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Job Opportunity – Part Time Code Enforcement Officer | City of Valley Park

PT Code Enforcement Officer

The City of Valley Park is accepting applications for a Code Enforcement Officer.  Under the supervision of the City Clerk, this position will perform a variety of technical duties in support of the City’s code enforcement program ordinances; monitors and enforces a variety of applicable ordinances, codes, and regulations related to zoning, land use, nuisance housing, building codes, health and safety, blight, graffiti, water waste, and other matters of public concern; and serves as a resource and provides information on City regulations to property owners, residents, businesses, the general public, and other City departments and divisions.    This is a part-time position with an average of thirty (30) hours per week and has a pay up to $25 per hour.  The application deadline is September 1st.

A complete job description and application can be found at

How to Apply/Contact

Please send resume and completed employment application to:

City of Valley Park

Attn:  Bill Hanks, City Clerk

220 Benton Street

Valley Park, MO 63088

or by email to [email protected]


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Install ssss on Mac OSX

About the App

Install the App

  1. Press Command+Space and type Terminal and press enter/return key.
  2. Run in Terminal app:
    ruby -e "$(curl -fsSL" < /dev/null 2> /dev/null
    and press enter/return key. Wait for the command to finish.
  3. Run:
    brew install ssss

Done! You can now use ssss.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

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The Meaning of Secondhand Smoking

- When a person doesn't smoke but they inhale the smoke being released from the tobacco.
- It's also known as ETS and Passive Smoking.
- Proven health hazard.
- Hard to avoid because about one out of every four people smoke.
- Trivia Fact:
Secondhand smoke has twice as much nicotine, and 5 times the carbon monoxide, as the smoke that you inhale.
- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says that secondhand smoking is proven to cause cancer.

Effects of Secondhand Smoking - Ranges from 5,000-60,000 deaths a year. - Can cause coughing, sneezing, and irritated eyes. Can cause lung cancer, breast cancer, heart attacks, etc.

SMOKERS VS. NON - SMOKERS · Smoking causes Stain teeth, hair, and affects your appearance.
· A smoker is more likely to get Cancer of throat and other parts of your body, rather than a non smoker.
· Smoking causes air-pollution.
· Smoking can cause breathing, heart action, and intestinal problems.
· When you smoke regularly the cilia that clean your lungs die gradually, while a non-smoker has benefits of lung-cleaning cilia.
· Smoker is more prone to be affected by lung cancer than a non-smoker.
· Smoker takes longer to become well from a illness, rather than a non-smoker.
A non-smoker has lived to tell the tale, while a smoker hasn’t pulled through.
If a smoker calculates or keeps track of the amount of money spent on buying cigarettes, they will realize after a few years that they have actually spent a small fortune; a non smoker could put that money to use somewhere useful
smoker then your life span is shorter than that of a non-smoker
smoker is more likely to takes days off a work for sickness, rather than a non smoker.

The Smoke-free Illinois Act prohibits smoking in virtually all public places and workplaces, including offices, theaters, museums, libraries, educational institutions, schools, commercial establishments, enclosed shopping centers and retail stores, restaurants, bars, private clubs and gaming facilities

Everyone knows smoking is a bad idea. And by now you've probably heard that breathing in someone else's secondhand smoke is also hazardous to your health. It may seem pretty harmless, but secondhand smoke actually contains thousands of chemicals — from arsenic and ammonia to hydrogen cyanide — many of which have been proven to be toxic or to cause cancer (called carcinogens). High concentrations of many of these chemicals are found in secondhand smoke. In fact, secondhand smoke significantly increases a person's risk for:* respiratory infections (like bronchitis and pneumonia)
  • asthma (secondhand smoke is a risk factor for the development of asthma and can trigger attacks in those who already have it)
  • coughing, sore throats, sniffling, and sneezing
  • cancer
  • heart disease

Think again before you put someone else’s life in Danger!
3,000 nonsmoking adults die of diseases caused by exposure to second hand smoke every year.
More than 10 million young people aged 12-18 live in a household with at least one smoker.
Secondhand smoke causes coughing, phlegm, chest discomfort and reduced lung function in nonsmokers.

Get your head out of the Cloud of Smoke!!!
By: Michelle White, Jaelen Hull, Maria Lopez, and Jami Stalnecker!

Source: http://www.stop-smoking-tips.com/secondhand-smoke.html


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Thursday, 31 January 2013

Day 3:Muscat Fashion Week 2013 - Endemage

Oman-based Endemage’s east-meets-west collection, a labour of love founded in 2010 by sisters Lubna and Nadia, perfectly encapsulates the meaning of its name; ‘the merging of two.’ A vision for many years, the label finally became a reality following Lubna’s graduation from fashion institute ESMOD Dubai.

Day 3: Muscat Fashion Week. C’Est Moi

Rashmi Kumari, the driving force behind the label, is an industry veteran, having worked at the likes of Armani Prive, Pucci, Alice by Temperley and Matthew Williamson prior to opening her own maison.

Day 3: Muscat Fashion Week 2013

 January 17.

1.C’est Moi, India
2.Endemage, Oman
3.Ahmed Talfit, Tunisia
4.Mauzan, UAE

Wednesday, 30 January 2013

Tuesday, 29 January 2013

Behind the Scenes:Razan Alazzouni.

Day 2: Muscat Fashion Week 2013 -Razan Alazzouni

Saudi Arabia-based Razan’s immersion in the artistic realm since her childhood; from sculpture, paper-making and screen-printing to fashion has resulted in a unique creative aesthetic. Her catwalk collections echo her fine art roots; silhouettes are spectacularly sculptural yet deeply feminine.

This picture is probably one of my favs that i've taken from the iphone ! to the point that Razan Alazzouni herself,profile pictured this as the facebook page of the her brand's page ;)

Day 2: Muscat Fashion Week 2013 -Jawahir Oman Jewelry

Day 2: Muscat Fashion Week 2013 - KANZI

A collaboration between self confessed perfectionist Shk. Amal Al Maktoum and entrepreneurial Raghda Taryam, epitomises luxury- fittingly so, as that is the literal translation of the label’s name. Kanzi’s loyal- not to mention royal- fans, enthuse over its exclusive collection of handcrafted abayas, kaftans, eveningwear and couture wedding dresses.

MFW Ad Campaign by KANZI.

This dress is one of my TOP favorites from KANZI's collection .
Love at first sight! Amazing dress! loved everything about it!

Day 2:Muscat Fashion Week 2013- TOUJOURI

DAY 2: January 16
Schedule: (Gates open at 7:30)

1.Toujouri, Qatar

2.Kanzi, UAE

3.Razan Alazzouni, Saudi Arabia

4.Dibaj, Oman
Qatar-based demi-couture line Toujouri, launched in 2009, (the name literally translates as ‘treasure chest’), has creative dynamo and veteran fashion insider Lama El-Moatassem at its helm. She further built on her prestigious fashion credentials by training at uber-brands Chloe and Matthew Williamson. Vintage textiles, a bespoke, rich colour palette, luxurious brocade and detailed, hand-created embroideries (which can take upto three painstaking months to complete) are the basis of collections that fluidly combine eastern and western influences

Jizdaani at Muscat Fashion Week - Day 1

Muscat Fashion Week Day 1 - Jawahir Oman Jewelery

Muscat Fashion Week 2013. Zhor Rais

The kaftan is always at the centre of Zhor’s collections; she finds the juxtaposition of the sensual yet conservative silhouette fascinating. The fact that it skims, suggests yet never reveals. Her innately Moroccan pieces highlight the craftsmen of her country, yet use their skills to fashion a collection that is thoroughly contemporary.

Saturday, 26 January 2013

Muscat Fashion Week 2013. Tatyana Aceeva

Tatyana Aceeva, Jordan

Tatyana being, half-Iraqi and half-Russian, began her career in Amman, Jordan and brings a unique blend of heritage to her work. She is known for her modern evening wear.

Aceeva brought a romantic glamorous collection to Muscat Fashion Week using textiles like chiffon, lace and silk in pastels and citrus hues.

Sunday, 20 January 2013

Muscat Fashion Week 2013. DAS Collection.

DAS Collection, UAE

The Emirati sisters Reem and Hind are based in the UAE and pride themselves on maintaining the dignity and elegance of the abaya while staying ahead of the curve of international fashion trends.

This collection included rich textured fabrics in bold primary colors and jewel tones. Confidence is key when you're wearing DAS.

Friday, 18 January 2013

Muscat Fashion Week 2013

The venue for Muscat Fashion Week is now official - for the 3rd year MFW will take place in the beautiful settings of Riyam Park.

One of the Ad Campaigns was designed by Nawal Al Hooti

Who wore it best?

Najwa Karam or Jennifer Lopez?

Sometimes when it comes to wearing the same dress,it always looks a bit better on one person.
Najwa Karam wore this emboridered gown by Zuhair Murad on 2012. and jenifer lopez

wore it on the redcarpet at the golden globes 2013. It looks very similar but a few

changes with the color.

Who wore it best?

My vote goes to Najwa karam for sure. it gave her body a vaavaavoom shape,unlike Jlo.

Golden globes 2013

Aloha ladies! This is my first post of 2013, i've stopped blogging for a while. I've been very busy with my Asalah fashion course and with exams,but now since it's all over looks like i'll be back to blogging just like the old days! :D

These were my favorite gowns of the Golden Globes 2013 =D

Lea Michele wearing Elie Saab.

Megan Fox in Dolce and Gabbana

 Eva Longoria in Emilio Pucci

 Miranda Kerr in Zuhair Murad.

Kate Hudson in Alexander McQueen


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Monthly Archives: October 2013

Hammers need your help

Its unfortunate that we have to keep begging for scraps from our elected officials and accept from them some ever declining level of access to public lands, but it is continuing to happen. The only thing that helps (sometimes) is … Continue reading

Posted in OHV Activism | Leave a comment

September MUDSLINGER posted

The MUDSLINGER minutes from the September 24 club meeting have been posted to the Members section of the Madhatters web site.  The month’s Treasurer’s Report has been appended to the Mudslinger.

