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The other day, as we reached the first anniversary of the President's announcement of his "surge" strategy, his "new way forward" in Iraq, I found myself thinking about the earliest paid book-editing work I ever did. An editor at a San Francisco textbook publisher hired me to "doctor" god-awful texts designed for audiences of captive kids. Each of these "books" was not only in a woeful state of disrepair, but essentially D.O.A. I was nonetheless supposed to do a lively rewrite of the mess and add seductive "sidebars"; another technician was then simplified the language to "grade level" and a designer provided a flashy layout and look. Zap! Pow! Kebang!
During the years that I freelanced for that company in the early 1970s, an image of what I was doing formed in my mind -- and it suddenly came back to me this week. I used to describe it this way:
The little group of us -- rewriter, grade-level reducer, designer -- would be summoned to the publisher's office. There, our brave band of technicians would be ushered into a room in which there would be nothing but a gurney with a corpse on it in a state of advanced decomposition. The publisher's representative would then issue a simple request: Make it look like it can get up and walk away.
And the truth was: that corpse of a book would be almost lifelike when we were done with it, but one thing was guaranteed -- it would never actually get up and walk away.
That was in another century and a minor matter of bad books that no one wanted to call by their rightful name. But that image came to mind again more than three decades later because it's hard not to think of America's Iraq in similar terms. Only this week, Abdul Qadir, the Iraqi defense minister, announced that "his nation would not be able to take full responsibility for its internal security until 2012, nor be able on its own to defend Iraq's borders from external threat until at least 2018." Pentagon officials, reported Thom Shanker of the New York Times, expressed no surprise at these dismal post-surge projections, although they were "even less optimistic than those [Qadir] made last year."
According to this guesstimate then, the U.S. military occupation of Iraq won't end for, minimally, another ten years. President Bush confirmed this on his recent Mideast jaunt when, in response to a journalist's question, he said that the U.S. stay in Iraq "could easily be" another decade or more.
Folks, our media may be filled with discussions about just how "successful" the President's surge plan has been, but really, Iraq is the corpse in the room.
"Success" as a Mantra
Last January, after announcing his "surge strategy," the President called in his technicians. As it turned out, Gen. David Petraeus, surge commander in Iraq, has been quite impressive, as has new U.S. ambassador to that country, Ryan Crocker. Think of them as "the undertakers," since they've been the ones who, applying their skills, have managed to give that Iraqi corpse the faint glow of life. The President asked them to make Iraq look like it could get up and walk away -- and the last year of "success," widely trumpeted in the media, has been the result. But just think about what the defense minister and President Bush are promising: By 2018, the country will -- supposedly -- be able to control its own borders, one of the more basic acts of a sovereign state. That, by itself, tells you much of what you need to be know.
In order to achieve an image of lifelike quiescence in Iraq, involving a radical lowering of "violence" in that country, the general and ambassador did have to give up the ghost on a number of previous Bush administration passions. Rebellious al-Anbar Province was, for instance, essentially turned over to members of the community (many of whom had, even according to the Department of Defense, been fighting Americans until recently). They were then armed and paid by the U.S. not to make too much trouble. In the Iraqi capital, on the other hand, the surging American military looked the other way as, in the first half of 2007, the Shiite "cleansing" of mixed Baghdad neighborhoods reached new heights, transforming it into a largely Shiite city. This may have been the real "surge" in Iraq and, if you look at new maps of the ethnic make-up of the capital, you can see the startling results -- from which a certain quiescence followed. Powerful Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, a longtime opponent of the Bush administration, called a "truce" during the surge months and went about purging and reorganizing his powerful militia, the Mahdi Army. In exchange, the U.S. has given up, at least temporarily, its goal of wresting control of some of those neighborhoods from the Sadrists.
Despite hailing the recent passage of what might be called a modest re-Baathification law in the Iraqi Parliament (that may have little effect on actual government employment), the administration has also reportedly given up in large part on pushing its highly touted "benchmarks" for the Iraqis to accomplish. This was to be a crucial part of Iraqi political "reconciliation" (once described as the key to the success of the whole surge strategy). It has now been dumped for so-called Iraqi solutions. All of this, including the lack of U.S. patrolling in al-Anbar province, the heartland of the Sunni insurgency, plus the addition of almost 30,000 troops in Baghdad and environs, has indeed given Iraq a quieter look -- especially in the United States, where Iraqi news has largely disappeared from front pages and slipped deep into prime-time TV news coverage just as the presidential campaign of 2008 heats up.
The surge was always, in a sense, a gamble for time, a pacification program directed at the "home front" in the President's Global War on Terror as well as at Iraq itself. And if this is what you mean by "success" in Iraq, Bush has indeed succeeded admirably. As in the Vietnam era, when President Richard Nixon began "Vietnamizing" that war, a reduction of American casualties has had the effect of turning media attention elsewhere.
So another year has now passed in a country that we plunged into an unimaginable charnel-house state. Whether civilian dead between the invasion of 2003 and mid-2006 (before the worst year of civil-war level violence even hit) was in the range of 600,000 as a study in the British medical journal, The Lancet reported or 150,000 as a recent World Health Organization study suggests, whether two million or 2.5 million Iraqis have fled the country, whether 1.1 million or more than two million have been displaced internally, whether electricity blackouts and water shortages have marginally increased or decreased, whether the country's health-care system is beyond resuscitation or could still be revived, whether Iraqi oil production has nearly crept back to the low point of the Saddam Hussein-era or not, whether fields of opium poppies are, for the first time, spreading across the country's agricultural lands or still relatively localized, Iraq is a continuing disaster zone on a catastrophic scale hard to match in recent memory.
What Bush has done with his surge, however, is buy himself that year-plus of free time, while he negotiates with Iraq's inside-the-Green-Zone government to cement in place an endless American presence there. In the process, he may create a sense of permanency that no future president will prove capable of tampering with -- not without being known as the man (or woman) who "lost" Iraq. Forget the Republican presidential candidates -- Sen. John McCain, for instance, has said that he doesn't care if the U.S. is in Iraq for the next hundred years -- and think about the leading Democratic candidates with their elongated (and partial) "withdrawal" plans. Barack Obama, for instance, is for guaranteeing a 16-month withdrawal schedule, and that's just for U.S. "combat troops," which are only perhaps half of all American forces in the country. Hillary Clinton's plan is no more promising.
The President's gamble, so far "successful," has been that the look of returning life in Iraq will last at least long enough for him to turn a marginally "successful" war over to the next administration. If the Democrats sweep to power, he hopes to stick them with that war. As Michael Hirsh of Newsweek put the matter recently, while discussing the President's trip to the Middle East: "Far away in the Persian Gulf, Bush is creating facts on the ground that the next president may not be able to ignore." (Of course, this assumes that the Iraqis will comply.)
In that case, here would be another piece of potential Bush "success": Nine months into any new presidential term and the Iraq War is yours. (Those of us old enough to remember have already lived through this scenario once with "Lyndon Johnson's war" in Vietnam, so how does "Barack Obama's war" sound?) Then, former Bush administration officials, Republicans of all stripes, neocons, and an array of pundits will turn on those uncelebratory Democrats who, they will claim, managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of "success," if not victory. Wait for it.
Victory Laps and Other Celebrations
But folks, let's face it, despite the cosmetic acts of the President and his undertakers, America's Iraq is still a corpse. And yet, in this "post-surge" moment, everybody is arguing over just how "successful" the surge has been. All agree it has "lowered violence" in Iraq. The Democrats insist that the plan's "success" is limited indeed, because its main goal, "political reconciliation," has not been reached. On the other hand, Republicans, assorted neocons, and some in the administration are already doing modest victory dances. The newest New York Times columnist, William Kristol, a man previously known for being endlessly wrong on his Iraqi war of choice, just last week chided the Democrats in his typical way: "It's apparently impermissible for leading Democrats to acknowledge -- let alone celebrate -- progress in Iraq."
Let the celebrations begin! In the White House, anyway. After all, whatever Iraq news breaks out of the inside pages of the paper is now often framed by this ongoing dispute about the how much surge and post-surge success has happened, about how much to celebrate, and that is another sign of success for the President. No wonder, as Michael Abramowitz of the Washington Post put it, Bush's recent meeting in Kuwait with Gen. Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker, as well as his comments to a rally of 3,000 hoo-ahing U.S. troops, "had the air of a victory lap for a president whose decision to raise the troop levels in Iraq last year was questioned not only by Democrats but also by many Republicans and even generals at the Pentagon."
But folks, George W. Bush can lap the Middle East, the planet, the solar system and America's Iraq is still never going to get up and walk away. Not even in 2018 or 2028. Don't forget, it's a corpse. (In fact, unlike the politicians and the media, recent opinion polls show that the American people generally have not forgotten this.)
In the meantime, the military in Iraq is preparing for something other than a simple victory lap, just in case the President's surge luck doesn't quite extend to 2009. Former brigadier general and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Middle Eastern Affairs Mark Kimmitt, for instance, recently suggested that there was "only a mild chance" that surge security gains would prove permanent: "[I]f I had to put a number to it, maybe it's three in 10, maybe it's 50-50, if we play our cards right."
In fact, General Petraeus and the rest of the U.S. military are faced with a relatively simple calculus for their exhausted, overstretched, overused forces among whom the rate of post-traumatic stress syndrome has tripled. Although the President recently insisted that he would be happy to slow down or halt an expected drawdown of 30,000 surge troops by July, the fact is that present military manpower levels there are literally unsustainable -- especially since 3,200 Marines are now being committed to the ever less successful Afghan War. Drawdowns are a must and "successful" Iraq, already experiencing signs of another uptick in violence and death (including of American troops) in the new year, is likely to need a dose of something else soon, if that faint glow of life is to be sustained.
One candidate for that, as American troop levels drop, is air power, a much underreported subject in both Iraq and Afghanistan. In Iraq, according to a recent study by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the use of air power took a striking leap forward in 2007. According to the study, the number of Close Air Support/Precision Strikes -- sorties that used a major munition -- in Iraq went up five-fold between 2006 and 2007 (not including December of that year), from 229 to 1,119 or, on average, from 19 per month to 102 per month. 2008 started with a literal bang, 40,000 pounds of explosives were dropped in ten minutes on 38 targets in a Sunni farming area on "the outskirts" of Baghdad. After 10 preceding days of intermittent air attacks, this was probably the largest display of air power since the 2003 invasion. It was also undoubtedly a harbinger of things to come and, of course, guaranteed to drive up the number of civilian dead.
Similarly, between January and October 2007, according to the Associated Press, the U.S. military more than doubled its use of armed and unarmed drone aircraft, which clocked 500,000-plus hours in the air (mainly in Iraq). This is undoubtedly a taste of what "success" means in the year to come.
Dancing on a Corpse
So, here's a simple reality check: The whole discussion of, and argument about, "success" in Iraq is, in fact, obscene. Given what has already happened to that country -- and will continue to happen as long as the U.S. remains an occupying power there -- the very category of "success" is an obscenity. If violence actually does stay down there, that may be a modest godsend for Iraqis, but it can hardly be considered a sign of American "success."
Every now and then, history comes in handy. In a previous moment, when the neocons and their allied pundits were feeling particularly triumphant, they began touting Bush's America as the planet's new Rome (only more so). That talk evaporated once Iraq went into full-scale insurgency mode (and Afghanistan followed). But perhaps Rome does remain a touchstone of a sort for administration Iraqi policies.
What comes to mind is the Roman historian Tacitus' description of the Roman way of war. He put his version of it into the mouth of Calgacus, a British chieftain who opposed the Romans, and it went, in part, like this:
"They have plundered the world, stripping naked the land in their hunger, they loot even the ocean: they are driven by greed, if their enemy be rich; by ambition, if poor; neither the wealth of the east nor the west can satisfy them: they are the only people who behold wealth and indigence with equal passion to dominate. They ravage, they slaughter, they seize by false pretenses, and all of this they hail as the construction of empire. And when in their wake nothing remains but a desert, they call that peace."
Folks, it's obscene. We're doing victory laps around, and dancing upon, a corpse.


