text:
She Told Me To
Virtually the entire United States has been under some weird weather pattern which brought heat and humidity over us all. For months. In spades. This same weather pattern also drenched the upper midwest in rain. The upside to all this rain is it benfits the region's farmers. While they've had a late start to their planting season, the strong growth portends high yields come this fall. Although many farmers have suffered storm damage, those storms seem to have been somewhat localized. Overall, most of Minnesota has had a good growing season thus far.
How does this matter to the Roadbum, you might wonder.
A few years ago I bought a chunk of farmland which I rent out to a local farmer. The property is about twenty odd miles from my house in town. It's a favorite loop of mine for short scooter jaunts. Lots of twisty roads to choose from to get there and back. And a myriad of quiet midwest country roads going nowhere in particular that branch out from there.
Because I'm sort of invested in how my own crops are doing, I'll notice certain fields on the way. I'll take account of how well the beans and the corn are growing. Passing by herds of cattle grazing in the sun and noticing how they and the fields they're in, look.
For the majority of the spring and on through the summer, I haven't been riding as I have in years past. Family schedules and weather kept me off those rides.
And about those rains...
It wouldn't be an issue if rain was just rain. Even hard rain is a kind of challenge to me. I once rode nearly five hundred miles straight in torrential downpours so hard that my buddy and I decided we would only stop to gas up. Every overpass on the expressways had cars pulling under them. Were we to be under one of those overpasses and a driver looking for safety pulled up, they could easily plough right over those bikes without seeing them. We were on two black Harleys and riding in pitch black storms up I94 from Racine Wisconsin to Long Prairie Minnesota. Fifty degrees. My boots were full of water. It was like putting your feet into two large and really cold mason jars and just keeping them there. Water had soaked up the back of the inside of my helmet to the point the interior fabric absorbed it over the entire internal circumference. I had ridden numb from somewhere just east of Madison to the rains letting up a few miles from my future inlaws' home. So rains don't generally bother me. And I've learned to prepare much better for them since then.
No, the rains which bear fifty mile an hour winds and sometimes hail were the norm here in the upper midwest this spring and summer. Broken trees, damaged roofs, that sort of thing. Always the weather channel warnings. You get older, you start to take those things seriously.
Yesterday my wife and I talked about what we would be doing today. She was going to pick up the kids from her parents and mentioned that I hadn't been riding in a long time. That this would be a great opportunity to make that time. You know, sometimes you just can't argue with your wife. She left, I hit the road. And I got myself a little lost too.
I headed out to see the land. Then to Joe's to see how he's been. We spoke of the fields, the yields, and his cattle. His kids, my kids and our wives. Then I left and rode up the west river road along the Mississippi.
I don't know how it is in most places, but here in central Minnesota, when you're this far up, the Mississippi is just the biggest local river. Homes are sparse along this stretch. A winding road lazily takes you to a small city called Little Falls. Home of Charles Lindbergh and the state park named after him. I rode past the park and took an interesting looking but unfamiliar road west. Once in a while a sign would off some general indication where I was. My heading from there was south. More or less.
Somehow I manged to find Holdingford. And then Avon. I know a little route back from there which has some good winding roads so I took it. The Vespa running as well as it ever has.
It's good to listen to your wife.
Monday, August 08, 2011
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text:
Consume those leafy greens for a healthy body
One of the first vegetables that can be harvested in the spring is greens. Greens are very nutrient-dense, meaning they are filled with lots of vitamins, minerals and fiber with relatively low calories. The U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends that adults consume a minimum of three cups of leafy greens per week. While lettuce-based salads are a great place to start, there are a wide variety of greens readily available in the local supermarket. I find greens to be versatile as they can be consumed raw or cooked into a variety of dishes.
Leafy greens are a rich source of vitamin K, which helps your blood clot properly. If you are taking a blood-thinning medication such as Coumadin, you need to be mindful of your vitamin K intake. It is important to maintain a consistent intake of vitamin K, but it does not mean you need to restrict vitamin K-containing foods. Vitamin K also helps keep bones strong; osteoporosis has been associated with low levels of vitamin K.
Speaking of keeping bones strong, leafy greens are also a good source of calcium. Leafy greens are rich in vitamin A, particularly a carotenoid called zeaxanthin, which helps maintain eyesight. Leafy greens are also rich in folate. Folate is required for DNA synthesis, thus making it extremely critical for women of childbearing age to get adequate levels of folate.
While I touched on a few specific nutrients found in leafy greens, increased leafy-green consumption has been linked to better colon health and lower rates of heart disease and cancer.
Lettuces include varietals such as romaine, butter lettuce and loose-leaf lettuce. Lettuces are probably the most consumed leafy green because they are a common base for salads. Keep salads light with other vegetables such as peas, carrots, tomatoes, onions, sprouts, radishes and cucumbers. Fruits such as berries, peaches or pineapple can also be a tasty salad topping, but make sure to limit dried fruit to no more than a palm full. Also limit fried meats, cheeses and creamy dressings. When selecting a dressing, pick a vinaigrette or even try salsa.
Spinach and swiss chard come from a different vegetable family called amaranthaceae. These greens are very versatile. Spinach and chard both wilt easily, which allows them to be easily incorporated into your favorite cooked dishes. At breakfast, toss a handful of leaves into your scrambled eggs or smoothie. At lunch, stir some into your soup. At dinner, incorporate some leaves into your pasta sauce or throw some leaves onto the top of your pizza.
Another group of leafy greens is the cruciferous family, which includes cabbage, bok choy, radish greens, mustard greens and kale. These greens can be consumed raw, but often taste best when cooked. Lightly sauté them with some garlic and serve as a side dish. Or sauté them with additional vegetables and meat for a main dish stir fry. These greens also work well cooked into soups, or try roasting to give them a nutty flavor and crispy texture.
Roasted Cabbage with Chive-Mustard Vinaigrette
½ medium green cabbage (1-1½ pounds), outer leaves removed
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons white balsamic or white-wine vinegar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
⅛ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons minced fresh chives
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Preheat oven to 450. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.
To prepare cabbage: Cut cabbage half into four wedges and cut out any thick core, leaving the wedges as intact as possible. Drizzle the cut sides with 1 tablespoon oil and sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Place the wedges flat-side down on the prepared baking sheet.
Roast the cabbage for 12 minutes. Carefully flip over (it's OK if it falls apart a little) and roast until browned on both sides, about 8 minutes more.
To prepare vinaigrette: Combine mustard, vinegar, lemon juice, pepper and ⅛ teaspoon salt in a small bowl. Add chives and oil; stir until well-combined.
Transfer the cabbage to a serving plate (or plates) and drizzle with the vinaigrette while still hot. Serve hot or at room temperature.
Source: Kathy Gunst, Eating Well Magazine

subset: commoncrawl


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Wallet Slightly Less Bitter As Boots Say Sorry
Here at Bitterwallet, we're not just about doom and gloom. Like The A-Team's Hannibal Smith, there's nothing more we enjoy than chomping on a fat cigar after a wronged consumer has got a result. That's what happened to little old me earlier today when I received an unsolicited email from Boots.
Keen-eyed readers might remember me having a post-Christmas rant against Boots following the last-minute cancellation of an online order that they themselves had said could not be cancelled.
As a result, gift-giving plans were thrown into disarray and three poor female relatives ended up with decorative coat-hangers draped in tinsel. All was gloom.
Being the lazy sod that I am, I took it all on the chin and plain forgot to follow through with my plans to (a) write a stiff letter to the Boots top brass and/or (b) invade the shareholders' AGM and carry out a nearly-nude protest.
But back to the email this morning, which was actually addressed to my partner, which eliminated any possibility that Boots might be reacting after reading my Bitterwallet diatribe.
It read… "I am contacting you about your order xxxxxxxx which you recently placed with boots.com. Unfortunately due to technical difficulties we were unable to process your order and therefore had to cancel it.
We sent an email at the time of cancelling to advise you of this however, we wanted to let you know again how genuinely sorry we are. We hope you will agree this is not our usual standard of service.
I appreciate how frustrating this will have been and I'd like to offer you a £25 gift card which you can use to treat yourself in store. I hope that this will go some way towards making up for the inconvenience caused and that you'll continue to shop with Boots in the future."
Good work Boots – hopefully there'll be a lot of other disappointed customers getting the same email today. Let us know if you're one of them.
13 comments
- JimHow many people did this acutally affect? Can't be that many as none of the news organisations picked up on it.
- JeffreyLarge consumer supplier cancels order? Shock, horror. Sigh.
- WBRacingTo me it's not so important as to whether a supplier has an issue with a service or good that they have provided, more about how they deal with an issue as and when it arises. I think Boots have done well here, hopefully it is not simply as a result of your initial blogging.
- MB>Large consumer supplier cancels order? >Shock, horror. >Sigh. Not quite. Large consumer supplier cancels an uncancelable order.
- PanThey gave you a gift certificate? ...must be going under too...get it spent ASAP lol
- speedskiThey managed to take an order on Boxing day, and then tell me 9 days later that they had shipped it, with the exception of the parts they cancelled WTF!?! So seeing as it was being delivered to me local store I went in, without them telling me it had arrived and managed to get them to check, it had, so I said thank you and took the order, walked to the front of the shop and told them I would like to return the whole lot. So I did, and I managed to save myself the £150 purchase, all because they cancelled a part of it and annoyed me. Ahh I feel better now.
- Amanda H.Oh yeah, Boots, the worst company in the world? meh
- NormIf this was widespread issue it would warrant a story, but it just an editor having a boring rant.
- Pizza_D_ActionSome people have nothing better to do than moan.... If you don't like whats being written on here, leave.
- callumI couldn't actually order it as the website was crashing while putting in payment details so I won't benefit from this. Nice to see a company genuinely compensate customers without being forced to though.
- WillI think boots are great.
- Amanda H.I like shoes myself.
- HotUKDeals B.[...] sodding website has been out of action for most of the morning though, so my £25 gift card continues to burn a hole in my pocket. (deal found by [...]


