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Spicy “Honey” Mustard Dipping Sauce

Vegan Honey mustard dipping sauce

Let’s face it; there is nothing better than dipping sauce. I am a grown-ass adult and I still love to dip most of my food into some sort of creamy , salty goodness. It just adds that extra explosion of flavor to your meal makes everything better.

As a somewhat domestic veggie with a knack for all things food; I feel that it is especially important to have an arsenal of delicious dipping sauces in your culinary repertoire. Some sweet, some salty, some both, of course something creamy, and a good ol’ fashioned hot sauce. If you can’t master this, you should really rethink your priorities.

Today I am going to share with you my favourite vegan Honey Mustard Sauce. It’s got some heat, mainly because everything I eat needs to be spicy, but that part is totally optional. You would be surprised at all the things that can be dipped into honey mustard. Nuggets, fries, sausage rolls, sandwiches, all are made complete by this modest condiment.

You can buy most of these ingredients in your local grocery store, and the quantity can totally be tweaked for personal taste. Happy dippin’ kids!

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Spicy "Honey" Mustard Dipping Sauce
Honey mustard isn't vegan, but it sure is delicious! Check out this spicy vegan honey mustard dipping sauce recipe, with a kick!
Recipe type: Dipping Sauce
Cuisine: American
  • ⅓ cup vegan mayonnaise
  • 2 tbsp dijon mustard
  • 2 tsp yellow mustard
  • 2 tbsp agave
  • ½ to 1 tsp of Sriracha
  • 2 tsp rice vinegar
  • salt & pepper, to taste
  1. In a small bowl, whisk together all ingredients until smooth, refrigerate until ready to use.

Like Video Tutorials? Check this one out below and watch me make my Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce Recipe!

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10 Easy Halloween Decoration Ideas

Halloween is nearing. If you're planning to have a Halloween party or just wanting to turn your abode into something spooky and gruesome, leading estate portal Myproperty.ph shares tips for Halloween decoration.

1. Innovative Pumpkin Carving

Look up some unique pumpkin carving designs. There are many techniques you can use to make your pumpkins look even spookier, such as moulding and drying wax onto them to create a scary lumpy texture, or creating different surfaces for the light to fall through. The uglier and more unique your pumpkins the better. You could even hang them on chains!

2. Orange Globe String Lights

Put orange globe string lights behind white blinds to give your home a spooky, orange glow. This is also useful for creating a backdrop for your silhouettes (see the next tip).

3. Spooky Silhouettes

Either make your own or purchase some black figures to place in front of your spookily lit windows… Skeletons, witches, ghosts, and ghouls are a great choice. How about a crazy scientist? Just make sure that they are positioned in terrifying poses.

4. Ominous Green Bottles of Poison

Fill up large jars with green liquid and line the entrance of your home with these terrifying bottles of poisonous doom. Place a cauldron in your kitchen and fill it with water and red food colouring to make it look like a witch’s cauldron of blood… Invite guests to stir the cauldron with an ominous wooden spoon; don’t forget to cackle (and to protect your surfaces!).

5. Ghosts Dancing Around a Campfire

Create some scarecrow-like figures for the garden and wrap them in white sheets… Stuff their heads so that they look like people. People will think they are ghosts! Place them in a circle, hand in hand. In the center of the circle, place a messy pile of orange and red LED lights, which are suitable for the outdoors. This will look like a bonfire. Enjoy the look on the faces of passers-by as they walk past a circle of dancing ghouls.

6. Front Garden Graveyard

Invest in some plastic headstones for Halloween… This is a fantastic way to decorate your outdoor space, and it does not cause too much mess.

7. Poison Ivy

How about draping artificial ivy around your dinner table, doorways, or mantle piece? Not only does this add greenery to your space during this fun holiday, it will also create a fun and poisonous look for your home.

8. Creepy Halloween Mirror

This one is a fantastic DIY tip to create a creepy home. Buy an old mirror from a garage sale or take a look in your own basement for an old creepy looking mirror that nobody uses. Find an old photograph or a printout of a scary face that is about the same size as your own. Purchase some steel wool, some transparent tape, some acetone, and find some paper towels. You will also probably need gloves, a screwdriver, and a cloth. With the steel wool, make the mirror look aged by scratching it. Take care not to strip off all the material. Fix the photo behind the glass, and you will have an eerie wall piece to scare all your indoor guests.

9. Spider Web Doorways

Either use cotton wool or a specially made spider web gun to create spooky spider webs in your doorways. You can even spruce up your webs with some realistic-looking plastic creepy crawlies. Just make sure that you and your guests can still get through the door and that you do not create a fire hazard!

10. Hold “Dark Dinner Night”

Nothing says creepy better than eating in the dark… Cover your windows with dark sheets and provide each of your dinner guests with a candle and a blindfold as they walk in. As your guests make their way to their seats with candles in hand, explain that you will serve them shortly, but that before you do, they must help their neighbour put a blindfold on so that everyone in the room is drenched in darkness for the entire evening. Make your guests food with interesting and unusual textures. You will give your guests a unique dining experience and make Halloween super memorable for them!

Have a spooky ghoulish Halloween!

Let's connect.

About Allan Bough

Allan works full time as a Recruitment Head for an IT Solutions company in Makati and juggles blogging along side. He’s fond of travelling, a certified beach and nature lover and would want to explore more of Earth’s riches. A former community theater director, a pre school teacher and a frustrated Star In A Million contestant, Allan hopes of conquering the big stage for a spotlight one day. Conversation and people are his passion.
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Words that end in sseel

Found 1 words that end in sseel. Browse our Scrabble Word Finder, Words With Friends cheat dictionary, and WordHub word solver to find words that end with sseel. Or use our Unscramble word solver to find your best possible play! Related: Words containing sseel

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Thursday, February 25, 2016

Taurus Monthly Horoscope June 2016

Taurus June 2016

Taurus Monthly Horoscope : June 2016

You are still very much in a yearly financial peak until the 23rd. Jupiter’s move into your own sign on the 4th also signals prosperity. No matter what your actual financial worth is, you will live ‘as if’ you were rich. Your spouse or partner seems very generous with you. An inheritance, insurance or royalty payment can come as well. (This can happen in the next six months as well.) Seems very easy now to borrow or increase your line of credit. People seem willing to invest in you.

You drive and narrowly escape a major accident, or someone close to you has a near-death kind of experience. Often people have dreams of death with these aspects. These are just ‘gentle reminders’ from on high that life is short and fragile and it’s time to get down to the important things of life. Also it forces you to overcome your fears of death – a major reason why many don’t fulfil their highest potential.

The social life seems more stressful this period – especially after the 21st. But the problems seem short term. Parents or parent figures are having a crisis in their marriage or current relationship. There are disagreements with friends from the 1st to the 3rd (seems about finances), from the 8th to the 10th and the 20th to the 22nd. Be more patient with them during these periods – don’t make matters worse than they need to be.

Health is good, but too much of the good life (which will continue for the rest of the year) can wreak carnage on your figure. Enjoy your life, but in moderation. You can enhance your health even further by paying more attention to the neck and throat (until the 9th), the lungs, arms and shoulders (from the 9th onwards). Good health has a strong cosmetic effect until the 9th – in fact it is the best cosmetic there is.

