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Posts tagged with Google Fiber

Neighborhood group asking city to slow down on downtown grocery store project; update on city’s quest to get Google Fiber-like Internet service

Getting a grocery store in downtown Lawrence may be a bit like me walking down the candy aisle. No, it won’t require hooking a dozen shopping carts together, but I am predicting it is going to take awhile. I say that because the process has barely begun, and the Lawrence Association of Neighborhoods is already asking City Hall to slow down.

If you remember, the owners of the Lawrence grocery store Checkers have an interest in building a downtown grocery store that would be part of a seven-story building at 11th and Massachusetts streets. But the Checkers group has asked city commissioners to consider a request that would allow the new grocery store to have exclusive use of 18 public parking spaces along Massachusetts Street, and 16 new spaces that would be along 11th Street. Commissioners are scheduled to hear that request at their meeting tonight and are expected to direct staff members to further study it.

But the Lawrence Association of Neighborhoods is asking that the idea not even be studied yet. It calls the request “extremely premature.” The association notes that the idea of a seven-story building across the street from both the historic Douglas County Courthouse and Watkins Museum is going to create some concern. The letter seems to indicate the height issue ought to be addressed before city officials start looking at parking issues.

No doubt the height of the building is going to be a matter that creates debate. But it is worth noting that this request for parking is coming directly from the Checkers group. In talking with Checkers owner Jim Lewis, he indicated that parking was going to be a paramount issue for the grocery store project. Given that, it appears he wants a read on the city’s thinking early on. It may be that if the city is not willing to give a little on parking, Lewis may find the site infeasible, and would have to shift gears. It is hard to know whether that’s the case or not because the project will include other parking in a private garage proposed for the area just east of the alley between Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

Certainly, the idea of devoting public parking spaces to a private business — and removing the parking meters — is a big issue. There would be many businesses that would like to have that arrangement. Commissioners will have to decide whether a grocery store — which commissioners hope will make downtown a more attractive place to live — is a unique enough project to take the unusual step of altering the downtown parking system. But do you answer that question in the early part of the process or the later part of the process? I guess that’s the debate we’ll have tonight.

One group I haven’t heard from yet is Downtown Lawrence Inc. I don’t know if that group has taken a position yet on the parking idea, but I have a call into its leader. (UPDATE: I talked with Sally Zogry, executive director of DLI, and she said the group's membership is excited about the prospects of a downtown grocery store. She said the group believes the city staff should study the parking proposal. But she said some members will have concerns about the Massachusetts Street parking proposal . But she said the membership wanted to hear information from city staff about how such a parking arrangement could be enforced and other such issues. She said DLI expects to provide significant input on the proposal as it gets closer to a decision.)

In other news and notes from around town:

• It is time to restart Lawrence’s never-ending Internet debate. City commissioners today will have their second study session in as many weeks on the idea of bringing high-speed broadband service to Lawrence. This week they are meeting with the leaders of Baldwin City-based RG Fiber to discuss its proposal to begin installing gigabit Internet service in parts of Lawrence.

Last week the company met with Lawrence-based Wicked Broadband to discuss its plan for gigabit service, which is the same type of service being offered by Google Fiber in Kansas City. Wicked’s proposal includes a request for a $300,000 loan guarantee from the city. Commissioners didn’t make any decisions on that issue, or really even tip their hand on that issue.

But last week’s study session did bring clarity to a couple of points. The first is that Wicked Broadband still is not interested in making its financial books public as part of the process for the city to determine whether to provide a $300,000 loan guarantee. As we previously reported, the city is being asked to make a decision on whether to provide the loan guarantee without knowing basic information such as the amount of debt Wicked currently carries, the company’s operating profit or loss, or other basic details about its balance sheet. But at last week’s meeting, Josh Montgomery, an owner of Wicked, said he would show his books to individual city commissioners who came by his office and asked to see them. But he said he would not submit the document to City Hall, which would make it a public document He said making his financial statements public would put his company at a competitive disadvantage. Of course, some of Wicked’s competitors are arguing they will be put at a competitive disadvantage if the city gives Wicked a $300,000 loan guarantee. So, I guess it is all just how you slice it.

The other point that was made clear last week involves the $300,000 pilot project that would provide service to parts of downtown and East Lawrence. The number that has most frequently been associated with the project is 300 addresses. That’s how many households or businesses that could be served by the project. But Montgomery made it clear that the 300 households is likely not the number that would actually end up with service at the end of the project. The project would run fiber cable in front of 300 addresses. Of that amount only a certain percentage would sign up for the service. It is tough to say with certainty how many addresses may sign up for the service, but Montgomery mentioned that 30 to 40 percent was a realistic target. All that makes sense, but we hadn’t quite explained it that way, and I’m not sure that commissioners realized that the pilot project may result in only about 100 locations having the high-speed service.

The issue that commissioners spent the most amount of time talking about is a technical one called common carriage. Wicked is proposing that any company that uses any part of the city-owned fiber optic network be required to commit to the idea of common carriage. Common carriage is the idea that more than one company can operate on the same set of fiber optic cables. The way it would work with this pilot project, for example, is that once Wicked installed the fiber system in downtown, other Internet service providers could lease space on Wicked’s cables. They would be charged a wholesale rate that would be consistent for any and all carriers. Wicked, as the owner of the system, would collect those wholesale fees. But Wicked also would be entitled to be a retailer of such services as well.

Montgomery is lobbying hard for the common carriage idea. He said it will spur competition, which will be good for the Internet consumer. City officials, though, are split on the idea. City staff members have raised concerns that other companies looking to make broadband investments may be turned of by the common carriage requirements. Some companies don’t like the idea of sharing their network, and some companies don’t like the idea of buying wholesale service from a company that also will be competing with them in the retail market.

Staff member also have said they are concerned the city will become a de facto regulator of the wholesale system, which they said could be time consuming and contentious. City commissioners seemed split on the idea too, so that will be one to watch.

As for RG Fiber, we’ll get an update on them today. But they have consistently asked city commissioners not to provide Wicked the loan guarantee because they view that as an unfair subsidy to a competitor.

The study session starts at 4 p.m. today at City Hall.

Reply 23 comments from Joda Totten Eileen Jones Wayne Kerr Richard Heckler Kingfisher George Grieb Matthew Herbert Amy Heeter Gail Johns Lane Signal and 2 others

Four companies express interest in bringing superfast broadband service to city; Wicked has plans to launch cable TV service in Lawrence by June

And you thought the fight over the remote control during the NCAA Tournament was going to be fierce. Well, it looks like another type of technology battle is brewing at Lawrence City Hall.

Four technology companies are interested in undertaking a multimillion-dollar project to bring super-fast Internet service to Lawrence, on par with what Google Fiber is doing in Kansas City. But, no, Google Fiber is not one of the companies interested.

If you remember, the city in February issued a request for information from companies interested in partnering with the city on establishing an enhanced broadband network in the community. Four companies responded: Lawrence-based Wicked Fiber, which previously has operated as Lawrence Freenet; Baldwin City-based Free State Broadband; national giant AT&T; and ISG Technology and Twin Valley Telephone, which operates a host of largely rural telephone and Internet systems in north-central Kansas.

You can see the full responses here, but here's a quick summary.

— Wicked Fiber: The company, owned by Lawrence school board member Kris Adair and her husband, Joshua Montgomery, got this process started months ago. Wicked was seeking a $500,000 economic development grant from the city, plus the waiver of multiple city fees, in exchange for undertaking a $1 million pilot project that would bring 1 gigabit broadband service to downtown and much of East Lawrence. City commissioners balked at approving Wicked's request, and instead put the call out for more information.

Wicked's proposal is largely unchanged from those terms, although more details have been provided. Those details include Wicked now is asking the city to also underwrite its $500,000 loan it will need to build the pilot project. The company also is estimating that it will cost about $30 million to build a high-speed broadband network for the entire community. The company is projecting that once the pilot project is successful, it will be able to raise $10 million in equity financing and secure $20 million in long-term debt to build the project.

The company also is highlighting that the network it would build in Lawrence would have the capacity to host other Internet service providers. In other words, Wicked could use the system, but so could somebody like Google Fiber or another provider. Other providers would pay Wicked a publicly listed wholesale price to use the network. Wicked also is suggesting that the city receive 5 percent of all gross revenues generated by the broadband network. Wicked says such a system will promote competition and thus benefit consumers.

— Free State Broadband. The company currently is working on a project to bring advanced broadband service to Baldwin City. As part of that deal, the company has some agreements with the city of Lawrence that will run fiber through Lawrence to serve the Baldwin City customers.

Free State officials said they currently are conducting market studies to determine the feasibility of bringing high-speed Internet, phone and video service to Lawrence. If feasible, the company would want to expand its current licensing agreement with the city to include access to existing fiber optic lines that the city already owns. Free State is estimating that it will cost nearly $70 million to build a high-speed network that could serve the entire community. That's far different than the $30 million estimate from Wicked Fiber. I don't have the technical ability to compare the two estimates, but it seems that will be one of the big issues city officials will have to figure out.

Free State is not asking for a $500,000 economic development grant, but it does want an "easily accessible lot and a 3,000 square foot building" in the city's new Venture Park, which is the business park that is being developed on the site of the former Farmland Industries property.

— AT&T. The company said Lawrence now is among the cities it is studying to add 1 gigabit Internet service to its offerings. If the company decides to move forward, it said it would be responsible for all the financial requirements of the project. The help it would seek from the city would include: a dedicated city staff member who would work as a coordinator for the project; a joint community education program with the city; access to the city's infrastructure, including light poles, traffic signals and city buildings; city assistance to negotiate a deal with Westar Energy to allow AT&T access to some of Westar's infrastructure, such as power poles; a waiver of certain city permits, or an expedited review of city permits.

