text:
The Wander Years
Waking up to reality, one realisation at a time.
Saturday, August 09, 2008
talks loudly about
the benefits of yoga
her hatred for class four
and that lady
can talk endlessly about
the enchantress of florence
quotes milton a little too effortlessly
and a daughter
spent endless years worrying about
the legacy of her father
if she could immortalise it somehow
and the mother
is always complaining about
her elder son who is no good
how he will leave her one day
but when im lucky i meet this girl
talks about
life with a giggle in her smile
why she prefers beedis to cigarettes
Happy Birthday, Mom.
I may be far away, but I've got a glass of champagne in my hand and a smile on my face.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Stories from Oblivion: Chapter Five: Cairo
Click on the photographs to enlarge.
Saturday, June 07, 2008
And as is also usual, she was bored to death with my unending saga of self pity. But she was nice enough to pretend and listen. After a while though, she looked away and began staring at the ceiling. And at some point, without her realizing, I stopped talking.
After a couple of minutes though, by when my attention had drifted to the Leonard Cohen song playing in the background, she squeezed my arm and exclaimed with a look that accompanies an epiphany,"TS! You should start a blog!"
I responded with an expression so blank that the next half an hour was spent in her explaining the meaning of the word 'blog' to me in great detail. And once P thought she had gotten through to me and of course convinced me to start a blog of my own, she took me by the hand and led me to the computer where with the click of a few buttons, we conceived The Wander Years .
That was then.
But over a period of time, The Wander Years has transformed into an idea that defines my life.
Maybe that's why &. magazine's June issue of 2008 is also themed 'The Wander Years', in continuation to an article in the May issue, which talks about how the youth today are running away from the all things conventional and attempting to redefine their idea of life in general.
And today, as this little corner of the blogosphere completes two years in existence, I hope there is reason to rejoice. Not because it has sparked any intellectual revolution or uncontrollable laughter or worthy debates on social issues, but because while The Wander Years was catalyzing my redefinitions, it may have also given all of you a few reasons to smile in agreement with a post or a comment and whisper to yourselves, "I so know that feeling".
Monday, January 07, 2008
An Airport, a Poet and Life's Greatest Lesson
It ended abruptly. That dream. I don't know when or how.
All I could remember was someone screaming, "Was it really worth it???" in my head over and over again.
I found myself sitting in the boarding lounge at an airport, my tired eyes shuttling between a TV screen telling me it was time to board the flight and my notebook screen telling me that the batteries were out and needed charging.
I laughed. Because if anyone needed a recharge, it was me. I shut the notebook and got up to get a coffee from the counter right behind where I was sitting. As I was getting up, I heard a gentle voice say, "Was it worth it?"
I freaked out, turning swiftly in the direction of the voice.
It was P.
"TS are you ok?"
"What did you mean by was it really worth it?"
"That 20 second nap of yours, you idiot! Why do you look startled?"
"Oh that, yes. Sorry. I completely forgot you were here."
"You forgot? Is that supposed to be funny?"
"Err.. Sorry?"
"Never mind, its time. They've announced the boarding."
"Ok. Cool. Just let me grab a coffee."
I ordered the coffee. And in the minute or so that I was waiting to get my order, my pupils finally contracted and I turned to take a look around. P's presence finally sank in all over again and I yelled from the counter,
"What are you reading?"
"Pablo Neruda"
"What's that?"
"Not what, who! He's the guy who wrote Tonight I Can Write the Saddest Lines."
"Oh, that guy. Ok."
Once I got my coffee, picked up my notebook & airbag, we headed to the boarding gate.
During the hour-long flight, my conversation with P centered around how different our lives are from the way we had once imagined. We spoke about our dreams and expectations, and how the transition from childhood to adolescence brought with it new ideas and possibilities. The conversation ultimately deteriorated to dissecting my corporate routine and how I'll never get around to writing that book or making that movie or teaching at university level and so on.
And then, for a reason known only to her, P breached my defense by summing up my life very eloquently. I think it was one of those I-wish-you-were-still-the-man-I-fell-in-love-with moments. I, of course, saw it as just another reality check. She said and I quote,
"TS, your life reminds me about the time I mugged up a Pablo Neruda poem for a poetry competition."
It took a second for me to understand what she meant, but almost all of next day to come to terms with it.
And I think that's exactly why I did what I did the other day.
Sometime last week, I was informed that I needed to visit a particular college of Delhi University to run a month-long training program.
I was ecstatic when I heard the news because teaching at university level is something I had worked relentlessly towards throughout school and college, but due to my own lack of persistence at key junctures after college (I don't want to blame circumstances even though I am tempted), I had to finally give up on that dream.
And while I'm being honest, I should also tell you that writing and film-making are options that emerged after I shelved the idea of prefixing my name with Professor.
That date with destiny finally came last Thursday. And despite the mental preparation, I swear I couldn't have told my head from my ass that morning. I was a bundle of nerves, tossing and turning in bed all night, losing my appetite, getting ready and going down to the car only to run up, twice, once for my cellphone and then for the car keys.
In the middle of all that I also managed to find the whole thing funny (I do that a lot, not forget things, but find them funny), considering the fact that in the last 3 years I have trained pretty much everyone there is to train in the corporate world, from executives to senior management, without as much as batting an eyelid.
I decided to take my mind off the whole thing so I put on some music...
Extreme ways that helped me
They help me out late at night
Extreme places I had gone
But never seen any light
Dirty basements, dirty noise
Dirty places coming home
Extreme worlds alone
Did you ever like it then?
I would stand in line for this
There's always room in life for this...
Oh baby, oh baby
Then it fell apart, it fell apart
Oh baby, oh baby
Then it fell apart, it fell apart
In the half an hour that I negotiated the office rush, smoked hurriedly and sang along with Moby, I think I had what can be termed as a moment of epiphany. I began feeling less wired-up almost immediately and soon enough the nervousness subsided, and a calm soothing feeling found its way up my spine, penetrating my mind just as I parked my car at the college.
I picked up my jacket from the backseat of the car and as I was about to shut the door, I saw something that wasn't supposed to be there, and I think you'll smile when I tell you that it belonged to P.
There, in all its inconspicuousness lay life's greatest lesson, in paper and ink, begging to be embraced. The universe had actually conspired.