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Toni Garrn & Poppy Delevingne at 'Carol' Cannes Premiere

Attending the Cannes Film Festival premiere of 'Carol', German model Toni Garrn and British beauty Poppy Delevingne both hit the red carpet in gorgeous ensembles. Toni wore a navy draped silk dress teamed with opulent jewels, a black clutch and black heels, as well as loose straight hair and pink lips. Poppy impressed in an embellished dark green sheer gown paired with a diamond necklace, braided hairdo and dark eye makeup.

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400L Beehive Composter
400L Beehive Composter
Website: Please Click Here
Traditionally, the composting area in a garden has been hidden away - a secret world tucked out of sight at the end of the vegetable patch; but theres no need to hide away the 400L Beehive Composter.

Attractive and efficient at housing decomposing material, the composter can be poitioned adjacent to your beds or borders without aesthetically compromising your garden vista. A hinged lid keeps out rain and helps insulate your fermenting compost and the bottom panel is removable to allow for easy collection of rotted material.

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Flowers for One

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I always look forward to Tuesdays because we get our Community Supported Agriculture produce on this day of the week. Fresh, organic produce from a local farm - pure bliss! If you're new to The Granola Chronicles, feel free to read this background regarding CSA programs.

As I've mentioned before, Evan always surprises me with flowers (he adds them on to our CSA order for the week without ever telling me). When I showed up to our pick-up location today, only one bunch of flowers was sitting in a bucket of water - there are usually 5-6 bouquets.

When I got closer, I noticed that the lone bouquet had our name on it! We were the only ones who purchased flowers this I feel really special!

Let me show you our organic produce for the week!

I think we may have won a prize. Check out those golden raspberries. I'm thinking this is the crunchy/granola version of Willy Wonka - and instead of a tour at a chocolate factory, we'll go visit farmers at an organic farm!

So I did a little searching on the blog, and I think we've received strawberries every week since the beginning of April. Amazing, right?!

We also got pluots this week. So darn exciting!

Some leafy greens made an appearance (dino kale and chard)...

And another the form of a bean!

Some fat potatoes and skinny carrots...

And finally some beautiful tomatoes and cucumbers (which make a wonderful combo in my book!).

Pretty decent haul, as always.

In other news, Yummly featured this little ol' blog today!

Alright, I need to go for a run, hit up Target, respond to emails, make dinner, and drink some wine (duh). Hope you have a lovely evening!

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flagyl mayo clinic

Bliss is our birthright

I have a wonderful picture of a lion on the front cover of my soon-to-be released book, Aging into Bliss.  I've been working really hard on the book, by the way, which is why I haven't written a post for a little while. I'm sorry about that.

The lion in my cover picture is alone and at rest in the South African bush. He gazes out at his world through partly-closed eyes and looks very much at peace with himself and his world. He is a picture of bliss – which of course is the point, given that is the theme and title of my book.

Bliss is our birthright

Bliss is our birthright. Mind you, just because we're blissful doesn't mean we can't also be ready.  There’s no doubt in my mind that if a threat emerged in his vicinity, the wonderful lion in my picture would move aggressively and decisively to meet that threat.

He is getting on a bit, the lion on my cover. He has obviously seen a lot in his life, and would have a lot of stories to tell if he was so inclined. For example, a piece is missing from one of his ears where I presume he was bitten in a fight back along the way. But although he is aging, he is gorgeous. The power of his presence is undeniable.

It’s my hope that the picture will symbolize a central premise of my book, which is that our true nature is also blissful and strong. Our presence is also undeniable.  And though our bodies age, our unconquerable spirit does not age.

We too are born free

We too are free. We may not feel free some of the time, for various reasons. But this does not deny the fact that we too are “born free,” just like the lion on the front cover of my book -- and like Elsa, the lionness made famous by Joy and George Adamson in their book, Born Free.

Freedom is our destiny. It is our birthright. It is our true nature, just as joy is our true nature and peacefulness of mind and heart is our true nature.

Not only lions are magnificent. We too are magnificent. And aging, despite its challenges -- I argue in my book -- can be a door to an ever deeper experience of the wisdom, happiness and love that is our birthright.

Some trepidation in my heart

As I get ready to launch my book there is some trepidation in my heart, trepidation that is natural, perhaps, when we push our boundaries a bit and tackle something new. But there is also an enormous feeling of thankfulness.

I am so thankful for the opportunity I have to share something of my own experience and passion relative to aging -- to contribute to the conversation that, as Dr. Linda Fried of the International Longevity Project at Columbia University observed recently, we so urgently need  on this subject.

"We have such a human aversion to getting old; it's associated with death, and death is scary," said Dr. Fried. "But as a society, we have not had the conversations we need to have. There are huge opportunities there."

Aging does seem to have a bad rap in our culture. But speaking for myself, as I enter my 80's, I find that despite its challenges aging is a door to increasing happiness and fulfillment.

"I've had a beautiful life and I love everyone"

I love some words spoken recently by a centenarian named Lille Magette. Lille, who lives in Centennial, Colorado, quite near to JoAnn and me, was one of dozens of U.S. Army nurses who landed on Utah Beach after the invasion of Normandy to care for the wounded and dying in WWII. At a birthday party in her honor, Lille Magette was quoted in the Denver Post as saying, “I’ve had a beautiful life, and I love everyone.”

What beautiful words. May we echo these sentiments when we look back on our own life journey.

I send you blessings and love. Thank you for your support, it means a lot to me. By the way, I’ve self-published print books before but I’m a babe in arms as far as digital publishing is concerned. If you have any tips or ideas re marketing my book – or any other thoughts re the above article – please do share. I would surely appreciate it.

Picture credit:   safari-partners

{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }

Sheila September 5, 2012 at 9:30 am

Good morning Christopher
I do agree with you…why is it that aging is such a terrible thing and yet we have no control of it , can’t stop it, it does happen… We spend so much of our younger years worrying about hitting 30, 40, 50 and so on that we will be ” OLD ” as if it will be an awfully terrible thing…
Well since hitting my oh my goodness 50’s I’ve come to realise that as each year goes by we’ve been given a deeper gift of knowledge, appreciation, awareness, memories, life moments etc etc. So many gifts that are too long a list to write down. I think so called aging is a wonderful journey that we all go through so why fight the process and make it a bad aspect of our lives.
Yes our bodies may fight the activites or want to slow down more and more but our hearts and minds can always keep up so we can remain forever young if that is important to you….
For me I love where I am… I can look back and rekindle many life moments and now look forward to many more to come with a more valuable appreciation for everything to come.

Christopher Foster September 5, 2012 at 3:09 pm

Thank you for sharing these beautiful thoughts and experiences Sheila. Your words are an inspiration. That’s the simple choice any of us can make, isn’t it: ‘I love where I am.’ I am happy and honored to share this journey with you and wish you much happiness now and in the days to come. Life brings its challenges, of course, but it brings other gifts too, such as an increasing awareness of the underlying calm that is with every one of us all the time. Be well Sheila.

