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October 9, 2009
Before airplanes and satellite phones, polar exploration was a more dangerous undertaking than it is now. Many who set out for the frozen ends of the earth did not come back. Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen and British explorer Ernest Shackleton were some of the few who brought their entire crews home safely.
Nansen began his expedition to drift to the North Pole in his ship the Fram in 1893, and Shackleton, headed south, in the Endurance in 1914.
Both of their ships froze into the sea ice and drifted at the whim of the ice pack, and both leaders left their crews at some point.
A new article in American Scientist, "Going With the Floe?," revisits both voyages from the perspective of modern ocean currents and sea ice drift conditions. The authors conclude that both explorers got lucky in that their period of drifting in the ice was relatively fast, but the expedition outcomes could have been much different: in other years Nansen might have been able to reach the North Pole, and Shackleton's ship might not have been crushed.
They discuss their piece in a blog hosted by International Polar Year.
"In terms of timing they were lucky," says Stephanie Pfirman , a professor at Barnard College and adjunct scientist at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and lead author of the paper. "But Nansen's skill in putting the expedition together in the first place set the basic conditions for success."
|Shackleton after the loss of Endurance.
"As Nansen wrote in Farthest North, 'In a struggle with Titans, one must save oneself with cunning and ingenuity if one is to escape from this giant fist that rarely lets go what it has seized.' "
"Our respect definitely increased [for them]- they were amazingly undaunted by adversity and incredibly resourceful in challenging circumstances," said Bruno Tremblay , a professor at McGill University and adjunct research scientist at Lamont-Doherty.
(212) 854-9729


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One summer morning in 1998, more than 100 Psion staff discovered they had a new employer with a strange name. One hundred and thirty staff at Psion Software were transferred to a new entity, called Symbian, with new owners: Nokia, Ericsson, Motorola, and Psion. It was an amazing endorsement of the operating system the team had created — not just for Protea, but the years ahead. Symbian now had far greater resources to develop the OS, and license it widely as an industry standard.
Depending on who you to speak to, Psion either intended to spin out its crown jewels from the start — or simply realised it couldn't afford to keep them.
According to Myers, Epoc (now called Symbian OS) was created with the idea of licensing it to a mass market, right from the outset. Gretton says Psion realised it couldn't afford to develop the operating system on its own if it was to realise its potential: the development costs were simply too high. These accounts aren't necessarily contradictory, of course, and in 1996 senior management unanimously agreed to reorganise the Psion group to focus software as a dedicated licensing operation. Gretton describes here how he spent a year selling the proposition to Nokia, and other large mobile handset manufacturers.
The Symbian story is well known — and beyond the scope of this article — but the consequences of the Symbian divestiture were dramatic for Psion's computer business.
Overnight, Psion found itself with no software engineers. In addition, the Psion Group's brains trust was broken up.
"Colly Myers, Charles Davies, Mark Gretton — these people really are visionaries," says Alan Ferdman, who ran Psion's test department. "And when you had them together, the effect wasn't linear — it was exponential".
Myers went to Symbian, while Davies and Gretton (the latter, in a last-minute twist of fate) stayed at Psion.
But Psion's ability to create integrated products, with close liaison between hardware and software experts, disappeared overnight.
"Symbian just sucked Psion dry of software know how overnight," another senior figure recalls.
"David Potter took all the brains and software guys out of hardware, leaving it as just a shipping and production entity — so it had no control over its destiny," is how Gretton remembers it.
(For its part — Symbian was now creating a generic component, and couldn't bring the obsessive attention to detail required to perfect the final pixel-level user experience that Healey, Batchelor and Myers had brought to bear on successive Psion computers. Symbian only resolved its UI strategy years later.)
The overnight loss of almost all Psion Computer's software engineers wasn't to prove damaging financially or logistically right away. But it meant a new round of recruitment and training. Eventually, the split would have a profound long-term effect on what became Psion's most intangible asset: its confidence.
The group's industrial and telecoms businesses were doing well — Psion Dacom's PC card modem became a global best-seller in 1999, while industrial sales were steady — so the results didn't show up in the bottom line right away. But for Gretton, who'd been landed with the job of re-assembling a cohesive technical team, the delay wasn't welcome. On its home turf, Psion was facing its fiercest ever competition from Palm and Microsoft, and needed to increase the frequency of its leisurely product refresh cycle (it was three years before the Series 3a was upgraded with more memory and an iR port).
Two follow-up products to the Protea, a slimmed-down model aimed at consumers and an upgraded Series 5, were already in the pipeline. Both ASICs were designed by ARM, in a new partnership for Psion, but they wouldn't hit the market until two years after the original Series 5. And it would be 2001 before the successors to these products (including a colour Series 5) were near ready. During that period, Palm brought 11 new handhelds to market, including a wireless model.
David Potter had taken a step back from the business, appointing David Levin, a City expert with a close ear to the financial markets, as the group's CEO. Davies immediately assumed the leadership of the computer group.
Behind the scenes, Psion began to think the unthinkable.
Retreading the tyres
Psion responded to the new threats in two ways.
Ken McAlpine, a brilliant product engineer who went on to head Apple's PowerBook division, was put in charge of an "incubator", or "nursery", looking at new consumer ideas. McAlpine brainstormed, and examined many opportunities that could grow into consumer markets.
"We already had the consumer brand," says Davies of this period. "We needed the will to go into areas where we didn't have a phone competitor."
Despite the loss of the software engineers, Psion had much going for it, and the incubator was a recognition of its assets. Psion had an unrivalled talent for low cost consumer electronics hardware; it had close relationships with ARM and the burgeoning wireless silicon startups of Silicon Fen; in Martin Riddiford it had a mechanical design genius and product designer whose could connect with the public — and it was a trusted high streeet name.
Psion was also looking to appreciate its computer assets. The split had left it free to pursue partnerships with rivals.
This led to one of the most unusual "nearlys". Psion began a skunkworks project to allow Linux to run on its hardware. This wasn't difficult, the first 10,000 Series 5s were flash-based, and hackers could install whatever they wanted to on them.
But Potter also saw Microsoft as making inroads into the industrial and enterprise markets (Psion today is Windows CE-based), and before Symbian was even founded, had made an unusual approach to Microsoft founder Bill Gates.
"Our positioning on this was that Microsoft should position as Tier Zero, and we would get the market. We were brilliant at mechanical design; we had great product design and would therefore make the market for Windows CE," explains one former executive familiar with the strategy.
"We'd looked at CE, and figured out that Casio and Philips [CE OEMs] were predominantly impaired by the quality of the I/O drivers — they were clumsily done. So we started hiring CE driver writers."
Potter approached Gates with a proposition. Psion would make Windows-based hardware, if Microsoft would license its operating system to Psion for free.
"Microsoft said it never licenses software for free, so the deal never took place," he says. "I still maintain that if that deal had come off, Symbian would never have happened."
Today, Psion continues to sell an upgraded netBook as a Windows CE-based device to the industrial market. Only a few insiders know it was envisaged as a triple-boot computer with a choice of Linux, Windows CE, or Epoc inside.
Riddiford remembers more advanced projects too — which like the triple-boot netBook, have never before been disclosed.
"You'll have to remember that Psion wasn't religious about Epoc — it didn't have a choice. All the software people had just moved to Symbian," he says.
"We did the first Windows CE embedded GSM device — it was a joint Psion Siemens venture. That didn't work out either."
'One box or two?'
Under Levin, the group was constantly being reshuffled. A succession of managing directors followed Davies in leading the computer group: Harold Goddijn came in and encouraged left-field thinking, but was sidelined in late 1999. Goodijn subsequently moved to the helm of TomTom, and presided over its meteoric rise.
"Harold's gone on to prove what a terrific visionary and businessman he is," says Gareth Hughes.
"By the end we'd find out who our new MD was from the internet," recalls Tupman.
"The argument that raged in the corridors at the time, was 'one box or two?'" recalls Davies.
The argument was that integrated communicators would subsume other functions, making them uneconomic to produce — as people would only want to carry around "one box". The other was that a more focused device, for example a PDA with a better screen and keyboard than a phone could offer, could act as a complement.
Both cases had great merits, says Davies, and the market hasn't settled the issue to this day.
Smartphone sales are way down on the projections made at the turn of the decade, and as most smartphones are bought for their status appeal, the "smart" features go unused. The third-party mass software market that many anticipated, never materialised.
"The forecasts haven't come to fruition," notes Gareth Hughes. "The only application for smartphones that can be anywhere near is email — and the market for BlackBerry's is small."
Meanwhile, the "second box" business has flourished, with diversity being the keyword. Apple's iPod and TomTom's Navigator are hugely successfully standalone devices. The most successful "communicator" is RIM's BlackBerry, and yet that's really a secondary device, too, as most BlackBerry users today also have a primary mobile phone. Even Palm, which hasn't refreshed its PDA product line in two years, and gives it negligible marketing attention, still continues to make a handsome profit on residual sales of its PDAs.
Opinion has turned full circle: Palm founder Jeff Hawkins' latest "big idea" is to re-create the netBook as a "smartphone companion" called Foleo: an explicit rejection of the "One Box" he previously advocated at Handspring.
"With 20/20 hindsight, the difficulties in integrating a smartphone are extreme," says Davies. "RIM have achieved that, but don't forget they came from a deep radio heritage. Apple are an inventive company with a lot of spirit and good staff — but they will struggle with the iPhone."
Healey thinks the argument is needlessly dogmatic, today: "A great two-box solution beats a good one-box solution: and vice-versa. It's far more important to keep churning out groovy products."
House of Invention
McAlpine's incubator examined a wide range of what have subsequently become successful consumer electronics markets — and several more, too, that haven't.
"Psion were being approached by many startups who realised the brand value Psion could bring to a new area," recalls Hughes. "Before one had even appeared on the market, we were approached by a company that had an MP3 player that was Flash-based. It held only half an hour's worth of music, but we saw how that could evolve into a large market."
Tupman recalls devising a hard-disk based player around this time.
"Ken and I spent a number of months just driving around the country trying to pull together a plan to make hard disk drive MP3 player," he says. "Creative had their big CD-sized player with 2.5in drive, and there were lots of little Rio players; we thought we could make a play in that area because we had the technology. It was very much an investigation."
In October 2001, with Tupman now at Apple, the iPod was launched. In 2003, its sales exploded.
A suggestion to use the Series 5 system board, running Epoc, for a set-top box was also considered. Another skunkworks project envisaged was a gateway tablet device that acted as both a cordless digital DECT phone and a GSM handset. Ericsson had created such a product, and British Telecom with its then mobile subsidiary Cellnet (now O2) brought it to market in spring 1999. Priced at £399 with base station, it flopped, but it was a forerunner of fixed-mobile convergence products like BT Fusion. Psion also examined a wide range of possible Bluetooth products: Cambridge had emerged as the leader in radio silicon, and early VoIP products.
But the only project from McAlpine's incubator to reach the high street was a digital radio. The WaveFinder, as it was known, was launched in October 2000. This USB device required a PC, but it broke new ground in several ways.
"'Revolutionary' products are announced daily in the IT business, but Psion's latest, the Wavefinder, could genuinely merit the tag on a couple of fronts," we reported at the time. DAB, wrote John Lettice, had potential as a data delivery platform — a fact not lost on Psion's management.
A follow-up almost a year later told a familiar story: one of neglect and retail apathy.
"The WaveFinder radio was typical Psion," remembers Gretton. "It wasn't a great product, it had lots of flaws — but it was completely revolutionary in its time — and DAB radio eventually became a valid market."
Ironically, the DAB radio market today is smaller than the SatNav and MP3 Player markets which Psion rejected. Its potential as a content platform has yet to be exploited.
"We had so many great ideas, and so many of those industries have taken off," says Tupman. The engineer recalls working on 13 projects in less than three years, from the Symbian split to his leaving Psion in early 2001.
Psion had other priorities, too. However as the largest shareholder in Symbian, it had to fund the operation proportionately, even though it was much smaller than its partners Nokia, Ericsson, Motorola and (by 1999) Japanese giant Matsushita.
"At the time, all the R&D money went to Symbian," remembers Tupman.
Planners for the core PDA business did plenty of radical thinking, too. Two projects were started codenamed "Houston" and "Texas" which integrated Dragon's voice technology into PDAs.
But management turmoil, and constant reorganisations beset the computer group. Gretton scored one success, however. For years he'd been trying to get Psion to withdraw from owning its own manufacturing plant. The "cowshed", as the engineers called it, caused lots of problems, and Gretton regards the foray as one of Psion's most damaging strategic errors. In 1999 the rest of management agreed, and the Greenford plant was sold off.
In autumn 1999, Davies' successor as Psion Computer MD Harold Goddijn was sidelined, to be replaced Margaret Rice-Jones from Motorola.
Ominously, David Levin had made his mind up on the "one box or two" question.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
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text:
Long leg splintage is a useful technique for temporary immobilization of a fracture involving the distal femur. It can be used in the emergency room to immobilize the limb of a patient with an isolated injury.
It can also be used as a temporary aid to fracture stabilization in the multiple injured patient.
Care should always be taken with any splint to protect pressure areas, such as the Achilles tendon, lateral and medial malleoli and the heel, as ulceration in these areas can be extremely difficult to treat.
Fixed splints should not be applied to patients that have other pathological conditions in the lower limb, neurological compromise that causes sensory defects, such as spinal injury, or diabetes with peripheral neuropathy, or in patients who are unconscious.
Types of splint
The splint is both inexpensive, and both easy and quick to apply. It is not possible, however, to obtain good three point immobilization of distal femoral fractures with any splint. The conical shape of the thigh will not allow for close apposition of a splint.
For treatment of distal-femur fractures alone the ankle does not need to be immobilized and therefore a cylinder splint can be used. If there is an ipsilateral ankle, or foot, fracture, the long leg cylinder splint can be converted to one that incorporates the ankle and foot. A cylinder long leg splint is described here, as it is the most commonly used.
It is recognized that perfect realignment of a displaced distal femoral fracture will be impossible with a long leg cylinder splint. However, it helps to bring the fracture out to length and to correct some of the common hyperextension deformity.
Note: If the splint is not able to control the length adequately, this would be an indication for tibial skeletal traction, when a spanning external fixator could not be made available for provisional stabilization.
The surgeon applying the long leg splint must remember that the common deformity of a supracondylar femoral fracture is shortening and hyperextension of the distal fragment. In order to counteract the hyperextension, either a bolster can be placed under the supracondylar region, or preferably the knee can be sufficiently flexed by bringing the leg off the end or side of the table.
In order to maintain the length of the fracture in the long leg splint care must be taken to provide good supracondylar molding.
A preliminary reduction of the distal femoral fracture is performed. An assistant is needed to provide manual traction through the ankle while the splint is being applied.
With the leg under manual traction and the knee flexed 20°, ample splint padding is then placed around the leg. The padding starts at the supramalleolar region and extends up to the top of the thigh. It is important to make this several layers thick above the ankle and at the upper thigh to reduce the risk of pressure problems in these areas.
12.5 cm wide plaster slabs are used medially, laterally, and posteriorly. Medially and laterally, 5 layers of plaster are used. Posteriorly, 10 layers of plaster are used. The plaster is wetted, placed on the leg and then secured with additional cast padding and elastic bandages.
While the plaster is drying supracondylar molding is performed and held until the splint material is hard.
The elastic bandage should not be placed too tightly around the leg. The advantage of the non-circumferential splint is that it allows for swelling and it is therefore ideal during the early days following a fracture.
The splint is intended for provisional stabilization and can be used for up to 2-3 weeks. In general, it is taken off in the operating room before operative management. In the rare case of definitive nonoperative treatment, it can be converted to a long leg cast at 1-2 weeks, after the swelling has subsided.
Thrombo-embolic prophylaxis
Consideration should be given to thrombo-embolic prophylaxis, according to local treatment guidelines.