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That saying about leading a horse to water might apply to schoolchildren as well, as Cornell University researchers have discovered.
They took a closer look at what would seem to be a no-brainer: eliminating chocolate milk from school cafeterias. After all, the added sugar in chocolate milk boosts calories without offering more nutrition that regular milk. Take away chocolate milk and kids will drink more white milk, right?
It turns out human behavior isn't that simple. Here's what they discovered when this was tried at 11 Oregon elementary schools:
When denied the choice of chocolate milk, students chose 10 percent less milk. That meant some kids who normally chose chocolate milk switched to white milk, while others simply skipped milk altogether.
Worse than that, even though more students were picking white milk, they were also wasting more of it. There was a 29 percent jump in the amount of milk left on the tray or tossed out.
Nutritionally it worked out to students consuming less sugar and fewer calories....but also less protein and calcium, so hardly a nutritional victory.
Even more mystifying was a 7 percent drop in the number of children participating in the school lunch program.
That means a chocolate milk ban might be a case of harming the good while trying to attain the perfect.
There are ways to include chocolate milk but encourage kids to select white milk, said Brian Wansink, director of the Cornell Food and Brand Lab. Cafeterias can make it easier to select white milk simply by placing it in the front portion of the cafeteria, and to make sure at least one-third to one-half of the milk is white. This makes its selection seem normal and expected, he said.


text: Last term the Year Five students made these "Funny Fish" out of clay. When we came back to school this term they were ready to paint. The students enjoyed using the clay and did a great job of painting them carefully. After the fish were painted they were sprayed with clear varnish.


text:
Yahoo! Advertising Service has is vulnerable to cross-site scripting security bugs, discovered by Soumyodeep Mondal. Vulnerability is yet unfixed and exploitable using a simple payload as shown in screenshot. There is a demo video also available to show Proof of concept. Back in January, Yahoo! said that it had fixed a cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in its webmail service which was blamed for a spate of account hijackings. The compromised accounts were used to send spam. Also The Yahoo! blog was vulnerable to XSS attacks because it utilized an outdated version of WordPress.
Categories: XSS , XSS Attacks , Yahoo


text:
I ask this question to those who may have read the postings from the God of War Egyptian Bloodlines book. I know that I have only posted the first two chapters to the book on this space but God of War is a million dollar franchise will millions of fans. I could have thought that some of those fans would read the fan fiction and of those some would also like to comment. Now I am not looking for good comments because I like what I wrote. I am looking for those comments where people want to tell me what they think. I want comments where people put me on blast because I have done something to the series they love. Send those to me. I want to talk on them becuase I have so much in line for the series but would love to know if there is a fan base out there to begin with.
So at the end of this I want to know what you think.


text:
Our youngest one decided yesterday was a great day for a ride to the playground. Once she arrived at the slide, her monologue went something like this:Whoa, whoa, eke! This isn't going very well. I huff and I puff and I go go go!!!!
She summed up my post inauguration feelings exactly.


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Friday, 8 February 2013
Stunning Milford Sound
We had been looking forward to seeing one of New Zealand's highlights, Milford Sound.
The drive to get there from our overnight stop was very dramatic, with low clouds shielding the mountains we were driving through. At one point the clouds were very dark and created a strange light over the landscape....
Eventually the clouds dispersed and those remaining hung low over the land and roads. Driving into a cloud is a very strange feeling....
The scenery became more stunning the nearer we got to Milford Sound. The road passes through some great parts of the Southern Alps, with twists and turns that make the drive very enjoyable. It would be even better on a motorcycle. The road passes through Homer Tunnel, which has a 1:10 slope in a near-darkness. Great fun!
The fjord is 15km long inland from the Tasmin Sea and has sheers cliffs that rise 3,900 ft / 1,200 metres above the water. We travelled on the 40m long boat, Milford Mariner on a two-and-a-half hour sailing along the sound and back again.
Milford Sound is a World Heritage site, and it is easy to see why....
It was a good day to see such a great place, as this was our 15th wedding anniversary....
On the return journey inland, we saw seals....
The base of the 155 metre Stirling Falls. Trying to take a picture and keep the camera dry at the same time was impossible....
On the way back....
Milford Sound has an average annual rainfall of 268 inches. That is a staggering 22 feet or 6.8 metres, making it one of the wettest places in the world. We were blessed with a wonderful day, with blue skies and sunshine.
As we arrived back at the boat dock, we passed the second of the ever-running waterfalls....
A couple of pictures from the journey back. Who couldn't like driving on roads like these?
15 comments:
- bob skoot said...
Happy Anniversary to you and Jackie. Lovely photos. Wished we were there.
You lucked out with the weather, but then again . . . you are a lucky guy, 15 years in heavenly bliss
Looks like a GoPro on a few of those shots
Riding the Wet Coast
- 8 February 2013 at 21:43
- Gary France said...
Bob - Thanks. No not a GoPro for the wide shots. They were taken with my fisheye lens in my Nikon.
- 8 February 2013 at 22:39
- Arkansas Patti said...
Happy Anniversary to you and the
Mrs. !!! What an amazing place to spend it. You really have set the bar high for future anniversaries.
Cloud driving really is weird. I did that once on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Spooky.
- 8 February 2013 at 23:42
- RichardM said...
Happy Anniversary! What a wonderful place to spend it as well. That fjord is beautiful. The 40m long boat was a sloop, ketch, ? (I like sailboats!)
Keep posting the pictures as I don't know if I'll ever get there...
- 9 February 2013 at 00:15
- Charlie6 said...
Happy Anniversary!
Brilliant photography Gary, Brilliant! Biggest sailboat I ever sailed on was a 34' Catalina, it was very nice.
- 9 February 2013 at 03:03
- Roger Fleming said...
Come on mate, dont go telling everyone about our secrets down under.....
- 9 February 2013 at 04:34
- Gary France said...
Patti – Thank you for your anniversary wishes. I am not sure I can equal Milford Sound for future anniversaries.
Richard – It was big and had engines as well as sails. That exhausts my limit of knowledge of sailboats.
Charlie6 – Thanks! I have recently discovered some cheats that make my photos look better. Oh, being in a fantastic place really helps!
- 9 February 2013 at 05:25
- Gary France said...
Roger – Sorry. This blog post will self-destruct in ten seconds.....
- 9 February 2013 at 05:26
- Geoff James said...
Congratulations Gary and Jackie - have a drink on me and charge it to Roger - I'll sort it out with him when we get back :-).
I was interested in your remarks about the Homer Tunnel. To use a very English phrase, I was 'bricking it' going through on the bike but all was well!
- 9 February 2013 at 06:44
- SonjaM said...
Happy Anniversary, and what a nice scenery to celebrate. Milford Sound is legendary.
- 9 February 2013 at 06:48
- Trobairitz said...
Beautiful pictures Gary - and happy belated Anniversary to you an Mrs. France.
I can't believe how much rain the sound receives per year. I thought 40 inches in Oregon was bad. Glad you managed a clear sunny day on the water.
- 9 February 2013 at 15:11
- Canajun said...
A great place to spend your anniversary. Happy 15th! Milford Sound is certainly one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen and, like you, we were blessed with a rare day of sunshine when we were there.
- 9 February 2013 at 15:39
- WooleyBugger said...
Happy Anniversary you two.
Hey, that third picture just looks wild and the fourth picture reminds me of a mouse hole in a wall.
Thanks for the package as well.
- 10 February 2013 at 04:34
- Rex J. Covington said...
Fantastic Photos! Happy Anniversary to you and Jackie!
- 10 February 2013 at 21:46
- Gary France said...
Geoff – We will have two! The tunnel was scary enough in a car – I think I would have had the same feelings if I had done it on a bike.
Sonja – Thank you. Milford was as good as people say.
Trobairitz – Thanks. It gets an amazing amount of rain, but is the second wettest place in NZ. Somewhere gets more!
Canajun – You are right, it was a great place to celebrate an anniversary. We were both so lucky to have sunshine when there.
Wooley – I laughed when I read your mouse hole comment – that is exactly what it looks like!
Rex – Thanks!
- 12 February 2013 at 06:53


text:
Hario V60 filter papers - The Widest Choice in UK
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There are pack sizes as small as 40 sheets to enable you to try a variety before sticking with your preferred filter paper.
Important Information
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text:
How Wrong Can Things Go?
Poop. Poop Everywhere.
I'd say that's pretty wrong.
Click on "Read More" to laugh at our first-time parenting adventure in poop.
Hint: it was not awesome.
I know that our parental adventures in poop are more than likely still in their infancy, because, well, our kid is still in her infancy. But if we could just skip over the parts with poop, I'd be ever so grateful.
As with most households, evenings here are busy. After running, I take a shower and we are just starting to see if Danger will tolerate one with me. Although successful in accomplishing the task of getting the baby clean, she rather prefers lounging and splashing about on her own in a nice, relaxing bath in which water isn't forced down upon you by 30-odd jets. That said, Mommy would prefer that bedtime isn't pushed back to 9pm on those nights so, we're giving it some time to see if she will tolerate it a few days a week.
Just like earlier this week, I got Danger ready for our shower and got in. The plan is that Jeff is then to grab her and lift her into the shower, wait for her to be cleaned and then lift her out for her nightly regimen of lotions, pajamas, books, nursing and bedtime. It worked earlier this week and I didn't have any doubts tonight would be different.
How wrong can a first-time parent be?
Let me count the ways and share my newest "lessons learned."
1. Never. Never. Never take a diaper off a child who will remain mobile after said diaper is removed. Just don't.
2. Never get distracted by something else and think your husband is there waiting with child in hands. He could be sitting on the couch with his laptop working, not having heard you say that it was time for the shower experiment.
3. Never be surprised when your husband brings you a child covered in poop and then frantically hands her off because he has to keep the dog out of it and get it cleaned up.
Alas, there will be no pictures of anything covered in poop accompanying this post. A pause here for silent thanks.
Reflecting on tonight, we are both kind of sad that we couldn't capture her first foray into the "poop-as-medium" realm. It would have been awesome to show her later. You know, later like as in, oh, right before her first date… Like I mentioned above, lessons learned.
This was shared (in a different way) on Google+ by Sarah Nenni-Daher.
Join me there and join in the fun!