AT&T would build any Lawrence network in phases, and would select areas for service based on "neighborhoods in which demand is expected to compensate for the cost to deploy" the network.

— ISG/Twin Valley. Twin Valley touts itself as the largest privately owned communications company in Kansas. ISG is a subsidiary of Twin Valley, and is a "data center and IT infrastructure partner." In addition to operating a fiber optic network in north central Kansas, the company is highlighting a partnership with Columbia, Mo., where ISG provides broadband and data center services by using a fiber optic network that is owned by the city of Columbia.

The city of Lawrence owns a significant amount of fiber optic cable in the community, and all the respondents have indicated an interest in accessing that fiber optic network.

ISG/Twin Valley was not specific in what assistance it may require from the city. The company's proposal stated it wanted to "collaborate and further discuss" the city's goals.

As I mentioned, Google Fiber did not submit a proposal to the city. City officials have told me they made sure Google Fiber was aware that the city was seeking information from technology companies. There was one other notable company that didn't submit a proposal: WOW, which is currently the largest cable and Internet provider in the city.

I don't yet have a timeline for when the city will evaluate these proposals and make a decision about how to proceed. But I would think the process will get started relatively soon.

In the meantime, I've got plenty to figure out with securing this remote control. All right, I have the log chain attached to my wrist. I've got the chain attached to the remote. I'm set . . . oh, crud. Is that an acetylene torch she has?

In other news and notes from around town:

• There was an interesting side issue brought up in Wicked Fiber's proposal to the city. Company officials stated in the proposal that Wicked plans to begin offering a robust package of cable television service, beginning in June.

The proposal states "Wicked Broadband has entered into an agreement to provide television services to Lawrence. The company is in the process of launching its first TV product, which is expected to debut in June of 2014." That language leads me to believe that the service isn't dependent upon the company receiving incentives from the city, but I've got a call into Wicked officials to confirm that and other details.

The proposal goes on to say that one service will be a 27-channel service for $19.99 a month. A second service will offer 94 channels for $49.99 a month. The proposal includes a list of channels. They appear to be your standard major channels, although the plan currently does include premium channels such as HBO and Showtime.

Another detail I'm hoping to confirm is whether the service will be available citywide or only in select areas. Currently, Wicked provides service to more than 3,000 residents in the city, it says, with many of them at apartment complexes and greek living houses. I'll let you know if I hear more.

Look below for a list of the proposed channels.

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    Duplex and apartment development moving forward at the Kasold Curve; speculation about Google and Lawrence

    For years, the Kasold Curve — that area where 31st Street turns into Kasold Drive — has just been an area where I close my eyes and hang on extra tight when I'm a passenger in my wife's car. Now, it may be an area that's showing Lawrence's renewed appetite for residential construction.

    It looks like a deal has actually materialized to develop about 19 acres of the vacant ground at the curve into a mix of apartments and duplexes. All the way back in 2009 we reported that the Lawrence Wesleyan Church purchased 33 acres of property along the southeast edge of the curve. Plans called for the church to use part of the property to build a new church building and to sell the rest of the property to a private development group.

    But, if you recall, the residential real estate market in 2009 was a bit like a K-State Wildcat at a Final Four party: lost and depressed. (Hey, it is gameday, after all.)

    Church officials, however, now have told city leaders that they have a deal with a group of Lawrence investors — including real executives John McGrew and Mike McGrew — to purchase about 19 acres to develop about 55 duplexes (or about 110 living units,) plus a small apartment complex. The church will keep about 14 acres to use as part of its development of a new church building to replace its current building at 3705 Clinton Parkway.

    The project is looking for a little bit of help from the city. Developers on Tuesday will ask the City Commission to approve a benefit district to finance about $690,000 worth of public streets and water mains for the project. Benefit district financing is common. The city provides financing for public infrastructure, such as a streets and utilities, and the property owners pay the city back through special assessments on their property tax bills. But the city's policy caps the amount to be financed at 75 percent of the expected infrastructure total. In other words, the developers are supposed to pay for 25 percent upfront.

    But church officials are asking commissioners to wave that 25 percent down payment in this case. The developers aren't asking the city to pay for any of the infrastructure, but rather just want the city to finance about 90 percent of the costs instead of the normal 75 percent. Developers have said the extra up-front costs make the project infeasible. Commissioners will consider the request at their 6:35 p.m. meeting on Tuesday.

    As for the development itself, look for it to change the traffic flow at the curve a bit. The plans approved by the city call for a new 50-foot long left-turn lane to be installed at the curve. The lane will accommodate traffic looking to turn into the new development. I haven't yet seen details on the apartment portion of the project. But it doesn't appear to be a large new apartment complex of several hundred units. The amount of ground set aside for apartment development is less than 2 acres. The bulk of the property is set aside for duplex development.

    In other news and notes around town:

    • As we have reported, the City Commission on Tuesday also will consider issuing a request for proposals from companies that are interested in improving the community's broadband service. This comes at the same time the city is trying to figure out whether to give a $500,000 grant and other incentives to Lawrence-based Wicked Broadband to do a pilot project to bring super-fast Internet service to downtown and East Lawrence. The super-fast speed would be the same 1 gigabit service that Google Fiber is providing in the Kansas City metro area.

    During this whole discussion, I've certainly heard several people say they just wish the city would make more of an effort to convince Google Fiber to add Lawrence to its Kansas City project. And come to think of it, there probably is a legitimate question out there: Has the city of Lawrence ever formally sent a letter to Google Fiber asking them to consider Lawrence as part of the project? I know there was talk of it, but I don't remember if a formal request ever came about. I'll check on it and provide an update.

    But Joshua Montgomery, one of the owners and operators of Wicked Broadband, is now touting that his company's pilot project may be the community's best chance to get Google Fiber to come to Lawrence. You can read his whole thinking here, in an op-ed that ran on the technology website arsTechnica. But in short, he's touting that the pilot project he hopes to build will feature what is called a common carriage network. What that means in this case is that the fiber optic cables in the ground would be large enough to allow up to four Internet service providers to operate on the network. The way it would work is that Wicked would occupy one of the four spaces, but if any other company wanted to use the network, it could lease space on the network to do so. That includes Google. That's not how Google is operating in Kansas City. It is building its own network there, but Montgomery is opining that Google's strategy may be flawed because it will take Google far too long to build networks in as many places as it would like to serve. He thinks Google may be open to another approach.

    "Google needs to franchise its technology and marketing to municipalities," Montgomery wrote. "By franchising its operation to municipalities, Google can use its three most important assets to grow its network: branding, engineering and marketing. Municipalities can use their strongest abilities — managing infrastructure construction and providing long-term finance — to make the projects successful."

    It is a new wrinkle in this discussion, so I wanted to pass it along. Whether Google has any interest in providing high-speed service in Lawrence is a bit of an unknown currently. Google has signed deals as far west as Olathe, but its plans in Kansas City have been a bit spotty, as this article notes.

    But this whole broadband subject has been an interesting subject to watch. There are people who say that having high-speed broadband service in a community will be as important as it was to have a railroad or an interstate come through your town decades ago. But, of course, we're talking about the future, so it is difficult to prove or disprove that assertion here in the present. I have no answers, but I'm betting that it will continue to be interesting to watch.

    Reply 5 comments from Mike Smith Dave Greenbaum Joshua Montgomery Nicholas Lindeman Steve Jacob

    Wicked’s fast-broadband project moving slower than expected

    Perhaps the community is learning what I've learned on many a white-knuckled trips from the passenger's seat of my wife's Ford Taurus: Speed isn't all it's cracked up to be.

    An effort by a local company to bring super-fast Internet service to Lawrence hasn't yet taken off. Kris Adair, president of Lawrence's Wicked Broadband, told me the company's plans to bring 1 gigabit Internet service to a Lawrence neighborhood are uncertain at this point.

    "We aren't seeing as much interest as we had expected," Adair said. "We're not giving up on it. We still think it is an amazing project, but we have to have the community buy-in to know that it will be financially feasible."

    Wicked Broadband, which is an outgrowth of the former service Lawrence Freenet, announced in April that it was launching a pilot project to bring 1 gigabit service to at least one Lawrence neighborhood this year. The 1 gigabit service is the same kind being installed as part of the Google Fiber project in Kansas City. Just like Google in Kansas City, the neighborhood would be chosen based on how many residents in a particular neighborhood pre-registered for service. Wicked leaders said they planned to announce a winner on June 15.

    But Wicked officials pushed that date back to Aug. 15 when it was clear that not enough people had pre-registered in any neighborhood. The Aug. 15 deadline also came and went without an announcement. Adair told me just before the deadline that the company now hopes to make a decision in September. That decision, however, may be that there is not a neighborhood in Lawrence that is viable for the service currently.

    "We're definitely not as close as we would like," Adair said. "We probably need another 40 or 50 households in most neighborhoods to say they are interested."

    On its Web site, the company has a listing of pre-registration totals for each neighborhood. It appears that only one neighborhood in the city, the Centennial neighborhood near Lawrence High, has more than 25 households pre-registered. But Wicked estimates that the neighborhood still needs 48 more households or businesses to sign up before it seriously can be considered a candidate for the pilot project.

    The neighborhood closest to being feasible is the area around Hillcrest Elementary, just northeast of 15th and Iowa streets. It needs another 24 households to be in the running. (Wicked uses the city's voting precincts to define neighborhood boundaries. Even though the Hillcrest neighborhood doesn't have as many people signed up as Centennial, the percentage of households that have signed up is higher.)