David Banner September 5, 2012 at 10:35 am

Chris…I am feeling the same sense of thankfulness as Lillie in your post….the life experience just grows richer and richer……..increasing levels of bliss are also my experience…….

Christopher Foster September 5, 2012 at 3:15 pm

Delighted to hear from you David. Much love to you across the miles and thank you for sharing. Been thinking about this word bliss. It doesn’t mean a kind of static state of unending “peace” does it? Plenty of room for the natural wildness and unpredictability and ups and downs of life — but always the underlying presence of the calm of our own true nature.

Linda Hewett September 5, 2012 at 1:28 pm

Hello Chris ,
I’m excited for you! Looking forward to your book very much.
I’m releasing a free eBook very soon for my subscribers and contributors to my blog. Scary or what!
All will be well with your book, I’m convinced of it .
I think the phrase is… ‘Bring it on!’
Linda Hewett recently posted..20 Reasons You’ll Benefit From Joining Our Confidence Forum

Christopher Foster September 5, 2012 at 3:16 pm

Hey Linda. Good to hear from you. I’m excited for you too, all the very best with your book, what’s the title of it?

Linda/Positive Spin September 6, 2012 at 5:22 am

Hello Chris,
Thanks for asking, it’s called ‘You Can Choose Confidence – Step by Step.’
Linda/Positive Spin recently posted..So You Want To Be More Confident? And When Do You Want it? NOW!

Evan Griffith September 5, 2012 at 5:02 pm

Oh man oh man, Chris — I can’t wait to get my digital hands on your digital book. I hope you’re publishing to Amazon Kindle simultaneously when you’re publishing to other formats.

You are one of the reasons I look forward to advancing in years. I see a jazz fusion of wisdom, experience and insight hurtle out of you with great regularity.

I look forward to 20 years from now when I’ll be reading you in your 100s — (!)

Evan Griffith recently posted..Friendshipping instead of networking

Christopher Foster September 6, 2012 at 12:09 pm

You always bless me with your kind words Evan. Thanks. Let’s not talk about hitting my 100’s though… I’ve enough on my hands getting a grip on being 80 ….

Beth Wilson September 5, 2012 at 7:02 pm

Hi Chris,

Congrats on birthing your baby! I cannot wait to read it. Some books are fine for digital publishing, but when it comes to my blogging colleagues, I want the physical book, please.

Regardless of age, I’m proud to hang out in your “pride.” Get it?

Beth Wilson recently posted..Treatment Talk: What I’ve Learned

Christopher Foster September 6, 2012 at 12:12 pm

Beth, what a pleasure to hear from you. Yep, I get it, glad you haven’t lost your sense of humor lady. How’s everything going? How’s your blog coming on? Got another guest post up your sleeve? I hear what you say about a physical book. My sentiments exactly. Thanks again Beth, and a ton of good wishes to you.

Kathleen Breslin September 6, 2012 at 1:02 pm

Hi there, we are remembered by the tracks we leave and you are leaving tracks that will be remembered. I always make time to read your posts Christopher . Your body of work absolutely is very valuable in shaping positive thoughts around ageing and is really challenging to conditioned thoughts/ opinions that are reinforced through negative media, advertisements etc.

Have you heard Jane Fondas third place talk on “ted talks” if not I would recommend you listen to it agin a very positive and uplifting talk which I feel you would identify with.

Take care and know your work is meaningful and important it is touching mine and many others and takes discipline and courage.

Well done. Please keep it up and I look forward to reading both your book and blog

Very best regards Kathleen Breslin

Christopher Foster September 7, 2012 at 10:10 am

Dear Kathleen,

Your words are a great blessing, and touch me in a deep place. Thank you for your kind, generous, uplifting remarks. You know, I haven’t got into Ted Talks, it’s something I need to do, I’ll certainly check out Jane Fonda’s talk. She’s a valiant lady.

It looks like you live in Ireland, is that right? I was wondering what part of Ireland you’re in? I remember a holiday with my parents on Achill Island and the west coast of County Mayo when I was a kid. We took a train across Ireland and I remember these fields and fields of peat. Very happy to have connected with you Kathleen. Thanks again and I wish you all the very best.

Kathleen Breslin September 9, 2012 at 6:09 am

Hi Christopher , yes Dublin in Ireland – Mayo is a very beautiful county has some very dramatic landscapes. Let me know what you think of Jane ‘s ted talk 2 others I think you might like purely from a good story with historical interest are delivered by Malcom Gladwell one on spaghetti sauce and the other about 2nd world war bomb sights.
Best regards from Dublin, Kathleen

Julio Remington September 10, 2012 at 9:40 am

Really I’m looking a fantastic picture of lions. Thanks for it and also thanks for your excellent wish to me.
Julio Remington recently posted..http://www.celebstaped.com/kim-kardashian-tape/

Christopher Foster September 14, 2012 at 9:39 am

Thank you Julio.

Christopher Foster September 6, 2012 at 12:19 pm

Sounds good Linda. Thanks for getting back to me on this and I wish you very well with your new post and your blog.

Christopher Foster September 14, 2012 at 9:38 am

Thanks for your update here Kathleen, I haven’t listened to Jane’s talk yet but look forward to it.

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Just joined the club - question about strap color

Hi All,

I have just joined the club having recently acquired the VC Patrimony 81180 in white gold.  So far I am enjoying the watch and also getting a lot of information from the Hour Lounge.  I also received the very nice gloves which make winding my watch every day a great pleasure.

I had a question about the watch strap.  As my watch is in white gold, it came with a black alligator strap.  I generally like to coordinate the leather on my straps with my shoes and belt and wear brown relatively frequently.  I notice that, generally, white gold watches come with a black strap while yellow or rose gold typically come with brown straps. Is there any rule about this (i.e., that a white gold watch should not be paired with a brown strap)?

I would like to get a brown alligator strap and switch out the buckle to coordinate with my shoes.  Would that be bad form? Do any of the members here do the same?  Also, it it very difficult to change out the buckle on the Patrimony?  The strap itself looks relatively easy as it has a little cutout in the leather to remove the spring bars easily but the buckle looks fairly flush so I wonder if it would damage the strap over time if I were changing the buckle 2-3 times/week.

I appreciate everyon's input.

Hi Stephen, welcome to THL!
02/22/2015 - 12:23

First of all, you picked up a terrific watch and we expect to see some wristshots! smiley

Second, with a white gold watch - changing the strap can change the overall look and impression of the watch...so change it to whatever color you feel comfortable with.  I've used blue, grey, black, red and brown straps with white metal watches and I like the look of all of them.

Do you want to use "quick change" pins to make changing the straps quite easy, or are you comfortable with using a tool to remove and install the strap? (I know some people are afraid of scratching their watches if they use a spring bar tool).

In terms of the buckle, I would be the same as changing the spring bars without the cut outs in the strap.  I tend to buy extra buckles and keep them on the different straps, but convenience can get expensive if you have a lot of straps and want the orginal VC buckles.  If you are considering only 2 straps, one extra buckle may not be a cost consideration?