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Graffiti Friday #40
Graffiti Friday #39
Valentine Sand Art
This is a fun and easy Valentine craft for kids to make. Now if only I could have photographed these jars without all that glare!
Filed under sand, Valentine's Day
Graffiti Friday #38
A Planet For Bowie
My favourite Starman died on January 10th, and being a huge fan, it left me feeling rather sad. He was an extraordinary, innovative talent, driven by a healthy dose of curiosity and foresight, ensuring he was always ahead of the game, with an eye to the future. He left his unique mark on music, art, and fashion, and shared with us his fascination for space and planets, which he made reference to throughout his career.
If your children are young, it's quite likely David Bowie is not on their radar, so consider this a great way to explore the solar system and its wonderful planets… while you play Starman or Space Oddity in the background! For those who loved Bowie's work, why not make him a glow-in-the-dark planet to go along with the lightening-bolt Bowie-asterism, as a tribute to him.
Filed under space
Happy Holidays
I became rather attached to one of our pumpkins this year, and with the addition of a santa hat, decided to keep him until Christmas.
Graffiti Friday #37
Holiday Ornament
I admit to having discreetly ditched a few Christmas ornaments in my day, in order to make room for new arrivals, because who can say no to just one more ornament.
Filed under Christmas, styrofoam crafts
Graffiti Friday #36
Filed under Graffiti Friday


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Duda, Bisons blanked
The Buffalo Bisons saw their four-game win streak snapped tonight as they were dealt a 1-0 loss by the Rochester Red Wings at Coca-Cola Field.
The 17,527 fans that showed up for the Independence Eve Celebration were treated to a pitcher's duel between Bisons starter Ramon Ortiz and Red Wings left hander Glen Perkins.
During his last start, Ortiz was shelled by Charlotte Knights as he gave up nine earned runs in only a three inning start. Ortiz bounced back with one of the strongest pitching performances from a Bisons starter in today's game however. The right hander tossed six and one third innings while only giving up four hits and one run while striking out seven batters.
Ortiz was never threatened by the Red Wings until he got himself into trouble in the seventh inning. After walking Red Wings right fielder Brian Dinkelman catcher Jose Morales to load the bases Ortiz was relieved by Jose De La Torre. De La Torre has been excellent in his past six relief appearances by not allowing a run in the last five and two thirds innings. The reliever came in a tough spot and unfortunately made one mistake by hitting designated hitter Brendan Harris with the base paths full to send home first baseman Brock Peterson. De La Torre would then induce an inning ending 5-4-3 double play to get out of the inning but the Red Wings had struck first and it would prove to be the game winning run.
On the other side of the ball the Red Wings received a great start from Perkins. Perkins, who had a 1-8 record before today's game bested Ortiz as he threw six and two thirds innings and only gave up three hits while allowing no runs.
The Herd's bats were silent tonight as they only collected five hits as a team. The Bisons only had one man get to second base when J.R House reached in the seventh inning.
Buffalo had a chance to steal the game in the ninth when designated hitter Mike Jacobs led off the inning with a single to center field to start the inning.
First baseman Valentino Pascucci followed Jacobs and struck out swinging. Right fielder Fernando Martinez was the Bisons last hope but he could not recreate the magic of June 14th when he hit a walk-off grand slam. F-Mart grounded into a game ending 4-6-3 double play as the Bisons to hand the Herd a 1-0 loss.
As Buffalo saw their four-game winning streak end, they also saw another more historic streak come to an end tonight. Left fielder Lucas Duda failed to homer as he has done so in the past five games by going 0-3. Duda now stands with Andy Marte, Ollie Carnegie, Carlos Garcia and Bill Selby as the only members of the Bisons to hit four baggers in five straight games.
With the loss the Bisons now see their record drop to 43-40 while the Red Wings improve to 30-54.
BISONS NOTES: After going 4-1 on their five game home stand, the Bisons will now travel to Syracuse for a four game road trip against the Chiefs. The Bisons will send Dillon Gee (7-5, 5.00 ERA) to the mound to take on Erik Arnesen 2-4 (4.08 ERA) tomorrow night at 6:30 p.m.


