text:
NetBSD Documentation: Power Management
Power Management for Laptops
- Introduction
- The Basics of Power Management
- Configuring NetBSD APM Support
- Power Management Hints and Tricks
- Squid is making my laptop disk spin up
- Preventing syslog from waking up the disk
Power Management for Laptops
This documentation describes some of the power management facilities available in NetBSD, including the Advanced Power Management (APM) support found in most modern laptops.
Currently most of the information on this page is i386 specific. When NetBSD starts supporting more laptop architectures, then this documentation will be expanded to cover the power management features for those architectures.
The Basics of Power Management
The core of laptop power management is centered around Advanced Power Management, or APM for short. This is a set of BIOS provided service routines that provide an interface to the laptop hardware power management features. It is via this interface that NetBSD receives APM events (such as suspend requests) or makes power management requests or queries (such as the current battery level).
APM specifies two different power saving modes: standby and suspend. What this actually does at a hardware level is dependent on the particular laptop being used. "standby" typically means a light sleep, which consumes more power and is quicker to restore from than the "suspend" mode. Typically the APM timers for standby and suspend mode are configured in a machine's BIOS. After a machine has been determined "idle" for the appropriate period of time, the BIOS will request that the operating system go into the appropriate power saving mode.
At the NetBSD level, there are three components to APM support. The kernel driver, which is the interface to the APM BIOS, the apm daemon apmd, which interfaces with the APM kernel driver and runs the userland event scripts, and the command line program apm, which interfaces to apmd and can be used to query battery level or initiate a system suspend.
The way power management events generally flow is:
- The APM BIOS determines a machine has been idle for the appropriate amount of time, and queues a standby/suspend request.
- The APM kernel driver gets the request event the next time it polls the APM BIOS (typically once per second) and queues the standby/suspend request to the apm daemon.
- The apm daemon determines whether or not to accept this request, based on the current power source and the daemon configuration. If the request is accepted, it performs any standby/suspend activities, then sends the accept/reject notice back to the kernel driver.
- The kernel driver sends the accept/reject notice to the APM BIOS.
- If the event request was accepted, the APM BIOS places the hardware in the specified mode.
Configuring NetBSD APM Support
First off, you need to compile a kernel with the APM driver enabled. Add (or uncomment) the following line in your kernel configuration file:
apm0 at mainbus0 # Advanced power management
See how to build a kernel for details on how to build your own kernels.
Once you have a kernel with the APM kernel driver built,
run the apm daemon (apmd) at boot
time by setting the
apmd variable
/etc/rc.conf to
Once you've done both of these steps, you can use the apm utility to interface with the APM system. For example:
% apm Battery charge state: high Battery remaining: 98 percent A/C adapter state: not connected Power management enabled
Read apm(8) and apmd(8) for more detailed information on how to use the APM support.
Power Management Hints and Tricks
The primary interfaces for power management events are
the scripts in
will run these scrips when it receives the appropriate APM
Some things you might want to do in a
standby or
script are:
- Turn off power to a network interface card. If
you are using PCMCIA network interface cards, you can do
this by
ifconfig <interface> down.
- Unmount network filesystems (if you plan on resuming a laptop in a place where that filesystem might not be accessible).
- Stop running dhclient or pppd.
Conversely, you can run all the appropriate commands to
undo all of the things you did at standby or suspend time in
resume script.
New in NetBSD 1.4 is the atactl
command. This command can be used to control power
management features of ATA devices (more commonly known as
IDE). You can use the
setidle option of
atactl to set the standby timer used to
control disk spindown. See atactl(8) for more specific
If you're wondering what value to set for the ATA standby timer, I would recommend reading the following papers:
- "A Quantitative Analysis of Disk Drive Power Management in Portable Computers", Kester Li, Roger Kumpf, Paul Horton, Thomas Anderson, Computer Science Division, University of California, Berkeley, Winter 1994 Usenix.
- "Thwarting the Power-Hungry Disk", Fred Douglas, P. Krishnan, Brian Marsh, Matsushita Information Technology Laboratory, Winter 1994 Usenix.
These papers both recommend low values for a standby timer, on the order of 2 to 8 seconds.
One problem with setting a low value for the standby
timer is that by default NetBSD writes to the disk often
enough that the disk is constantly spinning up (at least
once every 30 seconds, or however often
update runs). It turns out the most
common cause of this is the filesystem updating the last
access timestamps on files and the last modified time on
device special files (such as pseudo-ttys). This behavior
can be suppressed by the mount(8) options
noatime and (new in NetBSD 1.4)
nodevmtime. If you decide to do this as
well, you might want to also change or remove completely the
atrun job inside of
cron - by default it will run
once every 10 minutes and append an entry to the
cron log file, causing a disk
It is also desirable in some circumstances to use
different or disable completely power management settings
depending if one is powered by line power or battery. A new
feature in NetBSD 1.4 is two additional
apmd scripts:
line and
These scripts are run by apmd
whenever APM detects a power source change. The
line script is run upon transition to
line/AC power, and the
battery script
is run upon transition to battery power. The script
corresponding to the current power source is also run when
apmd is first started.
You can place commands inside of these scripts to change the power management settings when using battery or line power. Here are some example scripts:
#!/bin/sh mount -u / mount -u /usr atactl wd0 setidle 0
#!/bin/sh mount -u -o noatime,nodevmtime / mount -u -o noatime /usr atactl wd0 setidle 5
See also
/usr/share/examples/apm/script for an
example script that can be used to also handles
configuration of network interfaces etc.
Another useful feature is the
-a flag
to apmd which will cause
apmd to ignore standby or suspend
events if the machine is currently on line power.
Squid is making my laptop disk spin up
Squid probes one of its cache directories every 15 seconds. With 16 first level and 256 second level directories being used, as default, to construct the cache, some quick math suggests:
16 * 256 * 8k(block size) = ~32mb
Squid will slowly work its way through this, each time a
new directory is read that it missed in the buffer cache.
squid.conf to reduce the
number of directories should fix the problem of a laptop
disk spinning up.
Preventing syslog from waking up the disk
A problem when trying to spin the disk down is that it gets woken up periodically e.g. by syslogd(8) which tries to write things to disk.
An elegant way to work around that is by redirecting all
syslog output to a virtual console instead of to disk.
To do so, put the following into
*.* /dev/ttyE3
Of course you can choose whatever virtual console you prefer
instead of
Back to NetBSD Documentation


text:
The 31-year-old has signed an 18-month contract at Upton Park to end a miserable spell at Anfield.
Cole told his new club's official website: "It is a great move for me. This is where I learnt my trade and I'm happy to have another chance to be here. I've always loved West Ham and I hope I can give the club a few memorable seasons."
Cole emerged from the club's academy to sign professional terms in 1998 and helped them win the FA Youth Cup the following year, becoming a firm fans' favourite before leaving for Chelsea in 2003, when he became one of their first signings following Roman Abramovich's takeover of the club.
There, he won eight major trophies including three Premier League titles, was named in the Professional Footballers Association team of the year in 2006 and has won 56 full England caps.
But after joining Liverpool as a free agent, he was sent off on his Premier League debut and missed a penalty in his next appearance, a Europa League qualifying match against Trabzonspor. The poor start set the tone for a Reds career hampered by form and fitness problems and he was allowed to spend last season on loan at Lille.
He scored nine goals in 42 appearances for the French club and will have the opportunity to further rebuild his career at the club where he first made his name.
Source: PA
Source: PA

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Hear it. Believe it. Live it.
Basic Gospel, through a live, question and answer format, brings the simple, powerful, life-changing good news to everyday life. The practical, grace-oriented, New Covenant teaching helps listeners connect to and grow in the love of Jesus Christ.
Bob Christopher: Born and raised in Marietta, Georgia, Bob grew up in a Christian home and received Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior at the age of 13. During his high school and college years, Bob's deepest desire was to be "God's guy" and yet he struggled with the question of how to live the Christian life.
His "roller-coaster" experience in living the Christian life eventually led him to a bible study where he discovered what he was missing—the life of Jesus Christ.
Bob says: "Salvation isn't a self-improvement program. Salvation is receiving and experiencing new life altogether. It's a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ based on His love and truth".Bob Davis: In the summer of 1977, at the age of 33, Bob Davis met the living Christ and invited Jesus to take control of his life. Much of his first five years in Christ found Bob attending Bible conferences and seminars, listening to Christian radio, and performing volunteer ministry services.
Bob spent many years in the fields of broadcasting and audio production for Christian radio and as a result of this work, the message of grace penetrated his heart and he embraced his new life in Christ.
Bob says: "I thank God I've had the opportunity to serve these many years. It has been an incredible journey of learning, growth, and opportunity for ministry."Richard Peifer: Born in Riverside, California and raised in the Seventh-day Adventist church, Richard grew up with a keen understanding of and desire to keep The Law. Even with a degree in Ministerial Studies, Richard had to face the truth – he knew lots of theological and biblical facts, but there was no reality of the abundant life Jesus promised. He left ministry and spent the next twenty-six years in the high tech industry.
During this time, Richard and his wife, Lois, studied to discover what they really believed. The more Richard learned about the love and grace of God, the more he wanted to help others leave the bondage of legalism and rest in the finished work of Christ Jesus.
Richard says: "This statement by James Ryle has been the undergirding message of my ministry: Grace is the empowering presence of God, enabling me to be who He has called me to be and to do what He has called me to do."Andrew Farley: Andrew is a member of the Basic Gospel board of directors, senior pastor of Ecclesia: Church Without Religion in Lubbock, Texas, and bestselling author of five Christian books. Andrew is a weekly contributing host of Basic Gospel and shares the life-changing message of the finished work of Jesus Christ in a calm, sometimes comical, always passionate way.
Andrew says: "Basic Gospel Radio proclaims the finished work of Jesus Christ and the beautiful, liberating implications of what it means for us to live under God's new covenant of grace."