    The 1 gigabit Internet service is attracting a lot of attention in Kansas City. The service is being used by people interested in seamless video streaming, video game aficionados and, perhaps most importantly from and economic development standpoint, Internet start-up companies looking to create new applications for the Web.

    It wouldn't be fair to say that Lawrence is uninterested in super-fast Internet service. Rather, it may be that the interest is just too spread out. According to Wicked's totals, almost every neighborhood in the city has had households or businesses pre-register for the service. Most areas, though, have had 10 or fewer households. Adair said information out of Kansas City is that once a neighborhood is selected, another 20 percent of households will go ahead and sign up for the service. But Wicked needs a certain density of customers to make the service viable, and thus far no neighborhood has reached that level.

    "It is a significant investment, and we really want to make sure the community is interested," Adair said of Wicked's hesitancy to pick a neighborhood.

    Households and businesses that have pre-registered have been required to put down a $10 deposit. Adair said those deposits will be refunded if the neighborhood is not chosen.

    Also in limbo is the company's request for a $500,000 grant from the city to help bring the high-speed Internet service to Lawrence. Adair said the company hasn't withdrawn the grant request, but that it would not take money from the city unless the project starts to show more interest from the community.

    Adair, who also is a Lawrence school board member, said she is not sure what to make of the less-than-expected interest in the service.

    "We have been doing a social media blitz but it is not reaching them, or maybe they just aren't as interested as we think they are," Adair said.

    We'll see what September brings for the project. As for what it will bring to the passenger's seat of the Taurus, I predict it will produce more white knuckles and an occasional black out.

    Reply 26 comments from J_green Kuhusker Ultimategrownup Indusriver Chootspa Mr_jhawk N0mjs George Roberts Douglas Thompson Frankfussman and 8 others


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Monday, February 22, 2016

Why Most Millennials Will Not Survive What Is Coming

By Susan Duclos - All News PipeLine

In a world where college students demand "safe zones" and "trigger warnings" in order to avoid the uncomfortable reality that surrounds them, and where exposing corruption and speaking the truth is automatically labeled "doom and gloom," we are creating a nation, a future generation, that will be incapable of surviving any life-altering event or disaster, natural or man-made, will be unable to even function because they will be too busy whining about the unfairness of it all, despite the fact that they have seen the warnings for years, but chose to ignore them.

 This morning I ran across an "open letter" from an employee, a 25 year old, to her CEO..... first I thought it was satire, then searched a little and found it was not, and I have to admit, with all we write about, the things we expose to the light of day, I still find myself flabbergasted at some of the things I see.

This woman who seems to have the mentality of a over-protected child that throws a temper tantrum whenever everything isn't handed to her on a silver platter, was castigating her employer for the choices she made.

She admits in her open letter that she chose to accept a job that paid "$733.24, bi-weekly,"  (Totalling 1,466.48 monthly) and chose to rent an apartment that costs $1245 a month. She also chose, in her own words to "put a bunch of debt on a shiny new credit card to afford the move."

Anyone else thinking right about now that perhaps she "majored in English literature," because she wasn't all that good with simple mathematics?

She also admits to recieving full medical benefits as part of the job package, stating "Let’s talk about those benefits, though. They’re great. I’ve got vision, dental, the normal health insurance stuff — and as far as I can tell, I don’t have to pay for any of it! Except the copays. $20 to see a doctor or get an eye exam or see a therapist or get medication....."

A few key quotes from the letter, to which can be read in its entirety at Meduim. (Make sure to read the comments because some of them are priceless!)

I haven’t bought groceries since I started this job. Not because I’m lazy, but because I got this ten pound bag of rice before I moved here and my meals at home (including the one I’m having as I write this) consist, by and large, of that. Because I can’t afford to buy groceries. Bread is a luxury to me, even though you’ve got a whole fridge full of it on the 8th floor. But we’re not allowed to take any of that home because it’s for at-work eating. Of which I do a lot. Because 80 percent of my income goes to paying my rent.

So the jobs also provides food, in fact according to the job description as well as her own acknowledgment, they have a "fully stocked kitchen" on-site.

Will you pay my phone bill for me? I just got a text from T-Mobile telling me my bill is due. I got paid yesterday ($733.24, bi-weekly) but I have to save as much of that as possible to pay my rent ($1245) for my apartment that’s 30 miles away from work because it was the cheapest place I could find that had access to the train, which costs me $5.65 one way to get to work. That’s $11.30 a day, by the way. I make $8.15 an hour after taxes. I also have to pay my gas and electric bill. Last month it was $120. According to the infograph on PG&E’s website, that cost was because I used my heater. I’ve since stopped using my heater. Have you ever slept fully clothed under several blankets just so you don’t get a cold and have to miss work? Have you ever drank a liter of water before going to bed so you could fall asleep without waking up a few hours later with stomach pains because the last time you ate was at work? I woke up today with stomach pains. I made myself a bowl of rice.

After stating earlier in her snarky, nasty letter to her CEO that many of those that work with her are struggling and "taking on side jobs," she herself, due to her own choices and inability to make smart, common sense decisions, isn't doing any work on her "freelance gig," because she is "constantly too stressed to focus on anything but going to sleep as soon as I’m not at work."

She then decided to castigate Jeremy Stoppelman, the CEO, who co-founded his company Yelp in 2004 and grew it into an empire after obtaining a bachelor's degree in computer engineering from the University of Illinois in 1999, working at @Home Network, then at, and later became the VP of Engineering after the company was renamed PayPal, before leaving PayPal to attend Harvard Business School, then doing a a summer internship at MRL Ventures before he and others came up with the idea for Yelp Inc. (Source)

Compare his work history  to her complaint earlier in her letter where she whines about having to "work in support for an entire year before I would be able to move to a different department. A whole year answering calls and talking to customers just for the hope that someday I’d be able to make memes and twitter jokes about food."

Originally, I suggested that Eat24 offer a matching donation with customers where they can choose a donation amount during checkout and Eat24/Yelp would match it and donate those profits to a national food program. Maybe instead, you can let customers choose a donation amount during checkout and divide those proceeds among your employees who spend more than 60% of their income on rent? The ideal percent is 30%. As I said, I spend 80%. What do you spend 80% of your income on? I hear your net worth is somewhere between $111 million and $222 million. That’s a whole lotta rice.

Originally, I suggested that Eat24 offer special coupon codes where half of the code’s value ($1) goes to charity. Maybe instead, you can give half the code’s value ($1) to helping employees who live across the bay pay their transit fares? Mine are $226 monthly. According to this website, you’ve got a pretty nice house in the east bay. Have you ever been stranded inside a CVS because you can’t afford to get to work? How much do you pay your gardeners to keep that lawn and lovely backyard looking so neat?

So, after reading the entire letter, I was not surprised in the least to see an update from a couple hours later informing readers she had been terminated, with a lot of links to a bunch of donation accounts, hoping that people would see how much of a victim she was of her own choices that she blames the CEO of her former company for, and that they would give her their hard earned money.

Needless to say, some of the comments took her to task for her laziness, her choices, her lack of reasoning and her horrible decision making, while others used it as a "class warfare" forum.

Two of those responses can be seen at the following links... one titled "An Open Letter to Millenials Like Talia…" and another titled "An Open Letter To The Whiny Employee Who Wrote The Open Letter To Yelp’s CEO."

The reason I highlight those two specifically out of some of the other great responses is the same reason I headlined this with "most millennials," rather than all of them, because both of these responses come from people around the same age as "Talia," but explain how they were willing to work to achieve their goals rather than expect everything to be handed to them and then whine publicly when it wasn't.

We at ANP have heard from readers that have had to obtain second jobs, taken on 60-70+ hour work weeks, are so exhausted they stop in to say hi in the comment section and tell everyone they miss them, but they have to work to survive. We have seen readers band together and help those that have had medical emergencies, so we understand that times are hard.... but I have no sympathy for those that bitterly complain when their own choices are the cause of their suffering, and refuse to take personal responsibility for those choices.

"Talia" is the perfect example of why most millennials will not survive an economic downturn will not be able to function when it all hits the fan, whatever the event or cause, and will be a burden on society, most likely, for the rest of their lives.

Perhaps the most ironic part of the "Talia" screed is that on her Twitter account, her profile includes the following statement "better at thinking about things than actually doing them."

Editors Note - We at ANP are very interested in what readers think about Talia's open letter, before reading the comments over at Medium in response to her letter. Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comment section below as well as your favorite responses from her screed.

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Jiangsu XFNANO Materials Tech Co., Ltd.

Ultrasonic Graphene, Dispersion Graphene, Ultrasonic Dispersion Graphene manufacturer / supplier in China, offering Ultrasonic Dispersion Water Graphene, Supply Nano Silver Powder/AG Nanoparticles in China, Carboxyl Graphene Quantum Dots and so on.

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Supplier Homepage Product Graphene with high quality Ultrasonic Dispersion Water Graphene

Ultrasonic Dispersion Water Graphene

FOB Price: US $220.59 / L
Min. Order: 10 L
Min. Order FOB Price
10 L US $220.59/ L
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Port: Nanjing, China
Payment Terms: L/C, T/T, Paypal

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Basic Info
  • Model NO.: XF019
  • Concentration: 0.5mg/Ml or 1mg/Ml
  • Trademark: XFNANO
  • Type: Graphene Dispersion
  • Solvent: Water
  • Origin: Nanjing
Product Description
Name:Ultrasonic Dispersion Water Graphene
Concentration:0.5mg/ml or 1mg/ml
Solvent: water
Product photos:
Ultrasonic Dispersion Water Graphene

If you need our Wire Transfer account, please contact us, thanks.