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Unbroken tells the amazing true story of Louie Zamperini, a rascally little boy who grows up in Southern California to Italian immigrant parents. As a child, Louie is constantly in trouble and has a restless energy. His saving grace is being introduced to long distance running by his older brother. Louie ends up running in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin and is focused on the 4 minute mile and another chance at the 1940 Olympics.
Back home, he enrolls in USC and continues running when the War interrupts. Louie joins as a gunner in the Army Air Forces. He is eventually sent to the Pacific theater and after a few successful missions, his plane crashes in the Pacific during a search mission. Three members of the aircraft team make it to two small liferafts and his unbelieveable story continues. Louie's 40+ day survival on a life raft seems impossible. Then he is shot at and captured by the Japanese and unofficially is held in horrible war camps. Here too, his survival is seemingly impossible.
Louise does survive, his spirit is damaged, but also hopeful. Louie's story will stay with you. I kept thinking of him and his story well after I finished the book.
So this is where you try to separate the true story from the book, author and writing. But in this case I think it is a testament to Hillenbrand's writing that you don't make this separation. The writing is vivid, puts you in the situations, is well paced and has just the right tone. Her journalistic style matched with a blend of emotion, pain and love makes for some of the best narrative non-fiction writing.
I know this came out two years ago and might be old news to some more on-the-ball type readers, but I finally got around to reading it just recently. And I am so glad I did. Warning: this book is hard to read in some parts, the survival doesn't come easily. But I would still highly suggest this to many types of readers.


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Mets playing it safe with Wright's rehab
NEW YORK -- David Wright is making progress in his rehab from a right hamstring strain, but the Mets aren't going to rush their star third baseman.
Wright has been on the disabled list since Aug. 3, and he's three weeks into the original three-to-five week timetable he was given for his recovery. He took ground balls for the first time on Friday and did some light running in the outfield before Saturday's game against the Tigers.
"The one thing about the rehab, as a player and a manager, you want it to happen fast. It does not happen fast," manager Terry Collins said. "There's a process involved, and we stand by our medical people, who we truly believe do a good job of managing."
Collins said Wright wouldn't be cleared to do full baseball activities until he can run the bases and run in a straight line with some speed.
Wright is batting .309 with 16 home runs and 54 RBIs this season.
"David said last week this could become a chronic problem if it's not taken care of and done right," Collins said. "Is he getting better? Yes. Is he getting closer? Yes. What's the timetable? No one knows."


text:
Smith Equipment's news and blog section is now available to the public! Want to learn more about Smith Equipment and the products we manufacture? Visit http://www.smith-equipment.com/blog/ and read up on our latest postings. We'll be keeping track of industry related news, customer reactions, new products, our current production and much more! When you're looking for quality sweepers that won't quit, you need Smith Equipment!
This weeks post features this testimonial from one of our Miami distributors.
Smith Equipment Website Blog - Now Online
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R F Dickson Sweeping one of the industry leaders in the sweeping industry with over 65 years of experience. Visit sweeping solutions to have more information. All of the companies should have the main goal of keeping our cities clean and free of pollution. Companies can work together in this regard. We don't just need street sweeping, we also need to sweep air, water, beach, oceans, airport, highway etc.
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text: Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums :: View topic - Your Dream In 2009 Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Students and Teachers from Around the World!" FAQ Search Memberlist Usergroups Register Profile Log in to check your private messages Log in Your Dream In 2009 Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Opinions View previous topic :: View next topic Author Message EvangelineJoined: 01 Mar 2008Posts: 27Location: China Posted: Thu Jan 01, 2009 12:50 am Post subject: Your Dream In 2009 Aha,a new year has come! What's your dream in 2009? Write here and try to make it come true! _________________More about Evangeline,please click here. Back to top hobo78Joined: 19 Apr 2008Posts: 29 Posted: Thu Jan 01, 2009 1:13 pm Post subject: Make enough money in Internet _________________Do you need a professional designed website or graphics for your business, for your girlfriend or for the dog you love? Worry no more! One look is worth a thousand words http://fastlanewebdesign.com/ Back to top EvangelineJoined: 01 Mar 2008Posts: 27Location: China Posted: Thu Jan 01, 2009 9:46 pm Post subject: As for me,I want to get a high mark in the 2009 college entrance exam and be admitted into a first-class university! Back to top NijinskyJoined: 09 Nov 2008Posts: 4Location: Tokyo Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2009 1:49 am Post subject: I want to get informal assurance from a consulting farm. I am a sophomore in a university now and job-hunting activities start in the summer of this year. Selection is very difficult and there is about 20-time magnification. So I am working out some measures desperately and studying the English as the part of that. ------------------- Back to top Display posts from previous: All Posts1 Day7 Days2 Weeks1 Month3 Months6 Months1 Year Oldest FirstNewest First Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Opinions All times are GMT - 8 Hours Page 1 of 1 Jump to: Select a forum Student Forums----------------ComputersCurrent NewsCultureEnglish SchoolsFamilyFilm and CinemaFoodHealth and FitnessHelp CenterHobbiesHolidaysLearning EnglishLiteratureMaking FriendsMusicOpinionsPetsScienceSportsThe Strange and MysteriousTOEFL and Other English ExamsTravel You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot vote in polls in this forum Dave's ESL Cafe is maintained by the one and only Dave Sperling. Banner Advertising | Bookstore / Alta Books | FAQs | Articles | Interview with Dave Copyright © 2018 Dave's ESL Cafe | All Rights Reserved | Contact Dave's ESL Cafe | Site Map Teachers College, Columbia University: Train to Teach English Here or Abroad Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group


