text:
Top News:
Google Book Search Blog:
Books of the world, stand up and be counted! All 129,864,880 of you. — When you are part of a company that is trying to digitize all the books in the world, the first question you often get is: "Just how many books are out there?" — Well, it all depends on what exactly you mean by a "book."
Discussion: CrunchGear, Gawker, Fast Company, The Official Google Blog, The Atlantic Online, ResourceShelf and GalleyCat, more at Techmeme »
Devin Coldewey / CrunchGear: Google Books Determines That There Are 129,864,880 Books In The World (For Now)
Dan Nosowitz / Fast Company: How Many Books Are There in the World?
Leonid Taycher / The Official Google Blog: You can count the number of books in the world on 25,972,976 hands
Alexis Madrigal / The Atlantic Online: Google: There Are Exactly 129,864,880 Books in the World
Jason Boog / GalleyCat: Google Counts 129,864,880 Books in the World
Dan Kennedy / Media Nation:
Hard times working the Patch — Boston Globe reporter Johnny Diaz today writes about Patch.com, the AOL-owned network of hyperlocal news sites that is (excuse me) sprouting up around the country. — As I noted earlier, Diaz writes that Patch is up against considerable competition in Greater Boston …
Discussion: Lost Remote and NetNewsCheck Latest
Johnny Diaz / Boston Globe:
With Patch, AOL offers challenge to local news
With Patch, AOL offers challenge to local news
Jim Romenesko / Romenesko: AOL now has 99 Patch news sites in nine states
Russell Adams / Wall Street Journal:
Condé Nast Titles Morph Into Restaurants — Condé Nast is taking some of its best-known magazine names and parlaying them into the restaurant business in Asia, the Middle East and Latin America. — The effort reflects a growing openness among magazine publishers to try …
Discussion: Romenesko, Techdirt, New York Observer and Eater National
Jim Romenesko / Romenesko: Conde Nast to license magazine names for restaurants
Mike Masnick / Techdirt: From Magazines To Restaurants... Conde Nast Licensing Magazine Names For Restaurants
Zeke Turner / New York Observer: 'Glamour' Gordita! …
Paula Forbes / Eater National: Condé Nast Restaurants: In an effort to grow the...
Nat Ives / AdAge:
Why the San Fran Chronicle Is Running Demand Media Content — Q&A With SFGate.com Digital Media VP Michele Slack — NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — Two Hearst newspapers' websites have gone live with new sections from Demand Media, one of the content-generation companies that tap thousands of freelancers to generate countless articles.
Gavin O'Malley / MediaPost: Demand Media Extends Content Model To Other Publishers, Hearst …
Michael Wolff / Vanity Fair:
The Gray Lady of Cable News — Many think Jon Klein, president of CNN/U.S., has lost the cable-news war to Fox. But CNN has racked up record profits by being bland. — MOST BUSTED NAMES IN NEWS? — Jon Klein is an extremely affable broadcast-news executive, a chinos …
Discussion: Inside Cable News, Romenesko, The Wire, CJR and TVNewser
Joel Meares / CJR: Wolff mauls CNN
Alex Weprin / TVNewser: Michael Wolff, Vanity Fair Weigh in on CNN
Jonathan Stray / Nieman Journalism Lab:
How The Guardian is pioneering data journalism with free tools — The Guardian takes data journalism seriously. They obtain, format, and publish journalistically interesting data sets on their Data Blog, they track transparency initiatives in their searchable index of world government data …
Discussion: eMedia Vitals
Katherine Heisler / eMedia Vitals: How The Guardian is pioneering data journalism with free tools
USA Today:
USA TODAY hosts Mashable Summer Tour Event and Syndicates Mashable Content — As we mentioned a few weeks ago, Mashable's Summer Tour will be heading to the DC-area tonight. USA TODAY will serve as host for the event and we're looking forward to having the team from Mashable, and their guests, at our headquarters.
Discussion: Nieman Journalism Lab
David Kaplan / paidContent:
Hyperlocal Gets Highbrow In Public TV Online Video Joint Venture — A large part of success is making the right connections early on. That lesson isn't lost on the start-up Capital New York, a literary and cultural online-only news mag that is solely focused on the Big Apple.
Rebecca Lieb / the Econsultancy blog:
Q&A: Wenda Harris Millard — Wenda Harris Millard is an icon in digital advertising and media. As co-chairman of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, and before that chief sales officer at Yahoo, not to mention chair of the IAB, she's long been as out there as she has been outspoken - a passionate advocate for the industry.
Knight Foundation News Releases:
Knight Foundation Names Program Director for Strategic Initiatives — Veteran Social Entrepreneur Siobhan Canty Will Help Work Across Disciplines to Promote Informed and Engaged Communities — MIAMI - Veteran social entrepreneur and nonprofit executive Siobhan Canty has joined Knight Foundation …
Discussion: KnightBlog
Marika Lynch / KnightBlog: Veteran Social Entrepreneur Joins Knight Foundation
Jason Kincaid / TechCrunch:
Google, Verizon Deny NYT Story On Their Undermining Of Net Neutrality — Yesterday, the New York Times published a story that detailed an agreement in the works between Verizon and Google that would effectively kill off net neutrality by allowing "Verizon to speed some online content …
Discussion: Scott Rosenberg's Wordyard, CNET News, GigaOM, Guardian, msnbc.com, Romenesko, BuzzMachine, Epicenter, NewTeeVee, Broadcasting & Cable, 24/7 Wall St., Technology Liberation Front, DailyFinance, Mashable!, The Huffington Post, Techland, Online NewsHour, Silicon Alley Insider, Digital Daily, ReadWriteWeb, Fortune, Beyond Binary, Search Engine Land and CNBC, more at Techmeme »
Scott Rosenberg / Scott Rosenberg's Wordyard: Could Google's neutrality backstab be a fake?
Molly Wood / CNET News: Net neutrality is dead (on wireless networks)
Stacey Higginbotham / GigaOM: Genachowski, Man Up! And Silicon Valley, Wake Up!
Josh Halliday / Guardian: Google denies 'two-tier internet' deal
Suzanne Choney / msnbc.com: Google, Verizon deny talks about Web pay tiers
Jim Romenesko / Romenesko: NYT says it stands by its Google-Verizon story
Adam Thierer / Technology Liberation Front: CNBC Debate on Net Neutrality Regulation & Pricing Freedom
Nikhil Hutheesing / DailyFinance: Google Denies 'Devil's Pact' With Verizon on Tiered Services
Lowell Peterson / The Huffington Post: Verizon and Google: The Deal of the Titans
Chris Amico / Online NewsHour: Would a Google-Verizon Deal Kill Net Neutrality?
Nick Saint / Silicon Alley Insider: Now Verizon Says The New York Times Is Wrong About Net Neutrality Too
John Paczkowski / Digital Daily: Google Won't Violate Net Neutrality if It Can Redefine It First
Mike Melanson / ReadWriteWeb: Google, Verizon Look to Sabotage Net Neutrality with Deal [UPDATE: Google Denial]
Seth Weintraub / Fortune: Google-Verizon Net Neutrality talks confuse (Updatedx2)
Greg Sterling / Search Engine Land: Report: Verizon And Google In "Neutrality" Agreement Over Preferred Content Access
Jim Romenesko / Romenesko:
Ex-Chicago Tribune editor: Marine interns were observers, not journalists — From HOWARD TYNER: While I have to admire the intrepid reporter whose sleuthing unearthed infiltration of the Chicago Tribune newsroom 7-8 years ago by the US Marine Corps, I also think a few clarifications are in order.
Discussion: FishbowlNY and Yahoo! News
Alex Alvarez / FishbowlNY: Active-Duty Marines Have Been "Reverse Embedded" …
Julia Angwin / Digits:
Lawmakers Seek Answers on Online Tracking — U.S. Reps. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Joe Barton, R-Texas, are seeking information about the privacy practice of the 15 websites that the Wall Street Journal has identified as installing the most tracking technology on their visitors' computers.
Discussion: Mother Jones and BuzzMachine, more at Techmeme »
Jeff Jarvis / BuzzMachine: Privacy paranoia dramatized
Johnnie L. Roberts / The Wrap:
Universal Studios and the Los Angeles Times clashed last month after the newspaper published a blistering review of "Despicable Me" on the same day the studio ran an elaborate ad for the movie that took over most of the front of the "Calendar" section, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Discussion: Mediaite
Meenal Vamburkar / Mediaite: Universal Studios And LA Times Clash Over Despicable Me Ad
David Kaplan / paidContent:
Viacom Profits Surge, But Home Entertainment Revenues Stumble — Viacom (NYSE: VIA) showed the true benefits of having the dual revenue streams of advertising and cable, as its networks division, which includes its MTV Networks, saw dollars rise 6.4 percent and profit gain 14 percent.
Discussion: Company Town, Thomson IR, Variety, NewTeeVee and The Wrap
Dylan Stableford / The Wrap: Thanks, Snooki! Viacom Profits Soar 51% on Cable Revenues
Ken Doctor / Nieman Journalism Lab:
The Newsonomics of the fading 80/20 rule — [Each week, our friend Ken Doctor — author of Newsonomics and longtime watcher of the business side of digital news — writes about the economics of the news business for the Lab.] — Jim Moroney thinks he may be on to a new formula.
Discussion: Romenesko and Gannett Blog
Jim Romenesko / Romenesko: The old 80/20 rule for newspapers is out the window


