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But Cowen resigning was not total surprise
Peter Cowen�s sudden resignation last week as headmaster of Arendell Parrott Academy came after discussions with him about whether he was �the right fit,� said Dail �Dee� Warner, the school�s Board of Trustees president.
�And looking at his tenure and time,� Warner said, �he kind of decided that maybe he�s not the right fit and he chose to depart now.�
Warner said Cowen made the decision to break his contract on Friday, and he left the position the same day. He indicated he was not surprised that Cowen would resign.
�We were surprised by his decision to leave now,� Warner said, adding Cowen�s contract doesn�t end until June 30.
Assistant Headmaster Bert Bright, employed by APA for 20 years, said Warner asked him on Friday if he would assume the interim position, and he agreed.
It�s not the first time a Parrott headmaster abruptly resigned about midway through the year.
Former headmaster Stephen Mazingo left the position as Greene County�s superintendent of schools and began heading Parrott in July 2008 until he suddenly resigned in November 2009 � only 16 months after he arrived.
Mazingo said he and the school mutually agreed they were heading in different directions.
�It was, ultimately, not what I wanted to do,� he said about the direction Parrott wanted to go.
Hugh Pollock moved up into the interim position until Cowen was hired in July 2011.
�We always hate to see a change, especially in mid-year,� Warren said.
The Board of Trustees met after press time on Monday. Warren said the members would likely be discussing the monetary aspects of Cowen�s contract.
�Unfortunately, that is an issue that I just cannot share with you at this point,� he said Monday afternoon.
Cowen�s previous positions include interim head at Kent School on the Eastern Shore in Maryland in 2010 and headmaster at Pingree School in Massachusetts.
He and his wife Nancy own a home in Wilmington and a condo in Kinston. The Cowens have owned their main home since 2008, but Warner said he doesn�t believe the distance was the reason for his resignation. Cowan did not return a phone message on Monday.
Mazingo said he knows Cowen, but hadn�t spoken with him recently.
�I really have no information about or why (Cowen) decided to do it,� he said about the resignation.
Outside the academy Monday afternoon, a couple of parents said they didn�t have enough information to comment. Another parent said he was shocked, but didn�t want to comment further.
One group of three parents said they had just been talking about the resignation.
�I was surprised at the abruptness,� said Becca Shire of Greenville, �but not at the decision.�
Apple Boyce of Greenville said they would like to see either Pollock or Bright be the permanent headmaster because they have �approachableness,� although Pollock may be nearing retirement.
�I think we all feel that they did the right thing,� Barbara Brodish of Greenville said about the school�s decision. �� We want someone that is more in line with the vision of Parrott.�
Agreeing that being approachable and �more involved� had been lacking, she added the three of them had small children enrolled, but high school parents may not feel the same as they do.
�I think Mr. Bright will be right for the job � approachable to the whole school,� Brodish said.
The parents said they received a brief letter from the school, so they didn�t know what circumstances led to Cowen�s resignation.
�I think it�s probably better that it�s sort of left that way,� Brodish said. �It�s probably best for the school.�
Parrott�s Board of Trustees has not made a decision to begin a hiring process, but Bright will continue in an interim role through the end of the school year.
Margaret Fisher can be reached at 252-559-1082 or firstname.lastname@example.com. Follow her on Twitter @MargaretFishr.


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From the Associated Press:
Posted: Saturday, Nov. 24
Pennsylvania �Gov. Tom Corbett says that he met with leaders of oil and gas giant Royal Dutch Shell and that their preliminary plans to build a multibillion-dollar petrochemical refinery in western Pennsylvania are on track, a newspaper reported Friday.
Corbett said earlier this week that he thinks the project is going in the right direction and that last week's meeting to discuss future steps for the project "went very, very well."
He described the meeting's participants from Shell as "people higher in the organization than we've ever seen before," the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported. Still, crucial decisions remain in the development process, and Shell has not made a final decision to build at a site in Beaver County that is its first choice in a region booming with natural gas production.
"That's always been my concern," Corbett said. "Until we put a shovel in the ground, I'm always worried about it."
The company has an end-of-year deadline on a deal for land near Monaca on the banks of the Ohio River, about 35 miles northwest of Pittsburgh. Shell spokeswoman Kayla Macke told the newspaper only that the company continues to evaluate the site.
The so-called cracker plant would convert natural gas liquids from the state's newly accessible reserves into more profitable chemicals such as ethylene, which is used to make plastics, tires, antifreeze and other products.
Actual construction could be years away. The site is home to a Horsehead Corp. zinc smelter, which the company expects to shut down.
In March, Shell announced that it had signed a land option agreement with Horsehead to evaluate the site after Pennsylvania had competed with Ohio and West Virginia for the tentative commitment. In addition to making it eligible for at least 15 years of property tax exemptions, Corbett and state lawmakers ensured the Shell plant would be eligible for a 25-year state tax credit of a nickel per gallon of ethane used beginning in 2017.
The tax incentives could easily surpass $1 billion in value.
Beaver County Commissioner Joe Spanik told the Post-Gazette that county and municipal officials are waiting to hear which portions of the 1,000-acre industrial site Shell will use. He said identifying the approximately 350 acres for development is necessary to start an application for tax exemptions there.
Shell agreed in October to make payments in lieu of taxes to Potter Township and Central Valley School District valued at 110 percent of the amount currently generated in property tax revenues, the newspaper reported.

subset: commoncrawl


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AgLetter: May 1998
Our latest survey of agricultural banks in the Seventh Federal Reserve District found that farmland values continued to rise during the winter. The bankers reported that farmland values rose 2 percent during the first three months of 1998, while the year-over-year gain, as of April 1, averaged about one-tenth. The demand for new farm loans remained firm and the survey respondents reported a modest increase in available funding for farm loans. But loan repayments at agricultural banks deteriorated— compared with a year earlier—due to lower prices for most farm commodities.


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I never thought that Justin Timberlakecould look so dam good wearing a speedo. What a great package! Now if it is his or fake that is another story. He is sexy!
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Very Nice Package Justin!
Posted by Master G at 5:58 AM
0 comments:
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


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From The Matrix to The Running Man, T3 counts down the 10 nastiest Hollywood future visions to have graced the big screen in recent years...
Two and a half hours of viewing a world where everything is rosy and the entire A-list cast smiles all the way to the end credits is just not a good way to spend £10 of your hard earned wage in an uncomfortably small cinema seat. What we want to see is the kind of dramatic social meltdown that looks great up on the big screen, but we sincerely hope never actually comes to fruition anytime soon.
As Ridley Scott prepares to return to the sci-fi genre with the spectacular looking Prometheus, T3 takes a journey through the most epic examples of cinematic bleakness. You can also check out the latest Prometheus trailer below.
2012: Prometheus
A crew aboard the Prometheus spaceship search for the origins of humanity, but find something else. Ridley Scott has previously commented this has nothing to do with the Aliens franchise...
1982: Blade Runner
Vengeful android replicants head to smog-choked LA for a bit of the old ultraviolence.
1984: Terminator
Humanity has been all but wiped out by psychopathic, fascistic robots. And hey, Arnie's in this one too…
1987: The Running Man
On the reality TV show of the future, people die for the viewers' pleasure. Bloody hell, Arnie again?
1990: Total Recall
When memories can be implanted, what defines us as human? Also features exploding heads and Arnie.
1995: 12 Monkeys
The world has been all but destroyed by a biological weapon. Can time travel save the day? (Spoiler: no)
1999: The Matrix
Unwitting dupes fester in a virtual world created by machines until the arrival of Keanu Reeves.
2002: Minority Report
Pre-emptive justice turns out to be less than reliable in this grim vision. Nice touchscreen
2002: Equilibrium
Emotions are outlawed in the city state of Libria after WWIII has devastated the Earth. Bummer, man…
2004: I, Robot
2035, Chicago: detective Will Smith suspects the robot population is about to renounce non-violence.
2010: Repo Men
It's 2025. Can't keep up repayments on your transplanted organs? You'll have to give 'em back then…tech, though.


