text:
Germany’s Wind Power Debacle Worsens: Too Much Power One Day, None the Next

Like South Australians, Germans are attempting to run on sunshine and breezes and in both places the results have been an unmitigated disaster. When power output depends on the weather and whether the sun is up and the sky isn’t clouded up, results can, as they say in marketing blurbs, ‘vary’.

During January of this year, wind and solar power output totally collapsed for days on end and pushed the German grid to the brink of collapse. The Daily Caller reported at the time that:

Germany’s power grid almost collapsed in January due to poor performance from wind turbines and solar panels, according to data from a major trade union.

Wind and solar power plants under-performed in January, 2017, because of cloudy weather with little or no wind, setting the stage for massive blackouts.

A major blackout almost occurred Jan. 24 and was only prevented when German energy suppliers “also took the last reserve power plant,” Michael Vassiliadis, head of the union which represents power plants IG Bergbauchemie Energie, told reporters. The country’s power grid was strained to the absolute limit and could have gone offline entirely, triggering a national blackout, if just one power plant had gone offline, according to Vassiliadis.

“The renewables could not even offer five percent [of total power demand.] Coal, gas and nuclear power kept the country almost in the first place under the electric current,” Vassiliadis said.

Germany was forced to recommission coal power plants to simply keep the lights on.

From famine to feast and back again, Germany’s renewables rush has not only threatened to plunge the Country into the Dark Ages, the chaos being caused in the power market is sending power costs through the roof. Here’s NoTricksZone.

Engineering PhD Calls Germany’s Renewable Energy Drive “A Disaster” And “A Debacle”
No Tricks Zone
Pierre Gosselin
2 May 2017

Firstly, wind energy protest organization posted a chart showing the sheer absurdity of relying on the haphazard electricity supply that wind and solar energies are.

Last Sunday Germany saw windy and sunny conditions, meaning the country’s installed wind and solar systems were running at high capacity. This however led to excess power flooding into the German grid, and thus a plummet in exchange electricity prices.

Market exchange price of electricity on the EEX Leipzig exchange. On April 30 and May 1st 2017, wholesale prices went deeply negative. Source: EEX Marktdaten Strom, by Rolf Schuster.

The chart above shows that electricity was in fact sold at negative prices, dipping to an astonishing low of almost 75 euros per megawatt hour.

Unfortunately the money to pay people to “buy” the electricity never gets paid to the consumer. Rather it gets paid mostly to foreign wholesalers. Yet, the German grid operator needs to recoup the money it paid to have the wholesalers to accept the power. In the end, the domestic consumers in Germany wind up with the bill.

How much did the negative prices seen over the past weekend end up costing the German consumers? One reader calculated it and came up with the figure of over 41 million euros! And because May 1st was a national holiday, the demand for German power was low, and there was no use for all the extra power flooding into the grid. It’s like cooking dinner – after everyone has already eaten. And because there is no fridge, the garbage man has to be called and paid to dispose of it. So far electricity cannot be stored on a meaningful scale.

Wild supply variability

Continuing on the folly of Germany’s renewable energy, engineering expert Dr. Detlef Ahlborn authored a post at the European Institute for Climate and Energy (EIKE), declaring the transition to renewable energies a failure and that it will remain so as long as a solution for storing the energy is not found.

Again the huge problem is the extremely erratic, uncontrolled supply of the power, as the following German wind energy supply chart clearly illustrates:

More variable than rolling a die

Dr. Ahlborn describes the extreme variability of wind power in Germany as follows:

The variability of German wind power production is about 70% greater than the numbers you’d see rolling a die. If German power providers ran their plants like throwing a die, the power would flow more uniformly.[1]

Of course wind energy proponents like to say that the solution is a European-wide integrated network where if the wind is not blowing in one region, then excess power in another region can fill in the gap. After all, “the wind is always blowing somewhere in Europe” they like to say. However, the following chart plainly illustrates that this is far more a fallacy than a truth.

Wind production by the 15 European countries (dark blue) and by Germany (light blue). Chart by Rolf Schuster

Very often when there’s plenty of wind in Germany (or very little), the case is the same in the rest of Europe. With that kind of supply, good luck trying to balance any grid that is overly dependent on wind energy.

Ahlborn writes that combining the power grids to form one large one only serves to add up the variability and not reduce it.

“Unworthy” for Germany

Summarizing Ahlborn calls the total result of wind energy so far “bitter”:

This Energiewende [transition to renewables] is unworthy for a country with such a tradition in science and technology. We could have known if we had just given it a bit of thought. But who wanted to know?

We’ll find out at the latest when we start looking for those who are responsible for this debacle, and policymakers attempt to run from taking responsibility for this disaster. Our former economics minister has already taken the first step.

To that, EIKE added: It can only be hoped that the former economics minister (Sigmar Gabriel) will cause less damage in his new position as foreign minister.
No Tricks Zone

Uncontrolled Infusion Of Green Electricity Leads To Record-Breaking NEGATIVE Power Prices
No Tricks Zone
Pierre Gosselin
3 May 2017

As mentioned here yesterday, Germany saw sunny and very windy conditions last Sunday and the following national holiday Monday –leading to a huge power surge into the German power grid. But because many industries were closed during these two days, demand for electricity was low, see chart below:

The chart above also shows both the very high infusion of solar, onshore and offshore wind into the German power grid on April 30th and early May, and the low overall demand.

The result: Huge supply + little demand = crashing prices.

The huge feed-in of wind and solar energy did not occur without problems, especially in the southern state of Bavaria, the German online BR24 reports here.

BR24 writes that for the first time ever in Bavaria “wind turbines had to be shut down on a large scale – because there was too much power in the grid,” this according to the Bundesverband Windenergie (Federal Association for Wind Energy). There was also criticism that the wind turbines were shut down instead of the state’s nuclear plants.

BR24 adds that “many wind turbines in Bavaria had to stop for hours because no one wanted to take the power” and that this was the first time this had ever happened in Bavaria.

According to the Fraunhofer Institute, “two thirds of Germany’s conventional power production was switched off” on Sunday in order to prevent the grid from turning into a giant toaster.

And because the base load (the grid’s backbone) cannot be adjusted rapidly or taken offline line to meet the rapid changes, the BR24 adds:

But the coal power plants continued to operate – despite the negative power prices of minus ten cents per kilowatt-hour.

It’s not possible to turn off the coal plants because once you do, the critical baseload disappears and the grid risks becoming an uncontrollable wild bronco.

And when you are forced to sell your very own product at a negative price (minus ten cents per kilowatt-hour) just to get rid of it, then you get a pretty good idea of just how obscenely distorted the market has become because of wind and solar.

Yet the energy masterminds of Germany and Europe intend to double or even quadruple this folly in the future.

So what about the losses incurred from the negative prices? You guessed it! They will be passed along to the German consumers, who already pay among the highest electricity rates in the world.
No Tricks Zone

About stopthesethings
We are a group of citizens concerned about the rapid spread of industrial wind power generation installations across Australia.

  1. Jackie Rovensky says:

    The experience in Germany is repeated here. When the wind blows it blows pretty well across the Grid, but it may take a while for it to reach from SA to NSW (or visa versa) and by then it has probably run out of ‘steam’ in SA. But if the wind gods are in good humor it happens – but then when the wind doesn’t blow in SA it may not be blowing anywhere across the grid – this happened this week and NSW has had days of none or very little wind over the past weeks.
    How do we keep the wind gods happy and how do we get them to turn the blades when needed and at a constant speed, how do we get them to turn the blades hard enough with breezes instead of gale force winds 24/7 thereby providing constant energy for our needs without the need to hold onto the nearest fence post as we make our way along the street.
    The answer is – wind gods do not exist, believing in wind gods is outdated, such gods were ‘let go’ many years ago by humans with enough brain to realize nothing can control this natural force.
    Anyone today who worships these imaginary gods are nothing but deluded idiots.
    Even the vast amount of money our Governments have on hand to pay the fee (REC’s) for these imagined gods to do their work is not enough to ensure we have electricity when we need it.
    What we see now is the result of some very clever people who managed to convince some who believe they are intelligent, highly educated, astute and not prone to being conned – conned.
    These poor souls who are still struggling with their conscience are managing to destroy modern society, to destroy lives, livelihoods and the environment – ironic really, as it was these things they were conned into believing they were saving.
    Instead they have ensured the wealth of the con-artists continues to grow.