text:
Can someone give this guy a hand for craftsmanship? Not only did a Japanese guy take the time to recreate a Nintendo Famicom (aka NES) out of wood, but he turned it into a guitar, complete with a gamepad headstock. Some of the tiny details include a cartridge right behind the bridge, real, wood buttons on the headstock, and a second controller below the high E string.
I'd love to kick out the jams on this thing for sure. Though I'm a bit curious as to how the tone sounds.
Nintendo Family Computer guitar [Boing Boing]

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Last revised on 31 March 2015
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text:
When i circled the Social Game Developers Rant in my GDC schedule as a must-see session, i had no idea that i'd wind up improvising my own rant in front of the thousands of attendees. The story of how that happened is an interesting study in the attitudes of the game industry's top iconic figures, and how their influence flavours the way the rest of us see the social games space.
Image from last year's rant unceremoniously ganked from Jason Della Rocca's blog and used here without permission.
Respect is Earned
"No F@%$ucking Respect! Social Game Developers Rant Back" was held in one of the largest spaces at the Game Developers Conference: room 3014 in the West Hall, which seats roughly a billion people. The lunch time session promised informed, thought-provoking and entertaining rants from a line-up of the usual suspects:
- Ian Bogost, wry academic and creator of the Cow Clicker parody of social games
- Brenda Brathwaite, opinionated champion of (sometimes manipulatively) emotional games
- Trip Hawkins, a cool and collective business maven who happened to found Electronic Arts
- Chris Hecker, game graphics guru and indie advocate
- Steve Meretsky, best known to me for his work in interactive fiction back in the day
- Brian Reynolds, comparitively mild-mannered designer of some pioneering 4x games (and token Zynga panelist)
- Scott Jon Siegel, a Playdom designer who was billed as the panel's youngster, but who actually had more experience in social games than anyone else on the panel (a point he made abundantly clear in a loud, fast-paced, and HILARIOUS "bonus rant", my favourite moment in the whole session)
Floating in the background was Jason Della Rocca, former IGDA chief who, i should point out, knows me. Moderating the panel was the equal-parts energetic and abrasive Eric Zimmerman.
Pay to Play
As i entered the room, a CA (volunteer "conference associate" who checks badges and collects session feedback forms) was handing everyone a plastic coin from an orange bag. i was intrigued, and rubbed the ersatz booty between my fingers while the first delegates slowly trickled in. A slide on the A/V screen explained the point of the coins: the person who collected the most coins from the other players in the room by the halfway point of the session would be invited to the front to do a "guest rant" on social games.
i didn't really want to rant, dear readers … but i DID want to win the game. i looked around the room at the hundred-or-so delegates and quickly calculated the amount of glad-handing and baby-kissing i'd have to do to amass enough coins to win. i knew i was up against the likes of Jane McGonigal, who despite being featured in two or three other GDC panels and talks that week AND a recent Colbert Report episode was nonetheless salivating over the chance to grab the mic yet again. i knew i was no match for Jane's celebrity, eagerness, and feminine wiles. What chance did a chubby nobody with lunch stuck in his teeth have against a Colbert alum?
Clearly, my only recourse was to use social engineering to win the social game.
The Game Was Afoot
i strode back to the entrance, to where the deliciously young and impressionable CA was handing out the coins. In an urgent voice, i said "Excuse me! Chris Hecker, one of the panelists, said he only really wants about half the room to get these coins. He sent me to get the bag and run it up to him at the front of the room."
Then, with no skepticism or suspicion, the CA pleasantly purred "sure," and handed me the bag.
He HANDED me the bag. The bag with all the coins. i had all the coins.
My heart racing, i rushed back to my seat at the other end of the cavernous room. i have never shoplifted before. i've never possessed an illicit substance. i'm known to my small segment of the industry as being unfailingly honest, often to my detriment. And here, through the uncharacteristic use of cunning and deceit, i had snatched the entire bag of plastic coins that GDC's social games industry powerhouses needed to run their social game. i tried to judge how best to cram the coins into my body cavity to hide them, and decided instead to furtively stuff the bag into my backpack before giddily awaiting the coming storm.
A Vote for Jane
Meanwhile, my impromptu nemesis Jane McGonigal had started campaigning for coins. At that time, she apparently didn't have a rant idea either – she, like me, just wanted the coins. She came closer to my row, and appealed to the crowd to give her their coins. i, mad with secret power, tried to look casual as i turned to face her in my seat and said "you're not gonna win."
"Why not?" she said, annoyed. This was Jane McGonigal, after all. Why wouldn't she win?
"Because i'm gonna win." It was a bold claim from a guy casually kicking back in his seat, surrounded by delegates who still had their coins. Deciding not to waste any more time on my cryptic claims (which were just my misguided attempt at good-natured smacktalk), she spun around to bring her coin campaign to the delegates in other rows.
The Jig Was Up
Meanwhile, at the front of the room, i heard either Jason or Eric snap "what do you mean someone stole the bag??" Oh crap. The doe-eyed CA, realizing he'd been duped, started scanning the rows of seats for me, patrolling them like a prison warden. i kept my head low and stared at my backpack on the floor – the very backpack that burned with ill-gotten gold. Soon, my pretties … soon, it would all be mine.
i exhaled heavily when the rants finally started. Only about an eighth of the attendees had actually received coins (thanks to me), but Eric never let on. He cheerily explained the rules a few more times, never letting on what had happened, and then the ranting began. Panelists after panelist took to the mic to plead their cases on the validity of social games. At the halfway point, Eric announced that it was time to learn the results of the game: who in the room had collected the most coins from the other players?
A few murmurs of "i have five coins" and "i've got a couple" kicked things off. Jane McGonigal jumped up and proudly presented her handful. Eric seemed pleased that the winner was someone he knew and could trust not to be an ass on the mic.
And then i stood up.
On the chair.
And, holding the orange plastic bag aloft like Perseus presenting the head of Medusa, defiantly proclaimed "I HAVE THE ENTIRE BAG."
It was exactly like this, except that i had pants on. …. and i have a much bigger cock.
The room erupted. Some people laughed. Some jeered. Some guffawed. i was beaming, incredibly pleased with myself, like a toddler who's just learned to take off his own diaper. i fully expected Eric and the other panelists to smile along with me. Aha! We are social gamers, this was a social game, and somehow this delegate had managed to convince, through social contrivance, the impressionable CA to hand him the bag of coins.
It recalled the massive coup in the MMO Eve Online, in which social maneuvering led to a devastating take-over of one of the game's most powerful cabals.
Taking Crayons, Going Home
Through my squinty smile, i scanned the faces of Jason, Eric, and the panelists. It was not a pretty sight. They were scowling. Actually scowling. "You took the whole bag?" they said, disgusted.
"Well … yeah!"
"That was against the rules, though." This last came soberly. "It was against the RULES." Zimmerman petulantly wagged a finger at the slide.
"No it wasn't. It was a social game, and i gamed it socially. The CA handed me the bag."
"B… but you have to get the coins from other players."
A hurried debate broke out about whether or not the CA was a player, and whether or not i had taken the coins "legally". My interpretation of the rules was that the player with the most coins wins, and i had the most coins. Someone else spoke up and said "We don't even know he has any coins, though. He's just holding a plastic bag. He might not have ANY coins."
The weight of the coin bag pressed heavily against my palm. i was irked. Not only did the bag contain coins, but it contained nearly ALL the coins – enough for the hundreds in attendance and then some. And they were MY coins. Not only was i denied my hero's welcome and a pomp-filled invite to the front of the room … now i was being accused of CHEATING, and worse … of not even having all the coins.
Someone in the audience shouted out "Who do you think you are – Zynga??" The crowd laughed.
"Show us," said someone on the panel. "Show us the coins you supposedly collected."
My fist tightened on the orange plastic bag. Through knitted eyebrows, i raised the bag over my head and showered myself in a cascade of gleaming, glittering plastic coins. It was like that scene from Flashdance, except with a chubby fully-dressed nerd instead of half-naked Jennifer Beals. When the torrent of winnings finally dripped dry, i casually tossed the empty bag on the coin-littered floor and held my hands out plaintively to appease the room.
Eric spun to address the panelists. "What do you think? Should we let this CHEATER do a guest rant?" To a man, every single one of the panelists gave me a thumbs down.
You Don't Know What You've Got Til It's McGonigal
i had been robbed. And Jane McGonigal, flaxen-haired upholder of the game creators' true intent, was named the winner.
Two twists in this story came one after the other: Jane was invited up to speak, and brought two friends with her. i later learned that the organizers considered this a cheat as well. In another unexpected turn, Eric came up to me during the rants and mouthed "Do you still wanna say something?" i mouthed "Sure." Then he mouthed "Okay, but keep it to ten words or less. TEN WORDS. Ten." He held up ten fingers. "Ten."
"Sure – okay." i nodded. Had he actually said what i thought he'd said? He was going to let me do a rant? And he wanted me to keep it to ten words? What could i possibly say in ten words??
In Ten Words
Eric stayed true to his promise. Just before the final ranter, Ian Bogost, took to the stage, Eric announced that "in the spirit of mischief", he was going to let me do a SPECIAL MINI-RANT. The key word, of course, was "mini". i jogged up to the front and grabbed the mic, then turned around to face the enormous crowd.
i looked at Eric's eager face, at his pleading eyes, and remembered his rule: ten words or less. i felt the metal of the microphone that had been burned up, spat in, and blessed by the panelists before me. And as Eric made the hand-over-hand "hurry up" motion frantically from the front of the room, i decided to break another rule. i gripped the mic and said to myself "from my cold dead hand, Zimmerman." And then i proceeded to rant for as long as i damn well pleased.
Given the same opportunity, what would you say? What kind of rant could you improvise in front of a room stuffed with some of the most talented and well-known game developers in the business, and at GDC, the Mecca of your industry? The scheduled panelists had months to write and practice their rants. i had moments. Predictably, nothing i said was particularly Earth-shattering, but the point i tried to get across was this:
We like to brag about how the games industry brings in more money than the film industry, but as soon as someone like Zynga makes enough money to trigger our envy, we invent interpretations of the game rules to say it's not okay. Zynga is standing on a chair in the middle of a crowded room showering itself with coins, and instead of applauding them for their ingenuity, we're crying foul and pointing to the ways in which they've broken the "rules".
Meanwhile, we are breaking the very same rules: the addictive qualities of Facebook social games can be found throughout all our games. i talked about how i had skipped three real-world Hallowe'en parties to stay home and collect the spooky furniture set in Animal Crossing, and how i had spent an ungodly number of hours chasing after the legendary dogs in Pokemon Silver. In both cases, i had to decide on my own that these games had become a chore rather than a source of fun and entertainment, and i stopped playing them.
In the amount of time i spent playing Animal Crossing, i could have MADE Animal Crossing.
But this is a case of the pot calling the kettle addictive. Zynga is no more culpable for introducing addictive hooks in games than any other developer. At GDC, years before Zynga's triumph, the Casual Games Summit speakers all talked about how they needed to make their games more addictive. One of the most popular and profitable game portals for tweens, AddictingGames.com, makes absolutely no bones about it.
Jane McGonigal bent the rules to bring her buddies up to share her rant time, but her shenanigans were sanctioned by the industry guard. i, a relative newcomer, bent the rules by taking all the coins, was accused of cheating, and was barred entry into the club. Tellingly, for all the complaining we do about Zynga, their GDC session on developing games for 43-year-old women was standing room only.
For all the spectacle, for all the drama, and for making an enormous ass of myself, i don't regret a single moment of it. If anything, bucking convention and winning the coin game reminded me that the greatest gains are made by subversion, disruption, and going against the grain.
In short: break the rules, get the coins.