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BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- It may be offseason but new Fire head coach and Director of Soccer Frank Yallop admitted Thursday he has a lot of work ahead.
A week on from his hiring announcement, the new Fire manager has spent the last few days diving fully into the club's soccer operations setup, holding a team and individual meetings with players to build the basis of the team he'll put out come Opening Day next March.
"It's just good to get to speak to all the players," he said at the club's media event Thursday. "You see them from afar, watch them while coaching against them, but it's nice to sit down and meet them. And I think that's important for me and the way that I go about things ‑‑ getting to know the personalities, how they're going to fit in with each other and the way I do things."
Yallop was joined at Thursday's media availability by the team's 2013 captains Logan Pause, Jeff Larentowicz and Mike Magee as well as defensive leader Bakary Soumare.
Asked if the players had told their new manager their thoughts one where the team needs improvement, Magee tipped his hat to Yallop saying, "I think he's proven that he knows better than us. I think that if he needs a gist of what's going, which I think he already knows, he'll ask, but that's his job and he's proven that he's great at it."
"I think his pedigree and resume speaks for itself," said Pause. "Having just gotten to know him personally over the last couple of days, I just have a level of respect for what he's done. I'm really excited about moving forward and I think we're all supportive and want to get back to winning ways here in Chicago."
No training but still plenty to be done…
A new agreement struck between MLS and the Players Union meant Wednesday was the final day non-playoff teams could hold postseason training sessions, so the quick "get to know you" meetings and previous playing experience are a lot of what Yallop will have to go off of as he makes decisions for 2014.
While his first training session with the team won't come until late January, he still admitted there was plenty for him to do.
"There are a lot of budget issues to get to -- picking up people's options and all those things that come into the role that I have, so I'll be busy with that stuff. [I've] got to get a staff -- It's only me at the moment. I'll need a bit of help around here.
"But I think it's exciting building from a blank slate, and there aren't many times you get to do that, so I want to make sure I put the right staff together for these guys and make sure that it's not an irrational decision, that it's thought through."
The blank slate he speaks about came earlier this week when the club announced the departures of assistant coaches Mike Matkovich and Leo Percovich as well as Goalkeeping Coach Aron Hyde.
"There are quite a few positions to get filled," he said. "There are going to be two assistants for sure, maybe three with a bit of a different role – perhaps a scouting role. There will be a technical director or someone to help me out with all the paperwork and all the things that the league demands because I want to be on the field, which is my job."
While Yallop said he'd be looking for a Technical Director, he intimated that he would still have the final say on players coming in and out of the club.
The two-time MLS Cup winning coach also said that he was talking to potential assistant coaching candidates and hoped to fill the positions with those already experienced in MLS.
"I'm hoping that within two, three weeks, we'll have a full staff on board," he said.
Offseason Fitness
The only member of Frank Klopas' staff that was retained was Strength & Conditioning Coach Tony Jouaux who was busy this week going through offseason training regimens with the players.
In the interim though, Yallop stressed the importance for all players to take some time off to decompress
"These guys need mental breaks -- that's for sure. It's a tough season, a long season. Once they have a little bit of a break, they'll start to get themselves going and be in decent shape when they come into preseason."
U.S. Open Cup Importance
Near the end of Thursday's media availability, Yallop was asked about his thoughts on balancing the U.S. Open Cup with MLS regular season play, with his answer being one that all Fire fans should value.
"[Our goal would be to] try and win it. I mean, this club has won it, I don't know how many times, but it means a lot to all these guys and the coach. Every competition we're in, we want to win. So we don't take any competition lightly at all, and I think that's important – Try to go out there and win the game, win the rounds."


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Family Rooms equipped with deluxe furniture 5***** international, with contemporary amenities, cozy setting and designed to ensure you almost comfort. Spacious sea view rooms, twin bedded with 02 additional beds or one bed with one sofa. Private bathroom with bath tub, all standard services are included as well as private balcony or terrace with a panoramic sea view.
Room amenities & Services
Bath Amenities
Daily Maid Service
Wake-up Call
Mini Bar (Extra)
Direct dial telephone
Writing Desk
Non-smoking rooms available
Tea machine
Flat screen-Satellite TV
Private Balcony or terrace
Safe Deposit Box
Air Condition
Bathroom with Bath Tub
Malikia Resort Abu Dabbab
Marsa Alam, Red Sea , Egypt
30 km south of Marsa Alam International Airport
Tel.: +20 (65) 3740121/28
Fax: +20 (122) 130 02 70
Cell Phone: +20 (100) 00096001
Cairo Sales Office:
Cornish EL Nile, Aghahan Towers,Tower No. 24, 24th floor
Tel.: + (202) 4327415, +(202) 2055936
Fax: +(202) 4328990


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Downland Goose Feather & Down Duvet 10.5 Tog (Super King)
- £129.99
|Pay today:
|£43.33 with Flexi-pay x 3
|Pay today:
|£65.00 with Flexi-pay x 2
Select your Flexi-pay plan at the checkout.* excludes Product Replacement Plans and Postage & Packaging
Full Description
Downland Goose Feather & Down Duvet 10.5 Tog (Super King)
Filled with generous amounts of goose feather and down, this luxury duvet from Downland is warm in the winter and cool in the summer, due to its all natural filling.
The outer cover is 100% super soft cotton, lightweight but capable of retaining a lot of heat. It's also cassette stitched to minimise the move of the filling.
Filling: 85% Goose Feather, 15% Goose Down.
- 1 x Super King Duvet
Delivery and Returns
Ordered items are usually despatched within 3 to 5 working days.
Most deliveries require someone to accept and sign for the delivery to ensure the goods are received correctly. To help you we can arrange for delivery to be made elsewhere. Click here for more information.
We hope you like your purchase, however, if you are not entirely satisfied with any item, it can be sent back to us for a refund, provided it is returned within 14 days after delivery has been made (unless otherwise specified). Please click here for more information.


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Hi there,
I joined bc i wanted to be able to ask questions and chat with other pitbull owners.
I have had other breed growing up and as adult but Zuul is my 1st Pit.
He a a week shy of 5 months old, blue noes, runt whom loves nothing more then cuddling up and being loved.
He loves going to the dog park and making his rounds...to people..he loves to be petted and loved on. He enjoys the dog park more for the people then other dogs.
I got Zuul a month ago.
All I can think to share for now.


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Privacy Policy
This is the web site of iElectrica, Inc.
If you have any questions about this privacy statement, the practices of this site, or your dealings with this Web site, you can contact email@example.com
iElectrica, Inc. has created this privacy statement in order to demonstrate our firm commitment to privacy. The following discloses the information gathering and dissemination practices for this Web site. Finally, we will never share or sell your personal information, including your email address, to other companies for any reason, except as required by law.
Information Automatically Logged
For each visitor to our Web page, our Web server automatically recognizes the consumer's IP address/ Domain name combination. We collect IP Address/ Domain Name combination of visitors to our Web page and aggregate information on what pages consumers access or visit.
Our Site uses cookies to save your customer number. This allows our site to automatically customize your shopping experience. The cookie does not gather any information from your computer or profile your system. We do not store any personal information within our cookies.
Registration Forms
Our site's registration form requires users to give us contact information such as their name, email, and postal address. We will never share or sell your personal information, including your email address, to other companies for any reason, except as required by law. Contact information from the registration forms is used to enhance the customer experience. Users may opt-out of receiving future mailings; see the choice/opt-out section below. Unique identifiers such as a customer number are automatically generated by our system.
Order Forms
Our site uses an order form for customers to request information, products, and services. We securely collect financial information (like their account or credit card numbers). Financial information that is collected is used to bill the user for products and services.
External Links
This site contains links to other sites. iElectrica, Inc. is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such Web sites.
This site has security measures in place to protect the loss, misuse, and alteration of the information under our control. Additionally, ordering and financial information is sent encrypted to our servers using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology. Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology is presently the safest way to send credit card information over the Internet. Information is first encrypted on your computer, then decrypted on our side, preventing anyone from accessing any information in between.
Use of Information
The information that you provide to iElectrica, Inc. can and may be used for the following purposes including, but not limited to: Tracking and confirming online orders, product deliveries, providing various customer services, administering promotions or surveys, sending marketing communications, fulfilling requests made by you, and performing other business activities as needed.
Sharing of Information
iElectrica, Inc. will never sell your personal information, including your email address, to other companies for any reason. However, we may need to share some of your personal information with other companies to provide services such as shipping or delivery.
Additionally, we may share information with select partners, service providers or others acting on our behalf for limited purposes. Examples of the types of services for which we may share personal information with partners include, but are not limited to: Delivering packages, sending marketing communications, scheduling and performing installation services, sending mail or email on behalf of iElectrica, Inc., processing credit card payments, or servicing products.
Any third party partner with whom iElectrica, Inc. conducts business and that is authorized to use your information is: Only allowed to use your information to perform the service for which they are hired, must abide by the terms of our privacy policy, must take reasonable measures to protect any shared information, and must comply with any applicable legal requirements regarding the privacy of your information