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All the recent talk about health care reform has me thinking about an article I read last year about who pays for health care. So let's begin with a question; namely, who do you think pays for health care? Is it employers? The government? Insurance companies? Individuals? If you're like most Americans, you probably believe that employers pay the bulk of their workers' insurance premiums and that governments pay for Medicare and Medicaid (and some will remember to add in the State Children's Health Insurance Program – SCHIP). Some of you will no doubt believe that insurance companies pay for a lot of our health care since that's where so many of the bills seem to go. In actuality, according to the article I read in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the answer is that it's individuals and households who pay for the entire health care bill. Moreover, failure to understand this fundamental fact perpetuates the myth that we can all get great health benefits paid for by someone else. Real health care reform is impossible until we realize that the money is all coming from our own pockets.
The article was entitled "Who Really Pays for Health Care" and it was authored by Drs. Ezekiel Emanuel and Victor Fuchs of the Department of Bioethics at the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Economics at Stanford University, respectively. You may recognize Dr. Emanuel as being the older brother White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel. (Dr. Emanuel also currently serves as an advisor to the White House on health care policy, but according to an article in The New York Times, he got the job on his own without his brother's influence.)
But let's return to the question of who pays for health care? First of all, insurance companies don't pay for anything. They are simply for-profit middlemen who actually skim off money from the health care system in return for processing claims and handling all that money. Clearly, health insurance companies are not charities and are out to make a profit after they do whatever work it is they do. They get their money from somewhere else.
Most people understand that the insurance companies get their money from employers and from individuals. In fact, individuals pay for it all, as I'll explain. First, it's obvious that we pay for our portion of the health insurance premiums. If we're unemployed or if our employer doesn't offer health insurance benefits then it's clear that we pay for the entire insurance bill. But that's only the beginning. Whoever pays for the insurance, we still pay out of pocket for co-pays, both for doctor visits and for medication. Typically, however, it's only the out-of-pocket costs that get our attention because we tend to forget that we've also contributed a lot towards the insurance premiums. That's because those payments are separated from the delivery of care. Either they are taken as withholdings` from our paycheck, which means they are nearly completely hidden, or they are paid in the form of premium notices, which means that they seem to be going for insurance when in fact they are going for health care. It's a psychological, but extremely important, distinction.
More importantly, however, is for us to understand that our employers are simply fooling us into believing that they are paying for part of the insurance. In fact, health care benefits come directly at the expense of reduced wages. Although space does not allow me fully to prove this point, Drs. Emanuel and Fuchs state that "Employers' contribution to the health insurance premium is really workers' compensation in another form. Rather than coming out of corporate profits, the increasing cost of health care has resulted in relatively flat real wages for 30 years. That is the health care cost-wage trade off." And, "The health care cost-wage trade-off is confirmed by many economic studies." Further, "In a review of studies on the link between health care costs and wages, Gruber concluded, 'The results [of studies] that attempt to control for worker selection, firm selection, or (ideally) both have produced a fairly uniform result: the costs of health insurance are fully shifted to wages.'" (italics mine)
We can see then that we pay for our own portion of insurance premiums directly and we pay for the company's portion indirectly, through reduced wages. Which leaves government as a potential payment source for health care. But clearly governments pay for things either by taxing current citizens, borrowing from future taxpayers (by creating deficits) or by reducing other services. We all pay for government-sponsored health care through our tax dollars! That's the direct cost. But the indirect cost is the reduced services that must be cut in favor of health care spending. And one of the biggest areas of cuts, particularly for states, is publicly funded higher education. As the doctors note in the JAMA article, "In other words, the increasing cost of Medicaid and other government health care programs are a primary reason for the substantial increase in tuition and fees for state colleges and universities. Middle-class families finding it more difficult to pay for their children's college are unwittingly falling victim to increasing state health care costs. Not an easy – but a necessary – connection to make."
The reason I think it's so important for all of us to realize that we, not employers, not insurance companies, not the government, are paying for health care is that until we do we cannot have meaningful health care reform. Sure we can make some changes here and there, perhaps even get universal insurance coverage, but the more fundamental problem is out-of-control health care expenses. As David Brooks recently wrote in The New York Times, "Over the past few decades, health care inflation has exceeded the general rise in prices by about 2.5 percent a year. These inexorably rising costs are bankrupting the nation, walloping businesses and squeezing middle-class salaries. The basic problem is that the American people have gotten used to high-tech, all-everything health care, under the illusion that they don't have to pay for it and that it's always better for them."
In fact, we do have to pay for it and are paying for it. Step one of real health care reform is for us fully to embrace that fact. For example, if you had to pay out of pocket for your health care can you imagine the difference in services that you'd demand to receive? Would you automatically expect the newest most expensive test, treatment, or medication? Or would you be more likely to ask for those tests that were absolutely necessary, for the most cost-effective treatments, and for generic medications whenever possible? Our current system is not designed to look for such cost efficiencies. And that's because we all think someone else is paying the bill. The next time your doctor orders tests, recommends treatments, and prescribes medications, think for a moment what you'd say if you had to write a check for those items. I doubt you'd say: "Sure doctor, whatever you say."
Important: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not Everyday Health.

subset: commoncrawl


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Fashion Team SS14! Whoop Whoop
This season I tweeted for fashion interns and I received so many wonderful responses but it wasn't possible to take you all on. (I received hundreds of emails)! Many thanks to my amazing SS14 team for their assistance on the Bjorn Borg show, the Ones to Watch and PingHe's show plus the team of dressers at Fashion Scout!
Day 2
Day 3


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The Polini Maxi Speed is a powerful alternative to the expensive original variator for all Maxiscooters. This sports variator is built to comply with high-quality manufacturing standards. The bushing has improved lubrication through two fitted o-rings. This makes for less friction compared to variators of other competitors. The Maxi Speed Control achieved top results regarding performance and reliability in many performance tests! This variator is available in two versions – the "Maxi Speed Control" with 6/8 roller weights or the "Maxi Speed 9/12 roller weights" with 9/12 roller weights. The most obvious characteristic of the "Maxi Speed 9/12 roller weights" are the 9 or 12 roller weights as compared to only 6 such weights that are standard. Acceleration of your engine will especially benefit from the precise and evenly distributed axial load. The typical jerking of 4-stroke engines while starting the scooter will be reduced to a minimum due to a more even load distribution.
However, one thing that stays the same for both systems is: improved acceleration combined with a higher top speed!
SIP TIP: new variator nut, special / polyamide belt, additional roller weights for individual adjustment, holder tool
Scootering March 2008: "…Best Performance overall, best value for money, very stable rpm, increased top speed, quality contruction!"
OEM Numbers (for the purpose of comparison)