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If this is your first visit to our blog, welcome! You can find many other Christ-centered Christmas ideas like these on this blog and on our preschool curriculum website – ABC Jesus Loves Me. We hope that you will visit a while and let us know what questions you have!
I just got off the phone with my friend and I am excited! We are planning a Happy Birthday Jesus Party for our kiddos and two other families.
Thought maybe you would like to see what we have planned!
Just to help you understand the number of kiddos and ages that we are planning for: 4 boys 1st-3rd Grade, 4 girls 1st through 5 years, 3 year old, 2 year old, and 1 year old
Supplies Needed
Wide Popsicle Sticks (some precut to make the different sized branches for the tree)
Glue (Hot glue would work well for the Christmas Trees)
Paint Brushes
Craft Items to Decorate the Trees
The Tale of Three Trees Book
Manger Scene (hidden around the room)
3 layered round cake – red, green, and chocolate layers
White frosting
Yellow frosting
Christmas Tree Ornaments
Since dry time is needed, begin the party with this fun craft from Little Sprouts. Using craft scissors, cut the popsicle sticks to the size needed. Then glue them together with a hot glue gun and paint. While the glue and paint is drying, have fun with the other activities. Return to the crafts, decorate and add a piece of string to the back of the ornament to make it able to be hung.
Christmas Scavenger Hunt
Build a Nativity Scene
What Doesn't Belong?
Joseph? Yes, Luke 2
Angel? No, Luke 2:15
Happy Birthday, Jesus Cake
When cooled, stack the chocolate layer, red layer in the middle, ending with the green layer with white frosting in between. Frost the entire cake with white frosting. Add yellow decorations and candles to the top.
The chocolate layer reminds us that our heart is full of sin.
The red layer reminds us that Jesus shed His blood for our sins.
The white frosting reminds us that Jesus will forgive our sins and give us a clean heart.
The green layer reminds us to grow in Christ through praying, reading the Bible, and worshipping.
The yellow decorations remind us of heaven.
The candles remind us Jesus is the Light of the world.
Happy Birthday Jesus Paper Goods
Amazon has a sweet supply of plates, napkins and cups to add to your party.
There you have it! A fun way to celebrate the birthday of Jesus.
All ideas, unless otherwise noted, are copyrighted and under the ownership of JLM Media, LLC.