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That photo of a veggie tostada makes me so happy. Perhaps it's the festive colors, perhaps it's the underlying knowledge that it's incredibly healthy, perhaps it's just a projection of my contented mood, but there's something so lovely about a fresh, beautiful vegetable tostada.
Looking at that delicious blend of hearty, grilled vegetables and light punches of salsa and feta really reflects how I feel about this fall semester. Yes, I'm assigning emotions to to a pile of grilled veggies. Food blogger, remember?
If you're a regular reader, you will know from my last post that I was getting a bit overwhelmed and more than a bit busy with all the recent changes in my schedule. I'm happy to say that now, almost two weeks into the school year, I'm really getting into the groove of things. There's still a boatload of responsibilities between college, work, blogging, and the like, but I now suddenly find myself enjoying this level of activity. Rather than lazy days of summer, where the biggest obstacle of the day was doing some laundry and convincing myself that running is a fun form of exercise, having deadlines and due dates and projects has helped me reestablish a pleasant sense of structure to my days.
Now, before I sound too enthusiastic, I have to admit that this weird, peppy, "yay-more-homework!," sort of concept does not always fit with my regular personality. Over the past two weeks, one of the hardest things that I've had to learn—something that I've struggled with throughout my years of schooling—is the art of balance. I'm sure there's more than a few of you out there who agree with me on this, but I'm the sort of person who loves nothing more than having every chore finished, every assignment turned in, every project complete and ready to go. It is then that I feel like I can finally relax and do things that I enjoy.
While this technically sounds like a wonderful version of reality, it's also one that I've had to accept does not normally exist. Whether it's with school or work, there is always going to be a stream of things that need to be done and there will always be another task that you feel like you should be doing. In the past, I had tried different methods to remedy this predicament, from blazing through hours of homework only to find myself exhausted and burnt out, to completing a tidbit of work and then returning to the cozy comfort of my Netflix queue. As you can imagine, neither method works well. As it turns out, balance is best and compartmentalization is key.
See that college-level vocab? Two weeks in and I'm smarter already.
Vegetable tostadas figure into this idea of balance as well. If you just ate grilled veggies, the dish would feel heavy and flat. If you chose to subsist on salsa and feta cheese, well, that would be delicious, but surely such a concentration of cheesy sodium and lime acids would be ill-advised. You'd get all bloated and need to use ultra-sensitive toothpaste to deal with the enamel erosion. My point is, this dish, much like practically everything else in the world, is best when there's a balance.
When you've got your priorities in order and there's an equal amount of work and play, good things come along with it. You're able to go with the flow and enjoy periods of productivity and relaxation. You're able to find a bunch of Zumba videos on YouTube that make exercise more fun and you get to eat more chocolate chip cupcakes as well. You're able to combine the healthy nutrition of portobello mushrooms, zucchini, and green onions with the equally healthy mixture of fresh tomato salsa and pungent cubes of cheese. You feel good, you look good, and you're taking care of business. It really doesn't get better than that.
Grilled Vegetable Tostadas
Recipe adapted from "Everyday Food: Great Food Fast"
Printable Recipe
Vegetable Tostadas
3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for grilling
3 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch thick slices on the diagonal
4 portobello mushrooms, stemmed
1 bunch green onions, ends trimmed
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4 flour tortillas
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
Fresh Tomato Salsa
8 Roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/2 medium red onion, finely chopped
1 jalapeño, finely chopped (seeds and ribs removed if you want less heat)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
juice of 1 lime
kosher salt, to taste
Salsa: In a medium bowl, combine the chopped tomatoes, red onion, jalapeño, garlic and lime juice. Stir well and season with kosher salt. Allow to sit in the refrigerator until serving to develop flavor.
Tostadas: Heat a grill or grill pan to medium high and lightly oil the grates. Place the mushrooms, zucchini, and green onions on a large baking sheet and drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil to coat and seasoning with salt and pepper. Working in batches, place groups of vegetables on the grill and cook until browned and tender, turning once. Cut the cooked mushrooms into 1/2-inch strips. Cut the green onions into 1-inch pieces. Set aside.
Brush the tortillas with the remaining olive oil and grill until browned and crispy, turning frequently.
To serve, place a tortilla on each plate. Top with slices of mushrooms, zucchini, and green onions. Spoon some salsa on top and sprinkle with feta cheese. Serve with lime wedges and more salsa.


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Out of the Blue
Dennis Hopper has always played the person who unsettled me the most in a movie. There was something about the naturalness behind his screwy, brutish characters that made me feel as though the role was more personal therapy than acting. But I must say that I've always been captivated by his roles, and I try to see as many as possible because they do have such a strange effect on me. That being said, I've yet to see Easy Rider, which he directed, nor was I even aware that he directed it and several others, including this film. Many of the details in Out of the Blue seemed familiar; the womanizing husband, as seen in several Cassavetes films; the youngsters from broken homes, like in The Outsiders; the robotic, forced, and sometimes unnatural dialogue in David Lynch films. This familiarity turned me off at first, and I must admit that the overall feel of the movie didn't grab me the way I thought it would. What ultimately kept me focused and quite pleased was Dennis Hopper and his young co-star Linda Manz.
In the movie we find Cebe (Linda Manz), a 15-year old girl who's searching for someone to look up to. Her father (Dennis Hopper) is at the tail end of a 5-year stretch in prison after accidentally driving his semi into a school bus full of children. Her mother (Sharon Farrell) is a heroin addict who tries to find security and a good time with different men. Cebe aspires to be a punk rocker and often recites phrases and philosophies made popular by Sid Vicious and Johnny Rotten. She also enjoys listening to and dressing up like Elvis. Her attachment to their music is a catalyst for the film, and because they're dead and gone, she tries to find direction and excitement in local punk bands. Her aggression, and that of her small group of friends, is what often saves her from the perverts and lowlifes in her town.Continue Reading


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>> MeetUp group << We welcome all atheists, agnostics, humanists, brights, and other non-believers. Our purpose is simple, bring local non-theist community together.
Website: http://www.meetup.com/Rochester-Atheists/
Location: Rochester, NY
Members: 21
Latest Activity: Mar 30, 2017
Started by Greta Heissenberger. Last reply by Greta Heissenberger Oct 6, 2009. 2 Replies 0 Likes
The National Atheist Party is looking for people to fill positions. If you know of anyone that identifies with any of the following worldviews/areas please contact firstname.lastname@example.com or follow the links below.
GLBT Affairs http://www.usanap.org/available-positions/glbt-affairs-committee-me...
Labor- http://www.usanap.org/available-positions/labor-committee-member.html/
Latino- http://www.usanap.org/available-positions/latino-committee-member.h...
Native American- http://www.usanap.org/available-positions/native-american-committee...
Asian- http://www.usanap.org/available-positions/asian-committee-member.html/
Middle Eastern- http://www.usanap.org/available-positions/middle-eastern-committee-...
African-American- http://www.usanap.org/available-positions/african-american-committe...
Health and Welfare- http://www.usanap.org/available-positions/health-and-welfare-commit...
Veterans- http://www.usanap.org/available-positions/veterans-committee-member...
Anthony Graham
Anthropology and Sociology Advisor
Chair of the Diversity Council
National Atheist Party
The RIT Skeptics Club is a bit defunct this quarter, Nathan. A few key people left last year and no one's stepped in to take their place. There's plenty of Woo in the ROC to combat, it's just not as flashy as taking on religious organizations.
RIT itself pretty post-theist in general, at least in my experience.
Toss me a message if you're interested in chatting, as for the club, some serious work by some freshman may be necessary to revive that.
© 2020 Atheist Nexus. All rights reserved. Admin: The Nexus Group. Powered by


text:
The Subdued Stringband Jamboree turns 10 this year! Since 2001, we've been setting up a stage in a field and singing late into the night. The Jamboree was started by a small group of local musicians as a way to promote and revel in our unique community. Every year, Jamboree-goers enjoy music from two stages as well as a fun-filled weekend of workshops, kids activities, camping, and singing around the fire.
Preparations for the 10th Annual Jamboree are underway. Check back often for more details.
If you or your business would like to sponsor the Jamboree, please contact Robert at firstname.lastname@example.com.
We look forward to seeing you August 13th & 14th!


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WASHINGTON (AP) — Rivals Rick Perry and Mitt Romney are furiously scurrying to recruit heartbroken holdouts who had hoped GOP celebrities Chris Christie or Sarah Palin would join the Republican presidential contest.
With a slew of donors and activists now up for grabs, the leading two Republican candidates redoubled their efforts — and made personal appeals — this week to win over unaligned high-dollar and high-power GOP players in what's become largely a two-man nomination fight.
"We're at a point when the large group of undecided activists are going to choose their candidate," said Jennifer Horn, a conservative activist in New Hampshire who hasn't picked a contender. "People are starting to accept the field and accept that these are our choices. It's time to get behind someone who is a candidate, someone who is running."
Romney, who essentially has been running for president for five years, spent a chunk of the week calling fundraisers and activists anew who have long sat on the sidelines; the former Massachusetts governor hoped they would finally decide to back him. Perry, who entered the race just seven weeks ago, was working to make up quickly for lost time; the Texas governor hoped that new supporters would give his campaign a lift after a few rocky weeks.
Both proved persuasive — to a point.
Home Depot co-founder Ken Langone, a Christie backer, quickly joined Romney's team. So, too, did billionaire supermarket executive John Catsimatidis and hedge-fund giant Paul Singer. Romney was trading friendly emails with the three even as they were publicly calling for Christie to join the race. Former Republican National Committee Chairman Jim Nicholson also said he would back Romney in the wake of Christie's exit.
Romney also picked up support from two former Tim Pawlenty supporters in Florida, former Jeb Bush aides Slater Bayliss and Justin Sayfie. And he announced the backing of Jerry Carmen, a former chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party who has deep ties in the state.
Perry successfully wooed Iowa developer and casino owner Gary Kirke, one of about a dozen Iowa Republicans who had traveled to New Jersey last May to urge Christie to run. Kirke endorsed Perry Tuesday, calling him the one with the "skills, ideas and conviction" to be the party's nominee.
The Texan also released a list of his top supporters in New Hampshire, including people who had been sitting on the sidelines. Backers include former Sen. Gordon Humphrey as well as John Stephen, the GOP gubernatorial nominee in 2010. And a Perry aide said he plans to release a list of supporters in South Carolina next week who just signed on.
It's not clear whether Romney or Perry have been more successful at courting Christie supporters, including Wall Street donors. And it's equally unclear where Palin supporters — many from the party's conservative and tea party wings — will end up. Many turned to social networks to blast her decision not to run for president but they also didn't indicate who they would back instead.
Of the two candidates, Perry may have the better shot at picking up Palin backers, given his links to evangelical voters and tea party activists. Those constituencies aren't a natural fit for Romney, a Mormon who has switched positions on issues social conservatives hold dear. To that end, Perry's central challenge is to convince social and religious conservatives to unite behind him in places like South Carolina and Iowa instead of splintering among other candidates like Rep. Michele Bachmann and former Sen. Rick Santorum.
In South Carolina, Perry's campaign has been checking in regularly with the more than fifty local tea party groups to gauge their support. And they've been in touch with the state's pastors and religious leaders. He also plans to meet with social conservatives including some pastors when he travels Saturday through northwest Iowa, the geographic center of Iowa's evangelical conservative movement.
To varying degrees, both Romney and Perry are in a race to get the stamp of approval from the GOP establishment, which hasn't fallen in line behind any one candidate as it searches for the strongest Republican to challenge President Barack Obama.
Not everyone was picking a candidate.
Christie's most dogged suitor in Iowa, energy company owner Bruce Rastetter, said he planned to take his time before deciding who he would endorse. Rastetter expects to talk with Perry, Romney and perhaps others in the coming weeks. Romney aides said they had reached out to Rastetter and were planning a conversation, either by phone or in person.
"I look forward to engaging them in a discussion on some of the issues," Rastetter said Thursday. "I want to kind of evaluate it."
The behind-the-scenes courtship of donors and activists is a laborious — but necessary — process for the candidates.
"These races take so much money and so much organization, and of course a candidate who really knows the issues — including having a real understanding of foreign affairs," said Austin Barbour, a member of Romney's fundraising team. "It just can't happen overnight."
Money is a main goal. Romney got a head start in fundraising, bringing in $18 million in his first three months of collecting; he's likely to come in below that mark for the past three months, though he most certainly will lead Perry in cash on hand given his head start. Perry's team said he raised $17 million in his first seven weeks of campaigning and had $15 million of that in cash on hand.
The courtship of new donors and grass-roots activists reached a critical phase this week because the primary calendar has been shortened, with primary voting set to begin in just three months. In the coming weeks, candidates will have to spend more and more time campaigning to meet voters instead of making phone calls or holding private meetings
Associated Press writer Thomas Beaumont in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed to this report.
Romney, Perry try to recruit Christie, Palin fans
WASHINGTON (AP) — Rivals Rick Perry and Mitt Romney are furiously scurrying to recruit heartbroken holdouts who had hoped GOP celebrities Chris Christie or Sarah Palin would join the Republican presidential contest.