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- Download Boxer Text Editor NOW!
- View A Screen Shot
The Boxer Text Editor, by Boxer Software won the Shareware Industry Award in the Best Applicationcategory. This a text editor that I first started using when it first came out in 1991. That was way back in the days of DOS, and it was truly an impressive text editor. The Boxer Text Editor of today continues this fine tradition and it's an excellent product. In fact, I'm writing these Picks using it. The program is easy-to-use and has an intuitive interface. To me that makes it perfect for users with all levels of experience. It's full-featured, powerful, and has a lot of power under the hood.
The Boxer Text Editor has excellent support for anyone who needs to write HTML coding. With color syntax highlighting you always know what's going on when you're writing things in HTML, VBScript, Perl, and more.It has all the "standard" features you'd expect in any good text editor, but it goes the extra mile and gives you lots of nice extras. It has built-in spell-checking and event that isn't run-of-the-mill. It has a feature that makes it skip HTML code so I can spell check this article without having the spell checker stop at each HTML code. Slick!
One of the things that makes the Boxer Text Editor really special is that it includes features that other text editors seem to have left out. For example, in most text editors, if you have a URL, like http://www.boxersoftware.com, you can't actually click on it. In Boxer you can and launch the URL in a browser. Or, if you want, you can open the document you're working on in a browser, which is another great feature. I sometimes have problems with my HTML tags and later find that one or more are missing. Well, Boxer Text Editor has a function called "Find Mate" that will find the "mate" to the code next to the cursor, or find that it's missing. Cool.
The Boxer Text Editor has all the features anyone could need and a lot of features that most people don't expect. A macro language, easy macro recording, and HTML color chart, the ability to edit files up to 2gigabytes in size, column blocks, a calculator, a calendar, ANSIchart, the ability to edit files via FTP, and many, many, more. Heck, it even has support for dual monitors. It's easy to see why those who participate in the Shareware Industry Awards voted for it!
- WinZip
- Version: 9.0 SR1
- System Requirements: Windows 98/ME/NT/2000/XP
- Get more info
- Download WinZip NOW!
- View A Screen Shot
WinZip, by WinZip Computing,Inc. is the best-known program for working with ZIP and other compressed files. This year it won the Shareware Industry Awards in the Best Overall Utility category. The interface is very intuitive and the program is easy-to-use. It's perfect for all levels of users - from beginners to advanced. WinZip was the first program to support ZIP files under Microsoft Windows and it's continually gotten better and better.Over the years it's won multiple Shareware Industry Awards and SIAF People's Choice Awards, along with many other honors. If you need to work with ZIP files, this is the program you want to try.
WinZip has easy-to-use "wizards" that can guide you through the process of handling ZIP files or you can bypass the wizards if you like.One very cool feature is the "Favorite Folders" that can monitor a variety of folders and find ZIP files created by you or others. WinZip supports drag-and-drop, integrates with the right-click menu, and integrates very well with the most popular antivirus programs. The program now has support for 128-bit and 256-bit AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) which means your files are really secure. It also has support for the new 64-bit architecture which also allows it to break the old 4 gigabyte barrier. Slick!
WinZip is a powerhouse for working with ZIP files and yet it's always been easy-to-use. It also keeps pace technology so WinZip is never "out-of-date". This newest version, for example, will even let you encrypt files that are already in a ZIP file. Pretty cool. You can use it to create and unpack ZIP files, create self-extracting EXE files, and more. Every computer should have a program that works with ZIP files on it. That being the case, you might as well take a look at WinZip -- the "Grand Daddy" of the Windows ZIP file programs. It's simply the best!
- Irfan View
- Version: 3.98
- System Requirements: Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/2003/XP
- Get more info
- Download Irfan View NOW!
- View A Screen Shot
IrfanView, by Irfan Skiljan has been one of my personal favorites for a number of years now.This year it won the Shareware Industry Award in the Best Graphics Program or Utility category against heavy competition. It was up against Adobe PhotoShop and Corel Paint Shop Pro. It has so many features and functions that I can't begin to tell you about all of them.I will say that if you do anything with graphics images you need to check it out for yourself.
IrfanView can handle an impressive number of graphics file to put on a slideshow of your graphics images or view animated GIF files. You can easily preview files, resize them, sharpen the image,rotate them, and more. Whenever I do screen captures I resize them and sharpen them with IrfanView. The program has numerous options that are configurable and I really like that. It's also very easy-to-use and has an intuitive user interface so it's perfect for users with all levels of experience.
b>IrfanView is simply loaded with features. You can do all kinds of special effects including things like emboss, blur, explosion, and many more. You can do "batch" conversions of graphics files, extract icons from DLL files, and it also supports for drag and drop. On my systems I have it in my "Send To" menu so I can highlight a graphics file and"send" it right to IrfanView. And did I have to work to have this feature? No! It's one of the options. There are so many features and options that you really have to try this program to appreciate it. If you need to do anything with graphics this is the program you need to look at. A winner of both the Shareware Industry Award and the SIAF People's Choice Awards it's easy to see why software developers picked it again! Well done!
- Blaze Media Pro
- Version: 6.1
- System Requirements: Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP
- Get more info
- Download Blaze Media Pro NOW!
Blaze Media Pro, by MystikMedia, Inc.is a really impressive product for doing anything with multi-media. At this years Shareware Industry Awards banquet it won the award in the Best Sound Program or Utilitycategory. With all of the growing interest in things like music, photos,and video, this is a program you need to look at because it has it all. You can dump a lot of extra software and simply use this. There are so many features and functions that I'd be hard pressed to talk about all of them, so I'll try to hit what I consider the high points. First off, the program supports a huge number of file formats including AVI, MPEG, WAV, MP3, MP2, CD, WMA, and lots more. Another excellent feature is that Blaze Media Pro can quickly convert files from one format to another format. And I'm talking both audio file conversions and video file conversions. The program reads the information from each file and you determine how much of that information is used. Very slick.
Blaze Media Pro will let you record from virtually any source including cassette players, mic, 8 tracks, and more. Basically any kind of input device will do. The program can also rip CDs and has support for the CDDB online database. And, another slick feature is the ability to create playlists that contain both audio and video! There's also support for drag and drop, the ability to edit audio files, add special effects, and more. The special effects are very cool and include such things as fade in, fade out, compress, amplify, reverb,and vibrato. There are also a number of filters that can be used including such things as notch filter, high pass, low pass, and more.I've watched this program change and mature over the years and it's become a real powerhouse when it comes to multi-media. Again, the list of things it can do would take pages to tell you about adequately. It can even take the audio out of a video file and save it as a sound file. How cool is that? VERY!
Really into video? Well BlazeMedia Pro can help you to edit, and enhance, your video clips. You can resize, trim, crop, adjust the audio, and even delete out frames you don't want. The program also has a "Batch Video Processor" that lets you perform operations on a group of video files. Very nice. Even a person like me who is "graphically challenged" can use Blaze MediaPro and end up with some impressive results. Become your own film editor and really enhance your movies.
Blaze Media Pro, by Mystik Media, is a really powerful tool that works with an impressive list of audio, graphics, and video files. You can edit and enhance audio, video, and use practically anything as an input device. Convert both audio and video into different file formats,do batch operations, edit graphics, add special effects, rip CDs, and more. It has support for drag and drop, the CDDB database, visual audio editing, and you can even search for song lyrics. The power under the hood is impressive. So, if you like playing with audio and video and would like to get professional results, this is the program you need to try. To say it's "full-featured" would be an understatement.Check it out - you'll be glad you did!
- Mozilla Firefox
- Version: 126.96.36.199
- System Requirements: Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP
- Get more info
- Download Mozilla Firefox NOW!
- View A Screen Shot
Mozilla Firefox, by Mozilla Corporation won the Shareware Industry Award in the When it comes to Web browsers, there are a number you can choose from. If you use Windows you have a browser that comes with it, or you can elect to use an alternative. I think I've tried just about everything out there, and I really like Mozilla Firefox. For the budget conscious, the program is FREE, but for the performance conscious the program is just about perfect. Why? Because it gives youexactly what you need. And, it's fast!
Mozilla Firefox is loaded with all the features anyone needs for browsing the Web. It imports your bookmarks from Internet Explorer and makes it easy for you use them. One feature I thought was really cool is the ability to create your own toolbars. Yep, that's right -- just drag and drop. It also support things like AI Roboform by SiberSystems which is great for filling out forms on-line. And it has a full range of configurable options -- like saving passwords, keeping your history, and even viewing "source" that's color coded! How cool is that? Very!
Mozilla Firefox blocks pop-ups, and is very secure. It even shows you when you're on a secure site by turning the address bar yellow. (At least it's yellow on my system). What I really like is that it's fast.It does everything you'd need it too, plus it has some nice extras. It's a lean, mean, browsing machine. It's got built-inGoogle search, and it's an RSS news reader. No extra software needed. I like it so much, I've made it my default Web browser. So, if you'd like to surf safer and faster, you owe it to yourself to tryMozilla Firefox! I recommend it highly!
Michael E. Callahan, known around the world by the trademarked name Dr. File Finder, is regarded as the world's leading expert on shareware. Dr. File Finder works with software programs and developers full-time, and in the average year he evaluates 10,000 programs. Since 1982 he has evaluated over 250,000 software and hardware products. Mr. Callahan began evaluating software online in 1982 and no one has been at it longer. He currently works doing online PR and marketing for software companies, and is the Senior Content Producer for Butterscotch.Com.


text:
This actually is interesting concept. This resonates with Soft Bank funded Singularity.
a diverse digital database that acts as a valuable guide in gaining insight and information about a product directly from the manufacturer, and serves as a rich reference point in developing a project or scheme.
aiming to reduce aircraft emissions by up to 50%, the airbus ZEROe concepts could take to the skies by 2035.
connections: +150
the project by fabrizio caselani and designer david obendorfer brings the shapes of the iconic citroën van into the 21st century.
connections: +1380
'this was by far the hardest project I have ever undertaken,' comments sylwester mateusiak, founder of eastern spirit garage.
connections: +580
IKEA brought imma to the real world for the first time, by creating an apartment for her inside their new harajuku store in tokyo.
connections: +180


text:
Strikeforce heavyweight and former NFL great Herschel Walker (1-0 MMA, 1-0 SF) suffered a deep cut in training and has been forced to withdraw from next month's "Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu" event.
Strikeforce officials today confirmed the change with MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).
Featuring a light heavyweight matchup between Dan Henderson and Renato "Babalu" Sobral, "Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu" takes place Dec. 4 and airs on Showtime.
"I feel terrible about this," Walker stated in today's official release. "I know things like this happen in all sports, but I had trained very hard and was excited to be returning to the cage again."
Walker had been expected to face one-time WEC veteran Scott Carson (4-1 MMA, 0-0 SF).
According to Strikeforce officials, a Daniel Cormier knee strike opened a "deep cut under [Walker's] left eye that required multiple stitches."
Strikeforce has yet to announce if Carson will remain on the card, though promotion officials teased the announcement of a "possible replacement fight" in the coming days.
Despite the setback, Walker said he hopes to return to action quickly.
"I hope to fight again as soon as the cut heals," Walker said.
Walker, of course, made a successful pro-MMA and Strikeforce debut back
in January, when the 48-year-old ex-running back scored a third-round
TKO victory over Greg Nagy. The fight produced big Strikeforce, which
received international attention because of Walker's Showtime-televised
fight. The event also drew a season-high 517,000 viewers.
For more on "Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu," stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com.