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In October 2011 we took our yearly trip to Chicago, and it snapped me out of my September blues. The prior year we'd gone to the US for the first time as a family; Caro had never been there before. Sammy had come along, but he was still in utero, in big-as-a-house utero at his 6 months of gestation. That time in 2010 we'd gone in a balmy Chicago September, trying to avoid the sweaty heat of summer, which Caro is not that keen on, having grown up in the cool Andean highlands all her life. This time, in 2011, we were going a month later, and in the process we'd get to see the start of a Midwestern autumn. Another change from the prior year (in addition to having a semi-walking son in tow) was that my stepdaughter, Gabri, came along. She had never had any interest in the US, but we had gotten her a tourist visa the year before along with her mother, just in case. As we were getting ready for our trip in 2011, she asked us, "Hey, why didn't you invite me along?" We'd just assumed she wouldn't want to go, so I guess we had never asked her. At any rate, she ended up tagging along, and this was a really special addition to our trip.
As always when I'm to go back to the States after a year away, I was giddy and excited for a week or two beforehand. In the airport I was in high spirits, and I jaunted into Immigration just as I'd been jaunting everywhere that day, especially pleased to have a notarized permission letter for Gabriela to leave the country, signed by her father. I thought we'd foreseen every possible administrative roadblock to taking our trip. But I was soon on the verge of tears, incredulous that they were giving us a hard time because Sam only had a US passport. You see, my son was born in Colombia, which automatically makes him a Colombian citizen, as his birth certificate indicates. But by dint of his being the son of a US citizen, he is also entitled to US citizenship, and I had gone through the paperwork earlier that year to obtain his US citizenship certificate and a US passport. I figured the passport would be good for him to go anywhere in the world.
But not good enough to get him out of Colombia. Apparently, as a Colombian national he must present a Colombian passport to leave the country. The immigration person explained that she couldn't let Sam out of the country without a Colombian passport. Normally we might obtain this passport in an office in the airport, but it was a Saturday, and the office didn't open on Saturdays. The other option would be to treat Sam as a US national who'd overstayed his 3-month tourist visa, which would entail paying a fine, but this was again handled in an office that didn't open that day.
I couldn't believe it. I was just dumbfounded, thinking that either we wouldn't be able to take our trip, or I'd have to go without the rest of my family. And we'd swallow a few thousand dollars, to boot. I tried to plead, to explain, to not get angry, but mainly I just stood there with a bewildered look on my face as my wife Caro tried to reason with the people.
After a few excruciating, tense minutes, a supervisor came along and had mercy on us, letting us go as long as we promised to get a passport for Sam as soon as we were back in Colombia. We promised, and I was again almost in tears of joy. I know I'm by no means an oppressed migrant or anything, but the half hour of uncertainty as bureaucrats decided the fate of our trip was a reminder of how tough it is sometimes to navigate these multiple cultural interfaces and identities.
The flight was a breeze. Sam behaved well, and the cabin pressure changes didn't seem to bother him as they'd always bothered me as a child. He played a lot with his sister, and I just sat in my seat with a goofy grin on my face for most of the flight. We'd gotten through the gauntlet, and were now on our way to a good, safe place.
Caro was once again surprised at how congenial the immigration people were in Fort Lauderdale, not at all the image most Latinos have of menacing impersonal US government institutions. Gabri shared in her mother's pleasant surprise, and I got a sappy, proud feeling to see the "Welcome to the United States" video they show on a loop, with images of all our best landmarks and traditions and general human warmth.
After theprior year's intensive body search of Carolina, who didn't want to pass throughany machines while she was pregnant (she was bemused at the overly careful,courteous security guard woman who explained with every step, "Okay, I'm goingto touch you with the back of my hand, and if I feel anything, I will turn myhand around and touch you with my fingers"), this year I got randomly marked for an intensive search. They had me take off my shoes, get patted down, and looked through all my bags, item by item. All the while the security guys were cheerful and polite, that odd juxtaposition we have in the 21st century USA of sunny customer service and a paranoid militarized State.
As always, I enjoyed the Fort Lauderdale airport for the number of Haitians everywhere, working, travelling, chatting on lunch breaks. Chicago has a sizeable Haitian populace, but nothing where you hear Haitian Kreyol much on the streets, even in Rogers Park or Evanston, the main enclaves. In Fort Lauderdale (or at least in the airport) Kreyol is everywhere, and even people that speak to you in English with no accent have nametags that say things like Patrice Laferrier.
My general wide-eyed marveling continued once we were in Chicago. Our cab driver had a Nigerian name and accent, and I started grilling him the way I always do these days when I am freshly arrived in the States (when you live there, you forget how odd and fascinating it is to have people from different countries all around you). It turned out he was Yoruba, and he got a kick out of our telling him about certain Afro-Latino religions and asking about the spirits he'd grown up hearing about.
Finally we got to my mother's house where, after putting Sam to sleep, we stayed up past midnight catching up with my mom and eating homemade cookies. Once again I found myself back in the house I grew up in, but in a different moment and a different stage in my life. Gabri needed something from the drugstore, and it was wild to make the same 11pm walk down Waveland to the Walgreens that I'd followed so many times in years past, now with my stepdaughter!
In general it felt weird to have my child on the scene of my childhood. We would go places, and I'd tell Caro about something that had happened to me in that place when I was fourteen or something, and I realized I was now a father sharing my own childhood, my own geographic origins, with my son. Better said, I was sharing them with Caro as I talked up a storm, and frankly I felt bad that I wasn't addressing Sam more as he dozed in his stroller, but I imagine he caught what I was telling about, even when I wasn't speaking directly to him. I'd never been in that situation before, at least not in that way. Sam was hearing from me the stories of a distant time and an unknown place. Of course I'd talked to him about my past before, but not with the evidence right there in front of us.
I also realized that every place in the city is a story for me. Every corner has some memory from years and years spent walking around and doing things with friends and family. A corner I'd always turned down on the way home from school, an alley I stationed myself in to park cars for Cubs games, a house I went to a party at, a storefront that used to be something else. On a big chunk of the North Side, no block is just a block to me—they all have memories attached to them. When I was a kid, I always loved Chicago, but sometimes I felt as if my geographic surroundings were not "valid", at least not in the US popular imagination. I didn't grow up in a ghetto or some other place that had been mythologized and made interesting by popular media, but I didn't grow up in a bland suburb either, where real, normal white middle class people were supposed to live, according to most movies and songs and TV shows. Life as a white kid in the urban core was too exceptional, too different from the rest of the US, to be meaningful on a larger scale. Furthermore Chicago, perhaps more than many other cities, has a collective lore that residents learn as children. The World's Fair, Al Capone, John Dillinger, the Daleys, the Haymarket riots, and more recently the destruction of housing projects and gentrification of lots of areas. As a kid, I sometimes felt that this canon was at once provincial and bourgeois, too big and historical to connect to directly, yet too small and local to be noble or inspiring.
But now as I revisited Chicago after many years living elsewhere I felt even more tied to my place of origin, aware of its influence on me. The stories I grew up with as a Chicagoan are just the real, local connection to place I always advocate for in my development work, and my own personal stories overlap with the larger contemporary events and even the historical events that led up to them. I no longer felt as if my idiosyncratic, authentic neighborhood were some anomaly or statistically-insignificant blip in a standardized countrywide landscape of strip malls and big front lawns. Whether or not it was typical or "normal", my childhood and the place where it transpired were 100% real and normal for me, and if many people in the late-20th century US didn't grow up somewhere with a strong local identity, then that was their loss, and not something for me to feel left out of. Each person's unique, hyper-local reality is different and interesting.