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These drawings are from a Dr. Sketchy's in NYC on Sunday, November 27th, 2011. Apparently I didn't write down the model's name, which is annoying. I think it was at the Bowery Poetry Club, which has since closed.
Category Archives: Drawing
A Dr. Sketchy's NYC session.
Random MICA life drawing session.
These sketches were from a life drawing session at MICA on December 6th, 2011. Apparently I never scanned them in.
Stand-in model.
These are from a life drawing session at MICA on Dec. 13th, 2011. Neither of the two scheduled models showed up, so the coordinator found a nice fellow modeling next door for his friend who offered to step in and pose. He was a pretty good model too.
Sketches from Dr. Sketchy's DC
I'm currently doing some digital spring cleaning—sprucing up web pages, twitter accounts, and the like, and realized I hadn't put up any sketches in bit. I've got a ton, so I'll split them up into a few posts.
This first set is from a Dr. Sketchy's DC session Alexis and I attended back on December 16th, 2012. The model was a burlesque performer named Cherie Sweetbottom who I hadn't met before. This was the last Dr. Sketchy's DC session at the Red Palace (a burlesque and rock bar) which was in the process of being shut down and dismantled around us while we drew. The director of the DC branch, Reverend Valentine, is a good friend of ours and was amazing as always, better than we would have been if we were given no warning our venue was shutting down. The bar's employees, on the other hand, were obviously still in shock and were drinking their sorrows away as part of the grieving process. Thankfully the DC branch has since moved on to greener pastures.
Drawings of Maria Bella at Dr. Sketchy's Asheville
Last month, Alexis and I rode down with Maria Bella of Gilded Lily Burlesque to the Asheville Burlesque & Sideshow Festival. Maria, while she was there, posed for the local branch of Dr. Sketchy's.
These are the sketches I did, though I've obviously toyed with them in Photoshop. I'm still trying to find a "look" involving pencil sketches that will work in a flyer. The third one is me fooling around with what that might look like. I think it *kind of* works, but it's not there yet.
You can also see the usual nightly progression I go through – abstract, cartoonesque drawings slowly progressing to an attempt at an actual likeness. None of them quite got there, but I think one or two got close. (Particularly the early sketches of the evening.)
The next session of Dr. Sketchy's Asheville is July 5th—if you're there, you should check them out.
Oh, and Dr. Sketchy's Baltimore is this Monday. I'm too busy to draw at them, but YOU can.
Filed under art, Asheville, baltimore, Dr. Sketchy's, draw, Drawing, life drawing
MICA drawings & Dr. Sketchy's Boston's January session
More sketches from MICA's Tuesday night life-drawing sessions.
Back in January, Alexis and I visited the Dr. Sketchy's Boston branch who's model that session was Persephone's Playhouse. The theme was rope bondage which was pretty ambitious considering the number of ropes and knots that had to be tied between poses. It worked out pretty well and it looks like they run a pretty neat branch.
Next Dr. Sketchy's Baltimore is April 25th with Ivory Twinkler of Gilded Lily Burlesque, btw. Look at this flyer (photo by Cheryl Fair) and tell me you don't want to come.
Junkyard Dolls flyer
Here are the sketches I did for the Dr. Sketchy's Baltimore flyer for the Junkyard Dolls session. I don't like them (the sketches), but they served their purpose I suppose.
I then grabbed a 3D model of an old truck from Google Warehouse and . . .
I ended up flipping the last drawing horizontally—it didn't occur to me until the flyer was posted around town that I'd flipped the seven backwards. 🙂


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The sectors that have grown tremendously in the last few years include Media/ Public Relation/ Entertainment. The number of Print Publications and Online, Television, and Radio Channels has increased. In addition to it, there has been a significant increase in the number of PR Companies.
Other avenues of Entertainment such as live shows, theatre, etc. contribute to the increase in the number of jobs in these fields. We have a large databank of candidate profiles with different skills, qualifications, and experience for varied jobs in these sectors.