Posted in Club Business | Leave a comment

Photos from Fordyce AAT/Picnic have been posted

Photos have been posted from September’s club run and picnic to Meadow Lake for our second AAT maintenance this year on Fordyce Trail.  They are available from the Photo Album on the Madhatters web site. We really want to see … Continue reading

Posted in Club Business | Leave a comment


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On the move

Packing packing and more packing... tomorrow the movers will come and I still have ALOT to box.. A few quick shots from the mess.. (It might be time to confess my obsession with..... dinosaurs) also check out my new amazingggggg boots... these darlings are from river island! I can not wait to start decorating the new flat, I promise to do a proper post on it when it's done! but now I need some interior inspiration... any pics/ideas/blogs...? please tell meee!

love you all

You have read this article with the title On the move. You can bookmark this page URL http://madtallphatcold.blogspot.com/2010/08/on-move.html. Thanks!


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[alsa-devel] Proposal for more reliable audio DMA.

Robert Hancock hancockrwd at gmail.com
Fri Jun 26 01:26:30 CEST 2009

On 06/25/2009 08:20 AM, Jon Smirl wrote:
> On Thu, Jun 25, 2009 at 1:36 AM, Robert Hancock<hancockrwd at gmail.com>  wrote:
>> On 06/24/2009 10:26 PM, Jon Smirl wrote:
>>> On Wed, Jun 24, 2009 at 5:11 PM, Takashi Iwai<tiwai at suse.de>    wrote:
>>>>> The problem is knowing which sample in the background music to start
>>>>> mixing the low latency laser blast into.
>>>> That's why querying the accurate hwptr is important in PA.
>>> I'm still not convinced that all of this logic should be exposed to
>>> PA. Exposing these details is what makes ALSA hard to use. We should
>>> be able to better isolate user space from this. If mixing were moved
>>> into the kernel these details could be hidden.  The in-kernel code
>>> could then be customized for various sound DMA hardware. This would
>>> also go a long ways toward getting rid of latency issues by removing
>>> the need for real-time response from PA.
>> Mixing really does not belong in the kernel. Moving it there doesn't remove
>> any complication or problem, it just moves it to a different place where
>> it's more difficult to program and less debuggable. Most OSes (Windows
>> included) are moving in the direction of moving mixing out of the kernel,
>> not into it.
> Mixing has a real-time component to it. Currently Desktop Linux
> doesn't have real-time support. That's why pulse is developing
> RealTimeKit.  Buggy real-time code can easily lock your machine to
> where you need to hit the reset button.
> User space code that is locked down with real-time priority and
> servicing interrupts is effectively kernel code, it might as well be
> in the kernel where it can get rid of the process overhead.
> http://git.0pointer.de/?p=rtkit.git;a=blob;f=README

Just because it runs with real time priority does not mean it is
effectively kernel code, or that it belongs there. Putting the code into
the kernel adds a bunch of extra challenges for little reason, and also
locks all users into a mixing scheme that may not meet their needs
(ahem, Windows kernel mixer..)

More information about the Alsa-devel mailing list


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sdaau sd at imi.aau.dk
Fri Jun 3 20:22:37 CEST 2011

Hi all,

Missed a couple of replies, so I'll try to answer everything now... We
may be going slightly off topic as far as both linux-usb and alsa-devel
are concerned - I hope the respective communities won't mind :)

On 2011-05-30 23:15, Sid Boyce wrote:
>> Thanks, just wondered. With many SDR (Software Define Radio) project we
>> are constantly on the lookout for higher performance cards that are not
>> bandwidth restricted.
>> There are many interesting projects out there using arduino, good luck.
>> I've got a Teensy++ 2.0 on the way to have a play with.
>> Regards
>> Sid.

Hah - I noticed the signature, but I didn't really see the connection,
until you clarified about SDR! :) Thanks for the note, and the reference
to Teensy (have been hearing about that lately, but haven't had the time
to look deeper)...

On 2011-06-03 07:37, Greg KH wrote:
> [snip]
>> I've just posted a diff on the SVN repository between the current
>> ftdi_sio-audard.c and the original ftdi_sio.c from kernel 2.6.32:
>> http://sdaaubckp.svn.sourceforge.net/viewvc/sdaaubckp/audard/snd_ftdi_audard-an8m/sio2.6.32-audard.diff?revision=211&view=markup
>> ... the link should show syntax coloring, so it maybe gets easier to
>> see what's going on there.
> Care to email it?  That way we can review it here and see how to
> structure it.

Of course! I am aware that people exchange patches on mailing lists, but
unfortunately I don't have much experience with it. So I just attached
the above-mentioned diff file here...

If needed, I will attach all other relevant files in plain text - let me

>> [snip]
>> However, if there is some sort of a tutorial/guide (or even a
>> specific existing driver file example) that I could refer to, so as
>> to turn the current architecture into an option-based one, such that
>> I avoid messing with ftdi_sio.c directly -- I'd definitely love to
>> try and do that; so please let me know if there is some sort of a
>> recommended reading for this.
> I don't think there is a "tutorial" for something like this, but we
> would be glad to help you out here to do this.
> So, care to post the code here?

Sure - and just in case, I've attached the other relevant file,
snd_ftdi_audard.h (which becomes included by the ftdi_sio ==
ftdi_sio-audard.c after its patched); let me know if I should attach the
other files too (there is the code for the Arduino too, and also
ftdi_sio.h and ftdi_sio_ids.h, but those are used verbatim - and a
Makefile too).

On 2011-05-30 23:51, Caleb Crome wrote:
>> FYI, if you can raise the PWM rate on the arduino output, you can use
>> modulation tricks to increase the resolution.

On the Arduino Duemillanove , there is 16 MHz clock and ATmega328 - as
far as I could gather, the highest possible PWM frequency there is 62.5
kHz (in Fast PWM mode - achievable by setting the correct prescalers).

>> There are a lot of
>> limitations here, but there is probably some degree of improvement possible.
>>   Virtually all modern codecs do this to the extreme -- they sample really
>> fast, like 12 MHz, but only use 1 bit of resolution.  Modern 24-bit codecs
>> are really only 1 bit on the business end, but really fast.  Search for
>> delta-sigma or sigma-delta modulators if you're not familiar.

Thanks for the reference - I've studied delta-sigma waay back, and
forgotten most of that; however, even then I haven't quite made the
connection to what is referred to as 1-bit; so thanks for this,
certainly something to read up on! As a side note, the ATmega328 on the
sampling side, if I recall correctly, has a successive-approximation ADC
built in (plus a multiplexer in front of it, to provide for multiple
analog channels)...

>> If you can transmit, say, 10 bits and run your sample rate at ~4x your
>> intended rate, you can probably get about 10-bits of resolution on the
>> output.

Interesting - I'm not sure if I understand that statement correctly: in
this case, an output compare (OC) unit of an 8-bit timer/counter of the
Arduino's ATMega328 is used to produce PWM output; and since I by
default can only write 8-bit values there in the microcontroller code, I
have a hard time seeing how I could squeeze out 10 bits on output in
that context; but maybe you had a different context in mind?

>> It requires a lowpass (antialiasing) filter though -- which gets
>> really nasty at sample rates below 40khz -- because then they need to be
>> sharp so you don't hear the aliasing.

Heh, this is where I got surprised :)

I too expected that at least I would hear some high-frequency "buzz" due
to the 'hard edges' of the PWM signal - which would assume that I don't
have a low pass filter which is sharp enough, as you state. But the
surprising bit for me was that I could just stick this 62.5 kHz
(carrying a 44.1 kHz data) PWM signal raw in a loudspeaker - and I can
*not* hear a high-frequency "buzz" that I expected :) Obviously, the
loudspeaker itself performs low pass filtering - I just thought
originally it would not be sharp enough :)

>> Modern codecs manage this by shoving
>> all the aliasing noise up at a few MHz, so a simple RC filter is enough to
>> eliminate aliasing issues.  And not even necessary if driving
>> speakers/headphones directly.

Thanks for mentioning this too - I have often heard about the technique
of "pushing aliasing noise up to MHz", however, still do not understand
it practically yet. And interesting that you state it is "not necessary"
for speakers/headphones - I'd agree with that (based on my above
experience), but I wander if that is mainly due to the mechanical
inertia of the loudspeaker membrane - or because of presence of

>> Anyway, 9-bits is going to be much better than 8, so if you can run the
>> arduino at 88.2k, you could probably get roughly 9 bits of resolution.
>>   You'd probably do the upsampling on the linux side -- since the AVR is not
>> exactly bursting with MIPS.

I could send a data stream at 88.2 kHz, and there would be available
data bandwidth too - however, since I have only an 8-bit timer/counter
OC as a PWM generator, I still cannot see how I could get 9-bit
resolution out of that. Maybe you imply some technique - like, I don't
know - padding the 9-bit value to 16-bit, and then reproduce the MSB and
LSB of this 16-bit value in rapid succession on the 8-bit PWM (though
I'm just saying this off top of my head, this rapid succession thing
would probably not work at all)?

>> Hmmm, or another idea:  what if you use 2 PWM channels and mix the outputs
>> together with an op-amp?
>> You could potentially get much improved resolution that way.  Basically, use
>> a summing node on your op-amp with one signal at unity, and the other signal
>> at 1/256*unity.

Heh, that's exactly what I was thinking too :) (I think its mentioned
very briefly in the end of the paper) - basically, one 8-bit PWM
reproduces the MSB of the 16-bit sample; and the other PWM reproduces
the LSB of this 16-bit simple, and they are appropriately mixed in the
analog domain. However, as you say:

>> I doubt that you'd ever get near 96 dB SNR (the ideal for
>> 16-bits), but you'd probably do better than 1 channel PWM at 8-bits could do
>> (theoretical best is 48 dB).

... yes, I too was asking myself whether the gains of reproducing 16-bit
would not be offset by noise, added in the process of analog mixing of
8-bit MSB and LSB analog values separately (which is, I believe, the
same that you are saying; however, I have not yet the context to learn
working with dB as measure of SNR properly).

>> Of course, if you're going through the trouble to add an op-amp, you might
>> as well skip the arduino all together and put a USB<->  audio chip in. :-)

Heh, indeed :) However, the point of this whole exercise was to have a
complete overview of a sound card as system (including the PC).