We squeezed in a lot of sightseeing and other local musts. The Lincoln Park Zoo, Byron's Hot Dogs, various deep dish and stuffed pizzas, the Pick Me Up café (I'm realizing as I write this list that a big part of what I do when I visit the States is stuff myself with junk food). We visited Lane Tech, where I went to high school, we went to my family's house in Wisconsin to canoe and jump in leaf piles, we ate at Culver's, then Sour Patch Kids and Cheetos at a gas station, we went to an outlet mall in Kenosha or Racine, visited my aunt in a retirement home, shopped at a small town grocery store, split wood, invited friends over for parties, went to the Art Institute, rode the CTA, took walks in my neighborhood (including the lovely Alta Vista Terrace), bought consumerist stuff like computers and cameras that are pricier in Colombia. Again, it was odd to do these things from my childhood and bachelorhood, but now with a child of my own. Especially to drive to Wisconsin from Chicago, as if I did this drive all the time (which I guess I have, just not in the past six years). Sam seemed right at home though, not at all put off by the new surroundings nor hearing everyone speaking in English. He loved meeting my extended family, and he had no trouble sleeping with the El train running by my house all night. The only difficult adjustment for him might have been a lack of fiber. In Colombia we eat a lot of fruit and drink a lot of juice. Even our staple foods, like potatoes and plantain and cassava, have a certain amount of fiber in them. So coming to the States, where common fruits like apples aren't that fibrous, and staples like bread and pasta have had all the fiber stripped out, was hard on his digestive system. That said, I think we got off easy, considering all the drastic changes we were exposing him to.
Gabri was great throughout the trip. She helped out a lot with Sam, even sleeping alone with him a few nights (these were the first times Sam had slept in another room from us since he was born, I believe). She and I went to a high-end camera store on the semi-industrial Near West Side, where we were attended by a very enthusiastic and knowledgeable camera expert, who gave us just what we needed, at a good price. It seems he initially assumed Gabri was my girlfriend or wife, and advised me to "take good care of her". This was a bit embarrassing, but Gabri dealt with everything well, even through the language barrier. (That said, in retrospect I don't think Gabri made much of an effort to speak English on this trip. She understands it pretty well after years living with me, and I have the impression that she can string together sentences decently, but she's so shy about it that I really can't be sure of anything in terms of her English skills). Gabri's helping my mom take care of Sam one night even allowed Caro and me to go on a little date to an Indian restaurant on Devon. We got out pretty late, so the place we ended up eating at was determined more by its being open at that hour than by the promise of high culinary quality. The year prior we'd eaten at a higher-end Indian place (where Caro was tickled to be attended in Spanish by a Guatemalan busboy), and frankly this year the restaurant had a distinctly Mafioso feel to it (and we're pretty good at detecting this, living as we do in a country full of Mafia fronts), but the food was decent and we enjoyed the time alone together.
Another highlight was getting some pants that fit. I am not a big clothes guy, and every year I go through a cycle where I'm sick of my old clothes that don't fit (too short, too tight, too big, etc.) and want to replace them all, but then I balk at the idea of spending money on clothes. On this visit we went to both Marshall's and a few thrift stores, and I was very happy to get some pants that actually fit me. Of course within a few months I realized that they didn't really fit so well, or I'd lost or gained weight to the point where they no longer did, and the cycle started all over. But at the time I was very happy, and felt much more dignified to be living life in well-fitting pants (which for me, as a child of the urban 1990s, means comfortably loose pants).
Normally when I am in the US to visit, I am initially reticent for the first few days and feel out of place. I suppose it's natural; I'm used to living in one place, so going to another place is going to entail a change in what I'm used to as far as customs and such. And the fact that the "new" culture where I feel initially awkward is my own birthplace, with all the associations (both good and bad) and emotional charges that that implies, makes me feel especially weird and abnormal, because I should be more at home here than anywhere. At any rate, for the past eight years or so that I've been living out of country, every time I go to Chicago I feel a bit depressed and out of place for the first few days (even frustrated or angry at the problems in our country), and thereafter I feel happy and at home. Likewise, when it's time to leave again, I feel bad and somewhat maladapted when I first return to my place of residence. This too soon passes.
On the trip in 2011 I didn't go through this process as drastically as on other occasions. Unfortunately though, at one point early in our trip I helped my mother for a party she was organizing with some friends, and it fell during my maladapted time. It also happened that there were a fair number of people my age at the party, and they were now living as young professionals in Chicago. Given my predisposition to melancholy at that moment, I started thinking to myself that I was somehow inadequate, not as classy as they were. They had grown up in Chicago, just as I had, and had even gone to some public schools, as I had. But I guess that because they ran in different social circles, and many went to Catholic high school, I invented this whole story in my mind that we were separated by some big cultural divide. This was of course pure nonsense, but it was compounded by the fact that I was serving everyone during the party, so I felt even more as if I were somehow of an underclass. In my grey mood, I even fixated on how relatively short I am in the US. I have become accustomed, in an adolescence at a high school full of short immigrants' kids, and later on in my adulthood in other, shorter countries, to being the tallest guy around, and that bolsters my self-confidence, make me feel special. But once back in the Midwestern United States, I'm just of average height, at least among white males my age. It's like Superman going back to Krypton and being just a regular Joe.
Anyway, all this silly drama never manifested itself except inside my neurotic mind and in my whining to my wife. Soon thereafter we had a nice evening dinner with my cousin, and I felt at home again, in a place where I belonged (and at peace with my not-so-exceptional height).
By the end of our trip I was sad to leave the US. I reflected that just one week isn't enough time for me to visit home; I need longer to bask and let things sink in, and then come to terms with my leaving again. Furthermore, at that time it was looking as if we'd soon be returning to live in the States, so I had spent much of the trip dreaming and getting excited about possible projects, businesses, gardens to plant. Now I would have to put all those on hold once again and return to my regular life in Colombia.
On this trip I'd tried to get my mother's attic in order. This has been my bedroom since I was eight or so, and now it has all my assorted papers and books and memorabilia. Since I've lived abroad I've attempted to slowly get this space organized, chipping away at piles of things to put them in boxes or the crawlspace or the garbage can. Yet again on this trip, I didn't get done as much as I would have liked to, and so I had to leave some piles untouched. I pondered melancholy that most of what I left would not move from its place for a year or so, as it hadn't moved in the prior year until we came to visit. Since our prior visit we'd had a baby, new jobs, deaths, new living arrangements, yet in a corner of North Side Chicago, in my mom's attic, those papers and books had remained still and stoic through it all. Who could know what the next year would bring, as my attic piles remained stolid and indifferent?
Despite my sadness at leaving Chicago, I was very happy that Gabri and Sam had gotten to see my hometown (and Caro to visit once again). We'd done a lot of typical regional things, and I for one enjoyed the nippy fall weather (Sam, on the other hand, was furious whenever the freezing wind would stir up and whip his face). I was wistful on the plane (at least the time I was conscious after our 2am wakeup), and I expected a few days of mopeyness as I readjusted to life in Colombia. But to my surprise, when we had landed and my father-in-law picked us up, I became happy to be back in Bogota as I watched the cityscape pass by our car window. I snapped back into my everyday mode and looked forward to pending tasks at work. I had found peace once again with my homeland after years of on-and-off disillusionment, but I was also content with my adopted home in the Andes.