text:
Freezing temperatures hit Central Florida
Orlando to see low near 30 degrees
ORLANDO, Fla. – A blast of cold air brought freezing temperatures to Central Florida.
[MORE INFO: Weather details | Cold snap grips nation | OIA flight delays| Local 6 reports live from OIA]
Freeze warnings were issued region-wide Tuesday morning, prompting the Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida to declare the next two days as "cold nights." On "cold nights," the coalition will not refuse anyone seeking shelter from cold, regardless of space.
Orlando's low hit 34 degrees, shy of the record of 30 set in 2010. Wind chills made it feel like it was in the 20s. Wind chill readings around 8 a.m. Tuesday hit 17 degrees in Ocala.
"It's all about the wind," Local 6 meteorologist Troy Bridges said.
Tuesday's high will be 50 degrees in Orlando.
The low temperature early Wednesday will dip to 38 degrees.
Then, a warmup hits Central Florida. High temperatures by the weekend will be near 80 degrees.
There's a 40 percent chance of rain on Thursday and a 30 percent chance on Friday.
The cold weather brought a run on business to hardware stores, like Home Depot.
By closing time Monday night, the store in Clermont and near the Lake County line had been picked clean on space heaters and firewood.
Near Clermont, Showcase Citrus got their irrigation systems primed and ready to saturate their orange groves with warm water to keep frost away.
The citrus industry is already seeing a 15 percent drop this year and a cold snap could mean big trouble for grove owners.
Meanwhile, weather nationwide is affecting flights at Orlando International Airport.
Watch Local 6 News and stay with ClickOrlando.com for more on this story.
Copyright 2014 by ClickOrlando.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


text:
The Port St. Joe Jr./Sr. High School soccer teams completed District 1-1A play last week as the teams prepare for the district tournament at Tallahassee Maclay next month.
The Port St. Joe Jr./Sr. High School soccer teams completed District 1-1A play last week as the teams prepare for the district tournament at Tallahassee Maclay next month.
The Lady Tiger Sharks, after tying top-ranked Maclay and routing Freeport last week now stand 3-1-2 in the district and 6-2-2 overall.
The boys, who lost to Freeport and Maclay, are 1-4-1 in the district and 3-6-1 overall.
The Lady Tiger Sharks held a 1-0 lead into the final minute before Maclay broke through for the tie.
Rebecca Kerigan scored the lone Port St. Joe goal in the 58th minute on assists from Kathleen Rish and Hayley Wood. It was Kerigan�s first start of the season.
Maclay scored in the 79th minute after Port St. Joe missed the chance to clear the ball from in front of its net.
Maclay outshot Port St. Joe 20-4 and Port St. Joe goalkeeper Celeste Chiles made 12 saves and lowered her goals against average to 1.20.
The Lady Tiger Sharks are unbeaten in seven games, going 5-0-2.
Coach Gary Hindley said he believed the girls would be a third or fourth seed in the upcoming district tournament.
The Tiger Sharks fell behind 4-0 to an experienced Maclay team en route to a 6-0 loss.
Maclay outshot Port St. Joe 26-5.
Goalkeeper Tyler Alford started and made seven saves over 59 minutes, allowing four goals, before Matt Rocha came on in relief. Rocha made two saves before giving way to Joel Bogeart over the final 11 minutes.
Bogeart made two saves and allowed two goals.
The girls won 8-0 and the boys lost 5-2.
For the Lady Tiger Sharks senior midfielder Lexie McGhee had her first career hat trick in leading the Port St. Joe whitewash, which ended under the mercy rule.
Kathleen Rish had a goal and an assist and Christian Laine had a goal and two assists.
Cathlyn Robles and Hayley Wood added goals and Allie Strippling, Rebecca Kerigan, Hayley Wood and Halleigh Keels registered assists.
Keeper Celeste Chiles earned her fourth shutout and lowered her Goals Against Average to a 1.222 mark.
Chiles had one save on two Freeport shots while Port St. Joe had 25 shots.
The Tiger Sharks had a much more difficult match, falling behind 3-0 early and 4-0 at the half.
Cole Cryderman and Jake Dickinson had unassisted goals to pull Port St. Joe close, but Freeport pushed one more goal through to complete the scoring.
The teams take a holiday break before traveling to Springfield Rutherford Jan. 7 and Marianna the following day.
The teams return home to host South Walton Jan. 10.


text:
Music Theme Party
Music Party
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Music Party Supplies
Create an elegant backdrop for your music themed event with our exclusive Music of the Night decorating kit. This decorating kit can double as a majestic background for photos. Add a hint of music to your music party tables with elegant silver music note place card holders.
With a music party, the theme of the night is up to your creativity and the music you want to celebrate. So many decades of memorable music can serve as inspiration for your music-themed event: choose the twenties, fifties, sixties, seventies or eighties.
read more


text:
Total posts: 2
Total posts: 1
(You)She is not innocent and there are no Duas nor Imaginary friends to call upon your own actions! If the foundation is Islam, one needs to know that, you are created with senses and those senses will scream at you each time there is a surge that triggers those emotions. Islam is not a team player, Islam is 1 player on 1. 1on1.
With that said, it means you are responsible for your own actions and as jazzJaz said " Love is not something that we can buy, it is a gift that is given to us,and how we use it, is what becomes of it." She has immersed her head into another distraction and now she is entertaining that distraction. It is what becomes out of this she sheould be concerned. If she touches that HOT iron she will get burned it is that simple!You or, your friend who is attracted to another man, should conunsel yourself and ask yourself a 1001 Question understand the consequences of what you are about to embark on and, then act on it. Enjoy for a day or that 5 second of Oooh and Aaaah! Then reject yourself forever as dirt. Or, find a way and take responsibility of confronting your marriage head on! If he is your husband use your feminity and attract him. find out why is he detached, talk to him in a civilized manner, since raising your voices (both) only means one, is not ready to have a conversation and don't force it. If you find that, your spouse is gung ho into leaving and there is nothing you can do to change that! Immediately seek divorce, stay your prescribed period of abstinence and then go after this other guy like a Bitch in Heat. You will then find out "Grass is not green on the other side of the fence as it appeared"You have narrated this story and are already victimizing a guy who comes home and stays on the computer and watches TV. There is no HARAM in that. Yet you demonized him and gave us the sorry ass story of how lonely she is, hence justying the Haram she is about to embark ON! Shaytan... No one said it easy. Work on it both of you. Or Get the hell out of it amicably!
Total posts: 6
Total posts: 4
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text: David Pelsue (vocals), Nathan Ehman (guitar), and Eric Carter (drums) had all been playing together in various incarnations since their high-school days in Noblesville, IN, before forming Kids in the Way in 1997. The guys originally formed under a different moniker, but with the subsequent additions of guitarist Austin Cobb and bassist Nathan Hughes, a name change occurred and the quintet's time as Christian rockers Kids in the Way formally began. Combining their love of rock and screamo (the Smashing Pumpkins and Underoath have been named as influences), they initially released a self-titled EP, which helped them spread their name and begin landing bigger shows. Soon enough, a spot playing with Audio Adrenaline led to a deal with Flicker Records, the label co-founded by members of that popular group. Kids in the Way's debut album, Safe from the Losing Fight, appeared in March 2004, and tours with Skillet, Pillar, and Relient K helped increase their growing fan base. Hughes then left the band that November and was replaced on bass by Rian Flynn. Their sophomore effort, Apparitions of Melody, followed in May of 2005; it was reissued in a spruced-up form (renamed Apparitions of Melody: The Dead Letters Edition) in mid-2006, which included a DVD and extra songs. Also by 2006, Kids in the Way had undergone more lineup switches that left them as a quartet; Cobb had exited and new bassist Wille Bostic joined on. ~ Corey Apar


text:
As you may know, Dragon Kingdoms has been dead for a long time now. I haven't made any updates since the middle of July last year.
What you don't know is that there have been a couple comics made in the past month for a sort of retooling of the comic.
So, what does this mean?
The old pages will be in their own section. This way, should you dare to want to read them (I don't know why you'd want to), they'll still be accessible. The new site will have the new comics, a new layout, and some other things.


text:
VivoCreativo Wordpress Responsive Theme version 1.0 ready!
VivoCreativo Drupal 7 responsive theme version 1.0 ready!
VivoCreativo Premium PSD Theme is a professional template for your projects with creative and professional design. All layers well organized and groups are named. Package consists of 9 PSD and 10 JPG files.
Preview images (not included in PSD files):
Fonts used:
- 1. Open Sans
- 2. Georgia
- 1. IconSweets2


text:
Most product launches end with a USB Flash drive holding the press notes being distributed, and the Register's got drawers full 'em. Thankfully, a biodegradable drive's now available.
The corn Flash drive is biodegradable
Manufacturer Hoshino states that the FD-300 biodegradable USB Flash drive is made from, essentially, corn-based polylactides.
This allows the entire drive to be thrown away once you're done with it, knowing that the unit will be safely broken down in the ground and not cause any problems to Mother Earth.
And, just in case you forget that the drive's biodegradable, the firm's shaped it like a healthy ear of corn. Unfortunately, nothing's been said about the drive's storage capacity.
It's available online now, but a price hasn't been given.
Sponsored: How to simplify data protection on Amazon Web Services