text:
Bodum's Fyrkat Charcoal BBQ Grill Tool Set crafted in stainless steel will ensure your barbecued food is cooked to perfection. Comprising a spatula, tongs and an oil brush for non-stick grilling, the tools are crafted from stainless steel with heat resistant silicone handles. A useful hanging loop ensures the barbecue tools are within easy reach when the coals are ready.
Please remember to add postal time (2-3 working days) to obtain a complete estimate of delivery to your door.
You will receive an email to confirm when your item has been sent.
You can also check the status of your order and individual items by accessing My Account details and following the prompts.
Please allow 10 working days from dispatch of your order before notifying us of any late deliveries.
It may be advisable to check with your neighbours to see if a parcel has been left with them, check any outhouses you might have where it may be left if it cannot fit through your letterbox and contact your local sorting office to see if the item has been returned to the depot as undelivered and awaiting collection.
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text:
No, Mr Carthy, MBE, wasn't there, but Roger done it good.
On a happier note, Angela encouraged us to join in a song to wish a certain senior participant further years of mortal toil ...
|How old are you now?
we sang.
Berry couldn't remember his age, but he gave us this clue:
"I must have been born soon after the Dambuster's raid on Germany."
So work that out.
... and there was cake!
|Berry claims to have made it himself.
Dogsbody, who achieved only a D for O-Level French, was confused by Phil's reference to sans pantalon.
Now, should that be 'pantalon' or 'pantalons'?
Why do pants always come in pairs?
Why is 'brassiere' a singular noun?
Why is 'brassiere' a singular noun?
Mike P. had a theory about bridges ...
|Bridges are meant for burning!
Continuing the war-like theme, Tony sang of mutilation ...
| "By God, sir, I've lost my leg!", exclaims Lord Uxbridge.
Wellington replies, "By God, sir, so you have!"
We went northwards with Paul ...
|... remember a holiday ...
Welcome back, Elayne. We've missed you ...
Elayne's offering was unkindly described as soppy, sentimental ...
and utterly charming!
Dogsbody apologised later ... see earlier post for explanation.
Dogsbody apologised later ... see earlier post for explanation.
|So Mave boarded the last train from
a Lancashire mill town.
Then, in Debbie's company, we reverted to Napoleonic times ...
... and we went home very peacefully.


text:
This weekend I am off at a gathering of churches from our diocese and beyond and will be running a workshop for parents about how they can help children to engage with faith at home. To give them some ideas for praying together, I've made up some bags which we will work our way through during the session!
Here's one of the bags laid out...
I've included: some bubble wrap, felt tip pens, spotty paper, play dough, play coins, plastic teaspoons, bubbles, pipe cleaners, playing cards, skittles sweets and lego.
Here's how I will suggest we might use each item (after getting some ideas from the parents themselves which will probably be even better than these ideas!!)
Family Prayer Bag
1. God Venture Skittles Prayers:
(Found at http://godventure.co.uk/prayer-activities/sweets-prayer/- thanks Victoria for this amazing idea!)
Choose a skittle at random, say the appropriate prayer and then eat it!
Red: family
Purple: friends
Green: the environment/animals
Yellow: the world
Orange: school/work
2. Play dough Prayers (see also Play dough intercessions)
Model the play dough into the shape of something you would like to thank God for or ask Him for
Flip the coin
Heads- Thank you prayer
Tails- Please prayer
Tell God your worries and pop a bubble as a symbol of giving your worry to God
5. Pipecleaner Intercessions (see also pipe cleaner prayers)
- Make your pipe cleaner into the initial of the name of someone or something. Pray for that thing/person
- screw your pipe cleaner up and pray for people who are confused and upset
- link your pipecleaner to someone else's and pray for people who are lonely
- put your pipe cleaner around your wrist like a bracelet as a reminder that God is always with you.
Choose a spoon at random and pray the appropriate prayer
T- Thanks
Take it in turns to connect two dots with a line. When you make a complete square, write the initial of or draw a small picture of something or someone you want to pray for. The winner is the one who has made the most prayer squares!
Choose a card at random
Red number- sorry prayer
Black number- thank you prayer
King- give a word that describes how great God is
Queen- pray for a girl
Jack- pray for a boy
9. Bubble Prayers
say a please, sorry or thank you prayer. Blow some bubbles and picture giving your prayer to God
10. Lego Thank You Prayers (see also Lego prayers and Lego Intercessions)
Build a tower of lego blocks. For each block you add, thank God for someone or something.


text:
The hadada ibis chick in my garden is getting ready to fly. The sole surviving hatchling after his sibling eggs were blown to the ground in a storm, his arrival surprised and delighted us (we had supposed the whole brood was lost).
In the three-plus weeks since he emerged from his shelled incubator, the hadada's world has been confined to a single branch on a tree from where he has watched our comings and goings, tilting his head to follow me with his eyes as I tend the rabbits. And we, in turn, have watched him grow from feathery babyhood to the size-able fellow that he is now.
Every second, minute, hour, day and week of his life has been lived on that branch. To date, he knows nothing beyond its confines. His whole world is that little corner of our garden. His feet have never felt the lawn beneath his tree. He knows nothing of the greenbelt just 300 metres down the road, where others of his kind wait to meet him.
Beneath his lofty perch, squirrels scurry, the rabbits hop and we two-legged humans and our four-legged dogs walk to and fro, creatures confined to scurrying on terrafirma, but the hadada chick, who has never flown, is preparing to fly.
He has started to flap his wings. somewhat tentatively at first. A flutter. Then stop. Wait. Try again. So the cycle repeats itself and with each beating of his wings, previously unused muscles grow stronger, muscle memory is reinforced.
Alone on his branch, there is no-one to guide him, encourage him, instruct him. Still, he beats his wings in response to a primaeval, urgent prompting, an unquestioning knowing… that he is born for more than this.
For everything, every minuscule detail of his design; his smooth, lightweight feathers, his enlarged sternum (breastbone), his streamlined form, rigid skeleton and all-but hollow bones have been forged for this one purpose… flight. He is indeed, "fearfully and wonderfully" made.
And so he continues to wait and practice and wait. Today he managed to hop/fly from his branch to another…(where he remained for several hours before mustering the courage for his return to his comfort zone).
And tomorrow? Tomorrow or the next tomorrow, he knows not when (and neither do I) but one tomorrow he will thrash those wings and they will lift him heavenward, air-born he will fly off his perch, beyond our gate, beyond our ground-bound reality into the blue expanse beyond.
His blood will course strongly through his veins, his heart will soar with him and he will delight in the most profound joy of all, the joy of movement, the joy of being. For in flying he will finally be all he is created to be.
"3 For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother's womb.
14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;[b]
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them."
excerpt from Psalm 139
For further reading:
- Prof. N A Barba: Nature versus Nurture: How do baby birds learn to fly?
- The Science Learning hub: How Birds fly
image by: Sergey Yeliseev | cc


text:
Alyssa Nugent
Strategic Marketing Associate, Catalyst Marketing Group
Alyssa is a Strategic Marketing Associate at Catalyst Marketing Group. She assists in various aspects of partnership development, sports marketing sponsorship consulting and market research.
Alyssa is a recent graduate of the University of New Hampshire where she studied Business Administration Marketing and Sport Studies. While there, she worked to help the athletics department create team social media content, organize and implement game day promotions, contests, and other actionable plans for the season. She spent one summer working for the International Tennis Hall of Fame where she worked to expand the membership base, re-brand and re-position the HOF following a major capital campaign.
Alyssa grew up in Newton, MA and attended Newton North High School.


