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We were given a class (ParkingSpot) where the constructor, getters/setters, and toString are already set up. Our assignment is to create a class (FindParking) that creates a current car location and four parking spots on four streets. One of the tasks to complete for the assignment is to change the amout charged for parking on streets 3 and 4. The instructions for this project state: "Let the first two parking spots have the default charge (25 cents) and set the last two to have a charge of 30 cents per 10 minutes interval. You can set the charge using the setCharge method from the ParkingSpot class." I not sure how to do this...I'm under the impression that I was to do this only from the FindParking class that I created. Both classes have been attached if someone could please take a look. I tried changing the code under the "Formulas" header in my class from: cost1 = spot1.getCharge()/spot1.INTERVAL * time; to cost1 = spot1.getCharge()+.05/spot1.INTERVAL * time; but this only added .05 to the result of the calculation....where am I going wrong?
This project is due @ midnight so any quick help would be greatly appreciated.
ParkingSpot Class:
public class ParkingSpot {
private String street;
private double locationX;
private double locationY;
private int duration;
private boolean available;
private double charge;
* The minimum time interval which can be paid for.
public final int INTERVAL = 10; // minutes
* The default charge for INTERVAL minutes
public final double DEFAULT_CHARGE = 0.25;
* Constructor: creates a parking spot object with specified values.
* @param street is the street on which the parking spot is located
* @param locationX is the x (E-W) coordinate
* @param locationY is the Y (N-S) coordinate
* @param duration is the maximum limit on how long a car can park at this spot
public ParkingSpot(String street, double locationX, double locationY, int duration) {
this.street = street;
this.locationX = locationX;
this.locationY = locationY;
this.duration = duration;
available = true;
charge = DEFAULT_CHARGE;
/** Gets the maximum limit on how long a car can park at this spot.
* @return the maximum limit on how long a car can park at this spot
public int getDuration() {
return duration;
/** Set the the maximum limit on how long a car can park at this spot
* @param duration the maximum limit on how long a car can park at this spot
public void setDuration(int duration) {
this.duration = duration;
/** Checks whether the parking spot is available
* @return whether the parking spot is available
public boolean isAvailable() {
return available;
/** return the cost for one time interval
* @return the charge
public double getCharge() {
return charge;
/** Set the charge for one time interval
* @param charge the charge to set
public void setCharge(double charge) {
this.charge = charge;
/** Sets the space to be available or not available
* @param available true is the parking spot is available, false otherwise
public void setAvailable(boolean available) {
this.available = available;
/** Get the street on which the parking space is located
* @return the street
public String getStreet() {
return street;
/** Get the east-west coordinate of the parking spot
* @return the locationX
public double getLocationX() {
return locationX;
/** Get the north-south coordinate of the parking spot
* @return the locationY
public double getLocationY() {
return locationY;
/* Returns a String representation of the parking spot
* (non-Javadoc)
* @see java.lang.Object#toString()
public String toString() {
return "ParkingSpot [street=" + street + ", locationX=" + String.format("%6.2f", locationX)
+ ", locationY=" + String.format("%6.2f", locationY) + ", duration=" + duration
+ ", available=" + available + "]";
FindParking Class:
import java.text.DecimalFormat;
import java.util.*;
public class FindParking {
* @param args
public static void main(String[] args) {
int time;
double distance1,distance2,distance3,distance4, cost1, cost2, cost3, cost4, x0, y0, x1,x2,x3,x4,y1,y2,y3,y4;
DecimalFormat fmt = new DecimalFormat ("0.##");
ParkingSpot spot1, spot2, spot3, spot4;
/**Creates a random generator and
* plants a "seed" to create a range
* of values for the starting point
* location and the parking spot location.
long seed;
Random rand = new Random();
/**Creates a scanner to input the
* "seed" and the amount of time
* needed to park.
Scanner scan = new Scanner (System.in);
System.out.println("Enter a number between 0 and 9000000000000000000: ");
seed = scan.nextLong();
System.out.println ("Enter the number of minutes: ");
time = scan.nextInt();
x0 = rand.nextDouble()*100;
x1 = rand.nextDouble()*100;
x2 = rand.nextDouble()*100;
x3 = rand.nextDouble()*100;
x4 = rand.nextDouble()*100;
y0 = rand.nextDouble()*100;
y1 = rand.nextDouble()*100;
y2 = rand.nextDouble()*100;
y3 = rand.nextDouble()*100;
y4 = rand.nextDouble()*100;
/**Creates the parking spot
* objects
spot1 = new ParkingSpot ("Thumb Drive", x1, y1 ,60);
spot2 = new ParkingSpot ("Kershaw Blvd",x2,y2,60);
spot3 = new ParkingSpot ("Dodger Blue Pkwy",x3,y3,60);
spot4 = new ParkingSpot ("Matt Kemp Ln",x4,y4,60);
/**Formulas used for finding the
* distance to the parking spot
* and the cost to park there.
distance1 = Math.abs ((x0 - y0) + (x1 - y1));
distance2 = Math.abs ((x0 - y0) + (x2 - y2));
distance3 = Math.abs ((x0 - y0) + (x3 - y3));
distance4 = Math.abs ((x0 - y0) + (x4 - y4));
cost1 = spot1.getCharge()/spot1.INTERVAL * time;--This is where I need help
cost2 = spot2.getCharge()/spot2.INTERVAL * time;
cost3 = spot3.getCharge()/spot3.INTERVAL * time;
cost4 = spot4.getCharge()/spot4.INTERVAL * time;
/**Prints out the spot's information and the
* results generated from the time and location
* "seed" inputs.
System.out.println(spot1 + "\n" + "distance: " + fmt.format(distance1) + "\tcost: $"+ fmt.format(cost1));
System.out.println(spot2 + "\n" + "distance: " + fmt.format(distance2) + "\tcost: $"+ fmt.format(cost2));
System.out.println(spot3 + "\n" + "distance: " + fmt.format(distance3) + "\tcost: $"+ fmt.format(cost3));
System.out.println(spot4 + "\n" + "distance: " + fmt.format(distance4) + "\tcost: $"+ fmt.format(cost4));
System.out.println("Position of car: " + "x: " + fmt.format(x0) + "\ty: " + fmt.format(y0));
/**Sets up the if statements to
* determine the closest parking spot
Math.min(distance1, distance2);
Math.min(distance1, distance3);
Math.min(distance1, distance4);
Math.min(distance2, distance1);
Math.min(distance2, distance3);
Math.min(distance2, distance4);
Math.min(distance3, distance1);
Math.min(distance3, distance2);
Math.min(distance3, distance4);
Math.min(distance4, distance1);
Math.min(distance4, distance2);
Math.min(distance4, distance3);
if (distance1<distance2 && distance1<distance3 && distance1<distance4){
System.out.println ("The closest spot is " + fmt.format(distance1) + " away.");
if (distance2<distance1 && distance2<distance3 && distance2<distance4){
System.out.println ("The closest spot is " + fmt.format(distance2) + " away.");
if (distance3<distance1 && distance3<distance2 && distance3<distance4){
System.out.println ("The closest spot is " + fmt.format(distance3) + " away.");
if (distance4<distance1 && distance4<distance2 && distance4<distance3){
System.out.println ("The closest spot is " + fmt.format(distance4) + " away.");


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Here at The Weblog Review we're sometimes asked to review sites that are an absolute pleasure to explore, and site of Norwegian artist Tore Hogstvedt is certainly an example of this. Tore has created a simple blogspot.com site to showcase his art, from oil paintings, Impressionism, pastels, to lithography, and tell the world about upcoming exhibitions that he has, as well as to give a little background about him personally.
Mr. Hogstvedt appears to me to be a very gifted artist, and through much of this simple, relatively new website he lets his art do the talking. If you are a fan of Impressionism especially, you really should take a look at this blog. The subject matter of most of Tore's paintings are natural outdoor Scandinavian scenes, from every season of the year, and usually feature water i.e. really spectacular river and lake-side settings.
As you might expect Tore Hogstvedt's blog is loaded with JPEG images of his art as well as his art studio. Click on any of the JPEG's and you can get a very close inspection of the wonderful detail in his paintings. He seems to have a real talent for painting moving water, as the effect is almost photorealistic. The pastoral settings induce calm upon the viewer, and I'd have to say that I'd like to see more!
Tore's blog is an example of how an artist or craftsman can use blogging technology to let the world know of his or her talents. By the looks of Tore's abilities, as well as the press he receives and the galleries which show his work (as evidenced by links to it all on the sidebar) it appears to me that he has solidly established himself in the art world, but we who might never have heard of him otherwise are fortunate to easily be able to take a look at his artwork.
Remember that blogspot.com offers free blogging software, so with it there's no need to register your own domain name or pay for hosting. Tore may very well be tech-savvy, but with blogspot.com he doesn't have to be.
His site reminds us that for creative people who simply want to get the word out about the work they are doing, the blog format holds enormous benefits. We see time and time again how blogging empowers those who might never have had a way to be heard-or seen-before to communicate their labors, and even form a foundation for marketing their work. No one would begrudge artists the ability to make a living from their talents, and by displaying their art online people like Tore Hogstvedt are aided in this noble goal, via websites that are in themselves art.
Do take a look at this site, and enjoy Tore Hogstvedt's wonderful paintings.NULL

subset: commoncrawl


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Maybe I have no idea, but what they really care about is their statistics and a 4.0 from Anartica University Basket Weaving will make it look like they admitted a 4.0 student. Almost an entire law school admissions decision is based on your index number, which is the pure number of your UGPA x. Your LSAT score. I think the formula is on LSAC somewhere, but your UGPA NUMBER nothing else matters in determing your index number.
I probably spoke a little to broadly, but odds are the OP is not going to get into a top 3-5 school. Nothing against them, but there is a 90% chance they won't score on the 90% of the LSAT, which is the prerequisite to having a top 3-5 school even consider your application. If the OP gets a 172 awesome! However, I am not betting on him/her or anyone to bust a 172 out on the LSAT. So the best thing to do when going into undergrad with the ambition of going to law school is to first choose a respectable major that you enjoy, because there is a strong chance that after 4 years you might not even want to go to law school anymore. The differences between when you are 18-22 are DRASTIC. However, if they maintain the goal they should get a decent degree and throw in a few free A's in weighlifting, basket-weaving, etc. That is just playing the game a little bit having a 3.6 instead of a 3.4 because you throw in some Free A's along the way is just smart and it certainly won't hurt you.