text:
Yesterday I travelled (via a slightly circuitous route) to London and the Magic Circle Headquarters to attend the JISC/Eduserve event Repositories and the Cloud. Billed as a technical and policy event I was a little concerned that it would be too high level, but as things turned out it seems my understanding of such things is better than I thought. I can only capture my main thoughts on the day, as 10 minutes in my netbook power died and I had to drop back onto my HTC Magic to continue my Web 2 participation.
The day was split into three main chunks.
In the first session Michele Kimpton (DuraSpace Foundation), Alex Wade (Microsoft Research) and Les Carr (EPrints) talked about their repository platforms, and how they are looking to engage with the cloud. I was especially interested in what Michele had to say; since DSPace and Fedora are now under one umbrella corporation I anticipate big changes in what we use currently as our repository platform. Talking to other delegates at the event it seems the smart money is backing Fedora to emerge as the sole winner, but I guess we'll have to wait and see. I have to confess I'd never even heard of Windows Azure before today, and as it turns out I wasn't the only one. That Microsoft are making a play into the repository market is fairly significant, as increasingly it seems that proprietory software platforms may be in all repository manager's futures.
A lot of what they focussed on (from my P.O.V.) was the using of off-site cloud storage for large chunks of repository contents; for preservation, for reasons of perceived economic savings and maintenance of access. I was quite surprised as well to hear just what a big player Amazon are in this market; it seems their ambitions in the library and information sphere goes far beyond the supply of cheap books.
After a lot of lunch time discussions we moved onto the second session with Terry Harmer (Belfast eScience Centre). Terry's presentation seemed more technical, and so I must confess some of the finer points were probably lost on me. However, he did raise a point about trans-national data storage and security that interested me. The fact that under British law it's not permissable to just host any data about people off-shore is a definite challenge to moving into the cloud. Then again, how many of us are already doing such a thing if only in a small way. He touched on the need to use either EU based servers, or ensure that (for example) US hosts had signed up to safe harbour (or harbor I imagine) agreements, whereby they would agree to respect key elements of UK and EU data protection laws, where they would otherwise not apply.
He also touched on the risks involved with using a major host (for example once again) Amazon – by being a bigger target as such there was a greater risk from griefers or hackers in general for DDoS attacks (taking out access to your data) or worse. As he pointed out, most IRs are far too small to bother with; although I know that this doesn't make them invisible or inviolate from assault.
The third part of the day broke out into two discussion sessions – one technical and one policy. Paul Miller facilitated the policy one I attended, and there followed two hours of wide ranging discussions about using cloud resources for repositories. A straw poll in the room revealed that most participants were using cloud resources already on a daily or regular basis, and a sizable number were doing this for work based activities and even with the blessing of their management. However, a lot of the group noted a certain corporate or personal reservation about trusting to the cloud to the Nth degree. One point that particularly resonated for me was the comment that "We've been spending a lot of time and energy advocating local repositories as something controllable, accessible locally mounted to placate certain academic worries – to suddenly shift to trans-national locations might well start ringing alarm bells for many of them." A feeling that was expressed by some in the meeting, and in the discussions that followed, that while cloud computing options were certainly exciting the repository field itself is still insufficiently mature to go for them wholesale just yet.
The event concluded with a reception where the discussion continued into the evening, or until the Magic Circle threw us out. I spent some of the time planning some possible collaborative work with the RSP team in among sharing experiences and feedback on the day.
Overall this was a challenging day of thought and discussion. Am I convinced that cloud computing is the saviour of repositories? No. Do I think real economic savings can be made with them? Not yet. Do I think they're relevant to the future of the repository community? Almost certainly. It will be a field well worth the watching, and doubtless there will be more about it in the months or years to come.
A twitter stream from the event is available.