text:
Questioned all season, Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson saves his best for last
Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com
For Denard Robinson, the questions never relented.
Could he run the pro-style offense? Could he become an efficient passer? Was he carrying the ball too much? Why was he throwing so many interceptions? Should Devin Gardner take over? Should Robinson change positions? Should he have transferred when Rich Rodriguez was fired?
The questions surrounding Robinson and the Michigan football team began before the season started, continued through the year and seemed in intensify week to week.
On Saturday, for at least a moment, the questions stopped.
"I wouldn't rather be (anywhere else), except for with these guys," Robinson said after Michigan's 40-34 win over Ohio State.
After a pause, unprompted, he added: "I'm glad I stayed."
Robinson wouldn't go into too much detail about his personal performance Saturday, but he didn't have to. The numbers did the talking.
The junior signal caller had his most efficient game as a passer when the stakes were the highest, going 14-for-17 for 167 yards and three touchdowns.
Zero interceptions.
On the ground, he was vintage Robinson — carrying the ball 26 times for 170 yards and two touchdowns. And when it was over, no one asked why he ran so many times.
Was it the most impressive performance of his career? Michigan coach Brady Hoke isn't sure. He just knows his quarterback was good in the team's biggest game of the season.
Very good.
"He played well," Hoke said. "He played with a lot of energy and he played with, in my eyes, toughness.
"He went after some of those runs, especially in the second half. It tells you a lot about him and how he feels about his teammates."
Robinson's regular-season numbers are nowhere near as eye-popping as they were a year ago in Rodriguez's spread-option attack. But they're still good.
Robinson finished the 12-game regular-season schedule with 1,163 rushing yards to go along with 16 touchdowns. Through the air, he had plenty of struggles. He completed just 56 percent of his throws for 2,056 yards, 18 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.
There certainly won't be any Heisman Trophy talk surrounding Robinson's junior season, but the team couldn't care less.
As a starting quarterback, he won 10 games and he beat Ohio State. That, they say, is all that matters.
"He's matured as a quarterback, he's matured as a player," Michigan senior center David Molk said. "That's the natural progression when you get more games and more plays in.
"He's playing great."
Asked if the performance served as a statement to those who doubted his ability, Hoke said he didn't think so, explaining how he and his coaching staff never wavered on their commitment to Robinson as a starter — and their opinion is the only one that matters.
Denard Robinson is Michigan's starting quarterback, and in case anyone was still curious, that won't change anytime soon.
"I don't know who he's making a statement to, because he's our quarterback and will be our quarterback at Michigan," Hoke said. "Denard went out there as the quarterback of Michigan and went out there to help his teammates and be accountable to his teammates.
"He couldn't do it by himself, and no one ever does. But I thought he played an aggressive, controlled football game."
Moving forward for Robinson, there's a chance the questions will never go away. He's not Jim Harbaugh or Elvis Grbac, nor is he Brian Griese, Tom Brady or Chad Henne.
He's unorthodox, he doesn't tie his shoes, and he'll always be known more for his feet than his arm.
But, in the end, he's Michigan's starting quarterback.
No question about it.
Nick Baumgardner covers Michigan sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at 734-623-2514, by email at firstname.lastname@example.com and followed on Twitter @nickbaumgardner.
Edward R Murrow's Ghost
Sun, Nov 27, 2011 : 4:10 p.m.
Denard played his best game of the season yesterday, no doubt. And what I saw from my seat in the stadium (not yet able to watch the DVR) is that his feet were always planted squarely under him. Always. And hence 14/17 with no interceptions, and I don't recall a truly bad pass in the bunch. This was not true early in the season--throws off his back foot, throws with his feet wildly askew, etc.. Gee, ya don't think that maybe, just maybe, his bad habits had something to do with the coaching (or lack thereof) he received under the last regime, and his improvement is explained by Denard's efforts along with that of the new coaching staff, do ya? Good Night and Good Luck
Sun, Nov 27, 2011 : 11:04 p.m.
Are we still talking about Rodriguez?
Edward R Murrow's Ghost
Sun, Nov 27, 2011 : 7:31 p.m.
@Don, All but the most fanatical member of the MCC understand that this team is much better coached than last year's, which raises the question: Why the continued fanatical support for the WCiMFH? My answer: For reasons that absolutely cannot be explained there developed among so-called "Michigan fans" a hatred of Lloyd Carr that went beyond reason and into the realm of the bizarre. For these "fans" the WCiMFH was the antithesis of Carr in every way imaginable. And, as it turns out, he was the antithesis of Carr in some ways that were not imaginable, either (e.g., integrity). So, when it all began to blow up, they blamed the object of their hatred--Lloyd Carr--and they continue to do so, for the manifest failures of the WCiMFH. And now, with this year's team being clear and irrefutable evidence (except for B1G replay officials) that the WCiMFH was . . . well . . . the WCiMFH, they refuse to accept that because , to accept that obvious conclusion, they would also have to accept that they had slandered Lloyd Carr both while he was coaching as well as after he left. I mean, here we are, nearly four years after he coached his last game, and the MCC are still bemoaning Lloyd and blaming him for the failures of the WCiMFH. Of course, the team that Hoke succeeded with is essentially the same team as last years--the same team that went 7-6 and that had the worst defense in this history of Michigan football. As far as I'm concerned, this love of the WCiMFH and the hatred of one of the most successful in the program's history can be explained, then, only by the weird psychology of those who continued to exhibit their man crushes. GN&GL
Sun, Nov 27, 2011 : 6:45 p.m.
David Mayo, from Mlive.com: "Don't bore me with the fact that Rich Rodriguez recruited most of these players. If anything, this is the ultimate indictment of how bad his regime was, because he got nowhere near this kind of dedication and production from this group. And to suggest that two coaches, using two different schemes, and with two different life experiences to teach young men, necessarily will get the same results, is a fool's stance, particularly given the proximity of last year's failure to this year's success." Coaching matters. And it's not just the X's and O's. Same article, David Molk on Hoke: "I love him, I love how he coaches, I love his leadership ability and how he does it. I'd do anything for him." Note the last sentence. All along I've said that Hoke will get these players willing to walk through walls for him. And it has come to pass. Denard will never be a deep ball passer. That's okay ... just gotta move the chains. Borges has said all along that Robinson can throw the ball well when he plants his feet and squares his body. As you point out ERMG, we saw that yesterday. This 2010 Michigan team over-achieved ... bless their pea-pickin' hearts. Nobody should operate under the illusion this team is top-10 material. It's not. But it speaks well for the future as Hoke and staff get more and more of the players they need to fit their vision.
Sun, Nov 27, 2011 : 3:37 p.m.
Glad for Michigan.The way the Acted is was like BCS Bowl win.Also very Good year,Congrats all round.Hoke came into a Great Young and speedy Team. Rich is smiling somewhere too,he had it set up.Remember this. Denard Robinison would of never been there,if it weren't for Rich.He made Michigan move away from that 3 yards and a Cloud of Dust.You may not like,no I know you don't like him,but he changed the way Michigan Played Football.Set up your first Night Game in History.You notice now most teams in The Big Ten have Running QB's.Ohio State Has a Good One too,The Badgers went to one too,he was another player that The Big Ten would not of Went after,and they will Blow out The Spartans in Championship Game too.Don't ever go back to Old Michiagn Football,you will fail again.There is not Future in The Past.
Edward R Murrow's Ghost
Sun, Nov 27, 2011 : 10:15 p.m.
@Don: Unfortunately, far too many fans are like the moron who sits in front of me at the Michigan games. Thankfully he splits his tkt with someone, so I only have to put up with him half the time. But he was there in full force yesterday. Anyway, whenever any play went into the line, whether Fitz or Denard, he was screaming bloody murder about the stupid play calling. It never occurred to him and, apparently, to many of those who think they know football and who enlighten us with their "knowledge" here, that maybe, just maybe, those plays were not meant to go anywhere. If they did--GREAT. But the point of calling them was to set up something else later, or to see how the defense responded to a certain play run from a certain set, or both. Yesterday Fitz and Denard both went over 1000 yards rushing for the season. The only other time that had happened for Michigan was 1975 with Rob Lytle and Gordy Bell. Somehow I don't think that offense was 3 yards and a cloud of dust. Nor was it that way with Rick Leach and Russell Davis. Nor Harbaugh, Morris, McMurtry, and Kolesar. I could go on. I guess my point is that anyone who thinks Michigan football, even at the height of the Bo's emphasis on running, was "3 yards and a cloud of dust" hasn't been paying attention. But there is something funny if one really wants to compare 1975 to 2011. The 1975 team had a true freshman QB, Rick Leach, who did not pass much that year--only 780 yards. Yet the offense averaged 394 yards per game. This year's team is averaging 423 yards per game. I don't think that a difference of 29 yards per game differentiates a "high powered" offense from a sluggish one. We are talking about differences in style here, not results, but the MCC sycophants don't understand that. GN&GL
Sun, Nov 27, 2011 : 6:38 p.m.
"Denard Robinison would of never been there,if it weren't for Rich." Maybe not. But we would have had several years of Ryan Mallet. He seemed to do very well down at Arkansas. Nobody -- and I mean NOBODY -- is calling for the "three yards and a cloud of dust" offense of the 1970's. Nobody. Repeat: nobody. Have you watched much SEC football this season? Alabama, LSU, Arkansas ... they're *not* running the pure spread offense. Some part of it some of the time, but not every part of it all the time. Why not? Because as ERMG said of Urban Meyer's comments -- defenses have caught up to it. Did you watch the Florida - Florida State game last night? Florida killed itself with stupid offensive mistakes, but the real story of that game was the INSANE defensive play on both sides of the ball. Big, strong and quick defensive linemen causing *havoc* in the backfield. That's the future of college football until offenses figure it out -- what to do with dominating defensive lines that get into the backfield and disrupt plays before they can develop. The spread option with the wide gaps is vulnerable to this. Ask Oregon ... USC was in its backfield all night in their game. Lou Holtz, who I generally don't much care for, said something a few weeks ago that struck me. He said the key to the wishbone, "or any option attack" he said, was an offensive line that can move the line of scrimmage. What do you suppose Hoke and Borges are trying to do? Answer: build an offensive line capable of moving the line of scrimmage. In the coming age of insane defensive line play, that'll be the key. Take a look at what Wisconsin has crafted. Ignore the coaching mistakes of Bielema (who tends to allow the other team's game plan to dictate his game plan). What do they have -- powerful line of scrimmage, dominating back, and this year a mobile QB. Their defensive line isn't LSU's ... but if they had something close to LSU's defensive line Wisconsin would be unst
Edward R Murrow's Ghost
Sun, Nov 27, 2011 : 4:03 p.m.
"Don't ever go back to Old Michiagn Football,you will fail again.There is not Future in The Past." Yeah, that's why when he was broadcasting the Iowa-Michigan game, urban Meyer noted that teams are shifting back from the spread to a pro-style power offense because defense have caught up to the spread, but a defense built to stop the spread is vulnerable to the I. But I'm guessing you know more than Urban Meyer. Good Night and Good Luck
Sun, Nov 27, 2011 : 11:07 a.m.
Great win for Michigan! That win felt great even from here in So Cal OC. Denard saved his best for last. Where is that lame Silveritus clown?.... Cricket cricket cricket. Numbers do not lie. Great win for these young men. GO BLUE!
Sun, Nov 27, 2011 : 1:45 a.m.
I agree azwolve, even Gardner will be better in his role. I was always confident about next years Bama' Game, I knew what a great coach Hoke was last year out here in San Diego, that's why I kept pushing for him to be the coach last December. Now we have a BCS Bowl practices along with the Spring and Fall camps, the whole team will be scary good, I think we will possibly be a preseason Top 5 Team, for sure Top 10. Anybody with me in their confidence meter for next years opener?
Sun, Nov 27, 2011 : 6:26 p.m.
@RWBill -- a sober but realistic assessment. If not a victory, then at least not an embarrassing defeat. Play hard until the last whistle.
Sun, Nov 27, 2011 : 4:34 p.m.
Not that I've studied who exactly we're losing much, but I don't have a lot of confidence with significant losses on the D line and Molk must be leaving by now. We have a very good recruiting class coming in which will be of no impact in that game, and Saban will have a roster of 5 top 5 classes who have matured from 18 year old boys into mature men. It could turn ugly at which time some of the same jubilant fans today will be calling for Hoke's resignation. I don't know who 'Bama has returning but they will be the most or second most physical and athletic team in the country. I will try to get tix for that game but it will be a very tough matchup. An experienced and flawless DR will be our best hope.
Sun, Nov 27, 2011 : 4 a.m.
I'm cautiously optimistic ... but 'Bama is just loaded with talent and depth.
Sun, Nov 27, 2011 : 1:21 a.m.
After all of the criticism, DR is still standing and producing better than ever. He's finally done it against the big boys of the B10 and lead UM to a 10-2 record and, most importantly, 6-2 in the B10! DR is our QB moving forward and he's earned it. Imagine next year with another full year under Borges...Denard and this offense are going to be scary good.
Sun, Nov 27, 2011 : 6:25 p.m.
If he continues to listen to Borges he'll be wickedly good next year. The one X-factor going into next year is the offensive line. I honestly can't read the tea leaves on how'll that reconstitute that. Molk in particular.
1st Down
Sun, Nov 27, 2011 : 12:56 a.m.
None of those guys are Denard Robinson either. We took 1000 yards and assigned it to Fitz. This years offense was more productive and more efficient than last years vaunted offense.
Sun, Nov 27, 2011 : 12:51 a.m.
The interceptions make me cringe as much as the next guy, but it is a shame Robinson is held to the same standard as a pocket passer. If one said, "34 touchdowns to 14 interceptions"... well, that looks pretty good!
Terry Star21
Sun, Nov 27, 2011 : 12:47 a.m.
Denard had his 'A' game going on, more runs like last season, passes were maybe best I have seen. 10-2, yes - who woulda' thunk ! Overall great performance, I'm not going to look back and critique - a win is a win is a win is a win ! Happy time hanging around this game afterward, first time in the last four home (osu) games some nasty buckeyes didn't harass me - I love it when they are quiet, heading for the exits. Brady Hoke, Brady Hoke - God Bless You ! MgoBlueForTiM......beat em' senseless untill they shut up and head for the exits...
Sun, Nov 27, 2011 : 12:34 a.m.
I'm hungry, you hungry?
Sun, Nov 27, 2011 : 5:20 a.m.
Hungry as hell....could go for some "Oranges" or some "Tostitos" maybe some sweet Sugar....
Sun, Nov 27, 2011 : 1:34 a.m.
Always hungry to beat ohio I think I will keep it like it is 1st Down
1st Down
Sun, Nov 27, 2011 : 12:57 a.m.
you hungry bro?
Sun, Nov 27, 2011 : 12:29 a.m.
The "eat it up" motion signified the hunger the players had to win in November.
Sun, Nov 27, 2011 : 12:34 a.m.
Then I hope to see the players eat it up during the bowl game as well! Eat it up, Michigan! Go Blue!
Sun, Nov 27, 2011 : 12:29 a.m.
BO's first win over ohio as MICHIGAN'S new coach in 1969 was his signature win. . . this is coach HOKE'S signature win. . . the worm has turned and with a top 10 or better recruiting class coming in next year the future of MICHIGAN football look's very bright. GREAT GAME, GREAT WIN. . . GO BLUE!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sun, Nov 27, 2011 : 12:26 a.m.
I'm just posting to demonstrate my new screen name, I might go back to just '"Mick" one day or change it next year to 59-44-6, we'll have to wait and see. Also, yes, Denard had a superb game, I agree wholeheartedly!
1st Down
Sun, Nov 27, 2011 : 12:58 a.m.
Nah...keep it Mick...or be Mick TD or something
Sun, Nov 27, 2011 : 12:33 a.m.
I'm trying to change my screen name to Mick 58-44-6, but it's not working, help!
Sun, Nov 27, 2011 : midnight
Denard played very well at home all season but he executed even better these last two games. He took so much criticsm but I for one, did not doubt him. At worst, I called him erratic showing both good and bad traits but he got more consistent and in the bigger games. Denard will be fine going forward. He's a team player and a team leader. A great win, much more higher scoring than I expected but off the charts on the thrill factor. A 10 win season; SWEET. GO BLUE!!!
Sat, Nov 26, 2011 : 11:51 p.m.
Great win! Denard did a great all-around job, though I cringed at every pass attempt. Let's hope this passing game is a taste of things to come next year. Nick, any info on the "eat it up" motion the players performed after big plays? I saw several players do it. Something motivational from the coaches?
Sun, Nov 27, 2011 : 2:01 a.m.
I believe it is something Denard started and is supposed to signify a starving man eating. Meaning, the Program has been starving for a long time and now it's "time to eat".