  2. Melissa says:

    With personal experience of unwanted turbine sound, vibration, health impacts and an escalating electricity bill; it is baffling why city dwellers, Universities etc. would want to go off grid or put turbines on their roof. Urbanites are the majority group demanding more wind turbines and don’t realise or care that turbines now virtually cover Victoria and Australia from one end to the other. Polluting our beautiful pristine countryside and destroying our previous way of life. One-eyed supporters mistakenly believe that wind and solar energy are efficient, reliable and safe; yet prospects of selling (un)-renewable electricity at minus or negative prices per kilowatt hour and expecting we consumers reliant on this shonky grid to pay for the growing household and general expenses is insane.

    The majority of consumers could not afford to go off grid and some cannot afford access to electricity while these urban people and rural based wind farm operators continue to hugely profit at our expense. When we no longer have to pay for additional towers, wires, transponders, interconnectors and battery back-up; when everyone gets cheap electricity that is unsubsidised by the taxpayer; only then I would perhaps consider that properly legislated and monitored wind and sun energy without any social, economic or health impacts is truly ‘free’.

    The city of Anglesea, Vic is intending to go completely off grid and 8 houses in Melbourne suburbia have disconnected from the Victorian grid to use some kind of a battery storage system with solar.
    Continued development and expansion of wind generated electricity and new infrastructure appears baffling when Urbanites whom want large scale renewables at our expense, turning to small scale are turning their backs on the ever expanding and costly large scale subsidised system. What a mess, yet misguided Energy Ministers continue to support the RET and the cost of this rampant white elephant.

    ps definition of white elephant is when the wind and turbine generation dies and massed wind turbines are drawing power off the grid to keep the rotors and gearboxes kicking over. What is the cost and who pays the bill?

    Imposing in there hundreds,
    Such an army on display,
    Those alien grey metal monsters
    I saw while on my way.
    Aliens on our shores have landed,
    So tall, backs straight and true,
    At night they watch through flashing eyes
    Of red, at me and you.

    Some have scaled the mountains,
    Others near schools and homes,
    Of one thing I am certain,
    Those aliens have no souls.
    No “whispering” from their ranks at all,
    An unearthly sound they make,
    It envelops each and everyone,
    No more can humans take.

    Three giant arms revolving,
    Enveloping all around,
    They’re here to ‘save the planet’,
    The biggest “con” I have found.
    Such hideous tall grey monsters,
    Invade green and pleasant lands,
    To stay for generations,
    Unless the people make a stand.

    These aliens feed on power and wind,
    Without either, they will die,
    They’re NOT environmental friendly,
    They’re for profit, (at a cost), that’s WHY.

  4. William Gray says:

    I recall Bob Gottliebson in the Australian saying that grid fluctuations due to 10-15 windless days a year could be straightened out using gas. He really needs a reality check. Here in Bungendore from Jan-May there has hardly been the slightest zephyr. Anyone in this area will have noticed idle wind turbines week after week after week. Even right this instant-again, no turning blades out of ninety WTGs. Perhaps STT could check with NEM to see if any more than 2% output out of the 127 Mw installed was reached and let Bob know. I would be very surprised if that figure was reached. And then there was Kevin Rudd declaring on opening this fiasco 8 years ago that ‘this facility will secure the future electricity supply of NSW’. I didn’t think he had a sense of humour til then.

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text:
Me Time

This weekend was great. I had some Me-Time.  Me -Time, for those not familiar, is time spent by yourself doing whatever you want for as long as you want to do it. It is great to hang with your boyfriend or your girls and family time is very important to me, but, Me-Time, well that’s price-less.

This is why…

Me-Time give you a chance to do what you like. Sometimes you can get caught up doing what others like to do. Me-Time gives you the time to treat yourself to that book you wanted to read, finally get to see that movie you wanted to see, etc. I spent my time in the park on hot sunny day and had a picnic.

It can be a time to meditate. If you find yourself taking a non-adventuress Me-Time you might find time to think. During my quite time, I looked at the mountains, smelled the grass, and listened to the water against the rocks. I could not help to think how blessed I am and how good God is. The moment reminded me of the song “God Is Real,”  by India Arie. I also had time to think about my life, where it has taken me, what it has brought me through, and where it will bring me later.

It’s time to rejuvenate. You can get plenty of rest during Me-Time. I laid my back against the ground. My face directed towards the sky as I soaked up the sun that beamed through tree branches. I had found a comfortable position and just rested.

Me-Time is a useful time to get to know yourself. If you have not learn to enjoy your own company then why not? Take your ME-Time to enjoy all the cool things about yourself, by experiencing somethings by yourself.

Me-Time is time away from the every day hustle and interactions. It is good for you no matter if you get to do it for a few minutes or several days (I’m just saying). However, to get the best results in having Me-Time do it before you burn out from life. So try to do it often.

3 Comments on Me Time

  1. I am glad you was able to enjoy your Me-Time in a place of worship. It is always good to have a good time, with you, yourself and God : )

  2. hoskin deloris // May 21, 2012 at 2:37 pm // Reply

    Great!! I guess I too, enjoyed a partial me-time this weekend. I spent most of Sunday in My Father’s Houses. I really felt happy. Long services usually irritates me. I enjoyed both services.

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A.K.A Miss Independent Defined

A.K.A MISSI offers a word or two about the challenges and pleasures of an independent woman, now it’s your turn! Tell in your own words what it means to be Miss Independent and who are the independent women that inspire you.

Submit profile picture of yourself.

  • Pictures must be at least 500 Width by 500 Length.
  • With picture give credit if needed to photographer.
  • Pictures must be clear and sharp image.
  • Email pictures to akamissi14@gmail.com

Submit form.

A.K.A MISSI will use your photo and comments for content for www.akamissi.com to represent A.K.A MISSI and have the right to use photos for possible promotion of the site or any sister sites or social networks. There is no compensation or royalty for photos or content posted at anytime. You, will still retain all rights to the photograph and we will not sell any photos. A.K.A. MISSI does not have any obligation to prevent third parties use of the internet. Your submission of your photo and form gives A.K.A MISSI permission to use your image and content at anytime.

13 Comments on A.K.A Miss Independent Defined

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text:
Bear encounters: what you need to know

GrizzlyportraitGordonCourt Web Small

Bears are one of our province’s wild species and we need to be cautious and alert when we head out into bear habitat. Although rare, bear encounters and attacks do happen and it’s easy to forget what to do or panic if it does happen. Remember that most bear encounters and attacks can be prevented and almost always bears aren’t seeking conflict with humans.

Alberta’s BearSmart website provides resources for everyone heading into Alberta’s outdoors. Some tips include:

  • Carrying bear spray.
  • Making loud noises – bear bells are ineffective. It’s better to talk loudly, sing songs, break sticks or clap sporadically.
  • Keeping food and garbage in airtight containers, and store anything that may have the smell of food or garbage away from you and out of the reach of bears.
  • Avoiding trails with thick brush, tight corners and hilly areas. Mountain bikers should cycle on established trails with clear lines of site.
  • Ensuring all dogs are kept on leash.
  • Respecting area closures.

What to do if you spot a bear

If the bear doesn’t see you:

  • Don’t attract attention. Leave the way you came without calling attention to yourself. Retreat slowly while keeping your eye on the bear.
  • If you must move forward, give the bear a wide berth. If you have no choice but to move forward, give the bear as much space as you can.
  • Stay alert. Even if you think you are a safe distance away from the bear, remain quiet and alert. Continue watching for the bear until you reach your destination.

If the bear sees you:

  • Look around for cubs or an animal carcass; the bear will want to protect them. If you see either, back away.
  • Stay calm and back away slowly. Do not run.
  • Speak to the bear in low tones and prepare to use your bear spray.

Bear attacks

All bears are individuals, so all bear encounters will be unique. Remember, bears can run more than 60 kilometers an hour – running from a bear isn’t advisable and can in fact trigger an attack.

A common belief is that you should play dead immediately – unfortunately there are vastly different approaches you should take dependent on the bear’s behaviour. There are two types of behaviour associated with bear attacks:

  • Defensive – exhibited when a bear is threatened and is usually defending something such as cubs, food or themselves.
  • Predatory or non-defensive – the bear shows no signs of stress. It will be looking to assert its dominance and potentially attack or kill.

Remember that these behaviours can switch during an encounter.

What to do

Defensive bear

A bear that demonstrates defensive behaviour feels stressed or threatened. It may display changes in body posture, vocalization and body movements, such as ears going back, swatting at the ground, swaying the head, or even charging at you.

Play dead – this will show the bear you are not a threat. If it is clear that it is a defensive encounter, lie face down on the ground the moment just before contact is made.