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The pressure is mounting on the FAA to get going on repealing the ban on Kindles, iPads and other gizmos during the takeoff and landing phases of commercial flights. What's noteworthy here is that the arm-twisting is coming from other parts of the federal governmment. A few days ago, the Federal Communications Commission chief sent FAA head Michael Huerta a letter laying out some of the reasons for repealing the ban, and now comes word that Senator Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri) has weighed in too, writing the FAA that the current rules are "inconvenient to travelers, don't make sense, and lack a scientific basis." If the FAA doesn't act soon, she says, she'll do a legislative end-run around the agency and push through the change herself.
Not sure how realistic that strategy is, but McCaskill, known for her strong support of labor issues, also pointed out the effect of the ban on airline workers—an often-overlooked aspect of this whole debate. "Airline employees have the incredibly important job of keeping us safe in the air—their efforts are better spent worrying about rules that actually accomplish that goal," a not-so-veiled reference to Alec Baldwin style dustups over flight crews' attempts to enforce the PED ban.
But where does this all posturing lead? Nowhere really, because, as an FAA source told me yesterday, the agency is sticking to its plan to convene a panel of experts to study the issue and then report back with recommendations. The good news is that it looks like the FCC will get a seat at the table
Photo: iStock Photo


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Ultra Hard Material Cutting Machines Market Size, Share, Technology & Demand 2018- 2025:Top Vendors Like OGI Systems Ltd., ANCA, COBORN ENGINEERING COMPANY LIMITED
The competitor research carried out accumulates information about both the existing as well as potential competitors operating in the global Ultra Hard Material Cutting Machines market.
New York, NY -- (SBWire) -- 12/11/2018 --The latest research report on Ultra Hard Material Cutting Machines market for the forecast period, 2018- 2025 is involved in screening the business environment and the companies operating in the Ultra Hard Material Cutting Machines industry. Importantly, the research sheds a lot of light on their winning strategies to help stakeholders, business owners, and field marketing executives stay ahead in the competition.
Besides, the industry is thoroughly weighed upon on the basis of the total revenue generated as well as the output/volume produced year after year. Other aspects including but not limited to the market drivers, key opportunities and probable restraints are thoroughly assessed during the study.
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Scope of the Report:
The Ultra Hard Material Cutting Machines market is further segmented in terms of applications, end-user, geographic presence, by-products as well as services. In addition, the subject matter experts evaluating the industry provide an all-inclusive category-specific industry outlook. A comprehensive collection of data on major companies occupying a strong foothold in the industry adds immense value to the overall research. The assessment of the wining strategies followed by these companies can help business owners not only strategize but also execute business operations by referring the statistics about competitor analysis. Careful assessment of the industry analysis across different regions along with vital information on the market size, share and growth rate makes this report a wonderful resource for business evangelists.
In market segmentation by manufacturers, the report covers the following companies-
OGI Systems Ltd., Australian Numerical Controls and Automation (ANCA), COBORN ENGINEERING COMPANY LIMITED, VOLLMER, MC Machinery Systems Inc., Dmg Mori Co Ltd, Kennametal, Inc., United Grinding GmbH, Rollomatic Inc., Bystronic Inc., GF Machining Solutions
In market segmentation by geographical regions, the report has analysed the following regions-
- North America
- China
- Europe
- Southeast Asia
- Japan
- India
On the basis of product of Ultra Hard Material Cutting Machines, the report covers-
- Electrical Discharge Machines (EDM)
- Laser Cutting
On the basis of applications of Ultra Hard Material Cutting Machines, the report covers the following uses-
- Metallic materials
- Non-metallic materials
The study has been conducted on the basis of inputs from the industry leaders. Thus, a conscious effort to dive deep and unearth hard to find information pertaining to the growing market landscape and growth prospects over the next few years is clearly visible in the study. The market intelligence report further comprises of discussions about the major vendors operating in the Ultra Hard Material Cutting Machines space.
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The research provides answers to the following key questions:
- What will be the size of the Ultra Hard Material Cutting Machines market and growth rate for the forecast period 2018 - 2025?
- What are the major driving factors expected to shape the future of the Ultra Hard Material Cutting Machines market in the coming years?
- Who are prominent players dominating the Ultra Hard Material Cutting Machines market? What have been their winning strategies so far?
- What are the key trends anticipated to influence the development of the industry worldwide?
- What are major threats and challenges hindering the growth of the market across different regions?
- What are the opportunities prominent vendors are eyeing to stay competitive in the global market?
There are 13 Chapters to deeply display the global Ultra Hard Material Cutting Machines market:
The report is distributed over 13 Chapters to display the analysis of the Ultra Hard Material Cutting Machines market.
Chapter 1: covers the Ultra Hard Material Cutting Machines Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;
Chapter 2: talks about the top manufacturers and analyses their sales, revenue and pricing decisions for the duration 2018- 2025;
Chapter 3: displays the competitive nature of the market by discussing the competition among the top manufacturers. It dissects the market using sales, revenue and market share data for 2018- 2025;
Chapter 4: shows the global market by regions and the proportionate size of each market region based on sales, revenue and market share of Ultra Hard Material Cutting Machines, for the period 2018- 2025;
Chapter 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, are dedicated to the analysis of the key regions, with sales, revenue and market share by key countries in these regions;
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With summer sort of here, it is time for How to Eat to take a long hard lick at ice-cream. Whether you are aged seven or 70, there is no bar to enjoying it. In fact, ice-cream has replicated itself in so many styles and flavours, aimed at so many different target markets, that it's a dessert in dire need of the kind of informal regulation that this series specialises in. Prepare for cone-troversy …
Think of ice-cream as, essentially, Soviet Russia in 1918. We're in a period of chaotic civil war, as traditional ice-cream manufacturers, "luxury" brands, diversifying dairy farmers and new-wave artisan gelatists (yes, I have just made that word up), vie for control of ice-cream's future, our loyalty and our support.
Naturally, flavour is a major battleground. There has been an explosion of creativity and, in the final analysis, that has been a good thing. If only for how readily available a flavour such as salted caramel now is. Yes, it's a confusing period of flux and, in a weak moment, you may hark back, nostalgically, to a simpler time of mint-choc-chip and Ice Magic. But, like three TV channels and afternoon pub closing, an era when coffee ice-cream was considered an exotic treat – nb: all uses of coffee flavourings in a dessert context are abhorrent – is not one we want to return to.
However, as in all revolutionary eras, mistakes have been made. Zeal has been misdirected. The core ice-cream flavours – chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, all still brilliant if done well – are, now, almost neglected. Yes, you can buy good vanilla ice-cream more readily than ever before. The vanilla pod has emerged from extract's shadow. But that's not where the real action is, is it? The big growth hasn't been in elegant versions of single flavours, but in ostensibly upmarket brands that peddle juvenile products. You have US-style Häagen-Dazs and Ben & Jerry's who are all crushed candy 'n' cookie dough, and then Carte D'Or and those regional dairy farmers-turned-ice-cream-makers, who are determined to render every dessert known to man (apple pie, tiramisu, creme brulee, black forest gateau), into an unsatisfying, inaccurate ice-cream version. Both approaches too often produce something too sweet, too busy. It was novel, but enough already.
Rather than endless mid-market innovation (has putting Baileys in anything ever improved it?), would we not prefer a world in which we had a good choice of authentic, high-quality single flavour ice-creams on every street corner? Leaving a small, gourmet elite to continue to push boundaries, carefully creating ice-creams from obscure sources (Seville orange marmalade, anyone?) and twinning clean flavours with the discretion of a good chef – rather than just mimicking 1970s desserts.
Add-ons, adjuncts and toppings
Like Jay-Z, I have 99 problems. That flakey add-on is always a let down. Simply, cold chocolate doesn't work. The whole pleasure of chocolate is that it melts in your mouth – which isn't going to happen when you're eating it, simultaneously, with ice-cream. There's a similar issue, albeit less profound (because the ice-cream has melted away by the time you get to it), with something like Ben & Jerry's Phish Food, which has chocolate pieces embedded in it. It never quite delivers on its promise.
In fact, embedded ice-creams are problematic, full stop. From in-yer-face freeze-dried fruits, cheap, cloying fudge pieces to honeycomb that ends up embedded in your teeth after lacerating your gums, there are a lot of unpleasant things hiding in modern ice-cream. The worst is gritty, putty-ish, painfully sweet cookie dough. Something firm and biscuity is OK; it's a nice light textural contrast. But anything "cakey" – whether it's chocolate fudge brownie lodged in a sundae or the sponge around an arctic roll – is too heavy and/or mealy with ice-cream.
In contrast, caramel swirled through anything is always welcome. You could swirl caramel through a sausage, and I'd eat it. Raspberry ripple or sauce is, likewise, fantastic. It's an entirely artificial flavour that has asserted its own independent validity outside of its distant fruit origins. Unlike treacly, bitter chocolate syrups, which neither taste like chocolate nor anything you would want to eat.
Nuts are the adult cone topping, given that no one over the age of 10 should be seen in public eating hundreds and thousands. But do they really add anything? Or just get in the way?
Tub or cone? In a way, it's the defining question of modern western culture. Are you a big kid, trying to fend off the horror of adult life with your pink wafer cone? Are you a legally defined adult who, nonetheless, will break off the end and make yourself a mini-cone, just to amuse yourself? Even worse, have you smugly graduated to that most middle-class of affectations, the waffle cone, as if it that is more sophisticated? If so, I pity you.
The tub buyer, on the other hand, is a mature individual who looks life in the eye. They've put away childish things. To them, ice-cream is not a game. It doesn't require the nostalgic ritual of the cone, nor the childish giddiness to which cone-eaters are prone. Particularly when any kind of cone interferes with the ice-cream flavour. No, ice-cream is to be enjoyed in its naked state and for what it is. That is, a brief moment of pleasure, but no more. As you methodically scrape the last ice-cream from the tub, there is no consolation, no last bite of cone, just an empty tub. It is a perfect metaphor for life. Fleeting joy then emptiness.
You'll have noticed I haven't mentioned the ice-cream sandwich. Surely we have evolved past that? It was about as practical as eating ice-cream off a skewer. How did it ever catch on in the first place?
Type of ice-cream
Ultimately, there is no such thing as bad ice-cream. Some people won't go near Mr Whippy-style ice-cream, curled out from the ice-cream van's spigot. And not just because of the rumoured Thatcher connection. They complain that it's just creamy air. But who doesn't like a cheap thrill now and then? Given the choice of ice-cream or no ice-cream, pass me that litre of supermarket economy Neapolitan and let me dig into that reconstituted whey protein concentrate and coconut oil. You might tell me it tastes artificial and has a greasy mouthfeel – and it does – but it's cold, it's sweet, it's creamy. And I've got ice-cream and you haven't.
Not that being greedy blinds you to the differences in quality within the ice-cream world. Eat proper Italian gelato (freshly made; flavours clear and true; dense to the spoon, but light and luxuriously clean in the mouth), and it is not so much better than most "luxury" ice-cream, as an entirely different foodstuff. Well-made gelato – single-flavour or one that pairs no more than two complementary prime ingredients; free of chocolate chunks and other daft distractions – is ice-cream's ultimate expression.
So, ice-cream: how do you eat yours?