Let it be known then, that on the 3rd of January in the year 2008, TS sat under the warm winter sun in a DU college lawn with a bunch of college kids and read to them, the Poetry of Pablo Neruda.
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
rids the room of
and comfort
a girl
who smells of coco mademoiselle
staring into my eyes
an apology
which tastes of routine
any chance of resolution
a silence
that tells a story
six years and two lovers
sound sleep
with a dream about happiness
the bitter aftertaste of time


text:
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subset: commoncrawl


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text:
The wife of former Steelers coach Bill Cowher passed away after a long battle with skin cancer. She was 54 years old.
Steelers fans long remember the video of Kaye and the Cowher's daughters hugging Bill after the Cowboys defeated the Steelers in Super Bowl XXX.
Her illness was off the radar of the media, and it can be attributed to Cowher's decision to not entertain head coaching offers last season.
She was a part of the Steelers community for a long time, and our thoughts and prayers go out to the Cowher family in wake of these sad days.


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After the original post of "Reminding Management of the Advantages of System Z," many people commented on how their management is increasingly out of touch with the mainframe. Also, comments also stated that the System Z environment is really processing almost all of the transactions in their company and how all the Windows platform systems continue to have scalability issues.
Although the mainframe revenue for IBM suffered in 2009 because of its upgrade cycle, the introduction of the z10 System platform demonstrates it is the best open system. Yes, that is correct, the mainframe is the most open system available because it runs all types of workloads: the legacy standards of Assembler, COBOL, PL1 etc. but also C++, C#, Java, PHP and the rest of the languages that run on UNIX and Windows boxes.
Also, some people are starting to run "virtualized" windows on the mainframe environments. PCWORLD highlighted this capability in early 2009With the System Z speed, scalability and network, the mainframe continues to be the best solution for all types of workloads. A nice short demo of z/Vos is on YouTube along with many other videos that you can show to your iPhone-obsessed boss, demonstrating that consolidating those hundreds of MS SQL Server instances is also possible.
The story of virtualization continues to drive UNIX consolidation to the mainframe. In 2009 Allianz consolidated 60 servers into a single mainframe, saving substantial operating, licensing and energy costs while improving scalability. This story detailed in this ComputerWorld article is being repeated at many companies as the mainframe IFL, zIIP and zAAP specialty engines continue to bring processing power at PC or minimized prices. This consolidation activity has a very short term return on investment as these efforts pay for themselves usually in the first year and reduce power consumption dramatically making it a "green" project.
The next time the hundreds of windows or UNIX server configurations need an OS, database or other software upgrade make sure to mention how System Z is saving other companies time and operating costs and overall costs through consolidating these environments to the best cost alternative -- the mainframe System Z.


text:
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You potency also memento hearing not far-off the People V. Turner making love aggressiveness case. To circumvent vigour the growing crest of carrying-off disposition in America, xHamster banned all videos involving spoliate , including those which featured the fucking of stone-blind partners. Their communal and brilliance involvements don't put an end to there, though. control of my bosom favorite discordant statements that they made came in deliver to the 2016 Autonomous Nationalist Enter email split , when they offered Debbie Wasserman Shultz $50,000 to notability in a porno multiform a Bernie Sanders lookalike. You call to mind , since she already fucked him touched in the head of the election. Ah, if that isn't fucking gold, I don't be what is. The Locality Itself Of , xHamster has made completely a boss the themselves in their scope compendious days of heyday as a xxx societal media/porn tube. But does the settle itself support up to all the hype? 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Their maestro studio crux appears sympathetic alongside their teeming archive of homemade compensation , unless you cite otherwise. You can also conveniently delete the videos so that you not look at vertical , gay, or shemale videos. If you don't separate at all in your hedonism, after all , you can period on all three. The most annoying predilection that they added was a hardcoded watermark on chief of the videos. It dotty in the messes with your fap view , when you're to to mull a geezer jizz on a chick's insolent and then...BOOM! That be watermark "this video has been uploaded to xHamster" appears on the chick's whole like a motherfucking cockblocker! Earnestly , whoever scheme it was a ok assumption deserves a return in the balls! 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I presented my paper titled Risk Propagation of Security SLAs in the Cloud (M. Hale & R. Gamble) at the IEEE Globecom workshop for Management and Security technologies for Cloud Computing. This work represents an initial step towards embedding risk into SLAs for the purpose of organizational awareness and acceptance. More specifically the paper establishes an algorithmic process for handling dynamic risk evaluations in the cloud. This novel risk evaluation and renegotiation algorithm handles cases where service providers alter their terms of service or can no longer meet their SLA-bound security parameters. In such events, the algorithm searches for alternative services, selects the lowest risk, most compatible replacement and calculates and informs previous services, all the way back to the original requester, of the updated risk valuations.
It sparked a series of discussions with other researches in the field and was a great experience overall.


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The other day I happened to pass by a Karate class being taught at an elementary school. I could not see the students' patches and wondered what dojo it was. A student walked by me on the way to change, and I asked him the name of his dojo.
"ABC!" he replied with apparent pride and a hint of arrogance.
Now the real acronym was not "ABC". I made up "ABC" for discussion purposes only. But the student did state a collection of letters which were the first letters of his association name.
I wonder when it was that dojo names or associations became acronyms? When was it that a collection of letters meant something in Karate?
I cannot imagine Kentsu Yabu saying that he belonged to the "AIPTG" (Anko Itosu Private Training Group). Or Chojun Miyagi saying that he represented the "KHS" (Kanryo Higashionna Students). It sounds rather rediculous. Of course these great sensei would identify their teacher by name. They did not belong to associations, organizations or even dojo per se -- they were the personal students of a living, breathing, person -- a Sensei.
I have belonged to associations that were known by their acronyms. I always got the feeling that the purpose of such things was to distinguish "us" from "them". If we are proud members of the "ABC" we get certain benefits, such as the use of the "ABC" name, patch, logo, etc. Being a member of "ABC" meant something tangible.
I could imagine a student saying, "Oh no, I do not belong to ABC, we left that organization long ago. Now we belong to the ABF! Another might say, we left the ABF to join the ABK! The acronyms can be endless -- as can be the corresponding certificates, membership cards, patches, etc.