text:
Sam Rockwell is the guy who wants to be Tony Stark/Iron Man in "Iron Man 2." But in real life, he was discussed as a possible Tony Stark in initials discussions about the super hero role.
Director Jon Favreau says Rockwell was "talked about" for the Tony Stark part during the early talks on the first "Iron Man."
"We were putting lists together, long before Robert (Downey Jr.)," he added.
"I thought (Rockwell) could be a sort of untraditional, interesting way to go," Favreau said of considering the quirky and excellent Rockwell for the part.
Then they met the quirky and untraditional motherlode in Downey.
"When I met Robert, we pretty much clicked," says Favreau. "I knew that was the guy."
Everyone wins. They certainly got their leading man in Downey. And Rockwell is a stand-out in the sequel as his bumbling, evil wannabe named Justin Hammer. And the world is safe from bad guys (until opening day May 7).
But it's fun to think about.


text:
We are experiencing some difficulties with our course booking system. Ensure you select a '1' and then click on the Get Ticket Button. Otherwise your basket will be empty. Remember select your nearest branch to book online. Loyalty points are not available when booking on classes or courses. However, you can use your Franklins Loyalty Card on items purchased on your course!
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Crochet Class – with Val Noye
December 15, 2018 @ 10:00 am - 1:00 pm
Sorry this class is fully booked
Val's crochet hobby turned into a business with an aunt whom sold to Harrods, Selfridges and John Lewis. She has also been a member of the Guild of Essex Craftsmen. She now designs crocheted outfits for her homemade bears. She has now joined our team and has been welcomed by students and staff with her innovative ideas and style. Suitable for all.


text:
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text:
A zone's file system namespace is a subset of the namespace accessible from the global zone. Unprivileged processes in the global zone are prevented from traversing a non-global zone's file system hierarchy through the following means:
Specifying that the zone root's parent directory is owned, readable, writable, and executable by root only
Restricting access to directories exported by /proc
Note that attempting to access AutoFS nodes mounted for another zone will fail. The global administrator must not have auto maps that descend into other zones.


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SWANSBORO � With both teams getting a solid effort on the mound, Swansboro got the key hits when it needed them Friday night to keep pace in the race for the East Central 2-A Conference baseball championship
SWANSBORO � With both teams getting a solid effort on the mound, Swansboro got the key hits when it needed them Friday night to keep pace in the race for the East Central 2-A Conference baseball championship.
Catcher Hunter Henry laced a two-out single to center field in the bottom of the fifth inning to drive in the go-ahead run, and Swansboro got 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief from Tyler Bodnarik en route to a 4-2 victory over East Duplin.
�We�ve been fortunate down the stretch,� Swansboro coach Rusty Ross said. �There were some games early in the season where we broke out and had seven, eight, nine, 12 hits. But mainly tonight�s the way it�s been. We�re getting hits in key moments. Third inning, fifth inning and then it fades way, and it�s frustrating.
�We�ve been fortunate we�ve had good, solid pitching this year. That�s kept us in ballgames.�
The Pirates got another solid effort on the mound from starter Cameron Laspada, who allowed just one unearned run in 4 2/3 innings before Bodnarik (4-0) came on with the game tied to pick up his second win of the week.
Bodnarik struck out four and walked one while throwing 32 pitches (22 strikes) in relief.
�He did a good job,� East Duplin coach Tim Jenkins said. �I was a little shocked at him. I didn�t remember him from last year. I thought after we got past coach Laspada�s son that we�d be all right.�
But Jenkins� hopes were not realized as the young Panthers (7-11, 3-7) struggled to time Bodnarik�s fastball after a steady diet of curves and changeups from Laspada. That combination � along with timely hitting � allowed the Pirates (13-5, 7-3) to remain very much in the ECC title chase.
Topsail leads at 9-3 while Swansboro and Croatan are both 7-3. Topsail closes out ECC play at home against Swansboro on Tuesday and then at Northside on Thursday while Croatan travels to Richlands on Tuesday and then Swansboro on Friday before a doubleheader against Clinton on May 6.
Swansboro, which lost to Topsail and Croatan earlier this year, is at Richlands today. After its games with Topsail and Croatan, the Pirates close out conference play with a trip to East Duplin on May 6.
With so much at stake, Ross said he was surprised his club came out �a little flat� against the Panthers, which he attributed to two factors. First, it was the third of four games for the Pirates this week and, second, his club was looking ahead a bit to Richlands, which rallied for a 5-4 win March 19 � a loss the Pirates haven�t forgotten.
�It�s been hard. The guys have been talking a little about tomorrow,� Ross said. �I had to tell them these guys� record doesn�t mean nothing. I knew with (Blaze) Tanner pitching it was going to be tough. If we lost tonight, tomorrow wouldn�t be as important as it�s going to be.�
Indeed, Tanner turned in a gutsy performance on the mound, allowing just two earned runs while scattering seven hits.
�He�s a gutsy kid. He wants the ball,� Jenkins said. �That�s a kid who broke two wrists in the weight room and played football at middle linebacker. He�s as tough as I�ve ever been around.�
Still, the Pirates actually struck first, grabbing a 1-0 lead in the third. Nathan Weickowski singled, stole second and went to third on a ground out before scoring on Jordan Behan�s sacrifice fly.
But the Panthers rallied to go up 2-1 in the fourth. Holden Taylor singled down the third-base line and then Zach Futrell reached on a bunt single. After a fly out and one of three errors in the inning, the Panthers pulled off a double steal, with Taylor scoring. Futrell later scored on an error.
Swansboro countered quickly, tying it in the bottom of the fourth when Sean Burke, who was 2-for-2, blooped a single to short right-center field on a 3-1 pitch to score Jon Iris, who reached on a two-base error with two outs.
�That�s kind of been our bugaboo,� Jenkins said of the two-out error. �Things like that just happen. We�ve got a team that�s really young.�
The Pirates then took the lead one inning later.
After two deep fly outs to center field by Weickowski and Ryan Murphy, Behan reached on an error. Then on consecutive pitches he stole second and scored on a single to center by Henry to give the Pirates a 3-2 lead.
East Duplin, which left eight runners on base, had runners at first and second with two outs in the top of the fifth when Laspada was lifted for Bodnarik, who struck out Futrell to end the threat on four pitches.
Swansboro picked up an insurance run in the sixth when Iris singled and later scored on a wild pitch.
�We came out a little slow,� Ross said, adding this was just another in what seems a growing series of hard-fought, close win for the Pirates, which is �at times mentally draining.�
Perhaps, but Ross will take that over the alternative � a loss.
East Duplin 000200 0� 2 4 2
Swansboro 001111 x� 4 7 5
WP�Bodnarik (4-0) 2 1/3 IP 0 H 0 R 0 ER 4 K 1 BB. LP�Tanner (NA) 7 IP 7 H 4 R 2 ER 3 K 2 BB 1 HBP. LEADING HITTERS�ED: Smith 2-3; S: Burke 2-2 1 RBI; Iris 1-3 2 runs. RECORDS�ED: 7-12, 3-8, hosts Northside on Tuesday. S: 13-5, 7-3, at Richlands today.