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Brief Summary
We think the two new 42' boats from Viking Yachts are the most remarkable new product introductions to come now the pike in some time in their class. No matter what size or type boat you are considering, you should look at these boats to pick up on what can be done in a limited space with creative thinking. First, Viking Yachts – the world's largest (and most conservative) builder of convertibles has embraced the pod drive concept. This is huge news in itself, and is a strong affirmation of the concept in fishing boats. Second, it has picked the Zeus pod drive system over the Volvo Penta IPS pod system, which pioneered the concept. Third, the accommodation plans of both boats are the most unusual we have seen in some time in this size boat – with three (albeit tight) staterooms in the convertible version, and two or three in the open version. Most exciting of all, perhaps, is that the mid-cabin has twin bunks and 6' headroom.
|Length Overall
|42'' 5'' / 12.95 m
15' 6''
4.75 m
|Dry Weight
39,000 lbs.
17,690 kg
3' 5''
1.07 m
|Max Headroom
|Bridge Clearance
|Fuel Capacity
525 gal.
|Water Capacity
120 gal.
See the price by becoming
a BoatTEST member.
Engine Options
|Tested Engine
Currently no test numbers
|Std. Power
Not Available
|Opt. Power
Not Available
Captain's Report
Over the last decade Viking Yachts has been introducing ever bigger boats. Now with the Great Recession and the vulnerability of a couple of competitors, Viking is introducing the smallest boat in its line of 26 models built on 15 different hulls.
The Viking 42 Open and 42 Convertible are what we think are the most creative couple of designs we have seen in some time. We also think they are bound to become immensely popular. Now, died-in-the-wool anglers as well as more casual fishermen with families can buy a Viking yacht for under $1 million.
The Viking 42 is a sign of the times. Of the remaining great brand names in American convertible building still standing, Viking appears to be creating a boat for the man who wanted to buy a 60-footer but because of the Great Recession, must down-size his boat, but does not have to downsize his boating dreams.
Putting three cabins – we hesitate to call them staterooms -- in the 42 Convertible is an obvious play to the boater who would like to have his children or grandchildren on a long summer cruise, or enjoy a trip to Maine or the Bahamas with two other couples -- or, fish with four fishing buddies.
Fitting a huge amidships stateroom in the 42 Open, is a bold stroke for Viking. It becomes only the second or third fishing boat builder to take advantage of the advent of pod drives in what is normally considered a fishing boat.
By moving the engines aft from under the salon or bridge deck to under the cockpit, the pod system allowed builders to have some exciting options. This freed-up a huge amount of space for accommodations, equipment, or storage. In the case of the Viking 42 Open, it has allowed the builder to put in a cabin with two separate bunks and have 6' standing headroom.
CMD/Zeu Pod Drives
If the pod drives and the three-cabin layouts are the first two notable aspects of the new Viking 42, perhaps the third important new element for Viking is the fact that neither one of these boats is designed to go over 40 knots. For years the holy grail of Viking and other convertible builders has been the 40-knot barrier. As ridiculous as it may sound, there are (or maybe were) a lot of sportfishermen who wanted to blast out to the fishing grounds and back at 40 knots in their large convertibles. This boat is not for those folks, and it is probably too small for them, anyway.
The two new Vikings will come standard with 440-hp CMD twin diesels, with 480-hp CMD twins being the "big-engine" option. We're told by Viking that they think the 42 convertible will cruise at about 28 knots with the twin 440s, or about 30 knots with the 480s. By scaling back its speed expectations, Viking is in step with the times both because of fuel costs and the over-all cost of the boat as well. Pod drives are about 30% more fuel efficient than inboard powered boats at "best cruise" and are also faster than inboards with the same power. These two attributes, along with freeing up the center of boat, makes their selection a no-brainer. It also helps keep the boats under $1 million because larger engines were not needed.
Mighty Yacht
Because Viking has built its reputation on constructing strong hulls that can be slammed into six-foot square ones for hours on end and not have its interiors turn to sawdust, we suspect that the scantlings of the new 42s will be proportionately the same as larger Vikings. That, combined with the accommodations, fuel efficient pods, and 525 gallon fuel capacity means that these boats can make long-distance hauls for both fishing and cruising most anyplace their owners want to take them.
Boaters who would have normally considered other brands for their cruising or fishing, now have a new and very appealing option in the 42-range. But more important, because of its robust accommodations plans, Viking's 42 Open will -- for perhaps the first time -- be seriously considered by the huge number of express cruiser owners moving up room boats manufactured by traditional express cruiser brands. That market is vastly larger, even in these skinny times, than the offshore fishing boat market.
The base price of the Open will be $892,000 and the Convertible will have a base price of $960,000, says Viking. At those prices both boats will be powered by a twin 440-hp CMD diesels driving through Zeus pods. Both boats will have joysticks.
Fishy Features-- Optional
Nobody makes a fishier boat than Viking and the boats have all the standard features anglers expect. Viking is leaving some of the more complicated accoutrements that keen anglers may want on the option list. It is doing this because they expect a lot of people will be buying the boats for cruising.
For example, a livewell in the transom will be an option. There will be a refer or a freezer under the mezzanine seating in the cockpit. The freezer can be made into a refer, but not the other way around, and it's the buyer's option. Viking makes its own cockpit refers and freezers so they can pretty much build what you want. Likewise, Viking also makes its own half towers and tuna towers.
The cockpit is 122 sq. ft., including the mez seating in the Convertible and 120 sq. ft. in the Open version. The beam is 15'6" (4.75 m), the draft is 3'5" (1.07 m), and displacement 35,500 lbs. (16,103 kgs.) with a half fuel load in the Open model, and 39,000 lbs. (17,690 kgs.) in the Convertible version.
The Viking 42 Open
One of the things that we like about both versions of the new Viking 42 is how creative the designers have been. For example, on the bridge deck there is a forward-facing bench seat in front of the helm. We have rarely seen this in a express fishboat, and perhaps that is another sign that Viking expects this Open to be used for both cruising and fishing. The helm is on the centerline, close to the steps into the cockpit so that a captain can quickly dash to the cockpit to help an angler, if need be.
The companion seats are outboard of the helm, and the navigator has access to his seat around the starboard end of the mez seating so he does not have to disturb the skipper. This is a good layout, and one we don't see enough. Another companion can sit to port facing forward.
This is a remarkable bridge deck for a 42' express boat. Most boats this size with mid cabins have a fore and aft bench seat along the port side of the bridge, or even a raised settee, to create standing headroom in the head or cabin below. While Viking does have a fore and aft bench seat on the port side of the bridge, that is to accommodate more seating not for headroom below. This means that six people can sit facing forward on the Viking 42 open.
Getting Good Headroom
How did Viking accomplish 6' headroom in its main cabin? First, the pod drives permitted the mid cabin to have fore and aft berths rather than athwartships as you see on most boats this size. This allows Viking to put the aisle between the two bunks on the centerline of the boat and drop it down into the deepest part of the bottom of the keel between the stringers. It is accessed by two steps down from the salon sole.
It appears that Viking has also raised the bridge deck, because there are three steps up from the cockpit, rather than the normal two in this type configuration of express fishboat. We think that is a small price to pay for the incredible utility added. As you can see in the profile drawing, the boat has beautiful proportions and does not seem overly high or "pregnant."
Viking offers two options for the accommodations plan below, both with galley down. In one plan there is large "U"-shaped settee to starboard and in the alternative plan there is a third cabin in that area with bunks and a second head with enclosed shower. This in itself is remarkable – two heads with separate shower – with three cabins, all in a 42' boat! Who needs anything larger?
A Design With Possibilities
It will be interesting to see which layout becomes more popular, as clearly each has its own advantages. But with baby boomers nearing retirement age the third cabin becomes ideal for grandchildren. Clearly the cabin is tight for adults, but nevertheless with private access to a head and a fairly wide top bunk, the cabin serves its purpose.
We can imagine that this boat might also prove popular in the Med. There, it will be interesting to see how owners modify the cockpit to accommodate their desire for al fresco dining. We can picture a bench seat along the transom and a table. Maybe even an entertainment console somewhere with grill, icemaker, sink and refer. Oh, the possibilities…but don't breathe a world of this to the folks at Viking, as their cockpits are strictly for the fishy stuff.
What are our concerns about the new Viking 42 Open? Very few, actually. Regular readers know that we prefer twin bunks in the forward cabin rather than an island berth. Because of the bow flare and the fact that Viking is getting so much into just 42', that layout might not even be a possibility in this boat. Clearly the starboard cabin is going to be tight, and it is not clear how someone can access the separate shower in the aft head without stepping over the toilet. However, a round, sliding plexy shower door can solve that problem. Overall, we find the boat quite exciting and filled with possibilities as yet unexplored.
The Viking 42 Convertible
Let's start on the flying bridge. The configuration is one that Viking has used successfully on its larger boats and it seems to be popular. By making the helm a center console, rather than tying it into the starboard bulwark of the bridge, the designer is able to get in a bench seat for another two people. That means a total of eight people could actually be on the flying bridge at once. That is a lot of people. We like the companion seating outboard of the skipper for navigating and lookout chores. That is an easy option.
Accommodation Plan
The accommodation plan is what makes this boat remarkable. Namely, there are very few if any 42' convertibles on the market with three cabins and two heads with separate showers. Clearly the port and starboard cabins are going to be tight. Boats always seem to look bigger in drawings than they do in reality, so starting at the Annapolis show everyone can see for himself. We think that a controlling factor is if someone can stand inside the cabin and still open the door. This seems like an obvious question, but we have actually been inside cabins like this where it was nearly impossible to open the door inward when inside.
The salon/galley is fairly standard for this size boat, and there is only so much one can do in the space. The galley is tight. Overall the salon looks cozy and comfortable to us, and because Viking does exquisite finish work, inside the boat should be a jewel.
Other Considerations
The cockpit with its mez seating becomes another venue for watching the fishing or just the seascape. It has proved popular and virtually every convertible now has it, giving up the bait prep center, because everyone uses frozen, pre-made-up bait or Kona lures, it seams. If you are an angler who likes to bring live bait, or catch your own and then rig it, you will have to talk to the folks at Viking about options they have.
We are happy that Viking has discarded its 40-knot hurdle for their new 42. It makes the boat more affordable to buy and operate, and 30 knots is plenty fast, we think.
Positive Feedback
What are we concerned about in the new Viking 42 C? With the wealth of experience that the Viking folks have and with over 4,000 units in the water all over the world, there isn't a problem that they haven't heard about and fixed by this time. Viking is aware that its two guest cabins below are tight, on the other hand they will work with a prospective buyer.
Viking is aiming at the cruising family that likes to put a line in the water now and then, along with the trophy hunters and meat fishermen. By the looks of things, the 42 can please all three groups. We look forward to seeing the new Viking 42 in the flesh at the Annapolis Boat Show, October 7-11.