If a person punches you on the nose, you can't say, "but do you realize that I am a member of ABC?" If a brick falls from a roof and hits you on the head, it does not care that you are an ABC member.
To me, letters are just letters. Karate has nothing to do with such things.
Remember your Sensei's name. Remember to conduct yourself as a gentleman (or lady). OK?
Charles C. Goodin
Karate Acronyms
The other day I happened to pass by a Karate class being taught at an elementary school. I could not see the students' patches and wondered what dojo it was. A student walked by me on the way to change, and I asked him the name of his dojo.
Posted by Charles C. Goodin on Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Teaching Karate -- Objectives
How and what you teach will depend on what you are trying to accomplish.
If you are trying to make a living by teaching, you will have to consider your income and expenses. You won't be able to live if you don't make enough money, and you won't make enough money unless you have enough students. And making $100,000 in a year might sound good, unless you are spending $150,000! If you teach Karate as a business, you will have to run it as a business. You should get a business degree.
If you are trying to have a lot of students, you will have to consider where and when you will teach. You usually cannot teach 500 students all at once. Even 50 students is a lot. So you will have to have many classes spread out over the day and week. You might even have to have classes at different locations. One day you might have 1,000 students. Will you remember their names?
If you are trying to have a front window filled with trophies, you will have to enter tournaments here, on the mainland, and even in foreign countries. You might even have to put on your own tournaments. Gradually you probably will collect many trophies and will fill your window, lobby and dojo. And this will attract... students who want more trophies?
If you are trying to become famous, you might need to become an action star, or perhaps a writer. People respect experts who write books on just about any subject. But do you want to do this? And as a writer, I can say that most people will not recognize you, except to say "I thought you would be much taller!"
If you are teaching so that you can become high ranking, I would just say that there are many better things to do in life. I was talking to a man (I cannot remember about what) and the subject turned to Karate. At one point he asked how many years I studied and I replied over 30 years. He asked, "are you a black belt?" I wanted to say, "not yet, but I am still working on it!" Rank is a little silly. Regular people don't understand it and accomplished people don't care about it. Let me put it this way, if you have high rank, the rain will still fall on your head!
If you are trying to solve the mysteries of life (seek enlightenment, etc.) there might be better ways to do this than by teaching Karate. You will probably just confuse and distract your students if you are teaching to seek something that is either obvious or fictitous. There is no mystery in Karate. Karate is revealed by training... period. If you are sitting crosslegged to understand Karate, I would say, "either fish or cut bait."
I teach because I enjoy it. I enjoy learning myself, but I receive the greatest joy when I see students learning something. I am even happier when I see instructors (or advanced students) being happy when they see their students learning.
If you are going to teach Karate, be clear about why you are doing so. That way, you can ensure that your efforts are in line with your objectives.
Charles C. Goodin
Posted by Charles C. Goodin on Thursday, July 12, 2007
Teaching Karate 12 -- The Right Things...
The hard part of teaching Karate is making sure to teach the right things to the right students at the right time. It is easy to run a class in which all the students do the same things -- the same warm-ups, the same basics, the same kata, the same applications, etc. But, of course, the students are not all at the same level. In fact, each student is likely at a different level.
I have an orange tree in my yard. We watch the oranges as they ripen. First they are green. They are not ready to pick. Gradually they become orange. The trick is to pick them just before they fall. Not to early, not too late.
It is also like that with students. When the students are green, you have to let them ripen. It is appropriate for them to practice drills and kata -- the same things over and over so that they will develop good basics.
But at the right time, it is time to "pick" them. It is time to move them on to the next level of training. Too early and they won't get it. Too late and they might have become bored or discouraged.
Because each student is different, this is usually an individual process. It is hard to find a group of students who are all ready for the same thing at the same time.
This is one reason why very traditional Karate dojo are typically small. The focus is on individual training and progress. It is hard to teach more than a dozen students in this manner.
Whenever you teach, you must ask yourself: are you teaching the right things to the right students at the right time?
Charles C. Goodin
Posted by Charles C. Goodin on Thursday, July 12, 2007
Teaching Karate 11 -- Foul Language
Sometimes it is good to state an obvious thing.
A Karate instructor should avoid the use of foul language in the dojo, particularly in the presence of minors. People who constantly curse need to increase their vocabularly and learn better ways to express themselves. A Karate instructor should not be crude or vulger.
Karate training should make gentlemen (and ladies) of us all.
Charles C. Goodin
Posted by Charles C. Goodin on Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Teaching Karate 10 -- Punctuality
The Karate instructor should arrive at class early, help to clean the dojo with the students, and should not leave after class, until all of the youth are picked up by their parents.
As the saying goes, he or she should be the first in and the last out.
Charles C. Goodin
Posted by Charles C. Goodin on Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Teaching Karate 9 -- Kata
Sometimes it is hard for new instructors to decide what to teach. In Shorin-Ryu this is very easy -- teach and practice kata. Kata is the heart and soul of Shorin-Ryu.
Though kata we learn the basics, how to move, and how to apply self defense applications. The kata we practice in Shorin-Ryu are already a perfect outline for teaching. It is easy to instruct if you base you instruction on the kata and the principles that flow from them.
Kata are like the DNA of Karate. If you look deeply into kata, you will not only find certain answers, you will also find that the kata give you the ability to replicate the system. What I mean by this is that the kata contain the framework for the entire system, not just scattered or isolated techniques.
Teach kata and practice kata. You will find that the kata also teach you!
Charles C. Goodin
Posted by Charles C. Goodin on Monday, July 09, 2007
Teaching Karate 8 -- Speaking Ill of Others
As a Karate instructor, it is important not to speak negatively or ill of other Karate instructors or styles, or of other martial arts instructors or styles for that matter.
It is natural that you might prefer your particular form of Karate. But we all have a lot to learn from each other. Many fine Karate instructors also studied other martial arts.
More importantly, if you speak negatively, you are being negative. If you are negative, your students will become negative as well. The best way to remain positive is to focus on training and teaching to the very best of your ability.
Negative comments have a way of becoming known. I believe in the adage that if you don't have something nice to say, it is better to say nothing at all.
If you teach long enough, you might find that others say negative things about you. Such is life. If they say something negative that is true, then you should work on it. If they say something negative that is false, so what! Your postive actions speak loudest.