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We had our tubal reversal on 4-18-13, and found out we were pregnant on 7-22-13, one day before my 38th birthday!!
We are now 31 weeks today and expecting our baby girl, Lilliana Trinity Faith Kelley on 4-1-14! We are super excited to meet her and can't thank Dr. Bernard Rosenfeld and staff enough for allowing us the opportunity to have this blessing!!!
I can hardly wait to be able to hold her in my arms!!! (5 months pregnant in this picture)
The Kelleys
UPDATE APRIL 2014: We are so happy to announce the birth of our tubal reversal baby!!
Lilliana Trinity Faith Kelley was born 3/26/14, at 7 pounds 3 ounces, 19 inches long! We had our tubal reversal on 4/18/13, and found out we were pregnant on 7/22/13!
We cannot thank Dr. Bernard Rosenfeld and his amazing staff enough!!!
The Kelley Family


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Welcome to The Bridal House
We are a family owned and operated bridal store in Edmonton, offering a wide selection of wedding gowns, accessories, bridesmaid dresses, and tuxedo rentals. With 25 years of experience, we're the best local option for bridal dress shopping in Edmonton. Choose from our wide variety of designer dresses and feel confident knowing our knowledgeable, experienced staff will help you find the right gown to make you feel absolutely beautiful on your big day!
As a bridal shop we love all the beautiful fabrics that wedding dresses come in. But one of our very favourites that we...


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A group of musicians in different physical locations play together as a sort of "musical conference call". Control messages and/or audio from each player go out to all the other sites. Sound is produced at each site to represent the activities of each participant.
- The Hub's projects (Chris Brown, Mike Berry, Grainwave...)
- Quintet.net
- Randall Packer's projects


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ARB Research Seminar
This page updated June 19, 2013
Heterogeneous Reactions of Oxides of Nitrogen in the Atmosphere: Is it Magic?
Barbara J. Finlayson-Pitts, Ph.D., Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine
November 07, 2001
Cal EPA Headquarters, 1001 "I" Street, Sacramento, CA
Also presented in El Monte on December 5, 2001
Oxides of nitrogen are a key component of photochemical air pollution, acid deposition and particles in the atmosphere. Their gas phase reactions are reasonably well understood and represented in air quality models used to predict the degree of control of VOC and NOₓ needed to achieve air quality standards.
However, it has been known for at least 50 years that some reactions of oxides of nitrogen known to be slow in the gas phase are enhanced in the presence of surfaces. For example, the reaction of gaseous NO₂ with water vapor to generate nitrous and nitric acids is unimportant in the absence of surfaces.
However, when a surface is present, the reaction proceeds at a measurable rate. In laboratory studies of such reactions, the surfaces are those of the reactors used in the experiments. In urban air, there are myriad surfaces, particularly in the boundary layer; these include not only airborne particles, but also soil, buildings, plants, highways etc.
Available laboratory data suggest that reaction (1) is likely a major source of HONO in polluted urban areas. Indeed, under many early morning conditions in such regions, HONO is the major free radical source that initiates the chain chemistry leading to the formation of ozone, nitric acid, particles and a host of other secondary pollutants.
Despite the importance of such heterogeneous NOₓ chemistry, very little is known about the kinetics and mechanisms on a molecular level. Reactions such as (1) above are frequently shown with "surface" over the arrow; while this may sometimes be interpreted as indicative of a mechanism, our lack of understanding of why the surface is needed and what its role is puts such chemistry almost into the realm of "magic."
Because of these difficulties, heterogeneous NOₓ chemistry cannot currently be accurately represented in airshed models. Clearly, understanding chemistry on surfaces at the molecular level is critical for removing the "magic" and allowing quantitative assessments of the impacts of such chemistry on control strategies to be carried out.
Results of recent studies in my laboratory on heterogeneous NOₓ chemistry will be presented, and the current status of our understanding of heterogeneous chemistry assessed. This includes the long-recognized reaction (1) as well as the newly discovered reaction of HNO₃ on surfaces with gaseous NO. The implications for the chemistry of polluted urban areas and control strategy development will be discussed.
Speaker Biography
Barbara J. Finlayson-Pitts is Professor of Chemistry at the University of California, Irvine. Her current research efforts focus on understanding reactions at the air-water interface and in thin water films found on surfaces when water vapor is present. This chemistry involves both the reactions of oxides of nitrogen as well as of sea salt particles. She serves on the editorial boards of several journals, including Atmospheric Environment and the Journal of Physical Chemistry, and on a number of panels, including the NASA Panel for Data Evaluation. Professor Finlayson-Pitts is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and was awarded the Orange County Section of the American Chemical Society's 'Service Through Chemistry' Award. She is coauthor, with J. N. Pitts Jr., of two books in the field: Atmospheric Chemistry: Fundamentals and Experimental Techniques (Wiley, 1986) and Chemistry of the Upper and Lower Atmosphere: Theory, Experiments and Applications (Academic, 2000).
a complete listing of the ARB Research Seminars and the related
for the seminars please view the Main Seminars web page


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Former US President Calls For Release of Two Detained Journalists in Myanmar
Pressure from prominent individuals in the international community and rights groups is mounting on the Myanmar government to release two journalists detained in December on charges of violating the country's colonial-era Official Secrets Act, with former U.S. President Bill Clinton now calling for their immediate release.
Police arrested Thet Oo Maung, also known as Wa Lone, 31, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 27, on Dec. 12 for violating the law by allegedly illegally possessing classified documents about security forces in northern Rakhine state, where a military crackdown has driven about 655,000 Rohingya Muslims into neighboring Bangladesh since August 2017.
A free press is critical to a free society � the detention of journalists anywhere is unacceptable, Clinton said in a Twitter post on Monday. The journalists being held in Myanmar should be released immediately.
Authorities picked up Thet Oo Maung and Kyaw Soe Oo after they met with two police officers on the outskirts of Yangon. They were working on stories about the crackdown when authorities accused them of sending important security documents regarding security forces in Rakhine state to foreign agencies abroad, according to a government statement.
The two journalists, who are being held in Insein Prison on the outskirts of Yangon, are due in court on Wednesday for their second hearing during which the prosecutor could request that charges be filed against them, reported.
If found guilty, they could be spend up to 14 years in prison.
Also on Tuesday, London-based Amnesty International urged Myanmar authorities to immediately release the pair.
Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo must be immediately and unconditionally released, said James Gomez, the organization's director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, in a statement. They have done absolutely nothing but carrying out their legitimate work as journalists. This is clearly an attempt by the authorities to silence investigations into military violations and crimes against Rohingya in Rakhine state and to scare other journalists away from doing the same.
These arrests have not happened in a vacuum, but come as authorities are increasingly restricting independent media, he said. Journalists and media outlets, in particular those who report on 'sensitive topics,' are living with the constant fear of harassment, intimidation or arrest. This clampdown on freedom of speech must end.
Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) weighed in on Tuesday with a statement condemning the arrests and suggesting that the detentions are meant to deter other reporters from doing their jobs.
None of the claims made by the authorities in this case seems to be credible, said Daniel Bastard, head of RSF's Asia-Pacific desk.
What with the lack of transparency, the failure to respect proper legal procedure and the fabrication of evidence, everything suggests that Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo are being used by the authorities as scapegoats in order to deter overly curious reporters, he said.
EU envoy weighs in
Kristian Schmidt, the European Union's representative to Myanmar, raised concerns about the arrest of the two journalists and uged their release in a letter to Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Monday.
Journalists should be able to work in a free and enabling environment without fear of intimidation or undue arrest or prosecution, he said.
We therefore call on your government to provide the necessary legal protection for these two journalists, to ensure the full respect of their fundamental rights and to release them immediately, he said.
Washington, D.C.-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) issued a statement on Monday, denouncing the legal proceedings against the two journalists.
The proceedings against Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo are a transparent attempt to intimidate the media and to prevent coverage of the unfolding tragedy of the Rohingya people in Myanmar's Rakhine state, said Steven Butler, CPJ's Asia program coordinator. The two reporters should not be in jail for trying to uncover the truth about this story of vital public interest.
Also on Monday, a dozen reporters based in Myanmar's capital Naypyidaw submitted a request to the Myanmar's Home Affairs Ministry for more information about the case, arguing that it could have implications for the ability of journalists to do their jobs, reported.
Previously, U.N. and U.S. officials, a group of 50 Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists, and Myanmar's Committee for the Protection of Journalists called on the Myanmar government to immediately and unconditionally release the two journalists.
The media and NGOs have been barred from entering northern Rakhine where the Myanmar military stands accused of committing atrocities against the Rohingya during the crackdown which the U.N. and U.S. say amounts to ethnic cleansing.
Both the government and the army have denied the accusations.
Copyright (copyright) 1998-2016, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036