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Hospitals reduce number of rapidly returning patients
Over the past several months, America's hospitals have achieved a feat that long seemed beyond reach: substantially reducing the share of patients who must return for treatment almost as soon as they are discharged.
According to statistics compiled by the Obama administration, the nationwide rate of hospital re-admissions of Medicare patients within 30 days of discharge declined to about 17.8 percent by last November after remaining stuck near 19 percent over the five years that the data has been collected, and likely for decades prior to that.
Jonathan Blum, a top official at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, is scheduled to release the figures Thursday at a Senate Finance Committee hearing. In an interview, he argued that the drop -- which has already kept tens of thousands of people out of the hospital -- is largely the result of provisions in President Barack Obama's health-care law.
These provisions include new financial penalties that Medicare, the federal health program for the elderly and disabled, has begun imposing on hospitals with high re-admission rates. They also include extra funding and incentives for hospitals and outpatient providers to do a better job of coordinating care for patients after they head home.
"What I think is exciting is that a couple years ago the general reaction to these policies was that it was impossible to reduce hospital re-admissions," Blum said. "And what this data shows me is that it is possible. . . . I believe that what we are seeing is a fundamental, structural change."
The news comes as the growth of health-care spending is slowing at a record pace.
For a variety of reasons, national spending on health care in 2011 grew by less than 4 percent for the third consecutive year. And in 2012, Medicare's spending per beneficiary rose by only 0.4 percent, compared to an average of 1.9 percent in the preceding three years.
Yet many analysts say that Medicare continues to threaten the country's long-term fiscal health, primarily because of the aging of the baby boomers. Administration officials hope that reducing unnecessary hospital re-admissions will be a powerful, and politically palatable, tool for further curbing Medicare spending.
The data does not pinpoint the reasons for the reduction in the Medicare re-admissions rate. But officials stressed that the decline occurred as hospitals began focusing more on re-admissions, in part because of a combination of carrots and sticks in the health-care law.
The law, for example, includes a stream of funding for organizations promoting better coordination of patient care, such as 26 "hospital engagement networks" across the country that are working with 3,700 hospitals to identify ways to reduce unnecessary re-admissions.
One of the largest such groups, Premier Healthcare Alliance, which has a $24 million two-year contract to serve 450 hospitals, has used the money to hire an army of advisers to come up with specific strategies tailored to each location. So far, the effort has reduced the average re-admissions rate from 11.2 percent in 2010 to 10.2 percent by this past September.
Perhaps more significantly, Medicare in October began penalizing 2,217 hospitals under the law for having too many re-admissions. More than 300 hospitals were hit with the maximum fine: a 1 percent reduction in their Medicare payments for every patient over the coming year.
Medicare also now links a portion of a hospital's payments to its performance on quality measures, including some that could affect the re-admission rate, such as whether a patient received an antibiotic before surgery.
These payment changes proved a powerful motivator for officials at Ridgeview Medical Center, a 109-bed hospital system in Waconia, Minn. The hospital created a team dedicated to pushing down its re-admission rates almost as soon as the health-care law was adopted in 2010.
"We knew we were at risk [for penalties] and we were trying to stay ahead of the curve," said Michael Phelps, the hospital's chief administrative officer.
Among other initiatives, the team created a template that physicians must use to detail patients' conditions just before discharging them. This ensures that the outpatient provider who next sees a patient has a clear record on which to base follow-up care.
Ridgeview also now sends paramedics to visit patients at home within 72 hours of their discharges. The paramedics check that the patients are following their medication plans, and look out for health hazards, even ones as minor as carpeting that could cause the patients to trip and fall.
The results have mostly been encouraging. From 2010 to the second quarter of 2012, Ridgeview improved markedly on a measure that considers only re-admissions that were "preventable." Nonetheless, the hospital's overall rate of re-admission for all patients actually went up, to 8.4 percent from 7.6 percent.
And in October, Ridgeview was informed that it will be subject to the re-admissions penalty, which is calculated based on the rates over three years from July 2008 through June 2011. The fine amounts to about $1 per Medicare patient.
Still, hospital officials say they think the fines could have been far more severe had the hospital not launched its program to reduce re-admissions. And they expect to improve their figures.
"I don't think there's one golden nugget to really reduce your re-admissions rate," said Sarah Urtel, the executive leading the effort at Ridgeview. "It's the culmination of a lot of different strategies."


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My latest article entitled "Bring Out Your Dead: A Look at Mortality Schedules" has been posted at Archives.com. This is one of many articles you'll find as part of the Learn from Experts series at Archives.com – check it out and you will see some familiar faces among the genealogy blogging crowd!
The most recent article discusses how deaths were tracked in the Non-Population Schedules of the US Federal Census as well as in some state census returns. Most of these censuses took place from 1850 to 1900 and tracked deaths as well as causes of death for the year prior to the Census Day. Since many states did not formally track vital records until even the early 20th century, the mortality schedules offer lots of information to fill in the gaps of your geneaogy and family history research.
Visit the Articles page here at High-Definition Genealogy for my other recent and past articles on genealogy.
Disclaimer: this was an assignment for Archives.com in which I was paid to produce a an article on the subject of genealogy webinars. In addition to payment, I also received a complimentary membership to Archives.com. See the Disclosure Statements page for a list of all material connections I have with genealogy vendors.
©2013, copyright Thomas MacEntee


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Oh my! Cheri and Jim White entertained supporters of the Louisville Orchestra with "My Big Fat Greek Feast†at their beautiful home in Indian Hills last weekend. Guests were entertained by a trio of Orchestra musicians, which was appropriate and appreciated since the dinner was a part of the ALO a la carte summer fundraisers.
After drinks that included ouzo and wonderful hors canapes, guests sat down to a sumptuous dinner prepared by Cheri, her mother Alice Collis and the ladies of their Greek Church.
It was spectacular from the first taste of the homemade hummus and the Greek olives to dessert. Guests were seated at tables throughout the beautiful big house.
Xoriariki salata, "Peasant salad†of cucumbers, tomatoes and feta cheese started off the feast. That was followed by a first course of Pastitso – a hearty casserole layered with red meat sauce over buttery Greek-style macaroni with a béchamel sauce. Oh my! It was heaven.
The entrée was oven-roasted lamb rubbed with spices, roasted potatoes with oregano, tiropita (phyllo stuffed with feta cheese), Greek-style green beans and dolmathes, which are divine stuffed grape leaves.
The desserts were baklava, ouzo cake and rizogalo, or Greek rice pudding.
There was a spirited conversation over the centerpiece at one table. It was a spectacular bronze copy of an ancient Greek warrior's helmet. Everyone wanted it!
It was a lovely evening that not only benefitted the ALO, but also the Greek Church. Cheri asked the ladies of her church to cook some of the native dishes and then she made a contribution to the church.
Those who were there included Julie and Frank Preston, John and Theresa Bondurant, Mary and Kurt Broecker, Jane and Ed Hopson, Lou Ellen Williams, Cynthia and Bill Yancey, Dan Schusterman and Mary and Bill Nash.
Chef Anthony Lamas will celebrate the life of Julia Child by hosting Dinner and a Movie night at Seviche on Wednesday, Aug.15, which would have been Child's 100th birthday. In honor of Child, the film "Julie & Julia†will be shown on an eight-foot screen in the private dining room while a nine-course dinner, inspired by the movie, is served.
Showtime is 6:30 and the price is $125 per person plus tax and tip. Seating is limited, so guests are asked to make reservations in advance by calling 502.473.8560.
A rundown of the menu is: bruschetta with heirloom tomato; basil and French bread; chicken with mushrooms, cream and thyme; onion soup with gruyere, crouton and cognac; poached egg with asparagus and crispy potato; lobster thermidor with paprika, lemon and hollandaise; fish with beurre blanc, capers and parsley; boeuf bouruignon with prime beef, house pasta and red wine; chocolate cream pie with sweet cream, almonds and ganache; apple tarte tatin with vanilla ice cream and puff pastry with brown sugar.
The world class Shelbyville Horse Show starts tonight and ends on Saturday night. That evening a perpetual trophy to honor the memory of horse show participant and fan, the late Sug Schusterman, will be presented.


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A joint submission by the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association (AMTA) and the Communications Alliance has detailed data retention reforms could cost the industry over half a billion dollars.
Its submission to a parliamentary inquiry into reforms into national security legislation states set-up costs for data retention would cost nearly $100 million.
"If the source and destination IP addresses were to be included in the capture and retain requirement the setup costs would be likely to approach a figure in the region [$500 million to $700 million]," the submission states.
"The inclusion of a single additional data element has the potential to increase the capture and retention cost by tens of millions of dollars."
The potential data retention matter is part of reforms into four pieces of legislation, including the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979; the Telecommunications Act 1997; the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Act 1979; and the Intelligence Services Act 2001.
The associations have called on a cost analysis of the reforms to be carried out by parliament, which would also allow an analysis of the privacy implications of the reform to also be assessed.
The submission said that the cost of any data retention reforms should be borne by the government or there is the risk costs will be passed on and consumers will bear the cost.
"These real costs must be minimised so that unnecessary costs are not passed onto consumers and do not result in a less internationally competitive Australian telecommunications sector either domestically or on international terms," the submission states.
The associations also took umbrage to the blanket coverage of the proposed data retention reforms, which would see ISPs and telecommunications providers responsible for retaining all customer data for up to two years.
"The associations' view is that the government has not provided sufficient justification for the implementation of data retention. In particular there appears to have been no proper assessment of the relationship to be derived and the costs (social and financial) involved in implementing such a regime," the joint submission states.
Instead, the associations stated industry naturally protect their infrastructure without the need for further incentives or requirements.
Greens Senator, Scott Ludlam, has been a fierce opponent of the data retention proposals, previously telling Computerworld Australia the proposals had a "dodgy premise" and the government was playing "lip service".
In his submission to the inquiry, Ludlam reaffirmed his position that the data retention proposals were treating all citizens as suspects.
"Retaining all data, for all Australians, for years means that every article read online, detailed locational data collected by phones, every email sent, every item purchased would be captured," he said in his submission.
He also reiterated his security concerns over stored data being vulnerable to hacking.
"The vast amounts of data that would be retained poses a security threat because it would be vulnerable to theft and hacking by unauthorised persons or governments, private entities or criminal actors," he said.
"Australians have a strong tradition of standing up for free speech and freedom of association – we need to safeguard these traditions in the online environment."
Acting Victorian Privacy Commissioner, Anthony Bendall, also slammed the Federal Government's proposed two-year Web and telecommunications data retention laws as "characteristic of a police state".
A total of 177 submissions were received for the inquiry.
Follow Stephanie McDonald on Twitter: @stephmcdonald0
Follow Computerworld Australia on Twitter: @ComputerworldAU