Charles C. Goodin
Posted by Charles C. Goodin on Monday, July 09, 2007
Teaching Karate 7 -- Rank
Don't emphasize rank unless you want your students to be motivated by rank. Rank is, at best, a rather artificial way of recognizing the ability of Karate students. At worst, rank is completely arbitrary.
Emphasize the things you want your students to learn. If you emphasize other things, don't be surprised if your students become motivated by them.
If you think that rank is important, please keep that in mind the next time you meet a 10 or 12 year old sandan.
Charles C. Goodin
Teaching Karate 6 -- Teach One Thing Well
There are so many things to teach in Karate. It can be tempting to teach many things at once, but this will usually lead to many mistakes.
In any class, it is best to emphasize a certain technique or principle -- to teach one thing well. You can also cover other subjects, but cover that particular technque or principle in depth.
It is also important to review that item in the following classes -- to reinforce the lesson. You might want to move on to other subjects, but a review is essential.
Even though you think that you taught the subject completely, the students might have only gotten 50%, or even less. You knew it, but that does not mean that they understood it fully. The second time they might get 20% more. The third time they might get 10% more. After several lessons, they will get it entirely.
Sensei Morio Higaonna likes to use the word "catch". The students "catch" the techniques and ideas.
Most students do not have photographic memories. Many of us cannot even remember what we ate for lunch. How are students supposed to be able to remember all the movements of Chinto or Gojushiho unless we give them the time to do so?
You might think that teaching one good thing is not enough. In Karate, if that one thing is a good punch, it is much more than most students will ever learn. Most Karate experts are highly skilled -- extremely highly skilled -- at only a few techniques, and tend to have one favorite or special technique.
In a class, teach one thing well -- and reinforce it.
Charles C. Goodin
Teaching Karate 5 -- Enthusiasm
Students will not be enthusiastic about Karate training if you are not. On the other hand, your enthusiasm will be infectious.
Whenever I am in the dojo, I am very happy to be there. I have worked hard at my law office so that I could have the time, that evening, to train and teach. I could be other places, even resting at home, but I want to be in the dojo. And during my time there, I want to do my very best.
Have you ever met a salesperson who was not excited about his product? If you did, I suspect that you did not buy it.
Karate is not a product (at least I do not view it that way), but why should a student want to learn from you if you are not exited about your own craft?
My wife always says that I make Karate training interesting because everyone can tell that I am extremely enthusiastic about it.
So don't just teach to teach. In my dojo, instructors are not paid. They have no monetary motivation. They might teach out of a sense of obligation, but I hope not. I hope that they teach because they genuinely want to share the art.
My Sensei, Prof. Katsuhiko Shinzato, told me this when I first met him. He picked me up at the Naha Air Port and before going to Yonabaru, he took me to a coffee shop. I will always remember his words:
"I enjoy practicing Karate. If students enjoy training, they are welcome to practice with me."
The basis of his training was his enjoyment of the art. I try to remember that whenever I teach. If I enjoy the art, hopefully my students will too.
Hopefuly your students will as well.
Charles C. Goodin
Teaching Karate 4 -- Safety
The most important thing when teaching Karate is to consider the safety of the students. Safety must always come first. This is my greatest concern whenever and wherever I teach.
Karate is inherently dangerous, particularly when any kind of contact is made. If you strike toward your partner's face a sufficient number of time, you will hit it, even if you try to miss. For example, if you strike toward your partner's face 1000 times, you might not hit it. But the 1001st time, you will. You can think of this as failure analysis. Given enough time, something will go wrong.
As a result, you have to plan for failure. When I teach a certain pairing off drill, I instruct the students to punch toward their partner's shoulder. The actual technique would be a punch to the face. But since the students will practice the drills hundreds or thousands of times, I am planning for failure. If a student accidentally hits his partner, it will be on the shoulder rather than in the face.
You also have to remember that failure analysis is multiplied by the number of students in the dojo. If 20 students will perform a movement 100 times, there are 2000 chances for failure.
It is also important to recognize the strengths and weaknesses of all the students in the dojo. One student might be very strong, another very weak. A student might have a particular medical problem or might have suffered a broken arm or leg in the past. Students might have even had rotator cuff surgery (like I had).
The dojo is a very active and exciting place. Presiding over all this activity (and sometimes chaos), the Sensei must ensure the safety of all students.
By focusing on safety, the Sensei also teaches the students to be very careful, both inside and outside of the dojo. More than half of self defense is situational awareness and prevention. Perhaps this figure is closer to 90%.
Safety first, second and third. What use is Karate training if the student is injured more in the dojo than on the street?
Charles C. Goodin
Teaching Karate 3 -- How Many Steps Ahead?
Sometimes you might hear that a Karate teacher is just one step ahead of his students. With a new teacher, this might be expected.
However, in all the dojo in which I have ever trained, students begin to teach almost as soon as they are more advanced than new students. The senior students always help the juniors. By the time a student becomes an instructor, he might have already have been teaching, and even conducting classes, for many years.
In addition, a teacher might be teaching students who are only a few months or years junior to him. He might even be teaching his own seniors. In that case, the teacher is not one step ahead, he might be a step or two behind.
But that's OK. I have often had to teach students who are older or senior to me. We just teach the very best that we can.
As time goes on, a teacher might find himself many steps ahead of his student -- even miles ahead. To tell the truth, it is easier to teach when you are closer to the students.
Personally, I have found that more advanced I become, the more difficult it is for me to teach. This is because I tend to concentrate on fine points, rather than running a well rounded, vigorous class.
A new teacher should always remember the importance of knowing his craft. He should always strive to learn Karate. Teaching is part of learning.
Charles C. Goodin
Posted by Charles C. Goodin on Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Teaching Karate 2 -- Accepting Students As They Are
You must take your students as they are.
In the past, it was common for Karate teachers to refuse students or to require them to wait weeks, months, or even years to begin training. When by friend and senior Sensei Pat Nakata sought to learn Karate in Okinawa, Chosin Chibana threw tea in his face to test his reaction! Such testing was common in the old days. Today, we generally must accept students who wish to train with us and we cannot test them in advance.
Please be careful here. I am not saying that we should physically test potential students. In today's world, this would result in legal liability. I test potential students verbally. Basically I just want to know if they are really serious about training and have the time to do so. I do not physically test them (throw things at them, hit them, etc.).