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The Force Is With Studer For Star Wars: In Concert
November 12, 2009
POTTERS BAR, United Kingdom – The world's greatest entertainment franchise in history is currently on the road with the world's most advanced digital live sound mixing console, the Studer Vista 5 SR. Star Wars: In Concert combines John Williams' unforgettable film score, performed by a live symphony orchestra and chorus, with specially edited footage from the six Star Wars films. Through each musical piece, audiences experience the key themes, characters and story elements of the epic Star Wars saga from an entirely new perspective. To assure the experience will be as intense and immersive as the films themselves, sound for Star Wars: In Concert is mixed using the Studer Vista 5 SR digital live mixing console featuring the award-winning Vistonics™ user interface. The Vista 5 SR is handling 110 inputs per night for a massive symphony orchestra playing beneath a gigantic 60 x 30-foot high-definition projection screen. In the words of Steve Colby, the FOH mixer for the touring show, "Everything about this production is big, and the Vista 5 SR has not skipped a beat."
Colby, who has been the primary FOH mixer for the renowned Boston Pops Orchestra for over 30 years and who is often called upon for his expertise with symphonic ensembles in very large venues, was introduced to the Studer Vista 5 SR for this project by Fred Vogler, Sound Designer for Star Wars: In Concert. Colby is very happy with the introduction. "The console sounds terrific, very clean and musical," he says. "We're at 100 inputs at 96 kHz and the DSP can handle it with no trouble at all." Colby has quickly become a fan of the Vista 5 SR's Vistonics touchscreen technology. "The Vistonicsuser interface is really powerful," he says. "It's really nice having soft encoders embedded within the screen."
The Vista 5 SR is the hub of a complex live sound-for-picture production and a sound system provided by Montreal-based Solotech and operated by Systems Technician Patou. The console is working in conjunction with a Rosendahl Nanosyncs HD Multi Standard Sync Engine that locks PAL, NTSC or slow PAL, progressive or interlaced HD video and digital audio reference signals together in any required combination, producing a perfectly synchronized and powerful AV performance. "We're also using a Lexicon 960L digital reverb as outboard, but otherwise, the Vista console is doing the lion's share of the work, and it's doing it extremely well," Colby says. "It's a great console and I'm planning on looking into using one with the Pops in the future."
The compact Studer Vista 5 SR digital mixing console is a road-ready version of Studer's famous Vista 5 console and combines award-winning Vistonics-based technology with a highly cost-effective price. The Vista 5 SR comes with preset configurations for front-of-house and monitor use. A stand-alone Config Editor tool allows the channel/bus structure to be customized, all of which can be saved for each particular show setup and instantly recalled from memory or a USB stick at a later date. The expandable I/O system allows the entire range of available Studer D21m Series I/O cards (including CobraNet and Aviom A-Net) to be added to the system. The MADI standard is used as optical snake link from stagebox to FOH rack, with the possibility to add a redundant snake for increased security. The Vista 5 SR also comes with numerous facilities to aid production, including Studer's proprietary VSP panning system, which can be used to great effect to control panning without level shifts.
Other members of the sound crew on Star Wars: In Concert include: Matt Fox, PA Crew Chief; Patou Lemay, PA Systems Tech; Jeremy Walls, PA Tech; Hilario Gonzalez, PA Tech; Greg (Chico) Lopez, Stage Sound Tech; Richard Morris, Stage Sound Tech.


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A group of regional independent broadliners, Distribution Market Advantage (DMA), was formed to enable its shareholders to court chains. It has inked distribution deals with companies like P.F. Chang's China Bistro, Potbelly Sandwich Works, The Melting Pot and Moe's Southwest Grill, among others. Part of its appeal is a technology platform called e-Advantage, which gives chains near-real-time visibility into virtually every aspect of their purchasing and distributor performance.
Some components, such as Web-based order entry and item-level tracking, are pretty standard. Others are leading edge, says Bob Sala, CEO of the Schaumburg, Illinois-based company. For instance, a recent addition to the e-Advantage suite of services is e-Verify, a program that automatically verifies a chain's prices systemwide. "Manufacturers establish contract pricing with chains and customers expect those prices to be executed," he says. "We load up every contract price a customer has into our system and run invoice records against what the expected prices are. We provide exception reporting and take care of any pricing errors, up or down."
Other newer components of e-Advantage are online inventory visibility and extra delivery tracking. The former is especially useful to chains running LTOs, Sala says. "It gives near-real-time visibility into whether the item they're promoting is in stock in all of the warehouses that service them. It tells whether there's enough on hand to support the anticipated demand."
Extra delivery tracking gets at efficiency. "It shows when deliveries above the agree-upon frequency are made,
and why," Sala says. "Did the operator forget to order something? Did the distributor screw up?"
While the e-Advantage technology itself isn't new, such new applications developed to address specific customer needs are. Says Sala, "We've been able to take existing data and reorganize it in new ways to solve real customer supply chain problems."
DMA—Distribution Market Advantage
Schaumburg, IL
Aggregate sales: $17.5 billion
Marketing territory: National
Distributor members: Ben E. Keith Foods, CONCO Foodservice, Gordon Food Service, Food Services of America, Hawkeye Foodservice Distribution, HPC Foodservice, IFH Foodservice Distribution, Maines Paper & Foodservice, Nicholas & Company, Reinhart FoodService, Shamrock Foods, Systems Services of America


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The mission of Delray Lighting has always been to create energy efficient, environmentally responsible lighting fixtures, while providing style for today's
dynamic interior designs.
Energy efficient lamps and ballasts:
Compact Fluorescent, Ceramic Metal Halide, T5/T5HO, and LED light sources in efficient luminaires, combined with the best power factor ballasts for standard and dimming, ensure the lowest wattage per square foot.
All Delray products are offered with multiple dimming ballast options to accommodate simple scene control or energy management strategies, like daylight harvesting, programmable/addressable switching, or step dimming.
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Delray uses postindustrial and consumer recycled content in raw materials whenever possible.
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Delray complies with the highest State of California fabrication process standards for air and water quality management. Our manufacturing facility exceeds Title 24 building codes.
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All of our products are manufactured in California, shortening supply line distances.


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Will Fain is the only other person I've met in
Will's oven setup is probably a bit more complicated than yours at home. On the center rack is a sheet of aluminum foil, topped by a layer of bricks that acts to prevent massive heat loss whenever the oven door is opened. On the shelf above that is another sheet of foil, with the pizza stone placed on top of it. Will says the extra sheet of foil directly under the stone helps to bounce back some of the heat onto the pizza, creating a more evenly cooked pie.
The dough is homemade, naturally, which is a non-sourdough starter variation on Jeff Varasano's famous recipe. Will breaks away from Varasano further by allowing the dough a warm rise before the refrigerator ferment. This gives the dough a bubbly texture that's just itching to rise in the oven.
First up was Will's take on the Margherita. It boasts a sauce that's been cooked briefly to prevent soupiness, but not so much that it loses the brightness of the tomatoes (a process I too am beginning to find preferable to the uncooked variety, at least when it pertains to my homemade pies). The mozzarella melted wonderfully and didn't burn despite several minutes under the heat of broiler eight inches above it. The crust puffed up nicely around the cornicione. As I had predicted, the dough couldn't wait to start rising in the heat of the oven, and even grew some yummy black blisters toward the center of the pie. The crust had a nice saltiness to it, far more flavorful than some of the professionally made pizzas I've had elsewhere. Just a solid, solid Marg all round.
The pies that followed were just as or nearly as good as that, with a wide array of all-vegetarian toppings. One of the most interesting (but also very mildly flavored) toppings was a cashew cream, inspired by the offerings of his friends Aaron and Dinae's vegan restaurant, Portobello. But the standout, for me, was the stinging nettles. Boiled to remove their sting, then baked on the pizza, they made every bite in which they were present better.
Between pizzas, I got to chat a bit with Will about his history and plans for the future. I learned he spent some time in New York, as well as
As for the future, he's already designing his own wood-burning oven, and the supplies have been ordered (you better believe you're having me back once that's up and running, Will). He mentioned the possibility of opening a pizza cart, and perhaps creating some vegan pizzas for Portobello. Who knows--maybe you'll be plunking down some cash for Will's pizzas one day soon! If the pies he served us today were any indication, they'll be well worth it.