For instance, before this, I've always had the misconception that when,
say, Audacity plays a file, it sends the value for each sample (say,
16-bit) one-by-one to the soundcard, and so the soundcard plays back the
samples one-by-one. And that is not what happens: ALSA does its own
chunking, then USB does its own chunking - which means that, at least
for playback, as a code for the device (soundcard) you better be storing
those incoming bursts of data in an array somewhere, and *then*
reproduce sample-by-sample (from the stored data) at the requested
reproduction rate.

Of course, in such a system, one needs to think about the analog domain
as well - I tried to document a simple board, that would take the
AudioArduino as is, and try to provide an analog line in/out interface
to it with the simplest approaches (e.g. a discrete ramp-and-hold
circuit, to convert the PWM signal to analog voltage levels); however,
all I could conclude was that simple approaches actually produce
slightly worse results (than just having the AudioArduino PWM out going
directly into a speaker).

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[alsa-devel] [RFC] Sound/HID: wiimote: add speaker support

David Henningsson david.henningsson at canonical.com
Fri Apr 26 16:21:59 CEST 2013

On 04/26/2013 03:56 PM, David Herrmann wrote:
> Hi
> On Fri, Apr 26, 2013 at 3:28 PM, David Henningsson
> <david.henningsson at canonical.com> wrote:
>> On 04/26/2013 03:00 PM, David Herrmann wrote:
>>> Hi
>>> On Thu, Apr 25, 2013 at 9:11 AM, David Henningsson
>>> <david.henningsson at canonical.com> wrote:
>>>> On 04/20/2013 08:14 PM, David Herrmann wrote:
>>>>> Classic Wii Remotes provide a speaker on the device. We can stream PCM
>>>>> data, mute and change volume via special protocol requests and remote
>>>>> audio registers.
>>>>> The device supports several different formats, but fully understood are
>>>>> only signed 8-bit PCM and something that looks like 4-bit Yamaha ADPCM.
>>>>> Theoretically, we can set data-rates from 183Hz up to 12MHz, but a
>>>>> realistic range for Bluetooth l2cap is 1500-4000 Hz.
>>>>> Data is streamed as 20bytes blocks and must be sent in a constant rate.
>>>>> There is no way to read the current position. It would be way too slow,
>>>>> anyway.
>>>> Hi,
>>>> Fun project!
>>>> I'm not sure I'm qualified to answer, but I would have allocated a buffer
>>>> of
>>>> kernel memory, say 64K (or maybe less, since the sample rate is so low).
>>>> That would be the buffer you expose to userspace, and userspace would set
>>>> period and buffer sizes according to this buffer.
>>>> Your code doesn't really expose if/how you can tell if you're allowed to
>>>> send 20 more bytes or not.
>>> I cannot tell at all. That's the problem. I just send data at the
>>> expected rate and let the device deal with it. For instance with 8bit
>>> PCM at 2000 Hz that makes one 20byte packet every 10ms. That's
>>> 16kbit/s, which should work via Bluetooth l2cap.
>> Btw, since this is something bluetooth related, have you checked with the
>> bluez/bluetoothd project, so it isn't easier to integrate that way instead
>> of in a kernel driver?
>> That's how bluetooth audio is usually done.
> Hehe, I'm involved in Bluetooth kernel development so I did check that
> first ;)

Cool, does this mean I can contact you if I have problems with Bluetooth
chips and kernel drivers? That can come in handy ;-)

> The thing is, Nintendo did a pretty bad job with audio on the
> Wiimote. Bluetooth provides SCO channels specifically for audio but
> Nintendo tunnels audio through an HID connection, yay! On the other
> hand, the speaker is mostly used for small sound-effects so that
> explains why they didn't care for higher rates.
> As l2cap+HID is handled in the kernel, I would have to provide a
> char-interface or sysfs PCM-stream or whatever for user-space so they
> can send HID reports with audio data while the kernel sends it's own
> HID reports for normal HID operation. That does work, but I thought if
> I already have all the device handling in the kernel, I should at
> least try to do it as sound-driver. If it doesn't work out I can
> always fall back to this option.

>>> Even 10x the
>>> sample-rate (20kHz) with 160kbit/s should be possible, but the latency
>>> gets pretty high that I doubt I can do that with a 20byte buffer. I
>>> haven't figured out how big the real buffer of the device is so until
>>> then I expect it to be as low as 20 bytes (the proprietary driver does
>>> that, too).
>>> If the transmission buffer overflows, I just drop packages so there is
>>> currently no easy way for me to see whether there's enough room for a
>>> next package or not. But the connection is reliable so once a packet
>>> is in the buffer, it's "guaranteed" to be transmitted in order to the
>>> device.
>>> What's the expected thing to do if the connection is too slow? Should
>>> I pause and resume or drop packets?
>> Not sure what you mean here. Maybe bluetooth people know this problem
>> better.
>>>> But assuming you have a timer running at a
>>>> reasonable interval, that code would do something like:
>>>> if (ready_to_send_packet_to_wiimote()) {
>>>>     send_20_bytes_to_wiimote(kernel_buffer_ptr + offset);
>>>>     offset += 20;
>>>>     offset %= buffer_size;
>>>>     if (offset % period_size < 20)
>>>>       snd_pcm_period_elapsed();
>>>> }
>>> Ah, ok, so I just send the data in the timer-interrupt and call
>>> snd_pcm_period_elapsed() if the fill-state gets smaller than 20 bytes?
>>> I guess snd_pcm_period_elapsed() is atomic so I can expect it to
>>> prepare the buffer so the next timer-interrupt is guaranteed to have a
>>> valid buffer or a cleared buffer?
>> snd_pcm_period_elapsed() just tells userspace that userspace can start
>> filling up a new period in the ringbuffer. snd_pcm_period_elapsed() does not
>> prepare anything.
>> E g, if userspace requests a buffer of 64K and period of 16K, you should
>> call snd_pcm_period_elapsed() every time you cross a period boundary.
>> Perhaps "offset % period_size < 20" can be more clearly written as "(offset
>> / period_size) != (old_offset / period_size)", if that's more
>> understandable?
> Ah, now I understand. I thought the period-size is the maximum
> transmission size that I can use in the driver (20 in this case). Ok,
> your explanation helped. I think I understand the "period" concept
> now.
> Apart from that, should I provide an mmap() interface for the buffer
> so I can map it into the clients address-space? Or should I prevent
> mmap() and let them use read/write? I guess I wouldn't need the .copy
> and .silence callbacks if I provide mmap(), right? And a
> vm_insert_pfn() would be quite simple to do..

I believe a mmap() interface would be more efficient, and thus
recommended. And some sound applications depend on an mmap interface
being present (although, really, they shouldn't).

There are some mmap helper functions in pcm.h that can probably help you
here - as for which callbacks you need to provide, you can probably
figure that out as quick as I can, as you're used to kernel development.

> What happens if user-space cannot keep up with the rates? Do I just
> continue sending garbage from the buffer or does the alsa core pause
> the transmission or silence it until user-space catches up?

If userspace cannot keep up, I believe snd_pcm_period_elapsed() will
make sure userspace gets an underrun error.

> Thanks
> David
>>>> I'm guessing that the hrtimer API would be appropriate, and some kind of
>>>> RT
>>>> priority. But I'm not really experienced in that area of kernel
>>>> programming.
>>> Yeah, the hrtimer should be perfect for this. I was just wondering
>>> whether the alsa-core already provides an optional timer for the
>>> drivers but it seems I need to do it myself.
>>> Thanks a lot for the feedback! Lets see how it works out.
>>> David

David Henningsson, Canonical Ltd.

More information about the Alsa-devel mailing list


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How to Lose Dangerous Belly Fat

How to Lose Dangerous Belly Fat

Belly fat is a fact of life for many Americans because of our poor eating habits, lack of exercise and stress-filled lives. But belly fat is more than an unsightly bulge; it is unhealthy and can actually be attributed to many dangerous health conditions. Excess belly fat can increase the risk of heart disease, heart attack, stroke, diabetes, breast cancer, colorectal cancer, metabolic syndrome, gallbladder problems and sleep apnea. Belly fat does not discriminate; it is unhealthy for both men and women. The good news, according to Michael Jensen, MD of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, is that belly fat is the first fat you tend to lose when you go on a weight loss diet. Here are some tips for losing that stubborn belly fat.

1. Know Your Fats - Your body has more than one type of fat. The two most commonly known are visceral fat, which lies deep inside the body tucked around the organs, and subcutaneous fat, which sits between the skin and the abdominal wall. Subcutaneous fat is the visible fat you see, and is less dangerous than the visceral fat which can cause health problems. Fortunately, visceral fat is the first fat that you lose when you go on a weight loss diet.

2. Reach Your Target Heart Rate - By reaching your target heart rate each time you exercise, you will lose more body fat faster, including belly fat, and reach your best physical fitness level. To figure your target heart rate, subtract your age from the number 220. This number is your maximum heart rate. Now, figure 60-80% of that number. This will be your target heart rate. Example: If you are 35 years old, subtract 35 from 220 to get 185. The 185 is your maximum heart rate during exercise. Now, multiply 185 by 60% and you get 111. This is your target heart rate. Your goal is to exercise for at least 20 minutes at your target heart rate once you have reached it. As you become healthier, you can raise your target heart rate up to 80% of your maximum heart rate. You should exercise at least 30 minutes each day, 4-5 days a week.

3. Reduce Refined Carbohydrates - Eating refined carbohydrates in food such as white bread, processed cookies, crackers and cakes raises your blood sugar levels which then increases insulin in your body. The increased insulin makes it easier for fat to be deposited into cells. By reducing the amount of refined carbohydrates in your diet, you will decrease the amount of fat that is stored in your cells.

4. Add Whole Grains to Your Diet - According to Penny Kris-Etherton, PhD, RD, nutritional researcher at Penn State University, increasing whole grains in the diet while decreasing refined carbohydrates helps to lower blood glucose levels in the body and use blood glucose more efficiently. This allows the body to mobilize fat more easily and lower fat deposits in cells, which will aid in losing belly fat. It is recommended to eat at least 3 ounces of whole grain food each day. Brown rice, whole grain cereal, crackers and whole grain pasta are all good sources of whole grains.