It would be very nice if we could require all our students to be Navy SEALs. That way, they would already be in tremendous shape, disciplined and highly motivated. All we would have to do is show them the techniques!
But normal students come to us with all sorts of problems and limitations. The real skill of a Karate teacher is in helping students to overcome their problems and limitations.
Many of the great Karate teachers were sickly children who initially learned Karate to improve their health. Gradually, they become physically strong and eventually highly skilled in self-defense.
What if their teachers had refused them because they were weak?
If a student is weak, you must work to make him strong. If a student is uncoordinated, you must work to make him coordinated. If a student is meak, you must work to make him confident. If a student has a bad temper, you must work to make him calm. If a student can't remember things, you have to figure out how he processes information and come up with a way to teach that works best for him.
The more problems and limitations the student has, the better a teacher you must be. Students are challenges. It is your job to rise to each challenge.
You have to work to make each student the very best that he or she can be. That might not be as good as you are. It might be far better than you are. It all depends. All students are different. The one thing that should be constant is your desire and willingness to teach the student to the very best of your ability.
You must take your students as they are -- and work to make them the very best that they can be.
So what happened to Nakata Sensei? He remained calm and collected when the tea was thrown in his face. He did not react with anger, aggression, or indignation. Chibana Sensei accepted him as a student... and the rest is history.
Charles C. Goodin
Teaching Karate 1 -- A Responsibility
Teaching Karate is a responsibility. It should not be taken lightly.
When you teach, you not only represent yourself, you also represent your teacher, his or her teachers, and so on, going all the way back to the earliest Karate teachers. To some extent, there are traces of Matsumura Sensei, Itosu Sensei, and other great sensei in you and in the art that you teach.
I do not mean to say that this makes you great -- I mean to say that it should make you humble. It is an honor to learn Karate and an even greater honor to teach it. You have been asked or selected to teach because your teacher or teachers believe in you. Don't let them down.
People in the community will gradually learn that you are a Karate teacher. How you conduct yourself will also reflect on the art of Karate. People will judge the art by your actions. Don't let the art down either.
There is a saying that when the rice is ripe, it bows under its own weight. Remember that when you teach.
Teaching Karate is a responsibility, one you should undertake with humility.
Charles C. Goodin
Teaching Karate Series
I am going to begin a series of posts about teaching Karate. I know that it may sound presumptuous for me to write such a series, but I want to not only share my thoughts about the subject, but the lessons and ideas of my many teachers (in Karate and other martial arts).
I started teaching Karate on my own at the age of 17 (32 years ago), which was way too early. However, the process of teaching also teaches the teacher - in other words, you learn a lot by teaching. This is so true, that I believe that you cannot learn Karate unless you teach it.
As the old saying goes, you learn half from your teacher and the other half by teaching.
This series will be aimed at a hypothetical new teacher -- someone who has either formed a dojo or class or taken over responsibility for teaching in an existing dojo or class.
Charles C. Goodin
Guest Post: One of My Best Weapons
This Guest Post is by my friend, Mark Tankosich, who has dan rankings in both Sho-ha Shorin-ryu karate and Zen Nihon Kendo Renmei jodo. Along with the martial arts, his passions include the Japanese language. He currently lives and teaches in Hiroshima, Japan.
More than ten years ago, when I was working as a basic interpreting and translating skills teacher at a language school here in Hiroshima, I had an experience that I've often thought about.
A very famous interpreter (he had interpreted for several US presidents) was in town, and my bosses, I and some of my co-workers took him out to dinner. You may know that pretty much every major town in Japan has an "entertainment district," where you can find countless restaurants, an unlimited number of bars, and a variety of "adult entertainment." In Tokyo, this place is an area called Kabuki-cho. In Sapporo, it's Susukino. Here in Hiroshima, we have Nagarekawa, and so that was where we took our guest.
The dinner went well, and, when it started to get late, we left the restaurant and regrouped outside on the sidewalk. No one was driving that evening, and there was some discussion about how each person would get home. One of my co-workers, an attractive woman in her late 30s, said that she was going to catch a cab. Very soon an empty cab pulled-up and stopped a short distance from where we standing, She walked toward it and the back door opened. (Here in Japan, the taxi drivers can "automatically"open a back door for a passenger from where they are sitting in the driver's seat). My co-worker got into the cab, but an instant after she did, a stranger started to get in, too. I don't know if this man hadn't seen my colleague, or was doing this on purpose, but his action obviously surprised and scared her.
As any of us would probably do, my co-worker began to get out of the door that she had just entered, trying to push past the man. Unfortunately, at this point, the man put his hand on her shoulder and tried to push her back into the car. Seeing this, I reached from behind the man, grabbed his hand, and pulled it off of my colleague's shoulder. As I did so, I immediately noted several things: This guy was pretty stocky for a Japanese; he was dressed like, and had the calluses on his hands of, a laborer; he was a bit drunk; and he had 2 other friends standing right behind him
Anyway, with his hand removed from where he had placed it, the man turned to face me. As he did, without thinking, I instinctively hit him with one of my best weapons: a nice, big, friendly smile! He stared at me for a few seconds, then turned, and, with his friends, walked away.
Did I manage to avoid an ugly physical fight by smiling at this man? I honestly don't know. Is it always wise to allow your potential enemy the option of striking first? I really don't think so. Is there any kind of lesson to be learned from this experience? Personally, I guess that what I've gotten from it are 1) a greater appreciation of the wisdom of my own sense of intuition, instinct, or whatever you call somehow "just knowing" the best course of action; and 2) an increased understanding of the strategic value of friendly, disarming behavior.
Mark Tankosich


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In The Loop is a wickedly funny political satire, the kind of smart and tart, take-no-prisoners mockery that seldom makes it to screens intact (the last one I can think of, at least that was this skillfully done, was Wag The Dog). Director Armondo Iannucci and his crew of four credited screenwriters (loosely expanding their BBC series The Thick of It) have constructed an admirably zippy picture--it's paced within an inch of its life--where the punch lines are beautifully well-aimed but characterizations are never sacrificed for the easy laugh.