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All video demonstrations
are linked here.
Unfortunately, some of the
links in this pattern are dead.
(you can find out why here)
I've tried to make this pattern as visual as possible. There are many links to video demonstrations, most of which have been made by myself.
Yarn is 1 strand of Aran weight Free Style by Dale Garn
and 1 strand of variegated sock weight Eventyr by Trysil.
The Pattern
80cm or 100cm long circular needle,
size 4.5mm - 5,5mm, depending on tension,
Plus, double pointed needles (optional)
Aran or chunky/10-12 wpi (I often use three strands of 4ply sock yarn).
For Aran weight, 100g of yarn will make two medium length socks.
For Aran weight, 100g of yarn will make two medium length socks.
Using 80-100cm long, circular needles and the Judy's Magic Cast on method, cast on 16 stitches - 8 stitches on each needle. Click this link to see a video demonstration of how to start and complete the toe.
Using the Magic Loop method of knitting, which is demonstrated in the video linked above,
Round 1: Knit one round.
Round 2: Knit 1, Make 1, Knit to the last two stitches on the needle, Make 1, Knit 1. Repeat on the second needle.
Repeat these two rounds, increasing by 4 stitches every second round, until there are 16 stitches on each needle, 32 stitches total.
As soon as there's enough fabric on the needles, place a marker to indicate the front of the work. The front of the work is the side facing you when both the tail end of the yarn and the working yarn are coming from the right hand side of the knitting. This is the sole side of the sock.
Knit until the sock reaches 11cms from the heel of your foot. If you want snug fitting socks, subtract 1cms. If you have wide feet, you might need to add 1cm. Try them on, if possible.
How long the knitting is from the toe will depend on the size of your foot.
Below is a table of the most common adult shoe sizes in centimetres and inches. European, UK and US sizes are given. This is useful if you're knitting socks for someone else who isn't available for measuring.
Shape the gusset
These socks are knitting using three strands of sock yarn, one variegated.
Yarn is 2 strands of Silja sock yarn by Gjestal and 1 strand of Kaffe Fasset's Design Line 6 colour, produced by Regia.
Now, start gusset increases on the first needle only. The first needle is the needle closest to you are at the beginning of a round. Each round is 32 stitches total, 16 stitches on each needle.
Round 1:
Starting on the front, Right Side of the work, knit 1, then make a stitch by knitting into the front and the back of the next stitch. This is called KFB (Knit-Front-Back). Knit to the last two stitches on the first needle, then KFB, K1.
Knit the rest of the round, or in other words, knit all 16 the stitches on the second needle.
Round 2:
Knit all the stitches in the next round.
Knit all the stitches in the next round.
Repeat these two rounds - one increase round, one knit round - until you have 32 stitches on the first needle, and you should still have 16 stitches on the other side. 48 stitches in total.
Turn the heel
Here's a link to a table, which explains the whole heel turning process, row by row. There's also a colour diagram with symbols.
W&T = wrap and turn
W&T = wrap and turn
K = knit
P = purl
YF = yarn forward - bring the yarn to the front of the work between the two needles
YB= yarn back - take the yarn to the back of your work, between the two needles
S = slip
Start at the beginning of the round, on the first needle with 32 stitches.
With the right / sole side of the work facing you
Knit 22 stitches, slip 1 stitch onto the right hand needle (S1), bring the yarn forward (YF) between the two needles, slip the slipped stitch back onto the left hand needle, take the yarn back to the back of your work, (YB) then turn your work
You have just worked a wrap and turn!
When you have turned the work, you should see the purl side/inside of the sock now facing you.
P12, (until you are 10 stitches from the end of the row), S1, YF, slip the stitch back onto the left hand needle, YB. Turn your work.
That's your second wrap and turn.
Take a moment to get to know your wrapped stitches. They look different and there's a gap in the work to one side of the wrapped stitch and a stitch which is a lot closer to the wrapped stitch on the other side.
Work each row knitting, or purling, up to the stitch before the wrapped stitch, and wrapping that stitch.
K11, S1, YF, slipped the slipped stitch back to the left hand needle, YB, turn your work
P10, S1, YF, slipped the slipped stitch back to the left hand needle, YB, turn your work
K9, S1, YF, slipped the slipped stitch back to the left hand needle, YB, turn your work
P8, S1, YF, slipped the slipped stitch back to the left hand needle, YB, turn your work
K7, S1, YF, slipped the slipped stitch back to the left hand needle, YB, turn your work
P6, S1, YF, slipped the slipped stitch back to the left hand needle, YB, turn your work
K5, S1, YF, slipped the slipped stitch back to the left hand needle, YB, turn your work
P4, S1, YF, slipped the slipped stitch back to the left hand needle, YB, turn your work
There should be 4 regular stitches left in the middle of the row, with 5 wrapped stitches either side.
Now, pick up the 5 wrapped stitches on the knit side and 5 wrapped stitches on the purl side. Use this video demonstration to see how - jump to 6:40.
After picking up the wraps, with the wrong side of the work facing you, you'll have two very distinct gaps in your row of stitches.
Left hand needle: there should be 9 stitches on the left hand needle, gap between the two needles,
Right hand needle: 14 stitches, gap, 9 stitches on the right hand needle.
The heel flap
Video demonstration here
With the right side of the work facing you, there are two alternatives to knitting the heel flap.
Alternative one:
slip the first stitch, as if to knit, then knit 12, upto the last stitch before the gap, then work an SSK.
Alternative two:
S1 purlwise, K1, to the last stitch, then work an SSK.
Sl1pw, K1 is demonstated here.
Sl1pw, K1 is demonstated here.
|Eye of Partridge - Slip 1 purlwise, Knit 1
SSK = Slip, Slip, Knit.
Slip the next stitch as if to knit, slip the next stitch as if to purl - that is one stitch either side of the gap - then knit those two slipped stitches together.
Then turn your work, purl 12, to the last stitch before the gap and purl together the next two stitches - one stitch either side of the gap.
Repeat these two rows until you have just two stitches remaining either side of the 14 stitches.
You should now have 17 stitches on the first needle.
Knit the regular 16 stitches on the second needle.
On the first needle, Knit 1, K2 together.
Knit to the end of the row.
You have now completed the heel of your sock.
Continue knitting until the sock is two inches shorter than your required finished length - this can be anything from 1cm to 1m of knitting. For longer socks, you'll need to work increases at regular intervals, every 10cms or so, to accommodate the increasing circumference of your leg.
For the last two inches or so of knitting, work rib stitch.
This can be 1x1 rib (knit 1 stitch, purl 1 stitch), or 2x2 rib. If you want to, you can switch to a smaller gauge needle and double pointed needles. You can also make the ribbing much longer than 2 inches; it's really a matter of preference.
Eye of Partridge stitch on the heel gives extra thickness.
These also have 2x2 ribbing around the top.
Yarn is Trysil Labbetuss.
Casting off.
One of the most important things about sock knitting is making sure the cast off is stretchy enough to allow you to actually get your foot into the sock when it's done!
My preferred cast off is the one demonstrated here.
Knit the first two stitches, and then knit those two stitches together through the back loop. In the demonstration linked above, she knits the knit stitches and purls the purl stitches, which is something I never do. It's down to personal preference.
For striped socks, I knit the toe a single colour, then add the second colour and knit every other row in the contrasting colour until I get to the heel flap. I then knit the heel flap and top in a single colour. For the pair pictured above, I used a variegated yarn (Big Delight by Drops) for the contrast colour.
Please contact me with any questions!
Some borrowing from this pattern also.