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Miss Wendy Wang
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Gold Member Since 2015
Xinfeng Gift and Packaging Co., Limited

Neck Lanyard, Fashion Polyester Lanyard, Promotional Lanyard manufacturer / supplier in China, offering Hotsale Fashion Design Colorful Polyester Neck Lanyards with Custom Logo 54, Oval Shape Food Tin Box with Competitive Price, LED Shoelaces/ Shoe Laces/Flash Light up Glow Strap Shoelaces for Party and so on.

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Supplier Homepage Product Silicone Product Lanyard Hotsale Fashion Design Colorful Polyester Neck Lanyards with Custom Logo 54

Hotsale Fashion Design Colorful Polyester Neck Lanyards with Custom Logo 54

Purchase Qty.:
3,000-9,999 10,000-19,999 20,000-49,999 50,000-99,999 100,000+
FOB Unit Price: US $0.2 US $0.18 US $0.15 US $0.1 US $0.08
Purchase Qty. (Pieces) FOB Unit Price
3,000-9,999 US $0.2
10,000-19,999 US $0.18
20,000-49,999 US $0.15
50,000-99,999 US $0.1
100,000+ US $0.08
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Port: Shenzhen, China
Production Capacity: 100k/Month
Payment Terms: T/T, Western Union, Paypal, Money Gram

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Basic Info
  • Model NO.: XF354F
  • Style: Cute
  • Factory: Top 10 Factory in China and Have ISO Certificate
  • Materials: Materials and Ink Reach Food Grade and Pass FDA
  • Printing: Can Printing Client Own Logo and Artwork
  • Lead Time: Shorten Lead Time, Never Delay
  • QC: Perfessional QC Products 3 Times in Producttion
  • Transport Package: Can Meet Client All Packing Request
  • Origin: China
  • Material: Polyester
  • Sizes: Can Meet Client Sizes and Printing Request
  • MOQ: No MOQ Order
  • Mold: More Than 1000 Existing Mold for Selection
  • Product Shape: Can Meet All Client Shape Request
  • Workers: More Than 500 Practised Workers
  • Trademark: XinFeng
  • Specification: Pass FDA, EN71, SGS, BV
Product Description
10 Years Lanyard Factory Experience!
Walmart Audit Factory!
Sedex Audit Facotry!
NBCUniversal Conditional Factory Approval!

Eco Friendly! European Standard! AZO Free, Low Cadium, Low Lead Etc.,
We offer various kinds of lanyards such as shoelaces,luggage belts,screen printing lanyards,heat-transfer printing lanyards,woven logo lanyards,silicon lanyards, mobile phone lanyards , bottle holder straps.neck strap,pet leashes, wristband, promotional lanyards,custom lanyards etc.
1) Material available: polyester, nylon, PP, Recycled PET, Bamboo,etc
2) Size: according to customers' design, popular lanyard width is 1cm, 1.5cm,2cm, 2.5cm.
3) Logo: silk printing, heat-transfer printing, woven logo, rubber printing, etc
4) Sample day: 3 - 7 days
5) Lead time: 10,000/10~12 days (after the sample approval)
OEM Services Provided,reasonable price, A-grade quality,Express delivery!
Product namecustom lanyards from manufacturer
MaterialPolyester/nylon/avirulent and environmental protection material
ColorPantone color or According to your request
Thickness0.65mm to 2.5mm or custom.
SizeBase on your request
LOGOSilkscreen printing,heat transfer printing,jacquard,etc
AccessoryId card holder,plastic buckle,metal hook and safety break-away buckle
CertiflcateBusiness License,BV certiflcate,SGS and CE test report
Terms of paymentTT,Western Union,paypal
UsageAdvertising,activity item,office,exhibition,gift,etc
PackingIndividual or bulk
Delivery wayEXW,FOB,CIG,etc
Other information
 1. Material: Polyester,Nylon, cotton, PVC, bamboo fiber, tubular, reflective are also available.
2. Size: any size you want; regular sizes: width: 10mm, 15mm, 20mm, 25mm; Length: 900mm or (800+100)cm
3. Logo imprinting: Sublimation imprinting, Silk-Screen imprinting, Woven logo also can be offered.
4. Attachments: hook and buckles as shown in the below photos.
5. Color:any pattern, CMYK color and pantone color are OK
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News: Store Your Files On-The-Go With the World’s Slimmest 1TB HDD (HD-S1A) from Sony!

Sony just announced its latest storage product – the sleek and elegant HD-S1A, the world’s slimmest 1TB Portable HDD, the perfect companion for the polished executive who needs a storage device on-the-go.

In line with Sony’s aesthetic of clean, stylish and eye pleasing designs, the HDD is cased with an aluminum hairline finish, and features the signature sparkling diamond-cut Sony logo. And it will fit nicely in your pocket, handbag or laptop sleeve, as it weighs just 155g and as thin as 8.7mm.

Aside from its stunning look and slim-ness, the external HDD provides high usability and security thanks to a host of smart utility software packed into its diminutive size. Password Protection Manager will ensure that your data is protected should the device fall in the wrong hands, while Backup Manager automatically backs up the data stored in your PC and is capable of selective backup of modified or added data.

And with the Data Transfer Accelerator, it enables faster data transfer from the PC by reducing transfer time by half via the USB 3.0 cable.

The new 1TB Slim HDD HD-S1A, will come in two colours, black and silver, for any discerning business professional.
It will be available at all Sony Stores and Sony Centre, from July 2014 at the recommended retail price of S$159.

Aside from the clean look, it’s decent priced as a portable HDD and slim-ness.
It will be great for those working on-the-go or have a love for slim built and aesthetically pleasing products, without adding too much weight / strain for the body 🙂

Seeing that work will soon be more likely hot-desking or mobile, this will go into my ‘to buy’ list 🙂

Information and visuals as kindly shared by Sony Electronics Asia Pacific and Waggener Edstrom Worldwide.


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Guide: LG’s Father’s Day Gift Guide

Father’s Day is this weekend, if you have not gotten a gift for Dad, here are some products as suggested by LG Singapore:

LG Singapore is also giving everyone a chance to win big for their fathers.

From now to June 21, 2015, interested participants can visit the LG Singapore Get Lucky for Dad Contest site ( and choose from one of three gift bundles listed below:

1. LG Music Flow Speaker and LG Sound Bar (worth $1,297)
2. LG Air Purifier and LG Hom-Bot (worth $1,023)
3. LG G4 Smartphone (worth $998)

To qualify, simply fill out the online form, answer a simple question and submit it. Participants can make a maximum of three submissions a day to increase their chances of winning. Participants who did not win any of the three gift bundles still stand a chance of winning the grand draw prize of 49-inch LG Ultra HD TV worth $1,899.

In addition to the LG products, there are 10 pairs of movie passes to be won by participants who share the contest on their Facebook timeline as a public post.

A total of 14 winners will be announced via LG Singapore’s Facebook page by July 1, 2015. Winners will be notified via emails and their contact numbers as provided in the digital contest form.

For more information & detail on T&C:

Information and image as kindly shared by LG Singapore 🙂


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Love Is Not Enough

Love is a crazy thing. It has the power to build you up, tear you down, and build you back up again. It's special. It's transformative. It's life's greatest teacher. As sad as it is, relationships end, crap happens, and love cannot fix it all. Read more about how to find peace even when love is not enough:

Once upon a time there was a girl who fell deeply in love with a boy. He was everything she ever prayed for. When he magically popped into her life, her life dramatically changed. He showed her things she's never seen before, took her to places she never knew existed, and made her feel a way she's never felt.

Well, once upon a time was about two years ago and that girl is - no, was - me.

Before him, I never really knew what love was. Sure, I loved my family and I loved my friends. What I didn't know, though, was how much I could love this complete stranger whom I met randomly while leaving a college basketball game.

We were both subconsciously looking for someone we could love and call our own. Who knew that a chance meeting in the bleachers would lead to a connection as deep + strong as ours. We both felt lucky to have found one another.

No one ever gets everything they want, but in my mind, I did. I've been blessed with many amazing people + things in my life, so to now have had found this guy I loved from the moment we met was the ultimate icing on the cake. I thought to myself, "I must really deserve this", and to a certain extent I did. BUT, there was also a lot that happened in the relationship that I didn't deserve. See: lying, cheating, betrayal.

Needless to say, our relationship has now ended, after many failed attempts at second chances. What finally put an end to us trying and led to us letting go?

Too much unwanted crap.

Forgive me for such a simplistically vague description, but that's the most respectful way I can describe it. The crap that had accumulated over the course of 24 months became too heavy on our hearts and basically exploded in our faces. It was too much.

I sought the advice of a counselor after I became overwhelmed when this love crap mixed with some life crap.

So, there I was, sitting on a plush couch with a box of tissues next to me, tears streaming down my face telling my counselor about how much my heart hurt (yes, a complete cliche). Sure, there was bigger life crap going on that we needed to discuss but I kept fixating on the love crap - I didn't understand how you could give someone so much of you and it still isn't enough.

I'll never forget this moment: My counselor sat up in her seat, looked me straight in the eyes, and said, "But Rachel, you have to realize that love is not enough. It just isn't."

I was stunned. I didn't understand. What did she mean that love isn't enough? Love is everything! Love is supposed to conquer all! I was so upset at her.

In that moment, I shut down.

How dare she tell me that the love I felt for this other human being wasn't enough. She had no clue what I was feeling. She wasn't in my relationship. My irrational thoughts raged on...