  • Leave your pack on – it will help protect you;
  • Clasp your hands around the back of your neck to protect it;
  • Remain as quiet and still as possible;
  • Don’t move until you are sure the bear has left the area;
  • If the attack is prolonged or if the bear starts to bite, fight back

Predatory/Non-defensive bear

A bear that is aware of a human presence and approaches showing no signs of stress is behaving in a predatory or non-defensive manner. The head may be up, the ears forward and there will be little or no vocalization.

  • If a bear attacks (particularly a black bear) fight back.
  • Use bear spray
  • If you don’t have bear spray, kick, punch and hit the bear with rocks or sticks or any improvised weapon you can find.

More information on bears and the BearSmart program can be found in the Alberta BearSmart Program Manual. Be sure to be aware of bear closures in your area and ongoing situations. Remember that education is one of the key ways to prepare before you explore the great outdoors.

3 thoughts on “Bear encounters: what you need to know

  1. Great information. I will be backpacking in bear country (Colorado Trail) next June and can use all the good info I can find. Thanks!!

  2. So we are supposed to hear from the government what we need to know about bear and cougar and so on encounters but the government is not doing anything whatsoever to protect these creatures from human interference, if a tourist feeds a wild animal this last is persecuted an held responsible for someone else’s mistake, the tourist walks away with no consequences and ready to do the same mistake again.
    In most municipalities the problem of garbage dumps without adequate confinement leads to unwanted visits from wildlife and systematically these last one are put down, the local authorities declare that everything that was possible to do was done but the animals have been shot immediately: Shoot first , think later, maybe.
    Is the government listening now? I sure hope so because at this rate there will be no more wildlife soon

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Therese of Lisieux: Is the Little Flower the most dangerous of saints?

St. Thérèse of Lisieux dressed as St. Joan of Arc

St. Therese is the mortal enemy of spiritual mediocrity and the lukewarm.

What words would you use to describe Saint Therese? Gentle. Innocent. Child-like. Trusting. Loving. Passionate. Hidden. Little. These and many words like them come to mind.

May I suggest another word to describe her? It’s a word you might not expect, a word you may well find to be surprising, even jarring, perhaps disturbing. I would describe Saint Therese as “dangerous.”

Dangerous?!? The Little Flower? How could this be? How could the apostle of spiritual childhood be dangerous? Who could find her threatening?

Therese is a danger to those who’ve resigned themselves to spiritual mediocrity. She’s a threat to every soul that will not dare to aspire to holiness. She’s the mortal enemy of the lukewarm.

Therese takes away every excuse, dismissing every good reason we can give for not being holy, for not at least striving after sanctity. She’s proof that great holiness is possible for every soul, and so our lack of sanctity is a matter of our own will, rather than our luck or our circumstances. In other words, Therese’s message is this:  If we’re not holy it’s because we don’t want to be.

But holiness is hard, today

We who are content, even resolute, in our mediocrity, have all our excuses well trained and neatly arranged: We can’t really be holy because it’s too hard. God hasn’t blessed us with the necessary character or strength. We have been burdened with lives that are too busy for the leisurely enjoyment of the things of God. We have families and businesses to attend to.

And our communities could never support us in a quest to become holy. Our fellow religious are too worldly and too uncharitable. Our parishes are divided, our liturgies uninspiring, our pastors are poor preachers. We’ve never been able to find a really good spiritual director; we don’t have time to read Scripture.

We’ll explain that Therese lived in a simpler time when holiness was still possible. We live in the age of AIDS and terrorism. The circumstances aren’t right for holiness.

We the mediocre would explain, calmly but firmly, that everything within us and everything around us is simply not conducive to holiness. Therese was a special case. God must accept that people nowadays just aren’t capable of great holiness. He must accept us as we have accepted ourselves, as lukewarm, as mediocre.

That’s how we make our excuses.

But here comes Therese, who with a smile will blow down the maze of excuses we’ve constructed. She leaves us no place to hide from God or from ourselves.

And that’s why she’s dangerous. She will tell us that if we’re not holy, we have no one to blame but ourselves.

So, now what do we do? If we’re not going to run and hide, if we finally admit that Therese proves that the call to holiness is universal, what shall we do? It’s tempting to put the burden all on ourselves: “All right, I’m going to grit my teeth and through a sheer act of the will imitate Therese in every way possible. I’m going to count to three and when I’m done I’ll be a spiritual child and I’ll be holy and then God will have to like me!”

But it’s not by our own efforts that we become holy.

So what are we supposed to do? The paradox is that we’re supposed to do nothing—God does all the work.

Consider this example: I was visiting with a family who has a 3-year-old son. As an after-dinner treat, little Jacob is allowed to watch an episode of Thomas the Tank Engine. The video collection is on a high shelf, well over his head. He could never reach it on his own. He stands in front of the shelf, with his arms raised, so that you can reach under his arms and lift him up to where he wants to go. Without any hesitation, without even asking, he just stands there with his arms raised, fully confident that he will be lifted up.

I think Saint Therese would say we have to do what little Jacob does:

We have to show up.

And we have to raise our arms up and expect to be lifted.

And we have to let God do the work.

We might say, “It’s so simple that even a child can do it,” but that’s not quite right. It’s so simple that only a child can do it. Let’s stop making excuses. Let’s stop squirming and struggling. Let’s stop trying to make the ascent to holiness powered by our own will and wisdom. Let’s just show up, raise our arms, and let ourselves be lifted up by the Father who loves us.

When I write next, I will speak of one of Therese’s favorite books. Until then, let’s keep each other in prayer.

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text:
Baby talk, and switching up your workout routine.

So how was everyone’s weekend?? I personally had a great one. Harper was in such a great mood all weekend so that definitely set the tone for the rest of us. (If shes cranky, we’re usually cranky as well.) I had a good friend’s baby shower on Saturday which was the absolute cutest fricken shower ever- and I got to hang out with some old friends from high school, and then my other good friend and her little baby boy was in town so I got to see them on Sunday. A weekend full of babies is my kind of weekend!!

ALSO I got a new car.. so that didn’t suck either! I got the 2017 Chevy Traverse which is amazing and i’m totally obsessed with it. It will be the perfect size for when we have baby #2. Wow. So much baby talk already this morning!! If you don’t like kids then I guess you hate this post so far!

Ok no more baby talk I promise. So last week I tried reformer pilates for the first time ever. In my search for “healing” my body and its hormonal issues (i.e doing Whole30) I also realized that the type of exercise that I’m used to doing (heavy weights, boxing, bootcamps, HIIT, spinning) and doing that every single day, might be causing an extra stressor on my body. I decided I wanted to try and soften my approach a little bit, by mixing in things like pilates and yoga. Ive done yoga in the past, and I like it OK.. but it’s not my favorite. One of the trainers where I work is a pilates instructor so I asked if we could do it once a week and she agreed. I LOVED it. We did about 45 minutes of it (all basic stuff since I’ve never done it before) It was NO impact, but still strengthening- and also lengthening.. HOLYYY crap am I tight/unflexible. My shoulders/abs/triceps were definitely sore the next day. It’s a lot different than what I’m used to, i’ll admit it was strange walking out and not being drenched in sweat.. but I think it will be good for me to incorporate once or twice a week. I’m doing it again on Wednesday so I’ll try and get some photos/videos of the exercises. I encourage you guys to listen to your bodies as well– if you start to ache/hurt more than not.. switch things up. experiment with what feels good.

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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

JK Rowling

51NzsNx1JNL._SX311_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg“‘Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. Just stick out your wand hand, step on board and we can take you anywhere you want to go.'”

When the Knight Bus crashes through the darkness and screeches to a halt in front of him, it’s the start of another far from ordinary year at Hogwarts for Harry Potter. Sirius Black, escaped mass-murderer and follower of Lord Voldemort, is on the run – and they say he is coming after Harry. In his first ever Divination class, Professor Trelawney sees an omen of death in Harry’s tea leaves … But perhaps most terrifying of all are the Dementors patrolling the school grounds, with their soul-sucking kiss …

JK Rowling continues with her fabulous series and doesn’t let anything slip. There are so any good characters in this series, and a couple of new ones get introduced in this book, both good, though I prefer Lupin to Sirius. It’s not just the characters that make this book and the series great, it’s the plot, with Harry’s life becoming both better and worse as he learns more about his parents and how they died, and the writing; there is a good level of descriptiveness to every aspect of this book, but nothing that overwhelms the story, allowing you to access what’s going on without anything getting in the way.

The best thing about this book, compared to the first two, is that the plot doesn’t revolve around Voldemort, there is a different focus, and I believe that keeps the series from becoming boring. If I have one real complaint about any part of this book, it’s that there seems to be a contradiction between one part of this book and something that was mentioned in The Chamber of Secrets: in this book a character says there’s no cure for being a werewolf, but in COS Professor Lockhart mentions performing a spell that gets rid of a werewolf curse.