The transatlantic tale is centered on the run-up to an invasion and war; the U.S. is chomping at the bit, the Brits are more hesitant, and the word "Iraq" is never uttered once in the film, but it doesn't have to be. Dim-bulb British Minister for International Development Simon Foster (the terrific Tom Hollander), who is something of a Michael Scott with a cushy government job, flubs a radio interview when he hedges on the invasion, weakly saying it is "unforeseeable." That's just sketchy enough to be seized on by the visiting U.S. Assistant Secretary for Diplomacy (Mimi Kennedy), who is attempting to put the brakes on the invasion, with the help of a report by her top aide, Liza (Anna Chlumsky)--a report that another snarky aide has dubbed "career Kryptonite."
Foster tries to backtrack with some meaningless sloganeering (some nonsense about "climbing the mountain of conflict"), which puts him on the radar of Linton Barwick, a hawk who is fond of revising minutes from important hearings and spouting off such wisdom as (in reference to having too many facts), "in the land of truth, my friend, the man with one fact is the king." Barwick is played by David Rasche in a particularly smug mood; he nails this guy beautifully, and this snappy turn (in addition to his unexpected and uproarious work in last year's Burn After Reading) will hopefully garner some more interesting roles for the man we once knew as Sledge Hammer.
In general, this very British film and its attitudes about American power, both political and military, is on the money; one character, noting the youth of our nation's military advisors, says "it's like Bugsy Malone but with real guns." James Gandolfini, as the general who is against the war (mostly), is very good in a very different kind of role than we're used to. He has a terrific scene where he and Kennedy slip off during a cocktail party into a child's bedroom, where he uses a toy laptop to explain the cost of war; his timing in the scene where he claims to be "the Gore Vidal of the Pentagon" (before rebuffing that description) is razor-sharp.
Gandolfini's General Miller is, like most of the characters in the film, bendable. Most can be talked in or out of just about anything, and are far more likely to spin their mistakes than own up to them--as in the uproarious scene where Foster's aide Toby (Chris Addison) is busted by his girlfriend for sleeping with Liza, and proceeds to try and explain his way out of it with the worst excuse for cheating ever. Chlumsky certainly makes his temptation real, however--where has this actress been? Remembered primarily for her starring turns in the My Girl movies, she's flat-out terrific here, effortlessly projecting a flawless mixture of neuroticism and ambition (and some fine comic timing).
The scene-stealer, however, is Peter Capaldi as Malcolm Tucker, the British Director of Communications. I've often said that good swearing is an art form, and if that's so, Capaldi is a Monet; he paints beautifully with his toxic, inventively vulgar dialogue. He's a force to be reckoned with on screen, a furious tornado of expletives and bile, and he gives a perverse kick to the entire picture. He's right in line with the acidic tone of the narrative, which gives us no easily admirable characters or happy endings--and that's exactly how it should be.
That said, the conclusion feels somehow incomplete. Everything happens that should happen, but the film kind of mumbles away when it's over instead of putting a period on the end of it. It's not helped by the decision to toss some throwaway follow-up and deleted scenes in over the end credits; its Tribeca contemporary Black Dynamite makes the same mistake, somehow not realizing that you don't want the last thing on-screen to be your weakest material. These are minor complaints, however; frankly, you're having such a good time with In The Loop, you'll barely notice that it peters out.
The 1080p/MPEG-4 AVC transfer is a touch underwhelming; the film was shot on high-definition digital cameras, but the 1.85:1 image is, for much of the film, bathed in a sheen of less-than-flattering grain. Skin textures are occasionally waxy, and some shots are noticeably soft. On the other hand, details are good and contrast is fine, and the less-than-perfect picture feels part of the picture's handheld, low-fi aesthetic. It certainly isn't a bad image, by any stretch, it's just not one that benefits greatly from the high-def presentation.
Though the disc sports a lossless English 5.1 DTS Master Audio track, most of the action in this dialogue-heavy comedy is, predictably, in the center channel--as it should be. But there's not a missed punch line, even within the considerable overlapping dialogue. The mix does get some occasional use out of the surround channels; the minimal music cues are sharp, street and traffic sounds are well-placed, and a scene at a rock bar is loudly immersive.
An English 2.0 PCM option is also available, as are English SDH and Spanish subs.
Bonus features are unfortunately slight. The "Behind the Scenes Featurette" (3:16) is clearly a filler piece for airing on IFC (their theatrical distribution arm handled the film); it's good, it's just too damn short. The Deleted Scenes (28:09) are the primary extra of note; since they're mostly short additions and extensions, they forgo the usual menu-and-fade-to-black construction, instead presenting them as a kind of fast-paced mini-movie. Based on these scenes, the film clearly could have been 28 minutes longer; the additions are frequently as funny and quotable ("First rule of Neutral Club: Let's hear what the other rules are, then we'll take an overview"; "He knows the exact frequency to shout at a man so that he shits himself") as the scenes that made the cut.
The original Trailer (2:22) and TV Spot (0:32) close out the package.
The dialogue pops--it's sharp, literate, and funny as hell--and the In The Loop's wit is so adroit, by the third act they're getting laughs with the edits. It's filled to the brim with accomplished performances by its stellar ensemble cast (Jesus, I didn't even mention Steve Coogan), and has enough throwaway moments and funny lines for any three comedies, with a few zingers left over. In The Loop is the a must-see.
Jason lives in New York. He holds an MA in Cultural Reporting and Criticism from NYU.


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2 Days / 1 NightsThis package offers a comfortable one queen size bed, a piping hot large two-topping pizza, and a refreshing two-liter soft drink. What better way to feel at home on the road than dining in with a pizza delivery.
Package rate is for 2 days and 1 night, tax inclusive.
Requires 48-hour in advance booking.


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HOUSE sparrows are now the most spotted bird in Lancashire, a study involving thousands of residents found.
Almost 10,000 participants of the Birdwatch survey in Lancashire discovered starlings were no longer the most widely spotted bird in the county – with house sparrows knocking them off the top spot.
The woodpigeon also entered the top 10, climbing three places from number eleven, and the chaffinch fell from fifth place to number seven.
However, blackbirds held on to third position, with an average of two recorded per garden, and blue tits remained in fourth place.
Goldfinches climbed 19 places to take fifth position this year and scientists believe the increase in people providing food in gardens, may have contributed to their steady rise.