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Davies 1 Davies 1
Craig Davies marked his return from injury with a valuable goal as struggling Barnsley ended their losing run by coming from behind to grab a 1-1 draw at Bolton.
The visitors, who came into the game on the back of four straight defeats, created several opportunities before the evergreen Kevin Davies made the most of good work from Chris Eagles to give Bolton a first-half lead.
Dougie Freedman's side should arguably have extended their advantage thereafter, with Eagles and Mark Davies prominent.
However, Barnsley refused to give up and levelled when Craig Davies, back from a hamstring problem, fired home via Adam Bogdan's right-hand post in the 65th minute.
Bolton remain unbeaten under Freedman, but will surely view this as two points dropped.
Jacob Butterfield, on loan at the Reebok Stadium from Norwich, was handed a debut against his former club.
Barnsley also included a recent loan capture, Marcus Tudgay, in their line-up for the first time as one of five changes.
Bolton, lining up in a fluid 4-2-3-1 formation, started the brighter, but it was not long before home goalkeeper Bogdan was called upon to deal with 20-yard efforts from Tudgay and Craig Davies.
Tudgay also headed over from Scott Golbourne's left-wing cross and Matt Done's powerful strike from long distance forced Bogdan into further action.
Yet Barnsley fell behind when Eagles broke down the right and picked out the unmarked Kevin Davies, who had time to control the ball before finding the bottom-left corner.
After providing an assist, the lively Eagles had the opportunity to double Bolton's lead eight minutes later, only to shoot tamely at Luke Steele after bursting into the area.
Freedman then introduced Tyrone Mears in place of the injured Stephen Warnock, before Mark Davies robbed Stephen Dawson and tested Steele with a low drive from the edge of the box.
The home crowd were left exasperated moments later as referee Carl Berry blew for a foul against Barnsley when playing advantage would have allowed David Ngog to gallop through on goal.
Berry was booed off at the interval, but Bolton's fans were rising to applaud seven minutes into the second half when a delightful scoop from Eagles led to Mark Davies volleying goalwards and Steele pulling off an acrobatic stop.
The central midfielder was denied again within 60 seconds, yet Barnsley remained a threat and Done fired inches wide following a quick free-kick from substitute Reuben Noble-Lazarus.
Bolton did not heed the warning and Craig Davies duly levelled after being given time to shoot from 25 yards.
Both sides then had chances to snatch all three points in an action-packed finale.
Replacement Keith Andrews headed an Eagles free-kick wide for Bolton, who also saw Kevin Davies bring two saves from Steele after Tudgay had seen a close-range effort scrambled away at the other end.
Source: PA
Source: PA


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In the Master's programme Computational Science you learn to develop computational models based on observations and data from physical, social, earth, economic and life sciences. In this joint degree of UvA and VU you can specialise in topics offered by both universities.
Would you like to confront a tornado in virtual reality and predict its path of destruction? Or understand the behaviour of financial markets? What if you could simulate the outcome of a surgical procedure before it is used on a patient? Or predict how a crowd would behave in the event of a disaster?
Computational Science seeks to explain the complex world we live in using technological simulations. By collecting data and creating computer models, computational scientists can make predictions on varying problems such as how to influence the flow of traffic, how an epidemic will spread or the probability of individuals in society becoming addicted to drugs. The curriculum relies heavily on algorithmic-driven procedures (step-by-step procedure for solving a problem in a limited number of steps), but also involves lots of mathematics and logic. Students will learn to apply this knowledge to different research areas in the natural sciences.
To achieve these goals, you will have access to some of the most advanced computing, networking, storage and visualization facilities in the world. When completing the programme, you graduate in one of the many domains Computational Science has to offer, such as Computational Finance, Computational Biology, Numerical Mathematics or Complex Networks.
Check these pages with relevant information about the programme.
Computational Science is a joint degree programme of the University of Amsterdam and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Courses are taught at locations of both universities. UvA and VU jointly issue a degree certificate to graduates. As a Computational Science student in Amsterdam you benefit from expertise, networks and research projects at both universities and affiliated research institutes.
|Degree programme
|MSc Computational Science
|Regular study programme
|120 ECTS, 24 months
|Language of instruction
|Starts in
|CROHO code


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A Clean Getaway
This story appears in the October 1998 issue of HomeOfficeMag.com. Subscribe »
Your home office is abuzz. Orders are piling up. Assignments are coming in. Customers are calling, faxing and e-mailing you for information; they want their questions answered now.
Is this any time to take a vacation?
Probably not. Homebased entrepreneurs are rarely able to drop everything and take time off to revitalize themselves unless they've done some serious planning. You know customers have to be attended to and feel you're the one who does that best. You worry that the loose ends you don't tie up will have become knots by the time you return--or that something much worse will happen. "People have an overwhelming fear that when they return from vacation, their business won't be there," says Stacy Brice, president of AssistU, a Cockeysville, Maryland, homebased business that trains assistants virtually.
Maybe it's time to plan for what Susan Pilgrim, author of Living InSync (Health Communications Inc.), calls the "three R vacation": time off to renew, refresh and relax. Pilgrim, president of Life Investments, an Atlanta consulting firm that helps people balance their business and personal lives, says people who run businesses from home often work 14 to 16 hours a day, sometimes seven days a week. "This kind of pressure is bound to make anyone feel burned out, and that diminishes what you can give to your customers," she says.
Despite your need for a vacation, planning for your absence is difficult--even for Pilgrim, who readily admits, "After all these years, it's still a challenge."
Patricia Schiff Estess is author of Money Advice for Your Successful Remarriage and Kids, Money & Values (both published by Betterway) and president of Working Families Inc., a Manhattan firm specializing in family memoirs.
Pack It Up
The challenge is a psychological one: You have to get your mind ready to go. To do that, consider these techniques:
- Give yourself "permission" to leave the business. If you truly understand you must take care of yourself to take better care of your business, you'll more easily allow yourself to leave. One seemingly silly but helpful trick is to write yourself a permission slip, says Hiyaguha Cohen, a career consultant in Shirley, Massachusetts. "Once you put your plan down on paper," she explains, "it seems more important, and you tend to take action on it."
- Block out the time well in advance . . . or it will slip away. For Barry Schneider, president of Pram Advertising Co. Inc. in New York City, that means tracking sales to determine the slowest times of the year, then coordinating plans with his wife, who works for an architectural firm. With advanced planning, the Schneiders are able to take a month-long vacation and at least one long weekend every year.
- Simplify things by asking your travel agent, spouse or traveling companion to do most of the legwork. Have someone else plan the trip and book airline, hotel and rental car reservations. Planning to get away shouldn't be stressful; otherwise, the trip won't seem worth it.
- Start small. "Anyone who's nervous about leaving their business should start by taking a short trip--perhaps a three-day weekend," suggests Brice. A successful three-day break can be stretched to five days the next time.
- Get mentally ready by getting physically ready. Just before you go, get a haircut or some new clothes. "By changing your look," says Cohen, "you subconsciously know you're about to embark on something new and important."
Ready For Departure
Each homebased entrepreneur needs to put different plans in place before he or she can take time off. Here are some of the management dilemmas you'll have to address before leaving:
- Do I need anyone to cover for me? For some people, this is neither possible nor desirable. The freelance writer doesn't have an understudy, for example. But if the assistance needed is administrative and you often have someone helping you, this may be the time to further tap into the aide's skills. For example, Brice has her virtual assistant check her phone and e-mail messages daily when she's away. Because the assistant is already so familiar with the business, her instructions are to handle all responsibilities and only call Brice if there's a family emergency or a media call.
If you don't have an assistant, virtual or otherwise, but think you need someone to check the mail and return important phone calls, then partner up. Try to strike a deal with someone you respect who also runs a homebased business. There are a number of duties you can help each other with when one of you takes a vacation: opening mail, depositing checks, taking orders. Your "crib" sheet should include important phone numbers, how routine matters are handled, and what constitutes an emergency that warrants a phone call to you.
- What do my clients need to know? Some people, like Schneider, don't change the message on their answering machine when they go on vacation because they call in daily (though stress gurus would say that defeats the purpose of getting away). Only when Schneider returns a call does he tell the person he's out of town. "With the technology available today," Schneider says, "nobody even knows you're gone."
It's different for Ralph Levey, president of Italy Farm Holidays Inc., a Tarrytown, New York, company specializing in arranging vacation stays in apartments, wineries, houses, castles and family farms in Italy. When he and his wife visit their second home in Tuscany, Italy, twice a year--a part-vacation, part-scouting trip--his voice-mail message tells his clients he's in Italy and won't be able to send them brochures or return their phone calls immediately.
Pilgrim relies on her voice-mail message to provide information. "I usually say I'm out of the office and will have a limited amount of time to return calls," she says. "However, I tell them if they leave their name and number, I'll return the call when I get back. And I do."
- What can I do before I leave that will help relieve stress when I get back? Pilgrim never makes appointments on the last day before a vacation or the first day back. Instead, she devotes those days to doing things that are top priorities, including returning phone calls.
°/ooIs it possible to mix business and pleasure? When Levey and his wife are in Tuscany, for the most part, they're on vacation. But they also spend a good chunk of time roaming the Italian countryside, stopping at trattorias and lodgings to evaluate and possibly recommend to travelers. It's part of the job.
For entrepreneurs in similar trades, it's also possible to mix business and pleasure. But most homebased entrepreneurs don't--and mixing the two isn't relaxing. "Going on vacation means `hanging out,' doing whatever you enjoy doing," says Pilgrim. "And attending a trade convention is not hanging out--even if you occasionally sip a mai tai by the pool."
- How can I use technology to buoy, not sink, a vacation? Whether you can avoid technology altogether while on vacation depends, of course, on your type of business. Levey couldn't be away from his office for too long without his notebook computer and cell phone, but he uses them only when necessary.
Schneider, on the other hand, doesn't have to haul his fax/answering machine around with him when he spends a month in Florida each winter--but he does. It gives him a sense of security--even though he rarely uses it.
Stacy Brice is different altogether. She wants to get away from technology--and likes to go either where it can't be used (a mountain cabin with no phone jacks) or where it's too expensive to use regularly (a cruise).
All the consultants to homebased businesses whom I talked to admit getting away is difficult--even for them. Yet all appreciate how important vacations are for revitalizing your body and spirit. Pilgrim recommends a quarterly vacation, though she realizes that's not always possible. But just understanding you can't go at a breakneck pace indefinitely is the first step toward walking out the front door.
On Hold
because he Considers efficient service paramount when running his successful travel business, Ralph Levey leaves a thorough message on his answering machine when he's vacationing in Europe. Levey, the president of Italy Farm Holidays Inc. in Tarrytown, New York, assures clients he checks his messages daily and will return calls immediately if there's a problem or in a few days if the matter isn't pressing.
Levey used to include the phone number of his house in Italy--in case of an emergency. "I stopped doing that when one client, thinking Italy was six hours behind New York, not six hours ahead, called at 1 a.m. with a question about his travel plans," he says. We learn from our mistakes.
Contact Sources
AssistU, (410) 666-5900, http://www.assistu.com
Italy Farm Holidays Inc., (914) 631-7880, firstname.lastname@example.com
Life Investments, (800) 730-0662, http://www.speakers-podium.com/susanpilgrim