text:
Erdogan vows to clean Turkey of "virus" after failed coup
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan says he will clean the country of the ''virus'' responsible for Friday's coup attempt. Nathan Frandino reports.
As Turkey lays to rest the victims of the failed coup attempt, President Tayyip Erdogan promises to rid the country of those behind the violence. (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) TURKISH PRESIDENT, TAYYIP ERDOGAN, SAYING: "At every level of government, the period of cleaning this virus (Fetullah Gulen cleric) will continue. Because this body, my brothers, formed metastasis. Like the cancer virus, it spreads all around the government." The death toll now stands at least 265 people. Many of those victims still remain at area morgues, where families agonize over their loved ones. As they wait, Turkish officials are rounding up the coup's participants. On Sunday police arrested the commander at the Incirlik airbase. About 6,000 members of the armed forces and judiciary have already been detained -- as the hunt for suspects continues.


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Aging hardware, obsolete before long
High screen resolution, Wide viewing angles
Pretty good 5-megapixel camera
Inexpensive, Solid performance, Good LTE speeds
Great display, Solid design
Good spec for the price, Ice Cream Sandwich, solid build
Android 4 out-of-the-box
Easy to use
Nice styling and good build quality
Compact Google smartphone
Reasonably priced handset with Android 4.0 and a zippy dual-core CPU
Terrific value for the money
Unnecessary UI overlay for ICS, Redundant bloatware
Great design
Well built
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Imagine a school that embraces your child with open arms, a school where children are allowed to express themselves in creative and constructive ways, and where learning opportunities are designed to challenge students to reach high academic standards. Nathan Hale Arts Magnet School is a community of highly-trained educators who are committed to protecting the emotional and physical wellbeing of all students as they grow through the arts.
On a typical Monday at Nathan Hale Arts Magnet School, students can enjoy the cheerful sounds emanating from a grand piano on their way to lunch. On another school day, children have the opportunity to create clay sculptures to fire in a kiln, while another group of students gather in the school's state-of-the-art dance studio to learn from a visiting artist.
As a regional option for K-5 education in southeastern Connecticut, Nathan Hale Arts Magnet School is an excellent choice for those seeking an educational environment that serves its families and students. We honor the unique contributions of each member of our family, knowing they contribute to the tapestry of students, parents, teachers, community partners and administrators that is Nathan Hale Arts Magnet School. With guidance from the Magnet Schools of America national organization, Nathan Hale Arts Magnet School continuously ensures high-quality innovative instructional programming, infused with choice, equity, diversity, and academic excellence for all students.
Nathan Hale Arts Magnet School offers:
Nathan Hale Arts Magnet School is a kind and caring community equipped with the educational tools and state-of-the-art facilities needed to provide an arts-rich education to every student. Within our school, students are expected to serve as a role models, celebrating their contributions and recognizing their responsibilities to our community at large. The faculty and staff of Nathan Arts Magnet School are not only educators, they are experienced dancers, musicians, artists, and actors who are eager to share their experiences. These extremely talented individuals embrace the talent and potential of each child and provide every student with an education that draws forth the masterpiece that lies within each of them.
At the core of our philosophy is the belief that every child is a work of art and should be allowed to work to their fullest potential in meaningful ways that ignites a creative spark – with brilliance to follow.


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Mint Green Sleeveless Chiffon A Line Lace Short Homecoming Dress
$318.00 $159.00
Save: 50% off
I loved the dress! I got so many fantastic comments when I wore it and it fit perfectly. I will definitely buy another dress off here and I highly recommend these dresses as no one will have the same dress as you most likely because there's so many to pick from and you will out shine all the other people at your social event.
Date Added: 01/19/2017 by BARBARA ELIZABETH


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The subtitle of Forrest Reid's 1929 book on Walter de la Mare is A Critical Study, but that's exactly what the book fails to be. Its problem is not so much what might be expected, that as a friend of de la Mare Reid would be unable to summon negativity where appropriate. He is perfectly willing to denigrate works that fail to meet his standards. The trouble is that those standards are poorly defined. Reid makes a few attempts to lay out his principles, but does so mostly with a couple dubious dichotomies that leave substantial excluded middles. By and large he simply quotes or describes stories, poems, and novels, then rhapsodizes over them or complains about small perceived defects. The total effect (and I say this with full awareness of the inherent irony) is of a series of casual blog posts rather than a critical volume; or perhaps of Harold Bloom's later work, where the idea of scholarly rigor has been cast aside in favor of superlatives, disjointed philosophical remarks, and flights of fancy.
The book is short (250 pages of large print) and discursive, as Reid wanders down the garden path to quote Henry James or talk about some Catholics he met one morning. The intention is that these digressions should illuminate whatever point is being made about de la Mare, but mostly they don't. It feels instead like Reid is following his own imagination, and trying, in his poetic descriptions of de la Mare's work, to write a book that is stylish in itself, a forgivable desire except that it interferes with his critical intentions.
Nonetheless the book is quite readable, and provides a good basic overview of de la Mare's work up to the time of its publication, with enough extracts that readers can determine for themselves whether they're interested in seeking out the books in question. And there are nuggets of true insight scattered throughout. Walter de la Mare: A Critical Study cannot be recommended for its intellectual merit, but as a curiosity, one writer of fantastic and supernatural fiction commenting on another, it has its charm.