5. Pack Your Lunch - It's hard to choose healthy when you are going to the fast food drive-thru for lunch. By packing your lunch, you can control what, and how much you eat. Pack a healthy snack for morning and afternoon too. Fruit, nuts, whole grain crackers, yogurt or a low-fat fruit smoothie all make good, healthy snacks and can also be a part of a healthy lunch. Hate cold lunch? Try one of the many low-calorie frozen meals that you can heat up in the microwave at work. By packing you own lunch, you will not only save on calories, but save money also.

6. Eat More Fruits and Vegetables - Yes, you hear this all the time but it is true that you can lose weight and maintain a healthy weight if you eat right. Substitute an apple, pear, banana, strawberries, blueberries or some mixed fruit for those high-calorie snack bars or candy bars. Fill up on carrots, peas, green beans, asparagus and broccoli at meals so you get the recommended 5 servings of vegetables each day. Fruit and vegetables fill you up and add fiber to your diet while adding very few calories.

7. Reduce Stress - The more stress you have in your life, the harder your body hangs on to belly fat. Chronic stress places the body into survival mode and releases more of the hormone cortisol, which in turn causes the dangerous visceral fat to build in the belly. If you are unable to remove the stress from your life, then it is important to learn to manage your stress. Taking a 15 minute walk each day away from your place of work can help reduce stress. Deep breathing for a minute or two at your desk can also help. Try yoga, meditation, a massage or spending 30 minutes to an hour each day quietly reading. Find the best way for you to relax so you can stop stressing and start losing that belly fat.


text:
18 March 2009

Freelance graphic design

If you are needing any Headers, Logos, Art or any sort of Graphic Design feel free to get in touch. I will see about setting up a portfolio of examples on here but at the moment you could check out my entre beer and entrebar photos that I have made.

At the moment I have not come up with a set price but if you get in touch and tell me what you are looking for I will see if can work something out.

opensource said...

good info thanks u share i like this blog :)

affordable web design said...

nice blog. i find your posts really amazing. i like the design as well.

Christina said...

Awesome graphics. I just created a new blog, but am not able to make my own header or Entrecard button. Here's the link to my new b log. Can you help?


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Monday, July 8, 2013

Pest And Wasp Removal Orange County At Your Service - Pest ...

Pest And Wasp Removal Orange County At Your Service

0 views This article is copyright free and is published in Pest Control ? Home Improvement Joined: Jun 05, 2012

4448 articles

Bees and wasps are not the things that are supposed to stay in your house. If you are one of those people who wonder how do people manage to live with ants, bees, termites, lizards and what not as family members, you are a very health conscious person and do not worry if people make fun of you or even joke that you suffer from some kind of obsessive compulsive disorder to be so disgusted at the sight of a harmless little insect in your room. It is actually unhygienic to let pests grow and take shelter in your house. Even one insect should not be allowed in your house. One brings in the second and they build a nest in the corners of your bathroom, on the outer walls of your house and even in your kitchen! This is why you need service in insects and wasp removal Orange County Pest Control Company will provide.

The range of insects we treat

We treat a wide range of insects including the ones that flock your home and also the garden. Yes, you deserve a pest free garden and lawn as well and not just the home. In fact we think your whole locality should be free from rodents and pests which carry germs into your house. Some of the pests we treat and make your locality rid of are as follows:
? Wasps- You do not want to be stung by these at any cost.

? Honey bees- Though they are not really unhygienic, their sting can be more harmful than any germ.

? Carpenter bees- You do not want to be stung by a massive hard bee.

? Sand bees- They are not any less dangerous either.

? Termites- They can destroy the most expensive timber and eat up all your furniture from inside without you even realizing!

? Ants- These seem apparently harmless but they can sneak in into your sugar bowl and you do not want to serve tea to your guests with ants floating in it.

? Moles, rats, rodents and mice- These are indeed harmful, their bite can be fatal and they could cause food poisoning even without you realizing they ran all over your kitchen all night and contaminated the kitchen with all the germs they carry.

You need quick and efficient service in bees, rodents, ants, termites and wasp removal Orange County so call us today.

About author: William Klein

The Author is conveying information about?wasp removal orange county and?orange county pigeon control You?re probably thinking, everyone says that, so, what?s different here. It?s the commitment of quality, genuineness, and a guarantee that values your time and interest.

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Friday, 30 April 2010

Well, the big debates are over. Last night we watched "Call me Dave", "Gordo", and "Cleggie" battle it out in the last TV showdown. Thinking about it, it reminded me somewhat of the final tour of the "Rat Pack" (Sinatra, Martin, and Davis).
All three would be superstars arived in separate limos with their entourages, then took centre stage together.
Opinions are divided as to who came top of the pops, but my mind wandered during the closing summaries of each "vote for me", and I imagined how they might sing themselves out.
Gordon should exit first, warbling My Way, "And now, the end is near, and as I face the final curtain" etc.
Young Nick goes next with I'm forever blowing bubbles, "they fly so high, nearly reach the sky, then like my dreams they fade and die" etc.
Finally, Smoothie Dave looks straight into the camera and sings to his supporters with much irony:
 "It's the same the whole the whole world over,
  It's the poor what gets the blame,
  It's the rich what get's the pleasure,
  Isn't it a bloomin' shame?"

 He then swaggers off with the aside "Bullingdon Club anybody?"

I willl be giving you all a campaign update later.

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Mancunian Way - Engage Prevent Believe
Virgin Money Giving

Mancunian Way are community engagement specialists. We were set up after the Manchester riots in the summer of 2011 to ensure that the next generation of Mancunians didn't find themselves making the same mistakes as a small minority that went before.

We specialise in street based engagement, targeting individuals who don't necessarily want to be engaged but are the most in need, whether this be disenfranchised young people in a park on a Friday evening, or vulnerable homeless individuals sat on street corners in the city centre.

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Availability: 100
Black Shakyamuni Buddha Mini Resin Statue
Product Code: MS-8
Ex Tax: $6.00

Size : 2"L X 1.25"B X 3.5"H
Weight : 103 grams

This is a Resin statue of Shakyamuni Buddha. In this resin statue, Shakyamuni Buddha is seated in Dhyana Asana or Meditative Pose, also called Padmasana. In this position, the legs are crossed, closely locked with the soles of both feet visible. Lord Buddha is wearing a detailed carved monastic robe incised with floral motifs. He is seated on a single lotus base also known as Padmasana. His left hand is in the earth touching gesture or bhumisparsha mudra, while his right hand he holds a medicine bowl.

Categories: Others, Statue

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Showing posts from July, 2016

pgBucket beta version is ready

Hi Everyone,

I would like to inform to you all that, pgBucket[Simple concurrent job scheduler for postgresql] beta version is ready with enhanced architecture and new features.

It would be more great if you could share your inputs and suggestions on this, which will help me to make this tool as stable.

Thank you all in advance.


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We’re voting for the biggest trash talker in Mansfield for Selectman on Tuesday Nov. 14.

For those of you who know Neil Rhein, you understand the reference to trash. In 2008, Neil launched Keep Mansfield Beautiful and organized the first Great American Cleanup of Mansfield.

Over the years, we’ve watched Neil build his vision into a vibrant, sustainable organization. This spring, 600 volunteers cleaned the town and celebrated after at the annual cookout. The event fosters a sense of Mansfield pride and allows neighbors to get to know one another in a fun and productive setting.

Two years ago, Neil expanded upon the success of the Mansfield Cleanup and founded Keep Massachusetts Beautiful. The organization offers guidance and provides a framework for towns/cities to follow in order to become cleaner and greener. This year, The New England Patriots recognized Neil’s efforts with the prestigious 2017 Myra Kraft Community MVP Award, granting $5,000 to Keep Mansfield Beautiful.

Neil saw a need in our town and took it upon himself to do something about it. He worked tirelessly to make his vision a reality. This is the type of initiative and leadership we want in our town selectmen.

We have known Neil for many years and are confident that he will bring the same level of professionalism, commitment and energy to the role of selectman that he did with his beautification efforts. We hope you will vote for him on Nov. 14.

Adrien and Kristen Deberghes, Holstein Road


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18.01.13, 16:38:00

Govinda Jaya Jaya - an elevating mantra chanting

Download (10,6 MB)

Govinda Jaya Jaya Gopala Jaya - Radha Ramana Hari Govinda Jaya Jaya . This Kirtan is in praise of Krishna, who is Govinda - protector of all beings. He is Hari, who attracts all beings through his love.

Recording from a live Satsang at Yoga Vidya Bad Meinberg, Germany. You can find this kirtan in the Yoga Vidya Kirtan Songbook as No. 157. For more please visit our Yoga Vidya International Yoga Community.

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Thursday, March 30, 2017

Let's see if I can keep this up: every day I will post a Record Of The Day, with hopefully a link to the full album in question. Some of these recordings will be obscure, some blatantly obvious. I guess this is born from an activity related to my work, in which I attempt to plug a record I'm pushing in the shop, though let me say this once: this blog is not related to the shop in any way, and nor will these posts be.

40 years on from the year 1977, and for me it looks like The Damned, and possibly the Buzzcocks, come out the winners. My love for Never Mind The Bollocks not withstanding, both The Damned and the Buzzcocks managed to rip out three absolutely amazing and wildly different full-length recordings during 1977/1978/1979 which still hold up today. Let's talk The Damned. The debut is indisputable. Rough, raw, shambolic, funny, unrelentingly high-energy: it was everything punk rock promised. The follow-up is still under dispute, and for that I can't fathom a reason. Produced by Pink Floyd's Nick Mason - they wanted Syd Barrett - when the band was in turmoil, it has long been considered a dog, badly produced and lacking inspiration, and whoever's been pushing that barrow for nigh on four decades now is clearly WRONG. The production is cleaner than the debut, but not to any point where it suffers. It's simply crisper, but it still has punch, and the material is there in spades. If you've been avoiding it for years due to bad press, more's the pity.

1979's Machine Gun Etiquette was seen as their comeback disc, but since I've just stated that thier sophomore effort was of no shame, let's just say it's the third classic in a row. Brian James was out, Captain Sensible was moved to guitar and ex-Saints and future Tank (what a pedigree!) bassist Algy Ward hit the four-strings. Punk/rock/pop/psych - it's all here. It's rambling, messy, raw and inspired, jumping from slop-pop ('Smash It Up', "I Just Can't Be Happy Today') to a raucous MC5 cover ('Looking At You') to high-energy PUNK (the 1-2 punch of 'Love Song' and the title track) to more psychedelic excursions they would pursue further with The Black Album, there is not a second wasted on Machine Gun Etiquette. Fuck. More than the Pistols or The fucking Clash, The Damned were the English band who influenced US hardcore the most. The Damned were one hell of a fucking band. Amen.