Then one day, about a month later after a lot of thinking + reminiscing, it finally hit me:

Love isn't enough. No matter how much you love somebody, sometimes it just isn't right.

In that moment, I felt like I unlocked a new level of adulthood.

With some soul-searching, I've recognized that one of my greatest strengths is also one of my hugest downfalls: I'm extremely hopeful. I think everything can be fixed with a little prayer, a lot of hard work, and some forgiveness sprinkled in.

It took a puddle of tears to understand that love doesn't work this way.

Hope is not enough to make love enough.

As my mentor Lisa once said to me, sometimes you have to put your big girl panties on and walk away, no matter how much you love somebody.

It takes a heck of a lot more than love to keep two people together and a relationship flourishing. You need honesty, commitment, and respect. You both need to be putting in the same amount of time + effort. And speaking of timing, timing {of the universe} must be on your side.

Not only was our timing all off, we weren't mentally equipped with the knowledge of how to properly love somebody. Because we didn't have the tools, we messed it all up.

So yes, I recognize now that you need more than love to carry you through.

As sad as it is, relationships end, crap happens, and love cannot fix it all.

When the respect is gone, trust is broken, and hurt is too familiar, love is not enough to make the sting of betrayal go away. Sometimes you have to be BRAVE ENOUGH to open your eyes to your new reality: your relationship is no longer. The life you had with this person is no longer. Who you were is no longer. Gone. Over. Love cannot bring any of that back.

The sooner you accept this, the easier it will be to let go - although, are these things ever really easy?

Our love was not enough, but even after all of our highest highs and our lowest lows, I will always love him. Why? Because through his love I learned about myself. He was like a mirror, reflecting the best parts of me I never knew I had and the ugliest parts of me I never want to see again.

For that alone I am eternally grateful that we found love in those deserted bleachers on a Friday night in February.

Love is a crazy thing. It has the power to build you up, tear you down, and build you back up again. It's special. It's transformative. It's life's greatest teacher.

One day love won't have to be enough anymore. Through this #LoveLessonLearned, I'll be a greater me which will lead me to a better he. Commitment, honesty, and respect will be on our side.

Love will simply just be.

xo always, RAE

loveRAEself loveComment


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Penelope Ward book cover

Single Dad. Second Chances. Meet Mack iThey called him Mack Daddy. No, seriously, his name was Mack. Short for Mackenzie. Thus, the nickname. Perfect, right? So was he: perfect. The perfect physical male specimen. Everyone wanted a piece of the hot, single father of the sweet little boy. I became a woman I didn’t recognize, someone riddled with jealousy, because they didn’t know that—to me—he was much more.


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Friday, May 02, 2014

favorite song friday: "play it once sam, for old time's sake ..."

This song seems an appropriate ear worm for me for this weekend, where I'll be attending the Humphrey Bogart Film Festival in Key Largo.

Ilsa [Ingrid Bergman], "There's still nobody in the world who can play "As Time Goes By" like Sam."

You can here the full song, performed by Dooley Wilson, here.

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PCB Fabricating in Japan

RITA Electronics, Ltd

RITA Electronics, Ltd., founded on Apr 1, 2014 upon succeeding the entire Printed Wiring Board business from AICA Kogyo Co., Ltd., provides the comprehensive solution for the Printed Wiring Board products including pattern-designing, simulation for attaining good high-speed signal quality and EMC, and Printed Wiring Board manufacture of varied quantities. Our specialist consulting service is made available for the analysis of electrical characteristics at an early stage of Printed Wiring Board Development.

Our business name “RITA”(selected from the ideas by our team) represents the “Real Integrated Technology and Advisory” to symbolize our dedication to the technological flawlessness and the high quality of services to our customers.

In Dec 2016, all of the shares of RITA Electronics, Ltd. were duly transferred to Taishodo Corporation (Toyokawa, Aichi Prefecture). We expect to see tons of synergy effects from the vertical incorporation of Taishodo’s Electronics Manufacturing Service and our Printed Wiring Board products.

With thanks to the support from all of our customers and business partners, we performed our first three business years in success. We will continue to run after higher level of technologies to comply with our shoppers’ need.

We a thankful for your long-term support and trust!

Communicate with Us

Telphone: 052-930-6151
Fax: 052-930-6157
Inbox: rp.deri@ritael.co.jp

Dependent upon https://www.ritael.co.jp/english/

Yamamoto‘s PCB production lines in China and japan offer a number of support from initial prototype thru production – all facilities give full attention to high product mix in volume production across a number of technologies from the industry-common to the next-generation challenges.

Yamamoto. Corporation Story

Yamamoto Mfg. Ltd. originated in 1945 in the watchcase-metallurgy business and successfully set up this business in Japan, Korea, as well as China.

In 1968, Yamamoto parlayed their metallurgical and plating experience into PCBs with an first plant in Tokorozawa Japan – Yamamoto’s initial venture into PCBs was fueled by a big contract in 1968 with IBM Yasu Japan and research and development projects with a variety of prominent Japanese OEM’s. One more Advanced Technology manufacturing plant was established in Honjo Japan in 1985 and furthermore Expanded in 2001. Yamamoto has new PCB manufacturing unit in the Guangdong Province of China that established in 2008.

In Japan by means of 2 Advanced Technology facilities and 2 Drill-Plating Support facilities with in excess of 700K sq. ft. of manufacturing room along with our factory in China mainland, Yamamoto is well positioned to back up all PCB technology levels worldwide without ever bringing down quality.

Make contact

Dependent upon http://www.yusa.com/

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Science, Magic and a dash of Ninja

Thursday, November 04, 2004

well, turned 21 today, and needless to say, i got completely hammered last nite! Whew. was careful to drink lots of water, so i have no aftereffects, cept for a tender tummy and im sleepy :)

only got 4 kisses so far, gotta get another 17! Nice to know the shirt still works (to those of you in the unknowingness, when i was 18 i made a shirt that said "kiss me im 18" on the front and "i <3 girls" on the back, cept its really a heart. I made one for this birthday, cept it said 21 on the front, and after the i heart girls part, i added "sit on my face!!" for the sheer silliness :)

anywho, today is chill day! Thanks to my buddies who came and hung out with me, especially my bro nick!, were gonna be telling stories about last nite for years!

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My blog has moved!

You will be automatically redirected to the new address. If that does not occur, visit
or replace this permalink, from y--square to ysquarec.

Notice of Holiday

Refering to the issue aove, the author of the blog is now formally applying a Holiday starting from today until 20 April 2010.
The blog will not be update or only update once in a week within this period.
Hope you all are notice, hence no tournament or competition or what so ever related affair are going on in this period at this blog.
Yours truely,

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Jan 15, 2011

Gote Gokigen Nakabisha vs Sente chosoku San-Nana Gin

Shogi Game record : The 19th Ginag sen ; G-block

The shogi game of the Ginga sen G-block between NAGAOKA Yuuya and SHIMIZUKAMI Tohru was broadcasted 20 November 2010 .

Sente : NAGAOKA Yuuya (5 dan)
Gote : SHIMIZUKAMI Tohru (amateur)

(diagram 1)

1.P-7f P-3d
2.P-2f P-5d
3.P-2e R-5b
4.S-4h P-5e
5.K-6h B-3c
6.P-3f K-6b
7.S-3g K-7b
8.S-4f G-3b
9.K-7h P-5f
10.Bx3c+ Nx3c
11.Px5f Rx5f
12.P-3e Rx7f
(diagram 1)

By 3...R-5b , SHIMIZUKAMI selected Gokigen Nakabisha in this game and NAGAOKA quickly advanced his right Silver onto 4f making Chosoku San-Nana Gin attacking form .

Replying NAGAOKA's 9.K-7h , SHIMIZUKAMI pushed the 5th file Pawn with 9...P-5f . NAGAOKA exchanged the Bishops and attacked the 3rd file with 12.P-3e . SHIMIZUKA captured the 7f-Pawn attacking NAGAOKA's King .

(diagram 2)

13.N-7g Px3e
14.P*3d N-4e
15.G-6h P-3f
16.Sx4e P-3g+
17.Nx3g B*1e
18.R-3h P*3f
19.B*6e Px3g+
20.R-5h R-7e
21.R-5e B-4b
22.P*5c Rx6e
23.Rx6e B*2g
24.N*7e P-6d
25.R*6c N*5a
27.+R-5d P-4d
28.P-5b+ G-4c
29.+Px6a Gx5d
30.+Px7a Kx7a
31.Nx8c+ K-6a
32.S*4a resigns
(diagram 2)

After 63 moves , NAGAOKA won the game .

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30 October 2009

Bread and its Migration

A panaderia in Malate with sugary, margarine-y sweet things.

I am half-glad I lost the taste for Filipino baked wheat goodiess circa my pre-teen years, otherwise I would be twice my size with profound and expensive dental problems. The ubiquitous bakeries or panaderias punctuate both urban and rural areas, with empty calories and hints of margarine, red and purple food coloring, and lots of sugar.

This is not to say I don't find the panaderias charming. I still routinely ask whether they have anything (at all) that doesn't have margarine (answer is always no), and once in awhile stop to watch the breadmaking process. I yearn for the two-peso star bread of my youth, whose angular, crunchy, sugar-sprinkled crown I devoured like I do muffin tops, whilst walking around the village, tossing the homogenous, boring bottom in the direction of stray dogs.

A Quezon panaderia with sweet breads, filled pan de sal, and loads of star bread (bottom right).