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Slover Linett is co-founding a not-for-profit enterprise to conduct exploratory research and foster programmatic innovation in the arts and the public sciences and humanities. The new organization, Culture Kettle, will be an "R&D" center working to broaden our understanding of how people do — and could — engage with cultural content, from symphonies to science exhibits.
Culture Kettle is being founded by Slover Linett partner Peter Linett and Carroll Joynes, a senior fellow at the Cultural Policy Center at the University of Chicago.
The organization will focus on both research and programming and on tightening the connection between them. On the research side, Culture Kettle will attempt to shed new light on a range of fundamental questions facing the arts and culture sectors, particularly concerning audiences and participation. The research studies emerging from Culture Kettle will be independent, with a mandate to create new knowledge and to identify new opportunities, even when these may challenge existing assumptions or models in the field.
On the program development side, Culture Kettle will create, implement, and evaluate experimental programming models, working both within and outside of existing cultural organizations.
Both the research and innovation activities will be pursued in collaboration with leading practitioners, scholars, researchers, institutions, and funders. Culture Kettle will forge close relationships with a series of "Innovators in Residence," who will work with the organization in a particular area of the cultural sector in two-to-three year appointments. (The first Innovator in Residence will be announced later this Fall.)
Linett and Joynes are delighted that the organization is now coming to life after a two-year gestation. "This is an exciting time to be thinking about the connection between exploratory research and on-the-ground innovation," says Linett. "The arts and museums have been trying lots of new approaches in the last few years, but the society around us is changing even faster. We're hoping to add to the sector's capacity to envision new possibilities based on good research, and then bring some of those possibilities to life in a series of experiments."
Joynes notes that, for all the talk of change, most research studies still proceed from a set of familiar assumptions, and most cultural institutions face internal barriers to experimentation. "As a sector, we have an opportunity — or more accurately, an urgent responsibility — to imagine new ways of thinking and working. Culture Kettle is an attempt to give museums and arts institutions a place to take risks both conceptually and in practice, and to do so in a concerted, collaborative way."
Culture Kettle embodies innovation in its organizational structure: it is an L3C, one of the new business models that have recently arisen as alternatives to the 501(c)(3) nonprofit. An L3C, or low-profit limited liability company, is a hybrid of nonprofit and for-profit characteristics designed for social entrepreneurs with mission-oriented rather than profit-oriented goals. An L3C can receive grants, like a nonprofit, but it can also receive program related investments, or PRIs, from foundations or other civically-minded supporters.
Several exploratory research projects are already in the planning stages at Culture Kettle, including a study of the multiple audiences of campus-based art museums, co-led by museum consultant Tom Shapiro of Cultural Strategy Partners and based at the University of Chicago Cultural Policy Center; a collaboration with composer and classical music innovator Greg Sandow on alternative concert formats for young audiences; and a multi-disciplinary study of how awe and wonder function in "peak experiences" of nature and art, in association with anthropologist Michael Di Giovine and environmental studies scholar Adrian Ivakhiv.
For more information, or to suggest avenues of exploration or collaboration, please email Peter Linett. We can also put you on the list to be notified when the Culture Kettle website launches later this year.
Category: General


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Development Management (Planning Applications)
If you are aggrieved by the decision of your application or any of the conditions attached to an approval, you may pursue an appeal to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Boston Shop Front Guide
This guide will help owners and leaseholders of shops to produce high quality and well-designed schemes when considering an alteration to their building. It will also provide information on what Bosto...
Development Management Privacy Statement
Development Management process and store a large volume of information and personal details.
Partnership Schemes in Conservation Areas Boston
Boston Borough Council is offering grants to private owners of historic properties within the market place and the lanes surrounding it.
Pre-Application Advice
The Council welcomes and encourages discussion before those proposing development submit an application for planning permission.
Planning Application Search
Planning Applications - Weekly/Monthly Listing
The planning weekly list provides a list of all the planning applications validated and determined by the Local Authority in a given week.
Planning Enforcement
The enforcement officer will investigate breaches of planning control by reference to or in accordance with the Planning Enforcement Policy to reach a satisfactory conclusion as resources permit.
Search for Planning Applications
The Online Planning Register contains details of all planning applications submitted since ~1984. This facility allows you to view decisions, plans and associated supporting documents for all applicat...
Submitting an application - Forms, Fees and Guidance
Forms, fees, guidance and information on ways to submit applications.
What happens when I submit an application?
This is a short summary of the general process that a planning application follows from receipt to determination.
What is Development Management?
Development Management is responsible for deciding planning applications for new developments and changes of use to buildings. It also deals with other types of application such as adverts, listed bui...


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Cloud computing can take many forms and will likely tap into numerous systems and environments at the typical data center. However, if one trend is becoming clear, it's that most organizations will deploy some form of hybrid cloud over the next several years.
This makes sense considering the hybrid model splits the difference between the benefits and liabilities of public and private clouds. On the one hand, you gain the tremendous level of scalability that public services offer, and yet you can maintain a high degree of control over what leaves the confines of your own infrastructure and what doesn't.
It seems that deployment of hybrid clouds, at least for specialized functions like backup and recovery, is getting easier. Companies like Asigra are touting hybrid cloud appliances that offer quick and easy setup for smaller firms that lack the resources to man a broader infrastructure. In Asigra's case, the company utilizes Intel's Hybrid Cloud platform and storage technology along with its own agentless architecture capable of providing WAN optimization, continuous data protection and FIPS 140-2 data integrity.
Still, some questions remain as to how simple it actually is to integrate turnkey cloud platforms into existing data infrastructure. As Gale Technologies' Garima Thockchom points out in a piece written for CIO.com, it's important not to overlook some basic requirements for hybrid clouds. These include reliable automation so that both the provisioning and decommissioning of services is handled in a timely and efficient manner. You'll also need to make sure the cloud platform has the appropriate adapters to seamlessly tie into legacy management systems, and use the correct templates so that compute, network and storage configurations are maintained. Anything less, and your turnkey solution could turn into a massive headache.
This is one of the main reasons why top platform providers have been on a tear to acquire management integration technology, according to internet evolution's Mary Jander. Going way back to 2007 when SAP acquired Business Objects, followed by Oracle's purchase of BEA and IBM's recent takeover of Cast Iron Systems, the need to optimize not just provisioning but capacity planning, service levels, security and a range of other functions across disparate architectures has been a running theme.
Even internal developments are trending toward servicing hybrid environments. Witness the raft of new tools from VMware, says eWeek's Chris Preimesberger. From the new vCloud Connector and Global Connect system to the vFabric Data Director database-as-a-service, the goal is to put enterprises on the road to the cloud as quickly and easily as possible.
If the prognosticators are right, the hybrid cloud will become the standard-issue data center infrastructure within a relatively short time. That means enterprises of all stripes are under the gun to gain a working knowledge of all the technologies involved as quickly as possible.
That won't be an easy thing to do in today's rapidly changing environment, but it is IT's leading strategic imperative as the decade unfolds.
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Our Accounting Department is responsible for the administration of driver paperwork, accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, and company insurance benefits. Our team works hard to ensure that everything runs as smoothly as possible in the back office. They are diligent in the work they do, and they are always available to assist with any questions or concerns.
Lisa Milom
Lisa Milom has over 20 years experience in the transportation industry. She has been employed with Beacon Transport for over 15 years as Senior Operations and Accountant.
Crystal Daniels
Crystal Daniels has been employed with Beacon Transport for over 10 years. She is responsible for the management of all daily accounting functions.
Brandy Jones
Brandy Jones has been employed with Beacon Transport for over 9 years. She is responsible for overseeing daily billing and processing, as well as, accounts receivable.


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Brazilian airline Gol's plan to fly 200 Boeing 737NG revenue flights on biofuel during the World Cup is coming down to the wire as it waits for certification of the locally produced fuel before the competition kicks off in June. The direct sugar to hydrocarbons (DSHC) biomass-to-fuel pathway developed by Amyris and Total is in the final stages of approval by standards developer ASTM International. A research report containing data from engine and other testing has passed a ballot at ...
You must have an Aviation Week Intelligence Network (AWIN) account or subscribe to this Market Briefing to access "Gol's World Cup Biofuels Plan In The Balance".
Current Aviation Week Intelligence Network (AWIN) enterprise and individual members: please go to http://awin.aviationweek.com for access.
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Eric's Homepage
I'm such a lame-o. I was on Prom Court. That's me on the far right. cough..GEEK..cough, cough. It wasn't my best hour. Or a good hour. I wasn't even up there for an hour...I guess it wasn't my best 7 minutes or so.
My Name Is
Eric Laugel
Now that that is out in the open, let me tell you a little bit about myself.
I haven't updated in a long time. It turned out that Yahoo!, the bastard that it is, decided to stop letting the free members use FTP to upload files, without telling me. Just like they stopped letting free email members use external sources to check their email. So that's why I'm somewhere else (at the time of writing this, I'm not sure which place it will be. I've checked Tripod and Angelfire, and a lot of other spots.) In any case, I recommend just typing in http:\\www.eric.hatesmonday.com. It's easier to remember...on second thought, let me check and see if I can change that thing. This might take a while, but it's not like you'll notice, since I'll just leave some dots and you'll just glance over them...yes, okay, the above address will always work.
I like MP3's and other stuff. Like that. I like sleeping and eating. I could live on McRibs. I have a very old, very slow CD Burner. I slowly burn CDs. It's a good, slow thing.
Wow, all these people have been writing me saying that they saw the website! And all of them have been good, not like that guy who called me stupid for the now-gone Bin Laden Bummed page. Thanks to Amelia, Dot, and Tanya.
You will find that I am currently playing landlord to an individual who calls himself A.J. At first I found his ramblings to be quite obnoxious, but I guess I kind of got used to having the little hitchhiker there. He will probably not be hanging around, since we increasingly have difficulty finding time to hang out. But while he's still here, enjoy the ride.
Well, I'm introducing a new section, Soul Legacy, which is based on real events, and this might eventually bump off Trouble Among the Co-Workers. But don't fret...many of the faces of the souls may look familiar if you followed Trouble Among the Co-Workers. I also got rid of Sweet Cars, because the pictures were really old, and a lot of people were legitimately looking for sweet cars and got to the page and were disgusted by my pictures of Volkswagon Vans. I also recently got Photoshop 7.0, and I have a lot of pictures I made, but I want to space them out between updates, so watch this page for updated pictures.
Also you will soon find an odd individual named Grant on this website. Actually, you'll only find him in Trouble Amongst the Co-Workers, and he somehow snuck into AJ's N64 Reviews. He was mentioned on the band page, which is now gone, and for more than a year he had his own page, but it was incomplete and nobody visited it, so it went away too. I get the sinking feeling Grant has already moved out, because I never see him anymore. He locked his door, and I think he left through the window.
I started working at BG24, the live news broadcast on campus. I run teleprompter on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and on Fridays I do computer graphics. It's pretty fun. Training consisted of coming in for an hour, and that hour covered camera, teleprompter, switcher, audio, the whole deal. I also started training at WBGU, the PBS affiliate, but they are making me train SO damn much. For camera training (which was my second or third choice), I have to train for ten 2 hour sessions, 5 of them from 9:30 to 11:30 at night, and 5 from 7:00 to 9:00 in the damn morning! I also am training on video editing (which was my first choice), and I have to go to two 2.5 hour meetings for that, and they're between 1:30 and 4:00 PM on Saturdays, so they're pretty managable.
I'd like to thank my buddy Brian Haas (many of you out there know him as the notorious Brain Haaf) for giving me Microsoft Frontpage 98. (I only had to beg him for a month or so) His website...how do you say? Ah yes, hasn't been updated in 3 years. I don't think it every will be, but, oh well. And actually, I got Microsoft Frontpage 2000 now, so I don't use 98 anymore. You are obsolete Brian.
(If you're using the Opera Browser [which I did for a short time], you can't see the email link above. It's mine, and it's email@example.com)