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At least I hope it's here to stay for a while, given the crazy weather we have been getting in MN.
Over at Crissy's, she has declared summer too – a summer theme card! There are many things I love about the summers – allergy season from spring is slowing down a little; no need for coats, hats and mitten – thank goodness, when you have to run around the house to put on 2 sets of gloves before leaving the house (sometimes 3 sets when the 1st set comes off before the 2nd set goes on); grass is lush and flowers are blooming, especially the sunflowers … and here is my sunny flower card for Crissy's challenge.
Background is stamped using Impression Obsession cover-a-card distressed diagonals. Flower image and sentiment are stamped using Stampendous Daisy Thanks Perfectly Clear stamps. The entire card was inked using Tim Holtz's Distress Inks – Wild Honey and Vintage photo.
Enjoy the warm weather!
Other Challenges entered:
Crafter's Companion Monthly Challenge
By the Cute and Girly Monthly Challenge


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Who: Blizzard Entertainment Developers
Greg Street – Lead Systems Designer
Ion Hazzikostas – Lead Encounter Designer
Cory Stockton – Lead Content Designer
Dave Kosak – Lead Quest Designer
Bios below!
What: Live Developer Chat. Text-based. All questions are moderated and answered in a queued format.
This chat interface utilizes Java so make sure you are up to date prior to chat: http://java.com/getjava
Where: Here! Best Buy Unboxed. We will update the link below to direct you to the chat when it goes live.
http://bbyurl.us/MistsofPandariaChat <-- Click to view transcript!
When: Tuesday, September 18th at 6 PM CST
Pre-order World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria NOW on BestBuy.com
Cory Stockton
Lead Content Designer
Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.
As Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.'s lead content designer for World of Warcraft®, Cory Stockton is responsible for overseeing the design and implementation of all exterior zones, dungeons, Battlegrounds, Arenas, and cities. He is also involved with many other aspects of the game, such as dungeon scripting and the Pet Battle System.
Stockton started at Blizzard Entertainment® in June 2005 as lead dungeon designer before transitioning to his current role. Prior to his arrival, he was a lead designer on the Ratchet & Clank series and also contributed extensively to the Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver series.
In his spare time, Stockton plays games extensively, and enjoys collecting classic consoles and games. He holds an associate's degree in computer animation from the Art Institute of Phoenix.
Dave Kosak
Lead Quest Designer
As Blizzard Entertainment's lead quest designer for World of Warcraft®, Dave Kosak oversees the development of all quest content for the game and its expansions, as well as contributing to the overall fiction of the game world.
Prior to joining Blizzard Entertainment, Kosak was a co-founder and original creative director of GameSpy.
Greg Street
Lead Systems Designer Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.
As the lead systems designer for World of Warcraft®, Greg Street is one of the two lead designers on the team that reports to the Game Director. He leads a team that is in charge of World of Warcraft class, item and tradeskill design. He and his team also design the user interface for the game and handle all of the various combat calculations and number tuning.
Ion Hazzikostas
Lead Encounter Designer
Blizzard Entertainment
As lead encounter designer on the World of Warcraft® team, Ion Hazzikostas's primary responsibility is overseeing the creation of the game's dungeon and raid content.
Hazzikostas joined Blizzard Entertainment in the summer of 2008 as a game designer, and his responsibilities have included raid boss design and implementation, class design and balancing, and maintaining the World of Warcraft achievement system. Prior to arriving at Blizzard, he worked as an attorney at a law firm in Washington, DC.
In his spare time, Hazzikostas enjoys exploring Southern California in search of craft beer. Having grown up in New York City, he is a lifelong Yankees fan.
About Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.
Best known for blockbuster hits including World of Warcraft® and the Warcraft®, StarCraft®, and Diablo® franchises, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (www.blizzard.com), a division of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software renowned for creating some of the industry's most critically acclaimed games. Blizzard Entertainment's track record includes fourteen #1-selling games and multiple Game of the Year awards. The company's online-gaming service, Battle.net®, is one of the largest in the world, with millions of active players.
Select Best Buy stores will be hosting midnight openings on 9/25/12 giving you the opportunity to be among the first to dive into World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria. To find out which stores will be opening at 12:01 a.m. visit BestBuy.com/GamingEvents
Care to touch on pvp mechanics? Even though I am hit capped and expertise capped, my attacks can still be dodged. With the removal of spell resistances, it seems that casters are immune to the RNG that melee/hunters share.
Hunter pets are still having pathing problems. for instance, in battle grounds like WSG or AB my pet cannot reach the spawn platform unless i am attack from above. If i am attack from below their platform, my pet simply refuses to attack anything on the platform without having to spec into blink strike. is this intended behaviour? it seems like a subtle nerf to bm hunters.
TL;DR Hunter pets refuse to climb the spawn platform hill when im spawn camping in a battle ground. Is this intended?
GC had said he didnt want hunters taming every pet they see/ turning into crazy cat collecting old ladies. But isn't this exact thing happening with the account wide pets/ pet battle system? 500+ companion pets accessed freely? no problem. 24 hunter pets? why would you need more?
: /
A lot of us would really like instant access to all owned heirlooms across serversand characters in a bank or something. Any idea if we'll ever see something like thisand how close the technology is now?
Hey Guys!
I know I'm pretty excited about the chat tonight and I know we have a lot of questions. I would highly recommend joining us tonight at 6PM Central Time and asking these questions, as the blog comments don't translate directly to the chat.
Thanks and hope to see you guys on!
Community Connector
When will the Mists of Pandaria Soundtrack be available for purchase?
Chat is live but the link refreshes page? ;\
I don't think that throwing gear at 25-man is going to solve much anything in regards of making it a more competitive alternative. I think the problem is that there is nothing really separating 10 and 25 in-game. Are you open to the idea of making the two more distinct from each other?
Why isn't the link working?
Clicking the link to the "live chat" just refreshes this page...
link says chat is live.. but it is not going to the chat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The link is not taking me to the chat!
Lore Question- Based on:
a. Sylvanas was "brought back" (undead) against her will,
b. she broke away from serving the evil that brought her back,
c. she tried (at first) to act for the good of her "people", and
d. after her purpose was complete (Lich King/Arthas dead), she tried to end her existence and received the same punishment as Arthas- eternal darkness *,
Is It Possible (theoretically, at least), for Sylvanas (who is definitely now a villainess) to be redeemed?
*How is that fair? And how can you square that with Tirion's repeated statements ("The Light never abandons its champions." and "The Light knows no bounds, Saurfang.") ?
Hey Guys,
Try copy and pasting this direct link and see if that works.
Just a reminder everyone, questions are posted in the chat, so be sure to log in, as posts on the blog aren't seen in chat.
i cant get the video to show on my pc i refreshed the page n i clicked the link n it just brings me backk to the page
Try copy and pasting the link in the above comment into your URL bar and see if that works.
Any one else not getting into chat? I keep clicking the link and comming back to this page, no chat.....
It says I'm "in the Watching Zone" and can't post new questions. Is this intended?
I'm signed in and it says I can't post, how do I leave the "watching area"?
Thankyou sean, I just got in, sorry I didn't see the link in the comments before.
The watching zone is intended. The questions are in a queue and once it's reopened, you can submit the questions.
I was just banned for asking: My Guild needs a house Zarhym when will we get our housing? How much longer will we remain homeless in Azeroth?
It hasn't updated for a couple of minutes now - is that natural?
Keeps telling me "Java is out of date" even though i just updated it.
If your Java isn't working, have you tried accessing the chat on another browser to troubleshoot?
i cant get to chat at all it doesnt pop up and i get looped right back here
If you are getting looped back to this page, try to copy and paste the link below into your URL bar.
I can't seem to submit a question?
I am currently stuck in the 'Waiting" Queue. Am I going to get a response? A kick-back? Or am I SoL for asking any other questions ever?
Great game indeed. This would surely attract a lot of gamers and might as well gain praises from the public. Thumbs up
You must be a registered user to add a comment. If you've already registered, sign in. Otherwise, register and sign in.