text:
As one school year ends and another one starts, I always wait with bated breath to learn my fate for the year to come.
HQ sends out preference questionnaires on where we'd like to be for the following year. I suspect they take this with a grain of salt, the same way I use the red man light for determining when to cross the street.
I was happy to get Iidabashi which thankfully is close to home, but in gaining that school I lost Ginza which was a similar distance on the same day.
Wednesdays are similar to before with some kids classes at Yokohama. It has a good vibe, and I don't mind being located here.
Sadly I've missed out on Tama Plaza, getting "rewarded" with an earlier shift on Saturdays, and further travel to Aobadai on the same line. Today was my last day there and out of all the schools I actually felt really sad to be leaving it behind. I saw some of my kids here, and the parents seemed genuinely sad that I was leaving this school.
I thought it couldn't get worse until I got notified today of a triple slap to the face.
On Mondays I'll be doing kindergarden classes, starting EARLY in the morning (a nicely packed in rush hour), at over an hour's travel to get there in Tama Center. I guess that's my "fix" from Tachikawa.
Let it be a good year, please.
Saturday, 28 March 2009
One Step Closer
As one school year ends and another one starts, I always wait with bated breath to learn my fate for the year to come.
Friday, 27 March 2009
The Vibrator
Today was the gf's birthday.
For a while I was thinking what would make the best present.. some jewelry, clothes, a kitchen appliance (joking), or let her choose something?
Then it hit me.. a vibrator!
No, not what you'd think. I got a massager. If I must let it be known, I am the worst at giving massages, and a bit non-plussed to get them done to me. She often complains about her back, so I thought it'd be appropriate.
To be sure I plugged in all the ones on display, and to my surprise one of simplest (a Panasonic) had just a hard and soft setting, but felt nicer and not too big. Unlike the others, this one has wheels to roll along your back.
From how much she's used it so far, I think I did pretty good choosing this present.
It has a funky black and green colour too. Cool huh?
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 11:23 pm 0 comments
Wednesday, 25 March 2009
Goodbye Mr Young
It's coming to the closing of yet another school year.
With that, it's also the time where I have to say goodbye to yet another teacher moving on. To say goodbye and to have a drink or ten, we went to an izakaya.
The only thing I hate about these things is how they split the bill evenly.
I think tonight something was suss when I was solely asked to pitch another 1,000 yen after they originally got 3,000 yen from me. Sure I drank plenty of beer to keep up with everyone's share, but I didn't have any of the squid and scallops that they ordered so it seemed a little unfair to pay more and eat less.
I was fairly drunk so I didn't dispute it. Don't want to mess up the group harmony.
We finished up later than my connecting train so I crashed at a teacher's apartment in Shibuya. Before that though, we had two beers at Tasu Ichi until it closed around 2am (or was it 3am?). We hit the supermarket for some pizza flavoured chips and another drink to have while we watched some Seinfeld.
He has a great view into Shinjuku from being at the top level of the apartment building. Great location.
I went to sleep really quickly on the sofa.
Sure was comfy.
The Baby Goes Wah
Today I received my ZW-45 Zakk Wylde Crybaby Wah.
It came a day earlier than I expected at about 11:30am.
The seller didn't even put it in a box.
He simply wrapped it in bubble wrap and tape. It did the job. It's in one piece and most importantly, it works.
I bought a real cheap 9V battery when I was in Shinjuku last so I wouldn't have to wait to try it out.
It's in really good condition, not 100% new, but it looks the business in heavy duty chrome.
So how does it sound?
It sounds like a wah with a long range from bass to treble. The sweep of the pedal is quite abrupt for such a wide spectrum. It particularly suits a cranked up amp, but even clean sounded good to me. The on/off switch takes a bit of a push to bypass. I think I'm getting the hang of that though.
I checked these two Youtube video here and here to convince me this was the wah pedal for me.
Yahoo Auctions came through once again. I got this one for 6,000 yen. An absolute bargain! The postage only set me back 720 yen and of course the bank took a 262 yen "cut" for doing the transfer.
All in all, I'm really happy with it!
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 11:58 pm 0 comments
Sunday, 22 March 2009
Acrylic Dreams
I had to see this one..
It's a Jem20th.
A limited edition 20th anniversary acrylic JEM. I have to say it looks better in person than any picture could do justice to.
I have to thank the shop staff for even letting me touch it.
One thing I wasn't prepared for was the weight. This thing weighs an ton! If I had the money they're asking, I'd LOVE to buy it. There isn't any other guitar that looks like this.
What does it sound like? I have no idea. Who cares?
Still if I had a choice I'd pick the Chromeboy if only the finish wasn't so sensitive to instant depreciation. These guitars are collector's pieces, so what's the point?
MY G.A.S. has no sign of abating. I feel incredible urges to buy more music gear!
Last night I won another auction. This time it's a Zakk Wylde ZW-45 Crybaby wah pedal.
I was telling myself no, you don't need it. But my impulsive click finger said "screw that, yes you do". Surprisingly I was the sole bidder, so I got it for 6,000 yen.
A sweet price.
What does it sound like? Click here. Sounds like a rockin' pedal to me. All I have to do now is play the waiting game, until I get that box in my hot little hands.
You'd think I'd stop now wouldn't you? Oh no.
While I was at this guitar store I tried out the latest Boss GT-10 multi effects unit.
It's loaded with a heap of nice effects, but the distortions sound absolutely horrible. It was like the exact opposite of my valve amp, brittle and fizzy. I'm sure with a bit of tweaking, it has the potential to sound better, but how hard is it to make it sound good "out of the box" to entice people to buy it?
In another store I tried out a Line 6 M13 stompbox modeler and a 535Q Crybaby wah.
This was a different story. The effects were more raw and warm (I was playing this through a JC-120!) What got me curious about this box was the DL4 and FM4 boxes. I saw some vids on youtube and they sounded nice. This box has both of them and more!
I got so carried away with this box that I forgot about the wah pedal, and only gave it a very brief demo. I'm hoping that my wah sounds as good as this. From what little I tried of this one, my ears said "yum".
And that has to go the same for this little pedalboard too.
So little time and not enough money.
Wednesday, 18 March 2009
Goodbye Yokohama Kids
Today at Yokohama I had to say goodbye to the kids I've been teaching all year.
While at times the kids wear me out like you wouldn't believe, I'm going to miss every one of them. It's amazing how you can see their little personalities come through. This is the way these children will be their whole life. (Although I'm sure the Japanese system will put them in their place as they get older).
It's like I'm the ringmaster of a crazy circus in these classes, and can sometimes feel a little thankless.
Being the last class, I was overwhelmed with gifts from the kids mothers.
I got a whole lot of cakes, biscuits, flowers and cards. There was so much, I didn't have much room for them in my bag.
A little bit of a sad goodbye.
Thank You!
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 11:55 pm 0 comments
Tuesday, 17 March 2009
Blues Coffee
A few disappointments this week :
- I was asked for help to teach a former housemate how to play a song for his girlfriend. I thought it was kinda sweet on his behalf. Only thing is.. he dissed me pretty badly on his blog some time ago.
I was willing to do it if he removed my full name from the post. He said he thought of me as a different person now, but he STILL has refused to take it off! Not cool..
- The next biggest downer was that I found some really amazing discounted fares to Australia for about 37,800 yen RETURN.
What's so bad about that? HQ won't grant me leave for the time I want.
It's really disappointing because since I have been in Japan (since 2007), I haven't requested any days off, using four ALP days only when I was sick. Makes one feel like just a number 'round here.
While I have a little reprieve that they have let me taken this Saturday off, giving me a four day weekend, I really wanted to take that time off before Golden Week. It would have helped me even to bring some of my music gear back home.
- That lazy Japanese lard-ass who sold me the Frogskins on Yahoo Auctions still hasn't reciprocated the feedback I promptly gave him to his profile. The sunglasses though are fantastic. No more squinting for me!
- I brought in my Swiss watch for repair once more last Saturday. I can't wait to find out how much they're going to rip me off for that.
The Blues coffee in the vending machine seemed strangely appropriate as I walked home from the station tonight.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 12:59 pm 0 comments
Saturday, 14 March 2009
White Day Number 2
The clock struck midnight. I said "Happy White Day", and remarked that I hadn't bought any chocolates.
She thought she had me worked out when she found my "hidden" Wonka chocolate in the fridge.
That WAS going to be my White Day gift, but even that felt a little lame to me, so while in Yokohama I saw a jumbo box of Crunky with a love heart on the front. At first I thought even this was cheesy, but she would "get it".
Just in case, I got some Napoleon Brandy bon-bons as backup.
I couldn't wait till tomorrow, so I told her to look up and see them on top of the cabinet. Surprisingly, she wasn't really into Brandy chocolates, thinking the alcohol would be too strong?? Crunky to the rescue!
I made a coffee to compliment the chocolates with the water-flavoured low fat milk I bought earlier in the week. Last time I buy that crap.
Not only is the Crunky in a big box, but the pieces are jumbo sized too.
They reminded me of Toblerone.
So that's another White Day taken care of. I think I did ok. Mission Accomplished!
While on the subject of chocolate, I may as well mention the Pocky Men's chocolate I bought for 100 yen at a drugstore in Nakano on Monday.
Yes, that's right, MEN'S chocolate.
What makes it particularly manly?
Supposedly it's the use of slightly bitter dark chocolate that women must find unpalatable. It doesn't taste all that different to me, although it DOES make me think of the Pocky girl, and that catchy Oshare Banchou song.
Finally, "sign on the week" has to go to this one in Yotsuya station. If anyone can tell me what "Primitive Air" means, please let me know!
I think this has been put up to promote White Day for the stores in the Atre building above the station.
This is what all girls in Japan look like. "Dere's gold in dem hills".
Charity is worth it when it looks that good.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 1:27 am 0 comments
Thursday, 12 March 2009
Four Eyes
I called off the search a while ago looking for original Oakley Frogskins once I finally got one of the limited edition reissues.
Looking through countless recycle shops, they only had more recent models.
I've become addicted to Yahoo Auctions the same way I was with eBay back home. There's just SO much cool stuff to be had, looking from the comfort of my futon!
I happened upon a pair of original, first generation Frogskins for a quite reasonable 5,000 yen on Sunday night. In the last ten minutes I bid on it and, unlike other auctions no smarmy Japanese tried to overbid it, so it was mine all mine.
The next day I went to the ATM to transfer the money. I REALLY hate how the UFJ bank charge, (in this case 262 yen) just to do a bank to bank transfer.
Those THIEVING birds!
The auctioneer didn't have the greatest feedbank, nor the best communication skills either. With his lax attitude, I didn't get my package until today. He sent it COD in a box about five times bigger than the sunglasses, costing me 640 yen to just go across the city.
Unwrapping the bubble wrap I have to say I'm quite happy with the condition of them. For over twenty year old glasses they were in great condition. Not perfect, but almost as good as my new ones!
I stepped outside in the brighter light to compare the two lenses.
I was surprised to find out the old ones aren't as dark as I remembered. The old lens is Bronze Iridium which they don't make anymore. It has a nice warm brown tint, which may have given me the impression of being more dark.
On my new glasses I have a Fire Iridium lens, which has a greenish tint that my eyes don't like as much, but still cuts out plenty of bright light. My preference is still the older pair. The Fire Iridium shows scratches and smudges really easily and has plastic hinges (Like the 2nd generation did), while the other ones have metal rivets instead.
I had to go into Shinjuku today so I tested these new, old glasses and they have the big thumbs up from me.
I had to sort out a form about my Resident Tax that I was confused if I had to fill in or not. HQ wasn't 100% sure, and the ward office person wasn't that clear. Either way I just filled in the parts I thought I had to, to be sure.
Resident Tax is one of those little surprises you get once you stay in Japan over a year. I'm sure you'll be as happy as I was once they send those little payslips.
I bought some purty and colourful Dean Markley guitar picks from Rock Inn today for a measley 53 yen each (Tachikawa's 52 yen, meh..) That's about half the price of the average pick, if anyone cares.
For strings I recommend Ikebe. Just a tad cheaper in these parts.
We got pretty hungry so we had some Okonomiyaki, near the Rock Inn. Yummo!
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 9:39 pm 0 comments
Friday, 6 March 2009
Mesa Boogie F-50 Review
I waited half asleep for the courier to knock on my door.
After uselessly getting up twice thinking someone was there, he finally came 'round about 10:45am.
I couldn't wait to take it out of the box and plug her in.
Seeing it for the first time I was really impressed what amazingly good condition this is in. It's bigger than it looks in pictures, and quite a weighty 25kg! I had to hunt around the amp to find the footswitch and power cable.
The power cable has 3 prongs with an additional ground pin. First problem was that all the power points in the apartment are only two pins. I pushed it into one that gave the slightest bend on that third pin (Later on that night I got an adapter from Yodobashi for 380 yen. Solved!)
The amp has two channels, CH1 a clean, and CH2 dirty, as well as an additional fixed EQ "contour" switch on CH2 that gives it a VERY sweet push into a smooth, but chunky overdrive.
The controls are very different to any other amp I've tweaked.
At first I thought there was something faulty with the clean channel. With all the EQ controls zeroed, there is hardly any sound at all. Turning them up, the EQ is incredibly sensitive to subtle adjustments with sweet, chiming clean tones and tasteful reverb. Much different to say, the JCM 800 Marshall I had, where the EQ seemed to do not that much at all.
I think once you've tried valve/tube sound, it's hard to go back. In the mix I've been quite impressed with the sound quality, and flexibility of amp sims (although there's a bit of computer fizziness). With this amp, it's like having a sound that feeds off the subtle nuances of fingers on strings and wood. It's hard to describe how "alive" it feels with a harmonically rich sound. It makes me feel like I'm a better guitarist too, which is not a bad thing. As well, pinch harmonics are easy with this amp!
Although it's been superseded by the newer Express series, from my try-out last week, this amp sounds better to my ears. Still, this demo of the newer 5:50 amp gives you an idea of the kind of tones you can pull from this amp as well.
I found some very nice chunky demos here, here and here. Now that's what I call ROCK!
If it sounds like I'm gushing, I am. I think I found a worthy replacement of my very much missed JCM 800. Even my broken, twisted umbrella today couldn't bring me down.
Another signal of changes I've made is that my "booty call" phone is now going mainstream.
I've ditched the old number so I don't have to haul around two phones anymore. Oh yeah, baby!
You can call me now on 1800-F50-ROCKS.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 11:53 pm 2 comments
Tuesday, 3 March 2009
My Second Win(d)
It all started when I saw a local eBay auction for a guy selling a newish Mesa Boogie Express amp in Brisbane.
I can't remember why I was drawn to that particular amp, but most guitarists in Australia know that Mesa Boogie put a big premium on the price of their amps down under.
The amp didn't sell during the auction, so I decided to make an offer by email to see if he'd accept it. Short of $100 he turned it down. I thought $2100 for a 50w combo amp was more than a reasonable price to pay.
Anyway, I did manage to try the lower wattage version in Shibuya on Saturday and I have to say I was pretty impressed. It made an overdriven strat sound very nice. One thing I noticed about my rig back home, was that my strat sounds better clean than overdriven. It just takes a bit more work to drive those single coils.
It was funny watching a Japanese metal guy test driving a Marshall double stack standing right up close in front of the amp. You had to be there. Anyway..
After trying out some amp sim software on my Mac, I have to say valve sound just FEELS better and smoother. I really miss my old JCM 800! What got me to sell it was how I hated carting around that stuff in a little hatchback. A combo is more my style these days (or a rack).
Next option, Yahoo Auctions Japan!
For bigger purchases over 5,000 yen, you have to be registered for Yahoo Premium which is 346 yen a month service. If you have a foreign credit card you just can't do it. Another Japanese wall to bang my head against. That's where a J gf comes in handy.
My only win previously was an old Zaxxon LCD game. It was easy, just a "buy it now" option. When a bidding war happens here, Japanese are tough nuts to bid against.
I bidded against only another person for a Mesa Boogie F-50, but it made the initial 50,000 yen go up to 56,000 yen. After a lot of cursing he finally let me have it, the SOB! Including courier shipping, I have to pay 57,690 yen.
The F-50 is the previous model to the one I tried for from Australia. The price in Australian dollars is currently only $920, so I think I made a good deal. The amp's in Shizuoka prefecture, ironically only streets away from the gf's hometown high school.
It's had some great reviews, so here's hoping it sounds as good as they say. Bringing it back to Australia will be interesting. Looks like I'll have to ship some of my junk over by post. I'll have to get a step down transformer for the different voltage too.
Stay tuned for pics and more info in a few days. Come to Daddy..


