text:
Playing games: learning by having fun (or having fun learning)

Playing games: learning by having fun (or having fun learning)

I love playing games, it’s the reason I use them so much in my work. I enjoy unlocking patterns within games and I love the social interaction that is part and parcel of really good games. The ones I really enjoy are the ones where I learn something. Even if I only realise later.

Game-ify everything

It’s become something of a “thing” over recent years: if you want people to engage with something then make it a game. Or Gamify it. This is usually applied to games in the digital realm, which is great, but there is a special kind of magic that happens when people play together in the real world.

That magic is what gives people the kind of memorable experiences that I trade in. When it works, it gives me a kick every time.

So, when I’m asked to design things, I often turn to making a game out of it. It’s been fruitful and very rarely lets me down.

Kings of Coal

One of the very first pieces of design I ever did for a museum was back when I was a learning officer in Hartlepool. The brief was simple: we want something Hartlepool focussed, where families can take part together and does not need a member of staff.

So I built a pair of board games. One of them required you, literally, to take coals to Newcastle (well, Hartlepool & the Tees Valley, but bear with me). I was really pleased with it: the idea was to draw attention to the coal rush that made Hartlepool a boom town. It wasn’t desperately popular, but then family learning week was an odd thing. I’ve just dug it out, it hasn’t aged well and I wouldn’t be nearly as proud of it now. I suspect that the strongest part of the game was the taking “coals to Newcastle” bit.

But, I’d been well and truly bitten by the games for learning bug. It’s a thing I kept coming back to.

It’s a game where you play a role…

Whilst I still enjoyed playing and using those classic bard-style games, another of my gaming passions was better suited to designing learning experiences. Playing a role. It probably doesn’t even feel like a game when you’re playing (and theorists still argue vehemently about the role of the game in roleplaying games).

During my time at the Royal Marines Museum our family provision evolved very quickly into something quite unique. Every session we ran, participants played the roles of Royal Marines on a training exercise. They were immersed in the experience through dressing up, a formal briefing and, crucially, consequences. They learned all sorts of skills including planning, communication, teamwork, decision-making as well as gaining an understanding of the experiences of service personnel when deployed. Some of those scenarios became classics and were used with all kinds of groups from schools to staff training. The VIP close escort scenario gained the seal of approval from a Marine who had just returned from the exact same training exercise as part of his work.

Roleplay fun

Roleplay fun

These kinds of games can be very powerful and, when deployed appropriately can give a real insight into other people’s experiences or understanding why they make certain decisions. I used roleplaying scenarios for understanding how the Nazi Party came to power and the role of the Army in Northern Ireland. These were not laugh-fests, but created some very powerful and moving learning experiences.

I found myself immersing myself in the theories of game design and game playing. I’ve probably learned more maths from understanding probabilities and balance for games than in doing my accounts. The split between crunch (the rules) and fluff (the setting) was part and parcel of my daily thinking as was the GNS (and later Big) model of games, both were built into my planning tools.

I ended up taking these planning tools on the road and using them to spread the word about how powerful these games could be in teaching. I presented at conferences and gave workshops where I took people through this design phase to show how they could make their own games. I recall there were all sorts of odd games designed at these sessions, including one about the etiquette of golf and one about coal miners in their canteen.

RPG Planning sheet

RPG Planning sheet

It showed me that this kind of learning scenario can be turned to seemingly unlikely situations. Not only that but they can be incredibly successful.

Tell my story

One odd way in which games can really boost learning is in stimulating creativity. I love telling stories, it’s what I do for a living (amongst other things). I know that many people find it difficult to be confident enough to share their creativity, I know I suffer crippling stage fright before playing music or singing in front of people.

So, when I was asked to create something that helped teenage boys with literacy, this seemed the perfect opportunity. Out came the planning matrix and off I went. I’ve talked about the results in this blog, but the short version is that we created a scenario where the boys foiled a terrorist threat the museum. All they had to do was decipher the clues and do some writing of their own to get the next one. We never phrased it as that, but that’s what they had to do. It was brilliant.

Now tell me yours…

More interestingly, the following year we were asked to create something about ghost stories…No pressure. This is where the first of my collaborative storytelling games came to life. One of the big issues with asking people to be creative is that they get “blank page paralysis” so a good game will give structure to what they have to do. The other, especially with teenage boys, is the fear of being rubbish and being laughed at. So a good game will have rules to prevent that.

In this case, they were given a character archetype for a ghost story (such as the high-school jock, the geek, the ex-convict) to prevent them having a blank page. Each of them had to create a secret that their character had that they didn’t want anyone else to know about. Simple: what might your character have done or seen that they didn’t want anyone else to know? If they were stuck then the table could help them out. The rule here is that no idea is rubbish. If you don’t like it, you can only suggest a way of improving it (“would it be better if…”).

Then the first kicker. The person to their left was involved in that moment. It’s up to them to come up with how and then agree with you. Suddenly these characters are tied together by secrets. This way both of you are involved and probably neither wants anyone to know.

The second kicker is that the person to their right knows about it. How did they find out, what have they done about it and why haven’t they told anyone else?

Now you have a table of characters who are tied together by secrets and lies. Sadly, this was all we had time for. They went back to school to write their stories.

We can find a game anywhere

Surely, there must be a limit to this approach? There is. It’s that you have to give people the knowledge and information they require in order to take part. This is where museums are really strong.

Once you have that, the approach can work in surprising ways. You want me to use a roleplaying scenario and game to teach engineering in a way that engages unusual audiences? Have a look at the humanitarian scenario created for Aldershot Military Museum, where they used the museum’s collection to build their own vehicles that could be used to get emergency aid to villages cut off by a volcanic eruption. Yes, really.

Now, with driver

Now, with driver

You want me to use this to understand the form and significance of Bronze Age burials? Then the work I did for the South Downs National Park’s Secrets of the High Woods project will be right up your street.

You want a session where you learn about programming robots? Then maybe a trip to the National Army Museum for their On the Move session is in order.

You want a game that draws attention to the violence in the suffrage campaigns of the early 20th century? Actually, I found this today from 1908.

You want me to help you embed learning on a subject by encouraging creativity? In that case, take a look at my storybuilding workshops.

You want something different from all of these, or something a bit like it only different? Give me a shout and I’m sure we can work something out.

Game over: Lessons learned

So, after all these years, have I learned about designing learning games and game sessions?

  1. Always have multiple solutions to a problem. That way people can be creative and succeed in ways that will surprise you.
  2. Success makes people feel good, it’s not a test of how good they are. So make success happen, eventually. Unless the difficulty is the point (in a game where you highlight why people have made poor choices).
  3. Be prepared for running these sessions to be exhausting.
  4. There’s no such thing as a bad idea, but sometimes you won’t be able to make an idea work. Put it down, file it and know where it is when the situation arises that it will be useful.
Posted by Past Participants Andy in Thoughts, 0 comments
We shall Remember them.

We shall Remember them.

As the dust settles on the Remembrance season for another year and we lay to rest the centenary of the Battle of the Somme, I have a story of personal struggle and personal triumph to tell.

How did we end up here?

It is 10:50 on Friday November 11th. I have just delivered the second of six sessions I am due to deliver today but already my brain has moved on and is focussing on the next appointment of the day.

When I say focus, I mean a laser sharp, all-encompassing focus on what I am about to deliver.

I am not going to lie to you: I am feeling the pressure. I am about to deliver a one-off, single-take, no second chances, must be perfect first time session.

I am definitely nervous.

Why am I feeling so much strain? Let me take you back in time a little.

Of course I can…

When I made the booking to visit a school on November 10th and 11th, away back in May, I was really excited to be delivering Remembrance sessions to an entire school. I love the opportunity to make an impact and to leave a lasting impression. Talking about Remembrance on Armistice day is just such an opportunity.

Part of the booking was that I would deliver an assembly to the school on both days. No problem, I could do a session teaching drill. It’s a great wee session that works better the more people you have.

Then, a month or so before the visit, the teacher asked me if I would do an assembly on the Thursday and lead the school Remembrance assembly on the Friday.

“Of course I can.”  The enormity of what I had offered hit as soon as I pressed send.

I was offering to lead a service of Remembrance for an entire school. Some things are important. Some things have a very precise, correct way of doing things. Some things you are morally and ethically obliged to get perfectly right. A Remembrance service is all three of these things.

I have attended many services over the years, I have formed up groups of students for the 2 minutes silence, but I had never actually led the service. This was new territory. This is not the time to be hoisted on my own petard.

There is no wriggle room, no chance to improvise. This needs to be perfect. First time. With no notes.

So I set about memorising the order of service. I set about memorising the Exhortation. I set about knowing the whole of the Last Post and I practised my bosun’s call.

All in all it’s a lot to remember. Especially when you slot it into the middle of a day where I had to deliver six sessions about D Day.

Back to the present

So that’s why I’m feeling nervous. I am acutely aware of everywhere my Second World War uniform is not sitting quite right. Every pace it’s digging in. I am abundantly aware of how hot the school is and I am beginning to get sweaty palms.

“I can do this, and I can do it right.”

I walk into the hall to be met by hundreds of small faces and the entire school staff looking at me. Also I am greeted by a Corporal from the REME who has offered to attend the service. I suddenly feel that my battledress is very out of place for this service, but there is no time to change and therefore I must focus and get this right.

Everyone sits down.

The lights go down.

I nod to the teacher with the laptop and the Last Post sounds from the PA.

It takes an eternity to finish.

Deep breath. Commit

“They shall not grow old as we that are left grow old,
Age shall not weary them, nor years condemn.
At the going down of the sun, and in the morning:
We shall Remember them.”

Announce the two minutes silence.

Sound the call. Glance at my watch and remember the time.

Think about all the things I ask the children to remember. Think about the people who I talk about in my remembrance sessions. Think about the people I have known who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

Glance at my watch.

Sound the call to end the silence.

Now back into my comfort zone

And then finish the service by taking the children through their drill before dismissing them.

They were absolutely brilliant. They managed to be silent and, relatively, still for the whole two minutes. Their drill was perfect.

I have never felt such a wave of relief and pleasure at having successfully completed something.

I put a lot of pressure on myself to get it right, because it was important. It was important to me to make sure I did this properly and it’s important to other people that I did this right.

I’m not kidding myself. Compared to being involved in a conflict, I was risking very little apart from opprobrium. Compared to the fear that soldiers feel going into combat, I felt very little. However, I had done my bit to remember their experiences and to help others remember them. I had treated the occasion with the respect it deserved.