Best Regards, Dan

Re: Hi Stephen, welcome to THL!
02/22/2015 - 14:24

Hi Dan, thank you for the greetings and quick response.  I will definitly try to post some wristshots soon.

To be honest, I am not quite familiar with the "quick change" pins. I do have a Panerai that has a quick change system in it and it is indeed very convenient for changing out straps.  Are these pins with a lever installed?  Would they fit with the OEM VC strap or would you need to cut a hole out in the strap for them to fit properly? I actually do change straps on my other watches fairly regularly so feel comfortable using the spring bar tools to change out straps.

I have a few other watches in my collection, Panerai PAM 328, Rolex GMT Master II, '68 Omega Speedmaster Professional Pre-moon, so have a lot of the sport watch variations covered. A such, probably black and dark brown straps for the Patrimony as a dress watch for business and formal settings will suffice for now. I may add different shades of brown sometime down the road though. That being said, and given that the VC buckles are gold (read expensive), I would probably opt to change out the buckle as well as the strap rather than buying new buckles for each strap since I would prefer to have the original VC buckle.  Do you have any idea how much the gold tang buckle would cost?  I called the AD today and they said that a gold deployant would run around $2000-3000.   I assume that the simple tang buckle would be a lot less expensive but probably still price prohibitive for me to buy multiple straps.

Re: Re: Hi Stephen, welcome to THL!
02/22/2015 - 14:50

Hi Stephen,

Yes, the quick change pins I was talking about sounds exactly what you have on your Panerai.

Original VC straps do not come with slots already cut out for quick set pins.  There are tools made to cut out those slots in existing straps, but if you only need it for 2 straps it may not make sense to buy the tool (the one I've seen is made by Bergeon, so you know it will not be low cost!)

Thanks for the additional information, I understand your situation better now and you should have no problem with changing the straps on your own.

Yes, an original VC deployant clasp is expensive, like the AD said: $2,000-$3,000.  I believe an original VC, white gold, tang buckle is approximately $300-$400.

The rest of your collection is really nice, congrats!

Best Regards, Dan

Re: Re: Re: Hi Stephen, welcome to THL!
02/22/2015 - 16:37

Thanks Dan,

I appreciate your additional input.  Yes, I did a little more research and saw that the tool for cutting the holes was around $250 or so and might not make financial sense for just two straps, but it is good to know they are available in case I have concerns about scratching the watch whe changing the straps.  I have actually had a few custom straps made for my Panerai and other watches for a lot less than the OEM straps so I might decide to go custom and have them put in the quick change pins if I do look for additional straps.

Thanks also for letting me know the price of the tang buckle.  I actually think that with this very classic design, the tang is more appropriate than the deployant anyway.  I actually paid around $250 for the stainless steel tang buckle for the Panerai so if I could find a gold VC buckle for $300-400, that actually wouldn't be a bad deal (for gold) anyway).  The AD quoted me around $300 for the brown alligator strap which isn't really bad.  I just paid around $750 for a stainless deployant and crocodile strap for my Omega Speedmaster so I guess it is all relative.

As for my collections, I think it is starting to come together as I am getting rid of a few fashion pieces and really started concentrating on quality pieces.  The Vacheron really changed my persepctive on the quality vs quantitiy debate though so I am only considering quality pieces moving forward.  Next will either be the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso or Patek Philippe Annual Calendar.

Custom watch straps with quick change pins
02/22/2015 - 17:19

I've been pondering something similar and stumbled upon these guys. You can build a high quality custom leather strap to your liking- possibly matching your shoe color perfectly- with quick-change pins.

I suspect there are other companies out there that could provide something similar as well.

Straps are the "shoes" of a watch
02/22/2015 - 18:29

they can be changed to suit your ensemble of the day!  Custom straps are very interesting - Mrs. TT recently had this burgundy python made for her vintage 4108.  The Burgeon 30227 pliers for cutting the notch to use speed-pins/quick-change pins costs $360, about the same as a new strap, but if you have many the investment might easily be justified.  It will definately save the occasional and disasterous slip of the springbar tool frown.  Unfortunately, there is no similarly easy way to change out buckles.  In this matter, may I suggest that practice makes proficient enlightened.

Superb Strap Dean
02/22/2015 - 19:16

One for you, my friend
02/22/2015 - 23:48

One for you, my friend

Re: One for you, my friend
02/23/2015 - 14:42

What a beautiful strap combination!!

Adding a wrist-shot
02/23/2015 - 14:48
Very nice!
02/23/2015 - 16:17

yes A modern classic

Very nice indeed
02/23/2015 - 19:55

The very embodiment of modern elegance.

Its cousin says "Hi"

Very nice indeed

Welcome to the Lounge! like you I never wear
02/24/2015 - 11:18

black shoes so almost all my white metal watches are either on brown, blue or grey straps

Welcome to the Lounge! like you I never wear

Welcome to the Lounge! like you I never wearWelcome to the Lounge! like you I never wear

Nice collection Alex...really really nice. :-)
02/24/2015 - 15:45
Re: Welcome to the Lounge! like you I never wear
02/24/2015 - 16:19

Thanks Alex.  Very nice collection you have there.

I called the the AD here in Tokyo and they said it would take 3-4 months to order the brown strap so I am deciding whether to go after market or wait.

Alternatively, I am also considering a Patek Annual Calendar or a JLC Reverso with a brown strap to add to the collection.

that QdI is my favorite
03/01/2015 - 17:49

lovely piece heart


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Functional training

Functional training is something that we would all benefit from as it enables us to train our bodies to cope with the activities we perform in daily life; lifting shopping bags from the boot of the car, reaching up to make a cup of tea or even bending down to lift up children/grandchildren.

Functional training primarily involves standing up and encouraging movement through all planes of the body and firing up all major muscle groups.

It can include everything from suspension training and kettlebells to balls smashes, battle ropes and even the odd bear crawl!

As the name suggests the aim of the training is to allow the body to work in a functional capacity.

At The Hub we run several functional training classes, such as-

    • Boxing Circuit

    • Tabata

    • Gym Circuit

    • Kettlebells

Packed up long standing membership of a “nice” chain gym and thought I’d try Spartan SGX. Two sessions in and it’s very hard work, but I love the team atmosphere and group mentality. Staff seem friendly and the rest of the gym looks good. “Dawn patrol” SGX at 0600hrs and evening sessions mean I can fit around my shifts and have free use of the rest of the gym.

Andy Spencer

Andy Spencer


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You are here: Home Blogs Why We Love Managing Project Risks (And You Should, Too!)
Friday, 21 March 2014 17:05

Why We Love Managing Project Risks (And You Should, Too!)

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Question: How can you spot profitability leaks and cost overruns in technology projects before your peers – and then fix them?

Answer: You can do it the hard way or the easy way. The path you choose depends to some degree on the consequences of failure and your budget.

The Hard Way

Standard risk assessment methodology requires you to first identify threats – human, operational, “reputational,” financial, technical, political, etc. Then, you have to come up with an estimate of likelihood for all those different threats and invent early warning systems that will notify you to launch your backup plans for each one.

That sounds really hard, especially for small businesses with constrained resources.