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The first official Guardians of the Galaxy trailer is out. Want to know about all of the geeky comic book references they snuck in? Well too bad, here they are anyway.
The trailer opens with Jason Quill (Chris Pratt) sneaking into somewhere before he's caught by Korath the Pursuer (above, Djimon Hounsou). Korath is a member of the Kree, a usually (though not always) blue-skinned race. They are science based, not so much believing in an afterlife as creating one of their own. As Korath's name implies, he will pursue his prey no matter what.
Rhomann Dey (John C. Reilly) says the team was arrested on Xandar. In the comics, Dey is a native of Xandar and one of the greatest members of the Nova Corps, a peacekeeping Xandarian-based organization not unlike the Green Lantern Corps from Marvel's Distinguished Competition. In fact, with that analogy in mind, Dey is basically Marvel's Abin Sur - his job is to die so a human can be chosen as the next great Nova leader.
Dey gives us a rundown of the Guardian roster.
Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista)
The Nova computer says his species is "unknown" and Dey mentions that his wife and family were killed. Drax's backstory will almost certainly never fully be fleshed out, or at the very least, will be dramatically different from the rather convoluted origin he has in the comics. He was originally Arthur Douglas of Earth who was killed, alongside his family by Thanos (the bad guy in the mid-credits scene of Avengers), not out of malice, but out of disinterest. They happened to be within his sight as he was passing over Earth. Thanos' father Mentor (yes, that's what he's called) found Arthur's daughter Heather and raised her as the telepathic hero (and sometime villain) Moondragon. Mentor then resurrected Arthur's mind and put it into an artificial body programmed with an overwhelming desire to kill Thanos. Over the years Drax went from generic space hero to stupider version of the Hulk to all-of-Schwarzenegger's-1980s-roles-merged-into-a-single-being. The latter version is the one currently appearing in comics and in the film.
Gamora the Most Dangerous Woman in the Universe (Zoe Saldaña)
The screen lists her as the "last survivor of the Zehoberi people" who is 24 years old (by her people's calculation) with cybernetic enhancements. This is all comics-accurate, of course the story gets more complicated from there. In the comics there was an artificial man named Adam Warlock who is considered by most to be Thanos' greatest enemy, and sometimes his only friend. At some point in an alternate future, Adam goes nuts and becomes Magus, killing (among others) the Zehoberi (called Zen-Whoberi, in the comics). Looking for a way to take out Adam, Thanos goes into the future, takes Gamora as a little girl before the planet is destroyed, goes back in time to before he met Warlock, then raises the girl to adulthood. At some point in her teen years she is brutalized by thugs when she went out without Thanos around to protect her, so he rebuilt her with new bones and other parts, making her stronger and more durable than she would otherwise have been. After realizing Thanos wasn't the helpful father-figure she thought he was, and after falling for her target Adam, Gamora goes good and is now the most dangerous heroine in the universe.
Rocket Raccoon (voice Bradley Cooper)
Rocket is an interesting case, because as confusing as Drax and Gamora seem, Rocket's origins are even more nonsensical - and yet, the text in the Nova computers seems to confirm most of his origin as existing (in one form or another) in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Rocket is described as a "cybernetic/genetic experiment" from "Halfworld, Keystone Quadrent" and (aside from Groot) is associated with someone named "Lylla." Okay, deep breath. The most commonly used version of Rocket's origin holds that mentally unstable humans (or humanoids) were moved to the Keystone Quadrant for medical and mental aid, and to help in their recovery, numerous cute animals were uplifted to human-level intelligence and culture to care for the patients (affectionately called "Loonies"). Rocket was a security chief,and Lylla, an otter, was his girlfriend (her uncle was a walrus, so don't judge). Helping keep the peace in Halfworld were numerous Keystone Kops, who looked like, well, like Keystone Cops, and clown robots made out of wood. Uh, it gets stranger from there, but let's just say that Rocket doesn't go back home anymore, even though part of him wants to.
Groot the Monarch from Planet X (voice Vin Diesel)
Said to be "Flora Colossus" "inhabitant of Taluhnia" from "X," it's important to note that Groot actually predates the Fantastic Four. He was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby (see, Stan Lee could cameo in this film if he wanted) as a monster invading from "Planet X" (one of several from that planet, apparently). When Groot came to earth, speaking quite eloquently I might add, he used his powers to control native trees and attempt take over, until he was thwarted by human ingenuity. Much later he was captured and drafted into SHIELD (yes, he was an Agent of SHIELD) and later still joined Star-Lord's rag-tag band. Over the years he began saying less and less until finally "I am Groot" seemed to be all he could say. The explanation here is that his species eventually grows so stiff that their vocal chords (for lack of a better term) are unable to form more than a few specific sounds. Despite his seemingly limited vocabulary, some (like Rocket) are able to translate "I am Groot" into any other phrase, depending on how Groot says it. Oh, and at some point he gave up conquering the universe in favor of saving it.
Peter Jason Quill the Star-Lord
Described as a "Terran," Quill is actually prince of the Spartax (or Spartoi, it depends on which comic you read), although he is half-human. His mother was killed by aliens seeking his father's bloodline, and Quill became a space hero with his unique Element Gun that can do exactly what it sounds like: shoot (classical) elements like earth, water and so on. According to his Nova rap sheet, he is an associate of "Yondu Udonta," who in the comics is a peaceful member of the Guardians of the Galaxy from the 31st century, but in the movie will be played by Michael Rooker. Quill is also apparently guilty of at least one sex crime: "illegal manipulation of Gramosian Duchess" (no idea what that's about; probably best that way). The creepy guy crouching in the mask with red eyes later in the trailer is also Star-Lord.
The team is taken to the Kyln, a prison system on the edge of the universe (yes, the entire universe). Considering the fighting with Rocket and Groot, I'm going to assume something bad happens there. In the comics, Star-Lord and Thanos were both prisoners there and helped each other stop a greater catastrophe from occurring.
The ship seen here is apparently called Milano in the movie. In the comics, it is usually just called Ship, although sometimes it looks like a pretty lady named Aurora. Maybe Star-Lord wished really hard.
In the flashes we see glimpses of Amy Pond (er, Karen Gillan) as Nebula, the self-proclaimed granddaughter of Thanos (a claim he vehemently denies). She's a space pirate, but not one of the good ones. She actually wasn't bald for many of her most prominent storylines, so it's odd they chose to shave her here, but c'est la vie.
There's an even briefer glimpse of Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace), the heaviest of heavy hitters for the Kree. He regularly goes hammer-to-hammer against (and sometimes alongside) Thor in the comics. (EDIT: Thanks to Xeos for catching this omission!)
We also catch a snippet of the Collector (Benicio del Toro), who previously appeared during the credits of Thor: Dark World. Collector, or Taneleer Tivan as he is almost never called, is one of an unrevealed number of immortal beings who, like Gamora, are the last survivors of their respective races. Apparently they made some kind of deal with Death. Immortality sucks if you don't find a way to keep yourself busy, some might do this by becoming annoying and insulting people, but Tivan does it by collecting things - all things.
Anything you guys noticed?


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This ring is of the end of the 19th begin 20th century. Is is a very beautiful ring with a wonderful Amethyst in a wonderful Sterling silver setting with pearls (two different seizes, little pearls and seed pearls).
This ring was made in Germany and I wear it with a lot of pleasure as you will understand. The more it was a present of a dear friend who passed away already a lot of years ago. A very good rememberence!


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LibraryThing ReviewUser Review - rooze - LibraryThing
This is, indeed, an authoritative guide to meter and form. However, Fussell's arrogance had me running to other equally authoritative yet substantially less elitist sources. Try Mary Oliver's Rules of the Dance or Stephen Fry's The Ode Less Travelled instead. Read full review
LibraryThing ReviewUser Review - michaelm42071 - LibraryThing
This is not the first book to read on the subject of how form assists meaning in poetry; for that I would go back to John Ciardi's How Does a Poem Mean? But Fussell's book is a good, succinct one for ... Read full review
The Nature of Meter
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1963 Volkswagen Beetle
"Herbie" was a 1963 Beetle. Disney's "The Love Bug" was not just a fun-loving story of a car with a human personality but was also an exciting touring-car racing movie full of exotic European cars. In short, it's a must-see for any VW or racing aficionado. For many, the arrival of the VW Beetle in America in 1963 meant an affordable car with great mileage and a look that was not only endearing, but immensely popular. Initially known as "The People's Car" – a car capable of carrying two adults and three children at a speed of 62 mph-- and based on Ferdinand Porsche's 1931 design, the Beetle gave the average family a real car for the price of a motorcycle. For 1963 the "Bug" had a 40 horsepower flat-four connected to a transaxle pushing the car from the rear and was stopped by four drum brakes. It's interesting to think where vehicle design would be today without the Beetle. The car's influence is profound and its popularity unceasing, proven by being known as "the best-selling car of all time."