I had done my bit to remember and to keep the memories alive.

Posted by Past Participants Andy in Session reports, Uniforms, 0 comments

A tough audience: honing the craft

I’ve done this thousands of times before, why am I nervous now?

I wasn’t nervous a couple of hours ago. Why am I sitting here, waiting for my turn to deliver with sweaty palms and the shakes? I’ve delivered funny, engaging talks and sessions so many times that I really can’t remember the number. I feel horribly undercooked and unprepared. I’ve delivered countless times with slimmer notes than this. Why now?

Because this is different.

I really have delivered talks for tough crowds like Royal Marines Warrant Officers (chaps with 20+ years of experience as soldiers), I’ve delivered workshops for critical audiences of my peers at conferences, I’ve engaged with unforgiving crowds like teenagers excluded from mainstream education. It really isn’t as though this is a new experience for me. So why am I bricking it now?

I’ll tell you why: because this talk is a Best Man’s speech for an old friend. I’m looking out over a sea of unfamiliar faces, many of whom are waiting for me to fail.

Photo: Thomas Farmer

I’ve seen my fair share of these talks. I’ve seen the best man so crippled by nerves he reads a speech to the table. I’ve seen the Best Man whose tale of the groom’s misdeeds is excruciatingly inappropriate. I’ve seen the Best Man who really didn’t have anything interesting to say. Right now, I’m hoping not to be one of them.

I’m looking at a tightrope. On one side: a boring speech that goes on too long. On the other: offending everyone in the room, particularly the bride’s family. Both sides are alligator pits of agonising failure. The gap between them is a hair’s breadth across. No amount of practice prepares me for that moment when I stand up an everyone is looking at me.

They’re all waiting for me to perform.

It’s time to dig deep. It’s time to remember my craft. I know I can do this. I’ve done it a thousand times before. I’ve succeeded thousands of times before. I’ve convinced highly experienced Royal Marines I’m trustworthy with their heritage. I’ve introduced my peers to new ways of doing things. I’ve even convinced teenagers that a museum visit might actually be something worth doing.

Hold on to that feeling.

I know my material.

Make eye contact with as many people as possible. Watch the signs. Deliver the opening gambit. Watch how it goes. Mentally recalibrate the next element based on that assessment. Watch how that goes. Make eye contact with a different part of the room. Hold on. Watch how that goes and recalibrate again. Ok, I’ve got a feeling for the flow. Move slightly to make eye contact with another table and watch their response whilst keeping the other eye on the head table. Keep going, use the momentum of the early gags to get over any duff ones later. Feel the room warming. Gain confidence and belief in my craft. I know how to do this.

I’ve stopped looking at my notes. I know my material from here. I know where to pause to let the groom know where the punchline is going to fall. I know how long to leave it before bringing everyone else in. Weave the disparate threads together so everyone’s relationship with the groom is included. Build towards the final gag. Steer people’s expectations, set them up so they think they know where I’m going.

Then drop the hammer. Deliver the last line. Back myself to stop on a high and not fill the space with chatter. Let it land and then deliver the toast. Sit down without overstaying my welcome.

Done. Feel the relief wash over me. I’ve survived. I’d be better next time. I’m already evaluating and improving just like I would at work. The slightly duff bits would be ironed out. The pauses would be different lengths. I’d swap the running order slightly and substitute bits that I didn’t include this time for bits that didn’t really work.

Then I remember: there will be no next time. It’s done and I don’t have to evaluate this time. It’s second nature: an automatic reflex now that drives me to deliver better every time I do it.

Not this time. This time I relax and allow myself, for the first time in the evening, a glass of wine.

Posted by Past Participants Andy in Session design, Thoughts, Uncategorised, 2 comments
Telling Stories

Telling Stories

Storytelling sessions are some of my favourites and the most memorable sessions I’ve taught.

There’s something incredible about watching young people create something together. The results are always surprising and unexpected so I never get tired of running these sessions no matter how much energy they take to deliver.
Getting young people, particularly teenagers, to create in public isn’t easy. Being creative involves revealing something of yourself and exposing yourself to ridicule from your peers. Some find that a very difficult obstacle to overcome. This, in itself, is one of the reasons why I find the sessions so rewarding when it works.

However, it means that a lot of thought goes into setting up the storytelling game to promote creativity and inhibit the tendency to make fun of people making an effort. The games I build are finely balanced to make sure that the experience is positive for everyone involved.

So today I’m going to lift the lid as I walk through a new storytelling game I’m developing for a new session. The game is currently going under the title “What if?”, it’s a little more fanciful than some of the games I use in the other sessions. The basic premise is that tables of 4-6 people will create a setting in which stories can happen. Each table will create something unique.

Bear in mind that this is very much an initial sketch and there will be a load of playtesting between here and anything going live, but you can see an idea beginning to form.

For a chance to see storytelling sessions in action check out Past Participants Literacy sessions

What If try out

The big idea.

Always start with a big idea. What if? Starts with the idea that members of the group make statements about the world the story is happening. However, only some of those statements can be made in isolation. These are called “What if?” statements. Most of the statements have to be built on statements the rest of the group has made. These will fill in the details.

The big idea is that every statement is true of the story world. Immediately.

Give them somewhere to start

Nothing, in a classroom at least, is scarier than being given a blank piece of paper and told to “create something”. Show someone a climbing frame and it’s only a matter of time before someone’s at the top of it.

So this game will start with three “What if?” statements already on the board. This means everyone’s story starts from the same place. These statements could be “What if you arrived at school and there were no teachers?” or “What if you all went on holiday together?” “What if you woke up this morning to find that there was a flood and your house was floating?” really simple but they set the premise for the story. They should inspire ideas.

For ease of play they’re written on green post it notes.

Give them options, but limit the options to keep focus

So, they’re looking at these “What if?” statements. What now?

The next kind of statement is a “Then…” statement. It’s a response to a what if statement. Where the “What if?” opens up a world of possibilities, the “Then…” says what impact that has on the people in the story. It refines the ideas, it hones them and makes them personal to the story. You can only make a Then…statement in response to a What if? Statement on the table. For ease of play they’re written on blue post it notes stuck on the What if?/ post it note.

What if you arrived at school and there were no teachers? Then…we could play football all day [not a particularly interesting story but somewhere to build from] Then…we would have to get into the kitchens to make lunch [that might go somewhere] Then… we could sneak into the cellars that people talk about but we’re never allowed into [now this is going somewhere].

What if? And Then… statements should form a feedback loop: What if? Statements suggest Then…statements which, in turn, suggest more What If? Statements

People. It’s about people

The Third and final element of the game is the “Who” statement. It adds characters to the story. “Who” statements are added to What if? Then… clusters they tell us who is doing this and something about them. It gives us a name followed by “Who” and something about them. These go on yellow post it notes

In our story about exploring the cellar someone might add “we went with Johnny March Who had the caretakers key” Why on earth has Johnny got that key? “My sister jennie came with us Who wouldn’t normally go anywhere with me” Now that’s odd.

That’s all there is to it.s

Now make a game of it

So the game starts with three notes on the table. Three What if? Statements. The game goes like this. Each person will take a turn. On their turn they can do one of the following:

  • Create a What If? Statement (limit this to the second turn to keep things on track)
  • Add a Then…Statement to any What If? Statement
  • Add a Who Statement to any What If? Then.. cluster.

There you go. Now some rules:

  • No one is allowed to say no to someone else’s idea. You can say “Wouldn’t it be better if?” but they are the ones making the statement
  • No real people apart from those at the table in the story. Otherwise you get all sorts of oddness.

That’s it. Play goes round the table with each person taking a turn to add something to the table. I reckon that’s all it needs.

Posted by Past Participants Andy in Session design, Thoughts, 0 comments


Content-Type: application/http; msgtype=response

WARC-Identified-Payload-Type: application/xhtml+xml

WARC-Type: response

text:
The Hidden Truth on Spectrum Canine Dog Training Exposed

The criteria from which performance in dog training can be measured in a nutshell include:

– The amount of time spent communicating the basic skills to the dog.
– The qualities instilled in a puppy.
– How long the talents have been maintained by the dog.

Of course, if it takes too long for you to pass on certain abilities to the dog, if you find it difficult for the dog to inculcate certain abilities, or if the dog keeps missing the abilities he or she has been taught, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re not doing things right. You have to bear in mind that two factors are at play here. As a dog trainer, the first of these is your skill, aptitude and commitment. And the second of these is the innate talent of your dog – against a backdrop in which certain dog breeds tend to get stuff quicker than others. Get more info about Spectrum Canine Dog Training-Dog Training.

Early initiation of training dogs as a key to success

To put it plainly, there are many abilities that you can only teach a dog when he or she is young. This suggests that the widely held idea that puppies under the age of six months should not be educated is completely false. Currently, there are several qualities that you would find challenging to teach a dog older than six months. It should be remembered that dogs are highly developed creatures, unlike us humans, whose learning process for life skills begins the moment they are born. This is why a puppy who loses his mother at three months of age will be able to survive in the wild, while in a similar situation it would be very difficult for a human baby who lost his mother at the same age to survive on his or her own.

Today, when he or she is learning basic life skills, the perfect time to start teaching a dog will be so that the skills you want to pass on to him or her are also adopted alongside those basic canine life skills. That way, the requisite actions will be part of the personality of the dog. They will be more strongly rooted in him or her. This is not to suggest it’s not possible to train an elderly dog. It’s just that the older pooch will have a tougher time (and less fun) teaching you.

It later appears that certain people who end up believing that their dogs are not trainable appear to be people who want to teach their dogs those abilities too late in the lives of the dogs. They are called boneheads when the dogs struggle to select those abilities, whereas it is not really their fault that they are unable to pick the abilities, but rather, the fault of the trainer for not having started training sooner. The proper use of incentives and corrections as a method for success in training dogs.

warcinfo:
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2021-04
publisher: Common Crawl
description: Wide crawl of the web for January 2021
operator: Common Crawl Admin (info@commoncrawl.org)
hostname: ip-10-67-67-250.ec2.internal
software: Apache Nutch 1.17 (modified, https://github.com/commoncrawl/nutch/)
robots: checked via crawler-commons 1.2-SNAPSHOT (https://github.com/crawler-commons/crawler-commons)
format: WARC File Format 1.1
conformsTo: http://iipc.github.io/warc-specifications/specifications/warc-format/warc-1.1/


text:
Friday, October 27, 2006

Missions Sunday - Swaziland - Longer Post

Here is a typical day in our Mission Sunday class. We do these once a month and it is so much ffun learning right along with the kids.