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- 1/2 cup raisins
- 3 tablespoons Malibu rum or other coconut-flavored rum
- 1 1/2 cups nonfat milk
- 1 1/4 cups canned unsweetened coconut milk
- 3/4 cup whole milk
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise
- 1 1/4 cups jasmine rice
- 6 tablespoons plus 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 cup chilled whipping cream
- 2 1/2 teaspoons grated lime peel
- 6 passion fruits, halved, juice and seeds scooped into bowl
Recipe Preparation
Combine raisins and rum in small bowl. Let stand at room temperature while preparing pudding.
Combine nonfat milk and next 4 ingredients in heavy medium saucepan. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Bring to simmer; remove from heat. Allow to steep uncovered 1 hour. Strain coconut broth.
Rinse rice in medium bowl of cold water. Drain. Repeat 2 more times. Cook 1 cup coconut broth and rice in heavy medium saucepan over medium-high heat until almost all liquid is absorbed, stirring constantly, about 3 minutes. Add remaining coconut broth; cook over low heat until rice is tender, stirring frequently, about 13 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in 6 tablespoons sugar (mixture will be thick). Transfer to large bowl; cool.
Whip cream in medium bowl until cream holds peaks. Fold half of whipped cream into cooled rice. Drain raisins. Stir raisins and lime peel into rice. Fold in remaining whipped cream. Divide mixture among eight 3/4-cup ramekins or custard cups.
Preheat broiler. Sprinkle 1/2 tablespoon sugar over each pudding. Place puddings on rimmed baking sheet. Broil until sugar caramelizes, watching closely to prevent burning, about 3 minutes. Spoon passion fruit over puddings.


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These beautiful old fashion styled scissors are hand made from brass. The stainless steel blades cut though both fabric and paper and are lovely and weighty in the hand. A luxury everyday item you will just fall in love with.
Standard UK delivery £4.95 (aim 3 - 5 working days)
Express UK delivery £7.95 (next working day if ordered before midday)
UK Highlands and Islands £15.50 (aim 3-5 working days)
Ordering from Overseas? No problem, click here
Fear not, we have a flexible 28 day returns policy, click here.
Wonderful scissors. They look and feel fabulous, have a lovely weight and great presence. And they cut very well too!


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by Joshua Brauer on April 14, 2003
Good morning from the deck. In the background you can hear the evidence of rush hour getting started. In the foreground the birds are flitting about and sharing their songs while the squirrels chatter away at one another. A little Bongo Billy's Coffee and fresh banana bread make the morning complete. The deck was the selling point of this place. It was a correct decision as I sit here, reading the news and watching the sunrise.