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"Oh, that box. Amy, you'll dream about that box. It'll never leave you. Big and little at the same time; brand new and ancient and the bluest blue ever."
This Doctor Who-inspired candle invites you to step into the blue box and hurtle through time and space on a daring adventure.
Teakwood & Lemongrass
Scent Strength: Light
Color: Police Box Blue
Soy wax, lead-free cotton wick, dye, aluminum or glass container, natural & synthetic fragrance oils.
This candle comes in 2 sizes: a 4 oz tin or an 8 oz glass jar.
4 oz: Tins are 2" tall and 2.6" in diameter. Weight is approximately 5 oz.
8 oz: Glass jars are 3.5" tall and 2.8" in diameter. Weight is approximately 9 oz.
Each candle is carefully hand-poured in small batches, so color and appearance may vary slightly from photos. Due to the nature of soy wax, frosting is considered normal.
Soy Wax burns nice and clean and is eco-friendly! You'll be able to clean out the container and either recycle or reuse it. Do not burn for more than 4 hours at a time.
5-7 business days
I'll do my best to meet these shipping estimates, but can't guarantee them. Actual delivery time will depend on the shipping method you choose.
Buyers are responsible for any customs and import taxes that may apply. I'm not responsible for delays due to customs.
Just contact me within: 7 days of delivery
Ship items back to me within: 14 days of delivery
Request a cancellation within: 24 hours of purchase
But please contact me if you have any problems with your order.
Because of the nature of these items, unless they arrive damaged or defective, I can't accept returns for:
Buyers are responsible for return shipping costs. If the item is not returned in its original condition, the buyer is responsible for any loss in value.
Please contact me if you have any problems with your order.
Purchasing more than 10 candles? Not a problem!Contact me for questions about purchasing high volume orders. I'll create a custom listing for you, with a wholesale discount.
Absolutely. If you are interested in a candle, but aren't sure you'll love the scent, shoot me a message! I'm happy to send you a wax sample for your olfactory pleasure.
Jun 6, 2020
Still haven't received this item but will update when I get it in the mail


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DailyDirt: Going For The Gold...
from the urls-we-dig-up deptGold is a unique element that has been almost universally treasured. It's rare, but it isn't the hardest element to find. Gold has a remarkable property of not reacting with its environment, so it doesn't tarnish or burn. There aren't that many practical uses for it, compared to other metals, though, but here are a few links on some gold-related items.
- Microbial alchemy doesn't transmute lead into gold, but it does metabolize gold chloride (aqueous) into solid 24-karat gold. Cupriavidus metallidurans can tolerate highly toxic concentrations of gold chloride and reduce the metal so that it precipitates. [url]
- Gold medalists at the last Olympics didn't receive solid gold for their efforts but mostly silver with a gold coating. So in all those pictures of the athletes biting on their gold medals, that bite test for metal purity had a pretty good chance of failing. [url]
- The Last Pictures project is planning to preserve a visual record of human civilization on a silicon disc encased in gold -- for billions of years. This archival disc will be launched with the EchoStar XVI satellite and should remain in orbit for longer than our planet, as we know it, will exist. [url]
Filed Under: alchemy, archival storage, bacteria, gold, olympic medals, satellite, time capsule


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In Celebration of the Human Voice - The Essential Musical Instrument
Home | Doo Wop | Barbershop | World | Contemporary | Christian | Vocal Jazz | Choral | Christmas | Instructional | Arrangements
Charles Ives was the son of George Ives, a U.S. Army bandleader in the American Civil War, and his wife Mary Parmelee. A strong influence of Charles's may have been sitting in the Danbury town square, listening to his father's marching band and other bands on other sides of the square simultaneously. George Ives's unique music lessons were also a strong influence on Charles; George Ives took an open-minded approach to musical theory, encouraging his son to experiment in bitonal and polytonal harmonizations. It was from his father that Charles Ives also learned the music of Stephen Foster. Ives became a church organist at the age of 14 and wrote various hymns and songs for church services, including his Variations on 'America' . Ives moved to New Haven in 1893, enrolling in the Hopkins School where he captained the baseball team. In September 1894, Ives entered Yale University, studying under Horatio Parker. Here he composed in a choral style similar to his mentor, writing church music and even an 1896 campaign song for William McKinley. On November 4, 1894 Charles's father died, a crushing blow to the young composer, but to a large degree Ives continued the musical experimentation he had begun with George Ives.
At Yale College Charles Ives was a prominent figure; he was a member of HeBoule, Delta Kappa Epsilon (Phi chapter) and Wolf's Head Society, and sat as chairman of the Ivy Committee. He enjoyed sports at Yale and played on the varsity football team. Michael C. Murphy, his coach, once remarked that it was a crying shame that Charles Ives spent so much time at music as otherwise he could have been a champion sprinter. His works Calcium Light Night and Yale-Princeton Football Game show the influence of college and sports on Ives' composition. He wrote his Symphony No. 1 as his senior thesis under Parker's supervision.
Charles Ives continued his work as a church organist until May 1902. In 1899 he moved to employment with the insurance agency Charles H. Raymond & Co., where he stayed until 1906. In 1907, upon the failure of Raymond & Co., he and his friend Julian Myrick formed their own insurance agency Ives & Co., which later became Ives & Myrick, where he remained until he retired. During his career as an insurance executive, Ives devised creative ways to structure life-insurance packages for people of means, which laid the foundation of the modern practice of estate planning. His Life Insurance with Relation to Inheritance Tax, published in 1918, was well-received. As a result of this he achieved considerable fame in the insurance industry of his time, with many of his business peers surprised to learn that he was also a composer. In his spare time he composed music and, until his marriage, worked as an organist in Danbury and New Haven as well as Bloomfield, New Jersey and New York City. In 1907, Ives suffered the first of several "heart attacks" (as he and his family called them) that he had through out his lifetime. These attacks may have been psychological in origin rather than physical. Following his recovery from the 1907 attack, Ives entered into one of the most creative periods of his life as a composer. After marrying Harmony Twitchell in 1908, they moved into their own apartment in New York. He had a remarkably successful career in insurance, and continued to be a prolific composer until he suffered another of several heart attacks in 1918, after which he composed very little, writing his very last piece, the song Sunrise, in August 1926. In 1922, Ives published his 114 Songs which represents the breadth of his work as a composer - it includes art songs, songs he wrote as a teenager and young man, and highly dissonant songs such as "The Majority." According to his wife, one day in early 1927 he came downstairs with tears in his eyes: he could compose no more, he said, "nothing sounds right." There have been numerous theories advanced to explain the silence of his late years, which seems as mysterious as the last several decades of the life of Jean Sibelius, who also stopped composing at almost the same time. While Ives had stopped composing, and was increasingly plagued by health problems, he did continue to revise and refine his earlier work, as well as oversee premieres of his music. After continuing health problems, including diabetes, in 1930 he retired from his insurance business, which gave him more time to devote to his musical work, but he was unable to write any new music. During the 1940's he revised his Concord Sonata, publishing it in 1947 (an earlier version of the sonata and the accompanying prose volume, Essays Before a Sonata were privately printed in 1920). Ives died in 1954 in New York City.


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Point to a group of toddlers in an upper-middle-class neighborhood in America, and it's a good bet that they will go to college, buy nice houses and enjoy white-collar careers.
Point to a group of toddlers in a low-income neighborhood, and — especially if they're boys — they're much more likely to end up dropping out of school, struggling in dead-end jobs and having trouble with the law.
Something is profoundly wrong when we can point to 2-year-olds in this country and make a plausible bet about their long-term outcomes — not based on their brains and capabilities, but on their ZIP codes. President Obama spoke movingly in his second Inaugural Address of making equality a practice as well as a principle. So, Mr. President, how about using your second term to tackle this most fundamental inequality?
For starters, this will require a fundamental rethinking of antipoverty policy. American assistance programs, from housing support to food stamps, have had an impact, and poverty among the elderly has fallen in particular (they vote in high numbers, so government programs tend to cater to them). But, too often, such initiatives have addressed symptoms of poverty, not causes.
Since President Lyndon Johnson declared a "war on poverty," the United States has spent some $16 trillion or more on means-tested programs. Yet the proportion of Americans living beneath the poverty line, 15 percent, is higher than in the late 1960s in the Johnson administration.
What accounts for the cycles of poverty that leave so many people mired in the margins, and how can we break these cycles? Some depressing clues emerge from a new book, "Giving Our Children a Fighting Chance," by Susan Neuman and Donna Celano.
Neuman and Celano focus on two neighborhoods in Philadelphia. In largely affluent Chestnut Hill, most children have access to personal computers and the shops have eight children's books or magazines on sale for each child living there.
Take a 20-minute bus ride on Germantown Avenue and you're in the Philadelphia Badlands, a low-income area inhabited mostly by working-class blacks and Hispanics. Here there are few children's books, few private computers and only two public computers for every 100 children.
On top of that, there's a difference in parenting strategies, the writers say. Upper-middle-class parents in America increasingly engage in competitive child-rearing. Parents send preschoolers to art classes and violin lessons and read "Harry Potter" books to bewildered children who don't yet know what a wizard is.
Meanwhile, partly by necessity, working-class families often take a more hands-off attitude to child-raising. Neuman and Celano spent 40 hours monitoring parental reading in the public libraries in each neighborhood. That was easy in the Badlands — on an average day "not one adult entered the preschool area in the Badlands."
When I was a third-grader, a friend struggling in school once went with me to the library, and my mother helped him get a library card. His grandmother then made him return it immediately, for fear that he would run up library fines.
The upshot is that many low-income children never reach the starting line, and poverty becomes self-replicating.
Maybe that's why some of the most cost-effective antipoverty programs are aimed at the earliest years. For example, the Nurse-Family Partnership has a home-visitation program that encourages new parents of at-risk children to amp up the hugging, talking and reading. It ends at age 2, yet randomized trials show that those children are less likely to be arrested as teenagers and the families require much less government assistance.
Or take Head Start. Critics have noted that the advantage its preschoolers gain in test scores fades by third grade, but scholars also have found that Head Start has important impacts on graduates, including lessening the chance that they will be convicted of a crime years later.
James Heckman, a Nobel Prize-winning economist, argues that the most crucial investments we as a country can make are in the first five years of life, and that they pay for themselves. Yet these kinds of initiatives are underfinanced and serve only a tiny fraction of children in need.
We don't have any magic bullets. But randomized trials and long-term data give us a better sense of what works — and, for the most part, it's what we're not doing, like improved education, starting with early childhood programs for low-income families. Job-training for at-risk teenagers also has an excellent record. Marriage can be a powerful force, too, but there's not much robust evidence about which programs work.
So, President Obama, to fulfill the vision for your second term, how about redeploying the resources we've spent on the war in Afghanistan to undertake nation-building at home — starting with children so that they will no longer be limited by their ZIP codes.