After morning worship all the kids get together in one room, ages JK-grade 6. While they get seated we hand out a page for each of them (if you are interested in seeing a page then let me know in the comments). On each page is a map of the country, some stats abou the country, the flag and description - with colour scheme, some phrases in a local language and I try to find a song - sometimes the national anthem, other times Jesus Loves Me etc...

We go over the sheets and have some fun trying to pronounce the words, counting to ten, finding out how old everyone is in the other language. We may talk about what the people are like there, what do they struggle with, what kinds of foods do the eat.

We will pick a child who is sitting well and may not have had a previous turn, go to the big map and try to find the country. Then we find where we live and compare how far it is to travel there, how would we have to get, fly, boat, train... I also try to find some local music from the specific country and we listen to it. We talk about what instruments we hear, what the language is like etc...

The kids always have all kinds of questions and love to talk a lot, so we try to get in as much as possible. It is a big group of kids, anywhere from 20-30!!

We used to plan a dinner meal around Missions Sunday as well, but have not started that back up since the summer, so I will ba making some recipes here to bring in and share with the kids. I think it is important that we all, kids and adults, be open to try new things. I always ask the kids at food time what would happen if God sent them to some far off country. There would be no peanut butter or Kraft Dinner, and that they need to be ready, willing and open to try something new. We need to be prepared!! I tried to find specific recipes from Swaziland, but had to take some from South Africa...which couldn't be too far off, since it is landlocked with South Africa and Mozambique.

The recipes that I am going to attempt are: (I found them HERE)

Bobotie(Beef Pie)
2 ounces butter

1 cup onions, thinly sliced
1 apple, peeled, diced
2 pounds chopped cooked beef
2 bread slices soaked in milk
2 tablespoons curry powder
1/2 cup raisins
2 tablespoons slivered almonds
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 egg1/2 teaspoon turmeric
6 bay leaves
1 egg
1/2 cup whole milk
Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the onions and sauté for 5 minutes, then add the apple dice and cook for another minute. Add the chopped beef and combine. Squeeze out the excess milk from the bread slices, then tear up and add to pot. Add the curry powder, raisins, almonds, lemon juice, egg, and turmeric, and stir well.
Place mixture in a greased 9 x 13" baking dish. Place bay leaves vertically in the casserole. Bake at 325 degrees F for 40 minutes, then remove from the oven. Mix together the egg and milk, then pour it over the Bobotie. Bake for 15 more minutes. Remove bay leaves before serving.

Tomato Salad
2 large ripe tomatoes, cut into thin slices

1/2 teaspoon salt
Pinch sugar
1 fresh hot green chile pepper, minced
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Arrange tomato slices in a serving dish. Sprinkle with salt, sugar, and minced chile pepper. Drizzle on the vinegar. Let salad sit for about 15 minutes before serving.

Yellow Rice
1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup raisins
1 teaspoon lemon rind
2 cups white rice
In a large pot, bring 6 cups of water to a boil. Add the first 7 ingredients and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Add the rice, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove cinnamon stick and lemon rind before serving.

Green Mealie Bread(Corn Bread)
2 cups biscuit mix

1 cup creamed corn
1 tablespoon sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup whole milk
2 ounces butter, melted
In a large bowl, place the biscuit mix, creamed corn, and sugar. Add the egg and milk, and stir just until combined.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a 9" baking pan. Place the mealie mixture into the pan, and coat with the melted butter. Bake for 20 minutes.

  1. that is just such a great idea! I love it!
    you are so creative!

  2. Just wanted to say "hi"! I agree with lala, great idea!

  3. Welcome to Southern Africa! I think your idea for a Mission Sunday is wonderful and is teaching the children so much, not just about language and culture, but about how, even though they live thousands of miles away and do speak a different language, that we are all the same people under God's sun.

    Congratulations! And thanks for sharing with the rest of us too.

  4. These recipes sound delicious! And what a great way to introduce your kids to Swaziland! I'd love to join your class... :~)


WARC-Identified-Payload-Type: text/html

text:
Death Valley, Las Vegas and Grand Canyon

By |2007-09-23T12:37:32+00:00September 23rd, 2007|Categories: Places/Travel|Tags: , , , |

After Yosemite we drove through Death Valley towards Las Vegas where we spent the next two days. Quite a distance to drive in one day. We left at night and when we drove through the park we actually ran into two bears!! How cool is that. Probably an mother with a young one! Las Vegas [...]


text:
Seasonal Almanac

Start of winter: Earth begins to freeze (1 of 5)

May 11th, 2009

Start of winter 6 of 15I gave a lecture on ‘video art’ today and began by discussing the different sides of the medium specificity argument. Noel Carroll argues that it is when a technological medium sought to legitimise itself as as a valid art form (on par with more traditional arts of painting, sculture, print-making etc,), the medium specificity argument surfaces. I asked the students how useful are these terms that start with a medium and ends with the suffix ‘art’.

Comments are closed.


text:
十如論壇 Integral Conversation
September 10th, 2015
Website Work

We have designed a website for 2015 Integral Conversation. Integral is a forum organized by Esquel group, that brings experts from different industries together for a discussion on sustainable development.

This year’s theme centres around the four necessities in life: Clothing, Food, Living, and Mobility, symbolized by the four concentric circles on the website. The circles are incomplete and always spinning, representing the imperfect state of reality, and our endless pursuit to make it better.

Design and development: pill & pillow
Visual identity: Stanley Wong

Visit Integral Conversation here


text:
Monday, July 15, 2013

Make Perler bead bowls (and words)

Today's post is a bit late because my computer died last night.

RIP, dear friend.

I knew that it was going to happen sooner or later (but I just wish it was later.)  Boo.  I also wish that I had backed up my stuff (double boo.)  Hubby's performing some intensive surgery on it, so hopefully we can get my documents and photos back.

OK, enough heavy shop talk... onto today's craft.

When I saw Poppy Haus melting Perler beads to make bowls, I knew that I had to try it too.  Melting plastic beads in the oven?  Too. Much. Crafty. Awesomeness.  Sign me up!

Definitely check out her results, because they were much classier (she used two colors.)  I, on the other hand, went whole-hog color crazy.  Here are my results:

Bam!  It's like a whole bunch of sprinkles and confetti exploded to make this bowl.  We're currently using it to store fruit.

 - Perler beads
- Cooking Oil  (I used Canola)
- Paper Towel
- Oven proof bowl  (I used a Pyrex mixing bowl)
- Baking pan
- Butter knife

1.  Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.
2.  Use a paper towel to lightly oil the inside of your oven proof bowl.
3.  Place your oven proof bowl on a baking dish.  (This will make it easier to carry to the oven.)
4.  Pour one handful of beads into your bowl.  Carefully push the beads so they line up against the edge of the bowl.  Then, pour in another handful of beads and push them against the sides of the bowl.  Keep repeating this procedure till your beads line the inside of your oiled bowl.
5.  Bake for 10-12 minutes.
6.  Pull your melted masterpiece out and let it cool down for a couple of minutes.
7.  Use a butter knife and gently pry your bowl out.

Tada! Now you too have a unique, lacy, and colorful plastic bowl.  It's definitely a conversation starter.

And of course, after seeing how nicely the bowl came out... the cogs in the old noggin got a'workin.

I had to take things one step further... Perler bead typography!

Melting beads into the shape of a bowl = easy.
Melting beads into the shape of a word = ehh... not so easy.

I took a bunch of aluminum foil and shaped out the word "joy." (I wanted a photo of the word for a guest post that I was working on.)  I made sure that my word had an indentation/well running throughout, so I could fill it up with Perler beads.  Then, I placed the letters onto a baking dish, lightly oiled them, and then carefully poured the Perler beads inside.  (Looking back, I should have covered my baking dish with aluminum foil too.... just in case some of the beads escaped.)

Crazy... or crazy awesome?  Ehh.. the jury's still out.

And then I baked the beads like before.  Here's what I got:

(Note:  I didn't quite like how the bit between the "J" and the "O" looked, so I cut it out and then hot glued it together again.)

Whoa.  Perler beads are amazing.  Nothing says "joy" like a bunch of colorful melted beads.

Happy crafting!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...


text:
Plumbers Brislington - Plumbing Knowle - Boiler Repairs

Give us a phone call:
0117 345 9036
We are the plumbers of choice in Bristol
Bath installers BristolPlumbing pipeworkFitting a new shower
Let us call you

Pipes need looking at in Brislington or Knowle?

Call outGot a plumbing disaster? Perhaps the pipes have burst due to freezing weather and you've got water pouring all over the kitchen floor? Have no fear - your friendly plumber is just a quick phone call away!

We consider your plumbing important and take care with all work undertaken in your home. We're plumbers providing the highest standards of professionalism. We offer a full, 24 hour service and number many satisfied customers in the area.

Free estimates for all plumbing

Call now for a free estimate on the following services:

  • Sink and toilet unblocking
  • Repairs to burst or frozen pipes
  • General plumbing work
  • Central heating installations and repairs
  • Boiler repairs and installation
  • Radiator bleeding and repairs
  • Installation of appliances
  • Bathroom and shower installation
  • Unblocking pipes
  • Drain clearance

Remember: we don't charge call out fees, so call us today.

Plumbers taking no risks

We provide Gas Safe registered plumbers to ensure your safety and peace of mind. We also offer plumbing services to offices and other commercial premises in Brislington and Knowle so call to find out more.

We're available 24 hours a day. Call now on 0117 345 9036 and an expert and friendly plumber will assist you with your plumbing enquiry. We're here to help!

Qualified Plumbers, Suite 51c, 71 St Thomas Street, Bristol, BS1 6JZ | 0117 345 9036
| Privacy Policy


text:
Rose Flower Picture

Free Download Rose Flower Picture image is for parsnal and commercial use. you can use for poster and banner design or your project. Completely free to download and use.

  1. File Type PSD, CDR, AI, png, jpeg
  2. 100% Editable and Easy to Modify
  3. Royalty-free Graphic for Free Use
  4. Design by pngmagic
  5. Created 2019-12-19 05:17:46
Rose Flower Picture
Fill The Form & Click to Download Button for High Resolution File.

You may also like

pngmagic helps you grow your business with custom or free design graphics. We offer internationally best Business Card Design, Logo Design, ...& many more!