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On this day the 31st of May 2007, I arrived in Tokyo.
I had high hopes for a major seachange in my life, and what better way than get out of your country?
I remember on arrival that it was pouring rain and the humidity was fairly high. Shinjuku was slightly familiar from a few years traveling through Japan before, but there was a nervous excitement of something new.
The apartment was very far away from Tokyo. I had to pay my rent money upfront. With nowhere else to stay I'd stay there for the first six months.
I met my first flatmate. He seemed indifferent to me. He didn't look like someone I'd call "friend". I learned later that he spoke unfavourably about me in his blog. He took a LONG time to remove my name once he found out I knew.
Other teachers that started at the same time as me are long gone from Japan. It doesn't really matter as I never really bonded with them either while they were here.
Have things changed?
Well I put up on that "wonderful" social network of my four year anniversary and the reaction from my "friends" in Japan. What reaction? Wow.
Have I changed?
I thought that I had, but the more I think about it, I don't think a person can really change their fundamental characteristics. I believe I'm still the same person that got off that plane four years ago. Japan puts you in that false sense of confidence because you are the novelty here, and just about anything you do makes you more "interesting", because you are a foreigner. My job gets me to feel confident because well.. that's my job to make conversation, and I get paid for it.
BUT.. put me back home and I think I'd be back where I started. That scares me a lot.
My recent outings at the park with my guitar remind of my favourite memories of relaxing at Roma St Parklands. So peaceful and calming. The true friends I have here have been more than great, but there's something.. missing. It's hard to put into words but this song sums up my feeling. The production and singer hides the message a bit, but it's a great song.
If I left tomorrow I'd feel incredibly disappointed. Yet, I wonder why I'm still here. After the earthquake, my family were urging me home. But I'm not ready.. yet.
Tuesday, 31 May 2011
Four Years In Japan
On this day the 31st of May 2007, I arrived in Tokyo.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 11:56 pm 1 comments
Wednesday, 25 May 2011
The Battery Hazard
This is strange.
Did you know that you can't send batteries in the post?
I intended to send the shaver that I bought my father by EMS from Japan to Australia. They ALWAYS ask at the post office if there are any batteries. I feigned ignorance and persuaded them to accept the package. Time was tight and I had to get to work. I didn't want to waste time.
I checked the tracking and my heart stopped when I saw "Return To Sender". I immediately thought I'd wasted all this money on a shaver that was un-sendable, or somehow unscrewing it to remove an non user-serviceable internal battery.
Strangely though, the problem they had was just the cleaning alcohol. I removed it and it was magically back on its way. Originally posted Tuesday the 10th (and resent on the 12th), arrived a whole week later on the 17th!
Now that I'm using my GH1 as my main camera, I decided to send my old Nikon back home. I thought if the shaver got through, I'd try not only the camera, but my iPhone 3G as well.
Again I checked the tracking and BAM! Return to Sender again..
I got the call on Saturday that it was in Shinjuku, so I diverted my drinking plans to make an emergency rendezvous with my package. Of course this time it HAD to be the battery.
Again strangely it was ONLY the iPhone that was red-marked as undeliverable. Looks like with their x-rays they could tell. With a crossing of his hands to say no, the post clerk told me "Smartphone". Once again removing the iPhone, the camera was allowed through. I was relieved that at least the camera could go. May 19th arrived May 25th - Not too bad but it would've got there quicker without this debacle.
I don't get it. Why can you fly on a plane up to your eyeballs with mobile phones, laptops, and bottles of intoxicating, yet flammable alcohol, yet with the post they make you jump through hoops trying to send them?
My guess is a curbing of overseas parallel imports, and international internet auctions. Sure, there was a case of exploding laptop batteries in a Sony laptop years ago that might have prompted this, but what doesn't have a battery these days?
Crazy. Seems like it's not just Japan though. In Australia lithium batteries can only be send by road with Australia Post.
What a headache.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 11:59 pm 2 comments
Boomerang Looper
After I watched Heth and Jed in New York, and playing a lot of guitar in Yoyogi Park now that the weather had turned from freezing to heatwave, I've been inspired to push myself a little bit more to get out there.
I've given up on waiting for someone to jam with, instead figuring out a way just to do it all myself. Watching the guys on Staten Island gave me the idea of using a looper to add my own accompaniment on the fly. I thought of pre-recording some tracks onto my iPod, but I like the idea of a one man band doing it "on the spot".
So my search for a looper was on. I watched Heth explaining his setup on Youtube, and noticed he had a Boss RC-20XL loop station on his pedal board.
I looked it up and a LOT of other loopers.
It's advantage is it's battery powered, but I wanted more than a single overdubbed loop. Although, check out KC Tunstall and her E2 Headrush performance here and a Jackson 5 cover here. Great stuff.
The Boss RC-50 looked like just what I was after but it looked pretty big, and required to be plugged into a power supply. The reviews weren't that great, but there is a fantastic demo of it here that almost convinced me to get it.
Another option was to just buy a midi pedal board, and use the great (and free!) Mac program "Sooperlooper". It's quite easy to use and a lot of fun! The only negative here is that I'd be carting along a laptop where I play. Not the most ideal busking situation, but it was one I've been close to going for.
For something different I played around with Everyday Looper on the iPhone. This was a lot of fun too, but using it live with a guitar might be a little tricky trying to keep my hands free to play, rather than touching the screen. Highly recommended though!
Finally I wanted something small, but ticked all the boxes of what I was after. There are many favourable reviews of the Boomerang III phrase sampler.
I watched this video that shows just what this baby is capable of. You can have up to 4 loops with one of them being a master percussive loop that can continue behind all the other loops. That's what I had in mind so this should be perfect! Well, almost perfect. One "problem' is that it can't be powered by batteries.
Mike suggested a Duracell Powerpack but unfortunately here in Japan they can't be found. The closest I'm thinking of is an Eneloop Pedal Juice. Here they call it "Music Booster". It's a 9V Lithium-ion battery pack. According to the manual it says it can run off DC power, but I'm still waiting for Boomerang Music to get back to me about that. It might only give me 2 hours power but the Eneloops are much cheaper here in Japan that I could probably get two.
The Boomerang's made in the US and is probably considered a boutique pedal that it's hard to come by it here, but out of the blue like someone read my mind I saw one in a local music shop for sale and I jumped on it!
I made the trip out to Ikebukuro today to buy it. My first impression is that it looks bigger than it does in photos. For some reason I expected it to be about the same size as my Adrenalinn. In hindsight that would be totally impractical. This size leaves enough space to comfortably hit the footswitches.
They had trouble getting an input level, but it looks like the cord inputs are auto-sensing, so I suggest powering it down and on again, and it worked. It was mostly intuitive, but for all it can do I really needed a bit of owner manual help to know how the buttons functioned.
But you know I'm excited. Finally I might be able to realize those sounds in my head of my songs, and covers, that I don't need anyone else to help me do.
Busking may be my answer after all. Back to the boys for some more inspiration. Check this out too!
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 11:59 pm 2 comments
Thursday, 19 May 2011
Three Year Visa.. Again!
I received my postcard to come back into the Immigration office on Friday the 13th (lucky for some I guess). I was surprised that it only took 11 days to get my notification. I thought that the best time to go would be on my day off.
I planned to go to the park as well later in the day, so I decided to take my acoustic guitar along for the trip. It was a pretty hot day. It probably wasn't such a good idea as I also decided to walk from Shinagawa like I usually do. Even though it isn't the heaviest instrument, it was more of a burden than anything. The chu-his I put in my pocket probably didn't help too much either.
I arrived at 1pm and was fortunate enough that I was at the front of the line at the Permission Counter A. Before waiting in line I made sure to get my revenue stamps from the AMPM convenience store on the ground level - 4,000 yen for the visa extension stamp, and for good luck I got a 6,000 yen multiple entry stamp.
The approval counter is located on the same second floor as where I put in my application, but is on the right hand side. I followed a yellow A line on the floor. Once I handed in my revenue stamps and passport, I waited patiently for my number to be called. I wasn't feeling lucky. My passport expires before a whole three years is up, so I was figuring I'd only get a one year approved.
After about 35 minutes I went to the counter... and I got another 3 years! (I can see my parents reaction now as "LOL Wut?!?")
Whether I stay that long is probably doubtful, but it made me happy that I HAVE this option if I want it. Another teacher got another one year, so I don't know what it was that made them give it to me. The multiple entry visa (which costs more)? or my happy, smiling face?
As if I needed a reason I wanted to drink, so with a little extra spring to my step I made my way to Yoyogi Park to celebrate my "win". The other guys couldn't make it, but I didn't care. I had a little victory and I wasn't going to waste it.
I got there about 230-3. There's always quite a few people around enjoying the park. I sat down under a bit of shade that looked out onto the pond. This reminds me of Roma St Parklands where I did much the same thing.
I waited a short while to take in the tranquility, then broke open my first chu-hi and took out my guitar to play some tunes.
Although no one came directly up to me, quite a few people came fairly close sitting nearby and listening to me play. Two girls even managed to fall asleep on the grass. I guess my playing has that effect on some girls. A Japanese guy said he liked it, and asked to take my photo. I said ok, but I didn't look at the camera while I played. This definitely didn't happen back home.
As it got much cooler and closer to six I made my way to Shibuya to continue drinking with a friend at a bar. I had an "interesting" confrontation with one of those bad gaijins you hear about, but once they were gone, things were back to normal.
Well normal enough for Tokyo.
Sunday, 15 May 2011
Echo Park
Of course I didn't need it but G.A.S. is hitting me bad. I haven't bought a guitar for a while, but going into guitar shops is just asking for trouble.
I liked to have a cool delay pedal and the Line6 Echo Park was looking at me being the glass and said, "Buy me". It was only about 6,000 yen, so not such a great loss. I knew I'd be kicking myself if I passed it up. It wasn't brand new but good enough for the price.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 11:59 pm 4 comments
Wednesday, 4 May 2011
There Were Pandas?
In Japan the fourth of May is Greenery Day.
Apart from being a nice perk of a national holiday, it's also a day of free entry into Ueno Zoo! The last time I came, almost two years ago was also on a free day, but it fell on a Thursday so it wasn't this crowded.
By the time we got there, we found a line that seemed to have no end. It felt like we walked around the whole circumference of the park and gave up near the entry where we found a much shorter line. Apparently that line was to see the pandas. Sure, I'd like to see the pandas, but I'm not waiting all day in a queue to see Pandas for only a few minutes. Even more bizarre were people cueing up to take photos of their kids with panda statues!
The tiger and gorilla enclosures weren't the best suited for crowds of this size, so I joked to myself we would not see any animals at all today. There were bottlenecks in a lot of places, and kids rudely pushing in front of me quite often. Little s**ts.
I brought along my GH1 camera. Since I bought this one with the smaller zoom lens, I threw on my Nikon adapter and connected my 18-200mm. It's been a while since I used it, so my first photos were terrible. The Nikon lens has to be exposed and focused manually. Getting used to it again, my photos were turning out much better.
With this long zoom lens, it was pretty easy to get this close up to a giraffe.
Even better is getting some nice examples of Japanese English like this.
Who needs pandas? The real stars of the show have to be the penguins. I could look at these guys all day.
Even as we left the line for the pandas for as big as ever. I had great timing getting this picture of the "End of Panda line" guard losing his hat. I don't know how that happened!
Since we were in Ueno, I thought it'd be a good idea to check out Yamashiroya. Another teacher told me about it a while ago. Since Kiddyland is a little smaller these days, this looks like the best big toy store of the moment. After getting a bit burnt out wandering the zoo, we didn't stay there very long though.
The Uniqlo store was right next door and they had their T's on a 990 yen sale, so I got these two. Yes, that does say rubber band. I like a shirt with some kana on it too.
As we left Ueno we made our way close to Akihabara. My father wanted a Braun shaver, and I found a limited edition one considerably cheap than in Australia, so I decided to buy it to send it to him. Later I'd find it a bit of a headache, as you'll read in a later post.
We asked Yamashiroya if they could match a deal we saw at Toys R Us in Odaiba for Singamajigs, they said they don't match prices *big thumbs down*, so we decided to make our way back to Odaiba.
We passed through Ginza to get some anpan, then through Shinbashi where I noticed the Nakagin Capsule Tower.
To me this is a good example of a cool haikyo-style building. With the ever present threat of being demolished, I hope they choose to restore it. Tokyo needs more of these amazing structures.
By the time we got to the Rainbow Bridge it was getting late. We made our way across going along the walkway. I could never get sick of doing this. Our sole purpose was to get a pair of singamajigs that were about 3,000 yen for two.
How old am I. Crazy? Was there any doubt? I think they're cool no matter what. And yes that is a bubble blower you see between them. Oh.
Monday, 2 May 2011
Visa Renewal
I have this theory that when you wake up feeling depressed it's because you had a sad dream, or you realize you have to go to Immigration because your visa is almost expired.
My Visa is up for renewal by the end of this month. You can renew it up to two months before, but this year I was putting it off for as long as possible. I REALLY hate going there.
I don't think I explained what you have to do, so here you go -
There is a 200 yen bus that goes from Shinagawa Station to the Immigration Office, but like the other times, I walked there. It was a nice day and it's a pleasant walk.
Once inside there is an AMPM convenience store to get revenue stamps. 4,000 yen for your renewal, 3,000 yen for a single re-entry, and 6,000 yen for a multiple. NB: YOU DON'T NEED TO BUY THESE UNTIL YOU ACTUALLY COME BACK IN ABOUT TWO WEEKS AFTER APPROVAL.
You go up the escalator to the second floor and on the left side you'll see counters and a seating area. You go to Counter (B) to get your documents looked at (about 30 minute wait here), and there you'll be given a paper slip with a ticket number.
What you need is your passport, gaijin card, proof of employment and enrolment in National Health Insurance, and filled in application forms for visa renewal, and it's a good idea to do the form for re-entry to save you having to make an EXTRA unnecessary trip back to this place.
Once I got my number I waited about an hour to hand my forms in. YMMV depending on what time you get there, and how busy it is. Once forms are in, they'll get you to fill in a postcard with your address that will be sent when you come back in approximately two weeks to get those visa extension stamps pasted in your passport. I asked if 5 years was possible. After checking the guy said max was three years. Usually you get a approved a 1 or 3 year extension, but I heard a rumour that five years may be available in the future.
Walking back I could see that we weren't that far away from the Rainbow Bridge, so since it wasn't that late we decided to walk to Odaiba. Getting to the bridge took about 30 minutes. I'm sure people are sick of hearing me rave about going across the bridge on foot, but there are many great photo ops. This is my panorama "miniatures" version of the "island" you can see on the southside footpath looking across into Odaiba.
At the moment they are doing a trial of letting you take a bike along the bridge.
Unfortunately you can't ride it across, as they'll put a bike "skateboard" on your rear wheel. Still it's a great idea. Odaiba would be ideal to ride around.
This is a good place to take a date. We sat in a grassy area near the beach and had some onigiri (riceballs). I brought my 105 yen badminton set for a bit of exercise. They have quite a few mall shops to browse around too.
Being the big kid I am, we went to Toys R Us. We saw some really cute "Singamajig" talking plushies that we regretfully didn't end up buying. Who'd have thought in less than a few days we'd be making our way back here JUST to buy these?


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Ok, ok - so we were only rated #18 of the worlds "Most Livable Cities" list by Monocle magazine, but we are as good as it gets in the US! http://www.businessinsider.com/monocle- ... 011-6?op=1 Other Cascadian spots follow close behind with Vancouver, Canada at 20th and Seattle, Washington in the 25th spot.
While there are a number of things i dont care for about this video, I do think it offers a good "feel" for/of Portland: [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1B2_r6Azvg[/youtube]
Sooo... Who's coming to visit?!