I’m not sure if Rowling forgot what she had written in the previous book, or if she needed to change that in order to use a plot thread she had come up with.

Regardless of that one niggle, this is a very good book in a very good series.

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Saturday, August 31, 2013

Week 1 Reflection!

I loved my first week even with all the imperfections.  My students are awesome!  I wish I had asked them for feedback on the first week (maybe next week??) but so far, I think we are clicking :)  I know I have a few students who are not as enthused as I am; I hope to win them over completely!

So you say, what imperfections??  Most of the imperfections boil down to time.  OK, so this is where my current placement is different than other places I have worked.  We have a curriculum calendar published by the district that says Unit 1A covers certain standards, and takes 7 days.  There is an expectation that we will test on that seventh day (or be prepared to make up the difference in one of the next units because they are all outlined down to the day!)

  1. So we planned too much curriculum for Day 1.  That in itself wouldn't be too bad, except my team and I planned every day of the 7 day unit ... built upon the mastery of the previous day.  The morning classes on Day 1 were cut short by a 1/3 (60 minutes instead of 90 minutes).  So every day this week I've been trying to make up time ... within reason ... while still ensuring thorough understanding of our content.  In the future, I want to recommend to my team that we plan for the shorter class, or allow one whole first day for "getting to know you" opportunities.
  2. I talked too much.  High on my list of 3 goals is to talk less.  I'm already planning for it for next week.  This week each day had too much note-giving, note taking!  We used a flip book, Venn Diagram, Cornell style notes, and a webbing to help make the notes have meaning.  But still it seemed I did most of the talking.
I felt like some things went well.  I loved the conversation, noticing and wondering, on the first day around the vertex forms of equations.  On most days, I asked students to experience a math activity before labeling it ... trying to activate their prior knowledge, using the activity for my own informal observational assessment of students.

We are on a block schedule (A/B days) ... so I saw 3 classes 3 times this past week.  In those 3 classes we discussed these topics:
...  Defined a function
...  Introduced the seven parent functions we study this year
...  Defined the difference between discrete and continuous functions
...  Illustrated how to notate domain and range using three methods      (inequalities, set builder, and interval notation)
...  Defined transformations and took notes on the effects of a, h, and k.
Next week we spend time exploring transformations and define inverse functions.

If you are interested in following along day by day, I have a 180 blog.  My goal in that blog is to take one photo a day, to make teaching and learning visual ... and to share my work.  I hope you'll check it out!

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All He Wants is to Make Out

okay hi i would talk to my about  mom this but like i dont really talk to her as much about this stuff
 and im kinda nervous about saying this so i just stop with all the small talk and get to the point
ok this guy ask me out but he has a girlfrined then broke up with her recently
and of course i said yes sence this is the first time any guy ask me out i know 14 i feel old about this lol
but then my friend lets call her gina said she has a really bad feeling about this that i shouldn’t go
and she was saying some stuff she felt about her feelings  and how right she was of course i believe her with all this but  even with her not right feeling i  still do want to go but i dont know if i should sence he all i want to make-out with u i told gina that and she all he wants way more then that , i tihnk he does he all mentioning condoms and beds when i was talking to him on IM in myspace, but maybe he was joking idk but what im saying should i go on this”hang-out with this guy or no
i hope i didnt confused u as much if i did i cant wait till ur alice book omg two more days lol
anyways thanks
with all ur help
Phyllis replied:
Let’s pretend for a moment that you are a mother with a 14 year old daughter whom you dearly love, and she wants to go out with a guy she’s been corresponding with on My Space, who talks about making out and beds and condoms.  And you would answer….what?  “Yes, my darling daughter?”  Yes, maybe he’s joking, and maybe if you said, “Sure, I’ll go out,” it would scare him half out of his wits and he wouldn’t show up.  You seem far more interested just in going out–with anybody–at 14, than in this guy himself, and I can understand that.  It’s exciting and mysterious and you’d love to tell your friends all about it.  But it could also be a horrible experience, and when your mom found out about it, she’d lose her trust in you.  Keep your mom in the loop about your plans and she’ll be far more likely to give you some freedom when you need it than if you do something crazy now.

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Tag Archives: Ramesh Iyer

Mahindra Insurance Brokers Ltd (MIBL) Appraised & Rated at Maturity Level 3 of the People CMM®

On 11th Dec 2015,  Mahindra Insurance Brokers  Ltd (MIBL), India was appraised and rated at maturity level 3 of the People CMM® as a MIBL Logoresult of an appraisal conducted using SCAMPISM-A. MIBL (started in 2004)  is empanelled with various public and private insurance companies to offer best insurance solutions to customers covering Life and Non-Life areas. In addition to direct broking, MIBL also provides reinsurance broking.

The result of this SCAMPISM-A is available at the CMMI Institute site containing Published Appraisal Results (PARS).

This result has also been extensively reported in the media; two such media articles are linked here and here.

This appraisal and rating was a milestone in an ongoing journey at Mahindra Finance group of companies that was initiated around two years ago by Mr. Vinay Deshpande, their CPO (Chief People Officer).

The keys objectives of adopting the People CMM®  were to:

  • Build an Engaging, Collaborative & High-Trust Culture
  • Build a Future-Ready Organization
  • Ensure Excellence in HR Processes
  • Align HR Strategy with Business Goals

Here are a few highlights of MIBL, their people related processes, changes implemented during the People CMM® journey, benefits accrued, and future plans.

  1. MIBL is the first insurance broking organization in the world to have successfully implemented processes aligned to People CMM® maturity level 3.
  2. MIBL has, in the last two years been able to hire over 70% through employee referral, saving considerable hiring costs. This also reconfirms that employees are acting as ‘promoters’ of the organization in the job market.
  3. MIBL has significantly improved the transparency and effectiveness of its internal communication channels.
  4. During the People CMM® journey, MIBL has implemented a robust competency framework that is used for hiring, individual development, internal job postings, training, career development, and succession planning.
  5. MIBL is able to execute special business projects faster, and in a more controlled manner.
  6. MIBL is planning to implement higher maturity practices of the People CMM® in future.

Other companies of the Mahindra Group in the Finance Sector have also embraced the People CMM® framework.

We hope to share more experiences from MIBL soon on this website.

The appraisal team was led by Rajesh Naik (CMMI Institute Partner: QAI India).

Please feel free to share your views, experiences, and queries, using the “comments” feature available. You may also forward the link to this post to your friends, colleagues, and anyone else who may be interested.

Other related posts uploaded on the same blog:

Nothing Official About It! – The views presented above are in no manner reflective of the official views of any organization, community, group, institute, or association. They may not even be the official views of the author :-).

SM-SCAMPI is a service mark of Carnegie Mellon University.

I am Rajesh Naik. I am an author, management consultant and trainer, helping IT and other tech companies improve their processes and performance. I also specialize in CMMI® (DEV and SVC), People CMM® and Balanced Scorecard. I am a CMMI Institute certified/ authorized Instructor and Lead Appraiser for CMMI® and People CMM®. I am available on LinkedIn and I will be glad to accept your invite. For more information please click here. To get email alerts for new posts, click here to subscribe.


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Skillet Cornbread and Stewed Okra

Screen Shot 2016-07-26 at 8.44.29 PM
I had a hankering to make some cornbread. So tonight, I finally did.

Tensions ran high, let me tell you. I like making things in my cast-iron skillet, but I’ve had some memorable disasters. The time I tried to make apricot cake and the cake stuck to the skillet and the berries burst all over the oven, for example. That was a little traumatic.

Luckily, everything went well this time around. The secret to making this cornbread is buttering the skillet before you pour in the batter. You let two tablespoons of butter melt in the skillet over medium heat, and then you turn it off let the pan sit on the burner. By the time you add the other ingredients, the butter has cooled and created the perfect non-stick coating. Genius.

As for the okra…that was an impulse decision. The okra looked so good at the farmers’ market last weekend, I decided to buy it and figure out what to make with it later.

The stewed okra is kind of like bhindi masala (one of my favorite Indian foods), so I kept the same principles in mind while cooking it. My Indian friend in grad school taught me to never over stir the okra because it will start becoming slimy. So words to the wise: Treat your okra with care.

When I put the okra and cornbread together and ate my first bite, I felt like saying, yeehaw! But then I wasn’t sure if that was culturally appropriate so I didn’t say anything.