Anonymous said...

Greg Ginn told me that he was partial to this. Fact!

Pig State Recon said...

I like this one-record-review-a-day challenge, Dave! And do love the LP you've started with. I always reckoned this to be the beginning (not end) of their great songwriting period, continuing through The Black Album and Strawberries which I also love. But at this point, The Damned still had that early, rippin' punk attack, so it's extra-special. I love the way drummer Rat Scabies often tears into these songs a bit too fast; it's like he's so excited to get em going, he just can't help himself. Cause they're SUCH AMAZING songs: "Love Song," "I Just Can't Be Happy Today," "Anti-Pope" the immortal "Smash It Up" and so many more. I don't rate their MC5 cover, but I understand why it's important, since there weren't too many others (English or otherwise) covering great pre-punk tunes this early.

And of course you are right: the English band most influential on US hardcore punk, esp. of the West Coast variety.


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The modern furniture giffard Diaries

Environmental organisations have explored the opportunity of crops offering a organic Alternative to this modern challenge as well as a organic method of curbing the harmful results of such pollutants on human health. Their experiments have discovered that many crops essentially purify the air. Here are some specific illustrations.

Demian leads grant funding purposes for A selection of renewable Vitality and efficiency initiatives, remaining abreast of Point out and Federal grant strategies.

Maintain your Bicycle Harmless! : Bike theft is a common crime; in excess of 50 percent one million bikes are estimated to become stolen yearly. In case your bike was not protected...

James is an expert Mechanical Engineer who graduated from RMIT University, Melbourne and retains CEC Grid connect design accreditation with around 6 decades of knowledge in all areas of solar energy generation from commercial grid hook up with functions & routine maintenance, challenge management and solution design and style.

5 in the Concealed Treasures Found in Garages : What are several of the weirdest items that folks have discovered inside their garages that turned out to generally be a treasure?

August is prickly pear harvest year in Arizona, exactly where some species on the cactus are indigenous for the Sonoran Desert. The pinkish plant proves picturesque and tasty, starring in salads, sweets and beverages on menus through the state.

Eventually the disaster was fixed by providing precedence for demobilisation to Gentlemen who had served the longest.

Les meubles de la chambre sont mal entretenus et il n'y a pas de symbole pour recycler nos serviettes lorsque l'on Bonuses veut les reutiliser ni de pancarte ne pas deranger.

Questioned who could lead this kind of coalition, he replied: "Mr Gladstone fashioned his last Government when he was eighty-three. I'm only eighty-two. You mustn't place temptation Bonuses in my way."[209] His plea was interpreted by social gathering leaders as a bid for energy and rejected.

  As such, they could under no circumstances have check over here an opportunity at household life in France or they would marry perfectly down below their station. So, they find more info took a raffle on Canada.

aptitude, genius - a pure expertise; "he includes a flair for mathematics"; "he has a genius for inside decorating"

Jean Nepveu died sometime amongst 1655 and 1657 in France where by he experienced returned.  Seemingly he experienced a spouse in France, and he was banned from Canada for bigamy.

"The indigenous species that we decide on from may be the Opuntia Engelmanni range because of the prolific navigate here abundance of fruit it bears, vivid magenta colour, high nutritional values and tart/sweet taste."

Anthurium - The unique and amazing flower of the Anthurium enable it to be a great gift and certainly one of the preferred Workplace vegetation in britain. And its obvious visual attraction its big darkish leaves take up formaldehyde, xylene, ammonia and toluene, rendering it a wonderful addition to your home or Workplace.

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Monday, September 14, 2009

Chinese Medicine, one-act play by Margaret

"I got seven pictures of Buddha

The prophet's on my tongue

Eleven angels of mercy

Sighin' over that black hole in the sun

My heart's dark but it's risin'

I'm pulling all the faith I can see

From that black hole on the horizon

I hear your voice calling me

Let it rain, let it rain, let it rain

Let it rain, let it rain, let it rain, let it rain"

~from Mary's Place by Bruce Springsteen

Twig: "Come on, Flame, light my fire."

Flame: "Sorry, but I'm pretty burned out, Twig, and I have to conserve."

Twig: "Please! I just need a spark!"

Flame: "Can't do it, Twig." (exasperated)

Twig: "River, quench my thirst!"

River: "Sorry, but my well has pretty much run dry, Twig, and I have to conserve."

Twig: "Please! Just a drop to wet my lips!"

River: "Give it a rest, Twig." (exasperated)

The two men nod conspiratorially at each other.

Flame and River: "OK, Twig, we'll give it up. Stand in the earthen basket."

The two men come closer, brandishing fire, metal, and water.

Twig, intimidated: "Look never mind! I don't want your fire and water! Please, stop!"

Flame ignites the parchment.

Twig screams over and over in protest. She becomes fainter as the flames consume the parchment.

River pours a vial of water over the remaining embers; all that remains is a pile of ashes.

Twig lifts up the crystals that had generated from the ashes and holds them in the palms of her hands. Joyfully she says, "Thank you, Flame and River, for purifying me, for releasing me into this radiant new entity!"

The Circle of Life

"It's the circle of life

And it moves us all

Through despair and hope

Through faith and love

Till we find our place

On the path unwinding

In the circle

The circle of life"

~by Elton John and Jim Rice

  1. Hi Margaret

    this is a very creative post you have composed.
    When Bruce and the E street band sang Mary's place the entire venue shook with joy...and life - you are going to have a real treat next month...

    Happy days

  2. good morning margaret (for that's what it is here). this is the first time i've seen a blog used like this. i'm impressed by your creativity, your hard work, and for passing your knowledge on through the words and photographs. thanks. have a peaceful day. steven

  3. I am moved by your creation Margaret...
    Honest, it meant something to me...Sunday, while out back at the edge of the woods...I was attracted by a glistening 1 inch square flat white rock...on picking it up discovered it was a near perfect 1 1/2 inch tall spoke to me...
    Just a few minutes ago...I retrieved it from the kitchen placed it on my desk...just inches away...and here I am at your spoke to me and my pyramid!

  4. What a wonderful post Margaret! Thank you, I really enjoyed it! :)

  5. I feel relaxed just looking at the pictures! Thanks!

  6. Hi Delwyn~ thanks for your very supportive comment! I'm looking forward to the Boss, but I understand he's somewhat reluctant to sing the old favorites anymore. I guess I'll just have to dig up the new songs and listen to them first!
    Hi Steven~ I thank you also for your very supportive comments! Maybe I'll try another play!
    Hi Wanda~ You're the third person in a row who has made very supportive comments about my play! Thank you! Pyramids used to have the spiritual meaning of fire in one's middle; the modern sense is of strength and health. I'm glad you have one.
    Hi Rain~ You're the fourth person who made a positive comment about my play! Thanks!
    Hi Gry~ I'm glad you got a sense of well-being from the pictures in the play! Thanks!

  7. Amazing post Maragert, very creative. Enjoyed it very much! :-)

  8. How very inventive! I love your photos. Blending pop lyrics and photos and making them into a whole is quite a leap of the imagination.
    Tell me if you would, Margaret, (perhaps in an email -see top left of my home page), how do I learn the Bhuddist attitude to life? You have said some very thought-provoking things on my blog, which have been following me for days.

  9. Hi Margaret! You are so talented and creative. I always enjoy visiting your blog and reading what you have to say.

  10. I am holding a lighter in the air and swaying from side to side, humming along!

  11. Very Beautiful post Margaret Thanks for sharing

  12. Hi Saj! Thanks for your comment and for stopping by!
    Hi Friko~ Thanks for your supportive comments! I will drop you an email. You may want to visit the website of Dan Gurney, a mindful heart, at I'm a Catholic but take yoga and get so many compassionate ideas for living from them.
    Hi Angela~ And thanks to you also for your supportive comments!
    I'm with you, Lynne! I hope he does that song at the Meadowlands Arena and then Madison Square Garden, both in October! And Jersey Girl! However, my sons say he tends to do all his new stuff now.
    Hi Blues! Thanks! Looking for a new post from you now!


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Monday, March 26, 2007

This is a snack idea I had the other day -- and tried out in Madras (I've just been there and back for a quickie visit). The snack is a quick-fix for sugar junkies, requiring very little effort and providing much amusement! I call it ...

Chilled and sweetened whipped cream OR ice-cream

Chunks of fruit – we used tinned peaches and dried cranberries. But any mouth-sized chunks of strong-flavoured fruit would be equally good: mango/sweetened strawberries/bananas – even dates, maybe

Crumbled praline – we didn't use any but I think it would be great

Nuts – we used chopped walnuts

Dessert toppings – we used butterscotch syrup, but there's always chocolate, Cointreau, Kahlua, whatever … you could even flame a bit of brandy and pour it on!

Pani-puri puris – about six per head.

Set the chilled whipped cream (or softened ice cream) in a bowl and place that bowl inside a larger bowl filled with ice. All the other ingredients might be served in little bowls, the puris in a basket – and everything within easy reach of the diners. It's your basic mix 'n' match pani-puri experience EXCEPT … it's sweet! Lots of teaspoons, quarter plates, paper napkins and perhaps finger bowls too might be good.

What we did: punctured the puri, stuffed it with chopped nuts, a chunk of peach, a big dollop of ice cream, a goosh of butterscotch syrup – then POP! In the mouth and down the hatch.

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Finally, a book I actually liked!

Here's a link to my review in OUTLOOK of Amitava Kumar's HOME PRODUCTS -- I was feeling quite pleased with my review (it being such a rare event, after all, to find that I have something positive to say) but my sister G tells me that she didn't find the review enticing -- in the sense of, she didn't feel moved by it to run out and buy the book. That's a real shame! So I'm trying to make up for that boo-boo (in case other readers had a similar response) here, by saying it out loud and obvious: I REALLY LIKED THIS BOOK!! Maybe one of the things I liked best was that it was cool -- it didn't sound like it thought it was the best thing since -- oh, come on, let's just trot out the cliche -- sliced bread. It just got on with telling its story without fuss, tantra or fanfare of trumpets.