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Shopping Lists
April 23, 2011 in FAQ, Features
One of my main goals in developing the Lazy Cookbook was that my various devices could easily pull the information that I needed, when I needed it.
From any device users have full access to most of the Lazy Cookbook features. However I will also streamline the user experience based on the device.
For example when I access the Lazy Cookbook on my iPod Touch (and not the iPad or a computer) I am generally wanting to go to the Shopping List (i.e., I bring the iPod Touch with me while shopping).
So when a user logs into the Lazy Cookbook now from a 'smaller screen' device they are taken to the Shopping List directly. As well the Shopping List interface is adjusted slightly for smaller screens, removing unneeded features at the store (like adding recipes to the list) and focusing more on checking items off your list. As well there is scratch pad to quickly type notes (in case you just remembered you needed something on the way into the store and did not want to forget).
Over time more streamlining will go into place though I'll also try (when possible) to make sure users can access the full site from any device, if they want.
Questions or suggestions? Please let me know.


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About me
Software Developer & Consultant who developed and launched dozens of projects.
Setting goals and making plans to achieve them is what I can't stop doing
Focusing on a single problem until it's resolved to a satisfaction is my normal attitude
Breaking down challenging problems onto small achievable steps is my secret
Personal Info
George Borunov
Toronto, Canada
Pro. Experience
- 03/2017 – 10/2017
- IBM & Manulife. Toronto.
- Senior Developer Contract
- 10/2016 – 03/2017
- Parkbench Inc. Toronto.
- Senior Developer Contract
- 09/2015 – 09/2016
- Postmedia Inc. Toronto.
- Senior Front-End Developer
- 05/2015 – 08/2015
- Kik Interactive. Waterloo.
- Senior Developer Contract
My Professional skills
Web Development
I've been developing web application since 2002 (over 15 years now), regular websites, complex front-end applications, e-commerce platforms, web games, actually I've built a lot of game apps with rich visual content on the client side and high loaded back-end operations.
Development lead
I led and supervised developers in many places where I've worked, that involved conducting code reviews, help with architecture and design of software, communicating with project managers, splitting up work, and tracking performance.
Project management
I managed small teams of up to 7 people, consisted of developers, designers and content creators to build and maintain web projects, including several large game applications.


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Exercising Your Pet
Exercise is an important part of any dog's life in order for it to remain healthy. It not only keeps your dog in shape by keeping muscles and ligaments more flexible, but also releases nervous tension leading to a better behaved pet.
This can be accomplished by taking your dog on walks or runs, and even by simply playing energetic games like tug-of-war or fetch. Below are links for some great local parks that you can bring your dog to in order to get them running around outside. There are also specialized programs you can do with your dog that incorporate exercise, such as search and rescue training or agility training with Albany Obedience or another similar organization. Visit Albany Obedience Club for ideas.
Hiking professional, Alan Via, takes dog friendly local hikes with his Toby, hiking partner . The Bethlehem Area YMCA has information about meeting up with Alan and Toby for local hiking opportunities. You can also check out Alan's book about hiking with his dog The Catskill 67, a Hiker's Guide to the Catskill's 100 Highest Peaks under 3500 Feet at I Love Books, the Four Corner's Bookstore.
It's important to make sure your dog isn't overexerting itself, so watch out for breathing difficulties or fatigue. In addition, start out with easy activities before working up to more complicated ones to ensure your dog isn't working too hard. Dogs are much more heat sensitive than cold sensitive. If your are uncomfortably hot, they surely are, too! And if you are uncomfortable with proper clothing in the cold, they might be. Just to be sure, you should always consult your veterinarian for specific guidelines concerning your dog to make sure they're ready for heavy exercise.
A lot of people don't know that cats need exercise too. If your cat doesn't go outdoors and doesn't have a companion, make sure you play games with it, such as having it chase a string, ball or other toy, to keep it in shape. Pet stores have plenty of cat toys to choose from, but homemade toys work great too, such as cardboard boxes or PAPER bags to play in. Cats also love having climbing posts and perches, with the added bonus of keeping them off your furniture. A scratching post is a must! We prefer surfaces NOT naturally found in your home, like cardboard or bark or rope. Some cats LOVE a good game of laser pointer tag! If your cat doesn't seem to like playing, using cat nip can help get them interested in a toy. Really any sort of short, intense exercise is good for your cat; some can even be trained to walk outside on a leash!


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CME is your one-stop shop for affordable, business solutions, including:
- ACH origination: Make check-free, hassle-free electronic payments to almost anyone.
- Credit card merchant processing: Make it easy on your customers…let them pay by credit card. We make it easy on you by offering a credit-card terminal and an account for settlement of the transactions. For more information on merchant services click here.
- And more! Just ask for details.
Download our Business Services Brochure by clicking here.
Download our Business Service Fee Schedule by clicking here.


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USGS Plays Major Role in Society of Wetland Scientists Meeting
The U.S. Geological Survey's National Wetlands Research Center, headquartered in Lafayette, La., is playing major scientific and planning roles in the 24th Annual Meeting of the Society of Wetland Scientists taking place June 8-13 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in New Orleans. More than 650 scientists from throughout the world are expected to attend.
Research scientists from the center are presenting 28 papers and 20 poster sessions covering topics from brown marsh to wetland loss to coastal restoration. Thirteen USGS scientists are chairing symposia, and nine are guiding field trips to their research sites and other wetland areas.
Additionally, Dr. Rebecca Howard helped with the planning as a member of both the international board and the regional (South Central) hosting chapter's board. Other USGS scientists instrumental in the planning were Ronald Boustany, South Central Chapter board member and chair of Student Travel Awards; Stephen Faulkner, chair of the Student Paper and Poster Competition; and Patti Rafferty, chair of special events.
The center has encouraged minority student involvement by enabling students from Southern University to travel to the meeting.
Of special interest will be the symposium on the scientific basis for creating and restoring wetlands using dredged sediments, scheduled for 8:30 a.m. to noon both Thursday and Friday in the Cabildo A room, according to Ed Profitt of USGS, chair. Eminent scientists speaking are Joy Zedler and Irv Mendelsshon. Dr. Zedler, University of Wisconsin, has written books and numerous papers on restoring saline wetlands and is associate editor of the Ecological Society of America's "Ecological Applications." Following her will be keynote speaker Dr. Mendelsshon of the Louisiana State University. After his talk will be a series of talks by scientists engaged in wetland restoration in Louisiana and elsewhere.
A focus will be wetlands created at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's
Sabine National Wildlife Refuge in the Calcasieu estuary of southwestern Louisiana.
This area has been the site of cooperative research among scientists at the
USGS National Wetlands Research Center, graduate students from the University
of Louisiana at Lafayette, and faculty and students from McNeese State University.
Research topics have included vegetation dynamics; restoration genetics; mammal,
bird, insect, and marine invertebrate use of the sites; sediment accretion
and soil development; and levels of contaminants in soil and biota.
Another presentation of special interest Thursday will be "100 plus years of land change for coastal Louisiana: 1932-2050" by James B. Johnston and others at 2:30 p.m. in the Burgundy AB room. John Barras will be presenting USGS work on documenting wetland loss (for press release, maps and a video on this topic, see http://www.nwrc.usgs.gov/special/landloss.htm).
USGS will have two exhibits (23 and 24) at the SWS meeting displaying USGS work related to wetlands. The center exhibit will also be serving nutria sausage, part of a federal and state partnership to find an economic solution to wetland damage caused by an introduced species.
The exhibit will also feature interactive educational CD's as well as CD's containing the contents of two USGS award-winning books, "Our Living Resources" and "Status and Trends of the Nation's Biological Resources." USGS maps of coastal Louisiana wetland loss will be available at exhibit 23 and at the exhibit of the Louisiana Coastal Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Task Force (12).
To contact a USGS scientist for an interview or for more information, see Susan Horton at exhibit 23.
Press releases and in-depth information about USGS programs may be found on the USGS home page: http://www.usgs.gov. To receive the latest USGS news releases automatically by e-mail, send a request to <email@example.com>. Specify the listserver(s) of interest from the following names: water-pr; geologic-hazards-pr; biological-pr; mapping-pr; products-pr; lecture-pr. In the body of the message write: subscribe (name of listserver) (your name). Example: subscribe water-pr joe smith.
USGS provides science for a changing world. For more information, visit www.usgs.gov.
Subscribe to USGS News Releases via our electronic mailing list or RSS feed.
**** www.usgs.gov ****
Links and contacts within this release are valid at the time of publication.