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Don't look now but it's Poetry Month. Yup. It kind of snuck up on me too. For a lot of librarians Poetry Month is that blessed time of year when our Dewey Decimal #811 books start flying off the shelves. The time of year when we can start to seriously recommend those titles that might have been pooh-poohed at previous times of year. It is, in short, a glorious month.
In tandem with Poetry Month are assignments where kids have to write poems of their own in a variety of well-established styles. Haiku is the most popular, but sometimes you'll get the occasional limerick or even sonnet. This year, I suggest that we take a look at some of the new poetic forms out there. Want your kids to get into poetry? Consider the following odd ducks:
Newspaper Blackout Poems – As creator Austin Kleon puts it, "Newspaper + Marker = Poetry". This form is a kind of forced found poem. The poet's job is to find a newspaper article or horoscope and to blackout everything except the words in the poem. Intrigued? Read a whole swath of them here. Failing that, you can just buy this screenprint:
Could you imagine anything cooler in a high school English language classroom?
Fibonacci Poems – Children's literary blogger Greg Pincus is the creator behind this particular form. In fact, it proved so popular when it was introduced back in 2006 that Motoko Rich even went so far as to write the New York Times article Fibonacci Poems Multiply on the Web After Blog's Invitation. Greg explains how to make such a poem on his blog GottaBook saying, "I wanted something that required more precision. That led me to a six line, 20 syllable poem with a syllable count by line of 1/1/2/3/5/8 – the classic Fibonacci sequence. In short, start with 0 and 1, add them together to get your next number, then keep adding the last two numbers together for your next one." Math meets poetry.
Twenty Consonant Poetry – But only if you're REALLY dedicated to doing something new.
Epulaeryu – Not sure if this one's new or old, actually. I love the idea, though, since the subject matter is right up my alley these days. In an Epulaeryu the poem must be about delicious, scrumptious, yummy food. According to Poetry Soup, "It consists of seven lines with thirty-three (33) syllables. The first line has seven syllables, the second line five, the third line seven, the fourth line five, the fifth line five, the sixth line three, and the seventh line has only one syllable which ends with an exclamation mark. Each line has one thought relating to the main course." You can see a whole bunch of examples here.
Need more ideas? The blog Poetry Tag Time Tips has some clever ways of utilizing poems in the classroom.
Finally, to inspire you, let us sit back and watch an adorable child as he recites Alfred Lord Tennyson's The Eagle in the appropriate garb.
Thanks to Finding Wonderland for the link.


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Assembly lines: Bill balances control and chaos
Every year when the Charlottesville/Albemarle High School Art Show goes up, I'm wowed all over again by Randy Bill's students at St. Anne's-Belfield School. Her pupils' work expresses a mature understanding of materials and technique, but also exudes joy and adventure— sure signs of a good teacher. Their consistent success has made me curious about Bill's own artwork.
This year I didn't have to look far to find the tree from which the apples fell. While the high school show enlivens the McGuffey Art Center's upstairs hall gallery, Bill's own exhibition, "Spinoff," is on view downstairs. Combining found manufactured objects with handcrafted earthenware elements, Bill's pedestal- and wall-mounted sculptures reveal an aesthetic thread running between teacher and students
Bill writes in an accompanying statement that she enjoys discovering the connection between cast-off, mass-produced machine parts and one-of-a-kind handmade clay components, which she fuses to form seamless and balanced wholes, in which the shift from one material to the next does not disrupt the overall rhythm of the abstract compositions. She has a predilection for the haphazard way machine parts corrode and rust; she incorporates the resulting patterns and colors into her work and often glazes her ceramic elements to mimic steel or the turquoise of oxidized copper.
Her pedestal pieces tend to ascend like well-orchestrated towers, whereas most of her wall pieces have a downward flow infused with the energy of controlled chaos. In three related pieces, "From Here to There," "Straight Pin," and "Fall"— which could stand alone but work particularly well in concert— Bill has created vine-like sconces out of gunmetal-glazed earthenware cables, each looping slightly differently. Through the openings of these graceful brackets, Bill hangs tangled cascades of found material: yards of crumpled copper resembling iridescent ribbon, un-spooled brown paper bearing hundreds of silver straight pins, and an unrolled and rusty yellow tape measure, respectively. Bill punctuates each piece by letting the salvaged material pool randomly on the floor.
Playfulness runs throughout the work, but her sense of humor shines clearest in "Family Dinner," also her most referential piece. Three well-burnt candles, covered in disorderly drips, stud the curving arms of a silver candelabra, whose base features a dark grenade sitting atop a disc brush bristling with metal spines.
Bill's forte is creating coherent assemblages from mixed elements and energizing these balanced compositions with a dash of chaos— not unlike her approach to teaching.
Randy Bill's sculpture exhibition, "Spinoff," is on view through May 1 at the McGuffey Art Center, 201 Second St. NW. 295-7973.Read more on: mcguffey art centerRandy Billsculpture


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This past week Bhob Rainey posted an excellent article from Dusted Magazine, that I had somehow overlooked. The article tackles the sometimes thorny subject of extended technique and it's relative takeover of new improvisation. A slightly dated (or just tired) subject for some, but Charlie Wilmoth's take still sounds fresh and insightful. A pretty great read for any fan of improvised music.
I'd also say that if you're one of us that has the odd relative or friend who can't get why you want to listen to music consisting of scrapes, squeals, static, etc, this article may be able to shed some light. Wilmoth does a great job of linking this movement to touchpoints in jazz, modern classical, etc, in a very approachable way.
Dustedand Magazine – Scrapes and Hisses: Extended Techniques in Improvised Music
Tags: bhob rainey, Charlie Wilmoth, David Gross, dusted magazine, eai, extended technique, Fred Lonberg-Holm, improv, improvisation, jack wright, John Butcher, Kai Fagaschinski, Kyle Bruckmann


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If you want to monitor your iPhone or remote computer, there aren't many options for the iPhone. In fact, there's really no single app that's worthy of being called the best. As a result, we're offering two: iStat if you're monitoring a Mac or iPhone, and PC Monitor if you're monitoring a Windows or Linux machine.
Platform: iPhone Price: $0.99 (On Sale) Download Page
PC Monitor
Platform: iPhone (and Others) Price: Free Download Page
- Remotely monitor CPU, memory, disks, temperatures, fans, uptime and load averages of any Mac
- See your iPhone's stats for memory, disk space, Wi-Fi and IP addresses, uptime and load averages, plus view and copy your iPhone's Unique ID and MAC address
- iStat includes detailed battery stats for your iPhone or iPod touch. It shows battery percentage, as well as how much time is remaining for various tasks such as making calls, using the internet, watching videos and listening to music
- Ping and traceroute tools built-in
PC Monitor
- Remotely monitors CPU temperature, network status, RAM usage and much more on Windows and Linux PCs
- Remotely run Windows Update
- Remotely restart/shutdown/suspend/hibernate your computer
- Easily configurable
- Communication is encrypted
- Remotely control virtual machines
- Flexible notifications system so you're informed of problems
- Apps available for other platforms, like Android and Windows Phone 7
If you want comprehensive information about your iPhone, iStat is the way to go. It gives you comprehensive information about disk usage, battery charge, network info, and even provides handy buttons to copy your IP and MAC addresses. It also provides a full list of processes running on your device, plus estimates (in hours and minutes) of talk and standby time so you know your current battery life in practical terms.
iStat is also great for remote systems monitoring, if you have a Mac. (Technically it also works with Linux and Solaris machines but PC Monitor also works with Linux and is a better option.) By installing a free server app, you can monitor temperatures, RAM usage, disk usage, fan speeds, network activity and much more all from your phone. It takes about 10 seconds to set up and is organised very nicely. While not a necessity, iStat has a beautiful interface.
PC Monitor is phenomenal thanks to its feature set. It can control practically everything on your Windows or Linux PC — even virtual machines. But more practically, you can remotely run updates, restart any computer on your network, and much more. It's a really great way to control your computer from your phone, and would be our top pick if it also worked with Macs.
The biggest disadvantage of both apps is that they don't support all platforms. PC Monitor is a phenomenal remote systems management and control tool and it would be awesome if it were on the Mac as well. While iStat is good for monitoring your remote Mac, it just doesn't have the amazing feature set that comes with PC Monitor. And, of course, iStat only works on Mac, Linux and Solaris computers.
Competition is pretty sparse in this category. System Info and System Info Free (which are both free and separate apps) monitor your iPhone. System Info doesn't provide much data outside of disk usage and battery life, plus it's pretty poorly designed, so it's not really worth downloading. System Info Free offers additional stats, like memory usage and processes and doesn't cost anything. If you only want to monitor your iPhone and not a remote system, System Info Free is a decent alternative.
Lifehacker's App Directory is a new and growing directory of recommendations for the best applications and tools in a number of given categories.