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Department of Justice
For Immediate Release
Frederick Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Three Armed Stored Robberies
Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Roger W. Titus sentenced Steven Ray Williams, age 43, of Frederick, Maryland, today to 15 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for three armed robberies and for brandishing a gun during a crime of violence.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Acting Special Agent in Charge William P. McMullan of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives - Baltimore Field Division; Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department; and Chief Alan Goldberg of the Takoma Park Police Department.
According to Williams' plea agreement, on December 10, 2011 Williams and a co-conspirator robbed a store in the 15000 block of Frederick Road in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Williams and the co-conspirator accosted a store employee as he was opening the store, pointing a handgun at the employee and ordering the employee to open the safe. After the employee opened the safe, Williams and the co-conspirator wrapped the employee's arms and ankles with duct tape and fled the store, stealing $6,000 in store proceeds, as well as the employee's cell phone and wallet. On March 7, 2012, Williams and another co-conspirator robbed the same store, accosting two store employees as they were opening the store. Williams and the co-conspirator duct taped one of the employee's legs and wrists and forced the other store employee at gunpoint to open the safe. They then duct taped that employee's wrists, and fled the store, stealing $2,700 in store proceeds, as well as the cell phone of one of the employees.
On September 16, 2012, Williams and the two co-conspirators robbed a store located in the 6300 block of New Hampshire Avenue in Takoma Park, Maryland. One of the co-conspirators waited outside the store while Williams and the other co-conspirator entered the store. After the last customer had left the store, the co-conspirator locked the front door and Williams took out a gun, pointed it at a store employee and ordered the employee to take him to the store office, where the manager was counting money. After entering the office, Williams threw the employee to the floor and the co-conspirator tied his hands and feet using flex cuffs. They were unable to tie up the manager, so Williams held the gun to the manager's neck, while Williams and the co-conspirator collected the money the manager had been counting. While the robbery was taking place, an 81 year old customer managed to open the front door and entered the store. Williams and the co-conspirator tied the customer's hands with flex cuffs and dragged the customer to the back of the store. Williams and the co-conspirator ran out the back door with a bag filled with approximately $800 in store proceeds, but as they attempted to flee, they left the money outside the store.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the ATF, Montgomery County Police Department and Takoma Park Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Leah J. Bressack, Mara Zusman Greenberg and Kelly O. Hayes, who prosecuted the case.


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Automotive Sealants
Meeting the demands of the automotive industry with high-performance sealantsRead more
We have a long-standing involvement in the global transportation industry as an innovative provider of sealant systems. We offer a broad range of products for all stages of vehicle production, component manufacturing and assembly.
Our sealants make it possible to reduce vehicle weight and fulfil the demands of the industry for weather resistance and long-term mechanical performance. You will commonly find our sealant products used for specialist automotive applications like spot weld sealing and watershield sealing.
Our smart sealant systems are engineered for strength, durability, and styling aesthetics – all critical requirements in contemporary vehicle design and assembly. They satisfy the demands of automotive manufacturers for elasticity, torsional stiffness, temperature and weather resistance, adhesion to dissimilar materials, and minimal surface preparation.
Combining ease of use and corrosion resistance with heat resistance and strong adhesion to a wide variety of metal substrates – our spot weld sealant products are a perfect addition to any assembly line.
Offering strong, primerless adhesion to a range of automotive substrates, as well as excellent heat and humidity resistance, our hot melt solutions are highly flexible and impermeable, making them the ideal choice for watershield sealing.


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Wine expert Anthony Gismondi's news from the wine and food world, recommended B.C. wine of the week, and a wine to add to your cellar.
Anthony Gismondi: B.C. wine of the week, wine to cellar and calendar items
The World Travel Awards are coming to Canada — the Thompson Okanagan to be specific.
It's the result of a three-year bid and Predator Ridge Resort will host year one in Vernon, welcoming over 300 international delegates to the North American Gala Ceremony in October 2020.
The host city for the second and third years are to be announced next spring.
Typically the event hosts global airlines, tour operators, travel agents, international media, and hospitality professionals for the award ceremony.
So far there has been no mention of wine at the event which could be a good thing. Maybe organizers will look past the large commercial producers for a change and do something more in keeping with exciting and electric wines that are redefining the Okanagan and Thompson valleys from Lake Country to Osoyoos and Kamloops.
If you are Bordeaux lover, and a collector of fine wine, mark your calendar to note the release date of the 2016 Bordeaux Release, coming to 32 B.C. Liquor Stores on Sept. 28.
Widely hailed as an outstanding year for red Bordeaux — particularly in Paulliac, St. Julien and St. Estephe — you may want to visit a government liquor store very early that morning. As in past years, I suspect there will be customers, or their stand-ins, camping out all night to be among the first at the door. The warm, dry harvest period has experts comparing 2016 to 1990 and referring to the trio of 1988, 1989, and 1990 to 2014, 2015 and 2016 where each successive vintage was better than the one before.
B.C. Wine of the Week
Nk'Mip Cellars Talon 2016, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada
After an early white wine harvest, the weather cooled down, allowing the winemaking team to wait until Oct. 3 before picking the red grapes. The best blocks were left until Oct. 13 and picked through Nov. 3. Talon is 44 per cent Syrah with an 18/13/13/10/2 mix of Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Pinot Noir. The attack is rich with peppery, juicy, black fruit notes that persist throughout the finish. The structure is invitingly round but with enough acidity to keep it all fresh. It is well balanced. Most any hearty dish works here pasta with beef or mushrooms, grilled lamb or a simple T-bone steak. Excellent value. Talon is named for the mythical Thunderbird by North America's first Aboriginal owned and operated winery owned.
Wine for the Cellar
Ornellaia Rosso 2014, Bolgheri, Tuscany, Italy
The Ornellaia estate lies camouflaged in the low hills that create the Bolgheri amphitheatre capturing all that the Mediterranean offers, including increased luminosity and cool maritime breezes throughout the growing season. The blend is a 34/32/20/14/ mix of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Rounder and more luxurious than the norm, what it lacks in tension and energy it over-delivers in texture and weight. The winemaking is artisanal, hand-picked and sorted, and barely crushed it spends 12 months in barriques as single varietal wine before it's blended and returned to barrel for six more months. Post-bottling it spends another year at the winery before release. 2014 will have slightly shorter aging potential, but it is fun to drink now, and I suspect it will remain so over the next decade.


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Gas Piping Services in Red Oak, TX
Maybe you're in need of:
- A new gas line installation for a new building
- A gas line extension to a new appliance
- A replacement valve for your gas line
- Upgraded, larger gas piping
- A regulator installation for your gas line
If you need gas piping or fitting service or gas line or appliance hook-up in the Red Oak, TX area, call Dial One Johnson Plumbing, Cooling & Heating! Our friendly and efficient plumbing contractors can help.
Gas Line Service
As an experience gas piping company in Red Oak, we can help install, replace, or repair your gas line. A plumber is needed for gas work most often when homeowners or property managers need a gas line installed or extended for a new system or appliance. These include:
- Gas fireplaces
- Gas heaters
- Gas ranges
- Gas grills
- Gas water heaters
- Outdoor kitchens
- And more
Whether you own a home or commercial property in Red Oak, Dial One Johnson Plumbing, Cooling & Heating can help install, extend, or repair your gas line. If you need service, contact us today!
Gas Fitting Service
Gas is a cost-effective heating method that many Red Oak home and commercial building owners choose to use. While using gas is a convenient and good choice, it is not something that you should try to work with yourself. A professional, trained, licensed plumber should always take care of your gas fittings for you.
If you are unsure what you need our plumbers to do, but you have a new gas appliance or think you may have a gas leak or malfunction, call Dial One Johnson Plumbing, Cooling & Heating! We are always happy to take the time to answer questions, and will help you understand if you simply need your gas line installed or extended, or if you should look into upgrading your gas piping, replacing valves, or installing a regulator.
24 Hour Gas Leak Repair Service
We offer emergency services in Red Oak for gas leaks. Gas has a rotten egg odor—if you smell this you should get out your building quickly and contact the fire department and your gas supplier immediately. The fire department will make sure that the situation is safe and we will fix gas lines afterwards. If you need gas leak repair service in Red Oak, don't worry—we can help completely return your home to the safe environment it once was.
Call Dial One for Gas Piping Service in Red Oak Today!
Ready to have your gas work performed by an expert Red Oak plumber? Call Dial One Johnson Plumbing, Cooling & Heating today!
Our Reputation Speaks For ItselfReviews & Testimonials
Staff Cared About Their Customers- Carolyn G.
Great Service!- Daniel
Excellent Work, Quick Service & Fair Rates !- Sherry F.
Great Customer Service- Robert S.
Returning Customer Again !- Robert B.