Here’s a good skillet cornbread, okra-making song. When it came up on my playlist I had no idea how it got there, because I don’t usually listen to much country music. But I still liked it.
Screen Shot 2016-07-26 at 8.43.56 PM
Skillet Cornbread and Stewed Okra (cornbread from Mark Bittman, Stewed Okra slightly adapted from here)

for the cornbread:
1 1/4 cups buttermilk, milk, or yogurt (or 11/4 cups milk plus 1 tablespoon white vinegar; see Step 2), plus more as needed
2 tablespoons butter or extra virgin olive oil
11/2 cups medium-grind cornmeal
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
11/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar, plus more if you like sweet corn bread
1 egg

for the okra:
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups sliced okra
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

for the cornbread:
Preheat the oven to 375°F.

If you’re using buttermilk, milk, or yogurt, ignore this step. If not, make the soured milk:

Warm the milk gently—1 minute in the microwave is sufficient, just enough to take the chill off—and add the vinegar. Let it rest while you prepare the other ingredients.

Put the butter in a medium ovenproof skillet or an 8-inch square baking pan over medium heat; heat until good and hot, about 2 minutes, then turn off the heat. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix the egg into the buttermilk. Stir the liquid into the dry ingredients (just enough to combine); if it seems too dry, add another tablespoon or two of buttermilk. Pour the batter into the prepared skillet or pan, smooth out the top if necessary, and put in the oven.

Bake about 30 minutes, until the top is lightly browned and the sides have pulled away from the pan; a toothpick inserted into the center will come out clean. Serve hot or warm.

for the okra:
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add chopped onion and saute until tender, about 3 minutes. Add in the garlic and saute until fragrant.

Add the okra and tomatoes, making sure to add the reserved juice from the tomatoes to the saute pan. Season with salt and pepper and simmer for 15 minutes.

About Emily Wasserman

Hi! My name is Emily and I'm a writer based in St. Louis. If I was stranded on an island and could request three items of food, they would be avocados, Halloumi and chocolate croissants.
This entry was posted in Bread, Dinner, Uncategorized, Vegetarian and tagged , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

2 Responses to Skillet Cornbread and Stewed Okra

  1. passtheboule says:

    Yum, I’ve been looking for a way to use some okra from my garden. This sounds like a delicious idea.

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The Broken Web

Dave Winer recently pointed out two trends that pose risk to user-created content on the web:

  • Over-reliance on url-shorteners. Fueled by twitter’s laconic style, more and more links to content are created using an indirection via url shortener services such as and The collapse of such a service may turn tons of links into broken links in an instant.
  • Centralized conversation platforms. Shifting the conversation away from their blogs, influencing content publishers chose to center on platforms such as twitter and FriendFeed. Besides the increased noise inherent to lifestreaming, there is increased risk in making your contributions (and having your readers contribute back) in a site run by a private company with no real commitment to its users.

In the past two weeks both these risks materialized to some extent. The url-shortener service shut down, and that 404-iceberg was avoided in the last minute by the owners’ decision to open-source it. Then Facebook acquired FriendFeed, and their PR said

“… will continue to operate normally for the time being as the teams determine the longer term plans for the product.”

Hmm, right… So Scoble’s blog still loves him, and is probably a safer publishing venue.

But why is this such a big deal anyway?Broken web of intrigue, CC by 'Looking for a Lighthouse'/Flickr

We tend to forget how much we have invested into such services until they break down (as was the case with ma.gnolia). The web’s strength is in storing and being able to search in the content produced by millions of earthlings. The impact of frailness of large amounts of content or links is significant. Especially for social search, that content could be vital (OK, perhaps except for that part about what you had for breakfast).

As always with such issues, the best solution is decentralization. For url shorteners, the ‘shortlink’ protocol was already suggested for site-maintained shorteners, and WordPress has already implemented it. My blog is already enabled, try  And then content decentralization is in our hands. Think about it the next time you post your thoughts into twitter rather than in your blog…

4 responses to “The Broken Web

  1. In the second point you’re ignoring the fact that the same service that may break-down is also what enables you to create the contribution in the first place. You’re presenting it as if every person who contributes on twitter also has a blog. No. Most of the people who contribute on twitter wouldn’t have contributed anything otherwise. The new platforms are lowering the barrier and are *creating* content where no content would have existed.
    Another example: would you suggest to me to move all my flickr images to my own image server? And setup a viewing web site on top of it? With comments and favorites and sets?
    I can promise you that then, instead of the 445 photos I currently have up there I would have exactly zero.

    • Of course that’s not what I am suggesting. So I’ll clarify: I’m referring to those moving from an independent blog to centralized platforms such as twitter.

      Scoble’s example is classic – the guy invested a lot into FriendFeed, moved his center of activity there and many of his readers followed and held discussions over his thoughts (even when published in his blog) on FriendFeed. Now FF is suddenly not Scoble’s baby anymore, and may even shut down (for pure FB business reasons) some time in the future, thus eliminating those contributions.

      The outcome of what I say is not that blogging is better than twittering. The fact that twitter exists only as a single instance of this type of platform (unlike blogging) is the distortion here, and it will change over time.

      Update: Dave explains that concern better in a follow up post

    • Remember the phrase, a camel is a horse dengsied by a committee ?That’s no doubt what we’re all doing. Looks like nobody except me likes the idea of a lite FriendFeed. It’s getting slammed from East Coast to West Coast to Canada and Australia, so far as I can tell. The FriendFeed team debuted some great features I would not have predicted. That’s what they’re good at. My major concerns, as repeated elsewhere, is that many people tried it, didn’t like it, and haven’t come back. My goal was to find out what pushed them away, and what could be done to pull them back in.Practically the whole post was about focusing on new users, not the core like you, me and that Robert guy, whatever his name is.

  2. Pingback: The secret to Facebook’s growth? | The Alter Egozi

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Mesh, not just for Fishing anymore!

Archive for the ‘Mesh Doctor’ Category

Today is just not a good day.

WOW! Second post from me today. I tell you today, well heck this whole week has not been good, but today I am really not doing good. I am really sleepy, I did not sleep good last night. I am in so much pain that nothing is helping. I have so much still left to do on my To Do list that I can’t seem to make a dent in it and one of them is going to Walmart and I have been putting that off for so long cause it hurts for me to ride in a car and then to even think about shopping…no, but I have no other choice, I have to go at some point today regardless of how I feel to get stuff for the prep before the surgery and things for after the surgery.

Of course, it might do me a bit of good being out, I am tired of being stuck in this house, day in and day out. I am going stir crazy, but that will only be short-lived due to the pain I will suffer for going out. Sigh, the many problems we face with mesh.

I am feeling really bad right now. Bad about myself, feeling like everything is my fault, everything that is wrong is my fault. That I am not a good mom, wife, daughter, friend. That I am a burden to my family and friends. That they should not have to put their life on hold for as long as they have because of me, like I am not worth it. I feel totally worthless and useless. I can’t even get this list stuff done. I am just here, or not here, my mind wanders and as surgery gets close, I find my mind wandering and drifting more and more.

This may well be the most important surgery I may ever have. So much is riding on this surgery and this surgery is no walk in the park, there are some major risks involved with this surgery. I have so many questions running through my mind. Will the surgery work? Will they be able to get all the mesh our? Will I have nerve damage and still be in pain? What will the recovery be like? Will I be in more pain than I am now or less pain during recovery? Will I regret the surgery? What do I do if the surgery does not work or they can’t get all the mesh out?

I just don’t know, part of me don’t even know who I am anymore 😦

OneNote Entry – March 13, 2012

Forgive me for rambling and repeating me myself. It is late, I am in some major pain and I have been crying since about 4:30 this afternoon. Sorry I have not written in a few days I have really been hurting and just resting, something I should be doing now.

Well as you know I saw the doctor on Thursday and he said the mesh had to come out. I think I mentioned that they were out of network for all insurances and they had to get in-network approval so insurance would cover the surgery.

Well I got a call for the doctors office this afternoon and well our insurance will not budge. We have no out of network benefits and our insurance will not do a gap coverage or any other kind of things they can do to cover and approve the surgery.

So I do not know what I am going to do. We can’t get any loans due to our credit. My husband tells me not to worry abt the money but I can’t let anything happen like us lose our house or something in order for me to try to have this surgery. I could not live with myself if that were to happen.

A OneNote Entry – March 10, 2012

Well I had to really rest up have driving for 2.5 hours being at the dr for about 2.5 hours and then driving home for about 2.5 hours. That was a long, hard, painful and exhausting day! I am certainly glad it is behind me. The Dr was great as was in office staff, they were very kind and caring and really took the time with you. I talked to the Dr first then he did the exam, the we talked some more.