Follow us

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Copyright © 2019-2020 pngmagic.com. All rights reserved.


text:
PokerSpoils Newsletter

Enter your email address below so I can send you exclusive promotions that I am not allowed to advertise on this website!

Popular Pages

Florida Poker

Use this list to find a local poker game in Florida. The game listed below are found at bars and restaurants. If you see that we are missing any games please send me an email at john at and I'll add it as soon as possible. Good luck at the tables!

Be sure to call and double check the times as these dates are subject to change.

  • Crickets
    4562 S Semoran Blvd
    Orlando, FL 32822
    Monday at 7:00PM Call 407-277-3322

  • Stadium Club
    3225-8 Southside Blvd
    Jacksonville, FL 32225
    Mondays at 7:00PM Call 561-793-1440

  • Reefers
    9551 Baymeadows Rd
    Jacksonville, FL 32256
    Tuesdays at 7:00PM Call 904-737-6300

  • O'Briens Irish Pub
    11744 N Dale Mabry Hwy
    Tampa, FL 33618
    Tuesdays at 7:00PM Call 813-961-4092

  • Junkanoo on the Beach
    3040 Estero Blvd
    Ft. Myers Beach, FL 33931
    Fridays at 8:00PM 239-463-2600

  • Jalopy Joe's
    3259 N Orange Blossom Trail
    Zellwood, FL 32798
    Wednesdays at 7:00PM Call 407-886-5050

  • Stevie Tomatoes
    11491 Cleveland Ave
    Ft. Myers, FL 33907
    Wednesdays at 8:00PM 239-939-7211


text:
Sunday, 13 July 2008

Leftover Lamb....

This is a dish which is good enough to merit cooking the lamb anyway, even if you don't have any left over from a previous dinner. If you do have leftovers, though (or have planned ahead and made sure to cook more than you needed first time round) then with very little effort it is possible to produce a result which is surprisingly sophisticated, elegant and seriously delicious. I first came across this in a little country restaurant several miles outside Carcassonne in the middle of winter, about fifteen years ago, when we were taking the four-footed of the day to visit Barcelona. On that occasion the recipe gloried in the name 'Célestine d'Agneau', and I committed it to memory to re-create subsequently at home: flavour-filled packages of meat and tiny diced vegetables, neatly bundled inside a crêpe, served with a rich and delicious sauce. I've never come across it anywhere else, or really anything very close to it- although at a stretch I suppose you could think of italian agnolotti as a kind of first cousin...As with so many dishes, the success lies in the density of the flavours, and here it is important to retain as much as you can of the cooking juices from when the lamb was originally roast to use as a sauce just before serving.

Following a no-show at a dinner party earlier this week, I had a roast lamb shank left over, and this was the result for supper a couple of days later. Ten minutes to make the crêpes; the same amount of time to prep the mirepoix , and then elapsed time while it cooked down, when I could concentrate on other things. It's very quick and easy....

For two.

Ingredients: 1 lamb shank, roast, with its cooking juices; Crêpe batter made from 1 egg, 4 fl oz milk, 1.5 oz plain flour, and a pinch of Salt; 1 Leek; 2 medium Carrots, peeled; 2 Portobello Mushroom caps; 1 oz Butter (or Duck Fat, if you have it); 1/4 cup White Wine; Seasoning.

1. Set the oven to 180 degrees C.

2. Blend all the batter ingredients together, and make 4 x 9" crêpes (I never bother to let the batter rest, I don't see the point; this amount of batter will make more crèpes than you need, but it's difficult to reduce the quantities any further - I always refrigerate or freeze the surplus crêpes for future use). Cover them with clingilm once done, to prevent them from becoming leathery as they sit.

3. Melt the Butter or Fat in a large frying pan. Dice the Leek, Carrots and Mushrooms very finely to make a mirepoix, and sauté for about ten minutes or so. Once the vegetables have all satisfactorily collapsed, add the wine, raise the heat and reduce the liquid to nothing. Taste, and correct the seasoning.

4. Carefully scrape all of the lamb jellified cooking juices into a small pan, and then remove all of the meat from the shank and cut into approximately 1 cm pieces. Give the bone to the dog.

5. On a greased baking tray, put two metal serving rings, also greased - I use some which are about 2" tall, which are perfect for this. If you don't have appropriate rings, then large ramekins, greased, would probably work pretty well, too.
Into each ring, lay a crêpe so that it lines the ring and hangs over the sides, making it easy to fill it. In the base of each crêpe put a generous spoonful of mirepoix, followed by half of the diced lamb, then finish with the rest of the mirepoix. Fold the edges of the crêpe in and over the filling, to make a neat parcel.

6. Over the top of each Célestine put a square of aluminium foil, to stop it from drying out, and then put them into the pre-heated oven for about twenty minutes. Meanwhile, heat the reserved sauce in the small pan.

To serve, remove the foil and carefully invert the Célestines onto heated serving plates, and spoon the heated sauce over the top.

No comments:


text:
Clark Weeks Water Sports

Underwater Hockey to Scuba

Month: January 2020

Underwater Hockey Competitions

Clark Weeks told us about the underwater hockey competitions, and even just underwater hockey in the first place. He is an avid player and on the men’s national team.

Underwater hockey is one of the most difficult underwater sports of the modern athletic world that pushes the endurance of players to extremes. Invented by the British Navy in the 1950s, this game has now spread to all parts of the world and is currently being played in over 20 countries. This popularity has also given rise to numerous competitions in this sport. The most prominent of these is the Underwater Hockey World Championship. It is held every second year and is the most coveted event in this category.

Underwater Hockey - photo coutesy of Yori Huynh
Clark Weeks loves underwater hockey
Photo courtesy of Yori Huynh
Photo from

Underwater Hockey World Championship

Conducted on behalf of CMAS, the Underwater Hockey World Championship traces its roots back to 1980 when it was first held in Vancouver, Canada. Until 2006, this event was held every year. In 2006, due to a dispute between the CMAS underwater hockey commission members, the championship was shifted under the purview of the World Aqua challenge Association. This, however, was just an interim set up, as in 2008, the championship returned to the CMAS. The next Underwater Hockey World Championship is scheduled to be held in 2020 in Australia.

Competition Categories

It was decided to split the Championship into two events. There is now one for the Junior Grades which consists of U19 and U23. The other competition has the Elite and the Masters groups.

Dominant Countries

New Zealand and France are the World Champions at all levels except the Men’s U23 group which Turkey won.

2020 World Championship

The Championships will be held from July 20th to August 2nd. The location is the Gold Coast Aquatic Center in Gold Coast, Australia. Never heard of Gold Coast? It is on the east side of Australia, just a bit south of Brisbane.

The Aquatic Centre is impressive. It is state of the art and has six pools. The pool where the main competitions will be held is 50 meters long, 10 lanes wide and is 2 meters deep throughout the pool. Players will like the pool because the bottom is tiled. This makes for a fast surface. Two full sized courts will be set up in this pool.

In addition, there is a dry land dive training facility whatever that is as well as meeting rooms and a complete fitness center.

USA Underwater Hockey National Championships

The USA National Championships will happen a month before the World competition. They will be held from June 26th to 28th. The location will be in Denver, CO. So they will not only have to hold their breath underwater, they will also have thinner air to deal with when they surface. Seems like a double whammy.

The Rules of the Game

Underwater hockey is a thirty-minute game with a three minute halftime. Both sides have 12 players each and out of these only 10 can play in a single game. At any given point in time, the rules allow the presence of only 6 players on each side in the pool. The remaining 4 are interchange players. The sports equipment includes fins, snorkel, diving mask, and gloves. The puck weighs nearly 1.5 kilograms which makes sure that it does not float on top of the water. Underwater hockey is a contactless sport, which means that no player can interfere with another player.

Benefits of Playing Underwater Hockey

Since it combines the basic elements of diving, hockey, swimming, and snorkeling, underwater hockey has gained importance as a holistic water sport. The participating countries now promote the sport. Gone are the days when only the seamen of the British Navy played it. England, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Japan, and France are the biggest promoters of underwater hockey.

Fitness Benefits

This sport has strong fitness benefits that can help you stay in shape. Since the players swim constantly, it translates into benefits that that can derive from a cardio exercise. It is also beneficial for your back. Interestingly, in underwater hockey, your body suffers minimal strain, since you play it underwater. So, if you have suffered an injury playing land-based hockey, you can easily transition to underwater hockey. This sport attracts an assorted range of players from across the field of aquatic activities. As a sport that can literally, take your breath away, underwater hockey is surely more fun to play than its grass field or ice rink based counterpart.

Clark Weeks and Underwater Hockey Competitions

Today, the Underwater Hockey World Championship is the most prominent tournament in this sport. There is, however, a push from the players to incorporate more tournaments to enhance the popularity of this sport. We hope that our story from Clark Weeks about underwater hockey competition was interesting and possibly even make you want to try it yourself.

See another post on underwater hockey here.

Clark Weeks and Scuba Diving in the Cook Islands

It’s summer time again and you’re thinking, “Where should my next vacation trip be?” Well, if you’re looking for gorgeous beaches and crystal clear waters to beat the heat, delve into the waters of the Cook Islands. It is one of Clark Weeks favorite spots for scuba diving.

Clark Weeks scuba diving - cook islands

The Cook Islands

The Cook Islands is a self-governing state in the South Pacific that is in free association with New Zealand. It has 15 islands spread out over a vast area. The islands, particularly in the southern group have a variety of combinations of atoll and high-island formation.

The northern islands are atolls resting on reefs that are rich in marine life. In addition, these islands have a limited range of flora, with pandanus and coconuts predominantly thriving throughout the land. On the other hand, the southern islands are much more fertile and offer a variety of indigenous species of tropical crops which include bananas, yams, taro, sweet potatoes, and breadfruit. The majority of the southern islands’ fauna include farm animals such as pigs, chickens, dogs, goats, and horses.

Cook Islanders have mixed Polynesian ancestry brought about by intermarriage with European, African, and Chinese settlers. Only the inhabitants of the isolated island of Pukapuka are predominantly Tongan and Samoan origin.

Scuba Diving in the Cook Islands

Stunning coral reefs surround lagoons. White sand beaches. Shady palm trees. Volcanic, mountainous islands. Blue, oceanic abyss. Sounds like a dreamy, summer adventure? You have yet to check the action underwater.