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Rushed Reaction: #2 Kansas 64, #2 Ohio State 62Posted by rtmsf on March 31st, 2012
Three Key Takeaways.
- Ohio State Found Fool's Gold With First Half Threes. In the first half it looked like Ohio State might run away with the game, hitting five threes in the first 13 minutes of action but only hitting one more for the entire rest of the game. Like many teams, but especially one that shoots only 33% from deep, if a few long-range bombs drop early it can throw a team off its game plan by losing sight of its greater strength in attacking the basket. The Buckeyes attempted 12 more threes in the second half (making three) but way too many possessions ended with wayward jumpers, giving KU just enough space to make and complete the comeback.
- Kansas Gutted This Out Playing Kansas Basketball. If you've watched Kansas at all this year, you know that Bill Self's team thrives through grinding it out and making plays down the stretch to win games. They'll drive you crazy with some of the things they do — such as Tyshawn Taylor's steal leading to a horrid pass behind the cutter that gave OSU new life in the final minute — but if they can get any team into a close game they have a really good chance to win. You can't help but think about the last time Calipari and Self's teams met in the national championship game — unlike Louisville, Kansas has enough offensive weapons to compete with Kentucky in that kind of a game. It'll make for a very interesting Monday night.
- Jared Sullinger Needs to Reinvent His Game. His game was picked apart by the Twitterati and will no doubt provide many ledes around the country's newspapers tomorrow, but the reason Ohio State is no longer playing largely falls on Jared Sullinger's poor offensive game. The two-time All-American shot 5-19 from the field, ending up with a very tough 13 points but wasting numerous other Buckeye possessions by choosing to shoot jumpers or taking the ball up against Jeff Withey when he clearly did not have the hops to get the ball up over him. For Sullinger to maximize his abilities, he needs to realize that he's not a dominant big man — he'd do well to watch how former Arkansas star Corliss Williamson reinvented his game so as to become a serviceable NBA player.
Star of the Game. Jeff Withey, Kansas. Withey's defense on Jared Sullinger in the second half of this game set the tone that Kansas was going to fight and claw its way all the way back. There was one sequence in particular where Sullinger could not get the ball up and over Withey, and although, he only ended up with seven blocks, it certainly seemed as if he had more. He only had four points (on four shots), but he also grabbed eight rebounds and provided the defensive spark in holding OSU to a 5-of-21 shooting in the second half from two-point range. There were no good looks.
Quotable. "My teammates see me… as a rim protector. When I blocked Jared, I was just staying straight up." — Kansas center Jeff Withey, describing his seven blocks and in particular, his interior dominance over Jared Sullinger.
Sights & Sounds. The NCAA Tournament can be brutal in its finality, and this is especially true when a team loses on the biggest stage in a heartbreaker of a game. Our seat was in front of the Ohio State fan section, and there was a group of girls, aged between 8 and 12 perhaps, who screamed their heads off the entire game. They were chanting, yelling, buzzing, chirping. We love to see the spirit in young folks supporting the game, but when Ohio State let things slip away at the end, their tears and sobs told the entire story of how only one team can advance.
What's Next? A national title game, that's what. Kansas may have been the absolute best team in 2010, and could have been the best again last year, but both of those Jayhawk teams were unceremoniously dumped by mid-majors prior to the Final Four. Not this year. Bill Self's plucky group will return to the SuperDome on Monday to face off with the team that everyone thinks is destined to cut the nets down this year, Kentucky. It's Calipari vs. Self, redux, and we can't wait.


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Thomas Edison may not be everyone's favorite inventor, but it's hard to argue that he wasn't always working, trying to figure out what the next engineering innovations would be. These excerpts from a 1888 to-do list offer some insight into Edison's ideas for the next big thing.
Edison was a prolific note-taker and list-maker, filling notebooks upon notebooks with his thoughts and ideas. The Thomas Edison Papers is currently in the process of digitizing Edison's writings, among them this 1888 list, "Things doing and things to be done." From lists like this, it's easy to see how Edison ended up holding more than 1,000 patents; he was constantly making lists of possible products and innovations. Some items from this particular list (transcribed by Brain Pickings):
Cotton picker
New standard phonograph
Hand turning phonograph
Deaf apparatus
Electrical piano
New expansion pyromagnetic dynamo
Artificial silk
Phonographic clock
Marine telegraphy
Chalk battery
Ink for blind
Top image from Wikimedia Commons.
Things doing and things to be done [The Thomas Edison Papers via Brain Pickings]


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Saururus cernuus
Lizard's tail is a perennial plant that has a hairy erect stem with few or no branches and can grow up to 4 feet tall. Leaves are on short petiole, lace to heart-shaped 2 to 5 inches long by 1 to 3 inches wide), alternate with veins that converge toward the base. Flowers are borne on a long hairy stem, opposite the uppermost leaf. The flowering structure consists of a spike of many small whitish flowers that forms an arching, tail-like shape. As the greenish seeds develop, the "tail" takes on a wrinkled appearance and hence the common name. Lizard's tail has a distinctive orange like-smell. Lizard's tail forms colonies from spreading rhizomes.
Submerged portions of all aquatic plants provide habitats for many micro and macro invertebrates. These invertebrates in turn are used as food by fish and other wildlife species (e.g. amphibians, reptiles, ducks, etc.). After aqauatic plants die, their decomposition by bacteria and fungi provides food (called "detritus") for many aquatic invertebrates. Lizard's tail has no known direct food value to wildlife.