Nowadays, making my way home at ungodly hours, the 4 AM smell of baking bread makes me appreciate how we still have dedicated artisans who wake before the cocks crow (or during-- the city lights make ours noisy as early as 2AM). Their incessant kneading supposedly breeds local boxers (e.g. Manny Pacquaio and his once-floured fists). A few are legendary in less agreeable (yet equally sensational) ways-- I've heard horror stories of panaderos wrapping ensaimada around their private parts or rubbing pan de sal in their armpits.

But where did these originate, these creations with ingredients so foreign to our native agriculture? Last year, a walk to a (Chinese-run) Mexican grocery store in California revealed a large clue: unabashedly sweet, swirly, and colored breads. In fact:

In California: Mexican pan dulce, with some cajeta or milk caramel empanadas on the left.

While pan de sal is one specific, ultra-popular bread to Filipinos, in Mexico, the term (which literally translates to "bread of salt") refers to a number of non-sweet, mealtime-appropriate breads, to be eaten with savory and salty food. In fact, it has been said that our Filipino pan de sal bears resemblance to one kind of Mexican pan de sal.

More Mexican pan dulce.

Pan dulce, on the other hand, is a sweeping term again, pertaining to any or all kinds of Mexican sweet breads. Like the Philippines, they have many, in different shapes and colors. In both Galleon countries, they are eaten at all times of day, especially at merienda-- and, on both sides of the ocean, each costs not more than a few pesos.

Baking bread in the Philippines (as we know it) definitely developed during the Spanish occupation. In Mexico scholars suppose it was either them or the French. But how did both colonies develop these large, down-to-earth, un-fussy versions, so different from their European ancestors? Only more investigation can tell. In the meantime, take the time out to actually stop at your local panaderia and ponder its existence.

27 October 2009

Street Games

Pedicab stop chess on a little board.

Manila's streets are full of people playing chess and dama.

Dama on the ground, scraped concrete for the grid.

Using bottle caps (tansan), one team right side up, the other flipped over.

A bench with a dama board drawn on.

The old flip-the-tansan over trick.

26 October 2009

Manila Bay Fishing

Hep-hep! Fishing for bugaong on a windy, beautiful day.

As we were walking along the boardwalk and discussing the rats that scuttle along the reclamation's edge, we came across a couple of guys fishing. Without them, it is easy to forget that Manila became what it was because it is beside this powerful, trade-conducive waterway.

The dreary bay.

This is pretty alarming to many. Like the Pasig River, Manila Bay is generally regarded as a giant cesspool. Sad, but fair. There are hardly any water treatment facilities in the metro, nor are our wetlands intact to "sieve" out solid waste before it hits the ocean. There are also those horror stories of pozo negro companies dumping truckloads of feces into the water at midnight.

Male bonding at its finest.

But anyway, yes, things live in it. Enough living things to sustain a simple little taboo food web involving several characters. The fishermen collect our ihaw-ihaw favorites, tahong, off the shallow part of the bay. These mussels are plankton- and detritus-feeders, helping to clean murky water. Yum!

Tahong crime scene.

They are shelled and suspended on a hook, then cast into the smelly, once-legendary waters of Manila Bay. Conversation ensues while couples, bums, joggers, and lonely hearts walk behind. Sooner or later, a bugaong or bugahong nibbles and is redeemed from the water, and dropped inside a plastic bag.

Bugaong, still moving, drowning in air.

Called tiger fish in English, they are small and spiny, and commonly salted and dried under the sun for preservation. Along the bay, they are caught for personal consumption or seaside grilling.

An everyday feast.

Seaside, you repeat? Perhaps the greatest tragedy of the urban planning (major road beside an ocean, psh) and water neglect is that it made us forget who we are-- lowland, coastal dwellers, who have the right to enjoy the breeze and eat clean, free, food while watching the sunset.

22 October 2009

The New Bilao

Makati Cinema Square green mango vendor-- the electric fan cage is the new bilao.

A variety of green mango and its respective army of vendors are in season on the Manila streets. Have I had my head up a certain crevice or is the use of old electric fan metal cages a new development in the ambulatory vendor scene? Obviously, someone with access to a large mango harvest, old mayonnaise/pickle plastic containers, and a junk shop with a lot of broken fans has been deploying troops.

Two cages, with accompanying wooden frames for nestling.

A vendor along Adriatico, with a higher wooden frame (which corresponds to his seating level).

Pan out.

Mabini vendor.

21 October 2009

A Most Curious Hat

Hat, shades, piercing look.

Here is a traffic enforcer in Pagsanjan looking like a sheriff. Or a forest ranger. He remained along the small side road looking at us with curiosity as we sat and chatted with a lady.

Black hat absorbing the intense heat.

Until we finally asked him about his hat, which apparently, was the mayor's idea. It was made to look like a western hat fashioned from animal skin or felt, but was actually woven plant material (buri, perhaps) treated for stiffness, and painted black. It's interesting to see police uniform stereotypes from the world over being applied by local governments.

20 October 2009

Comments Opened

I've opened comments because I don't have much time to respond to emails these days. Please leave your contact info in case you don't check back to the blog-- the most frustrating thing is when you say something interesting and are unavailable for more details.

Tokwa sa Carinderia

Deep-fried tokwa chopped into chunks.

Somewhere between here and the faraway there, we made a meal stop. Cheap, deep-fried firm tofu with soy sauce, vinegar, and siling labuyo is comfort food for me. Carinderias have them around, usually for addition to arroz caldo, but they will serve them up on their own for anyone who asks, for around 5 pesos.

Mmm.. sanitation.

Also serving turon, or bananas wrapped in spring roll wrapper, deep-fried, sweetened.

Bananas for turon.

Salt, pepper, mortar.

Arranging beverage options above the glass display compartment.

Carinderias are a perfect place to talk about the weather and get an earful of some local chismis. I have always found that the people who man these places have good conversational skills, are firmly grounded in the community while having a less-oggly approach to dayo (visitors) like me. Most are female, and range from being young ladies who are constantly teased by male diners, to middle-aged rotund ones who keep rowdy customers in check like mothers-of-all.

Eating surface.

18 October 2009

Improvisation in Signage

Outskirts of Manila, ice cream stopover.

Been awhile. My absence began when my laptop so tragically met its death, work terror began, Ondoy happened, I had friends over from other countries, etc. I have been shamefully busy, to a level I am theoretically opposed to. But anyway, on to Snowpy.

The original logo.

For many small businesses and food carts, sign fabrication is a one-time expense. I've seen signs across the metro with pieces of paper stuck on to eliminate phased-out products and prices. This one was particularly cute.

An improvisation, with Snowpyboy hugging a flavored cone, done in crayon and wrapped in packing tape.

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Saturday, June 28, 2008

Crochet Project

I'm currently on crutches, awaiting a knee replacement. I'm still working and having difficulty getting around with two crutches and trying to carry things at the same time. So I worked up a little caddy that attaches to my crutch, so that I can tote mail, or carry my breakfast yogurt back to my desk, or my water bottle that I fill at the water fountain. It turns out to be a handy little gadget, and everyone at work thinks it's a pretty clever item. I sure know it's helped me - I hate asking people to help me carry things, etc.

We're expecting some thunderstorms tonight. Hope they aren't too bad.

  1. Hi, I found your blog by browsing. I used to love to crochet, but don't have time anyomore. Nice blog.


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Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Lots of rain today - cold, but a steady rain. I don't mind rainy days, even though I had a few errands to run. I was going to run to AC Moore to pick out some yarn colors, but I got an e-mail that Joann's online had RH SS on sale. I checked out the site and ordered a light blue, light yellow, light green and light plum for the baby outfit - there was free shipping on RHSS! I also ordered a couple of other skeins to make the afghan on the cover of the February 2009 Crochet World magazine. I haven't received it yet in the mail, but I've seen it discussed on Crochetville and the Crochet World website has a photo of it. It's a beautiful ripple afghan on one side, and hearts on the other, designed by Kim Guzman. I can't wait to try it.

As I stated before, I'm not really a football fan, but the game coming up this weekend between the Eagles and the Giants is an important one. I'm hoping the Eagles win, but I had a dream that they lost. Hope that doesn't come true. I'd like to see them go to the Superbowl again, and win this time. My dad would have been so thrilled to see the Phillies win the Series, and an Eagles victory would have had him over the moon! Let's win these last games for my dad!

DS Dan stopped by today to pick up something he had stored in our freezer. He's looking good and it's nice to see him visit! His girlfriend is getting closer to her due date. My family members are starting a pool! She is due on 1/18, but I'm hoping she has the baby on 1/16. My dad passed away on the 16th a year ago, and it would be nice to have a happy connection with that date - to look forward to a birthday rather than remember it only as a sad day. I have to contact my dad's church to have some masses said for him and for my mom.

I wore my crocheted headband out today while running errands. It kept my ears warm and it looks really cute with short hair! I think I'll make a couple more in different colors.

I think I'll light up the tree tonight, and enjoy it a bit more before taking it down this weekend.

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Wednesday, July 22, 2009

It's a very tangled web of Kahootsness

Hey guys! Look, I'm alive! We both are. Angie's been in a not blogging mood (but say hi to her!!) and I've been out of commission. My husband had lost his job, and we were living with my mom, which was horrible. So I was anxious and depressed, but I'm doing much better now because we're out of there. He got a job with a traveling company, which means that his company foudn him a temporary job and they're paying for our place to live, plus he gets paid normal salary and then extra stuff, which is really nice. We're staying at a hotel (because they couldn't find an apartment that would let us have both dogs and the cat) near Burlington, VT. lol I love the area, it's gorgeous, though the people are sometimes not very nice.

I left my camera cord at home, so I won't have pictures for a while. I can tell you that I've started some new stuff, and I've been working on some old stuff (like, for instance, Sheherezade), and I've recently gotten some new sock yarn. I'll show you asap, ok?

