and share how they are getting on; so it's fabulous to have an update on your progress.
Regarding meat; we take our own reusable containers to the meat counter - is that a viable option where you are? We do this for meat, fish, cheese and deli products such as humus and sun-dried tomatoes.
My intention is to batch cook and bake once a week so that I can fill the freezer with 'convenience food' for times when I can't be bothered to cook. I'm ok with baking, but not with savoury dishes yet ;)
I'm loving my washable menstrual pads; in fact I was using them before I cared about how much stuff I threw into landfill. It's about creating a routine (isn't everything?), so I soak them in cold water, like you would a nappy and put them in the wash when I'm next doing one. They don't need any special treatment.
The upside is far less money, I never have to dash out at silly o'clock because I'm caught out; they are SOFT and don't make me sweaty from the plastic lining and I'm more in tune with myself, my rhythms, my body and quite literally the flow of life. The consequence of which is I have a much better attitude towards my menstrual cycle. That might sound a bit whacky, but there you go.
And I believe I have less pain and better flow too - but that could be down to a number of things.
I'm looking forward to your reduced waste lunch kit post and keep up the great work with your progress; you are making such a difference to the world!
Oh, and I totally hear you on the 'pressed for time' thing. That, coupled with illness are the times when more plastic creeps back in because it's equated with 'convenience'
Sorry, I meant to share the link for making your own bags. This is great and you get full, simple instructions to use:
Thank you so much for stopping by and for your thoughtful comments. I really appreciate your input. I've brought my own container for peanut butter at Whole Foods, but hadn't really thought of it for meat yet. We'll see. Although I tend to buy more than one meat and that would mean juggling a ton of large containers (jars are smaller) along with all of the bags, the coupons and my purse. So . .. it remains to be seen if it will be viable or not. But it's a great idea regardless. I'm sure other folks will definitely be able to make it viable for their situation.
Glad things are going well for you on the plastic reduction front.
Check out my various projects and services at Itinerant Tightwad. I also have a monthly education newsletter.
Hey Myscha. Sorry to be weighing in so late on this post. I have a few questions, because you have found some things I haven't!
1) Wow. Bamboo straws. I had never heard of those. I wish they didn't come in a plastic bag, but still they will save many, many plastic straws. You mentioned in your zero waste post that you are carrying stainless steel straws. What, to you, are the pluses and cons of each type. (I like my GlassDharma glass straws, but that's just because they're the only reusable straws I've ever had and ALSO I like that you can actually see if they are dirty.
2) Bread tin from Ikea? Your link goes to your post about Ikea but I don't see the bread tin. Would love to. Actually, right now I am reusing a big Popcorn Factory tin that came full of... why else?.. popcorn. A gift from my dad. It also came full of plastic. Ugh. Anyway, I wrap up my bread in a cloth bag and keep it in the airtight tin. So far, it's working great. In fact, I think I'll blog about it soon.
3) My personal suggestion about never forgetting bags: I have several ChicoBags that I keep in my purse at all times. The biggest thing is remembering to fold them up and replace them as soon as I step in the door. I love ChicoBags because the stuff sack is attached to the bag so you can't lose it. And you don't have to be careful folding because you just stuff it back in. I use them for everything from clothes to groceries. And even though they are made of nylon, I feel like they save tons of reusable bags. Also, you can launder them.
4) Glad you have caught on to freezing food in Mason jars. We store everything in them, whether in the refrigerator or freezer or cupboard.
Okay, that's it for me for now. Thanks for mentioning Fake Plastic Fish in your comment!
Hi Beth, thanks for stopping by. My pleasure to give Fake Plastic Fish a shout out. You are the reduced plastic consumption queen of the universe, imho.
1. Well, the steel ones are thinner and easier to carry in the lunch packs. But they are a little more money per straw, and I know steel takes more energy so the bamboo straws made more sense to have on hand for company.
2. The bread tins weren't in that particular article, but it seemed to fit. I found the set of two tins (one inside the other) in the office organizational section at Ikea.