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Goldschmidt shrugs off reaching 100-RBI mark
CINCINNATI -- After hitting a grand slam that proved to be the game-winner Tuesday night, D-backs first baseman Paul Goldschmidt was asked if he knew how many RBIs he had on the season.
"I knew I had 90-something," Goldschmidt said. "I still couldn't tell you what it was."
The grand slam gave him 100, he was told.
"They said congrats on 100 so I knew it was either that or at least 100," Goldschmidt said. "I don't know."
Goldschmidt does not pay attention to his numbers, preferring to focus on process rather than results. So driving in 100 runs was not something he set as a goal before the season.
"My goal, like we've talked about all year, is just showing up and trying to have good at-bats, work hard, prepare," he said. "You know the stuff I can control. You know RBIs are out of your control. I mean, out there I could hit the same pitch, same swing and it's a line drive to shortstop, double play."
It is a humble, focused approach that Goldschmidt's teammates have come to expect and appreciate.
"That's just Goldy," D-backs left-hander Patrick Corbin said.


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Earth from Space: The Bay of Biscay
A break in the clouds in an Envisat observation of the west coast of Europe this week reveals a striking marine phytoplankton bloom currently dominating the Bay of Biscay.
Phytoplankton are microscopic marine plants that drift on or near the surface of the sea, by far the most abundant type of life found in the ocean. Just like plants on land they employ green-pigmented chlorophyll for photosynthesis - the process of turning sunlight into chemical energy.
While individually microscopic, phytoplankton chlorophyll collectively tints the surrounding ocean waters, providing a means of detecting these tiny organisms from space with dedicated 'ocean colour' sensors.
As if dye had been placed in the water, the greenish colour highlights whirls of ocean currents. Floating freely in the water, phytoplankton are sensitive not just to available sunlight but also to local environmental variations such as nutrient levels, temperature, currents and winds. Favourable conditions lead to concentrated 'blooms' like the one we see here.
Monitoring phytoplankton is important because they form the base of the marine food web – sometimes known as 'the grass of the sea'.
On a local level, out-of-control blooms can devastate marine life, de-oxygenating whole stretches of water, while some species of phytoplankton and marine algae are toxic to both fish and humans. It is useful that fishermen, fish farmers and public health officials know about such events as soon as possible.
Globally, phytoplankton are a major influence on the amount of carbon in the atmosphere, and hence need to be modelled into calculations of future climate change.
Phytoplankton blooms occur frequently at this time of year in the Bay of Biscay. This 'spring bloom' takes place as cold, nutrient-rich waters are finally exposed to sufficient sunlight to trigger rapid phytoplankton growth. The bloom is signaling a new cycle of biological production, important for the local fishing industry - the Bay of Biscay being a rich fishery.
Envisat's Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) instrument is optimised for ocean colour detection, but also returns detailed multispectral information on land cover, clouds and atmospheric aerosols.
MERIS acquires continuous daytime observations in Reduced Resolution mode as part of its background mission. This is a detail from a MERIS Reduced Resolution image was acquired on 2 May 2005. The full version, viewable by clicking the high-resolution image, has a spatial resolution of 1200 metres and covers an area of 838 by 2277 km.


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EXCLUSIVE! Bye, Bye 'Smallville' — Tom Welling Confirms Season Ten Will Be The Show's Last!
It seemed like Smallville was superhuman, but the long-running CW show has finally found it's kryptonite in cancellation after ten seasons!
Despite the fact that he plays Superman, Tom Welling never expected his series, Smallville, to last as long as it has. Even so, he confirmed that it's finally time to hang up his cape!
"Season 10 of Smallville will be the last season" Tom told HollywoodLife.com exclusively at a party for Jerry Weintraub's new book, "When I Stop Talking You'll Know I'm Dead" at Barney's in Beverly Hills, Calif. May 18.
The 33-year-old actor also revealed what super acting skills he's had to learn in order to pull off his Clark Kent character for so long. "The real test is when you own it onscreen," Tom told us. "Once you think you have perfected things, you've got to keep practicing. There is always something to learn! It works for me and it will work for others"
It's definitely sad that Smallville is coming to an end, but at least we have one more season to see Tom morph from geeky-cute Clark into studly Superman, look super-hot in Spandex tights and watch him fall in love with Lois (Erica Durance).
– Russell Weakland


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Pastor and Pulido Win the Single in France
The second day of competition started with great conditions. The men riding 7 m kites and women were on 5, 6 meter kites with sunny skies. Alex Pastor and Gisela Pulido won the single elimination. Aaron Hadlow defeated Youri Zoon in the second round and lost to Alex Pastor in the final but guaranteed himself a podium spot for the Mondial du vent. The first round of the double elimination of men was started and we will be finishing the competition tomorrow and crowning two champions.
The women took to the water first and had to get used to the conditions, the veterans Rodenas and Bonzom advanced and Vieira show some good tricks to defeat Van Der Snoek. The second round of men was on right from the start with Da Silva versus Tack, with Tack under the weather Da Silva easily won with a perfect BJ7 which set the tone for the competition. The big upset of the competition was delivered by Aaron Hadlow who upset the defending world champion in a close heat early in the competition. The other upset was Alberto Rondina who was battling injuries and lost to Mario Rodwald and withdrew from the competition.
The women's quarter final was dominated by the top seeds that landed their repertoire of tricks and all made it to the semifinals. The men's quarterfinals were very exciting starting with Da Silva versus Jacobs who have contrasting styles. Jacobs's powered moves (back mobe, NIS) defeated the young Brazilian. Hadlow kept his run going by beating Rodwald, Borisov powered riding eliminated Langeree and sent him to his first PKRA semifinal. Alex Pastor's execution stayed flawless and sent Whaley to the double elimination.
The first semifinal was between Bruna Kajiya and Gisela Pulido, this is a classic battle of two world champions that have been going at each other for years, Gisela got the upper hand by being more consistent in the gusty winds and landing more tricks. The second heat between Karolina Winkowska and Manuela Jungo, the world champion dominated by landing more powered tricks. The first semifinal of the men between Jacobs and Hadlow was very close, Aaron was landing and executing his tricks smoothly, Marc had more power but was not very smooth on his landings. It was close, but Aaron qualified for his first PKRA final since 2009. Borisov was the new comer to the semifinals against Alex Pastor. Borisov was good, but was no match for Alex's double S-1, back mobe 5 and front blind mobe.
The first battle for the third-place podium spot between Kajiya and Jungo was close until the last minute when Bruna landed a big blind judge and 313; Manuela had a blind judge but could not match Bruna's power. On the men's side it was Borisov versus Jacobs who have similar style. Both riders were checking their landings but it was Marc Jacobs that took the podium spot.
The women's final was between Gisela Pulido and Karolina Winkowska. Gisela was on right from the start and landed a full repertoire of tricks. Karolina had a hard time finding her rhythm and was unable to land all of her tricks. Gisela was back on top of the podium and will do her best to secure her first win of the season.
The men's final was between Alex Pastor and Hadlow, the action was intense from the start. The two riders traded tricks for the entire heat going back and forth for the lead. In the end it was Alex pastor who took the win with a last minute double S-1. Alex Pastor is in a great position to take a commanding points lead in the 2013 ranking.
The Double elimination of the men was started in the late afternoon, the wind had dropped a bit and the men were able to put up their 9 meter kites. In the first two heats Tack and Blanc both advanced by being more consistent in the gusty conditions. Da Silva had a bye due to Rondina's injury and put a little show for the crowd. In the next heat the two fan favorites Garat and Zoon battled it out with Zoon taking the win and looking to chase a podium spot tomorrow. Schitzhofer and Romeu both advance to the next round. Valentin Garat won against Jaspan and Paul Serin bowed out to Sam Light.
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PIMCO leadership is known for employing whacky metaphors when explaining market conditions, and CEO Mohamed El-Erian doesn't disappoint in a commentary on Thursday.
"Analysts will be hard pressed to explain how equity markets ended unchanged on the day of an unprecedented policy announcement from the Fed," El-Erian begins, in a piece for CNBC. "Rather than resort to clichés, they could consider the competing emotions felt by a patient taking an experimental drug that has not been through clinical tests. Let me explain."
The "expected and therefore fully priced in" excuse for an unchanged market does not work, he argues.
"A notable component of today's Fed announcement–the shift to quantitative (employment and inflation) thresholds–was a surprise. Most had expected this would not occur until March 2013 at the earliest; and the few outliers had mostly opted for January."
The second traditional explanation he targets, compensating news, "also does not work. Away from the Fed, it was a relatively quiet day."
So what's going on? What accounts for the eerie silence?
El-Erian unleashes the "new drug" argument.
"Professional investors welcomed the news that the Fed is 'all in' when it comes to trying new drugs to stimulate the economy," he writes. "And they fully understand that the transmission mechanism runs right through the equity markets. As [Fed Chairman Ben] Bernanke has stated, the Fed is looking to 'push investors to take more risks.' Hence the initial positive reaction to the announcement.
However, later in the day, he notes, and especially when Bernanke answered questions, the enthusiasm dissipated.
The reason was that "as the day proceeded, investors realized that, like any experimental drug, there is a material risk of complications. After all, the Fed's operational modalities are not straightforward; the analytical underpinnings are far from robust; and the Fed's prior experimental measures have not succeeded in generating sustainable growth."
All this speaks to the aforementioned "competing factors" that were in play on Wednesday. Analysts, El-Erian says, "will have to wait for more definitive evidence on the extent to which investors are willing to romance yet again another experimental and untested measure out of the Fed."
In the meantime, he concludes, "expect the shift to quantitative thresholds to lead to greater daily volatility, especially around data releases (and most pronounced when the monthly employment reports are released).
"Now, back to the fiscal cliff."