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The ZEISS CARFIT hole grid profile system
The ZEISS CARFIT CML line is compatible with all other lines and is based on hole grid profiles. Featuring a choice of three cross-sections, this achieves almost 90% standardization while delivering extraordinary flexibility. Infused with all the benefits of ZEISS CARFIT, the CML grid profiles are also fully compatible with other hole grid profile systems.
The ZEISS CARFIT CML joining technology enables simple, fast assemblies with extreme rigidity of the design. Another innovative feature is the ability to adapt the setup elements without requiring processing of the profile front.
All ZEISS CARFIT standard components are modular, compatible with each other and can be delivered on short notice.
The kits are multifunctional, reusable and expandable. Flexible configurations are supported through setup instructions and an electronic catalog.


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Northern New England Hockey East teams win, tie, lose in Friday night games
ORONO, Maine (AP) � The University of New Hampshire won, Maine tied and Vermont lost in Hockey East games.
No. 5 New Hampshire (7-1-1, 5-1-1 HEA) beat the University of Massachusetts-Lowell 3-0 Friday night in Lowell as Trevor van Riemsdyk scored a goal and had an assist. The River Hawks fall to 2-5-1 and 1-4-1 in Hockey East.
In Orono, the University of Maine (2-9-1, 1-5-1) led the University of Massachusetts 2-1 until the Minutemen scored with just over a minute to play in regulation. Neither team scored in overtime, preserving a 2-2 tie. UMass improves to 3-4-1 and 2-4-1.
Playing at home in Burlington, the University of Vermont fell to No. 11 Boston University 6-2. The Catamounts are now 1-4-2 overall and in league play, while the Terriers are 6-3-0, 5-2-0.


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Github header goes black, more design changes rolling soon
Just few minutes ago, I went to Github website to create a new repository and when I loaded the page for the first time, I though that it was because of network issues with Worldlink. :D This days, Wordlink keeps sucking time and again, so I thought internet did something wrong. But no, I was wrong, I refreshed, tried incognito and found that its actually black.
Actually, I disliked the new color design at the first time I saw. Dark looks something wierd. Also, being accustomed to particular color makes us difficult to adapt new changes.
I was wondering why my github navbar is ugly black, I thought that it was because of expressing some dark events or some bad incidence or I even suspected that my account was blacklisted. :D Then I went through some forums and found out that it was universal, I could see many people didn't like it and already people are switching back the colors as black just distracts and catches eyes from all. Also, there is already a tool if you too feel same. Check this.
Github made this changes recently within last 24hours and a lot of design changes are coming as per Mark Otto's tweet. Hope everything will be awesome!
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The Beaux' Stratagem
The Beaux' Stratagem (1707) is George Farquhar's last play: it premiered a month and a half before his untimely death aged 30, at the Queen's Theatre in Haymarket, a new venue built by dramatist and architect John Vanbrugh on the Western fringes of the city of London. Seen as one of the most humane and democratic writers of the post-Restoration stage, Farquhar did not live to see the play become one of the most performed plays of the eighteenth century.
Farquhar's last play is the story of two fortune-hunting beaux, Aimwell and Archer, who have journeyed from London to the provincial town of Lichfield. Their plan is to work their way through several towns, alternately pretending to be master and servant until one of them finds a rich heiress. But at the first hurdle, Aimwell falls sincerely in love with his prey, and begins to woo the beautiful Dorinda in earnest. Meanwhile his 'footman' Archer arouses the wistful interest of the unhappily married Mrs Sullen, the wife of a boorish squire. The play is further populated by a corrupt innkeeper, his lovely daughter, a highwayman, a disguised Irish priest, a country gentlewoman who believes she has healing powers, and a lowly servant who became one of the best-loved comic roles of the eighteenth century.
The Beaux' Stratagem has been praised for the range, depth and naturalism of its characters: at a time when most comedies were written in, for and about London, Farquhar leaves behind the tendency to portray country folk as uncouth and laughable rustics. In addition, the play has been seen as broaching the gap between the sharp wit of Restoration comedy and its plots full of rakes and rascals, and the more genteel, sentimental comedy of the eighteenth century, whose focus falls not on sexual one-upmanship but on the realities of marital discord. The use of marriage as a way to improve social status had been long dramatized and satirized, but it is in his discussions of divorce that Farquhar reaches out to a humane understanding of the feasibility of marital harmony.
Feminist criticism has read into the play an early stirring of woman's rights. In the previous century, plagued by the failings of patriarchal authority in kingship and commonwealth, questions had been raised about marriage being the best and/or only option for women, as it brought with it the possibility of unkind husbands and further loneliness. Farquhar's comedy, ending with both marriage and divorce, highlighted the need for a reform of the divorce laws; this was a pertinent topic, as, despite the ills of marriage, only six divorces were granted by an Act of Parliament between 1660 and 1714.


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The parents of a University of Nevada, Reno freshman pledge who drowned in 2002 have sued the university and the fraternity.
The lawsuit says Albert Santos, 18, of Las Vegas drowned after he and seven other Pi Kappa Alpha pledges were told to strip to their underwear and swim around the fountain in Manzanita Lake on the university campus.
Santos could not swim.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages, claiming the school, the fraternity and 11 members of the Iota Eta chapter were negligent.
University attorney Brooke Neilsen said the school denies responsibility in the death.
After the incident, the university banned the fraternity from campus and suspended an undisclosed number of its members.
The case isn't scheduled to go to trial until January because of the large number of defendants involved.
Dale Hayes, one of three Las Vegas lawyers representing Santos' mother Editha Day, the plaintiff in the case, disagrees with Neilsen.
"It's our belief that this was an annual tradition of what's called the Plunge, and we think the evidence will support that Manzanita Lake has been used in the past by this fraternity for this type of event," Hayes said.
After an investigation into Santos' death, the Washoe County district attorney decided not to file criminal charges against fraternity members involved in the incident.
A state law passed in 1999 makes hazing on high school and college campuses a criminal offense.
But prosecutors determined Santos and the other pledges were not forced to take part in a fraternity hazing and voluntarily decided to make the swim in the chilly waters of the lake on Oct. 10, 2002.