Most of the projects I’ve been involved with would have been finished before we could have identified, estimated and planned for all of those risks. If your project is extremely large and complicated, that kind of planning probably makes sense. If, however, you’re hoping to get your next project delivered in the next six months or so, then there is an easier way.

An Easy Way Out

My company recently received survey responses from about 250 customers, many of whom were small-to-medium sized service companies that sell to other businesses. These are companies like software consultancies, management consultancies and marketing firms. A portion of the questionnaire inquired about estimating project risk. Customers responded that about 12 percent of projects were broken, late or otherwise in the ditch.

The best way to measure that risk is to track employee time spent on projects, while simultaneously estimating how much of the project is complete. If the project budget is 1,000 person-hours and 50 percent (i.e. 500 hours) is used up -- but the project is only 15 percent complete -- then you know you have a high risk project, and a big problem.

Conversely, if the same project is 40 percent complete, but only 10 percent of the hours are used, then you have a low-risk project.

If you have real-time, accurate, per-project cost data available to your entire management team at all times, it provides a built-in alert system that notifies you early on that your project is broken.

Now that you’ve detected the problem much earlier than you otherwise would have, you can take corrective action. You’ve discovered a hidden problem earlier than your peer managers who are not tracking time could have. Now, you can fix the problem more quickly and cheaply.

But, are out-of-control projects really common problems in small businesses?

Survey Says: Yes, You Have Out-of-Control Projects

You may have heard the statistic that 70 percent of technology projects are out of control, over budget or broken. However, our customers reported a lower number – 12 percent. That means 12 percent of our customers’ projects are broken in some way, shape or form.

If you have 100 people doing hundreds of projects with a $10 million budget, and 12 percent of their work is a waste of time, that’s $1.2 million a year wasted, right? That’s bad. It’s not nearly as bad, however, as the 70 percent failure rate other companies are experiencing based on the above statistic. Somewhere between 12 and 70 percent of IT workers are wasting money, time – even their life’s work. Life is short enough. Let’s not waste it, right?

Sometimes, when you find out a project is broken, you can do something about it – like cancel it, put different resources on it, or change the scope. But sometimes you can’t. In our customers’ cases, they could fix the problem 55 percent of the time. Fortunately, 55 percent of our customers’ projects were rescued, primarily because they had accurate cost data – accurate time data – which allowed them to find the problem early.

It is worth a lot – in time and money – to have this capability. You can be more confident that you are tracking the right data; and time sheets are not onerous to complete.

If your projects are short-lived or technical, or if they’re based mostly on human labor or knowledge work, then tracking employee time is probably all you’ll ever need in terms of risk management.

About the Author: Curt Finch is the CEO of Journyx. Journyx strives to be relentlessly creative and to build tools that help you spend your time on things that matter. After all, time is all we have. Founded in 1996, Journyx offers customers two solutions to reach the highest levels of profitability: Journyx – project, time and expense tracking software – and Journyx PX – resource management software that provides work and financial forecasting for a complete picture of project and budget status, employee time and availability.Connect with Curt on Google+.
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Curt Finch is the CEO of Journyx. Founded in 1996, Journyx automates payroll, billing and cost accounting while easing management of employee time and expenses, and provides confidence that all resources are utilized correctly and completely. Curt can be found on Twitter at @CurtFinch and on Google+ at +CurtFinch.

Website: journyx.com/company/curtfinch
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View Full Version : Y800 codec!

February 12, 2007, 00:34:45
Hi Stefan
I have a DMK21AF04 camera and gather that the IP software `Iris` has problems with the Y800 codec used by my camera and I wondered if there is a workaround for this please. I assume the Y800 is for uncompressed black and white images which conflict with `Iris`. Is there any other codec that will enable Iris to work with the DMK that you know of?.

Stefan Geissler
February 12, 2007, 10:34:40
Hi Steve,

I think the problem is not a codec, because, as far as I know, Iris uses the old Video for Windows instead of DirectShow. Thus it can not read Y800 without software changes. You may ask the programmer of Iris to implement this. I would help him to implement the Y800 use, if he would contact me (support@imagingcontrol.com).

At least for use of uncompressed video formats is no codec necessary.

February 15, 2007, 21:02:50
Steve, I tried to ask Christian Y800 support two times on Iris Yahoo group but... up to now NO answers. Probably, if more than one person start to ask this support, Christian should consider this. :(
-- Marco


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Tuesday, 23 October 2012

Pumpkin Pie!

I've been dreaming of pumpkin pie ever since the weather turned colder. I make one every year, using a mixture of ideas from online recipes and my own ideas.
We bought a small culinary pumpkin in our last grocery shop, and before I could get my hands on it, it was drawn on and carved into this:

Totally Charlie's design, and the bit under the mouth is his tie, apparently. As Charlie's dad doesn't have an office job, ties here are a real sartorial treat.

So I got a bowl of scrapings, seeds and a few lumps, which I gutted with surgical precision, steamed in the microwave with a plate on top to keep in the moisture, and pureed.
I had about 2 cereal bowls worth of puree, or maybe 3 mugfuls.
As usual all amounts are approximate, don't start complaining if yours doesn't work out after following my ideas!

I reunited a Springform tin with its base, they had been apart for more than a year, and made a quick pie crust (pastry) with about 1.5 mugs of self-raising flour (had no plain flour) and about 3/4 mug of butter, forked in, then mixed with hands and some dubious milk to make a dough. I oiled the tin with olive oil as it was near, and pressed the dough in, in the absence of a clean area to roll it out, and little time to be faffing. Pressed it up the sides, about an inch, and put in the oven while it was heating to 180 C.

I then took the pumpkin puree and beat in 2 large eggs, some milk (1/3 mug?) some caster sugar (3/4 mug?) vanilla extract and mixed spice. Looking very watery, but that's ok apparently.

I removed the now puffy pastry case from the oven, pressed it all down with the back of a spoon, poured in the puree mix and put it into the oven, turning it down to 160 C as my oven is a bastard for burning things, think the thermostat is gone.
It's been about 10-15 mins now, I'll go and check it... looks good and smells great. The pie crust is browning, the custard (that's basically what the filling is) is setting around the edges. You want to cook it long enough until a knife comes out clean from the centre. Set but not cremated. Probably 20-30 mins in a normal oven, mine will cook for another 10, then I'll turn the oven off and leave it in there to cool and cook for a couple of hours.

Here's a photo of a pumpkin patch in America, why don't we have these in Ireland? They're glorious, and you go and pick your own, like with Christmas trees.

And the finished result!

It turned out a bit too sweet, I'd use less sugar next time, or maybe just a little honey. You can also do this with cooked and pureed carrots / butternut squash or sweet potato.
Hope you feel inspired to bake this week!
Niamh x

1 comment:

  1. pumpkins are my most favourite.. and this season always makes me homesick. for pumpkin patches, for apple cider, for pumpkin pie (my favourite) i adore all things pumpkin...