How is everyone in blog land doing?

SusanB-knits said...

Hi Angie!
Krystal, I'm so glad everything is working out for you. You've been on my mind and I was hoping you were doing ok. It's good to hear from you!
Looking forward to the pics.

Amy said...

Angie & Krystal,
Missed reading you guys. Glad things are looking better.

Heather said...

So glad to see you posting! Wow, VT!?! Are you guys coming back here anytime soon? Glad things are looking up. xoxo


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21 April 2009

DBS Bank's public hanging

Every day, companies have staff disciplinary issues. Yet, when DBS Bank had an issue with its vice-president in charge of the credit card division, it issued statements to the media. Why did DBS consider the case of Josie Lau and AWARE so serious? Full essay.

Anonymous said...

Pro gay or anti gay, DBS should just sack her for blatant misconduct. However, I think they are just afraid to offend some of their customers if they sack her. Well, this is the first time I sympathize with the position of DBS.

Anonymous said...

Definitely more than meets the eye. On the CNA interview on Sunday 19 April, Josie stated that she was still "in discussion" with DBS over her misconduct. So the Friday internal review she had with her bosses on 17 April was trumpeted by her chain gang church members in AWARE as being over as reported in ST & they went out for drinks. Again, notice the white lies told.

The choice of her words on CNA "in discussion" would be a euphemism for the strong stand she takes against her company's code of conduct if her AWARE crusade is far larger than her company's bottom line. DBS going public is the right thing to do cos it needs to alert the public that she has her own agenda. Which means, she may have done this kind of thing before, going behind bosses back to crusade for her own agenda.

Would not be surprised that DBS can drag on this review of Josie till, if it ever happens, their appointed executive search firm hires her replacement of course discreetly without her knowledge, after all that's what executive search firms do. After all in a recession, talent abounds aplenty.

Anonymous said...

Totally hypothetical - DBS could have easily got rid of Josie Lau after her publicly defiant conduct. What's holding them back? Could it be that there is substantial fundamentalist Christian money in DBS bank accounts that can be terminated should Josie Lau be sacked? If the gay community can do that, what's stopping the radical religious camp who has tonnes more money?

Anonymous said...

Anon 12.35pm,

thats a great point. What hold does Josie have on DBS that it cannot immediately let Josie go?

I'm sure many of us in the private sector work in orgs where we can be told to leave within the next 2 hours - to clear out your table and be escorted out, most times with a security guard next to you.

But they are still "in discussion", despite having already been warned by the company that they do not condone her activity.

It could be that the church, and plenty of other pro-life churches hold their money with DBS. But could there also be something even more sinister...?

Anonymous said...

I am quite certain the JL faction has an agenda that will unfold in due course.

But, JL is actually not the 'ring leader'. She was just someone merely nominally prepared to take over as president so that the rest of the group can have its way. The ring leader is really someone else.

wayang times said...

Wow this is a well written analysis of the situation.

I think DBS will probably take the most practical approach to handle the situation, cos after all they are a profit driven bank.

But I think DBS will probably not just let Josie go, because she is after all holding a pretty senior position, and I assume handling heavy responsibilities. A good company would probably try to reach a good compromise with its staff first.

The said...

/// wayang times said...
But I think DBS will probably not just let Josie go, because she is after all holding a pretty senior position, and I assume handling heavy responsibilities. ///

wayang times - nah, that is baloney. VPs are a dime a dozen at DBS. There are literally hundreds of them. There are tons of people above here - SVPS, EVPs, MDs and Senior MDs. Before Koh Boon Hwee started to cull them, there were more than a hundred MDs. And there are hundreds of VP peers. See can be sacked in an hour's notice and the performance of her department would immediately IMPROVE.

Anonymous said...

DBS should just fire her for telling a lie, flouting company rules wilfully, and putting the bank in an embarrassing position, to the point of damaging the bank's relationship with customers.

Anonymous said...

There is a deluge of people with SVP grades from failed financial institutions on Wall St. and there are thousands of grads without a job. DBS should and must sack JL thereby doing society one small favour.

wayang times said...

@The - Errmm ok. i din noe that. i'm not from the banking sector, but thx for the info.

btw r there any ladies/guys here who r joining AWARE and attending their EOGM in May to provide support to the old guards?

You can check out their latest news at their facebook account here:

I did this funny AWARE video sub of the movie 300 to express my bit of support:

Anonymous said...

Not only have they not been involved in AWARE's work before, from what we know, they have not even spoken up on women's issues before.Just to address the above. Irene Yee has been featured in some women's magazine for articles on financial planning before. Sorry, I did not keep track of the name of magazine or the date of articles. FYI, Irene Yee used to work at DBS until late-2008. However, she was from a non-related department from Josie Lau, so they may not really know each other at the bank.

I personally suspected some link between the DBS FOTF fiasco once I read that Josie Lau is the VP in-charge of credit cards. If that contributes to the reason for the 2 strongly-worded DBS press releases (overtly over Josie's flouting of bank's code), then DBS' refusal to be forthright about the FOTF fiasco link will only make them look like petty employers to the casual observer.

While VP sounds like a high position, in reality VPs are a dime-a-dozen in any bank. This is especially in certain departments where grand titles are used to win potential clients' confidence. In addition, there are many banking staff that have other interests outside of the work, without declaring it to their employers. The difference is that many of these staff are wise enough to keep private matters private and avoid any conflicts of interest, as any professional will.

Anonymous said...

Josie Lau was obviously lying on CNA. Isn't "Thou Shalt Not Lie" one of the ten commandments? If Lee Kuan Yew can call Chee Soon Juan a liar, Singaporeans can also hold Lau to account for lacking in integrity and unfit to be a leader.

Anonymous said...

I agree with Anonymous on 24 April, 2009 02:26:

There was another commandment that they have broken: "Thou shalt not covet they neighbour's goods."

Hello, but feminism is the intellectual property of feminists, and not that of women from a church whose website explicitly states its opposition to feminism.

Haven't Josie and gang not only coveted but outright trampled on their neighbour's goods.

Aren't they coveting their neighbou

DBS customer said...

Yes, DBS should have just sacked her. She has broken its code of conduct twice over. Moreover, it is clear that after taking over the helm of AWARE, her ineffective management has brought the organisation into disrepute, and people are simply disgusted with her secretive and crude management style, and her facile resort to blatant lying to advance her own ends. Is this the kind of person who holds a senior position in the bank?? I am a DBS and POSBank customer over several decades, and I am extremely disappointed with the bank's lack of firmness in dealing with this person, who has undoubtdely brought the reputation of the bank down to its knees.


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Wednesday, 12 November 2008

Oops! Shirtz tile fix

I discoverd today that the Zip file for Ron Shirtz HeroQuest Set Centre Room Section without Sphere Tile actually contained the with Sphere Tile. It's being updated as I type this message.

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Monday, August 1, 2011

Thoughts on Diablo III

Several Diablo III news items have been making the rounds today. The two big ones are that (1) DIII is launching with an online for real-life-cash auction house (Blizzard will take a small cut of all transactions) and (2) DIII will require a live internet connection to play, even solo.

I'm not sure how I feel about either. Certainly online enabled characters should be hosted on Blizzard's servers, not locally. Otherwise you get fiascoes like Phantasy Star Online back in the Dreamcast days, where everyone you met online was running around with ultra rare weapons that were best-in-slot. However, not providing some option for players to create locally hosted strictly-solo characters that are unable to interact with any of the online elements at all (multiplayer, the auction house, ect.) seems like a pretty baldfaced way of forcing players to come into contact with the new RMT auction house.

I expect both Blizzard and players with too much spare time are going to make a lot of money on this new system. I personally don't think legitimizing the sale of items for cash bodes well for the genre. This is very much going to be a pay-to-win system. Of course in any game as big as DIII is bound to be, there will be a market for items; if not legit then black. It will be a lot easier for Blizzard to control a legitimate market than one trying to stay off their radar. Everquest II has also been doing something similar for years with Station Exchange, and it has yet to trigger the apocalypse.

Regardless, I can't help but think the RMT AH is primarily motivated by profit. If you can release a product and make a-hell-of-a-lot-of-money, or a-hell-of-a-lot-of-money x3 ...what do you do? I also think that, for better or worse, Heartlessgamer has the right of it on this issue for most potential customers.

Another less commented on tidbit comes from Eurogamer, which has a glowing preview of the beta up. One item that really stuck out to me when I read it:

"Each character now has just six active skill slots (and three powerful passives, replacing the more complex traits from last year). Skills simply unlock as you level up, as do the slots - you start with two. Skill points and character respecs have followed attribute points into the bin, and skills can be swapped in and out of slots completely at will."

All I can say is "Thank goodness!" One of my major gripes with Diablo II was that it was far too easy to gimp yourself. You pretty much had to max out a skill to see whether it bit or not, and all too often the answer was "Yes, yes absolutely this skill sucks no mater how much you invest." Having skills do what they are supposed to from the get go and making them swappable on the fly sounds like a lot of fun. I also think it's interesting that Borderlands is mentioned in the article by one of the developers as an influence. Borderlands is probably my favorite Rogue-like of the modern generation.

I will almost certainly not be playing DIII on launch day. I'm not going to pay $60 for a game that jams RMT down my throat when there are similar, and less expensive, products that don't available. However, it does look like it's going to be a lot of fun, and I will likely get it whenever the price gets down to the $30-$40 range.

  1. I will some day play Diablo III. It may be at launch or it may be long after. I'm going to play it solo, so the RMT should not have an effect on me. And I do like what I'm reading about how the game has been changed up.