text:
Monday, October 31, 2011
Poltical Debates
Anyone, that is besides, political junkies, jounalists and party activists? A whole bloody hour and a half? Come off it.
I'll be most interested to see the actual viewer figures.
Something lost in the translation ?
Candidates; Hatfield 42%, Davis 35%, Shortland 20%
Party vote all tied up 27%, 27% and 25%.
Preferred PM: Key leads Hatfield 26% to 11% with Tugger and Pita 3rd = on 7% and the invisible man on 6%
Then the clincher, most important issue at 18% EDUCATION
So they want a ex money trader for PM, a thug for their electorate member and totally confused as to the party of government.
I guess we should be grateful they realise they need educating, maybe they will see the value of respected educator Kelvin Davis over the racist thug.
Adolf thanks for your pic.
PMof NZ 1.
MikeG 1.
Ray fair comment on pic size, looking for info on photo management for Linux. A solid 2 and a bonus for five, the water is almost in Benmore at that point.
FBB the ejaffas, 2 plus a half for 5 and bonus for added info on 2.
HP 2 again good logic and answers.
David, I had same thought re Pelorous Bridge when Adolf sent me the Pic.
1 Hon Bob Tizard.
2 Bridge over the Clutha at Alexandra, SE of Lake Dunstan.
3 Mt Patriarch in the Richmond Ranges, looking across the "Argyle Dam" fed by a canal from the Branch and the Leatham rivers in the Wairau Valley, Great stopover for Movanners even a couple of lowcost Power points for the softies.
4 Intended as the Cigar saver, Twin Bridges south of Kaikohe on a back Rd to Whangarei. Looks Idyllic and apparently well known in the Far North.
5 Bit obscure I know as normally the now dry bed of the Ohau river. A rare spill from Lake Ruataniwha, built as a surge lake on the Upper Waitaki scheme between Ohau "B" and Ohau "C". Lake Ruataniwha is the SI Rowing venue built with a bit of extra, outside the square thinking by Max Smith, Engineer in charge and ended his career with MOW but a tremendous asset. The Locals have named the Rowing venue Road after him "Max Smith Drive".
I first saw the site of this Picture in the mid 1960s as an 'azure blue mountain stream' the deep blue comes from the suspended Schist in the water. Thanks to Kay Cross for the pic.
Agh but Would They Know ?
Machine = asset, Unprovided maintenance = Liability
Mortgage held by Bank = Asset, Mortgage owed to Bank = Liability.
The Media are continuing with the theory that a majority of New Zealand voters oppose "Selling State Owned Assets".
Lie, it is not the National Party Policy to sell the freekin assets, it is proposed to sell a minority share in some assets till NZ inc owns at a minimum, 51%.
If we continue with the ownership of all infrastructure in the State where will the burgeoning funds of "the Cullen fund, Kiwi saver, et al invest their money, Oh thats right, they will invest in other country's infrastructure. Exporting our funds to grow somewhere off shore?
How many in the Labour Party 2011 have any experience in owning, funding, managing and staffing a functioning business.
Now the serious stuff, just how many of the 60 percent (varies) who oppose sale of state assets, not forgetting it is not SALE but A PARTIAL SALE, have a modicum of knowledge of the real financial issues involved.
If continued sale of any part or all of any infrastructure assets still within the governments hands is so bad why are the socialists not promoting the repurchase of the remainder of Air NZ, Contact Energy, Telecom, the Post Office savings Bank, and all the other assets sold by previous governments where the Hon Phil Goff was a member of the executive .
Sheesh we know how much over the odds The History Teacher paid for the rubbish bits of Kiwi Rail.
I seriously question if anywhere near 50% of the voters in NZ have any real idea what the Partial sale of some Government owned assets involves as regards the real financial management aspects, leaving that figure opposed as not even an excuse for a "Fairy Tale".
One only has to listen to the uninformed lamenting the loss of "ALL" the Income when it will only be the possible 49% of the dividends anyway.
Clear evidence of the ignorance.
Couple of things
1. The day after DPF posts about Labour supposedly planning to reduce your wages (spin based on the surprising proposition that money saved is actually money lost), his party announces the re-introduction of youth rates, something that will actually reduce a lot of people's wages. How's that for timing?
2. iPredict reports:
Act is in trouble in Epsom. The party now has an 89% probability of a reduced majority in Epsom, and National's Paul Goldsmith is now expected to win the seat (48.3% probability, compared with 44.6% for Act's John Banks).
Oh dear. Even after putting up a candidate as unelectable as Paul Goldsmith, National may not get Banks elected. A loss for Banks will also lose anything up to 3% of the party vote for the right and leave National scratching for a coalition partner. Just goes to show, there's only so much cynical manipulation an electorate will put up with, I guess.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Chalk and Cheese
A little bit of cool headed perspective might show a different story
Air New Zealand is flying.
Qantas is grounded.
Current policies have ensured minimal time and wages lost to strikes.
Labour's IR policy just announced will reverse that happy state of affairs.
Adolf well remembers the mid 1970s when the Australian unions were running amok under the Whitlam administration. There were so many strikes on in Sydney that some enterprising person set up a 'dial a strike' service for those who could not be sure from day to day what was and what was not operating.
KNOW YOUR COUNTRY Sunday Oct 30th
Saturday, October 29, 2011
The point
yun yon
nek gummint
Friday, October 28, 2011
Great News!!!!!!!
Oh Deer
At last report he had grown antlers and was leaping over high fences.
Reminds me of the day my Dad was tailing lambs 'up the hill.' It must have been about 1958 or thereabouts. He slipped in the temporary yard and cut his wrist open on an open pair of dagging shears. But for the quick wits of his helper, local lad Lou Tana, who wasted no time in tying a tourniquet, Dad would have quickly bled to death.
Last I heard, Lou was a kaumatua, respected by Pakeha and Maori people of Moerewa and further afield.
You Could See It Coming
He's announced a huge decrease in the rates paid by his mates from same nether regions and lo and behold this largess is funded by a whopping INCREASE in the rates to be extorted from those suburbs whose residents never in a million years would vote for Brown.
Adolf would like to know how many people are enrolled to vote in these various suburbs but I'll bet dollars to doughnuts that this was the calculus used in setting the relative rates. He's bought the next mayoral election using money from North Shorians, Epsomites and Howickeans.
You've got to hand it to Labour. They are past masters at cheating and stealing.
OUR LEADER IS ABSENT SO WE WILL GO WITH pOLICY!
Industrial relations. Back to the seventies with industry awards, raise the minimum wage, abolish the 90 day trial.
Defense, withdraw the SAS 90 days after being sworn in. After getting a deal with the Pin Stripe Dwarf the SAS may already be back home.
Compulsory Savings as you cant trust anyone to provide for their own retirement. Reduce wage rates, increase unemployment. Place anothe barrier to establishment of small business.
Abolish National standards, continuing with maintaining a pool of voter support from the 20% leaving school with inadequate literacy and/or numeracy skills to get a job.
Remove GST from fresh fruit and vegetables that will have absolutely zero effect on retail prices as a bunch of celery or a banana will retail for what the produce manager decides and the GST component will just add to the bottom line margin.
Stop asset sales when National does not propose to sell anything just allow New Zealand investors to put their money in a power company rather than leave them exposed to the sharks swimming in the investment pool.
All surefire ways to grow the economy formulated by a bunch of very ordinary academics, union hacks and school teachers served with a masterchef inspired sauce of equal parts envy and ignorance.
Yep that'll do it for sure, especially when the final kitchen roster includes the equally batshit business brains from the watermelons.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Many thinking people agree that small business make big contributions to total employment.
To start a successful small business one needs a good idea, money, cashflow and a measure of good fortune along with massive risk and hard work.
The wizards at Labour Party Central, no, not the "cloud", but very much in the fog, have just raised the bar to impede start up business with compulsory superannuation.
An enterprising young fashion designer, a young person wanting to get on the ladder to dairy farm herd ownership or similar will need all the cash they can lay their hands on in the early days.
This idiocy will remove money from them and lock it up till the government says they can access it and should their enterprise begin to employ others then the entrepreneur will be forced to contribute 7% of any wages negotiated to Kiwi Saver.
Anyone who entered into a compulsory savings scheme with an insurance company will well know that in the startup years the contributions are swallowed up with fees, at least the first year goes to the agent setting it up.
Any equity accumulated will not be available to the cash starved young business person and who will stop the investment vehicle from doing what successive superannuation fund managers do so well, just lose it.
All together a handbrake on wealth creation, well done Labour.
Shit House Rats
Desperate times beget desperate measures and when your party is broke and has sent the country broke and there's no money for election bribes but you've still got to bribe the dumb arse bastards who have faithfully voted for you for years, you've got a problem.
Labour's answer:-
Steal from the few employers left standing.
"We'll increase the employers' contribution to 7% but don't worry, loyal stupid voters we'll leave your contribution level at 2%. Oh, by the way, there won't be as many jobs for you but we'll have ours, so you'll be fine."
The only things at which these people excel are theft, bribery and lies.
The "reason for it all"
Cactus had time to kill so took a walk through Aotea Square with her Blackberry . Posted as Intrepid Journey.
It is Classic and she tells it for all those of us who cannot indulge our selves with "Lens Latest Promotion" of the Super City.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Call The Undertakers
Adolf is reminded of the many times one can recall families having grave concern for the health of an elderly member only to be shocked by the unexpected and sudden death of that person's spouse.
Perhaps, like the caring family members, the media has been so focused on Act that it has missed the impending death of Labour.
Here is a so called party which in the midst of a general election campaign finds itself with no money, no leader, no campaign launch, no campaign strategy, no party discipline, no credibility, no prospects and continued declining poll numbers.
Right now Labour's very much like a frail aged derelict in a hospice with all it's vital organs closing down.
Isn't it time for the few Labour people left to start making funeral arrangements prior to turning off the life support machine?
Snakes and ladders
According to the report, near the top of their list, "Free WiFi" in the city center.
Why won't someone challenge their flawed thinking.
A Motel or other business may offer "free wifi" as an attraction or promotion but it would be most likely a city would be using someones involuntary funding to create it.
What they proposed will not be free it will be no cost to the user or 100% subsidized.
That is a very different thing. My net access costs me around $150 a month including tolls and landline but where I end up, all to often its non existent.
Of course absolutely not a problem for the nice retiring CEO of Telecom fishing in the "Greenstone", he had XT access, apparently by admission of a pleb at the "Help Desk".
This is the fourth in an occasional series of tales relating to V3's tour. It is recorded in my 'battle diary' (which appears to include pages fashioned out of toilet paper from ration packs).
Some unkind people have described Waiouru as "the place God made and never visited". Clearly they never experienced Fire Support Base Concord. Charlie was expected to attack the Long Binh – Bien Hoa areas during their 1968 mid year offensive.
Victor 3 deployed into
It was with some amazement that we disembarked from the helicopters to be confronted by a series of above ground bunkers, fashioned out of wood and iron scraps and looking like adverts for 'Junkyard Wars', occupied by our American cousins who constituted the majority in the FSB. John Hall, our OC, took one look at them and immediately issued orders to dig, dig and dig some more so we all became 'diggers'. We dug and dug and scrounged and scrounged stopping only at 'stand to' when our American friends would come over to look at the sight of soldiers waiting to be attacked. What's more they had a penchant for congregating in front of our trenches to discuss the phenomena and blinding us with camera flashes as they recorded the strange habits of their allies.
But it was Company Headquarters that features in this story. John Hall was determined to create a 'real' command post. Something that General Navarre at
And so it was that with the bunker complete and replete with all mod cons we sat down for our first 'O' Group in our new home. The Boss had just started his homily when cascading from the ventilation shafts come a torrent of amber liquid. Many of us were sprayed. John Hall, standing straight under one shaft, got soaked, There was a rushed general exodus. On making it to the surface we could see a bunch of Yank soldiers congregated around the ventilation shafts where they protruded from the ground 'doing their thing'. They claimed the pipes were standard 'pissaphones' on the
p.s. If you want a guaranteed method of removing writing from a plastic surface I know of a good product.
p.p.s. Laurie B …. Didn't they tell you what the pipes were being used for when you 'acquired' them and does that explain why I have never seen you wearing the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal?
Sunray 5/2
For the record. Victor 3 Company served in Vietnam from May 1968 until May 1969. Originally it was part of 2RAR/NZ (ANZAC) Bn and later 4RAR/NZ (ANZAC) Bn. It was the most highly decorated of the 9 NZL Infantry Company's sent to Vietnam winning two Military Crosses (one an 'Immediate Award'); two Distinguished Conduct Medals and a Mentioned in Despatches. Our Chaplain, Whakahuihui Vercoe, later Anglican Primate of New Zealand, also received an MBE for his outstanding work ministering to the troops. Two of our soldiers, Mike Wickman and Don Bensemann were KIA. Another 19 were WIA.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
The Shooper Pooper Scooper
A clostridium difficile infection? Must be the Labour disease.
That's obviously what's wrong with Trevor Mallard and David Parker. For them, shit just happens.
All good things come to an end.......
Monday, October 24, 2011
Playing Dirty
I'm talking about Clare Curran who reckons 'Labour is playing to win.'
Unfortunately she's been rather let down by her half baked half back, David Parker, who has distributed in Epsom a John Banks 'hit leaflet' which turns out to be a defamatory pack of lies. (See comments thread at Kiwiblog.)
Nick K (155) Says:
October 22nd, 2011 at 10:28 am
Some are also aware Act knew this when they took a large donation from the misnamed Sensible Sentencing Trust and made Garrett Act's law and order spokesperson.
This is a lie. I was Party Secretary at this time and was responsible for submitting the party's donation returns. There was never a donation from the Sensible Sentencing Trust. This lie is perpetuated by Labour consistently as if to say ACT sold that #5 slot of David Garrett to the SST. It is a barefaced lie.
To paraphrase the irrepressible David Lange:-
"I can smell Trevor Mallards fingerprints all over it."
Some Questions
Is it Sir Graham and Sir Ritchie come New Year?
Why didn't the PM arrange to have them dubbed by the Guv as part of the closing ceremony?
Why was the Bilious Bitch allowed into the country at this time?
Had the French got up to win during those last minutes, would she have been dead by midnight?
Why do we hear no complaints from Labour about all those profits going overseas to the IRB?
Have the original 57 'Old Farts' all died yet?
My quiet confidence took a bit of a hit when Number 3 10 fell to the curse but one point was always enough at full time.
France have too much history of coming out for the "big" game.
Good result and a fitting send off for Brad Thorn for so many reasons, a true gladiator of the 21st century.
Very good effort from Craig Joubert, clearly the top whistle in World Rugby.
2 Mt Hikorangi, East Cape, the first NZ land to touch the morning sun apart from the Chathams. Thanks to Adolph for the pic.
3 Chateau Tongariro, on road to Whakapapa Ski area, we usually skied Turoa on the SW better snow(colder).
4 Nelson Cathedral steps from top of Trafalger St.
5 Naval Point Marina looking towards Gebbies Pass.
Marc opened with 2 and a 1/2 for Nelson.
Chris Bird also 2 with a 1/2 for 5 location.
PM of NZ 3 plus a 1/2 Nelson.
Homepaddock a solid 3.
Bodger an ecigar for 5.
Others with NCEA credits.
Thanks for the supportive comments Adolf and Homepaddock.
Pics with ID to email@example.com would be appreciated as many web pics are too identifiable or not free of IP rules
Sunday, October 23, 2011
KNOW YOUR COUNTRY SUNDAY 23rd Oct
Saturday, October 22, 2011
What's In Their Drinking Water?
Hasn't anybody ever told him about subliminal messages? Silly question, Adolf. There's not much that is subliminal about Mr Mallard.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Next on the Drone List
Apparently what was put down was less a riot than a political gathering and lo and behold there were deaths.
Six people shot dead by police who simply fired live ammunition into a crowd of 2,000 people. This brings back stark memories of the gentle Indonesian government and its handling of East Timor.
Oh well, I guess Indonesia now will be included in Hilary Clinto's hit lists of countries to which she needs to have been and to have seen.
Herein lies a good lesson for David Farrar and all those others who ceaslessly attack the Fijian regime of Commodore Bainimarama. The Indonesian government is DEMOCRATICALLY elected.
Best Left Unsaid
'We came, we saw, he died'
Does she think she is participating in some damned theatrical piece?
I can't help having considerable qualms about the notion of the US military, on the whim of a president, wandering around the world knocking people off , no matter what despicable bastards they might be, without the prior approval of the Congress.
To the best of my knowledge, such conduct is unprecedented and is exceedingly dangerous. It is the need to gain Congressional approval which applies restraint to an otherwise capricious administration.
For example, does anyone know who or what is the REAL target given to the 100 special forces recently despatched to tropical east Africa? How will they tell the good black bastards waving Kalashnikovs from the real bad black bastards waving AK 47s?
Can anyone imagine the ballyhoo and uproar there would have been from the left and their vassal media if Dubbya had done anything remotely approaching the dubious legality of Obama's wild escapades?
Extremely troubling precedents are being set and I fear the consequences of them later may be seriously misunderestimated by these desperate and gleeful Democrats. For example, Iran may well argue successfully for sympathy from the UN next time it goes into the USA and actually knocks somebody off under the noses of the FBI.
If they were really smart, they's use a drone with a hellfire missile.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Priceless Picture
Caption competition
"Sir Peter greets his erstwhile Labour friends."
The Many Talents of Heather Roy
What? Surely not?
Yes it is! Of course it is. It can't be anyone else.
See? I todlja so!
Young chick screwing old politicians. Nothing new there I guess.
Except that Madam Roy managed to restrict her activities to 'figuratively speaking.'
The Poor Bastard
But this was the guy who was going to stop the sea rising and stop the world warming and feed the hungry and house the homeless and, and, and, and............
In between golfin' and holidayin' and bowin' and scrapin' and bribin' and lyin' you'd think he might have found time to learn a little bit about public speakin'?
Yeah, I know. Two Obama posts in a row but Hell, this guy is starting to make Phil Goff look competent.
Freedom Camping!
Recently our wonderfully talented legislature enacted draconian laws that they think will stop budget travelers shitting in the woods, or more disgustingly in iconic places in our country as they tour in panel vans and station wagons.
Those of us who travel a gypsy life exploring the highways and byways of our beautiful country as a lifestyle choice, know the rules will make stuff all difference to the backpacker style "tourists" who will be long gone from our shores before any serious sanction will be applied.
The new laws will only apply to those of us who have assetts and live here as citizens. The law basically ignores the lengths the responsible gypsys have gone to practically and financially removing the possible depositing of waste in any form, where we park. Our mantra is to only leave wheel marks.
Apparently the new rules do not apply to the occupiers of Aotea square as the local authority chooses to ignore what they are doing.
I can just imagine what would be the outcome if a bunch of NZ Motor Caravan Association members occupied a public space in a central city location without permission, would bring an immediate and draconian response.
How long will the grass in the square survive under the occupation , Cr George Wood was saying yesterday that a permanent communal dining/lounge area was under construction, building consented of course, yeah right.
It would appear that Len's mates are not really "freedom camping" they are "protesting"
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Don't Worry About The Birth Certificate
"This fraud was obvious, far-reaching and appeared to be systemic," 22-year-old Ryan Nees told Fox News, referring to evidence he uncovered while researching electoral petitions from the 2008 Democratic Party primary in Indiana.
Nees' investigation centered on the petitions that put then-senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton on the ballot. As many as 150 of the names and signatures, it is alleged, were faked. So many, in fact, that the numbers raise questions about whether Obama's campaign had enough legitimate signatures to qualify for a spot on the ballot.
Oh my oh my, how the chickens are coming home to roost for this crook and his gangster government.
Last February marked the 60th anniversary of the 1951 waterfront strike that the commy leaders of the waterfront called a lockout.
Lasting 151 days the strike ended the ability of the communists who unreservedly supported the workers paradise in the USSR, to use their muscle on the wharves to attack our way of life. It was the defining battle and they lost. There were many more skirmishes, far too many for the growth of our Nation, but today with a largely aspirational workforce, well educated and informed, the tactics that allowed the mainly cloth capped northern english agitators to hold sway have been eroded and consigned to history.
In a last stand yesterday, the current Labour Party, who have no connection to the class warfare of the 19 and first half of the 20th centuries have regurgitated an out dated policy, allowing a "Back to the Future" blueprint for industrial relations. Labour 2011 is populated by ambitios academics and modern parasitic union hacks who would be laughed out of a meeting by Knox, Walsh, Anderson et al who bestrode the union movement at its zenith.
People such as Chris Trotter with his eloquence and James Anderton with his bullying, Minto, Bradford et al shouting through megaphones have been flogging the dead horse around the racetrack of life by appealing to the illinformed to rally one more time but progress ironically, has castrated the progressives and it is only the politics of envy that resonates.