He said that the mesh was too tight around my muscles, ligaments and nerves and that the mesh was actually bunched up. He said that during the exam and this hurt like all get out that he could pull on the mesh. He said that he was not sure why but when they repaired my vaginal vault prolapse they did so with double mesh. He said that he did not think the TVTO was causing the problems because the pain in my legs are in the back and outsides area and not in the inside area and I am not sore in the side area either. He has suggested removing the anterior and posterior vaginal mesh and possible removing the TVT-O, he said it depends on what things look like when they get in there that sometime the mesh are all tied together and he has to remove it. He said he has to remove all the mesh plus all the sutures that are there.

He did say that if I had any nerve damage he can’t say if this will ease my pain or even make it go away, or allow me to be able to sit, stand and walk without pain or if I will be able to have sex. It depends on the nerves that were damaged and it could take up to 6 months before we know for sure. But he said I basically had 2 options, I could continue in this horrific pain I am in now and do or try nothing or I could take my chances on the surgery and hope for the best.Either decision scares me so I don’t really feel like I have much of a choice so we are going forward with the surgery. First thing first we have to get insurance to approve it. The Dr is out of network and we have to get in network approval first so they are working on that so it is a waiting game at this point. I also have to get medical clearance from my Dr, which will not be a problem.

In a way I feel like all of this is moving way too fast and I have not had time to think about any of it. Then again the longer we wait the more I do think and the more scared and nervous I get. I am really scared of going through this surgery and it not fixing anything and me still being the way I am now. I mean I really do not want to go through all this if it will not fix me. I also know that this is a very risky surgery so of course I am scared of having it but I really don’t see any other options, nothing we are doing is helping anymore.

I just hope insurance will approve it so I can go ahead and have it and get it over with, if not I will be going crazy for one until I hear from them about the insurance and then if they don’t approve I will be going crazy about how to pay for the surgery. I am already going crazy as it is. And just sitting her typing this, I am already hurting so bad I can’t stand it and I have to eat before I take my pain meds and I am not hungry right now. Oh well, I guess the waiting is the worst part and there is nothing we can do to speed up the process. I just hope I don’t lose my mind before then or worse Chicken out.

A OneNote Entry – March 7th, 2012

I just can’t believe how scared, nervous and anxious I am about a doctors appointment. I don’t think I have ever been this scare of a doctors appointment in my life. There are so many thoughts running through my mind. What if there I can’t handle the ride there? What if I can’t handle the exam? What if I can’t handle the ride home? What if something is wrong and they have to do surgery now? What if they tell me they can’t help me? What if they tell me they can help me but then it does not work or worse makes things worse.

I mean I know you can’t live your life in the “what ifs” but when you are dealing with something like this it is hard. This is very real, very painful and very devastating and sometimes you second guess yourself on the decisions you make cause you are never really sure what is the best decision to make. There are just some many things that could go wrong.

I had this surgery in 2005. The mesh was put in on January 18 2005 and ever since that day things have just gone down hill. I had mesh revision surgery on February 6 2006 and still things went down hill. Since 2007 they started going down faster and then in the past year it has just taken a downhill slide at like the speed of light it seems. I am going to a pain clinic and on pretty strong pain meds but they don’t seem to be helping so they upped the dose and now I feel dopey and groggy and I hate that feeling.

I don’t know…I don’t know what I am doing anymore. Hopefully I will get some answers tomorrow. I am not getting my hopes up though. These meds are really making me sleepy so I am gonna go. I will update when I can soon about the appointment.

A OneNote Entry – March 7, 2012

WOW! The past few days have really been hard for me.Monday I was in a great deal of pain and I think I cried all day and then of course I did not sleep well. I never do, the pain wakes me up. I hate the constant pain and sometimes the pain is so bad I think I would rather be in labor. The mesh stuff is really scary too because if you have a new pain down there you wonder to yourself if something happened, if something is wrong or different. Of course I know this does not help me any but you can’t help but wonder about that stuff, there are so many things that can happen or go wrong. I mean I have already had mesh revision surgery before, if it happened before it can happen again. I was able to go (thanks to my wonderful husband) and get me a walker after he got off work, so that is out of the way. I can breath a little easier now knowing that I have something to help me get around a little better when I need it and it has a seat so if I need to sit right then and there I can. That is cool cause now I don’t have to think well should I sit on the floor and then wonder how I am gonna get up by myself or try to make it to a chair.

Tuesday was an ok day, I had pain of course, there is not a day I don’t have pain, some days are a little better than others. I watched a few movies. Then tried to clean house a little bit. Well all that did was make me upset and piss me off because I was not able to do it.

I found a DR a few hours a way that might be able to remove the mesh. From what I hear they are really good Drs and have been successful in this surgery. I called them on Monday and I have an appointment TOMORROW! So I had to spend a good deal of time filling out online paperwork for them yesterday and by the time I got done I was in so much pain from sitting it was not even funny.

I am really nervous, anxious and scare about this Dr. I am scared I will not be able to make the ride there. I am scared they will not be able to help me. I am scared to the exam and anyone who has this problem knows just how bad these exams hurt. I am scared something might be wrong and I might need surgery like now. I am scared that they will say they can help me and then the surgery does not work (as that is always a possibility). There are just so many things running through my head right now and I am in so much pain that it is not helping the matter either.

I am trying to decide what I should do, if I should pack in case something is wrong or after riding all that way (about 3 hrs) and then exam, me not being able to make the ride back and we have to stay somewhere. My son is taken care of, so I am not worried about him thanks to my best friend but what do I do about me and my hubby. I just don’t know. I am also scared of not making it through any surgeries I might have to have, so maybe that is making my nervous, being anxious and scared worse since I don’t know what will happen tomorrow. I mean there is a reason why I went from almost tolerable pain everyday to the most intolerable pain I have ever have just overnight. I don’t know.

Then there is the money. The Drs are out of network for our insurance and we found our we have no out of network benefits, so the first appointment is pretty expensive. So I don’t know what we are gonna do there. Oh well, I am starting to hurt worse so I need to stretch out. I hope everyone is Meshville is having an ok day so far

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HyperdriveROM (Release 7) Review

Joseph Kotzker's Blog and Portfolio

I have been using Hyperdrive ROM on my Galaxy S4 for awhile now, and have enjoyed how feature-rich and smooth it is. Yesterday I updated to the latest release, R7. I have to say, it is a great ROM, enjoyable to use, and I would strongly recommend it.

It is a Touchwiz ROM, so it maintains all of the features that come with the S4 by default, but during installation you decide which of the default apps you want to add back in to the ROM– so if you want, you could install it sans-bloatware.

The ROM is probably the most customizable I have ever used on any Android device, and the level of customization starts with the installation. The AROMA Installer provides tons of installation options, from tweaks and mods for the ROM, to kernels, to different apps that you can install. So when you boot your device back…

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17 comments on “Happy Anniversary

  1. What a lovely tribute to your folks, Andy. 60 years. That’s quite a milestone and sounds like they are quite the couple through thick and thin. Here’s to wishing them many more years together. Hope you enjoy your 19-20’C, Andy. We are averaging 10-12’C in the day :/ But that means summer will be here soon 😀

    Liked by 2 people

    • I love your optimism Mabel. And thank you for your kind words – Mum and Dad are pretty special to me 😊. Stay warm – it’s pouring with rain here at the moment, I hope it stops before tomorrow morning – it’s not much fun on a motorbike 😊

      Liked by 2 people

  2. How lovely a tribute and blessings sent their way. Congratulations for 60 years of marriage to Andy’s parents. Mom and Dad would have reached 62 wedded blissful years, this past February. Dad worked with nuclear energy and smoked cigarettes. . . Mom has been alone for 16 years.

    Liked by 1 person

      • I still have my Mom. ❤ She will be 89 this year.
        I probably was writing with sleepy eyes, rushed the words. My Dad passed away in 2001. It is sort of odd, but he was a NASA nuclear engineer. He said once he read and then saw, “2001: A Space Odyssey”~ “I hope I live until 2001 to see how much progress we have made in space exploration.”
        At the time, I was shocked and told him not to say such things. (Actually scolded him!) I believe he may have programmed this into his brain since he died in January of that year.
        In a way it was a blessing, since it would have made him so sad to have seen 9/11. We missed him all these years, though. Thank you for your kind regards. 😊

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Historical Linguistics at the LSA

The LSA is winding up now in Pittsburgh, with the final sessions this morning.