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Senator Warner shows for Zuckerberg-Perry summit
On January 19, Pop musician Katy "I Kissed a Girl" Perry holds a promotional launch at the California headquarters of Facebook, and Virginia's newest U.S. Senator, Mark Warner, shows up for the photo-fest. Warner said (via Twitter) that he was there to support "innovation in America," but he's also been accused of "photobombing" the event. Warner often frames his business history as technology-based, but the lawyer-investor made his personal fortune by gaming the government's system of awarding cellular phone licenses.
13 comments
I only see one American innovator.
@ Judge's Ruling...
Your rhetoric is specious, for it is calculated to encourage a reader to infer that George Allen gave Mark Warner any consideration at all in 2008.
To be clear, Allen had enough problems in 2006 with his own yapping mouth and needed time to retool, rethink and reconsider.
Kindly show all of us some evidence that Allen even mulled a run against Mark Warner -- or shaddup.
My statement still stands: John Warner was the only serious candidate Mark Warner has actually run against. Ask any political scientist who follows Virginia elections and you will get the same response.
And Ingleside Vineyards bottles mediocre wine for mass consumption by people who do not know any better -- Mark Warner's core constituency.
@ Politico Cynic
You say that Mark Warner's " sole motivation in amassing wealth was to further his own political ambitions, which have an obsessive streak bordering on unhealthy."
Please extend this line of thought. I am curious. How do his "political ambitions" have an "obsessive streak" that borders on the "unhealthy." How, in fact, are Warner's "ambitions" different from those of any other national political figure (say, Mitt Romney, or Sarah Palin, or Gavin Newsome, or Hillary Clinton, or closer to home, George Allen or Eric Cantor)?
Would you agree that the "ambitions" that led Warner to the governor's office also resulted in a clean-up (if that's the proper way to describe it) of Jim Gilmore's budget fiasco , a well-managed state that is one of only about ten with a AAA credit rating, and a state system of education and a business climate (even the Wall Street Journal ranks it #7) that help to make it one of the states with the lowest unemployment rates in the country (granted, NoVa has a trove of government and defense-related jobs, as does Tidewater)?
@ democracy:
No need for a lesson in Latin, as I am fullly aware of ex post facto. Rather, the point is that Warner exploited privileged knowledge by virtue of his gig as a legislative assistant on Capitol Hill. I would like ot hear the senator's thoughts if asked how he feels that it is now illegal to do what he did in order to become wealthy.
I suspect he would wipe his hand across the back of his forehead and declare, "whew!"
It is only by taking advantage of insider information that the man is a millionaire. Period. He creates nothing of value. His sole motivation in amassing wealth was to further his own political ambitions, which have an obsessive streak bordering on unhealthy. The only serious canadidate he ever ran against, former U.S. Sen. John Warner, beat the stuffing out of Mark Warner. All his other campaigns have been a cakewalk.
"committed crimes before they were recognized as such" Doesn't that apply to all of us in some way?
Warner was an innovator- but became an elitist. He is low key, but far from being an "everyman" who should know what the commoners go through.
I like Mark Warner, and think he is one of our better politicians, but how is he a business innovator, if all he had to do was use his democratic contacts to find a loophole ?
" Mark Warner Makes Millions in Business Deals:
By 1983, Warner realized that he needed wealth to pursue public office. After 2 failures, he struck success with his 3rd venture. Using political contacts, he learned that the government would be giving away radio frequencies for wireless phones. Warner organized investor groups to apply for licenses, and took a slice of the profits. Regulators have since outlawed such insider arrangements.
Warner made a $100 million fortune from these deals, and then rededicated himself to politics."
@ Nancy Drew
You make a very good point about Mark Warner....he made his money utilizing public resources (as many wealthy people do, directly or indirectly).
As Kevin Phillips points out in Wealth and Democracy (2002):
"From the nursery years of the Republic, U.S. government economic decisions in matters of taxation, central bank operations, debt management, banking, trade and tariffs, and financial rescues or bailouts have been keys to expanding, shrinking, or realigning privately held assets."
Conservatives, mostly Republicans, want to believe it is the magic of the mythical "free market," the so-called "invisible hand." Not so, and never was.
University of Cambridge Ha-Joon Chang economist notes the long American history of government involvement in the marketplace (willingly supported by entrepreneurs), and relates that "between the 1950s and the mid-1990s, US federal government funding accounted for 50-70% of the country's total R&D funding "Š" involvement in the marketplace without which "the US would not have been able to maintain its technological lead over the rest of the world in key industries like computers, semiconductors, life sciences, the internet and aerospace."
So what is the problem?
Phillips goes on to say the following, which more recent events (since 2002) and financial data confirm:
"Occasionally public policy tilted toward the lower and middles classes, as under Jefferson, Jackson, and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Most often, in the United States and elsewhere, these avenues and alleyways have been explored, every nook and cranny, for the benefit of the financial and business classes."
Warner, it seems to me, tries to strike a balance. He seems to understand from whence his wealth came.
The current crop of conservative leaders have no such compunction, even as they raid the public treasuries.
I think the guy in the back right should get credit for the photobomb.
Call me cynical, but I think all these politicians game the system to get where they are. Just glad Warner is a democrat.
Mark Warner doesn't know an Intel chip from a giga-byte-me. He's a Budweiser-swilling rube who leveraged his "Hah-vad" connections to get money to exploit insider knowledge on Capitol Hill, as pointed out previously:
"Warner organized investor groups to apply for licenses, and took a slice of the profits. Regulators have since outlawed such insider arrangements."
In essence, Warner committed crimes before they were recognized as such. That pineapple face is nothing more than a slap-happy, grinning felon who flew under the radar before the government said "whoopsie" and created some laws to address scum like him.
@ cookieJar Nice.
@ Politico Cynic look up ex post facto
Mark Warner is no big "business brain" or "self-made man," at least not in the usual understanding of those terms.
But as governor he did clean up the budget mess left behind by Jim Gilmore (and it was a biggie).
And he does seem to be trying to broker bipartisan legislation in the Senate.
As I mentioned before, he does seem to understand the origin of his wealth.
@Pilitico Cynic: "The only serious canadidate he ever ran against, former U.S. Sen. John Warner, beat the stuffing out of Mark Warner. All his other campaigns have been a cakewalk."
If Mark Warner is such a pushover, it is indeed curious that George Allen elected not to take him on in 2008. Hmm?


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This is going to be another one of those weeks where my wife gets mad at me because I'm never home. Just look at the jam packed schedule below of Classical music events coming up in the next few days!
Only one question remains…what am I going to do with myself on Wednesday night?!? Maybe I should go out to dinner with my wife. We recently discovered a new restaurant called Tost Bistro Bar (http://www.tostbistro.com/ .) The food was great AND they had a really interesting jazz musician who plays during the week. I highly recommend the Moules Frites.
Saturday, (3/26) at 8 p.m. San Antonio Symphony POPS presents Don Braswell at Laurie Auditorium
Sunday (3/27) at 7 p.m. Arts at Coker presents Orchestranza! (free concert) at Coker United Methodist Church
Sunday (3/27) at 4 p.m. The Children's Chorus of San Antonio presents Showcase (free concert) at Northern Hills United Methodist Church
Monday (3/28) at 6 and 8 p.m. Musical Offerings presents Music on the MOve: Contemporary at San Antonio Museum of Art
Tuesday (3/29) at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday Musical Club presents soprano Jeanine De Bique at Laurel Heights United Methodist Church
Thursday (3/31) at 7:30 p.m. Arts San Antonio presents Yo-Yo Ma and The Silk Road Project at the Majestic Theatre
Friday (4/1) and Saturday (4/2) at 8 p.m. San Antonio Symphony presents Robert McDuffie in The American Four Seasons at the Majestic Theatre
Friday (4/1) at 7 p.m. Copperleaf Quintet sings at the Southwest School of the Arts
Friday (4/1) at 7 p.m. The Children's Chorus of San Antonio presents Bluebonnet Concert (free concert) at the Radius Center
Saturday (4/2) at 11 a.m. Violinist Robert McDuffie teaches the annual Russell Hill Rogers Fund for the arts String Master Class (free event) at the Majestic Theatre
Saturday, (4/2) at 7 p.m. San Antonio International Piano Competition presents Dizhou Zhao in an all-Chopin program at the San Antonio Garden Center in New Braunfels
Sunday (4/3) at 3:15 p.m. San Antonio Chamber Music Society presents the Lafayette String Quartet at Temple Beth-El
Sunday (4/3) at 6:30 p.m. Musical Bridges Around the World presents Fantasia for Organ at the San Fernando Cathedral (free concert)
Jack Fishman
Email: email@example.com
For more blogs by Jack Fishman visit: www.sasymphony.org/blog