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text:
Slurped: Buddha Bodai, or, the Omnivore's Dilemma
Buddha Bodai is one of the few, if not only places in Manhattan that serves vegetarian kosher Chinese food, a double-whammy of a restriction for people as obsessed with pork and animal parts as the Chinese.
I hadn't even stepped inside the restaurant, and already there was trouble afoot. A sign on the window read, "No non-kosher, non-vegetarian food or beverages are allowed inside the restaurant."
Oh, disaster! It just so happened that I carried in my purse a bag of Chinese beef jerky, which I was planning to enjoy later that day. I took out the bag and nibbled on a piece, just to help me through this trying moment.
What to do, what to do? I weighed the arguments for and against disobeying the rule. On the one hand, who would know if I were to enter the premises with my meat jerky tucked inside my bag? Yet the idea that the other patrons who come to eat at Buddha Bodai, precisely because they presume they are entering a kosher-safe zone, was an argument for tossing the jerky.
Then again, how would they know there was a traitor amongst them? Who would really know, except some higher power, which, even if others believed in, I didn't? And if I truly didn't believe in these restrictions, then, maybe, no ethical violations were taking place.
I paused. I munched on more jerky. What about the basic contract I had with Buddha Bodai, implicit upon entering the restaurant, that I was to obey their edicts? Did that hold water, or could I be practicing a form of civil disobedience by bringing in treif? Yes, that was it—I could be the Henry David Thoreau of Chinese food. But no, I thought again, for I could have chosen to eat at any joint in Chinatown.
You see where this is going, don't you? I had grown awfully hungry standing outside the restaurant, contemplating the price of eternal damnation (in this case, $9 for a quarter-pound of spicy and sweet pork jerky, sold on Elizabeth Street.) So hungry, in fact, that I had unwittingly polished off all the jerky.
Relieved, I went in and sat down. I cheered up even more when I saw the menu, which is heavy on faux meat offerings. The Chinese are very fond of all manner of soy products, not just tofu.
Naturally, I set out to try them all. Faux tripe. Faux pork ribs. Faux chicken, and so forth. I'm of the opinion that faux meat products taste good if you forget that they're supposed to replace meat. Nothing replaces meat. (Meat, I love you.) However, if you think of faux meat products as interestingly textured soy food, then your whole conception changes, and with it, your ability to appreciate the stuff.
Case in point: the Shredded Vegetarian Chicken Pan-Fried Noodle ($8.95). The faux chicken in there is really quite good, but only if you enjoy it on its own merits. If you close your eyes and try to think of it as chicken, then it tastes like dry, overcooked chicken breast. But as faux "chicken substance," it's fantastic. On my visit the chicken-y soy slices were seared, its edges crispy and brown. The noodles themselves were on the less-salty side, a problem easily fixed with lashings of tableside chili oil.
The Vegetarian Tripe, a dish of white chewy squares dressed in black bean sauce, was also good though it resembled squid more than stomach ($2.95 for the dim sum portion). The only irretrievably bad faux meat dish I tried was the Vegetarian Ribs with Black Bean Sauce , which tasted like non-meaty, non-porky foam ($2.95 for said foam, dim sum portion.)
All in all, I'm happy with my meal at Buddah Bodai, and I'm proud of the way I behaved before breezing through its kosher vegetarian doors. Unless thinking bad thoughts counts as feel, in which case we're all doomed.
And it just goes to show that you never know when your integrity will be tested, even if all you're doing is eating jerky and lunch in Chinatown. But that's how things are. Temptations in life abound.
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NEWS- Good times: City budget soars 12%, Albemarle's up 6%
Flush with cash from ever-rising real estate taxes, Charlottesville and Albemarle proposed budgets March 2 that increased 12 percent in the city and 6 percent in the county.
Despite managing a shrinking population, City Manager Gary O'Connell's $123 million operating budget for fiscal year 2007-2008 will spend $13 million more than last year. Along with higher real estate assessments– up on average 15 percent– Charlottesville expects revenues overall to increase 10 percent from meals taxes, hotel taxes, and $13 million in revenue-sharing from Albemarle County, which has an agreement with the city to share 10 cents of every 74-cent tax payment (to keep Charlottesville from annexing).
O'Connell cites education, public safety, and affordable housing as the top concerns for city citizens. "Unprecedented" is how he describes the plan to fully fund the schools' $38 million request. The $4.3 million increase– 13 percent over last year– is the largest increase ever.
The city budget earmarks $1.75 million for a new affordable housing program, and it increases eligibility for tax relief to homeowners assessed at $273,930. "If you were eligible last year and your assessment went up, we want to keep you eligible this year," explains O'Connell.
The proposed budget puts the city in the rescue squad business, with $956,000 earmarked to supplement Charlottesville Albemarle Rescue Squad (CARS) and hire staff. Public safety gets more funding for technology, such as cameras and computers in police cars. "They're things we've wanted to do, and now the economy is better, we can," says O'Connell.
The windfall budget allows another $100,000 for Sunday bus, trolley, and JAUNT service.
And O'Connell suggests putting a budget surplus– there's $7.8 million left over from the 2005-2006 fiscal year– into one-time capital expenditures. "We're in a good economy, and we need to do those things we hadn't been able to do," he says.
The budget went before City Council March 5. Even before receiving it officially, City Councilor Kevin Lynch called the 12-percent increase "unjustifiable."
More reasonable, says Lynch, is starting with a 6 percent increase, and then adding programs he thinks people would support, like Sunday bus service, more money to CARS, and affordable housing. "Those things are at most another 2 percent," he says. "That still gets up to 8 percent."
While he believes reducing the tax rate is a "crude tool," it's one of the few options City Council has, and he will be looking for a 4-cent reduction in the $.99 per $100 value rate. Lynch says he doesn't think it would be that difficult to get to a $0.90 tax rate.
"I think there's some real unfairness with our tax system, and we're not doing a good job with commercial assessments," he says.
Though there are tax relief programs for low-income citizens, those who are really hurting, says Lynch, are young couples who bought a house for $150,000 in Belmont in 2000 and paid around $1,500 in property taxes. Today, that house has tripled in value, Lynch says, to $450,000 with a $4,500 tax bill. "That's a lot of people in that situation," he notes.
Lynch takes issue with the 4 percent salary increase for employees, questioning whether the cost of living has gone up that much. "Most of those increases are for health insurance, and we foot the bill for that," he points out.
The important thing about the upcoming budget discussions, says Lynch, is to "lay this budget out, not as a fait accompli, but a series of choices we have to make."
O'Connell notes that a 2006 budget survey showed that 60 percent of those surveyed feel the city should keep taxes and services the same.
"I think most people do want services and taxes to stay the same," says Lynch. "But that's not happening here. Taxes are going up 15 percent."
Over in the county, the Albemarle Board of Supervisors got a look March 2 at County Executive Bob Tucker's $266 million operating budget, a 6.7 percent increase over last fiscal year. Overall, the county is looking at a 5.6 percent increase in its total $315 million budget, thanks to a decrease in capital expenses.
Under the revenue-sharing agreement, Albemarle anticipates forking over $13 million to the city– a 30 percent increase in the coming fiscal year. Tucker anticipates the possibility the supervisors will cut Albemarle's $.74 per $100 tax rate, and he's built in a $3.5 million reserve that would translate to a $.02 cut.
Republicans are calling for the city and county not only to acknowledge that state law calls for each locality to drop the tax rate to offset the increased tax. In the county's case, that rate would be $0.58; for the city, it would be $0.875.
"The board will set the rate at a public hearing as required by law," says county spokeswoman Lee Catlin. "That's nothing new, and it's something the board always does."
And, reminds Tucker, no matter what Albemarle's tax rate is, the revenue sharing agreement still gives Charlottesville $0.10, so if the rate drops to $0.58, that effectively leaves the county just $0.48 to work with.
County classified employees, too, get on average a 4 percent salary increase.
Albemarle is investing in four new cops and six new firefighters, the latter an acknowledgement that the county is increasingly urban, and that volunteer firefighters aren't always available during the day.
County schools get 60 percent of Albemarle's budget, and unlike their flush compatriots in the city, the proposed budget is $1.9 million shy of what county schools requested.
While Albemarle, too, has benefited from skyrocketing real estate assessments, Tucker doesn't expect it to last. He foresees next year's assessments to increase a comparatively low 5 percent.
Supervisors will hold two public hearings and four work sessions before they adopt a budget April 11. "That's a political decision, in my mind– lowering the tax rate," says Tucker.
City Councilors also have upcoming public hearings and work sessions, and will decide on a budget April 10.
"The county has some real expenses," says city resident John Pfaltz. "They're growing." He's more puzzled by the proposed Charlottesville budget.
"The city is shrinking," he observes.
County exec Bob Tucker proposes a budget with a 5.6 percent increase, and he's ready if the supes drop the tax rate by two cents.
City Manager Gary O'Connell says the city can afford a 12 percent budget increase and should take care of all those one-time infrastructure expenditures while the revenue is still flowing into city coffers.