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Topic: Working Through It (Read 10055 times)
Posts: 346
Working Through It
December 28, 2010, 03:43:31 AM »
In ruminating on how to make Chanbara fiction work in an RPG I came up with the idea that the GM would determine some aspect of the character that would be challenged... their honor, their skill as a swordsman or whatever, and then try and plan a scenario (in advance) that would make as hard as possible for the character not to fail. An important point here is that once the obstacles were planned, they would be totally fixed, so no ad libbing as a GM, which would allow a creative player to circumvent the problems or come up with some creative solution to solve it. Also, each character would be challenged in a different way, so that by pooling their resources they would be able to address challenges that were designed to block only a single character.
Question: Does this sound like it would work? Would a game that has the GM design a scenario thats meant to defeat your character seem to overwhelming or aggressive? What kind of limits would have to be set on the GM to ensure that the challenges were not boringly overwhelming?
CA note: This is not meant to be a gamist design. By thwarting the characters in a specific aspect of themselves, play is suppose to force the characters to grow in order to overcome the challenges that are thrown against them.
Nolan Callender
Ron Edwards
Global Moderator
Posts: 17707
Re: Working Through It
Reply #1 on:
December 28, 2010, 12:51:21 PM »
Hi Nolan,
I think I get what you're saying, and I think that it will work very well, without intimidation or anything else, as long as the players really do know that the GM cannot change up on them. If the GM comes to the table with X, then the player can try Y, Z, or 7, and it's still always against X. The GM cannot shift X to become "anti-Y," for instance.
The next question becomes, what's the systemic implementation of my "Y" vs. your "X," and your summary makes me very interested in what that might be.
One thing, though, this phrasing ...
... try and plan a scenario (in advance) that would make as hard as possible for the character not to fail.
... is weird to read. Is it accurate to re-phrase, "... try and plan a scenario (in advance) that is as hard as possible for the hero to succeed"?
Best, Ron
Ar Kayon
Posts: 438
Re: Working Through It
Reply #2 on:
December 28, 2010, 07:37:31 PM »
I'm not able to form an opinion yet. Can you give us an example of how this may manifest in-game?
Callan S.
Posts: 4268
Re: Working Through It
Reply #3 on:
December 28, 2010, 11:09:34 PM »
I'm not sure how growing (in terms of character) makes someone overcome anything? Transgressing their own principles, like (for a clumsy example) a vegetarian needing to eat meat to get past an obstacle, that I can see. Do you mean something like that? The only way I can see character growth itself overcome X is if the GM does indeed change X, after sufficient growth has been shown.
Philosopher Gamer
My WIP browser game: Driftwurld
Posts: 346
Re: Working Through It
Reply #4 on:
December 29, 2010, 03:15:04 AM »
Ron, yes, your rephrasing means essentially the same thing.
Okay, basically the format that I was thinking of is that the characters would be the best in a certain aspect of pop-culture samurai-dom, so, one character might be the best at sword fighting. When that character is challenged in that skill, the GM would build, for instance, a situation in which the character must fight someone he cannot hope to defeat. The GM would do his best to make sure that the character would not be able to avoid that fight and would try to plan for contingencies so that the character couldn't use any special tactics or abilities to overcome his opponent. Now, all these road blocks the GM is putting in place to guide them towards this losing fight are based on who the character IS at the start of the planning and at the beginning of the session/chapter whatever in which this conflict will occur. Now, for the character to succeed, his player will have to convince the table that the his character has changed significantly in some way, that he has become a better swords man or that he has thrown off the shackles of honor and will do something so dirty that the GM didn't plan for it, etc... I'm trying to think of a good example from fiction, but I'm drawing a blank...
One of the core elements of this "growth" or "change" or whatever you call it would how the character interacts with other characters... so that the ninja might be the one who allows the samurai to break past his code of honor to set a deadly trap for the swords man.
Cleverness would come in in that the players would be looking for constructive ways to overcome the GM's challenge with out needing to "harm" their character. In the above example, the most immediate resolution (can't really call it a solution) would be to lose the fight and try not to killed, taking any consequent injuries and loss of face, while taking the aid of the ninja would make the character less honorable which might make them more vulnerable to temptation, etc... but it would perfectly within the players rights, and would actually be awarded in a sense, for the player to think of a way to use his character's existing abilities/state of being to overcome the challenge.
Does that make sense?
Callan, I'm not sure if that answered your question. It might just be semantics... I would see the samurai changes his code of honor as a form of "growth" others might call it a transgression, either way, the point would be too see characters change in play in ways that would hopefully challenge the players to think about the consequences of those changes in a meaningful way.
Nolan Callender
Posts: 1049
Don't Panic!
Re: Working Through It
Reply #5 on:
December 29, 2010, 03:14:22 PM »
I think this idea has merit.
The only thing that concerns me is what resources does the GM have to set these obstacles? I mean, theoretically, if they have an unlimited authority to create these encounters, then they could come up with a situation that has no resolution. Imagine that the challenge is for a master duelist. So, the GM creates a group of ronin that each has a sword talent equal to the duelist, but they specialize in group tactics. Further, the encounter is an ambush in an alley with half of the ronin blocking off each end of the alley. And what the ronin really want is to avenge their fallen master.
So, the PC can't talk their way out, they can't sneak out, the can't fight out, they can't bribe their way out and they can't bring back the ronin's master.
There may be a way out of this that I am not seeing, but it seems pretty water tight to me. The point of the example though is that without some kind of currency to balance the encounter, the GM may paint themselves into a corner.
Or, do you have a plan for this and I am jumping the gun?
Also, I had an idea for a chambara-style game as well. One were each move required the escalation of the stakes (the idea being, that is why some samurai back off from a stare-down, they can't handle the escalated stakes), but it is still in a very rough form of an idea...
Good luck with your game, I am eager to see more!
Dave M
Author of Legends of Lanasia RPG (Still in beta)
My blog
Free Demo
Ar Kayon
Posts: 438
Re: Working Through It
Reply #6 on:
December 29, 2010, 07:04:56 PM »
I love this idea. It appears as if the game is inherent in the role-playing, not the numbers. And the fact that you'll lose unless you make for a fantastic drama makes it all the more interesting.
Callan S.
Posts: 4268
Re: Working Through It
Reply #7 on:
December 29, 2010, 07:33:21 PM »
"ALL IS TRANSGRESSION!", screams a stark figure on the summit of a charred hill, bloody sword held aloft to a black, indifferent sky.
Ahem. Growth/transgression, potatoe, potatoh. :)
With what you describe, it makes sense to me in that it's not what physical actions the samurai is doing, it's instead the way of living he lived before, and how he changes that way of living when it just cannot physically intermesh with the current circumstance. Actually I should say IF he changes - what's dreadfully interesting (atleast to me) is a character who would rather die than change. I think that's valid and would be a "Whoa, cool!" moment if it happened at the table. Or if they change, it's cool!
I don't know if it's too soon to get to Daves question, as right now you might be mulling over the in the moment potential and enjoying riffing off that. But looking to the larger picture, if you wish to - sometimes a character is so interesting that if he dies in five minutes, it seems to be missing out on so much character development. That's not to say a design can't just do that, but I think it's a choice of the designer whether a character can die at any old time, or if there is some mechanism (like say fate points) to extend the examination of character. Neither is a better or worse option in some objective sense. But you do have to choose, I think.
But anyway, going back to the way of life before, I don't think this is just about blocking a really good swordsman. Being a really good swordsman is 'way of life' neutral - a saint or a mass butchering barbarian could both be really good swordsmen. Despite the number of
play books that have emphasised massive skill lists, skill has nothing to do with character, as far as I measure it.
Now, inclination to use a sword to solve all your problems? That's different. But that's not about skill. It's more like a way of life, or whatever you might like to call it.
I don't think it's just about blocking an ability. Indeed I had a friend who said as GM he wanted to block player abilities to see what they do and I said, where's the play in that? It's blocked. That's it.
I think it's about targeting a characters way of life, and blocking
. Then seeing how he will change his ways, perhaps ways he's held dear for years. Or perhaps he will stick to his ways to the death. He'd rather die than let the universe change him. Cool stuff.
Philosopher Gamer
My WIP browser game: Driftwurld
Posts: 346
Re: Working Through It
Reply #8 on:
December 29, 2010, 08:33:49 PM »
Yes Callan, your 100% right about the way of life point... if the samurai's wasn't compelled by his whole world view to use his sword and win, then losing a sword fight, or being a bad swords man, has no drama to it. The only abilities that would be threatened would be those that are tied to some perceived value in the character or that could be used to protect or undermine those values. Challenging a characters abilities in this way is meant to be a challenge of their responses, how they usually do things.
This has been, to me, the biggest single problem with GM designed scenarios there is. If the GM is not constrained some how in how much force he can use against the player characters than it just seems... unfair. I want this to be a GM-full game, but I want to challenge the traditional notions of GM supremacy. I imagine that the GM would have some kind of point pool to draw from with which to build obstacles, and like Ron said, these would be 100% fixed or close to 100% fixed once the actual play began, and deviating from the pre-prepped situation would be, in effect cheating.
As far as force-point type mechanics, I like the idea of these existing for both the GM and the players, but I wouldn't want them to work in a traditional manner. In the past I thought the best way to implement this type of mechanic would be to have a pre-listed set of "random" genre appropriate occurrences that any one at the table could spend points to invoke. This way both the GM and the rest of the players can do something when they see no good solution the situation at hand.
So, going off your ronin in an ally death trap, the samurai player could spend a fate point or whatever, draw a card and maybe a wandering monk would show up or a natural disaster would rock the city. These kinds of events happen all the time in certain forms of fiction and I think they would be fun as long as the resource was rare enough that the craziness wouldn't take all the oomph out of the drama that play is directed towards. My big problem here is handing authority to these plot elements to any player who has a significant stake in the action at hand. If the monk is controlled by the GM he either has to play against himself (use the monk to help the samurai) or try and make any random element work against the samurai. If the samurai is the one controlling it, then the fate points loose some of their uniqueness and become JUST another player resource. The ideal option would be to have the most disinterested player dictate what the random element does or does not do, with mechanics attached so that his inserted influence wouldn't overpower the influence of the players involved, but in free-formy group play that idea that there will be someone at the table who doesn't care is problematic at best.
Nolan Callender
Callan S.
Posts: 4268
Re: Working Through It
Reply #9 on:
December 30, 2010, 01:24:13 AM »
? Atleast in how I mentioned fate points, it's not a player resource, it's simply an excuse to say 'Hey, you would have died, BUT...(and this can only happen X times)'. You can't fire a fate point early to get out of one of these situations. Only when either you've changed the way you live or have stuck to your guns and are about to die, does the fate point kick in. They are just there so we can
examine a character for a longer period of time than normal 'causality' would let us. I don't think they just become another player resource, unless you really have drifted right over into gamism town. If your not trying to sneak up on mode, that shouldn't be a problem. But maybe you mean something else by fate points?
Philosopher Gamer
My WIP browser game: Driftwurld
Posts: 1049
Don't Panic!
Re: Working Through It
Reply #10 on:
December 30, 2010, 07:28:05 AM »
This sounds great. Keep us posted, ok?
Dave M
Author of Legends of Lanasia RPG (Still in beta)
My blog
Free Demo
Ron Edwards
Global Moderator
Posts: 17707
Re: Working Through It
Reply #11 on:
December 30, 2010, 08:59:20 AM »
Nolan, a reminder about the new forum requirement: for further posting about this Chanbara idea, make sure there's a source document we can link to.
Best, Ron
Posts: 346
Re: Working Through It
Reply #12 on:
December 31, 2010, 02:29:09 AM »
This is as far as I could get with how thought out this design is. I ran into a lot of problems with Chargen, which derailed a focused presentation of the scenario generation rules. Tell me if there are any problems with the link.
Callan, I'm not sure what you meant about your Fate Point comment... it sounds like your talking about creating some kind of buffer against character death/story dealth.
Nolan Callender
Callan S.
Posts: 4268
Re: Working Through It
Reply #13 on:
December 31, 2010, 03:14:15 PM »
Yeah, might have been a different subject than the one you were talking about, Nolan. Similar names tripped me up! :)
Philosopher Gamer
My WIP browser game: Driftwurld
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