This is the first LSA in my memory (which goes back only 10 years) where it was possible to spend pretty much all the time in sessions on historical linguistics. It was also a year where there were lots of sessions on language documentation, and more papers on interesting languages scattered throughout the rest of the program than I remember from previous years. I think this is a really good sign of the breadth of the discipline.

Within historical linguistics specifically, Joe Salmons (from the University of Wisconsin) and I organised a plenary symposium on historical linguistics. Our aim in choosing speakers was to showcase the state of the art in the field – its application to a diverse range of languages and using diverse methodologies. I think we succeeded in that, if I do say so myself. We had papers on Hittite (Ancient Anatolia) and Ju-|Hoansi (Namibia), on Chamic (spoken in Vietnam) and South America, and on English and Germanic. We had sociolinguistcs, morphologists, syntacticians, phoneticians, and others, and we talked about brains, society, and prehistory.

Furthermore, I cannot resist pointing out that the average age of speakers was 42 and the gender balance was, if anything, skewed towards females. I point this out for one reason only; I have lost count of the number of people who have intimated that historical linguistics is, in the words of a certain senior male figure on the LSA, the providence of the “aged gentlemen at the end of the corridor.” Not true. The centre of gravity of the field is well and truly the offices of the junior people by the photocopiers.

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Breaking the silent treatment.

I promise I haven’t been giving you the silent treatment.

I’ve just been a lazy blogger with a crazy, fast-moving, wonderful life.

It’s about darn time that I share an update. Over the past month, I…

1. Traveled to New York City and took part in Blog World.

My hubby and sisters tagged along, so the trip was a blast. We did all the typical touristy things, and my all-time favorite was seeing “The Lion King” on Broadway. I’m not even a theatre-lover, but it was truly breathtaking.

I also learned all kinds of useful tips and tricks about blogging at the conference–much of which I’ve already begun using in my writing career.

Oh, and I got this close to Rihanna on The Today Show. Unfortunately, my camera decided to capture her hair instead of her face. Oops.

2. Celebrated two years of wedded bliss.

Our anniversary was June 6. We still can’t believe how quickly two years has zipped by! Marriage has been one heck of a wonderful journey.

3. Added a splash of color to the yard.

I love, love, love sprucing up the landscape with some bright flowers.

This custom Etsy sign by Winfield Designs is just plain fun. I’m a sucker for anything whimsical and personalized.

4. Transformed our eyesore of a deck into a charming, functional space.

When we bought our house in the winter, we didn’t even realize it had a deck–really. Because it was just a slab of nothingness, with an old, nasty mouse-house couch on it (gross!). This spring we (and I mean my hubs… I just provided the refreshments and encouragement) added a railing and built steps off the landing. Now, we’re proud to call it a real deck.

(Since this pic was taken, we’ve covered the dirt with fresh sod. The railings will be painted white next summer, once the treated wood dries. And our search for a cheap patio table and chairs continues.)

5. Spent some quality time in the backyard, soaking in the sun rays.

Okay, maybe not as much time as I’d like (my skin’s still whiter than a cotton ball!), but I did spend one glorious afternoon reading Real Simple and enjoying the sun’s kiss.

…and I saved the best for last:

6. Listened to the sweet pitter-patter of baby Laxdal’s heart!

This week we shared the news that we’re expecting our first child! We couldn’t be more excited. I’m three months along, with a due date of New Year’s Day. And, yes, we do plan to find out the gender (in August). The planner in me couldn’t handle the suspense (not to mention, my inner interior designer wants to get started on the nursery ASAP!).

Will our baby be a mini me?

…or a mini Kelby? (I’m crossing my fingers for the hair.)

I’m so looking forward to getting my appetite and energy back now that I’m starting trimester numero dos. (Let’s just say, I’m sick of saltine crackers and 9 p.m. bedtimes!) And morning sickness is the silliest name ever, because it lasts the entire. day. long. Okay, I’m done venting, because I know these symptoms are actually a good thing, and for that I am so thankful.

Over the past couple of months, we’ve teeter-tottered between emotions of excitement and nervousness, gleefully making plans for the nursery and anxiously biting our nails over the budget, awing over the miracle of life and worrying about the delicacy of our blueberry-to-grape-to-(now)-lemon-sized baby. Hearing his or her strong heartbeat this week flooded our souls with relief and pure joy. God is good.

Stay tuned. This certainly won’t be the last blog post about our new direction in life. I’ve been bursting at the seams (and, thankfully, not my pant seams just yet… though I’m sure that’s coming soon enough) to share all the changes happening. Now that the news is officially out, I’ll be writing.

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Animal Coalition Sponsors Low-Cost Clinic

Volunteers with the 45 cats that were spayed/neutered earlier this month for just $30 each thanks to the Animal Coalition, The Spayed Club, and the Marcus Hook Borough

On December 17, 45 cats from Marcus Hook were spayed or neutered, as well as given rabies and distemper vaccines for just $30 each thanks to the efforts of the Animal Coalition of Delaware County (ACDC), the Marcus Hook Borough, and The Spayed Club

In the Philadelphia region, 35,000 animals are put to death annually. The only reason that these perfectly healthy animals are subjected to this cruel fate is because there simply is not enough room in our animal shelters to care for them, nor are there enough homes for them.

These are not just the offspring of homeless “street” animals—in many cases, these are the unwanted puppies, kittens, rabbits and guinea pigs of cherished family pets and even purebreds. If animals that are not spayed or neutered get loose, it is quite likely that they will mate with another animal and produce unwanted offspring.

Failure to spay or neuter animals results in homelessness, misery, cruelty, and death. ACDC has been on the forefront of spaying and neutering efforts to reduce pet overpopulation since the organization was founded in 2004.

“Even though we’re a small organization with limited resources, we work efficiently and proactively to reduce pet overpopulation by ensuring that fewer animals are relinquished to animal shelters,” says Steph Swanton, a member of ACDC’s Executive Committee.

With ACDC subsidizing this cost, The Spayed Club providing their facility and staff, along with the support and forethought of Marcus Hooks’ Board of Health, the Marcus Hook residents were able to ensure that their cat was spayed or neutered and unable to produce unwanted offspring.

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We know that Scientology uses a myriad of techniques in order to lure unsuspecting victims into their “church”. Free stress tests are probably the most common, but even more manipulative methods exist. Narconon is a Scientology front posing as a substance abuse treatment program. The audacity of such a group, one that prohibits any form of psychiatric medicine, using completely unscientific methods to treat very serious conditions, all for the sake of gaining members for their “church” and ultimately making more money. There a few activities more distasteful than this. Just take a look at the extent of the criticisms of their approach.

Well, today I learned of yet another Scientology front. LITE is an English school for foreigners. Here and here you will find an expansive list of the “church’s” schools worldwide.

The LITE program in the Czech Republic states:
“The study technology of L. Ron Hubbard addresses these issues. It’s the first truly functional technology, enabling you to study and understand any subject. It’s not mechanical studying, but true understanding of the material and the ability to use in practice what one has learned.”

Here is what academic researchers think of the “Study Tech“:

  • In a paper entitled The Hidden Message in L. Ron Hubbard’s “Study Tech”‘, Professor David S. Touretzky, Principal Scientist in the Computer Science Department and the Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition at Carnegie Mellon University and historian and researcher Chris Owen. MBE, claim that ‘study technology’ is a disguised effort to proselytize for the Church of Scientology. “Scientology jargon and religious beliefs . . . are inseparable from Study Tech.”
  • Harvard psychiatrist Dr. John Clark said that the Scientology methods of learning comes to: “Train the child to be either a willing subject of tyranny or to be a tyrant himself.”

Although the media has begun to cover Scientology in the United States and England, their activities are not yet widely known around the rest of the world. The Scientology schools capitalize on people’s lack of awareness and their desire to learn English. Posters and advertisements promoting the LITE school can be found in public transport stations and elsewhere. Several prominent Czech newspapers (Dnes, Metro) have written articles promoting the school probably unbeknownst to its connection to Scientology.

Here is a site in Czech that deals with some of the controversies surrounding the Lite School.

southlandtalesgn1.jpgAs Donnie Darko fans sit in anticipation, many wonder how Richard Kelly will pull off his second major film. So far the reviews and comments by critics have been pretty poor. Adjectives such as confusing, complex, disappointing, dense, too ambitious, have been used to describe the movie. One question that no one seems to be asking (probably due to being ill informed) is “what are the disadvantages of releasing three comic books as the prequel to a film”? Yes, although Southland Tales won’t be released till November 14th, the first half of its story has been available in graphic novel form for quite some time. It’s unsurprising a film would appear incoherent if you unaware the first half of its story.