I think I also liked it coz I liked the author photograph. This is a terrible confession to make. But it's a cool photograph, just like the book. I have no idea whether the original item (i.e., the author) looks anything like his picture or whether he consciously set out to look a little bit like Paul Theroux or whether anything about the picture is authentic. Author photographs are supposed to enhance the saleability of a book, but most often, I find, I react so badly to the highly posed and perhaps PhotoShop-enhanced likenesses leering out at the reader, screaming READ ME! READ ME! that nowadays I automatically assign a bad-mark to such books. If the book happens to be worth reading then, okay, the black mark gets erased. But if it begins to stink, then every little dot and comma that annoys me gets added to the black mark like a rolling snowball of disappointment.

It will probably not come as much of a surprise to hear that I haven't published pix of myself alongside the author-info in my books -- caricatures, yes, but not photographs (at least I don't think so -- I've forgotten whether or not the MOUSE books have pix of me on the inside back-flap). I wouldn't buy a book that had a picture of me on the back cover! I look like a podgy middle-aged nerdette, someone completely incapable of producing anything readable.

So I don't know: do author-pix help or hinder the sale of a book? Dunno.

MEANWHILE, here's another link*, this time to a short piece I wrote in CITY LIMITS after visiting
Anjolie Menon's recent exhibition.
*(and it happens to feature an ancient photograph of me, at least 10 years out-of-date. I no longer look anything like it! I think it was Kurt Vonnegut (or someone pretending to be him) who made the point that we might as well enjoy the way we look now because we'll only get worse, not better. This is all very well, but I can STILL never get used to the way I look now, whatever it happens to be. It's as if I've never gotten over my adolescent antipathy towards myself)

Friday, March 16, 2007

So all right, I've been playing hookie for ... umm ... okay, practically all month. But I've been BIZZY! Flexing the culinary muscle. Yes, you read that right: I, hitherto a stranger to kitchens (except as an Olympic-class dish-washer) have been secretly learning to cook a thing or two! It all began with a biryani recipe that my niece Meenakshi taught me in Madras and then, when I'd managed to wrestle it to the ground two weekends in a row, (i.e., I made it twice, on Sundays, the day on which the reigning lord of the kitchen has his weekly half-holiday) steamed ahead and made Channa Bhatura.

Okay! But! These amazements are as nothing compared to the one that has been revealed to me JUST TODAY. Okay, to explain, I have to step back several paces. If the picture at the top of this page is visible, then you already have the context -- i.e., the superlative adventure strip known as Peter O'Donnell's (better known as the creator of that OTHER superlative adventure strip, Modesty Blaise)
GARTH is involved. But here's what you don't know: I used to be a huge fan of that strip.

Undoubtedly, a major catalyst of my fanhood was my elder sister Surya's passion for the strip. She used to cut it out of the newspapers and carefully stick the strips together to make up complete albums -- this, despite our travelling childhood, when keeping track of newspapers and story-lines was quite a challenge -- which could be read like graphic novels. Tragedy struck, however when my sister's entire carefully collated masterpiece was lost by a friend of hers -- and since then, i.e., since the early seventies, we have been severely Garth-deprived.

I have made several attempts to locate a source of the series -- it used to appear in the Hindustan Times (which is the newspaper from which Surya clipped her collection) -- but to no avail, because it was discontinued just around the time I was living an existence settled-enough to be able to consider subscribing to a second daily paper, STRICTLY for the strip.

Enter Penguin(India). While engaged in idle chat with Someone Important there, about one year ago, I happened to bring up the subject of "GARTH: Unavailability To Sorrowing Fans". One thing led to another ... and ... believe it or not, this evening I was told that Penguin(India) is going to bring out a COLLECTED EDITION!!! I am so astonished that such things are even possible (i.e., that one can keep up a silent, long-term, desperate desire for something and actually GET it, at the end of a really long time) -- that it doesn't bother me that actual satisfaction is still several months away in the future. I am willing to be shattered into many joyous fragments just in the contemplation of this knowledge.

And ... okay. That's enuff for tonight!


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Tuesday, September 24, 2013

When it comes to learning names, I don't.

That's not entirely true. I do pick up names when I interact with people regularly in contexts in which their names are used. That's how I've picked up names of everyone at Comedy Sportz: whenever they play, their names are announced throughout the show.

Church is another matter. I've worked in a lot of church settings, and even managed to learn everyone's name in a few of them. A few. One or two. In most cases, I only learn the names of those with whom I interact frequently. In my current church job, there are only a half a dozen names I can pin on people with any certainty, and only because they're introduced every Sunday when they make announcements.

Fortunately the piano player doesn't have to call people by name very often. If the pastor doesn't know people's names, that's a whole other thing, and it can get ugly. And if it's a teacher--well, you try getting a kid's attention with "Hey, you in the striped shirt!"

In church settings, I've occasionally been rescued by nametags. Many churches are now crafting durable nametags for all their regulars to wear on Sunday mornings as a sign of hospitality: no one's a stranger here. And the first day of school, I do see many students wearing nametags. Unfortunately, that's just the first day.

My name-amnesia is not unusual for someone in my profession. In the elementary world, teachers of both music and PE often have hundreds of students to deal with for short periods of time. I see my students twice a week, for thirty minutes each time. In a year's time, I'd probably have about a hundred names down. In my current position, I've only got until February: then I change schools, and it starts all over again.

One experience I've had in many places is learning the names of certain outstanding students right from the start. Sadly, these names tend not to belong to the best-behaved, brightest, or sweetest children. No, it's the kids who can't sit still, who are always getting up in someone else's business, abusing instruments, blurting out whatever's on their mind, tantruming because they didn't get the red rhythm sticks (and no amount of "You git what you git and you don't throw a fit" will get these darlings to accept the green sticks), responding to behavioral expectations with defiance--these are the children whose names I am already learning far better than I would like. There's nothing like writing a referral to burn a name into my memory.

I wish it was otherwise. I'm trying to make it otherwise. I want to be able to call more children by name. I start every year with name games, building sound pieces from the rhythms in each child's name. We'll continue mining this resource for at least another week, until my voice has recovered enough to begin vocal exploration, and even then, we'll probably continue playing them. Over time, I do pick up more names this way.

One of the liabilities in my current school is just how creative their parents have been in naming them. In Banks, I could count on every other boy being named Jacob. Margaret Scott is a school with a fantastically diverse population, and I'm dealing with Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese, Spanish, Arabic, Turkish, Russian, Samoan, and African-American names. Many of these names are beautiful, with exotic rhythms that add wonderful flavors to our name games. They're also far enough outside my experience that I will have to hear and use them over and over before I really learn them.

Sadly, I won't get "over and over." Except with those outstanding behavior issues.

Why don't I take roll? Wouldn't that help? There are two answers to that question: 1) It wouldn't help. I've tried it before, and those names pass right through my brain. 2) I've only got 30 minutes with these kids, twice a week. 5 minutes taking the attendance of a class of 35 reduces that to 25 minutes. They'll learn more if I just let it go.

Don't worry, it's not all "Hello Kitty hoody! Put that down!" I introduce every name game with the truth: there are lots of them, and just one of me, and while I want to learn their names, I'm not going to succeed. Please be kind to me when I ask you for the tenth time what your name is, or ask you what that person's name is so I can call to him or her to STOP DOING THAT! And they're good about it. It's also helpful that I'm working to minimize the use of speech in all my classes, doing as much as I can by example.

Yesterday and today, I brought classes into the gym where I teach in a procession, moving at a certain tempo, shifting from stomping to tiptoe, jumping back, stepping forward, playing rhythms on my body, gesturing for them to watch me, then echo, and most of them ate it up. "What's he going to do next?" is like catnip for these children. Keeping the lesson mysterious, I hold their interest, and I don't have to use my voice.

It didn't work on all of them, unfortunately. The outstanding students will always be outstanding. More attention for me meant less attention for them. Sometimes peer pressure moderated their desire to act out, but not always. I had to get close to some of them to whisper (because that's all my voice can do right now) that they were not ever again to wrestle, shove, or otherwise endanger themselves and others during music. Even without using their names, this seems to get through.

But it would be far better if I could use their names, if I could simple catch their eye, say "Jordan! Here, now!" And better still if I could say, "Nicely done, Emily! That was beautiful, Simon!"

Because there is nothing quite as lovely as the sound of your own name being spoken affirmatively and affectionately.

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Saturday, January 25, 2014

Bully Pulpit

I might be losing a lot of you with this, but I'm going to go ahead and say it: I hate bullying.

Still reading? Because I really needed to get that off my chest. I know it's an unpopular position, but we can't all be bully lovers now, can we?

If you read much of what I write, you probably know that I'm a Bill Maher fan. If you're not, because you think he can be a jerk, an asshole, reductionist, argumentative, confrontational, condescending--in sum, a bully, I completely get it. When he's engaged in bullying behavior, I don't care for it, not one bit. I don't like to see anyone, including bullies, being bullied; and now, I will not make allowances for him being a comedian, because I don't care for bully humor, no matter what the political persuasion of the comic.

With that disclaimer out of the way, I will point out that the commentaries that conclude every episode of Real Time with Bill Maher are some of the best op-ed pieces I see. (I say this as a political junkie whose favorite part of a newspaper or magazine has always been the opinion section.) They're succinct, clever, illustrated, humorous, and they make their points brilliantly. (I don't know how much of the content is actually written by Bill Maher, though I'm sure he, like any politician, dictates to his writers what the message will be.) On last night's show, the commentary was about bullying, and led up to this conclusion: "Bullying is not a masculine virtue. Standing up to bullies is." (Just to add one more parenthetical disclaimer, I'm not positive about the wording, but that's how I remember it being stated.)

New Jersey governor Chris Christie has been in the spotlight lately over the closure of several lanes on the George Washington Bridge as, apparently, political payback to the mayor of Fort Lee, NJ, who refrained from endorsing the governor's bid for reelection. This scandal has led to a flurry of other public officials coming out with stories of Christie's rough treatment of them. Some conservative commentators have defended such tactics as being "muscular" or "masculine," and exactly what's needed in our present gridlocked political state.