A lovely comment makes my day, please share your thoughts! xx


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Friday, September 28, 2012

Press Release - Tammy Baldwin’s Rhetoric vs. Reality: Taxes

CONTACT: Lisa Boothe 608-620-5536 or

Tammy Baldwin Has Consistently Voted For
Higher Taxes
Baldwin Believes In Higher Taxes & More Spending

FACT: Baldwin Has Voted 159 Times In Favor Of Higher Taxes

Tammy Baldwin Has Voted 159 Times In Favor Of Higher Taxes. (Congressional Quarterly Vote Study,, Accessed 8/8/12)

FACT: Baldwin's Individual Mandate Tax Will Cost $1,200 For Middle Class Families

ASSOCIATED PRESS: "Nearly 6 million Americans - most of them in the middle class - will face a tax penalty for not carrying medical coverage once President Barack Obama's health care overhaul law is fully in place, congressional budget analysts said Wednesday. ... And the budget office analysis found that nearly 80 percent of those who'll face the penalty would be making up to or less than five times the federal poverty level. Currently that would work out to $55,850 or less for an individual and $115,250 or less for a family of four." (Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Tax Penalty To Hit Nearly 6M Uninsured People,
Associated Press, 9/19/12)

FACT: Baldwin Opposed President Obama's Tax Cut Compromise

Baldwin Stood To The Left Of President Obama When She Voted Against The Tax Cut Compromise. "Levin, D-Mich., motion to concur in the Senate amendment to the House amendment to the Senate amendment to the bill that would extend the 2001- and 2003-enacted tax cuts for all taxpayers for two years and revive the lapsed estate tax, setting the tax rate at 35 percent on estates worth more than $5 million for 2011 and 2012. It also would extend unemployment insurance benefits for 13 months and cut the employee portion of the Social Security tax by 2 percentage points." (H.R. 4853, CQ Vote #647: Motion agreed to, thus clearing the bill for the president, 277-148: R 138-36; D 139-112, 12/17/10, Baldwin Voted Nay)
  • President Obama Said That Failure To Pass A Tax Cut Compromise Would Cause Taxes To Go Up By $3,000 For A Typical Family. President Obama: "Make no mistake: Allowing taxes to go up on all Americans would have raised taxes by $3,000 for a typical American family. And that could cost our economy well over a million jobs." ("President Obama: Tax Cut Compromise Is Right Thing To Do,", 12/7/10)
  • Not Extending All Of The Bush Tax Cuts Would Causes Taxes To Increase By $2,900 On A Typical Household Making $50,000 A Year. "Here's some pressure for lawmakers: If they don't reach agreement on extending soon-to-expire Bush-era tax cuts, nearly all their constituents back home will get big tax increases. A typical family of four with a household income of $50,000 a year would have to pay $2,900 more in taxes in 2011, according to a new analysis by Deloitte Tax, a tax consulting firm. The same family making $100,000 a year would see its taxes rise by $4,500." (Stephen Ohlemacher, "Expiring tax cuts will hit taxpayers at every level," The Associated Press <> , 9/16/10)
FACT: Failure To Extend These Tax Cuts Will Result In Higher Taxes For Every Working American

"The Standard Percent Rates -- The Baseline Percentage Of Your Income That Goes To The Government -- Will Universally Rise, At An Estimated Cost Of Roughly $157 Billion Annually; From 10 Percent To 15 (For Lowest-Income Earners), From 25 Percent To 28, From 28 Percent To 31, From 33 Percent To 36, And From 35 Percent To 39.6 Percent (For Highest-Income Earners)." (Joshua Rhett Miller, "Expiration of Bush Tax Cuts: How Will It Affect You?" Fox News <> , 10/11/10)

FACT: Baldwin Received A "F" From The National Taxpayers Union

Baldwin Received A "F" From The National Taxpayers Union Every Year Since 2004. (National Taxpayers Union Website,, Accessed 5/24/12)

No comments:


text:
- - news, features and articles for the meat processing industry

Featured Articles

White Striping Poultry Meat Quality Issue Investigated

09 January 2015

Research in the chicken breast meat quality defect known as white striping has been found to affect around half of the samples tested in broiler flocks from Brazil and Italy.

The flocks were reared to 42 days and had heavier weights and bird gender and strain affected both the incidence and severity of the condition.

Market reports of white striping in broiler breast fillets have been increasing, which has generated concerns in the broiler meat industry regarding negative effects on consumer acceptance.

Two papers - one from Brazil and one from Italy - published in the current issue of Journal of Applied Poultry Research report on the scale of the problem in these two countries.

The study1 conducted in Brazil by Liris Kindlein and colleagues at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul aimed to characterise macro- and microscopically the condition of white striping at varying degrees of severity on Cobb 500 broiler breast fillets slaughtered at 42 days of age.

Carcasses of 2,512 broilers presenting white striping were slaughtered and macroscopically classified according to the degree of severity of the striations as moderate or sever. Further histological microscopic evaluation demonstrated degenerative myopathy in both moderate and severe cases but 75 per cent of those breast fillets were classified as moderate.

Typically, the samples classified macroscopically as moderate showed microscopic necrosis only (65.2 per cent) or moderate multifocal necrosis (9.8 per cent), whereas those classified as severe showed diffuse and strong necrosis (25.0 per cent).

The proliferation of connective tissue was not observed for either of the degrees of white striping investigated in this study, characterising this profile as an acute occurrence, added Kindlein and co-authors.

The incidence of white striping under commercial conditions in medium and heavy broiler chickens in Italy was investigated by M. Petracci and colleagues at the University of Bologna2.

Several types of muscle abnormalities are present in the poultry industry as a result of genetic selection, leading to decreased quality of meat and consequent economic loss, they report.

The appearance of thin (moderate) to thick (severe) white striping striations parallel to muscle fibres on the surface of broiler breast fillets is one of the most troubling issues in the poultry industry.

They explain that white striping also has unfavourable implications on visual acceptance, nutritional value and processing traits of breast meat.

The aim of the Bologna survey was to assess the influence of market class (medium and heavy birds) and genotype (standard- and high-breast yield hybrids) on the incidence of white striping in broiler chickens raised under commercial conditions in Italy.

The incidence of white striping for both medium and heavy broilers was high (43.0 per cent), with 6.2 per cent of samples considered severe.

Heavy flocks had significantly higher percentages of both moderate (46.9 versus 25.8 per cent; P≤0.001) and severe (9.5 versus 2.7 per cent; P≤0.001) white striping than medium flocks.

Considering the effect of genotype, high-breast yield hybrids exhibited a higher incidence of both moderate (40.2 versus 33.2 per cent; P≤0.001) and severe white striping (7.2 versus 5.0 per cent; P≤0.001) than standard-breast yield birds.

In addition, within the medium class, the occurrence of white striping reached higher levels in flocks of males.

The heavy class consisted of male flocks separated into two slaughter weight categories. Birds that reached higher slaughtering weights (3.8 to 4.2kg) exhibited higher incidence of white striping than flocks slaughtered at lower weights (3.0 to 3.8kg) at a similar age.

The main broiler genotypes used for commercial production were affected by a high rate of white striping, concluded Petracci and colleagues, and the hybrids selected for higher breast yields were more prone to this abnormality.