The Cook Islands is famous to divers seeking for a thrill in exploring the underwater realm. The main diving sites are the islands of Rarotonga and Aitutaki.

Most of the diving sites lie in the capital island, Rarotonga, which is well-equipped with resorts and PADI Dive Centers. Airports, restaurants, resorts, and accommodations are well within your budget if you plan to spend your holidays here.

Are you a first-time diver? Fear not. Rarotonga has a lagoon that is protected from the open sea so it’s easy for beginners to learn how to dive here. However, the more experienced divers looking for more exhilarating actions can dive at the passes where the currents are swift. But don’t worry too much about being a beginner. There are about 40 diving sites to explore on the island, comprising beautiful coral gardens, caves, passes, and a few shipwrecks such as the Mataora Wreck. I’m pretty sure you’ll get a lot of diving experience at these sights.

The waters of Rarotonga Island are also perfect for snorkeling. Underwater, you will find an amazing world filled with the beauty of coral reefs and a variety of brightly colored tropical fishes. On the west coast of the island, you can find the Aroa Marine reserve. It is one of the best snorkeling spots because the outlying reef protects the waters from the open sea. No worries about drifting into the biggest ocean in the world!

Aitutaki is another island much like Rarotonga. It isn’t visited much by tourists because of its hard-to-reach location, but if you’re seeking to dive with an intimate, romantic feel, this is the island for you. The island still offers beautiful sights – turquoise lagoons, palm-fringed beaches, and uninhabited islands. Its main attraction however, is a small islet in the south-east called Tapuaetai or One Foot Island where a tourist can see the best views of island’s lagoons.

The best part of diving in the Cook Islands? It’s the opportunity to bump into one of the largest species of animals in the world, whales. Humpback whales. They pass by Rarotonga and Aitutaki during the summer and autumn season of the Southern Hemisphere when they migrate to warmer waters in the South Pacific.

Best Time to Visit the Cook Islands

Planning on a vacation to Cook Islands? The best time to go there is during the months of May to October, when it is the dry season. The bright, warm sunshine matched with the never-ending water activities – relaxing on the beaches, diving into the clear waters, kitesurfing, whale watching, and even hiking across the islands! August is also an exciting month for Cook Islanders because of the Manureva Aquafest, which is five days of non-stop partying! In late November, you can witness one of the world’s biggest paddling competitions, the Vaka Eiva, which is sure to keep you cheerful before the rainy season begins. The rainy season lasts from December to March which brings a mix of short, heavy downpours and long periods of sunshine.

Clark Weeks Hopes You Enjoy the Scuba Diving

If you do end up going, since Clark Weeks loves scuba diving and the Cook Islands, he hopes you enjoy it as much as he did. For more posts about underwater activities, click here.

Clark Weeks and Underwater Hockey – Is That a Thing?

Clark Weeks plays underwater hockey and told us about this sport which we had never heard of. He is on the National Men’s Team for Underwater Hockey. But wait, what is underwater hockey? How do you combine ice hockey and a swimming pool?

Clark Weeks underwater hockey - ice hockey on the bottom of a pool

The ice hockey seen above doesn’t seem like it would mix will with a swimming pool seen below.

Clark Weeks underwater hockey - how do you play hockey in a pool?

You probably know a lot of different sports played on land or above water, but I bet you haven’t heard of a sport played beneath the water’s surface. Introducing underwater hockey. Yes, it’s actually an up-and-coming sport that is played, you guessed it, underwater! Yes, this sport is played on the bottom of a pool.

Underwater hockey has the combined elements of hockey, diving, swimming, and snorkeling. Similar to ice hockey, players push a puck into the opponent’s goal using sticks of about 12 inches in length.

Players and their gear

Just like in any other sports, underwater hockey players’ equipment include a snorkel, fins, diving masks, ear protectors, gloves, and swimsuit. There are two teams for this game, with each team composed of 6 starter players and 4 “spares” who are in standby for substitution at any time.

You play the sport in a pool that is 25 meter by 15 meters in length and 2 to 4 meters in depth. An ideal pool for the sport has a flat bottom and has ceramic or glass tiles on the bottom.

How it started

Underwater hockey is originally known as Octopush, since it started with teams of eight and players used sticks called pushers to hit a puck called a “squid”.

Although underwater hockey is unfamiliar to many, it has been around since the early 1950s. The British Navy developed the sport. They wanted to keep their divers in shape and improve their ability to move and work under water, consequently enhancing their skills. It then became popular in Australia before evolving into a dynamic sports and expanding across the globe. Over 20 different countries worldwide now play this sport.

How it’s played

The game has two 15-minute halves and a 3-minute break, lasting for 33 minutes. With two teams starting at each of the pool’s end, both teams rush to get control of the 3 lb. puck that is in the middle of pool. The aim of the game is to move the puck into the opponent’s 3-meter goal using only their sticks. A foul is called in favor of the opposing team if another instrument or body part was used to hit the puck. By the end of the allotted time, the team that has scored the most goals is declared winner.

Why play it?

Why not?

As long as you’re able-bodied, this sport is great for all ages. Believe it or not, there are even players that are eighty-one years old and as young as twelve! Anyone can basically play this sport, as long as you know swimming and a bit of hockey.

It’s also a great workout while having fun. Most people get too lazy to workout. But, when your workout involves playing for fun, it doesn’t really feel like a workout and you’d be motivated to do it. As swimming engages all body muscles – from your head down to your foot – it keeps you in top shape, develops your cardio and stamina, and strengthens your muscles.

It’s a friendly sport. Unlike other sports where you can have bad injuries, you can play underwater hockey without the worry of falling down, breaking your bones, or twisting your ankles or worrying about pressure on your joints.

Friendly. Fun. Great workout. Underwater hockey is a unique sport with great benefits. Thanks to Clark Weeks for telling us about underwater hockey. An unusual and fun sport. See the following post about underwater hockey competitions.


text:
Coming up this Friday and Saturday 6th and 7th June

On Friday we continue our track sessions for riders 12 years and older, start at 6pm finish at 7.30pm ish. Adults are welcome to join us [track bikes only].

On Saturday we have a regular track session for under 12s and a road ride for over 12s. For the road ride please meet at 09.45 and remember all your equipment [there is a list on the FAQ page if you are unsure what to bring].


text:
Call and Response

Call and Response: SoAH Research Presentations
Facilitated by the School of Arts & Humanities RCA, Greenwich University and the NAFAE network.
Presentations online 2 -30 June 2020.

2 June 2020
Dr Catherine Maffioletti (Chair), Prof Rebecca Fortnum, Dr Catherine Ferguson, Dr Josephine Berry
Josh Leon, Royal College of Art, An Unfinished History of Glass
Rebecca Court, Birmingham City University, The Ethics of the Agent
Naoko Takahashi, Leeds Beckett University, From Text to Sound: Textuality of Spoken Word and Authorship in Contemporary Art
Juliette Blightman, Royal College of Art, A Carpet For Your Somersaults, A practice-based investigation into the boundaries of physical and mental space, creative production, and gender
Victoria Suvoroff, Brighton University, The Role of Archive in Exploration of Approach to Female Masculinity through Art Practice
Eriko Takeno, Crafting Narrative: a poetic-thinking for healing; alternative healing method inherited from Black Mountain College

9 June 2020
Prof Johnny Golding (Chair), Dr Josephine Berry, Dr Maria Korolkova, Dr Anastasios Maragiannis, Prof Stephen Kennedy
Adam Walker, Royal College of Art, Ways of being beyond the perpetuating inequality of the technosphere: textual artistic intervention as a vital strategy in enabling resistant agency
Emma Colthurst, University of Greenwich, London Urban Markets: Public Agency, Action and Transformation
Marina Hadjilouca, Royal College of Art, Questioning the Privatisation of Public Spaces: The Role of the Performance Designer as Trigger for Active Coexistence
Susana Gómez Larrañaga, University of Greenwich, Toxic Digits: A Geo-Social (Media) Memory
Verena Niepel, Newcastle University, Exclusionary effects of values promote in Berlin’s art scene: An Analysis of the Artist Diaspora from Turkey formed after 2007
Magali An Berthon, Royal College of Art, Investigating female entrepreneurship in silk production in contemporary Cambodia

16 June 2020
Dr Josephine Berry (Chair), Prof Johnny Golding, Dr Catherine Maffioletti, Dr Catherine Ferguson
Liz K Miller, Royal College of Art, Sylvan Sounds: Exploring the Acoustic Forest through Visual Fine Art Practice
Damien Leech, University of the West of England, Sources of Pigmentless Colour in Nature – Seashells, Butterflies and Beetles
Melanie King, Royal College of Art, Ancient Light: Rematerializing the Astronomical Image
Festus Adeyemi, Loughborough University, Exploring Colored Industrial Discards as Pigments for Easel painting
Annie Morrad, University of Lincoln, Live Saxophone used as my voice in a dialogue with one other art practice
David Johnson, Royal College of Art, Blind Aesthetics: Ways of (Not) Seeing (Memory, Materiality and the Plurality and Synaesthetics of the Senses)

23 June 2020
Prof Rebecca Fortnum (Chair), Dr Catherine Ferguson, Dr Josephine Berry, Dr Catherine Maffioletti
Karl Foster, University of the Arts London, Pointing Towards the Unknown Unseen: The Visual Metaphors of Comprehensible-Incomprehensibility
Yvonne Opalinski, Lancaster University, A Glance in Betweens
Julie Etheridge, Concordia University, Canada, Applying Dwayne Huebner’s Five Value System to Understand Art Museum Professional Development in the In-service Teacher’s Classroom
Xiaoyi Nie, Royal College of Art, Collective Marching As A Curatorial Method: Reconsidering ‘Long March: A Walking Visual Display’ (2002) as a Model of Practice Break (10 mins)
Tatiana Isaeva, University of Greenwich, Internet Art Between Physical and Digital Spaces
Paula Fitzsimons, Royal College of Art, Up Against the Wall: People’s monuments to a game of resistance at the edge of the wild

30 June 2020
Dr Catherine Ferguson (Chair), Prof Rebecca Fortnum, Prof Dean Hughes, Prof Gemma Blackshaw, Prof Lisa Stansbie
Stuart Nolan, Lancaster University, The Wire Test and Telepathic Futurity
Jenny Eden, Manchester Metropolitan University, A Case for Painting
Kukka Paavilainen, University of Arts Helsinki, Painting as a Window, a Glass or a Screen?
Robin Kirsten, Royal College of Art, Museum of Infinite Relations: artists spaces, worlds and models of the universe.
Green Yun Chu Chang, Lancaster University, Culture studies through practice – oil painting, colour and race
Rachel Magdeburg, University of Wolverhampton, Decapitation, emoji and re- figured bodies in the Anthropocene: A Painting Practice Perspective


text:
Smart Tips For Uncovering Care

The Services Provided by Assisted Care Facilities

It is possible to get the services they need from a home care facility and ensuring that you are taking the elderly to the best then assures you that they will get all the help they need at the end of the day. When you are taking the elderly to the home care facility, it is essential that you do a background check what services they are providing and what to expect from them.