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Poor man's sangria (red wine + 7up) is my new favorite drink (thx, @brajohn1)
8:39 PM May 30th from web
Overheard: "Humility is a great trait -- I have it too!"
12:05 AM May 31st from web
Discussing with @biz the fact that more people should eat bugs instead of cows
10:14 AM May 15th from web
Mother's Day dim sum with the Morishige's. Fortune cookie said "Thanks for celebrating with us -Katie & Tyler" So, congrats to them too.
1:04 PM May 10th from web
Sitting by moot's mom
5:33 PM May 5th from txt
Next Biz Stone


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Key Complaint: Internal aging begins and the build-up of environmental damage starts to show.
Solution: Re-evaluate your skin care regime, as products that may have worked well in your 20's can become less effective. Get each day off to a great start with 3 in 1 Cleanser, followed by Hydro Sensation Day Moisturizer; use Repair Absolute at night. Introduce Ultimate Eye Cream as a daily essential to combat fine lines; and wear Anti-Age Sun Screen to combat aging on face, neck and hands.


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The Original Corona Camera Manufacturer
UViRCO Technologies is a South African company which manufactures & markets the CoroCAM brand of corona cameras.
Using the UViRCO CoroCAM to perform condition monitoring of high voltage electrical power infrastructure hardware, in terms of external partial discharges, gives power utilities the ability to non-destructively determine where preventative maintenance should be performed to avoid outages and equipment failure. External partial discharges (i.e. Corona, Sparking and Arcing) is indicative of contaminated or degraded hardware, faulty installation or design errors.
CoroCAM cameras are used by:
- Power Utilities
- Inspection Service Providers
- Railways (Electric)
- Heavy Industry
- Mines
- High voltage laboratories
To perform:
- Generator / motor coil insulation inspection
- Transmission line hardware inspection
- Distribution line hardware inspection
- Substation hardware inspection
- Experimentation
During a partial discharge the air around HV equipment is caused to fluoresce. The air is mainly composed of Nitrogen, which emits UV light (UVa, UVb & UVc) during fluorescence. Fluorescence does not generate any heat therefore the phenomenon is invisible to thermal cameras.
All modern CoroCAM's feature at least 2 internal cameras: one UV camera and one visible camera. The UV image is overlaid onto the visible image to locate the source of the discharge or the UV image is viewed alone to see the shape of the discharge.
CoroCAM models can be non solar blind (NSB) or solar blind (SB).
Non-Solar Blind cameras feature a UV camera which is sensitive to UVa & UVb light. UVa & UVb is abundant in sunlight, therefore these CoroCAM's can only be used indoors or at night, else it may be blinded by the ambient sunlight.
Solar blind cameras feature a special filter which blocks all light frequencies from the sun observed at ground level, rendering it blind to solar (sun) light. UVc light (100-280nm) is not blocked. Some UVc light is emitted by the fluorescence of air caused by discharges, this allows for inspections to be performed in full daylight.
Some solar blind models also have thermal imaging modules allowing for multi-spectral imaging, correlating the thermal image with the UV image of the corona allows operators to determine the type of discharge activity.


text:
Product Description
- Beautiful and Elegant Dominican Amber Gemstone Pendant. Which is unique in the entire world since the shape and natural designs of these stones are always different.
- 100% Genuine Dominican Amber Gemstone.
- 100% Genuine .925 Sterling Silver hook and backing.
- Handcrafted by Dominicans.
- Please see pictures to confirm size and weight information.
Amber is fossilized tree resin, which has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects. Amber is used mainly as an ingredient in perfumes, as a healing agent in folk medicine, and as jewelry.
Tree resin takes millions of years literally to become Amber; first, the starting resin must be resistant to decay. Many trees produce resin, but in the majority of cases this deposit is broken down by physical and biological process. Exposure to sunlight, rain, and temperate extremes tends to disintegrate resin, and the process is assisted by microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi. For resin to survive long enough to become amber, it must be resistant to such forces or be produced under conditions that exclude them.
The oldest amber recovered dates to the Upper Carboniferous period (320 million years ago). Amber becomes abundant long after the Carboniferous, in the Early Cretaceous, 150 million years ago, when it is found in association with insects. The oldest amber with arthropod inclusions comes from the Levant, from Lebanon and Jordan. This amber, roughly 125–135 million years old, is considered of high scientific value, providing evidence of some of the oldest sampled ecosystems.
Amber is a unique preservational mode, preserving otherwise unfossilizable parts of organisms; as such it is helpful in the reconstruction of ecosystems as well as organisms; the chemical composition of the resin, however, is of limited utility in reconstructing the phylogenetic affinity of the resin producer. Amber sometimes contains animals or plant matter that became caught in the resin as it was secreted. Insects, spiders and even their webs, annelids, frogs, crustaceans, bacteria and amoebae, marine microfossils, wood, flowers and fruit, hair, feathers and other small organisms have been recovered in ambers dating to130 million years ago.
In August 2012, two mites preserved in amber were determined to be the oldest animals ever to have been found in the substance; the mites are 230 million years old and were discovered in north-eastern Italy.
Dominican Amber
Dominican amber is amber from the Dominican Republic. Resin from the extinct species Hymenaea protera is the source of Dominican amber and probably of most amber found in the tropics.
Dominican amber differentiates itself from Baltic amber by being nearly always transparent, and it has a higher number of fossil inclusions. This has enabled the detailed reconstruction of the ecosystem of a long-vanished tropical forest.
Age and DNA-Studies
A study in the early 1990s returned a date up to 40 million years old. However, according to Poinar, Dominican amber dates from Oligocene to Miocene, thus about 25 million years old. The oldest, and hardest of this amber comes from the mountain region north of Santiago. Amber has also been found in the south-eastern Bayaguana/Sabana de la Mar area.
In 1992 an investigation which its results were published in the British journal Medical Science Research, examined genetic material recovered from a 40-million-year-old extinct stingless bee called Proplebeia dominicana which Yields The Oldest Genetic Material. The study was conducted by Dr. George O. Poinar Jr., an entomologist at the University of California at Berkeley, with Dr. Raul J. Cano, a molecular biologist at the California Polytechnic Institute at San Luis Obispo, Dr. David W. Roubik of the Smithsonian Institution, and Hendrik N. Poinar, the son of Dr. Poinar.
Dominican amber especially Dominican blue amber – is mined through bell pitting, which is extremely dangerous. The bell pit is basically a foxhole dug with whatever tools are available. Machetes do the start, some shovels, picks and hammers may participate eventually. The pit itself goes as deep as possible or safe, sometimes vertical, sometimes horizontal, but never level. It snakes into hill sides, drops away, joins up with others, goes straight up and pops out elsewhere. 'Foxhole' applies indeed: rarely are the pits large enough to stand in, and then only at the entrance. Miners crawl around on their knees using short-handled picks, shovels and machetes.
There are little to no safety measures. A pillar or so may hold back the ceiling from time to time but only if the area has previously collapsed. Candles are the only source of light. Humidity inside the mines is at 100%. Since the holes are situated high on mountainsides and deep inside the mountains, the temperature is cool and bearable, but after several hours the air becomes stale. During rain the mines are forced to close. The holes fill up quickly with water, and there is little point in pumping it out again (although sometimes this is done) because the unsecured walls may crumble.
Mining Sites
There are 3 main sites in 2 big regions in the Dominican Republic where amber is found: In the north region at La Cordillera Septentrional (by Santiago and its surroundings, the sites are called: "La Cumbre", "La Toca", "Palo Quemado", "La Bucara", and "Los Cacaos") and in the east region at Bayaguana as well as Sabana de la Mar.
In the northern area, the amber-bearing unit is formed of clastic rocks, washed down with sandstone fragments and other sediments that accumulated in a deltaic environment, even in water of some depth. In the eastern area, the amber is found in a sediment formation of organic-rich laminated sand, sandy clay, intercalated lignite, and as well as some solvated beds of gravel and calcarenite.
Both areas seem to have been part of the same sedimentary basin but were later disrupted by movements along major faults.
Dominican amber can be found in many colors, besides the obvious amber. Yellow and honey colored are fairly common. There is also red and green in smaller quantities and the rare blue amber (fluorescent). The blue amber reportedly is found mostly in Palo Quemado mine south from La Cumbre. The Museo del Ambar Dominicano, in Puerto Plata, as well as the Amber World Museum in Santo Domingo have collections of amber specimens.