Furthermore, they added, severe cases of white striping are even more prevalent at higher slaughter age and weight, while reduced growth rate is associated with a lower incidence and severity of white striping.

  1. Ferreira T.Z., R.A. Casagrande, S.L. Vieira, D. Driemeier and L. Kindlein. 2014. An investigation of a reported case of white striping in broilers. J. Appl. Poult. Res. 23(4):748-753. doi: 10.3382/japr.2013-00847
  2. Lorenzi M., S. Mudalal, C. Cavani and M. Petracci. 2014. Incidence of white striping under commercial conditions in medium and heavy broiler chickens in Italy. J. Appl. Poult. Res. 23 (4):754-758. doi: 10.3382/japr.2014-00968

To read the full report (fee payable), click on the title links in the references above.

December 2014

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Theme Park Insider

Sea Lions Tonight in Orlando?

Sea World Orlando: Is the show on this year?

From Gil Long
Posted June 2, 2008 at 9:08 PM
We're going to be in Orlando in July. Is Sea World doing the "Sea Lions Tonite" show this summer? We saw it last year and loved it!

Comments in chronological order. Most recent at the bottom. Scroll down to respond.

From Adrian Walker
Posted June 4, 2008 at 9:17 AM
This is a guess (not confirmation) but I think it will be on. It was on the last two years I went which was during the summer period. I'll guess yes.

From Gareth H
Posted June 6, 2008 at 4:39 AM
I went a few nights ago and saw Shamu Sucks, sorry, rocks. THe SeaLion show was meant to be on, but I think at 7.30, not a late one like Sucks!

If I didn't have an infection and a mouth that looks like I'm smuggling a baseball, I'd go tonight and check it out.

Actually, lets check the website

Ahoy mateys, Sea Lions Tonite is on at 7.30pm.

This discussion has been archived, and is not accepting additional responses.
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April 8th and 9th. Ratby Co-operative Bands and Guests

Discussion in 'The Auditorium - Concert Details' started by midnight_euph, Mar 17, 2011.

  1. midnight_euph

    midnight_euph Member

    Musik Fest 2011

    To be held at the Groby Community College, Groby, Leicestershire.

    Friday 8th.
    Ratby Co-operative Junior Band/Training Band
    Ratby Co-operative Beginner Band
    Enderby Wind Band
    Soclose, Barber Shop Quartet
    Groby College Village of Schools Choir
    Soar Valley Music Centre Swing Band

    Saturday 9th
    Ratby Co-operative Mid band
    Glenfield Co-operative Ladies Choir
    Groby College Family of Schools Wind Band
    The Heart of England Chorus
    Ratby Co-operative Senior Band.

    : £10.00 for both concerts, or £6.00 per evening.
    Waiter service for refreshements brought to your table
    Disabled access and facilities

    http://www.ratbyband.com/events for tickets and further information

Share This Page


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Valli, Knopfler, Fogerty, Connick, Keillor head up Chateau’s concert series

March 26, 2015 12:00 AM

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    Beautifully melodic, sometimes haunting, the lyrical sounds of flutes echoed throughout the vaulted dome of the Legislative Building in Olympia Sunday afternoon as the Olympia Flute Choir present, "A Mother's Day Concert."


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Why religious leaders stick to their guns on homosexuality

June 26, 2015 4:25 PM

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  • Gregg Bell on what he saw, thought, and heard in Seahawks win at NYG

    Wilson’s three touchdown passes should have been five. Baldwin’s catch saved what looked like another red-zone debacle. And the Seahawks go to 4-2 to keep pace with the 5-2 Rams atop the NFC West.


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Categorised | News

“Reforms necessary for Pakatan victory”

PETALING JAYA, 12 May 2010: The Pakatan Rakyat (PR) missed a golden opportunity to push for attainable democratic reforms after the historic March 2008 elections by focusing on its 16 Sept government-by-defections strategy instead.

Academic Dr Ong Kian Ming said since former Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition were in a weakened position after their historic losses, the opposition could have forced key institutional reforms then.

“For example, they could have clarified the parameters of their role as parliamentary opposition, thus assuring Pak Lah of his continued leadership, while also demanding for a more independent Elections Commission,” said Ong.

He added that the opposition would probably be stronger now if it had adopted these measures.

“Instead, the opposition ended up looking very bad by attempting to topple the government via defections, and probably the PR is suffering now because of this,” he said.

Ong said this during his seminar presentation, The Breakdown of Dominant Party Authoritarian Regimes (DPAR), at the Institute of Malaysian and International Studies (Ikmas), at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia yesterday.

According to Ong, it is through such institutional reforms that opposition parties ultimately defeat authoritarian regimes in which one party dominates, otherwise known as DPARs.

“For example, the DPAR in Mexico decided to make the playing field more even by introducing electoral reforms when the opposition started gaining strength throughout the 1990s,” Ong said. It is these reforms which contributed to the defeat of the Institutional Revolutionary Party in 2000 — its first in 71 years.

Ong said that therefore, electoral reforms were the most important institutional reform which could cause the breakdown of DPARs, including in Malaysia.

“Furthermore, the different political parties will take electoral reforms seriously because all parties are concerned about winning votes,” he said.

Additionally, he said a weakened and vulnerable DPAR would also concede electoral reforms in order to safeguard its own existence should the opposition eventually defeat it.

At the same time, he noted that most DPARs were quite stable. Hence, the most effective way for the opposition to defeat them was via elections, as opposed to overthrowing them by non-electoral methods.

The opposition should have forced key institutional reforms instead of playing party-hopping

Elite splits

In all the countries Ong studied, he said the other key factor that contributed to the defeat of DPARs was the split of an elite leader or leaders from the dominant party such as the Umno-led BN in Malaysia.

He pointed out, however, that such elite splits need to put the opposition into a position powerful enough to veto the ruling party and thus force institutional reforms.

Ong said Malaysia was now at the crossroads because by controlling more than one-third of Parliament, the PR has the power to veto the BN’s constitutional amendments. Nevertheless, he said the extent of the PR’s veto powers remains untested.

“This is why the constituency redelimitation, which will likely happen in 2011, is a good test to see if the federal opposition can maintain their veto position and possibly extract some concessions for electoral reform from the BN,” he said.

He added that another effective electoral reform could be the reintroduction of local government elections, already being pursued by the Selangor and Penang governments.

Defining DPAR

Mugabe (Public domain)
Ong said he defined 15 regimes as DPAR according to four criteria. Among them are Malaysia under the BN, Singapore under the People’s Action Party, Egypt under the National Democratic Party, and Taiwan under the Kuomintang.

Countries such as Zimbabwe under Robert Mugabe, or Indonesia under Suharto were excluded because these were dominated by personalities and not parties.

The seminar was based on the findings of Ong’s PhD dissertation, from Duke University, on the emergence, maintenance and ultimate breakdown of DPARs.

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6 Responses to ““Reforms necessary for Pakatan victory””

  1. kamal says:

    I read through very briefly but I agree with you. Change has to come through institutional reform. And institutional reforms are pushed at such junctures or dis-junctures where the domninant political party is at its low. PR missed that opportunity. And in my opinion, BN is now on a comeback. It will be tough in the next elections.