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If there ever was a man I respected this much, it would be Michael. Serving with this guy made my tour worth the risk. There was never a more dedicated Platoon Leader and his respect for the Iraqi Culture was superb.
On March 20th, 2009, Army Ranger 1st Lieutenant Michael Behenna was sentenced to 25 years in prison for killing Ali Mansur, a known Al Qaeda operative while serving in Iraq. Mansur was known to be a member of an Al Qaeda cell operating in the lieutenant's area of operation and Army intelligence believed he organized an attack on Lt. Behenna's platoon in April 2008 which killed two U.S. soldiers and injured two more. Army intelligence ordered the release of Mansur and Lt. Behenna was ordered to return the terrorist to his home.
During the return of Mansur, Lt. Behenna again questioned the Al Qaeda member for information about other members of the terrorist cell, and financial supporters. During this interrogation, Mansur attacked Lt. Behenna, who killed the terrorist in self-defense. The government subsequently prosecuted Lt. Behenna for premeditated murder.
Not only is this a miscarriage of justice on the behalf of Lt. Behenna, who was acting to prevent further loss of life in his platoon, it is demoralizing to the U.S. troops who continue to fight on behalf of the freedom and security of our nation. Whether it is U.S. border patrol agents, members of the armed forces, or FBI agents, no individual who is serving on the frontlines in the War on Terror should be so blatantly mistreated.
We urgently need your help to correct this terrible wrong against a loyal and faithful soldier. Please contact your congressman and ask them to intervene on behalf of 1LT Behenna. Below is a brief recap of the relevant aspects of Lt. Behenna's case.
- September 2007: 1st Lieutenant Michael Behenna deployed to Iraq for his first combat experience
- April 21, 2008: Lt. Behenna's platoon was attacked by Al Qaeda operatives. The attack resulted in the death of two of Lt. Behenna's platoon members, two Iraqi citizens, and wounded two additional soldiers under Lt. Behenna's command.
- May 5, 2008: Known terrorist Mansur was detained at his home for involvement in the attack on Lt. Behenna's platoon
- May 16, 2008: Without explanation Army Intelligence orders the release of Mansur
- Lt. Behenna, who lost two members of his platoon just weeks earlier, was ordered to transport Mansur back to his home
- Lt. Behenna attempts a final interrogation of Mansur prior to his release
- During the interrogation, Behenna is attacked by Mansur and is forced to defend himself by firing two shots which kill Mansur
- Lt. Behenna panics and fails to properly report the incident
- Three days after Mansur's death the Army issues a Kill / Capture order for Mansur for his terrorist activities (not knowing he was already dead)
- July 2008: The U.S. Army charges Lt. Behenna with premeditated murder for the death of Al Qaeda operative and terrorist Ali Mansur.
- February 23, 2009: Lt. Behenna's trial begins
- Government and defense experts agree on the trajectory of the bullets killing Mansur
- On the evening of February 25th, prosecution expert witness Dr. Herbert MacDonnell tells the prosecution attorneys that based upon the evidence he has seen the only logical explanation for what happened was that Mansur had to be standing, reaching for 1LT Behenna's gun when he was shot. This contradicted the prosecution's argument that Mansur was executed while seated on a rock.
- On February 26th 1LT Behenna tells the jury that while he was interrogating Mansur he turned back to his interpreter and when he did so Mansur lunged for his gun. The 1LT moved to the left and fired a control pair of shots. This explanation was identical to what prosecution expert witness Dr. MacDonnell had told the prosecution team the night before.
- During a recess after 1LT Behenna's testimony Dr. MacDonnell meets with the prosecution team (Megan Poirier, Jason Elbert, and Erwin Roberts) in their meeting room and tells them that what Michael had just testified towas exactly what he had demonstrated to them the day before and that Michael Behenna 'must be telling the truth'. He told them that in the interest of justice they should put him on the stand. They looked at him coldly and said they no longer needed his services and were flying him home that night. On his way out of the courtroom he tells Jack Zimmerman, defense counsel, that he would have made a great witness for 1LT Behenna. Zimmerman asks him why and Dr. MacDonnell says he can't say because he was still an expert witness for the government, but to ask the prosecutors.
- The first thing the next morning Zimmermann asks prosecutors if they have any exculpatory evidence that should be provided to the defense as a result of Dr. MacDonnell's comment. Prosecutors deny having any such evidence despite having been told by their own expert witness that Lt Behenna's explanation was the only logical explanation.
- In closing arguments on February 27th prosecutor Jason Elbert argues that 1LT Behenna's testimony that Mansur was reaching for his gun was 'impossible' based upon the evidence (despite knowing that his own expert witness had told him it was the only logical explanation.)
- Later that Friday night Lt. Behenna is convicted of unpremeditated murder and assault by a military panel of seven officers, none of whom had combat experience.
- Dr. MacDonnell sends an email to the prosecution team requesting that the information provided in his demonstration be turned over to the defense.
- One of the prosecutors provides such information late Friday night, after a verdict was rendered, but prior to sentencing.
- At the request of the presiding judge, Dr. MacDonnell provides his information to the court via telephone
- The judge orders both sides in the case to file briefs relating to a possible mistrial
- After reading the briefs the judge set an additional hearing and ordered additional briefs, including one from the defense requesting a new trial
- On March 20, the judge denied both defense motions to declare a mistrial and to order a new trial. 1LT Behenna is given 30 minutes to say goodbye to his family and is taken to the county jail
- A week later Lt. Behenna is paraded in handcuffs through the Nashville airport, the Milwaukee airport, and the Kansas City airport en route to Fort Leavenworth Prison
- Lt. Behenna's attorneys are appealing the verdict on the basis that he did not received a fair trial
- Lt. Behenna is currently serving a 15-year sentence (the 25 year sentence was reduced five years by the commanding general of 101st Airborne and reduced another five years by the Army Clemency Board.) The earliest he would be eligible for parole is after serving a third of his sentence. Without parole or a new trial Lt. Behenna will get out of prison for the shooting an Al Qaeda terrorist in self defense when he is 40 years old.
1st Lieutenant Michael Behenna was an excellent officer. He received his call to serve his country while attending the University of Central Oklahoma. He is from a family of public servants, his mother being an Assistant United States Attorney and his father a retired Special Agent with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. He has served the Army and the United States with honor and dignity. To sacrifice the life of this Oklahoma soldier over the death of a known terrorist, is a breech of faith with all who are serving our country. Please stand with us and demand justice for this American hero!!! He fought for you; now please fight for him!


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The next tube of lipstick you buy from L'Oréal may be brought to you by cow dung. The company's Belgium factory is installing a biomass electricity-generating system that will essentially power the factory on poop.
The new anaerobic digestion system will capture methane from waste provided by nearby cattle farms and turn it into electriticy. 85% of the cosmetics factory's power will be supplied by the system. According to L'Oréal, it's part of an effort to reduce the company's carbon footprint, and will cut emissions to 50% of the level recorded in 2005 by 2015. That's something everything can get, ahem, behind.
L'Oreal's Cosmetics Factory Set To Run On Poop [Inhabitat, via Allure]
[Image via Flickr.]


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Josh Smith had 30 points and 10 rebounds and Al Horford added 26 points and 12 rebounds as the Atlanta Hawks blew past the Orlando Magic 108-76 on Wednesday night.
The Hawks led by as many as 38 points and decimated the Magic defense on the way to earning their ninth consecutive regular-season win over their division rivals.
Jameer Nelson and Andrew Nicholson led the Magic with 10 points apiece. No other Orlando players reached double-figures.
The Magic have now lost 24 of their last 27 games.
It was the last game for both teams before the All-Star break. Orlando heads to Charlotte on Feb. 19 and Atlanta next plays at Miami on Feb. 20.
Horford and Smith scored at will both inside and from the outside, and had a combined point total that equaled the Magic's team total after three quarters.
It was Smith's third 30-point game this season and 22nd double-double of the year. He now has 200 double-doubles for his career.
The Magic entered the night having already seen nine players miss time this season because of injury.
They were dealt a different kind of blow Wednesday when the NBA announced that forward Hedo Turkoglu would be suspended 20 games for taking a steroid.
Turkoglu, who had already missed 31 games this season because of injury and illness, will be out until late March.
It didn't seem like it would be such a lopsided night early on.
The Hawks' started the game just 1 for 10 from the field and had just a six-point cushion after one. They erupted in the second, though, outscoring the Magic 32-17 as they built a 21-point halftime lead.
Orlando never recovered.
Horford and Smith combined for 30 points and 17 rebounds in the half, just a shade under the 36 points and 18 rebounds the Magic had as a team.
Hawks G Devin Harris was whistled for his first technical foul of the season in the first quarter....G Kyle Korver has now made at least one 3-pointer in each of his last 45 games, the longest active streak in the NBA....The Magic fell to 5-18 this season when their opponent scores at least 100 points.


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Microsoft and Sourcesense have announced that the two companies will collaborate on the strategy, development, and deployment of open source solutions for Microsoft Office.
One of the initial goals of the partnership is contributing to the development of a new version of Apache POI, a top-level project of the Apache Software Foundation (ASF). Apache POI is a Java API used to access and manage Microsoft Office binary formats, and can be applied to billions of binary format documents by alleviating the need for complex programming and/or reverse engineering. Because Apache POI libraries are used in numerous open source projects, developing future libraries to support the Ecma Office Open XML File Formats (the default file format in the 2007 Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint products) will play an important role in new interoperability scenarios where XML-based standard formats will be key for Office documents.
"Apache POI support for Open XML is compelling. It makes it easier to integrate, manage and deploy across the enterprise, and opens up valuable user contributions and feedback -- an essential step to the interoperability and adoption of many collaboratively developed technologies," said Gianugo Rabellino, CEO of Sourcesense.
Apache POI support for Open XML is currently in development within the Apache Software Foundation; its first release is anticipated during the second quarter of 2008. Code contributions are made by ASF members and committers, and overseen by the Apache POI Project Management Committee (PMC).