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This memory still brings back fear and melancholy, like a ghost story that stubbornly haunts me after all these years ...
Over and over, footage of Rock Hudson standing next to Doris Day was playing on television, and he looked ghastly. His skin was wrinkled and sunken as if by very old age. It was 1985, and it was one of the last close-up images most of us would ever see of the movie icon. And it was terrifying.
My heart was pounding, and I tried to listen to the voice-over, which spoke of the sudden illness of Rock Hudson and speculation that he might have AIDS. Throughout the newscast, memories of a night in 1982, nearly three years earlier, sprang to life. The images taunted me and screamed at me and said gonna getcha gonna getcha gonna getcha ...
Charley and I had recently moved to Los Angeles and the city still held such mystery and promise for us. We were excited about spending our anniversary at the gay restaurant New York Company, where you got a candle on your table and mushrooms on your prime rib and they would probably sing to us or bring a special piece of cake.
No sooner had we settled at our table and ordered drinks than Charley started nudging my arm and staring at something behind me. I glanced in that direction, and was stunned to find Rock Hudson seated there, talking with another man.
In our short time in Los Angeles, I had developed the attitude that famous people deserved their privacy and one shouldn't ogle them. I thought it was cool not to care they were there, even though I was dying to look. In any case, Charley was staring across our table in a gay restaurant directly at Rock Hudson and I wanted him to stop right this minute.
I was definitely jealous, not only of being upstaged by a movie star at my anniversary dinner, but because I wanted to look at him so badly myself, and Charley had the perfect view. So I pestered poor Charley for the next ten minutes about how rude he was and how I couldn't believe he found the man so fascinating and why couldn't he pay attention to me on this special night and all sorts of other such lies.
"You men having any fun?"
There was no mistaking the voice, and I looked up from my pouting stance to Charley, who was grinning across our table at the man behind me. "Sure," Charley managed to say. I turned around and Rock Hudson was smiling at me. I was a star struck boy and there was no hiding it now.
"Yeah, me too," I said. How completely embarrassing.
"You sure?" he asked, "Because my friend and I were just discussing it, and I was saying that the two of you were having a fight."
Rock Hudson was discussing me. Rock Hudson was discussing me.
"Uh no, not at all," I lied, jumping in before Charley had a chance to say what a bitch I was and how I thought you shouldn't ogle movie stars. "I think we're just kinda tired. As a matter of fact, today is our anniversary and we're celebrating."
"Yeah," said Charley, "we're doing fine. How are you tonight?" He was playing along, had forgiven me, and was asking Rock Hudson a question. This was unbelievable.
"It's really wonderful that you two are having an anniversary. How long have you been together?"
"Three years," we said in unison.
"That's just great. Congratulations." At this point he introduced his friend, who went "way back" and who's name I couldn't tell you in a million years, and then he offered an invitation. "Come sit with us, boys. Have a drink. It's a special occasion."
I looked at Charley, holding on to my "protect their privacy" stance for a few more seconds, but he had already risen to join them. What the hell. Like I would have refused. I took my spot beside Rock Hudson because I would have broken Charley's arm if he had tried that seat and he knew it. Another round of drinks appeared, and the star launched into clever stories that I don't quite remember but were more than fascinating at the time.
The conversation wandered onto Trivial Pursuit, the game which was then new and all the rage.
"Yes, I've heard of that," Rock said. "I haven't played it yet."
"We've got the game, Rock," Charley said. "You should really come over some time and we'll play it with you." I couldn't believe what he was saying. He actually called Mr. Rock Hudson "Rock." Furthermore, my partner had just invited this man "over some time," like that was really in the realm of possibility.
More drinks arrived. This man can drink like a cow, I thought, and not even show it. He was playful, though, and shot a few looks my way that I would have taken quite differently if it weren't clear I was celebrating my anniversary with the man to my immediate left.
"It's a great game," I found myself saying. "You wanna come over and play it with us?" I was a teensy bit smashed, no doubt about it.
"Yes, I would."
I'm sure there was more to it, more of a rationale as to why he felt comfortable crashing our anniversary evening, but I don't remember. His friend kindly begged off of the event, and it was decided that Charley would take his friend home while I rode with Rock so he had no problem finding our apartment. I still will never believe he parked his classy import on Edgewood Avenue, because it made me nervous parking my car there. Once inside, I found a full bottle of Scotch, poured him a drink, and gave him a tour of our tiny apartment until Charley got back.
I was no fool. What we had here was a prescription for something ... unseemly. But I was barreling through these bizarre circumstances and wasn't weighing the specific possibilities. That's a lie. I was pursuing it because I suspected what was to come.
We played the game for a couple of hours, Rock winning and drinking. Before it was over the Scotch would be history and I would offer to roll a joint. "Pot makes me horny," he said, "so I don't know if I should" and of course I was passing him the joint faster than you could say Star Fucker.
He talked about movies. And sex. And people he loved and hated. The juiciest tales began with "I was really drunk one night when" and the meanest had to do with people he thought had treated him badly professionally ("You need Julie Andrews like you need a knife in your back," said he).
Charley had taken it all in, but knew when enough was enough. He excused himself quite late to go to bed, Rock offered to go, I wouldn't hear of it, and we continued sitting in the dining room passing the joint.
I knew what was being played out. Questions floated about in the back balcony of my head, just within earshot. What kind of guy was I? Was I going to have sex with this man right here in the living room? What about my anniversary? What about the man I loved asleep in the bedroom? Was Rock Hudson as well hung as everyone said? Some questions got my attention more than others.
Rock made motions for the umpteenth time that it was time to go home, so while he whispered another insincere goodnight, I drunkenly opened the pants of Mr. Rock Hudson. The fact that this was a famous escapade had overruled the anniversary etiquette issues.
Thirty minutes or so later, I stood in my robe outside the bathroom, wondering what Rock Hudson thought about the rust stained bathtub in which he was quickly showering. The sex had been in near dark, and without the pretext of romance -- no tender caresses or meaningful glances.
I can remember only one direct look from the man. I stared down upon his face after the exhaustion of labored sex -- too much bourbon, too much pot -- and my eyes tried adjusting to his face in the dark. And then there it was, staring back at me, with a surprisingly impatient look. Stern and almost elderly.
"Are you done?" he asked blankly.
Well, life ain't the damned movies, I suppose.
I would make small talk with him as he toweled dry and dressed, and then me, in a final act of staking my claim, asking for his autograph. Yes, so help me, I asked the damp, drunk and spent star to scribble "All my best, Rock Hudson" on a piece of notebook paper before his hasty exit down the duplex stairs and out to the dingy street below.
I watched the car pull away and walked slowly back to the bedroom, where Charley was sound asleep and snoring. I laid down in the dark and the night replayed in my mind. Was I triumphant? Excited, thrilled, guilty? I had just bedded the ultimate male screen icon of a generation, and I hadn't the slightest idea how to feel about it.
Rock Hudson was now a ghastly figure on a television screen in my living room. My heart raced every time the evening news began and some new tidbit of information about his disease, his sex life, his kiss with Linda Evans on "Dynasty," his lovers and his drug treatments were reported with morbid tones and oh-my-God urgency.
I had not yet been tested for HIV. In 1985, what was the point? There were no known effective treatments, the first drug treatment, AZT, was just being introduced and people with AIDS were dropping like flies. It was politically incorrect to get tested because it could lead to discrimination, brand you as terminal and assure you that every pathetic image of a dying AIDS patient applied directly to you.
And that is exactly what the Rock Hudson coverage was doing to me, test or no test. Magazines and Dan Rather news stories were talking to me specifically. ROCK HUDSON HAS AIDS, the headlines screamed, AND MARK KING WILL DIE AS WELL.
"Rock Hudson is now resting in his Los Angeles home beyond a doctors care," reported Mary Hart on Entertainment Tonight, "and Mark, you're an idiot if you think you can escape this now. You're dead as a door nail, buddy. What were you thinking?"
I would stare at the coverage without a word, and nod my head at parties when someone said how tragic it was and excuse myself.
My parents had been told the censored version of the anniversary night story that very next day, and called me in Los Angeles shortly after Rock was reported ill. "Why not go down to the hospital?" my father asked. "You could try to cheer him up, maybe bring Trivial Pursuit!" I explained the man had a million fans and wouldn't remember me, without mentioning how trivial the pursuit had been.
In October of 1985, Rock Hudson died in his home. News reports tortured me for months to come.
Edited from A Place Like This, by Mark S. King. Copyright 2008.
I love checking the analytical data produced by my blog software. It tells me what pages of my site you are visiting, what link sent you here, and even where you live (Hello, Cleveland! G'day, Sidney!). It also tells me what keyword searches bring people to my site, and once I sort through all the porn references (that piece on porn star Dawson still reels in the readers), the most popular Google search that brings people to my site, still, is the two words "Rock Hudson."
Since interest in him remains so high, I don't mind sharing this piece again (it appeared on my site in 2010). It allows me to provide a perspective on AIDS, celebrity and our communal fear during the 1980s that those Google visitors might never have expected.
Thanks for reading, and please be well.
Read Mark's blog, My Fabulous Disease.
Visit Mark's live blog at www.MyFabulousDisease.com.