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LANCE Ultra phospho-SMAD2 (Ser465/467) kits are designed for the detection of SMAD2 (phosphorylated at S465/S467) in cell lysates using a simple, homogeneous LANCE Ultra assay (no wash steps). This assay is compatible with both adherent and suspension cells.
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Please note control lysates are NOT included in kits. Control lysates are sold separately, catalog number TRF4012S.
LANCE® and LANCE® (Lanthanide chelate excite) Ultra are homogeneous (no wash) TR-FRET (time-resolved fluorescence resonance energy transfer) technologies. One antibody of interest is labeled with a donor fluorophore (a LANCE Europium chelate) and the second antibody is labeled with an acceptor fluorophore [ULight™ dye]. Upon excitation at 320 or 340 nm, energy can be transferred from the donor Europium chelate to the acceptor fluorophore if sufficiently close for FRET (~10 nm). This results in the emission of light at 665 nm. Data are represented as ratiometric (665/615 nm X 10,000).
SMAD proteins are transcriptional activators activated by bone morphogenic proteins (BMPs). These ligands induce dimerization of SMAD proteins, whereby they translocate to the nucleus and bind target genes. SMAD1, 2, and 3 constitute receptor-regulated SMADs.
|Assay Pathway
|Assay Target
|Assay Target Class
|Automation Compatible
|Detection Method
|Time-Resolved Fluorescence (TRF), TR-FRET
|Product Brand Name
|LANCE Ultra
|Shipping Condition
|Blue Ice
|Target Species
|Unit Size
|500 Assay Points


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Summer IS here, and with it, the bikini. There are so many ways a modern girl can accessorize her bikini, to look chic, drop dead sexy, boho, sophisticated- whatever you desire, the sun is on fire, so get out there and love how you look!
How to Accessorize Your Bikini: 13 Simple but Sassy Tips!
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How do YOU accessorize your bikini? Share with us your go-to tips!


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Paradise in progress
A young surfer plans to transform a Ghanaian fishing village into a dream destination for wave riders – a much tougher task than the laid-back mood here suggests
Behind me, the ocean is a seething mass. The roaring wave moves in closer. I grab on tighter to the edge of my surfboard, then the surging water catches me up and the force of the wave sends my board shooting forward.
Now is the moment I have to move fast. I bounce up off my stomach to a crouch position, my legs trembling with the effort. From the corner of my eye, I can see Peter on the beach, giving me – thumb up, little finger outstretched – the surfer's greeting. Shaka! I'm doing fine!
He's right. After a dozen failed attempts, suddenly I can do it: My body rights itself, my feet are firmly planted on the board, and I am riding the white, foaming wave. I'm a beginner, but still I get an immediate sense of the magic of surfing: I slide off the wave like water off a duck's back. Sassy. I haul my board out of the water.
"That was pretty good," says surf instructor Peter, "for a first time, that is." He slaps me on the back and I find myself wondering whether he really means it. Or does he say that to everyone who comes here?
I am in Busua, a village in Ghana, West Africa. Roughly 5000 people live here – no one knows the exact number. Busua is a small place between beach and jungle on the Gulf of Guinea. It's home to fishermen, farmers and also to one of Ghana's few surf schools, Ahanta Waves, run by local surf instructor Peter Ansah, 29.
On the outside, he's certainly a typical representative of his trade: easy stride, broad shoulders, muscular arms, six pack. There's a trace of melancholy in his eyes, even though he smiles most of the time.
Surfing in Ghana is about as popular as cricket in Germany, a discipline way out among the most marginal of marginal sports in spite of the fact that conditions on the Gulf of Guinea are ideal for it. The breakers crest at one or two meters maximum.
That means pretty safe wave riding for beginners as well as experienced surfers. And plus, you are more likely to spot whales here than sharks. Since Ghana does not count among the world's dream destinations for a beach vacation (although its growing tourism sector looks close to reaching the one-million-visitors-a-year mark), very few surfers or other tourists for that matter stray to this region.
So far, those that have come were either bold globetrotters including the country in their travels or devil-may-care cultural tourists on organized, chauffeured tours of Ghana. But there's so much more to the country. Even in the Busua area, there's quite a lot to see: solitary beaches and dense jungle, as well as colonial forts.
Peter wants to boost his hometown's popularity – on a global scale. His vision is to transform Busua into a dream destination, a kind of Santa Cruz or Bondi Beach on the coast of West Africa. How could that become reality? More about that later. Right now, Peter wants to grab a bite to eat.
Busua – the name itself rolls off the tongue like a wave. We walk across the planks of a wooden bridge on our way from the beach to the village, passing brightly painted fishing boats, a surprising number of them sporting the FC Chelsea logo.
The houses have corrugated-iron roofs. In the back yards, women are mashing cassava to make fufu, Ghana's national dish. Children in ragged t-shirts chasing a leather ball through the narrow streets yell "Obloni!" (white man), when they see me.
We stop at a building by the beach. Reggae music blasts from within. This is the village inn. "Peter, everything easy?" Waitress Patricia welcomes us in and puts cola and fried rice on the table.
Then Peter starts talking about how he came to surfing. Back in 2006, two American aid workers turned up in Busua and opened the Black Star Surf Shop with the aim of teaching wave riding to the locals, and Peter was one of them. First he learned to swim, then he ventured onto a board. And he was good.
"I knew right away that this was my thing!" He even entered a competition in South Africa and announced to his parents that he did not intend to work the land like them.
Why not make a living out of surfing, like the happy-go-lucky Europeans and US Americans, who regularly washed up in Busua and stuck around for a couple of months? They told Peter about life in California, Hawaii and Bavaria.
That's where Otto, a southern German surfer and backpacker came from. He showed Peter how to teach surfing, including the theory, technique and safety rules involved.
Peter borrowed money from some friends to invest in his business. He bought surfboards for beginners, t-shirts and bermuda shorts for the shop, and opened Ahanta Waves. That was nearly two years ago. Since then, adventurers and expats in search of relaxation have been finding their way to Busua and also dropping in on Peter. He could be happy with that. But he wants more. Much more.
After lunch, we make our way back to Peter's surf school, a two-story concrete building framed by palm trees, where surfboards stand propped against the walls, drying in the midday heat. The painted sign above the door reads "Surfshop" and "Ahanta Waves." The name "Ahanta" brings Peter to the first point in his action plan: He aims to win over the people of the Ahanta region and enlighten them about surfing.
Peter is trying to do this with the aid of a legend: "Bonsoe" in the Ahantan language is a whale, and that is where the name "Busua" is said to have originated. It was also the name of the kings of the region because the Ahanta, so the story goes, are said to have traveled the oceans by holding on to the tails of whales. In other words, they were none other than Busua's first surfers – or water skiers. At any rate, they were people who loved the ocean.
Today, many locals care precious little about the sea – even though it is their livelihood. Many have never learned to swim. They regard the gulf as a moody beast from which food can be wrested , but is otherwise best left in peace.
Local ignorance concerning the environment is not limited solely to the ocean. This brings Peter to the second point of his action plan: To clean up the village – or at least make it more attractive to foreign holidaymakers. Not that Busua is dirtier than other villages in rural Africa; it just isn't tidy enough to satisfy Peter.
Why don't they see the big picture?
Not so long ago, he organized a big beach clean-up day to get rid of the plastic bags, dead fish and all the other garbage that constantly pile up by the roadside and on the shore! On the day, only inquisitive children and teenagers turned up. The ocean washes the garbage away on its own, as some fishermen dozing in the shadow of the Chelsea boats explained.
To Peter, their lethargy is particularly galling. "Why don't they see the big picture?" he asks. A clean beach, a healthy ocean – what could be more important for a fisherman? He just doesn't get it. "But it's not that we need any outside help. We can change our attitudes on our own," says Peter.
That's why "education" is writ large on the action plan. "We have schools enough; what we need are teachers who will tell the kids not to toss garbage into the bush or burn it," says Peter. Someone needs to do it if the parents won't.
Waste disposal, community volunteer work, beach clean-up week – sometimes there's something of a German local councilor about our surf instructor. Despite all attempts to make Ghana big on ecotourism, as well, Peter appears to be fighting a lone battle.
Nevertheless, his plan seems plausible: A functioning community attracts tourists; vacationers bring wealth and with it, progress. And that would benefit not only him and his surf school, but also the entire region: the taxi drivers, the fufu cooks, the bar owners and waitresses.
But in a village in the middle of the jungle that has no regular waste disposal or sewerage and that was only hooked up to the electricity grid a few years back, the clocks naturally tick more slowly than in other places.
"Peter, can I borrow your board?" a young man asks. His name is Emmanuel and he's a friend of Peter's, who helps out in the shop for a couple of hours every day. Deep in thought, Peter doesn't answer. Does a Ghanaian sometimes despair at his own complex and sometimes seemingly contradictory culture?
In the afternoon, we walk along a beaten track through the jungle as far as Dixcove, the neighboring village. Coming toward us, we meet children balancing machetes on their heads as they carry freshly harvested bananas to market. "Hey, Peter!" they call. Peter winks. He likes kids and knows practically every one in the area, and children like listening to him.
Now Peter is smiling again, talking about his where he has been successful: about the smart homepage a European friend designed for Ahanta Waves, and about the German tour operator who specializes in African holidays and has included Peter's surf school in his catalogue.
Up Front
Wave riding is one of the oldest sports. Duke Kahanamoku from Hawaii (1890-1968) is regarded as the inventor of surfing. His first board was made of acacia and weighed 52 kilos.
Deep down
A survey revealed what 66 percent of all surfers think of while they are in or on the water: sharks!
On Top
Picuruta Salazar from Brazil set the record for the longest ride in 2003. He stayed on Pororoca, the extremely dangerous, tidal Amazon wave, for 12.5 kilometers and 37 minutes.
We sit down on the wall of Fort Metal Cross, a stronghold built long ago by the British colonial masters. It was from here that the conquerors of the Gold Coast advanced into the interior in search of precious metals, ivory and slaves. For centuries, they engaged in bloody wars with the Ashanti tribe.
The remains of a holiday resort are visible today below the fort: an empty pool, dilapidated bungalows, building shells. Here, too, someone dreamed of bringing in the tourists. But Peter looks beyond it, keeps his gaze set further out in the distance to where the waves are piling up.
Then he pulls an iPad out of his pocket, swipes through the picture gallery and points to the fourth point in his plan: building a house. The photos show a concreted area encircled by dense bush. "This is where Busua's first surfer lodge will be built!" Peter sounds like a priest quoting from the Bible. A guesthouse will be built there, for surfers and tourists. The foundations are long since ready. "I'll show you tomorrow!"
The next day dawns with a clear sky. Peter already has clients, three British student teachers, and is just explaining how to pull the board into the waves and climb on top. Before I get back on my board, Peter wants to ride a few waves himself.
First he encounters some problems, falls, bobs back up, paddles out again, and waits. At some point, the perfect breaker arrives. Patience is something a surfer needs. In fact, this applies to everything – also, and especially, when it's a question of setting up a new tourist attraction here, in the no-man's-land of Ghana.
This story first appeared in Lufthansa Exclusive, the frequent traveller magazine. For more information about Lufthansa Miles & More offers, please click here.