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Day 8
Thank you for joining us for day 8 of our daily downloads.
Have you made any new friends in our community?
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Are you brand new to our community and wondering how you're going to get 5 posts so you can post in the challenges? Easy – you can email Vicki at firstname.lastname@example.com and let her know, she'll edit your post count for you or you can make 5 comments on layouts in the gallery or in the Introduce yourself forum!
We also have an on-going "I WANT TO KNOW game" where you're pretty much guaranteed to get a gift from buddy at some point – all you have to do is play along and catch the right post number!
Nov 30 – (Challenge) – Avatar Challenge
Dec 1 – (Challenge) – Daily template
Dec 2 – (Challenge) – It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Dec 3 – (GAME) – What if I had?
Dec 4 – (Challenge)- Chain Scraplift Challenge
Dec 5 – (Challenge)- Santas' List – Journaling Challenge
Dec 6 – (GAME) – Show Me A – Gallery Search Game
Dec 7 – (Challenge)- Scrap a Layout about JOY
Dec 8 – (Challenge)- Scrap your favorite Christmas memory
Dec 9 – (GAME)- Neverending story
Dec 10 – (Challenge) – create a Christmas card
Dec 11 – (Challenge) – Scrap Lyrics of A Christmas Song – LO finished
Dec 12 – (GAME) – Holiday alphabet word game
Join in at any time. You have until the end of the month to complete all of the challenges!
Come back each day to download the next portion. Each download will only be available for 24 hours.
Downloads change at midnight CST each day.
2 Comments. Leave new
Thank you 🙂
You are most welcome!


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Injustice 2 Battlegrounds Series Seeks to Find Canada's Greatest Hero (or Villain)
"Big money! Big prizes! I Love it!"
In an effort to help further build up the fighting game community in Canada, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has joined forces with EB Games, Cineplex, and World Gaming to present the Injustice 2 Battlegrounds Series, a program which will allow amateurs and pros alike the opportunity to compete across programs in different regions for a chance to claim a portion of the $10,000 prize pool. (Oh, and audience prizes will be awarded at each in-theatre regional competition, too.)
The format for the tournament begins in your own home, as you compete online to qualify before moving on the in-theatre portion of the event. "The online events will accommodate up to 64 players per tournament and feature a points-based circuit format — there will be three single-elimination online tournaments per region, where players accumulate points based on their placement," says the press release. "The top 16 players from each region qualify for Stage Two."
From there, select Cineplex theatres will play host to regional finals in Montreal, QC; Ottawa, ON; Toronto, ON; Winnipeg, MB; Chinook, AB; Edmonton, AB; and Langley, BC. The 16 per theatre who qualify will engage each other in a double-elimination tournament with the winner taking home $600, 2nd place getting $300, and 3rd $100.
Oh, and unfortunately, it's all happening on the PlayStation 4.
For more information, or to sign up, visit the official World Gaming website. Regional online qualifiers run until July 9th, and the finals will take place on July 15th.
David Oxford is a freelance writer of many varied interests. If you're interested in hiring him, please drop him a line at david.oxford (at) nyteworks.net.


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Wages and Conditions
As an employee in the private sector in the State of Victoria your working conditions and rates of pay are determined by one of a number of possible "industrial instruments".
These include Modern Awards which set the minimum conditions for an industry, or, workplace agreements (EBAs), which are negotiated at a workplace level by unions and must offer better conditions than the industry award. Common law contracts are also common, but must not leave you worse off as compared to the relevant modern award.
It can sometimes be confusing to work out which of these applies to you.
Members who are uncertain or require assistance can contact our ASU ASSIST workplace advisors on 9342 3300 for advice or email us at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Federal Awards and New Modern Awards
Many workers' conditions are set by a Federal Award and often an workplace agreement (EBA) as well. A Federal Award will set out the minimum wages and conditions for your industry or organisation, and these conditions may be built upon in an EBA which outlines "above award" wages and conditions. EBA's are the result of union members uniting to bargain collectively for conditions that are better than the minimum standard set out in the award.
On January 1, 2010, the Federal Government created 122 new modern awards from thousands of various state-based and federal awards. Therefore, there are now new Modern Awards for ASU members working in call centres, legal, airlines, freight, the community sector, administration and finance. To find out the conditions of your Modern Award go to the Fair Work Commission Website here. But remember: if you have negotiated a better workplace deal through an EBA, then your working conditions are determined by that EBA.
Collective Agreements/Enterprise Bargaining Agreements
Collective Agreements or EBAs are negotiated between a group of employees (usually, but not always, represented by their union) and an employer at a particular workplace. In most cases an EBA is underpinned by the relevant Federal Award, and often it is necessary to refer to both documents in order to determine your conditions of employment. EBAs build upon the minimum conditions set out in the industry award.


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France - Car Accident Procedure
In case of an accident, you must complete a 'constat à l'amiable"'which you should have received from your car insurance company. Make sure it is always in your glove compartment. Both drivers must complete and sign it. You will have to call your insurance broker and send the form to your insurance company. If you do not agree with the driver of the other involved car on how the accident happened, do not sign the document and write your point of view. Police or insurance companies will help you.
For calling
- Police dial 17
- Firemen dial 18


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Wednesday, July 18, 2007
As the residents of the "Goofy universe", play a basketball game, we are treated to a game that is a bit unconventional, but never gets as out of control as "Hockey Homicide".
The announcer once again calls the game frantically while the Goofs drop the ball (pun intended, I guess) on thier playing abilities.
There is one very short Goof who does not meet the neccessary height requirements for the game, but once all the other players have been exhausted, he is allowed on the court.
Mini-Goofy is not above relieving an opposing team member of his trunks in order to steal the ball and inadvertantly win the game for his team.
After being placed in just about every sport, Goofy would slowly begin to evolve once more, as we will see in the years to come.
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Busy Day with College Students
March 23, 2014 in Chain Reaction Bike Shop, Events, Featured by Kathy Nofziger Yeakey
Over forty Goshen College students made their way up to Chain Reaction on Saturday to tune up their bikes. Thanks Chain Reaction for all that you do! — Gwen G-Z
That was a lot of fun on Saturday! Thanks to
everyone that came to the shop! — Steve R
It was a wonderfully busy Saturday afternoon at the Chain Reaction Bike Shop
on March 22 with Goshen College students getting their bicycles cleaned up
and ready to ride for the new biking season.
Thanks much to Gwen G-Z for helping to host the party!
And many thanks to Les G-Z, Steve R, Phil M, and Aaron Y
for volunteering, wrenching, and helping to manage the shop.