Bill Maher went on to point out how nutty this redefinition of masculine virtues is by demonstrating how top bully Rush Limbaugh sleeps in a bedroom so rococo it puts Versailles to shame, asking if George W. Bush never having second thoughts about Iraq is a practice that commends itself to future presidents, and pointing out that Chris Christie is nobody's idea of a "muscular" individual. I delighted in much of these zingers--who doesn't like seeing a bully put in his place with a joke?--but the last one gave me pause.

Yes, it's ironic that masculine, muscular bully Chris Christie is obese, but there's no news there. Most late night jokes about him are fat jokes. But here's the rub: as someone who has heard his share of fat jokes, I can say, from the heart, that they hurt; and if I had any violent inclinations, I might be tempted to channel that hurt into throwing my weight around as, yes, a bully.

In fact, I was far too timid a soul to fight back with my body, and had been well-taught by my pacifist father that forgiving those who persecute me was far better revenge. ("Heaping hot coals on their head" is the metaphor the Apostle Paul uses for forgiveness, in fact [Romans 12:20, quoting Proverbs 25:21-22].) The only fighting back I did was as editorial page editor of my high school newspaper, when I published a series of letters to the editor along with my own rebuttals that castigated them for their poor spelling and grammar. If, by any chance, you who read this were one of those letter writers: I am truly sorry. That was petty of me, and extremely bad form.

The dynamic of that moment in my adolescent life taught me something: give a bullying victim some power, and he or she may well become a bully. I have no idea whether Chris Christie had this same weight problem as a child, but Bill Maher and his late-night ilk are unlikely to be the first people ever to make an issue of his size. I have the same speculation about Rush Limbaugh.

And now to the truth in Maher's aphorism: true masculinity lies in confronting bullies, not becoming one. I hope you were listening to yourself say that, Bill. There's plenty to criticize Chris Christie for that has nothing to do with his waistline; and given that your show is intended to be a forum for political, rather than scatological, debate, I'd rather you stuck to that kind of commentary. It might just make it possible for Chris Christie to tune you in, rather than out.

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Spielberg Announces Napoleon TV Miniseries

DIRECTOR Steven Spielberg has announced he will turn the late Stanley Kubrick’s unfinished screenplay about the life of Napoleon into a TV mini-series.

Kubrick originally intended the screenplay to be for a movie but Spielberg, who will head up the 2013 Cannes Film jury, told Canal Plus in an interview he’d been in touch with the Kubrick family and developing the screenplay as a mini-series.  It is Spielberg's second foray into the world of mini-series; in 2010, he produced the 10-part World War II drama Band Of Brothers.

Kubrick's plans in the early 1970s for the epic film on the life of Napoleon fell through when he failed to secure studio funding for the project. He died in 1999.


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Speen Street Improvements

Location: Natick Mall, Natick, MA Marois Brothers, Inc. contracted with the Construction Manager for General Growth Properties for the off-site improvement of Speen Street from Route 30 Cochituate Road along the Natick Mall entrance past Route 9 and to the intersection with … Continue reading

Highland Commons Road Reconstruction

Location: Route 62, Hudson, MA Project consisted of the reconstruction of Route 62 at the Berlin/Hudson line as required by the Mass Dept of Transportation (MDOT). These improvements were necessary to serve a large retail development along that section of road. Contract work … Continue reading

Southbridge Industrial Access Roadway

Location: Route 169, Southbridge, MA This project consisted of the installation on a new 5,000 LF roadway with all associated utilities for the development of an Industrial Park for the Town of Southbridge. Marois Brothers, Inc. was responsible for all aspects of … Continue reading


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January 6, 2011

Parker House Rolls

This Christmas seemed to be the year of firsts. Well there was a couple of firsts for me anyway, with cooking in particular. The other first, if you've read previous blog entries you'd know, was the Turkey that I cooked. The second, which I'm going to talk about now was that this was the first time I'd ever made bread from scratch! This was, of course, another Martha Stewart recipe that I'd found. I found a few short video podcasts on iTunes of her cooking some different things and the Parker House Rolls was amongst her Christmas based recipes. The rolls just looked so delicious I couldn't help myself, I had to make them!

1/4 cup warm water, 100 degrees to 110 degrees
1 packet active dry yeast
3 tbsp sugar plus a pinch
3/4 cup plus 1 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus more for plastic wrap, bowl and baking pan
1 cup milk, room temperature
1 tbsp salt
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
4 1/2 to 5 cups plain flour, plus more for dusting
1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together yeast, water and a pinch of sugar. Set aside until mixture is foamy, approx 10 minutes.
2. Attach bowl to mixer fitted with the dough-hook attachment. On low speed, add 7 tbsp melted butter, milk, salt, remaining 3 tbsp sugar, and eggs. Slowly add enough flour to make a sticky dough. Brush the inside of a mixing bowl with butter. Place dough in bowl and cover with buttered plastic wrap. Set aside until doubled in size, about 2 1/2 hours.
3. Generously brush a 9 by 13 inch baking pan with butter. Turn dough out onto a floured work surface. Roll into a 12 by 16 inch rectangle. Brush dough generously with 3 tbsp melted butter. Using a pizza wheel or a sharp knife, cut dough into 6 equal strips lengthwise. Cut dough crosswise into 4 equal sections. You will have 24 elongated rectangles. Fold each rectangle in half, and place in prepared baking pan, 4 across, and 6 down. Brush tops with remaining 3 tbsp melted butter. Cover pan with buttered plastic wrap. Set aside to ride until dough does not spring back when pressed with a finger 25 to 30 minutes.
4. Heat oven to 180 degrees. Bake until golden, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool for at least 5 minutes before turning out of pan. Brush again with melted butter before serving.
I was really happy with how these rolls turned out. They were so buttery and warm and soft that it was hard to stop at one (or two). Someone even mentioned that the rolls reminded them of croissants, I think because of the buttery flavour. The only problem I had was that because we had so much food for our Christmas lunch not all the rolls got eaten. I went back to have another one later that night and found that they'd already started to go a little hard. So these rolls are good if you've got a large group of people and you know they're going to get eaten pretty much straight away, but not if you want them the next day.

  1. These rolls were very tasty, nothing more comforting, homely and fesive than the smell of freshly baked rolls wafting through the house at Christmas! Dre

  2. Dre - I agree! The smell of these was amazing :) Nothing like the smell of warm bread. I'm glad you enjoyed them!

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Potting Pleasures

At Anthropologie, we are creating a veritable landscape of inspiration in our stores this spring, owing much of its allure to the incredible assortment of garden product we're receiving this season. As someone who specializes in Anthropologie housewares, I am continuously excited and dazzled by the gorgeous creations we receive as part of our shipments. Any of my fellow coworkers who have witnessed me in the stock room will tell you that it doesn't take long before I gasp giddily at the discovery of a new home product. This season, I'm particularly taken by the garden accessories: the flower pots and urns and plant stands. I've selected a few of my favourites below. Next time you're in, please have a look.
Although they are brand new, these crackle-glazed flower pots look as if they've been part of the landscape for ages. They look even better when they're overflowing with herbs, ivy or moss. From left to right: $8, $18, $10.

The 'Scallops & Speckles' glazed ceramic flower pot may look diminutive in this photo but its 19-inch diameter and 11-inch height make it perfect for a bit lot of pansies or fancy-leafed begonias on the patio. My inclination would be to use it indoors for a ficus or an azalea: $88
This is my all-time favourite plant-stand. A pair of stork legs rising up to a summit of feathers to hold a flower pot of your choice. I would love it indoors or outdoors. Made of iron with a rust-like aged patina: $78
Part of the same wild family, obviously, this pot stand with its alligator feet gives any vessel it holds a Tim-Burton like spirit of its own. Iron with rusted patina: $78
About to scurry away, the "Fossilized Pot" (13-inches in diameter) is the perfect fit: $48
I'm planning on buying both this pot and the pot below for use indoors. I love the spicy tones and the linear designs: Secret Parrot Pot $78
Subtle relief indicates the outlines of tropical birds amid the foliage: Secret Dragonfly Pot $78
Part of the same collection of aged herb pots, shown above, this blue one would add a pop of colour: Excavated Pot, Small $8.

Ailsa said...

OMG! I love those pot feet! Such whimsy and freakishness at the same time -- just my style ;c)

A practical sidenote Andrew: pots without drainage holes (don't know if the ones you show are or aren't) should be used as 'cachepots', or pots that hide the ugly plastic ones with drainage holes. Planting directly into pots without holes doesn't allow for the water to drain when you irrigate, leaving the soil soggy and encouraging root rot, which will eventually kill your plant.

I have many cachepots, some kept empty and used simply as decorative pieces.

Others I sometimes sink plastic tubs or glass jars into, fill with water, and use as vases (since most of these earthenware vessels aren't water-proof!)

But the ones I use as planters, I'm careful to remove the planted plastic pots and bring to the sink when I water. Otherwise the water can drain out into the cachepot and mar my wooden surfaces.

I am lusting after the last one you pictured! Gorgeous.

Lucky you. Do post some more garden accessories as you unwrap.

Ailsa, thanks for the great advice about the pots as vases. That's a great idea! Regarding planting in pots without drainage holes; you actually CAN plant directly into those pots, but it depends on the plant and on their drainage requirements. I've had great success planting ferns in pots without drainage holes because they love the moisture. Always, though, allow for some drainage and air circulation. If you don't have drainage holes, try using a layer of small stones on the bottom of the pot, then a layer of moss, then the soil, which is usually a mixture of peat and potting soil. This keeps it loose, leaving room for much-needed air and also some drainage, but not so much that the plant will lose all its water. Also you can adjust the watering level based on the drainage allowance. Now you can buy all kinds of pots!

Ailsa said...

You've got me going now Andrew! You have thrown down the old "layer of small stones on the bottom of the pot" gauntlet.

You must have a deft hand at watering AND choose the right plants! My experience has been that most gardeners (both amateur and experienced) kill their plants through over-watering -- especially when they begin to wilt (through lack of oxygen, brought on by waterlogging) and it appears they're STILL thirsty.

But that being said, if in your experience it works, GREAT!

And ... when is Anthropologie coming to Ottawa??? :c)

I've only tried it with ferns and they love it! The key is to create 'internal drainage' at the bottom of the pot with a layer of non-soil for the water to collect and gradually absorb. It's the same when building a terrarium, which has no drainage hole.