  2. Hang Tuah says:

    The public gave a very finely calibrated message to both BN and PR during the last general election. For BN it was simple: Shape up or ship out. Your days in government are numbered if you don’t improve.

    The message for PR (if I could use football analogy) was: Get off the substitute’s bench and start warming up (via properly administering the states we vote you in to rule) – Who knows? We might need to send you into play (become the Federal Government) if BN fails to shape up.

    Unfortunately PR screwed up. It started to make a play to enter the main game without even warming up. It should have use the time and space provided by the weakened Badawi administration to consolidate its position and prepare for Government at the Federal level. It should have kept Badawi in power longer as he was more tolerant towards opposing views, unlike [Najib] and Muhyddin.

    Will PR learn its lesson now and redeem itself in the eyes of those who voted for them in the last election? That’s a big ask as long as Anwar will not step aside from his personal ambition to become PM and put PR’s needs ahead of his.

  3. Lekiu says:

    Agree that 16/9 consumed the public’s goodwill. However, I do not agree that electoral reform would have saved them. What PR need is to clearly outline their policies. Changes that they will make if they come into power. They are currently in disarray which leads to the public not having confidence to vote them in.

    The public’s trust has to be regained again. And the only way they can do this is to not wither away from outlining in concrete terms the changes that they are planning to make.

  4. cna training says:

    What a great resource!

  5. Greg Lopez says:

    Dr Ong is right. PR and Malaysians in general must realise that the best option remains through electoral competition. It is the safest and most democratic way.

    Hence, Malaysians must support electoral reforms as a first step to moving Malaysia towards a stable two-party system.

  6. cna training says:

    Nice post. Thanks.

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Saturday, October 11, 2008

Christopher Thatcher - Day Six

3:04 AM - I've seen worse!

I went home last weekend and left my cell phone charger there. I knew my brother was driving up here on Friday, so I'd have it then. The plan was to make my cell battery last five days. It'd be like a mini-Hanukkah-style-adventure for me.

I kept my phone off for most of the daytime, and turned it on at night when I knew chances of getting texts from people would be higher. There were a couple times during the week when I turned it on between classes because I felt like it, and I'm very glad I did.

The moral of the story is that it's not Friday night at 3:06 AM, and my charger is out sitting on the counter. I haven't plugged my phone in yet, but it's still working off that first charge. I totally made it. I'm pretty happy with that.

I took the physics test today, and I'm very happy with how it went. I don't want to get my hopes up, but I'm feeling very comfortable with it. Jimbo did a good job explaining exactly what was going to be on the test, so I drilled those things down pretty tight, and it paid off. I know I missed a few points because I was missing a unit vector on one of the electric fields, but I'm hoping for very high 80's or low 90's. That'd be awesome.

I talked to some people I haven't talked to in a while tonight, and that was fun. I got to play a Free-for-all match with Dak and one of his buddies online tonight, and that was pretty sweet too. I'm not good at FFA matches, but I randomed zerg and pulled through in the end to win. I love playing against people. It's so much more rewarding than playing against computers. After we played we all talked politics and school and stuff for a while, which was actually really fun. Dak's another on of those guys that I really think is a stud. If proximity were different, I bet he'd be living with us right now. He's one of those guys that I think had he not gone to different schools, he'd be in the group. He's a good kid.

Not having the van has changed things a little bit. It's a lot harder to actually make it to the grocery store now. I know that we should find a good way around that, but we haven't yet. I'm honestly considering walking tomorrow. It's going to rain, yeah, but I need to hit the credit union anyways. All the cars that live in 36 are home for the weekend, so unless Katie wants to take me places, I might be on foot. It's not too bad though. It'll be bitter cold, but a little bit of cold and wet walking never hurt anyone but all those settlers on the plains.

So, I had a bit of an urge to write something tonight. So I did, haha. As a warning, it's more water. It's a new little section, though. I'm not trying to be professional here. I just sort of want to write something, so I'm going for it. I understand it's not "good" and that it's pretty stupid. I'm not trying to be good here. I'm doing it cause that's what I want to do. I'm not trying to compete with any of the talent out there, cause I know I'm way outclassed, and I like those folks too much to try to beat them at something anyways.

So, without further ado- the first part of a little storyline I want to follow.

The Ballad of Stan - Part One

Stan skidded and turned the corner into the spacious room, panting from the run. In the middle of the basement lecture hall stood the one man Stan was hunting.

Evil Jackson had been pacing nervously, listening to the sounds of battle above him. He was both the mastermind-behind and the key-to the plan that led to this afternoon's unfortunate skirmish. This position left him regretfully indispensable. He was the leader of these bad guys, and certainly one of their most feared combatants. He had been obliged, on account of his indispensable nature, to stay away from the battle in order to remain safe and ready to go through with the plan as soon as the opportunity presented itself, though. He would have much rather preferred to be clobbering good guys, but the team couldn't risk losing him at a time like this.

Looking up startled, he evaluated Stan quickly. The mission was too critical to be stopped now. They were so close to sealing the deal that would finally shift the balance of power into their hands. An intruder now could change everything. Evil Jackson could have finally met his match. He was surprised and relieved by what he saw.

Stan didn't strike fear into the hearts of those he contended against. Stan had gotten the short-end of the hero-ability-stick. He had been a social nothing before life as we all knew it changed, and he continued to be a social nothing right up until this brief moment in time. He wore a nice (but not that nice) polo and some jeans, not the standard issue cape of Saving Boston, the team fighting to save the world that day. He stood in the doorway like a kid unsure of where his next class was, not as the conquerer come to save the day from evil miscreants.

Evil Jackson knew he was more powerful than this intruder. As bad guys go, Evil Jackson was pretty powerful. Evil Jackson had gotten a pretty good ability stick, and he had certainly had ample opportunity to practice using that stick against good guys. Stan wasn't even a permanent member of Saving Boston, and Evil Jackson knew that Saving Boston would take pretty much anyone. Jackson's heart rate had spiked when he knew an intruder was breaching the room in order to foil the plot, but he settled down on seeing Stan. He had this in the bag. Still, he reminded himself, this kid had managed to make it past the defenses, he probably shouldn't let his guard down. Jackson tensed like a spring and waited to see what move this kid would pull, ready for anything.

Stan breathed a sigh of relief when he realized he'd found the right room. He smiled a big and innocent smile at Jackson, just like an old friend discovering the second half of a sandwich he thought he'd finished. Jackson didn't like being smiled at like a sandwich. He much preferred his enemies quaking with fear, or at least standing with some sort of defiance. Stan just looked happy to see him. Jackson dropped his guard for a minute. That move might have proved costly had Stan been anything more than a man looking for a metaphorical sandwich.

Beaming like a moron and walking down the aisle towards Jackson, Stan held out his hand for a good shake.

“I'm so glad to finally meet you, man. Today is going to work out just fine. Hi, I'm Stan, and you're going to finally make me worth something.”

~End first part

So, yeah. Happy Friday everybody. Looking forward to tomorrow a lot. I hope you're all doing well. Much love, and happy weekend. Hopefully I'll see some of you next weekend, score!

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