Scientists also believe that the weather has played a role in the ups and downs in this year's top ten as many of the birds were recorded in lower numbers in gardens due to the mild conditions.
Richard Bashford, Big Garden Birdwatch organiser, said: "This year was always going to be an interesting Big Garden Birdwatch as the winter has been so mild and we wondered if it would have a significant impact on garden birds.
"They were out and about in the wider countryside finding natural food instead of taking up our hospitality.
"The good news is that this may mean we have more birds in our gardens in the coming breeding season because more survived the mild winter. It is a great time to give nature a home by putting up a nesting box and supplementary feeding."
Nearly 10,000 people in Lancashire took part in the survey in January, which is the largest of its kind in the world.
Giving Nature a Home is the RSPB's latest campaign, aimed at tackling the housing crisis facing the UK's threatened wildlife.
The charity is asking people to provide a place for wildlife in their own gardens and outside spaces – whether it is planting pollen-rich plants to attract bees and butterflies, putting up a nestbox for a house sparrow, or creating a pond that will support a number of different species.
For more information, visit http://www.rspb. org.uk/homes


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Dr. Eike Lena Neuschulz
Research interests
I am interested in species communities and their ecosystem functions and services. In particular, I study ecosystem functions provided by birds across elevational gradients in temperate and tropical mountain regions. My recent work centres on experimental community ecology, so I combine field observations with experiments to analyse the interactions between plants and animals. In one of these studies, we examine seed dispersal pattern by nutcrackers (Nucifraga caryocatactes) along micro-environmental gradients in alpine pine forests. We seek to investigate, how directed seed dispersal by nutcrackers relates to the potential of Swiss stone pine seedlings (Pinus cembra) to establish. We also study how abiotic drivers and other biotic interaction partners, such as seed predating rodents or soil fungal communities, determine the range limits of the Swiss stone pine.
DFG project NE 1863 2-1 "Differential effects of seed dispersal interactions on plant regeneration across environmental gradients" ; PhD Student Dominik Merges
In another project, we study bird communities and fruit-frugivore interaction networks across an elevational and disturbance gradient in the tropical Andes of Southern Ecuador.
My previous field studies focused on plant-animal interactions (pollination and seed dispersal) across gradients of land-use intensity in subtropical South African forests. Furthermore, I investigated how habitat changes influence the movement behaviour of bird communities in this mosaic landscape.
Biodiversity, species interactions, ecosystem functions, ecosystem services, experimental community ecology, birds, seed dispersal, nature conservation, habitat fragmentation, global change
Selected Publications
Merges, D., M. Bálint, I. Schmitt, K. Böhning-Gaese & E. L. Neuschulz (2018) Spatial patterns of mutualistic and pathogenic fungi across the elevational range of a host plant, Journal of Ecology, doi: 10.1111/1365-2745.12942
Quitián, M., V. Santillán, C. I. Espinosa, J. Homeier, K. Böhning-Gaese, M. Schleuning & E. L. Neuschulz (2017) Elevation-dependent effects of forest fragmentation on plant-bird interaction networks in the tropical Andes, Ecography, 40:1-10, doi: 10.1111/ecog.03247
featured in the Ecography Blog
Neuschulz, E. L., D. Merges, K. Bollmann, F. Gugerli & K. Böhning-Gaese (2017) Biotic interactions and seed deposition rather than abiotic factors determine recruitment at elevational range limits of an alpine tree. Journal of Ecology, doi: 10.1111/1365-2745.12818
featured among others in NZZ
Neuschulz, E. L., T. Mueller, M. Schleuning & K. Böhning-Gaese (2016) Pollination and seed dispersal are the most threatened processes of plant regeneration. Scientific Reports 6: 29839, doi:10.1038/srep29839
featured among others in ScienceDaily.
Neuschulz, E. L., T. Mueller, K. Bollmann, F. Gugerli & K. Böhning-Gaese (2015) Seed perishability determines the caching behavior of a food-hoarding bird. Journal of Animal Ecology 84: 71-78.
featured among others in Spektrum, Scientific American & Naturzyt.


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Nashville Idea House Tour
We handpicked an all-star team to design, build, and decorate the ultimate Southern farmhouse on the grounds of Fontanel, former home of country legend Barbara Mandrell.
We put together an all-star team to design the ultimate Nashville house. Located on the land of country music icon Barbara Mandrel's estate, Fontanel, Atlanta and Peachtree City, Georgia-based architecture firm, Historical Concepts worked with uber-Southern decorator, Phoebe Howard who works out of Charlotte, North Carolina; Atlanta; and Jacksonville, Florida to create this Nashville house that can host a crowd. Mimicking an old farmhouse, the main house revolves around one large living room flanked by a hardworking kitchen on one end that boasts a laundry room with enviable laundry room shelving. The exterior boasts a wraparound front porch with extra-deep porch swings and completely a separate rear-dining porch that is connected to the living room and dining room. Outside the main house, Historical Concepts designed several guest houses and bunkies each with their own kitchenette and porch so that company could have their own privacy. Consider this the ultimate Nashville house.


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The other thing that happened while I was on the road this week was not so fun: The Koch brothers filed a lawsuit against the Cato Institute seeking control of the think tank. I was, in fact, visiting Cato the day the news broke. Though Charles Koch was an early funder of the institute, in recent years the Kochs have focused their energies elsewhere while Cato, led by Ed Crane and others, blossomed into a respected, non-partisan think tank.
David Weigel speculates on the likely changes this will mean for Cato if the Kochs' takeover prevails:
And so, with libertarianism at its modern apex, the Kochs are trying to wrestle the movement's leading think tank away from the guy who built it up. (Literally. They just completed a renovation.) How would it change? In the past, Charles Koch and his allies have criticized Cato for lacking real, provable results. Since then, David [Koch] has found tremendous success with Americans for Prosperity, which in the Tea Party era evolved into one of the most powerful conservative organizations in electoral politics. (It has spent seven figures so far this year on TV ads against Barack Obama.) Draw your conclusions.
Crane and board chairman Bob Levy corroborate that interpretation.
I was going to write a post about this but Jonathan Adler has beaten me to it. I agree with every word:
Whatever the merits of the Kochs' claim, I cannot understand how their actions can, in any way, advance the cause of individual liberty to which they've devoted substantial sums and personal efforts over the years. Even assuming their legal claim has merit, a legal victory will permanently injure the Cato Institute's reputation.