    But if there is a schedule conflict between Diablo III and Torchlight II, I will absolutely be playing Runic's game first.

  2. The cash shop does not surprise me one bit. There have been numerous websites that sell in-game items for Diablo II so I don't begrudge Blizz for trying to get in on some of that action.

    The constant onlinconnectivityty is something that Blizz did for Starcraft 2 so again not a surprise.

  3. I suspect I'll be buying it on launch day, powering up and selling items just to see how well I can do.

    It's kind of my turbo turbine points barb strategy from 2 years ago in reverse.

  4. @Anjin: I have to say the game mechanics that I'm reading about sound like a lot of fun. I never really got very far with DII (though I loved the original Diablo), but I'm fairly excited about DIII.

    @Jaydub: In retrospect neither is very surprising. I don't begrudge Blizzard taking a fair cut and trying to control the market a bit. The lack of any ability to play offline does irk me for a number of reasons, however.

    @Stabs: I'll be looking forward to see how well it pans out for you. I suspect that you could make some decent money in the first week if you power level and get out in front of the bell curve. Items that are merely uncommon at level X+Y might be tempting purchases at level X.

  5. I can see bot clients coming out for this very, very quickly.

  6. @Anton: honestly, I'll be amazed if it doesn't come to pass in some form.


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Sunday, September 14, 2014

Please attend this yoga workshop if you can

Before I go on to say what I'm about to say in this post, I'll just come right out and confess to you that this entire post is a pretty shameless yoga workshop sales pitch. But some things are worth selling and making a pitch for, and this is one of them.

So here's the deal: I'm going to Bozeman, Montana, over the weekend of September 26th to 28th, to attend a workshop with Bhavani Maki at the Ashtanga Yoga School of Montana.

Bhavani with Guruji and Sharath, Mysore 1997
[Image taken from Ashtanga Yoga Kauai]

Bhavani is presently based in Kau'ai, Hawaii. She is an international yoga teacher who has been authorized to teach Ashtanga yoga by Guruji, as well as by Baba Hari Dass of Hardwar, North India (okay, I've no idea who this guy is, but he sounds pretty awesome). Bhavani has also studied Sanskrit in Mysore with Professor Narayanacharya. She also recently published a book, The Yogi's Roadmap. In this book, she offers unique contemporary insights into the Yoga Sutra, linking the ancient teachings of this text with our modern understanding of psychology and the emotions.

I met Bhavani briefly back in the summer of 2007 on Maui, when I was attending one of Eddie Modestini and Nicki Doane's asana intensives at their studio. They invited Bhavani to be a guest teacher for one of the sessions. She led us through chanting some passages from the Yoga Sutra, and then gave us a brief lecture. She has a wonderful presence and a most beautiful voice. In addition, I have also heard that she is a wonderful teacher of asana, although I have yet to experience this personally.

Well, hopefully, I will get to experience this very soon in Bozeman. Why hopefully? Well, as of right now, the workshop is under-booked, and there's a possibility that it might not happen. Well, I don't want this to happen, for very obvious reasons. So I'm going to say a couple more things to (hopefully) entice you to come to this workshop. First, as you can surmise from the above, Bhavani is a great teacher who brings a wealth of cultural and psychological insights to the yoga practice and tradition. Your practice will definitely deepen and broaden as a result of studying with her. Secondly, but perhaps only a little less importantly, if you attend this workshop, you will finally get to meet me, if you haven't already have had the good fortune of doing so :-) Yes, me, as in Nobel of Yoga in the Dragon's Den, whose jumpbacks and considerable floating abilities are rocking the world even as we speak...

Anyway, I guess I better stop now before this post becomes an egomaniacal rant about my powers. But you get the point: If you are anywhere in the United States, and especially if you are within 500 miles of Bozeman, MT, please do consider coming to this workshop. It will be fun and insightful and... fun. Details about the workshop can be found here.

Maybe I'll see you in Bozeman soon? ;-)

Sunday, September 7, 2014

Sexual fantasies, false consciousness

A few evenings ago, I got together with some friends at the house of my friends J and L. There were five of us present: J, L, S, M and myself. After a few drinks, the conversation turned to the subject of sexual fantasies. There is some kind of rational professional rationale for talking about this subject, because J is a sociologist who does research in sexual deviance. In fact, I often have the feeling that J often uses his friends as impromptu and unofficial study subjects for his ongoing ruminations relating to his research.

Anyway, at one point in the conversation, J claimed that all people, no matter what their sexual orientation, have had fantasies about doing something sexual with somebody of the same sex at at least one point in their lives. Upon hearing this, M, who is a heterosexual female (as far as I know), objected that she had never ever had any sexual fantasies involving somebody of her own sex.

S immediately responded to M's objection with a very resounding "Bullshit!". S might be described as a predominantly heterosexual male who has, by his own admission, also had a couple of sexual encounters with members of his own sex. I do not know what M's internal reaction was to S's calling bullshit on her; after a few drinks, my social perception is usually less acute than it normally is... well, actually, my social perception even when sober isn't really all that acute either. But that's a story for another day. In any case, J immediately seized upon S's pronouncement of "Bullshit", and went on to expound what I understand to be a certain neo-Marxist socio-theoretical view. According to this view, as I understand it, a person's thoughts and feelings about things are really just epiphenomena that are parasitic on physical events and happenings. Well, I suppose a bit of explanation is in order here: To say that feelings and thoughts are epiphenomena is to say that feelings and thoughts really have no effect on events and happenings in the world, even though the person who is experiencing these thoughts and feelings might nevertheless have the illusion that her thoughts and feelings are affecting events and happenings. This view is neo-Marxist, because it is influenced by the Marxist view that many ideas (like religious ideas, for instance) have no effect on the progression of history, but are nevertheless seen by their adherents as having such an effect. Which is why Marxists typically believe that religion, being such an illusion, is the opium of the people, and that religious adherents are sufferers of false consciousness who must be rehabilitated or re-educated.

J, as I understand it, meant to apply this socio-theoretical view to explain why M might persist in believing that she has never had any sexual fantasies involving somebody of her own sex. The upshot is that if M claims that she has never had any same-sex sexual fantasies, then she must be suffering from some kind of illusion or is under the sway of false consciousness. Hmm... does this mean that M needs to undergo some kind of rehabilitation or re-education?

Leaving aside the question of whether or not M is in need of rehabilitation or re-education, I think you might be able to see that there are certain problems with this neo-Marxist socio-theoretical view. For one, if all thoughts and feelings are epiphenomena, then I think it is safe to say that about 99% of the human race suffer from some kind of illusion or false consciousness, since I'm pretty sure that about 99% of human beings believe that their thoughts and feelings do affect the course of events in the world. Wouldn't that mean that 99% of human beings need to be rehabilitated or re-educated? I'm sure you can see that this is patently absurd.

Moreover, even if this theory happens to be true, it still wouldn't explain why all people have had same-sex sexual fantasies, even if they aren't consciously aware of it. In order to be able to say that all people have had same-sex fantasies even if they aren't consciously aware of it, we would have to invoke some kind of Freudian theory of the subconscious or unconscious (or whatever the appropriate term is here), which would presumably explain how it is that people can have sexual fantasies without ever knowing that they have had them. Which means that if we want to be able to convincingly explain how all people have had same-sex fantasies, we would have to have some kind of hybrid Freudian-Marxist theoretical construct...

I don't know about you, but my head is really beginning to spin at this point. Which means I should probably quit writing right now, and go get something to eat. In the meantime, if you have any thoughts about any or all or some of what I have written above, I'd love to hear from you.

Friday, September 5, 2014

Practicing with my silhouette

I haven't written anything about my practice in a while, mainly because practice is just this wonderful thing that goes on in the background of my life. It's sort of like the A/C or the heater; it hums happily in the background, doing its work and providing me with strength and comfort. What's there to say or analyze about it?

But this morning's practice might be worth saying a couple of things about. So when I practice, I usually shut the blinds in the living room before I begin, so that the sunlight doesn't stream into the practice space. It's not that I am afraid of sunlight; rather, I do this because otherwise, my body will cast its shadow on the wall of the practice space, and then I will always be tempted to look at the shadow of my body as it goes through the asanas on the wall. Which is obviously a drishti violation, but I also can't help feeling that it takes energy away from what I should be focused on (i.e. what is going on within my own body and mind).

But this morning, I forgot to shut the blinds before practice. By the time I noticed this, I was already in the standing postures. I decided that going over to shut the blinds and then resuming the practice would be too annoying and would disrupt the flow that I had going, so I just ignored it. What followed was... interesting. Because of the sunlight shining directly into the practice space, I was treated to the sight of my body moving in and out of various asanas throughout the practice. Damn... I didn't know my practice silhouette looked so good... especially when I was going into Kapotasana... And yes, I do know that all these are serious drishti violations, I don't need to be reminded of that ;-)

But at the same time, I felt that because I was constantly distracted by my silhouette, I was putting less focus and mental energy into the asanas. I have always believed that where one's gaze is is also where one's energy is directed, so all this pretty much confirms what I have always believed.

The other interesting result of this silhouette-gazing is that my practice speed somehow speeded up as a result: It took me only an hour and thirty-one minutes to get through half of primary and second up to Karandavasana (it usually takes me about an hour and forty minutes to get through this sequence). I'm guessing that gazing at my silhouette probably had a motivating effect on my practice, causing me to move faster than I normally do. Which may be a good thing (or not, I don't know). But either way, I probably won't try practicing with my silhouette again. Note to self: Always shut blinds before starting practice. Gee, I wonder how all those people practice in gyms with mirrors on all four walls. Must be really, really distracting...


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