What to Expect from Home Care Services
The websites of the home care facility will be able to provide everything you need and you can get more details from the websites they have created in the internet making it easy for people to access them.People should focus taking their elderly to a facility that has well trained employees who can provide the best care to the patient and also help them live a much more normal life regardless of their condition.

People are able to know more about the home care facility based on the information they gotten having a one-on-one conversation with them at the end of the day. You can get more details about the best home care facility near you through friends and family who will refer you to the ultimate best.

Taking the elderly to a facility has a license is important because they will be authorized by the government to give out the services they are advertising which will be beneficial. People can visit the facility so that they are able to get more information oath services they are providing which will make it easy for the elderly to live in the facility and get the help they need.

When you do not want to admit the elderly to the facility then you can consult to the management to find out if they provide services outside the facility and how often the nurses will be with patient while at home. Finding a home care near you is essential because you will be able to visit them anytime of the day plus you are able to save money on transport in case the patient has not been involved in the possibility.

You should take the elderly to a facility which allows them to explore their creative side and get the help they need at the end of the day which will be beneficial for anybody involved. The facility has various counselors and trained employees who will be able to give them more information on what they should do with the rest of their life and also tips on how they can enjoy their stay while at the facility.

How to Achieve Maximum Success with Support

How I Achieved Maximum Success with Support


text:
Purolator Broadens Target Demographic for Spring Advertising Campaign to Include Millennial Moms

RALEIGH, NC – April 18, 2019 –
Purolator announced the launch of a multimedia campaign designed to drive consumer demand for PurolatorBOSS® Premium Cabin Air Filters with Febreze Freshness, incorporating a newly expanded demographic that includes mothers between the ages of 25 and 44.

The campaign features a range of creative assets targeting both the traditional automotive do-it-yourself audience and women interested in the benefits of clean, odorless, and allergy-free air inside their vehicles. It will run through the end of June 2019 on a range of platforms including digital TV, radio, audio streaming services, and a variety of other digital mediums.

Initiatives will drive awareness and education by informing consumers about the benefits of a cabin air filter, an often-overlooked maintenance item that is simple to replace. Brand-specific sales are also a goal, with a focus on automotive retail stores.

“Market research shows that women in this demographic are informed, educated and savvy, and that fresh, clean air is high on their priority list,” said Tina Davis, senior marketing manager of brand and communications at MANN+HUMMEL Purolator Filters LLC. “This campaign is designed to encourage consumers to take charge of the air quality in their vehicle with regular cabin air filter maintenance, a simple task that they can do themselves. We believe this message resonates with moms who make purchasing decisions for their families.”

Messaging throughout this campaign will center around the odor-eliminating power of Febreze and how PurolatorBOSS Premium Cabin Air Filters can help to protect families from harmful pollutants in the air. For example, the simplicity of the cabin air filter installation process is highlighted in a video that features kids performing the maintenance – with priceless commentary that could only come from the mouths of babes. Another video features a nitpicking mother-in-law character, and teases that you can’t always control what gets in your car, but Purolator can keep harmful pollutants out.

The campaign will be featured in key markets throughout the United States. To learn more about the campaign and Purolator’s filtration products, visit http://www.nothinggetsbyus.com/premium-cabin-air.

Certain trademarks used under license from The Procter & Gamble Company or its affiliates.


text:
Pure Overclock – Computer Hardware News, Reviews and More

NZXT Announces it’s First Motherboard! The N7 Z370

Comments Off on NZXT Announces it’s First Motherboard! The N7 Z370
Posted January 9, 2018 by Josh Jackson in News

NZXT just announced something amazing!!! By now, I’m used to seeing manufactures tepidly stay within their realm of expertise and if they dip their toes in new waters, it’s usually fairly shallow ones. NZXT took a head first dive in the middle of the Pacific ocean like a honey badger! Seeing a case manufacturer release a motherboard is a HUGE step, but there’s more to the N7 Z370 than just being a motherboard.

Fan and RGB lighting controllers are starting to add a lot of connections to our motherboard headers, as well as our PSU power connections. The logical step is to build those controllers into the motherboard, but we’ve seen that the level of control is lacking when comparing to things like the Hue+ or Grid V3. That’s what makes this release such a huge deal for PC builders. NZXT built their epic fan and RGB control right into a high end Intel motherboard, which will instantly clear tons of cable clutter. However, I don’t want to see aesthetic features without having some raw performance. The N7 Z370 also has a 15 phase digital VRM which is very hefty for a first time release. Am I excited about it? Why yes, yes I am!

NZXT also mentions having an adaptive noise reduction system that automatically adjusts your fan speed to the way your system is used in an attempt to perfectly adjust noise and performance ratio. I’d certainly be curious about how well this implementation works out. This is a great release from NZXT and I’m extremely happy they took this huge of a step, but I do have one problem with it. Can you guys give us a Ryzen based board as well? Check out the rest of the details and galleries below for the rest of the info.

By the way, I’m having a little thought here. What if the next step for internal controllers was connection through Bluetooth? I never know what to do with that feature on motherboards, but I’d gladly ditch some cables to connect a CPU cooler wirelessly!

Find us on Google+


text:
Forgotten password

An Update on Equivac HeV Duration of Immunity (DOI) Challenge

Since the release of Equivac HeV, results of serological testing have emerged that allows a comparison of the antibody profiles between two groups of horses:

Group 1: Horses received 2 primary doses followed by a period of approximately 12 months without booster

Group 2: Horses received 2 primary doses, a 6 month booster and then an approximate period of 12 months without further boosters

These data show that antibody titres in some Group 1 horses are at or below the limit of detection (i.e. 8), as seen in Table 1. Columns shaded in green indicate days when a dose of Equivac HeV was administered. Columns shaded in orange show the antibody levels over time.

It is unknown whether horses with undetectable titres can withstand challenge with live Hendra virus.

In contrast, Group 2 horses maintained higher average antibody titres following administration of the 6 month booster dose, as seen in Table 2. Columns shaded in green indicate days when a dose of Equivac HeV was administered. Columns shaded in orange show the antibody levels over time.

The data suggests that these horses are much more likely to withstand viral challenge 12 months after receiving a dose of Equivac HeV.

Based on these data and the availability of high security animal facilities, Zoetis and the CSIRO’s Australian Animal Health Laboratory (AAHL) have decided that Group 2 horses will be challenged in early 2014, and a further challenge of horses that followed the same protocol as those in Group 1 will be scheduled later in 2014 when facilities are available. Zoetis and AAHL committed to challenging both groups of horses in 2014 to attain the most favourable vaccination protocol possible whilst maintaining protective levels.

This agreed schedule offers the best chance of moving the Equivac HeV vaccination protocol to one involving annual revaccination.

Given the deadly nature of Hendra virus to horses and humans, it is essential that we achieve a vaccination protocol that can be relied upon to protect horses. We believe a protocol that involves a single 6-month booster followed by subsequent annual revaccination offers us the best chance of protecting horses. If established such a vaccine regime will move away from the current protocol that involves boosters every 6 months. Further amendments to the vaccination protocol may also be possible after the second challenge later in 2014.

Until further notice, you should continue to administer 6-monthly boosters to all horses as they fall due, remembering that it is likely that all horses will require a 6-monthly booster in any amended protocol.

If you have any questions please contact your local Zoetis equine representative.

Kind regards
The Equine Team at Zoetis
Equivac HeV is not a registered chemical product and a submission for registration has been made.

Hendra virus vaccine

Vaccination is the single most effective way of reducing the risk of Hendra virus infection in horses.

Hendra Guidelines for vets
Hendra Virus Exposure Assessment Form

20140728 Hendra virus - Murwillumbah quarantine released
20140719 Hendra virus - New case Gladstone, Queensland
20140623 Hendra virus - New case Murwillumbah, New South Wales
20140416 Hendra virus quarantines released
20140319 Biosecurity Alert - New Hendra virus case in Bundaberg
20131217 An Update on Equivac HeV Duration of Immunity (DOI) Challenge
20130706 Industry Communique
20130625 Hev Industry Commnique
20130222 Industry Communique
20130124 Industry Communiqué
20120906 Industry Communiqué
20120731 Industry Communiqué
20120719 Industry Communiqué
20120711 Industry Communiqué
20120628 Industry Communiqué
QHC Press Release
120605 Industry Communique
Media Release
20120530 Vets Communiqué
20120530 Industry Communiqué
20120105 Industry Communiqué
20110906 Industry Communiqué
20110826 Industry Communiqué
20110823 Industry Communiqué
20110817 Industry Communiqué
20110817 Media Release
20110806 Industry Communiqué
20110801 Industry Communiqué
20110728 Industry Communique'
20110727 Industry Communiqué
20110724 Industry Communiqué
20110718 Industry Communiqué
20110717 Industry Communiqué
20110716 Industry Communiqué
20110715 Industry Communiqué
20110708 Industry Communiqué
20110707 Industry Communique'
20110706 Industry Communique'
20110706 Vet Communiqué
20110703 Industry Communiqué
20110702 Industry Communiqué
20110702 Vet Communiqué
20110701 Media Release
20110701 Industry Communiqué
20110630 Industry Communiqué
20110629 Industry Communiqué
20100520 Industry Communiqué


text:
Dismiss Notice
You must be a registered member in order to post messages and view/download attached files in this forum.
Click here to register.

evaluation of the process produced on the another machine

Discussion in 'Capability - Process, Machine, Gage …' started by essegn, Jul 30, 2019.

  1. essegn

    essegn Member

    Feb 5, 2016
    Likes Received:
    Trophy Points:
    The process X is being done at the machine 1. The process is stable and capable and they exist more than 100 measurements. The most important is Std.Dev. The mean could be easily adjusted.

    The process X should be introduced to the machine 2 (as backup).