3. You know, I try to keep a couple of bags in my purse too. It's just that for some reason, at stores like Penny's and such, it doesn't necessarily cross my mind until I'm back in the car some times. It's getting better, but when I'm at the grocery store I always remember now. I'll get there eventually.
4. Mason jars - yes, it's working out well. Easier to justify the reduced storage efficiency now that I don't have to pack the freezer quite so tight. It would have been harder if we still lived remotely.
Thanks for stopping by!
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I commend your efforts AND your willingness to write and share them in this forum. My own efforts began slowly, but as noted, once you are aware of the 'plastic background' of our lives, it really starts to jump out at you and your efforts increase.
I started composting several years ago, at the same time I was also reducing my intake of meat. I noticed immediately that what was left in my trash bin was 95% plastic material. Bread wrappers, pretzel bags, and general packaging plastic wrap. I am looking to create a solution now for those materials.
The comments on produce were interesting. So many people are bringing reusable cloth bags to the market now....and then filling them with plastic bags from the produce aisle. I once spent a month in Brazil. I went with friends to a large produce market. People were buying shopping carts full of various produce. NO plastic bags anywhere! They simply were unconcerned about putting a couple apples into a plastic bag. At checkout there were some produce type cardboard boxes available to take home. Every since then I've questioned why we feel the need to put all the produce in bags. I simply put all my produce in a shopping cart and then into my backpack at checkout. Of course there are a few items that get tricky but for the majority this has worked great for me.
Thanks again!
Since you mentioned pretzel bags and various plastic wrappers, I thought readers might be interested in hearing about a company that not only "recycles" those into usable products, but pays non-profits (often schools) for the privilege. Here's the scoop I copied and pasted (I don't do any mailing; I let the non-profit collecting them do that).
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For those of you unfamiliar with the trash to treasure company, TerraCycle, here is a little background information:
TerraCycle collects traditionally non-recyclable waste from people all across the country by paying a non-profit of the person collectings choice, 2 cents for each piece they collect and mail to the company, with the use of a pre-paid shipping label they can print right from the TerraCycle website (www.TerraCycle.net). A majority of TerraCycle's active participants are schools, because the students usually bring in the items TerraCycle collects during lunch; such as juice pouches, chip bags, and cookie wrappers, plus the money can go right back to the school. TerraCycle uses the waste it receives from its Brigade members to make hundreds of products that are not only eco-friendly, but are also very affordable because its made from waste!
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Of the various products they collect, I have been most successful at saving the granola bar wrappers from both my home and my office. I turn those over to a woman (at my Weight Watchers meeting) to help earn money for her preschool. I don't really eat Lays chips or candy, and I do not have kids, so that leaves me with mostly granola bar wrappers to contribute, but that's something! At work, only granola bar wrappers have turned up. My work supervisor says her kids go through a lot of juice pouches, but so far none have arrived at the collection point at the office. (Maybe it is harder when kids must take responsibility for saving wrappers when away from their house, and not in the environment of a school that is participating?) But this whole process is exciting, and must be a boon for some families with wrapper waste and some non-profits that make $, and teach children about waste at the same time. (I wonder about chains like Subway that sell Lays chips - could they channel their used chip wrappers to TerraCycle to benefit a local non-profit?)


text:
Tori Praver Swimwear
Daisy Bikini Bottom
In 2009, Maui native and swimsuit model Tori Praver developed a swimsuit line so diverse and functional it works for women of many ages, styles, and personalities. Fueled by her passion for beach culture, Praver garners inspiration from her travels as a model and her roots as a beach bum. She aims to make women feel confident and sexy with hand-crafted one-kinis, reinvented separates and fashionable cover-ups.
- 80% nylon 20% elastane
- Hand wash cold
- Smocked bottoms
- Styled with Tori Praver Swimwear Daisy Bikini Top in Guava.
- Modeled in size S. See fit guide for model's dimensions.
- Revolve Style No. TORI-WX108
- Manufacturer Style No. TPS-Daisy-B-SS2013