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Chill Named Associate Dean for Clinical and Experiential Education
The UConn School of Law has named longtime professor Paul Chill '85 as its first associate dean for clinical and experiential education.
In this new role, Chill will be responsible for overseeing more than a dozen clinics with a variety of organizational and funding structures, an expanded individual externship program, and a thriving Semester in Washington, DC program. He will also help develop new clinical opportunities and promote innovative teaching methods in nonclinical courses.
Chill, a 1985 graduate of UConn Law, will help implement a new practice-based learning requirement adopted by faculty in fall 2012 that took effect with students who entered the Law School this year. The new requirement ensures that all students have at least one intensive, carefully supervised, live lawyering experience before graduation. Fewer than 20 other U.S. law schools in the country currently have a similar requirement.
"I can think of no better person than Paul Chill to take on this new role," said Dean Timothy S. Fisher. "His range of expertise in the clinical and academic realms, and his commitment to the Law School and our students, made him the optimal candidate."
Chill's appointment in this newly established role signals UConn Law's commitment to greater administrative oversight of its expanding experiential learning curriculum. These programs are becoming more important as students look for ways to distinguish themselves in an increasingly competitive job market. Thirteen of the nation's top 25 law schools now have a faculty administrator, other than the academic dean, charged with overseeing clinics and experiential learning.
Chill joined the law faculty in 1988 to co-supervise the Mental Health Law Clinic and has since directed or co-taught clinical programs focusing on child protection, disability law, civil rights, appellate litigation, and mediation. He also regularly teaches Legal Profession and Torts. Chill has published and been cited for his expertise in the area of child protection law and been lead counsel in multiple cases that led to significant institutional and law reform. He was an original member of the Connecticut Commission on Child Protection. From 2004-2008, Chill served as the Law School's associate dean for academic affairs.
High resolution photo available upon request.


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Single conversion receivers have a single local oscillator circuit for demodulation. Dual conversion revceivers have a second circuit for greater image and interference rejection.
BEC stands for Battery Eliminator Circuit. It takes 7.2v-8.4v commonly used for electric RC and regulates it to 5.0v which allows the receiver to operate properly without the need for a separate battery pack.
Yes, 2 or more battery packs of the same voltage can be used with the same receiver.
No, the battery can be connected to any unused channel.
After hard landings or crashes the receivers ceramic filter or tuning coil(s) can become vibration sensitive. Other sources of interference can be RF noise generated by bad bearings in the engine, electronic ignition systems, loose screws, or other metal to metal contact in your R/C application.
Technical questions about this Spektrum product should be directed to Horizon Hobby's Product Support Department:
Horizon Hobby, LLC. ATTN: Product Support 2904 Research Road Champaign, IL 61822
To place a Horizon Hobby Support Inquiry please visit our Inquiry Form Support Phone:(877) 504-0233 Fax:(217) 355-1552
If you would like to purchase this product, please go to the Store Locator or contact the Horizon Hobby Consumer Sales Department:
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Top 10: Condon's nature tips for a smart summer
Gardening should not be only about growing a beautiful yard of grass, gorgeous flowers, or yummy vegetables. Gardening should provide pleasure, excitement, and health benefits. Herewith a dozen tips to get the most out of your gardening experiences this summer.
Go hands-on
Think of gardening as good exercise to keep your body going strong instead of as work that you do not want to do. Pull unwanted plants (I hate the word "weed") by hand instead of employing hazardous chemicals that are detrimental to our environment.
Make connections
Learn about the connections between wildlife and plants so you can help our wildlife to survive. Allow violets to grow in your lawn, and you will be rewarded later in the season with the sight of large orange Great Spangled Fritillary butterflies– whose caterpillars are absolutely dependent upon the availability of violets.
Love those bunnies
Never think of any organism as "bad" or "good"– all creatures provide a service that keeps the world functioning properly. If you learn what that service is, you can appreciate why something is happening in your garden and then deal with it sensibly instead of getting angry (and making your blood pressure rise). For example, rabbits eat a variety of plants to keep the world from being overpopulated with plants. Protect your veggies by placing fencing several inches underground and then bent away about two feet from the garden in an "apron" that prevents critters from digging underneath.
Deer happen
Realize that there are too many deer, and deer eat plants. Learn to accept that there will be deer damage to your crops and flowers, or else put up an electric fence or a very tall fence (about 10 feet) to keep these animals out. Do not wage war with the natural world unless you want to lose your sanity.
Save the leftovers
Embrace the natural world so its system of checks and balances can keep animal and plant populations at acceptable and necessary levels. Provide a variety of plants to encourage a variety of wildlife to visit or live in your yard. Then during warm weather, goldfinches will eat dandelion seeds and ladybugs will eat aphids, and during the cold months dark-eyed juncos and ruby-crowned kinglets from the north can survive on "leftover" seeds and aphids, respectively.
Spare a snake
Too many individuals of any kind of organism means your environment is out of balance. For example, an abundance of voles means you have not encouraged their primary predators snakes to live in your vicinity. Never kill animals out of ignorance and/or fear, such as often happens in snake/human encounters. These reptiles (especially venomous ones) are not at all aggressive. Let them go on their merry way so they can control the numbers of rodents and other animals (including birds) around your property.
Hold the salt
Disregard the horticultural advice so ignorantly given to kill all snails and slugs. These animals break down mulch and decaying plant and animal matter to provide nutrients to the plants you're cultivating. If these useful animals are eating your plants, or there seems to be an overabundance of them, you probably have too much mulch. Thin it out.
Go to seed
Horticulturists also advise you to never let your plants go to seed and to pull out all dried stalks in fall to minimize the number of over-wintering insects and their eggs. But our birds and small mammals are dependent upon seeds and insects to survive the winter, making this very poor advice.
You're the judge
Do not be intimidated by society's standards of beauty. Today's world has been very negatively affected because of man's unrealistic expectations of how the natural world should look outside his door. Learn, for instance, to appreciate the natural colors of fall that consist of various hues of brown and yellow. Dried flower stalks display a subtle, peaceful beauty that is increased when you spot birds feeding on them throughout fall and winter.
Love your mother
Live in harmony with nature by learning as much as you can about the organisms that share our world. Then every stroll around the yard will be an exciting and pleasurable nature walk that you can take without ever having to leave home!
Marlene Condon served as the long-time nature writer for the Daily Progress until quitting last November after the managing editor allegedly threatened to muzzle some of her more fiery opinions– such as her incendiary suggestion that bluebirds may be partially responsible for the decline of grasshopper populations.