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Irrigation & Green Industry magazine is proud to present its first annual Award to Ed Beaulieu, director of contractor development, field research and sustainability for Aquascape, Inc., St. Charles, Illinois.
Beaulieu has built more than 1,300 water features around the world, including every major city in Canada, Europe, Mexico, the Caribbean and South America. These include every type and permutation of water feature, many of which he invented, such as the pondless waterfall.
You might say that Ed Beaulieu was destined to do what he does. "One day, I happened to research the meaning of my full first and last name. Turns out that 'Edgar' means 'protector,' and my last name, 'Beaulieu,' means 'the beautiful place.' So the literal translation of my name is 'protector of the beautiful place.'" He not only protects beautiful places, he creates them. It's the perfect job for an environmentalist who loves nature.
There are so many spectacular water gardens, fountains and waterfalls that Beaulieu has built around the world, for zoos, aquariums, public parks, high-end home developments, hotels and golf courses. Some of his most rewarding work, however, has been in his role as vice president of the Aquascape Foundation, a charitable organization started in 2008 by the company's owners, Greg and Carla Wittstock. The Foundation's mission is to "pay it forward" by creating sustainable solutions for the worldwide water crisis.
"I've gone to developing nations such as Ghana, Uganda, Colombia and the Dominican Republic and used the rainwater recapture technology that we developed," said Beaulieu.
The systems he's built have improved the lives of the people in the places that were fortunate enough to get them. "In a lot of these villages in Africa that I've worked in, the children spend a good part of their day obtaining water," Beaulieu says.
"Now, education is a big component in taking a country to the next level. When kids don't have enough time to go to school because they're busy getting water and other basic necessities, it's unfortunate. And then the water they do get is dirty."
Eighty percent of the children in these villages have intestinal parasites from drinking contaminated water. These parasites cause intestinal problems, diarrhea and headaches. That's not conducive to learning, either.
In these villages, the homes usually have thatched roofs, unsuitable for rainwater capture. But the schools are usually centrally located and built with galvanized metal roofs large enough to collect the rainwater.
"I'll do a water budget for the property," says Beaulieu. "I'll calculate the amount of surface area they have on the roof, and also calculate the average precipitation they may have in that particular country. In these tropical, equatorial regions, they get an abundance of rain, but also heavy periods of drought; they go from one extreme to the other. So our goal is to design a system large enough to capture sufficient water to sustain a village of 1,000 people through a drought period."
The Aquascape Foundation "does not want to be one of those organizations you hear horror stories about, that invests money or time to help a community, and then leaves and never has contact again," said Beaulieu. "We tell them that if we're going to do a water system, they're going to have to give us feedback on how it's working. We did get some very good results in one of the villages we worked in a few years ago.
A doctor comes out once a year and tests the children. He found that the parasites were gone, after drinking cleaner water. Not only that, but the children were freed from having to fetch water from miles away.
Providing entire villages with safe, clean drinking water "is very fulfilling. It's a way for us to give back some of our passion for water and use the technology we've developed in a whole different way."
One "beautiful place" that stands out for Beaulieu was built in Ireland, at a business specializing in custom stone for landscaping and home applications. "The owner wanted to highlight some of the various products that they carry. So we designed a unique water feature that incorporated multiple types of stone, so you could get a good feel of how these different elements could be used in and around a home."
"We used this very aged stone that's heavily eroded, with moss and lichen growing on it, to build a large waterfall that flows into a big pond loaded with Koi. Very striking, especially in the Irish countryside where they haven't seen those types of fish before." The feature also incorporates stepping stones and bridges. "I don't like to create something that you just look at," says Beaulieu. "I want to engage the visitors, so they actually have to explore."
But perhaps the most interesting feature of this project isn't decorative. It incorporates a constructed wetland filter, a patented system designed by Beaulieu. "We wanted to have as low maintenance a project as possible, to keep it clean without them having to put a lot of work into it."
This filter works by replicating natural processes as much as possible. Water is pumped from a skimmer system and discharged into a sediment trap, a large, hollow area underneath the bottom of the filter. As the water slows down, the sedimentation process occurs naturally.
High-velocity water from the pump keeps the sediment in suspension.
Another of Beaulieu's favorite projects is one he built for NASCAR star Richard Petty at Victory Junction, a camp he runs for chronically ill children. It's a stone waterfall, 35 feet tall and 300 feet long, that splashes into a large natural lake.
All of the stone came directly from the site. "Petty always dreamed there'd be a waterfall on this beautiful slope. We were able to make that dream come true."
The son of Edgar Beaulieu, Sr., a financial advisor with his own business, and homemaker Theresa, Ed Beaulieu, now 46, grew up in Palos Heights, Illinois, a suburb southwest of Chicago. The family included older sister Michelle, younger sister Jennifer, and twin older brothers Mark and Gerard. His parents, now both 82, still reside in the same home.
All through his childhood and teenage years, Beaulieu says he "preferred to be in natural places." An avid outdoorsman, when not busy pole-vaulting as a member of the Marist High School track team, he enjoyed "fishing, swimming, boating, scuba diving, snorkeling, hiking; all of that fun stuff." Science was his favorite subject.
At Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Beaulieu stuck with science, majoring in zoology with a specialization in limnology, the study of freshwater ecosystems. After a couple of years spent working and earning money, he headed off to Nova University in Dania Beach, Florida, bent on earning a master's degree in marine biology and coastal zone management. However, he never completed it. "I'd still love to, at some point," he says.
"While I was in the master's program, other students who had completed theirs, or who had even earned doctorates were all saying that the job market had changed," explains Beaulieu. "They were working at local grocery stores and libraries, not practicing what they had gone to school for."
Having just wed Ellen Malis, a special education teacher, Beaulieu's priorities had changed. "She was paying for me to go to school. I said, 'I can't afford to spend the next three years of my life getting this degree, and then go work at a store or library. I can do that now.'" Beaulieu was offered a job as an environmental chemist at Pollution Control Industries of Indiana, a recycling facility back in his hometown of Chicago. "Although I enjoyed my job analyzing different kinds of materials, I wasn't really fulfilled by working in a lab all day long. I could not see myself still there in 20 years."
He had a talk with his wife, and they started looking for different avenues where he could use his scientific background while working outdoors. Ellen found an ad in the newspaper. "It said that a representative from Aquascape was going to be speaking at the local public library about backyard ponds."
He thought, "I studied freshwater biology, that's in backyard ponds." He had talked about planning and building ponds for people while he was in college, so he said to himself, "I should go and see what this guy has to say."
Beaulieu went to the talk, and was blown away by it, not just because of the beautiful pictures that were shown, but by the message about working with nature to create backyard ecosystems. This is exactly what Beaulieu had studied, except on a larger scale—in rivers, streams and oceans. Intrigued, he kept in touch with Aquascape for months while still working at the lab.
"Eventually, I was able to touch base with the owners. I went on the very first pond tour the company had in the Chicago area, and saw firsthand what these backyard ponds actually looked like." Beaulieu was hired to help run the construction crew in 1993.
Running a construction crew is a big change from juggling test tubes in a lab. But Beaulieu was prepared for it, having worked through high school and college as a construction foreman, remodeling and building decks for a company owned by his twin brothers. "I'd been outdoors working with my hands, doing physical labor and running crews, so I was already familiar with construction processes and timeframes. I was able to easily shift gears."
Now he found himself working with water and natural stone, creating backyard environments, using both the construction techniques he knew and the environmental science he'd studied. "I kind of melded the two things together," says Beaulieu. "I don't think it would have worked out, coming from a science background alone," he laughs. "I probably would've left after the first week."
Instead, he's still at Aquascape, having had numerous job titles over the years, including chief sustainability officer. He's certainly years earlier. Beaulieu has helped leaving his mark on the company he design some of Aquascapes' proprietary equipment, and has his name joined in 1993, when it was still in the 20'X20' garage it began in two on several patents. The company is now housed in a 250,000- sq. ft. facility in St. Charles, Illinois.
He explains that in the early '90s, there was no set list of products for use in the construction of a water feature. "You'd go to the local hardware store and buy a sump pump that might be used for draining water, to an irrigation company to buy piping, and to a roofing company to buy a rubber liner. The rock would come from a stoneyard. We had to make the filters ourselves, because there were no commercially available ones for what we were doing, and the ones that were available were undersized for our applications."
The company put together a list of components they used on a daily basis, and started making their own. "And then we fine-tuned them, saying, 'This one could be a little bit better, this one could be more efficient,' trying to shave off installation time and make the experience easier for the consumer as well as for us."
Wittstock, the owner, realized that selling the components could be a whole new business unto itself. "We'd be at jobsites, working alongside landscape contractors," Beaulieu explains. "They'd be there to do a patio or something, and see what we were doing. They'd say, 'I have a customer who wants me to build one, can I buy some of these parts from you?' So we said, 'Sure!'" "Greg said, 'We have an interesting product line and tons of knowledge; we could train people,'" said Beaulieu. At that point, the business shifted from being a design/build firm to being more of a manufacturer/supplier/educator.
Some companies would be scared that others would steal their ideas and compete with them. But Aquascape chose to take that chance. "At the time, being naïve to the whole situation, we thought, 'If we can create products and sell them at reasonable prices, how could anybody compete with us?'" said Beaulieu. "Lo and behold, we do have competitors now, and they've knocked off a lot of our products and equipment. That's life. Competition is good; it makes us stay on our toes, keeps pushing us to do more and more things. We didn't want to be afraid of that. We've become known as the industry leaders and innovators right out of the gate, and we're still in that same position."
In 2001, Beaulieu invented the pondless waterfall. Like a lot of great innovations, it came about by accident. "One day, I was playing around on a jobsite with one of our filtration systems. I had built something with water flowing over a pile of rocks, when I noticed that the water was disappearing into a gravel bed. I realized that I could build a waterfall that recirculates water from an underground reservoir instead of a pond."
A co-worker volunteered his mother's house for the prototype. Soon, the company started selling them. A job at a public park led to the next phase. "The park officials told me they'd love to have a water feature, but didn't have a water supply to keep it operating. They told me they'd have to bring a water truck in from the city to fill it, and that would be too difficult and expensive."
Beaulieu realized that if he built an underground reservoir five to ten times the normal size, it'd fill naturally from winter snow and spring rain. "It should store enough water so they'd never have to add another drop."
It did, and they didn't. The park project's success led, in a roundabout way, to the company's involvement in rainwater harvesting, filling the underground reservoirs with captured rainwater from roofs and drains.
Beaulieu explains: "The average roof is going to generate about 1,800 gallons of water in a one-inch rain.
That's huge. So we started putting these numbers together. In Chicago, we get about 40 inches of rain a year. If you make an underground reservoir even bigger still, then instead of just operating a feature, you can have a surplus of water, and draw it out for irrigation."
Aquascape started calling projects like this "sustainable water features." Now, the company builds entire sustainable ecosystems that include biological filtration. "You can tie them into fish, or use that water for irrigation and attracting wildlife. At the same time, you're reducing your carbon footprint, creating a beautiful environment, with green plants using carbon dioxide. This is very appealing to a certain clientele."
Beaulieu has come a long way from feeling unfulfilled, hidden away in a lab somewhere. At Aquascape, he's been able to combine his passion for the environment with his education. "With these rainwater capture systems, my coastal zone management knowledge comes into play. The number-one cause of coastal pollution and destruction of coastal zones is stormwater runoff. As an environmentalist, sustainability is very important for me. So I get involved with a lot of stormwater management projects, very unique projects with LEED certifications."
It's a sure bet that Ed Beaulieu will continue to be found in beautiful places, many of which he'll have designed himself. It'll be fascinating to see what he comes up with in the future.


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Most of the ducks have deserted our yard, probably so the mamas can sit on their nests. But we have seen this lonesome fellow hanging around in our backyard and the creek. We call him "Daddy Goose" because we assume that the mama is sitting on her eggs.
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
Spring Bird Update
Posted by V at 7:51 PM
1 comments:
- k. said...
Wow. The nests are so neat!
- May 27, 2015 at 8:52 AM
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