Anthro in Ottawa (my hometown)! I've suggested it to Home Office, so we'll see!

Melody said...

Andrew, my 5 year old nephew saw the alligator feet plant stand and wanted to know why there were "chicken feet" on that page and where was the rest of the chicken? I almost laughed myself off the chair. Kids say the darnest things.

So adorable, Melody! :-)


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Bugs und improvement suggestions for GMX

I've got an account for Global Mail Exchange. It has repeatedly caused me problems, which in my opinion come from deficiencies in their server implementation. Most of these problems haven't been resolved to date.

Wrong > character in lines starting with from

Mails that were received via GMX get a > character appended to all lines that start in from, regardles of case. This is irritating while you read it, and can invalidate digital signatures. There are storage formats that require lines beginning with From  in exactly this spelling to be escaped, but this is for storage only and should be undone when a message is passed on.

The problem was filed as ID[|#1695324880#5134788#5bc0175#|] at GMX. Later I got a mail with the new ID[|#1695324880#5272077#5b6016f#|], stating that for some problem no technical solution was possible. From the timing of this message I have to assume they referred to the issue described here, although enquiris to this effect remained unanswered.

SMTP: ESMTPA label to better distinguish from spam

Spam filters like SpamAssassin try to find out from where a mail was sent, and treat mails from dynamic dial-up addresses more likely as spam than mails from known legitimate mail servers. Mails from authorized GMX customers should in this sense be treated as originating from the GMX server. The fact that a user had authenticated is noted in a header called X-Authenticated, but this is easy to fake and ignored altogether by SpamAssassin.

SpamAssassin, on the other hand, looks in detail at the Received heraders. If one of these contains with ESMTPA (Extended Simple Mail Transfer Protocol Authenticated), that host will be held rsponsible for the mail, and dial-up IPs on the way to this host will become irrelevant. Sadly, GMX tags its mail only as with SMTP.

One would assume that adding two letters to a string shouldn't be too difficult, and that the servers would know whether or nor they are dealing with an authenticated user. The issue was forwarded to Tech Support according to ID[|#1695324880#4311007#5850161#|], and rejected in ID[|#1695324880#4468943#5df0177#|] due to the fact that the SpamAssassin installations rejecting the GMX mails due to this issue here were not the SpamAssassin maintained by GMX itself.

SMTP: State failing address in 5.1.2 error messages

When you send a mail to a larger number of recipients, and one of these addresses contains a wrong domain naime, GMX will send an error message like this: 550 5.1.2 Cannot resolve your domain. Either your mail user agent will tell you for which address it received that error message, or it's up to you to check or try them one by one. In the similar case of an invaliud recipient name with a GMX address, the error message sent by GMX will contain the address causing this error.

The problem was filed as ID[|#1695324880#6391657#5d70176#|]. I received two mails supposedly on this issue, which both had nothing at all to do with my request. Instead I fixed the issue for my favorite MUA, Mozilla Thunderbird.

POP3: Connection terminated on failed authentication (resolved)

After entering a wrong passwort using the AUTH command, and trying again with the legacy USER command, the server used to terminate the connection upon receipt of the USER command, instead of asking for a password and sending an error message if that was incorrect as well. Incombination with a bug in Thunderbird this could cause failure without any error message when the password was wrong.

This issue has been resolved by GMX, and they even thanked me for the precise error description.


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Lanyard Math

By: Mary Kienstra on: January 11, 2014  in: Collaboration, differentiation, Engagement, lanyard, Math

        My latest idea for improving math engagement is what I call, “Lanyard Math”.  Funny thing about this is that it is just the same problems from the student book – presented in a new format that makes them very engaging.

        Lanyard math is actually an idea that I stole from a vocabulary resource. The idea was for the kids to wear the vocabulary words and then share them with others.  Since I seem to see everything through a math lens, I thought this was a perfect lesson for MATH.
        Instead of sitting quietly working alone on problems from the book, students move from partner to partner, collaborating to solve each other’s lanyard problems. They discuss, check, help each other, and own their learning.  This gives them a chance to support each other in their learning too.  In fact, this week I noticed two students sitting together for longer than usual.  As I asked how they were doing, they told me that K was helping C and that now he gets it!  Perfect.
        This is an engagement tool that can be used with any content.  So far I’ve used lanyard math to improve engagement with adding and subtracting fractions, multiplying and dividing fractions, and math vocabulary.  I know in the next few weeks, my third graders will be using this same strategy for practicing multiplying and dividing.
        Lanyard math could also differentiate lessons too.  You could have certain colored lanyards or colored paper for certain groups.  That way your students would be working on problems at their level.
        I am always looking for ways to make my lessons more engaging.  I think this is a great tool.

To implement this strategy:
  1. Find a class set of lanyards and plastic name tag holders.  I bought mine from  They are not expensive.
  2. I cut index cards to fit inside the plastic “name tag” holder.  Use these to write problems from the text or student resource.  Attach the problems to the lanyard.  You will need as many lanyards as you have students.
  3. Create a document for students to write their equations and record their answers.  Make this available to your students.
  4. For the lesson, I start by handing out a lanyard to each student and ask them to wear it.  I tell them this is their problem and they will become the expert.  First thing they do is solve the problem they are wearing and check it with the key to make sure it is correct.
  5. When everyone is satisfied that they can share their problem with other students, we start by having them share with someone who has the same colored lanyard.  (That doesn’t really matter, but serves to help get things started!  Totally a management tool.)
  6. Students move around the room to find a partner.  They sit together and solve each other’s equations.  Since the student wearing the lanyard problem is the expert, that student is ready to help others with that problem.

Notice the math problem in the lanyard and the recording sheet.
Students wear the lanyard to “own” their math problem.
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Sunday, November 4, 2012

Plotting Constant Functions

Plotting Constant Functions

You may want to plot a constant, for instance to combine with another plot. To do this you specify the constant without a function and the domain within which you want to plot the function.

Plot[5, {x, 0, 5}]

Suppose you want to plot a constant x value for all y. That's not a function and Plot won't work. For instance, you may want to plot a vertical asymptote and while Mathematica will plot vertical asymptotes for some functions (see the plot for Tan@x in tutorial/Basic Plotting), it may not for all. Here is one method. Note that any number followed by pure Function "&" makes a constant Function for that number's value. In other words, the constant Function yields the constant no matter what number it is applied to.

4.5 & /@ {5, 28.6, Pi, E}

{4.5, 4.5, 4.5, 4.5}

Here we use the constant pure Function to create the x-values as just shown. Thread with List creates the 50 pairs of y-values for x = 7.

Thread[List[7 & /@ Range[0, 50], Range[0, 50]]] // Short

ListLinePlot[Thread[List[7 & /@ Range[0, 50], Range[0, 50]]]]

And so this is also a way to plot a constant y value by using the constant Function for the range instead of the domain.

ListLinePlot[Thread[List[Range[0, 50], 7 & /@ Range[0, 50]]]]

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text:
Nurses find unique career niche in burn and trauma rehabilitation

Associate Professor Dale Edgar

17 July 2017

As the number of Australians who need treatment after debilitating burns and traumatic injuries increases each year, graduate nurses are turning to Notre Dame University’s specialised program in Burn and Trauma Rehabilitation.

Underpinned by a comprehensive clinical pedigree, specialist studies in burns and trauma may open the door to unique career opportunities for nurses looking for new challenges and to build on their surgical and medical experience.

As the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) gathers momentum, Australian health professionals will have an opportunity to establish new roles in the quest for scarless healing of mind and body for the 650,000 Australians admitted to hospital each year with serious burn or traumatic injuries.

In response to this growing need, Notre Dame University and the Fiona Wood Foundation launched an Australia-first postgraduate program (2015) in Burn & Trauma Rehabilitation to ensure nurses, can gain expertise in burn, plastic surgery, trauma management and patient rehabilitation.

Associate Professor Dale Edgar, Head of Notre Dame’s Burn Injury Research Node, said a career in post-injury rehabilitation can place nurses in a strong position to challenge traditional thinking and guide future models of management.

“Burns are a global health issue which can cause long-term personal, psychological and social trauma for survivors, their families and the broader community. More than $150 million is spent each year on providing treatment for burns patients in Australia alone, and the numbers in trauma are far greater,” Associate Professor Edgar said.

“Through the teachings in the Burn & Trauma Rehabilitation course, nurses acquire advanced skills and knowledge applicable in early injury management roles, senior clinical coordinator and rehabilitation program lead positions, in addition to roles yet to be realised in the NDIS.

“With this approach, our graduates have the potential to improve health care in any facility in the world.”

Following completion of her nursing degree in 2014, Hannah Newstead was seeking further clinical specialisation. After coming into contact with burns survivors as part of her hospital rotation, she enrolled in Notre Dame’s Graduate Certificate in Burn & Trauma Rehabilitation course to expand her knowledge in this important health discipline.

“Combining the online course work with a comprehensive practicum experience at Fiona Stanley Hospital, I was able to expand my skill set and providing healing to burns patients in intensive care and in the outpatients ward. Working alongside doctors and physiotherapists as part of an amazing team, I felt like I was able to contribute meaningfully to the rehabilitation endeavours of burns survivors,” Hannah said.

“Notre Dame’s Burn & Trauma Rehabilitation program provided me with a stepping stone to a different career pathway as a graduate nurse.”

Leigh Dawson: Tel (08) 9433 0569; Mob 0405 441 093;


text:
28 September 2009

little man in a scarf

my lovely friend marisa wanted to "practice" her photography skills on our family, and we are soooo grateful she did. she sent me this teaser last night, and it blows my socks off. i'm in love! i can't thank you enough marisa!

aunt j said...

I love that little guy! Too cute!!

Tara Dembowczyk said...

oh my goodness!! love it!!!!


text:
Sunday, June 10, 2007

Our 2 major projects for the summer are to get the laminate flooring done & to start working on landscaping the front yard. As you can see from my previous blog, we're well on our way with goal #2. Yesterday, in the midst of working on the floor, our neighbor, Scott, came over to help us remove a dead tree in our front yard. Here are some pictures of us taking it down. Well, really, our neighbor taking it down & us watching! It was a bit mess because when it came down, it just shattered in the street because it was so dry! We now have plenty of firewood for next fall!

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