    Every run is expensive and time consuming. This is why there is no possible to collect data easily.

    How could be evaluated, that the process X on the machine "works well"? (Cpk>0.8)
    What sample size should be used in order to have the Power at at least by 80%?

    The way, how i usually manage it is as following:
    1. Simply run the process X at the machine 2 3-5 times (to get a sense about mean and Std.Dev.)
    2. Define (simulation in Minitab - Calc - Random Data - Normal) the worst possible process, that is still in tolerance (for instance St.Abw. 0,9 , Cpk=0,66-0,74, 0-3,3% out of spec)
    3. Power and Sample Size - 2 Variances

    After that is obvious, which sample size correspond to 80% Power.

    Is there any other way?

    I do not want to compare the process X on the machine 1 and the machine 2. The process X could be on the machine2 could be worse than the machine 1, but it needs to be stable.
    I would like to find out (in the cheapest way), if we can rely on the outputs. Stable process have Cpk>1, but more than 0,8 should be sufficient.

    The stability of the process has to be judged with a SPC Chart- in this example I-MR. If you have a sample size of 10, the control chart will give you an idea about the stability of the process.

    In order to calculate the process capability there are at least 25 measurements required.

    When it is not necessary, also 10 runs are too much.

    There could be also compared variances between the process X produced at the machine 1 and machine 2 - to get sense, whether the variation is comparable.

    How could be the sample size in the most economical way determined, in order to get at least 80% Power?

Share This Page


text:
Here we go again – another adventure for Dad Belmont.  Don’t know if many of you know that Dad fell last week.  Being the Marine that he is, he decided he was going to go get the leaf blower out of the shed.  His right side has never been stable since his stroke but it doesn’t stop him.  This time he fell down the hill behind the shop and couldn’t get up.  He crawled on his back up the hill so he could get help.  Mom Belmont didn’t even know he was outside.  I was 45 minutes away and had no signal at Veteran Affairs.  When I finally got a signal there were 6 voicemails on my phone.  Dad had broken his right hip; he had surgery the next day; and tonight we left him at a Rehabilitation center in Lodi, CA.  It was pretty hard to leave him there but he showed us he isn’t ready to give up.  He also showed us what Marines are made of even when they are 85 years old.  Since Mom and he have been married 64 years, it’s hard for them to be separated.  As Deb says, two peas in a pod.  We thank you for all the calls and prayers.  Our QOH family has come to the rescue again by stepping up to help.  We are still trying to maintain our regular schedule for the Shop and Quilts of Honor.

Saturday I had the honor of being the guest speaker at the Karl Ross Auxiliary’s Tea.  You should have seen those ladies all dressed up in their Sunday dress and hats, too.  Debbie went with me and she had her Sunday best on too.  Her husband told her she looked like the salt girl – that was quite a conversation about her outfit.  There were great finger foods and the best little deserts.

When I got up to speak, we had trouble locating our quilt recipient.  We thought she was going to be a now show.  Remember, we like to surprise our quilt recipients so first thing I did was tell everyone we were changing things up and I was going to present a very special lady veteran a quilt and I said her name.  I didn’t see the look on her face as I came down off the podium but she was totally taken back.  She said, “I am so honored.”  I went back to the podium and said my piece.  After we had our goodies, the ladies surprised the women veterans by calling us all up to the podium and honored each of us.  We were all different generations and eras from WWII to current.  We each received a certificate – that was all pretty cool.

I would like to thank the American Legion Post 16 Auxiliary for asking me to be their guest speaker and for the award.  I really needed more quilts and you would think by now I learned to carry 5 or 6 quilts all the time.  It was great to see all the ladies dressed up and they seemed to enjoy it.

I will try to keep you updated more often as long as I can still remember what we have done.

God bless all – be safe,


text:
Thursday, September 15, 2011

“Little” Intervals Bike Workout

While the cat was busy with another day of stretching out on the couch, I had to get in a bike workout before heading to Erie for the weekend.

With the Nation’s Tri coming up in basically a week, I’ve been focusing on doing more speed/race pace specific workouts to get the body (and legs) primed for the race day. Its mostly been a lot of interval and tempo work of which some I’ve been able to get through and some being messy. For today’s bike workout, I decided to try an interval workout developed by Dr. Johnathan Little and Martin Gibala from McMaster’s University Dept of Kinesiology. In a nutshell, the actual workout lasts 27 minutes and is 12 intervals of 60 seconds at 95% of VO2 MAX and then 75 seconds of low intensity. The result of this low volume, high-intensity traning (HIT) are performance gains similar to high volume endurance training at a steady state if done 3 times a week. If you are a physiology geek (and I say that in a good way), you can check out the full abstract that was printed in The Journal of Physiology on January 25, 2010 <<link. Conventional wisdom for endurance training is volume, lots of volume, and more of it when you’ve had enough but with the kind of schedule I have and time constraints, if there’s a way to train smarter and optimize training time, I’m all for it. In fact, I’m currently on a marathon training program that only has me running only three days a week.

I set-up shop in the Torture Chamber with the usual set-up:

  • Kestrel Tri Bike with CycleOps Powertap hooked into the Fluid2 Bike Trainer
  • Garmin 310XT Monitor to track time and watts
  • Motorola Xoom Tablet with My Interval Timer Pro app to keep track of interval time
  • TV with Rdio app for tunes (Deadmau5 – For Lack of a Better Name)
  • Big Fan
  • Water bottle of Nuun

The tricky part before the workout was figuring out what exactly 95% of my VO2MAX really meant. I’ve never done a VO2MAX test formally but have done other tests like Heart Rate Lactate Threshold and an FTP test on the bike. Luckily, I found an FTP wattage chart which translated different FTP watt ranges to intensity levels. I knew I had an FTP of 260 watts from a test I did back in April so that translated to having to hit between 275 – 322 watts to be around VO2MAX. It wasn’t exact but at least I knew the numbers I had to hit on my bike.

The workout itself wasn’t that bad. I felt like it stretched me but not to the point where I felt like I could not finish the workout after any of the intervals. After the first 8, I decided to challenge myself a bit more and bumped my range for the last 4 intervals to be between 320 – 340 watts. The resulting power ranges/heart rate stats can be seen below:

The red line correlates to my heart rate with the green line representing my power (in watts). The black line is my Threshold Power (FTP) @ 260watts. Its cool to see the how the different power levels affect my heart rate and the rise/drops during the high intensity/low intensity portions. Data like this is useful to me to see how consistent I was with my intervals and whether or not I pushed it hard enough or too hard during the intervals. You can see how the last four intervals are higher than the first eight in both Power and corresponding Heart Rate.

I’m going to try to incorporate the Little Interval more into my workouts and see if it does improve my cycling fitness as I gear up for Ironman Poconos on October 2nd. That being said, time to finish packing up and head out to Erie for a weekend of spending time with family and friends and of course, more swim/bike/run training. Have a great Labor Day Weekend!

No comments:

Post a Comment


text:
Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Where Did This Child Come From?

Have you noticed that there comes a moment when your child ceases to be part of you and becomes a person? One second they are nursing, squirming stinkbugs (parasites, yes - but cute ones) and the next they are people. With free will. And fresh mouths. Usually these moments happen around age two and half, when their ability to speak English progresses to the point where they can say things that are somewhat surprising, if not downright shocking. This is also the point at which they can narc you out. Like saying "shit" when they spill their juice while at church. And you are forced to say things like "My goodness Pastor Henry! I have no idea where she learned that word."

I was reminded that my children are unique individuals the other day while driving my four year old son to preschool.

Mommy: "Hey Little Dude, could you please buckle up?"
Boy: "Mmmmm.... I don't think so."
Mommy: "You know the rule. We're going to be late. Buckle yourself."
Boy: "I said no, Suckah!"
Mommy: "What did you just call me?"
Boy: (in very manner of fact tone) "SUCKAH."
A look in the rear view mirror reveals one small raised eyebrow and an overall feeling of smug satisfaction.
Mommy: "Excuse me?"
Boy: (slow and loud, as if I am too stupid to understand) "Suh. Kah."
Mommy: "Um... Where did you learn that word?"
Boy: "I can't tell you dat."
Mommy: "I don't want to hear it again. You can stop this 'sucker' business right now."
Boy: "You said it WONG. And never."
Mommy: "Never? And, I did not say it wrong."
Boy: "And, I will never stop saying suckah. Never never never. Because, I love to say suckah."
Said with same calm, pedantic deliberateness that his father uses when trying to explain something ridiculous and useless to me, like what a wide receiver does.
Mommy: "Are you buckled yet?"
Boy: "No."
Mommy: (Insolent. Little. Begger. Try not to laugh. Or yell.) "Son. Buckle your seat belt. We are going to school, not to reenact a scene from "Shaft".
Boy: "What's dat?"
Mommy: sigh... "Never mind. Do you want to spend the morning with Mommy, who's starting to feel mean or with Mrs. Wilson, who is always nice? Because no buckle, no preschool."
Boy: "Oh..."
Mommy: "Are you buckled?"
Boy: "Yes Mama. Can we listen to some music, I want to wock out." Then quietly whispers "Suckah!"

Am I the only one who has these moments? Where it dawns on you that he gets it FROM HIS MOTHER. Where you wonder if its such a good idea that you are the primary influence on little minds? That you and your spouse and all of your embarrassing quirks have now produced multiple small humans that are quite possibly weirder than you are? The whole nature/nurture debate becomes meaningless in our family's case as we are both the biological and custodial parents and we are, kind of, goofy. So, when one of your kids says something funny and you wonder where the hell they come from... The answer is you, Suckah.

Friday, October 23, 2009

"no milk"

For our spouses, their JOB is their job. Our job is everything else that isn't their JOB.

I would NEVER say Lydia doesn't work...she has three - THREE - kids...there is nothing BUT work in her life...plus, she's a New Jersey girl and sometimes she gets all Jersey-ized and I'm a little afraid of her...sister, you work.

OK, so the point of this is I have a job -- a sometimes job. Meaning, every once in a while, I put on real clothes and brush my hair and put on mascara; but really it's that I get to be away from my three kids for like 10 HOURS...in MommyLand, we call that a #$(%&#($ vacation.

So, 9:30 that night, I'm finishing up at work, and an email from the hubby pops up. "no milk"
What? Excuse me?

How is it even possible the refrigerator had not been opened since 6pm...because when I'm at home, that thing cools the whole damn house. Sidebar: Wealthy is the man who invents a clear glass doored refrigerator. WHY do they all just stand there with the door opened? Is the food having sex and making new and different foods?