I admit that I love what I’ve read so far. Staying true to form, Richard Kelly uses the themes of time travel, parrallel dimensions, and meta-realities to create an experience you may actually have to think about. Characters in the graphic novels are playing the roles of actors as a the comic turns into a screen-play and back. The comic book even alludes to the fact that one the characters is actually writing the plot of the movie. Grant Morrison’s The Invisibles anybody? It took me several readings to get a grasp on what is actually going on. Add social-political critique and conspiracy theories into the mix and you’ve got yourself quite the story. Try to fit the continuation of such a plot in the time span of a single film and have it appeal to the average viewer, that’s a challenge.

The film is ambitious indeed and it seemed to have an aggressive marketing plan that might have not come to fruition. Many of the characters from Southland Tales have myspace profiles and websites such as Krysta Now . Even one of the main corporations in the story have a promotional flash video for their car. The site for the Donnie Darko film featured an interactive game where more information about the plot was revealed. It looks like Richard Kelly was intending to do the same with Southland Tales, but to my knowledge the sites haven’t been updated since their creation.

If this wasn’t confusing enough, the film is a dark comedy and satire which is almost kitsch in its presentation. Not until I reflected on the trailers did I realize what was going on. Perhaps this will sound like a bad excuse to some, but the incredible cheesiness in the film may actually be intentional. An amnesiac action movie star is trying to save the world and a porn star is assisting him on his mission. Doesn’t exactly sound like the plot of the most serious film.

It wasn’t the critics that made Donnie Darko a cult classic, but the fans. So, I would encourage people to give the movie a chance. And if you want the full experience, read the Southland Tales prequal to get an idea of what’s going on.

And finally… a trailer:

WorldviewI’m currently working on a project and stumbled upon a bit of information I find fascinating.

Terror Management Theory attempts to describe a significant motivator behind human action. It arouse from various academic traditions but is mostly familiar to students of social psychology. The basic thesis is that as humans our primary biological imperative, aside from passing on our genetic material, is to stay alive. And as everyone knows, there are countless unforeseen circumstances in which our existence can come to an abrupt end. It is precisely this which most likely differentiates us from other animals, our awareness of our impending death. I say “most likely differentiates us from other animals” because this has not been entirely proven true. What can be confirmed experientially however, is the overwhelming anxiety generated from this awareness of death.

Otto Rank, Norman Brown, and Ernst Becker posited that humans, ingeniously but unconsciously solved this dilemma by developing cultural world views: “commonly held beliefs about reality that serve to reduce the potentially overwhelming terror resulting from the awareness of death”. All cultures provide meaning by offering a creation myth, a blue print for acceptable behavior on earth, and a promise of immortality either symbolically or literally. Individuals thus become participants in a world of meaning and gain emotional stability in the face of death.

As readers of this blog may know: “All cultural world views are ultimately shared fictions, in the sense that none of them is likely to be literally true, and their existence is generally sustained by social consensus. When everyone around us believes the same thing we can be confident of the voracity of our beliefs”. Good old social proof.

This may not be entirely news for many but the following was certainly something I somewhat knew but never considered in its entirety. “When we encounter people with different beliefs, this poses a challenge to our death-denying belief system, which is why people are generally quite uncomfortable around (and hostile toward) those who are different.” Religious and political conflicts may be much more than disagreements on how one should live their life and more a coping mechanism for death anxiety. Suddenly the state of the world gains a whole new dimension.

“Additionally, because no symbolic cultural construction can actually overcome the physical reality of death, residual anxiety is unconsciously projected unto such groups as individuals, designating them as scapegoats: all encompassing repositories of evil, the eradication of which would make earth as it is in heaven. We therefore typically respond to people with different beliefs by berating them, trying to convert them to our system of beliefs, or just killing them and in so doing asserting that “my God (or political-economic system) is better than ours and we’ll kick your ass to prove it.”

Quotations from Psychology and Consumer Culture

jfk.jpgLike many posts presented on this blog we advise you to take this information with a degree of skepticism. However, if Howard Hunt’s allegations are true then this truly is some piece of news.

‘As the explosive revelation of E. Howard Hunt’s deathbed confession, in which the former CIA agent and Watergate conspirator admits that he was part of a CIA conspiracy to assassinate JFK, continues to rage across the Internet, the establishment media remains almost mute on what is undoubtedly one of the biggest stories of the decade.’

From Wikipedia:

The April 5, 2007 issue of Rolling Stone contained an extensive article on Hunt, based in large part on an interview with his eldest son St. John. It describes Hunt’s alleged deathbed confessions of his supposed knowledge and indirect complicity in the JFK assassination.[12] Among other things, the article claims that Hunt, in hand-written notes and a voice recording to St. John, implicated Lyndon B. Johnson, and CIA operator Cord Meyer as the key players in the JFK assassination conspiracy. According to Hunt’s son, Hunt claimed the other assassin was a French gunman on the grassy knoll, often identified in other assassination theories as Lucien Sarti.

Listen to a part of and read a transcript of his taped confession here.

Bee EinsteinI’m in the midst of some work and decided to take a break with a quick post on Animam Recro. On a recent episode of Real Time with Bill Mahr, the host said the following on air:

“Here’s a quote from Albert Einstein: “if the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would have only four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man.” Well, guess what? The bees are disappearing. In massive numbers. All around the world. And if you think I’m being alarmist and that, “Oh, they’ll figure out some way to pollinate the plants…” No, they’ve tried. For a lot of what we eat, only bees work. And they’re not working. They’re gone. It’s called Colony Collapse Disorder, when the hive’s inhabitants suddenly disappear, and all that’s left are a few queens and some immature workers…”

Watch the Video

Originally, I was going to write about how the recent disappearances of bees. No one knows where they are going or if they’re still alive. We depend on pollination work of honey bees to grow over 90 varieties of vegetables and fruits. How do we know about these missing bees? Well, many are misinformed and believe random bees just fly around and pollinate our crops. This is not the case. Bee pollination is a large industry and the import/export of bees from around the world is a large part of it. Beekeepers will travel around the country and offer their services to farmers, letting their bees fly and pollinate crops. These beekeepers soon realized that millions of their bees are disappearing.

So, Bill Mahr raises awareness about human impact on the environment as a possible cause of these disappearances. This is one issue that needs to be addressed, especially if Einstein was correct.

However, this is not the only issue that has been brought up by Bill Mahr’s statement. Being a blogger who tries to back up his facts (partly because I deal with highly controversial issues), I googled the Einstein quote to find a source. What I found instead was a series of websites, including the SNOPES forum, who are questioning the validity of the quote. No one has found an actual source to verify it yet. What can be learned from this? The psychological effect of attributing information to an authority figure as a method of persuasion. Attribute a quote to Einstein and a piece of information suddenly becomes much more believable. He was a genius after all.

But not an ecologist or botanist alive today.

Does this falsify Bill Mahr’s statement? I wouldn’t say so. Will the disappearance of bees mean the end of man? Probably not. But it goes to show how masses of people can be influenced by a meme regardless of an individual’s intention. It also offers a glimpse into the beauty and dangers of the Internet. Before the Internet it would be very difficult to discuss the statements of public figures and find relevant information in such an immediate and organized way. Yet, misinformation can spread like wildfire as well.

As far as we know, these are current media outlets using the Einstein quote without verification:

-Discovery Channel Europe -BBC Radio 2 -The Independent -The Telegraph -Der Speigel

At this point no verification of the quote has been found and major Einstein scholars are highly skeptical of its authenticity.

Well, ladies and gentlemen – in the face of wikipedia most of my literary endeavours seem ultimately pointless. Judging by the sheer amount of information that is quoted, sometimes outright stolen from wikipedia – whether it is quoted by bloggers, employees, or even journalists – I have to say that wikipedia has won the information war. The only reason why I do not feel sour about wikipedia’s monopoly on information is that wikipedia does put a lot of effort into being impartial – any one-sidedly spun account usually gets very quickly challenged and an effort ensues to correct the information and provide the most balanced account. That, ladies and gentlemen, is how a community informs and keeps on updating information – now compare this balanced version of information sharing with the way that all media spin theirs – whether it is CNN, Times, or even BBC. Have you ever wondered why people who read particular newspapers have very definite and unchallengable opinions on politics, usually in line with the particular direction of spin that the newspaper they read produces. Hence radicals read radical literature, liberals prefer liberal media, anarchists anarchistic, religious people religious literature – now imagine that these people chose to shift their focus and read the opposite of what they believe. Would it change their opinions? I have tried similar experiments on myself and yes, I can be molded to change my views. Care to try yourself?