Many libertarian-leaning organizations receive money from the Kochs and their foundations and are attacked on this basis. Such attacks can be deflected, as financial support is not the same thing as control. But if the Koch brothers themselves represent the controlling majority of an organization's board, that organization is, by definition, a Koch-run enterprise. Progressive activists and journalists will have a field day with this. They will forevermore characterize the Cato Institute as "Koch-controlled" — and, as a legal matter, they will be correct. No efforts to re-establish the Institute's credibility or independence will overcome this fact.
[…] Even if one assumes that the Kochs have better ideas for how Cato should direct its resources, know more about how to advance individual liberty, and are correct that the Institute is too " subject to the personal preferences of individual officers or directors," any benefit from whatever changes they could make will be outweighed to the permanent damage to Cato's reputation caused by turning it into a de facto Koch subsidiary. In short, they will have destroyed the Cato Institute to save it.
In the past I've defended the Koch brothers from charges that their political activities are motivated by narrow self-interest. Funding scholarships for libertarian college students or sending them to week-long academic seminars are hardly profit-maximizing uses of their money. Though they are famously secretive, the only sensible interpretation of their actions over the past few decades is that they sincerely believe in broadly libertarian ideas and want to see them succeed in the long-run. Their investment in think tanks, journalism, and other non-profits are groping attempts to discover how best to bring that about.
However this takeover attempt seems in no way compatible with the greater good of libertarian ideas. Whatever the legal merits of the Kochs' claim, the best outcome for the cause of individual liberty is that Cato continues to operate as an independent, non-partisan, respected think tank with a diversity of funders. There is currently no other libertarian organization fulfilling that role in such a high-profile way. In acquiring the asset the Kochs would inevitably decrease its value. This view is, from what I can tell, widely shared among libertarians who have posted about the matter. Perhaps there is something we don't know, but given how many people involved in institutional libertarianism have benefited at least indirectly from the Kochs' donations, that dissent should be telling.
I'm left wondering about the internal institutions surrounding the Koch brothers. They are known for their advocacy of Market-Based Management, but do they receive enough criticism within their non-profit work from the bottom-up? Having become accustomed to holding the purse strings, are they open to negative feedback? Do they have advisers who have the security to be able to tell them to back off? If personal animosity is blinding them to the greater good of the causes they've spent decades supporting, is there anyone to tell them that?
I don't know. But the Charles Koch Foundation can be contacted and if you care about the independence of the Cato Institute I'd encourage you to send them a note:
Charles Koch Institute
Email: email@example.com
1515 N. Courthouse Rd.
Suite 200
Arlington, VA 22201
Phone: 703-875-1600
Fax: 703-875-1601
There is also a Save the Cato Institute Facebook group, from which the image above is borrowed.
Disclosures: I interned for the Cato Institute in 2003 and later worked in their press office for about a year. I've also benefited in various ways from various Koch-funded entities, particularly the Institute for Humane Studies. I no longer benefit in any direct way from either and have great respect and affection for both.


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Meyer, Buckeyes turn focus to UCF
- Written by MATT HAMMOND
The ultimate example of a coach who is never satisfied, Urban Meyer did not speak with a lot of warm and fuzzies Monday at his weekly press conference, despite his team's 56-10 season-opening win over Miami.
"We've got to coach better, and we've got to adjust a little better, and the players have to adjust, too," said Meyer as he reflected on Saturday's blowout victory.
Meyer did offer praise to a number of players, but also pointed out numerous deficiencies he saw. He singled out two dropped passes by Zach Boren and Evan Spencer and also spoke about mistakes made by quarterback Braxton Miller, who surpassed 100 yards rushing and 200 yards passing for the second time in his career.
"I can't stand first games because (there are questions like) are we going to the golf course? What shoes do we wear? Can I wear this? What about a visor, what about my parents' tickets?, instead of getting locked in on the game," said the Buckeyes' head coach. "And also with a new bunch of coaches, there are some, I don't want to say issues because there were no issues, but some growing pains as a staff that we have to get fixed.
"At the end of the day I'm pleased with what happened. I'm pleased we got thrown around a little bit and were actually losing in our home stadium in the first quarter. I didn't like it at the time, but I think everybody got kind of hit in the face a little bit and responded well."
The Buckeyes' focus is now on Saturday's game against the Knights of Central Florida at noon in Ohio Stadium.
Like OSU, UCF enjoyed a rout in its opener. The Knights whipped Akron 56-14 on Thursday.
UCF is led by former Georgia Tech coach George O'Leary.
"We have a whole different animal coming in here this week," said Meyer. "I know this team, I know this coach, I know this coaching staff and we have great respect for everything they've done. They've led the defense in their conference the last three years. They have very good players, 300-pound plus defensive tackles, two athletic defensive ends, it's what you'd imagine out of Central Florida."
Senior defensive lineman John Simon echoed his coach's comments.
"They are a very good football team," said Simon of the Knights. "They are great at running the ball, great at passing the ball. They are a very physical team, so we have our hands full and we have to prepare all weeklong so we leave nothing to chance on Saturday."


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422 W. Tehachapi Blvd., Tehachapi, California, United States
Book online or call
Did you know Expedia, Orbitz, Hotels.com and Travelocity are all owned by the same big company?
Fairfield Inn & Suites is located in downtown Tehachapi offering a decor with vibrant colors . We offer some rooms with balconies with panoramic mountain views. We are located half way between San Francisco and Las Vegas for a refreshing night's rest on your travels to/from your destination. Guests enjoy our breakfast buffet indoors in our large Breakfast area or sit out on our patio area to enjoy the Four Seasons that Tehachapi has to offer. We offer a fitness center for invigorating workouts, or a leisure swim in our Indoor pool & spa. We have a Meeting Room that can hold up to 40 people. We are here for all of your leisure/business needs. Our Suites have the latest in stereo equipment for a relaxing evening in your own living area. The courtyard area is exclusive to this Fairfield Inn with plenty of seating around our firepit or a nice walk around the area with lighting to direct you to our Gazebo. We are also a pet and smoke free hotel.
Fairfield Inn & Suites Tehachapi
422 W. Tehachapi Blvd.
Tehachapi, California, United States