I felt like I was on a game show.

Door Number 1: Take photo of self flipping him the bird. Hit send.
Door Number 2: Ignore. Feign ignorance later. What e-mail??
Door Number 3: Suggest he learn to lactate...I did. Three times.
Door Number 4: Go. To. The. Grocery. Store.

Let's all keep in mind that collectively, we are, what, two miles from the furthest place that has milk...this is not 1826. We're not hitching up wagons to go get supplies...

Point is, I left the house two hours after he did. There WAS milk when I left. I don't have GPS on dairy products. Let's say for the sake of argument, PEOPLE WERE THIRSTY. How did the hours of 6pm and 9:30pm pass without knowledge of this milk thing? And what was I supposed to do?

When he goes to work, he's a GENIUS...makes decisions that affect millions of people. Saves lives...all that lovely, make-a-difference kind of stuff. Betcha their refrigerators are FULL of milk.

Let me digress for a moment. my husband is amazing. Tall, dark and handsome. Kind and generous and indulges me every time I want sushi. Refers to himself as McLovin. And WILLINGLY abdicated the throne of Bachelorhood at 47 to become husband, dad and stepdad. It's like when King Hummidyhum gave up all of England for Wallis Simpson, but mine gave it up to be one of the Clampetts, but no oil. The President may have been handed the Nobel Prize, but my husband EARNED it. Ahhh, digression over. Commence bitching.

When he was King of Single Men, and there was no milk, who did he write? I'd like to forward my "no milk" emails to that person. They probably miss him.

Anyhow, I took Door Number 5. Wrote back, suggested a reasonable solution, or said I was happy to HURRY home and procure said milk on my way. And, to his credit, he responded with what I needed to hear. "Situation resolved. Kids sleeping. Don't leave."

At that moment, I thought, he never needs to buy me flowers ever again.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

I Need A Drink. So.... Maybe Next Year?

Let's discuss the subject of autonomy. Or more specifically, the fact that I have none. Part one of the discussion centers on the fact that I am never alone. I am not alone in the car. At the store. While bathing. And certainly not while trying to make a phone call. Oddly, my phone calls always seem to result in the small people around me unintelligibly shrieking. The only place I remember being alone recently is in my basement moving wet clothes from the washer to the dryer. Actually... No. Usually someone is hollering for me because they sense there is a slight chance I may be alone with my thoughts for 30 seconds and that must not be allowed to happen.

I know that I harp on the fact that occasionally my husband stops off and has a drink with a colleague on his way home. Given how often people in his line of work do business over happy hour, I should probably be grateful that this happens as infrequently as it does. But I am not gracious and understanding. No no no. I am a grouchy, humorless shrew. I am a Shrewish American Princess. (Yes, a SAP. I went there.) And I want to go have a damn drink.

Perhaps if I were allowed to sleep for more than ninety consecutive minutes I might be able to dig deep into my peaceful, loving, wifey heart and be happy that he gets the chance to unwind and have a beer with friends. You know what? Sleep be damned, he works hard - he deserves some fun and some down time. But guess what, hotshots, so does Mommy. And the more I think about it the more my shrivelled-up little shrew's heart grows angry.

Here's a list of bullshit reasons why I never get to go out anywhere alone:
1. Daddy works crazy long hours so I can't make plans without hiring a babysitter and good ones are hard to find. Not to mention $12/hour when you have three little terror suspects that need supervision.
2. My littlest is still a booby-feeder. Sidebar: Though, I am adamantly in favor of breastfeeding, my sisters in boobage have to admit that it enables Daddy to claim complete incompetence when it comes to settling down a fussy one. Less for them to deal with. More for you. Super.
3. Every time the stars align (plans made, sitter booked) someone gets sick.
4. I get annoyed instead of enjoying myself because someone likes to suck the fun out of every outing by texting me that the baby is crying and won't stop or repeatedly calling me to find out how long my meeting will take, and always letting me know (without actually saying the words) that no matter how soon I'm planning on coming home it is NOT SOON ENOUGH.
5. Apparently, there is an unwritten law about this; a quota of times Mommy is allowed to leave the house unaccompanied. Mommy may use these trips to go to Walmart or put gas in the car, to attend parent-teacher conferences, meetings for Girl Scouts, or her part-time job, or (if she is feeling extremely selfish) to have a drink with friends. But Mommy, please don't think you can get your hair cut this week. You went to the Post Office alone on Wednesday. That was it. Your haircut needs to wait until next week. Its the law.

Sometimes all of these laws converge to demonstrate the overwhelming certainty that the Universe wants my ass at home with the kids. Does the Universe want my husband at home? I don't think the Universe gives a fig about that. Why? Because of the GUILT. I go out. I come home. I see that my adorably quiet, happy, creamy pink baby has morphed into a blotchy, mottled, screaming tomato that after one minute in my arms collapses into a exhausted, mucus-smeared heap. At about this time my husband is pouring himself a scotch in the same clammy, slightly shaky manner as an air traffic controller who has finished a shift at LaGuardia during an ice storm. And someone else has developed a cough. And every body's schedule is completely thrown. And my living room...

And it is such a thoroughly unpleasant situation that next time, I don't even bother. I just say no thanks and resign myself to another night of macaroni and making sure every one's teeth are brushed. Maybe I'll meet you out when the baby is older. Maybe when Daddy is not so busy at work. Maybe next year... It is this tacit acceptance of my loss of autonomy that saddens me. And it is how I know the little terrorists have won.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

On the Subject of Husbands

Let me get one thing very clear - this is not a blog to discuss how mommies are clever and snarky and awesome (though we are) and how husbands are clueless and idiotic. No. No no no. This is about "the GIG" - namely, motherhood and all that comes with it. Now, motherhood is amazing, an enriching and awe-inspiring experience but it can also be a soul-crushing blackness of despair and misery.

Let's be honest, weakness is not a characteristic consistent with making it in the field of motherhood. Anyone who's had Norovirus run through their house can back me up on that. Toughness is a prerequisite. With my first child, I went FOURTEEN MONTHS without sleeping more than two hours in a row. Let's just say that this lack of sleep did not do good things for my personality. Upon hearing protesters defend the rights of Gitmo detainees (siting that AC/DC was played all night to disturb their rest), I honestly remember thinking: "That doesn't sound bad. They need to man up and quit whining."

Through the lack of sleep, three kids, week-long stretches of vomiting and diarrhea, and pregnancy-induced psychotic episodes of crying and binge eating thai spring rolls, my husband has pretty much been a model of love, support and manliness. Now, does he make a significant contribution to the unending cluster that my life has become? Come on.

Truly, he is better than I deserve on most days. He is tall, handsome, brilliant, totally engaged with our kids, and uproariously funny. He comes up with ridiculous terms (like calling our children "the little terror suspects" or naming our cars after 90210 characters). He can impersonate anyone from Arlen Specter to Andre the Giant with scathing perfection. He's fun to hang out with, generous and kind, and most of my family prefers his company to mine.

All that being said, I wonder how its possible that the same man who becomes so engrossed in his own work that forgets to eat (or call his wife) for twelve hours feels its necessary to text me four times in one meeting to tell me that the baby is crying.

Let me tell you a little story. One evening my husband came home from work and you know what the first thing he said was? It was this: "Have you kids been watching tv all day long?"

We all know this is not a neutral question. So my thought process goes like this: "He thinks I'm a bad parent because the kids watch too much tv. Well he has no idea what goes on here all day. How DARE he criticize my parenting skills? He was the one who was like - 'our kids need you at home, Lydia, why are we going broke paying for someone else to raise our family'. I gave up my job for this?! I had a career. I did not go to grad school to wipe asses and make sure his dress shirts don't have any creases in them. Where the hell is the corkscrew??!"

Here's his thought process: "Left house at 6:45am. Said goodbye to kids in jammies on couch watching Phinneas and Ferb. Returned 7:45pm. Said hello to kids in jammies on couch watching Phinneas and Ferb. Hence, question."

So, who's the asshole? That would be M-O-I. Because just maybe my response to his question included the F-word. And some hand gestures. And this was not reasonable.

If he were to blog on our life together (please God, don't ever let that happen), it would be filled with excruciatingly objective statements that would point out how often I am close to becoming completely unhinged. "Wife screeched at three year old today, in the manner of a meth-fueled harpy. Something to do with feces wiped on wall and carpet. We are not successful at potty training." Or "Lydia wore shirt inside out until 11am. Did not notice until I pointed it out. Did not see humor in the situation."

So, while this blog will be unapologetic in pointing out idiocy on the part of the daddies of the world, we are not haters. We fully realize that we are also idiots. And that the little terror suspects are going to need lots of therapy.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Is This the Right Blog For You?

Do any the following statements describe your life?
  • My husband does half of the housework.
  • I have complete autonomy over how I spend my time.
  • My husband can tell you our children's shoe sizes.
  • I look in the mirror and I feel GREAT.
  • My children are consistantly obedient and well-behaved.
  • I can go out for an evening with my friends any time I want to.
  • I can go to the bathroom, make a phone call, or check my email without interruption.
  • I have never accidently spoken to my husband in the same tone I use to remind the children to keep their shoes OFF of the couch. NOW.
  • My husband always acknowledges that his work and his time are just as important as mine.
  • I have never yelled at my children.
  • I enjoy spending my down-time folding laundry and watching endless innings of baseball.
  • I have never felt like an unpaid servant in my own home because my husband and children make a point to acknowledge all that I do for them every single day.
If the above is a pretty accurate description of your life and marriage, please do the following:
  • Thank your lucky stars.
  • Serve up a daily scoop of sweet, sweet loving because your husband is one in a million.
  • Bad news though - he might be a robot.
  • Also, you should probably find another blog.
If however, you experience the (completely understandable) urge to commit homicide when your husband stops off to have drink on his way home, while you attempt to cook over the din of screaming children, unload the dishwasher for the third time, and wipe off other people's bodily fluids - stay put. We like you already.

Popular Posts


text:
December 12, 2020

Selling Martin and Harris Lab shares

I have 4000 physical shares of Martin and Harris laboratories limited which I want to sell. I'm in the process of getting them DMAT. .

Deepak Sonthalia

Saurabh Daga said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Beware !! 4000 Martin & Harris Laboratories Ltd. shares offered by Deepak Sonthalia (9332023426) are disputed and litigated.. Please look before you leap.